A Message Written in Light and Shadow
“Twiliiiiiiiiight!”
Spike’s voice echoed throughout the crystal halls of Twilight’s castle until it finally reached the dining room where Twilight, Starlight, Trixie and Princess Celestia were conversing. Twilight was apologizing profusely to Celestia for all that had happened that night. Apparently, Celestia had informed Twilight the day before that she wanted to have a banquet with her and Starlight to see how Starlight’s friendship lessons were progressing. When the banquet started and Starlight didn’t show up, Twilight went looking for her, awkwardly leaving Celestia behind with three of Twilight’s acquaintances. When Twilight and Starlight returned with Trixie, who had since become Starlight’s good friend, they could see that Celestia was not pleased with Twilight’s actions. But when Twilight apologized and, with the help of Starlight and Trixie, explained what had happened, Celestia’s demeanor had changed, and she was delighted to become more acquainted with Trixie before Spike’s voice suddenly cut the atmosphere.
“What is it, Spike?” Twilight asked as he stumbled into the room. “What’s wrong?”
“You’ve — you’ve gotta come quickly!” he panted, pointing back towards the hall. “Library — writing — quick!”
The four ponies hurriedly followed Spike to the library. As they entered, they all gasped by what they saw. Images of various creatures were etched into the crystalline walls, including a giant image of a six-pointed flower blooming from a marble basin covering the wall on the other side of the room like a decorative windowpane.
“Okay, this is kinda weird,” Starlight said, looking at the images carved into the walls.
“It’s more than that!” Spike exclaimed, pointing at the floor. “Look!”
Everypony stepped back in shock as their gaze turned to the floor. In the center of the room, carved into the floor and formulated into a spiral, were written these words:
Kralj-vladar. Ljós enjah Skadus. Vlktmavý. Adevăr-întreg. Apvienot. Fælæk.
“Kral. . .g. . .what!?” Trixie tried to pronounce, tilting her head to better read the writing. “What in Equestria is this? This is all just a bunch of gibberish!”
“What happened in here, Spike?” Twilight inquired, turning to him.
“I don’t know! All of the sudden, everything went dark and cold. Then, the floor heated up. Next thing I knew, all this appeared!”
Starlight trotted over to the mysterious writing and looked at it more closely.
“I wonder who or what could’ve left all this.”
“Whoever or whatever it is, it was trying to tell us something,” Twilight commented, looking at the images carved into the walls.
Trixie rolled her eyes.
“Well, thanks for stating the obvious, Princess Twilight! Got any more inspiring words of wisdom to share?”
Twilight snorted in annoyance and pretended not to notice.
“Princess Celestia,” she turned, “do you know anything about this?”
Celestia shook her head.
“I do not. All this is as puzzling to me as it is to you.”
Twilight thought for a moment.
“Perhaps. . .this may be a long-shot, but maybe the answer’s in one of my books!”
At this, Spike cocked one of his eyebrows.
“Why do I get the feeling that the answer’s always in a book somewhere when it comes to Twilight?”
Twilight turned to him with a scowl.
“You’ve got a better idea?”
Spike sighed.
“Nope, guess not.”
He took a deep breath. This was all starting to feel like routine.
“Well. . .here we go again.”
The four of them scoured through every book in the library, leaving no page unturned.
“Find anything?” Starlight called from the other end of the room.
“Not yet,” Twilight replied, placing another book on top of one of several stacks of books.
Trixie opened another book, flipped through its pages with her magic and then placed it on top of one of the stacks of books situated around her like a protective ring.
“We’ve been searching all these books for hours!” she exclaimed with a sigh. “I think my head’s ready to explode from reading so much!”
Spike climbed a ladder and grunted as he reached for a book on a shelf above him.
“Twilight. . .remind me. . .what we’re looking for, again?”
“We’re looking for a book or something that tells us more about these images on the words on the floor,” Twilight replied, using her magic to flip through another book.
Meanwhile, Princess Celestia was sitting on the floor and examining the writing more closely. All the while, her expression was thoughtful and focused, almost troubled.
“Princess Celestia?” Starlight asked. “Are you all right? You look intense.”
Celestia turned.
“It’s strange, but I recognize this language, particularly these words. I don’t know what they mean, but. . .I’ve seen these somewhere before.”
She sighed as she turned to examining the words.
“I’m trying to remember where I might have seen this, but so far nothing comes to mind.”
Her voice trailed off as her mind turned to recalling her deepest and most distant memories. Starlight left her to her pondering and returned to scouring the shelves nearby.
|*****|
Princess Luna walked into the castle and searched the halls.
“Sister?” she called out, “are you here?”
No answer. She was starting to become concerned. Ever since Celestia had left to attend Twilight’s banquet, she hadn’t returned to the Canterlot castle. When Luna had returned home and lowered the moon, the sun didn’t rise to take its place, leaving the sky in a state of limbo. After she had searched the castle for her and found nothing, she went to Twilight’s castle in hopes that her sister was there still.
“Twilight Sparkle? Spike? Starlight Glimmer? Is anypony in here?”
No response.
Where is everypony?
She poked her head into the throne room and the dining room but saw no pony present.
Where in Equestria can she be?
She continued down the hallway and entered the library.
“Hello?” she called as she entered. “Is anypony in here?”
She sighed in relief as she saw Twilight, Starlight, Trixie, Spike and Celestia asleep on the floor and gasped in shock when she noticed the images carved in the walls and the mysterious writing on the floor.
“What—! What in Equestria is going on here?” she exclaimed as the five of them asleep on the floor awoke from their sleep. “And what is this on the floor? I do hope that all of you have not lost your minds!”
“Apologies, Sister,” Celestia replied as she rose to her feet and rubbed her tired eyes, “but this was left by a mysterious visitor last night.”
Luna’s eyebrows rose.
“A mysterious visitor wrote this? Where in Equestria did he learn to write?! This is nothing but gibberish!”
Trixie nodded emphatically.
“My thoughts exactly!”
“We’ve been trying to find any information in the library about where these words came from,” Twilight explained. “We’ve searched every book, but so far no luck.”
“Do we, by chance, have a book that can tell us about this writing back in Canterlot, Luna?” Celestia asked.
“I do not know,” Luna replied, putting a hoof to her chin. “We might. And there is the Starswirl wing of the library. Perhaps Starswirl the Bearded knew something about this.”
Celestia nodded.
“That is a possibility, my sister.”
She turned to the writing on the floor.
“Luna, does this writing look. . .familiar to you? At least slightly?”
Luna trotted over to her side and examined it.
“Honestly, my sister, it does not. It appears to be mere gibberish to me. Why do you ask?”
“It’s strange, but looking at it more closely, I believe that I’ve seen this before. . .somewhere.”
Luna stared at her sister.
“You have? When? Where?”
Celestia shook her head.
“I don’t know. I can’t remember. I’ve been trying to remember all night but to no avail.”
Luna lowered her gaze.
“Strange indeed.”
Then, she turned to the images etched on the walls.
“And what about these images?”
Everypony followed her gaze at the images of Minotaurs, Griffins, Alicorns, Dragons and Draconequi running along the walls in a continuous pattern with the six-pointed flower at the far end of the room as the centerpiece.
“We’ve been searching for information about that, too,” Spike said, “but there’s nothing in the library about any flower like that or anything else.”
Suddenly, Luna’s eyes widened.
“Wait, Celestia! This flower looks very familiar! I believe that I may have seen a flower like this back in Canterlot in a stained glass window!”
Celestia nodded as she examined the image.
“Why, yes, Luna! I do believe you’re right! Though, the question remains, what does it mean?”
Spike sighed.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out all night.”
“Is there anything that could tell us about this flower, Princess Celestia?” Starlight Glimmer asked.
“Apart from the stained glass window, there is no other source of information that could tell us about this flower. Luna and I thought that the stained glass window of this flower was only for decoration, as countless other ponies most likely have thought. Apparently, it is not so.”
She turned to Luna.
“Still, Starswirl the Bearded might have known something about this. Fly to Canterlot and order a thorough search of the Starswirl wing of the library. I shall join you shortly.”
Luna nodded and was about to leave when she stopped.
“Actually, I did not only come looking for you to know where you were, but also to tell you that the sun ought to be up by now.”
Celestia gasped.
“Ah, yes, that’s right! Thank you for reminding me, Sister.”
She raised her head high and majestically spread her wings. Yellowish threads of power spiraled up her long horn until it collected into a bright orb of light at the tip. Outside, the sun gradually rose above the horizon, beginning a new day in Equestria. Inside, something unexpected was happening.
“Uh, guys. . .!” Spike exclaimed, pointing. “Look! The — the flower! It — it’s glowing!”
The others turned to look and saw that white light from the flower’s center was glowing brighter and brighter, spreading into each of its six triangular petals. Then, when the petals were sufficiently filled with light, the light from each of them exploded into a different color, filling the room with a coalescence of orange, red, green, cyan, pink and purple light. Everypony in the room shielded their eyes from the sudden burst of colored light until it gradually dimmed to the point that they could see again.
“What. . .was that?” Starlight staggered.
Twilight looked up in awe at the glowing, multicolored flower in front of her.
“I don’t know. . .but it looks like we’ve finally made a breakthrough.”
She stared at each of the glowing petals on the flower, each one illuminating a specific color: orange, red, pink, green, cyan and purple. The colors dazzled her as they sparkled in her eyes.
“These colors remind me of the Elements of Harmony a thousand years ago,” Luna commented to her sister. “Could it be. . .?”
Celestia nodded in reply.
“It is possible.”
At that moment, Starlight pointed to the area above the flower and exclaimed, “Look, above the flower!”
All eyes turned to the area above the glowing flower. Lines of text had appeared in bright yellowish light as though they were burned into the wall.
Gėlė kaip dienos šviesa duotat.
Gėlė pas natūris į laikas iš padėtis duotat.
Šeši vainiklapēs pigmentae gražes turėtiunt, vainiklapēs gera ypatēbus katras šeši veislēbus laikytiunt simbolizuotiunt.
Trixie scowled at the words.
“Oh great,” she said dryly, “more gibberish. Why am I not surprised?”
Celestia trotted over to the writing on the wall, her eyes widened in recognition.
“What is it, Sister?” Luna asked.
Celestia’ eyes scanned the writing.
“I. . .I can read it!” she breathed in disbelief. “The words are so clear!”
Luna’s eyes also widened as she joined her sister.
“I do not believe it,” she likewise said, “but. . .I can read it, too!”
Spike’s jaw dropped.
“W-wait, you can read that?! How?”
Celestia slowly shook her head.
“I. . .I don’t know! My sister and I have never seen this language before in our lives, and yet, we can still read it!”
“Maybe, only Alicorns can read it,” Starlight speculated.
She turned to Twilight.
“Twilight, you’re an Alicorn, right?”
“I am,” Twilight replied, “but somehow I can’t read the words at all.”
“Maybe that’s because Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have always been Alicorns?” Spike suggested.
“Maybe.”
Twilight turned her attention to Celestia and Luna.
“What does it say, Princess Celestia?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, focusing on the words.
“It says. . . ‘A flower given for light. Given to creatures in their hour of plight. Six petals with colors fair, represent virtues six races bear.’”
“What does it mean, Sister?”
Celestia shifted her gaze from the writing to the flower casting its colorful glow around the room.
“I’m not entirely sure, Luna, but I suspect that maybe this flower has something to do with the past, before Equestria was founded. . .before we were even born.”
“Woah. . .now that’s a long time!” Spike finally exclaimed.
“But what’s all this got to do with us?” Trixie said. “I mean, this ‘mysterious visitor’ left us a strange and, apparently, ‘important’ message for us. So, what exactly is the point of all these annoyingly-cryptic riddles?”
Suddenly, Twilight interrupted.
“Princess Celestia, could you shine an orange light on that spot over there?”
She pointed to an area where the pointed tip of the glowing orange petal was pointing, about a foot from the flower’s center. Celestia looked back at her curiously but nodded in reply.
“I can.”
She lowered her horn and concentrated. Yellowish magic turned into orange and spiraled up her horn until it reached the tip, casting an orange light on the spot where Twilight had shown her. In response, an image of a pair of court balances appeared, as well as a line of text underneath in bright orange.
Oranžinė Minotaurōs kalbae sąžiningia vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Orange representing the Minotaurs for their honest tongue,” Celestia read.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin.
“Minotaurs, huh?”
“What’s with that orange scale?” Spike asked, motioning to the image of the balances above the orange words.
“Looks like a scale used to represent the court system and Justice,” Trixie commented. “I’ve seen it several times in my travels before I came back to Ponyville.”
“I have never seen a scale like this in Equestria before,” Luna commented. “Have you, Sister?”
Celestia shook her head.
“No, I haven’t. . .at least, not like this one.”
Perched on top of the scale rested a crest that resembled a bull's head with a small, circular gem inside its forehead.
“Simply fascinating!” Luna commented.
Then, Spike exclaimed, “Hey! Look at the Minotaurs on the walls!”
They all looked around and saw that every single carving of a Minotaur along the walls was glowing orange.
“Was does it mean?” Starlight wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” Twilight replied, “but maybe we’ll know if we keep looking for more clues!”
Celestia looked up at the flower.
“It appears that the next color is red.”
She turned to Luna.
“Luna, would you care to do the honors?”
Luna nodded and lowered her horn as she concentrated. Blue magical energy turned into red as it spiraled up her horn until it reached the tip. As it did, a beam of reddish light illuminated the area about a foot from the red flower petal. In response, a glowing red image of a scepter appeared with curved spikes on top like talons encasing a fairly large gem inside. Underneath were inscribed words similar to those found under the previous image.
Raudona Drakonōs ištikimybės tvirtia vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Red representing the Dragons for their loyalty strong,” Luna read.
“Hey, look at that, Spike!” Starlight exclaimed with a smile. “This one talks about dragons and that they are known for their loyalty! That’s a great quality to have!”
Spike grimaced.
“Well, at least they were known for their loyalty.”
Twilight put a hoof on his tiny shoulders.
“I’m sure they still are, Spike. Dragonlord Ember is not a bad dragon, and I’m sure there are many others like her.”
Spike sighed.
“Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Twilight.”
At that moment, all the dragons carvings in the walls started glowing red. Spike noticed immediately.
“Hey, Twilight, look!” he pointed. “The dragons are glowing like the Minotaurs!”
The others looked and saw what was happening. Afterwards, Celestia turned to her.
“Twilight, when you and Spike returned from the dragon lands, you mentioned that the dragonlord possesses a ‘bloodstone scepter’ that symbolizes his or her right to rule.”
She motioned towards the glowing red image and asked, “Is this the scepter that you were referring to?”
Twilight looked at the image and nodded.
“Yes, it is! The same one! Looks like there’s more to that dragon scepter than meets the eye.”
“Perhaps Ember knows more about it!” Spike exclaimed excitedly.
Twilight winked.
“Exactly! But, in the meantime, let’s see what the next artifact is.”
“I believe the next one’s pink,” Trixie stated, stepping forward. “I have just the spell for it!”
She lowered her head and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Pink magic swirled up her horn until it cast a pinkish light from its tip onto the specified area on the wall. A second later, an image of a winged idol appeared with a line of text beneath it.
Rožinė Grifās sielae kilnī vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Pink representing the Griffins for their hearts of gold,” Celestia read.
At the same time, the Griffin images carved along the walls glowed pink.
“I didn’t think that Griffins had ‘hearts of gold’, especially after we first met Gilda,” Twilight commented. “But from what Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash told me after visiting Griffinstone, it’s possible that they did have ‘hearts of gold’ before they lost the Idol of Boreas.”
“Speaking of the Idol of Boreas,” Spike pointed out, “is that it over there?”
He pointed to the glowing image above the words that they had just read.
“Why, yes it is!” Twilight exclaimed. “Looks like it’s more important than just some golden idol that united the Griffin kingdom after all.”
“We should probably ask Gilda and the other Griffins in Griffinstone more about this,” Spike commented.
“Great idea, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed as she took a piece of paper and a quill. “Better put that on our to-do list!”
Trixie strained a little as she looked around with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“So. . .how long do I keep this up? Do I just. . .hold it like this or. . .what?”
“I do not know,” Luna replied. “Let us see.”
With that, she allowed her red light to fade. To their surprise, the image continued to glow red from the gem resting atop the scepter.
“Ooh!” they exclaimed in unison.
“So, the images glow by themselves after we shine the right color on them,” Twilight observed.
Trixie’s eyebrow rose.
“So. . .I take it that I can stop my horn from glowing, now?”
Celestia nodded as she also dimmed her light.
“Yes, I believe so.”
After Trixie had dimmed her light, Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought.
“I’m beginning to sense a pattern here,” she observed. “This artifacts are connected somehow. It’s like a big puzzle!”
Trixie grimaced and gave a nod.
“Yep! We know you’re good at those!”
She leaned to Starlight and whispered, “No joke, I heard that one time in Canterlot before she came here she sat down and completed a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in three hours!”
Starlight gasped.
“A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in three hours?! I can’t even complete a 250 one in two!”
They both stiffened as they heard Twilight giggling.
“Yep! Puzzles are kinda my thing. Favorite pastime besides reading.”
Spike stepped next to Twilight.
“So, did you figure it out, Twilight?”
“I think so,” she replied, “but just to be sure, we’ll need all the pieces of the puzzle. What’s the next color?”
“It looks like it’s green,” Starlight said.
She winked as she added, “I got this.”
She lowered her head and concentrated, cyan transforming into light green. She shone her light onto the specified area, causing an image of a glowing green oasis to appear. When she dimmed her light, a line of text appeared below the image.
Žalia Alicaragēs gerumae drąsēs vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Green representing the Alicorns for their kindness bold,” Luna read.
As Celestia dimmed her light, Luna exclaimed with a hopeful smile, “Ah look, Sister! It speaks of the Alicorns, our predecessors!”
Celestia returned the smile.
“Yes, Luna. It has been a long time since we discovered anything more about the Alicorns.”
“Do you remember anything about your parents or your family before you became princesses?” Starlight asked.
“Out of the two of us,” Luna replied, “Celestia remembers more about our parents and where we came from.”
“And the memories themselves are very limited,” Celestia added. “All I can remember are fragments.”
“What do you remember from these fragments?” Twilight asked.
“Very little. The only thing that comes to mind are memories of our parents — their faces, their voices. Unfortunately, I cannot recall anything else.”
“Perhaps the image on the wall can tell us more,” Luna advised.
They all turned to look at the image above the words.
“Hmm. . .it appears to be an oasis of some kind,” Luna observed, “but I’m not sure what it means. The previous images were artifacts. This one appears to be a place.”
“I believe I have also discovered the answer to this complex riddle,” Celestia said with a smile. “Look closer at each of the previous images, Luna. What do they have in common?”
Luna examined each of the three previous images on the wall. Then, her eyes widened.
“By Sun and Moon, I do believe I understand now!” she exclaimed.
“What?” Trixie asked.
“What’s the pattern, Your Highnesses?” Starlight echoed.
Twilight pointed to each of the images.
“Take a good look at each of them, particularly at their light source.”
Starlight, Trixie and Spike looked at each of the images, and it wasn’t long before they discovered the answer. Each of the items held a sizable gem that contained the source of each colored light.
“So that’s it!” Spike declared. “All these objects have this glowing gem inside them with colors that match each of the flower’s petals!”
“Which means that these gems somehow came from this flower, right?” Trixie added.
“It would appear so,” Luna replied, “though I wonder how it happened.”
“Let us see what the last two colors can tell us,” Celestia suggested, turning to the wall. “And it appears that the next color is blue.”
“Allow me, Celestia,” Luna said, already powering up her magic.
Within seconds, a light blue ray of light shone on the specified area, causing the fifth item, along with its adjoining text, to appear.
Mėlyna Draconequēs šypsenae iškėliama vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Blue representing the Draconequi for their uplifting temperament,” Celestia read.
Luna scowled.
“As far as I can recall, Draconequi like Discord were notorious for being mischievous tricksters thriving on the misery of others. How is that at all ‘uplifting’?”
“Perhaps, they once used their chaotic magic for good, as Discord has learned to do,” Celestia pointed out. “It is true that he used his magic to cause misery to everypony in the past, but now he has restrained it so that it won’t hurt anypony.”
All of the Draconequi carvings along the walls illuminated in a bright cyan light.
“I have so many questions,” Luna sighed as she shook her head.
“As do I, though I am certain that all of our questions will be answered in time.”
Just then, Starlight pointed to the glowing cyan image on the wall.
“Hey, that’s the Crystal Heart!” she exclaimed.
“But this doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight said, confused. “How can something that has protected the Crystal Empire for many years be made by Draconequi!?”
“This is indeed puzzling,” Luna said. “But as my sister has said, perhaps Draconequi were good once and merely desired to use their magic for good.”
“Regardless of the circumstances,” Celestia added, “it is clear that the Crystal Heart and this mysterious oasis, hold the key in discovering Equestria’s past l, especially in regards to Alicorns and Draconequi. I’m sure that Discord will be most interested in this finding.”
Twilight grimaced.
“I guess so,” she said reluctantly.
“What is it, Twilight?” Celestia asked, sensing her hesitation.
“It’s just that Discord’s probably going to treat this as some kind of joke as he always does.”
“Discord may not take things as seriously as we like,” Celestia said, “but if there’s one thing that he will take seriously, it’s the opportunity for him to learn more about his past.”
Spike looked at Celestia and Luna curiously.
“I’m a bit confused. I mean, why can’t you and Discord remember anything about your past?”
Celestia and Luna’s expressions saddened.
“There was a war between our races long ago when we were very young,” Celestia explained. “When it was all over, there was nothing left.”
The others looked at them with horrified expressions.
“That’s — that’s terrible!” Starlight exclaimed, her eyes filled with sympathy.
“Since then,” Luna further explained, “we have searched for any information that we could find regarding Equestria’s past and about Alicorns and Draconequi.”
After a moment's pause, Celestia asked, “Has Discord been to the Crystal Empire before?”
Twilight, Spike and Starlight thought about it.
“Come to think of it, no, he hasn’t,” Twilight replied. “Why do you ask?”
“You should probably bring him to the Crystal Empire, particularly for him to see the Crystal Heart. He might recognize it, if his kind really did create it long ago.”
Twilight immediately stepped back.
“The Crystal Heart!? But who knows what he’s do with it! He may have changed but he still shouldn’t be trusted with a powerful magic like that!”
At this, Trixie’s face turned into a grimace.
“Oh, really? Well, doesn’t that sound familiar!”
Twilight spun around with a surprised look on her face.
“Excuse me?”
“Face it, Twilight Sparkle, you don’t trust Discord the same way that you didn’t trust me! Yes, sure, I have heard about what he did in the past, but he has changed ever since you and your friends battled Tirek. He may still be bit of a trickster but at least he’s trying to be good. I mean, look at me, the Great and Powerful Trixie! I may have my. . .flaws, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad friend, right?”
Twilight looked hesitant.
“Yes, but Discord’s different. He could doom the Crystal Empire!”
Trixie sighed.
“Yes, he could. But then again, he might not. Either way, if you don’t give him a chance to prove himself, you will never know.”
Twilight still looked hesitant but nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right, Trixie. I gave you and Starlight a second chance. I should do the same for Discord.”
At this, Trixie stepped towards the wall and looked up at the glowing flower.
“It looks like we have one more color left. . .violet.”
“More like purple to me,” Spike observed. “It looks a bit darker than violet.”
Trixie rolled her eyes as she waved a hoof.
“Purple. Violet. They’re all the same to me.”
“So,” Celestia asked, “who would like to do the honors?”
“I can!” Twilight replied, raising her hoof.
She stepped forward and concentrated.
“Here goes!”
In a few moments, a purple light shone from her horn and onto the specified area, causing the next image and its adjacent line of text to appear.
Violetinė Jotnar keraī aukščiausia vaizduotiunt reikštit.
“Purple representing the Jotnar for their magic unrivaled,” Luna read.
For several seconds, all in the room silently stared at the words. Then, Trixie spoke.
“What in Equestria is a Jotnar?” she exclaimed, confusion written on her face as she motioned emphatically towards the wall. “What is this wall talking about?”
Luna turned to her with a blank expression.
“No idea.”
Then, Spike snapped his fingers.
“Hey, guys, look at the carvings on the walls! Every time we shine a specific color and an image appears, a set of creatures on the walls also glows.”
“Everypony,” Twilight instructed, “look around at the walls for a set of animal carvings glowing purple! There’s a big chance that it has this ‘Jotnar’!”
At Twilight’s instruction, everyone looked around at the walls, searching for creatures glowing purple. Finally, Starlight exclaimed, “There! I found one!”
She pointed to a carving of a pony, as tall as an Alicorn, leaping in the air. Along with its long unicorn horn, it had a pair of curved horns upon its head.
“Is it just me or does it look like one of those centaurs like Lord Tirek?” Spike commented.
“It does look a lot like one,” Starlight concurred.
Celestia leaned her head forward and squinted at the glowing Jotnar carving. All around the room, the others also spotted other carvings like the one Starlight saw.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before in all of Equestria,” she said.
“Neither have I,” Luna agreed, moving next to her. “What do you think could have happened to them?”
Celestia thought for a moment.
“According to the text, the Jotnar were renowned for their magic. . .perhaps even more than the Alicorns. I suspect that, whatever their fate might have been, it must have had something to do with their magic.”
Just then, Spike pointed to the image above the words.
“Uh, guys, does that look familiar to anypony?”
They all looked and gasped.
“King Sombra’s crown!” Twilight breathed out. “That’s the sixth artifact?!”
Trixie squinted as she saw something appear on the image.
“Hey, everypony!” she exclaimed, motioning towards the image. “Look closer! Something’s happening!”
As they watched, tiny words appeared on the crown in small flashes of light.
“That’s weird,” Spike commented, folding his arms. “I mean, when I had the Crystal Heart, I was so close to him I could see the fire in his eyes, but I didn’t see any writing on his crown. Not one letter!”
Twilight approached the wall and squinted.
“What does it say?” Starlight asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied as she shook her head. “I can’t read it; it’s too small. I’ll need a magnifying glass.”
She turned.
“Spike, could you fetch my magnifying glass on the table near the door?”
Spike gave a prompt salute.
“You’ve got it!”
In a matter of seconds, he was back at Twilight’s side with the magnifying glass. Twilight took it with her magic and placed it between the crown and her face, closing one eye. Afterwards, she turned to look at the writing on the floor and then back at the crown. Finally, she lowered the magnifying glass.
“Well, this is interesting,” she reported, motioning between the crown and the floor behind her. “It looks like the words on the crown match exactly the ones we found in the floor.”
“What could it mean?” Trixie wondered aloud.
Twilight turned and trotted to the spiraled writing on the floor. Then, she looked back at the glowing purple crown.
“Sombra used dark magic a great deal,” she said to herself. “Maybe. . .”
She took a deep breath.
“Everypony, I’m going to try something. It might be dangerous, so stand back. I don’t know what will happen.”
At this, Celestia’s eyebrow cocked.
“Twilight, what exactly is it that you’re planning to do?”
Twilight gave her a hesitant look. It was then that Celestia knew what she was planning to do.
“You are planning to use dark magic, aren’t you?”
“This might be the only way, Princess Celestia,” Twilight reasoned. “I have to do this.”
“No, Twilight. Allow me,” Celestia insisted with a hint of firmness. “You may still be inexperienced in this form of magic.”
Luna’s mouth opened in surprise.
“Since when did you or Twilight learn how to use dark magic, Sister?”
Celestia lowered her head, her eyes closed.
“It. . .happened shortly after I banished you to the moon. I. . .I would rather not explain it at this moment. Another time, Luna?”
Luna only looked at her, her face registering a look of protest. Still, she nodded.
“All right, Sister. Another time.”
She paused and then added, “But allow me to try, at least. I have experience in dark magic and its ways.”
Celestia shook her head.
“You are yet more susceptible to it, Luna. If something were to happen to you, I — I would never forgive myself.”
Luna sighed.
“Very well, then. But I see no immediate danger in allowing Twilight Sparkle to try. From what I have heard, it would appear that she has used dark magic before. Do not fret, Celestia. If any ill should befall her, we will be here right here to aid her.”
Celestia’s look of hesitation remained, but she slowly and reluctantly nodded.
“All right, Twilight. You may try, but if you sense any danger, inform us immediately. Understand?”
Twilight gave a prompt nod back.
“I understand, Princess Celestia.”
She turned to the writing on the floor, closed her eyes and concentrated. Her head hurt as violet magical energy turned into black, bubbling up her horn like a lake of petroleum. A moment later, green and blue coalesced with black, creating a column of blue and sickly-green clouds on her horn and out the edges of her eyes. Grunting and straining from the effort, she dipped her horn onto the beginning of the word spiral. Instantly, a long shadow cast onto the floor and traced the spiral until it reach the end in the center. As it did so, the words glowed white, faded into the shadow and then were quickly replaced by words that were readable. When the last of the words were successfully translated, Twilight relaxed and the dark magic from her horn dissipated.
“That—!” Luna exclaimed under her breath. “That was King Sombra’s power! How did you—?”
She looked towards Celestia and stopped.
“Another time,” she sighed with a nod. “Right.”
All in the group gathered around the spiral of words to read what it said. What they found was this:
High-king. Light and Shadow. Dark Wolf. Absolute Truth. Unite. Destiny.
Trixie’s eye twitched.
“Oh. . .great! So, after all this time — after all that effort — we finally get to translate the words, only to find that they’re still plain gibberish!”
She clapped her hooves and let out a strained laugh.
“Well done, everypony! Well done!”
Twilight stared at the newly-translated words in puzzlement.
“I don’t get it. It was all starting to make sense up until this moment. What did we do wrong?”
“All this looks like something that Discord would do,” Starlight observed, “but I don’t remember him using dark magic like this.”
“So, was it King Sombra?” Spike guessed.
“It is a possibility,” Celestia said, “though I wonder how he could have obtained all of this information about Equestria’s past.”
“Or the incredibly atrocious writing skills, “Luna added with a grimace.
Meanwhile, Twilight let out a groan and placed her hooves on her head in frustration.
“There’s gotta be something more! There’s gotta be something we’re missing!”
She looked around, scanning for any detail or clue that they could have missed. Nothing.
Finally, her eyes rested on the glowing, colorful flower carved in the wall behind her like a tall stained glass window. Then, an idea came to her.
“What if I’m supposed to use dark magic on the flower?” she wondered aloud.
She closed her eyes tightly as dark magic swirled around her horn. A few seconds later, she released it onto the flower’s bud, causing its petals to change to black. In a matter of moments, the flower slowly wilted until it tumbled into pieces like crystal.
“Twilight!” Luna exclaimed in horror. “What have you done?!”
Twilight looked back sheepishly.
“Yeah. . .maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”
Suddenly, the black flower pieces merged into a long shadow that swiftly slid along the floor towards the center of the room like a rising tower. When the shadow reached the center, a tall column of spiky black crystal rose from the floor like a mountain.
“Look out!” Spike shouted as he jumped in to shove her out of the way. Instantly, Twilight used her magic to quickly carry him safely away from the protruding black crystal. All in the room stepped back as they stared wide-eyed at the towering crystal. Finally, just as it was about to touch the ceiling, it stopped growing. As the ponies in the room watched, ice traveled up the crystal, encasing it like a cold, frosty shield. Suddenly, the onlookers started shivering as the room became increasingly cold. Then, the crystal turned fiery orange as the inside heated up like coils on a stove. In response, the onlookers hopped in place as the floor became increasingly hot. Finally, the room returned to normal as the black crystal shattered into pieces that evaporated in the air like flakes of ash. In its place, a black scroll with a red ribbon tightly wrapped around it lay on the floor.
“Now that was weird!” Spike exclaimed, his eyes still widened.
“I’ll say!” Trixie agreed with a shutter.
“What’s this?” Twilight commented as she neared the scroll.
As she was about to touch it, Trixie suddenly reached out a hoof.
“Wait, stop! Do you want another one of those things to happen again?”
Twilight turned to her.
“Don’t worry, Trixie. I’ll be careful.”
With that, she cautiously levitated the scroll with her magic. The red ribbon was held together by an oval seal that had the appearance of solidified mercury. Her eyes widened at the insignia. It resembled that of her own Cutie Mark: a six-pointed star with six other six-pointed stars orbiting around it.
“My. . .my Cutie Mark?” she whispered as she looked at the seal.
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she very cautiously broke broke the seal and unraveled the scroll. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes.
“Whew!” she breathed. “What a relief!”
She turned to the others.
“Hey guys, it’s all right! You can come and take a look now!”
As the others neared, she read aloud the glowing words on the scroll as they appeared.
“Congratulations in solving this first part of the riddle. Now, see if you can solve this next part:
By now, your minds are filled with questions
Who I am and Equestria’s past
If it is answers that you seek
Harken to these instructions that I shall speak
Follow the trail to these items six
Remnants of a light once in many hearts lit
There, in each of these items, you will find
The source of each race’s power and might
But beware, for these artifacts of power
Must be treated like delicate flowers
One false move, one crack in their exterior
And the nations they represent will be consumed forever
Once these sources of power are recovered
Heed these words before you act further
Light will show you history
Shadow will show you my misery
Beware, Light will blind you
But Shadow will enlighten you
“May your path bring you truth and clarity, my little pony.”
Twilight rolled up the scroll.
“Why should we trust it?” Trixie stated. “For all we know, this ‘quest’ might lead us into a trap!”
“I believe that whoever wrote this scroll and gave us this riddle has good intentions,” Twilight replied. “I don’t know how. I just. . .know. I know, it’s weird, but I have to trust my instincts. Whoever left all this behind wanted us to find it for a reason, and I believe that that reason is for us to simply know.”
“Know what?”
Twilight sighed.
“Equestria’s past? Our destinies? I don’t know. All I know is that if we don’t at least try to figure this out, we might never know.”
“So,” Starlight asked, “we’re supposed to find these artifacts and then extract whatever’s inside them?”
Twilight nodded.
“Looks like it.”
“We must be cautious, though,” Luna advised. “If what the letter says is true, we cannot simply extract the ancient power from within these artifacts. Doing so will require knowledge and skill.”
“Luna’s right, my little ponies” Celestia said. “We will need help in successfully extracting the artifacts’ power. Might I suggest turning to the creatures that these artifacts represent, considering that they may have better knowledge regarding this.”
Twilight bowed.
“Thank you for your advice, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
Celestia waved a hoof as she shook her head.
“You don’t need to bow, Twilight. Think of us as your equals, as well as your guides, in this quest.”
Twilight’s eyes sparkled. Equals? This meant that Celestia and Luna would be more part of the group than ever before.
“Really?! That — that would be great, Princess Celestia! We’d be honored to have you both help us!”
“We are very anxious to learn more about Equestria’s past,” Luna said with a slight bow. “We will help you any way we can.”
Twilight felt a flood of anticipation come over her. All of this was like one of those adventure/mystery stories that she read about.
“So, what’s the plan, Twilight?” Spike asked.
Twilight turned to the rest of the group.
“We get the rest of the gang and meet up here!” she declared.
At that moment, she suddenly felt so dizzy that she almost toppled over. That’s when she realized that the others in the group, except Luna, had noticeable dark circles under their eyes and looked as if they would also topple over at any minute. She grinned sheepishly.
“Maybe we all should get a good-night’s sleep, first.”