Hidden Facades

Twilight Sparkle walked into her new library. She looked at the crystal shelves, lined books of varying sizes, colors, and genres. "Hello library," she muttered to herself.

She soon focused on all the books, and soon they all slid off their shelves. They laid themselves in neat piles, covering most of the floor. A magical gust of wind blew all of the dust out the open window.

"Hello re-shelving day!" Twilight announced loudly, talking to no one. She began to pick up books one by one in her magical glow, bringing them close to read their titles. As she read the titles, she also cataloged them in a log book.

As the alicorn sifted through the endless tomes, Spike burst in through the door. Twilight didn't even notice his arrival, she was so focused on the books.

"Twilight!" Spike shouted, trying to get her attention. "Twilight! TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"

Twilight stopped what she was doing, dropping at least 15 books, leaving them scattered across the floor. "What Spike?" she asked.

"I have letter from the princess!" Spike proudly announced, pulling out a scroll with a seal in the shape of Celestia's cutie mark.

"Can I have it?" Twilight inquired as Spike set the note from Celestia in her hooves. She broke the seal, and opened it out. Twilight immediately started to stared deep into the letter.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Something is coming, and it troubles me.

"What!? That's it?" Twilight exclaimed, a confused expression on her face.

Almost as a reply, Spike blew a gout of flame, and out popped another scroll with the same seal.

Twilight snatched the letter out of mid-air, and spread it out too.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I am sorry about the first letter. I dropped it in my dragon fire candle before I was finished. The candle also applies a seal if one is not on the scroll.

As I was saying, something is coming, and it troubles me. A wyrm has stolen one of seven gems of power. These seven jewels are what it uses to focus its power. The more the dragon collects, the greater a threat becomes. It has stolen the lapis lazuli, which allows it to control the weather.

You and your friends must find a way to stop this evil. I will be sending you an opal, which is also one of the seven gems. It is up to you to find a way to use its power against the wyrm. Beware, for it is hungry for the other jewels, and the power they carry.

Good luck, Twilight Sparkle.

From,

Princess Celestia

"A wyrm?" Spike inquired, cocking his head.

"A wyrm is a type of dragon that is long and thin like a snake," Twilight replied. "But the gems are the thing that entrique me. Most jewels are inherently magical, but a semi-precious stone that powerful? I have never heard of such a thing!"

"Oh, here's that opal Celestia was talking about. It came while you were reading the second letter," Spike yammered. He held out the eclipse-shaped opal, which glittered and shined in all the colors of the rainbow. Most of it was a shade of green, however. A large seal like the ones on the letters was plastered on it.

Twilight took the opal from Spike, and levitated it in front of her face. She intently studied it, but she couldn't find anything of interest except a strong magical force hanging around it.

She sighed. "I guess we should get the rest of the girls over here."

___/\___

Twilight sat on her throne. She watched her friends take their places around the circle of thrones.

Applejack was the first to speak up. "Why are we here Twilight? I need to get back to mah applebuckn'."

"Yeah, why are we here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I have summoned you here because I received an important letter from Princess Celestia," Twilight announced loudly. "A large wyrm is gathering it's sto-"

"Dragons!?"

"More of them!"

"Another?"

Grabbing Spike with her magic, Twilight forced him to breath a large blast of green flame to call everypony's attention. "As I was saying, a wyrm is gathering it's stones of power. It already has one: The lapis lazuli. With it, the dragons has dominion over storms, and the weather."

After Twilight Sparkle finished her sentences, murmurs circled around.

"I am aware that many of you are wondering how do we defeat this evil. Celestia has sent us another of these stones. It is an opal," Twilight pronounced. "We must find a way to use its power to find the other stones and fight of the dragon."

"Well, what are we wait'n for? Let's get to it!" Applejack shouted.

Before long, everyone was staring intently at the opal.