The pristine door was opened by the old brown unicorn stallion Rocky. As soon as he saw Thunderstorm, his eyes opened widely, as well as his mouth. He started to stutter, like he was trying to say something. By the movements of his muzzle, Riverstone understood that he was trying to say: "My queen". Well, maybe one day. Riverstone grinned for a moment, and then said:
"Rocky, this is our guest, Thunderstorm. Thunderstorm, this is my servant Rocky."
Thunderstorm and Rocky shook hooves. Rocky was still starring at her in amazement.
"Rocky, could you please take us to the royal library? It's very important. And please, it's a kind of rude to stare at a lady like that", Riverstone said.
Rocky immediately shut his mouth and said: "Of course, your Majesty." After which he turned and started walking. Riverstone and Thunderstorm followed him trough the hallway lit with torches. It didn't take them long to get to a grand ebony door, in which some constellations were crafted. Rocky opened them. Riverstone entered first, with Thunderstorm right behind him. They had a lot to see when they came inside.
Riverstone visited the royal library maybe 4-5 times in his three houndred years long life. Since the last time he was there, he completely forgot how does the place look. Let's just say the first thing he noticed was that it was by far the widest, highest, and all in all the largest room in the castle. And there were rows and rows and rows... Of bookshelves. That and nothing else. Except books, of course. And five large stained glass windows which were the only source of lighting in the room. Their colours were pale and patterns simple, their themes mostly being plants and flowers. There was one with a crescent moon in a bright sun, presenting harmony of the night and day.
Books were on each shelf, and there were so many of them that even the dozens of bookshelves couldn't be enough, so some were thrown all around the wooden floor. Riverstone assumed it was ebony, too. He lifted his hoof to his chin, so his jaw wouldn't drop. How are they supposed to find a single mare's tale among probably more than a thousand of books?! Also, the place was messy, dusty and definetly pleeded for cleaning. Well, while they were already there...
"This is the royal library, your Majesty. Do you need any other help?" asked Rocky.
"Oh, yes, I think I definetly will", Riverstone answered and turned to him , "Is there any spell that could help us find a certain book? I think it's going to take years before we find it."
Rocky's face took on a pensive expession. After a few moments he said:
"I am afraid not, your Majesty. But, the books are sorted by their topics. Now, I'm old, and I haven't been here for a very long time, so I don't remember how exactly goes the order. Although, I can help you with your research, your Majesty. What kind of a book are you searching for?"
"A very old legend. It could've been better described as a mare's tale. At least, that is what has been told to us", Riverstone said and flew up to the highest part of the shelf that was closest to him, about five meters high. Thunderstorm stood still. She hasn't spoken a word since they left the cave. That made Riverstone worried. Yet, there's no reason for worrying, maybe she is just shy. He then started to read the books' titles on their spines. Butterfly Encyclopedia, The anathomy of Arachnids... All about bugs. He was slowly moving right as he searched for the part where this "bugging" row ends. He checked three shelves and at least fifty books before he came to a title of a book not connected to any insects or spiders. That book was about woodlouses. Riverstone slapped himself in the face. He turned around too see where the others were. Rocky and Thunderstorm searching trough the bookshelf next to his. Rocky was checking the lower shelves, while Thunder was flying around the top. They didn't seem to make any succes either.
"What are your books about? I am currently on land crabs", Riverstone said. The great room had very good acoustics, so his voice echoed for a while.
Thunderstorm turned her head to him and spoke for the first time in a couple of hours: "Biographies of writers." Then she continued to work.
"Seriously? Me too, though these are about scientists. Well, it looks like this whole shelf has only biographies . May I ask you something, your Majesty?" said Rocky
"Yes?"
"Do you prefer Daunting Ally or Shaking Spear's books?"
"Daunting Ally, definitely, Shaking Spear's plays make no sense", Riverstone answered.
"Who is Shaking Spear?" Thunderstorm asked, curiously looking at Rocky.
"Shaking Spear is a play writer. He got famous after he wrote the play "Ruby and Violet". It's a romantic story about a stallion and a mare from two rival families. They fall in love with eachother, but commit suicide at the end of the story because their families wouldn't allow them to be a pair and get married", Rocky said.
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but nevertheless, I don't like the pla-a-a......yyyy", Riverstone sneezed. Dust was everywhere, and it tickled his nose , "Shaking Spear isn't bad, he is just too poetic for me to understand. Daunting, well, is more direct."
The conversation ended and everypony again stuck their muzzles in the shelves, and rows of books (or piles, if books were on the floor).
Dear Families, is this really necessary? All this work just to find one stupid book?, thought Riverstone after a couple of sunhours, and a growl in his stomach. Then he asked:
"Rocky, what time is it?"
Rocky teleported, and came back in a blink of an eye.
"It's one hour before dinner, your Majesty."
"We missed lunch? Thunderstorm, how come you are not hung-", Rivertone stopped in the middle of the sentence, he forgot she was immortal, but to be honest, he didn't know much about Purebloods. Sure, his father was the last one, but he wasn't an example of health. Can they even be sick? Well, maybe his father lied about his ancestors. Everypony still does.
"Rocky, you go tell the other servants to make a dinner. For two, please. Thunderstorm and me will keep on looking for that book", he said. Rocky teleported again. Riverstone and Thunderstorm were now alone in the library. Thunderstorm as if she waited for that moment, because immediately after Rocky dissapeared, she picked up an old green leather book from the floor, wiped the dust from it and asked:
"Why did you believe me? And why are you putting all this effort and so much of your time to find something that might even not be true?"
Riverstone just ended checking his third bookshelf. He flew to the next one and smiled.
"Anypony could see you are a Pureblood from the highest clouds. If you wanted to destroy this kingdom, dethrone me or anything, you could do it without breaking a sweat. Nopony exactly knows what are your limits. And besides, I didn't have anything else to do today."
"You seem like a very wise and rightful king." She said while lifting another book from the floor with her magic.
"I tend to do my best. This is the smallest kingdom, I mean, the Lefradat's main city is bigger than Durachia, so there's no much job to do. Actually, my only duty is to raise the sun and the moon, because I am half Pure. It's supposed to mean that I have the best magic and strength, but I disagree. For example, I can't light fire, and even Rocky can do that!" He replied with some frustration in his voice and slightly descended to check the lower shelves.
"Oh. Did I make you angry?"
"No, not at all", Riverstone sighed , " It's just that sometimes, I don't feel good enough to be a king." He landed on the floor and lay down. He was flying almost all the time while they were in the library, and his wings were exhausted. They fell aside, he almost couldn't feel them.
"Are you alright?" Thunderstorm dropped the levitating books, and they hit the ground with a loud "thump". She went to him and bowed.
"I'm just kind of tired, but it's not a big deal. Let's keep searching" Riverstone got up. The whole bookshelf he was checking had only magic spell books.
Thunderstorm went to the other side of the room and flew up. The books on that shelf were history ones. She must be close...
"I found it!" She shouted. Riverstone galloped to her. She was holding a "Collection of the oldest legends and tales".
"Finally!", Riverstone said, not even thinking about how stupidly coincidental that was, and took the book with his magic , "I'm way too tired and hungry to read anything now. Let's go to the dining room, then I'll raise the moon, and then - If I don't blackout from fatigue - we can open this!"
He trotted to the ebony door and opened it, with Thunderstorm behind him. When she was almost out of the room, she turned to look at the books she was flicking trough before. They were really interesting and she'd really like to read them. Her horn glew blue, and the books rose in the air and came to her. Then she exited the room and closed the door.
She needed to canter for a bit to catch up with Riverstone. When she was right behind him, she noticed he was smiling. What was he so exited for? This book was of no use to him. Probably. She still wasn't sure why he believes her. She herself didn't know what was that letter about! She felt so dumb because of her memory loss. The pony who sent her here and now... Was the pony a mare or a stallion? Her brother, sister, father, friend? She didn't know, and most likely she never will. That brought a tear in her eye, but she wasn't sure why was she so sad. She wiped the tear and blinked a few times, just so her eyes won't be red. The pony said her mother did something to stop Pyros.... Or whoever that pony was. What was the price? Why couldn't the pony come with her? Her questions stopped as soon as she heard a shriek of the door Riverstone was opening. So, that was the dining room. It wasn't even close to the library in size, but Thunderstorm was glad she doesn't see books. The table was huge, and Riverstone sat at the left end, in a beautifully decorated chair. There weren't any other seats at that edge. Her plate was on the right corner closest to Riverstone. She performed the same spell she hid the letter with on books. They dissapeared, and Thunderstorm sat at her chair. She and Riverstone both had the same meal: daisy salad with lemonade.
"Bon apétit", he said and they began to eat. Thunderstorm liked the dinner very much. Not that she remembered eating anything else before this, yet she could name all the plants, fruits, vegetables... Time travel is messed up.
The dinner passed in silence, you could hear a fly's flutter in the kitchen next door. Riverstone finished first, while Thunderstorm was drinking her lemonade. He waited until her glass was empty, and then got off the chair. Thunderstorm did so after him, and walked right behind Riverstone as he opened the door and went out the room. The whole time they walked to the castle's exit, his horn was glowing. Maybe he was already setting the sun. When he opened the only fully decorated door. The door slowly opened, and a silver moonlight ray crawled into the room. Thunderstorm saw the night for the first time. And the night above Durachia was...amazing.
Dark indigo, almost black sky was full of sparkling stars which shone like diamonds. The moon gleamed above the Eastern forest's evergreen trees, which had such leaf texture that they acted almost like the sea - the moon's reflection was spilled on their tops. Thunderstorm could see the lights appearing in the harbor, and some other lights extinguishing in the cities. A river of green grass ran trough Durachia's fields, its movements leaded by a soft and warm southern wind.
"It's.... beautiful.." Thunderstorm gasped.
"One of the rare benefits of being a ruler", Riverstone said and turned , "Now, let me show you where you'll sleep."
He then closed the door. They walked trough the castle in the dark, since everypony was asleep and there was no need for torches now.
Riverstone's glowing horn was the only thing Thunderstorm could recognize in the darkness. Suddenly, it started to glow stronger, and now she could actually see around her. In front of them was a stairway to up.
"This is the Right Tower, your room is at the top. You have a bath in there, a bed, and some of my mother's dresses in the closet", he said and turned to her , "Shall I lead you there?"
"No, I can climb there myself", said Thunderstorm , "But, what about the book?"
Riverstone's eyes widened. His magic aura flashed white as he teleported. Thunderstorm assumed he must've let the book in the kitchen. She lit up her horn and rose her look to the spiral stairway. She wasn't able to see the end, but until Riverstone's gone, she might also check out her room. She climbed up the stairway, bowing her head so her long horn wouldn't scratch the ceiling which was too low for her. There was nothing special about the plain, grey stairs that just kept on appearing. Thunderstorm started to wonder how high this tower was when she hit into something. Her horn glew stronger, and she could see a wooden door. Simple wooden door with brass doorknobs. She pushed the door with her hoof, and a shriek pierced her ears. This room had no guests in a very long time. Although, the room had no dust scent. Probably the servants maintained it, in case somepony important arrives.
There was a shelf left to the door, with a candle and a lamp on it. Thunderstorm lit the candle, and then the lamp, while levitating it towards herself. The lamp's light was bright enough to cover the whole room, and she liked it.
Straight in front of Thunderstorm was an opened balcony, with a view on the sea. Some small ships were sailing, looking like fireflies dancing on vulcan glass. Along with the open door, it created a draft, and Thunderstorm felt a chill crawling trough her body. She closed the door, then the balcony, and the room immediately seemed much warmer. She then noticed her bed in the left corner of the room. It was big enough for her to lay on it, good enough all by itself. The touched the madrace and the pillows, which were filled with feathers and very soft. Her gaze rose to the curtains above the bed. She climbed on the bed and opened them. Through a fixed glass window, not much bigger than her two hooves put together, she could see the Middle Tower, the moon behind it, and the Eastern forest. She carefully levitated the lamp to the floor, and tied the curtains around the two small iron hooks next to the window, each on other side. Moon shone so brightly tonight that she won't need that lamp anymore. She looked to the other side of the room. She saw a closet and a door, maybe a bathroom. She approached the closet and opened it. Riverstone said his mother's dresses were in there.
The dresses were enchanted, floating in the air. They were colorful, beautifully jeweled and frilly. There was one white dress with floral pattern a d a veil. It must've been her wedding dress. Thunderstorm smiled warmly. There was also one pale blue armor, with a helmet end every protector possible. All the dresses (and the armor) were way too small for Thunderstorm, but the first thing she noticed was that neither of the dresses had holes for the wings, and the helmet didn't have the one for the horn. Riverstone's mother was an earthpony.
At that moment somepony knocked. Thunderstorm quickly closed the closet. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. Would Riverstone be mad if he knew she was looking at his mother's dresses? She opened the door, and as she expected, Riverstone was outside, holding the book with his magic.
"Sorry it took me so long. It seems one servant thought it was trash. Not that I blame him. This book is like a bazillion years old, and I left it on the floor. I see you found the room. Do you like it?" He said
"Oh, yes, it's beautiful. Thank you very much for allowing me to stay", she answered.
"Well, let's see what is that all fuzz about", Riverstone entered and looked around , "Do you mind if I sit on your bed?"
"No, and, isn't this your castle? Why are you asking me for seating?" Thunderstorm asked.
Riverstone went to the bed and sat there. Thunderstorm turned towards him and closed the door, but stood in place.
"It's just, I can't get the thought from my head that this used to be my mother's room", Riverstone smiled, although sadly. He moved his hoof over the red and golden quilt. He then cleaned his throat and rose the book in the air. Thunderstorm lit the lamp again and sat next to him. The book was quite thick. It's cover was navy blue with golden letters so old their color melted. The cover itself was partially peeled of and damaged. When Riverstone opened it, Thunderstorm saw the shabby brown pages, once white and new.
Riverstone was turning the pages quickly with his magic.There were plenty of mare tales there: "Princess and the Changeling", "Cinderfilly", "Little Seamare"... Riverstone stopped flipping the pages when he saw an illustration of a burning castle. The title of the story was "Ghistal's Pyre: the Legend of the Lost Kingdom".
"Maybe it's this one", Thunderstorm said. Riverstone nodded and started reading out loud:
"Once upon a time, seven alicorn families, each with their own kingdom, ruled our lands. The kingdoms were called: Blosphor, Hirolis, Triscoledy, Lefradat, Durachia, Salcabee and Ghistal. Every kingdom was independent and great in its own way. But Ghistal was the kingdom who kept peace in the land. The king and the queen of Ghistal were powerful, they took the care of both sun and the moon, the balance between light and darkness, day and night. Although she had their own children the queen picked the most talented and most clever young unicorn colt as her personal student. He was meant to learn from her and to spread the three most important values throughout the land: magic, friendship and love.
"In exchange", she said , "You will achieve immortality even the strongest alicorns can't reach."
The unicorn studied very hard. He learned everything about magic, he made many friends and gained the trust in griffon and yak kingdoms. After dedicating years of his life to his studies, he became the master of magic. Because the real magic comes from friendship between ponies, and a pony understanding and accepting magic as a part of him or her.
The unicorn was already grown up when he came to Ghistal's castle and came in front of the queen for a proposal. The king was asked to leave the room, since only the queen held and knew about the kingdoms' greatest secret. And she prepared the unicorn for it. Even though she was ageless and had a lifespan of countless worlds, she wouldn't last forever.,
"I have mastered everything you asked from me, and I spread my knowledge throughout the land. I now seek for my immortality", he spoke to her.
The queen came to him and whispered to his ear: "Let me show you something."
She turned and moved her throne with her magic. Behind it was a small, dark room, but something was shining in it. The unicorn he saw it was a crystal table-map of not only the kingdoms, but of the whole world.
"This is a map of our home. Here is everything we know. This table used to be called "Knowledge", before it was hidden from those who would ill-use it", she said.
"What is that?" The unicorn pointed at the bright white flame burning in a glass box at the other side of the room.
"Something not important to this. We call it The Fire, and no pony is sure what it actually is, but we know it's powerful and it hides the alicorns' essence", the queen said.
Yet, the unicorn was intrigued by the white flame. When he concentrated, he could see that it isn't actually white, but made of all the colours moving really fast.
"You ask for immortality, but don't you see you already have it?" She said. The Knowledge's picture changed, and suddenly it was showing a small village, then a metropolis, a ship, the yak and griffon kingdoms...
"What does this have to do with me?" the unicorn became impatient.
"Do you see all the ponies agreeing, smiling and appreciating eachother? That is all your merit. You have taught them how to tolerate and love. That is your legacy. They will remember you, write books and legends about you, they will build statues in your honor. They will remember you, and with each pony reading about you, you will live in their mind again. There is no way to hurt the ponies' memories and feelings, and you will live forever in their minds and hearts. Alicorns, even the kings and queens, will soon be thought of as unnecessary and forgotten"
The unicorn frowned. "But I will still die", he said angrily. He immediately left the room. The queen didn't try to stop him, but she had a sad look in her eye.
The unicorn became bitter. He expected her to turn him into a real alicorn, to make him immortal! He spent all his life for this?! All these years, all those read books, all his pain for NOTHING?! He tried to destroy a random vase in the castle.
For the first time in his life he felt hatred towards somepony.
And joy in imagining the same pony suffer.
She spent all his life? She used him as a puppet? She lied to him?!
He will return her the favor.
The unicorn started to study on a different type of magic. The one which was forbidden for everypony for a long time, but which promised the user invincibility. He became as capable of using it as normal magic. He then figured out how to take away the Fire from alicorns. After lots of studying, he acknowledged it's not only the essence of alicorns, but of all living creatures and magic. Yet, alicorns had much more of it than others. So he started his revenge. He still had the trust of all the families, so he pretended to be their friend. He started to ponynap them and steal their magic, their Fire, and became more powerful with each one he consumed. In time he left the motive of his revenge behind, and became desireful for power. The essenceless alicorns would be weak, unable to fly or to use any magic. They would also lose their cutiemarks. It wasn't long before he was hunted as a criminal. He teased them by sending his shadows to burn the kingdoms. The unicorn decided for the final strike. He came in front of the Ghistal castle, where the 40 alicorns he didn't catch stood. The Ghistal's queen held something with her magic. It was a glass box with the Fire in it.
The unicorn laughed and attacked. He sent a whole army of Windigos, his coldblooded servants, to attack the alicorns. The queen flew up in the air, holding the fire in front of her. When the shadows hit, it acted as a shield. The unicorn was filled with rage.
The queen attacked the unicorn with the Fire. But using it had a price. The thing that remained from her was a miniature crystal version, which fell on the ground and cracked to six pieces. Every family took one for themselves too keep the memory, except the Ghistal royal family. They all died not a long time after, and their kingdom became a part of the Salcabee.
The Fire was destroyed, but a prophecy says it will come back every time it is needed, to help fight the Chaos"
Riverstone closed the book. He didn't know how to react. If the legend was true, his whole kingdom is in danger. However, it seemed so silly to think that way. He only found out about it today! And he was known to be naive as a colt....
He sighed, leaning his head on his chest. What was he going to do? It seemed everypony except him knew this legend. How could he not know Thunderstorm was in fact a powerful changeling, wanting to overthrow him? What if her intention wasn't really a fight, but a betrayal? Making him to believe her, just like the unicorn did, in the story. And the letter, how could he not know it was a fake?
Yet, changelings can't eat food... He turned to Thunderstorm. If she was a traitor, she surely acted well.
She was lying on her hooves, with her head between her front ones. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she didn't make a sound. It didn't took Riverstone long to understand why was she crying. He connected the pieces of the puzzle. In the letter, it was said her mother paid the price. The queen...
Riverstone didn't know what could, or should, he do. Assuming she is telling the truth, she knew only for about a day of her own existence, and now she found out her mother is dead. What else could she expect?, he thought, but he knew it was harsh to think that way. He stood up and said: "Is there anything I could get you?"
Thunderstorm rose her head a bit. She shook it in a "no". Riverstone didn't feel very proud when he left the room. He simply didn't know how could he comfort her. He wouldn't feel much better in her position. But now, he had to be aware if the threat was real.
He didn't notice he was almost at the bottom of the stairway. Instead of walking all the way, he teleported to his room.
The moon was almost at the half of its way. The celestial body levitation worked that you had to put all your strength into rising or setting it, but once it's done, the inertia of the spell pulls the sun/moon throughout the sky. Until it reaches the above of the horizon, that is. Then you have to set it.
Riverstone took off his silver horseshoes and necklace, and his crown. What was that old thing made from, he had no idea. The only thing pretty on it was the star-shaped pinkish-purple crystal at the front. It sparkled beautifully under the moonlight... If it wasn't for his father who liked it very much, he would throw it away years ago. Riverstone put everything on the commode, and jumped in the bed. He was so tired, and the bed so soft, he fell asleep after a few calm breaths.
Thunderstorm kept lying with her head between her hooves. She closed her eyes, trying to think. Not a thought came into her head, she was simply... Empty. She was feeling vain, but, now at least she knew who - kind of - she was, right? Yet, her family was gone, although it would be very stupid to think they were waiting for her in a castle or something for two millennia. Thunderstorm rose her head again and looked at the silver, bright moon, which almost left her window. She took a deep breath, and changed her position. She still needs to sleep, right?
It took her a while until she was tucked in by the comfort of her bed, and then she was quickly, but gently, thrown in another kingdom
- the kingdom of dreams.