Pony Adventures: Quest of the Lost Relic

Chapters

Welcome to Ponyville
The Golden Oak Museum
Thief in the Night

Welcome to Ponyville

It was nearly noon when a mare walked past the sign that separated the thick woodlands from the town’s edge. She had glanced at the aged wood and missing letters m and P, for but a moment before moving forward, a modestly sized wagon being towed behind her. The mare continued up the path that led into the town and smiled excitedly at the thought of what she would find once there. It had been a long journey just to get this close, but if her intuition was correct then what she needed to achieve greatness was waiting inside Ponyville.

The town was larger and much older than the one she grew up in, with many of the buildings being nearly a century old and the roads unpaved. The air itself smelled of a different time, though not necessarily a better one or even a decent one--- it was quite unpleasant. However, this did not stop the mare from trotting deeper into the heart of the town in search of what she desired. She found herself admiring much of Ponyville’s sights along the way, stopping now and again to look at the architecture of a particular structure or the detail of a fountain. Despite a good chunk of the place is in shambles the town was overall a seemingly beautiful place to visit. To live there was another story.

The mare passed many ponies that looked at her with either puzzlement, disgust, distrust, or a combination of such. It was as if she upset the order of their lives. It was strange given how everyone back home was always ready to greet visitors with open hooves, but the ponies here looked ready to run her out for merely daring to say hello. Not that she was discouraged to say so, for her quest was far too important to be put off by such unwarranted loathing, and so she chose to say hello to someone.

The mare was lost in the busy roads of Ponyville and getting nowhere fast, so she thought it would be best to ask one of the residents for directions, although it proved to be more difficult than she expected. Every time she greeted someone it was met with silence and them walking right past her, when she tried to stop them from passing by standing in their path, they would go around her, and the pattern continued that way for nearly an hour. It became clear that no one in Ponyville wanted anything to do with anyone that was not themselves. The mare decided it was time to take a different approach.

In an instant, the heart of the town was lit up with a flash of glowing gold light that was so bright it was almost blinding. The residents wanted to look away but found the golden light too mesmerizing to ignore as if it was commanding to be seen. Matter of fact that is exactly what the light was doing, for it was more than a random flash of enchanting light, it was an actual enchantment. The light was a spell meant to draw the attention of all that saw it--- the same way a bug zapper attracts moths to their doom. The golden light was not harmful though, and as quickly as it arrived it had left leaving behind nothing but the one who created it.

The mare that had been trying to get pony’s attention before found that everyone was now staring at her in awe; however, it was now from curiosity instead of enchantment. It was rare to witness such a powerful spell in Ponyville, given that even the town’s most powerful unicorns could cast but simple spells related to their talent and there had never been a visitor able to conduct so much magical energy before. A crowd formed closely around the unicorn mare with ponies that had been inside when the light flashed even coming outside to get a look at her themselves.

The mare was tall and lean, with a sandy coat and a long mane that looked like wildfire. She had a short tail, magenta eyes, a curved horn, and a flaming quill cutie-mark in shades of orange and gold. Tied along her elegant neck was a burgundy ribbon that had a small golden compass clipped towards the end, and she also carried a small sack with a gold chain wrapped around her neck and chest. The wagon she was towing was brand new and in almost perfect condition--- one of the wheels had been replaced since it was green and the rest were red. She just stood there in the middle of the crowd with a satisfied smirk on her face, batting her eyes that were shaded to match her ribbon and showing off her long lashes.

“Well, now that I have your attention, I would like to say hello to all you lovely ponies”, said the unicorn mare to the crowd at which some waved their hooves in response, and others just stayed still. When all residents ceased movement once more, she continued to speak as if everyone was not staring at her in disbelief. She walked over to the nearest building and absent-mindedly looked up at the structure.

“It’s very nice to meet you and to visit your gorgeous town. I had heard that Ponyville had beautiful architecture, but I never expected it to be this amazing. Seriously, you can see the town’s history in these buildings.”

Some of the ponies looked to one another in confusion. Did this mare just call a saloon ‘beautiful architecture’ and was there even a point to what she was saying? Turns out there was a point to the odd little comment.

“…As a matter of fact, the reason I’m here is related to the history in one building in particular. The Golden Oak Museum of History, which is said to house some pretty special items from all across Equestria. My problem is since I don’t know the town too well, I am having a bit of trouble finding where it’s located and was hoping someone that lives here would know. So, would one of you charming ponies mind pointing me in the right direction?”

The unicorn mare turned away from the saloon to face the crowd again and cocked her head to the side to emphasize the question. For a moment, everyone stood there murmuring to each other before a stallion from the crowd cleared his throat to speak up.

“Um, the museum is at the other end of town just before the borderline”, said the stallion. The unicorn mare smiled at this courteously, which made the stallion blush.

“Thank you for your help, it means a lot to be given such kindness”, said the unicorn mare as she headed to the opposite side of where she entered Ponyville. The crowd, now behind her watched as she walked away and slowly began to dissolve as the residents went back to what they were doing, many still confused about the scene that just played out.

The ponies went back to their lives as if nothing had happened--- thinking about it too much could only lead to trouble and getting too involved with strangers is just begging for disaster. Sure, it was peculiar that a unicorn capable of high-level spells was in town and thought the place was gorgeous! At the same time, she was probably just some Canterlot brat that was passing through on her way to a festival somewhere else and got lost. But then why did she want to go to the museum…

A single pair of yellow eyes stayed fixed on the unicorn mare’s wagon heading in the direction of the Golden Oak Museum. The pony scowled at the wagon in suspicion as it kept getting farther and farther from their line of sight. After going over a hill the pony with yellow eyes turned away and vanished into the busy streets of the town unnoticed by the other residents. Meanwhile, the unicorn mare made her way to the museum with confidence and enthusiasm not knowing that her journey was about to get more interesting than she would have ever intended.

The Golden Oak Museum

There it was the Golden Oak Museum of History in all its glory. It was not a building, as the unicorn mare had thought it to be, but was a mighty oak tree larger than any in existence. Its branches were thick and strong with platforms on every few for pegasi to perch on, it had the most beautiful stain glass windows scattered around the trunk, and at the base was an enormous wooden door with intricate designs and iron door knockers. The unicorn mare just stood there taking in the tree structure while also doing her best to contain her excitement. The key to achieving greatness was so close she could feel it in her aura’s grasp, finally, she would get the recognition she deserved.

It was not like she was invisible back home, far from it actually, she was the most popular and talented pony in all of Sire’s Hollow. There was not a single pony in her hometown that did not know her and think she was anything less than great. Everyone was always stopping her in the streets to compliment her on how cultured she was and how she was such a powerful spellcaster--- she works hard to achieve such refinement. The unicorn mare was respected by everyone at home, but that was not enough, and wanted to be more than a local celebrity. What she wanted was to be known by all of Equestria.

“They’ll all know my name”, said the unicorn mare to herself as she walked up to the front of the museum. Before entering she unhitched her wagon close to the enormous door, asking a young earth-pony if he would mind watching it for a bit and offering him two silver coins for his services. The unicorn mare paused at the enormous door suddenly feeling doubtful. What if it was just a dead-end and this was just a crazy fantasy? She immediately pushed those thoughts to the back of her head, doing her best to remember that the research she worked on proved that what she was looking for was indeed truthful, and stepped inside.

The unicorn mare was once again amazed by the tree structure upon entering since there was even more beauty hidden inside. For one, the museum doubled as a library and had hundreds of shelves filled to the brim with books and scrolls. The walls were decorated with paintings, masks, and tapestries from different periods. Throughout the museum were display cases with various artifacts from across Equestria and signs that told you a short history of each artifact. Without even thinking, the unicorn mare trotted up to a tapestry to run her hoof across its embroidery.

“What do you think you’re doing”, a voice shrieked out causing the unicorn mare to jump back in fright. An old unicorn with cat-eye glasses stood before her scowling and shaking her head.

“Sorry, I just wanted to get a closer look at the detail on this tapestry”, said the young unicorn to the older one.

“See with your eyes, not your hooves”, scolded the older adding on, “I swear, young ponies these days have no respect for the past.”

“Oh no, please don’t think that of me. I have great respect for history, I was merely a bit overexcited is all.”

The old unicorn did not seem to be convinced and continued to scowl at the other. The young unicorn noticed that the older one was wearing a scarf, and pinned to the scarf was a button that read ‘Head Bookkeeper’. The young unicorn’s eyes shifted from the button back to the old unicorn’s face--- if she was the Head Bookkeeper then maybe she could be useful at the moment. The old unicorn began to tap her right-front hoof with impatience but stopped the moment she saw a single tear fall from the younger one’s eye.

“I am so sorry”, sniffled the young unicorn between words. She knew that mares this strict usually tended to panic the second someone showed too much emotion, which in turn would lead them to do anything to avoid making it worse. This mare was no different…

“Now, none of that child”, said the older unicorn in a nervous tone. The young unicorn continued to sob silently making the older more uncomfortable.

“Please, stop crying or you might disturb our regulars. I will do anything you want just stop crying! Please, I am begging you!”

The young unicorn calmed herself a little and delicately wiped at the tears streaking her face with a hoof. She continued to sniffle and puff so the old unicorn would not catch on to the act she was putting on but slowed up enough so she could make her offer to the other. It was a bit overdramatic, breaking down in tears in the middle of the museum, but it was also the best way to get the old unicorn to cooperate. The ponies of this town had a problem with strangers and needed to be handled with more tactical methods.

“Would you do anything to make me feel better”, asked the young unicorn in a quiet voice.

“If it means you won’t cry again, then yes I will”, said the old unicorn with weariness laced in every word.

“Well, there is this journal and map I was looking for and I heard they were here. I was hoping to see if the museum would mind loaning them to me for a while. I can even give a decent donation for your services.”

The old unicorn must have found the last sentence to be suspicious, for the scowl had returned to her face and was more intense than before. She looked directly into the still sad eyes of the younger, looking deep into the magenta orbs for any sign that she was being conned by the young unicorn. However, the young unicorn never falters from her dejected state and was ready to break out into the second round of sobs. The old unicorn decided to give in to the younger one’s request, thinking that someone this sensitive probably was not capable of convincingly conning a pony.

“Follow me, we keep old historical documents not on display in the back office”, said the old unicorn sighing.

The young unicorn began following the older one to the office a smirk crossing her face the second the old unicorn’s back was turned. It was going to take a while for the two to reach the office given how large the museum was and how far away from their starting point they had to walk. This was not too big a deal for the young unicorn, since it would allow her to glance at the artifacts along the way. She was enjoying herself for the most part, although she did keep getting this odd feeling that she was being watched. The young unicorn peeked behind herself when they stopped at the iron door of the back office, and she could have sworn she saw someone zipping into the shadows.

“Well, here we… What are you looking at”, asked the old unicorn?

“What? Oh, it was nothing”, said the young unicorn choosing to ignore whatever it was following her for now--- she had much bigger things on her mind.

“Whatever you say, now, which journal exactly was it you wanted me to loan you?”

“The last journal of Clover the Clever, the one that was found with a map hidden inside.”

The old unicorn glinted admiration in her eye, finding it nice to hear that this mare knew what she was trying to find. Most ponies would just expect her to know what they wanted and not even bother to give her the name of the item. It made her job much easier and quicker to do, not to mention she could get away from this crazy mare as quickly as possible too. In a matter of moments, the journal and map were levitating in the old unicorn’s aura.

“This is what you wanted”, stated the old unicorn.

“Thank you very much. It was kind of you to he---“, the young unicorn began to say as she reached for the journal with her hooves before it was pulled away from her grasp.

“You did say that in exchange for me loaning these to you the museum would receive a donation, right?”

The young unicorn had nearly forgotten the rest of the offer. She opened the sack around her neck and chest, pulling from it thirty old coins and setting them on a nearby table. Just like that, the old unicorn gave her the journal without another question or complaint. She left with the coins immediately and left the young unicorn in the office, not caring what she did while she was inside. The young unicorn sat on the floor feeling overwhelmed but very joyful as well.

“I finally have it, the key to the thing that will have ponies everywhere saying my name for generations”, said the young unicorn to herself.

“Finally, I will be able to find the Alicorn Amulet.”

Thief in the Night

There it was sitting on her little desk, the journal of Clover the Clever and the key to all her dreams coming true. The cover was a hardback one with three small clovers hoof-painted in the center and was singed along the spine. Aside from the spine, the rest of the journal was well preserved and had all of its pages intact, if a bit well-worn from being almost 300 years old. The unicorn mare carefully opened the journal, flipping through the yellowed pages scribbled with various notes and diagrams. Much of the writing was hard to make out--- Clover the Clever had terrible horn writing--- but the unicorn mare resolved to push past this minor inconvenience and scanned the journal with more intensity.

Hours went by as she read the journal over and over, only looking away from it to glance at the map that belonged with it or to take notes in her journal. The unicorn mare was deep into research; so deep she forgot to eat supper, so deep she did not notice the sun beginning to set, and so deep that it was like the rest of the world stopped existing around her. Nothing else mattered to her but the information in Clover’s journal and on his map, and she would not stop until her eyelids were heavy from exhaustion. It was only when she heard an owl call to her from outside the wagon that she realized how long she had been working.

The unicorn mare decided it was time to hit the hay, so she closed the journal gently and went to her hammock to sleep and dream of tomorrow. Now that she had Clover’s secrets, it was only a matter of time before the Alicorn Amulet was in her hooves. She drifted off to the sounds of imaginary praise, quickly falling asleep without a care. While asleep the unicorn mare had the most wonderful dream; she was surrounded by reporters asking questions about her journey, while her parents looked up from the crowd with tears of pride in their eyes. Camera-ponies took her picture for newspapers and journals, everyone in Equestria shouted her name, there was a loud banging noise…

The unicorn mare awoke from her dream to the door of her wagon smashed to piece and a mysterious figure standing at her desk. It was still dark outside and the figure was cloaked, but the unicorn mare managed to spot a pair of feathery wings poking out from under the fabric. The figure stared at her for only a few seconds with their glowing yellow eyes before spreading said wings as wide as possible in the small space, then produced a grand electrical spark of energy that briefly blinded the unicorn mare. Just as fast as they appeared the figure had vanished, leaving the unicorn mare to process everything in confusion. What had just happened? Why was there a mysterious cloaked figure in her wagon? Why did the figure blowup her door? Where did they go to? Most of these questions would need to be asked later, for the only question that mattered at the moment was where did Clover’s journal go?

It had taken the unicorn mare a moment to notice, but as soon as she did it sent her whole body into a flaming panic--- she burst into flames. She rolled out of her hammock onto the floor with a thunk, crawling along and scanning it in the hopes that the journal had merely fallen. However, she knew the truth was that the yellow-eyed figure had taken it. This could not be happening, not now and certainly not to her, she had worked too hard to get Clover’s journal for someone to steal it right from under her muzzle. The unicorn mare had anticipated others searching for the journal, although she never would have considered a pony would go as far as breaking an entry. No, this was not happening and there was no way she was going to let someone take what rightfully belonged to her.

Calmly, the unicorn mare got to her hooves. The flames on her body dissipating, her breathing and muscles relaxing, and her eyes showing with fresh determination. This was only a small derailment, nothing that could not be handled with a bit of focus and a good spell. She did another scan of the wagon and it did not take long to find what was needed. Lying on the floor was a chestnut brown feather that could only belong to the mysterious figure. The unicorn mare cradled it in her magic, focusing her golden aura around the item till it glowed the same color. She smirked at her handy work but held back the squeak of excitement that was threatening to come out. It was not time to celebrate just yet.

“Guide me to your owner, post-haste”, she said to the glowing feather. “Quaerere.”

On the command, the feather began to move in search of the pony it came from while the unicorn mare trotted not so far behind. It floated through the town, swerving around buildings, as a single drop of light in the darkness. The unicorn mare followed at a steady pace, her steps never faltering nor her eyes losing sight of the feather. As the feather closed in on its owner the glow it radiated got dimmer, till finally, it dropped on the doorstep of what appeared to be a particularly creepy house.

The house was more of a mansion, large and imposing, which added to its scary appearance. There were holes covered with boards all over the building, the wood was rotting, a death-like smell hung in the air around it, and there was no glass in any of the windows. When the unicorn mare stepped onto the crumbling porch it creaked, warning her to walk lightly so as not to be heard by whoever was inside. She opened the door just as lightly, not because she was afraid that it would creak but because it looked as though the smallest touch would knock it to the floor. The inside was just as bad from what she could make out in the dark. Glass containers of various shapes and sizes some filled with strange liquids littered the entryway, along with scraps of food and half-written on papers.

It came as no surprise to the unicorn mare that this was the residence of a thief for only someone with a vile profession could live in a vile place. Despite this, she knew that the only way to retrieve the journal was to brave searching the building. She steeled her nerves and continued onward, still doing her best to remain quiet as to not alert anyone to her presence. The unicorn mare searched room to room, finding many strange and somewhat disturbing things such as a jar full of live twittermites but not Clover’s journal nor the mysterious figure that took it. She knew both had to be somewhere in the building--- the spell she cast on the feather would have not stopped otherwise.

“I know you are here, but where in here are you?”, the unicorn mare whispered to herself.

“Maybe you should look behind you”, said a raspy voice.

The unicorn mare whipped her head to face the speaker and was hit by a cloud of green mist. The world around her became fuzzy, she stumbled and landed on her side, and was barely able to keep her eyes open. Before passing out she could hear the faint sounds of ponies arguing because apparently, the one that just gassed her was not the same one that destroyed her wagon. She tried to stay awake and listen but whatever that green mist was worked fast and she faded out, only being able to catch a single word “Spark”.