//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Books and Parties (Twilight's Story) // Story: Forgotten Kingdom // by Invisible Cadance //------------------------------// “Pinkie!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed at the pink pony jumping around in the library. She was sitting in the middle of the circular room. In front of her a small table specifically made for reading purposes stood. A large book sent by Princess Celestia lied on top of it, open and partially read. The rest of the room was filled with piles of party hats, balloons, glasses, chairs, and decorations of all kinds. Hidden behind the piles were bookcases filled to the brink with books. An unknowing pony could easily mistake the library for a party shop. “Pinkie, I need you to calm down so that I can read this book,” Twilight sighed at the Earth Pony who continued jumping around without a care. “Rarity and Spike will be back soon from their trip. Save your energy for the party.” “Fine!” Pinkie responded and stopped herself mid-air. She touched down safety on her hooves and looked longingly towards three balloons. They looked very similar to her cutie mark; one yellow balloon and two blue. “What is so important in the book that it can’t wait for tomorrow, Twilight?” “I’m glad you asked.” The Unicorn sighed out of relief and gave her friend a smile. “This book was sent to me by Princess Celestia herself. It’s titled, The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom. It tells the story of a neighbouring kingdom called Bolivianite. The evil Queen Ametrine ruled over it for the entirety of its lifetime. Anyway, I haven’t reached far in it yet. But if Princess Celestia sent it; then it must be important. You should read a book while we wait for the others to return.” She directed her attention to the book and allowed herself to be engulfed by the words on the paper. The Earth Pony’s breathing was the only outside noise that reached her. “History won’t change tomorrow,” Pinkie jokingly whispered in response. She approached the closest bookcase and started reading the titles of the books for herself. The words quickly passed by Twilight’s eyes as she went from page to page. The book described the social structure of Bolivianite; where Unicorns reigned superior over the other races. In the best case scenario, an Earth Pony or a Pegasus could be a soldier, but usually they were kept as slaves. The leader of a close by kingdom, Princess Celestia, didn’t agree with the way the Ametrine was managing the kingdom and repeatedly sent warnings. However, the Queen’s close friendship with Princess Luna made sure the threats never came to pass. In the end, it was that friendship that would be Bolivianite destruction. During the younger sister’s corruption to Nightmare Moon, Queen Ametrine was betrayed and forced to witness her entire life work crumble to pieces. But not before managing to cast a powerful spell upon Princess Luna. “Pinkie!” the Unicorn exclaimed again. This time it was in a crackling voice. “Yes?” the pink pony asked and jumped out of a pile of books. Two bookcases stood empty behind the Earth Pony. “What is it Twilight?” “I think Princess Luna might be in grave danger,” Twilight replied quickly. Her eyes kept on wandering off to the books on the floor; spells to fix the mess appeared in her mind, yet she did her best to focus on Pinkie’s large blue eyes. “Princess Celestia must have sent me this book because she knew I would figure it out.” “Twilight? What are you talking about? Why would Princess Luna be in danger? She’s with her sister in Manehatten.” Pinkie kicked back some of the books with her hind-legs as if she had noticed her friend’s concerns. “No, Princess Celestia went alone to the diplomatic assembly.” Twilight used her magic to search a nearby drawer hidden behind party equipment. From there she picked up a parchment and rolled it up before levitating it over to the Earth Pony. “She sent me this letter a few days ago. It mentions the book, so there must be some sort of connection.” “Then where else would she be?” Pinkie looked up from the letter before putting it away. “All my friends in Canterlot are saying that she has left the city. Maybe she went to a secret party hidden in disguise.” Her tone changed slightly. I don’t think you need to worry yourself over this, Twilight. They don’t always tell us everything they do.” “Read this page,” Twilight replied and levitated the large book to her friend. She started to describe the events of the page before Pinkie even received the chance to start reading it. “The Unicorn who wrote this was a soldier in Queen Ametrine’s army. She participated in the fighting against Nightmare Moon, but her regiment failed to defeat the enemy. As she was lying wounded on the ground, she heard her Queen proudly cast a curse of unlimited horror. The spell is never described here because she feared what would happen if anypony else would get a hold of it. But she does mention that it isn’t the type of magic that is activated immediately. Princess Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years and only recently escaped. The spell was most likely dormant for the entire duration of her banishment. But now that she’s back, the curse will most likely activate soon.” “Hold on for a minute,” Pinkie said and allowed Twilight to place the book back on the table. “I’ve never heard of this Bolivianite, nor of any Queen Ametrine. It all sounds a lot like fiction and excuses. Excuses to miss Rarity’s party.” She changed her tone to that of a more caring and compassion one. “Twilight, it’s going to be fun. We’re going to dance, play music, eat cake, blow balloons, and spend a lot of time with our friends. You’re going to love it. Just do –” “Actually, Rarity has a different kind of party in mind,” the Unicorn interrupted. She recalled how it had been when she warned of Nightmare Moon’s return. No pony had believed her at first, but her fears turned out to be right. One would have expected it to give her some kind of credibility in these matters. But the Mare in the Moon had been a popular story that most ponies knew about, Queen Ametrine was a pony she hadn’t heard of either. None of the maps she had seen showed any ruins other than the castle in the Everfree Forest. But the older atlases have ruins on them. The thought appeared in her mind as she looked over the pile of books on the floor. She couldn’t remember that there were anything of the size of an ancient kingdom, but at least it might be able to provide her with some clues. One certain map had exactly that which she was looking for if she remembered correctly. “Pinkie, I’m looking for an atlas called, The Outskirts of Canterlot.” Using her magic, she quickly checked the titles of all the books in the bookcase that was closest to her. Only one atlas was there, and it only focused on the modern Equestrian era. “I found it!” Pinkie exclaimed muffled by a large book in her mouth. She was standing near the pile of books that she had created, and an empty hole in it revealed that the atlas came from there. The Earth Pony jumped happily to the table in the middle of the room and placed down the object from her mouth. “I’ve already read this book. It sure needs to learn how to be more accurate. Somepony could get lost using one of these maps.” “It’s an atlas detailing the history of the area surrounding Canterlot,” Twilight corrected and joined her friend at the table. She opened the book at the index page. The maps dated back to three thousand years ago, but Nightmare Moon had only been a thousand years ago. The index led her to a page in the latter half of the atlas. It featured a yellowish map with the city of Canterlot in the middle; the castle was not yet a part of it. Various small villages were scattered around a tall mountain looming over the city. On the hills of the Unicorn Range, a nameless castle stood. It was as large as three whole villages, but compared to the city it was small. She turned the pages until she reached the next map. Before it, the book was full of text describing the history of the map, yet the nameless castle was left unmentioned. Very little had changed on the second map which was dated two hundred years later; the unnamed castle had been changed into a ruin and Canterlot had its size increased with a new addition on the mountainside. She kept on going through the maps until she reached one dated only a few years back. The ruin on the Unicorn Range was completely gone and in its place was a small village. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Pinkie asked upon studying the map. “I think so,” Twilight responded and closed the atlas. “The small castle must have been Bolivianite. It’s entirely possible that the soldier exaggerated the kingdom’s size. We need to head off to the Canterlot Library right away if we’re to figure this out. Wait here, I’ll get some supplies.” She rushed up the stairs to where the second half of the library was. It had been spared from her friend’s reckless assault. A small work-desk stood beneath a round window where the sun shined through brightly. On it stood three ink bottles and four quills. On her way up the stairs to her bedroom, she grabbed one of each from the desk with her magic. The unicorn’s bed stood in the middle of the small room that was the uppermost floor. It stood next to a large window covered by yellow curtains. A smaller bed lied beside it where Spike slept. Upon seeing it, she was reminded that she had no way to quickly contact Princess Celestia without him. Opposite of the bed was a bookcase only partly filled. On the side of it hanged a white saddle-bag with a pink star that had similarities to her cutie mark. She carefully placed the items from the desk in the bag and levitated it to her. While running down the stairs, she placed the saddle-bag on her back and made sure it was sitting tightly. When she arrived at the bottom-floor she was met by Pinkie biting a party blower. “This wasn’t what I had in mind,” Pinkie said slightly muffled and made a low sound with the item in her mouth. “I know, Pinkie,” Twilight replied and laid her right front hoof on the Earth Pony. “If we leave now, we can make it back in time to Rarity’s party. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are in Cloudsdale right now. Rarity, Applejack and Spike are in Los Pegasus. If they can make it back in time, then so can we. I’m sure we’ll be back before our order at the Cake’s is due.” “Okay, sure. But we’re buying more cakes in Canterlot, and we’re finishing our cupcake spell there. We haven’t even started on it yet.” Pinkie quickly jumped to one of the piles with party equipment and pulled out a small saddle-bag with her cutie mark on it. In a few seconds she managed to fill the bag so it looked like it was about to shatter. “I’m ready!” She left a pile barely half its original size behind her. Twilight smiled at her friend’s answer but tried to hide away her guilt over forgetting about the spell. It was the reason Pinkie came over, but the book had completely devoured her thoughts. She picked up both the atlas and Princess Celestia’s book and placed them in her saddle-bag. They both fitted nicely in there. “If we hurry, we can make the next train.” Pinkie was the first one to leave the library and jump out into sunny Ponyville. A few ponies hurried through the streets while others relaxed in the sun. Twilight closed the door behind her as she left. There were no cries for help, no crashing sounds. Everything looked like it would be a pleasant day to be in the village. But she would be leaving in a quest for knowledge. She wasn’t sure of what she would learn, or even if it would lead to anything at all. At least she was doing it with a friend. It would make it all worth it, regardless of outcome. She looked smiling at the pink Earth Pony that was jumping ahead of her and sometimes stopping for a second to say hello to another pony.