Pony Adventures: Quest of the Lost Relic

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.”