Twilight was having a normal day in the library part of her castle until she tripped over something. As she looked behind her to see what she tripped over she saw the most horrifying scene. A book was OUT OF PLACE! She gasped at the sight of it, but then put it back in its place with her magic. The book had something in it though, but Twilight didn't see it.
Knock knock. Some pony was at the front door and trying to get in. "Hello, is anypony home?" A voice called out.
"Sorry, I was in the library." Twilight said as she opened the door. "Why did you come here? Do you have a friendship problem?"
"No, not at all. I have something for you; from Princess Celestia."
"PRINCESS CELESTIA SENT SOMETHING TO ME?!" Twilight said as she lunged toward the pony.
"Ye... Yes." the messenger said in shock. "You see, as an alicorn princess, you now have the right to enter 'The Hidden Library'."
"What do you mean by ... 'The Hidden Library'?"
"The Hidden Library is a library that is concealed in a powerful magic aura. Only ponies with permission or blood can enter it."
"What do you mean by blood?" A fearful Twilight asked.
"As stated, permission is required. However, alicorns do not need permission for they have the blood that allows them to enter. I can enter because of this coin. This coin may seem normal, but it was given to me by a friend."
"Who was this friend of yours?"
"I cannot say, for if they found out; she'd probably kill me." The visitor said as he walked away.
In a matter of moments, he disappeared. The door was all the way at the end of the hall so there is no way he could've gotten to the door that fast. However, he dropped a scroll in which Twilight picked up to read.
"Follow the children of space, for the door opens when the sun dies." After reading it, Twilight was confused with the sentence. "Why would a door open when Celestia dies? What are these, children of space?"
As Twilight kept pondering, Spike walked into the room. He was carrying another comic book; this time the cover art featured a pony looking up at the sky. In the sky, was a comet shooting across the page with the sun down. Spike continued to read it and then cried out about the dialogue between the characters.
"Oh come on, who calls the sun a star? I mean, everyone knows it's just a giant fireball."
"Ugghh, Spike; I'm trying to focus here. Can't you keep it down?" Twilight yelled at Spike.
"But Twilight, these characters are just so unbelievable. I mean, listen to this: 'Those lights are our GODS. We worship them with our lives. You, warriors, cause the pain to their children. Look at all the children that light up the sky; you try to study them for your own interests, but we raise them. Their parents are barely there, always rotating. But we will continue to protect them.' What idiot calls a star a child?"
As Spike finished complaining, Twilight realized what the note really meant. It wasn't a literal statement, but somewhat metaphorical. As Twilight left the room, Spike fireballed a scroll from Princess Celestia. The purple princess used her magic to take it with her and read it as she ran outside. "Dear Twilight, I have something for you to do. Meet me at my castle in Canterlot. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."
With a new mission, Twilight flew across Ponyville towards Canterlot. However, the darkness of the night began to set in. She had to light her horn and landed in the courtyard. She was greeted by two guards who opened the door for her. She found Princess Celestia looking out one of the windows into darkness.
"What's wrong Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked as she tried to recollect he breath.
"An outsider has visited me and told me about some clan that lives up in the mountains. They're called 'The Canis Clan', and based off of the description they seem hostile. I need you to seek out this leader and try to form some sort of friendship with him; just like you did with the yaks." Celestia said as she continued to look out the window. "They are located in the mountains north of here and may seem to have approximately 50 ponies. I just hope that you can succeed."
"I will do my best, but I have one question. What did this outsider look like and why did you let him speak with you? After Tirek, I would've thought that security would be increased here." Twilight asked as she walked closer to Celestia.
"I couldn't make out his face because he wore a cloak, but he seemed smaller than the average pony. I let him in because he said he had valuable information for me. He adressed me only by name, not with my title though."
Celestia had then thought more about her conversation with the pony. "Before you go Twilight, take this scroll with you. It will allow us to communicate without using Spike." Celestia said as she handed it off to Twilight along with a quill. "When you write down a statement, it'll disappear but I'll be able to read it. It was created by a great magician who called it 'Fast Action Xpress' or FAX."
The conversation had ended and Twilight flew outside towards the mountains. Twilight traveled a fair amount of distance from the castle until,she quickly lost control of her wings and crash landed onto the ground. However, as she got up, she quickly fell back down; her horn was glowing a bluish color with her body outlined by a different color. As she fought the magic, a pony walked up to her; however, the face was concealed by a cloak.
"Well, if it isn't Twilight Sparkle. What brings you out here?" the mysterious mare asked.
"Are you the one who told Celestia about the Canis Clan?" A struggling Twilight asked her.
"Canis Clan? I've heard about them, but I wanted the joy of finding them. The real question is, why are you here?" The mare asked as her magic grew more powerful.
"I came here, to forge an alliance with them. But why do you prevent me?"
"Prevent you? Hpmh, why don't you help me?" She asked as she weakened her spell. "If you join me, you can do what you want while I look for their valuables. Deal?"
Twilight was in no position to bargain, so she accepted the offer. The spell around her dissipated and Twilight got up, slowly. Night was at its finest for the two had been surrounded by complete darkness. However, their magic lit the way as they wandered through the area.
"So you didn't visit Celestia earlier?" Twilight asked as she looked around.
"Celestia? I haven't met her in my entire life. I left Canterlot years ago to find ancient relics of past civilizations. This Canis Clan is a weird one though."
"How so?"
"There are no records I could find about them at any library. I searched the one in Ponyville, when it was around; I also visited the one in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. Hell, the one in Griffonstone didn't have anything. It's almost as if, they just dissappeared or something."
"Well that'd be impossible, unless of course they had a large amount of magic. Oh by the way," Twilight paused to remember something. "What is your name and why is your magic of two colors?"
"Call me, Radiant Flare. My magic is of two colors because of something that happened to me. I was on the hunt for a relic called the Arcane Flame Sprite, but instead it reacted to my magic. As soon as my magic surrounded it, it was absorbed into me and my magic was amplified.
"The magic around your horn, was that of the Sprite?"
" Apparently, it can also shut off the magic of others."
"Where did you find something like that?"
"Near the gateway of Tartarus." Radiant said nonchalantly.
"Tartarus?! Why would you venture to an area that dangerous?"
"You trying to say you care about somepony like me, Princess?" she replied seductively. "Besides, I've been to Tartarus many times and come back alive. The artifacts that exist there are worth my life, which is why I can't die. If I die, she'll never forgive me."
"She?" Twilight asked hesitantly.
"What? Nevermind; I think we're almost there."
That conversation ended on an open note; one which Twilight wanted to know more about. However, Radiant Flare stopped answering Twilight's questions and continued to lead the way. Even when Flare had almost fallen down, she continued to push herself and would always refuse Twilight's aid. It seemed like night was lasting forever for they'd traveled for hours, but Flare had slowly been losing her energy.
Instead of continuing, Flare finally decided to rest. So, she spread out her hooves and fell straight on the dirt. She proceeded to pull out a blanket and lie down on it. Twilight had brought nothing with her so she tried to get a space on the blanket, but Flare kicked her away several times. There was enough space for the both of them, but Flare didn't allow it for some reason. Twilight thought that it was just Flare being selfish, but Flare started to talk in her sleep and would call out to some other pony.
"No ... no don't leave me. Flora, please don't leave." Flare cried out as she squirmed around her blanket. "You promised me. You said so,"
"Radiant, are you okay?" Twilight asked while slowly walking towards her.
"Cirrus," Radiant Flare said to herself as she was still asleep and didn't hear Twilight. "Cirrus, please. CIRRUS!!"
Twilight jumped back with her hooves over her ears. Radiant Flare continued to squirm around her blanket, but only on half of the blanket with the other half completely open. Twilight tried to get to sleep, but Flare kept on crying in her sleep.
Suddenly, Flare had woken up only to see that the moon and stars were still out. "What the hell is going on? It should be day by now." She said as she looked around. "You ready to continue, Princess?"
"Yeah." Twilight said as she stretched her legs. "By the way, are we close to the Canis Clan's area?"
"I think so. Like I said, there is no record of this place ever existing so any guess is as good as any."
They continued to travel up the mountain toward the Canis Clan, but came across a grand structure standing on a flat part of the mountain. They both gazed at it with awe, and started to walk towards it. It looked like architecture from Cloudsdale, but the door was decorated with dragons and alicorns as well as armored ponies.
"How old is this thing? It doesn't look like anything I've seen before, and I've been almost everywhere." Flare said in awe still looking up at the door.
"I don't know, but it looks incredible." Twilight said to Flare.
"Wait, that looks odd." Flare said as she pointed out a hole in the door. She put her hoof in it and quickly pulled it back out. Her right hoof began bleeding and as she held it, she saw blood traveling up the door. "What the hell?" She couldn't comprehend what was going on, but the blood continued to travel across the door. It soon dropped into a path that led to an alicorn. The door opened up, and both Flare and Twilight entered it.
As they walked into the building, a bright light flashed their eyes and almost blinded them. They let out screams of pain, but soon they were able to see clearly. The room they entered, was a large room full of shelves with books in them. It was much larger than the library in the Crystal Empire.
"Woah, I've never seen a library like this before." Twilight said in awe.
"What the hell is this place?" Flare asked out loud.
Behind them, they heard a pony walking and then stop. They turned around and saw a unicorn that was fairly young with glasses. Her mane was all over the place, but she sat behind an organized desk. "Who are you two?" She asked bluntly.
"Sorry, my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship." Twilight answered.
"Radiant Flare," Flare said to her. "Who might you be?"
"I'm the assistant librarian and desk pony. The librarian calls me Dusty, but my name is actually Sola Libro. If you need help, just ask me." She said as she looked down at a book.
Twilight and Flare had stumbled upon something that not a whole lot of ponies knew about; but they themselves knew nothing about it. They wandered around the room and came across many ponies of different ages reading and looking at books. Twilight was continuously in awe about the collection of books, while Flare was suspiscious of these other ponies. While wandering, they bumped into the librarian.
"Can I help you two with anything?" She said angrily.
"Yes, can you tell me where we are?" Flare asked bluntly.
"Welcome to the Hidden Library, a library built thousands of moons ago by many great unicorns. One of which was Starswirl the Bearded."
"If I might ask, why are so many ponies here?"
"Are there really that many? To be honest, not that many ponies are here. Only the ones with permission or alicorn status are allowed in here. So, how did you two get here?"
"We were looking for a group known as the Canis Clan and stumbled upon this. When I put my hoof on the door, it took blood from me and then opened."
"You must be an alicorn then, because if you weren't it would've fallen into the pony slot and opened up a box for you to enter a coin of permission."
"Wait, what was that?" Twilight butted into the conversation as the librarian trotted away. "You're an alicorn?"
"Ugh, yes. I am an alicorn, but not a princess. Sure I was raised to be one, but I abandoned my castle to live a life of adventure." Flora responded.
"Really?"
"No idiot. I am an alicorn but I was never raised to be a princess. Not every alicorn is a princess you know."
Flare walked off towards a series of shelves titled 'Geography'. As she walked off, Twilight walked towards another wing; one called 'Civilizations of Equestria'. Based off of the plaque, it is edited almost every year because some civilizations still exist and grow. The section was one of the largest in the library and it was filled with many ponies reading books about past clans and tribes. One of the ponies was reading about the Changlings while another was reading a more detailed book about griffins. The princess walked past many books until she saw a sign that was labeled 'Canis Clan'. However, there was no book present so she walked up towards Sola.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you right now. This library is equipped with many books but some of them have been destroyed due to aging magic." Sola said to a pony.
"Fine, since you won't help me, I'll just leave." The pony said.
As the pony walked away, while looking at the floor, Twilight walked towards Sola. She could see that Sola was moving around her desk frantically.
"What is it Twilight?" She asked as she kept moving.
"Do you have the book about the Canis Clan? It appears to be missing." Twilight asked calmly.
"We have it, or had it to be precise."
"What happened to it?"
"Someone is renting it, or at least that's what they said. They haven't come back and I'm sure the librarian will be pissed if it doesn't come back."
Suddenly, a book came out of some sort of box. Sola looked in, and was astonished by what she had saw. The book about the Canis Clan was lifted out of the box and a note was attatched to it. 'Sorry it took so long, I was making some edits. Hopefully you aren't punished for it. Also, Dusty, you might want to spend more time cleaning these books.'.
"What is it that box?" Twilight asked, pointing out the box behind Sola.
"You see, since we are a private library, it helps ponies and others to return books if they happen to take it. A spell is lined in every book and when stated, it will teleport to this box. Neat isn't it?" Sola replied.
Sola proceeded to hand over the book to Twilight who was still curious about the box, since only Discord knew multi-dimensional magic. Twilight disregarded it and walked away with the book towards Radiant Flare. She too had a book, only her book was a bunch of maps of land outside of Equestria.
"What'cha got there Princess?" Flare asked as she continued to read.
"A History of the Canis Clan; apparently this was gone for a while, but this can help me understand my mission at least." Twilight responded.
"Tell me if there is anything about any artifacts."
Twilight started to read the first chapter, of course, and almost immediately she was shocked about this group. She learned that they weren't even ponies, but wolves. Wolves! The only thing she knew about were Timber wolves so she couldn't realize if it were real or fake.
As she began reading the prologue, she was futher shocked by the fact that Starswirl the Bearded was mentioned.
"A clan of war, but some of respect. The Canis Clan was trusted by me, and betrayed by another pony. I do not know who it was, but this clan was a friend of mine and I hope that they are not forgotten." - Starswirl the Bearded.
End of Chapter 1
I remember the morning sky like any other. It was a bright blue sky, but clouds were setting in and a storm was on its way no doubt. But, I had to stay positive for my husband. I wanted to share the news with him, but he chose to speak with Elder Vaux before meeting me. While he was out, I was stuck scavenging for supplies again. I don't mind it, but after a while these wolves start to get on my nerves. They struggle with the most basic of tasks and I'm the expert of our clan.
***
"I told you a hundred times already, you can't kick down a tree for wood. Collect the branches that are on the ground and any low-hanging branches." I said.
Sky isn't the smartest wolf, but he can carry a lot our supplies with little problem. The other two scavengers with me are Lotus and Fang. Fang is a strong warrior, scout, and scavenger but is a force not to be reckoned with. Lotus on the other paw is a softer wolf; she wants to help but she is too weak to stand up for herself. She is loving towards me but can get a bit close.
"Hey, we get enough wool from the nearby sheep? I mean, they aren't usually the giving type." Fang asked me.
"I'm sure we got enough from them. Leave it to Lotus to bargain with other species." I replied to Fang who was carrying all the wool in a basket. Sure it was light, but it didn't stop Fang from complaining.
"I-I'm not that useful." Lotus said. "They're just so kind to me."
"Maybe it's because you're so innocent."
As we headed back, a strong wind blew across us. We had two ways to avoid this storm: head back asap or find our own shelter. Usually we'd head back with the resources, but we just knew that this was going to be a strong storm. So, we ran towards any sort of cave we could find.
"Another storm?" Lotus complained.
"I know they've been happening frequently, but we've survived worse." I said to try to prevent her from fleeing. "We can go back to that cave we saw on our descent."
"If we do that, then we'll have to ascend against the weather. Meaning we'd become more vulnerable and you'd be putting us in even more danger." Fang butted in. "There's a cave nearby, one that isn't above or below us but on the same level. Follow me."
Just like that, we were off with all the supplies we've gathered and followed Fang. However, his spirit guided the path and he can run faster than all of the wolves in our clan. As we approached a cave, the wind started to get more powerful and snow began falling. The cave wasn't the best one I've seen but it gets the job done. Thanks to all the wood we collected, we used a small portion to begin a campfire while we used some wool for a bed. Thankfully, the smoke could escape into the air so that some passerby could find us; hopefully they wouldn't attack us.
Night came faster than expected, the storm was quite powerful, and the wool we used wasn't big enough for all three of us so one of us stood guard. First was Lotus, than me, and lastly was Fang who'd probably stay up the entire night and not switch. However, Lotus came back sooner than expected.
"Sorry, I can't stay out there long enough." She complained.
"Why not? It's just a little wind." Fang replied. "You've always been the weakest of us anyways,"
"I have NOT!"
"Have too."
"Have not!"
"Have too."
"QUIET! Both of you, geez. We are supposed to get supplies for the group and if the clan were to see you two fighting, you'd get replaced and Elder Vaux would look down on us." I interjected. "We can't stand the two of always fighting, right Sky?"
Sky wasn't anywhere to be found. "Sky? Sky get out here NOW!" I shouted to the world. It was to no avail, he probably couldn't hear me.
"What are we going to do now?" Lotus said, breathing faster and faster now. "If we can't find Sky, does that mean he's..."
"Sky may not be smart, but he'd at least know not to run through a strong storm like this. I can try to find his trail, maybe even him if I'm lucky." Fang said walking towards the exit.
"No, Fang you stay here and watch over Lotus." I stopped Fang.
"WHAT?!" The two of them said.
"He is my responsibility, so I'll find him. Make sure she doesn't hyperventilate, all right?"
Without giving him time to respond, I was off in a hurry. Lotus was right though, there is almost no way that she could stay out in this wind for long. I just hope that I can last long enough to find Sky and return. The snow did blur my vision and I couldn't trot well on three paws so I had to deal with it. My journey for Sky made me even more tired than before, but as I reached my breaking point I saw a shadowy figure coming towards me.
"Sky?" I asked as I panted. "Sky, you're a fool."
I blacked out, but upon waking up I found myself in another cave; one that was lower than the previous one. A fire was burning and a table was set up with a mug of some liquid. I took a small sip from it, but that was enough to almost burn my toungue. Whatever it was, it was not only hot, but tasted like apples.
"You should let it cool down first, otherwise you'll burn you're throat." A voice called out to me. "Besides, what was a pony like you doing out in a blizzard like that?"
"Pony? I'm no pony, I am a scout for the Canis Clan. Who are you?" I got up and asked.
"Canis Clan? I guess my vision is getting worse or something." A pony walked out with a couple of books on his back. "Sorry, but I thought you were a pony who needed help; so what werer you doing out there?"
"I was looking for a wolf named Sky, but it doesn't seem like I can find him."
"A wolf you say, did he happen to have supplies on him?"
"Yes, a lot of them actually. Why? Did you find him?"
"Sadly yes; the supplies for this cave shelter were taken from him. I regret doing it now that I've met his mate."
"Sky is just another scout, I'm married to someone else." I interjected. "On another note, what's your name?"
"Ah that. You probably don't know my name, but in Canterlot I'm a famous writer and philosopher. I am Rene Hecartes, I'm helping out a friend with diplomacy right now but it seems like we're separated right now."
He sat down across from me and used some sort of magic to get another mug for himself. He opened up a satchel and out came some books. On one of them was a not that read,"Cogito ergo sum". Wonder what that translates to? It's not like I can read pony. Besides his books, he seemed to also be very personable.
"So this Canis Clan, what's it like?" He asked me, putting down his mug of cider.
"I can't tell you a whole lot because you're an outsider, but it's a cluster of wolves under the leadership under Elder Vaux. He's protected us for thousands of moons, but my husband is questioning his leadership. Hopefully, things go well."
"My friend and I wanted to establish diplomacy with a group out here, however we didn't know where there are. Maybe, we could meet with your group and start a trading route or something."
"Vaux is a bit of hardass, especially to outsiders. Maybe, you can come with but your associate might need to stay behind."
This conversation went back and forth for hours. We didn't even notice that the storm subsided. We were just disagreeing about ideas, talking about where we came from, and the futures we want to live. As we drank all the cider, which might be worth trading for or at least making, I heard two voices call out.
"Captain, you here?" A masculine voice was heard. "Hopefully you're not dead."
"FANG! I'm over here!" I ran out to meet them but was jumped by Lotus who started to lick me. "Calm down girl; I know the feelings you have for me but please, slow down. She didn't stop though, even when Fang entered, she just kept going. It was as if, nobody else existed and she was going down to my chest until I pushed her off. "Lotus, please. Try to restrain yourself next time."
"So that's why you were running Lotus." Fang said, like the ass he can be.
Instead of speaking, Lotus just stood there with her cheeks red as a rose. She really does have beautiful cheeks though. Rene came out with some of the supplies from Sky and levitated them over with his magic. He didn't even know what was going on until he dropped the stuff off.
"So, are you two?"
"No, Lotus is something else." Fang replied. "Thanks for the supplies, next time I see a pony I'll try not to kill them."
"What!? You've killed a pony before?!"
"I'm just joking with ya. You're the first pony I've actually talked with."
Rene was off, ascending the mountain but we tagged along with him because our camp was in that direction. He didn't seem to mind, but Lotus and Fang would trot beside him. Every step he took, they did the same until he stopped in his tracks. Rene knew that something was up, but he could understand that it was necessary for the wolves to keep a closer eye on an outsider. However, it still bugged him.
"What is your clan's home like, if you don't mind me asking?" Rene asked.
"It's not like your typical city, but I still can't tell you much as you are an outsider." Fang replied. "However, who is this friend of yours that is supposed to help you communicate with any clans outside your borders?"
"Fang!" I yelled at him. "He's almost like a guest, so keep in line!"
"It's alright, I'll be glad to answer. I'm sure you won't know him, but he his one of the most powerful unicorns around; his power is almost as strong as the alicorn princesses, and I bet he could beat them if he trained hard." Rene hyped up this unicorn. "He's known as Starswirl the Bearded."
Starswirl the Bearded, I'd never forget that name. Especially after what he'd do to my clan, something that would ultimately lead me to try to kill him.