The depths of the Heart were home to some of the greatest treasures that Helios had collected over the centuries. In one small chamber, an array of seven stones rested on pedestals. They were the Runestones of the seven zebra tribes, entrusted to Princess Celestia in the dying hours of the last of the last free shaman. Nearby, at the end of a hallway covered in some of the most powerful wards that the world had ever seen, a blood red door stood barred from the world. Occasionally, on the darkest of nights, the whispers of the Revenant can be heard slithering out of the hallway. The immortal creature had been sealed by the Princess herself, at the cost of most of the Mage’s Circle. Since that day, since the fall of the archmage who became that foul creature, the Circle had been forbidden from reforming. Now, only the memory remained of what had once made Helios, together with Rylias, the unquestioned masters of the known world.
Still deeper in the bowels of the mighty stone structure was a room jokingly referred to as the Trophy Room. It was filled with trinkets, both great and small, all with some significance. The corpse of the last Windego, bound still in the chains of eternal sunfire that the Princess had been forced to call down upon the unholy beast. The peculiar shading from scales to feathers that was the pelt of a Coutle, given as tribute and peace offering when the blood-crazed Diomedians had finally bowed to the pony nation. A small oil-lamp from the Arabian’s, given as a sign of mutual respect and friendship between their nation and Helios, before they too had been consumed by the gryphon empire. It was said that the lamp had once contained a being of nigh-limitless power, able to grant a single wish to whomever freed it from its prison.
Room after room filled the depths of the Heart. Each and every one was unique, with its own stories and pasts, and many barred from any but the Princess and the greatest of her mages from entering. The contents of many rooms were dangerous. An unfortunate result of the darkest magics, many deadly and vile magical items had to be sealed away, forever immune to disenchantment, or destruction, even under the combined might of the Avatars of Light and Night. Even the few evil artifacts from Selene were sealed under the Heart, as even the slightly dark nature of Luna’s palace made it vulnerable to their corrupting influence.
Not all the rooms were dark, and not all were sealed. Though many of their stories are sad, one of the largest rooms hidden away beneath the monolith was barren of all earthly adornments. Instead, it was lit by the baleful lights of hundreds of spirits. The peaceful ghosts of ponies long past were allowed by the Princess to live in the depths of her home. They all had stories and tales to tell, from the ancient unicorns who purposefully preserved their spirits to pass on their collected knowledge, to the young earthpony mare who was left broken and bleeding when her fiancée was finished with her. While not a particularly cheerful place, it was one of the only rooms that was forever open to the public, as long as you were escorted to and fro by a guardspony.
The only other room that was open to the public at any time was the Heart’s library. Unlike the many rooms full of dark artifacts, the dangerous tomes and scrolls hidden away within the library were under countless enchantments, protecting anypony who wasn’t a gifted mage herself from even finding them. The collected writings of every great mage, philosopher, and scholar were collected within the cluttered shelves. As can be expected of a nation with such a rich history, and so many powerful mages, those two topics filled well over half of the contents.
It wasn’t always immediately clear to an outsider how the library was organized, with books and scrolls piled on the floor as often as they were tucked neatly into the shelves. It had been many years since anypony had set hoof into the room, until Twilight Sparkle hid herself away as a foal. It had been just as cluttered and messy then, something that annoyed the little filly. It was only after several weeks of attempting to clean up the confines of the library that she realized one of the many secrets of the room.
Even the densest pegasus couldn’t miss the oppressive weight of magic in the air from the moment that they neared the door. The collection of their precious knowledge was something that the Circle took very seriously, with a series of mages who could have easily been elevated to mastery, or even archmage, instead devoting their lives to collecting, protecting, and adding to that great body of information. It was a treasure, beyond all the gold in the world, and they spared no expense nor spell in guarding it. Spells of preservation, stasis enchantments to keep even time from affecting the tomes. Spells that simply absorbed any fire, except for special candles that couldn’t leave the walls of the library itself. Spells to keep moisture separate from their beloved books. Every conceivable problem had been dealt with, with multiple layers of redundancy and many slightly varied copies of those protections.
One of the many spells was one that sorted and categorized the library. The enchantment was one of the most complex Twilight had ever encountered, involving, among other things, the manipulation of space, and the temporary displacement of dimensions. The entire library was akin to a catalog, with every book and scroll placed loosely where it can be found among other items similar to its topic. However, what made the spell work so ingenious was something that Twilight hadn’t discovered for years. In fact, it was only in the last week that Twilight Sparkle had uncovered one of the most useful facets of the library’s enchantments. Not dissimilar to one of the more common security spells, which reacts to a spoken password, the library responded to requests.
It had only taken Twilight a few minutes to bring her favorite table to rest amidst the books relating to magical theory. It was several days of fruitless research that she made the discovery. A frustrated mare had slammed close the most recent of thick tomes, this being penned by Understudy Book Worm, on the nature of magical energies suspended within a crystalline matrix. It had been just as useless as the many other books that lay scattered about her table. Furious beyond belief, after her beloved library had failed her yet again, Twilight had screamed at the room.
“WHERE IS IT!” she roared, her magic burning brightly about her. Like all unicorns, her emotions were a linked directly to her magic, and like most, nothing brought forth power like anger.
Twilight hadn’t forgotten the near cataclysmic consequences of her outburst in front of Celestia and Cadance. She remembered the feeling of drowning, and her rage fueled Luna’s, rebounding across their mental link like the rising tide. She had ruthlessly slammed the doors to her mind closed, before she and her wife lost themselves to that mindless fury. Twilight had been careful to keep her mind tightly shielded since then as well, as much to keep her own emotions dulled and tamed as to keep her thoughts hidden from the dragon.
But after days of endless searching, of endless, fruitless toil, Twilight’s patience was at an end. Her magic struck like a coiled serpent, a tendril of power streaking away from the mare. It slammed the heavy tome she had been scouring for the past nine hours. The covers snapped together with a dull boom as the ancient book was closed, almost covering the sharp crack as the wooden table began to buckle. With an angry through, the same tendril flicked out again, sending the book rocketing away. Somewhere, in the depths of the library, there was a dull thud of leather bound book slamming into a bookshelf, and an avalanche of smaller thuds as the shelf disgorged its contents.
Twilight stood there, sides heaving as she glared at the thin crack that ran the length of her favorite table. Her power was under her control, barely, and Twilight was careful to keep it cloaked about her body. Even as tightly leashed as she could keep it, Twilight could feel her magic lashing out at whatever it could reach. The thin tendrils of power that flickered out into the air around the mare waved threateningly, straining to reach out further, and begin destroying everything within several meters.
Twilight heard a soft whistling. It was the only warning the mare received, before a heavy tome thudded into her head, before coming to a gentle rest on the table before her.
The blow had been painful, but other than a rough jostling and a mild headache, the impact didn’t seem to have damaged the mare. Twilight lifted a hoof, rubbing her head.
“Stupid, useless library.” She grumbled. Curious, Twilight leaned in to read the book’s cover. “A Good Night’s Rest: A Collections of Legends of the Selenian Night.”
Twilight stared at the book for several long moments, before she blinked. Shaking her head, Twilight yawned. “Light, I’m tired. I can’t look for that stupid information if I’m going to act like a spoiled filly with a broken toy. Maybe you’re a sign?”
On the table, the book remained silent.
“Oh Sweet Celestia, I’m talking to books.” Twilight informed the empty library. “Maybe a nap is what I need after all. Maybe I’ll think of something when I wake up in, in the morning.” She mumbled around a leonine yawn. “Just a short sleep.”
She set her head down on the book that had snapped her out of her tantrum, letting her eyes fall closed. She fell asleep before her next breath. It wasn’t the first time she had been found with a book for a pillow.
Twilight woke the next morning to a gentle hoof shaking her. Blearily, the young princess opened her eyes to see another face only a few inches from hers.
“AH!” Twilight yelped, jerking back from the other pony. Her sudden movement startled her assailant, making the splotched face mirror her movements, jerking away from her. That was all Twilight had time to see, and the vague blur of soft brown eyes, the colour of melted chocolate, before the fell onto her back with a ‘whuff’.
“Miss!” A young colt fidgeted nearby, obviously concerned.
Still groggy from sleep, and both winded and slightly dazed from her less than dignified awakening, Twilight wasn’t feeling particularly generous. As it had done more and more often of late, Twilight’s magic snapped up around her in the time it took to blink. As it had been, the magical power that she held close to her body gave the young mare a glow of violet light as the magic cloaked her. It seemed almost eager, like a hound who has seen a favorite toy thrown far afield, twitching and squirming with desire. Just waiting for its master’s command to spring into frenetic action.
She couldn’t sense any hostility from the pony who had woken her, not even the mild resentment some servants held towards the nobility. Not that Twilight believed that anypony with the intent to harm her, or any other resident of the Heart for that matter, could have slipped in. They would have needed to slip through and around many layers of guards pony who had been on alert since the first stirrings in Rylias. Nopony could be too careful, and it was a well known fact that some of the more powerful dragons could shift their shape.
Of course, judging by what I saw with Spike, that might not stop a shape shifter. She turned from that massive dragon form, into a mare only a little bigger than the Princess. Why shouldn’t she be able to change herself even smaller, into a fly maybe? Nopony is sure if the detection wards would trigger, and only the Southern Guard has the knowledge to inspect a live ward of that power. It certainly hasn’t stopped Cadance in the past.
Sternly, Twilight told herself to calm down and to focus at the task before her. It had only taken a moment for her to roll to her hooves, one that had been taken up with her musings, but Twilight knew that a lot could happen while she was chasing ideas down within her own mind. Instead of dwelling on the possibilities, Twilight turned to face the pony who she could hear scurrying over to check on her.
“Pip?”
“Are you well, Miss?” The little colt worried, shuffling nervously a few paces away.
“What,” Twilight asked, letting her magic fall away and drain into the ground beneath her. She shook her head, blinking. “I’m fine, Pip. But what, by all the Light touches, are you doing back here? I thought you were safe in Selene already.”
To her surprise, her servant smiled at her, shaking his head. “No, Miss. Miss Applejack and I were near the border when we were turned away. They told us that there were dragons ahead, and that it would be too dangerous for us to go further.”
“And what did you do after that? Did you walk all the way back here?” Twilight was puzzled. The two should have been well past the border into Selene by the time that word had come of the dragon attack.
When word came of the dragon attack. Which must have been several days later.
“Light!” Twilight swore, moving forward quickly, and kneeling on her forelegs to inspect her ward. “You would have been in the middle…”
To Twilight’s surprise, she saw Pip’s grin fade, replaced by a look of solemnity that seemed somehow wrong on his young face. The colt nodded his head. “Miss Applejack said the same thing, that we would have been halfway to the Wildwood. But before we left, Miss Applejack said she needed to talk to somepony, down in the kitchen. She and Pinkie Pie, she’s the pastry cook, the, um… pink one.” Pip’s smile was back, and he grinned at Twilight. “She and Miss Applejack talked for a little while, and she made Miss Applejack promise to visit her sister on the way. If we hadn’t stopped for the night…”
Twilight winced. She then did something that surprised even herself. She leaned forward, and brushed her neck against Pip, pulling him into a soft hug. Pip stood still for a moment, surprised, but quickly squeezed back.
“I’m so glad you’re safe.” Twilight mumbled, and to their mutual horror, they could hear just how watery her words were.
Pip let go of his mistress quickly, shuffling back a few steps, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground as he moved. Twilight, for her part, had suddenly decided that the cracked table needed to be inspected more closely. The sawdust from last night must have gotten into her eyes.
“So, did, um, did you enjoy your time with Applejack?” Twilight asked, after a long moment and several deep breaths. She could feel her lips twist up in a grin as she spoke. “Maybe she could live with us in Selene too.”
To her surprise, Pip chuckled. Not his usual, somewhat childish giggle, but a knowing chuckle. “I don’t think that Miss Maud would appreciate that very much. She says that the rocks in Selene are just dreadful. All full of shiny ores and other imperfections. She much prefers the boulders and stones of Helios.”
“And…” Twilight said, waiting for the colt to go on.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to upset my wife by asking her to move to a new country,” Pip said, grinning. “I don’t Miss Applejack wants to either.”
“Oh,” Twilight chuckled. It seemed that her assistant had picked up a dry humor from somewhere on his trip. “I see. I suppose in some cases, discretion is the better part of valor.”
Pip cocked his head slightly, brown eyes confused. “What’s discretion?”
Twilight tossed her head back and laughed. She laughed and laughed until she fell onto the soft pillow she had been sitting on for days. Then she laughed some more, helplessly gasping at the air.
“What?” Pip asked, hurt at her laughter. “You told me to ask if I had questions, Miss.”
Struggling to control herself, Twilight sat up. Her dark amethyst eyes sparkled with mirth as she smiled at her little servant, at her friend. “I did, Pip. I’m laughing because I’m so happy you’re back safe.”
“Oh,” Pip mumbled, sounding befuddled. “So can you tell me what discretion means?”
“Of course.” Twilight smiled, closing her eyes to think. “What is discretion. Well, discretion would be when you are cautious. Cautious about how you act around other ponies, so you don’t cause trouble. You display a lot of discretion Pip, because you are always polite. You don’t upset anypony on purpose, and you have excellent manners. If somepony says discretion is the better part of valor, what they mean is that sometimes, you need to be brave.” Twilight’s eyes opened. “But it means that, right now, it’s better to be careful. To not charge in head first.”
“Miss Twilight?” Pip hesitated, looking behind his mistress. “Thank you for explaining, but why did you pick up that book?”
“I didn’t,” Twilight turned, seeing a newer looking book hovering a pace or two behind her. “Huh?”
Twilight reached out with her magic, gently wrapping it about the open book. She could feel another levitation charm acting on the book as she took ahold of it, a wispy power she felt was vaguely familiar. As soon as her power was shrouded about the heavy book though, the foreign magic vanished again, making the book dip slightly before Twilight’s spell caught it. Pulling it closer, Twilight read the small print.
“Discretion: to act in a manner so as to avoid offense or without revealing sensitive information. To have the freedom to decide upon one’s actions.” Twilight read aloud, words half mumbled. She noticed Pip cock his head, looking at her, but ignored him for the moment. Twilight snapped the book closed, quickly reading the cover.
“A dictionary?” Twilight muttered, mind whirring. She shook her head slightly, trying to jar loose a thought. All the movement did was cause a twinge of pain from the lump on her head from the night before.
From the night…
Twilight turned, reading the book that she had been sleeping on the night before. A Good Night’s Rest.
What is discretion. Twilight’s mind piped up. WHERE IS IT!
Last night, I wanted to find a book, find anything, about the destruction of magic. And I was hit in the head by a book, one about sleeping. And just now, I was talking to myself, and asked ‘What does discretion mean’. Twilight felt herself freeze, a tentative hope blossoming in her chest. Last night she had been furious, so angry that her magic was lashing out. Today, she was positively glowing with happiness at the return of her friend. BOth times, her emotions had been high, feeding into her magic.
Gently, Twilight reached out with her magic. She left the power unfocused, simply allowing it to saturate the air near her. Slowly, she spoke. “Where can I find information about pegasus anatomy?”
A moment later, Twilight heard a series of faint thuds, the sound of a dozen books falling to land on the ground. Then, zooming down the small aisle between bookshelves, Twilight saw a black tome approaching. Like the dictionary, it flew through the air gently, wrapped in a dim silvery light. It came to a rest before Twilight, hovering in the air a pace or two away. Like before, when Twilight reached out with her power, she felt the delicate aura of unknown magic suspending the book vanish.
The book was Fleetfeather’s treatise on pegasus anatomy. She recognized the book, the eminent work on pegasus anatomy and physiology in the world. She knew the soft, worn leather, she even knew the tracery of light scars on the cover.
The hope that had been smoldering in her chest began to blaze, fed by her excitement. Again, Twilight pushed her magic into the air. “What formed the Waste!”
“Miss?” Pip questioned, voice soft. Twilight turned to face the small colt, grinning broadly. To her surprise, she saw the colt flinch away, his ears drooping to lie flat. His legs bent slightly, and Twilight could see worry in his wide eyes. “Miss, is something wrong?”
You are going slightly manic, Twilight. A soft voice in her mind chided Twilight. I’m sure that you appear more than slightly manic to the poor dear. You’ve had next to no sleep for days, and even less food. Now, stop smiling before you scare Pip off. He can get us food.
Not for the first time, Twilight spared a thought questioning her sanity, as she often did when she found her inner monologue treating her as if she were a separate entity entirely.