• Published 30th Jun 2016
  • 859 Views, 24 Comments

The Magic Question - Manaphy



Twilight Sparkle wonders about the mysteries surrounding magic and its role in the world. However, something ominous is brewing in a distant land, and it may have answers related to Twilight's research.

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The Changeling and the Elder

Twilight couldn't help herself from feeling as though she stepped into an alternate universe as she gazed at Maple Village. Whether it was how the cottages looked or the general layout of the town, it all bore a striking similarity to Ponyville. The myriad of new faces and a gray, imposing structure looming over the horizon were the only differences.

The structure in question, a castle-like mansion that stood out like a sore hoof, must've been the town hall. And if Twilight's assumptions were correct, she knew that there was a chance of finding out more about the community and perhaps those mysterious pillars. Neither she nor the rest of the group had seen them ever since embarking on their quest, but they had to have been somewhere outside of the village.

There were a few other matters to deal with, namely her growling and ticklish stomach. And as Twilight turned to her left, surveying the town and the many inhabitants, she already noticed Pinkie chatting with some of the younger locals, three of them pointing to their left. Over where the fillies were pointing at was a small restaurant, its neon sign glaringly out of place. But with ponies and changelings alike trotting out of the establishment with smiles, it seemed like a decent spot for food.

"Looks like Pinkie Pie is hungry again," Rarity teased. She trotted ahead, stopping after a few steps and staring at the cabin-like restaurant. "I honestly cannot blame her. Hopefully, they don't serve the same garish meals that Restaurant Row churned out." Giggles escaped her lips, and Rarity couldn't help herself from cracking a smug grin. "Well, at least until Pinkie and myself helped out."

"That's what the Cutie Map wanted?" Starlight asked, wearing a curious visage. "I thought that was about solving friendship problems—" she gently waved her hoof "—or whatever ponies call those nowadays." Pausing, Starlight's eyes widened as Rarity blankly stared at her. The former blushed in response. "Oh, you mean there was a friendship problem at a restaurant."

"Of course, dear." Rarity snickered, and when Pinkie caught up with the rest of the group, she joined in the laughter. "I should have been more specific as to why the map called us over to Canterlot, though it's always informing us about friendship problems. I doubt it was meant to double as a restaurant guide."

"True, but that would be useful," Fluttershy admitted. She twirled a strand of her mane, donning a sheepish smile. "It's sometimes hard finding a good place to eat when you're traveling."

"I can attest to that," Trixie added. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have good luck with restaurants, but finding something in Canterlot that wasn't the garbage Zesty Gourmand calls food was harder than it should've been. I lucked out when I tried The Tasty Treat." She looked over to her left, then to her right. "Trixie recommends you try it out."

"Rarity and I are a step ahead!" Pinkie chimed. She bounced over to Trixie, patting the mare's shoulder and wearing a wide smile. "That was the restaurant we helped make popular, and the moment you mentioned Zesty, I knew you were talking about Canterlot! Like, those things she says are good taste like rotten socks!" Pinkie pretended to gag, tongue sticking out. "Trust me, don't try one of those."

Trixie shrugged, nodding shortly after. "Oh, I've tried. But now, I just check the ingredients first."

"Better safe than sorry." Without warning, a grumbling sound polluted the air, everypony in the group bringing their attention to Pinkie. The mare in question donned a slight smile, cheeks flushed. "What are we waiting for? Let's get eating!" Pinkie bounced toward the restaurant, the rest of her friends following close behind. "I hear they've got lots of delicious stuff!"

A warm, mouthwatering scent reached Twilight's nostrils as she approached the cabin. She knew that Pinkie was on the right track. It was the kind of smell that evoked an image of buttermilk pancakes, both a delicious meal and—as she eventually discovered—a decent pillow. Twilight hoped that the food's taste was as excellent as its aroma.

Pinkie reached the restaurant's front door seconds later, raising her hoof and pushing the wooden frame. Sharp creaks split Twilight's ears as her friend opened the door. However, before Pinkie trotted inside with the rest of the group, a changeling with a dyed, raspberry mane and tiny fangs protruding from her mouth stepped outside.

Twilight and most of her friends stepped back, Celestia the lone exception. While Spike proved with Thorax that there were changelings out there that were kindhearted and radically different than Chrysalis, it was a fact Twilight hadn't quite gotten used to yet. But despite her preemptive move, the changeling merely smiled and bowed.

"You must be from Equestria," the changeling said with the slightest hint of a lisp. She smiled, closing her eyes for a second and beating her wings. "You're not the only ponies who came from there. Everyone who sees us for the first time acts like that, so we assume it's natural." A sigh left her mouth, the changeling's head lowered. "Blame that idiot queen if you gotta blame someone."

"Sorry if we offended ya," said Applejack. She approached the changeling and adjusted her hat. "As you said, ponies do have a history with the changelings. I'll admit that it ain't the healthiest attitude, and it'd be wonderful if ponies and changelings got along better." She looked back at the others and winked. "Ain't that right, everypony?"

"I think that goes without saying," said Starlight. She extended her foreleg to the changeling. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"My name's Silk. It's nice to meet you." She raised her head and forced a smile. "So what brings you over to Maple Village? It's not often we get visitors." Silk then turned to face Celestia, the former's smile widening a tad. "Hey, I saw you here before, but I never found out why. Is there something you have to do?"

"That is correct," said Celestia. She approached Silk and wore a warm, welcoming smile. It was almost as if Celestia knew of Silk and the friendly changelings that made their home in Maple Village long before she first trekked there. "I have been investigating those strange beams of light near the town, and I have enlisted the help of my sister and friends."

Silk leaned closer to Celestia, her compound eyes glittering. "Sounds serious."

"We're not taking any chances this time," said Twilight. Her brow sagged a little. "After the incident with Lord Tirek, we can't afford to let anything that serious occur again. That's why we're investigating these strange sights and magical abnormalities. Anything to avoid trying to find the solution at the eleventh hour is preferable."

"Tirek?" Silk's cheeks suddenly turned pale. "Oh, he makes Chrysalis seem like nothing. Rumor has it that even she's afraid of him."

"Can't exactly blame her," Rainbow added as an aside. "He's nasty."

"I've never met either of them, thank goodness." Silk wiped her forehead, breathing a sigh of relief. "But I've heard things, things that could cause nightmares." She paused, rubbing the top of her head and mumbling something incoherent to herself. She then raised her voice again and said, "But don't worry about them. Just focus on whatever it is that you're doing."

"Tirek won't be a problem anymore," said Twilight. "He's in Tartarus and definitely won't be escaping again."

Starlight raised her hoof. "I have a question," she muttered, inching closer to the changeling. "I know that changelings feed off of love and all, so how does that work?" Tilting her head, Starlight then rubbed her muzzle, tapping the ground with her other hoof. "I heard it can be extremely painful."

Silk blinked, a blank expression on her face. "You're serious?" She blinked again, this time rubbing her eyes a second later. "Oh my goodness, you're serious."

"Twilight once told me that there was an incident at Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding." Starlight arched an eyebrow. "Ever heard of that?"

Silk bit her lip, spitting briefly as laughter soon escaped her mouth. The changeling took a deep breath and rubbed the back of her head, snickering for a few more seconds. And as she noticed Starlight and some others giving her judgmental looks, Silk merely inched back and feigned another chuckle.

"So what you're saying is that it's not always harmful?" Twilight asked, tilting her head. Pausing, she then swayed her tail back and forth, lips pursed. "I don't know, Shining Armor looked out of it when Chrysalis was siphoning his love. So if a changeling can get love without harming somepony, how come the invasion at Canterlot was so—" she waved her hoof in a circle "—you know, messy."

"Think of it this way." Silk cleared her throat. "Some ponies are messy eaters while others are clean and polite. Chrysalis and her little band of changelings would be the former, while changelings over here would be the latter. I don't know why Chrysalis is like that, and I doubt she'd give you a good answer. And if you're wondering why they don't just use each other for getting love, it's a bit complicated."

"How so?" asked Applejack. "Wouldn't it be just like gettin' love from anypony else?"

"Changelings have some differences to ponies." Silk lifted her foreleg up, showing off the holes that adorned it, and then looked through one of them. She rubbed her jagged horn and shook her insect-like wings. "Some are obvious, but us changelings don't exactly know how to get love from each other."

"So the ponies provide your food?"

Silk shook her head. "Not always, as we eat the same kind of things ponies have. They're not as delicious as love, but they do the trick."

"Well, at least everypony here seems happy," Fluttershy murmured as a matter of fact. She rubbed her mane, wearing a slightly nervous expression as she gazed at Silk's eyes. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know anything about what we're searching for, right?" She paused for a few seconds. "Have you heard about those magic pillars?"

Once again, Silk hadn't wasted a second in shaking her head. "I wish! All I know is that they're south of here and look kind of snazzy. You'll have to talk to the village elder if you want details. He knows everything!"

"Where can we find him?" Rainbow asked. She lifted herself off the ground and leaned closer to Silk. "Is it the town hall? I mean, it is the only building here that isn't totally boring."

"It's not the town hall, but one of the cottages." Silk rubbed the top of her head, licking her lips with her forked tongue. "It's cottage 1099, I think. It has a garden in front of it and some animal-shaped decorations. If you see a house with a flamingo in front of it, you're in the right spot. And be sure to tell him that I sent you."

"How come?"

"He's usually picky when it comes to strangers." Silk looked up at the sky, rubbing her muzzle. "Sometimes, you can get away without explaining yourself. And since you're a princess, I guess you'll be okay." Another series of giggles left her mouth. "Just don't get too annoyed when he starts rambling again."

Twilight bobbed her head. "Thanks for helping us out, Silk," she said. "Is there anything else you'd like to mention?"

"Nah, I'm good," said Silk. "Just don't do anything stupid." With her head raised, she trotted away from the group, waving at them with a beaming grin for a brief moment. "Good luck! And don't be afraid to ask anyone else here! Someone might know about those pillar-thingies!"

With Silk skipping away from Twilight and her friends, smiling brightly, the group then brought their attention back to the restaurant. Twilight couldn't help herself from feeling ecstatic about how the conversation went; it wasn't often that she or anypony else spoke with a changeling. And while she already had friendly interactions with Thorax, it hadn't changed the fact that learning just a bit more about the changelings made visiting the town worth it.

Twilight pushed the restaurant's front door, a creaking sound reaching her ears, and stepped inside. Her friends all followed suit, the group careful as to give each other and passersby some breathing space. The hallway leading into the wide dining area was narrower than expected, but at least the nearby benches were long enough to accommodate the group. Twilight sat down and dusted herself off, soon being sandwiched by Starlight and Trixie.

Trixie quickly leaned closer to Twilight, the former adjusting her hat. "You think that those pillars aren't a threat right now?" she whispered into Twilight's ear. "If Silk doesn't know about them and we haven't seen any yet, maybe fixing all of this will be easier than we thought. If we're smart, we can solve this quickly."

"Maybe, but that depends on how things go," Twilight muttered, nodding. "However, I can say with certainty that those pillars are no laughing matter. If Princess Celestia thinks they're bad, then they'll need to be dealt with as soon as possible. I still think it has something to do with magic, but there's only one way of finding out."

"Right." Trixie turned away from Twilight and touched her cheek. "It's never that simple, huh?"

Starlight nodded, looking over to where Trixie sat. "I learned that the hard way," she added. "We have a habit of running into the unexpected."

Blushing, Twilight softly chuckled and tapped Starlight's shoulder. "Yeah, all of us have dealt with some strange happenings."

"I may have caused some of those," said Trixie, cheeks flushed. She pressed her hooves together, looking over to the dining area and then back at Twilight. The two made eye contact. "So what do we do after eating? There's speaking with the village elder, but then what? It's not like we can just waltz on over to the pillars. We don't even know what to do with them yet."

"That's what today and maybe tomorrow are for. We have to plan things out accordingly, organize what we'll bring and who will go where, and try to learn as much about those pillars as we can." Twilight ruffled her wings, adjusting her seating posture. "It's not something we will figure out in just a day."

"Let's just focus on visiting the elder first," said Starlight. "We'll see if he knows anything about those pillars, and then we can decide how to deal with them."

Trixie pursed her lips briefly, cracking a soft smirk seconds later. "Alright, I guess we could do that."

Twilight nodded in response. "It does sound like a good idea," she muttered. A deep breath escaped her mouth. "Alright, we'll start planning things out after visiting the village elder." She then turned to her right, eyes glued to a menu at the restaurant's back wall. "But first, we should get something to eat."

"Duh! I'm starving over here!" Pinkie chimed, her stomach growling as if by instinct.

Twilight and her friends giggled momentarily, patiently waiting for when a table would've been open. While gathering more information on those pillars was the sensible option, Twilight couldn't help herself from thinking about how she'd address finding them. She couldn't have cared less if her thoughts had the chance of being made irrelevant with whatever she learned. But focusing on it later would've loosened the tension in her muscles, if just for a brief moment.

After all, a hearty meal was awaiting Twilight and her friends.


Maple Village had more in common with Ponyville than just the architecture and layout, a fact that became quickly apparent to Twilight. The isolated village even had its own share of weirdness. This was particularly evident after she and the rest of the group sat down, making themselves comfortable on the wooden chairs.

Surrounding the group for a brief moment were some ponies and changelings, all of them with beaming smiles as they gazed at the three alicorns. This was more often than not followed by them returning to their seats and allowing the next batch of onlookers a closeup view of the three princesses. Twilight couldn't help herself from blushing momentarily, but after the fourth or fifth time, it began pricking her nerves.

"Alright, give 'em some space!" a voice shouted from afar. "Do ya wanna make 'em feel comfortable or not?"

In a flash, everypony around Twilight and company dispersed. She noticed Fluttershy donning a slight smile as she took a deep breath. Shortly after, both Applejack and Spike wiped their foreheads in unison. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Trixie couldn't help themselves from gluing a wide grin to their face as they waved at the onlookers.

"I take it the locals are quite fond of us," Luna said, slipping in a faint chuckle. "Since we're waiting for our food, I thought of asking a few questions to pass the time."

Twilight bobbed her head, turning to face Luna. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Nothing important, though I am curious about how your research on magic has been going." She paused for a moment, touching her muzzle and rubbing it moments later. "Before we were all whisked away on another adventure, what kinds of questions were you hoping to study next?"

"I hadn't gotten that far." Twilight shrugged, then cracked a sheepish smirk. "But if I had to take a guess, I'd imagine that magic pertaining to earth ponies would've been next. Everypony who studies magic knows that earth ponies have a strong connection to the land, but I wanted to learn a little more about it."

"Yeah, that's somethin' I wonder myself," said Applejack. She adjusted her hat, tongue sticking out for a second. "The Apples have known all sorts of nifty tricks 'bout farming, some of 'em kinda crazy when you put your mind to it. I think I don't have to remind y'all of the gestures I make when workin' on the farm."

Spike nodded without hesitating. "No kidding," he said. "How you or anypony discovered that, let alone made it work, is beyond me."

"It might have something to do with the magic of earth ponies," said Luna. She ruffled her wings, turning to Applejack and then back to Twilight. "Perhaps some methods that others might find unorthodox are related to this magic. And without Applejack's dancing, among other things, the magic wouldn't work." She leaned closer to Twilight and cracked a mischievous grin. "Need I remind you of the times your methods have seemed strange?"

Twilight felt her cheeks becoming warm. "Okay, so maybe I got carried away when studying efficient ways of quickly organizing bookshelves." A few laughs escaped her mouth, some of the other ponies in the group following suit. "Dramatic posing doesn't exactly improve the process."

"No kidding," Spike added, rubbing his forehead. "Tell me next time you do any of that, okay?"

"Guess I can do all of that stuff for ya next time," said Applejack. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Try not to be too surprised when I start actin' like a rooster again. Trust me, if there was a better way of managin' the farm, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Applejack took a deep breath, placing her hooves on the table shortly after. "It's much more tiring than y'all think."

Trixie nodded as quickly as possible. "I don't blame you. Just doing a few advanced spells tires me out," she said. "I'm panting and sweating by the time I finish practicing magic tricks." She pursed her lips, then turned to face Twilight and assumed eye contact. "Wait, that has something to do with what we researched earlier, right?"

"That's correct," said Twilight. "Because magic spells take some amount of stamina, the tougher ones will tire you out." She looked behind her shoulder, noticing there were still some curious onlookers gawking at them, and then back to Trixie. "Anyway, back when we were fleeing the dragon, remember how Luna almost passed out after using her spell?"

"Naturally."

"That's because she used a spell that requires a lot of magic to pull off. If you or somepony else tried what Luna did, you'd have probably fainted right there." She paused, donning a blank expression while Trixie pressed her hooves together. "Uh, I'm not saying that you couldn't cast the spell, by the way."

"I know." Trixie tugged her cape. "The Great and Powerful Trixie might be a stupendous magician, but all ponies have their limits." She looked over to where Luna sat. "And I'd be foolish to suggest that I could match an alicorn princess in magical prowess, even if I trained all my life."

"What's important is that you keep learning and growing from your experiences," said Celestia. Her wings twitched momentarily, the mare touching her chest. "With friendship and knowledge, you'll keep on surpassing your limits. Just remember why you're here, and while you may not surpass Luna and me, you will get closer and closer."

"So it's like having a goal to keep striving for, even if you know you can't reach it," Starlight murmured, gently twiddling her mane. "There's something to be said for that, even if it doesn't have that feeling of success in the end." She glanced down, staring at where her cutie mark was, then back to the others. "It's a reminder that there's always room for improvement, whether you're a pupil or a magician. Wish I could've learned that a tad earlier. Would've saved us a lot of trouble."

"It's okay," Twilight said, playfully waving a hoof. "What matters now is that you're bettering yourself." She caught her breath. "I always saw great potential in you, Starlight, even before we became friends. And there's always room for improvement. Isn't that right, everypony?"

"You bet!" Pinkie chimed. "Besides, Cheese Sandwich taught me so much about being a party pony when we first met, and I did the same for him! It was super-fun learning all about what makes a great party, how we can make parties even better, and so much more! Now ponies love our parties even more!"

"Same with me and Spitfire!" Rainbow added. "We're always learning from each other, and that's what makes us awesome!"

"There's always going to be something new to discover," Twilight said as a matter of fact. "You've seen how much the Princess of Friendship learns more about friendship." Before she had a chance of saying another word, everypony's orders arrived, the plates gently floating toward them via magic. The sight of scrumptious buttermilk pancakes caught Twilight's attention. The rest of the group evoked a similar guise as they gazed at their meal.

Twilight's stomach growled instinctively, her belly ticklish. A similar purring sound reached her ears, albeit without the same sensations, though Starlight and Rarity were blushing together for seemingly no reason. And it wasn't long before another series of grumbling noises polluted the air.

"I mean, how long has it been since we last ate?" Rainbow asked, gazing attentively at her food.

"Too long!" Pinkie blurted out. She grabbed her drink, sipping it, and then focused on the many dishes she ordered. The mare was unable to sit still for a few seconds, eventually taking a deep breath and freezing in place. "Alright, let's chow down and get some food in us! Ready? Go!"

As Pinkie gulped down her soup, eyes glued to the other items she ordered, everypony else looked at each other and chuckled briefly. Shortly after, Twilight and company began enjoying their own meals while Pinkie slowed down her chewing, the former grinning wildly as the warm, soft texture of the pancakes excited her taste buds.

Much to her delight, talking once more about magic and the theories behind it alleviated some of the tension gripping Twilight. She was still nervous about the pillars and what might've been lurking outside the town, but anything that involved exploring her favorite subjects was something she wouldn't have passed on.

Twilight hadn't forgotten why she was all the way over in Maple Village nonetheless. It wasn't long before her mind began formulating what she'd ask the village elder, among other residents. Maybe it was smooth sailing from here, though with so much still undiscovered, Twilight wasn't letting her guard down just yet.

The village elder could've had troubling news for all she knew.


Attention was a double-edge sword as far as Twilight was concerned. On one hoof, there was something warm and fuzzy about being admired by ponies and even changelings outside of Equestria, even if it was just for her history and status. On the other hoof, some locals proved to be a little too enthusiastic when it came to spotting not just her, but the other princesses as well.

Perhaps that was why as the group headed over to where the village elder was, a few locals followed them while focusing on Celestia and Luna, all of them keeping their distance. A few whispers about this being Celestia's second visit as well as the presence of both Luna and Twilight often left their mouths. Some even knew of Twilight's friends, correctly recognizing them as once bearing the Elements of Harmony.

However, such distractions occasionally got in the way of trying to find the elder's cottage, Twilight noticing both Pinkie and Rainbow examining homes twice more just to make sure they hadn't read something incorrectly, often after being distracted by the villagers' somewhat erratic behavior.

"We should be close to the elder's home," said Applejack, counting the address numbers affixed to each of the cottages. "Just passed by 1074, so his home should be a block or two away, right?" She quickly glanced back at the rest of the group, then resumed surveying her surroundings.

"Silk did inform us of his home's decorations, dear," Rarity said as a matter of fact. She then mumbled something to herself, looking to her left before saying, "I only hope that he has a marvelous garden. It's probably not as gorgeous as the one Roseluck works on, but anything that isn't hideous will do."

"Well, taste is subjective," Trixie muttered, giving Rarity a sly smirk. "Even though I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie, one of the many things Twilight and Starlight taught me is that not everypony will enjoy what you like." Blushing, she then slipped a soft giggle. "Really could've learned that one sooner."

"No kidding," Rainbow murmured under her breath.

Trixie's ears twitched. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Standing as tall as she could, Rainbow looked away from Trixie and stretched her wings out. "Just thinking about something else!"

"Found it!" Starlight shouted at the top of her lungs.

In a flash, Starlight pointed over to a cottage with a few shrubs in front of it, all of them rather small and adorned with brown leaves. Twilight noticed Rarity recoiling in response less than a second later, though the former couldn't help herself from smiling as she approached the house. A pink flamingo stood behind one of the shrubs, its withered form and faded colors commanding some attention, though she had seen worse. And affixed to the front door was a small sign, a message hastily scribbled on it in red marker.

Advice: Ten Bits

That was the only thing written on the sign. Twilight rolled her eyes and groaned. Ten bits for something that might've gotten her nowhere wasn't what she considered a wise investment. Nonetheless, given the severity of the problem at hoof, she realized that there was no other choice. And if others were confident in his wisdom, Twilight figured he'd have something new for them.

"Does anypony have ten bits with them?" Twilight asked, glancing back at the group.

"I do!" Pinkie replied without hesitating. She bounced over to Twilight, swiftly reaching into her saddlebag and procuring ten bits. "I was hoping to get some souvenirs after we took care of that pillar stuff, but I can chip in for some advice!" She gasped, eyes widened. "Maybe he knows some of the fun, fantastic things you can do here!" Before Twilight or anypony else had a chance of responding, Pinkie took a deep breath and giggled. "But important stuff goes first."

"That's correct." Twilight brought her attention back to the front door, knocking on it shortly after. The door's wooden frame had a rough texture, bumpy in a few places. "I just hope that the village elder knows a few things about those magic pillars. Maybe he knows exactly how to stop them."

The door nudged slightly open. "Then you've come to the right place," a raspy voice said. Poking his head out was a lavender-coated unicorn, a thick beard flowing down his muzzle and his grayish mane covering the back of his neck. Twilight blinked, wondering if she stumbled upon an imitation of Star Swirl the Bearded, though she realized that his appearance wasn't a perfect match. The beard was much too messy for starters, looking as though it hadn't been groomed in months.

"You must be the village elder," Twilight said, touching her chest. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. We'd like to come inside and ask you a few questions."

The elder nodded, grinning. "A princess, eh? Don't get many of those around these parts."

"Yeah, there's a lot of responsibility when it comes to being a princess." Twilight smiled, wings twitching momentarily. "Just ask Celestia and Luna over here." She feigned a snicker, Luna joining in with one of her own. "Anyway, we wanted to ask you about the pillars that have been appearing just outside of town. Do you know anything about those?"

"Pillars?"

"So you don't know," said Rainbow.

The elder shook his head without warning. "Patience, young whippersnapper. I know what your friend is talking about. I'm just trying to think about all I know about those things." Humming, the elder rubbed his beard. "Now then, what about those pillars?" His eyes suddenly became the size of saucers, mouth opened. "That's it!"

Fluttershy leaned closer to where the elder stood. "You know something?" she asked.

"You bet! Trot inside, make yourselves comfortable, and I'll tell you youngsters everything I know!"

Twilight and company made their way through the doorway, the former looking around the room and noticing all kinds of old trinkets sprawled throughout the place. It made everything rather cramped, each of the ponies except for the elder having difficulty finding somewhere comfortable to sit, let alone stand. Shelves were attached to each of the walls, pebbles with strange carvings on their faces and strange jewels adding some light to the room among the more common artifacts. A few books that were close to falling apart were near them, though a few were in pristine condition. However, some empty envelopes and old papers littered the floor, some of Twilight's friends grimacing at the sight.

"Pardon the mess," the elder said. A hearty laugh left his mouth. "I've been meaning to clean this place for a while, but I've never gotten around to it."

"Better get on that, dear," Rarity whispered under her breath.

The elder playfully waved a hoof. "But at least I have all of these valuable knickknacks with me." He then pointed to one of the topmost shelves, said section adorned with the aforementioned pebbles. "Right over there are ancient artworks from a time well before Celestia and Luna reigned. They're not worth much nowadays, but I've always loved how much detail they had."

"They're from before the founding of Equestria," Celestia said, smiling. "Archaeology students back in Equestria have found quite a few of them, so I'm predicting that they must've had some sort of importance." She pressed the tips of her hooves together. "Maybe they were used as currency."

"You make a strong case, Your Highness." The elder played with his long beard, twirling it around his hoof. "I don't know what they used 'em for, but I sure do love collecting 'em. I've got pages of guesses about what those things mean." He stood as tall as possible, making eye contact with Celestia. "Would you be interested in hearing my guesses?"

Celestia immediately shook her head, wearing a stern visage. "Now is not the time to relax. For starters, we need to learn as much as possible about those pillars we mentioned." Taking a deep breath, Celestia rolled her shoulders. "Firstly, we know that they're to the south of this town. They were created by somepony hoping to use them for some nefarious purpose, though exactly what's planned is unknown."

"Yes, those things." The elder ruffled his brow. "They call 'em Lustrous Lights, and corny name aside, they're not to be messed with. I've done a bit of research on them, even had somepony spying on them tell me about what they're for. And after what she told me, you'll need plenty of luck stopping them."

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow blurted out. She spread her forelegs out, pouting. "We gotta mess with them in order to save Equestria! Princess Celestia over here and a vision about them, and those are always bad news! You've heard of Lord Tirek, right? That big, scary centaur? Celestia had a vision about him!"

The elder gnashed his teeth. "Of course I've heard of Lord Tirek! Any living being who lives here has heard of him! That tyrant etched his name into history ever since he nearly wiped out all life as we know it!" The elder took a deep breath, rubbing his muzzle and grumbling. Everypony else merely looked at him with quizzical expressions. "Sorry, but I have a history with him."

"You do?" asked Starlight. She bit her lip and gently tugged a strand of her mane. "But isn't Tirek from almost a thousand years ago? I know Twilight and her friends helped stop him again, but does that mean you've met with him before?" Pausing, Starlight rubbed the top of her head. "Did he attack this town during his rampage?"

"Very good questions, lass." The elder cleared his throat. "Tirek never attacked this town, but I recall freaking out at the possibility. Ponies, griffons, changelings, and more were powerless under his wrath, which made his defeat all the more amazing. I watched him battling a small pony from a long ways away, thankful I had my telescope." He looked behind his shoulder, then back to the group. "Speaking of which, do you want to see my telescope? You can see Canterlot—"

"Maybe later," said Twilight, wings twitching for a moment. "Let's get back to the topic at hoof. What do you know about the Lustrous Lights—or whatever they're called?"

The elder feigned a chuckle. "You have no idea how close you lot are."

"What are you talking about?" Trixie asked, cocking her head. She arched an eyebrow. "We barely know the basics, which is why we came to you in the first place."

"What I'm saying is that it has something to do with Tirek."

The whole group leaned back simultaneously, mouths agape and eyes widened. Either some piece of the puzzle was missing, or Twilight had the answer under her nose the whole time. Even the rumored treasure Lightning Dust had been searching for seemed more like a coincidence as opposed to a possible connection. The myriad of possibilities made Twilight's heart race, sweat pouring down her coat.

"Surprised?" the elder murmured.

"Of course we're surprised!" Trixie shrieked. Her cheeks became paler, the mare looking close to passing out as Pinkie clung onto her. "Six of these ponies defeated him with a blast, and I thought that was the last we'd ever hear of him! How in the world does Tirek play into this? And more importantly, how do you know this?"

"Would it surprise you if I knew how those pillars came to be?"

Twilight shivered as though a blizzard swirled past her. Taking a deep breath, she then inched closer to the elder. "Well, how did they come about?"

"Gather 'round, youngsters." The elder rubbed his hooves together, lips pursed for a second. "I've got a little story to tell you."

"A story?" Pinkie nudged closer to the elder with a beaming grin. "Ooh, I hope it's a good one!"

"As was previously said, the pillars came about thanks to the work of a pony, but he's not like the ponies you and I know." The elder gently tapped his forehead. "He's what you'd call an umbrum, pony-like creatures from a distant land. A few of them are behind those pillars, though whether they're connected to that hidden kingdom of theirs or are by themselves is unknown."

"Hidden kingdom?" Twilight murmured. She tapped her hoof against the floor, raising her head for a moment. Even among all of the different lands and creatures she had studied, not once had she read anything about the umbrum. Yet they sounded vaguely familiar, almost like a creature from an alternate universe. "Do you know where this hidden kingdom might be? If we talk to their ruler, maybe we can find out the magic behind their pillars."

"Good luck with that." Chuckling, the elder cracked a faint smile. "It's some portal near the Crystal Empire. Nopony knows how to get in."

"Figures," Rainbow grumbled.

"So since visiting the umbrum's homeland won't work, what should we do?" asked Fluttershy. "It's not like we can ask the umbra nearby about the Lustrous Lights. They'd probably try to hurt us before answering." She shuddered, wings spread out for a few seconds. "I don't want to get into more trouble."

The elder cracked a slight smirk, chuckling for a few seconds. "You'll only get in trouble if you look for it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Starlight quipped, wearing a confused expression. She approached the elder and leaned closer to him, muzzle scrunched. "If anything, we'll be in trouble when we least expect it. And if this is supposed to be some cryptic message, then why not tell us upfront?"

"It only means that you shouldn't do anything foolish." The elder ruffled his brow. Shortly after, Starlight inched back and gently flicked her tail. "I know you can't control everything, so just stay focused and things will turn out okay." Another series of laughs escaped his mouth. "The umbrum aren't overly dangerous. Trust me, they might put up a fight, but they're about as threatening as any other pony."

"Not the most comforting words," Trixie murmured. She pursed her lips, taking a deep breath and then saying, "But let's assume that we bump into them. How should we go about dealing with them? I'd rather avoid fighting somepony tough. Illusions and magic tricks are more my thing."

"You're not going to like my answer."

Trixie sighed, wearing a bemused look. "Figures."

"I don't know how else to put it, but stopping the Lustrous Lights won't be a cakewalk. The umbrum aren't exactly privy with this whole friendship thing, and if those lot aren't involved with their kingdom, they'll be even less likely to listen. But if it makes you feel any better, stopping them should be like that infamous wedding mess."

"You mean Queen Chrysalis and her soldiers, right?" Twilight responded.

"The second part."

Twilight rubbed her muzzle, brow sagging a little. While fighting of any kind wasn't anything she wanted to deal with, especially since the crisis involving Tirek, there was little doubt that she'd have to get her hooves dirty at some point. Her heart wished she could've coerced the few umbrum causing trouble with words. She was the Princess of Friendship, after all, and part of her title involved spreading the magic of friendship to those who hadn't discovered it yet. A carefully crafted argument might've been what was needed; it worked with Starlight and some of those before her.

"You have an idea, Twilight?" Applejack asked, leaning closer to her friend's ear. "Anythin' reasonable works for me."

Twilight nodded, cracking a smile and standing as tall as she could. Her eyes then gazed directly at the elder's. "As the Princess of Friendship, I'm going to try and resolve things as peacefully as possible," she said. "Having spread the magic of friendship to many who lost their way, I'm sure that convincing the umbrum to stop what they're doing is possible."

The elder shrugged and donned a sheepish smile. "Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you." He swiftly stood up, nearly knocking over a few things before dusting himself off. Carefully making his way past the group, he twisted his head to face them. "I've said all that needs to be said. Everything else I don't know or is too small to care about."

"But what if something else comes up?" asked Luna. She hurried over to the elder, touching his shoulder, and wore a stern visage. "We can't be sure that's all there is behind those pillars. If one of those minor details becomes much more important, can you promise that you'll help us out?"

"Normally, I'd say no." He turned to Luna, then brought his focus to Celestia, and finally to where Twilight stood. "But you clearly aren't normal ponies." He turned away and trotted over to the front door. "I'll help you out on your little quest, but don't expect me to know everything. I'm not just some expository machine that tells you everything."

"That's what we usually have 'Tia for," Luna teased, giggling. Celestia couldn't help herself from blushing in response, something virtually nopony ever saw from her. Luna then stretched her wings and said, "Anyway, please don't hesitate to inform us. We'll be at the hotel if we're not investigating the Lustrous Lights."

"Right, I know where the only hotel in town is. I'll just ask where you're staying." The elder opened the door, stepping outside and taking in the fresh air. "Alright, I'm off to do some errands. You lot can go shop for supplies and do whatever it is that adventurers do." His grin suddenly widened. "As for me, a trip to the spa should do wonders."

"I have one tiny question," said Fluttershy. She flapped her wings and glided over to where the elder was. "What's your name?"

"Golden Chronicler." He feigned another few chuckles. "I was destined to do this job from the start, I tell you."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you."

Chronicler nodded, looking back at the group again. "And it's wonderful to meet so many heroes. You keep on fighting the good fight." He then stepped outside the cottage, shuffling aside and pointing to the outside world. "Unfortunately, this means you'll have to leave for now. It's for cleanliness, really."

"Right," Rainbow murmured, rolling her eyes.

"Goodbye, youngsters!"

Chronicler waved a hoof, trotting again shortly after. Twilight and company waved in return and, as Chronicler requested, made their way out of the cottage. Spike closed the door once everypony was outside, Twilight feeling as though she had ample breathing space for the first time in what felt like days. She wiggled one of her forelegs, then the other, and surveyed the town.

With a number of options available to them before heading south, Twilight figured that getting some much needed rest was the first item on the agenda. Once that was out of the way, either doing some research or embarking on their quest early would've followed. It was just a matter of figuring out how to approach either of those options.

"Uh, he does realize that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are over a thousand years old, right?" Spike said out of nowhere.

Everypony in the group chuckled together, Twilight sensing something warm tickling her coat. The cheeriness in the air helped lighten some of the load on Twilight's shoulders, relieved that she had the help and support from her friends. Maybe stopping the Lustrous Lights wasn't going to be difficult in comparison to some of Twilight's other escapades.

Tomorrow, Twilight knew they'd be even closer to their objective.

Comments ( 2 )

This was a nice chapter, I liked the part with the friendly changeling and Pinkie's comments. The story of the village elder was intersting, but he hasn't explained how the pillars are connected to Tirek.

7549858 Thank you for checking out the chapter and for commenting. As for how the pillars and Tirek are connected, while such claims haven't been thoroughly explained yet, there will be more discoveries as the story progresses. Furthermore, there will be more of the elder and how he fits in the story. :raritywink:

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