//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: The Story of Golden Oaks // by Patashnik //------------------------------// "Golden.. Oaks, you said?" Mayor Mare couldn't quite place that name, but it seemed so familiar to her. "Yes," Twilight replied. "He used to live in the Library?" This was enough to restore the Mayor's memory. "Oh. Oh, right! The Library! Well, about 40 years ago, a massive tree just materialized in the middle of town, and there was a unicorn living inside of it. Just like that!" She emphasized the spontaneity of a tree appearing suddenly by clapping her hooves together once. "At first, ponies were afraid of him. Trees just don't teleport around, you know. But we talked, and a few papers later, he was a citizen of Ponyville. Anyway, he left town about 10 years later. I never did find out what became of him.." She trailed off, deep in thought. "What happened next?" Spike asked, trying to get comfortable in the hard wooden seat in Mayor Mare's office. The Mayor continued, "I wanted to visit Golden Oaks and see how he was doing, and I wanted to know if he'd assist me in designing a library for Ponyville. It was also voting time, and I figured a library would really boost the polls in my favor," She laughed, but quickly her smile faded as she remembered what was next. "I found the door open to the tree, and nopony was inside. The interior was badly damaged, scorch marks all over, hoofprints pressed into the wall, holes in the floor, it almost looked like there was a fight! I don't know who would fight him, he kept to himself mostly, but he was very nice. I asked ponies around town if they knew anything, and I concluded that he simply wasn't coming back. There appeared to be very few belongings aside from a lot of research papers, plus a few maps. I had it all sent to Canterlot a while ago. I... had the tree renovated and converted into a Library, named it after him in his memory. B-but on a lighter note, I was re-elected!" She smiled sheepishly, a faint blush spread across her face. Despite her less than noble intentions in the past, Twilight had still obtained some useful information from the Mayor. "Alright, thank you Mayor Mare. I think we've learned all we can here." ------------ As Twilight stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, the map floating before her doing little to reassure her she'll find anything during the search, Spike sat on her back trying to balance the wooden book in the palm of his claw. "So.. how are we going to find the Grid Point?" He asked. "I'm not certain it will work, but I'll try to re-create the same spell that Golden Oaks used. From that point on, it's guesswork. There's little information surrounding Equestrian Grid Theory. I guess we should start now." Twilight drifted the map up to Spike to hold for her, and she began to charge her horn. A bright flash, then a gentle violet pulse began to emanate within a controlled radius of her. She began walking forward, slowly delving deeper into the Everfree as time crawled by. ------------ Two hours later, Spike was on the fringe of sleep, when the journal in his lap began to glow. Then it began to glow brighter. "The book is glowing," he said quietly. Twilight stopped walking. "What's that, Spike?" "The book is glowing! Look!" Spike hopped down and held the book in front of her. Twilight grabbed it with her magic, and hovered it to the left. The glow slightly faltered. When she hovered it to the right, the light strengthened. An excited squeal escaped her, and she began to use the book as a compass to find the elusive and only documented Grid Point, Spike following on foot. It wasn't long before they found a small crater, and the book was now a brilliant beacon above the very center of the circular depression. "Alright Spike, I need to concentrate as I perform a few tests here." "Got it." Spike looked around for something to keep him interested. He spied a small burned rock not far from the crater, and he walked over to pick it up. This isn't a rock.. it's an acorn.. He noticed that it was still intact, and he gently removed the cap. It began to dawn on him. Wait a second.. He eagerly picked up the wooden book and looked once more at the spine, specifically the two circular indents. He glanced back at the two acorn pieces in his palm. Suddenly, the realization that the acorn was possibly a seed from the tree struck him and he fit the bottom of the acorn into the spine, and then the cap in the other indent. From behind him, Twilight gasped, and the crater began to glow, mimicking the illumination of the journal. "Spike, come over here!" "Uh, I think I did that!" he said back, and ran over to her to share his discovery. "Look at this!" "Spike, do you know what this means?" Twilight could barely withhold her enthusiasm. Spike took a step back, and found himself unable to vocalize. Frozen in place, he didn't want to believe his eyes, and not for the reasons he expected. "Spike?" Twilight turned around and followed his field of vision. Two Zebras, adorned in tribal attire, stood across from them. The leader, the eldest of the two, had battle scars across his frame, some of which appeared to be the result of magical attacks. His very presence was intimidating. He stared Twilight directly in the eye for a moment, and took one step forward. Twilight took one step back. He took another step forward. Twilight stepped back twice, before clearing her throat and speaking in a slightly shaky voice, "Did you know Golden Oaks, t-the Unicorn?" He waited a moment to respond, and then spoke. "He is no longer a threat to the Everfree Forest." This information did very little to calm Twilight. She prepared a response, but the elder Zebra beat her to it. "You are a threat to the Everfree Forest. This place is sacred to us, and to nature. We will not allow an outsider to further desecrate this ground." Twilight had to choose her words carefully. "We're just looking around, we didn't know-" "Mmm-mmm! Hmmm!" The muffled cry of Spike caused her to spin around, and she saw him being held captive by the other Zebra. This flipped a switch in her mind, and this was no longer about research. "Spike!" Twilight let out a growl. "Let him go!" Anger slowly began to build inside her, evident in her voice. The Zebras began to calmly walk away, with Spike struggling to escape. No.. Much to her surprise, and the Zebra that was carrying Spike, a bolt of magic seared the top of his mane, catching it on fire for a second. This caught him off guard and dropped his captive. Twilight took the window of opportunity. "Spike! Hurry, over here!" He ran as fast as he could to safety, and not a moment too soon. Both Zebras were now charging towards Twilight. She had to think of something, and very quick. If she teleported, they might go to Ponyville to find her, and she had no idea how many more Zebras there were. I can't get the whole town involved in a land war, and Ponyville just warmed up to Zecora.. I just had to lose temper and burn his mane. Think, Twilight, Think!