When I look into a pony’s soul, the world around me goes dark. The pony becomes a dim outline. Inside, I see tiny motes of light, like stars in a night sky. These are pony’s ideals: their morals, their dreams, and their secrets. In the center lies the spark; a much larger star that represents the pony’s special talent. Structurally, all sparks are the same; an orb of colorless light with tendrils that seem to fade into the darkness. By staring directly at the spark, I can see flitting images, I can hear words being spoken, and given enough time, I can even feel his or her very essence; what it means to have their gift. The longer I look, the more I can learn, though I generally limit myself out of respect. The Elements of Harmony appear to be similar to these sparks, but they hold key differences. They are much larger, much brighter, and possess different colors. When they are together, their intensity grows significantly, and the tendrils reach out and intertwine with each other. At that point, I had yet to study one of the Elements to see just how similar or different they were from a typical spark. My mind had become preoccupied with what I had just seen before heading to Canterlot. I could only hope that Princess Celestia had the answers I sought…
The train ride to Canterlot was uneventful. Soul paid little attention to the landscape as it whipped past him. He was lost in his own thoughts. They proceeded as such: Was I too hasty in coming to see Princess Celestia?
No, I’m sure she has the answers I need. If she doesn’t, she will know where I can start looking.
Why am I so sure about this?
She used the Elements of Harmony herself to banish Nightmare Moon. She has also been around for a very long time. She has to know something about it.
Why would something like that have been omitted from the book?
Perhaps the author didn’t know about it…or perhaps it’s not related. It could have been something completely different.
It sure looked like one of the Elements…
He was flipping through pages of The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. He had a clear look of annoyance on his face. At one point he said loudly, “I need answers!” He was met with stares from the few passengers he was sharing a car with. It was fairly quiet on the train, as it was barely even at half capacity.
It wasn’t until the train was pulling into the Canterlot station that another thought came to his head. “How am I supposed to know when my appointment with the Princess is, or if she even accepted it?” As he walked off the train, still pondering this new conundrum, he noticed a sign bearing his name. The sign was held by magic, coming from a unicorn wearing a helmet and armor. As Soul approached the sign, the unicorn addressed him, “Are you Soul Seer?”
“I am, and who are you?”
“I am a member of the Royal Guard. You are to come with me. You have an audience with Princess Celestia.”
Well, that takes care of that, he thought, as the guard led Soul through Canterlot towards the castle. He had not been to Canterlot during his travels. Big cities like this often had regulations that were a hassle for traveling ponies such as him; Street booths require permits, accommodations are generally more expensive, and the city crowd usually seems to disagree with the idea of a fortune-teller, especially if that crowd is mostly unicorns. He only came to cities if his funds were beginning to run dangerously low. Cities are good for finding temporary work. Doing menial tasks and heavy labor reminded him that he was an Earth pony, despite his near-magical talent. Luckily, he had pulled in good crowds in the last couple of towns he had visited, and with his general frugality, he had little monetary worries at the moment.
As they walked through the main gates to the castle, Soul couldn’t help but let out a little whistle. It was quite a sight to see, its gleaming towers rising into the sky. The castle gardens were immaculately well kept, featuring statues and flowers of a wide variety. The inside of the castle sported tapestries and stained glass, depicting various images of lore, a few of which he recognized as the Elements of Harmony.
They stopped in front of a large set of double doors, where two other guards, both pegasi, stood on either side. The pegasi guards opened the doors, and the unicorn guard prompted Soul to go inside. The room in question appeared to be a private meeting chamber, as it was smaller than most of the other chambers he has seen on the way here. There was a low table in the middle of the room with several places to sit around it. On the other side of the table was Princess Celestia, lounging on a couch and sipping some tea, gently keeping the teacup afloat with her magic.
As the doors closed behind him, she directed him with a soft but commanding voice, “Please, have a seat.”
Soul obliged and positioned himself on one of the floor cushions across the table from her.
“Your name is Soul Seer, correct? My student, Twilight Sparkle, told me that you wished to discuss something important with me.”
“Yes, your highness.”
“First, tell me a little bit about yourself.”
Why does she seem more interested in me then my message, he though. “I don’t know where I should begin.”
“How about where you came from?”
Soul cleared his throat. “I come from the town of Saddle, up north.”
“I remember Saddle. It was the host for the Summer Sun Celebrations about six years ago.”
“Indeed. That was the first time I saw you. It was quite a spectacle. I was glad I had the chance to see it with my parents.”
“So, what brought you down south?”
“The quick answer is that I’m a fortune-teller. I make a living traveling from town to town. The truth, however, is that I’m still looking for what I’m supposed to be doing.” Soul paused to see if the Princess’s curiosity had been peeked.
“Yes, Twilight told me about you special talent. Please, continue,” she said calmly, after taking another sip of tea.
“As my power began to manifest, I had no idea what it meant to have this gift. At first, it was fun to look at everypony’s souls, just to see what I could see. I learned I could see a pony’s special talent, even before their cutie mark appeared, and when that word got out, all of the town’s fillies and colts crowded to me. My mother, who is a teacher, began to notice an influx of cutie marks appearing overnight, and she got suspicious. It didn’t take long for her to find out I was telling the young ponies what their talents were, making their cutie marks appear. She set me straight, though. She told me it was wrong to do that, as it was denying them the chance to find out for themselves what made them special. In a way, I was taking the magic of their foalhood away from them. She also taught me to respect a pony’s privacy; that I shouldn’t just go around looking at their souls without their permission. After that, it seemed like my power was nothing good. I tried to live a normal life. I tried various jobs around town, including working for my dad in construction, but nothing satisfied me. I realized that I would be missing something until I figured out what I was meant to do with my power. As I was having no success in my home town, I decided to travel abroad would be by best course of action. I taught myself how to ‘tell fortunes’ by gathering information I saw in a pony’s soul to give them advice, so I could support myself during my travels. I have to do the occasional odd-job now and then to supplement my income, but I generally manage.” Soul let out a long sigh. He was used to talking to a variety of ponies, but something about talking to royalty was exhausting.
Celestia gave only a small smile. “I must say, that is an interesting story, but I have asked enough questions. I believe you had something important you wished to discuss with me.”
“Yes, I do.” Soul fished out the book from his saddlebag and placed it on the table. “Last evening, I read over this book, learning everything I could about the Elements of Harmony. I also acquainted myself with the stories and legends about Discord and Nightmare Moon. From what I have learned, you personally have wielded the Elements of Harmony on two occasions: Once with your sister to seal away Discord, and again by yourself to banish Nightmare Moon. You, of all ponies, should be able to answer this question: Are you absolutely sure that there are only six Elements of Harmony?”
“Yes, I am sure.” Celestia went to take another sip of tea, only to find that her teacup was empty. She poured another cup from a tea kettle on the table while she continued. “When my sister and I discovered the Elements of Harmony, there were only six, and as I’m sure you have done your research, the true power of the Elements can only be used when all of the Elements are together. That should be all the proof you need.”
“Then do you know of any other power that could be similar to the Elements of Harmony?”
“Similar in what way?”
“A great power that could lie dormant in the souls of ponies, like the Elements of Harmony before Twilight and her friends awoke them with their friendship.”
Celestia sat in silence, not even drinking her tea, thinking for a moment. For the first time, she looked as if she was deep in thought, instead of just answering matter-of-factly. “Before I answer your question, I must ask you one more: Why do you wish know? What was so urgent that you had to rush to talk to me personally?”
Soul knew that he would have to answer this question, so he was ready. “I saw a spark in the soul of a young filly this morning, and that spark looked surprisingly similar to an Element of Harmony, which I had just seen first-hoof the day before. You can understand my shock, considering I had just spent the night before learning about how there were six Elements of Harmony, which I knew resided in the six mares I had met that day. If that spark I saw wasn’t an Element of Harmony, then what was it?”
Celestia stood up, rising to her majestic glory, and stretched out her wings. She really was a sight to behold, he thought. “There were tales of a great power known as the Elements of Nature, but they were lost a long, long time ago; before the Discordian Era. I’m afraid I know little about them, but there may be some texts about them in the ancient archives.”
“And how do I get to the ancient archives?”
“By me allowing you access, of course.” Celestia said this with a grin. “I will allow access to the archives, and to take whatever pertinent material you find for research, under one condition.”
“I will make sure it is upheld, you majesty.”
“You must keep me informed of your investigation into this anomaly, including the whereabouts of any other Elements of Nature, if that is indeed what you end up discovering.”
“You have my word. I’m sure your student will be eager to keep you informed of my work. I will probably need her assistance as long as I am in Ponyville.”
“Very well. I will have a guard escort you to the ancient archives. Guard!” The doors to room opened and one of the pegasus guards came in.
“Yes Princess?”
“Please see that my guest is escorted to the ancient archives. He has my permission to enter and leave with materials from the archive, understood?”
“Yes, your highness.” The guard turned his gaze to Soul. “If you would come with me, I’ll take you to the archives.”
Soul began to walk towards the door, when the princess called to him. “Don’t forget this book.” He turned to see The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide levitate towards him and deposit itself into his saddlebag.
“Thank you Princess. I wouldn’t want Twilight getting mad at me for losing her book.”
Celestia let out a small laugh, “Yes, she can get a little crazy about her books.”
As Soul was led down the hallway away from the meeting room, he turned to see the other pegasus guard walking in the other direction, as two unicorn guards came to relieve them of their positions.
********
To Soul’s surprise, the ancient archives weren’t located on the palace ground so much as they were located inside the mountain. A unicorn guard replaced the pegasus that was leading him when they arrived at the entrance to a cave leading deep into the mountain. It became apparent as to why when then only light in the cave came from the unicorn’s horn. It felt like they had been walking for miles before they came to a pair of large doors bordered by torches. The doors opened in response to the unicorn’s magic, and the two walked inside. Soul was amazed at how large the chamber was. He couldn’t even see the other side, and it was cluttered with large shelves, which were filled to brim with tomes and scrolls of varying sizes. How am I going to find anything in this place, he thought. He trotted over to the nearest bookshelf and looked it over. I sure hope there’s nothing important on the higher shelves, he said in his head, the things near two feet high! There also didn’t seem to be any identifying markers as to what was on each shelf. He looked over to the guard, who stood near the doors. “Could I get some help over here?”
Before the guard could respond, the large doors began to open. The guard turned to see who was entering the chamber. At the door was an older unicorn, sporting a beard that was longer then Soul short goatee, but still well kempt. He also didn’t have the signature armor of a guard. The newcomer spoke with a commanding voice, but with a slight quiver that hinted at his old age. “I will watch over our guest for now. You may wait outside.”
“Yes sir,” the guard responded and promptly left the room, closing the doors behind him.
The old unicorn stared at Soul for a few seconds before muttering something under his breath, which he was just able to make out due to the acoustics of the chamber, “an earth pony…”
Soul pretended he didn’t hear the remark. “Hello there, and who might you be?”
“I am the Royal Archivist, and I don’t like other ponies nosing around them without my supervision.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I make it my business to know when strangers are allowed into any of the private archives.”
“Well, I can assure you that Princess Celestia gave me admittance…”
“I know that! You wouldn’t have been able to get this far if she hadn’t. I’m here to make sure you don’t cause any damage.”
“Then you’re going to help me?”
“Of course! Can’t very well have you climbing the shelves and trying to read every book you see. What are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for anything related to the ‘Elements of Nature’.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar. Just give me a moment…” The old unicorn closed his eyes and his horn started to glow. Soul watched him in silence, noticing that his eyes were rapidly moving behind his eyelids. He also took the time to notice his cutie mark: a closed book with a quill over it. He was a tad startled when the unicorn’s eyes quickly shot open. “I think I found something!”
“What? How?”
“I’m the Royal Archivist for a reason! I can’t remember everything, but I can remember the titles of books and where they are in the archives. I just had to cross-reference your search parameters with my database.”
“Uh…”
The old unicorn shook his head, “Just follow me…” They began to walk down rows and rows of shelves interspersed with desks and tables. To Soul, every row looked exactly the same, and he could see himself easily getting lost if he wasn’t following the elderly stallion, who walked amongst the endless books with confidence. They finally came to stop in front of one of the many bookshelves. The unicorn quickly scanned the shelves before his horn lit up, levitating a book carefully from its position on a high shelf. He brought the book down safely to one of the nearby desks. “That might be what you’re looking for. Take a look at it while I do another check to see if there is anything else.”
Soul went over to the book and read the title, The Power of Nature: Elements and Aspects. It was a small book, but the first thing he noticed as he opened to the first page was how well the book the kept. “This is amaz…”
“Shh!” The unicorn interrupted him, as he was clearly still busy with his ‘search’. Soul decided to wait and instead continued to look into the book. It appeared to start with a story about a creature that guarded the ‘power of Nature’ and lived in a world where the land grew wild and free. It went on to say that a dark force attacked this world and the creature fought back with all its might. During the fight, however, the ‘power of Nature’ disappeared, and the world began to change. With the power gone, the creature no longer could fight off the dark force, and was forced to retreat to a small corner of the world, which for some reason remained unchanged. An interesting story, he thought, but what else does this book have to tell me? He flipped a few pages farther into the book. It now went on about various ‘aspects’ of nature; personifications of certain elements. He noticed the emboldened words at the top of the pages as he continued to flip through the book: Fire, water, air, earth… “This must be it!”
“Must be,” returned the unicorn, who was now standing next to Soul, “I didn’t find anything else that appeared to do with the ‘Elements of Nature’.”
“I have to ask: How is this book in such good condition? It must hundreds, if not thousands, of years old!”
“Powerful magic protects the archives. It was originally put in place by the royal sisters, and it has to be rejuvenated every decade. So…is that what you were looking for?”
“Looks like it. If you are sure that this is only book…” Soul noticed the unicorn giving him a powerful stare. “…which I’m sure it is, then this is book is what I need for my research.”
“So, you’re taking it out of the archives then?”
Soul placed the book into his saddlebag. “That is the plan. I am conducting my research in Ponyville.”
“Nothing better happen to that book! If there is so much as a wrinkle in that book when it returns, I will hunt you down personally!”
“I assure you; no harm will come to this book. Twilight Sparkle will be helping me with my research, and I know she’s just as zealous about books as you are.”
“Ms. Sparkle, you say? Hehe, well then I have nothing to worry about. She certainly will make sure no damage is done.” He started to walk away. “Well, come on. It’s time to get you out of here.” Soul quickly followed behind him, not wanting to get lost. They walked in silence, and Soul began to think about what he would have to do when he got back to Ponyville, after researching the contents of the book. If it really was an Element of Nature that he saw, he has some tough choices he was going to have to make in the near future. What was the best way to approach this, and what sacrifices would have to be made? He wasn’t looking forward to the next couple of days.
Eventually the large doors came into view, and Soul’s guide opened them with his magic. The entered the cavernous hallway, where the lone unicorn guard stood sentry, vigilant as ever. The archivist turned to Soul. “I wish you and Ms. Sparkle success in your research.”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure this book is returned unharmed.”
The elderly pony returned a grin. “You better.” He then turned to the guard. “You may escort our guest off the premises. I have some work to attend to.” With that, he turned and headed down the tunnel in the opposite direction that Soul and the guard was headed. By the time they emerged from the cave, the sun was already setting, and once they reached the main gates, the night sky was in full view. The guard left him just outside the gates, and he started to walk slowly in the direction of the train station. He did some quick calculations in his head and considered his options. He then realized that he hadn’t had anything to eat since the train ride, so he went to a nearby café to grab a bite to eat. After this, he though while he ate his sandwich, I’ll head to train station and catch a night train back to Ponyville. The sooner I get back to the library, the sooner I can start my research. He would also change the life of a certain little filly, but he didn’t really wish to think about that. He only hoped he could get some sleep on the train because tomorrow was going to be a long day.