I walked inside the threshold of the library and I immediately felt at home. The place was lined with volumes upon volumes of books ranging from cooking to gardening and history while smelling of lavender and honey incense that didn't agitate the senses. The inside also had comfortable looking chairs and tables that matched the earthy natural look of the living tree this home was.
I soon spotted the purple alicorn staring intently at a green book, her expression only changing as she bit her bottom lip in impatience turning the page with a glowing burst of purple magic.
“Hello?” I asked testing the waters of her concentration. She didn't even blink as she turned another page.
“I'm here to put in a book request,” I tried again remembering a book I read about buzz words “Princess Celestia authorized me to order a book from the Royal Library and said I should talk to you about it when I got here in Ponyville.” Upon hearing the words 'Celestia' and 'book request' the lavender alicorn looked up from her studies with a look of slight distaste before seeing me.
“Oh, you must Highstar Breeze!” She elated while setting a dry quill inside the book before closing it. “The princess said you would be coming and she already sent the book. But she told me to tell you something before I gave it to you,” She paused for a moment walking toward a desk with a stack or regal letters and grabbing one from the top. “Ahem, 'tell Highstar to socialize and meet new ponies. It will be good for him and his brother'.”
I sighed at this and looked down before muttering under my breath.
“Uh, what'd you say?” Twilight asked in concern.
“Oh... It's just... I never really expected the princess to care this much. I honestly feel like she's treating me and my brother like family...” I said with a warble of guilt trying not to think about my mom.
My mother had said something similar to me when I was younger before I met Wink.
“Honey... you need friends. If you don't have somepony to lean on when you need it life will just be nothing but filled with loneliness.”
“But moooom! All the other ponies are mean!”
“Then look for somepony that needs help. Earn there trust and be there for them and you will have a friend for life.”
The very next day I met a young stallion being forced to eat dirt by an older student of the school. His face was covered in bloody scratches and he was crying while the other ponies laughed at his misery.
“Winky like boy's! Winky likes boy's!” They mocked as the ringleader began shoving too much dirt into his mouth for him to possibly swallow and holding his face shut with magic. This was a daily thing for him after school and at that moment I remembered what my mother said. I cloaked myself in illusion magic and smiled as I picked up a rock with my own golden telekinesis before shooting it straight at the gray pony holding Wink down. I watched it connect with his lower jaw roughly, spinning him off of the smaller pony.
“Ghost!” he cried spitting blood out before looking around with a louse tooth hanging by the gums from his mouth, unable to see the offender.
I grabbed another rock and repeated, aiming for his feet. He jumped from the impact and ran screaming as the other kids fled in different directions.
To this day I still have no idea if Wink is into stallions, but honestly I don't care.
That day I met my best friend.
“All because of my mother...” I thought returning from the memory feeling tears roll down my face. I reached to wipe it away with my hoof and was stopped as Twilight held it down. She reached with her magic to a nearby box of tissues and wiped it away for me.
“Thank you... I had a moment.”
“No problem Highstar. If you need to talk about anything...” Twilight asked setting the box down gently without breaking her concerned filled eye contact.
“I-I... I'm good for now.”
She sighed with agitation this time and walked over to her desk, grabbing a book shaped brown parcel tied in string. She then sat the parcel in front of me on the desk with a look that said she was thinking on how to deal with me.
“Okaaay, well stop by when I'm less busy with my research.” She said
“Wait.... What kind of research?” I asked trying break the awkward silence and truth be told I have been curious since I walked in.
“Oh nothing really,” She pushing her book over a old musty map. “Nothing you would be interested in.” She said.
“Oh really huh?” I thought to myself her face skrunched up in frustration on her face said otherwise.
“Well... me taking a look couldn't hurt right?” I asked with a half smile growing on my face.
“It couldn't... but-” She gasped as I gently took the parchment from under the tome and gave it a quick look. It had a cave circled in red ink toward the nearby mountain range southwest from my manor.
“Why is this cave circled?” I asked pointing at it with my hoof as I gingerly levitated the map back into it's spot. She walked over to the table and opened a book to a specific passage that was underlined in a very even and define line.
“Funny thing is that the girls and I were at this very cave awhile ago. A dragon threatened not only our town but a major portion of Equestria and we tried to negotiate with it...” She said while her front left hoof rose to rub her chin as a look of deep thought crossed her face. It looked to me like she was thinking wistfully of the past. “If Fluttershy hadn't been there things might not have gone so well. But apparently according to this book there might be a treasure in that cave that might have initially attracted the dragon.”
I peered again at the text, taking the time to read it and memorize before it sank in that it was a quite simple recounting of a legend in the old language. It took awhile reading such archaic letters as Þ(Thorn or “th”) or Ƿ(“w”) but it basically read like this-
Of the races of pony there lies hid after creation four amulets of forsaken power.
One of Gods in thee hands of far light,
One of Air hid in stone temple,
One of Earth locked in chest thrown in sea,
and
One of Magic high in the clouds over Creations city.
Bewarned eager seeker! The powers of evil corrupt.
“And this pertains to this cave... how?” I asked slowly as she laughed. She slowly closed the book and smiled.
“Excellent question! Are you familiar with the Ordinis Caelesti Solis?” She asked.
“Actually a little. Weren't they a group of secular ponies that worshiped Celestia as an all powerful catalyst god?” I responded thinking of the lessons I had in school about early Equine history.
And how my mother was a member of this modern cult/assassin group.
My thoughts took me back to Celestia's palace and the moment she uttered those words before snapping back into reality for her answer.
“Yes, against her wishes... Even at a younger age Celestia was wise... But I digress,” Twilight took this opportunity to pour a glass of iced tea for herself and I before she continued. “This group had a way for referring to things in a particular manner when things involved Celestia. The 'Catalysts throne room' or the 'Solis keep' was the stuff they would say when asked of her location. The even began to refer to early Canterlot as the 'City of Creation'.” I gasped remembering that Creation was capitalized only once and she took a sip of her tea to wet her throat before continuing.
“Upon finding that out and getting it confirmed by Celestia herself I knew there was more to this. And if any of these amulets have powers similar to the Alicorn amulet it's better somepony finds these and either destroys them or at least hides them better.”
“Wait Twilight, whats stopping one of them from being the Alicorn amulet?” I said thinking back to the phrasing. “'One of Gods'? Didn't we just establish that Ordinis Caelesti Solis saw Alicorns as gods?”
“Possible... Though we really have no idea where Trixie got it from.” She sighed with a frustrated look crossing her face as she began to bite her lip and ruffle her wings. I also knew that look sans wings. I got it when I didn't have enough information for a subject and had to resort to speculation.
“Well how about I come down tomorrow and we can work on it? I-I mean if you're comfortable with a research partner?” I stammered remembering about the vanilla and my own parcel as I took my last sip of the iced sweet tea palleting the minty aftertaste.
She paused to consider my offer and smiled shyly.
“I would love the assistance.”
I worked out a schedule with her and set time aside at around noon tomorrow to get to the nitty gritty of research and I left the Library. I felt a new hop and skip in my step as I trotted back to the estate whistling while thinking about the research.