The Sun and Stars: Lightning Round

by JKinsley

Blueprints - JKinsley - Dec. 6, 2014

By JKinsley

Twilight Sparkle surveyed the dig site from a hundred meters up in a gentle glide, the subtle currents of warm, summer air helping keep her aloft. Below, dozens of ponies worked carefully to excavate some positively ancient ruins buried in the dirt. Earth ponies hauled away mountains of dirt; pegasi coordinated their efforts; and unicorns dug out the ruins slowly but surely.

From her vantage point, Twilight spotted patterns, like long, wide streets and the tightly clustered walls of a dwelling. More unusual, though, was a large set of foundation that had a large circle with many triangles around it. Like a starburst, thought Twilight, leveling her camera at the pattern and snapping a picture. She flew up a little higher to get a snapshot of the entire dig, as well, before gliding down to the surveyor’s tent.

A couple of unicorns and an Earth pony stood around the center table with large sketch of the dig site on it. One of the the unicorns busied herself with filling in the new details described by the Earth pony.

Twilight cleared her throat and everypony turned to her. She nodded and said, “I have some photographs of the dig I need to take back to Canterlot to develop, and I want to compare them against some of the books in the Royal Archive. I think we might be looking at a village that I’ve seen before, but I need to be sure.” She gestured to one of the corners of the dig. “That area right there? Pay special attention and care. I think it’s key. I spotted a starburst pattern, so I think it had some cultural significance to the former residents.”

The three ponies nodded, and the unicorn doing the sketching added a faint starburst icon to the building Twilight pointed out. Twilight grabbed her saddlebags from the corner of the tent, packed her camera and other gear in it, and then strode out of the tent and took off.

Twilight arrived back in Canterlot a few hours later, thanks to some clever teleporting and other magical assistance. She landed on the balcony nearest the library and dashed inside. Once there, she rifled through the stacks in the Archaeology section.

“No, no, no, definitely not, no,” she muttered, tossing books aside. One the librarians passed her growing piles of books and shook her head, tsking to herself as she wandered off.

Twilight was soon surrounded by a mountain of books, with nearly the entire section stripped from its shelves. “Still nothing. No. UGH!” She threw herself on her back in frustration and took several deep breaths to steady herself. “You can do this, Twilight, I know you can. You’ve defeated much greater enemies.”

“I would hardly call the library your enemy, my dear Twilight. It seems to be one of your great loves,” a soothing voice came from the other side of a wall of books. The tip of a white horn and the gentle wave of pastel blue gave Twilight all she needed to confirm her beloved was on the other side.

“Celestia!” she shouted after parting the books. She threw her arms around Celestia’s neck and held her close. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been occupied with research.”

“Proving that other ponies declared me to be divine won’t make me stop teasing you every time you shout ‘Oh Celestia!’ in the bedroom, dear.”