To Teach a God

“Watcha got there Twilight?” The dragon assistant Spike asked. The question startled Twilight so much she dropped the old book she was reading.

“Oh, Spike, sorry I wasn't paying much attention. It’s an old book that I thought would help with the assignment Celestia gave me.”

Twilight and Spike have been back in the castle now for 2 weeks. Their presence was requested when an international dispute sparked questions about the elements of harmony. Some nations have gone as far as to call them weapons rather than a source of peace and harmony.

This soon become the center of the debate and Twilight found all eyes on her as she started an impartial endeavor into the history of the Elements.

“Thought?” Spike asked catching on to Twilights disappointed voice.

“Yes,” replied Twilight while picking the old tome up. “It was in the archives but there was no record of it. On top of that just by looking over the book I’m sure it predates Starswirled himself. Unfortunately it just seems to be just some old story.”

“So no luck then?” asked Spike.

“No, none at all,” answered Twilight “when Celestia asked me to find out more about the history of the elements I thought everything would be in the archives.”

“Tell me about it!” replied Spike, “we’ve been at it for weeks now with nothing to show.”

“I know Spike,” Twilight replied solemnly, “we may just have to check out other resources.” “Would you mind putting this book back?” Twilight asked her assistant. “I don’t think will take me anywhere.” She hoofed it over to Spike and dropped it in his claws. The old tome landed hard in his claws and spat out a column of dust in all directions, tickling Spike’s nose.

“Oh n-“spike barely had a moment to utter before he sneezed engulfing the old book in his enchanted fire.

“Oh no, that book was anci- what, how?” the said book wasn’t even blackened. “Wow I never have seen anything not be burned or transported by your fire. There may be more to this book than I thought I’m going to have a better look at this book.”

“Like how twilight?” asked Spike not sure what she could be looking for.

“Well it’s too late to get any assistance with any other department” replied Twilight realizing how tired she had become. With that she scooped up the book and made her way out of the archives.

“Assistance in what?” asked spike as he tried to keep up with the lavender unicorn. “Why don’t you just finish reading it?”

“Old tomes like this, Spike, can tell you a lot if you discover fact like who wrote it, how old it is, and even what it’s made out of. Your right though I might find out more if I continue to read it.”

Rays of light shone softly through the windows of Twilight’s chambers, like pillars making its way to Celestia’s sun, rousing the lavender unicorn from her sleep. As if to greet the morning, she raised her head let a soft yawn escape her mouth.

“Come on spike we still have wor-” she cut herself off when she discovered her lifelong assistant was absent from his basket. She started to get up from under her blankets when she felt something warm next to her hidden in the covers. Gently pulling the blankets to the end of her bed she found that the little drake had snuck into her bed last night and curled up next to her. Smiling at the endearing scene in front of her, she move closer and softly woke him up.

“Spike its morning” she cooed into his ear. She frowned when he didn’t even stir. She tried again, this time with a tap of her hoof. “Spike?” … still nothing.

“Spike wake up.” An incoherent grumble was his response.

“Spike!”

The moment perfectly ruined, Spike snapped awake to an angry mare next to him.

“Twilight what wrong?!” he took a moment to look around and noticed where he was at, turning back to the angry unicorn he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly as scarlet filled his cheeks. The look on his face caused the mare to recover a little of the moment, giving him a happy smile as she made her way out of the bed.

This sudden change just left poor Spike confused. He just shook his head and moved on.

“What are we going to do today?” asked the dragon as he made his own way out of bed.

“Same thing we do every day Spike.” She answered, hardly giving the conversation any real attention as her own thought were wondering the same.

“Try to take over Equestria?” he asked with a false tone of sincerity.

“What?” she quickly asked slightly confused

“Nothing.” The drake just smiled at her.

Twilight paid him no mind and made her way to the wash room for her morning routine.

Spike, already knowing what she would plan this morning, started gathering quills and parchment into a saddle bag for her. Sparing room for the old tome on the night stand next to the bed, he grasped it in both claws as Twilight made her way back into the room, freshly groomed, her ears perked up upon seeing her assistant pulling a book off the table, “oh I know what we need to do,” she floated the old book out of Spike’s claw, “I wanted to get this book looked at, I bet Old Bones can tell me a thing or two about it.”  She finished what her assistant started and placed the book in her saddle bag and the bag on her.

“Hop on Spike, we are going straight to work.” She said in an almost sing along tone, but as soon as he landed a growling noise surprised the two. Spike couldn’t help but giggle at his friend. Twilight turned to glare at him but as soon as she did his stomach made its own protest, now it was twilight’s turn to laugh.

“Ok, why don’t we stop by the kitchen first?” she asked.

“Sounds like a plan” he answered with a smile.

Old Bones was the resident archeologist and historian at the castle. Only in her late 20s, she loathed her name and preferred to be called just Bones.

The archives have been home to Twilight Sparkle and Spike for the last two weeks, so it was hardly a surprise to Old Bones when the duo showed up at her office.

“Come in come in you two,” the mare said, happy to have a distraction from her own studies, “I heard about your assignment, and I knew I would see you two eventually.”

Twilight observed the unicorn as she made her way to her desk. Her mane and tail were a soft blond that sported, unkempt, natural curls, and dark ringlets under her eyes showed that this olive colored mare kept her career that the forefront of her life.

“So what may I do for you Ms. Sparkle?” Bones asked once she was situated

Twilight levitated a dark brown, rather beaten up, old tome with no title out of her saddle bag. “What can you tell me about this?”

Bones plucked the book out of the air with her own magic.

“Oh wow this is an old one, look” she ran circles with her hoof over the book, “you can tell it predates Equestria because the binder is leather. The early Equestrian ponies have never used leather in anything. They believe using the skin of another animal to be atrocious. Such ideas have faded over time but the habits are still around.”

“So you will never find leather bound books unless it predates the founding of Equestria.” Twilight said with the same enthusiasm, “I noticed that to, it’s what drew me to it.”

Bones didn’t mind the interruption; it was nice to have another intellectual to talk to for once. Her job mostly involved passing on her understanding to the politics of Canterlot.

“Unfortunately that only tells us it predates an era, I can use a spell that a lot of us in our area use to date objects. Just give me a moment Ms. Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded and backed up.

Bones opened the book and read a few pages. When she was done skimming through it her horn began to glow and a yellow matrix engulfed the book and lifted it off the desk. After a few moment of just hovering in the air it was set down back on the desk.

Once the light show was over Bones had a dark and confused expression on her face.

Spike noticed it first, “what’s wrong Bones?”

“I had to check it over and over again,” she almost whispered, “at first I thought I did the spell wrong, and then I just couldn’t believe it…”

“Couldn’t believe what Bones?” Twilight asked.

“The book’s age, it’s over 5000 years old” Bones darken face seem to have ridden on her voice, for as Twilight herd the answer her express began to match Bones.

Spike, however, didn’t even know he was missing the point. “Wow, so it’s really old.” Both mares slowly turned their heads to the young drake, a dead, unexpressed look stayed with them as they stared at the poor thing.

“What?! What did say,” he paused, what am I missing?”

Bones spoke up first “The earliest known written records are only 3500 years old”

“And the ponies have only been around, as far as we know, for 4000 years” added Twilight.

“So it was written by a non-pony?” Spike pushed on

Bones’ expression soften in her response, “it's possible, it is in Latin after all”

Suddenly Twilight’s ear perked up,” no its not it’s English, I been reading it all night, and I don’t speak vowel of Latin.”

“Funny,” Spike spoke up, “I, I thought the book was in dragon runes.”  Spike found both mares staring at him again.

“Twilight?” said Bones without taking her eyes off him.

“Yes?”

“Is it true that dragons are born with some knowledge of their kind?”

“Yes but spike was hatch by magic so a lot of that was lost, he could talk early on though” she answered.

Spike did not like the mares talking as if he was not there, “and I could read ya know! You even used me to translate some runes for you when you were just a filly; remember?”

Twilight’s whole face seem to widen at the realization, “he’s right!” she turned to face Bones, “he could read runes before he could talk properly. Spike you’re a genius!”

“What did I do?” asked Spike even more confused now.

“I think I see now!” Bones’ excitement was beginning to catch up with Twilight’s. “The book is enchanted, anyone can read it.”

“But what’s wrong with it being so old?” Spike was still a few steps behind the mares.

“Because it’s too old”, answered Bones

“It shouldn’t exist”, finished Twilight.

Spike was starting to get annoyed with the vague answers, especially after they started talking, almost, as one. “Ok, pretend that I'm a baby dragon who is only an assistant of a certain unicorn; why would the age of this book be a problem?” Twilight gave him a toothy, apologetic smile.

“Because it predates books,” answered Bones, “this find has opened a new door into ancient history.” Bones was trying so hard to keep you excitement at bay. “What’s even better is that it’s a journal of some kind.”

“Wait what?” Twilight perked up in surprise, “No it’s not its fiction; it has to be. How much did you read?” Twilight seemed a little exasperated.

“Not much, but the book is in the first person, any writing we have ever found in the first person that was 500 year old or more was always a journal or autobiography. Writing anything fictional in the first person was almost like lying. Whoever this book is about” she tapped the tome, “he existed.”