Fires, dragons, and artifacts. Can the team rescue their friends in time?
Reports of fires, ponies going missing, and a mysterious new enemy are just a few things the crew discover in a twisted game of cat-and-mouse. Will the return of an unlikely mare be the answer to solving the case? Or is she the problem? Only time will tell as the ponies follow the clues back to their source.
Cloudsdale - A wonderful place to visit. A unique combination of elements inside the cloud's water crystals help forge the white pillars of this mighty city. Their chemical bonds merge perfectly within the clouds you see hovering over your head each day. It houses thousands of pegasi who help maintain and control the weather. In exchange for their efforts, the ponies that are not able to fly receive the much needed water and shelter for their crops in the field. This symbiotic relationship cycles throughout each of the four seasons every year.
Keeping things in order is no easy feat. A flight school is provided to assist the pegasi in learning the proper wing techniques for all the various weather conditions. Through their dedication, these young fillies and colts develop the skills to take on the heavy responsibility of supporting Ponyville, as well as other areas, at appointed times in the day. Certain ones with the right athletic prowess have the opportunity to join a special curriculum to entertain their fellow ponies. Only the strongest will be able to pass the rigorous testing and become one of the spectacular Wonderbolts we love watching perform at our enjoyable sporting events.
Yes, despite the lovely races and rampant activities that come from all of our dedicated flyers, we cannot forget this shining jewel of the heavens. May we continue to show our appreciation for all of their hard work.
I just finished reading a chapter about Cloudsdale in Magic of Equestria when I lost feeling in my left hoof. I guess a normal pony would have known to sit up straight to avoid such a nuisance. I, however, refused to comply to such standards. Whenever I found myself engaged in such a fascinating book, my body tends to react accordingly no matter how foolish the act.
The skimpy book that my eyes were glued to rested on top of the living room table in front of me. The unmistakable wooden horse statue Twilight keeps in the center supplied the means to hold the book upright as I turned the pages. On occasion, I would place my right hoof down and turn my body over into another position to help balance my nerves.
In my rustling, I spotted Twilight Sparkle sitting appropriately upright in a chair across the room reading a rather large red book covering over most of her face. My mind questioned whether or not she still lived, for her body remained ever motionless since she turned the page five minutes ago. I imagined that the sunlight, shining through the treehouse window, somehow magically turned her into a solidified state.
"Twilight, have you read this book?" I asked, to confirm she still drew breath.
"Moonlight, I've already read all the books in here" - Twilight's smiling face peeked out from the side of the book - "except for this one of course."
"Right," I chuckled as I thought about my own inquiry. No question a seeker of knowledge like Twilight Sparkle would have allocated some of her spare time to reading all the books in the library. The mare does, in fact, live in one. My eyes veered upward as my focus immediately wandered over to the window. "Wouldn't it be interesting to live up in Cloudsdale? Just you up there in the clouds. I wonder what it would be like?"
Twilight responded in a monotone voice, "Not any different than Ponyville, I suppose. Plenty of things to do down here on the ground."
My legs crawled up the wooden cabinets as my back slouched farther onto the wooden floor. I turned my head towards Twilight again in hopes of grabbing her attention. "I may have only visited the place... maybe once or twice. What about you? Have you ever gone up there?"
Twilight hovered her magenta bookmark from the table and tucked it neatly into the book's spine. "I was up there one time to watch Rainbow Dash's performance."
"Were you in a balloon?" I inquired, hoping she would add a little more detail.
"No," Twilight quickly stated when closing the book.
"What?" I hastily asked while rolling onto my side.
Twilight approached one of the many bookcases behind her and pulled out another book very similar in shape and size to the one she left on the counter. "I was on the clouds like every other pony there."
My brow weighed heavy over my eyes. Twilight spoke to me without any hesitation, yet to my knowledge only pegasi and alicorns were capable of standing on clouds. "How were you able to do that?"
Twilight carefully held the book in place, preventing it from falling completely off the shelf. She slanted her head over her right shoulder. Her pleasant smile widened in the form of a playful smirk. "I found a spell that allows a pony to walk on clouds."
A bolt of excitement surged through my body as I leapt right up off the floor. The glisten in my eyes shined directly at Twilight as she turned around with the book in her hoof. "You mean you really found a spell that let's you walk on clouds?"
"Yep," Twilight responded, pushing her original book to the side and placing her current one on the table in its place. The spine on Twilight's book broke open as she rapidly turned its many pages.
"Is there any chance you could cast this spell on me?" I beseeched with a grin on my face.
Twilight lessened her grip when she heard my words. She looked at me with a confused expression. "What?"
My enthusiasm not only caught Twilight off-guard but myself as well. Her reaction indicated something was wrong. I felt obligated to quickly correct the matter. Before reiterating my question to Twilight, I decided to kick my brain into overdrive and retrace my steps.
I personally asked Twilight an evening off to train me. Due to her busy schedule, she instead offered me the opportunity to enjoy her company as she finished reading up something important for Princess Celestia. I chose to wake up early this morning, much earlier than I am accustomed to, in order to spend some quality time with one of my best friends. Perhaps Twilight's retort wasn't questioning whether or not she's capable of accomplishing such a task, but maybe she wanted to know why I would request such a thing after proportioning out some of my time to simply "hangout" with her this morning. Alas, the few seconds I spent trying to reach a resolution used up all my precious time to make a formal response.
"Weren't you just saying how you wanted to get an early start on your reading today?" Twilight rebutted.
"I'm done," I swiftly inserted, hoping my statement satisfied Twilight's scrutiny.
My heart skipped a beat. My eyes shifted away from Twilight. For a brief second, my conscience nagged at me. Though the words weighed some truth in the matter, the remaining number of chapters in my book told a completely different story. The gal always steered me into more practical applications. Guess my time with Applejack affected me more ways than one.
Twilight rocked her head onto her shoulder. "Moonlight, what's this all about?"
Twilight's posture matched that of a gesture all mares share in my experience. Without the need of saying a word, their body language shouts out their true feelings in the discussion. Miss Cherilee demonstrated it when catching a student without their homework. My mother would display it whenever I came home from school upset. On special occasions, even sweet Fluttershy could scare out a changeling with a simple stare. However, by evaluating the tone in Ms. Sparkle's voice in this particular case, her words insinuated genuine sincerity. Perhaps she felt it was somewhat her duty to discover and resolve the problem at hand.
"Lately I've been having these dreams," I stated, scuffing the ground with my hoof.
Twilight replied, "Dreams? What kind of dreams?"
"I don't know," I retorted, directing my focus away from Twilight. I straddled closer to the window for a better view of Cloudsdale. "Feelings... like I'm not alone."
"In Cloudsdale?" Twilight asked.
Twilight would never know the full extent of my dreams. They were a jumbled mess of randomized locations. They weren't chaotic in nature as if played out by Discord. I can only recall and visualize small fragments of items - a bookcase from the Golden Oak Library, a fluffy column from Cloudsdale, flowers from Roseluck's booth, a window from the Carousal Boutique, and an apple tree from Sweet Apple Acres. None of it deemed pertinent enough to be out telling others about. My main problem rested somewhere between the consistency and emotional backlash I experienced after waking up from each of my dreams. Dwelling further on these relapses scared me out of informing Twilight of any of these specific details.
I wiped away the collected water in my eyes and looked directly at Twilight with a half-raised smile. "I know! How about you come with me?"
Twilight happily exclaimed, "What?!"
I restated, "How about you come with me to Cloudsdale? You can show me around."
Twilight shook her head and lifted her book. "Not today, Moonlight. Maybe some other time. I want to try and finish reading this new book I received from Princess Celestia. I can still cast the spell on you, if you want to go up by yourself."
My lip quivered at Twilight's refusal. My recent recollection of dreams enveloped a form of loneliness I've been feeling for the past couple weeks. It is the real reason why I ultimately accepted Twilight's invitation for visiting the Golden Oak Library this morning. Reading in the same vicinity of Twilight wasn't quite the same satisfaction I wanted from being around her. I needed to do something more engaging.
I rolled my eyes to the checklist of magic abilities written out on the stand by the staircase. The loose penmanship of each item on the board could have only come from Twilight's pet dragon, Spike. Although he usually helps catalog the results of Twilight's unorthodox experiments, he was mysteriously missing from the vicinity of the library. I rose my hoof and shouted, "What if we had a magic duel?!"
Twilight laughed from behind her book. "Oh, Moonlight. You remember what happened last time."
Though my abilities have improved under Princess Luna's care, my reflexes were still no match to Twilight Sparkle's quick moves. In the past, my unique abilities manifested spontaneously and sporadically whenever the current situation called for them. As my knowledge of how a unicorn's magic operates through the use of their horn increased, so did my skill. However, having confidence in myself proved rather difficult without gaining direct control of all of its inner workings. The magnitude of my powers continue to fluctuate up to this day. The bruise left from our last sparring match proved this to be true.
I remonstrated, "Hey, I told you I needed some time to get ready."
Twilight objected, "I gave you three minutes to get ready. Admit it. You aren't the best when using magic."
I leaned my head over my left shoulder and stared at the ground. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Energy poured through me and jerked my head upright. "How about you teach me something new then?"
Twilight animated her book in conjunction with her speech. "You mean like levitation? Spike is still finding pieces of that pot you shattered." She broke eye contact and returned to reading her book.
"How about-"
Twilight's patience ran out. Before I could finish my sentence, a purple aura encompassed my entire body, freezing me in place with my mouth wide open and my right hoof pointing upwards. She gently placed her book down onto the table and meticulously stepped closer to me.
"Moonlight, I appreciate your company and your friendship, but you need to give me some time to finish my assignment. I'll listen to your suggestions after I'm done. Ok?" Twilight retracted her force. "You are welcome to stay in the library and read quietly, or you can find something else to do outside while you wait. Go see Rainbow Dash! Maybe she can show you some new tricks that will help you move around better the next time we train."
"Alright, Twilight. I can take a hint." I sauntered to the oak door, grabbed hold of the handle, and pulled it open. I turned around with my head weighed down and politely whispered, "Let me know when you are done." I eased backwards and gingerly pulled the door shut.
Not quite sure why I suddenly acted the way I did in front of Twilight. I don't think my outburst strained our relationship any, but I did hear a bit of dissension in her voice on my way out. I might have exerted my opinions a little too much in there. From what I heard from her friends, she tends to lose her composure when things don't go according to plan. Maybe things will be better when she finishes her assignment.
As I distanced myself from the Golden Oak Library, my mind, once again, wandered away from me. Thoughts of past events flooded my soul. With things finally settling down from Ordain's intrusion, I reached out to discover where my next adventure would take me. Both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle hosted a magic academy to help improve my skills, yet I still haven't made any further progress within these last few months of training. The highly-spirited Rainbow Dash helped me with physical combat, though I'd never surpass her stamina in a real fight. My drive was gone. My motivation had dried up. I don't even recall why I originally wanted them to teach me in the first place.
Traveling through Ponyville always lifted up my spirits. I felt relieved with each passing step. I enjoyed seeing the change in scenery, like my whole world changed before my very eyes. The soothing sounds of the water fountain, the bustling area of the market place, and a warm sun beating on my skin all helped curbed my feelings of depression. There is no limit on the number of possibilities, to explore things never before seen, and hear all the interesting stories from the ponies right here in Ponyville.
In the corner of my eye, I spotted Rainbow Dash twirling in the air. Her hooves held tight three small clouds. Despite their massive size, Rainbow Dash tried squeezing in a fourth cloud into her grasp. Her arms buckled under the strain.
With Twilight's sentiment still echoing in my head, I took the initiative to speak out, "Hey Rainbow Dash! What's the problem? Having trouble with those clouds?"
Rainbow Dash halted her progress and scanned the area. A hole eventually developed in between the clouds as they dissipated from her grip. She looked at me and waved nonchalantly. "Oh hey, Moonlight. Didn't see ya' there. Whatsup?"
"Well it looks like you, Rainbow Dash," I said playfully.
"Ha. Very funny." Rainbow Dash briefly smiled. "Did you need something?"
Very much like Twilight Sparkle, I felt uneasy being around Rainbow Dash this morning. Despite her friendly attitude and genuine smile, she seemed slightly agitated at my mere presence. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see she was currently preoccupied with something else. Still, I decided to take the opportunity to borrow her for a time. "I was hoping to see some of your aerobatics."
Rainbow Dash gave out a surprised look. "Now?"
"No... um... after you get done with whatever you are doing," I said in a panic. "What are you doing anyways?"
Rainbow Dash lunged after one of the drifting clouds. "I'm trying to get the clouds out of the way."
"Of what?" I asked.
With a tight hold of one cloud around her arm and another within her reach, Rainbow attempted to grab a third cloud with one of her hind legs. "Cloudsdale... has issued a rainbow... over Ponyville this afternoon."
"Wasn't there already one yesterday?" I asked as I attempted to cover my eyes from the sunlight.
Rainbow Dash asserted, "Schedule lists one for yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
I asked in a concerned tone, "Will it take long?"
Rainbow Dash quickly swung her legs around the clouds, but the resulting impact broke them all loose. Her head collapsed as she slowed the pace of her wings. She drifted towards me and contested, "If it was any other day, Moonlight, I would be more than happy to show you some moves, but I've got a lot of work to do today." She turned her back and flew around the clouds. She stopped mid-flight and added, "Why don't you go see Fluttershy?"
Rainbow Dash didn't know that I've already taken advantage of Fluttershy's hospitality twice this week. Her gentle heart never denied me entrance to her humble home before, but I knew the mare had responsibilities too. She cared for all of her woodland creatures, watered her beautiful garden in front of her cottage, and brought produce down to the marketplace. For some unknown reason, the thought of visiting her one more time this week bothered my conscience. The feeling only compounded my empathy toward intruding on Rainbow Dash's affairs.
The notion didn't last long before Rainbow Dash attempted to comfort me. "You know, you can always go check out the message board at Town Hall. I bet Mayor Mare has a few things that you can do while you wait."
Finding work was the last thing on my mind. It's only been a couple of days, but I still remember the exhaustion I had from Pinkie Pie's offer at Sugarcube Corner. That gal just doesn't stop. Must be from the amount of sugar dust she inhales working with all those cupcakes. I'm actually kind of relieved she took the day off to help babysit the Cake twins.
Yet, I've exhausted my options. All my friends were too preoccupied with their own responsibilities to keep me entertained. I needed to have fun and seize the day in the process.
Before I could make a decision, I heard a small voice come up from behind me. "Hey, Moonlight."
I turned around and found myself facing the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Applebloom stood in front of the other two with her large pink bow neatly tied in her hair. Scootoloo nearly ran into her while watching Rainbow Dash drag the clouds away. Sweetie Belle no doubt had her mane neatly combed by her sister as she stood there happy as can be. The three of them carried small bags on their back.
My thoughts must have drifted since Applebloom legitimately surprised me. "Hey C-M-C!" I thrillingly said.
Applebloom smiled. "Pretty early to see you out and about."
I blushed. "Heh. Yeah. I guess it's true I don't usually get up this early. Hey, um, you aren't going on one of your adventures today, are you?"
Sweetie Belle spoke up, "Actually we just came from the Carousel Boutique. Rarity told us she had something in store for us."
"That's great!" I replied.
Sweetie Belle continued, "But it won't be ready for us until tomorrow."
Disappointed, I said, "Oh. Well. Feel like doing something right now?"
Scootaloo's right eye twitched as she slanted her head to the side. "Eh, you do know it's a school day, right?"
I grinned. "Right. Right. Well, maybe I'll meet up with you guys later then."
The three of them replied in unison, "Ok!"
As the fillies made their way down the road, Applebloom turned and waved. "Catch ya' later, Moonlight."
I limped my leg up and muttered, "Ya. Later."
Applebloom added, "If you are looking for something to do, you can always see my sister out on the farm. She always has plenty to do out there."
I stood there watching the fillies slowly make their way towards the school with Applebloom's words still burning through the recesses of my brain. Applejack might have been a good candidate to visit this morning if it wasn't for the fact she too was working all the time. I've never seen a pony work as much as she does. Still, it would be a nice distraction for me until Twilight finishes her book.
I decided to heed Applebloom's advice and head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith rocked back-and-forth in her wooden chair, fast asleep on the front porch in the distance. Big Macintosh was busy hauling a large crate full of apples in from the field. Applejack was nowhere in sight.
"Hey Big Macintosh! Where is Applejack? Is she still out in the fields?"
Big Mac dropped the crate of apples next to the porch. He turned towards me and uttered, "Eeeyup."
"Ok, thanks," I stated, heading towards the multitude of apple trees up the hill.
I read in a book once that Earth ponies are defined by their special connection to nature, animals, and plants. I once believed the reason why I felt unfulfilled was due to my lack of appreciation in a hard day's work. Spending your day picking flowers from the fields or uprooting vegetables from a garden never appealed to me, yet somehow Applejack found joy in doing just that.
From the day I met Applejack, I knew she wasn't just any ordinary pony. She took it upon herself to care for her family out on Sweet Apple Acres. This, in turn, helps build up Ponyville's morale when the entire town benefits from the farm's economy. The strength from both Big Macintosh and Applejack were exactly what keeps the businesses afloat.
The path of fruitless trees showed me where to find Applejack. There were still some apples left on the trees at the very top of the hill. I didn't travel far before hearing the pounding of a blunt object against the bark of a tree.
Once I saw nearly every apple fall from the tree in one fell swoop, I shouted, "Hey, Applejack!"
Applejack puffed out, "Is that Moonlight?" She placed her legs down onto the ground and faced me. "Well hey there, Moonlight. Fancy seeing you out and about so early."
I shook my head as I meandered closer to the wagon resting by the tree. "Why is every pony so surprised to see me? It can't be that early."
Applejack reached down and tossed an apple into a crate already near reaching its full capacity. "Well, you are Moonlight. We'd be saying the same thing if it was Princess Luna."
The mere sight of Applejack made me feel like I personally had worked a whole day out in the field. Sweat dripped down from the side of her face. Her breathing was irregular. She lacked the composure to stand still. What surprised me most was not how the trees remained intact after being delivered such a blow from Applejack's hooves but how her raggedy straw hat managed to not fall from her head.
Instead of saying a quick greeting and leaving, I felt obligated to help her out at least a little bit. I can't simply abandon my friend by the wayside. I gently brushed past her and leaned my hoof against the crate. "Mind if I tag along and help?"
Applejack mirrored my movement and leaned up against the crate alongside me. "I don't know, Moonlight. Remember what happened last time?"
The slight burning sensation from the scratch opposite to my bruise reminded me of the last time I tried helping with Applejack's chores. I reached back and briefly covered over the wound. "Hey those crates were heavy. At least let me try something easier this time around."
"Easier, eh?" Applejack moved over to a nearby tree and glanced upward. "See the apples on this tree?"
I retracted my hooves from the crate and moseyed on closer. "This one?"
"I want you to knock all of them down."
I smiled and playfully tapped her on the side. "Applejack!"
Applejack returned with a smile and grabbed hold of her rope. "Hey! You wanted easy." She wrapped the rope around the crate and pulled it up onto the wagon. Once the crate rested neatly in the cart, Applejack tucked the harness around her body and took a step forward. "Oh and make sure to get all the apples in the crate. I'll be back in a second."
I patiently waited until Applejack cleared my line of sight. I approached the tree, turned around, readied myself, and lifted up my hind legs. "This shouldn't be too hard." I reared up my legs and slammed both of them against the tree. The pressure from the tree's bark hit a nerve in the curvature of my left hoof. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes shut. I braced my front legs and mouthed, "Ow."
I winced my leg back and gently placed it on the ground. One red apple dropped from the very top of the tree and plopped directly onto my head, missing the tip of my horn. It rolled off and landed right next to the crate. A couple of leaves drooped down shortly thereafter. I limped to the apple, picked it up, and threw it into the crate. I sighed, "One."
My first strike drained all my energy. If I was to make any progress, I needed to be less forceful in my next attempt. I resolved in my heart that rattling the tree would do the trick.
I situated my front legs firmly on the bark of the tree and meticulously rocked back-and-forth. A bunch of leaves broke loose, but the apples wouldn't budge. I tried again, this time with more oomph. My efforts rewarded me with a single apple. It dropped straight down into the crate. I situated my legs back onto the ground. "Two," I uttered in disbelief.
I grew stubborn at the results of my labor. Applejack managed to do this type of work everyday. No way I was going to give up. It was time for a smarter approach.
I steadied myself and closed my eyes. My breath slowed to a near halt. I raised my hoof and visualized the tree. The fading green leaves covered over the red apples. The apples' cores held tight by the smooth branches. The only thing preventing gravity from grabbing hold was a tiny, thin stem attached to the center of the fruit. Snapping the trunk would easily allow the apples to fall gracefully down onto the grass.
My mane swayed as the wind cooled my face. My eyelids pressed together tighter as I focused on the round shape. The sun's light fluctuated as I heard the leaves crinkle overhead. I retracted my hoof in one quick motion and opened my eyes. I expected to hear a multitude of apples spill all around me. Instead, I observed the futility of my undertaking.
"Oh come on!" I shouted at the fruit still snug in the tree's clutches. I immediately reverted back to my aggressive nature and vigorously shook the tree. "Fall already!"
"Need some help?"
I quickly tucked my head low, turned around, and noticed Applejack standing right behind me. "Oh, you're back."
"Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Applejack replied. "I take it things didn't go too well."
Adrenaline coursed through my body as I pushed off the tree. "I'm sorry, Applejack. I thought for sure I could do this."
Applejack adjusted her hat and looked inside the crate. "You got two. Better than none." She leaned over and touched my right shoulder. "Tell me. Why are you out here?"
Applejack's presence always provided me with a strong sense of security. The practical nature of her personality usually steered me in the right direction. The way she nurtures her sister Applebloom only reaffirms her role as a reliable mentor.
I combed over the top of my mane and commented, "I don't know. You all work so hard. I barely do anything at all. Twilight Sparkle is busy reading. Rainbow Dash had something to do in Cloudsdale. Applebloom and the gang are in school. I figured I'd come over here and see what you were up to."
"Nothing new, nothing different. What did you expect?"
"It's just... how are you able to do all this? Is it the hat? Does it give you super strength?"
"No, Moonlight." Applejack pulled off her country-style hat and purposely nudged it on my head, messing up my hair in the process. "But that doesn't mean it won't help."
Raising her hat up, I asked, "I mean, how do you know what you are supposed to do?"
"Well, I guess ya' do what you can. Be who you are. That kind of thing."
I grabbed Applejack's hat and held it in front of me. "And this hat represents who you are?"
Applejack retrieved her straw hat and grasped the outer lining. "You could say that."
"You think Rarity could make me a cool hat like yours?"
"Maybe you can try making your own cool hat." Applejack twirled the hat with her hoof and tossed it up into the air. The hat landed back in its proper place on her head. Taking a step forward and tenderly tapping my chest, she acknowledged, "You have a strong heart, Moonlight. I know you'll figure it out."
On the verge of giving Applejack a hug, I expressed, "Thanks, Applejack. Now if you don't mind, I'll leave you to your work."
A collective calm accumulated around me after I left Sweet Apple Acres. With Rainbow Dash clearing out all the clouds in the sky, the sun brightened the path ahead of me. Measuring the height of the sun over Ponyville and the fact that my shadow vanished beneath me, I had deduced the time to be officially twelve o'clock. My entire morning vanished before my eyes.
I ventured back down the main road and passed by the school on my way back to the Golden Oak Library. The cheerful laughter of children enjoying their youthful energy in the playground could be heard just shy of the school's outer wall. Making sure not to be seen, I watched the small ponies happily sway on the swing sets and build sandcastles in the sandbox. Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon hid behind a brick wall and contemplated their next scheme to boost their popularity. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo were all huddled together eating at the picnic table.
My curiosity peaked when all the fillies pointed upwards towards the sky. A bright and beautiful rainbow formed behind a couple pegasi overhead. From my vantage point, the rainbow stretched over the entire town. One pegasus waved at the children below before returning back to Cloudsdale.
Reminiscing from what I read in the book earlier today, I pondered a little more about the mighty city in the sky. My mind was just filled with questions. What sort of material did they use to make the rainbow? How exactly does a rainbow stay up in the sky? Is Cloudsdale really formed from only a cluster of clouds? Can the city be moved? Have they ever tried moving it?
With the sound of the bell, I awoke from my daydream. The children ran back into the classroom. With my momentary distraction escaping through the confines of the school, I decided to head back to the heart of Ponyville. There, by the many vendors, I passed by Roseluck selling her sweet-smelling flowers. I also spotted Junebug with a couple of baskets filled with different kinds of flower arrangements. Although she never turned around to face me, I recognized the distinctive orange style of her mane from anywhere. She sat down on a white bench in front of the central water fountain. "Hey, Junebug."
"Hey, Moonlight. How are you doing?" Junebug quickly tucked away her baskets.
"Fine. Have you seen Rainbow Dash? She was here earlier."
"I haven't, sorry."
"Ok thanks."
Without knowing where to find Rainbow Dash, I decided to pay a visit to the local town hall. Inside the barren hallway hung a large bulletin board on the wall. A variety of weekly activities were pinned on the left side of the board. On the other side hung a wide-range of wanted ads.
Most of the listed jobs would keep you preoccupied for most of the day. There were various delivery jobs, from Sugarcube Corner to Quills & Sofas. Tucked behind a cashier ad for an ice cream job rested a cherry-stained sheet requesting services over in Dodge Junction. The remains of a vigorously shredded sheet of paper in the top right corner of the board listed Lotus Blossom and Aloe as contacts for the glamorous Day Spa.
Nervous about committing to any specific job, I petered out of the main hall and scanned the nearby rooms. One specific area had rows of file cabinets. Another section consisted of miscellaneous stacks of work papers; they were scattered on top of tables and all over the floor. The only thing inside Mayor Mare's office was a vacant desk. My search came up empty. There were no ponies around. The sound coming from my stomach directed me towards my next destination.
After strolling back into the main chamber, I heard a small chime sounding from somewhere high. Near the upper deck hung an ordinary clock. I squinched my eyes and noticed the time. Another wasted hour with no success.
But the slim possibility of Twilight finishing her assignment early lightened my step. Knowing how distracted she can be when diving into a good book, Twilight might not have gotten around to filling her stomach. If both cases were true, a picnic over the meadows would be a lovely idea to further explore together.
Eager to tell Twilight about my plan, I rushed through the marketplace and around the fountain. I arrived at the doorstep from whence I came this morning. There, my hoof made contact with the door. With my enthusiasm under control and with one deep breath, I softly knocked three times on the wooden surface. "Twilight."
The front door remained closed. There was no response from the library. Not even a sound from the creaky floorboard could be heard. With my ear close to the door, I turned the knob and gently pushed it open. "Twilight?"
Twilight Sparkle was nowhere to be found. The book she read this morning laid dormant beside her bed. Her purple bookmark hung over the corner of the library's window pane. A couple books were stacked on the table in the middle of the room. One of them contained the magenta bookmark she used earlier this morning. The rest of the room appeared unchanged since she forced me out of her domain. "Hmm, I guess she isn't here."
As I peered around the room's center table, my hooves trampled over something small and dainty. I looked down and picked up a forgotten heirloom I abandoned long ago. It was the book that followed me through space and time. I recognized the torn pages slipping out of the book's spine and the strawberry stain that splattered from dropping one of my mother's cupcakes.
As I brushed my hoof over the top of the book, old memories of when we lived in Ponyville together flowed through my mind. I recalled how timid and lonely I was before moving, and how difficult it was for me to talk to other ponies. The agonizing fear of facing a live crowd by myself used to drive me insane.
That all changed when my life unfurled. Ordain tricked the fellowship into releasing him from his prison. The pressure from seeing Equestria rearranged by that villainous creature tore down my spirit. But as I stroke the engraving with the title of the book, The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide, I realized those times can no longer harm me. I endured and gained the courage to confront those terrifying emotions. Because of my contribution, my friends lived. I'd do anything to keep those feelings intact, to have other ponies care about my needs.
I fully embraced the book to thank it for its charity. Ponies didn't need my help anymore. There were no more training regimens with Princess Luna. Twilight Sparkle's assistance to Princess Celestia tightened our schedules for practice duels and lectures. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor watched after the Crystal Empire. Ponyville would be fine, even if a nature disaster struck through the town. Most of Equestria's ancient enemies have been stopped. Nothing is preventing me from starting an adventure all on my own.
My subconscious must have been listening to my thought patterns for I paced myself in front of Twilight's mirror. I carefully leaned the memorable book against the baseboard and observed my own reflection. The mirror once revealed a truth about myself that changed my whole world. Some ponies have the ability to make good apple fritters, grow beautiful roses, or gracefully toss a bowling ball at a stack of pins. My special talent emulated a unicorn's horn on top of my head. My gift of adapting to unusual situations proved to be quite different than what I was expecting in life.
The way I touched the mirror's golden frame was identical to the way I caressed the top of the book. Could it be that I don't feel at home in Ponyville anymore? Could it be that I miss my old home? A sound from below temporarily broke my concentration. The book slipped from the wall and fell flat onto the floor.
With my focus back onto the book, I realized my feelings of emptiness resonated with the memory of my mother. Despite all the problems and sorrow I experienced in my early years, she cared for me to the best of her ability. Why did I refuse to go back? How could I forget about her loving care, even after spending so much time with my newfound friends? I stated my intentions to return one day in that heartfelt scroll I wrote on the bench. Does a mother still have love for their colt after they have moved on?
As I contemplated my dear mother, a scientific nerve in my brain decided to enter the fray. It reminded me of the possibility the space tear I broke through was really the boundaries to a parallel universe - a world in which my life and that of my mother's never existed. I thought of a handsome stallion taking care of her in another world. I thought about a part of me still resonating in her heart. It's possible a duplicate of myself entered that world and could be watching over her this very moment. "Now I'm thinking like Dr. Whooves," I told myself with a slight grin. There was no telling what really happened to me when I passed through that portal. "Perhaps, it is time to take hold of that second chance."
I picked up my trusty old book off the clean floor and meandered over to the entryway. Magic of Equestria was still leaning against the wooden horse statue at a sixty degree angle. Its current page a little further along than where I stopped reading this morning. I carefully placed my book down next to the others. I trekked to the door and anxiously grabbed hold of the handle. While turning the knob, a small glimmer of light caught my attention. Somehow the light emitting from the window refracted from the book's engraving to the corner of my eye. It was as if the book snatched away whatever it could in order to say one last thing before I left - "Remember".
I nudged open the oak door and gently closed it behind me. I had resolved in my heart to spend the rest of my time today trying to find my old place. Though, I don't remember much from the days of my youth. I could reference certain landmarks and ascertain which direction they were from Town Hall. Learning that much would at least point me the right way.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. The busy sounds of ponies blurred together. A swift breeze curled my mane upward. The smell of flowers encompassed my senses. An image of spinning blades from a windmill entered into the picture with a small white bench sitting outside the main road. There emerged a soft sound, not of ponies or of birds, but of a gentle reflection from a body of water. I had to travel south to discover the source.
Following the path over the hill led me to a small oak tree shadowing over a metal bench. I would have been joyous to find the one bench taken from my memory if they all weren't so identical to each other throughout the whole town. To make matters worse, the road veered out in two completely opposite directions. Neither direction seemed familiar to me. My magic wasn't helping me foresee the right path. My recollection wasn't miraculously pointing me in the right direction this time either. So instead, I chose to use an old reliable way of retracing my steps - random selection.
The road only grew longer the more I traveled on it. How much longer would it take to reach my destination? Fifteen minutes had passed by since I made my decision at the crossroads. Would another fifteen minutes be sufficient? A small bit of regret seeped into my instincts. The more I distanced myself from town, the faster my heart pounded. Panic halted my steps. Did I choose wrong? Should I return and try the other direction? What if I get lost out here?
Calm slowly settled in when I properly addressed my situation. The sun's position indicated there was still quite a few more hours of daylight. The road had yet to split again. No pony around to ridicule or mock my actions. There was nothing to fear.
It wasn't much longer traveling down the road until I recognized something firmly placed in the ground. An old rickety sign you swore would collapse if you breathed on it showed the remains of a freshly plucked red tomato drawn onto its side. The mare that used to live across from us would sell leftover produce from her garden for one bit each. She lived in a house much older than all the other places I've ever visited as a colt. It was sometimes easier on my mother to visit than walking all the way into town for some weekly vegetables. However, there doesn't seem to be any evidence her house ever stood here other than a very large imprint in the ground where the grass should be growing. What used to host her large garden was now a large field of sunflowers.
My curiosity swung outward en route to where the sunflowers flourished beyond the paved road. A dirt pathway, slightly covered by tall-growing grass, stretched further down the reaches. My legs brushed against the felted leaf tips as I followed the path around the pasture. In that moment, a bit of excitement overcame me. The lush green grass extended beyond the country and over a hill. Unlike the blistering trees that enveloped the Everfree Forest or the thick barks of apple trees by Sweet Apple Acres, these areas were comprised of only a few large oak trees that overshadowed certain spots down the valley. It was if the entire landscape encapsulated a beautiful painting for all to see.
My anxious legs hastened my step as I admired the view of it all. The idea of frolicking through a meadow has always been a dream of mine. Watching a strong breeze brush against the grass and the trees, it filled my heart with joy as it cooled the sweat from my face. I closed my eyes and listened to the rustling of branches as the invisible force passed over me. I felt oddly in peace.
However, that peace was short-lived. My memory betrayed me. Something felt wrong. Something smelt wrong. What should have comforted my senses only brought anguish and disgust. The wind unveiled the smell of ash, soot, and embers. Though there was no visible sign of smoke or fire, there was no use denying the aroma. The more I traveled along the path towards the ravine, the stronger the smell of burning wood.
What I experienced next devastated me. At the end of the path rested the remains of three small houses slowly smouldering down by the side of the cliff. The roofs were nonexistent, completely disintegrated. Much of the leftover woodwork holding up the crumbling walls were now broken up in pieces and blackened as onyx stone. The only visible thing left standing in among the rubble were white stone pieces that originally held up the chimneys. Tears welled up in my eyes, though not due to the smoke irritating my eyes. For one of the three spots at the bottom of the hill was the location of my old house where it used to stand.
"No!" I instinctively shouted before running down the path. I nearly tripped over some pebbles that riddled the front yard. Once examining the damage, I realized my shout was in vain. The place was in shambles. The entire kitchen area vanished without a trace. A splint tore through the outer section of the bedroom walls. The furniture was completely burned. The black residue of the singed walls crumbled against the wind, leaving giant piles of charcoal in its trail. I was filled with disbelief. No pony could have survived such a fire.
As I shifted through the rubble, something unusual stood out to me. There was no evidence of anything actually living in this house. The cupboards didn't contain any food. There were no pictures or personal objects underneath the piles of wood. There were no burnt clothing or trash among the debris.
Though, I cannot refute the fact that this used to be my home. Near the entrance where the door would be, a thin piece of string held tight to a few bars of iron. These wind chimes once hung from a hook on the porch. This triggered a memory of my mother when she assured me I would be safe. The sound of the wind against the hollow bars would bring me back home if I ever got lost.
Another piece of evidence rested on top of a drawer next to the crumbling bed. There were tiny shards of glass and sand spilling over. Lifting up a few wooden boards revealed a small cracked hourglass laying on the floor. I slammed my shoulder against the beams and held them up to get a closer look. The intricate designs of the metallic overlaying were specifically designed and forged by my father. It was, perhaps, the last thing my mother had to remember him by.
My senses betrayed me once again. As I held up the remnants of the hourglass in my hooves, one of the support beams knocked loose the siding near the chimney. The resulting collision pinned the back half of me to the ground. For a few seconds, my grip on the hourglass relaxed, my body buckled under the stress, and my peripheral vision grew dark. I was going unconscious, and there was nothing that I could do to stop it.
The sound of laughter echoed in the dark. My eyes deciphered two splotchy blobs moving about, one yellow and one blue. The ringing bells of wind chimes tickled my ears. I felt overwhelmed. My weakened senses left me dizzy and light-headed. A small object, spherical in shape, pinged between the two smudges. When I attempted to focus on the sight, a bright light forced me to look away.
I heard the sound of a young filly call out to me, "Come on, Moonlight!"
My vision gradually returned to me as my eyes adjusted to the source. I could see large buildings in the background with architecture resembling those inside Cloudsdale. Like a lens of a telescope slowly coming into focus, the two blobs eventually morphed into two vivid young fillies. The blue one with a buzzed haircut was Rainbow Dash hovering high into the air. The yellow one with long legs was Fluttershy striking a white volleyball. They gleefully tossed the ball back-and-forth.
Fluttershy meekly invited, "Yeah, come on."
Words came out of my mouth that were not of my own volition. "I can't play with you." A resounding headache created sensory overload everytime the after-images pounded against my frontal lobes. Little Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy kept playing despite my words.
"Why not?" Rainbow Dash boldly asked, hitting the ball back to Fluttershy.
"I don't have wings," I responded without a rhyme or reason.
Fluttershy glanced at me and playfully grinned. "Sure you do."
By the time Fluttershy noticed the volleyball coming towards her, it was far too late to properly react. She closed her eyes and retracted her wings. The ball narrowly missed her body and rolled towards me.
The tugging sensation of a muscle spasm caused me to stretch out my shoulders. I felt something soft tickling my sides. Reaching behind me to scratch the itch, I was surprised by the softness of feathers protruding out of my back. I believed to have grown a pair of bonafide pegasus wings.
"Fire!" a pegasus exclaimed from a neighboring watchtower. He quickly reached out and pointed towards the ground. "There is a fire down there! We need some rain clouds, quick!"
A series of pegasi punched dark clouds through the ground. Only then I realized, in my stupefied state, that I stood upon a giant cloud and not of land. I peaked through a hole to see where they went and saw houses on fire far to the south. Those there to help jumped on top of the clouds. Rain ushered out over the smoke.
"Has Princess Celestia been contacted?" I asked, watching the chaos.
An unrecognizable voice called out behind me, "Who?"
"Princess Celestia."
"Who?"
My vision worsened as I turned towards the sound. A sudden flash of light burned into my retina. Everything turned white as the world dissolved around me.
The unmistakable weight of the rubble pressing against my body meant that I was once again conscious. I choked up the charcoal that lingered inside my lungs. An orange color masked the entire sky. A small creature moved from the top of the chimney onto one of the wooden beams that knocked me out. It grabbed the edge of the strip and pulled it away from my body. Once cleared, the animal flew onto the wretched remains of the bed and gazed into my eyes.
"Who?" the little fellow vocalized with the beadiest little eyes.
Once I extrapolated what kind of animal stared down at me, I figured out it was none other than Owliscious. Before I could thank him for rescuing me, the owl abruptly glanced towards something in the direction of the main road, broke open his wings, and flew away. Did something alert his attention or was something coming this way?
The pressure from the paranoia troubled the fibers of my soul. With an extra spike of adrenaline, I pushed off the fallen wall and inspected the area. There was just enough sunlight shining through the ravine for me to see up the hill. The little owl was no longer in sight. Before, the blades of grass would weave like the mighty sea waves. Now, there was nothing. An eerie silence seized the air around me. This kind of quiet felt unnatural. There had to be some kind of presence watching me, waiting for me to make a move.
The feeling of dread persisted as I stumbled out of the debris. My legs had enough strength to carry me through the valley at a steady pace. I could still feel the mark of where the plank rested on my back. It rivaled the bruise received from Twilight and the scratch on my leg from carrying the crates. The calculated time to travel back the distance was thirty minutes to an hour in my weakened state. There was not enough time to make it before nightfall. My only chance was to hope my presence remained unnoticed.
As the sun set, the autumn night air chilled the hairs on my back. The giant windmill, barely turning its blades by the water, meant I was on the right track. My rate of aspiration made me feel exhausted enough to simply collapse on the metal bench on the outskirts of town. Resting for a little while would do me good before pressing onward into Ponyville.
Celestia set the sun. Luna brought forth the moon. Though looking up, I always wondered who brought forth the stars. As a colt, I imagined them as small grains of sand scattering out of my hourglass and filling the entire night sky. Then every morning a powerful being would sweep them up and put them back.
About the time my breathing returned to normal, there was a brief absence of moonlight like a giant shadow passing overhead. The silhouette composed of two wings, far too large for an owl, with something shaking rapidly near its tail-end like a ripped kite flailing out of the sky. The night hid the complete shape of the figure away from me, but I definitely observed the assailant land on top of one of the nearby buildings.
"Who?" Owliscious called out from the nearby oak tree.
The sound spooked the mysterious being into jumping down onto the ground. They disguised their identity with a large black cloak. I carefully followed whatever it was down an alleyway to a nearby barn. It mistakenly hurried through one of the wheat fields. They picked up small bits of the crop onto the bottom of their attire. The figure lifted up its skirt and brushed off the chunks at the door. The abrasive movements shook loose their hood.
It was a pegasus - gray in appearance with a green mane. Its flank had the markings of playing cards. Her hair obscured most of her face from my peripheral, but I recognized that pegasus from anywhere. It had to be Sumica, the one who keeps popping up in my adventures for the last few years. She leaned her hoof against the building's door and pushed it open. She threw one quick glance over her right shoulder before tossing the hood over her face. After Sumica went inside, the door slowly creaked back into place, leaving a gap just large enough for a little bit of light to shine through.
I cautiously snuck behind the wooden fence around the wheat field and brazenly approached mere inches from the barn door. Was I out of my mind? Do I truly know what would happen the moment I make my presence known to her? Visualizing my hooves knocking on the thin door was a terrifying thought to have at the moment. The decision to face Sumica had always laid dormant and unresolved in the recesses of my mind. Ever since our encounter at the Grand Galloping Gala, two questions churned away in my head - Who was she really, and why do we keep bumping into each other?
Taking in one deep breath, I exerted enough pressure to wedge the door open without making a sound. The barn's interior was much smaller than I anticipated. The walls held well enough in place with wooden planks tight enough to keep the outside light at bay. The buttress could have been brand new if it wasn't for a few splinters hanging from the edges. There were about a dozen stalls, simplistic in design, with short barriers roughly three feet high separating them. Broken stacks of hay consumed most of the floorboard with a wide-range of tools from shovels to pitchforks neatly arranged on the back wall. The only evidence of movement was from a few dust particles floating near a tiny window on the second floor.
With a hint of hesitation and a touch of determination, I mustered the courage to slip out a few words. "I know you're in here. Come on out where I can see you. I just want to talk."
The room grew dark as the door slammed shut. My eyes barely caught wind of Sumica's presence before she disappeared into the shadows. The light from the window did nothing to brighten the room.
Sumica responded in an annoyed undertone, "Sure... Talk... We can do that. Why don't you start by telling me why you are following me?"
The soft strings of hay tickled the ends of my hooves. My right leg gently hovered over the floor for a few seconds before I replied, "I... I don't know. There is something about you, something that seems familiar to me somehow. I want to know why that is."
Sumica's voice circled around me. "You seem quite familiar to me too. Why don't you give me your name?"
"Moonlight!" I sternly shouted. "My name is Moonlight! Moonlight Sonata."
Sumica shouted with great anger, "That is not your name! I want your real name! Who are you?!"
I cried, "I don't know what you mean?"
Sumica grabbed hold of my sides and swung me to the back of the barn. With her green eyes staring directly into mine, she emphasized, "You seem to be everywhere I go. Tragedy follows every time I see your face. So I'm asking you again. Who. Are. You?"
An unusual feeling erupted when she spoke those last words. I couldn't identify its substance. My body was already experiencing the effects of fear, dread, and terror. My brain quickly shifted through other possible categories - love, joy, peace, happiness, contentment. The barn softly rattled as a strong breeze pressed against the walls behind me. Then I noticed a small wrinkle, a wavering muscle under Sumica's left eye. The tension in her grip lessened as her breath slowed to a crawl. The emotion overwhelming me was undeniably trust.
Without looking away, I leaned in closer. "I'm Moonlight."
Sumica jerked me against the wall hard enough for one of the farming tools to be knocked down to the floor. Her hoof pounded against the wood behind my ear. "Moonlight's dead!"
The discomfort in my back made me flinch for a few seconds, but I certainly heard what she said. Sumica's inquiry had been contradictory at best. Nothing she did in this barn made any sense to me.
When she pulled back for another swing I quickly closed my eyes and pulled away. "No really! I'm Moonlight! You have to believe me, Sumica!"
Sumica grabbed my sides and again pressed me onto the back wall. "How do you know my name?" Her wings enveloped the space around me. "I asked you a question!" She extended her wings out and picked me up into the air. Once hovering near the top of the barn, she slipped her grip just a hair to make her intentions clear. If Sumica's goal was to intimidate me, it was working.
"Please!" I begged, with my hind legs dangling in the air. "You have to believe me. I... I was there at the Gala. Remember? You wore that blue dress."
Sumica purposely loosened her grip. "If it really is you, tell me something only Moonlight would know."
"Cupcakes!" I quivered as if the answer was the only thing that would keep Sumica from dropping me. "Strawberry cupcakes. They were my favorite. My mother would visit the mare down the road and buy the fruit. She would always make sure to have one on the table when I came home from school. When I was younger, I used to complain when they didn't have any sprinkles on top because... because..."
"What sort of cupcake would it be if it didn't have sprinkles on top." Sumica looked at me as if another pony formed in front of her eyes. "It's you. It really is you. But how?"
Sumica's demeanor completely changed. The rate her wings fluttered in the air reduced dramatically. She yanked me up and tenderly embraced me. The normal reaction a pony would do for such a warmhearted gesture was to offer one in return. However, the height proved to be more worrisome on my mind. Theoretically, the impact resulting from a fall this high onto a small pile of hay wouldn't do much damage. However, the thought still didn't prevent me from imagining a few deadly, albeit unrealistic, scenarios.
"I can't believe you are alive. I'm so happy to see you again." Sumica hugged me for a second time.
Three very fast clangs rang from the barn door. On the third strike, the door swung open. Light poured into the room. Rainbow Dash arranged herself aggressively mid-flight and prepared for a high velocity charge. "Alright, Moonlight! What is going on here? What have you-"
Rainbow Dash immediately halted her actions and calmly landed on the ground. She blushed and tried to look away. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know you were having a moment." She reversed her course and shied away. "I'll just head back out and-"
"Rainbow Dash!" Sumica exclaimed, nearly dropping me in her excitement. She placed me on the ground, flew over by the door, and stuck one hoof forward. "How have you been?"
Rainbow Dash instinctively tapped against Sumica's hoof. "Hey, um, do... do I know you?"
"Is it all clear, Rainbow Dash?" the commanding Twilight Sparkle shouted from behind. "I heard some commotion and-"
"Princess!" Sumica stepped to the right and juggled her legs to an upright position. She placed her hoof on her chest a bowed in a professional manner. "What are you doing here?"
Twilight Sparkle quickly turned her head outside and looked into the wheat field. She rapidly rotated her head in all directions as if a bee was circling around her. She squinted her eyes and perused the room's interior. "I don't see a princess." She stared directly at Sumica.
"Ha! You were always funny, Princess Sparkle," Sumica replied.
Owliscious entered the room and propped himself onto Twilight's back. "Who?"
"Ah, cool! You got an owl too?" Sumica stated with a smile on her face.
Rainbow Dash took one look at me and impatiently asked, "Moonlight, what is going on?"
A heavy sigh, a quick rub to the temple, and a moment of silence is all I wanted for the time being. My forehead needed more of my attention than anything else. A resounding headache from being tossed around all day refrained me from immediately answering. Too many thoughts rolling around in my brain. So many questions and not enough answers. My body was running on low for awhile now and the soreness in my bones was beginning to bare down on my patience. Times like these caused me to be more irritable than normal.
Though the importance of clearing up a few things before retiring for the night was too great to leave alone. I had to be careful in deciding which things to discuss. Providing awareness to the houses that burned down would only escalate problems, especially without any concrete proof. Raising suspicions and accusations would only break down any sort of information that could be gained beforehand. Pinning Sumica as some sort of criminal wouldn't settle well with me either.
There was no need asking Rainbow Dash why she charged in as if Discord broke free from his stone prison. Clearly my absence simply had my friends worry for the worse. No, the immediate thing I needed to do was to build trust with everyone currently in this barn. Knowing full well how a pony's world can be turned upside down in an instant, more than once I might say, the least I could do is clear the air where we stood in the whole stream of things for the group.
I carefully placed my hoof on Sumica's shoulder to grab her attention. "Sumica, where are you from?"
"Cloudsdale. All pegasi are from Clousdale. You know that, right?" Sumica responded with her eyes tucked deep inside her face as a means to avoid telling me the whole truth.
"Who rules over Equestria?"
Sumica's responded with a giant grin. She detracted from the question with a hostile remark. "I don't understand why-"
"Sumica, please. Who rules over Equestria?"
The question bared a lot of weight and confused the ponies. Rainbow Dash stretched out her wings while paying keen attention to my forwarding questions, but the tightness in her jaw revealed the grit in her teeth as she refrained the best she could from interrupting me. The way Twilight Sparkle's head rolled from one side to the other mirrored the perplexed look in her eye as the gears in her head clicked with every word out of my mouth. Sumica's spontaneous switches in stature - from showing off a playful gesture to speaking a wily comment - displayed a form of optimism without unmasking her personal endeavors.
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Canterlot," Sumica eventually answered.
"Where are you now?"
"Why Manestone, of course," she responded with no hesitation.
"Manestone?" Rainbow Dash said without any concern for the pegasus. "You're in Ponyville."
Sumica fluffed her mane to the side of her face and looked over at Rainbow Dash. "Very funny Dash, but I haven't flown too close to the sun this time around. We are in Manestone."
Rainbow Dash's nostrils flaired up. She crept closer to Sumica. "Now listen-"
"Hold it!" I shouted, pulling the two pegasi farther apart. "Sumica, this area may appear similar, maybe even identical, to the place you call Manestone, but it isn't."
Sumica retracted her hoof away from her chest, being caught surprised by my answer. She rushed outside and flew high in the air for a better view of the town. Then after a momentarily respite, she came back down to the barn. "It happened again, didn't it?"
"Apparently," I replied. "Rainbow Dash, I'm far too tired to be doing anything else for the night. I'd like to wait until morning to explain things further. Is there a place that Sumica can stay in Cloudsdale?"
Before Rainbow Dash could get a word in, Sumica replied, "Actually, I'd like to stay the night with you, Moonlight, if that is alright with you?"
Despite the fact that Rainbow Dash was biting her lip, Twilight politely suggested, "You both can spend the night at my place."
Sumica asked, "And what place would that be?"
"The Golden Oak Library," I replied.
"You live in a library? But-" Sumica held her tongue. She quickly bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry, Princess Twilight. I did not mean any disrespect. I'll be glad to stay at your humble home."
Twilight blushed and rubbed her front leg. She clearly was embarrassed at Sumica's formalities. "Oh, uh, please, just Twilight. I'm no princess."
Sumica bowed again. "As you wish, your majesty."
"You all can go ahead," Rainbow Dash stated. "There is something I need to check on before heading back anyways. I'll be expecting an explanation in the morning from the both of you."
Fire ripped up the walls around me. Smoke crawled across the ceiling. A thick fog of dust and ash encompassed the room. The building was burning, and my quickest escape route through the back door was blocked by the crisp snaps of broken wood. The large room contained two more doors for me to choose from. I needed to hurry. My vision faded every second that passed by.
"I'm in here!" the voice cried out again.
It was coming from behind one of the doors. Remembering what our teacher told us, I tapped on the knob to check for heat. The fact that it wasn't warm meant it was safe to open the door. However, something wedged on the other side kept me from opening it all the way no matter how much force I exerted on the door. A support beam extending away from the ceiling and onto the floor rested behind the door's exterior. A hoof lunged through the gap and grabbed hold of the door frame. There lied a unicorn, purple in shape and form, squeezing her entire body through the narrow hole.
"Thanks... Moonlight..." the little filly said in between breaths.
The heat from the fire peeled away the walls. A large pop resonated near the other door. Another load bearing collapsed blocking our only other way out. My legs refused to move as the flames bled through another wall. My eyes were filling with ash. Time seemed meaningless as fear led to panic. Three large pounds came from somewhere nearby, followed by the sound of glass shattering.
"I'm coming!" a pony filled with fire-resistance attire, an oxygen tank, and a gas mask cried out while pushing through the window. Her hoof slipped when the desk she applied pressure on snapped. Striking the floor with a tool that looked like an axe with a flatter head, she raised herself up and reached out to us. The lack of speed and eloquence suggested a bruised pony beaten to exhaustion. Yet at this point, any help was highly appreciated regardless of the circumstances.
She led us over to where the window pane was and lifted us up onto the desk. A pegasus reached inside and pulled us out of the building. When I looked up to see the face of the one who assisted me out of the fire, a bright light blinded my eyes.
A familiar face did emerge in front of me upon opening my eyes, though not one I expected to be so close. With a cheerful smile and excited eyes, a wild Pinkie Pie appeared to greet me. "Hello!" she shouted with not a moment too soon for an eager pony waiting on a friend to rise. Her sudden pronouncement pierced through my sleepy mind.
Caught off-guard from the confines of the library, my legs wiggled and jolted inside the blanket on the bed. The rapid movement nearly knocked me onto the floor. I surely thought a certain pony would have locked the door, and I'm absolutely positive I didn't request a wake-up call before falling asleep last night. I kept forgetting how no one could escape Pinkie's surprise visits, no matter how many times we've told her to stop in the past. Pinkie Pie never really understood personal boundaries.
Catching myself on one hoof before collapsing on the floor with the covers wrapped tight around me, I realized how much my body needed a good night's rest. My energy had returned to me. My vision was clearer than last night. The knot on my back was reduced to a small strain. Yet I could not exclude the thought that it was all because of my physical reaction from being instantly scared out of my wits.
"Pinkie! Please! Ever hear of personal space?" I clearly scolded, agitated to the bones.
"Nope," Pinkie said in a playful manner.
The covers fell off as I slid off the bed. I quickly brushed my mane back and glanced at Pinkie. "What are you doing here anyways? Aren't you supposed to be working at Sugarcube Corner with the Cakes today?"
"I took the day off," Pinkie responded.
Finding out why Pinkie chose this day, of all days, to spend time away from work and come visit the Golden Oak Library at this hour, of all hours, would have proved futile. Even just trying to figure out how some of her responses could consist of a single word riddled my brain. I was not about to spend a moment longer questioning her motives. She was a very resourceful young mare and has a habit of finding out about things without any proclamation. No doubt, she probably already has some good idea of what happened yesterday.
For a brief moment, I feared Sumica snuck out during the night. That momentarily skip in my heart rate subsided when a long thread of green hair rolled over the cot lying in front of me. I half-expected Pinkie to hover over Sumica and provide her the same warm welcome when she opens her eyes. Yet, such a thought drifted away from my mind when the sound of friction from the sheets above grabbed my attention. A couple of legs popped out the side.
"Morning Twilight," I preemptively stated. Twilight's mane curled in all directions as if a mother bird prepared a nest for her young. "Nice hairdo."
Twilight wandered over to the mirror and grabbed her hairbrush. "Heh. It was a long day. How did you rest?"
"I slept great!" Pinkie shouted.
I replied, "Good. I had another dream."
"What was it this time?" Twilight asked.
Before I could say more, a murmur crept out from underneath the covers. Wings shot out the sides. Sumica's legs moved like she was trotting in place. "No...No..." She implored with tension in her voice, "Day Star!" She startled us with an unexpected thrust.
Sumica glanced down below, then rested her hoof on her head. As the covers receded, a silver-touched necklace with a slim metal chain slipped down around her neck. The pendant held a small jewel in the center surrounded with designs too tiny to distinguish. At first glance, the stone appeared faded and valueless. The gem didn't shimmer or shine under the sunlight. My gemology wasn't as keen as Rarity or Maud Pie, but the red hue suggested the gem could have been a ruby or a garnet. Though upon further inspection, I noticed finely-drawn swirls interwoven in the black and red cast. The design made the gemstone come alive while dangling in the air.
Twilight inquired, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Sumica stated as she pulled herself together. "It was nothing. Don't worry about it."
Twilight and I have had this conversation before. We both knew full well the anguish that comes from stressing over things. If something bothered Sumica, it would be up to her to mention it. A sort of unspoken agreement was made between us that moment to let the matter rest until a more opportune time.
Amusingly, Pinkie was too busy with other things to mind. A new pony, a new guest to admire and see. A thousand questions to ask and a thousand stories to tell. That is what revolves around inside the mind of a Pinkie Pie. And the smell of what to come showed she made preparations in advance.
"Is that coffee?" Twilight asked as the aroma filled the the air. "But Spike is in Canterlot assisting Princess Celestia."
"Oh! I almost forgot. Or to say I forgot and then remembered," Pinkie commented with exuberant joy and exaltation. "I knew you guys would be waking up soon, so I made some coffee! I even brought marshmellows. Would you like some?"
Pinkie hopped up the steps and carried down a boiling pot with a large black handle. She went to the center table where the books used to rest and poured coffee into one of several cups already placed there beforehand. The caring pony then laid the cup into Sumica's hooves. Pinkie patiently waited for a compliment from the pegasus. A simple grin seemed to satisfy her fervency.
Steam rolled over Sumica's nose. "Nothing better than a cup of coffee to break out the wings in the morning,"
As Pinkie reached over to grab another cup, Twilight interrupted, "Sorry Pinkie, but-"
"Oh!" Pinkie shrieked as another thought went through her mind. She hustled up the stairs and brought down another pot with delicate swirls printed around the top. She carefully filled a cup and offered it to Twilight. "I made you tea!"
"Why, thank you, Pinkie," Twilight admirably said as she received the cup. "You sure are on top of it this morning."
Pinkie turned around and faced me. She smiled and, yet again, rushed up the stairs. She retrieved a third pot colored white all over. She filled a cup and offered it to me. "I remember you don't like coffee or tea so I made you some water."
"Thank you," I enunciated, staring inside the cup. Though I wanted to conform to the rules of sipping from tiny cups, my quenched mouth demanded something a little more severe.
My response delighted Pinkie before she blatantly asked us, "Are you two married?"
I spit the water in Pinkie's face and choked on the notion. Pinkie's muscles didn't flinch, not one bit at all.
"Oh, Pinkie. Once a jester, always a jester. You will find no rings on this pegasus," Sumica insisted.
The water slowly dripped from Pinkie's mane and chin. I levitated a napkin from the counter and tapped it upon her face. The napkin swooped lower as Twilight prepared her next question.
"Are you brother and sister?"
The memory of my childhood proved hazy at best. I looked towards Sumica expecting a truthful reply. The validity of her answer didn't matter too much to me, but a positive answer would help better explain her familiarity to me.
Sumica lowered her cup and shook her head. "Our relationship isn't of love, blood, or contract. It is far too complicated to put into words. You could say I'm a guardian of sorts, an expert into things kept secret and true. Our encounters are mere accidental, I assure you. My investigation simply brought me here, to this spot, of all places."
"Guardian?" I asked, placing the napkin down.
Sumica admitted, "My duties are not structured like the royal guard. And do not think my larger size makes me some sort of princess. I do take orders from them both equally, but my responsibilities do not hold me to any particular place."
Pinkie prodded, "So, what brings you here?"
"Well, I hit sort of a snag. I've been given two direct orders that conflict with each other. And with that, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I've been thrown around so much that I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing anymore."
Twilight questioned, "Does this have anything to do with Starswirl the Bearded?"
"You must have found his journal," Sumica replied. "No, meeting him was an accident."
I blurted, "That was years ago! How did you manage to get there? It was Ordain, wasn't it?" I watched Sumica nod in agreement. "What happened?"
Sumica inquired, "Shouldn't Rainbow Dash be here before we begin?"
Twilight remarked, "Up to you. You can always give her the abbreviated version when she arrives."
Sumica sighed, "It's a long story, but I guess I have some time. I won't bore you with every explicit detail."
Pinkie reached into a giant white bag and pulled out some marshmallows. "A story? I love stories! Tell us! Tell us!"
Sumica explained, "Well, I was on a search for a missing guardsman from Manestone when a foul creature emerged from the Everfree Forest. He spouted off some nonsense about kidnapping the princess and demanded I do exactly what he told me to do."
Twilight guessed, "That must have been Ordain."
"And did you?" I asked.
"Pfft, no! I didn't believe him. I knew he was probably the culprit behind my missing pony case. I charged him, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving some crazy magic tear behind. At the time, I didn't know what happened. One moment I was in a forest and in the next I ended up in the middle of this old dusty room filled with books."
Twilight placed her cup down on the nightstand and browsed her selection of volumes on the shelf. She pulled down the book Predictions and Prophecy with her magic and broke it open on the table. After turning to page 87, she angled the book towards Sumica. "This page contains a part of Starswirl's journal. You are completely different than what I imagined from this account."
Sumica placed down her cup and wandered closer to the book. After she read a portion of the page, she let out a small chuckle. "Spycraft 101. A good way in obtaining information out of a curious pony is to appear helpless and vulnerable. Chances are they will volunteer themselves and help you with your situation. 'Cowering in fear,' he says. I implore you I was in complete control of the situation. The pegasus in distress - oldest trick in the book."
Pinkie Pie pulled the pillow from Sumica's cot and plopped it underneath her. "Then what happened?"
"I'm not sure," Sumica replied with a bewildered look on her face, "I remember this... flash of light, and I ended back in Cloudsdale as if nothing ever happened. The guardsman returned later that day."
I imposed, "How did you end up at the Gala?"
Sumica rolled her head up high as she looked at the ceiling. "The Gala? The Gala? Ah yes. The Gala. One moment I was... uh, visiting a friend. The next, I remember this strong wind coming out of nowhere. Then, suddenly, I was in this building, Stitch In Time, I think it was called. I don't get what the big deal is with dressing up for some of you 'proper pony folk', but that lady there with the fancy glasses would not let me leave without wearing one of her 'creations'. Something about me having the perfect shape for her dress. She was obsessed in 'making the magic.'"
Pinkie asked, "Did you make it in time to see my big premiere? Wasn't it awesome?"
"Uh, no Pinkie."
"It wasn't awesome?" Pinkie pouted.
Sumica stuttered, "No, I... I mean I wasn't there for the premiere. I assume it was awesome if you were in charge."
Twilight assessed, "How did you get in? The Gala is invitations only."
"It wasn't easy," Sumica stated with a grin on her face. "It required some rope, a pair of sunglasses, and a shovel."
"What?" I asked.
Sumica laughed. "You are so gullible. The dress came with a special pass."
"But why were you there?" I implored.
"I was in a nice dress, specially tailored to my figure, with a free invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala. Why in Equestria would I pass up an opportunity like that?" Sumica clarified.
Twilight was glued to Sumica's story. She didn't raise her cup in the past few minutes. Pinkie was still munching on marshmallows. After realizing my cup was empty the third time I picked it up, I finally took the time to bother refilling it. I knew Sumica's tale would be a wild one, but most of her ventures appear to be by happenchance. That was until she told the story of her strange chase with Night Star.
That was a close one. I think I shook him. I know Day Star told me that the mission takes priority, but can't a girl have a little fun now and again? I didn't think any pony would actually try to start a conversation with me. Maybe it's the dress. I have to get out of this dress.
The wind called out to me. "Sumica, stop this."
I recognized Moonlight's voice, but I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. The only things visible were the moon and the stars. The residual echo in his voice could only be caused by a nearby space tear. Was the event horizon happening right now, or could it be coming from another time? The rate these rifts occur seem to be increasing. I have to find the source before it rips both worlds apart.
A flash of light proceeded a chilling wind. It prevented me from flying any farther. In my persistence, my wings only flapped harder. Yet in an instant, the world changed again. The lamps that lit the roadway disappeared, and a multitude of guards appeared at every junction. I had feared the worst for the people of my world. There was very little time left before my presence here would go unnoticed. I had to find cover and quick.
Luckily, the closest tower was minutes away. I flew through the window into a quaint little room. Inside the spire contained a large bed and a locked chest. In a small closet with its door wide open hung some clothes with a set of armor lying on the floor. On top of a dresser at the far end of the room inclined a hoof-sized mirror. A dusky staircase led downstairs to the main road.
I crept over to the dresser and spotted a tiny photograph in the corner of the mirror. It was a picture of my good friend Night Star next to another pegasus, yellow in appearance, saluting one of Princess Celestia's servants that, by the cut of his mane, must have been Jade. The mirror's golden frame may have covered the pegasus' head from view, but within the context of the picture the identity of that pegasus was his brother, Day Star.
Before I could investigate further, there was a disturbance outside. I jumped into the closet and carefully tugged on the door, leaving a gap just large enough to see through. It might not have been the best plan of mine, but it will have to do for the time being.
"I'll show him. I'll show both of them," the pegasus grumbled. He bent down and reached for something underneath the bed. "Nightmare Moon and Moonlight think they can just dismiss me like that?" He stomped the ground in distress. "Ugh! It's not here! Where could it be?"
The pegasus pacing around the room sounded like Night Star, but the tone of his voice was more rigid and crude. The words he spoke insinuated a story from a fairy tale. No way Nightmare Moon could still be present in Equestria. Princess Celestia made sure of that. And what about Moonlight? Could he be the cause of all this? There's always the possibility of another temporal distortion. Never thought something like this would happen twice in the same day.
A sudden pause in Night Star's movement surprised me. I feared he might have detected my presence. I tucked my wings in further and hugged the back of the wall. With the clothes now obscuring my vision, I carefully braced my hooves next to the armor's bitter cold steel. If the door moved just a little bit, using my momentum to charge forward was my only means of escape.
"If only you were here," Night Star lamented, "you would know exactly what to do. I hope Ordain keeps his word for the sake of all Equestria."
I inched forward to peer through the clothes, but Night Star was no longer in view. He must have been standing next to his dresser, conversing with the photograph as if his brother stood in front of him. The name he mentioned wasn't familiar to me. However, if Night Star held him in such high esteem, I must discover who he is.
Night Star strolled to the window and prepared his wings. He launched outside the bedroom empty-handed. I waited a few seconds and pulled open the closet door. I had to chase him. He was my only lead in finding out more about this new world.
I kept low to the ground to bypass the sky security. I maintained a steady distance without losing the trail. The pegasus stopped short and scanned the perimeter. Down below was a residential area with a wide-range of merchants and entertainers in the streets. I ducked down behind one of the buildings and roamed through one of the street alleyways.
The feeling of electricity tugging against the hair on the back of my neck overwhelmed me. A flash of light encompassed the entire town. For a few precious seconds, I saw the town of Manestone streak in front of me piece-by-piece with all of the humble homes that held dear to my heart. Yet my hope was fleeting when another wave broke the hourglass once again. The residence returned to the despicable ruins under Nightmare Moon's reign.
Things were not proceeding according to plan. Night Star's trail turned cold near the boundaries of the Everfree Forest. Worse, I failed to stick to the shadows and now the shadows were following me. Moonlight Sonata and a band of pegasi hooligans trailing behind him were closing in fast. No doubt he must have alerted the guards. I had no time to fight a dozen henchmen. Let's see if they are willing to follow me deeper in the forest.
I was introduced to a new adversary and its bark was worse than their bite. The Everfree Forest entangled my wings with long stretches of vines dangling from the tree tops. A thick bog encroached from the swamp as if Nightmare Moon's grasp stretched outward from the depths of the waters. Barely any moonlight shined through this area. The darkness could be compared to the dungeons of Canterlot.
Something smooth rubbed around my neck and pulled me back into a tree. Night Star, who was supposed to be my friend, stood over me with his hooves digging into my shoulders. His metallic braces, damp from the swamp's humidity, slid across my chest. The pressure he applied was immense. "Who are you? Who sent you? he asked with great emphasis on every word.
"Night Star," I stated while grasping for breath, "It's Sumica."
"I don't know any pony by that name. You're here to spy on me, aren't you?"
The pegasus with an iron grip around my neck was all intents and purposes physically identical to the Night Star I knew at the academy. Yet he clearly didn't retain any memory of me through the space anomaly. His actions conveyed a desire to kill me, but his eyes divulged a form of sadness I've seen far too often in my line of work.
I slipped from his hold and swept the legs. I pinned him to the ground with the weight of my calves. "Now see here! I mean you no harm, but you are going to answer some of my questions. Let's start with Ordain."
The mere mention of Ordain's name enraged Night Star. He grunted, bucked loose my footing, and broke free from my grasp. He enwrapped himself around my chest and shoved me against another tree. The wood held strong despite the applied force. "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't take kindly to those who intrude into my personal affairs. He warned me I might encounter some trouble."
Night Star's stubbornness was more powerful than I anticipated. The struggle for dominance between the both of us lasted for a few more minutes until our momentum pulled us towards a giant log sticking halfway out of the ground. Its hidden roots lifted us off the ground and broke us apart. Mud slapped into my eyes as I rolled down the hillside.
The exhaustion and pain from the debris breaking my fall was too much for me to handle. I had only a few more moments of consciousness. Looking through the specks of dirt hanging from my eyelashes, I spotted a single house in the middle of nowhere on the fringes of the forest with its door wide-open. Distraught and delirious, my legs carried me meter by meter into the house until I felt something soft and gentle. A couch rested in front of me as if it was personally gifted and delivered from Princess Celestia herself. With the last of my strength I pulled myself upon the comfortable cushion tops and collapsed on the pillow.
An eerie pause filled the room when Sumica finished telling her tale. Once again forgetting to drink the water from the cup in my hoof, I looked directly into Sumica's bold eyes waiting for something to happen. Unfortunately, the words I wanted to convey didn't come out exactly the way I wanted them to. "If I wasn't there myself, I don't think I would have believed it."
Pinkie hopped up from the pillow and punched the air. "You should have given him the one-two combo and glomped him!"
"Glomp him?" Sumica asked inquisitively.
"You know, surprise him with a giant hug," Pinkie elaborated.
The revealed events that Sumica told did match up with my own experience. Yet, a problem occurs when defining the exact time each event happened. The painting of her on the couch occurred an entire year earlier, and not once did she mention her encounter with Fluttershy. The ruptures might have overridden each other and erased the specific timeline from her memory. Whatever the case, there's no need debating the details of the past. Time-travel is already hard enough to understand without a theoretical physics degree.
Almost completely ignoring the three of us, Sumica walked closer to the window and looked up towards Cloudsdale. She let loose a huge sigh as she rested her head against the library's bark. "I hope I find a way back home."
Pinkie Pie conferred, "Where do you live?"
"Cloudsdale," Sumica admitted.
"Can't you just fly home?" Pinkie responded.
Sumica turned around and paced around the center wooden table. "No, Pinkie. I... This place is so different. As funny as you are, you aren't the same entertaining jester that makes us all laugh."
Pinkie exclaimed, "I could be!"
"And you, Twilight, might live in a library, but you are not the same rambunctious Twilight I know." Sumica lifted her cup at me. "I even doubt you are the same Moonlight I knew all those years ago."
I placed the empty cup down onto the table. "What do you mean?"
Sumica grinned. "I mean, Moonlight, you and I were friends when you were younger."
"I was?"
The tension in Sumica's face tugged against the muscles in her ears. Her expression reflected that of a pony holding all the cards close to the chest. The shallow breathing tucked away a hidden secret far too big to express into words. Yet her relaxed posture denoted something to the contrary. She wanted me to know whatever was causing her distress.
Sumica stumbled over her own words. "I... they... let's just say that we happened to meet when Equestria was under attack by an unknown force."
Twilight beseeched, "That must have been terrible! What happened?"
Sumica tilted her head sideways a little to the right. "It certainly wasn't one of our toughest battles. A small band of renegades were sabotaging various facilities all over the map. It wasn't until Twilight, I mean Princess Sparkle, devised a plan to dissuade their attacks for good." Sumica shook her head with disbelief. "I still can't get over seeing you here like this."
I chuckled, "Why, what she do?"
Sumica smirked. "Let's just say she is a mare you wouldn't want to cross with."
Our conversation was interrupted with a knock at the door. "That must be Rainbow Dash," Twilight deduced.
When Pinkie opened the door, we were greeted with the kindest of words. "Oh, I didn't know you had company. I can come back later when you aren't busy."
"Fluttershy?" I asked, recognizing her tone. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, well, I was supposed to meetup with Rarity at the Boutique. We were going to take the fillies on a trip... excuse me, a 'cutie mark adventure' after school and... Who's your guest?"
Sumica glided over to the door and bowed her head. "My name is Sumica. It is nice to meet you."
"What's this about Rarity?" I asked as gentle as I could.
Fluttershy's mouth quivered and her eyes swoon. "She said she would be at the Boutique finishing some alterations. When I got there, the door was open but no one was there. I figured I would come here and see if you guys seen her."
Twilight contemplated, "Well, that's odd. Unlike Rarity to miss an appointment."
"She does get carried away sometimes," I commented.
Pinkie imparted, "Rarity wouldn't leave Sweetie Belle hanging like that."
Twilight added, "Especially after their time together at the Sisterhooves Social."
Sumica inquired at Twilight, "What would you suggest we do?"
Twilight placed her hoof on her chin. "We can always check the school and see if she's there. If not, we can ask the girls if they've seen her."
Half of the young ponies in the classroom keenly observed Cheerilee extend a rod towards the upper portions of a professionally drawn-out map of Equestria. A few of the inattentive ones rolled their eyes at yet another dissatisfying lecture of the history of Ponyville. One filly stretched her head comfortably in the back of her chair. A young colt in the far back was already fast asleep with drool dripping onto his desk. Applebloom merrily picked up her pencil and wrote out the day's subject at the top of her paper.
Sweetie Belle excitedly raised her hoof in the air. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" She thrilled at the chance of giving out correct answers whenever she could in class.
"Yes, Sweetie Belle?"
"Cloudsdale!"
"That's correct," Cheerilee congratulated the young filly. "Many pegasi grow up with their parents in this city. There, they learn how to fly and control their wings."
A pony in the back shouted with a hoarse voice, "But Cheerilee, we see pegasi come down here all the time."
Cheerilee retracted her pointer and stepped closer to the class. "Yes, and do you know why?"
Diamond Tiara lifted up a block eraser and twirled the corner on top of her desk. Without raising a hoof, she threw a glance towards Scootaloo. "Is it because they have nothing better to do?"
Unamused, Cheerilee turned to the apathetic filly. "Why would you think that?"
"Rainbow Dash just lays around all the time," Diamond Tiara stated while aggressively planting her hoof on her desk.
Applebloom interrupted, "Now wait a minute! Rainbow Dash helps with the weather!"
"Yes, Applebloom," Cheerilee complimented, "that is correct. Cloudsdale houses one of the largest weather factories in Equestria. Each section is designated a season with a specific element in mind. They provide rain clouds to help with the crops. Snowflakes are delicately checked each winter. On certain occasions, you'll see pegasi form rainbows out from the clouds - like the one from yesterday. Does any pony know what they do during the first day of Spring?"
The classroom fell silent. The only interested filly was the one sitting in the front row raising her hoof for the second time.
"Any pony else want to try an answer?" Cheerilee asked with a disgruntled look on her face. After a brief moment she called upon the anxious unicorn. "Alright, Sweetie Belle. Go ahead."
"They bring back the summer birds."
"That's correct," Cheerilee happily replied.
Diamond Tiara slipped closer and pointed directly at Scootaloo. "But Cheerilee, why aren't all the pegasi in Cloudsdale?"
Scootaloo's temper flared. "Hey!"
Cheerilee posed a rebuttal to the snarky remark. "That can be answered through our genealogy. In rare cases, certain ponies grow up to be different than their parents." After noticing our presence outside the classroom she concluded, "But we'll have to save that topic for another time. Why don't you all take the next few minutes drawing one thing you are thankful for having that comes from Cloudsdale."
The five of us patiently waited outside the schoolhouse, careful not to upset Cheerilee's instructions to the young ones. No doubt a teacher's job is already hard enough keeping twenty young ponies in line. There was no reason to add to that stress with a heavy-handed interruption. Cheerilee placed the rod inside the drawer on her desk and motioned us to come inside the classroom. Only our leader, Twilight Sparkle, physically entered through the open door. The rest of the merry band, myself included, stayed outside not to crowd an already crowded classroom.
"Thanks for waiting," Cheerilee sighed.
"We didn't mean to interrupt," Twilight replied, "but can we talk to the girls real quick?"
"Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle. Applebloom. I believe there are some ponies here to see you."
The three fillies hopped out of their chairs and strolled towards the front of the classroom. The pace in their steps tattled on the girls. Though our reason for visiting was to extract information, the way their ears drooped down made it feel like we were there to scold them. Not sure what kind of trouble the Cutie Mark Crusaders could make in one day. Perhaps it had to do something with the scratch on Scootaloo's ankle. What could they have known that we did not?
Applebloom scratched her mane. "What's going on?"
"I think it would be better if we talk outside," Twilight suggested.
The three fillies meandered outside the classroom before Twilight Sparkle closed the door. Sumica and I played with the grass in the shade under a nearby tree when Fluttershy approached the trying threesome.
Fluttershy politely lowered her head. "Girls, have any of you seen Rarity?"
"She isn't at home?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"No." Fluttershy explained, "I went to the Boutique like we planned this morning. The door was open, but there was no one inside. I had hoped you all might have known where she had gone."
Sweetie Belle recounted, "That's strange. Her door was shut on our way to school. She's probably just still mad about-"
"Shh!" Scootaloo sibilated.
Twilight retorted, "Mad? Why would Rarity be mad?"
Before Sweetie Belle could respond, Applebloom blurted, "No reason! We went home and, uh..."
"Did our homework!" Scootaloo quickly exclaimed.
Sumica surprised me with a small chuckle. She stretched out her wings for a brief moment and approached the kids. Her posture cast a slight shadow over Applebloom's face. "What didn't you do?" she remarked with a coy smirk on her face.
Applebloom panicked. "Well, we thought Moonlight was going to meet up with us after class yesterday, but when he didn't show up, we thought it would be a good idea to have our own little adventure ahead of time."
Fluttershy meekly asked, "You went without us?"
Scootaloo stammered, "We go all the time. We just didn't think... I mean, nothing happened, except..."
"What happened?" Twilight asked like a mother catching her child with their hoof in the cookie jar.
Sweetie Belle recalled, "Well, we went into the woods."
Twilight chastised, "You went into the Everfree Forest by yourselves?"
"And we fell down this huge hole," Applebloom added, waving her hooves out as far as she could stretch them.
"Goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
Scootaloo fretted, "It was dark. Really dark. We couldn't see anything. We got split up and-"
"How did you get out?" Sumica interjected.
Sweetie Belle perked up. "Scootaloo got us out."
Utterly confused, Scootaloo objected, "What, no. Applebloom got the rope."
"What?" Applebloom corrected, "Sweetie Belle was the one who threw the rope down."
Sumica's demeanor shifted to a more serious tone. "Did any of you see who got the rope?"
The way the three fillies looked at each other and shook their heads was very disconcerting. However, I was more concerned with Sumica's reaction. Her body suddenly repelled from the three as if the shade of the tree had pulled on her shadow.
An experienced traveler could have witnessed the event and threw down a piece of rope from their pack. That would be one logical interpretation that would help explain their predicament. Only a pessimist would refashion the circumstances into some kind of conspiracy. But who would simply toss the rope over and leave the scene without saying a word? Could Rainbow Dash, Rarity, or Applejack have come to their rescue? If so, where are they now?
Sumica turned her head and looked directly at me. Without saying anything specific, the tone of her words carried a sense of substantiated fear. "This is odd. Very odd."
Applebloom scrunched up her face. "Do you think Rarity is with my sister?"
"Applejack?" I asked, rising from the tree shade. "I saw Applejack with Big Macintosh out in the fields yesterday."
Applebloom surmised, "They were probably working on another large shipment of apples. When an order gets too big, they usually hire another pony to come help with the delivery. Rarity might have volunteered... but I figured they would be back by now."
Twilight deduced, "They would have passed by Sugarcube Corner on their way out of town. Pinkie Pie, did you happen to see Apple-" She turned her head around. "Pinkie Pie?
It suddenly became apparent that Pinkie Pie was missing from the group. We weren't too concerned for the bouncing ball of fluff since her stealth and guile would rival even some of Princess Luna's students. Fortunately, when Pinkie Pie wants attention, she makes it widely known.
"There!" shouted the sound of a Pinkie Pie inside the classroom.
Cheerilee complimented, "Very good, Pinkie."
Twilight opened the door. In front of the whole class stood Pinkie Pie with a white piece of chalk in her hoof. She drew a crude, yet accurate representation of herself playing in the snow with clouds above her head. It was unclear how Pinkie Pie managed to phase through the closed door, materialize on the other side, knew exactly what activity the teacher assigned the class, and still had enough time to finish her drawing in such a short time span. How no one noticed her sneak past the group was any pony's guess.
Twilight asked, "Pinkie, what are you doing?"
"Drawing snow."
Shortly thereafter, a paper airplane landed by my hooves. A filly resting by the window was trying their hardest not to make eye contact with me. Despite wanting to throw it back, I levitated the paper plane with my magic horn and carried it back to her desk. I flipped back the wings and bent the corners. The piece of paper now took the shape of a swan.
Snails, from the neighboring desk, keenly observed my every move. "Oh look! A duck!" he gleefully shouted once I was done.
Twilight bowed her head. "Thank you for letting us borrow the girls, Cheerilee. We'll let you get back to your lesson."
"No problem," Cheerilee replied.
Twilight commanded, "Moonlight. Pinkie Pie. Come on."
Stepping back outside under the sun triggered a nagging feeling on the back of my neck. A fragmented memory was creeping just above the surface of my hippocampus. With a pinched nerve here and a little bit of pressure there, I tried my hardest to decipher what my body was trying to tell me. Something was scheduled to happen. Something important enough to distract me from fully listening to the group's conversation. Then, inspiration struck. "Isn't there supposed to be a rainbow scheduled to come down about now?"
As if fulfilling my own prophecy, something appeared in the sky - a shadowy speck too close to the sun to properly identify. It grew larger and larger until it landed right next to us.
"There you guys are!" Rainbow Dash shouted in between breaths. The tip of her left wing dragged across the ground when she approached us. Her mane drooped low over her face as if it was recently drenched with water.
Pinkie energetically declared, "Wow, Moonlight! Didn't think you could forecast a pegasus like that."
With a worried look on her face, Twilight remarked, "Where have you been?"
"There was a fire," Rainbow Dash quickly huffed, still trying to catch her breath.
Sumica abruptly galloped closer to Rainbow Dash and tugged on her shoulder. "Where?"
Rainbow Dash pointed up into the distance with her right wing. "Cloudsdale."
Fluttershy clasped her hooves together. "Did any pony get hurt?"
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but her high-paced lungs prevented her from speaking. She briefly raised her hoof up as her head collapsed from exhaustion. Small water droplets trickled from the top of her mane and the tip of her nose. After a short moment, she shook off the last bit of water still clinging to her wings.
While regaining her composure, Rainbow Dash apologized, "Sorry about that. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you guys. There was a fire inside the Weather Factory. We tried to control the damage as best we could but... every time we put out a fire in one section, another one would pop up in a whole different department. We had issues just figuring out where to put the rain clouds. The scientists said it was coming from somewhere in the pipeline."
I asked, "What could have caused it?"
Rainbow Dash added, "They aren't sure, but the fire team evaluated each case. They were all completely isolated - caused by short, concentrated bursts. The only thing that could have caused something like that is-"
"A dragon," Sumica imposed.
Pinkie hopped forward. "A dragon? Why would a dragon do that? The only dragon I know is Spike and he certainly wouldn't do something like that."
Rainbow replied, "I'm not sure. They burned right through the safety valves on the main line. The workers are having a field day trying to get things back on schedule."
"We have another problem," Twilight commented. "Both Rarity and Applejack are missing."
Rainbow Dash replied, "You don't think..."
Fluttershy suggested, "If what Sweetie Belle said was true, we should probably check the Boutique again."
"It would definitely be a good place to start," Twilight stated. "We should get moving."
The Carousel Boutique felt more hollow than usual. An unwelcoming cold breeze rattled the window by the store's balcony. The lights weren't on in the entryway. The pony mannequins on display weren't wearing any attire. There were clothes on the floor. It appeared Rarity closed up the shop in a hurry and completely forgot to shut the front door. The entrance left a pale impression of a proper trendsetter.
Twilight nudged the door open and peered inside. A desk was peppered with pins, needles, thread, scissors, and other miscellaneous dress making tools. About ten different outfits neatly hung on a clothes rack by the wall. A few garment pieces covered over half of a circular stage in front of the mirrors. Despite the mess, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Rainbow Dash approached the center of the room. "Rarity? Are you in here?"
Fluttershy asked, "Do you think she might be upstairs?"
The staircase had enough room to fit all six of us in the hallway. Sumica faltered behind when observing a simple vase tucked away in the wall. I held onto the side railing as Twilight and Rainbow Dash approached the door.
Twilight jiggled the knob. "Rarity?" She knocked on the door. "Are you in there?"
Rainbow Dash pounded on the door. "Rarity! Answer us!"
Without a response, Rainbow Dash turned her back towards the door and revved up her hind legs. Sumica intruded up the stairwell and touched Dash's shoulder. In her hoof held a bobby pin pulled from the desk downstairs. In under a minute, Sumica inserted the hairpin into the keyhole, unlocked the door, and swung it open.
A table filled of designer plans, with different ceremonial garments on sketchpads, were prominently displayed in the center of the room. Ripped rolls of silk material stretched across the bedroom floor. A small tapping sound emanated from the open window each time the wind brushed up against it. The window curtains hanging loose on the right side prevented the much needed sunlight to see behind Rarity's bed. A mannequin with obvious scuff marks and a chipped ear laid dormant next to a decorative chest.
Pinkie pushed out the window and looked into the balcony area. "I don't see anything out here."
"Look here!" Sumica stated, approaching the notes on the table.
Upon closer inspection, three distinct claw marks, five inches wide and one inch deep, tore open the edge of the table. After shuffling through all the papers, one bearing a thinly-stretched layer of black leather near the top and bottom of the note stood out from the others. Written on the scroll with black ink and a fine-tipped brush were two indistinguishable rows of letters and symbols:
wi |*| ma ogiV .|`| xokovnu ogut aeC .niuvu jxnoikw kaec ooj eh hnuf kogo aec
Pinkie pointed at the document. "Hey look. It's more of those squiggles."
Rainbow Dash inquired, "What does it say?"
Twilight stepped closer to the table. "I don't know. I never was able decipher their language."
Sumica placed her hoof over the parchment, spent a few seconds staring at the words, and then closed her eyes. "It says, 'If you ever want to see your friends again, you will give us the artifact.'"
I shrilled, "You can read that?!"
Fluttershy creased her eyebrows. "Artifact?"
Sumica abruptly pushed the note off the side of the table. She leaned in and grabbed both sides of her head. "Why is this happening again?"
I asked, "It's that necklace they want, isn't it?"
Sumica opened her eyes and instinctively grabbed hold of the jewel hanging around her neck. She flipped the gemstone around and caressed the metallic casing. "Why did it have to come to this? If only you told me more, Day Star."
Sumica's breathing deepened. "It's alright. I haven't exactly been forthcoming about what has been happening." She seized the moment to peel back the curtain and examine Cloudsdale in the distance. "An enemy, a dark shadow has been chasing us for awhile now."
Twilight asked, "What enemy?"
Sumica responded while looking at the group, "Maybe I should start from the beginning. We can all agree that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watches over Equestria. However, where I come from, things are much different. To protect their cities from invaders, the princesses enacted the Guardian Act. Day Star's duty was to protect Manestone. Night Star was stationed in Canterlot. Princess... Twilight, due to her age at the time, was charged with maintaining the castle grounds with the assistance of her brother, Shining Armor. And, for a time, I was given the order to keep an eye on Cloudsdale.
"That all changed when a rumor spread of a traitor in our midst. We dismissed it at first. Then the attacks started. Ponies started to go missing. A few unicorns accused Night Star as the perpetrator behind the strikes, saying that they personally witnessed him set fire to the town house.
"We held a council meeting on what to do, Night Star included. Princess Celestia presented us with the knowledge of what the enemy was after, a stone said to have the power to change the world. Princess Twilight quickly dismissed the claim, stating the stone had gone through some metamorphosis. Whatever the case, Day Star enacted a plan to lure the criminals out of the shadows. But then suddenly the attacks stopped. And we never did figure out why."
The sudden importance of the necklace drove me closer for a second look. The golden shapes wrapped around the jewel still eluded me. Yet the colorful swirls inside the gem appeared much bigger than this morning as if they erupted on their ends like flames inside a torch. One could mistakenly identify the stone's build as a heart if only the curvature slanted a little more inward.
Fluttershy bluntly stated, "Should we panic?"
Sumica's posture wilted as she touched the claw marks imprinted into the table's edge. Her eyebrows drew closer together as her hoof rubbed against one of Rarity's notebooks. Twilight followed suit and circled around the table. She leaned her head closer to the splintered wood.
"What is it?" Pinkie asked, keenly observing the two detectives.
The gears in my mind churned as well as I attempted to piece together the crime scene. The rough indentations on the mannequin suggested it was lifted up from its side. If the assailant threw the mannequin at Rarity, she would have deflected the blow with her magic. This inferred that something else was previously pinned underneath.
Though what really puzzled the three of us was how all the immaculate designs and notebooks ended up on top of the table without a scratch on them. If a struggle occured, they would have easily slid off just like the parchment Sumica pushed over the side. This denotes that they were intentionally placed on top afterwards. But why would the enemy purposely examine these sketches? Were they looking for something in the outfits?
Another problem troubled me. It was how the letter was presented to us in its entirety. Only Sumica could have possibly read the writings, but they deliberately left it in the Carousel Boutique. Why state "friends" when Sumica only had a day to become acquainted with us, little known never meeting Applejack and Rarity? Could they be referring to some other ponies?
Before I could draw any conclusions, Sumica picked up the ransom note lying face down on the ground. "Curious. This material. I've seen this before."
"You have?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. And I believe it leads us to our next destination."
I asked, "Where might that be?"
"A little place inside a mountain. It might just hold the answers we're looking for."
Wrapped around Foal Mountain, fifteen kilometers to the northeast of Ponyville, stretched a long narrow fjord. Beyond the valley rested the magical town of Hollow Shades. Our road weaved around and straight into the depths of the ridge that ran parallel to the railroad tracks. Our elevation was not much higher than the flat plains but still high enough to reconsider jumping off the side. A faint cry could be heard near the mountain tops, causing Fluttershy to rush closer to Rainbow Dash's side. Three dragons, mighty in appearance, flew on overhead.
Despite being fully capable of flying, Sumica chose to press further up the road with the rest of us. She periodically stretched out her wings and upper shoulders. It must have pained her not being able to scout on ahead. Whether this was an effort for reconciling the problems she brought onto the group or some military defensive strategy was any pony's guess. No matter the reason, Sumica led the herd up the mountain path.
Anxious for the safety of the whole group, I asked Sumica, "Where exactly are you taking us?"
"I have a friend that lives deep underground. His name is Alexander. He should be able to help us."
"And who is this Alexander?"
Sumica replied with a glint in her eyes, "Why, the Keeper of the Forbidden Library."
Twilight Sparkle slowed down to a halt. "The Forbidden Library? You mean The Forbidden Library?"
Pinkie Pie asked with a confused look on her face, "Is there something special about this place?"
Twilight's blatant stare explained it all. "I've visited a lot of different libraries in my lifetime, but there was once a legend of a secret library that Princess Celestia could not find. The story tells of a hidden library, made by the elder dragons of old, buried deep underground filled with the knowledge of their history. But I've always assumed it was at the base of a volcano."
Rainbow Dash interrupted, "Books in a volcano? Wouldn't that melt them or something?"
Twilight pressed, "Rumor has it that they were built from the hide of lost dragons to keep them well-preserved. I've always dismissed the claim but now..."
Sumica smiled. "To this day, I still don't know what keeps those books intact. I've always assumed the pages were coated with some magical oil developed by the unicorns in Hollow Shade to be highly-resistance to decay. I'm pretty sure Alexander knows the truth, but don't bother asking him about it. I've tried a hundred times and he still has yet to tell me."
Another screech from the dragons flying in the distance scared Fluttershy into cowering behind Rainbow Dash. "Are you sure it is safe to be traveling up this mountain at this time of day?"
Sumica stretched her wing over Fluttershy and in extension over Rainbow Dash. "Don't worry! You have a highly-capable veteran here to protect you. And you got your friends with you as well. Everything will be fine. Trust me."
Without knowing where exactly Rarity or Applejack were or who took them, my friends seemed awfully persistent in finding out the truth behind this mysterious letter. If we ever did run into a dragon, I'm pretty sure we would be able to handle ourselves in a fight. Twilight once told me of a similar adventure they had with a dragon at the top of a mountain near Ponyville. Even though Fluttershy was terrified in this instance, it was ultimately her who convinced the dragon to leave the cave. I'm glad her heart was into adventuring with us once more. Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle seemed pretty eager just to put a stop to the menace plaguing Equestria. And then there's Pinkie Pie. Well, she probably would have come along if you said there was a free strawberry cupcake at the top of the mountain.
Yet following a pegasus that appeared out of nowhere, with a mysterious artifact wrapped around her neck, to take us to a mythical library straight from legend was a pretty big reason to be concerned. We've already spent half a day traveling up this mountain. Yet for some strange reason, I felt like trusting every one of Sumica's decisions. She knew more than she was letting on, and I thought Sumica might need our help just as much as we need hers in finding some answers. No matter what each pony's motives were, we continued to trek on and follow Sumica into the bowels of the mountain.
Traveling across the landscapes and catching the beautiful view of the eastern sky was refreshing for a change. Although the oxygen was getting kind of thin, the smell of the pine trees and mist pouring out from one of the nearby waterfalls relaxed my senses. The pathway ahead of us diverged into multiple directions up the mountain pass. The green environment paving our way extended up the rocky peak. The faint smell of limestone could be identified within the rockface.
"Are we there yet?" Rainbow Dash asked as she scratched an itch on her legs.
Sumica replied, "Not much farther. Just up this ledge."
Another worry pecked at my brain. How do we know that Alexander actually exists? This isn't exactly Sumica's world anymore. This Forbidden Library she speaks of could have been moved or buried under a hundred meters of rubble. How could our leader be so confident?
Sadly, my attention veered elsewhere as Pinkie advanced ahead of me. Although multiple clear pathways extended beyond the outskirts, our fearless leader chose to squeeze us through one particularly narrow gap chiseled in-between two great stone walls. The mist intensified so much that an ominous fog barrier hid the end of the path from our view. If the toughness of the vines up the side didn't slow Sumica down, then the roughness of the wall against my burly hair shouldn't stop me.
Though even with the lack of visibility, we weren't completely blind to our surroundings. We heard different kinds of birds singing in an overarching tree and the sound of a roaring waterfall in the distance. Small chunks of vegetation crept through the cracks of the earth around us. The wetness of the flora consistently brushed up against our legs. The deeper we traveled into the mountain pass, the cooler the air. One of the vines snapped off the wall as it tugged on Pinkie Pie's cotton candy hair ahead of me.
Eventually the fog dissipated as the gap widened into an alcove. In front of us hollered a daunting waterfall that collected into a large pool, roughly one meter deep and twelve meters wide. To our right resided a small, dainty hut of some sort with a collapsing roof made out of straw and wooden walls splintering to their core. The other side reclined a large opening where the water streamed further down the valley below. A breeze howled through the breaks inside the crag. Curiously, our noses caught wind of an unusual musky smell made from burning pines trees as the air current rustled past our manes.
Sumica raised her hoof up and announced, "Welcome to Shoehorn's Grove."
As the group admired the surrounding scenery, Pinkie Pie went up to the edge of the cliffside and looked down below. "Cool." As her voice echoed down the chamber below, she smiled and shouted again, "Cool!"
Noticing there wasn't any other paths leading out of the area, Twilight asked, "Where do we go from here?"
Sumica strolled to the nearby hut and lifted up the hanging rug at the entryway. "Right this way."
"Are we going inside?" Fluttershy quietly asked as Sumica patiently waited at the ingress.
"Eeyup," Sumica replied with a smile on her face.
The hut had just enough room for the six of us to fit comfortably inside its splitting decor. On the floor rested a small sleeping bag, a finely-woven blanket, a couple of wooden benches, an empty pirate's chest, and a half melted candlestick on a deserted table covered with dust. An overwhelming aroma of saw dust, charcoal, and granite fouled the air.
Sumica proceeded to move about the cabin. She reached down into the chest and pushed a button. Then after lifting up the blanket, she cracked open one of the floor boards. Underneath revealed a staircase. Eager to get moving, I stepped closer to the stairwell, only to be stopped by a large wing.
"Ladies first," Sumica responded with a coy smirk.
Although initially shocked and offended, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. If we were going to enter a dark area, Twilight would have to go first to light the way. "Alright," I responded, pulling myself away.
By the time I entered the secret chamber, Twilight had already reached a large black wall. An exaggerated painting of a dragon's face covered most of its exterior. A symbol laid close to its mouth. The lines were drawn from blue ink and sparkled in the unicorn's light.
"What does this symbol mean?" Twilight asked.
Sumica hovered into the air and brushed her hoof against the marking. The resulting swipe pulled dust particles off an encasing in the center. "The word is rohoni in dragon tongue. The translation is a little rough. It means honor. Family. Friend. It is said that dragons know it by heart, but it is not exclusive to just their race. It surpasses the physical form. It's a bond that cannot be broken. Not by time or distance. It is forever."
"So speak friend and enter?" Pinkie asked, trying to digest all that was said.
Sumica laughed. "It would have already opened if it was that easy. No, the answer is a little more old-school," she said, pushing in and twisting a stone.
The large clanking and beating of metal gears pulled the ancient door up. Inside hung six torches, three on each side, already burning around a large platform. The enclosing had an elaborate ceiling, not so dissimilar to Ponyville's Town Hall. The ground felt smooth like a sheet of glass as we walked across a bridge to the middle of the room. A few steps past the platform held a large compartment of bookcases roughly the size of the Golden Oak Library filled with various scrolls and literature. Sunlight from a tiny hole near the top of the room shined across the stalactites.
While following closely behind Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy unintentionally knocked a small pebble over the side of the bridge. It tumbled and clanged against the stone walls a few times before hitting whatever was at the bottom of the deep abyss. A blue aura radiated from the platform ahead of us. The entrance door abruptly collapsed behind us. Twilight's light from her horn fizzled as a strong blast of air blew out the torches. In an instant, the room turned black.
A deep voice called out from the shadows. "Who dares disturb my slumber?"
"Don't any pony move," Sumica emphasized.
In the darkness, I heard a unique sound approaching from the abyss. The adrenaline pumping through my veins must have heightened my brain activity for the word susurrus popped into my mind. It was the sound of jagged claws against stone and the beatings of wings. For less than a minute, we endured listening to the pulsing sounds grow louder at each passing moment. Then, a light breeze poured over our faces. A startling growl filled the chamber around us. A sudden breath of fire spurted out in front, revealing the head of a dragon high above the platform.
The voice called out a second time, "Do not have me ask again."
Sumica shouted, "Alexander! I'm here to see a book!"
The six torches magically erupted with large blue flames. Stood in front of us was a blue dragon, approximately four meters in size, with wings as big as any one of us. Sumica sternly held her chest high in front of the mighty beast. Her facial expression lied somewhere between exhilaration and concern. Rainbow Dash daringly cleared her wingspan as Fluttershy clutched behind her hind leg. The rest of us shifted into defensive positions.
The dragon lowered his head as he tethered his wings to his body. "How do you know thy name?"
Beaming with both confusion and curiosity, the pegasus replied, "It's me, Sumica. Your rohoni."
A large flame ushered out of the creature's mouth, burning a line between him and us. Sumica reacted simply by covering her face and leaning back a little. The dragon's intentions were perfectly clear. Whatever friendship they once had no longer existed.
Alexander spoke, "Tiny pegasus! Think thy muta? Great many beings I've encountered, both big and small. You I do not know."
"I'll show you, you old dragon." Sumica infuriatingly flew over to one of the torches and pulled it out of the stem. She glided high up over the right side of the room. "My portrait is right-"
There on the wall where the light shined rested the tethered remains of a painting the size of a household door. The black frame was slightly crooked with pinpoint scrapes across the top and bottom portions of the baseboard. "No," Sumica whispered, caressing a small leftover patch of velvet and orange in the bottom right corner. Although the top left corner was left intact, it was entirely burned beyond recognition.
Alexander replied, "What sort of game are you playing?"
Sumica responded while flying closer to the dragon, "I'm trying to convince you that-"
The torch's blaze unveiled something none of us expected to see from a monster so large. The dragon's eyes that lashed out so boldly before now glimmered like the night sky. Under his left eye, four visible indentations marked a scar still trying to heal. A single line pressed upon his mouth. The top of his right wing swelled with a series of bite marks.
Sumica lamented, "Oh Alexander, what happened to you?"
Alexander replied, increasing gradually in volume, "You speak as if you do not know. Bashing and clawing. Biting and tearing. Stone against stone." He grabbed Sumica with both arms and pulled her in closer to his mouth. "All because I trusted your kind."
Twilight spoke out, "Please, Alexander. We have no intentions in harming you or taking any of your possessions."
"Then what, pray tell, brings three pegasi, a pony, a unicorn, and a dragon to my chamber?"
Pinkie said, "A dragon? We didn't bring a dragon with us."
Alexander leaned forward and glared directly at me for a few seconds. His piercing red eyes looked through my very soul. "I apologize. My eyes saw... something else." He reared back into position.
"Alright!" Sumica dropped the torch down onto the platform. She easily pulled out of the dragon's grasp. She planted herself in front of Twilight and retracted her wings. "Enough games! I need to tell you that" - She confidently grinned - "I borrowed a book and held it for eight hours."
Alexander froze for a moment and snarled fiercely at Sumica. "The book you borrowed shines for twelve hours."
Sumica crossed her forelegs and replied, "It took me four hours to finish, cover-to-cover."
Alexander said, "Returning the book so soon before the pale moonlight?"
Sumica said, "Agreed on the terms, I did. A half-day for a whole day's wage you'll recall."
A chilling wind encircled the chamber. The blue flames emitting from the torches quickly switched back to red. The darkness dissipated as sparks flew out from the upper sections of the chamber. Out of the candles breathed life to a large chandelier above our heads. As if a magical barrier was lifted from the chamber, power was immediately restored into Twilight's horn.
Alexander bowed. "Forgive my intolerance. I will respect those who know the keeper's code in this timeline and the next."
Sumica bowed her head in return. "It is quite alright. But before we begin, could you tell us what happened here, if you please."
"You deserve to know if you truly are a guardian of the ancient ways." Alexander momentarily relieved a gasp of breath and pointed at the ceiling. "Approximately twelve days ago, the earth cracked open. Four beings, black as onyx stone, intruded upon my humble library."
The dragon's answer drew forth my curiosity. Here he resided, protector and keeper, within the darkness of a damp cave. For a being that collected books, Alexander must have developed a method to track time without the use of sunlight. Fortunately, there was another pony in our group wondering about the exact same thing.
Pinkie Pie asked, "How do you know it was twelve days, Mr. Dragon?"
Fourteen blue marks erupted from the platform around Alexander in the visual representation of a clock. A series of cuneiform shapes appeared horizontally across its mid-section.
"Huh. So it's like... 10:30," Pinkie replied.
Sumica corrected, "Actually, it is almost 5 o'clock. You are looking at it upside down."
"As I was saying" - Alexander glared at Pinkie - "the trespassers encroached upon the sacred texts. My assistant alerted me to their presence. We barred the light to blind them, but through the darkness they thrived."
Sumica asked, "Your assistant?"
Alexander didn't answer right away. The lights flickered in the chamber as the dragon drew breath. His head drooped low as to mourn the death of a loved one. His eyes gazed at the ripped painting on the wall. "Jade. The one who you claimed to be. Fight well he did. Dragon eyes in the dark. In my haste, I was struck down with unnatural speed and efficiency. They stole Nahoi from me and tried to escape. My friend chased after them but did not return. I fear I may have lost him to the darkness."
Twilight approached the platform. "What was it that they stole? A book?"
Sumica answered, "Nahoi isn't exactly a book. It's literal translation means memories. Sketches, notes, documents. Even someone's journal could be considered just as valuable as a book to the dragon-kin. But what exactly were they looking for?"
Alexander wrinkled his long snout while staring brashly at me. "I do not know."
The keeper's gaze frightened me. Did he know something about me that I didn't? Twilight once explained to me that dragons can grow in size when emotionally obsessing over things. I also knew of how powerful a dragon's strength could be from a couple of brief descriptions in folklore. Yet, my only exposure to dragons was limited to Spike, a mere baby of his kind. Dragons do have the potential to live much longer than ponies. Alexander's short demonstration this evening was probably only a fraction of his abilities. Perhaps an elder dragon like himself was better attuned with magic, and he sensed something different in me compared to the rest of the party.
Twilight asked, "Did anything else happen?"
Alexander's temper flared and his voice increased. "Why do you care nyati? What is it that brings you to my halls?"
Free from Fluttershy's hold, Rainbow Dash propelled herself into the air. She replied with a stern, yet indirect tone, "We are here to get some answers. Fires are spreading in Equestria, and we have to find the dragons that are responsi-"
Alexander immediately grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash. "You accuse dragon-kin of such recklessness!"
Fluttershy quietly approached the dragon and tapped against his foot. "Please... dragon... sir... we mean no disrespect, but our friends went missing, and we really need to find them."
Alexander lessened his grip and pulled back. "I... I am sorry. In olden times we respected and loved pony-kind. Nowadays, it seems even my own kin no longer abide by the ancient laws. To make such an accusation was considered... blasphemous."
I asked, "Do you know anyone that would do this?"
Alexander replied, "From the dragon-kin? No."
Sumica said, "Are you implying that ponies are responsible?"
"I do not know who attacked me but look - " Alexander extended his palm to the room behind him. A few open books rested in the far right corner of the library. On the second ledge laid dormant a tumbled mess of half-empty bookcases. "Our history remains unblemished. It was of your past that was seized."
Pinkie noted, "What a mess. You didn't clean it up?"
Alexander nodded his head. "Jade would normally attend to that. I have not been able to... bear the responsibility."
Sumica requested, "May we take a look?"
Alexander answered by stepping to the side of the platform and arching his arm towards the stairs. The bookcases filled two levels of the library, all within the dragon's reach. The stone floor contained intermittent scorch marks in the room's center. A very large book pedestal in the middle of the back wall separated the compartment into two sections. Above it hung a metal frame with black residue outlining where a shield and sword would normally be placed. A small set of steps on both sides of the chamber allowed us to reach the higher ledges. The books appeared undamaged, but the bookcases themselves suffered small gashes in the wood.
Rainbow Dash barely lifted up one of the books on the second floor. "Why cause so much trouble over a bunch of books?"
Twilight picked up one of the books laying upside down on the ground. She looked at Rainbow Dash. "These aren't just ordinary books. They are protected for a reason. They wouldn't let just anyone read them." She rapidly flipped through a couple pages before abruptly closing the book.
Fluttershy asked, "What's wrong, Twilight?"
"I'm in the Forbidden Library, home of hundreds of ancient books, and I can't read a single one of them."
"They do contain some dangerous secrets," Sumica nonchalantly stated before launching up onto the second level. Her mind processed the events at the scene as she periodically tapped her hoof on the shelf with five books still remaining on it. Her eyes rotated between the broken shelves from the bookcases to the right of the library, to the piles of books on the ground, over to the untouched ones on the other side of the library.
Many of the books in the room seemed draconian in nature with their covers bound by a connecting layer of tiny dragon scales. However, the surface felt as smooth as the walkway leading into the compartment and slick like fresh oil pouring out of a broken vein. The colors ranged primarily from black, blue, red, and orange. A large sub-section of the black books on the opposite side of the room were carefully threaded together with a red piece of string. There was no evidence of fancy titles or author's initials imprinted on the covers. Instead, a single symbol - a hieroglyph or rune - was etched on both the front and side of the manuscripts. A few others had a line of marks up top indicating a particular set or volume in a series.
Recreating the battle proved much more difficult than anticipated. I speculated the shadows must have known the dragon's language, knew exactly what they were looking for, and kept their identities hidden from view. From observing the length of the brush strokes where there wasn't any dust, I concluded that Alexander's friend must have been a pegasus. The assistant must have noticed something out-of-place. He called for help, grabbed the weapons off the mantle, and somehow darkened the room. The seared ground matched the heated impressions of a dragon's flame. Yet, these markings were too small and pinpointed to be coming from Alexander. The one question I couldn't answer that troubled me was how did four beings manage to escape capture, with their intended prize, from a couple of guardians?
Sumica glanced at the collection on the ground. "I don't think they wanted these books."
Fluttershy stated, "It certainly looks like a few things are missing."
Sumica reiterated, "Oh, no doubt they took something, but that isn't why they cleared these shelves. Alexander, is it possible they could have known about Lela's Grace?"
"Jade might have unknowingly revealed it to them."
Sumica momentarily pressed her hoof against her chin to contemplate. She pulled a book from the top shelf and retracted her hoof. Instead of naturally falling off the side, the book slowly returned back into place. The bookcase slid outward fourty-five degrees and revealed a hallway beyond the library.
Pinkie Pie shouted, "A secret passage!"
"Well," Sumica corrected, "this is the more common way into the library. Easier access." She waved us forward. "Come on every pony. We have a trail to follow... if that is alright with you Alexander?"
"Be my guest."
As our group walked into the barren hallway, I noticed Sumica not following closely behind me. I turned around to the opening and briefly overheard the trail end of a conversation.
"You will watch out for him, correct?" Alexander asked in a hushed tone.
"As long as I have an eye to spare," Sumica replied.
The bookcase closed behind Sumica after she stepped into the hallway.
We entered a well-preserved cavern with a glossed-over surface extending across ten meters wide. Small jagged crystals protruded out where the floor sunk deeper on both sides of the room. Their radiant glow lit our path. The rubble underneath our hooves showed signs of wooden decay. The trickle sound of dripping water echoed against the damp black walls. The ceiling hung low without restricting Sumica's tall stature. Despite the bumpy exterior, the hallway was in pristine condition.
"Twilight!" Sumica shouted as she passed by me.
An unusual tightness grabbed hold of me when Sumica nudged against my shoulder. The name she called out did not merely come from her voice. In that brief moment, I heard another, deeper voice whispering underneath. The sound hollowed my line of sight. Darkness enveloped around my friends. It ripped through the sides of the tunnel stripping away the light from the crystals. A dreary feeling prodded against my mind identical to the one from my dreams. My eyes burned as the lines between fiction and reality blurred.
"Twilight!" Sumica shouted again.
Darkness seeped into my mind. The dark voice grew louder this time. My legs buckled as if a crate full of apples was placed onto my back. The conversation between the ponies muffled beyond recognition. A menacing aura swirled around the artifact hanging from Sumica's neck.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds only to see a shadowy image appear standing right next to Twilight. The figure had a rigid mouth and two sharp ears like a fox. He turned his head and looked directly at me. Alexander's words rang in my ears as his piercing red eyes tightened. They were like dragon eyes hiding in the dark. The apparition disappeared and the vision dissipated when something gentle touched my left shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked with a stooped posture.
"Yeah," I stated, rapidly blinking my eyes. "I was just a little lost in thought, that's all."
Fluttershy smiled. "Ok."
Once the group ventured farther into the depths, Twilight inquired, "Why is it called Lela's Grace?"
Sumica responded, "I'm so glad you asked. There is a fascinating story behind it."
"Here we go," Rainbow Dash blurted out.
Sumica imparted, "There once was a dispute between the Beskar Clan and the nyati."
Twilight questioned, "That word. Alexander used it too. What does it mean?"
"Dragons used the term to define any being not of their kind that is capable of living magic. It was later used synonymously with unicorns."
Twilight smiled. "Ok. Please continue."
Sumica explained, "The black dragons discovered a certain kind of crystal lying deep inside the mountain range. These unique crystals were very delicious and highly coveted by the Dragon Lord. However, the unicorns that lived in the nearby forest also prized these same crystals and sought out to preserve them for their luminescent qualities.
"Both factions argued that they had the right to claim the crystals for their kin. So they agreed on the terms that a third party would mediate between them. The party would have to be familiar with both races and carry no desire to steal the crystals for themselves. They chose upon the pegasi to broker a contract.
"The pegasi developed a plan to gather up all the clouds in the land and draw forth the waters from the depths of the sea. They pulled the giant cloud over to the center of the mountain and poured down the rain into the bowels of the earth. The resulting flood formed a physical boundary that would evenly split the land in two."
Twilight observed, "But this area doesn't seem to divide anything."
Sumica revealed, "Because the pegasi saw the potential for both dragons and unicorns to co-exist. They momentarily rerouted the water in secret through the middle of the mountain to form a single path that connected the two races. Afterwards they sent the dragons and the unicorns a message explaining all that they had done.
"The Dragon Lord was so furious upon receiving the scroll that he threw it upon the ground and burned it. He then ordered his clan to adhere to the new arranged boundaries but refrain from entering the channel. The entrance was to be boarded up and a notice with the attached remains of the blackened scroll hung front and center as a warning for all to see. The only thing left of the parchment that survived the flame were the letters le and la."
Pinkie said, "Then what happened?"
"There came a time when the clan lost many in a fruitless battle, including the grand Dragon Lord himself. To prevent this from ever happening again, the dragons decreed for the bloodstone scepter to be passed on to the wisest among them instead of the strongest. It is written that the very dragon they chose was originally there that faithful day the heat seared away the letters on the scroll. The portion read as follows: let the water flow through and connect the two races in order to lay the proper foundation for a better future. He broke down the boards and reestablished the waterway. The scholar then deemed the passage Lela's Grace."
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "That never happened."
Sumica replied, "Maybe, but let me ask you a question - how do you think Cloudsdale came about?"
The group halted their advancements to an unusual split in the cavern halls. A small stream of water flowed down across our path at a thirty degree angle. The crudely-built wooden framework that originally held the entrance together now laid buried and broken underneath a pile of rubble.
Twilight remarked, "Looks like a cave-in. What should we do now?"
Sumica turned to her right and balanced her hooves on the elevated ground. She lowered her head and looked up the path. "We can take another route up here through The Dragon's Nest."
Rainbow Dash asked, "It isn't really a dragon's nest, is it?"
Sumica responded with her deviously trademarked smile, "Don't worry. It's just a place where dragons can go and rest their wings for a bit after a long flight."
As we followed Sumica up the large crawl space, the atmosphere around us dampened. The mixture of mud, clay, and water beneath our hooves made traversing the slanted landscape much more difficult than I initially anticipated. Small water droplets trickled down from the ceiling. The tiny vines we saw from the outside spurted through the cracks in the wall. The shallow howls of the wind through the air pockets in the earth made the whole experience very uneasy.
"Do you think Jade -" Fluttershy flinched when water tapped against her forehead "- came this way?"
Twilight's right hoof slipped further into the brook. "I don't think so. We would have seen tracks coming up."
Sumica noted, "That collapse back there looked recent. Jade could have made it through the tunnels."
The tip of Pinkie Pie's mane rubbed against the dirty ceiling. "And what about Rarity and Applejack?"
Rainbow Dash looked at her muddy left hoof and cackled. "Can you imagine Rarity in a place like this? She would be all like 'Ew, it's so dirty! You're not going to make me go down there now, are you?'"
I chuckled. "And Applejack probably wouldn't mind being here one bit."
The area widened as we approached a half-broken pier. On the corner of the wooden deck rested a bent metal pail. A stone barrier eloquently pooled some water away from the stream into a tiny reservoir below. Near the edge of the platform chiseled tiny letters too small and faded to read into the cavern wall. The nailed down planks abruptly stopped at a meticulously well-crafted hallway.
A door made of steel and iron stood just a few meters ahead of us. Twilight brushed her hoof against some mysterious markings. They twirled in a circle around the shapes of a sun and moon. Instead of reaching for the rusted door knob, Sumica carefully observed the frame's stony exterior.
"What's the holdup?" Rainbow Dash impatiently asked.
"This door - " Sumica carefully pressed her hoof between the two symbols " - wasn't here before."
Twilight stated, "Looks old, very old."
"Ancient is more like it," Rainbow Dash added.
Without exerting much force, Sumica slowly turned the door knob. She abruptly let go of the handle when the door creaked open all by itself. An unusual glow shined from within. The room was begging us to enter, and we weren't about to refuse its invitation.
What was inside puzzled us. A sharpened crystal in the center of the room illuminated the blue writing on a black stone tablet meticulously placed to the left of it. On the other side drooped a chipped table with a small slit dead in the middle. At the far end of the chamber, a visibly drawn line in the shape of a door divided the room into two sections. Circling around the room were ten mirrors; they were evenly proportioned with five on each side. Each mirror had three items - a light crystal attached to the wall on the left side, an inscribed symbol on a stone tablet hanging on the right side, and a statue of a dragon's head mounted on top.
Members of the group wandered around the room carefully observing the curious mirrors. Their reflections were distorted by the slant metal frames as we passed by them. Rainbow Dash amused herself in front of a mirror that stretched out her calves. Pinkie Pie made goofy faces while rocking her head to-and-fro in another. Fluttershy peered into one that made her appear small and dainty. Twilight stared into one that enlarged her figure.
As I passed by one particular mirror, I caught something uneasy in the corner of my eye. A black void occupied the space where my reflection should have been. Though immediately after turning my head, the feeling vanished. The image displayed in the glass was what you would constitute as your average typical pony. I reassured myself that it was only a figment of my imagination as I watched Sumica approach the table in the center of the room.
Sumica placed her hoof upon the black glossy slab. "It looks like some kind of riddle."
A small draft soughed down the cavern walls. The front door shut itself in. An sinister silence filled the chamber.
"Now what do we do?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight pointed at the empty spot on the wall. "I guess we find a way to open that door."
Without the sound of the outside stream and the light from the cavern crystals, the chamber felt unusually still and small. The shard from the narrow cavity barely shined bright enough to illuminate the entire room. The darkness altered the architecture of the dragon heads just enough to make them appear more menacing and fierce. The aura from the blue writing glowed sharper than anything else in the room.
As I leaned over to look at the letters inscribed on the table, the stone curiously rotated around. Rainbow Dash accidentally pushed the counter when attempting to look down into the slit.
I saw the word - okot - shine upon the table's surface. "Sumica, what does this word mean?"
Sumica tilted her head back and pointed at the writing. "Here."
"Yeah, what does it say?"
Sumica repeated herself with greater inflection, "Here!"
"Oh."
Twilight intrinsically pulled next to us and touched upon the cuneiform. "What about this?"
Sumica read,
"Open the door with the power of your mind
Read carefully the clues and you will find
Dragon eyes judging on what you will do
A single mirror shines straight through you
Impart to me and I'll play my part
Now show me here what's in... "
"What is it?" I asked.
Sumica rubbed her hoof against the nicked corner. "The stone's broken off here, but according to the way the writing slants inward and the rhyming scheme, it probably meant to say your heart."
Twilight deduced, "So pick the right rune and drop it into the slot?"
Pinkie Pie glanced at the ten tablets around the room. "But which one?"
Sumica scanned the ten symbols and examined the ten heads. "The runes here represent the ten virtues of seeking dragonly wisdom: courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, pride, honor, good temper, friendliness, truthfulness, and wit. The riddle mentioned dragon eyes, but I only count six dragon statues with their eyes open."
Sumica demonstrated sound reasoning. There were ample enough distinctions between all the dragon statues - eight had two horns, three had long snouts, two had opened mouths, and one had curly whiskers. Their expressions seemed to match each of the virtues. Though out of the mirrors that paired with the six, only three didn't distort your figure. I knew concave mirrors made you look taller and convex mirrors made you look shorter. Only those standing straight would give you a proper reflection.
I beseeched the knowledge from the wise pony that led our group, "Sumica, what virtues are these three over here?"
"Honor, friendliness, and truthfulness."
Twilight asked, "Do you think truthfulness is the answer?"
Rainbow Dash stated, "I don't know. A pony can lie if they really want to."
Fluttershy added, "You can also be just as respectful and friendly to some pony without agreeing with them too."
Sumica trod over to the mirror with a rune in the shape of a sideways hourglass. Her eyes were glued to the glimmer in the marking. "Time is an illusion that once realized, is lovingly embraced, none the less."
"What was that?" I asked.
Sumica disclosed, "It's something Alexander would say on occasion. It's taken from an old story about a dragon named Dagaz. He brought hope and happiness to his clan simply by having them change their outlook on life. He taught that not a single ideal was sufficient to live on, which meant they could potentially abandon all their beliefs if they only applied what was left in their heart - the truth, the paradoxical truth. You know, his name actually derives from the word day and - " Her mouth stopped moving when she noticed the confused looks on our faces.
Fluttershy gave out an empty stare. "So is this the one?"
Once Sumica realized her statement made her sound like an advanced classroom teacher in front of a bunch of kindergartners, she quickly grabbed hold of the stone. "Yes. This one. This is it." She hurried to the table and pressed the tablet with a jagged bottom down into the hole.
"Wait!" Rainbow Dash shouted before the rune slid into place. "Are we sure this is the one? I don't want to die from some sort of poisonous cloud of gas if we were wrong."
Twilight pondered, "Is that what happened in the last book of Daring Do?"
I quipped, "But I don't see any skeletons in the room."
Pinkie Pie observed, "That could just mean no one got it wrong."
"Or the dragons might periodically come in here and clean up the mess," Sumica snickered. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure this will work. These type of dragons want other races to learn from them, not kill them." She firmly pushed the stone deeper into the crevice. Contact with the base caused the screeching sounds of rusted metal to churn behind the stone walls.
Our futile efforts brought forth one of the longest ten seconds of silence I've ever experienced. The memory shall be permanently engraved into my mind alongside the suspenseful moments before meeting Ordain and Nightmare Moon. And just as anti-climatic, I didn't die. Nothing happened. The door remained closed.
Pinkie Pie asked, "Did you put it in backwards?"
Sumica carefully pulled the rune out of the socket and glanced at the symbol. Without saying a word, she strolled over to the mirror and placed it back on the hook. Her quick thinking cracked open the hidden door. "There!" She proudly exclaimed, raising her chin.
The stone revealed a hallway with a set of stairs curving upward to the left. At the top of the stairs, a large door with a small sliding panel and a long handle blocked our path. The sheer weight of the door prevented Sumica from simply swinging it open.
"Let me help." Rainbow Dash brushed up past me and grabbed hold of the large handle.
The two strong mares grunted and hollered as they pulled on the door with all their might. As the door inched forward, the high-pitched sounds of cracking and shrieking ripped through my ears. A tiny bit of sunlight peeked through the gap. The giant mass of black bolts attached to the outer chassis brought the heavy frame down onto the pavement. The rusted hinges snapped against the stress.
After the girls tired out, the gap still wasn't large enough for us to squeeze through. Fluttershy and I watched the group position themselves around the stubborn door for one final endeavor. Being the smaller one of the bunch, Rainbow Dash braced herself against the wall and wiggled her elbow through the crack. Pinkie Pie fastened her hooves on the sturdy handle. A strong purple aura emanated from Twilight's horn onto the shaft.
"On the count of three." Sumica braced her hooves around the door fixture. "One... two... three!"
The sound was terrible. I covered my ears as the intense screech brought me down to my knees.
Once there was enough room for us to squeeze through, we heard a large thump echo down the hallway behind us. Looking around the bottom of the stairs confirmed my suspicions. The stone door from the previous room had closed all by itself.
Exhausted, Sumica rested her head against the doorframe. "Alright. Let's head on in. As soon. As I catch my breath."
After compressing our fat bodies through the hole, we entered a much more welcoming room than the damp cavern channels we waddled through earlier. Large historical banners and ornaments decorated the walls. The ceiling was meticulously carved in a perfect oval shape. Underneath the barrel-sized amounts of hay scattered all over the floor was a nice wool layer of carpet. A long trough resting by the entrance held a metal pail, similar to the beaten one down by the stream. A luxurious door stood nearly unblemished to our far right. There was no need for crystals or torches since a vast amount of light poured through a large open section from the leftmost portion of the chamber.
Pinkie Pie waved us on from the outskirts of the opening. "Come over here! You have to see this!"
Fluttershy effortlessly spread out her wings while lifting up her chin in delight of the view. "So beautiful."
The outside scenery was spectacular! An intricate wooden barrier encircled around a cliff's edge. An array of orange colors bled through the western sky. A lonely mountain stood in the distance. A giant cloud hovered over the horizon. We saw near the ground the Friendship Express pouring out smoke as it crossed over the river.
Rainbow Dash pointed high to the right. "Hey look! It's Cloudsdale."
Twilight hung onto the railing and pointed straight ahead. "And Canterlot must be behind that mountain there."
"I don't think I can see my house from here," Pinkie Pie disappointingly said, squinting her eyes.
Sumica grinned and meandered back into the room. "Let's rest up here."
"That's a good idea." Rainbow Dash glided to the far back of the straw pit. "My legs are killing me."
Pinkie Pie collapsed onto the pile. "My hooves hurt so much my dogs are barking."
"Now that you mention it," Fluttershy noted, "my legs are kind of aching too."
Sumica approached a small break in the wall and pulled out a hidden drawer. "Here, take these" - She threw out four simple blankets - "in case you get cold." The caring pegasus grabbed one more and wandered closer. "You should get some rest, Moonlight."
The way Sumica half-grinned and sauntered over to the railing concerned me greatly. She demonstrated so much charisma and courage when leading us through the mountain pass. It was almost completely out of character for her. Could she have been masking her feelings and intentions about the trip all along?
I had to say something to cheer her up. I tossed the sheet onto the straw and strolled outside. "Sumica, is something bothering you? Are you homesick? Are you worried about Jade and the others? Whatever it is, things will get better. You'll see. You have us to count on to help you through."
Sumica combed her mane back. "No, Moonlight. That's not it at all."
I pressed, "Then what is it exactly? Is it the dragons? Because you sure know a lot about them."
"I was in a foreign exchange program," Sumica quickly inserted.
"Really?" I asked.
"Oh, Moonlight." Sumica fiercely rubbed the hair on the top of my head. "You are still as gullible as always. No, the answer is a little more complicated than that."
"Then tell me," I replied, straightening out my mane.
"Remember when I told you about the attacks on Manestone?" Sumica picked up a dusty urn from the ground, spread out her wings, and leaned back against the railing. "Well, the princesses called forth a hearing with us guardians. The council reviewed the testimonies from several key witnesses. Two things were consistent about the attacks - a darkness that could not be explained and beings that could easily breathe fire out from their mouth. Princess Celestia openly admitted in session that they had suspected the possibility of dragons encroaching into our territory from the east before. Without knowing anything about the dragons, from their physiology to their - " Sumica waved her hoof in the air " - beliefs, Princess Sparkle felt it would be wise to send out an ambassador, a liaison of sort, to try and communicate with the clans. This would help us learn more about them and what their true intentions were regarding the pony kingdom."
"And you volunteered?"
"It was actually Day Star that volunteered me." Sumica carefully set the urn back down onto the ground and plopped her elbows on top of the barrier. "He told me that I would be their 'ace up their sleeve' if anything went wrong. Day Star was planning something clever. I could see it in his eyes. And come to find out, the situation wasn't as bad as we thought. The dragons were actually much more forthcoming about the idea than we were."
Sumica played around with a small pebble she found on top of the railing and gazed at Cloudsdale high in the sky. "They introduced me to the archivist, who so happened to be the blue dragon you met today. He taught me their language, their culture, and their history. He was such a great friend, something that the dragons have a hard time understanding." Sumica giggled. "He really does have a sense of humor once you get to know him."
"What changed?"
At that moment, the sun disappeared into the horizon. Darkness enveloped the land. A cold wind brushed through my legs and curled a few dozen leaves through the chamber. Sumica never did answer my question. Instead, I was distracted by an unusually bright shimmer from the artifact's golden frame as it laid flat on top of the railing.
Sumica planted her hooves onto the ground. "You should get some rest."
"What about you?"
Sumica walked into the chamber and stretched out her shoulders. "I'm going to keep an eye out."
"All night?" I asked, subconsciously preparing a bed for myself.
Sumica remarked, "I've only needed three hours of sleep anyways. I'll just lock my legs and rest my head a little if I really get tired."
A feeling pecked at my brain when the jewel sparkled in the dark. My friends were eerily silent, for simply stretching out their muscles this early in the evening. They weren't chattering about our adventure, nor were they conversing the whereabouts of Applejack or Rarity. They were all fast asleep.
Sumica smiled and pulled the blanket over me. "It's ok, Moonlight. Rest. Like you said, things will get better."
My vision blurred. My eyes grew weary. The room spun around me. I gently laid upon the hay and fell fast asleep.
Unlike all of my other dreams I've had lately, the room's transition was near instantaneous. Light coming from four awesomely stained-glass windows brightened the vibrant inwards of the cathedral. The grand throne, highlighted by its three strong chairs and each their own individual banners overhead, dominated the end of the hallway. A stretch of violet carpet with golden stripes at its fringes enthralled me. Princess Celestia gallantly stood in the center chair with Princess Luna on her right. Twilight Sparkle, though small in appearance, proudly smiled with her eyes glued forward. Two guards opened the grandiose doors as Night Star, Sumica, and another one resembling the description of Day Star approached the princesses, completely unaware of my presence.
I stood there helplessly as fear pressed upon me. I did not know whether to say something or to back myself into a corner. None of their eyes made contact with mine. No one directly spoke to me. I remained motionless, carefully observing the events that unfolded.
"You have something to report, Sumica?" Princess Celestia asked as she raised herself upright.
"Yes your majesty," Sumica responded. "As you are aware, for the past few months there have been an unusual number of cases involving fire within our borders. With the assistance of Day Star and his Flight Brigade, we have managed to quelch them from spreading farther into the residential areas."
Princess Celestia stated, "From what I have gathered from your investigation, there has yet to be a confirmed case of any pony casualties. Is this correct? Then, why are the ponies so fearful?"
Night Star replied, "The ponies are scared, your majesty, for good reason. Rumors of traveling merchants disappearing overnight and an impending invasion from the east have spread through the town quicker than the wildfires themselves. Yet, no pony has brought forth concrete proof or evidence of any kind that can substantiate these allegations.
"Though, if you may have me speak, I will admit that I myself can attest to personally witnessing these mysterious dark figures the ponies talk about creeping in and out of the shadows when patrolling the grounds at night. Yet, each of my pursuits ends in failure. They seem to vanish without a trace. It is my personal opinion that these interlopers seek something specific, something valuable you might possess."
Princess Luna leaned out of her chair. "And why do you say that?"
Day Star stepped forward. "When examining the timing of the fires, we were able to extrapolate one common element - the fires struck locations specifically where your majesties have recently attended to."
Twilight Sparkle nervously whispered to Princess Celestia, "Do you think they know?"
Luna sighed, looking a bit perturbed over what was said. "We don't know that for sure."
"Is it true?" Sumica asked. "Does it exist?"
Princess Celestia closed her eyes for a brief moment and slightly nodded. "What you have heard is true, but I must insist you keep this secret to yourself. We still do not know what it can do or what power it contains. Losing something as precious as this without knowing its full potential can be devastating to the kingdom."
Night Star asked, "If they are seeking it out, may I ask that the three of us keep it safe for you, your majesties?"
Celestia looked at Luna. Her sister, in turn, stared directly at Day Star. He did not say a word or speak his mind. He didn't even blink his eyes. Instead, he simply acknowledged Luna's gesture with a solitary nod.
Princess Luna turned to Night Star. "Previous arrangements have already been made."
In the far corner of the room where the light grew dim, a black pony with the head of a fox, identical to the one I previously encountered in Lela's Grace, casually leaned his body up against the wall with his forelegs crossed. His bright red eyes were fixated at the pegasi in the center of the room. I tried harder to identify the figure, but a dark aura masked his physique well. He blinked once and shifted his glare towards me. He rocked himself off the wall and pressed all four legs to the ground.
This shadow's demeanor was more relaxed than I anticipated. The way he leaned into each step, looked at me with his gentle eyes, and lowered his shoulders convinced me he had no intention in harming me. He even abruptly halted his approach when a guard unexpectedly opened the door behind him. His soft eyes keenly watched the pony approach the throne.
The apathetic being yawned when the guard whispered something into Princess Luna's ear. He turned his attention back to me and raised his hoof above the ground. With one stomp, the creature shattered everything into long shards of glass like from a smashed mirror.
My head immediately rose from the straw bed as the dream fell apart. Only Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were still comfortably snug, fast asleep behind me. A little bit of fading sunlight shined onto my face through the tiny gaps in the chamber's walls. I was surprised to see any light at all since the sun rose from the opposite side of the mountain. Despite being so high up, I found it unusual not to be hearing any wind howling through the Dragon's Nest. It was as if the morning was completely shrouded by a terrifying silence, an early sign of an ill omen.
I gently pushed the blanket to the side and quietly sneaked closer to the balcony. The heads of Sumica, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle were hunched low behind the railing. Their bodies were huddled close together. The rustling out of my bed must have alerted Twilight to my presence. She swiftly turned her head and placed her hoof on her mouth. Even a young pony could tell you that the gesture meant for you to be quiet.
As soft as I could, I squeaked closer for a better look. Down in the valley in the darkest areas of the mountain hopped a tiny black figure from one rock to the next. Considering the distance, the creature reminded me of a jumping spider merrily bouncing across the library's wooden floor. The black blur's identity remained a mystery to me as it passed through a hole.
"Who are we going to surprise?" Pinkie whispered as loudly as she could into my ear.
I gripped my chest and closed my eyes. Her sudden appearance gave me a fright. "Boundaries, Pinkie. Boundaries," I whispered. I made sure to deliver her one of Fluttershy's signature stares.
Ignoring Pinkie's presence, Sumica commanded, "We should get moving. These passages in the mountains converge right down this hallway. If they're here, there is a good chance our friends might be held inside the cells down at the guard post." She spun around and hustled to the door. "If we hurry, we might be able get there before they do."
Futtershy stood wide awake as Sumica opened the door. "What's going on?"
"No time to explain," Rainbow Dash said, nudging the confused pony down the hallway.
I could feel the humidity in the air the moment I passed into the corridor. It was a direct contrast to the Dragon's Nest circulating dust vacuum. Ash collected underneath old crumbling torches; they were left abandoned in their sconces on the wall. Sumica purposely left the door open so the daylight would illuminate our path through the narrow tunnel.
The pegasus certainly had enough energy coursing through her body for six horses, or one Pinkie Pie on a good day. She wasn't simply concerned for our friends anymore. Her hastened pace clearly defined a newly determined pony in active pursuit.
There were quite a few things I grew overly concerned about when the gap between Sumica and the rest of us widened. What if my dreams lately were really just my magic's way of warning me of impending danger? What will we do if we have to come face-to-face with something strong enough to take down a dragon? Is the artifact somehow actively helping us to find our friends or can it be luring us into a trap? "Sumica, I think we need to talk about the artifact."
Our fearless leader stopped at the precipice of one impressive intersection. The forward road branched out into four different directions around a captivating magnolia tree towering over the juncture point. Light poured into the epicenter from three highly-decorative archways separated with beautifully designed pillars in the upper section. Blades of grass and indigenous flowers coated the area around the base of the tree.
"I don't think this is the time," Sumica said, balancing herself down the crooked cobblestone.
"I'm serious. Something is happening, and I'm afraid you might be losing control of the situation."
Sumica extended her hoof out to halt my progress as she peered down a cubbyhole around the bark of the tree. She turned her head and pretended to smile. "Do you think Day Star would have entrusted it to me if he didn't know I could handle it?"
Unbeknownst to my friend, the jewel inside the necklace had lost all its color. What was once a mixture of dynamic swirls now encumbered by a smoky haze. "I just think you should consider the possibility that it might be clouding your judgement and affecting those around you without you realizing it. That's all."
Sumica replied with a strong nod a commanding officer would give to one of his soldiers, "Your concern is duly noted."
In hindsight, mentioning the combination of unusual dreams, reality-breaking visions, and apparations of strange black foxes might have better corroborated my concerns. Then again, simply repeating those thoughts to myself made me sound like some sort of mad pony speaking nonsense. Considering Sumica's response, pushing the matter any further would have only made things worse for the group.
Despite the interruption, the one in charge of this operation pressed on and hugged the side of a hidden door underneath the tree limbs. Sumica peered through the barred window and grabbed hold of the cracked handle. The enormous squeal from the rusty hinges made me wish some pony poured a bucket of oil all over the nuts and bolts before cranking it wide open.
"Whoa!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she stepped on the grass. Her wildly tail vibrated high in the air. "Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!"
Sumica stared at the ecstatic pony's presentation, appalled at her lack of urgency. "What are you doing?" Realizing the futility of her question, she turned and asked Rainbow Dash, "What is she doing?"
"It's her Pinkie sense," Rainbow Dash explained, repositioning herself in front of the silly pony. "What is it, Pinkie? What is it this time?"
"A pony is singing."
Standing perfectly still, we carefully listened for what might have triggered Ponyville's favorite candy muncher's sixth sense. Though my ears were still ringing from the obnoxious wail that grit my teeth just a moment ago, I was unable to distinguish any unusual sounds or catch a pony carrying a tune. The only sound I discerned was the lulling burble of a nearby waterfall.
A few seconds passed before Pinkie's tail relaxed. Yet before it reached the ground, it rapidly shook again. She pointed at the opened door. "It's coming from there."
Sumica rolled her head back. "Then let's get going!"
Down the hallway and on the right rested another iron door with similarly shaped bars across the window. Behind the prison walls rumbled a heart-stricken voice. The lowly pony, properly identified as our good friend Applejack, was monotonously singing her version of a nursery rhyme:
This old mare. She played four. She played knick-knack on this door. With a knick knack paddy wack. Give Winona love. This old mare comes rolling home.
Rainbow Dash flew past us and grabbed hold of the bars. "Applejack?" Her nose rested on a small cavity in the middle of the window frame. "Applejack, is that you in there?"
"Rainbow Dash!" A small chime reverberated from Applejack's hooves clunking into the iron bars. "Boy, am I glad to hear your voice again."
Sumica lifted up a corroded padlock wrapped tight around the latch on the door. "First we need to break open this lock." She looked around the dusty ground. "If only I had something to pick it."
"I know how to break it open." Rainbow Dash lunged her hoof straight at the device nearly side-swiping the poor pegasus in the process. A second and a third time she struck the fixture. "Hang on! We'll get you out of there!" The persistent pony lifted herself up into the air and bashed her hoof against the metal frame. She kicked it so hard this time that it left an impression in the structure of the door. Tiny pieces of the mechanism - springs and pegs alike - crumbled onto the floor. She yanked the broken lock out of the socket and pulled the door open.
I quickly covered my ears in preparation of an impending screech but was ultimately surprised when the rail slid smoothly across the surface of the ground without once scratching the concrete. Oddly enough, the hinges also held much better together than any of the previous ones we encountered on our little adventure.
Inside the next room laid bare three individual cells enclosed with long thick iron bars. Each one tightly fastened with a trough and a built-in lock in front. Behind them showed evidence of various hoof prints and claw marks made out of desperation. Around the corner, extending past Applejack, could be seen a whole other section of the jail.
Fluttershy gripped her friend's hoof through the iron bars. "Oh Applejack, we were so worried about you."
"I was worried about you guys too," Applejack moaned. The exhausted pony had dirt under her eyes. "How did you find me?"
"Sumica showed us the way." I lifted my hoof to present the lovely lady to Applejack but noticed her strangely absent from among the group. "Where did she go?" My curiosity drove me back to the hallway for a second look, yet she was still nowhere to be found.
"Did you say Sumica?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Why, she's the reason I'm cooped up in this place!"
Rainbow Dash waved her hoof in the air. "Whoa, now. There's no way. She's been with us the whole time."
"Now listen here. What I'm telling you is the honest truth." She barely flicked the front tip of her hat up and raised her head high. "Sumica was the name of the pony that took my order in Hollow Shade. Right after I gave her the paperwork, I got dizzy all of a sudden and blacked out. Before you know it, I woke up to this - " Applejack shook the bars " - prison cell, locked up tight."
"What did this pony look like?" Twilight asked to compare the two figures.
"Well, let's see." Applejack prodded against her chin. "She was a pegasus. Very tall. Both her eyes and her mane were green - I know that much! Oh, she had some playing cards as her cutie mark."
Fluttershy turned and looked right at me with her puppy dog eyes. "It can't be her, can it?"
"What if it was mind control?" Rainbow Dash stated, clearly throwing out an idea from one of her Daring Do books.
"Found them!" Sumica shouted from the opposing room. She twirled a set of guard keys around her hoof. "I knew there had to be something to open these locks." Though, once looking upon the startled ponies around the room, the lack of our enthusiasm in response gave her pause. "What?"
"That's her!" Applejack shouted, extending her hoof through the other side of the cell. Her hat nearly tumbled off the back of her head when she pressed closer to the iron bars. "She's the one that put me in here!"
A strange feeling consumed me. Something was wrong here. My mind suddenly wanted to question the sincerity of Applejack's words. We made a heartfelt connection a couple days ago in Sweet Apple Acres about being true to yourself, and yet now there was a voice in my head telling me to speak out against her accusations. Was I actively trying to defend the pegasus?
Sumica lightly pressed her hoof against her breast. "You talking about me?"
Applejack angrily scraped the dust on the ground at Sumica's coy response. "Don't play dumb! I know it was you!"
Now I definitely knew something was wrong here, but it had nothing to do with the trueness of their words. Calculating the top speed of a pegasus and the distance between Hollow Shade and Ponyville, one might entertain the possibility of Sumica ensnaring our friend and barely making it back into town before sunset. Applejack did not mention the artifact in her recollection, neither did she mention the pony verbally speaking out. One might ascertain that Sumica purposely traded our friends in exchange for the jewel. But the more logical conclusion to consider was the involvement of a third party. The dragons could have helped perpetrate this whole facade as a means to frame her for kidnapping.
"I have never seen you before in my life."
"You calling me a liar?"
Sumica's eyes were telling. I could see she was hiding something close to the chest, something devastating and destructive. The fear of being personally deceived plagued my innermost feelings. How could a pony I sat down with yesterday morning do something so cruel?
Though after my magic peeled away the emotion, I spotted a small glimmer of light in her eyes. It's the same type of passion I saw in Twilight's eyes when she was reading her book. The same kind of trust Princess Luna showed in the middle of our combat lessons. Whatever really happened, Sumica still cared about us.
"Enough!" I stood between the two of them and gave Applejack the sternest glare I could produce. "I know you believe what you believe and so do I. You don't have to trust her, but you can trust me. I don't think she could have done this. And that's coming from all of us. But in order for us to get you out of here, we have to work together. Is that something we all can agree upon?"
Applejack took a deep breath to carefully consider my words. "Alright, Moonlight. If that is how you feel. I trust you. But I will not be made the fool a second time. She knows something she isn't telling you. I can see it in her eyes."
I grabbed the keys out Sumica's hoof and unlocked the door. Once it swung open, Pinkie Pie glided in and gave Applejack one of her traditional welcome-back hugs.
Applejack's mouth slowly widened. She wrapped her hoof around Pinkie Pie's cotton candy mane. "I will admit. It is good to see you all. But one thing is still bugging me. Where's Rarity?"
A curling scream pierced through the rock-hard walls, interrupting our tender moment. Only one drama queen could produce such a sound, and it happened to be the pony we've been searching for.
"I guess that answers that question," Twilight said, rushing towards the neighboring room. "Come on!"
In one of the nearby cells, Rarity had stretched her body as far up the corner as she could reach. Her hooves flailed mindlessly as she attempted to look away from the cutest little lizard you've ever seen. "Stay back you foul beast!"
"Oh you got to be kidding me," Rainbow Dash sighed.
Rarity ordered, "Someone quick, get this gross, disgusting creature away from me."
After turning the lock and opening the door, I circled around for a better look at the fellow. It's tail happily swung in the air as it inched forward to greet me.
Pinkie knelt down in front of the thing and pressed her nose against it. "Aw, he has Gummy's eyes."
Fluttershy flew over and kindly nudged him out of the cell. "Go on, my little friend. This isn't a place you should hang out in."
The little lizard curled his tail straight out and scampered through a small crack in the wall.
Rarity grabbed hold of Fluttershy. "Thank you so much. I didn't think you would come."
Rainbow Dash teased, "We wouldn't abandon you, Rarity. Who else is going to tailor my dresses? Fluttershy?"
That moment, a familiar sound drew me in to the empty surface of the stone wall. A symbol of a blazing sun on top and a hollow moon on bottom, like the one we saw yesterday, flashed upon the rock. Twilight's mouth moved, but the words were jumbled and incoherent. A form of aphasia choked my concentration as a deep voice called out to me from the depths of the mountain.
"They are close."
An overwhelming sensation tore my nerves apart. My throat dried up and a gripping headache weighed heavy on my mind. For a brief moment, my vision shifted. I could feel Fluttershy touching my shoulder and watch her shout out to Twilight. Yet, her words were no longer audible to me. Time slowed to a crawl as the pain in my muscles brought me to my knees.
"Sumica," I mumbled as my head drifted closer to the floor, "I don't think. You're in control."
An energy like I've never experienced before flowed through my body as I fell to the ground. Before my head hit the floor, a coated blanket of the night sky phased through the room around me. The tension in my muscles disappeared. The nagging pain subsided. A haunting void buried into my bones like a used bowl with nothing left in it. There I laid helplessly alone among the stars on a surface that no longer existed.
The room darkened and transformed to something different, something new. The room's stony walls with its mold growing in the high corners remained the same, but the size and shape of the environment around me changed. The dreary prison cells were replaced with finely-cut wooden furniture. A full-sized bed rested behind my back. On the wall hung a large landscape painting of Cloudsdale. Instead of torches, a simple flickering candle from a delicate lamp barely lit the area around me.
I heard the sounds of whispering voices in the distance and a door creaking open down the hallway. Two silhouettes shined upon the wall as a pony flicked a light on in the other room. I crawled closer to the entrance doing my best not to draw any unwanted attention to myself; I wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Why are they after us?" The older mare asked with her hoof over her chin.
The large pegasus gently touched the shoulders of the nervous pony. "They're not. They're after the artifact."
"What are we going to do?" asked the anxious pony, pacing the floor. "The princesses can only do so much. It's not safe for us anymore."
The pegasus replied in a soothing voice, "Don't you worry, my dear. Everything is in order."
"Do they even know what they are looking for?"
"I'm pretty sure the - " the pegasus quickly turned his head mid-sentence and pulled his hoof around the door frame.
The sudden appearance of his head scared me into planting my back flat against the cold wall. That's when I noticed a small cabinet, eerily similar to the one I had in my room when I was small, resting at the foot of the bed. A golden hourglass, identical to the one my father crafted me, sat next to a small mirror on top.
Another figure down the hallway called out, "It's time, Day Star. Princess Luna is waiting."
"Alright. Make sure Night Star is ready. We don't want him wandering off like last time."
As I listened to their conversation, I heard a crackling sound like logs burning in a fireplace. Though the cavern was completely enclosed, a small breeze blew past me. The small hourglass across the room spun ever so lightly, keeping an even amount of sand in both sections of the glass. The motion was so mesmerizing that my thoughts drifted to a better place high in the clouds away from all of our troubles.
Yet the serenity was fleeting when two large dragon eyes unnaturally formed on the wall above the bed. This time I did not fear them. No, the sheer complexity of how the eyes slanted inward captivated my curiosity as if they were actively inviting me to sail away into the dreamscape.
A voice from behind tickled my ears. It simply whispered, "Your time is up."
Slowly, the room faded away and returned me back inside the mountain pass. All my concerned friends stood over me with worried expressions on their faces.
"He's still breathing," Twilight observed. "He's just non-responsive."
I nonchalantly asked, "Hey guys, what's going on?"
Applejack shouted, "Moonlight! What happened?"
Still strangely relaxed from my experience, I replied, "I don't know. I took a look around the room and just passed out. I had some sort of vision."
"A dream?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm not sure. Everything seemed kind of... familiar, like I've been there before. How long was I out?"
"Less than a minute," Twilight stated.
From the far reaches of the prison cried out an unknown voice, "Hey! Is someone out there?!"
"Jade?" Sumica perked up. "Jade! We're coming! Where are you?!"
"I'm in the high-security cell a couple rooms over."
"Excuse me." Sumica stretched out her wings and leapt into the hallway. She flew through various sections of the prison and ended at a solid black wall. Sculpted in the center was an intricate design of a dragon's tail. An old bowl on top of a small stool sat inches away from the mysterious carvings. She rolled her hoof over the symbols looking for a means to access the lock. "Jade? Are you behind this wall here?"
"Yeah, but you won't be able to open it without the rune key."
"Let me give it a try." Twilight braced her hooves deep into the concrete. An engrossing aura grew around the tip of her horn. Electricity surged all around as the power reached critical mass.
"No, wait!"
Before Jade could finish his warning, the lightning bolt shot across the room. Before it struck the smooth surface of the wall, a wavering force field repelled the blast. It dispersed the energy back at us in every direction. The resulting amount of force knocked us off our hooves.
"You just tried to use magic on the seal, didn't you?" Jade sighed with disbelief. "This cell was built to hold the most powerful of magic-users. No spell or incantation can break its bond once locked."
Rainbow Dash rubbed her temple. "Now he tells us."
Jade's criticizing tone surprisingly shifted to one a father would use to scold an unruly child. "Listen, whoever you are, tell me this - Are you the one with the artifact?"
"Artifact? What artifact?" Sumica cleverly replied in an attempt to goad the locked pony for more information.
"Don't be coy with me," Jade argued, clearly seeing through our friend's ruse. "The only reason they locked me in here was so I could deliver a message to the one that holds Toukh ew Xuvub. Is that you? Because they told me to expect someone passing by here. They would be seeking out their companions. By the sounds of your company, I believe that someone might be you."
"What do you know about The Heart of Dagaz?!" Sumica demanded.
Jade replied, "Ah, so it is you! Good. Now maybe I can finally get out of here and stop this madness they speak of before it begins. Listen. The message they wanted me to convey is as follows: 'Drop the The Heart of Dagaz into the bowl and leave this place never to return. If you do not comply, we will be forced to release the full might of the Asanda clan onto your tribe. Believe our words as true; your friends have been left unscathed. We have been patiently waiting for ten long years. We only want what rightfully is ours.' They said they would release me as soon as you relinquish the artifact."
"This sounds bad," Applejack noted, "for all of Equestria. What in Celestia's name do you have?"
Sumica's ultimatum was no easy feat. No pony had the guts to thoughtlessly give-in to such ill-willed demands. Yet, the pressure of having an entire kingdom's future in jeopardy must have been weighing heavily on her mind. The decision alone taunted us as we watched for our leader's final say.
Sumica caressed the artifact in her hoof and took a deep breath. A tiny shimmer of scarlet inside the jewel pierced through the smoky haze. The muscles in her legs shook wildly as she stared at Jade's imprisonment. She grit her teeth and immediately roared at the ceiling. She grabbed hold of the bowl with both hooves and raised it above her head.
"No!" Sumica smashed the bowl into the ground and pointed at the magic wall. "The Heart of Dagaz was given to our ancestors as a gift in exchange for bringing peace to this land. We worked far too hard for far too long to simply just hand it over to a bunch of outcasts who don't even have the guts to show their face. And they think they can just come in and bully us around until we give them whatever they think is theirs?" She stomped the ground. "I will not do this!"
Rarity asked, "Do we even know whether or not this jewel, as valuable as it may be, really was in a position to be given out so freely in the first place. If they feel this strongly about it, why not just give it to them?"
"Because the Asanda clan were too arrogant to take responsibility for all of the hardships they created for the ponies in the first place. Did you ever think it was strange that one of the dragon's virtues was friendliness and not friendship? Because that concept was so foreign to them that they never fully incorporated it into their culture. Dagaz knew this and that is why Dagaz refused to give it to them."
"I think you are wrong," Jade refuted. "The account specifically says that the gift was meant to be cherished by all, not to be squandered by one race or faction. If you truly hold such a thing in your grasp, I think it would be wise to give it to them. You do not have the strength to wield all of its unadulterated power by yourself. It will eventually consume you."
Sumica tried to conceal her emotions, but the anger in her eyes led way to tears. "I need some air." She turned around and glided down a series of corridors deeper into the mountain pass.
"Wait! Sumica!" I chased her around the cells and past the guard's station. I lost her at the split of the road where an old mine shaft ran adjacent to the main path. The wooden frames high above barely held together the crumbling bedrock of the abandoned pit. I spotted a green feather gently fluttering from an undercurrent inside the splinters of one of the support beams. After exploring the tunnel for roughly a minute or two, I finally found the pegasus lying in front of a cracked opening.
Sumica shied her face away from me. "Is this the moment when you try and tell me what to do?"
"No, it isn't," I said, strolling closer. "I can't even begin to understand everything that's going on." I sat down next to the distressed pony and observed the raging river pour over the mountain across the valley. "You have gone through a lot, more than any pony in their lifetime. You traveled through time, fought off scary monsters-"
"So have you," Sumica interjected.
"And you're a guardian! You learned the dragon's culture and their language and then you found... you found..."
Sumica smiled. "And then I found an old friend."
"Actually I was trying to repeat what Jade called the necklace but my brain decided to go out on vacation instead."
Sumica giggled. "You were always slow when it came to learning new things." She picked up a small pebble and threw it over the cliff. "I really was hoping you would tell me your thoughts on the matter."
I nervously pondered over my next words, but failed miserably in executing them. "Oh, well, that's... all I got."
Catching my insecurity, Sumica replied, "That's quite alright." She picked up another pebble and lightly tossed it a few times above her hoof. "Maybe Jade is right. Maybe I shouldn't carry such a burden alone."
"Found them!" Pinkie Pie shouted from across the hall. "They're over here!"
"Nothing gets by that girl, eh Moonlight?" Sumica rose from her stupor. "We should probably start heading back."
We barely traveled twenty meters before meeting up with the rest of the group.
"We wondered where you guys went," Applejack noted.
Sumica replied, "Just mulling over what we should do."
Fluttershy asked, "Did you come to a decision?"
"I have." Sumica unstrapped the artifact around her neck and held it in front of Twilight. "I need you to take a look at this thing and to tell me what it does."
Twilight modestly declined, "Me? I don't know anything about magical amulets."
"You're the smartest unicorn I know - and resourceful at that. Surely a magical being like yourself has some idea."
"Rarity is the gem expert. She would know more about the artifact's magical properties than me."
Rarity turned around all flabbergasted. "Me? You want me to take a look at it?"
"Would you please?" Sumica asked, handing the jewel to the fashionista.
"I'm not sure if I can be of any help but I'll do my best." The clouds covering the red hue in the jewel faded away the instant Rarity's hoof made contact with the metallic surface. She walked past us and carefully observed the gem in the sunlight. "At first glance, it looks to be some form of ruby, but the markings are too complex. It's weight is too light to be a zircon. I would have to say that you have - " Rarity gasped " - a beryl."
"Is that supposed to be rare or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"For a red beryl like this? Extremely." Rarity flaunted the jewel a little in the sunlight. "Jewelers sometimes call them bixbites, taken from the explorer who first discovered them. Others have developed a certain kind of nickname for them - the 'Right Time' crystals I think it was - for their ability to hold life-changing enchantments. Depending on what type of magic is infused into the core, they can heal wounds, sharpen your mind, increase your stamina, build up your strength, anything you can imagine to overcome any challenge or obstacle. Where in Equestria did you find such an heirloom?"
"Day Star my - " Sumica cautiously paused for a moment " - associate gave it to me a few days ago. Told me to hold onto it until he got back from his excursion."
Rarity asked, "And he didn't tell you what it was or what it did?"
Sumica's eyes emboldened. "No! He simply said it was some magical artifact that needed to be kept safe and to not let it out of my sight. I knew it must have been important, but I would have never guessed it was the very thing we hid all those years ago."
"So, important enough to start a war over," Applejack noted.
"This really is magnificent." Rarity wrapped the amulet around her neck. "So spectacular."
"Alright," Sumica stammered as the unicorn gave into her insatiable urge to try on all things beautiful.
"Such a remarkable piece of history. An inheritance to the kingdoms."
Something snapped inside Sumica after Rarity said those last words. What was simply a slight irritation shifted into shock and horror. She hid this change so well that no ordinary pony would have noticed unless they were paying close enough attention. I, on the other hand, recently discovered that whenever her wings tugged inward, things were sure-fire about to get serious. That was definitely her tell.
"I would like to have it back now, if you may," Sumica politely asked, slipping ever closer to the pony.
Rarity did not respond. Her silence was disturbing. She mocked the futility of the question by rubbing the silver chain.
Sumica unexpectedly lunged at our oblivious friend only to be stopped dead in her tracks when meeting her face-to-face. A tiny trail of smoke that everyone could see was strangely flowing up right out of Rarity's nostrils. Out of her mouth burst forth a bright red flame that forced the pegasus to leap backwards.
"Rarity can breath fire?!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"That's not Rarity," Rainbow Dash stated, "that's a changeling!"
"It can't be!' Twilight exclaimed. "Changelings aren't capable of producing that kind of flame, at least not any that I've encountered."
"Then what else in Equestria could it be?" Applejack inquired.
A delicate shockwave, like a soft blast of compressed air, rippled through the ground utterly bypassing the physical manifestations of everything around. A cloud of smoke, very similar to what was left behind when Ordain teleported through Ponyville, encircled around the body of our adorable yet overly-dramatic friend.
Through the burning fumes reconstructed something horrifying. Rarity's body transformed from the purest white to the darkest black. Holes like that from a changeling formed in the bottom of her legs. Two sharp dragon wings sprouted out of the void. A mouth broke out of the polarizing atmosphere with fangs sharp as glass. Two jagged horns slanted upwards past the beast's ears. All of the exhaust ushering out from the bowels of this mighty foe hid his daunting red eyes that peered deep into my very soul.
The beast groaned, "This sudden reversion is unexpected but long overdue. You wanted to see us and now you shall. Look at you, cowering in fear. Even after all your talk, you still ended up handing over the very thing you promised to protect. Some guardian you turned out to be. You should have listened to your compadre more carefully."
Twilight yelled, "Where's Rarity?!"
"Don't you worry nyati. We sent her on a little trip. She will remain unharmed for as long as you leave us alone to our affairs."
"You won't get away with this!" Sumica stressed.
The shadowy figure stretched out its wings. "I already have." A flame erupted high out of its mouth catching the support beams on fire. The timber burned and snapped, tearing down the one thing that held the ceiling together.
The resulting collapse of the fractured walls separated the three of us from the rest of the group. Sumica managed to jump out of the way, but my poor reaction speed allowed the rocks ample time to pin my hind leg to the ground. A large chunk of the smouldering wood, keeping the boulders from crushing my head, slowly buckled under all the pressure.
The dragon-changeling hybrid lifted itself up off the ground and offered Sumica a choice, "What is it going to be? Will you chase after me, or will you save your friend?" He propelled himself out through the crack, cackling with the dilemma it left in its wake.
Sumica charged in with her hoof swinging, almost grabbing hold of his diamond-shaped tail. She leaned heavily into her hoof at the very edge of the opening.
Another splinter fell from the board dangling precariously over my head. "Sumica!" I yelled helplessly, hoping she remembered the type of peril I was in.
Sumica angrily shook her hoof in the air. "I'm coming, Moonlight." She rushed over and braced her shoulders underneath the beam before it could move another inch. "I'm not about to lose you again," she wheezed as the wood cracked and splintered down onto her back, "but I fear this board might be a bit too much. I don't think I can hold it for long."
"Then let me assist!" a voice shouted from behind.
"Day Star?!" Sumica gasped as her comrade slid in. "Where did you come from?"
"I was passing by and figured you could use a lift."
Ignoring the clever word play, Sumica replied, "Well, you're a little late."
"Really? From the looks of it, I'm right on time," Day Star teased.
While they both held together the one thing that prevented my impending doom, I couldn't help but notice a small device strapped around the overly cheerful pegasus' right leg. At first glance, I thought it might have been a watch - the size and shape matched one I've seen while attending one of the many Buckball games. Yet, there were no identifiable markings around the outer axis. It wasn't until a green dot appeared, pulling away from the center, that I realized it must have been some special kind of tracking device.
"Hey," Day Star remarked, "remember that wing-lift exercise we had to do at the academy?"
Sumica entreated, "You wanna' do that now?!"
"On the count of three." Day Star stretched out his wings and bobbed his head up and down. "One. Two. Three!"
In that moment, the pegasi performed an ingenious maneuver. Normally a pegasus would be able to gain thrust in the air by pulling back their wings. This tenses up their shoulders and reduces the amount of airflow passing through their body. Utilizing that extra strength from the muscles in their shoulder-blades, they exerted enough force to push the board away from me.
Once the debris settled, Sumica stumbled back to the opening. "Come on... Day Star... We can still catch him if we..."
"Hold!" Day Star asserted.
Sumica hollered, "But he's getting away!"
"That's an order!" Day Star commanded.
The confused gal rapidly shook her hoof towards the opening, stunned at what her superior officer just instructed her to do. Sumica's entire reputation as a guardian was at stake. Her pride refused to let go of the matter at hand. What could have possibly been more important than retrieving the artifact?
"Hey! Is anyone still there? Are you guys alright?" Twilight's voice called out from behind the rubble.
"I'd probably be in better shape if I didn't stop going to that gym," Day Star amusingly replied. "Hey, tell me. Is Applejack with you guys?"
A few seconds went by before Applejack replied, "Yeah?"
Day Star confidently requested, "Ok great. Why don't you all go ahead and circle around. Head back to the Heart of All Paths, that's where the giant magnolia tree is, and take the first door on your left. You'll know it's the right door if it has a symbol of a flower on it. I mean the left door. Whatever. Just take the path all the way around and meet us back here. I'll explain everything when you get here."
Twilight stammered, "Uh... alright. As long as everyone is ok."
Day Star looked at his device. "Oh and there's no rush, so take your time." He looked at me still lying on the floor. "Where was I?"
Sumica carped, "You were getting to the part where you tell me why our mortal enemy is getting away with the Heart of Dagaz!"
Day Star closed his hooves together. "Right. First off, I apologize Sumica for all that has happened, but that isn't the artifact you think it is."
"What?!" Sumica squeaked. "Then what was it?"
Day Star lifted the rock pinning against my leg and pulled me up out the rubble. "Well there was this nice curio shop I stumbled upon that had all these fascinating little objects to look at. There was this one gem in particular laying on the counter I just had to ask the shopkeeper about. He called it vathy ypno."
"The Sand Pony?" Sumica questioned.
"I think your Greek is a little rusty," Day Star replied. "It was The Deep Sleep, or Rest depending on who you ask. It had this interesting rejuvenating ability that puts ponies in a deep meditative state so that their wounds would heal faster. He babbled on about how the locals sometimes liked to use it as a more-or-less glorified mood stone. Something about how the color changes to match the user's feelings. I didn't pay much heed to it."
"Then why did you give it to me?"
"Because they thought it was the key to returning their clan to their former glory?"
Sumica crept closer to Day Star. "So you gave me an artifact, without telling me what it was, and purposely... knowingly used me as bait - Again! - just so you could get them off your back? Why you little - " Sumica wrapped her hooves around Day Star's neck and vigorously shook his head back-and-forth.
Day Star's voice bounced as he tried to talk through the shaking. "Why are you mad? I already apologized!"
As I watched the two feud with each other, I found myself smiling. I sensed a type of bond that must have dated back years. All their teasing and wrestling was just their way of becoming reacquainted. They seemed to enjoy each other's company despite their own faults.
Yet, I thought it was quite interesting how quickly Sumica recovered after the stone was taken away from her. Day Star mentioned in passing how the gem can link to the owner's emotions. Perhaps that little slant I saw near the top of the artifact when we were at the Carousal Boutique was really an impure cut causing some sort of feedback in the connection. "Day Star, is it possible the amulet could have had some adverse side-effects to the user? Because she's been acting so..."
"Passionate? Enthusiastic? Intense? Oh no, she's always like that. That's what makes this so much fun."
As Sumica cooled her head, she prodded, "So tell me, oh mighty planner - how did you manage to get four shadows on your tail? Did you make some grand public announcement about finding another world-changing memento?"
Day Star confessed, "Eh, it might be because I found out where the Heart of Dagaz was."
Sumica stammered, "You're... You're serious. How did you... how did they... can you tell me where it is?"
Day Star smiled and glanced at my motionless body. "I can tell you this much - It's really close."
I pondered over what the curious pegasus meant by those words. Was the artifact hidden somewhere in this mountain? Did Day Star tuck it away in a tiny crevice when the shadows were getting too close? Or could it be possible they underestimated the actual size of the relic? Maybe it's guarded by Alexander below the confines of the Forbidden Library?
That still didn't explain why I've been recalling these fragments of events. The early chronicles of my childhood has always been hard for me to remember. Could it be possible I was there when things unfolded all those years ago? That would explain how Sumica knows so much about me. The next thought that entered my fragile mind motivated me into action. The only one that could corroborate my theory happened to be standing right in front of me.
"Day Star?" I stammered. "Am... Am I the artifact?"
Day Star smiled and approached me. He leaned in like a father would with his child. "That is an interesting question. May I ask how we formulated such an unique hypothesis?"
"I'm not sure exactly. I always felt like I had some hidden power deep inside me, but I never could fully understand it. Recently, I've been having these strange dreams, pieces of a story that is not of my own - buildings on fire, daring rescues, secret meetings, whispers in the dark. There are way too many coincidences with what occurred ten years ago.
"Everyone acts like this powerful object simply vanished without knowing what it was or what it could do. The timing coincides with the last thing I remember from my childhood. Could the trauma and familiarity of recent events be prying loose old memories?"
"Perhaps, but I don't believe they are your memories. Tell me, did these dreams start approximately three weeks ago?"
"Why, yes."
"And have you been seeing black shadowy figures - perhaps in the shape of a pony or a fox - with red sharp eyes?"
"Yes! Yes I have! Do you know what is happening to me?"
"Fascinating!" Day Star rubbed his chin and pulled away. "Princess Luna was experiencing this very thing. You must be emitting the same dimensional frequency or at least something similar, albeit lesser in size."
Sumica inquired, "Hold on, compadre. What was happening to Princess Luna? Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" She lowered her head and gazed directly into Day Star's eyes. "Maybe now is a good time to tell me the whole story, since you seem so thrilled in adding me into this little escapade of yours."
Day Star implored, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you any of this sooner, Sumica, but we didn't understand the magical properties of the stone until just a few weeks ago."
"So, I'm not the artifact?" I anxiously asked.
The experienced veteran with all the answers further explained the origin of the artifact. "Archeologists were digging around the ruins of Ponehenge when they miraculously discovered a unique rock buried in the rubble. They cleaned it up and presented this gem as a gift to Princess Celestia. She found it to be the perfect specimen for her new student Twily... I mean Princess Sparkle to study. Twilight, the young filly as she was, decided to use the school's science lab and experiment on its defensive capabilities. According to her account, she turned around to write down some notes when a fire broke out around the gem."
Sumica commented, "I remember that fire. Nasty business."
Day Star continued, "From that moment on, fires kept spreading wherever the jewel went. Our best theory at the time was that the gem, at its core, was constantly producing its own supply of wild magic. It generated so much energy that it occasionally flared out through the crystal containment like a flame bursting out of a gasoline-soaked campfire. Little did we know that the fire never originated from the gem at all.
"These shadow beasts, as Night Star likes to call them, were certainly a crafty folk. They made us believe the relic was so dangerous that we would be quick to toss it aside. We almost came to that conclusion before Luna confided with me her affairs with a mischievous black fox. Originally she thought it might have been a Tantabus let loose from her mind when it interfered with her abilities inside the dream realm. Only after entering a mysterious dream without an actual dreamer, Luna discovered that this - what was the word she used - 'soul' was something completely different. It showed her images of the forging of the stone and the ones that wanted to steal it. That combined with my brother's keen detective skills and extraordinary attention to detail, we were able to piece together all the... uh, pieces to the puzzle."
Sumica asked, "Then why did you secretly move it?"
Day Star replied, "It was the only way to simultaneously stop the shadow beasts from terrorizing the city and stabilize Luna's condition. With your reports from the dragon clan coupled with the documents from the research team at Ponehenge, we realized that what we had was really the Heart of Dagaz. It doesn't provide infinite power to the owner like many interpret from legend. Instead, it has the capacity to copy and store an infinite supply of memories from those around it and transfer them over to a willing host that's able to decipher their meaning.
"We're still unsure what this 'fox' really is, but we believe it is literally the heart of the artifact actively seeking others for a stable connection. Princess Luna's ability to shift through ponies' memories made her the perfect candidate to establish a link. Without understanding the actual cause of these premonitions, it proved far too difficult for her in the long run to handle. I always wondered what was rolling around in our princess's head."
Sumica teased, "The one that can tell you is standing right in front of you."
Day Star stated, "Right. You've experienced these fragments. Tell me, are you a passive observer when things happen around you or do you engage? Do ponies refer to you by name or do you relive the memories as they were?"
I replied, "I guess all of the above."
"There you are!" Rainbow Dash cried. "It's like a maze down here."
Day Star slapped his forehead. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you about that one left turn over by the botanical garden.
Fluttershy replied, "It was a lovely garden."
"Before we continue, let me make sure of something first." Day Star leveled the device on his leg parallel to the ground and pressed a button on its side. Out burst a pulse wave that chimed down the hallways.
Pinkie Pie froze mid-hop. "What... was that?"
"That my friends was a pulse wave. It's a brilliant method in breaking the phase dimensional hold our pals have been using to hide their true form. I hope that sounded smart, because I have no idea how it works, courtesy of Doctor Whooves."
"You know Doctor Whooves?" I enthusiastically asked.
Day Star answered, "Indubitably. We go way back. He popped in about a month ago when he detected a signal in his... doohickey, whatever he called it. Someone activated a dimensional gateway over there in Neighagra Falls. That's how Sumica and I were able to meet you guys. He told me to track down these 'shifters', as he called them, and report back to him. Who knew they would turn out to be our ol' friends, the shadow beasts?"
That would explain why the one we encountered was in such a hurry to flee. He was being smart. I halfway expected him to give this grand speech about his plans for world domination. I kind of wanted him to tell me a little more about where he came from or how old he really was. Instead, all we got was a few insults before he petered out and left.
Pinkie theorized, "Wouldn't it be strange to be one of them and not know it?"
Fluttershy stated, "We're just glad to know you guys are alright. We were worried when those rocks fell on you, Moonlight."
Day Star pounced up like a meerkat hearing something in the distance. "Moonlight? You're Moonlight? Moonlight Sonata? Why, you're a unicorn!" He pointed and looked at Sumica. "He's a unicorn."
"You just now noticing that?" Sumica smirked, finally winning one over her counterpart.
Twilight strolled closer to the opening. "Is that what that was? Are they anything like a changeling?"
Day Star's eyebrows lowered. "Changelings? Never heard of them."
Applejack nodded. "We encountered them not too long ago. They're capable of disguising themselves to look and sound like any pony on a whim."
"Yeah, and they follow the orders of their icky leader Queen Crystal," Pinkie cringed.
Twilight observed, "He had us all fooled. He knew an awful lot about gemology."
Day Star replied, "They must have spent years trying to figure out what the Heart of Dagaz even looked like. Jade told me how they stole some research notes from the library. It must have disappointed them greatly to discover that the only written reference to its physical form was from an alchemist who molded the gem into the shape of a heart."
"Oh! Jade!" Sumica prodded her friend's shoulder. "We have to get him out somehow. He's locked tight in that high-security cell down at the guard post."
"No need," Day Star reassured. "I met the real Jade at Neighagra Falls. He's been preparing a little ambush for our surprise guests. He's been coordinating with the red dragons on an island offshore for the past week. Seems like they don't take kindly to trespassers in the Forbidden Library."
Sumica inquired, "So, back there, I was talking to one of them?"
"I'm afraid so," Day Star stated. "My device picked up two signals."
Sumica added, "And those threats he mentioned about the Asanda clan?"
Day Star teased, "As empty as my fridge back home."
Fluttershy asked, "Excuse me, Day Star. Do you happen to know what happened to our friend, Rarity?"
"Didn't you see the note?" Day Star questioned. "It explained everything."
Rainbow Dash replied, "Note? What note?"
Day Star expounded, "The note at her Boutique. She put it on the door."
"The place was a mess when we got there," I observed.
"Those shadow beasts." Day Star sighed. "They sure are a cunning bunch. They must have made it look like she was taken. That explains why those little fillies fell down that hole. It was meant for her."
I exclaimed, "So it was you who threw down the rope!"
"Aye. I make sure to bring my trusty traveling pack with me on every excursion. Though, I did manage to lose it climbing up this mountain. I guess it isn't so trusty after all."
"So where is she?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"She's fine. She just needed some time off for a client of hers. Some sort of 'fashion emergency' I think is how she put it. I forget where it was."
Rainbow Dash asked, "Why were you at the Carousel Boutique?"
Day Star pounded one hoof onto the other. "Oh! I had this brilliant plan making the shadow beasts think they had the Heart of Dagaz."
Sumica spread her wings out and pointed at Day Star. "I knew it! I knew you were up to something!"
"They kept following me!" Day Star emphasized. "I had to lose them somehow! How was I supposed to know they would break into the Forbidden Library and learn about the gem's shape? That's why I needed a professional to cut it. I never expected such a... beautiful flower like her to be so... welcoming. She did such a splendid job in such a short time span. She was worried that cutting into the crystal too much would make it unstable."
"That explains a few things," I mumbled.
Fluttershy asked, "Were you the one that laid out all of her designer sketches on the table?"
Day Star lowered his eyebrows. "No? But if the shadow beasts followed me there, they could have thought I hid the artifact in one of her outfits."
"Are you ever going to tell me where it is?" Sumica asked.
Day Star smiled. "Applejack, may I see your hat for a moment?"
"My hat? Why do you want to see my hat?"
"I'm going to perform a magic trick!"
An extra-excited Pinkie Pie jumped up and down with anticipation. "Oh! Oh! Are you going to pull something out of the hat?"
Fluttershy gleefully said, "I hope its a cute bunny."
Applejack wearily passed over her prized possession to Day Star. He reached down inside the bowl and felt around the liner. Out popped a tiny red gem that radiantly glowed in the sunlight.
Applejack mused, "Well how did that get in there?"
"Oh you can't be serious," Sumica chided. "You hid it in her hat? You crazy ol' coot!"
Day Star chuckled, "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"
Sumica scolded, "You couldn't have possibly known she would still be wearing it."
"Au contraire my sweet searing Sumica. I overheard Applejack's conversation with Rarity. She tarried in her fine establishment in order to ask for her assistance in delivering some apples. After one of the hangers knocked her hat off, I heard her use the words, 'never leave my sight.'"
Applejack confirmed, "It's true."
Sumica stared at the jewel as it sparkled in Day Star's hoof. "So... what are we going to do about it now?"
Day Star replied, "Well, I was going to talk to the dragons after they finish their business with the shadow beasts. I mean, it is forged with their essence. I was considering maybe giving it to Alexander for safe-keeping, but it seems like the location of the library might have been compromised. It's far too powerful to keep it in the open, and it would be a shame to simply bury it again after all this time."
Sumica whispered, "So it was the same artifact."
I suggested, "You could let Doctor Whooves look at it."
Twilight pondered over the newly discovered gem. "What does it do, exactly?"
Day Star slapped the ground with his hoof. "That's right! You weren't here to listen to my grand speech about the artifact. In short, it links to a pony and exchanges memories, but the connection is too unstable to hold overtime."
Twilight rubbed her chin. "Fascinating!"
"That's what I said!" Day Star exclaimed.
Sumica sighed, "Oh brother."
Twilight Sparkle examined the gem more closely. "How close have you come to stabilizing the flow of magic?"
Day Star replied, "It's nigh impossible without knowing how the Heart of Dagaz selects its targets. That's why we've been studying the remnants of Ponehenge. Our theory is that the rocks there maintain the excess energy." Day Star leaned in. "You know, you could come with us, Moonlight, and help us try and communicate with the crystal."
"Through the gateway?" I inquired.
Day Star chuckled, "You don't have to decide right away. We still have a few things to take care of. Sumica and I will check in with Jade and see how he's handling those nasty shifters. Then we'll report in with Doctor Whooves."
I looked into Day Star's eyes. "You really think I could be of assistance?"
Day Star replied, "My lad, I think you would make a great guardian."
