//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Research // Story: Forgotten Kin // by This Account Is Dead //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Research “Can you stop it, Twilight? Please?” Spike nervously asked the purple unicorn that circled around him in an agonizing slowly trot and stared at him with unnerving anticipation, “I have no problem with waiting here until Celestia sent her answer but could you please stop looking at me like you’re gonna eat me any second? Or at least stop running around? You are freaking me out!” Twilight, not slowing down a single bit, replied, “Sorry, Spike, but this is really important. If Discord tells the truth this whole thing could get worse than I even want to imagine. From what we know there is an unknown magical creature of unknown power, with unknown intentions running around. We can’t let it run around and freeze up everything it wants!” “Okay, okay. I get it. You have to save the world again, but can you please just sit down and wa-grarh!“ Spike was rudely interrupted by a burp that produced a scroll with a royal seal on it. Before it even touched the ground it was enveloped in a magenta aura and levitated before Twilight’s face. She quickly broke the seal and skimmed over the letter. Spike, seeing the opportunity, took his chance to get away. Sadly, he didn’t get very far… With a loud crash Rainbow Dash burst through an open window and hit Spike, who happened to pass that particular window at this very moment, with almost full speed and sent them rolling over the library floor. They came to a stop when they crashed into a bookshelf, burying themselves under a pile of books in the process. Twilight shot them an annoyed glance as soon as she her adrenalin level boiled down enough. Even though she was kind of used to things like that by now, she had been edgy before and the crash had startled her pretty badly. “Rainbow, I told you before. You are allowed to use the door like everyone else too. My windows are not meant to be used as entrance,” she reminded her friend with a frown. She was always happy to see the pegasus come by but her habit of consistently using windows instead of the door to enter the library was still somewhat annoying. “Maybe… But if Spike wouldn’t have come along I could have flown in without crashing into anything. I’ve practiced that all week long. Let me try that again!” the prismatic mare said, as she bobbed up, shook off the books and got ready to fly out of the window again but was stopped as Twilight yet again used her magic to grasp on Rainbows tail and yanked her back inside. “No. Right now we have something more important to do than…” Twilight trailed off in the middle of her sentence as Rainbow hit her with the saddest look she could muster. Dammit, Rainbow! Why do you have to be so cute? Twilight thought with a quickening heartbeat. Unable to withstand this bold manipulation any longer the librarian gave in and softened her tone. “Maybe later, okay? I just received Celestia’s answer to my letter,” she informed the athlete. “Really? You are the best! I’ll show you I can pull it off. I know it!” Rainbow announced with a beaming grin and gave her friend a short hug. This was the first time Twilight gave her permission to pull off a trick in the library. Sort of, at least… Usually she was pretty annoyed when she tried something like that and even now she seemed slightly uncomfortable with the idea of letting Rainbow try it as well. At least that was her interpretation of how the unicorn tensed up in her grip. Admittedly, the pegasus could understand that it could get a bit frustrating to clean up the library after a failed trick of hers. However, this hasn’t been the prime reason why she came here. As she calmed herself down a bit, her eyes fell on the scroll that still floated beside her purple friend and gave it a quizzical look. Twilight on the other hand had a hard time regaining her composure. The hug had almost driven her to do something that might have revealed her feelings for the prismatic mare. Thoughts about Rainbow relentlessly invaded her mind but she knew now was not the time for such things. “So… What’s in that letter, Twi? Did Discord act up with us?” she asked cautiously and sat down on one of the cushions Twilight had set up earlier that day. “I’m afraid he didn’t,” Twilight replied, finally clearing her head from the most distracting pictures and briefly scanning over the rest of the letter before she started running in circles again. “In fact it’s all true. Celestia confirmed that something major happened. It seems to be somehow linked to the princesses and Discord themselves. They are currently researching in their own library but we should try to find something too. At least we have some clues now. Also, if we need anything special we can request that from the princesses. She’ll send us any book or scroll we might need.” The unicorn finished. “Wait a minute… What clues are you talking about?” “Well, we know it has to do something with the princesses and Discord so it has to be something old. Something very old. Maybe there is something in the ancient legends and myths from this time.” She faced Rainbow’s doubting expression for a brief moment and continued, “I know I never wanted to believe in them but most of them contain a grain of truth. “Then there is that incident at Rarity’s and the one in the Everfree, Discord mentioned. We don’t know for sure if they are somehow linked together but I’m pretty sure they are. Both times there was a sudden temperature drop that froze a small area. “We should probably try to find any spells or any kinds of magic that can cause effects like that. I rarely heard or read of them so there won’t be a lot material about it. Finding it will be a lot harder though…” Rainbow Dash violently shook her head. Twilight had gotten pretty absorbed by her train of thought and had talked faster and faster until the pegasus couldn’t follow her explanations anymore. “Sooo… there are two parts where we could start right? I’d say let’s split the work then! What should I do?” She interrupted Twilights dwindling monologue. Twilight looked up and met Rainbows gaze. Such beautiful eyes… Unfortunately, some of her earlier thoughts about pegasus were still lingering in her mind and whatever conscious thoughts she still had at this moment were sucked into the magenta orbs the pegasus called her own. Said mare wasn’t too amused by this though. After a minute of vain waiting for a response she got up and waved a hoof in front of the unicorn’s face. “Hello? Equestria to Twilight, are you still with us?” This caught her attention. It also flushed her face red with embarrassment. She quickly turned around to spare her further awkwardness and scanned the bookshelves. “Ährm… right. What you can do… Let’s see… I think it’s better if I take on the magic stuff. You probably wouldn’t understand most of it anyway,” she began. Rainbow gave her friend an offended look. She knew it was true but it kinda stung anyway and wanted to make that clear to the unicorn. “...but the old legends could be something for you!” Twilight added with an apologetic smile and pulled a bunch of books out and carried them to her living room to pile them aside her fireplace. “You might like them. Some of them are like an ancient Daring Do. Not that well written but the stories are quite interesting. But remember to look out for anything could relate to the princesses or anything about the time they came here,” she reminded the cyan pegasus. “I’ll ask the princesses to send us copies of the oldest tales of ponykind as well.” “I get to read adventures for research? Sweet!” cheered Rainbow Dash. Musing over the fact, that the old legends were written in a style that left most regular ponies with no idea what they just read, Twilight gave her friend a slight giggle. She’d definitely take her time to observe Rainbow’s initial reactions when she started reading. “It seems like you’ve got a job to do. I’ll look for something about the ice. Maybe we can narrow down our search when we know what kind of magic we can expect. Now let’s get to work!” Twilight finished. Strolling happily over the marketplace, Pinkie waved hello to Roseluck. She always greeted everyone she knew if the she ran into them. Basically this meant she was greeting someone every couple of seconds. Being the party pony of the town, Pinkie had acquainted every single soul in Ponyville and even most of its semi-regular visitors. Not to mention she threw a "Welcome to Ponyville"-Party for everyone who remotely looked like he or she would stay there for some days or more. Thus, Pinkie had come to be friends with everyone in the area over the time. Usually she saw most of her acquaintances almost every third day, at least, but some of them didn't like to go outside all the time and so Pinkie couldn't always check-up on them with random encounters. For this instance, she had her weekly check-up-day. Then, she would stroll around and find every single pony she hadn't seen in more than three days and say hello and maybe talk to them a little bit. Occasionally, if they were moody, Pinkie would offer them a cupcake and hand them an invitation to her next party. Today was such a day. The pink party pony just left Lyra's house. Along with Bon-Bon, she had been one of the ponies on her mental visiting list for alarmingly long absence. Eventually, Pinkie had found both of them cuddled together in Lyra's living room. She had promptly sprayed a load of confetti over them before giving them an invitation to her next It's-been-two-weeks-since-the-last-party-party. They had been pretty eager to get Pinkie to leave though… Maybe they are busy? But they didn't leave the house for the last few days. They should open their windows sometimes. It smells funny in there…. the pink mare wondered. Eventually, she shrugged it off and bounced towards her next target, Sweet Apple Acres, to see Granny Smith. That is, until her left knee suddenly started itching! Somepony was watching her! Her Pinkie Sense was told her that much, but who? And where? Pinkie's eyes darted around but didn't find anything. The street was as empty as her cookie box. Pinkie had bought it with the intention to actually use it, but she never managed to restrain herself and keep some of them for later… Right now though, there was nothing but a lonely tumbleweed rolling over the deserted street. She searched for a while until Pinkie realized her knee started itching stronger when she looked to a certain back alley. Trusting her Pinkie Sense, like always, she turned around with a grin and resumed on her original path. As soon as Pinkie had reached the alley next to it, she dashed into it. The pink mare had decided to sneak up to whoever spied on her and give him, or her, a proper prank. This meant blaring right into her victim's ear. At the top of her lungs, of course. Pinkie had quickly circled around the building and pressed against the wall to peep around the corner. Confusingly enough, she still didn't see anybody, even though she got other signals from her Pinkie Sense that there was somepony very close her. "Where is this pony?" Pinkie mumbled, scratching her head. Deciding to take a closer look, she approached a barrel that stood in the alleyway. Maybe somepony is hiding in there? The party mare was just about to tear off the cover when she felt her right fetlock twitching, her signal that somepony was right behind her! With a huge grin she looked back to greet whoever stood there and congratulate for a super spectacular sneaking performance. At least, she would have but there was yet again nothing but thin air and her face fell to a frown at that. Is my Pinkie Sense starting to fail? Pinkie worried, There must be somepony! It had always been right… Yet, she was staring holes into empty space… or was she? Was she imagining something or had she just seen a flicker over there? Her interest suddenly peaked; she narrowed her eyes and took a step towards the spot that raised her suspicion. She hadn't imagined anything, had she? Still cautious, Pinkie took another step when she saw that flicker again. I knew it! Now that she was sure about where her feelings came from she became more aware of the presence as well. Somehow, her Pinkie Sense gave Pinkie the ability to feel where this thing was and enabled following its movements as it changed its location. The pink mare was now sure this wasn't anyone she knew. Twilight Sparkle was the only one she knew who could have been able to cast an invisibility spell but then again, she wasn't exactly a prankster and would have revealed herself already. Besides, since the incident with the hydra, the unicorn knew it was utterly pointless to try and sneak up to Pinkie. So the party pony kept her eyes on whatever it was, even though it started to move around a bit. Without hesitation, Pinkie decided she could try and catch it. Ducking like a cat, she prepared to jump at it. The pink mare patiently waited until the thing would be still again, wearing a mischievous grin. When she finally saw her chance, Pinkie pounced at her target but before she reached the swirl it suddenly bolted away from her with ridiculous speed. Pinkie, happy to have found a new playmate, smiled broadly and started to pursue the funny twirl. After a couple of minutes she found it just outside the town. As soon as she got closer though, the thing fled, again immediately followed by a merrily bouncing Pinkie Pie. She didn't mind the pursuit through the town, she had plenty of practice with Rainbow and never lost track due to her Pinkie Sense. Eventually, the chase ended rather abruptly as the twirl suddenly came to a halt at the outskirts of the town. Pinkie, now curious about what was to happen now, approached the strange phenomenon. Her eyes widened in surprise as it became a ball of darkness, seeping black mist and staring at her with white glowing eyes. "Oh, hi! I‘ve never seen something like you. What are you? You look spooky! Can I touch you? Do you want a cupcake?" Pinkie bombarded the pitch-black creature with questions, almost sticking her nose between its eyes in her glee. In return the creature flinched back a bit and mutely stared at the mare before it. "No cupcakes? What a shame… How about cake then? Chocolate or fruit cake? Cotton Candy? Do you have a name?" Pinkie continued her jabbering, "where do come from? Oh, oh, oh! I have to bring you to Twilight. She will know what you are! Would you come with me?" "Well, well… Who do we have here? If it isn't my favorite Element of Harmony… Fear not, for I shall protect, you dear citizen!" a playful voice sounded from above, interrupting Pinkie’s blathering. Looking up, Pinkie spotted Discord hovering in the air, wearing a cape and a mask. Slowly he descended until his feet touched the ground. He struck a heroic pose and continued, "El Chaos, the master of disorder is here to save the day!" Pinkie's eyes grew wide and she picked up where she had stopped before "Oh! Hi, Discord! Are you a superhero now? With superpowers and a super-secret identity? Do you have a superhero lair? Oh, I said your name and now your secret identity isn't secret anymore…" Pinkie trailed off with a worried frown. "Don't worry, Pinkie. I have no need for a secret identity. I just like the show!" Discord chuckled before he turned his attention towards the dark creature that had watched the short exchange. Curiously, he stepped closer and eyed it with cautious interest. He couldn't remember to ever have seen a being like this but the draconequus could feel the same familiarity that caused him to go to the princesses. It had to be the reason for the strange magical fluctuation they all had felt. What is that thing? he thought. Then, as if the shadow had heard the thought, it drifted a bit closer to Discord. The draconequus sensed a small surge of magic from the patch of darkness and prepared himself for a possible magical attack. Instead, he became aware of a mental presence, prodding his mind for entrance. He somehow knew it was the creature before him but at first he was too baffled to actually react. Telepathic spells were rare and powerful and only a few entities besides the princesses and himself had ever been able to master them. Slowly, the prodding became more forceful and Discord suddenly became afraid of what could happen, if he allowed the oddly familiar mind to enter his own. The spirit of chaos felt the mental probe skimming through his thoughts, piercing his half-hearted defenses with ease. Panicking, Discord forced the strange presence out of his mind and shut it against another intrusion, getting ready to defend himself once more, with much more vigor this time. The shadow slightly wavered when its mental tendrils were cut off so roughly. Motionless, it stared at Discord, the pink pony beside him completely forgotten. For a moment, both stood as if they were statues, both ready to unleash hell, if the other attacked. This dangerous calm only lasted for a couple of seconds and finally ended when the shadow slowly retreated. Without any further action, it vanished. Hesitantly, the silence was broken by a cautious chirp. It had become completely silent during their confrontation, Discord realized, as if even the critters felt the power and menace, the situation mere seconds ago had held. "I-is it evil?" Pinkie stuttered. She had silently watched the whole event, visibly scared by Discords belligerent stance. Suddenly becoming aware of the effect his behavior had on the mare, he relaxed a bit. Losing himself in his thoughts, Discord gazed into the direction the dark creature had been moments ago. "I don't think so but I'd rather be on it’s good side… I have no idea what it is but it is at least as powerful as Celestia and I," he responded with a slightly tense voice. "Aha! Here it is. Let's see…" Twilight murmured as she laid eyes on an article about experimental frost magic. They had been searching for several hours now. It was a tiring process, scouring the library for anything that could help them. Every now and then Twilight would write down some notes about her findings, while Rainbow would just put a bookmark between the pages when she found something that could be somehow related to their current situation. Writing had never really been her thing. Not that she couldn't, it just didn't really appeal Rainbow. Twilight quickly checked the article for anything important. What she found generally matched her previous findings. More details here and there but nothing major. With a sigh, the librarian flashed her horn and put the magazine beside her on the giant pile of books that had formed there during the research. Slowly Twilight stood up and stretched her legs. No matter how often she had sat in that position before, her legs always got stiff after a while. After shaking them a little, the unicorn gathered her notes with her magic and trotted over to her desk. Once there, Twilight carefully laid out her notes, sorting them by topic. She quickly double-checked and reviewed them before opting to look after Rainbow as well. Let's see what she found. Twilight found her on the couch. The cyan pegasus laid on her back on a bunch of cushions, reading a rather big tome. ‘The Ancient Tales Of Maredonia' the unicorn recognized the title on the binding. Giving up her thoughts, Twilight let her eyes wander over her friend’s athletic form, admiring her well-toned body. Rainbow has always been pretty lean due to her excessive training. The librarian wasn't much of an athlete herself but she had always marveled the pegasus for it. Rainbow’s wings lay limply beside her on the couch. The cozy feeling she got in the library while reading with Twilight sometimes caused her to relax enough to let her ever tense flight muscles ease up that much. It always gave the lavender unicorn a tingling feeling to see this. She knew it was a sign of trust if a pegasus let her wings slacken like that. To think that Rainbow was comfortable enough in her presence to forgo her self-protective instincts spread an exciting warmth in Twilight. The pegasus' prismatic mane caught the librarian’s eyes next. Admiring the unique coloring along with the wind-swept style, Twilight remembered the times she had marveled her friend's aerial maneuvers. If you cared to look for it, there was always a gleeful glint in Rainbow's eyes when she showed off or practiced her flying skills. A glint of joy that told of the freedom it gave her and the passion that burned in her chest. It told of the bliss she felt and how she forgot the world around her, to bask in the results of her hard-earned skills. After a flight like that, Rainbow never got rid of the bright little smile on her lips. A smile that betrayed her coolness and usually boastful attitude and revealed how much she loved to fly. A smile not unlike the one she wore now, lying on a couch in Twilight's home, reading a book the librarian gave her. Twilight gave a faint sigh and couldn't think of anything other than the mare before her, that owned her heart without even suspecting it. "Bwahahaha! Twi, you gotta read that!" Rainbow suddenly exclaimed and almost rolled off the couch with laughter. "Here is a story of a half demon, half pony beast that guarded a sacred apple tree. Best Part: he had hundred eyes and hundred arms! That must've looked sooo silly!" Twilight simply smiled and nodded, hoping Rainbow wouldn't see the blush that had formed on her face during her… contemplations. Much to her delight, her friend just wiped a tear from her eyes and tried to calm down. Finally Rainbow sat up and continued, still wearing an amused grin, "I gotta say, these stories are pretty cool. Not as cool as Daring Do, of course, but still cool. Though… sometimes, the writing is pretty weird. Especially the dialogues." "I'm glad you like them," Twilight replied nervously and fell silent for a couple of seconds before she asked, "Did you find anything yet?" Rainbow shot her a confused look, her mind still trying to picture the strange beast of the legend. "About the thing out there, you know?" Twilight reminded her cautiously. "Oh! Right… Yeah, I found a couple of stories that have some creatures that could be responsible for Rarity's new fridge. Most of them are just plain stupid. I mean, it obviously wasn't a ten foot high lizard with ‘a breath so cold, it freezes oceans'. No way Rarity could've missed that," Rainbow answered with a smirk. "I guess…" Twilight agreed with a faint smile. "And the other fables?" "I found two, maybe three of those myths with somewhat plausible monsters, or whatever they are," Rainbow explained. "The first one is… wait a minute!" Struck by a sudden inspiration, the pegasus put the book aside and snatched Twilight's psychologist glasses from the small nightstand beside the couch. Under Twilight's quizzical stare, she put them on, threw herself in a posture she assumed an old teacher would have and gave her best lecturing expression. "The first creatures I found are a well-known myth to most but it is told that they are still out there, hiding and waiting for a moment we forget the warmth of friendship. The windigos. They are spirits of hatred and strife and feast on these sinister emotions. If a windigo has drawn enough energy from this, it can turn the landscape into an icy desert," Rainbow declaimed. "The others are ancient creatures from the time before the princesses came to Equestria. Darklings, they have been called. It is said that they are creations of forbidden spells. Beings of pure magic, they are able to use the elements, like ice and cold, almost anyway they desire. Their creators were a circle of unicorns that craved for power, who summoned and enslaved the darklings to rule world. "Sadly, or luckily, the unicorns overestimated themselves and lost control over their servants. No one knows where the darklings went, but their would-be masters were found dead in their fortress. All of them." Rainbow ended and threw the glasses back on the nightstand. "Wow! Rainbow, I didn't know you were so good at storytelling. That was amazing!" Twilight, who had listened through the whole presentation with an open mouth, marveled. "Yeah… I wanted to see how it is to lecture other ponies like you always do. Gotta say, it's not that bad and I guess I can see why you like it so much. It's not really my thing though…" explained Rainbow. "Anyway, the darkling thing could be our guy. I found it in more than one legend and all have similar descriptions of it. It's always one or more powerful magical creatures of darkness that mysteriously disappeared. The summoning part is also pretty often in the stories. The part about their age too. They sure are pretty old farts!" she snickered. "Hmmm…" Twilight hummed and started running up and down in front of Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus leaned back and stretched her back and wings. She was well aware that Twilight had gone into her 'egghead-mode', how Rainbow called it lovingly. The unicorn would be busy for a couple minutes now, analyzing every bit of data she had. Finally, Twilight came to halt and furrowed her eyebrows at Rainbow. "You said there were three possible explanations. What was the third one? A windigo, a darkling, let's just call it that, and what else?" "Ah, yeah... That was something I don't really believe myself. It's a legend about the time when the princesses came to Equestria. Something about a god or spirit like Discord. They tricked the god to help them bring peace to the land or he made a deal with them but Celestia and Luna didn't fulfill their part and banished him. The story isn't very clear about that part but he is definitely very powerful. I think the darkling theory is much more likely. There weren't really descriptions of what kind of magic they used but the 'ice cold aura' seems to be pretty common among them," Rainbow replied nonchalantly. “Interesting... I researched about frost magic and found some relevant facts. For one, it is incredibly hard to cast and control. Almost no unicorn can bring up the energy that is needed to drain the energy from the air. Most of them only manage a cold wind and maybe freeze a glass of water,” the librarian explained. “Whoa! But the room at Rarity’s was an ice pit! Far colder than it gets in winter,” Rainbow interrupted with wide eyes. Twilight gave her a sideway glance and continued, “Yes. And that’s why it worries me so much. But the reason why I think a darkling is the most likely cause is another thing. You see, shadow or dark magic, ponies tend to call it differently but it is de facto the same, is tightly bound with frost magic. That is because both work with the absence of energy rather than the presence of it. Every other school of magic adds energy to cast their spells. Those two withdraw it. And darkness and coldness are the trademarks of the darklings, right?” She finished shot an inquiring look to her friend. Rainbow gave a nod, along with an acknowledging hum and waited for the unicorn go on. Twilight took a deep breath and mentally ran through the information they gathered. Putting all the pieces they had found together, she came to a decision. The lavender unicorn trotted to her desk, taking quill and paper and started writing under Rainbows prying eyes. “I’ll ask the princess to help us here. She might know more about the darklings than the books. She might as well have met them if they really exist!” speculated Twilight. After a short time of vigorous scribbling, the librarian rolled up the paper and sealed it before returning to the couch. “SPIKE! Where are you? I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia!” she called through the library. The two of them fell silent, waiting for the baby dragon to come down. After a couple of seconds they heard a muffled response from the bedroom. It sounded like a confirmation. Resting her head on a pillow, Rainbow idly fidgeted with her wings and closed her eyes. Her part was pretty much done, so why not take the chance take a nap? Eventually, Spike dragged himself down the stairs. He could barely keep his eyes open and looked like he was kicked out of his bed during deep sleep. Irritated by this, the two mares looked out of the window. Unrecognized by them, it had become late night. “Where is that letter?” Spike asked, unable, or unwilling, to suppress a yawn mid-sentence. “Here. Sorry, Spike. I didn’t know you were sleeping,” Twilight responded sheepishly. Her assistant bestowed an unsettling glare on her, grabbed the scroll and coughed up an emerald green flame, sending it to Celestia. Without another word he turned around and started to climb up the stairs again. About halfway up the stairs he remembered something. “If she sends something back, get it yourself up there. I need sleep.” The little dragon grumbled. “Sure thing. Sleep tight!” Rainbow called after him with an apologetic voice. They looked after him until he disappeared behind the bedroom door. Afterwards, their eyes met in an anxious moment, which lasted quite a long time. In the end, Rainbow couldn’t stand the awkward silence any longer and opened her mouth. “What are we gonna do now?” the cyan mare asked with and edgy undertone. Twilight sighed and tried to relax, laying down on one of the cushions in front of the fireplace. “Now, Rainbow, we have to wait…”