The sun was slowly setting into mid-afternoon when the 4 o'clock train pulled into Ponyville station. Staging a stop the beige cabs roofed in pastels squeaked as air-brakes whooshed stopping the train before the platform which was unusually busy for such a small village. At least when our protagonist had left it had been a small village of not much repute. Revealing his unicorn self by stepping off the train to the crowd drew a few stares from young foals and fillies for it was unusual to see such an unusual cutie mark in the shape of a Question mark. Normally it was as average as flowers or abstract as geometrics. Not many punctuation marks.
He was scarcely bothered by it. Random Fact, librarian of the Golden Oaks library, had been gone for a while; it seemed how long was lost to even him. He noticed many of the ponies were unfamiliar to his discerning malachite green eyes. “How long has it been?” his somber voice mused as he took two steps away from the train to study his surroundings. His coat matched the tan wall of the train, almost making him obscure as did his bright silver hair. Behind him the train’s colors temporarily camouflaged him from the watchers and allowed him to slip away, hopefully with very little attention following behind. He couldn’t help but notice the detail of the station with its straw roofed station and planked landing coincided with his original opinion of Ponyville.
Taking a slow walk the unicorn invested himself into locating a map of the town. He found one posted on a horse-shoe shaped board in a shaded portion of the train station wall after pacing the station a few times. Studying the map he pulled a brown leather bound book from a flank pouch with an owl quill pen. “Magic makes this so easy.” He chuckled while jotting down a portion of the map. Portions of the map had been labeled however he felt the landmarks were unneeded in his notes.
Departing the depot Random noted the smell of manure wafting in from the hills. “Perhaps Granny Smith is still tending to her zap apples.” he mused. No voice replied to his inquiry, which was for the best. The dirt road was well traveled and a sign declared “Ponyville” with an arrow pointing to the west. Speeding up from a fast gait to a trot, the change in how the buildings rose up was almost immediate. The buildings were draped in pastel roofed huts with colors of the owners choosing. The road became a sea of paving stones in colors matching the surrounding homes. As he got further away, the smell of the country was drowned out by the fragrance of fresh flowers. Then suddenly, a delicious smell permeated his senses filling them with the sweet essence of cakes, candies, and pastries. Temptation fell into the stallion's belly and cried out to be heard. The shop at the fork had a sign displaying the name of the cavity inducing hut which appeared to be pure gingerbread decorated in frosting. It was cleverly named, 'Sugar Cube Corner'.
Never one to pass up an idea as novel as going into a gingerbread house confectionery, he made his way up stairs. Examining the pillars they looked to be made of peppermint, he took one experimental sniff and was delighted they smelled good enough to eat. Whoever built this had far outdone themselves, he observed while scrawling a few more notes in his book.
The door jingled as it opened, revealing an amber interior accented by candy cane columns and gingerbread crossbeams. The same smells were stronger inside the parlor and he couldn’t help but notice the display cases holding many types of pastries including cinnamon rolls, napoleons, donuts, and the many others whose names currently escaped him. Cleanliness was obviously king in such a royal bakery as this for the surfaces were spotless and the cakes looked perfect.
A Pink pony behind the cash register waved frantically at Random, however he paid her no mind. Instead he looked towards a table occupied by two mares partaking of milkshakes. “Hmm…a shop of many facets.” The mint and cream mares ignored him as they were totally engrossed in each others' company. This talk suited no interest of his so he turned towards the counter and at the Pink Pony who looked twice as frantic as she did before. Unable to contain her excitement she finally burst when he stepped up to the counter.
"Oh my gosh a new face, did you just get into town, where are you staying, do you know anyone here, what’s your favorite food, I like cherrychangas, or are they chimmicherries, oh by the way I'm Pinkie Pie, welcome to Sugar Cube Corner, how can I help you, what’s your name?"
Random just stood there for a minute dumbfounded, wondering if the excessive presence of sugar was where she was getting all this energy. Feeling on the spot he looked for an escape, unfortunately neither of the other occupants obliged his gaze. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he spoke hoping to sound appropriately humble, “My name is Random Fact. I just arrived on the train less than half an hour ago.” Keeping calm the conversation floated on as it was Pinkie Pies turn to respond.
“Do you need directions? I know all the stables in town.”
“No, thank you. I will be staying at the Golden Oaks Library.”
Pinkie pie raised an eyebrow, “Library? Are you a friend of Twilight's?”
“I don't believe so, are they the current librarian?” His answer was vague as to avoid embarrassing himself, yet he was sure he already knew the answer.
“Oh, we’ve been friends ever since Twilight came to Ponyville. She came during the Summer Sun Celebration a few years back. Oh, she is also one of my bestest friends, I have six you know?” The pink earth pony cracked a wide grin.
The unicorn was slightly confused at this, “Seriously? She just shows up and you're friends?”
“Well, we did have this whole crazy Nightmare Moon adventure that ended up with us becoming the elements of harmony. Betcha can't guess what element I am.” Pinkie Pie lit up expectantly to see his response.
“Laughter.” Random didn't even wait a moment before giving a deadpan response. Another note for the book.
Pinkie let out another one of her soon to become infamous gasps. It seemed it would never end. “Wow, you're good. How'd ya guess, are you psychic, are you a spy, are you....an evil zombie?”
One face hoof later, Random decided it was time to get back on track. It was then he heard impatient voices talking behind him. Without realizing it he had backed up a line with his precocious manners while speaking with the pink on pink pony. “Well Pinkie Pie I don't wish to hold up the line any longer so I better be on my way.“ His mind toiled momentarily before deciding, “Before I go I'll have one strawberry cake, two cinnamon rolls, oh, and some peppermint patties.”
“Ookie dokie lokie.” The pink bundle of energy proceeded to zip between counters collecting the requested items. Placing them all in a candy can striped bag she returned to the main counter. “That will be 15 bits.”
Bright green imbued his magic as the bits rose from his haversack, placing the currency on the counter. “Well I'll see you around Pinkie Pie, it was nice to meet you.”
“See you later Mister Random.” Pinkie waved widely as he exited the candy shop, still sporting a goofy grin.
Having finally made it back outside, Random recollected himself by going over the conversation that had just occurred. “The elements found a new home...and one of them is the current librarian, I shouldn’t have left. The greatest events of the century took place and where was I?” These musings sparked a bigger smile on the unicorn’s face. His pace actively increased with the fascination and excitement of new knowledge for his ever growing collection.
Without realizing it Random was practically galloping down the path towards the next fork in the road, from which you could see the clock tower south of the path. A cinnamon roll hovered inches away from his mouth, the pastry smelling as heavenly as the shop of origin and it teased him for he hadn’t even taken a bite. An aversion had crept under his skin after the initial encounter with Pinkie Pie and this detesting thought was of unnecessary distractions that would take up the precious time he needed to assess the situation on the home front.
The houses lining the streets still retained their thatched roofs and elaborate gardens, unlike the modern designs he had found in cities like Canterlot that maximized locations with efficiency condos trying to fit the most ponies into the smallest space possible. Ponies didn't seem to fare well in cramped quarters. Random was just glad that the popularity he had received was wearing off and the other ponies perhaps were becoming accustomed to him. Suddenly it dawned on him perhaps he should have marked the land marks from the map because he realized he didn’t recognize any of the surrounding area. Ponyville had changed and his pretentious attitude had just gotten him lost.
Standing in front of the disoriented stallion was a cerulean-gray Pegasus. She seems to be muttering to herself in indecision. Approaching cautiously, Random avoided touching her before speaking, “Hello, there, I seemed to have lost my way. May I ask if you know which direction is the Golden Oaks library?”
Her bubbly cutie mark matched the attitude she was currently displaying, “Uh, south-east. North leads out of town.”
“Thank you. I’d be grateful for anything else you could tell me.”
“There will be another fork…I think you should go south from there.” She looked nervous and as she turned, Random stepped away taken aback by her two-tone yellowish green eyes. They didn’t seem to be connected in movement as one slid upward looking in another direction.
“Uh, I thank you. I must be going there is an appointment I must attend to.”
“Have a good day”, replied the Pegasus as Random passed by heading for the road she had pointed out.
Tired of waiting, the cinnamon bun entered his mouth, sparking a sudden squeal of delight. It was really quite marvelous; a treat of perfect consistency with a flavor that wasn’t overall too sweet. He would remember this place for later. The book was already full of notes, so he decided that he could retain this on his own since he kept most of Equestria’s history in his noggin. Quickly quieting himself he returned to the problem ahead.
The leaves visible in the distance proclaimed that the right path at the next fork was actually east. The young Pegasus had given one right direction and one wrong direction. This surprised him because he didn’t think her wrong directions were malicious, just surprising to him. Perhaps she didn’t live in the town and was just some visitor trying to be polite. These thoughts dawdled before clearing to the fact the library was so close yet he didn’t seem to be as hurried as he had originally considered himself.
The new traveling speed was a medium gait in which he could feel excited about seeing the tree again in all its glory. It felt like an eternity passed between the fork and the entrance to the plaza.
Coming to a stop, in front of the living library, he marveled the quality of the tree. He took in its fine bark, the lush green leaves that blanketed the tops of the branches, and the few scattered flowers lining the base of the tree. The sign looked by it however looked new, as the old one had probably worn out over time. More reminders of how long he had been gone.
Random made his way up to the front door, collecting himself as he got ready to meet his latest tenant. Reaching a hoof forward, he pushed the light magenta door open and stepped inside. Looking around the main lobby, he was pleased to see that whoever this Twilight was, they were certainly doing a good job with the upkeep. The shelves were dusted and polished, the windows were clean, and aside from the small stack on the table, all the books were neatly ordered on their shelves according to the Donkey Decimal System.
“Oh welcome, I didn’t see you come in.” Surprised he looked around to find the owner of the voice before settling his gaze upon a small purple dragon. “Can I help you find anything?”
Random gave a dumbfounded look, “There’s a dragon working in the library..... can't say I saw that one coming.”
The dragon gave a serious look to the stranger, “You must be new here. I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant. I can help you find anything you're looking for.”
“I was hoping to speak to Twilight.”
“You're not another suitor looking to ‘fulfill a dream of marrying a princess’ are you?” Spike asked this question paraphrasing a previous suitor.
He couldn't help but chuckle at this, “I assure you I've no such interest, is she in?”
“Twilight's upstairs in her study, if you're willing to wait, I'll go get her.” Spike said as he headed over to the stairs.
“That’s fine, I'll wait.” Random unloaded his bags and set the sweets on the table as he made his way over to the shelves. Sitting down with a history book, he consigned himself to waiting.
Twilight was up in her study getting some much needed catching up on her lessons. Her opportunities to do so had dwindled increasingly with her coronation only two weeks ago. There had been noble families to meet, politics to learn, not to mention having to practice looking stately before her subjects. Stately and regal were two words she would never get used to, especially when used to describe her. She really needed a break from it all. In fact it was only by Luna's suggestion that she escaped before nearly being driven to madness. Fortunately her friends had stayed to their old ways, deciding not to treat her much differently since her rapid evolution of wings that had added themselves to her problems. However there were still the residents of Ponyville. Some of them were hiding since she asked the town to treat her like they normally did, but she could tell that a lot of the townsfolk found trouble in just calling her Twilight Sparkle. The addition of being a princess was just as troubling as the 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza' business from her brother’s wedding.
That brought her to another dilemma. The suitors. Stallions of every tribe had been showing up at her door at least once a day since this whole mess started asking for her hoof in marriage. The most insulting manner was that they didn’t even know her. If she was going to get married it wouldn't be to someone who wanted her just because she's a princess. Even the most handsome suitors just wanted the title. Princess Celestia had to some degree warned Twilight about the changes. Not everything had been shared but whole heartedly the princess wanted to believe that the other Princesses had only good intentions with what they chose to keep concealed.
Advanced studies truly were the reasons she abstained from Princess and Library duties for the moment. Her alicorn attribute is magic and that meant she had to master it in all its forms. The two alicorn sisters had come to mind when she grazed past a portion regarding planetary magic. Luna promised to show and share how raising the moon was done once Twilight felt ready for it. Celestia just seemed pleased that her sister was taking an interest in something other than sleeping. However all this thinking was distracting her from the book before her.
The chapter labeled in cursive read “Chapter 8 – Leylines” and the page was full of spiral drawings and pretty writing. It was a thick tome from the Canterlot Royal Library on loan to Twilight. Tracing the lines on the raised lettering with her hoof it felt smooth, but she realized at the same time that she was dawdling.
Spike had been waiting patiently behind the pony princess. However she didn't notice him until he finally spoke up and snapped Twilight out of her reverie, “Another visitor wanting to meet you, he seems like a foreigner.”
“He better not be another suitor, I’ve had enough of that business.” She was really hoping to avoid one of these today, as her day had been going so well.
“I asked him about that, and all he did was laugh and said he's not interested.”
Twilight was quite taken aback, “Not interested? Well that’s new; we haven’t had any normal visitors aside from Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack since we returned from the coronation.”
“Well maybe that’s a good sign that ponies are starting to relax around you Twilight.” Spike said with a smile.
Twilight smiled weakly at the child dragon’s suggestion. Cute naivety interred itself into Spike’s features as he looked at her with the same eager to please smile showing he meant well.
“Maybe, I’ll see what he wants.“ The alicorn figure stood up stretching her whole body even the pesky wings that plagued her life. For once they sat demurely and not looking like a Nightmare Night prop. Even with the lack of flight, the effect would force respect out of any pony. It was then she remembered that she had a guest to attend to.
chapter 2: The stairs less traveled
Anxiety filled Twilight as she made her way down the stairs. Her thoughts couldn’t help but pray it wasn’t another suitor out for selfish glory and honor. Much to her surprise instead of finding another blueblood she found her guest toiling over an extensive reading list that included many advanced texts. His deep enthrallment with them occupied him so thoroughly he didn’t notice her approach. The whole image left faint traces of déjà vu. Twilight could only imagine this was the same image her friends saw when they visited unexpectedly.
The sound of pages turning filled the air drowning out her approach; finally realizing standing there and gaping wasn’t going to make him notice her she took a gander reaching for something to talk about. “I see you’ve got the tome on Advanced Alicorn Theory, is there anything I could help you with? Oh by the way my name is Twilight Sparkle and I’m the librarian here.” His verdant eyes turned quickly to look her over and like a critic he seemed to be studying her. Twilight couldn’t explain but with those eyes he seemed to be peering right at her soul.
Breaking the ice a moment later he responded, “I am pleased to meet you Miss Sparkle. You may call me Random. However there is nothing I am seeking at the moment. I really came just to meet you and to check on the state of my library. You must be commended for your diligent up keeping because I had been worried that it may have fallen into disrepair. But I see now that was all for naught.”
There was something to his statement she couldn’t grasp. His library…His library?! That phrase seemed to fatigue Twilight’s thoughts with the implications. “Excuse me, your telling me that you own this library? The library has been around since the early days of Ponyville and I’ve always assumed this was a public facility. Please explain how you can be the owner when Mayor Mare didn’t even have records showing the book shipments.”
Random chuckled placing the book down on the pile, “I had business outside of Ponyville so I left a message with the office. It wouldn’t do having the library closed simply because of me.”
“That’s certainly true but it still doesn’t explain how you’re the owner and why you left this place to travel the world.”
“The library has always been open to the public on the main floors. Knowledge is always meant to be shared or we’d all have rocks for brains.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to delve further into the matter she moved on, “I try to encourage learning when I can, but I don’t see many visitors other than my friends these days and even they seemed to have dwindled.”
“I’ve heard you’ve seen extra attention. Your dragon thought I was a suitor here for your hand. May I inquire to why they would have such an interest in you?”
Twilight was shocked, did he really not know who she now was, had he not noticed the wings at her side. Giving her wings a small flap; she braced herself for whatever his reaction may be. What actually resulted was not what she expected.
Interest piqued in Random’s face at the sight of her wings, “Well, well, I see now why there has been such interest and tension in the air. Really this is a surprise.”
“I’ve been a princess for only a few weeks but once the news hit the papers the hounding began with every noble family who has an extra son, daughter, cousin, aunt, uncle or other family member with status coming here to beg my hand in marriage. Even my parents have been getting bombarded with gifts and requests.”
His expression soured at her desperate plea for contact and he wiped away a forming tear from her cheek, “Hold on Twilight, everything will get better. I purchased some cake on my way here. Would you like some? Cake has secret wellness agents that even books can’t describe properly.”
Twilight smiled weakly but nodded in consent. The cake was the best medicine for the overwhelming melancholy she had been feeling. Perhaps they could be friends even with the strange differences between them.
However a question bubbled to the surface and escaped her cake filled mouth before she could contain it, “Why are you so cool about all of this. Everything so far has been, ‘We are not worthy’ and averting their gaze. It’s so tiring to be watched by concealed eyes.”
“Your ascension to Alicorn status is interesting and your alignment with the elements of harmony isn’t something I would expect to see in this lifetime. However it seems to me these have bogged you down with new duties and you need a break from the royal treatment. Everyone just isn’t used to you yet. Until they realize you aren’t going anywhere they’re going to be overwhelming you with the attention.”
"It's funny; Luna told me the same thing. That’s why I came back to Ponyville."
"She gave you some solid advice." Random looked over to his bags, "well I better get settled in."
"Wait, you're staying here? But there only one room, where will you stay."
Random’s smile took on a mischievous look, “Twilight in all your time here you haven’t figured out where all the rooms are?”
“The only rooms I know about are the main floor, the bedroom and the basement. What are you talking about?”
Picking up his bags the unicorn approached the base of the stairs, “Ahh here it is.”
“But there’s nothing there. In fact when I moved in the only space over here was a storage room filled with junk.”
The grin grew with her disbelief finally peaking when his hoof tapped the wall in several spots producing an echo and with it a door arch lined the wall. The arch bulged out from the wall creating a magnificent border lined with drawings of flowers and butterflies. Following suit a door pressed its way out of the woodwork completing its journey with a well-placed knob for turning.
“But how? And is this really safe?” her mouth shut with further disbelief.
“This door doesn’t open outward but it doesn’t really open inward either.” He chuckled. “Haven’t you ever seen a sliding door before Twilight?”
Blush suffused her cheeks with embarrassment at the offhanded remark, “I have before but I just didn’t-what’s so funny?” Random looks about ready to explode with laughter.
“It’s nothing really. You’re sort of cute when you blush, Princess.”
Grasping for straws she blurts out the first thing to come to her, “So what’s down there?”
“My room, it just needed to be opened. I can’t imagine all the dust it’s collected from disuse.”
The stairs were narrow and dust coated the walls. Twilight had known the library was old but its origins hadn’t been cataloged or she would have known by now. It twisted and turned with no regularity but still they moved downwards in the dark the only illumination was a green-yellow light that emanated from the unicorn’s head. Something sticky caught on her flank and she shied away from the wall keeping behind Random.
In what had felt like forever the stairs finally finished their descent by spilling out into a small passageway ended by another oaken door of glorious detail. The difference in this door was that it displayed equine glyphs of another age. Her mouth suddenly became dry and dusty as Twilight realized she had been practically salivating at them. Random paid her no mind as he hoofed the door open.
The alicorn was practically reeling at the secrets hidden in the place she called home. The books had always auto-rotated themselves and she was nearly finished organizing a complete card catalog but she had just chalked it up to old spells. Now things were beginning to become clear or rather less clear.
Stepping inside the door, it slammed shut throwing up dust obscuring the area from view. On top of that was the smell of damp earth that permeated the room. She hadn’t realized it but the reason it was so obscured was the light had died when they stepped inside. When the magic light came to life again she could now see an empty chamber bare of decorations of any kind.
“How can you expect to stay down here? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay at an inn?”
“Don’t be preposterous, Twilight. All it needs is a good cleaning.” Before Twilight could even open her mouth to respond Random reached into a flank side pouch pulling out a feather duster. The lacquered handle was worn from use and the mottled plumage was crusted with dust. The only reason she noted it was that was all she could see for a giant cloud of dust obscured the distance between them as he worked. Once the duster stopped its whimsical dance the cloud also subsided. Now the room was lit appropriately and more light came from a bedside lamp. The room was lined with shelves housing obscure titles of books including ones she had never heard of before. Among these were titles like “A Comprehensive Guide to Zebra Culture”, “Griffin Migratory Patterns”, and “How to be sure you’re not a changeling.”
“What’s with these books and why would someone think they’re a changeling?” bemoaned Twilight with wonder.
“To simply put it, superstitions. Most of these books were lost when the times changed and more often than not they wanted to forget that they even feared these things.”
Looking across the room she noted trinkets and treasures obviously collected over many years. His looks did not betray Random’s age and his speaking manner was gentler than the royal Canterlot voice so she could only elude he was younger than Luna and Celestia. However after seeing an accumulation of portraits on a shelf near the bed she wasn’t so sure. The first portrait was a full face of an Ivory coated pony sporting large braces. Her pink mane covered one magenta eye. Another was a dark cobalt pony hiding part of her acne ridden face behind a portion of navy mane. Following these two hilarious spectacles was a unicorn sporting a grand mustache, a griffon with a large frizzed afro and finally at the end was an insect-like creature wearing a braided mane and a giant pink bow. Twilight recognized it as a changeling child, “Who are all these people?”
Her visitor had made himself comfortable on a divan against the far wall while she had been gaping, “Colleagues, students and the last one was a pretty someling I dated for a time. First meeting was quite disastrous, tried to kill me. In the end we played tryst for a while.”
The last portrait that really stood out to Twilight was a gray Unicorn-if she could call it that-with a tree branch for a horn. The flower at the end of it was a giant white magnolia. Her blue eyes glimmered happily matching her smile. This portrait was different than the rest it had more life to it which piqued her all the more, “And who is this? I’ve never seen a pony quite like this.”
“Ahh her, an odd bunch they are. Some regard Discord as a god because he brought chocolate milk, but alas, that’s a story for another time.” To Twilight his expression said he didn’t want to talk about it.
A few other objects were scattered around the room haphazardly such as a chemistry set, a liquor cabinet and a spiral staircase that seemed to come out of nowhere. Somehow she got the feeling that it had inserted itself in a spot while she had been perusing his belongings.
“Well, thanks for the tour, if you want me I’ll be upstairs working on my studies.” her smile was weak but then again there was still much to learn so no matter how interesting Random was she couldn’t dawdle and linger.
Immediately his ears perked up, “What are you studying if I may inquire?”
“Ley lines in conjunction with Energy Relations but it’s been so difficult I haven’t made any progress.” Twilight wasn't kidding, she had been on the topic for quite some time, but the concept was very confusing. Not even Celestia could offer much help on the subject.
“Leylines, hmm. Section C. I might actually have materials downstairs that could benefit your studies.”
“You do?!” Twilight practically sparkled with glee.
“As far as I can see that you’re learned and if the princesses trust you with such material than I should be able to as well. Unlike their last failure you’ve actually proved yourself with at least some form of competency.”
That statement stung Twilight hard but still lent credence that this mysterious stallion was well bred with a good head on his shoulders.
“Well Twilight, are you going to stand there lost in your thoughts all day?” chided Random.
Noticing Random was already to the stairs she took another look at him as she approached. His cutie mark suddenly struck her as unusual. The meaning of his talents wasn’t clear if the sign of question mark was true. There were so many questions brimming from within her that there was no way to answer them all in such short time.
Following behind this time with the light at their back she noticed small green stones emitting neon light from the walls as soon as they were too far to benefit from the previous light source. The way felt like it went on forever until they stepped off the stairs into a place rushing with cold wind. She thought it was a cavern larger than any known in ponyville.
“Hmm…” a familiar voice hummed in front of her.
Realizing that he wasn’t going to light the room she shot a burst of white light from her horn. The shape was a luminescent orb emitting pure light. A small ethereal tether linked her horn to the orb. Shooting across the distance the light focused on Random who was holding a black crumbling stone that practically evaporated in the air.
“What are you doing?”
“Replacing a light that no longer lights, I’m surprised that it burned out so soon. The only thing I could think that would wink it out was the casting of a cataclysmically large spell.”
Focusing further the light revealed a small panel in the wall with obvious blackening from where the device had failed. It was then that the light refracted into many colors as soon as a rough cut diamond shaped gem was pulled from Random’s bag. It was beautiful if not blinding. Quickly using his magic he inserted it into the panel bringing the lights up. The brown panel closed up with the barest audible clunk but Twilight didn’t notice because all she could see was the cases full of books. Not even the Canterlot tower held so many books. The air shimmered with light particles that illuminated the room in golden halos. No lamps were anywhere in the room because the air was the light.
All in all the effect was mesmerizing. “Sorry the lights should have come up when we cleared the threshold.”
The room was circular with a circular grate in the middle and beneath that was pure light shining up to the ceiling. The shelves that lined the room must have been at least 3 stories tall with a sitting room cut into the third story of shelves. Another horsehead table sat in the middle of this clearing and comfortable high back chairs were surrounding it. In addition to all the shelves were branched off sections containing just as many books as the central room.
“What? How? Has this always been here?” the sheer number of books was dumbfounding.
“Depends on your definition of always; now you were looking for some reference material, I believe. Follow me and we'll find something closer to your subject over here.” Leading forth into a section labelled for the topic it accompanied. Getting lost among the books was something Twilight didn’t fancy but every binding seemed just as interesting as the last so following became increasingly difficult.
Random stopped before a ladder in the research section. Reaching up both hooves on the prongs he bid Twilight to wait, “It won’t take long, feel free to look while I’m gone.”
Her eyes watched for a moment while he scaled the ladder one hoof at a time. Once his shaggy tail was all she could see, that was when she turned to face the books. It was all so many and it explained the perpetual moving books. Occasionally she’d find a new book on its shelves and no answer to how it got there. Eventually she’d just accepted it as a donation.
It was at that moment she heard a loud, “Wooohhoooaaa!” as a figure came gallivanting down the ladder with several tomes hovering over his head. Shying away from the ladder all Twilight could do was watch as he sailed down the ladder at great speeds. She was sure he was going to die until he stopped 2 inches off the ground as he bounced of a bubble of green, “Excuse me, sorry about that.”
His demeanor had returned to normal and he had the books. She eagerly pranced as he pulled them across view and presented the tomes in another spray of magic, “Here you go my dear. Enjoy.”
“Feel free to go on ahead. I need to check something down here first.”
“Mind if I follow? I’m curious to see more of this place.” She twittered excitedly.
“I do not mind just follow closely.”
Taking the tomes from Random she did as he bid and followed close behind as he breached a section and descended down a set of half stairs into a room she had not previously noticed. The walls were the same brown as the tree with the rings of ages striping their path.
The smell of smoke permeated the air as they found themselves in another room. This one was full of outdated lab equipment and more books ofcourse. From what Twilight could see there was several chambers set up on tables containing oddly colored materials. They looked fragmented like they were only one piece of a whole.
“What are you looking for? All I see here is a lab full of outdated materials.”
“Same thing we saw upstairs.” his hoof pushed open the largest of the chambers releasing gray smoke from the chamber. Once it was all gone they could see there was no gem in the chamber.
“Damaged beyond repair I see. Something hit them hard and shattered the lacrima.”
“What is it they do exactly? And can't you replace them like with the lights?” Twilight asked tilting her head.
Random looking very serious shook his head, “Unfortunately no, lacrima of this calibur are really hard to cultivate and can't exactly be reproduced without the proper season.” Continuing to dig through the ashes, he no longer shows any delicacy with the remains of the gems. Crushing the remains of the bad stones he continued to sift through the ashes until his face brightened considerably when he produced a blue diamond like gem out the wreckage. “One survived the ordeal. I can study this and find out what exactly happened.” The glee was evident and his eyes practically glowed.
His magic touched the gem gentlyand it glowed weakly and faltered until it eventually regained a full glow.
“I see I see.” turning to face Twilight he didnt seem phased by the report he had received.
“Twilight where did you ascend to alicorn status?” his voice sounded more somber than before leading to her face flushing in embarassment.
“Upstairs in the lobby, why?”
He proceeds to quickly face-hoof. “That would explain it. The library's automated systems siphon off any surplus magic in the area, its usually unnoticable since its designed to only use that magic thats normally wasted when magic is in use. It keeps the system running perpetually so it doesn't need any maintaince from the outside. However, it tried to tap into the surplus power from your awakening and based on the damage, it tried to pull a bit too much and overloaded.”
“So, I broke it?” Twilight was feeling a bit ashamed that she broke such a marvelous piece of spellcrafting and didn't even know it happened.
“Looks that way. The one plus side of this is that if the system hadn't acted as a buffer, the damage would've likely gone elseware and based on how scorched the system is, it wouldn't have been pretty.”
“So what're you going to do now?”
“Well it wont be gathering magic for a while, so I'll have to feed it from time to time to keep the basic enchantments running. I mean we don't want timberwolves and all sorts of creatures from everfree wandering into town.” Closing the case he does one last look over the lab. “Well, shall we go back now?”
“Um sure, what was that about keeping timberwolves out, it does that?”
“If you've never seen a timberwolf anywhere except on the outskirts of town then it's been doing its job. I'm just glad I came back before it exhasted itself completely”
As they made they way back, Twilight couldn't help but ponder over how she was hoping this would be a normal, quiet day. Now she's glad she was wrong, so much was happening right in front of her. She especially wanted to know more about this stranger and the treasure trove of knowledge he kept hidden. She was continuing to ponder over the possiblities when they found themselves back at the top of the stairs. She must've been deeper in thought than she knew.
Her new housemate stretched out, appearently sore after all the stairs. “Well I'm glad that's taken care of, I'll get it fixed eventually, it's just gonna take time. Lets see, whats next on my list before settling in for the night, we still have a few hours of daylight left and i'd like to see if theres a good tailor in town.”
Twilight brightened up at the prospect of being able to help out. “I can show you around town and my friend Rarity should be able to help. She runs Carousel boutique and if anyone is able to help you with that, she can.”
“Well we best get started, we still have some time left before it gets dark.” He makes his way over to the door, Twilight following behind him.
As they make their way up the stairs, the sound of claws scrabbling down the other stairs can be heard; and as they come to the lobby, they're greeted by an out of breath Spike.
She tries to calm down the panicked dragon. “Whats got you so worked up Spike, we were just about to head out. Random needs someone to show him around town.”
Spike, after taking a few short breaths, says whats bothering him. “I was upstairs cleaning, and I looked out the window and guess what? He followed us from Canterlot. Prince Blueblood's just outside the front door.”
