"Incredible..." Twilight whispered as she continued to stare at the shining city below, "Simply incredible..."
No words could describe what this sight meant to her... or what it meant for her to be here. How long had she tried to find the answer to the question that not even princess Celestia could answer? All those countless nights and hours spent digging through ancient tomes for information, any clue to the mystery that shrouded the disappearance of an entire race.
Yet here it was, right before her eyes... as if nothing had ever happened.
"How is this possible?" Twilight asked without taking her eyes of the ancient city, almost fearing it would disappear again at any moment.
"What?" the purveyor asked with an impassive voice.
"This!" Twilight nearly shouted in her excitement, "How can something like this stay hidden for so long?! Why didn't anypony ever find it?! Why does it look so... so..."
"Untouched?" Zaeres finished her sentence.
"Yes?!"
The purveyor sighed, "The alicorns, in their... what one could call prejudice, were extremely cautious of other races. Their greatest fear was that the outside world would one day attempt to steal their secrets..." a fear that had been very justified.
He pointed to a large monolith standing in the distance, "There are eight of these, they surround the city and are heavily enchanted to hide this place from unwelcome eyes... which they have done ever since they were placed."
"They set up an illusion to hide an entire city?" Spike asked with wonder, "But what if someone would step inside by accident?"
"It is far more than a simple illusion." Zaeres explained, "Even if you were to walk straight towards it, you would subconsciously wander around it without even wondering where the time had gone... you would simply ignore its existence." he paused, "And even if you were to crash here by accident, the guardians of the city are still as active as they were thousands of years ago."
Twilight frowned, "What guardians?"
Her question was answered by Spike, "Whoa! Look at that!"
Down in one of the gardens below, a huge, moss-covered figure of stone moved between the plants.
"What is that?" Twilight asked.
"A golem..." the purveyor replied, "Stone that has been infused with life and will by the alicorns..."
He watched the huge creature as it slowly lumbered through the garden. With time, moss, tree saplings and grass had found their way onto the surfaces of the golems. When they had first been created they had been easy to spot, but after all these years they had almost become a part of the gardens they so restlessly tended to. Now, they were almost invisible as long as they did not move... walking gardens of their own and without intent or conscious thought.
"The golems were created to take care of the more... demeaning tasks. They are the ones tending to the buildings and the gardens..." he paused as he felt a change in the underlying flow, "They also take care of unwelcome visitors."
A few feet from him, a part of the vegetation started to detach itself from the ground. Both Twilight and Spike took a step backwards as the huge golem rose from its resting place to tower above them... the plants and small trees covering its back swaying softly as it turned to face them.
"That's... big." Twilight gulped.
"There is no need to worry." Zaeres remained unmoving even as the golem stepped up towards him, each step making the ground tremble, "There is a pass phrase for those entitled."
"And you know it?" Twilight asked with growing concern as she and Spike backed away.
"I was there when they chose it..." Zaeres calmly replied. The golem raised a huge fist, fingers of stone curling into a boulder, "Melanh."
The fist remained still for a short moment, as if the golem was processing what it had just heard. But the moment passed, and Twilight's eyes widened in terror as the fist shot down and towards the purveyor with frightening speed.
Before the huge fist of stone could connect with the purveyor's head, the shadows dancing over his form shot out... creating a flowing wall of dark smoke that continued to ripple like a flowing river even as it stopped the crushing strike dead in its tracks.
"Interesting..." the purveyor's voice spoke with slight surprise as he observed the huge fist hovering only inches above his head.
"I thought you knew the pass phrase!" Twilight called from the back.
"I do." he replied with impatience, "But the pronunciation is complicated." the fist was pulled up again, "Melan'ch."
Once more, the golem brought his fist down with enough force to shatter stone... but again, the shadows remained impenetrable.
"There's more of them coming up the hill!" Spike shouted frantically.
The purveyor frowned behind his mask, this certainly was a problem he had not expected. He himself had never needed to use the phrase... and it had been a long time since he had last heard the old language being spoken. But as the golem raised its fist for the third time, he remembered something.
"Mel'anc."
Almost instantly, the golem stopped raising its fist and the ones that had been approaching stopped in their tracks. Slowly, the fist was returned to its side, and the golem gave the purveyor a short bow of its head before turning around... and simply walking away.
Zaeres turned to face Twilight and Spike, "The 'h' in Mel'anch is silent."
"Uh huh..." Twilight gave him a small frown, "So... they're not going to bother us anymore?"
"They won't. We are now officially guests. Should you require anything do not he hesitate to call for them."
Twilight let her gaze travel over the city, "Where do I start? There are so many things to see... it could take years to archive all of this! What will I base my research on?"
The purveyor pointed towards one of the countless buildings, "You can find the library inside the large, circular building. It has one-hundred and twenty levels." He could actually see Twilight's eyes dilate as he said those words.
"One-hundred... and... twenty" she stammered with a dreamy voice. A huge grin started to appear on her features, "Spike!"
"You go on and fly ahead, Twilight." Spike said with a weak smile, "I'll catch up..."
"Don't take too long!" she called back, already taking off and letting her wings carry her towards the city.
Spike watched her fly off with a sad smile, "I can already tell she's not going to get much sleep here..." an expression of worry passed over his face and he turned to the purveyor, "What will she find here?"
"Only forgotten dreams and conceit..." the purveyor replied.
"I..." Spike started but struggled with the words, "When do I tell her?"
Zaeres turned his gaze towards him, "You should tell her soon. Delaying this will not serve any of us... Call for me, when you are ready to depart." slowly, his form started to waver.
"Before you go..." Spike carefully spoke up, "What does Mel'anch mean anyway?"
The shadows around the purveyor wavered and drew closer to his form, "It means stone..." and with those last words, he vanished from sight.
---
When he arrived back at the council, Celestia was still waiting for him.
"I was surprised that you did not seek me out directly after the council." she greeted him with a skeptical look, "What have you been doing?"
"There was something that needed my attention." he replied with a curt nod, "When are you ready to start?"
"Not immediately, I am afraid. Nithhogr has asked for a conversation with me..." she gave him a frown, "Is there anything I should be aware of?"
"Not that I know of, no." even with his impassive tone he still wondered what game Nithhogr intended to play, "But I have found that in his age, Nithhogr is becoming more and more bored by ordinary things... And I can already imagine what he wishes to talk to you about."
"As can I." Celestia replied with a meaningful glance, "And what do you think he will tell me about you?"
"Tell you?" Zaeres chuckled, "Celestia, Nithhogr merely wishes to play one of his games. It is likely that he will spend the conversation asking you questions with no apparent meaning and telling you the old tales and legends of his race."
"I certainly hope that will not be the case." her eyes narrowed, "Does he know of our pact?"
"I doubt it... but should you give him the needed hints, he may figure it out." the purveyor studied her face, "Then again, what you tell him is entirely your decision." he started to fade away again, "I shall meet you at the Barrier once your conversation with Nithhogr is done." a trail of black shadows remained floating in the air as he slipped from existence, "Then, we shall commence with the rebirth of my race."