An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One

We didn't talk about the stones anymore that day, and Hail Storm clammed his mouth shut when I tried asking him about how Headmaster was his uncle. He wouldn't even mention if he was his father’s brother or mother’s brother or if there was any other extended family or where they came from. It was pretty safe to assume that the parent was originally from Earth. That would line up with the earlier mystery about there being multiple ponies from China that those Chinese guys were looking for. If they, at some point, had those stones before giving them to Psychic Calm, that would be an incentive to track them down—at least, it made sense if China knew about those stones.

With no other means of getting information, it was off to the library to research.

I figured it would be easiest to research Hail’s mother since she was a Wonderbolt. There had to be some story about her in the library newspapers, but that quickly hit a dead end.

“You are looking for a Wonderbolt Reserve story in the newspapers?” Moondancer asked me in disbelief after I inquired about it. “There’s unlikely to be anything like that. The main Wolderbolt team is the elite of the elite, and part of why they put on so many shows for the public is to keep their skills in top shape for when they are needed to help fight for Equestria or tackle weather disasters. However, Wonderbolt Reserves are merely flyers who have demonstrated they are moderately skilled and serve as a militia force when Equestria needs them, and there are hundreds of them. While some of them do occasionally come in to substitute for a main Wonderbolt from time to time, most of them never see any action at all, aside from one or two training days at the academy every year or helping support the main team in dealing with some rogue weather or monster in their region. They’re typically only called on if an emergency is too much for the main Wonderbolt team, palace guard, princesses, or Element Bearers to deal with alone, which is rare.”

That wasn't very reassuring to hear. “Would there be a news story if she turned out to be from Earth?”

Moondancer shook her head. “No, it isn’t that uncommon. Of the twelve full-time Wonderbolts, one was born on Earth and migrated to Equestria at a young age, and two others had parents born on Earth. There are plenty of reserves with some Earthling heritage. Nopony would think it is worth writing a story about unless she did something that earned her infamy. They’d probably be quick to point out she had Earthling heritage then.”

I blinked. “Why’s that?”

Moondancer waved a hoof. “It is popular right now for newspapers to run stories critical of Earthling ponies due to the situation with the Everfree.”

“Situation with the Everfree?” I asked in confusion.

She adjusted her glasses. “Have you been living under a rock? The former humans that migrated here have upset the balance of the Everfree with their unorthodox methods of pushing the forest back so they can build homes.”

“What’s the Everfree?” I asked, feeling stupid for asking.

She gave me a flat look. “A forest.”

“Just a forest?” I asked, still confused.

She adjusted her glasses. “The Everfree is not like other forests; it behaves almost like a territorial animal rather than a location filled with flora and fauna. The Earthlings have stolen land from it, and their tactics make it fear them. It isn’t willingly going to lose acreage, but it isn’t willing to fight them, so it has started aggressively expanding in other directions, disrupting other communities. We have towns that are now regularly under assault from plundervines and timberwolves that have never had those kinds of problems before, and everypony knows it is because the forest is fleeing the Earthlings and their destructive slash-and-burn techniques.”

I decided it might be a good idea to keep the fact I’m from Earth to myself, at least around the locals.

I sat next to the librarian’s desk and sighed. “Okay, can you recommend any books about magic stones?”

She frowned. “I will need more details than that. Magical artifacts are an extensive topic. Or are you discussing gemstones used as power cores for an artifact?”

“Are there plain stones that can do that or ones that can grant a pony power on their own?” I asked.

Moondancer sat considering. “There are the Elements of Harmony, the Sunstone, Grogar’s Bell, and the Alicorn Amulet. I suppose the Crystal Heart might fall under that category as well. Those are all extremely powerful artifacts that are all single stones. I have some limited reading material on the Elements of Harmony and Crystal Heart, but the Sunstone, Grogar’s Bell, and Alicorn Amulet all fall under the restricted section, and what’s available for students on those subjects are little more than passing references.”

“Are they all made of the same material?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, I know a lot, but I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t even know what the Sunstone looks like, and there are conflicting references about what the Elements of Harmony look like. There isn’t much confirmed information about any of these things, including what they are made of. The best I can say is that the Alicorn Amulet, Grogar’s Bell, and the Crystal Heart seem to be all made of completely different materials, but that is only based on witness accounts of their appearance, not verified study, so I can’t give you an answer,” Moondancer said apologetically.

That wasn’t helpful, but I suppose all I could do was read the books for myself. “Alright, well, what books should I read to learn about all those things?”

She raised her head high and started listing. “History of the Two Sisters by Lofty Tome references the Elements of Harmony. Journal of Friendship by the Elements of Harmony extensively describes the Elements of Harmony, Crystal Heart, and passing descriptions of the Alicorn Amulet. Forbidden Artifacts by Arcane Black references Grogar’s Bell and the Alicorn Amulet but only briefly describes the purported powers of each, and by brief, I mean a single paragraph each. Late Unicornia History by Princess Blueblood the First Elder, written only two centuries after the fall of Unicornia and based on her family’s oral history, references the Sunstone’s importance to pre-Equestrian history. Prophecy of the Stars by Star Singer references the Elements of Harmony and Crystal Heart, primarily focusing on their weaknesses. History of the Crystal Empire by Topaz Gleam references the Sunstone in passing and extensively describes the Crystal Heart and its effects. Speculative Lost History Before Tamberlon, The Reconstructed Fragments of the History of Tamberlon, The Grogarian Era, and The End of the Grogarian Era, all written by Primal Passion, give multiple references to Grogar’s Bell and minor references to the Sunstone. The Discordian Era once again by Primal Passion—she had a thing for confirmed periods of history that were missing all of their written records, but she has done extensive archaeological study in the field—references the Elements of Harmony. When Ponies Were Livestock by Master Krik references the Sunstone; it is the only major work describing the deep pre-history of our planet that predates even what archaeology can tell us. History of the Tree of Harmony, by Twilight Sparkle, gives extensive descriptions of the Elements of Harmony and their effects. Gusty the Great, author unknown, references Grogar’s Bell and has minor references to the Sunstone—although I should note that that book is believed to be heavily fictionalized with the intent to entertain a younger audience with only kernels of truth, leaving it more as legend than history, despite it giving us most our tales concerning the lost first alicorn, Gusty the Great. Gusty’s Folly: the Rise and Fall of Skyros, by Dubious Draft, references the Sunstone and the Alicorn Amulet—but the sources for that book are as dubious as the author and are mostly conjecture with wildly speculative interpretations of ruins and ancient art, but is much more critical of Gusty than the mainstream stories present and is worth at least a read. The Biography of the Great and Powerful Trixie, by Trixie Lulamoon, has our best physical description of the Alicorn Amulet and only detailed contemporary description of its effects, but the author’s reliability is highly questionable. Journal of the Two Sisters by Princesses Celestia and Luna references the Elements of Harmony—but scholars believe that this work has been heavily edited and censored by Celestia over the centuries, and the early copies have been systematically destroyed—conflicting information from what we know when reading early references to it supports that theory. I wonder if the princess even remembers the truth of her erased history. Finally, Sunburst’s History of the Battles of Harmony gives extensive descriptions of the Elements of Harmony and their powers, as well as the most detailed scholarly study of the Crystal Heart. Most of these can be found in the history section.”

I stared at her for several seconds, sure I wouldn’t remember half of what she just said—unsure if I could remember any of that, before responding, “Is it possible you could write those down for me?”

She rolled her eyes, levitated over a quill and sheet of parchment, and began writing. It was probably a good thing she wasn’t a professor. She might know as much or more than most of the professors, but I don’t think any student could deal with her just dumping that much information on them at once and expecting them to remember.

I took her list and started looking for the books. It was easy to find most of them, except for the Gusty the Great book, which was in the section with common foals’ stories. I thought she’d said something about a lost alicorn, but it had a picture of a pegasus fighting a menacing-looking ram on the cover. It was the only book that had cover art.

Reading these books would take a very long time, so I just started flipping through the pages to determine the most leisurely read. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be the Gusty book, so I guessed I would learn who the heck Gusty the Great was. The following two most easy to read were the Journal of Friendship and the Journal of the Two Sisters. I decided that I would read one of those two next.

The book was short and only took about half an hour to read. The ram on the cover turned out to be the Grogar guy, and his bell stole magic from other beings. That didn’t seem to be what those stones were all about, so I decided I didn’t need to read up on Grogar’s Bell anymore. Grogar had ruled the entire planet sometime in the distant past, and it was his magic that had shaped ponies from dumb animals that were bred for food by prior intelligent races to intelligent creatures—although this seemed to be more accident rather than intentional, just his wild magic warping them from what they’d been. He’d reigned for a long time, and his magic had spread across the world, changing things so much that the world was unrecognizable from what had come before.

He’d been a real survival of the fittest type of guy, reveling in the creatures created by his magic fighting each other for dominance. What he’d never counted on was one of those warped creature types, the ponies, rising up and fighting him, and certainly not them winning, especially since they were scattered tribes who differed dramatically in magic, environments, and body types. Gustyy was the one who ultimately defeated him by taking his bell and casting him down off a mountain with a great wind the likes there had never been before, for no normal wind would dislodge the ram from where he stood. Gusty had been a pegasus, but defeating the mad ram had earned his ascension as the first alicorn. Gusty had then gone on to found the city of Skyros and ruled over all ponies in their first golden age—of which there had been four, the fourth of which we were currently living in. The first had been the reign of Gusty the Great; the second had been the early coalition of the three great tribes; the third had been the reign of the two sisters before Luna’s fall; and then, finally, the age marked by the return of Luna and the rise of Twilight Sparkle, Cadence, and Flurry Heart.

The Sunstone had been held first in Tamberlon, Grogar’s fortress, although he had taken it from someone unknown early in his rise to power. Gusty took it to Skyros after Grogar’s defeat. It was what controlled the sun and moon in ancient times, before the princesses and before the unicorns. It was beyond ancient; it was prehistoric, and no one knew who made it or where it came from, only that the planet would die without it controlling the sun and moon. Anything before Grogar existed only in myth and legend because all traces of those things had been lost during his terrible and long reign. It wasn’t even certain how long Grogar reigned. It could have been decades, centuries, or even millennia. All anyone was sure of was that it was long, and all that came before was lost…except the Sunstone. Considering Grogar didn’t want a dead planet to rule over, him making sure the Sunstone was safe was probably a good idea. This book didn’t mention what happened to the Sunstone after Gustu took it to Skyros or what it looked like. It didn’t say what happened to Gusty or Skyros either—only that there’d been a long dark age after the fall with tribes living in isolation from one another, yet the sun and moon still rose and set on their own.

Since I was learning Equestria’s history, I moved on to the Journal of the Two Sisters. It was a slightly longer read, taking me just over an hour to get through. This one said that the princesses had been the last refugees from the fall of Skyros, but a scholar's note stated that this entry was believed to have been edited more than once. It said early versions had been found, which also listed them as having been from Canterlot, and others still mentioned an unnamed village that has since been lost. There were also conflicting edits about whether they’d always been alicorns or not. It seemed that Celestia didn’t want ponies to know the truth and had altered her story more than once. Being from Skyros might legitimize their claim to power, so using that for a story made sense. There was no mention of the Sunstone or Grogar’s Bell, but it did talk about how they’d found the Elements of Harmony at the Tree of Harmony, growing right beneath their castle. The Crystal Heart was mentioned, but it was only mentioned as the heart of the Crystal Empire from which the Crystal Empire had been built. It also mentioned the unicorns having to raise and lower the sun before they began doing so, indicating something had become of the Sunstone, even if it wasn’t mentioned. It felt like I was skipping over a lot of history between the time of Gusty and the time of the princesses—at least centuries if not thousands of years.

The book also contradicted the claim they were refugees from Skyros by saying that the Crystal Empire was one of many pony nations that had risen after the fall of Skyros. It had been around for centuries before Sombra came to power, yet Celestia said she had just had her hundred and fifteenth birthday shortly before the battle with Sombra. Equestria proper had three of those other post-Skyros nations join together a hundred and twenty years before the battle—making Celestia younger than Equestria and much too young to have ever been to Skyros, which near as I could tell from these haphazardly written histories had existed two or three thousand years ago. Celestia must not have been very good at catching her continuity errors. I was surprised nobody called her out on it. The book did mention that it was Luna, not Celestia, who had been the Element Bearer for Honesty, so I guess that tracked because Celestia seemed to have an issue with that element. There were also notes that it was believed that large sections of the text were flat-out removed, not even revised, things Celestia wanted to be forgotten altogether. I kinda wanted to ask Luna what the truth behind all this stuff was, her being the honest one and all.

I looked at the Journal of Friendship. “Well, I guess I’ll finish my history lesson.”

“That is a fascinating selection of books you have before you.”

I turned to see who had spoken and fell off my stool when I saw Princess Luna standing there, gazing upon the books I had gathered. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying, and I could tell she was forcing herself to try to socialize. She was trying to put on a brave face despite her grief for Psychic Calm.

She looked at the two I had already read. “Gusty the Great? I read that book as a filly. I learned the truths and the fictions of it later in life. And my old journal? Or, at least, a modern fabrication of it. I confess I find it an invasion of privacy to have so many ponies reading my private thoughts.”

I looked at the journal. Well, I had wanted to ask her.

“How much has it been changed?” I asked her.

She raised a quizzical eyebrow at me. “Changed? I have not read it in many centuries. I suppose the language may have needed updating if modern ponies were to read it.”

She didn’t know. Oh…poop…I did not want to stir up drama between the sisters.

Before I could say anything, the book lept off the table, held in her magic, and she began flipping through the pages, scanning the entries. She began to frown.

“I see,” she said as she closed the book and set it back on the table. “My sister and I will have to have a discussion about some of her creative edits and deletions. That so many entries were deleted does not bother me as much as you might think, for there are things there…mistakes I made…arguments that we had that I am deeply ashamed of. I think she may have done this as a kindness to me. Kindness was one of her elements, and it may have guided her in this. In the case of the arguments and some of her deleted entries, perhaps they are things she would just as soon forget as well. I will have to rub it in her face that she did so poorly at writing some of her fictions. Tia is as poor a playwright as she is an actor.”

“What's fiction?” I asked. “I kinda guess the Skyros thing-”

Luna smirked. “That one is obvious to any reader paying half-attention to what they are reading, but who among our subjects would question my sister? No, we have never set our eyes on Skyros, not even the ruins. We were born mere mortal ponies, orphaned at a young age, and taken in by Starswirl as his wards. Starswirl, despite his brilliance in many fields, had some strange ideas about genetics that were deeply wrong and best forgotten, and we were not only his wards but his test subjects. He did care about us—loved us deeply, don’t mistake that, but he had unfounded reasons for believing in our greatness compared to others. We became great because he pushed us and instilled in us the belief that we could be great, not because of who our parents were or our parents' parents; the potential was in anypony. I loved that cranky old mage; I’d prefer that he be remembered for his contributions to magic, his valor in fighting evil, and his love for me and my sister, not for his misguided and dangerous beliefs. I will not fight my sister’s edits, but I will have a long talk with her.”

A tear fell from her eye, and I felt guilty. She was trying to be pleasant and ignore how much she was hurting for her adopted son, and I made her think of another long-departed loved one.

She turned to look at the unread books, maybe trying to hide her tears from me.

“Such an odd collection of books. What is the connect—” She paused as if considering. “Oh…I see. I have not been forthcoming with you about why I came upon you, my little pony. Your headmaster informed me of your encounter, and I wished to see what kind of foal the item reacted to. I see you have an inquisitive mind.”

My ears flattened in fear. “You aren’t going to tell him about me doing research, are you?”

She shook her head. “I could hardly blame you for your curiosity. I can tell you that you will find no answers here, at least regarding what you’re searching for. I can only advise patience, just as he had. Your stone crossed unimaginable distances to find you; have faith that it will come to you again, in time, but first, you must learn and grow.”

“So, focus on my studies and do better at math,” I replied.

Luna stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I cannot stand the subject. Tia was always better with facts and numbers, while I was better with more abstract concepts. This is carried over to her students, who all possess encyclopedic knowledge of various subjects but tend to be less creative. Sunset Shimmer was an exception, a young mare who abounded in creativity, and I wonder if things would have gone differently with her if I had been her teacher instead of my sister—not that my sister isn’t an excellent teacher, just the wrong type of teacher for one such as that. My own much more limited number of students have been…well…let us call them…unorthodox—yes, that’s the word, and I am proud of every one of them. I hope you find teachers you form a strong bond with during your studies, for they can impact the course of life more than you know.”

“So you think math is less important?” I asked, hopeful of getting out of studying so hard for it. I also wondered how unorthodox she was talking about when it came to her students. I hadn’t ever heard of her having students. They must keep very low profiles.

She sighed. “It is important, and you should do all you can to excel in your studies, but that is not what I mean by grow. That object you stumbled upon is a reflection of its owner, yet it starts as a blank slate. What kind of reflection do you want it to be? You should be a good friend who knows kindness and empathy. You should develop a strong sense of right and wrong. It shall learn your nature, be it good or ill, so give it the best nature to learn. This is how you should grow. Worry not about what else it may be capable of or its origins; only worry about what example you will set. That is what is important.”

She talked about it as if it were a living thing. Artifacts were tools. They knew nothing about friendship and kindness and didn’t make moral judgments. They didn’t seek out their owners—owners who didn’t even know they owned the stone. Were those stones alive? Was this an artifact, or was it a baby?

“Do you have one of those stones, Princess?” I asked.

She shook her head again. “No, and I don’t know what I’d do with one if I had it, nor am I sure it would be good for me to have one. However, I did help in acquiring the trove we currently have. It was a unique experience. I will not give you further details on their origins or the full extent of their power. You are not ready to know. Focus instead on what I instructed.”

That was disappointing. “Well, thank you for sharing all that information with me. I was not looking forward to reading all these books. Most of the others seemed a little dry.”

She looked at the stack of unread books. “There is nothing wrong with learning about where we come from, although I wonder how accurate most of these would be at describing it. Much of our history has been lost to legend, and although I know the truth of much of it, I wonder if some things should remain forgotten if only to ease the pain. They say we should learn from history to not repeat mistakes, but I find that foolishness always finds a way. Even knowing the tragedies of the past, ponies will quickly march down the same path, believing themselves somehow above their forebears and not realizing that no matter how society may seem to advance, ponies never change. Ultimately, we are still those same primitive ponies huddled together in straw huts and caves, only now with more tools at our disposal. That is the true lesson of history.”

I smiled. “The world cannot go mad because it has always been mad.”

“A good turn of phrase,” Luna agreed.

I bowed my head. “Thank you again for sharing with me, and I’m very sorry for your loss.”

She turned away. “Thank you. He will…he will be missed. I must now take my leave. Stay out of trouble, Turnip Jones.”

I watched her walk away. Was she what I expected out of a princess? She seemed wise, knowledgeable, timeless, sad, and very forgiving. I guess that is what I would expect of a benevolent immortal being. I was still confused about the stones, but I believed her when she said I wouldn’t find the answers in these books.

As I got up and turned to leave, a throat cleared.

“Um-hmmm, forgetting something? Return the books to their proper spots,” Moondancer instructed.

I sighed. I didn’t remember exactly where those were. This was going to take a while.