After the last vision played out the normal world returned and Coal felt disoriented and wasn't sure why his body was aching so much. What he just witnessed was totally unexpected and overwhelming.
The first thing he saw were the eyes of Sheltar and the two ponies fixed on him, the latter looking puzzled while the former angry. He didn't have enough time to gather himself before the diamond dog moved forward and he would've reached the earth pony without any real resistance if the unicorn stallion didn't wrap Sheltar in a telekinetic field. The dog, helplessly hanging in the air snarled at the determined unicorn.
"Stay out of this, pony! It doesn't concern you, that necklace belongs to me!"
Coal looked around for said necklace and felt a metallic touch around his neck. The situation cleared up as his memories returned regarding what happened before... He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but it felt like it took several minutes. To why Sheltar didn't just take the necklace during that time, he had no answer yet.
"Sorry, I can't," the unicorn told the diamond dog. "From my point of view, both of you could be the rightful owners of that jewel and I won't help any of you before the situation is clear."
Coal stared at the unicorn and he felt a touch of annoyance as the unicorn's magic grabbed him too, holding him in place. Why would the pony think Coal stole the necklace and what gave him the right to intervene? And why now?
The chariot's sudden jerk made everybody look around as the cart lost speed then soon came to a halt. The puller ponies seemed to finally ditch the schedule to check out what was happening behind them. Hoofsteps circled around the cart then both doors opened.
"What the hell is going on in here, people? Why can't you just sit and-" the stallion who opened the right side door trailed off as he realized what was floating before him.
"What the hell?"
The diamond dog turned his head and growled at the earth pony who took a step back then forward again, looking over the passengers.
"And what the heck is a diamond dog doing in the chariot? When did it get in there?"
The other puller pony gave a little gasp and squinted at Sheltar.
"You sneaked in while we stood, right? I thought I heard something."
The dog snarled. "Indeed. Too bad you didn't check the back."
The buck in the right glared at the other earth pony before talking again.
"Too bad. However did you do it, you're gonna be answering the guards in Canterlot for this. Sir, if you could hold up your spell for just a minute longer..."
Sheltar suddenly twisted his whole body while stretching out all of his limbs and the magic surrounding him and Coal imploded. The dog gave a last glare to Coal then, using the shock he caused he shoved the stallion on the right aside, jumped out and ran off, all within two seconds.
"Wow," the unicorn said, a little embarrassed. "That was unexpected. I thought I was better that that."
The earth pony got up from the ground while muttering something illegible then dusted himself off and turned to his passengers.
"All right, then. Does anyone care to tell me what the hell was a diamond doing in my chariot, why was he levitated and why did he wanted to escape that bad?"
Coal cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. He blushed from the sudden attention but he felt the problem was on him.
"He wanted this necklace." He touched the jewel. "I'm not sure why, though."
The puller pony glanced at Coal's neck. "It's shiny. Diamond dogs like shiny things. Even such girly ones."
Coal rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... But he really insisted on getting it. Like it was special or something." He ignored the look the unicorn was giving him. "He was all kind and polite at first, but in the last minutes he became aggressive. And, to be honest, I don't know everything. I was blacked out for a while."
Even the unicorns looked at him questioningly at that.
"No you weren't," the unicorn stallion said. "You were awake the whole time."
"But it felt... " It would explain why nothing seemed to happen during the time he saw several minutes worth of images, but that still didn't make much sense. He waved a hoof, dismissing the problem.
"Never mind. Like I said, I don't know why my necklace was so desirable to him. I... I just bought it at the station for a girl at home."
"He called it Kindness, right?" The unicorn offered. "What did he mean?"
"It's supposed to be a part of a matching set called... the collection of something. They weren't exactly cheap so I only bought this one."
The unicorn didn't object but Coal suspected that wasn't the end of it. Before continuing, they checked the diamond dog's sac but it turned out to be a bust, the bag was filled with meaningless old rugs. They put it back to be disposed of it once in Canterlot and and Coal didn't have to reason to keep his own bag with himself inside the cart.
On the move once again, he couldn't not notice the muttering of the two fellow passengers and their quick glances at him. Coal himself had a question to the mare, but wasn't sure how to ask it. He was contemplating it while trying to get his bag together, but after a while the tension was too much.
"Excuse me," Coal said and both of them looked at him immediately. "Is something wrong?"
They looked at each other. "We're sorry," the stallion finally said, "but... have you really bought that necklace?"
Coal grimaced. Here it was.
"I have. I don't have anything to prove it, but I have bought it from a shop."
"What if that merchant had stolen it from that dog in the first place and he only wanted to get it back?"
"I'm pretty sure that's not the case."
"But how can you be so sure? Do you know how these ponies obtain the things they sell? I'm not to defend such violent actions, but that diamond dog could've had a motive good enough if he or his ancestors had possessed the necklace. Or..." he fidgeted a little. "Or if you are lying."
Coal took a breath to answer, but the unicorn wasn't done.
"You said you bought it, but you were awfully nervous when you learned your luggage will be checked by authority. Sure enough they didn't find anything but they didn't look like highly trained forces, to be honest. They even let a diamond dog onboard."
Coal looked at the unicorn then at his friend who kept her eyes down while measuring how much should he say to strangers. The truth could only be seen as a cover-up lie, so he had to come up with something else.
"It might look like that," he said with a new idea, "but do you remember how much time and effort he put into deceiving me to believe he was a friend? If he was the rightful owner, why didn't he just straight up told so?"
"Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was just another liar who wanted the jewel to himself regardless whose it'd been."
The mare looked at him with wide eyes, but the unicorn held Coal's gaze.
"And what if I stole it? Is it your business?"
"Indeed it is, if you are really a Canterlot citizen like myself. You can answer to the guards once we arrive. That is, if you don't plan to jump out too."
The mare placed a hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "Please, dear, leave the poor pony alone. I don't believe he is a thief."
The unicorn huffed and turned up his nose in an undoubtedly Canterlotish fashion and fortunately, took his lover's advice.
Coal tried to catch her eyes, but the mare avoided eye contact with the earth pony, so he turned his attention to the necklace which was still on his neck. He ran a hoof along it for a lock but only found the cold, smooth texture of metal. He pressed a hoof to the butterfly to loosen the back but with a soft click the whole thing came off without a problem. Coal hummed and rotated the jewel around, but it was just like when he first saw it in daylight. He caught the eyes of the two ponies and quickly wrapped the necklace in the towel it had been in then placed it in the torn up bag. He judged that with some luck, the whole thing would hold up until he gets home.
They reached their destination without further interaction. The puller ponies called for guards and them plus the three passengers answered some questions about the diamond dog. Coal's necklace was inspected and declared ordinary and they were free to go. Coal tried once again to talk to the unicorn mare but the stallion's narrowed eyes canceled those plans and Coal didn't want to push it, especially after the fact that the unicorn stallion didn't mention to the guards that Coal could have stolen the jewel. It was strange, but Coal was glad for his silence. After refusing to accept help with his luggage from the guard ponies he headed home.
* * *
Coal kicked the door open and with a swing of his head he launched the bag into the apartment, sending the contents all over the floor. With a grunt he shut the door and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for his parched throat. After he emptied the glass he stood and tried to calm himself down.
The trip from the station through the crowded streets to his home was made infuriating by the random stuff that just kept falling out from the torn luggage. The ignorance of the lofty Canterlot citizens didn't make it any easier either. He was a little sorry he didn't take the helping hoof of the guards but he wasn't sure if they wouldn't have ask some casual questions about the whole incident and eventually get suspicious when Coal couldn't answer some of them, so he sticked with the struggle.
After killing his thirst he went back to the pile of travel-gear lying on the floor. He kicked it over and over until he found the necklace, picked it up and locked it in his bedside table, just to be sure.
His anger was mostly gone by the time he came back to the hall where he noticed a piece of paper on the floor, which had escaped his eyes when he stormed in. It was a formal letter with his name on top. Intrigued, he unfolded it.
Dear Coal Slitter,
Since you couldn't specify the time of your return to Canterlot before you departed, I am now using this letter to contact you. As soon as you are able to, please write me to let us arrange a meeting where we can discuss your findings. I have to ask you to keep the nature of your journey a private matter and mention it as rarely as possible and do so with any notes you have. You will receive your full payment regardless of your rate of success.
You were involved only in legal matters, however I have in my, and, I daresay in your best interest to "keep a low profile", as they say.
I hope you receive this letter in good health and still possessing the ability to act as I asked.
Sincerely Yours,
Hazel Crunch
Coal stood in his hallway with the letter in a hoof, thinking the message over. His contractor suddenly pulled the plug like he was in something illegal or dangerous, and Coal will get the promised sum to help to keep his mouth shut.
Despite the lack of specification, he knew what job he had to abandon, if not why. Hazel Crunch was the pony who asked him to do a little investigation about his family tree. It was a normal enough request until Coal learned the pony had relatives who have been supposedly living in Ponyville before the local storage exploded. He couldn't find out much about them in Canterlot but he did learn that there were indeed ponies living there by the name of Crunch. They had a shop which sold food products but that was the end of the lead that connected the family to that location and the rest of it was on public access, available to any Canterlot citizen for free. On its own it would've been sufficient enough a reason for Coal to close the case but the contractor managed to provide him with the permission to enter Ponyville. Visiting irradiated, post-disaster areas was restricted and Coal suddenly had two reasons to make the trip. The first was the obvious pursue of the family tree however vague the hope of finding something was, but the second held a much more interesting premise.
He went into his bedroom and put the letter into the folder containing his findings about the family, with the exception of a few notes still lying in the pile in the hallway. After closing the folder his eyes fell upon a drawing made by a very tired but still enthusiastic Coal from maybe two nights ago.
The sketch depicted a stylized star with six points, each bearing an empty circle. Next to the drawing lay a scroll from the Canterlot Library and its words were visualized on the drawing. He had found the scroll by accident while looking for descriptions for some rural project, just before Hazel Crunch commissioned him. The scroll reminded him an old project he started long ago but abandoned after hitting a dead end. He had been searching sketches of what inspired the design of the very first storages that were introduced in Canterlot because he heard rumors that it came from the royal circles which seemed totally implausible, so of course it intrigued him.
The drawing was a supposed depiction six interconnected magical artifacts. The scroll itself didn't mention any name but it did refer to a special collection. Coal turned to face his bed which the bedside table containing the necklace was placed next to. Even if it wasn't an Element itself it must have been connected to them one way or another, otherwise he had only found pieces from different puzzles which seemed implausibly coincidental.
He took a deep breath and tried to take his mind off from the subject. Tired minds create forced theories, as a quote on a book he once read had said. Feeling the truth of it he has been trying to live by it, but the drawing reminded him that his intentions, more often than not, remained just intentions.
After relocating the pile from the hallway to his bedroom's corner he went to the nearest store for some grocery shopping and to send a letter to Hazel Crunch to let him know he was back in town and also to suggest a location. It wasn't after a big bowl of oatmeal back in his apartment that he started to feel the weight of the day's rather rough elements.
He had to admit, this exhausting day was one of the most exciting ones in his life. Bookworms don't tend to witness whole barns being teleported away by accident, getting their luggage looked over then having to fight a two-sided diamond dog over a piece of jewelry, all in one day. Not mentioning what happened previous to that.
It wasn't his usual nighttime yet but the tiredness persuaded him to go to bed early. He closed all the windows and pulled in all the drapes. In the quiet, dark room, behind his sleepy eyes his thoughts swirled with agonizing speed, preventing his brain from drifting into sleep. The image of Starry returned several times and made Coal wonder if he will ever get the chance to talk to her again. Given the circumstances, such encounter will have to be somewhat a wonder. The only things he knew about her was her looks, her name and the way she reacted to Coal's question about the Elements. That must have meant something.
The necklace made him see images he had never seen before, as if getting a glance of someone else's memories but without the person's detailed thoughts or feelings. Now, after some time had passed the individual images became clearer. He tried to recall every scene for something he could make sense of, with more or less results. It didn't help that most ponies were strangers to him but even the settings, the backgrounds were unfamiliar.
Princess Luna herself stood in front of Coal. He has never seen any of the royals up close and for a moment wasn't really paying attention to the alicorn's troubled sounding words. Beside her was a blue pegasus and a purple unicorn listening to the princess intently, the latter Coal recognized as Twilight Sparkle. She was very young and she was... a unicorn?
The trio gave way to pony bodies squeezed tightly together, embraced in a friendly group hug. Coal immediately felt better, despite the abrupt change. He, or more likely the pony whose memories he was seeing retreated and he saw Twilight again with lots of others, standing before a tall, circular building on a bright, sunny day, beaming with joy.
The same ponies were standing everywhere. He counted at least six Twilight Sparkles along with the others and their numbers kept growing as other changelings burst into green flames. He felt the same puzzlement and fear when he witnessed a similar event in real life in summer camp when he was just a colt, although there were only a hoofful of bugs and they were quickly defeated but the camp's supervisors.
What came next was difficult to interpret. Bright light blinded him an the others around then the glow faded and Twilight Sparkle was standing there, proudly displaying her new wings. Wait, new? Wasn't she always an alicorn?
The tall, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke with sparks in it dominated the landscape. He was standing very far and high above ground on a balcony but he still felt the air rushing past him, followed by the growl of the explosion. Sorrow stabbed a knife through his heart and the strength left his legs. His vision was blurry from the tears shed by the pony whose home has just been destroyed before her own eyes.
Twilight, now definitely an alicorn was having an argument with Princess Celestia in a voice that suggested a more than monarch-subject relationship in a poorly lit, small room.
"...I have done everything in my power and ability to restore them in safe order, but I have no control over-"
"This is a direct effect of your actions." Celestia cut off the young mare. She was obviously holding back her temper. "Even Luna saw the signs, Twilight."
"I know, but I couldn't take the risk of them getting the upper hoof! I had to push the project in order to obtain..."
Coal wanted to hear more but the room was obliterated by an explosion of uncontrolled magical energy and the shockwave sent him flying through the air with seemingly an eternity of hang-time. He hit the ground and rolled over several times, coughing violently. The heat burned his skin and the smoke his insides. As he looked himself over he saw the burned remains of a wing still outstretched from his side. His feminine, yellow hooves were blackened by dirt and were trembling with shock.
A young pony galloped to him.
"Are you all right?" The filly had to shout to be heard. He nodded and she helped him get to his hooves.
"Let's get out of here."
A light of a nearby spell illuminated the filly's face and Coal recognized her almost immediately, despite the age difference.
The gloomy tunnel reminded him of the mines his father had worked in. A blue pegasus with strange, multicolor mane sped through the tunnel with a war-cry at a diamond dog, one even bigger than Sheltar. He heard a shout of warning but the pegasus ignored it and flew head on at the dog who knocked her out if the air with one powerful strike. The dog didn't wait for her to recover as he turned to Coal and a white unicorn next to him.
"Take that, you ruffian!" The mare shouted and tightened a scarf around the running dog's legs with astonishing speed, using her blue magic. He saw the creature fall to the ground before turning to flee. He flapped his wings but the sudden pain from the still hurting limbs staggered him and the unicorn mare had to help him to get up and away on hoof.
Coal forced his eyes open from the alien memories. The darkness of his bedroom returned but the emotions stayed. Even though it was only a reminiscence the experience still unsettled him, made him anxious to learn more and at the same time fear what the truth might hold.
He knew the scenes were important, he supposed the necklace didn't make him see these memories by accident but he still didn't know whose memories they were in the first place. The only ponies he recognized were the royal sisters and Twilight Sparkle but none of them could have the memories belong to as they were in them. All he knew the host pony was a yellow pegasus female who was acquainted with three alicorns and was around when Twilight lived and was also injured in an explosion. The existence of the purple alicorn was also confirmed in his eyes.
Something was bugging his mind, though. It was the scene about the group of friends, hugging each other before the circular building. They were in a grassy, park-like area with benches and lamp posts around. The whole layout was familiar, like he had seen it before, only... it was different then.
The two things finally connected. Even though it wasn't an earth-shattering revelation it was unanticipated and made him tremble with excitement. He knew that place, he was just there two days ago. It was in ruins, the bushes and trees covered in debris with bent lamp posts around but when he sat down on a still intact bench to take in the scenery before him this was what he had seen, even from a slightly different angle and decades later.
Coal opened his eyes, closed then opened them again. Since he probably wasn't going to fall asleep soon, he might as well make some sketches of the memories before they faded away.
Half an hour, four vague scribbles later and all of his strength and momentum gone Coal admitted his defeat, dragged himself into bed and didn't wake up until well into the morning.
* * *
Those were hoofprints. Dogs don't leave circular marks on the ground while walking. The prints looked like their maker had been walking in the opposite direction through the tunnel. She must have missed the pony by days at best because she doubted such marks would remain for too long where diamond dogs walked.
She looked around, recalling the layout of the area where she had been ordered to wait for an untold amount of time. The narrow, corridor-like tunnel where she and a dog watching after her stood met the wider one at almost ninety degrees. While the wider one never seemed to be empty this one was almost deserted. Only a couple of torches were lit and the ground wasn't as hard due to the lack of stomping on it.
She glanced at her guard but the dog was staring ahead, blinking slowly. She tried to look at the marks with a clear mind. The tribe, gender and exact age were indeterminable, however the distances between each marks suggested an adult. At least they don't enslave children. Maybe they just kill them right away.
She quickly pushed the thought aside. The marks were mainly evenly paced and went in wavery lines. The ground to either side was undisturbed, at least as far as she could see. She squinted into the tunnel which turned right after a while but saw nothing of interest.
The magic suppressing ring had been removed from her horn and hasn't been reapplied since for some reason and she could've used her magic to illuminate the ground or get rid of the guard dog and see where the tunnel lead, but... she couldn't. The scars and bruises across her whole body served as a reminder what happened when she broke the rules.
Her eyes caught a break of pattern in the series of hoofmarks and she took a few steps to get closer. She looked at the dog again but he (or she, it was different to determine) didn't even look at her. The marks looked like the pony had suddenly swayed or sidestepped. Right next to the marks, what she had mistaken for black rocks were little indentations in the gravel, like a big amount of a reddish brown liquid had spilled out and dried off, coloring the ground. It was an all too familiar shade and if it had been still wet, she was sure she would have been able to smell copper.
A voice startled her, kicking the morose thought straight out of her mind.
"Hey! Where you goin'?"
She turned to see that the two diamond dogs have returned and were looking at her. She muttered a "Sorry" and walked back.
"Keep a better eye on her," the biggest dog told the sleepy one who nodded. "Let's go."
He spanked her on the flank and her eyes went wide, but she refrained from making any sound and started moving.
They returned to the wider tunnel then proceeded to several smaller ones with less and less life. None of the dogs said more than an occasional remark and she kept her silence as usual. Her mind kept creating scenarios about the other ponies down here, probably in a similar or even worse state than hers. So far the only clues to their existence were a skeleton, a few caught words and now hoofprints. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to see another of her kind beaten, starved and exploited.
Another one of those circular caves with a pond in the center opened up before her. It looked just as old as the previous ones, with cracks running along the walls and the domed ceiling. The dogs stopped to talk over a piece of paper which she couldn't see well. They kept their voiced low so she couldn't understand the words either but she saw the occasional looks at her and the obvious disagreement in their body language. She waited, standing a few steps away from them and close enough to the wall to notice traces of tools on it.
She didn't know the origins of these caves of course, but she figured they were made by sentinel beings a very long time ago and probably without the help of magic. She knew of some species and nations that lived underground but none of them were magical and she doubted diamond dogs were capable of something with this magnitude, precision and number. She didn't think she was only seeing the same two or three caves over and over.
"Wait here and don't let her near the water. We'll be right back." The leader ordered the other dog and hurried off with another, leaving her with the sleepy again. Were there no more qualified guards available?
After their sounds died out she sat down with her back to the wall and stretched out her legs, feeling a little bit of freedom, however strange it was. The lack of ring, bars, chains and vigilant supervision was a rare assemble. To her surprise the dog did the same, not really far from her. He fished two pieces of that brown food and began to munch on one.
"You hungry?"
She stared at him, momentarily unable to respond to the unexpected question.
"Uhm... Yes..." she finally managed and the dog threw the other piece in the dirt before her. She picked it up telekinetically to clean it without a second thought while giving a suspicious look to the dog. Not one of them has ever asked such question.
"How much can you do with that?" He asked, pointing at her horn.
She hesitated. "A lot. At least... I used to." She didn't want to go in detail of how much she could do. What did she can do, anyway? She was too tired and too afraid to try anything beside simple levitation.
"Uh-hum. Could you really fly?"
It was even worse to think about that.
"I could," she said simply.
"They say you were a princess, too."
Not even tasting the food, she chewed and swallowed mechanically. "Even I'm not so sure about that."
"Why?" His voice didn't hold real interest but now his eyes never left her.
"It's complicated. I don't even remember."
"The others say you're just a freak."
A shiver ran through her body at the sentence echoing a deep fear in her. When she didn't respond the dog returned to eating, but after a moment he looked at her again.
"You like that?"
She looked at the brown stuff. "This? I guess so..."
The dog grinned and a menacing feeling swirled in her stomach. She didn't have time to dwell on it, though.
"Oh, crap," the dog muttered and quickly hid the food, motioning her to do the same. A second later she heard the steps too.
The dogs returned with several more papers. The leader looked puzzled at the sight of the two of them sitting at the wall but dismissed it without a remark.
"Come on," He motioned them to get up. "We have something interesting for you, pony." His grin was anything but reassuring.
* * *
Even though Coal just sat down in the place he had picked to meet with Hazel Crunch a pony came up to his table and asked Coal to follow her to a bar he has never heard of before. Apparently, Hazel changed the location in the last minute and sent the pegasus to escort Coal to the new place. A little reluctantly Coal followed the pony through small streets, away from the city center, to a small and cozy place titled The Wet Feather. He stopped before the door and the mare held out a hoof.
"Please."
The moderately lit interior smelled like deep fried hay, cider and hard liquor. The conversations of many duos and trios around tables of varying sizes muffled each other into one, smoothing rumble. Despite his concerns about the new location Coal's initial tension eased a bit a the sight.
He went down on a few stairs with the pegasus behind him while blinking, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He saw a unicorn stallion rising a hoof and walked to him.
"Hello, Coal Slitter. Please, have a seat."
Hazel Crunch was an elegantly-dressed, middle aged, chubby unicorn stallion from the upper classes of Canterlot. He only met Coal in person once, his usual method for communication was through letters and couriers. He was polite and rather friendly, though Coal could never unhear the condescending tone when Hazel talked to the lower class earth pony. Lover class, because Coal wasn't born in the capitol and apparently that made him worth less that Hazel.
"Hello, Mr. Hazel Crunch. How are you?"
"Fine, thank you." The unicorn's smile faltered. "I apologize for this inconvenience. I have received your message but I needed it to be this place and as soon as possible."
"It's all right, sir. May I ask why?"
"I visit this bar rather frequently and I know the owner personally. Beside its own charm, it has a back door which is open for the three of us in a case of unideal circumstances."
Coal turned around and saw the escort already sitting at a table, alone, with a drink between her hooves, having a good view at the entrance. It was obvious, really.
He turned back and nodded though he didn't know what "unideal circumstances" meant.
"Of course. Is that the reason why I was escorted here?"
"Partly, yes. Anyway, what are you having? It's on me."
They both ordered non-alcoholic apple ciders which came in tall glasses by a quiet waiter.
"So, "Hazel said after several gulps, "what have you been up to lately?"
Coal wasn't expecting a casual conversation and hesitated a little before answering.
"Well, I returned some books to the library, saw a doctor with my leg, bought a new saddlebag... not much." He excluded spending hours looking through his own collection of books for something connected either to the Elements, Twilight Sparkle or the storages. And to timbervolves too. His talk with the diamond dog has woken up his curiosity about those weird creatures.
"Oh, yes, I meant to ask about that. What happened? Is it serious?"
Coal's mind jumped to the cover story immediately. "I had an accident with a bear in the forest near Ponyville. It's not too bad, the doctor said it's going to heal perfectly."
Hazel looked dubious. "The forest? You mean the Everfree forest?"
Coal shrugged. "If that's the name, yes."
"Uh-hum." The unicorn seemed to be lost in thought for a second, then looked at Coal with a smile. "So, I hope you brought your findings with you. May I have them?"
Coal produced the folder from his new bag and saw understandable disappointment on the unicorn's face.
"That's all I could get together," he explained. "I couldn't exactly finish the project..."
Hazel waved it off. "Don't worry about that, I was the one who told you to stop. Thank you." He levitated the package to himself and without looking into it, he put it aside and leaned closer to Coal.
"Now, tell me, what was Ponyville like?"
Coal blinked. "Ponyville? Uh... well, it's a mess. It's all in ruins with not much to look at. I do hope getting that permit wasn't trouble, because all I really got out of the trip was a scar."
"Don't worry, it wasn't. What I meant was, how's the radiation?"
Coal looked into the unicorn's hazel-brown eyes. They revealed intent curiosity, they followed Coal's every move and the overall effect wasn't exactly soothing. Nevertheless, he told Hazel what he and Silver experienced during each wave in the town.
"...but I'm an earth pony, mind you. My own observations aren't very exact."
"I am well aware of that," Hazel said. "Your description is good enough. Have you had any trouble entering the area?"
"No, it went smoothly. I just shoved them the paper and the assigned a chariot and a puller pony to me since it was a little far from the station."
"And why was there a unicorn with you?"
Coal looked into his glass of cider. "I... in case I needed help lifting something."
"And did you?"
"As a matter of fact, I did, but that wasn't an emergency. Oh, and he helped me escape from the bear."
"Was he hurt?"
"No, but the puller pony was, rather badly. Truth to be told I have no idea how he is now. It was all a rush and I haven't seen him since."
"I see. Has the unicorn suffered any harm from the magic?"
"I don't think he did, he seemed perfectly fine when we parted. It was clearly unpleasant to him, but that is all."
"Had he any problems with his magic apart from what you described?"
"Not that I know of."
"What about the forest? Have you ventured deep?"
"Not at all. The road went along the edge but we never set a hoof in it. We knew it was too dangerous. However..." Coal cleared his throat, gathering his mental strength. "Why are you so interested in all of this?"
Hazel's mouth tightened and so did Coal's throat.
"Mere curiosity, Coal," he said finally. "You don't have the opportunity to hear a firsthoof description about the scene of such a disaster every day."
Coal didn't dare to push it and they sipped their drinks in silence for a minute. Behind Hazel's confident, casual posture there were plans and goals and those questions suggested more than simple interest.
"So, Coal," Hazel said after finishing his cider. "what are your plans for the future? Will you have a job since ours ended?"
"I still have my usual job and I have some savings, and this payment will last for a while so I thought I'll take a little break to unwind and maybe travel a little."
"I'm glad to hear that." He lowered his voice again. "If you take my advice, you stay away from Ponyville, books about Ponyville and people from Ponyville. All right?"
"All right, but why? What's wrong with it?"
"It isn't worth the effort."
He leaned back, putting a period to his sentence. After a while Coal nodded and drained his glass too. He wished to hear more since Hazel obviously knew something but he had nothing to persuade the unicorn with.
"Were you going to stay at home for the next few days?"
"I guess so, yes."
"Then I'll send the money there with someone soon." He stood up and Coal followed suit.
"Thank you again for your work and your discretion. It's been a pleasure." Hazel walked out of the bar, ordering the mare to follow with a motion of his horn. She stood up and after rolling her eyes at Coal while pointing at Hazel she left as well. A little later Coal did the same.
* * *
With Hazel's money finding its way to his possession Coal was able to take a break from his primary occupation and focus on a non-paying but far more interesting subject: finding out as much about the Elements of Harmony and the ponies they had been connected to as possible and maybe something about the origins of the storages as well. He stocked up from food and drinks and submerged into research.
He had been a member of the Canterlot Library for several years and was no stranger to the spacious building's immense and awe-inducing interior nor the rules every visitor had to obey in such places. The library's collection was huge and despite the effort of many ponies working on it perfect cataloging has never been achieved, making finding certain books really difficult if not hopeless. Especially so when one only had vague ideas regarding it's contents, a fact Coal come to realize yet again as he tried to explain to the librarian what he wished to find. He soon realized vague informations and ideas won't help and he had to elaborate his theory to strangers, something which he wanted to avoid as much as possible. The librarian ponies provided him with a few volumes but almost none of them turned out to be helpful. After two days of this, he decided to take the matter to his own hooves and from mornings to late afternoons he would spend his time looking through the books the librarians turned up with, systematically scanning every volume in the sections of magical theory, history, pre-classical legends and even a thick book titled Who's Who, which contained descriptions of famous ponies from the last hundred years to present days. Every information that caught his attention or made his talent signal was put away for later examining, although that didn't happen very often.
In spite of the vast number of books in the library, few contained relevant to what he was after. With each passing day the initial momentum driving him was running out, his hope was fading. He found himself bringing up the reason he was putting so much effort into his research from time to time, in order to find strength to go on.
Every one of the sources that contained something had one thing in common: all of them treated the subject as a legend or a simple foal's tale. Because of this, they didn't refrain from exaggerating the truth with nonsensical details one would find in typical children's books. Considering the number of these stories and the common parts, along with the fact that one of the supposedly nonexistent necklaces was sitting in his bag next to him, Coal treated the subject as a part of reality.
As it turned out, the salespony in the station had the basics down. There were indeed six ponies who possessed five necklace and one tiara, each with unique, magical gemstones. These artifacts held an enormous amount of magical power. Over the years the six Elements of Harmony (or the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Coal wasn't sure of the right terminology) unleashed this power several times to overcome enemies and tear down obstacles.
The origins of the Elements was cloudy and he couldn't find the right one from the many possible variations. The identity of the bearers was also unclear, except for three names: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. Coal has never heard the two first names before but for the last one he was certain it was the same pony who designed the magical storages. He didn't find it in text, but the descriptions and illustrations always depicted the same symbol associated with her: a six-point star surrounded by several smaller stars. It was also mentioned by Silver's coworker and a scroll detailing technical properties for an early storage model Coal had read back in the day.
He designated one full day for finding anything about Twilight Sparkle the designer but found nothing, not even a side note. So far he thought it was simply bad luck but at this point he started having doubts and Hazel Crunch's advice only amplified them. Could someone remove those books? It would certainly explain why his search was low on fruit.
This possibility induced second thoughts regarding the whole thing. If someone had the motive and ability to remove certain entries from Canterlot's biggest and most well-kept library, that someone surely intended to keep something secret from the public and that probably included handling ponies who poke around it.
So far Coal kept the necklace in his saddlebags every time he left his home but after this uncomfortable thought he left it at home, not to be caught with it in his possession in case he was confronted.
His motive to continue anyway was curiosity. The more he found the more clear picture he had and the more he wanted to know. Besides, he saw absolutely no signs that would suggest he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. No one was watching him, no one was lurking around him and no one has ever asked his intentions with those books, so he went on.
* * *
During the day many ponies visited the library, in most cases looking for, checking out or returning books, doing homework or in some cases, conducting a research. They often did so in groups like students or, like Coal, alone. The groups rarely interfered or even interacted with each other and in accordance with the library's rules usually kept their voices low. When they walked they always did so with quiet and quick steps and kept their gazes either ahead or in the books levitating before them. They usually didn't know the others aside from their group but if a pony was behaving differently that pony would be noticed eventually. Even if she didn't want it.
The pegasus tried to be as quiet as possible but her hooves were hitting the marble floor painfully loud. She had been happy to see the soft and comforting rugs that covered the floor upon entering but the quiet softness only lasted a few dozen steps, ending directly at the two tall columns that separated the entrance hall with corridors to either side from the library's enormous interior.
The mare with gray mane behind a large desk smiled kindly at the newcomer. She smiled back uncertainly then when the mare went back to her work the pegasus went on.
The tall bookshelves hold an astonishing amount of books, more than she has ever seen in one place. Ahead were dozens of desks with little lamps, maybe third of them occupied by ponies reading something or taking notes. Some of them glanced up at her as she approached before returning to their work without a second look.
The pegasus looked around, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place. It was way too big to look over alone, especially when she didn't know what exactly she was looking for. Or who. Everybody looked perfectly ordinary. She walked alongside the group of desks eyeing the ponies and quickly looking away whenever her gaze was returned.
She heard muffled talking from her left. She saw another group of desks with ponies bent over books and scrolls further away, deeper into the building. They looked younger and had less constraint as occasional giggles were mixed into their murmuring.
The pegasus walked to them hesitantly. She knew she had a somewhat limited time but a voice in her head has been urging her to come here for days. It was a voice of powerful nostalgia, a sound of past things calling out to relive a better time, a calling she hadn't been able to resist anymore.
She walked past the last row of shelves to the another group of desks in the clearing of the rows, this one occupied by fillies and colts doing homework. They didn't even look at her as she stopped to look around, rubbing her left foreleg with her right.
"Hello there! Can I help you?"
The friendly female voice came from behind her. She spun around to see the elderly mare from earlier, looking at her with an expectant smile. The pegasus folded her snapped open wings and barely registered the soft chuckling from the foals.
"I'm sorry to startle you," the librarian said kindly, "but you looked so lost."
The pegasus gulped. "It's okay. I'm just... looking for somepony. I think she is here somewhere..."
"Let me help, then. What does she look like?"
The pegasus felt panic rise as she looked into those big, expectant eyes.
"I... I'm not sure. I don't really know her... him, I just..."
The mare's smile didn't falter. "Have you forgot what she looked like?"
"No, I... haven't met him yet." She shifted her weight from on pair of legs to the other.
"Did you have a date here?"
"No, no... He doesn't know me. I think. I just..." she muttered something illegible.
Now the smile did falter a bit. "I'm sorry, but I don't follow. Do you know the name at least? Are you not sure even of the gender?" To the other's shaking head, she sighed. "Okay, then..." She thought for a moment while the pegasus looked around, taking another step back. "I'm afraid that isn't much but I can ask around if someone is expecting a..." She stopped as she saw the pegasus's eyes widen.
"No, that's all right... I mean, thank you, but that won't be necessary. I think I'll just... go."
"Are you sure? I can help you."
"No, thank you. I'll be okay."
The librarian nodded, although the worry didn't leave her face. "Of course. Do you know the way out?"
"Out? Oh, yes, I do."
She watched as the librarian pony reluctantly walked away, but before she could move another voice came from her right.
"Hi, miss! Oh, you're being a little jumpy today."
The pegasus tucked her rings away the second time. "I guess..." She looked at the filly who was smiling at her.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," the filly said, "but I heard you're looking for a buck here?" Another foal nudged her in the side and the filly giggled again then continued a bit more seriously. "Have you checked over at the old section?" She pointed deeper into the library. "All sorts of lonely guys go there to read weird stories and do weird things."
The pegasus looked in the direction but all she saw were more shelves and occasional ponies browsing.
"Well, okay...." She smiled shyly at the young pony. "Thanks." She quickly stepped away from them and walked to where the filly had pointed.
She passed dozens of rows without seeing any of those weird ponies the filly mentioned. She didn't know how much time had passed since she walked in here but she assumed it was getting late and her friend would be worried. She stopped to look around and guessed where the exit could be when she noticed a smiling pony walking towards her.
"Oh, my..." she whispered and made a futile attempt to hide behind a row of history books.
"Hi," the stallion said in a cheerful and hushed voice. "I couldn't help but notice your obvious discomfort. This place might seem intimidating at first but time dulls its edge."
She produced a squeaky sound as a response and could barely refrain from fleeing.
"Oh, don't be shy. Let me help you find some good novel to ease your mind."
She took some steps backwards and her butt hit a shelf. He grinned, held out a welcoming hoof and she jolted to her left. With the help of her wings she cornered several shelves until she felt herself far enough from all the friendly strangers. Panting, she looked around.
This area was much less crowded, the books looked much older and, unlike the previous sections the rows of volumes had cavities like someone didn't bother putting them back after reading. The surfaces were just as clean as anywhere else but the wood the shelves were made of were cracked from time. She walked and read the titles. Some of them sounded familiar, most not at all and some only had strange symbols instead of normal letters.
With her breathing getting calmer she noticed the sound of scribbling on paper from ahead. Quietly, she creeper forward, not wanting to attract any more attention.
In the usual clearing of the shelves sat an earth pony stallion, almost completely with his back to her, alone. He showed no sign of noticing her as he was deep in work with numerous books and scrolls lying around. He was writing on a piece of paper with a pen held in his mouth. It reminded her one of her old friend's house when she was neck deep in studies.
She wanted to back away, leave this strange place and go back to her friend but now, as she squatted there watching the pony, she remembered the urge to came here. She has never saw the stallion before, she was sure of that, but the pony was... special?
He put the pen down and moved his head in circles to stretch his muscles and that was when he spotted her. Their eyes locked for a long second before she drew back and flew away on hurried wing-strokes in the way she had came. After a few turns she bumped into the librarian again but this time she was glad for it.
"Hello again," she said smiling, then she noticed the pegasus's expression. "Oh, are you all right?"
She touched down. "Yes, I think... Where do I find the exit again?"
The librarian pony showed the way, little concerned. "Are you sure..."
"Yes... Thank you." She smiled at her and trotted in the indicated direction, and a minute later she was stepping on the rugs again.
Outside the first thing she saw after her eyes adjusted was her friend, standing next to a guard pony, both looking at her.
"There you are!" She hurried over and locked the pegasus in a tight hug. "What were you doing in there alone?"
The pegasus smiled sheepishly at her much younger friend. "I'm sorry, Starry. I was... I had a feeling..." her smile disappeared when she realized the urge has returned. "It seemed important," she muttered.
Starry Wind shook her head and released her. "I'm sure it was. Lucky for me this gentlestallion remembered you going in."
She let herself be guided by the young pegasus who thanked the guard his help then asked. "At least have you found what you wanted?"
She shook her head. "No. At least I don't think I have."
Her friend thankfully didn't insist and they walked in silence through the little park stretching before the library. She remembered the pony's eyes, filled with curiosity, preoccupation, fatigue and... kindness. And she was sorry she left the stranger in such a hurry.