The Book

Chapter Two: Selection

“Sister. We require this, 'Nightcap', which is conveniently located at our old castle.” Luna was very upfront and abrupt with her request.

“That is convenient, isn't it? We could grab your old things while we were there, if we wanted to.” Celestia quieted a guard who was about to speak.

“That would royally please us. Make sure that our belongings and the Nightcap are located and brought to our rooms as soon as ponyly possible.” Luna lifted her chin haughtily and trotted back to her room.

“The Princess is sure taking a long time to adjust to modern society...” It was Janet, a brown, scrawny pegasus, speaking up. Janet was one of the Captains of the Guard. Her input was often a restatement of the obvious, but she happened to be particularly good with the numbers and even better with war tactics.

“She's just feeling disconnected from the world. It's been a thousand years. We can't expect her to adjust immediately.” Celestia watched as Luna was startled by two ponies carrying a chest. Luna squealed and hid in between two columns, shivering. Celestia giggled and Luna gave her a dirty look before galloping off to her room.

“I hope you're right, Princess...”

“How are we going to get the Nightcap from the Everfree Forest, Princess?” This time it was Gerald, a buff white Captain. His goatee was villainous, but his intentions were pure. He spoke with a gruff voice, and often asked the most straightforward questions. He was the strongest of the guard, and he had seen more battles than the other Captains combined. Even though he was blind in one eye and extremely old, he could still beat Celestia in hoof-to-hoof combat.

“I have a few ponies in mind for the retrieval team. You remember my student, Twilight Sparkle?”

“How could I forget?” Twilight was a very quiet kid, and didn't like to talk to others. Gerald still remembered the first time she tried to cast a levitation spell. The whole castle had to be rebuilt. It's extremely hard to do more than one million bits of damage to a major nation. This child had done more than three.

“I'm thinking of sending Professor Diggs and the Royal Archeologists to join her on an expedition to the Equestrian Ruins.”

“I'm not too keen on the idea, but then there's a reason I'm not the Princess.”

“Birthright?” Janet joked.

“Oh, ha-ha.”

“Janet, mind telling Diggs I need her?” Celestia was writing a scroll to Spike.

“No problem, ma'am!” Janet galloped off, searching for the archeologist in question. Celestia hoped to see a fine pegasus one day. For now, she had a letter to send.

***

Spike was dusting Ponyville Library's bookshelves. Many of the books were stacked and strewn across the floor, and Twilight was engrossed in a large book. She normally read three at once, but that was only if you counted the encyclopedia and the dictionary. Her studies in both friendship and magic were progressing at an extremely fast pace since she moved to Ponyville many months ago. The Princess was giving her progressively more difficult tasks as of late, and she had less time to study. As Spike placed a book arbitrarily in the wall, green fire welled in his stomach. Spike coughed up a letter from Celestia and opened it.

“Twilight!” yelled Spike from the foyer. “Princess Celestia has sent you a letter!”

Twilight closed the encyclopedia she was consulting and trotted eagerly over to Spike. “Well?” she asked with delight. “What does it say?”

“Celestia says she wants you to lead an expedition into the Castle Ruins! She says to bring a friend or two and a wagon, and she also included a list of things you need to grab for Princess Luna. Nightcap mushrooms, a powder blue hair comb in the shape of moon, a box of midnight blue socks, one backup tiara... The list goes on, but I'll let you read it yourself.”

Twilight's eyes sparkled with glee. “Do you know what this means, Spike?” Before Spike could respond, Twilight continued. “It means the Princess trusts me enough to lead her trained scholars! This means that she thinks I'm good leadership material! Who knows, I may end up being elected to the board of Royal Advisers! Or better, I'll get a statue in my honor! Or both! Isn't this exciting?”

Spike opened his mouth, but felt it was prudent to keep his opinions to himself and let her have her fun while she still could. “That sounds great, Twilight! Do you need me to pack your things for you?” Twilight nodded, still jumping around like a filly lost in ecstasy. “I'll ask Applejack and Rainbow Dash! I'm sure one of them has some spare time. In the meantime, pack my things!”ordered Twilight as she cleared a path to the door. Spike shook his head as Twilight ran off for her friends. “One quill... two quill... NyQuil... blue quill...” he mumbled as he filled a bag with supplies.