The Forbidden Books

In a dark hallway of the Crystal Empire library, four unicorns had sneaked in to look for different books. And now, all four of them found themselves trapped inside the same library due to a magical barrier that something or SOMEONE had placed over the library to prevent them from escaping.

Dusk Shine, Sunset Shimmer, Shadow Lock, and Sugar Belle's ears perked up as they heard hoofsteps in the distance, causing the four unicorns to stare at each other, reaching an agreement with just a glance. If they didn't want to be discovered, they had to keep quiet, and more importantly, they had to put aside any doubts or previous discussions and work together.

“There are only six guards, and the library is very large, so it’ll take them a long time to find us.” Shadow Lock whispered, looking at everyone seriously.

“Only four guards. I knocked out two guards before entering.” Sunset whispered with a hint of pride. Something that surprised Dusk, since, being Cadance’s student, he thought that this mare would be less prone to violence.

“Maybe we could offer them some muffins and talk to them about the spirit of equality!” Sugar Belle whispered excitedly.

“That’s definitely out of the question,” Dusk said, looking seriously at Sugar Belle. “It wouldn’t be good to face them either. Even if you managed to knock out two guards before, whoever created this barrier won’t be as easy to defeat. Besides, it’s best to avoid problems with the EEA.”

“I agree. HE is definitely not someone we can easily defeat.” Shadow Lock whispered, narrowing his eyes and slightly looking away. A gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Dusk.

“This pony knows something else that he doesn’t want to tell us. Besides, he wears the emblem of the EEA on his cloak.” Dusk thought, looking suspiciously at Shadow Lock. “I have many questions, but for now, we must cooperate.”

After some thought, the four ponies realized that they only had two options: fight or get caught. However, there was one thing they did have a choice about. What was truly important was to see the contents of those books, and that was something they had to do right now before time ran out.

“I managed to teleport four books next to me. Each one could read one.” Dusk said, holding the four books he had managed to teleport next to him. At that moment, Dusk let out a sigh of frustration when he saw that one of the books he had teleported had been the book that had brought the bookworm, so he immediately moved it away from the other books. “Correction, only three books. A horrible beast committed one of the greatest sacrileges in the world and destroyed a very valuable antiquity.” Dusk added full of frustration, opening the book to show the worm inside the book titled 'The Cursed Star'.

Seeing the bookworm, both Sugar Belle and Sunset took a step back with a look of displeasure. However, Shadow Lock remained motionless, watching it indifferently.

“It would be best to keep that worm away from the other books.” Shadow Lock said calmly, using his magic to levitate the worm, placing it in a small bag that he hid under his cloak. “About the other three books, I know a method so that we can all understand the main theme of the three books at the same time. We won’t be able to know the exact details, but with this method we’ll all be able to know the content of all the books and not just one of them.” Shadow Lock added, looking suspiciously at the ponies around him.

“That’s the spirit! Equality for all!” Sugar Belle added with a big smile.

Dusk and Sunset looked at each other and finally agreed to trust Shadow Lock; after all, as he said, that way, they could know the content of the three books instead of just one. And above all, they had to make the most of their time, so they had to see the content of those books as soon as possible, and there was no time to waste arguing.

Each unicorn began to use their magic to begin the task of reading those books. First, Dusk used a soundproofing spell. At the same time, Shadow Lock used his magic on the three books, using a spell that was unknown to the other three unicorns. Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer used her magic to create an illusion in front of them, so that if any guard saw them from afar, they would only see the wall of the library, something that would give them more time. For her part, Sugar Belle stared in amazement with a big smile as the three unicorns worked together with precision, as if they had known each other all their lives.

“Aren’t you going to help?” Sunset asked, glancing sideways at Sugar Belle.

“Sorry, I’m not as skilled as you, I’m just a baker!” Sugar Belle replied smiling, levitating a muffin and taking a bite. “By the way, it doesn’t matter if you took my cloak. I’ll give it to you! You can use it without any problem.” Sugar Belle added with a big smile, levitating another muffin to offer it to Sunset. For her part, Sunset put on an uncomfortable look and rejected the muffin, distrusting the excessive kindness of that mare.

Finally, Shadow Lock finished his spell and everything was ready. One of the books began to glow with a reddish glow on the floor and burst open, rapidly moving its pages from the first to the last page as if a sudden gust of wind had hit it. As that happened, the book glowed even brighter and generated magical rays on it, generating moving letters that stood out and shone in front of everyone's eyes, writing in the air: 'Fantastic Artifacts and Where to Find Them,' then, in smaller letters appeared: 'First Edition. Author: Newt Stallionder'.

“I know that book, but I’ve never seen a first edition,” Dusk said, opening his eyes full of excitement. “That book must be more than two thousand years old!!”

Before anyone could say anything else, the book expelled dozens more lights, but this time, instead of materializing words in the air, it materialized different artifacts, such as helmets, stones, gems, swords, dozens of objects that were spinning in the air in front of the eyes of the four ponies. Then, under each object, the name of those magical object appeared and a very brief description of the magical effect of that object.

Sunset, Dusk, and Sugar Belle's eyes marveled at both the information and the magnificence of Shadow Lock's spell. Indeed, this was much more visual and easier than reading the book page by page. As Shadow Lock had said, the specific details were not shown, but now they could get an idea of the most important content in the book.

“What’s the biggest difference between this first version of Stallionder’s book and the newer versions we know of?” Sunset asked, glancing sideways at Shadow Lock.

As if the book itself wanted to answer what Sunset had just asked, the projected images changed, disappearing the descriptions of the artifacts, and instead, showing maps next to some artifacts.

The four ponies were stunned by what they saw because, indeed, if those locations were real, they could easily find magical artifacts that had disappeared hundreds of years ago. However, that excitement quickly faded, as they understood that those maps were more than two thousand years old, and it was very likely that the artifacts were no longer in those places.

Suddenly, new projected letters began to appear, writing in the air some textual paragraphs from the book:

'The power of magical artifacts comes from their age. The older the artifact, the more powerful its ability to accumulate different types of magic… Absorption was a long and difficult process that… Increased, bent, and even broke the rules of established magic.'

The four ponies looked confused as they saw that there were gaps in the projected paragraphs. Sunset then approached the book and lifted it off the floor, causing all the light projections to disappear. After flipping through a few pages, Sunset showed the book to the others.

“As Dusk said, these books are hundreds, maybe thousands of years old. There are torn pages and parts where the ink has been erased, that's why the book can't project the complete paragraphs.” Sunset said, looking at the others and then focusing again on the book she was holding.

“Many of the artifacts in the book are in museums, but there are also magical objects I’ve never seen before.” Sunset thought, beginning to quickly look through the book page by page. “This is precisely what I came here to look for! There must be something… There must be something here that can help me break Discord’s curse! That way, Dusk can remember me again! That way, I won’t have to hide my face from him anymore!!” Sunset thought with some desperation, beginning to look through the book faster and faster.

Suddenly, Sunset instantly stopped on a specific page of the book, and as she looked at that page, her gaze slowly moved to her left, noticing that someone was watching her very intently from behind.

“Did you miss something?” Sunset Shimmer asked annoyed, seeing that Sugar Belle had approached her to also try to see the book.

“Oh! Sorry. I just wanted to see what you were so interested in looking for.” Sugar Belle said with a nervous smile. “Maybe you found a recipe for a new dessert? Now that would be interesting!” Sugar Belle added with a big smile.

Sunset stared at her for a few seconds, and then, without hesitation, passed the book to Sugar Belle.

“Here. You can look for it yourself.” Sunset said with a kind smile.

Sugar Belle took the book from Sunset and levitated it in front of her. Sugar Belle then quickly flipped through the pages with her magic, while staring at it intently. For her part, Sunset simply stood still, poker-faced, watching Sugar Belle's every move intently. Finally, Sugar Belle put on a disappointed face and let out a deep sigh.

“Huff… You were right. It seems the book only talks about magic artifacts.” Sugar Belle said with a sad smile. She handed the book back to Sunset. “Honestly, it’s not something I’m interested in. I’ve never been very good at magic.”

When Sugar Belle handed the book back to Sunset, the yellow mare was shocked. For a second, she thought Sugar Belle was just pretending and would try to steal that book. After all, it was an invaluable book that could still hold important clues about lost magical artifacts. However, Sugar Belle had only skimmed through the book for a few seconds. Too little time to try to memorize the maps or even the names of all the artifacts.

“You know… I met another mare with purple fur and blue eyes some time ago.” Sunset said with a thoughtful look as she took the book Sugar Belle was offering her. “But this mare was very skilled in magic, and also, she was very interested in obtaining an ancient magical artifact I had in my possession…” Sunset added, staring at Sugar Belle.

“Hmm… A unicorn that also has purple fur and blue eyes… Maybe you mean Starlight!” Sugar Belle said smiling, after thinking for a while. “She’s the most powerful unicorn I’ve ever met. She’s the leader of Our Town! In fact, she was the one who gave us this symbol.” Sugar Belle added, pointing to her flank, so Sunset could see the two lines of equality that were drawn on her flank. “She didn’t want to come to the city, so she’s waiting for us at the train station.”

At Sugar Belle's words, Sunset leaned over for a second and narrowed her eyes at the sight of Sugar Belle's cutie mark. Something she hadn't paid attention to until that moment.

“You said she created that symbol…?” Sunset said, looking suspiciously at the equality symbol Sugar Belle had.

“Oh! That’s right. She was the mare that stayed at the station.” Dusk suddenly said, remembering what had happened there. “It seems she was quite shy. As soon as she saw me, she ran away.”

After Dusk's words, Sunset put on a surprised look and put a hoof in her mouth with a very thoughtful look.

Suddenly, the four ponies were distracted when the second book began to glow, new letters were projected before them again, this time describing the title of the second book: 'The Origin of the Noble Families. Author: Star Swirl the Bearded'.

“An unpublished book by Star Swirl!?” Sunset Shimmer said in surprise. She knew all the bibliography of the great wizard of yesteryear.

“I didn’t know Star Swirl had studied pony family lines. As far as I knew, he wasn’t of noble birth.” Shadow Lock muttered in surprise as well. Much more interested in the contents of this book than the previous one.

The book projected a light in the center with an amorphous and blurry shape, which seemed to be throwing sparks, as if it were a flame or something similar. From that amorphous and blurry shape, six other lights came out, which formed the silhouettes of six unicorns, one black, one white, one blue, one yellow, one red and one green. On this formation, the book began to throw letters and the main paragraphs of the book were formed, which summarized part of the book:

'Each noble family had specialized in developing magic in their own style. Some gathered mana from the night sky to channel their magic. Others… the sun to channel… The earth, the flow of water, and the air were also other unique means of channeling magical mana… One of the clans understood the power of words and how by reciting and memorizing them, the first 'spells' could be generated. However, it wasn't until the original six clans came together and shared their different views of magic, that… the spark of magic, as we know it today, was born.'

It was obvious that the book also had many gaps due to its age, however, everyone understood perfectly that the book began to talk about the origin of unicorn magic. After reading that first paragraph, a doubt immediately arose in everyone present because something did not fit.

“Six? Aren’t there supposed to be more noble clans? There aren’t just six.” Sunset said confused.

“Perhaps over the years, those noble families became less selfish than the current nobles, and over time, they accepted that other families also proclaimed themselves nobles.” Dusk murmured, also trying to find an explanation for this historical incongruity, since all unicorns were taught that all noble families had been the descendants of the first unicorns and that they had been the first to master magic. “But according to this book, what are the six original families?”

Again, as if the book itself had heard the question, the Shadow Lock’s spell acted on its own and wrote new sentences in the air again:

'The Shimmer family learned to draw the spark of magic from the sun. The Glimmer family learned to harness the spark of magic from the light of the stars. The Bluemoon family learned to draw their spark of magic from the moon. The Warlock family learned to shape their spark of magic into words, creating spells. The Windancer family understood that their spark of magic was strengthened by channeling mana from the flow of the earth. The Songbird family harnessed the spark of imagination, creating magic that did not rely on any mana…'

With each family named, one of the six silhouettes shone brighter than the others. Also, every time they finished reading a family's paragraph, the small amorphous cloud in the center moved even more and threw off some sparks. For their part, upon hearing the names of the original family clans, the four ponies kept poker faces so as not to show their true emotions. In one way or another, they were related to that very important information about the original clans, and for that reason, they decided not to show it so that the others would not notice. Meanwhile, the book continued writing paragraphs in the air:

'Within them, there was a spark that had accompanied them since the creation of magic, and it was that spark that hundreds of years later, molded into magic in those six families… Magic was no longer limited to just controlling nearby mana. Now, the sparks of the ponies of earth, air, water, fire, light, and darkness came together to create an even larger spark, one that could create, and one that could also destroy… The next step for the great families, was to learn to control that mana they called magic…'

“Why does it repeat the word ‘spark’ so much? Was Star Swirl such a bad writer?” Shadow Lock suddenly interrupted, feeling that the book had already said the most important thing it contained.

“Sparkle… It’s not a coincidence. Star Swirl deliberately repeated that word a lot in this book. Was he trying to leave some hidden message?” Dusk murmured, thinking out loud. He was so focused that he didn’t even realize he was speaking out loud. Feeling like he was getting a little closer to solving the mystery of his family, but that the answer was still a long way off. “Why do I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere else…?”

Suddenly Dusk's eyes opened in astonishment as he remembered.

'With the five elements present, a spark will shine and make the sixth element reveal itself.'

More than a year ago, Dusk Shine had read that paragraph in one of the most important moments of his life. That phrase was written in stone, on the pedestal that contained the ancient elements of harmony.

“It can’t mean the same thing. The pedestal spoke of five elements and a spark, but this book speaks of six clans and a spark.” Dusk thought, feeling his head hurt as he tried to tie up loose ends to get answers. “They are different things… But why is everything related to the word spark… 'sparkle'!?”

“Maybe it reminds you of the tale of the elementals.” Sugar Belle suddenly said, next to Dusk.

“Huh? What?” Dusk asked confused, not understanding what the mare was referring to, as he had been lost in his own thoughts.

“You said that what the book said, you felt like you had read it somewhere else.” Sugar Belle repeated, shrugging. “That part about ponies of light, dark, fire, earth, wind, and water, it sounds like the story they teach foals when they’re learning elemental magic.”

“It’s true!” Shadow Lock said, also remembering that tale. “That tale is about a unicorn who meets a flame, a rock, a cloud, a drop, a shadow, and a light, and how he makes friends with them in order to learn how to use their magic.”

“But this version of the story doesn’t say anything about elemental beings.” Sunset said confused, pointing at the silhouettes of the six colorful ponies. “According to this Star Swirl story, they aren’t six elemental beings, but six ponies who…” Sunset Shimmer suddenly fell silent and looked closely at those silhouettes. “Is it just me, or were the first silhouettes the book projected unicorns?” Sunset asked uncertainly, pointing at the silhouettes and looking at the other three ponies present.

Everyone opened their eyes in surprise and looked intently at the silhouettes of the six ponies. Just as Sunset had said, everyone would have sworn that the book had projected the silhouettes of six unicorns when talking about noble families, but now, when they were talking about elemental magic, the silhouettes had lost their horns and showed the silhouettes of what seemed to be six simple ponies, without horns or wings or any other feature that differentiated them. Had everyone been wrong?

Sunset Shimmer bent down to take the book between her hooves and began to quickly read it on her own. As she did so, the projections generated by the book instantly disappeared. After a few seconds, Sunset finished looking through the book and looked at the others.

“It’s strange, I looked up the word ‘unicorn’ with a spell, but it’s mentioned only a couple of times in the entire book.” Sunset said, with a confused look. “Did Star Swirl intentionally repeat the word ‘sparkle’ and try to omit the word ‘unicorn’ in a book that talks about the origin of unicorn magic? It doesn’t make sense.”

The four unicorns looked at each other thoughtfully, trying to find an explanation for this strange coincidence. Star Swirl was known for being a very good writer. Was it really a coincidence or was it a hidden message?

Suddenly the four unicorns came out of their thoughts when the third and final book began to glow. That book seemed to be the oldest of all, so much so that just by shaking from the magic imbued by Shadow Lock, some pages cracked because of how old they were. Finally, the book projected new letters in the air and the ponies could read the title of the book: 'The Great Taboo. Author: Unknown.’

“The Great Taboo? Is it a philosophical book?” Shadow Lock exclaimed in disappointment, expressing what everyone present felt for a moment upon reading the title of the book.

They all knew about the Great Taboo, although very few actually called it that. It was one of those phrases that were passed from mouth to mouth, something that everyone knew but no one was sure they had actually learned from anyone since it was something as obvious to think about as the simple act of breathing. The Great Taboo was simply: Do not kill.

Ponies were naturally peaceful creatures, so no one really believed that this was something that needed to be taught since no one believed that there could be beings who WANT to kill someone else. This was something so fundamental that it didn't just extend to ponies, but most, perhaps all, intelligent races in that world knew that killing was wrong, and therefore, that desire did not exist in them. After all, someone could be selfish, evil, create pain, but killing... It was something that by nature no one wanted. Or at least, that was what most of the beings in that bright world believed.

“Killing is bad; that is the great taboo. What is relevant about that? That is not magic.” Dusk said, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Again, as if the book had heard what Dusk had said, the Shadow Lock’s spell acted on the book, and new letters were forming in the air, until creating new floating phrases, always with gaps in the sentences it created, due to the age and damage of that book:

'Killing is evil, and all beings in this world know it. An act so horrible that… even the soul itself seems to reject such an aberrant idea. But what if that rejection is not something natural? What if it is something created? The theory of the magic barrier is only a hypothesis… I have divided that concept of the barrier into two factors: repulsion and repercussion.'

“The magic barrier theory? I’ve never heard of anything like that…” Sunset said confused. Although at this point, for some reason, she felt more of a chill of fear than confusion. Just as the other three ponies present there were feeling at that very moment.

The book still didn't explain much about its central theme, only that it wasn't a real fact, but just a simple theory created by someone. However, everyone already felt they knew where this topic was heading, and unconsciously, they felt uncomfortable. Everyone remained in a disturbing silence.

'The world was roamed by dark, powerful, and ancient beings until, at some point, the great barrier, also called the Great Taboo, must have been created. A very powerful magic, something immensely strong and immensely subtle… Impossible to detect… Causing all living beings born from that point on to conceive the act of killing another living being as repulsive… Engraved in their minds to create peace.'

“This… This is ridiculous.” Sunset said, looking frightened. “Is it saying that we’re all bewitched from the moment we’re born? That we’re all brainwashed? This is crazy!”

“It’s… It’s just a theory, the author itself wrote it.” Dusk said, feeling a shiver because he also felt uncomfortable thinking that magic could alter a pony’s way of thinking from its conception. “We don’t kill not because we are bewitched. We don’t kill because we know how to recognize between good and evil. It’s… it’s just that.”

“Well, it can be easily proven whether it’s real or not.” Sugar Belle said, lowering her gaze. Causing Dusk to not be able to see her face.

Dusk felt a chill as he understood what Sugar Belle was referring to. She was right; there was a very easy way to prove that theory is false.

“Someone might try to kill someone…” Dusk muttered, causing his stomach to tighten and him to feel like vomiting just thinking that he had dared to say that out loud. For a second, the four ponies remained in a terrifying silence.

“What!? No! That’s not what I meant! Gosh! What a dark mindset you have!” Sugar Belle suddenly said, with a big smile. “I meant that it’s easy to prove that it’s false because otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any murders or deaths in the history of Equestria and the rest of the world, and of course, there are. Few, but there are some.”

“I was thinking about that too. Dragons are known to be evil creatures that have eaten ponies, and would continue to do so if given the chance.” Shadow Lock said, with a thoughtful look. A comment that left Dusk with an uncomfortable look, remembering Spike and the rest of the dragons he had recently met. “If there really was a magic barrier that prevents murder, that couldn’t happen.”

“Maybe killing for pleasure is different than killing for food.” Sunset said, equally thoughtful, wanting to join in on this interesting debate. However, before continuing, she glanced at Dusk, immediately noticing his discomfort. “However, you’re wrong about something. Dragons are not violent at all. Dusk himself can say so because he has lived his entire life with one.” Sunset added, with a small smile. Unconsciously raising her gaze to look better at Dusk, causing Dusk to catch a glimpse of Sunset’s eyes under her hood. “I’m sure Spike would never hurt anyone.”

At Sunset's comment, Dusk stared at her in surprise.

“She knows Spike?” Dusk thought confused, feeling for some reason an itch in his mind. “Wait, she is Cadance’s student; it’s natural that she knows Spike, since Cadance also took care of Spike when she was my babysitter.”

For a moment, a blurry memory appeared in Dusk's mind, where he was just a young colt in his parents' house. Next to him, there was little Spike and... someone else. A filly... A filly with yellow fur? A filly that...

Dusk suddenly lowered his head as he felt a strong headache. Noticing this, Sunset became worried and took a step forward to get closer. However, at the last second, she changed her mind and stepped back again. Instead of helping Dusk, she hid her face even further under her hood.

“That was dangerous… I… I can’t let him see me. Not yet.” Sunset thought, with a worried and sad look.

“P-Perhaps the theory can still be true, even though dragons ate ponies in ancient times.” Dusk murmured, slowly opening one eye after that fleeting headache disappeared, as well as that strange memory. “I heard from Princess Celestia that ancient dragons were very different from current dragons, bigger, more violent, and much, much older. Perhaps they could kill, because they were born before that magic barrier was created. Of course, assuming that this theory of the Great Taboo was true.”

Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes wide and turned pale. Without realizing it, Dusk Shine's reasoning led her to another revelation, another VERY dangerous revelation, something that filled her with deep terror. She opened her mouth to speak, but was speechless, and then, instead of saying what she thought at that moment, she closed her trembling mouth and remained silent. She wasn't sure if what she had just discovered could be real or not, but if it was, the fewer ponies knew about it, the better... At that moment, one of the ponies present noticed Sunset's reaction and looked at her with a dark gaze.

For his part, remembering Princess Celestia, Dusk Shine also had his own flow of ideas, remembering things that he had long overlooked.

“Princess of the sun, the dawn and the dusk… Guardian of Harmony and Ancient Magic…” Dusk murmured, thinking out loud. “Those are some of the ancient titles that Princess Celestia holds… 'Guardian of Ancient Magic'… Would that mean that she protects that barrier?” Dusk suddenly looked up, realizing something important, and looked at the others. “Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis tried to kill! Even King Sombra tried! But all of them were born years after Celestia was born. According to the book, the Great Taboo was born several thousand years ago, that is before Equestria existed, before the princesses themselves were born!”

“That’s right! If such a magical barrier existed, those dark beings couldn’t have tried to kill anyone.” Shadow Lock said, widening his eyes in surprise. “It means that the theory posited in this book is wrong. It has already been discarded.”

Despite the relief Dusk and Shadow Lock felt when they finally found evidence to prove that nothing and no one had magically lobotomized them at birth, Sunset remained silent, looking away. Meanwhile, Sugar Belle simply tilted her head in confusion, giving the appearance of not understanding anything the others were talking about.

“Wait a second. The book said that the Great Taboo barrier theory was based on two concepts: repulsion and repercussion.” Dusk thought, remembering the projected paragraphs from the book. “Repulsion is the rejection that this magical barrier supposedly creates in living beings in order to kill. But what does it mean by 'repercussion'?”

Suddenly everyone was distracted by the sound of a loud 'POP!', as if a huge bubble had burst. Dusk had been so focused on his thoughts that it took him a while to realize what that sound was due to. Someone had broken his soundproofing spell.

Turning around with the other three ponies, they all saw that not only had the soundproofing spell disappeared, but also the illusion created by Sunset had vanished. Behind them, there was no longer a magical mirage reflecting a false wall, now, there were four golden-cloaked guards looking at them very annoyed. In the middle of the four guards, there was another stallion, one that stood out for being thin, unlike the guards. With whitish-gray fur and black mane, wearing a wine-colored tunic, with a red band crossing his chest, from which hung a huge golden amulet with the emblem of the EEA. That stallion was the highest authority of the Equestria Educational Association.

“Neighsay…” Shadow Lock muttered. For some reason, he clenched his teeth tightly and glared at the stallion in red clothing with hatred.

“What do we have here…?” Neighsay said, looking indifferently at those four ponies.

For an instant, it seemed like Neighsay was trying to maintain a cold gaze, but as he looked at those four unicorns intently, his eyes couldn’t help but show his astonishment. It seemed that with each one he looked at, his astonishment grew, until he finally finished his final inspection with Shadow Lock.

“What an interesting group…” Neighsay finally finished saying, frowning, but immediately closing his eyes to calm himself and putting on his cold gaze again to hide his impression.

“What was that? He always keeps an indifferent look on his face about everything. Was he that shocked to see me here?” Shadow Lock thought in surprise, perfectly capturing Neighsay's surprise and discomfort. “No… It wasn’t just me. For some reason, he was shocked to see the four of us, more than any other pony.” Shadow Lock thought, glancing sideways at the three unicorns beside him, wondering what Neighsay knew about them.

After returning to his indifferent gaze, Neighsay's eyes focused on something even more important than seeing those four unicorns gathered there. He quickly used his magic and levitated the three books that were on the floor behind those four ponies, and quickly pulled them towards him, catching them with his hoof. That movement was so fast and surprising that the four unicorns could only react when they saw that Neighsay already had the books. They all remembered having said that it was best to hide and avoid a dispute with those golden-cloaked guards, however, now that they had been discovered and knowing that those precious ancient books could be in danger in the hooves of the EEA, it was that the four unicorns lit up their horns to retrieve them.

“It’s useless.” Was all Neighsay said, as his horn, already charged with magic after using levitation, now made the golden medallion hanging on his chest shine.

In a fraction of a second, Neighsay's medallion shone with a strong orange glow, which pushed Dusk and the others to his side, causing them to crash into the wall and completely disarming them.

“This amulet has held the magic of hundreds of wizards, archmages, and EEA chancellors before me for years.” Neighsay said, glancing indifferently at the four unicorns in front of him, who were trying to recover and get up after hitting the wall. “No matter how skilled you are, it’s useless to fight against your superiors.” Neighsay added, shining his horn and medallion back into light.

In the blink of an eye, the barrier surrounding the library disappeared, and with it, all the ponies present there. Dusk and the others opened their eyes in surprise when they saw that they had disappeared and reappeared outside the library, next to Neighsay and the guards.

“Get out of here right now, before I arrest you for meddling in EEA matters.” Neighsay said, still holding the books. Looking at Dusk and the others with contempt. Then, his gaze fixed on Shadow Lock. “As for you, I can’t let you go so easily. You entered my office without authorization and forged a letter with my name on it.” Neighsay added, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. “When did you return to Canterlot?”

“I came back just when the golden escort was ordered to come here.” Shadow Lock replied, stepping forward to glare at Neighsay. “You gave them the order yourself, didn’t you, Uncle Neighsay? I saw the list of forbidden books on your desk. That’s why you came here, to hide the knowledge from ordinary ponies. To keep them all in the dark.”

For a moment, Neighsay's gaze seemed to soften as he looked at Shadow Lock's fierce gaze, but he quickly closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his gaze was still as cold as before.

“The EEA’s mission is to enlighten and expand pony knowledge, but not at the risk of everything we’ve fought for.” Neighsay said, narrowing her eyes. “First and foremost, our mission is to protect the peace of the kingdom. I don’t know how much of these books you’ve seen, but there are books that contain dark magic, dangerous spells, information that the average pony shouldn’t know, for their own well-being.”

"And that includes hiding the Sparkle family?" Dusk Shine asked, looking seriously at the chancellor. For his part, Neighsay opened his eyes in surprise and then put on a very annoyed look.

“As I said, there are things that must be kept in the shadows, in pursuit of peace.” Neighsay replied, looking at Dusk with some disdain. “In fact, it is that delicate peace that we protect that has also protected your family without you even knowing it.”

“Are you protecting us? From whom?” Dusk asked, surprised and confused. However, Neighsay just kept silent and looked away, ending that conversation.

Beside Dusk, Shadow Lock put on an even more furious look when he saw that his uncle was still hiding the secrets he knew and had inherited. That made Shadow Lock lift his hoof and touch the scar above his nose. A good reminder of what asking too many questions could cause.

“Nobles only reveal their secrets to one of their descendants per generation.” Shadow Lock said, turning to speak to Dusk, but glancing sideways at Neighsay. “They make an oath that-”

“Enough!” Neighsay said angrily. Then he took a couple of steps forward to face that group of unicorns, led by Dusk Shine. “I have changed my mind. You are a danger to the security of this kingdom. Therefore, with the authority granted to me by the EEA, I will imprison you right now.” Neighsay added, glaring angrily at the four unicorns before him, one by one.

Neighsay had strength on his side thanks to the EEA medallion, however, due to his anger, he had made a mistake. As he approached, Neighsay had less field of vision to see the four intruders, so when he turned to see the others, he did not have time to see Dusk Shine's quick reaction to his announcement.

Just as he did when they fled from the golden escort for the first time, Dusk quickly activated his magic and performed a perfect teleportation spell. Instantly, Sunset, Sugar Belle and Shadow Lock disappeared from there, teleported far away, thanks to Dusk's magic. Seeing that, Neighsay stepped back and opened his eyes in surprise, being totally taken by surprise by that fast spell. However, what surprised him the most was seeing that whoever performed that spell did not use it on himself.

“Why did you help them escape? And more importantly, why didn’t you run away too?” Neighsay asked, staring at Dusk in front of him.

“I felt a little responsible because it was because of my screams that the guards discovered us in the first place.” Dusk said, with a small smile. “Besides, if I teleported too, there was a chance that you would follow my magical trail.” Dusk added, glancing sideways at the golden medallion that Neighsay was carrying.

“Oh, yes! Princess Celestia’s beloved student. Always so noble and selfless.” Neighsay said, with a mocking tone in his voice. Then he moved his hoof so that Dusk could see more clearly the books he had been carrying. “Or perhaps, it’s for something more selfish… I think you didn’t want to leave without first taking these books with you.” Neighsay added with a small, sinister smile.

“It’s not like that.” Dusk thought, putting on a firm look, but then, a more thoughtful one. “Although perhaps a part of me did think that unconsciously.” Dusk thought, having to admit that he wanted to get those books, no matter what.

“Dusk!” A voice that Dusk recognized instantly shouted from afar.

“Shining!” Dusk said with relief. Turning around, he saw Shining Armor, Amethyst Maresbury, and the Crystal Empire guards coming towards him.

“When I saw that they put a magic barrier over the library, I went to call Prince Shining for help.” The old mare Amethyst said, who had been kicked out of the library after Neighsay's arrival.

"What's going on here?" Shining asked with a very serious look. He approached Dusk's side, looking angrily at Neighsay and the guards in golden capes.

“It’s nothing that concerns you, captain.” Neighsay said calmly. Emphasizing the word 'captain', so that Shining would not forget his position. “This is a matter for the EEA, and as much as you are the prince consort of Princess Cadenza, your authority doesn’t surpass the EEA. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was about to arrest your brother.” Neighsay added with feigned indifference. Signaling the guards of the golden escort to arrest Dusk.

Before the guards could approach Dusk, Shining stood in front of his brother and got in the guards' way.

“Dusk Shine had my permission to enter the library.” Shining said, looking seriously at Neighsay. “Also, this is the Crystal Empire, it’s not a library that-”

“Cloudsdale, Canterlot, Ponyville, even the Crystal Empire, it doesn’t matter where!” Neighsay interrupted, with a mocking laugh. “All libraries in Equestria are under the authority of the EEA, and right now, I am the highest authority of the EEA!”

“My wife, Princess Cadance, has the authority to-” Shining said angrily, until he was interrupted again by Neighsay.

“Your wife, or Princess Luna, it doesn’t matter. Neither of them has power over the kingdom’s libraries.” Neighsay said, looking at Shining with a serious look. “The only one who has a seat on the EEA council is Princess Celestia, although there, she only counts as one more vote. However, she is not present, so as I said, my authority is absolute.” Neighsay added, not being able to avoid putting on a small mocking smile again, because he had everything calculated, Shining could not contradict him or do anything against him.

After being interrupted twice, Shining lowered his head. That made Neighsay internally enjoy seeing him defeated and without any more arguments. Therefore, Neighsay couldn't help but be surprised to see that, when Shining Armor raised his head, instead of a dejected look, he was smiling with a certain mockery in his gaze.

“Chancellor Neighsay, you are completely correct.” Shining said calmly, with a small smile. “However, I have something to report to you.” Shining Armor added, gesturing to his left for someone behind him to approach.

At Shining's signal, a pony quickly approached the white unicorn, a pegasus that seemed to be very exhausted. Just by seeing that pony, Dusk knew where she was from. That was the uniform of the Wonderbolts, where the fastest and most skilled pegasi in the kingdom were. That pegasus handed a scroll to Shining, who took it with his hoof and offered it to Neighsay. The chancellor of the EEA looked at that scroll with distrust, but finally opened it and began to read it.

“Cadance suspected that with Princess Celestia's long absence, some nobles might try to take advantage of the circumstances. So that's why she traveled to Canterlot, not only to help Luna raise the sun.” Shining Armor said, looking at Dusk with a smile. Then he looked back at Neighsay, who had lost his smile when reading that scroll. “Chancellor Neighsay, I regret to inform you that the Crystal Empire is an independent kingdom. It has been so before, and it will continue to be so. As you will see in that law that Luna and Cadance have approved just today, the Kingdom of Equestria recognizes the independence of the Crystal Empire, maintaining a close alliance, but each kingdom maintains its independent sovereignty.” Shining added, this time being the one who could hardly bear to hide a mocking smile. “Whether Celestia is present or not, making laws is something that Luna and Cadance can do on their own. And since this library and its books belong to the Crystal Empire, I order you to return those books and leave my brother alone. The EEA has no power in this kingdom.”

Contrasting with Shining's smile, Neighsay had a furious look on his face, seeing that this detestable unicorn, the eldest son of the Sparkle family, had made fun of him. Now he was the one who had no arguments to refute, no matter how much he thought about it. It was then that Neighsay let out a sigh and lowered his head in resignation.

Seeing that gesture, Dusk was finally able to let out a sigh of relief, seeing that he would not go to jail, thanks to Cadance and his brother. However, that joy lasted only a moment. The moment Shining turned around to smile at his brother, Dusk managed to see out of the corner of his eye that Neighsay made a very subtle gesture with his gaze to one of the guards with a golden cloak. Then, that guard used his magic and quickly set fire to the three books that Neighsay had been holding.

Sensing the fire, Shining Armor quickly turned around, while Neighsay dropped the books so as not to get burned, and pretended to try to put out the fire, stomping on them heavily, making them shatter.

“NOOO!” Dusk Shine screamed in horror. He threw himself over the burnt books and knocked Neighsay’s hoof off of them.

“Wow! What a scare! How could those books have caught fire?” Neighsay said, feigning surprise. “Who knows. I suppose it could happen from rubbing against them, since the books are so old.” Neighsay added, shrugging.

As Neighsay spoke, Dusk tried to take what was left of those books between his hooves, but it was useless, the only thing left there were ashes.

“You… How far can you go to hide the truth!?” Dusk Shine shouted furiously. Standing up and facing Neighsay. “Those books were antiques, they were unique books! How could you destroy them!?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dusk Shine. I didn’t do anything,” Neighsay replied, unable to help but put on a mocking smile.

Dusk Shine was furious with Neighsay for having destroyed a precious treasure of the world's history, so Shining Armor had to intervene to calm Dusk down. For his part, the golden-cloaked guard who had set the books on fire had no problem admitting that he had been the one who had done it, of his own free will, and simply surrendered to the guards of the Crystal Empire, without saying another word about it. That surprised Dusk Shine, seeing how far the nobles and the AEE were willing to go in order to protect their secrets, with absolute conviction in their ideals.

After that guard had turned himself in to be arrested and accepted all the blame, there was no way to blame Neighsay for what had happened. In addition, Shining Armor had to remain calm and avoid arresting a high authority of Equestria, and thus avoid a possible greater conflict with the newly formed new Crystal Empire. Thus, only one of the guards of the golden escort was arrested, while Neighsay and the other guards left the city without saying anything else. They were all willing to sacrifice themselves for a greater good, and more importantly, they had nothing more to do in that city, they had already fulfilled their objective.

After giving the crystal guards instructions to take the gold-cloaked guard for questioning, Shining returned to where Dusk Shine was. After his anger dissipated, Dusk had simply fallen seated in front of the ashes of the burned books, and was trying in vain to find any page that had remained intact. At his side, Amethyst Maresbury also stayed, comforting Dusk, because she too, as a librarian, shared the pain of seeing a beautiful ancient book turned to ashes.

“Calm down, young Dusk. It’s not the end of the world.” Amethyst said, wiping away a tear and trying to smile to cheer Dusk up. “They were just… books. There are more important things in life. The important thing is that you’re okay.”

'Books are just books.' That was what Dusk also remembered Dusty Pages telling him in Canterlot. That helped Dusk calm down a bit and finally get up. It was true that those books no longer existed, but he had managed to read them, and the truth he had obtained from them still existed within him. And that would guide him until he found the truth he was looking for. Not everything had been in vain.

“Dusk… Come with me.” Shining said once he reached his brother. He gestured with his head for him to follow.

Dusk Shine let out a long sigh to try to regain his spirits and obediently followed his older brother through the streets of the city with a dejected look that he still couldn't shake off. As they walked, Shining Armor simply remained silent, walking calmly, until they got quite far away from the center of the city, walking down a less-lit alley. Then, Shining stopped and stood in front of Dusk, putting a hoof on his shoulder and staring at him.

“I have something for you.” Shining said with a serious look. Using his magic, he made a book appear in front of him.

“Huh?” Dusk said, surprised. For a second, he thought that this was one of the books that had been burned and that Shining had managed to save. However, even though this book also looked very old, its cover was different from the ones Dusk had remembered seeing in the books that were burned. This book had a blue cover, with a drawing of two swirls and five stars. A mark that, if Dusk had not been so sad, he would have recognized instantly.

“This is Star Swirl the Bearded’s Diary.” Shining said seriously. Making Dusk open his eyes in surprise and immediately forget all his sorrow.

“WHAT!?” Dusk shouted in shock from the amazement. Making Shining quickly cover his mouth, so that he wouldn’t attract the attention of anyone around.

“Shh! Don’t shout. The less ponies know about this, the better.” Shining whispered worriedly, looking around. “We’ve already seen what some nobles are willing to do to keep their secrets hidden.”

“I thought Star Swirl’s Diary was in Princess Celestia’s possession.” Dusk said, surprised. Taking the book that Shining had made appear in his hooves.

“That’s right. But it seems that this is another diary. An older one. From before he became the princesses’ teacher. Maybe… Before the founding of Equestria.” Shining said, looking seriously at Dusk. “When we went through the rooms of the crystal castle with Cadance, we found this book. I thought for a moment about giving it to the library. But with what I saw today, I think it would be best for you to keep it. It’ll be safer with you, and also… maybe you can read it.”

Dusk was confused by his brother's last comment. Then he opened the book and immediately understood what he was referring to. That book had written indecipherable scribbles, strokes that did not look like letters at all, however, looking at it more closely, it seemed that those strokes followed a certain pattern.

“As you can see, the book seems to be written in some kind of code. As a soldier, I am familiar with some keys, but those symbols are not from any key I know.” Shining said, putting on a thoughtful look and then looking at Dusk with a smile. “That is why I entrust it to you. If there is anyone capable of deciphering this enigma, it’s my smarty-pants little brother.” Shining added with a big smile.

Dusk felt the weight of responsibility that Shining was placing on his shoulders. He was handing him possibly one of the most important books in the entire kingdom, one of the private diaries of the most famous wizard in history… At that moment, Dusk swore to himself that he would protect that diary and prevent it from suffering the same fate as the books that fell into the hooves of the EEA.

“We don’t know what secrets that book may contain. So, I just ask you to be very careful.” Shining Armor said, placing a hoof on Dusk again, looking at him with concern. “Unknown magic can be dangerous, even if you try to use it for good.”

Hearing that, Dusk understood that his brother was referring to what had happened a week ago with King Sombra and Amore's curse. His brother did not want him to use strange magic that could be contained in that book and end up like Sombra.

“Don’t worry. I… I know my limits.” Dusk said with a serious look. Without even imagining what the future held for him…

Almost an hour earlier, when Neighsay had made the decision to arrest the four intruders who had sneaked into the library, Dusk Shine used his magic and teleported Sunset, Sugar Belle, and Shadow Lock away to save them, making them reappear on the outskirts of the city. As soon as the three unicorns reappeared there, they looked in all directions, trying to understand what had happened.

“What happened?” Shadow Lock asked confused. Realizing where he was now. “Did that Dusk Shine guy teleport us away again? Why didn’t he teleport away too?”

“He sacrificed himself so that Neighsay wouldn’t follow us!” Sunset said worriedly, immediately understanding what Dusk had done for them.

Sunset quickly teleported back to the entrance of the city. She began to run back towards the library, unable to teleport directly there since she had come to the city from another side and did not know those streets, nor could she see the library from there.

After Sunset ran away, Sugar Belle and Shadow Lock looked at each other. It seemed like they were both thinking the same thing. They were grateful that Dusk saved them, but they weren't willing to go back and risk being imprisoned. Then, Sugar Belle suddenly became distracted and looked behind Shadow Lock, seeing in the distance two pony figures that were also outside the city.

“It seems my companions are waiting for me.” Sugar Belle said with a smile. She then turned to leave. However, at the last second, she turned back around and looked at Shadow Lock with interest, with a different look than the stallion had seen her with up until that moment. “Here. Think about the power of equality and perhaps, one day we’ll meet again.” Sugar Belle smiled, offering a muffin to Shadow Lock, who reluctantly took it.

Sugar Belle put on a smile that was less innocent than she had ever had before, and after activating her magic, she disappeared from there, leaving Shadow Lock alone. After looking around to make sure that no one was watching him, Shadow Lock moved his cloak and took out the bag he was hiding inside it.

“Well, I think it's time for us to go too.” Shadow Lock said, opening his bag and taking out the bookworm he had kept there after Dusk found it.

Standing out of everyone's sight, Shadow Lock placed the huge worm next to his cheek and caressed it with a smile. A gesture of affection that the huge and tender worm thanked with a smile, causing his greenish skin to shine and turn pinker.

After petting his pet, Shadow Lock saw that a thin silk thread was hanging from the worm's body to his bag.

“Well Papyrus, let’s see what you got.” Shadow Lock said, searching for the end of that silk thread inside his bag. Finding what he expected, Shadow Lock pulled his hoof out of his bag again, this time, taking out several pages of books, pages that shone as if they were freshly made.

“All book lovers fear bookworms because they eat the paper in books. But very few know that they can be trained to make their silk replicate the pages they eat.” Shadow Lock thought, flipping through the pages his worm had created out of silk paper, checking that the letters with the dyes created by the ink eaten by the worm had also dried. “So the last book Papyrus ate is called ‘The Cursed Star’… It’ll be weeks before Papyrus can replicate the entire book he ate, but the advantage is that I won’t have to share what I read in this book with anyone.”

Putting the silk pages back into his bag, Shadow Lock remembered Dusk's horrified reaction when he mentioned the book his pet had eaten. Then, he lovingly took his pet worm and carefully put it back into his bag, remembering how much his pet had helped him when he was just a young colt, when he first discovered his pet's ability... Shadow Lock took the books from the Canterlot library to feed them to his pet, who was trained by Shadow Lock himself to copy with his silk the pages of the books he ate, creating shiny copies of old books, which led him to earn the title of The Best Book Borrower in the library. Although of course, he never wanted his photograph to appear in the library, despite the insistence of the old Canterlot librarian.

“Time to continue our journey.” Shadow Lock said after remembering the past. Moving his cloak again to take out something else that he was hiding behind it. Something that he had been hiding very carefully and that, for a second, he thought that nosy Sunset Shimmer had managed to discover… A golden triangular medallion, with two small holes in it. “Well, Lord Scorpan. Where will you guide me this time?” Shadow Lock asked, staring at the medallion, waiting for an answer…

After separating from Sugar Belle and Shadow Lock, Sunset Shimmer ran at full speed through the streets of the Crystal Empire, until finally, she saw the library in the distance. Once she got there, she was surprised to see that there were no longer only Dusk Shine, Neighsay and the so-called 'golden escort', but also Shining Armor and several city guards, who were taking into custody one of the gold-cloaked guards, who, to Sunset's surprise, surrendered without resistance.

Seeing that Shining Armor was there, Sunset doubted whether it would be a good idea to approach her, since, as far as Cadance knew, she shouldn't be there. After carefully watching what was happening from afar, Sunset put on a surprised and sad look when she saw the ashes and remains of burnt books that Dusk touched on the ground, understanding what must have happened to those important and ancient books they had discovered. Still, seeing Neighsay walking away with his escort made Sunset sigh with relief, seeing that Dusk would be safe.

“I was thinking I’d have to face Neighsay if necessary, but it would have been complicated while he had the EEA medallion. So it’s a relief that he’s just leaving.” Sunset thought, sighing. Turning around and adjusting her hood again, thinking that as much as she wanted to stay there, it was best to leave before Dusk saw her. “Now that I know Dusk is safe, there’s another matter I must give priority to.” Sunset thought with a serious look, using her teleportation to disappear and reappear at the entrance of the city.

Sunset Shimmer ran at full speed down the path that led to the train station. Once there, she looked around intently. The train hadn't arrived back there yet, so the station was empty, except for one pony. A mare with a traveling hood identical to the one Sunset was wearing at that moment, who was sitting right at the end of that station.

“Gotcha!” Sunset Shimmer thought with a triumphant smile. She ran at full speed and used her magic to teleport after gaining speed.

At the train station, the hooded mare had noticed Sunset's presence only a second before seeing her disappear. Then, in an instant, Sunset reappeared in front of her, making her fall to the ground due to the momentum of her run.

“W-What is this!? What are you doing?” The hooded mare asked in fear, with her back to the ground, while Sunset was on top of her, preventing her from getting up.

“What’s wrong? Did you think I would just let you get away after what happened in Hope Hollow? We have a duel pending.” Sunset Shimmer said, looking with an excited and fierce gaze at the mare beneath her.

Sunset's excitement quickly faded when she saw that her rival, instead of resisting or using her magic as she had expected, only kept smiling, trembling slightly, as if she were afraid of her gaze. Noticing this, Sunset Shimmer quickly removed the mare's hood.

“You… You’re Starlight?” Sunset asked confused. Looking at the color of the mare’s coat and her face, she saw that her coat wasn’t purple like she had been told, but pink.

“Oops! I think you found us out.” That mare said with a nervous smile. Thinking that Sunset was one of the ponies that lived in that crystal city. “Did you like the muffins I baked for you? I know they may seem a bit bland, but that’s the taste of equality, you’ll get used to it in time!”

At that response, Sunset took a couple of steps back with a stunned look. Her mind quickly realized her mistake, but her pride prevented her from accepting it, leaving her unable to react.

“Oh! Sugar Belle, there you are.” Another pony suddenly said as they arrived at the station.

Turning around, Sunset Shimmer saw two ponies arrive, a white-furred earth pony and a dark-blue-furred pegasus. Both with the same outdated manestyles and the same 'equal signs' replacing their cutie marks, the same ones that the 'Sugar Belle' she met at the library also had.

“Are you okay, Sugar Belle? Who is she?” The blue-furred pegasus asked, worriedly approaching her friend lying on the ground, looking at Sunset with fear.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I guess she figured out Starlight’s game. She even has her cape, so she must be her friend.” Sugar Belle replied, standing up. Smiling to calm her friend down.

“Huh?” Sunset stammered, still stunned as her mind struggled to accept the truth.

“Her cape. See? S.G.” The pink mare said, taking the edge of Sunset’s cloak where the letters ‘S’ and ‘G’ were embroidered. “Those are her initials. Starlight Glimmer.”

“Glimmer?” Sunset asked, staring with a dumbfounded look at Sugar Belle. Slowly recovering from the shock of the truth before her. “A game… You mentioned a game! W-What game are you playing!?” Sunset added, slowly starting to regain her fiery temper.

“When we got to the station and Starlight saw that lavender stallion approaching us, she asked me to hide. She said she would play a little prank on that city ponies.” Sugar Belle replied, still smiling.

“Yeah, on the way to city, she told us she was going to pretend to be Sugar Belle and use her name.” The white-furred pony added. “I guess she wanted to play a prank on that Dusk Shine guy. Maybe-”

“THAT DAMN WITCH FOOLED ME IN MY FACE!” Sunset screamed furiously, finally accepting the truth. She had always had before her eyes the mare who had challenged her and stolen the Alicorn Amulet. She had mocked her in her face and she had been so focused on hiding from Dusk and finding what she needed in the ancient books that she completely fell for the performance of that mare she so wanted to challenge again.

At Sunset's scream, the three ponies with the mark of equality covered their ears and took a few steps back in fear. Then, they looked worriedly at Sunset for a few seconds, until all three were completely scared when they saw that after screaming, that yellow mare suddenly began to laugh like a maniac.

“Hahaha! Well played. But this will be the last time you fool me.” Sunset said, thinking out loud. She laughed and put on a determined look. “You made a mistake, Starlight GLIMMER. Now I know your game.”

“It’s funny how fate intertwines the past and the future…” Sunset thought with a pensive look. Using her magic to make a torn book page appear before her.

That sheet was a page torn from one of the books she had seen with Dusk and the others. It was not for nothing that she had taken the book 'Fantastic Artifacts and Where to Find Them' between her hooves, and without anyone noticing, she tore out a page detailing the effects of a certain magical artifact.

“'The Memory Stone'… I suppose if it can erase any memory, it might be able to help undo Discord's curse.” Sunset muttered, looking at the drawing on the page. “And for better or worse, I think I know where to find it…” Sunset muttered, looking away. Realizing that she would have to go back to a place she wished to never return to…

Far from where Sunset was, the mare that Dusk and Sunset knew as 'Sugar Belle' walked calmly towards a small hill, where two mares that she knew well were waiting for her: Trixie Lulamoon and Moondancer. When she reached them, the kind smile of the fake Sugar Belle disappeared completely, turning into an arrogant smile full of pride. With her magic, the purple mare arranged her mane to remove that old-fashioned maestyle she had.

“So, Starlight? Did everything turn out as you planned?” Moondancer asked, looking at her newly arrived companion.

“It turned out even better than I expected.” Starlight replied, with a cocky grin. “The ponies of ‘Our Town’ did their job well, spreading the word of equality among the ponies of this city. Soon, the spirit of equality will be sweeping through every town in Equestria, from the smallest village to the largest city.” Starlight added, smiling.

With those words, Starlight levitated the muffin basket she had taken from the real Sugar Belle, levitated one of the muffins, and dropped the tasteless muffin to the ground, leaving only the paper wrapper. As she pulled the wrapper open, Starlight smiled when she saw that her message was intact. All the wrappers covering the base of the muffins were actually manifests, which featured the symbol of equality and explained the new ideology that Starlight was creating.

Starlight concentrated magic on her horn as she levitated the manifest, and in an instant, the manifest duplicated itself dozens and hundreds of times in the air. Then, Starlight threw them into the sky with her magic, causing the wind to blow them away and carry them from that hill to the huge crystal city.

“Who would have thought that the spell I created to duplicate that manifest would also serve another great purpose…” Starlight smiled, once again concentrating magic on her horn.

Unlike the duplicate manifest, this time what Starlight's magic generated were hundreds of sheets that piled up one on top of the other, torn sheets and some with blurred and misspelled words... They were copies of the books that Dusk and the others had seen in the library and that had later been burned by Neighsay and his escort.

“That miserable Sunset tried to expose my facade when she handed me the book of magical artifacts to see. She knew I was interested in ancient magical artifacts, but what she didn’t know, is that with this spell, I only need to take a quick look at a book, to copy it letter by letter, hehe!” Starlight laughed triumphantly. Pleased with herself to see that she had managed to fool the cunning Sunset Shimmer for the second time. “Not only Sunset, but also Dusk Shine and Shadow Lock. Thank you very much! Without you guys, it would have taken me centuries to find these valuable books, hahaha!” Starlight scoffed, imitating the kind and silly tone of voice she had maintained throughout that day to fool the three unicorns.

“What!? Dusk Shine and Sunset were also in that town!?” Trixie asked, surprised and worried.

“Did they recognize you?” Moondancer asked, wearing the same worried expression as Trixie.

“They never realized my true identity. And even if they do now, it doesn’t matter anymore.” Starlight said, shrugging and putting on an even more evil smile. “It’s time to come out of the shadows and begin our plan.”

After saying goodbye to Shining, Dusk left the Crystal Empire and headed towards the train station. Fortunately, the train seemed to have arrived recently and there were still a few minutes left before it left.

At the station, Dusk saw that at the opposite end from where he had arrived, the ponies with the self-proclaimed 'equality sign,' Double Diamond, Night Glider, and the mare that had run away from him upon seeing him the first time, were gathered. It took Dusk a few seconds to remember until he finally remembered that Sugar Belle had mentioned that that mare was called Starlight. It was then that something else caught Dusk's attention, Sugar Belle did not seem to be gathered with her group.

Noticing that Dusk was staring at them, Night Glider gestured to her companions and they quickly entered the train, as if they wanted to avoid getting together with Dusk. Something that surprised Dusk, not knowing that that was a natural reaction of those three ponies, after seeing how an unknown yellow mare attacked Sugar Belle, screaming and laughing before leaving there without apologizing or anything. So the group of ponies decided to avoid getting together with more ponies from that city, thinking that it was a shame that they weren't normal ponies who accepted equality in their hearts, like they did.

Seeing that the ponies were entering the train, Dusk also entered and began to advance through the cars. He thought that it would be a good idea to talk to that group to see if Sugar Belle was okay, after having teleported her away from the city. Besides, there was another thing that Dusk wanted to ask those ponies, and that was if they were related to the rain of manifestos that talked about equality and that mysteriously began to fall on the city shortly before he left there.

Suddenly, Dusk stopped walking between the cars when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. The train was almost empty, since not many ponies yet ventured this far north to visit the new Crystal Empire. For that reason, he couldn't help but notice a white pegasus with blonde mane sitting there. A pegasus that Dusk recognized immediately.

“Golden Feather?” Dusk asked, surprised. Seeing the mare he had met at the Ponyville comic convention and with whom he had established a quick and intense friendship.

Even though Dusk called her, the pegasus did not react. She simply remained with her head resting on the window and a dull look. As if her mind was very, very far away from there.

“Golden? Are you okay?” Dusk asked, approaching the white mare worriedly, gently touching her shoulder. “Do you remember me? I’m Dusk Shine, from Ponyville.”

“Huh?” Golden Feather finally said, reacting slowly and clumsily when Dusk touched her. As she turned around, the pegasus’s eyes opened slightly wider, but her gaze remained dull. “Dusk? What are you doing here…? How did you find me?”

“Find you? No, I just saw you by chance.” Dusk said with a small smile. Then he looked at his friend with a little concern “Perhaps… Is something wrong with you?” Dusk added worriedly, noticing the sad and lost look the mare had.

“I don’t know… I think… I’m just trying to run away.” Golden replied, in a weak voice.

“Run away from who?” Dusk asked very worried.

“Maybe… myself…” Golden replied with a sad look. She looked away again to rest her head against the window again. “I don’t know how long I’ve been here. I just got on a train and I’ve been here ever since…”

Golden Feather was Celestia's alter ego, an identity that not even Dusk knew about. A disguise that she sometimes used when she felt the need for a break and didn't want anyone to recognize her. And although she didn't use her disguise to rest now, she did use it to avoid being recognized because she knew that if she remained hidden as herself in one place, sooner or later, someone would find her and recognize her. That disguise was one of the most perfect magical disguises in the world, an effect achieved not only with alicorn magic but also with changeling magic, which had been impregnated in the necklace of Celestia's former student at the moment of falling into the well of dark magic in which Chrysalis had been spawned. The same necklace that Dusk was now observing very closely.

Dusk Shine almost forgot that Golden Feather always wore that golden necklace, but now, it seemed like that necklace was about to break. It was completely bent and had almost completely lost its shape.

“That necklace… I think I’ve seen it somewhere else…” Dusk thought. Not remembering at that moment that that necklace was the same one Chrysalis transformed into a dagger to stab Shining and then, try to stab him.

Seeing the sad mood of the one he remembered as a vibrant and cheerful mare, Dusk sat down next to her and simply stayed with her in silence until the train started to move. Dusk wanted to ask the reason for his friend's mood, but from her look, he understood that it was something that hurt her a lot, and for that reason, he decided to wait until she felt ready. After all, it was a long trip, and if she needed him, he would be there.

Seeing that the silence continued for a long time, Dusk saw Golden Feather's sad and lost eyes and felt her pain. He knew what it was like to have a painful emotion eating away at you from the inside, and for that reason, he knew that keeping it in any longer would make his friend much worse.

“I’m sorry about your necklace.” Dusk finally said, breaking the silence. Deciding that perhaps he should start with a banal conversation so that Golden would relax. “How did it end up in that state?”

Golden reacted slowly, lowering her head and looking at her necklace. Then, a fleeting glow lit up Golden's eyes, but as fleeting as it came, it disappeared.

“Someone crushed it and did something horrible to it…” Golden answered with a sad look. “I thought about getting rid of it. Not only because it was broken but also because it brought back bad memories… But… I realized that the necklace also brought back good memories of someone very dear to me.” Golden added, putting on a small smile. Then she raised her head and looked Dusk straight in the eyes. “It’s like love. As much as the loss of someone you love causes you pain, you can’t just forget it. Because otherwise, you would condemn to oblivion all the beautiful moments you spent with that loved one…” At that moment, Golden Feather’s gaze seemed to darken even more. “Or so I thought… Maybe… The best thing is to never love… That way… you’ll never suffer…”

After saying that, Golden closed her eyes and squeezed them lightly, as if she wanted to cry. However, it seemed that she had already cried enough, and no tears fell from her eyes. For his part, Dusk understood that the pegasus was suffering the loss of a loved one and he also closed his eyes, understanding his friend's pain.

For several seconds, Dusk remained silent, thinking about how best to comfort someone in that situation. However, he couldn't find an adequate answer. He himself had suffered the loss of a love when he felt that his love with Pinkie had ended. If he couldn't even move on after a breakup, how was it possible for him to give someone advice about the loss of a loved one? That was much worse than just ending a relationship.

Dusk Shine slowly placed a hoof over his heart, to listen to his own heartbeat. Then, Dusk remembered some wise words he had heard as a young colt. Some that someone had given him as advice but that he never understood at the time. However, now, he finally understood them.

“Love and friendship are such precious feelings that we keep them deep within our hearts. That’s why it hurts so much when someone takes them away from us.” Dusk said, raising his gaze with emotion and then looking at Golden Feather, who at that very moment, had the sunlight reflecting on her face, illuminating her eyes. “That’s why we might be afraid to want to make friends, or to want to open our hearts to others, but if we want to make that beautiful feeling blossom, we must take a risk and take a leap of faith. That’s why friendship and love are for the brave!”

At those words, Golden Feather opened her eyes wide as they finally regained their shine. She remembered those words. They were the words that she herself, as Dusk's teacher, had said to her little student that day when he came crying after losing his dear friend Sunset.

Realizing that Dusk remembered that phrase, and that he had saved it for the very moment when she needed it the most, made Celestia finally feel warmth in her chest again. She had cried for days until she had no tears left, she had hidden herself to sink into her misery and now she could hardly feel anything. But her own words, spoken by her beloved student, who finally understood the meaning of them, made Celestia finally be able to feel in her heart again.

For a second, Celestia closed her eyes and remembered the image of her beloved Sombra smiling at her. That made Celestia smile as a tear fell down her cheek. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at Dusk.

“Dusk… Could I-?” Golden Feather asked, until she was interrupted by Dusk’s hug. Something that left her completely surprised.

That was precisely what Celestia had wanted to ask Dusk, however, Dusk knew before her what her friend needed. With that hug, Celestia finally felt that someone supported her and comforted her. She no longer needed to cry alone.

Golden Feather's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry non-stop. Meanwhile, Dusk remained silent at all times. He simply hugged her, stood by her side and gave her his support...

After a long and silent journey, the train finally arrived at Canterlot at dusk. It was only at that moment that Dusk Shine and Golden Feather stopped hugging each other. Finally, Golden was no longer crying, but it was not like days ago, when despite how much she cried, she did not feel better. This time, she was able to stop crying and smile again, with a renewed warmth in her heart.

“This is my stop. I think… it’s time to go home.” Golden Feather said smiling. Standing up and approaching the exit door, she then turned around and looked at Dusk again. “What are you going to do?”

For a few seconds, Dusk remained silent with a thoughtful look. Then he touched his chest, also feeling a renewed warmth within him. His mourning had also ended.

“Yeah… I think I’ll go home too.”

End of chapter 42

Author's Note

Many thanks to 'Silveranon' for his great help