Role Roulette

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were three regal relatives to rule over the land, and to bring peace and harmony to all who dwelled within. The King kept the outside world at bay, and protected his ponies. The Queen spread love and joy to everypony in the land. And their sister (on the kings side) focused all of her being to bettering their society through magic, as was her duty as Element of Magic, and the Archmage.

But, all that changed, on one fateful day, when the Archmage discovered a new form of magic. Realizing it was a part of her duty to unravel the secrets, she worked together with her apprentice to unlock its potential. Nopony had realized, until it was too late, its evil influences. The dark magic corrupted the Archmage and her student, twisting them into horrid renditions of their former selves. The apprentice’s mind was incapable of handling it, and he eventually went insane. The Archmage herself, however, was able to keep her faculties. Her heart grew dark, even going so far as killing a dragon and resurrecting it as a pet, a feat abhorrent to anypony at that time.

The Archmage, with her deranged apprentice and pet dragon, reigned terror on the little ponies until one, whose name was stricken from existence, discovered a spell that would entrap the Archmage in the Amulet of Magic around her neck. Without its master’s powers, the dragon crumbled into a pile of bones. The ponies were unable to use a similar spell to stop the student. In Equestria’s final attempt to stop him, the dark mage student took the Empire to the north, and homeland of the Queen, with him, leaving nothing more than the cold tundra.

While nopony knows for sure, it is said the Element of Magic now grants anypony immense power at the cost of slowly corrupting them. Some previous owners say it whispered into their ear promising great power and fortune. Some believe it’s the voice of the Archmage enforcing her will through the artifact. Despite becoming powerful, they were eventually saved before everything got out of hoof, but the amulet would be gone before it was recovered. With its few sightings it has been given it a new name, the Alicorn Amulet, due to its pony head shape with wings and horn.

        “Odd...” The white mare tapped her chin. “What’s an old ponies tale doing in here?”

        She lifted the book to find the title. Magical Artifacts of History, it read. The unicorn got off the ground and levitated the book into her saddlebags. “I better ask Cadenceif I’m going to find out more. At least she’s in this one this time.” She began to trot down the dirt path, her pink hair blowing behind her. Along the way, she was greeted by three ponies.

“There you are, Celestia!” The middle one called. “Moondancer is having a little get-together in the castle courtyard. Wanna come?”

        “I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Celestia beamed. “I just need to go home and do something with Sparks and we’ll be right over.”

        As she trotted away they waved their hooves. She only stopped once more to greet Lyra and her friend, again acknowledging she’d make her way to the party.

        “Sparks?” She called as she entered their home. Sadly she came in too quickly and rammed right into the red dragon. The mare quickly grabbed him and his package in her magic before he fell on top of it. “Sorry about that,” The mare nervously giggled. “I need your help and then we’ll be heading to the party. We might need to send a letter to the Queen.” She put the dragon back on his feet.

        He grumbled a little as he received his gift box. “Are you sure we can make it in time? Or are we going to be ‘fashionably late’ again?”

        “Ponies are busy creatures, and everypony knows it. If we’re a little late, we’re a little late.” She left the lobby and continued towards their library. They’ve had many chances to collect books on their adventures, and did so with gusto. As such they had to do some reconstruction on the mansion to fit a study too large to be called one. “Now I need you to find anything you can on the Alicorn Amulet while I write the letter. I’ll stay out of your way till you’re done.”

        “Alright, alright.” He set the gift on the table. Nopony was allowed to touch his perfectly organized library. Nopony. Which meant that he had to get the books himself. Even so, a spell Celestia had cast on him made it much easier to search books by content rather than by title. It let him locate a couple of written words in a nearby area. It was severely limited, but it was perfect for a dragon that loved organization.

        As he deftly made his way around the large bookcases, Celestia pulled out a quill and ink from the nearby drawer.

Dear Cadence,

Sparks and I are about to start another artifact search and was wondering if you might have any clues. In fact, the first bit of information I found had to do with you. It sounds like an old ponies tale about the ancient Archmage. How she was locked in an amulet she wore when she started work in dark magic. Due to its dark history I’d also like to request space in the Vault, just in case.

Any lead would help since all we’ve got to go on so far (Sparks is scouring the study as I write) is what looks like an old story.

We will stop by before we go. If you know anything you could send a letter or tell us then.

See you soon,

-Celestia

She put down the quill just as Sparks returned with a single tome. “This is all we have. The spell found a couple of childrens stories, but with a quick scour there weren’t any leads. This however,” He lifted it onto her desk and tapped it with his claw. “has an account of one of its victims.”

Celestia furrowed her brow “Really? We’re never that lucky.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry. We’re not.” He stated, dryly. “The whole thing seems to be the ravings of a lunatic. But, it’s a start.” He chuckled lightly. “But before we dive into that, can we go to the party now?”

“Sure thing, just send this off for me and we’ll be off.” She put the letter in an envelope and passed it to her little librarian. He gushed a deep blue flame, similar to his ridge scales, encasing the letter in smoke, sending it off in a cloud which flew out the window. He grabbed the gift box and started for the door. Celestia soon followed behind, a grin plastered on her face as thoughts of a new adventure dance through her head.