The Land After

by Fat1thatyoulove

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Looking through

The trot up the spiral staircase up to Celestia's rooms has started to come to its end as Free Burst takes his first step to the loft area upstairs, "Here we are."

Clover and Violas are the next to come up from the stairs as they come next to the stopped pony. Preston is quick to follow after as Free Burst's voice comes back up, "Celestia's library is not too extensive, but like I have said before we did not want to misplace any book of importance."

The mare takes a few more steps into the room as she looks over the bare room she stands in. The bed, most of the furniture and all of the decorations in the room have been removed leaving only the few bookshelves and some chairs, "Alright.."

Free Burst nods as he turns back towards the stairs, "You can just sort normal books in one pile and others in another, we will do the rest. Thank you." He gives a little nod as he starts down the spiral staircase.

As the stallion moves from the room Violas trots over to the three bookshelves on the right side of the room, "Hmm, I expected Princess Celestia to have more of a selection..." His horn comes up as he pulls a random book from the wall as he floats it over to him. However as he looks it over he gives a little laugh, "Or maybe not..."

The book comes over towards Clover as he nods, "It seems Celestia studies alteration magic." He taps his hoof to his mouth for a moment as he continues, "I wonder what she would want transformation spells for."

Clover's horn comes up as she floats the book over to her, however as she studies it the stallion in the room continues to speak up.

"If you do not mind me asking...Um, what are you?" Violas holds his gaze to Preston as the man slowly moves his head from the room to the pony's stare.

Preston blinks to the stallion as he speaks up, "Me?"

To the words Clover brings her voice up as she floats the book to the ground, "Oh, he is a...human."

Violas cocks his head to the word as he looks Preston over, "Oh? Are they part of the dragon species?"

Clover shakes her head as she shifts her gaze between Preston and the stallion, "He is actually not from this land or the old land."

"Really?" Violas nods as he gets a slight smile, "Well that was not what I had expected." A slight laugh rings up from the stallion as he looks over Preston, "I had actually expected you to be a golem."

Preston squints to the comment as he speaks up, "A what?"

"A golem, they are quite popular in necromance and some forms of conjuring." He turns back to the bookshelves as he starts to float out a few more books.

Clover takes a step forward as she cocks her head a little interested in the comment, "Necromancy? Is that what Sagitta studies?"

Violas turns back with a few books coming into a stack beside him as he gives a slight laugh, "Why yes, that and Herbology. Did you not know that?"

Clover shakes her head as she holds a low voice, "Well I knew that, but not fully...What is it like?"

The words bring a wide smile to the stallion as he floats a few books to Clover, she quickly takes the books to her magic as she gives them a quick glance, all the while listening to the stallion's words, "Well, Herbology is the study of plants their magical properties and the depilation of nature items."

He straightens his posture as he continues, "Necromancy is the-..."

"Making zombies and stuff right?" Violas's smile is lost along with Clover's as they both turn to Preston, "What? It is right?"

Clover turns back to the stallion as she gives a little laugh, "I'm sorry, you will have to excuse him, he does not understand the different magic arts." She floats over the small stack of books to him as she continues, "Preston could you please start stacking these books by the stairs please? They are just normal spell books."

Preston looks over the small stack as he nods, "Ya ya..."

As he turns away Violas brings his voice up, "Actually zombies are not to far from the truth...But from your tone I would suspect you meant the reviving of a corpse. Which is something no pony has been able to do."

Clover cocks her head to the comment as she listens in with a little smile, "Oh? But how can that be?"

Violas nods as he smiles, "Well actually you should understand this quite well seeing as how Star Swirl and the late King Sombra where among the first few ponies to expand the idea of everypony having magic. With this knowledge my Master Sagitta has stated that when a pony dies their magic is lost to greatly to where it can not be revived but by a magic almost untamed in nature."

A little laugh comes up from Violas as he wiggles his hoof, "Which would be impossible to create seeing as how only unicorns can expel the magic, meaning it would be tamed."

Preston sets the books to the ground as he continues to listen to the conversation behind him as Violas continues on, "...But the idea of magic clinging to a powerful magic has been considered the zombie effect. In the idea of an undead pony. But the magic needed to revive them like I said would be impossible to create seeing as how all magic from a horn is tamed."

Preston holds his back from the two ponies behind him as he looks over his hands for a moment, however before he can dwell too much on the thought Clover's voice comes up, "Do you believe that is why Discord was not destroyed but rather just turned to stone?"

The words turn Preston’s head as he looks to the stallion's nod as his voice comes up, "Well no pony can say for sure, but perhaps. But then again no pony knows Alicorn magic because it is also unstudied, so only Princess Celestia would know of how her magic acts."

"Oh." Violas's voice gets a little more excited as he quickly floats out a few books from the shelves behind him again, "But my Master has brought up a very interesting point. The idea of immortality."

Clover blinks to the comment as she floats the few books from his magic towards Preston.

To her and Preston's silence Violas wiggles his hoof towards the blonde man, "This might be something you enjoy, my Master has said that a longer life could be achieved if a pony was able to draw magic from a dead pony. Although, that pony would experience some side effects."

A faint laugh comes up from Clover as she cocks her head, "Like?"

Violas shrugs as he stammers a little, "Well the spell would certainly shrink the pony in height and could perhaps experience a memory lose or maybe even an alternate personality-..."

"Dam it." The sound of the stacked books toppling over rings to the bare room with a slight echo as Clover and Violas turn their eyes to the man who struggles to clean up the mess.

Clover gives a little sigh as she speaks up, "Preston, you need to be more careful with these books."

"Ya ya ya, I know." Preston collects most of the books before Clover's magic can wrap around the rest to set them back to a neat pile.

A slight chuckle comes up from the stallion as he turns himself back to the bookshelves with a slight under the breath comment, "Betrunken Narr.."

Clover's ear flicks to the comment as she turns around, "What?"

Violas pulls a book from the shelves as he turns back to the now starring mare, "Oh...Sorry it's Griffen." He quickly changes the conversation as his eyes drift a little to the book he holds in his hoof, to his surprise it is not as dusty as the others.

However as he looks over the title he hoofs it toward the mare, "Well it is a good thing you came with me, it seems this is some of Star Swirl's work I am unfamiliar with..."

Clover sparks her horn up as she floats the book to see the title, "Star Swirl the bearded’s book of teleportation?" She shakes her head as she gives a slight laugh, "I have never seen this one before...I'll ask him about it when I see him." She looks over the spine of the book as she squints to it, "It seems new." But her studying of the book is brought to an end as she floats it to Preston.

"Here, keep this until we can ask Star Swirl about it." The comment turns Preston's head as he takes the book to his hand.

As Clover turns back to Violas the stallion speaks up, "So tell, what area of magic interest you besides what Star Swirl has taught?"

Preston gives a little sigh as the mare's slightly excited tone comes out with a lengthy sound to it.

- - -
(Elsewhere in the castle)

The room that was given to Sagitta has now started to become cluttered a little by the items he has brought out of his bags.

A top the bed there lays various amounts of books and heating coils that go to the few Calcinator and Retorts he brought to study the plant life of the EverFree forest if he ended up staying for a long time.

Although, having all of these glass alchemy items has actually proved a little tedious to bring seeing as how he will be most likely leaving in only a few days.

The chime of his magic comes up as he pulls the last spice rack full of various plant materials up and over to the last open spot on the dresser where the other racks of materials sit.

As Sagitta looks over the few fairly sized Alembics that sit on the dresser, floor and bed he taps his hoof to his mouth, "Where did I put that..."

He turns his head around the room as he searches for something, however after a few minutes he sighs, "I see you have forgotten to give me my scrolls again haven't you Violas..."

"No matter." Sagitta brings his trot over toward one of the spice racks he put out later as he looks over the jars of items. His eyes lock to the powder light gray substance in one of the jars as he floats it out, along with the jar of dark green scales.

The two jars float next to him as he turns his attention to the small dark wood box he has on the bed. His magic flicks the top off as he looks inside the box that contains a few dried bird wings and insect wings.

"There you are..." A smile comes to his face as he levitates a small pair of bird like wings from the box.

As the wings float next to him he uncaps the two jars as his magic pulls out a little bit from each.

His horn sparks up in a brighter dark blue almost purple color as the three items starts to mash together into one ball of magic. As the stallion looks over the small ball of chiming magic he turns his attention to the hood that hangs a little to one side of his cloak as a faint bit of his magic floats up a strand of his loose mane and into the ball of magic.

Within moments the low chime pops with a faint ring of magic. The swirls of magic that wisp from the room do little to change the stallion's gaze as he looks to the small imp like creature that sits to the ground in front of him.

Its color is that of the dark green scales and its bird like wings have grown a little into the shape of bat wings, no ears are visible on the creature but two small dust colored eyes, mouth and two what look like arms and legs stick out from its small body.

Sagitta gives a little smile to the imp thing as he speaks up, "Ah, there we go." He wiggles his hoof to the items on the bed as he continues, "Move these items from my bed and neatly into the room."

The imp is silent as its wings flair out as it comes up from the ground, no voice rings from the mindless looking creature as it turns its attention to the bags.

Sagitta looks over the imp's actions for a moment before he turns towards the door, "Now lets see if my assistant brought my things."

"Oh yes...I almost forgot." The stallion turns his head back to the room as he trots over towards one of the satchel bags he sat on the ground next to the dresser.

As his horn comes up Sagitta looks back to the dull eyed little imp as it moves to lift up one of the glass items from the bed.

Sagitta turns back to the bag as a few sheets of bright gold paper, ink well and a quill comes out. The cup of the dark black ink comes off as the quill dips to it and then to the paper.

His magic makes quick work of the paper as the sound of his magic starts to come to its end.

As it does the stallion brings it closer to himself as he looks over the letter,
Dear Celestia,
As you have asked I have discussed the location of the Element of Harmony. Star Swirl still seems to be in possession of it and his intentions seems to be good. I am to meet with him tonight, I will send you a letter if anything else arises.

A slight sigh comes to the stallion as he turns his eyes from the paper, "A glorified messenger colt is all I was chosen for..." His magic folds the letter as he holds an emotionless smile as he just runs through a quick spell.

The letter vanishes in a pop of his magic, to the noise the old stallion straightens his posture as he turns back to the door. Behind him the mindless flying creature continues to go about its task.

End of chapter 11