Prologue
The night had fallen on the ancient forest, and with it, heavy rainfall that now muddied the nigh forgotten paths created over aeons. Slowly walking through the storm, a single figure, covered by a cloak, tried to keep dry the small note they had received, as it held the names of others they hoped could help them find answers.
All that the cloaked Stranger could do for now as they shivered through the mud was hold the note close, as well as the hilt of their sword in their hoof, hoping that the path they walked would lead them out of the forest. They still had a long way to go to their current destination, and longer to get to where they did not know.
The tiniest speck of light in the utter darkness was that the weather hid them from the beasts that stalked the forest and any who ventured into it. But although they preferred to avoid a battle, especially right now, they no longer feared any creature, as there were far older and fouler things in the world that they had laid their eyes on, with only their cloak and mane hiding their tales.
To their immense relief, the cloaked Stranger noticed an open area some distance away, and steadily made their way towards it, always watching their every step. The very moment they left the boundaries of the supernatural forest, however, the endless torrent of rain abruptly stopped.
The worn path had caked their hooves in mud and had left them quivering where they stood, so the figure decided to sit down to catch their breath. On a nearby tree stump, the Stranger carefully placed a little pebble on the note before they took off their cloak, revealing a blonde Kirin beneath, while they squeezed as much water out of their mane and cloak as they could.
When they glanced at the Forest, the Kirin just shook their head and sighed deeply before they set off to the nearby town under cover of night and the light of the moon. Fortunately, they could see their destination over the horizon, as the moonlight faintly lit up the spire of the Palace.
It had been a long time since they last visited this town, but their friend had told them that it was the best place to meet the Brothers she spoke of, and they trusted her judgement. Any doubts or worries that were now popping into their mind were ignored, as the note was all the evidence they needed.
When they once again felt a solid road beneath their hooves, the figure let out a great sigh of relief, and quietly encouraged themselves that they were close. On their way towards town, they made sure to check their equipment for any signs of damage, as well as the great book they had brought along.
Luckily, their cloak had shielded everything they carried in their satchel from the rain, save for their mane, which started to feel increasingly cold. Although they could dry themselves in an instant, they put everything in their satchel and quickened their pace to their destination instead.
At the edge of town, the cloaked Stranger found that the streets were almost entirely empty, save for a few souls who were enjoying the tranquillity. But despite this, and how close they were to their current goal, their exhaustion was making their thoughts louder and unkind, so they harshly shut their eyes, and ran forward.
Not long after this, the Kirin felt the soft dirt road under their hooves change to hard stone, and they opened their eyes a mere moment before they ran headfirst into the doors to the Palace. The only thing the closest inhabitants heard was a loud crash at the entrance.
A moment later, the door was opened by a young Purple Dragon, but when he saw nothing, he briefly thought that some foals had simply knocked on the doors and ran away. Just as he shook his head, however, he noticed the familiar Kirin on the floor, and rushed to their side.
As he helped them to their hooves, and called out to others in the Castle, the Kirin rubbed their snout and politely said: “Ow… thank you very much for helping me up, Spike. It was Spike, right? I think I recognise your voice, but it has been a while…”
With a quiet chuckle, Spike replied: “It has been quite some time, hasn’t it? It’s nice to see you again, Light. I hope your travels went well? You look like you went swimming in a lake before you came by.”
In response, Light sighed loudly and rolled their eyes, despite the fact that they were still closed, before they softly rubbed Spike on his head with a brief chuckle. Before they could utter another word, however, they heard the galloping of hooves and flapping of wings swiftly approaching them from one of the halls.
The overlapping voices that now filled the hall they stood in confused Light for a moment, until they calmly lifted their hoof to let the two voices know they were all right:
“Thank you, both of you, for your concern, but I’m all right; I only hurt my nose a little bit. My journey here has taken me a terribly long time, though, and I would greatly prefer to just… sit down for a while. Perhaps with a cup of tea, if possible.”
Fortunately, Light’s two friends, whose voices they had dearly missed for far too long, understood their request, and took over guiding Light further into the Castle. Spike, meanwhile, flew to the kitchen to make some tea instead.
After Light was helped to a couch and sat down, they heard one of the two voices trot off. They then felt a pair of soft paws on their shoulders, and they knew exactly who had stayed with them. The pain in their snout and the exhaustion in their body steadily diminished, until they no longer felt anything, and they let out a great sigh of relief.
As Spike returned with a tray of tea, Light opened their eyes to look at the being who had lifted their fatigue and eased their aching body, and they warmly smiled.
“It’s been far too long… It’s wonderful to see you again, Nox. I missed you dearly, my friend,” Light said in a quivering voice. They only just managed to hold in their tears as they deeply embraced their friend of old.
In the same vein, Nox smiled just as brightly as she pulled Light close and tightly embraced them, but without using all her strength, wholly unlike their first couple of meetings. Fortunately, looking back, both she and Light could laugh at the past, and they were very glad to meet again under far better circumstances.
After they finished their tea and had eaten a few snacks Spike had prepared, Light thought for a moment, then sighed, as they knew they were there for a purpose: “As much as I’d love to catch up with you, Nox, I didn’t come here just for this. Why, after such a long time, have you asked me to visit Ponyville out of nowhere?”
With a quiet sigh in return, Nox replied: “Do you remember the note I sent you? I think your expertise as a Ranger could help two friends of mine who have been relatively unsuccessful in finding certain… artefacts, at least until now. Come on, I’ll lead you to them.”
With a firm nod, Light followed her and Spike through the endless halls they vaguely recalled, wondering whether they could ever tell apart any room from another, until they stopped. Carved into the crystal above the door before them appeared to be a scroll, and they opened it to find a large hall with shelves reaching to the ceiling.
Back on the ground, however, Light saw two beings they had not met before. One wore a cloak, with a pointy hat next to them on the table, and was surrounded by stacks of cups and piles of books of all shapes and sizes, endlessly poring over every page.
On the other hoof, and the other side of the room, the second being, wearing big goggles and a sheath for an inscribed sword that now carefully leaned against the chair they sat slumped in, had clearly fallen into a deep sleep. Neither a quiet cough nor a loud yell caught the attention of either, though, so the trio walked over to the two to pull them away from the books and out of their sleep.
At the table, Nox first tried patting the back of the robed being to get his attention, but he did not move a muscle. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a couple of sheets of paper, placed these on the pages he was reading as makeshift bookmarks, and closed the books in front of him, which finally made her friend blink and look at her as if he had not rested for days on end.
A small and kind smile grew upon her face as she took a seat next to her exhausted friend, and quietly asked: “How are you feeling, Zooks? When was the last time you slept, or stretched your legs at all? Surely you haven’t forgotten the deal we made?”
In response, Zooks merely sighed as he looked out the window, and apologised to Nox for not keeping track of time: “I really thought I was onto something while reading this book… No, wait, was it… this one? Or… another one I already set aside? Confound it all…”
At the same time, Light was trying to wake up the other being they had yet to meet, but even when they shook him by his shoulders, Nox’s friend kept snoring loudly. When they turned around to ask the other two for help, though, they accidentally bumped against the sword resting against the chair, which clattered on the ground.
Before they could even bend down to pick it up, however, in the blink of an eye, a claw dashed down to grab the sword by the hilt. By reflex, Light instantly drew their own sword in defence, which loudly clashed with the golden blade a split second later.
The harsh sound of clashing metal echoed through the Library, which hurt the ears of every present being, and stunned them into a pained silence. When the echoes finally died down, Nox and Zooks looked around in a daze, trying to figure out what had caused the sound.
It did not take long for them to notice Light was now laying on their back several hooves away from the chair, while the startled being in the seat looked between the blade in his own claws and the Kirin he had somehow managed to push away with a single strike.
To his relief, Light got up without issue, but just in case, he rushed over to make sure they were all right, apologising profusely for the sudden strike: “I am so, so sorry, I didn’t know what I was doing… Are you hurt at all? Do you need help? Is there anything I can d-”
Unfortunately, his words were interrupted when Light jumped up and moved backwards at the same rate as his approach. From where he now stood, the goggled being noticed Light was breathing heavily, their coat was slowly turning dark, and small wisps of flame flickered to life around their mane as they held their sword pointed towards him.
Since she could never forget the horrifying sight of her friend in such a heated scenario, Nox flew towards her friend of old. Hoping to ease the thoughts of the quivering Kirin sweating profusely in front of her, she tried to soothe them with her calming presence and gentle words:
“Light, please listen. I am here for you, and I promise you that you are safe. He is on your side, just like you are on his. Please give Gad a chance to explain himself, as I am certain he meant you no harm. Surely this is just a misunderstanding, or a mere accident at absolute worst.”
A tear ran down Light’s frozen face when they glanced at Nox, which both soothed and broke her heart as she slowly approached, until she was able to embrace them. As soon as she did, Light took a deep breath, and their mane and coat brightened to reveal their regular self once again.
Although their legs grew weaker as their slow breath quivered, Light discreetly nodded to Nox to let her know they were all right, before they carefully put their sword back in its sheath. With the crisis averted, and her heart only slightly aching from the memory that surfaced again, Nox led the trio back to the table to take a seat, where she made proper introductions:
“Light, these are Gad and Zooks, the Hippogriffin Brothers I mentioned in my note. And Gad, Zooks, this is Healthy Light, a close friend of mine. I hope you three can help each other find what you are all looking for."
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