> The Orb of Knowledge
>  by SkySong
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> Prologue
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"It is said that long ago, when the lands of Equestria were fresh and new, that the Alicorn Dagon ruled a mighty and ancient Kingdom known as Coronet; built high in the Chocktaw mountains. The mountains were large and gnarled but beheld within their stony faces gems of such brilliance never seen by pony eyes before. These gems were so rare that the King himself created a royal decree that any pony who mined such a beauty would bring it unto him in exchange for a wish granted.

Many years passed before the first gem was found. A ruby, it was, that dazzled in the sunlight like a brilliant flame. The pony who brought it to the King asked, in exchange, for his own pair of wings so that he, too, may fly above the clouds and join the birds in unbridled bliss. Despite being wary of such a request, the King was an alicorn of his word and granted this wish on the condition that he must use his newfound strength to better the lives of his fellow ponies. And so it came to be the first pegasus, Titan, ruled the skies and took over control of the weather for Coronet.

It wasn't long at all before the second gem was found. An emerald of such rich colour and sparkle that not even the deep green eyes of Dagon could not compare. The gem was found by a young mare named Aurora who asked the great King in return for the gem that she be able to harness the powers of magic so that she could help her family be safer in the mines. She would use the magic to detect fatal gases or weaknesses in the rocks that might cause cave-ins. With her power she would save lives, and so the King Dagon granted her wish with the upmost confidence. Thus, the first unicorn was created.

With the founding of two gems from the mountain, ponies were more eager than not to mine the rocks and hunt for those wish makers. However, it was a most peculiar situation that arose when the third gem was found. An older pony who hailed from the Gaskin Plains below the mountain presented the King with a shining sapphire bluer than the oceans depths and more vibrant than the crashing waves. It was no doubt that this gem came from the mountain, but when asked how he came across such a jewel, he simply responded that the ponies of the Plains had been mining the base of the mountain; he had come across this gem in his solo endeavor. The King, who inspected the gem with a skeptical eye, asked the pony what he wished for in exchange for the item. A humble pony, he bowed before the great King and asked for the knowledge of the King himself; to know all and understand everything. Unfortunately, to understand and be knowing of all would take time and the capacity of a simple pony mind was not capable of holding all at once. So, the King Dagon proposed to him a tome of great knowledge that would answer any and all questions the pony, Consus, may have.

The tome of knowledge was crafted by the King himself from a small marble sphere and attached to a chain made of mythrill that could never be broken from the pony's neck. Along with magic and the will of the King, the orb became a glowing stone of power, mentally linked with the King's own mind to behold all the knowledge of the world.

However, dark times came over the Kingdom of Coronet. The great King Dagon disappeared in the night; all three gems gone with him. The ponies of Coronet, and even the ponies of the Plains, first began to worry. Then, the ponies became divided. Who would take the throne now that their great King was gone? The pegasi, Titan, vouched for himself for he was gifted by the former King a great power of flight. But Aurora, the unicorn, was also gifted and volunteered herself to be Queen for she controlled more power than a pair of wings and thus should rule over the lands. In these troubling times, Consus was nowhere to be found."

Twilight Sparkle turned the page but found that there was nothing else more to continue the story. The King Dagon had vanished and now the ponies were in a tizzy over who would be their next leader. "Why would Celestia have me read a book that wasn't even finished?" she mumbled, flipping through the blank pages of the book. There were quite possibly over one hundred pages left; more than enough to finish this story. And yet, it was incomplete.

She closed the book and bound it in its leather ties, placing it carefully into her saddle bag with care before exiting the library. Her back, sore from the weight of always carrying her books, had her thinking about her dear companion, Spike, and his current absence from her company. And it wasn’t because he would have normally been the one to carry her books from place to place; it was his helpful input on certain situations, his sarcastic comments when Twilight was getting too serious, and yes, even his very presence. Ever since she had become Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike had been all but forced into tasks that required him to stay home or roam about Canterlot to gather intel; all while organizing her documents and letters.

With a heavy sigh, she closed the library doors and called upon her magic to lock it. This particular library was hidden beneath the Canterlot castle library from the Star Swirl the Bearded chamber. So as she climbed the stairs, one by one, the torches that hung on the marble walls went out behind her, reducing the tunnel to pitch blackness. However, above her, the tiles of the room began to slide open, revealing the hidden entrance and allowing Twilight to exit.