• Published 17th May 2019
  • 1,550 Views, 108 Comments

Trials of A Princess - Rose Quill



Twilight is accused of magical crimes by the Deerkin, leaving Sunset to be her advocate.

  • ...
6
 108
 1,550

18 Revelations

As Twilight and I finished recounting our tale for the third time to our strange new companions, we were instantly met with a barrage of questions.

“So, you believe that whatever caused the disruptions also led to your banishment,” Moonrose mused. Her strange eyes, colored like her namesake, glimmered under the shadow of her hood. “But you have been unable to determine a motive, culprit, or means of which to do so.”

I rubbed my temples. The smell of the market street was beginning to creep in past the strong aroma of the tea and coffee served before us.

“So far,” Twilight said. “The only lead we have is the Umbrum. I’ve not dealt with them personally, but I am aware of what they are capable of. How they could have affected things on our side of the mirror is still a mystery to me, though.”

Moonrose poured coffee into her cup. “From the records I’ve translated, I understand that their prison exists outside of what we‘d consider congruent space. It is theoretical that given an opening they could invade any space they wish. It’s why the crystal prisons were created by the ancient Unicorns, but they’re also a flawed system.”

“Which is why Sombra is so keen on sealing them away permanently.” I mused. “I suppose I can understand why.”

“What I don’t get is why they impersonated Deer to lure you in,” Bernie said. “If I were them, I’d lead you into a village led by a deranged pony off in a remote part of Equestria. Deer are just plain odd.”

“And the reports they gave of rips in space and the report of your name,” Moonrose added. “It’s very strange. From what few Cervyds I’ve met, their divinations tend to be vague at best. I believe that they were manipulated in their visions, which a loose Umbrum is more than capable of doing.”

“And I don’t think they expected me to accompany Twilight, to begin with,” I said as a small part clicked into place. “They seemed pretty ready to drag her off as soon as they heard her name and safe passage was offered to us when I decided to go as well. It was, of course, summarily revoked as soon as we got there, much to our guide’s frustration.”

“You think that Dunford was possessed by a Umbrum?” Twilight asked.

“Seems like a reasonable hypothesis. His presence on the Triumvirate was strange, especially with his predecessor missing; we were placed in inhibitor rings despite having come of our own volition to aid them, and he was nowhere to be found when the attack on the Glenn occurred. Also, those deer that attacked us near the lake were off, somehow.”

“I don’t think he could’ve done this all alone,” Twilight said, chewing on her bottom lip.

“He could’ve with some preparation.” Moonrose brought out a scrap of parchment and a small quill. “If he were able to prepare a solution that rendered those that partook of it vulnerable to suggestion, then he would only need to plant the seeds of fear and then give the appropriate nudge to validate them.”

I shook my head. “I felt the magic in that clearing. Those beasts that attacked were real, as was that strange copy of Twilight. But for the amount of darkness and malevolence to corrupt a pony, it would take years of dark studies and most of the books and scrolls relevant to them would’ve been destroyed, lost, or held under strict guard by the Council of Mages in Equestria.”

“There’s something else,” Twilight whispered. “Sorla had access to dark spells, and through her, Chrysalis.”

I frowned. “But she’s locked away in a transdimensional prison…”

“Same as the Umbrum.” Twilight met my eyes.

“But Luna looked in on her,” I sputtered. “She was hallucinating.”

“We don’t know that,” she replied. “And this is the sort of convoluted plot she likes. And we certainly have been a thorn in her side enough times to want at least me out of the way.”

“We have to get back,” I said, rising suddenly. “If she’s involved, then who knows how long we have.”

Twilight turned to Moonrose. “Do you have any maps we could look at?”

The Unicorn smiled, her eyes growing brighter under her hood.

“I’m an archivist of one of the oldest libraries known to ponydom. Of course I do.”


“How does anyone find anything in here?” Twilight asked.

“Saddle Arabian archives are kept differently,” Moonrose said, her hood lowered as she walked through the stacks kept deep under one of the mosques. “They typically use an event to find dates as opposed to the other way around. It makes cross-referencing some things… problematic.”

“Problematic, she says,” Bernie snickered, “You lot are lucky I give the library discounted rates for spelunking to find unwary librarians that decide to correlate causations of war or famine. Scripted Letters gets a free cookie next time.”

Moonrose’s eyes were glowing faintly, something I had been passing off as a trick of the light, back in the cafe.

“How do your —“ I began.

“Why do my eyes glow like a bright moon?” she asked before I could finish. “It’s something I was born with. I consider it a blessing to be Moontouched, a disciple of the Night Mother. It certainly helps down here, where lighting tends to be spotty.”

“I’ve been wondering about that myself. Why are these records kept underground?”

“Because the intense heat of the desert could damage them,” Moonrose said as she removed a rolled-up document from a cubby and examined it briefly before replacing it. “It stays relatively cool down here. Having a few lengths worth of soil between us and any structures also safeguards against fire. Should the above structure burn to ash, the most that would happen to the soil underneath is it would bake like clay and it wouldn’t affect anything down here. It’s honestly better than some building designs, I feel.”

She rummaged around on a desk before pulling a map out. “Here we are, master map of Equestria.”

Twilight moved forward and tapped a hoof on an area in the north.

“This is about where the Glenn was,” she said, then slowly traced her hoof along to the west. “And the Pool was somewhere around here.”

I looked at the map. It was a lot more detailed than any I had ever seen.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“Congruence,” she said. “Do you have anything that maps ley lines?”

Moonrose blinked.

“Maybe?” she said. “Magic is not widely practiced here, so records are sparse.” She vanished into the darkened stacks.

“What are you up to, Twilight?” I asked.

“The mirrors work the way they do because of a magical congruence that links the metaphysical vibrations of two worlds,” she said, pulling a quill and ink over. “I think that they rely on ley lines to have enough power to work as such small artifices. Our journals work under a similar principle, but on a smaller scale, linking to each other by way of a bonded strand of a thaumaturgical nature.”

“And you think the Pool had something similar?”

She nodded.

“It may not have translated perfectly because of the nature of the link, but if the ley lines match up to the points, like I think they do, then we might be able to get back.”

Moonrose returned and set down a rolled chart.

“This is the best we have,” she said. “It’s by no means complete and is several decades old, however. So, the paths may have changed in the interim.”

“They move?” I said.

“Any large outpouring of power will shift a ley line. The lines near Sun’s Fall have been wrenched horribly out of line from what this map shows because of the Lunar and Solar queens fight.”

I unrolled the map and scanned it. The crisscrossing of lines looked like a large group of interconnected spider webs. I clearly picked out the Castle of the Two Sisters and the Crystal Empire by the tightly woven lines. Ponyville also had a small cluster, as did Canterlot. I saw several small clusters all around the map, some orderly and some wickedly twisted and snarled as though being pulled sharply out of place by some unseen hand.
Twilight’s horn lit up and the quill lifted up, it’s point settling on one corner of the chart and dragging diagonally across it. As a ghostly image of the text lifted from the page, she shifted it to the side and dropped it over the map.

“You’ve got to show me that one sometime,” I said as she leaned in.

“Look, the Pool does have a point of congruence,” she said, pointing. “And there are small eddies marked in the waters of the sea where we landed.”

“But our wings,” I said. “How does this explain them?”

“I don’t know, but this is a great way to start off!” She made notes of ley points in such a hurry a few drops of ink splashed across her blank page.

“There’s only one thing we need now,” she said.

“And that is?”

“We need to visit the Tree and ask it for the Elements.”


The pony milled about the clearing for a moment after packing her bags again. She shook her aquamarine mane and began back down the path.

She didn’t know what she was looking for, but something inside her told her she desperately missed it. She brought a hoof up to the stone chip hanging from around her neck, the markings of an eye barely visible on the fragment.

Whatever it was she was missing, Wallflower Blush would find it. It’s not like she had anywhere else to be at the moment.

***

“Junie, have you seen my briefcase?”

The Pegasus sighed as winged her way out to the office of her manager. The Earth Pony would lose her head if it weren’t attached.

“Have you checked under your coat, AJ?”

The pony froze, then hefted her coat off the chair she had draped it over. Nestled in the soft cushions was a small valise.

“Heh,” she chuckled nervously. “Ah don’t know what Ah’d do without ya.”

Juniper smiled and returned to her desk. She might be well regarded and valued, but something inside ached.

She glanced at the picture on her desk.

Would she ever see her again?

Author's Note:

I want to thank one of my friends and editors for the use of their character Bernie I these last two chapters. She and Moonrose are out of the bi-weekly Ponyfinder game and they are likely the more level headed of the group. And it’s not Moon’s fault a few midshipmen went missing when she threw a crate of candy overboard.

Join my Patreon

Buy me a coffee.