Seeking

Chapter 2

The Tartarus, The Eternal Prison, The Void, The Empty, Hell.  Each calls it something different and they all refer to the same place, but they’re all wrong.  The Tartarus is a plain in which several strange and fantastic creatures dwell, a place where the environment gives off a magical pressure, if only I could get there.  Just imagine the possibilities! A unicorn with my talents could achieve so much if I could just figure out how to open the portal, I can only dream of the possibilities!

That last line always sent a shiver of excitement down Sparrow’s spine, but it was time to put away the books and start his studying.  He levitated the book back on to his crowded shelf and stood up.  He stretched his back legs and let out a loud yawn.

“Sparrow!”  A young mare called his name from down the hall.

“What is it Pepper?”  Sparrow called back.  He hoped that he wouldn’t be bothered so he could focus on his studies, but what can you do?

A younger ash coated mare walked into Sparrow’s room, her amber mane stretched down the sides of her face.  She was younger, just barely considered a mare, she was still short, much shorter then Sparrow.  Pepper had come to Canterlot with Sparrow when they were younger, both had just recently got their cutie marks, Sparrow’s spiral and her three star cutie mark.  They had both grown up in Ponyville and had been friends almost their entire lives. She waited in the door expectantly and gave Sparrow a hurried look.

“Come on!  Princess Twilight Sparkle is waiting for us!”  She said loudly.

“What does she want?”  Sparrow asked walking toward his friend.

“I don’t know, something important according to the guard, Picklock is already there, we should hurry up and get there!”  She was obviously excited…as usual, but still this was a big deal.  Twilight had been their teacher for the last ten years and she always had something planned for them.

Pepper led Sparrow down the well decorated hall, passing several spare rooms and storage areas.  The hallway echoed as the two ponies trotted down the hall, irritating both them profusely, “SOOOOO!’  Pepper said loudly, trying to break the silence, “What were you reading?”

“Starswirl’s research notes, his theories about the Tartarus are-”

“Absolutely fascinating!” Pepper mimicked Sparrow’s voice, “You need to find some more reading material.”

“And you need to stop eating in your sleep.”  Sparrow said smugly.

“Shut up!”  Pepper started to blush.

“Or maybe I should have a short talk with Picklock about it, I’m sure he’d love to talk about you.”  Sparrow winked at Pepper and her face became an even brighter red, “There’s some color, maybe Picklock would like to hear about this?”

“DON’T YOU DARE!”  Pepper yelled.  She galloped away from Sparrow who playfully laughed at her.

“Come on!”  Sparrow called after her, “I was only joking!”  He picked up speed to catch up with his friend.

Canterlot Castle was a large place, so it took Sparrow and Pepper another ten minutes to get to the main hall.  There was a large purple alicorn who talked with a smaller steel colored unicorn with a short black mane.  Picklock was levitating a large stack of books.  He arrived a few years after Sparrow and Inky were accepted to be taught by Twilight Sparkle, though he never really talked about his time before coming to Canterlot.  When Pepper walked in and Piclock saw her and dropped what he was levitating so he could run over to greet her, Twilight sighed and shook her head.  She levitated the collapsed pile of books and stacked them neatly.  Sparrow let his two friends talk and trotted over to the princess.

Sparrow bowed his head, “My Princess.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled, “There is no need my faithful student.”

“Thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Pepper and Picklock joined Sparrow and bowed their heads.  “My faithful students, I have called you three here today for a reason.”  Twilight Sparkle gave each of her students a confident nod, “This morning a received a message from Crow.”

Sparrow’s eyes lit up, “CROW! What did he say?”

“Last night he visited a….friend, who had in his possession a journal of famous architect.  In this journal Crow believes is the map to the location of Starswirl the Bearded’s lost library, this is no doubt a major discovery.”

“WHAT?!”  The three unicorns shouted in unison.

“He’ll be coming here within the next three days with a few companions to start an expedition.  He has personally asked me to set up a team to accompany him and I believe it would be good for you three to see more of the world.”

“That’s incredible, do you really think we’re ready?”  Picklock asked.

“I do, but do not think this will be easy.  When I was your age I went on my share of adventures, but there is no doubt that I came close to losing my life on few of them.  You must be smart and cautious, Crow has done this before, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be able to keep you safe all the time.  There have also been reports of increased changeling activity in the kingdom.”

“Ch-changelings?” Picklock stuttered, “Um…are they after Crow?”

“It doesn’t matter, we can take them!”  Sparrow said confidently, “We’ve learned from the best!”

“Ha ha, thank you my student.”  Twilight Sparkle giggled, “But, you still need to be careful.  Now go and pack, there is much planning to do, I still need to set up a team and resources for it….perhaps I should make spreadsheet.”  Twilight Sparkle started to pace the floor and murmur to herself.

Pepper and Picklock quickly trotted out to go pack.  As they left Picklock tripped over the rug and tumbled out the main hall doors.  Pepper quickly galloped after him, leaving Sparrow alone with Twilight Sparkle.

“Um…Princess?”  Sparrow said meekly.

“Yes, my student?”  Twilight Sparkle smiled at Sparrow.

“Did you ever meet Starswirl?”

“No…sadly I never met any of them.”  Twilight said somberly.

“Any of them?”

“Yes, Starswirl the Bearded was not one pony, it was a title passed down from great unicorn to great unicorn, there have fourteen in all, none of which I’ve met.”

“Do you think I could be one, one day?”

“I believe you have to potential to do anything you want!”  Twilight smiled at her student, “Now go and pack, you have long journey ahead of you!”