Crystals Return

Drums. So many drums. Going through his head like buffalo on a plain. What was he trying to remember? Why can't he see what's so clearly in front of him? His thought was interrupted by a wet sensation on his forehead. He opened his eyes to see a filly with red hair and....a bow in her hair.

"What's going on?" Branded groaned, obviously confused.

"You're runnin' a fever, I was puttin' on a new rag for ya."The filly said with a smile.

"Oh, well, where am I?" Branded questioned.

"Oh, yer' in the barn." She replied, still adjusting the rag.

"Well, where is the barn?" He asked, trying not to be annoying.

"You're more curious than a horsefly buggin' a horse. We're at Sweet Apple Acres, the best apple farm in all-"

As she rambled, Branded tried to catch his thoughts. The orange mare she had talked to earlier seemed very confused when he mentioned the Empire. He need to go to...the library.

"Well thankyou for you're time uhhh..."

"Applebloom." She said nonchalantly.

"Applebloom. Well,yes, thankyou for helping me, but I must go. If you could point me in the direction of the epicenter of learning?" He said.

"Tha what now?" She questioned, with a face resembling that of her sisters when confused.

"The library."

"Ohhhh you mean Twi's place? Yeah it should be in-between Sugar Cube Corner and Vanilla plaza." She replied, with a helpful gaze on her face.

"Oh....urrhhm...okay. Well, thankyou again, I must be going now. Goodbye!" He said in a hushed voice, realizing it was late at night.

"Bye!" She waved.

So it was obvious he had no clue where any of that was. But he could see the haze of lights looming over distant hills, that's his best chance to get to the town, and it also gives him some time to think over who or...what he is.

"Let's see; I've got hooves, so I'm a pony, I was taller than the orange mare, so I may be tall, I'm a guy...I think."

He suddenly came to a halt to check his status.

"Okay, good. Male it is." He mummered to himself as he followed the broken trail to the town.

Roughly an hour has passed, and he is still trotting along the path. He gets a sudden eerie feeling when he comes by a dark part of woods. He doesn't enter, he just stares into the emptiness. What is haunting him so much about those woods he asked as he forced himself to continue walking. The sun angled over the horizon, shining brightly into his eyes, when a few buildings came into view. He had made it! Now all he has to do is find the library.

He spent a while trotting around the town, looking around at his new found place of solace, or so he'd hoped, when he saw a large tree nearly in the midst of it all. He can vaguely make out the word "Library" on the sign dangling over the door. He starts towards it when he is tackled by what seemed to be a pink ball of fuzz.

"Ahhh! What's  happening?!" He screamed erratically.

"Nothing silly! Just a friendly hug for the new pony in town!" The mysterious pink pony said with an unusually large smile.

"Oh, well...alright?" He said as he roach up to return the hug.

As his arms made contact with her sides, her grip became insurmountably strong, to the point of winding him, then she let go, and zipped off to another part of town.

"Wha....what just happened?" He asked himself, visibly confused.

"Pinkie Pie happened." a voice from behind had said.

He turned around and was met with the sight of a purple unicorn, no more than 21 years of age.

"Oh, well this 'Pinkie Pie' nearly made me cough up a lung!" He said jokingly.

"Yeah, she normally does that to the new ponies in town, luckily you accepted the hug or she'd be hunting you down right now. Also, expect a party within the next couple days." She said matter-o-factually.

A party? He wasn't even going to ask. "So you wouldn't happen to know where a library is, would you?"

"A fellow book worm I see, I actually live in the library over there, feel free to come and give us a visit for a reading session!" She said, oddly excited by his mention of reading.

So this must be Twilight, like that young filly said in the barn. "Alright, well I have some studying to do, and I could use some help..."

"I'd be more than happy to help! It is my job, after all." She said with prestige.

"Well alright, let's get to it." He said with a smile as the trotted towards the library.

When the entered the library, a sudden flow of dust went right up Branded's nose as he let out a rather rautious sneeze.

"He-heh, I'm umm...sorry for the mess. I'm not really used to company."-She said awkwardly with a forced smile.

"It's okay, no worries, let's just find that book." Branded responded reassuringly.

Twi let out a genuine smile when she asked "So what book are we looking for exactly?"

"Anything on the Empires and Kingdoms of Equestria would be helpful." He said while rummaging through the books.

"Oh! Well we have a lot of those, just give me a moment." Twilight responded.

She then levitated all the books in the room and with precision, picked out the one they needed. Branded' was none the less very impressed with this feat. Some of the more skilled unicorns in his time couldn't do that, not that it's impossible, just that it normally takes years of practice. His thoughts were interpreted by the crash of a book at his hooves.

"There ya' go, a book on every empire, kingdom, tribe, even group, recorded through Equestria." She said with a smile.

Branded nodded, and opened the book with magic. Twilight was visibly shocked at what he just did. As he was wandering the pages, she began to feel around on his forehead.

"Uhh Twilight, what are you doing?" He questioned.

"There's no horn, no stump, nothing!" She said erratically.

"Now why would I have a horn? I'm an earth pony, that'd be silly." He stated.

"Last time I checked, earth ponies couldn't use magic. How did you open that book?" She questioned.

"What do you mean earthies can't use magic? Of course we can. Albeit in different ways than unicorns, we do have a link to the mana pool." He responded.

He was met with a gaze.

"Princess Celestia said that there's a natural hierarchy, and that Earth Ponies have absolutely no remarkable talent other than sturdy and strong bodies and green hooves." She said cautiously."

"That's absurd! Sure my race is good at planting, but what do you think is behind it? The only way we can grow that well is with magic. It's not as direct as unicorns, but it is magic." He said, slightly aggravated by the racial segregation.

"So how'd you turn the page if the magic you use is for gardening? She asked more gently.

"With practice, we can do many of the same feats as unicorns, just with less power. This Princess Celestia must not like ear-"

He stopped with remembrance of the name. He then proceeded to feverishly pass out again.