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Chapter 4: Archive
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“Alright girls, before we go in, we need to lay down some ground rules,” Twilight announced, leading the group of mares to the front doors of the Canterlot Royal Library.
“Oh, come on, Twilight! It's a library, not a tour through the princesses bedrooms.” Rainbow Dash pointed out, walking alongside her.
“Rainbow's got a point there, Twilight. I hardly think that this is anythin' ta get jumpy for.” Applejack added, winning a glare from Twilight, who stopped and turned to face them all.
“Girls, this is serious! The Canterlot Royal Library is the home for some of the oldest and rarest pieces of literature in Equestria. Some of this books are older than even Celestia and Luna put together! We can't allow anything wrong to happen in there, which, brings me to my first rule.”
“Rule One: There is to be no absolute quiet inside. No outburst, No yelling, and definitely No shenanigans.” she said the last part while looking directly at Pinkie, with a sort of “That means you” gaze in her eyes, before resuming with her conditions, “If you need to talk to me or to each other, but that pony is not around, wonder about until you find them, then walk up and WHISPER what you have to say to them.”
“Rule Number Two: If you pull a book off the shelf, DO NOT place it on a table unless you think its important. Put it back EXACTLY where you found it!” Twilight stared at them seriously, silencing any complaints.
“And Rule Number Three: Don't bother asking the guards for any-” she paused, noticing the dirty looks she was getting from her friends, “What?”
“Oh, nothing darling.” Rarity said coyly, “We just would like to know how well you want us to dust the sheaths.”
“Or at what time we should get out of the barracks, at o'four or o'five hundred?” Applejack huffed.
“Oh, and when we should practice our marches?” Rainbow Dash chimed.
“Mine Komindont, should we whip ourselves into shape, show'em that we're the greatest platoon of book readers in Equestria?” Pinkie Pie mocked, giving Twilight a salute.
“Umm, what they said.” Fluttershy barely mumbled out.
Twilight blushed as she realized what they were comparing her to. She looked away, glancing at the library doors, huffing out a defeat, “I'm sorry everypony, I bet I look real pushy right now, don't I?”
“Aww, don' sweat it, Sugercube. We know that ya always respected this here fancy-schmancy bookstore, an' ya wanna make a good impression.” Applejack said with a smile that was shared by the entire group, “An' we also know that ya been under a lot here lately.”
It was true. Twilight had been dealing with a cartload of trouble since that jerk showed up over a week before. What had it been now? Ten days? She had been forced to deal with legal issues, city hall, everyone in the whole bloody town asking her who this stallion was as if she was supposed to have an answer. Well, she didn't. She didn't know a damn thing, and that was the reason why they were in Canterlot, in the hopes that there might be something in the city's library that would give them a clue to who the hell he was. And it had been this constant pattern of being tossed back and forth for the small offshoot chance that she might learn something about him that had given her her bad attitude.
“Twilight, hasn't Princess Celestia given you any information about him? Surely she must know something?” Rarity asked hopefully, not really wanting to go into a building full of dusty old books.
“No. I sent a letter, but the reply said that she's completely in the dark about this. Whoever he is, he pre-dates Celestia's lifetime.” Twilight sighed, “I was hoping that the princess herself would be able to come back to Canterlot to help in this matter, but trying to govern an empire while working to keep ponies away from intruding on Cadance and my brother's privacy has both her's and Luna's hooves tied.”
“Oh, it's good to hear that Spike's well enough to be sending letters to the princess again.” Fluttershy beamed happily.
However, this only left Twilight feeling depressed, frowning towards the ground, “He...didn't send the letter. I did.”
Everyone looked at her sad face, then turned to look at Fluttershy, who was now feeling a bit guilty for bringing Spike up. He had become a sensitive subject for Twilight. Spike had become extremely reclusive, so much to the point of locking himself in his room in the castle, and no one had seen him in the days since.
And Twilight, being the one that worked the hardest to get him to come out, had become the target end for Spike's sudden increase in temperament.
////
“I said NO, Twilight!” Spike shouted from behind the door, leaving Twilight standing with nothing to support her arguments. She had come up to try and persuade him out with food, but, much to her dismay, she had been informed that he had been clever enough to smuggle a box of gems into his room the night before. That failing, she then told him a story that Rarity had planned to come over for a visit, sure in herself that Spike's crush on her would convince him to socialize again, but was surprised when instead it seemed to make him even more determined to stay in his seclusion, hearing him moving something large and likely bulky to barricade the door, further surprising her with his strength.
“Come on Spike. You can't stay in there forever!” she protested.
“Oh yeah? Watch me!” he retaliated.
“Spike, please! I need you. Nyx needs you. Your friends need you, and hiding away like this is beginning to hurt them.”
Twilight swallowed hard, holding back a tear, “But more importantly, your starting to hurt me. Something's wrong. You know it, and I know it, but you don't even trust me enough to tell me what it is! This isn't like you, and after what happened at the temple, your attitude is making me feel like we're drifting apart.”
A silence hung in the air, nothing being said between the two as Twilight hoped for some reply.
“I'm sorry you feel that way. But NOTHING is wrong. I just want some space and a little time to think, gather my thoughts. But until I accomplish this I'm gonna stay right in here.” Spike answered coldly through the wood paneling, before going silent.
“Spike, please?” Tears were now running freely from Twilight, but they were never answered. Spike was determined to stay where he was, and nothing that Twilight said could bring him out. He would have to go through this on his own, and it would be a long wait before he would finally unlock that door again.
////
Twilight had stared off into space while she reminisced over the past few days, not even taking notice of the yellow hoof that came down on her shoulder. However, when it lightly shook her out and away from them, she turned to look at her friends, who gave her their sympathy.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.” Fluttershy apologized, looking up to her with her head held low, “If...if there's anything that we can do, then-”
“It's fine.” Twilight reassured the yellow pegasus, before turning to her friends, “Just leave him be. He's probably just brewing over some guilt about what happened. But I'm sure that as long as we keep our distance and allow him to think it over, he'll realize that none of this was his fault, agreed?”
Everyone nodded their heads, ready to get past the discomfort of the present conversation. Smiling in triumph, Twilight turned to the large decorated double doors in front of her, and with the gleeful/nervous anticipation that washed over her, she led them up the steps to what she considered the greatest place in Equestria.
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Though Twilight had been brought here many times in her life by Celestia in the pursuit of her studies, none of those visits were able to take away the child-like bubbliness that she felt when walking into the vastness of the books surrounding them right now. Sure, the library that they had entered in their search of the Crystal Heart for the Empire years before was greatly larger than the one that they were in now, but in comparison, the treasures that the Canterlot Royal Library had to offer were far greater and much older. Twilight had not exaggerated about the age or rarity of these books; in the more protected areas of the building, the princess had shown her a book of old proverbs from Saddle Arabia that had been bound by leather, something that was understandable for being extremely taboo, and was dated to have been written somewhere between forty to forty-five hundred years ago.
The building itself was set up to resemble a museum more than a library. The lobby was large and spacious, with reading desk and display-cases that homed artifacts donated by the Canterlot Museum, holding anything that had historic significance to some of the most famous writers whose works were placed inside. There were two halls that separated from the lobby, one on the left and one on the right, both leading to eight rooms in each hallway, making sixteen rooms in all. Both halls circled around the building until they connected, but no one could enter one hall and exit the other because they both ended with a large gate that was guarded by the Canterlot Elite, protecting the restricted section that was the holding place for some of the darkest spellbooks, secret diaries, and unknown works that would likely never see the light of day.
Twilight walked over to the entrance counter, where a mare in her early sixties sat reading the Canterlot Journal with her mussel nearly kissing the paper. Twilight cleared her throat to gain her attention and gave her the biggest smile she had when the mare looked up from the current events section.
“Why, hello Twilight! I haven't seen you around here for quite some time.” the aged mare said smoothly while placing the paper on the table.
“Hello, Mrs. Print. I've been kinda busy lately,” she said, still smiling like a little school filly.
“So I've heard. A princess now, huh? And to top it off you've been looking after a little one down in Ponyville. That was some news that I was glad to hear about. And, who are your friends?”
Twilight motioned for her friends to come forward, naming them off to her.
“So girls, what brings you all to Canterlot?”
Twilight looked back at her and stared blankly, “We want to know if you have any literature on male alicorns.”
Mrs. Print snorted, “Oh Twilight, I didn't know you had a sense of humor!” Mrs. Print fell back into her chair and continued to laugh, levitating a tissue to wipe a tear from her eye, “If you wanted a book about an all-powerful stallion, then maybe you should have visited the comic-book store on Coltingham Street. No, this is a HISTORICAL library, Twilight. We don't carry works of fiction, and...what's this?”
Twilight had taken a file out of her saddlebags and placed it on the counter in front of Mrs. Print, who opened and pulled out the set of photos inside, her mouth a gap as she realized what the pictures depicted.
The photos in question were taken a few days ago by Twilight, and showed her new house-guest resting comfortably in his new home; a royal bed at Twilight's castle, with monitors and machines surrounding him to keep his vitals in check. He was bandaged and hooked up to a blood bag, and he wore an oxygen mask that had really been given him only as a just-in-case. Altogether, he looked peaceful, if not the only pony in the castle that felt that way in his comatonic bliss. Twilight personally was uncomfortable with the idea of him living in the same house as her family, but she really didn't have a choice. The library had been destroyed by Tirek, and she wasn't going to admit him into a hospital and leave him out of her sight, even if he DID make her nervous. To her, the castle WAS the library now, and a library was where she always felt at home, and she wasn't going to allow herself to be robbed of her home a second time, especially not from a comatose pony.
Mrs. Print swallowed, “Twilight, is this a hoax?”
“No Mrs. Print, it's not.” Twilight scooped up the photos and the folder back into her bags, “This is official Equestrian business, and I need your full cooperation.”
“Oh...oh, I see. Oh, oh my.” Mrs. Print looked around anxiously, before staring blankly at Twilight, experiencing some sort of epiphany, “No, Twilight.”
Twilight's ears drooped over her head, now familiar with the feeling of a dead-end, “You don't have any material?” she asked, disappointed.
“Now I didn't say that, but that's duly because I don't know everything that's in here. But you do.” she looked away for a moment, confusing the purple unicorn about where she was going with this, “You've been in here more times than I can count, and read every book in this library from cover to back, which I consider a marvelous feat for anypony to accomplish.”
“Every book, except for those in the restricted section. That's why I said no. You want access to them, don't you?” Mrs. Print raised an eyebrow at her, in an almost “all-knowing” fashion.
Twilight frowned. She couldn't deny it, but that's exactly why she was here. That summoning spell that he performed was like nothing that she had seen before. And it was true, she was well aware that none of the books in the main library had any of the information that she desired, but the restricted section was a potential gold-mine. It was her best bet.
“This isn't one of my field trips with the princess, Mrs. Print. I need to get in there, the safety of Equestria might depend on it!” Twilight argued, hoping to sway the mare into her wishes.
“I'm sorry Twilight, but I-”
“Let me handle this.” Rainbow Dash interrupted suddenly, moving right alongside Twilight.
“Now, Princess Celestia made Twilight here a princess herself, right? And Twilight's authority comes from the princess, right?” she said while grinning slyly at Mrs. Print.
“I-I guess that's true.”
“So,” Dash looked up to the ceiling, “Twilight's 'say-so' is the same as Princess’s 'say-so', and if you think about it, if you say no to Twilight, your really saying no to Celestia.” she lowered her head back to Mrs. Print, loving the nervous look she was getting from her.
“NO! I would never question the princess! I'll take you back there right now!” Mrs. Print quickly grabbed a key-chain off her desk with her teeth, half-walking, half-galloping towards the left hallway.
“Wooey, way-dago Rainbow Dash! Might not have been how I'd done it, but that was some mighty fine con-artin'!” Applejack cheered, everyone agreeing on her ability to handle the situation.
“No, no. Don't thank me, just doing what I can, with what I got.” Rainbow said proudly, gloating in their praise.
“Come on, everypony.” Twilight said happily, heading in the direction that Mrs. Print had run off to, “We've got some work to do, and hopefully, we'll be out of here in no time.”
Unfortunately, they wouldn't.
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The restricted section, to Twilight's much-anticipated delight, was beyond anything that she could have imagined. However, it also felled her with a sense of urgency.
The hall itself outside of it was empty, unlike the rest of the library's sections with a room at almost every few feet that carried it's own subject matter, save for one entryway in the middle of the corridor. But that entrance made up for itself with the vast space that it offered. It had a cylindrical bookcase in the middle of the room with six tables lined up around it, the top of the case built right into the ceiling, and five little walk-in compartments about twenty feet in depth were set up on the outline of the room with books upon books held on shelves from wall to wall. Each shelf, however, had been lined with glass-slides, and over that, barred henge-gates had been built to keep anyone out. This would have presented a problem, but thankfully, Mrs. Print had been kind enough to leave them the key to the gates, allowing them free access to whatever they wished to view.
But to everyponies dismay, that's all that they had been able to accomplish. Many of the books in this section of the library were written in old-Equestrian, and due to their lack of publicity, none of them had been treated with the translation spells that were common for most old literature. And sadly because of this, Twilight had been almost immediately positioned as the translation transitioner, and because it required a page by page enchantment, they had been stuck in there half the day, and if somepony didn’t find what they were looking for soon, they would likely be there for the day's remainder, and all night as well.
So Twilight, with her head leaning on the table with an expression that conveyed the strange, conflicting mix of excitement and boredom, flipped through a black border book, when she suddenly jumped, slamming it shut upon realizing to her disgust that it was a personal diary that had belonged to King Sombra prior to his betrayal.
“Twilight darling, are you alright?” Rarity said while trying to catch the air in her throat. To speed things up some, Twilight had given Rarity a quick lesson in translation spells, appointing her as her assistant in their task. And because they had been sitting right beside each other four the last four hours with no communication between the two whatsoever, Twilight's sudden jolt had easily spooked her.
Looking at the startled mare, Twilight could only shake her head, “No, I'm sorry Rarity. Just ran into some reading that wasn't very pleasant.”
Rarity levitated the book that Twilight had just closed and opened to read a few words, and by the look on her face, it was clear that she had just read some of the more disturbing parts.
“Oh my, I can see why you closed it in such a hurry.” she then closed it and levitated it away from them to another table, “I wonder why they would keep such a horrid thing.”
“Just to keep records, I guess.” Twilight looked around. Everyone was busy with their individual section of books that she had assigned them, each more or less flipping through one book after the other in the hopes that there might be something since most old books depicted drawings and illustrations of the stories and events inside their texts, that would reveal something promising to them.
“Ugh, this is taking too long!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, slamming her head down on the cover of a book, “We're never gonna pony's life-story in here!” she whined in a muffled voice.
Everyone was feeling the same way. Even Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep more than once, snoring quietly off to herself until somepony would shake her back to consciousness.
“Twilight, can you help me open this?” Fluttershy asked, holding up a brown wood-bound book that had a lock on it. Casting a spell, the lock immediately came off, rolling on its axis with a click.
“Thank you.” Fluttershy opened the book to peer inside. Unfortunately for her, the pages suddenly contorted and lurched out at her, taking the form of a screaming pony's head, startling both mares. Twilight closed the book as quickly as possible, putting the strap back over its cover and locking it, but Fluttershy was still freaking out over it, screaming before taking to the air and bolting at top speed, slamming into Applejack who wasn't able to get out of the way in time, ramming them both into one of the room's decorative head statues.
“Applejack! Fluttershy! Are you two alright?” Twilight asked with genuine concern, though she still had trouble holding back her laughter.
“Ah, I think I mighta broken somethin'.” Applejack groaned, nudging Fluttershy to get off of her. They were wrapped around each other like a tight pretzel, and while trying to free themselves from each other, Applejack ended up slamming her elbow into something hard with a whack!
“AGH!” she cried.
There was a deep rumble that came suddenly from beneath them, and then, to everyone's surprise, the bookshelf in the center of the room opened up, cranking on an old set of gears. The bookshelf soon broke apart, and in its place, a staircase leading into perfect darkness.
Applejack looked at this in amazement, then looked behind her to see what she had hit, staring down at the head of the bust that she had been rammed into, detached and hanging on a henge from the rest of the marble.
Secret panels should have seen that one coming. But that wasn't relevant. They all had one thing on their minds now, and hopefully, it meant that they would be back to Ponyville in time for dinner after all.
////
The group continued to decent into the blackness that surrounded them, save for the light that emitted from Twilight and Rarity's horns, plunging further into this unknown void. Minutes passed, nothing changing save for the notable drop in temperature. They were somewhere deep in the mountain, and wherever this path led to was anyone's guess, but it had to be old. Canterlot had originally been built as a fortress, but before it had been constructed, it was said that this area had been the resting place for ruins that had been left desolate centuries before during the early Plasadion era.
The stairway spiraled as their path was soon illuminated by a series of torches that lined the walls for them to see, surprising them by their presence. But as they continued, their integrity was swiftly growing thin. The end was nowhere in sight, just the ever-increasing moaning and groaning of tired hooves and existed patience.
“Oww, my knees are killing me!” Pinkie grumbled, her legs literally shaking with every step she took.
“Can't you two just teleport us to the bottom?” Rainbow asked desperately, looking back and forth between Rarity and Twilight.
“Unfortunately darling I don't even know how to teleport ten feet in front of me.” Rarity sighed to herself.
“And I don't know where the end is.” Twilight added, looking over her shoulder, “So unless you want me to go in blind and end up teleporting us into the rocks we're gonna have to just brave it.” she said rather unhappily, “This reminds me too much of the Crystal Empire.”
Almost instantly Twilight came to a dead stop, almost falling forwards as everyone bumped into her. She seemed to be contemplating something, remembering the stairs that she and Spike had climbed to reach the Crystal Heart that Sombra had hidden.
“Hey Twilight, what gives?!” Applejack fussed, not liking the fact that she had ended up face-first into Fluttershy's rear-end.
“I just remembered a spell that I can't believe I had forgotten.” Twilight's horn began to glow, growing brighter as her memory of the desired spell came into focus, “Everypony hang on, we're about to go sledding!”
No one, of course, was prepared when Twilight's spell was cast, turning the steps beneath them into a perfect slide propelling them downwards, yelps escaping from everyponies throats. Twilight was glad that she had been able to remember this spell, and was growing more thankful by the minute as they zipped down the stairway at a safe and fixed speed. “Dear Celestia, does this thing have an end?!” she thought anxiously, starting to feel a rump-burn developing.
Fortunately, their journey soon came to an end, all six mares sliding out from the passage, unable to stop themselves from crashing into the opposite wall in one large knotted heap.
What followed next was a sad effort to get themselves free of each other. Hooves sticking into another pony's side, more than once a poor mare got a mouth-full of tail, and everyone yelling at the other to get off. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the mares got themselves separated, going over their bodies to check and assure that they were in one piece.
“Is everypony alright?” Applejack said quickly, taking a head count. To her relief, everyone was fine, save for a few aches and some brushes, nothing that a stretch and a good crack in the neck couldn't cure.
“Hey girls, take a look at this.”
Everyone turned towards Twilight, who was standing at the entrance to an overhang, peering into the room that lay beyond. Looking inside, everyone's mouths hung open in amazement at the great stone chamber that could easily hold the throne room of Canterlot in its space. The walls had been carved with an architectural precision that was very similar to the Everfree Temple, but was held in much better condition. Marble and Onyx had been used to make the pillars that held the ceiling up, and everywhere that they looked, gold and jewels had been incrusted into fine works of art that were painted on the walls like a picture storybook.
Everyone followed Twilight into the chamber, looking around to find in astonishment at the many rows of books that lined the way they came, all of them completely filling the shelves that they were placed on, and just looking at them was beginning to make Twilight's mouth water. Coming out of the “Library” section, four stone tables sat neatly around a beautifully decorative fountain that surprisingly bubbled with clean, crystal-clear water. A light shined on the fountain and the tables around, and turning to see where it originated, they were exposed in the many colors of a large stain-glass window that, though the sunlight wasn't coming in through it as well as it could, they could see the designs of six magnificent alicorn murals that took up their own individual window.
Altogether, their surroundings was a worthy rival to the castle in Canterlot, and it's held preservation made it even more awe-inspiring. I was indeed a sight to behold, but they didn't have time to take in the view, they had business to attend to.
////
Twilight galloped giddily down the long book columns, thrilled by the seemingly endless amount of topics and interests that were held in the contents of these books. Everyone had been assigned a section to go through, and unlike their previous scavenger hunt in the library, the only problem they seemed to be having was trying NOT to read every book that they opened. Even Rainbow Dash, who normally could only be persuaded to crack open a book if it had “Daring Do” on the cover, was having a hay-day do to the passing of dumb luck that she had been assigned to the section of books that happened to contain the most war-history and action and adventure novels and topics on its shelves. Sure, Twilight had been a little offset by the convenience that every book in the chamber appeared to have been given the translation spell in advance, especially after the experience of translating almost half of the restricted section, and the fact that she felt a bit betrayed by Celestia for not telling her about this place, but her own personal love for new reading material had proven to be a potent detraction from those facts.
And she was having the time of her life! There was a constant flow of new things to learn, every opening book a potential discovery.
Twilight rounded a corner and was held in place by the sound of soft whimpering off to her right. Taking a peak from behind the shelf, Twilight was taken off guard by what she saw.
Rarity sat alone in the back end corner of the records section, slowly flipping through a large, red leather-bound book. But as Twilight looked on, it soon became clear that she wasn't really dwelling on anything, in particular, that was inside the book. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her watery eyes staring off into space while she pawed at something that she was holding close to her body. Trying to focus on the object, Twilight realized that it was a large fire-ruby that was cut into the shape of a heart that she had engraved into a golden necklace. Even from a distance, she could tell that it was a beautiful piece of jewelry, but it made her wonder why Rarity would be crying over something like a gem. Then again, Rarity was known to overreact or get bent out of shape by anything that had to do with a pony's outward appearance when it might disrupt it. But Twilight could tell that this wasn't the case. Rarity was more prone to over-dramatics, not a heartfelt crying spell held in privacy. No, something was wrong, and somehow it had something to do with that necklace, and whatever it was bothering Twilight, especially since it looked so familiar.
Then it hit her. The ruby was the same one that Spike had planned to be his birthday dinner, but had given to Rarity the day before. It had been a surprising gesture on his part, but it seemed so long ago that Twilight had almost forgotten, and she had never known that Rarity had appreciated it enough to have kept it all this time.
Stepping out from the shadows, Twilight decided to make herself known, “Rarity, are you alright?” she asked, pretending that she hadn't been watching her for the past two minutes as she walked over to her.
Rarity was startled by Twilight's sudden appearance, quickly attempting to hide the necklace in her saddlebags, “Twilight!” she said, trying to wipe away her tears, “W-What do you mean? I'm simply fine.”
“Then why were you crying?” she asked, now standing right beside the white unicorn.
“Oh, that.” Rarity looked around like a caged animal trying to find a way out of this, before settling her eye on the book on the desk, “Oh, I was just caught up in this story I was reading. It was really quite emotional!” she laid, blowing off as nothing.
“Oh, really?” Twilight said coyly. Suddenly, before Rarity had time to react, Twilight snatched the saddlebags right from underneath her nose, pulling the necklace out and levitating it in front of her accusingly, “Because I'm pretty sure it had something to do with this!”
Rarity just stood there silently.
“Rarity, what's going on?” she placed the necklace down on the table and stepped closer to her, “I'm your friend, Rarity. If you can't open up to me, then what use am I?”
Twilight was right. She so badly wanted to open up to somepony about her true feelings, and Twilight was probably the best pony to do that with. But oh Celestia, she was so afraid to admit to what her feelings pointed to, and she knew that Twilight wasn't going to like it.
“It's what that damn alicorn said that night, Twilight!” Rarity cried, new tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Confused, Twilight cocked her head and stared at her questionably, “What do you mean?”
“He said that Spike cares for me, Twilight! Oh, I know that the boy has had a thing for me, but I'm so used to men sharing that same admiration that I've always considered it like a harmless little crush. It was cute.” Rarity looked away, “But now I realize that it's more than a crush, it's an infatuation!”
“Rarity, I think you might be over-thinking this,” Twilight said in an unbelieving tone, ready to brush it aside.
But Rarity wasn't finished, “Twilight, when he was possessed, there was a moment when Spike was there. Right there with us, but only after he saw me.”
Twilight was silent. She remembered how the alicorn's hold had somehow weakened for a moment during their encounter, but she had dismissed it as either a random event or Spike trying to fight back, but now that she thought about it, Rarity might be closer to the truth than what felt comfortable. Spike had only been conscious for a brief moment because of Rarity, and that kind of strength only came from one thing, and it wasn't from a childhood crush.
“I'm concerned, Twilight. Those feelings are not healthy, and allowing them to continue will only make things worse.”
Twilight looked down at herself. Rarity was indeed a good friend, but there was a question lingering in the back of her mind that she needed an answer to.
“Rarity, how do you feel about him?” she asked.
Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but soon fell silent. She knew exactly how she felt about Spike, and the truth terrified her.
“I-I have to go.” Rarity picked up all of her belongings and had begun to make her way towards the exit, but Twilight teleported herself between Rarity and her only means of escape.
“Rarity, you're not leaving until I get a straight answer,” she said, giving her an expectant look that Rarity couldn't back away from.
“It's not fair, Twilight. It's just not fair!” she cried, feeling like a criminal.
“It's not fair for you?” Twilight looked at her coldly, feeling disappointment.
“It's not fair for him!” Rarity answered, surprising Twilight. Rarity sighed, “Dragons live for thousands of years. In that time he's going to grow, and when he does, ponies are going to judge him for what he is and ran away in fear. Under those circumstances, he'll become resentful and better!”
“But his friends-” Twilight began, but was silenced.
What friends, Twilight?! Other than you, Nyx, and the other princesses, everypony that he has ever loved or cared for will die! Not me, not Applejack, or Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy are going to see him grow up.”
“And when I think of that, I begin to think of you and Nyx. You two are going to have to go through the same dreadful thing. You'll never see us again. I'm thankful that she'll still have you and Spike, But Applebloom? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? Don't you realize what that can do to you both?”
Twilight had thought about this matter for a long time, but she also knew that Rarity was wrong. She wouldn't be forced to watch her friends grow old while she stayed young as Luna and Celestia had, but the same couldn't be said for Spike and Nyx. She remembered when Nyx had wanted to throw out the Twilight doll that she had made for herself for comfort during her rulership of Equestria, But Twilight had convinced her to keep it because she had believed that there would come a time that she wouldn't be there for her daughter anymore, and that remained the case since the princess had rejected her immortality. She had known from the start what it would mean, and though she would not go through that, the thought that her daughter would have to suffer through all that pain broke her heart.
But it would be even worse for Spike. The terror and fear that he would immediately install in the hearts of ponies would make him an outcast, and the friends that he had made would die while he was still technically a baby. When that time came, all that pain and heartache would make him a truly horrible menace to anyone who crossed him, and if that happened his last remaining friendship with herself and the rest of the alicorns would end forever.
Rarity stared at her for a moment, the expression on Twilight's face telling her all that she needed to know. Turing aside, Rarity spoke up, “Regardless of my feelings, I will never do anything that is going to hurt him in the long run. His feelings are more important to me than my own. I'm sorry.”
Rarity walked past Twilight and stopped at the staircase with a frown on her face. Turning her head back, she looked at Twilight rather helplessly, Twilight, do you mind helping me with this?”
“Sure.” Twilight's horn glowed, flipping Rarity upside down and sending her straight up on the stairway's ceiling, immediately sending her back to Canterlot above.
Twilight stood there staring at the stairs, thinking about all the cold facts of what was said, and though she knew that in her life there would be a lot of happiness throughout, she felt no hope.
And then she heard a scream.
////
Applejack stood in the middle of her section going through a boring old records book. It figured that she'd get stuck with the bottom of the barrel while everyone else got the exciting books.
But as she stood there, she got the feeling that somepony was watching her. Looking from left to right, she saw that she was alone, but the feeling still lingered. “Fluttershy? Pinkie? Is that you?” she called out, but no answer came.
Applejack began to sweat. She didn't like this, and every second that passed by was making her even more nervous, so much that she almost didn't even notice that shadow that was cast on the bookshelf in front of her. Almost.
Spinning her head around, she was just in time to dodge the massive hoof that slammed into the spot where her head had been just a moment before.
“Who are YOU?!” her attacker bellowed, forcing her against the bookshelf and pushing his arm into her throat, holding her in place, “How did you get down here?!”
But Applejack wasn't going to give up that easily. Gritting her teeth at him, she brought her hind leg up and slammed it right between his legs, sending him back in pain. She quickly bolted away from him to get to her friends, however, she soon realized that he was in hot pursuit, yelling and screaming in anger to get out.
But he didn't get far, as he was knocked to the side by Twilight, who had charged him from his right and tackled him to the side, sending them both into a desk where his head was slammed into the table's edge hard, falling to the ground in a daze, while a small amount of blood streamed from his wound.
Soon everypony was coming over to see what all the commotion was about, immediately coming to Twilight's side as soon as they saw her. Shaking it off, Twilight turned angrily towards the intruder, but was quickly set back when she realized just who the earth-pony was.
“Ancient Folklore?” she said, shocked.
“That's MISTER Folklore to you, young lady!” he growled, shaking his head around to regain his senses. Mr. Folklore was a stallion in his late forties, with a reputation for being reclusive but educated, talented with all the forms of art and literature, signified by the Artist Beret, parchment, and quilt on his flank. Well known as a renaissance pony, he was vastly rich and established among the highest in Equestrian Aristocratics, where he was greatly respected. He had a milky-blue coat and a gray mane, and he wore an old weathered trench-coat, which was surprising, considering the size of his wallet.
Having some difficulty standing up, Twilight came to his side and helped him up, handing him his glasses that had fallen off when he fell, “Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.
“Young lady, I have an ulcer the size of a grapefruit. How 'Alright' do you think I am?” he snapped at her, adjusting the glasses on his face, “What are you kids doing down here, anyway?”
“Well, I could ask you the same question. We came down here by pure chance. There's a hidden staircase in the restricted section at the Royal Library.”
Mr. Folklore rolled his eyes in annoyance at her statement, “I know ALL about the staircase. What I want to know is why YOU are down here.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I wanna know why ya chose ta choke me!” Applejack stared at him darkly, everyone gasping upon learning this fact.
“Don't flatter yourself, honey.” he mocked, earning a scowl from her, “I was just trying to scare you off of my property.”
“Property? What are you talking about?” Twilight tilted her head, “The Princess didn't tell me to come to you for the information in here, how is it you're property?”
“Because the princess doesn't know this place exists, my ancestors made sure of that.” he pulled a chair out and sat down, leaning on the table while he tended to his aching head, “My family has lived in Canterlot since it's founding, and I can tell you that that was no accident. This chamber was owned by my father, and by his father, and his father before that. This is where I go to study, and I don't need some snot-nosed kids destroying the place!”
“Excuse me!” Twilight's face scrunched up from his disrespect towards herself and her friends, “But we are not 'snot-nosed'! And if you haven't noticed, I'm a princess!” she motioned her eyes to her horn and wings, expecting that the fact of her royalty would in some way have an effect on his attitude.
“That's great, congratulations. What do you what from me, a metal?”
“Why you-!”
“Would you two stop FIGHTING?!” Fluttershy suddenly shouted, making everyone jump out of their skins. Seeing how much she had startled them, and how much-unwanted attention she was getting from them, she quickly retreated underneath her mane, regretting her bluntness.
“Oh, umm...if you don't mind, that is.”
Twilight and Mr. Folklore looked back at each other, both feeling a little embarrassed for their behavior, exchanging apologies soon after.
“I'm not a very social pony, umm...Ms. Twilight, isn't it?” he began, waiting for her to nod before continuing, I've spent most of my life down here or at the library, the books you see around you are really my only friends. I guess that the only thing they never were able to teach me was tact.”
“I know the feeling,” Twilight blushed, realizing that she probably would have acted the same way as he had five years ago.
“What is this place?” she asked
Mr. Folklore pondered this for a moment before answering, “That's a little hard to explain, but personally, I've come to call this place the 'Archives'.” he then turned, motioning for them to follow.
“I really can't take all the credit, I've only made a few small breakthroughs during my studies of this place. But it was my great-grandfather who made probably the greatest discovery of the antediluvian culture that built this place”
“And what was that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“According to the text found in this book,” Mr. Folklore pointed to a large old golden book with a small emerald pearl at its center, held in a glass case that he had built just for it, “that their culture believed in a creator that was more powerful than even Celestia. With a single word, they write, he created the universe and everything in it. He even had the power to raise the dead.”
“And is there any truth behind this?” Twilight asked curiously, always being interested in creationist theories.
“I highly doubt it.” he said, firing down her hopes for more information, “But it wasn't something you questioned, and it was reinforced by those in power. I really don't know why, but my theory is that they used it as a scare tactic to keep citizens under control.” Turning a corner, he led them to a fountain, “Now to some more interesting myths.”
Standing as a group, Mr. Folklore directed their attention to the stain-glass windows that they had seen when they first entered the chamber. However, more light was coming through them now, and unlike before, when they had just given it a passing glance, they could now better appreciate the workmanship put into its beauty.
“Allow me to introduce to you with reverence, the Minsore, the great kings of Fontijzena.”
Each portrait was like looking into a different story. One showed a dweller of a cave, alongside another who flew through the heart of a storm. Snow fell around a kind-faced alicorn, while its neighbor swam deep in the abyss, and the two others showed a stallion with an obsession for plants and a wind dancer. They were truly pieces of inspirational art, but that's not what got their attention.
“Twilight, is that?” Applejack asked excitingly.
Twilight just stared wide-eyed at the windows. It was him. The one they had been searching for.
“Mr. Folklore, whose the pony in the storm?” she asked hopefully, but he only shook his head.
“That, my dear lady, is a complete mystery.” he turned and sat down at the table, “The Minsore were revered as the advocates of god, but they were never distinguished from one king to the other. Not that it matters, they're a myth.”
“I disagree.” Twilight then pulled the file she had in her bags out and handed it to the confused stallion. Taking the photos out, he flipped through them slowly at first, then quickened his pace as a deep frown came over his face, looking back and forth from the pictures in his hooves to the windows on the wall.
“Where...Where is this pony now?” he asked, acting a bit panicked.
“He's in Ponyville at the castle, in a coma,” she answered his question, though she was puzzled by his urgency.
“You need to put a guard on him, lock him away, NOW!” he shouted frantically, scaring them.
“Mr. Folklore, what's wrong?” Twilight walked right beside him, but he pulled away from her, turning to the glass-case and inserting a key into it to get to the book inside.
“Where is it? Where is it?!” he muttered to himself, flipping through the book in search of the information he desired.
Coming to a dead stop, he looked up as all the color left his face, “Twilight, there are many things that I have learned from my studies here, and one of those is that our world suffered a great disaster nine-thousand years ago. Hundreds of millions of ponies died terrible, horrible deaths, and somehow, the Minsore were responsible for it.”
Everyone listened to him in fear of what he had to say, taking in every word like it meant their very lives, “I don't know who, but it's written that one of them betrayed the others, and when he did he brought to the surface of the world an eternal fire that destroyed everything in its path. They're dangerous, and as long as one of them is alive, everything we know could be lost.”
As if by instruction, everyone ran out of the chamber to return to Ponyville and deal with this crisis, leaving Mr. Folklore alone to his thoughts. Looking down on the face of the book, he reminisced over all the lessons he had learned from it. The “Book of Arches”, and informational meeting point of fifteen-thousand years, and he had been foolish enough to dismiss it as a book of fables.
One fable, a psalm, came to his mind, and turning the pages, he looked with grief at the painting of a once beautiful world set ablaze like an eternal hell, then read the passage aside of it aloud to himself, left alone in one of the last remaining monuments to that doomed past.
“We are the Children of the Damned,
And those before us the Children of the Flame.
And do we live? To be left to starve for nothing,
So that we may wonder an endless wasteland,
In hopes of greener pastures?
Nay, we go down to die, and who shall mourn our bones,
But the saddened sun in the sky?”
////