//------------------------------// // Good Times, Bad Times // Story: Occultus Canonicus- Book One: Honesty // by Blackbriar //------------------------------// "Visit the Crystal Empire! Home to this years Equestrian Games and resting place of the Crystal Heart! Visit the Crystal Cathedral where the Elements of Harmony succeeded in saving the world yet again! Medieval Fair with Jousting, Arts and Crafts, Unique Foods and Styles. All this can be yours when you you vacation in the Crystal Empire! -Crystal Empire Tourism Board Pamphlet No. 6 0000000 Twilight was having the time of her life. There weren’t any natural disasters to worry about. No monsters storming the kingdom. No sealed away evils to battle and snatch defeat away from at the last possible moment. There wasn’t even any other patrons in the Crystal Kingdom Library. And it wasn’t all that surprising really, if you had been demi-banished for 1000 years you’d want to stick your head out and see what had changed too. No, the newly crowned Princess of Friendship was enjoying some much needed down time in her Sister-In-Law’s book repository, lost amongst the stacks looking at preserved tomes that the world hadn’t seen in a millennium. Row after row of dusty tomes line the path Twilight took deeper and deeper into the stacks. She pondered briefly where the dust came from if everything but the books themselves were made from unchanging crystal and instead turned her inquisitive nature to a gated off section she hadn’t noticed before when she was with her favorite filly-friends searching for a way to deal with King Sombra. Using the magic in her horn she gave the gate a dug and the latch wouldn’t move. Gasping and clapping her fore hooves together in foal like glee made back to the main librarians desk. “A forbidden section! My favorite part of any library. Exclusive tomes holding knowledge the world hasn’t seen in ages. Even more rare and uncommon than the library it’s self! And to think, all those poor books with nopony to read them! This neglect shall not stand on my watch, I decree it!” Taking a brief bit of foalish joy in her newly acquired princessly power. “Good for you, then kindly decree it where someponies are trying to read in peace!” A grouchy aged stallion grumbled from his study chair off to the side of Twilight’s proclamation. Blushing fiercely and bowing an apology she scurried to the head librarian’s desk to inquire about the restricted section. “What? A locked gate? No. No I don’t think so,” the aged Librarian Mare puzzled, “The only locked door in the whole library is the one to my office that has delicate books under repair or containing frayed magics in need of repair and that’s behind this desk. You’re sure you found a gate that was locked in the library?” Twilight reassured her and asked if there were any keys lying around, that maybe there were something in the collective memory of crystal ponies that they were still trying to remember after being cut off from their crystal heart for so long. After a bit of searching they turned up nothing, and more than a little intrigued the Librarian went back with the lavender princess. When they reached the gate the Librarian walked right on by it with out noticing it all. And in fact, looked puzzled that Twilight had stopped all together and looked at her expectantly. “What is it dear? I thought we were going some place. . .to. . .that’s strange I forgot what we set out for. This old memory isn’t what it used to be, did you need help finding a book dear?” the Librarian polished her reading glasses on her coat waiting for Twilight’s answer. “Please tell me Mistress of the Library, in the index where would I find a yellow book on Star Swirl the Bearded that detailed his early years studying in the Ever Free Castle?” Twilight posed, testing a theory. “Well that would depend, do you mean his personal memoirs that are in a mustard yellow book, his school reports and magic theories that are actually in a teal book, or do you mean that tawdry unofficial biography done in a daisy yellow book?” “I thought as much, your memory is more than fine. I think the gate we’re trying to open has been enchanted so that ponies simply don’t notice it or forget what they were looking for.” Twilight rapped her hoof on the metal bars and the librarian’s eyes bugged out. All she saw was another indiscriminant stack of books like all the others but when Twilight’s hoof tapped she could hear metal. The disconnect immediately made her nauseous and she wobbled in place, Twilight steadied her with her wing until the aged keeper of books settled her stomach and equilibrium. When she had she noticed something different. “I say! When I’m in contact with you I can see the gate and my stomach settles down. This is powerful Avoidance Magic my dear, which if memory serves requires powerful magic to sense let alone create. It’s similar to the spells dragons use on their hidden hordes to keep would be adventurers away! I must’ve walked by this a hundred times a year and never knew it was there.” Twilight puzzled over this as they went closer to inspect the locked gate, “Well, and no offense, you crystal ponies aren’t known for having your own magic spells aside from the ones you use communally like the one with the Crystal Heart. This could only mean. . .” She trailed off; around the lock was a familiar black crystal inlaid sigil that she’d seen before on the crown of King Sombra. “Th-th-th-The King!” the Librarian stammered immediately breaking contact and backing away from the gate at full speed until she bumped her rump in support column on the other side of the hallway. Shaking her head she calmed down quickly and looked confused for a moment. “Oh dear me, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be, tell me deary, what were we looking for again. Did you need help finding a book?” Mind racing Twilight shook her head know and sat down to think while the once again oblivious Library Mare when back about her work. “Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh!” Twilight thought to herself,”This is top tier magic warding at work here. And I don’t want to risk upsetting the Librarian again. Even with Sombra gone they’re still skittish at any mention of him, though to be fair if I was imprisoned for a millennium I’d be fearful of him too. I wish I had Spike with me, at least then I wouldn’t be traveling into the unknown alone.” She drew little circles on the polished crystal floor pouting, cursing the young dragons admittedly justified curiosity in the dragons migrating to the south. Even if his adventure with the teen dragons had ended poorly she couldn’t slight him for wanting to know more about his people and how he came into the Princesses’ possession. Having sulked enough she stood up and squared her shoulders while readjusting her regalia to venture forth with pride. “You can do this Twilight! You’re a Princess now, if you can handle ancient gods of chaos a restricted section should be no problem!” Returning to the gate she had a feeling how to open the gate, focusing her will and letting her magic take on the darker tones of Shadow that Celestia showed her the lock frosted over with purplish black crystals as a little used locking mechanism recognized the magic it was built for and swung in. Behind the ornate metal work lay a deep hallway descending down into inky blackness. Refocusing her magic into a light spell the Princess of Friendship went on to plumb the unknown depths of the Crystal Library. 0000000 Applejack was not having the time of her life. The town market was slow today, the summer sun high in the sky influencing all the mares and colts to gravitate to the Ice Cream Shops and more air conditioned stores like Sugar Cube Corner instead of her open air stand in the middle of the square. The heat didn’t bother the earth pony. Her long hours in the orchards made her neigh impervious to sunburn and her once light yellowish white coat had been sun tanned into the yellowish ochre it was today. Even her mane and tail were lighter than when she was a filly. Truly, if there was every a mare with a love for sunlight than it was Applejack. But the sun was not working in her favor today. And the few bits she had in her coffers were more than a painful reminder that if things didn’t cool off soon she’d have to haul back a still mostly full apple cart and a mostly empty bit bag. While no stranger to hard work and never one to shirk it, she preferred that the work be in her favor. Mind left to wander the cowpony didn’t notice the stallion of roughly the same age as her making his way through the stands filling his saddle bags with various ingredients. It wasn’t until he was perusing her wares that she noticed him at all. Tall, and more than a little pudgy, he was an earth pony with a stark white chef coat to contrast his black fur. Acid green mane and tail were braided similar to hers and he had a cutie mark of an apple growing from a bush with thorns on it. Removing her hat she immediately thrust out a hoof and shoot his in her typical greeting. “Well howdy there pardner, t’ain’t seen you round these parts before! Anything ah can help you with, Sweet Apple Acres has the best fruit around if aye do say so myself! Name’s Applejack, how can aye helps ya?” A stranger’s smile first appeared on the stallions face, then surprise, followed by full on shock. Applejack couldn’t place his accent, but when he spoke she recognized a similar drawl to her own, but older, like Grannysmith’s. “Ahm pleased to meetcha Applejack, the names Blackbriar, Blackbriar. But did you just say Sweet Apple Acres? As in a farm owned by the Apple Family?” the dark stallion asked with incredulity. Thrusting out her chest with pride the earth pony mare gestured with her hoof at the 6 different varietals on display. “Ya did indeed hear correctly thar pardner, the Apple Family has been till’n soil here for well over a hundred years, ahn we’re plan’n to do so for a hundred more! I’m surprised y’all haven’t heard o’ us before, we’re famous for our cider. It gets sold all over Equestria and is a favorite of the Princess herself.” The stallion was dumbstruck; he appeared to be honestly befuddled by a fact that was fairly common to most Equestrians. Applejack could see the gears turning in his head and moved the conversation along to avoid an awkward pause. “Ah don’t mean to brag, goddess knows that’s Rainbow Dash’s specialty, but we Apples have spread all over Equestria. Shoot, we just had our family reunion a spell back and we had folks coming from over 20 cities. I guarantee, if you’ve been to a market in your home town you’ve probably bought something from an Apple. You’d have to be living under a rock not to at least have heard of us!” “Oh no, ya misunderstand lass, ah can't indeed believe that yer who ya say you are. At first ah thought it just a coincidence but if what ya say is true then ah’ve been gone quite a bit longer than ah thought.” A look of dread washed over his face as some unseen problem had started gnawing on him from the inside. “Well, t’aint my goal to disturb ya stranger, just selling my wares. Is there anything ah can help ya with, ‘specially doing with apples?” Applejack motioned back towards her wares, hoping to distract the troubled stallion from his dread. It seemed to work as he looked over the barrels of apples on display by Applejack’s cart. “Well, let me see here. Those on the end, the ruby red ones with the light grey flakes are called Rose Ash Apples, named after the fact that there were the only apples left growing in the orchard after a fire wiped out three quarters of the orchard. The green ones next to them with the yellow stems and a dull waxy skin are Grannysmith Apples, very tart and tangy. The ones under your right hoof are Bloodleaf Apples, named for their foliage that weeps red sap when you prune them back. How am ah doin’?” If Applejack’s jaw was hanging any lower she’d have to dust the dirt off the bottom of her chin, her shock turned to confusion and then anger a moment later, “Hey now, how’s it you know so much about apples and ancient Apple Family History that even ah have a hard time remembering but didn’t know about Sweet Apple Acres? Ah usually have to grit my teeth something fierce when folks swing by and say, ‘I would like a dozen of the green ones and a half dozen of the bright red ones.’ Honestly, y’all’d think that somepony would take a bit of time to learn what they’re eat’n right? Ah figured ya might know more than the average pony when it came to food with that coat of yers, and even maybe a bit more about apples with that cutie mark, but pardner, something doesn’t add up here. Where are ya from originally anyway?” Lucian gulped down the lump in his throat that had grown during Applejack’s analysis, and answered the sales mare in a meek voice. “Ah'm the Head Chef of the Night Court in Everfree Castle.”