Deep inside of the Everfree Forest, just in front of a chasm that cut the forest like a jagged scar, a decrepit fortress sat in a state begging for repair. Scaffolding and large pallets of stone brick sat waiting to be placed. A few towers still stood and were obviously saved for last. Past the now restored front entrance, a few flights of stairs led to the main building. Nexus set his metal hoofs down just outside of the main body of the building. Raven wing landed in a broken windowsill as Nexus entered the throne room. A massive hole in the roof was the first thing he noticed.

A strange looking alter sat in the middle of the room. From its center column, five alters that seemed they could rotate around the main body extended like a 3D model of the solar system. Right down to the cement sphere in the middle at the very top of the alter. Nothing sat in the arms around the alter. Nexus walked around it in awe of its construction. Ahead of him, the thrones sat. A tattered orange banner hung over the throne to his right. There was none over the throne to the left. Behind the thrones, a balcony leading to two dark halls sat waiting for somepony. Raven Wing squawked and flew through the entrance to the right.

Nexus took his time getting there. He first went to the thrones and looked out over the massive throne room.

"It must've been one hell of a fight." Nexus said to himself.

Nexus sighed to himself before spreading his wings and flying up to the balcony. The dark hall was short. Once he passed under the arch way, he entered the largest library he had ever seen. The Canterlot Archives were huge, but this was massive! The throne room's floor was higher than the floor here and the book cases reached all the way to the wall. There were five wall to ceiling windows on either side of the library; letting in the sliver moon light.

Nexus just let out low whistle as he looked over the mass expanse of knowledge.

"How in Cerberus's bottomless doggy bowl am I supposed to find anything?" Nexus said to Raven Wing who was perched on the railing next to him.

"Read. What else?" a cocky voice said from… well somewhere.

Nexus jumped and went into a went into a combat stance.

"Who's there!?" he said as his horn sparked to life.

"Oh calm down. You're not going to do anything drastic here." the voice said echoing through the empty room.

"Answer me or I bring down the house!"

"You and I both know you're not. You need answers and I can point you in their direction."

"Who are you!?"

There was a quick flash next to Nexus that caused Raven Wing to fall from his perch and glide to one of the tables below. When the light cleared, something strange floated in front of him. It had the body of a serpent, tail and right leg of a dragon, head, left horn and left leg of a goat, a blue pegasus wing, a bat wing, a left arm of a chicken, and the right arm of a lion. This hodgepodge of body parts could have been only one person. Or in this case, draconicus.

"Oh, hey Discord." Nexus said letting the light of his horn fade.

"Don't sound so displeased to see me."

"Let me see; you poured guacamole on my fiancé last month. How does that not put you on my do-not-trust-under-any-circumstances list?"

"Oh come on. It wasn't that bad."

"She couldn't wash the smell of out of her fur until last week."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"When you're allergic to avocado, it is. Now why are you here?"

"What? Can't the- Okay am I really repeating dialogue from another one of his stories?"

"What?"

"Never mind. I'm here to help you"

"You know what book I need?"

"I do, but you're going to have to look for it yourself. Try…" Discord snapped his chicken fingers and a small stream of light came through the window behind Nexus that pointed towards the back of the library. "There."

“That spot or that wall?”

“That’s for you to figure out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some controlled chaos to bring. Ta-ta!”

Nexus rolled his eyes and flew towards the light. Bellow, books and scrolls lay in piles. Nexus was appalled by the utter lack of respect for these artifacts. The restoration hadn't yet reached the library and he was surprised that Princess Sparkle hadn't made that priority. He'd heard that she had a thing for books.

The light faded as he landed in front of the lower shelf it pointed to. A small plaque sat in the shelf just above eye level. Military History it read. Nexus shook his head at Discord and levitated the first three that caught his eye: Great Leaders, Unorthodox Weapons and Spells of The Future. Nexus took his selection to the closest table and opened up Great Leaders first.

Several hours and several stacks of books passed and Nexus was nowhere near finding what he was looking for. It didn't help that he hadn't slept since early yesterday. His eyes were getting heavy and the whispers of the night were just sooooooo soothing. Nexus' neck went limp and his head fell sideways onto the book he was about open.