A distant, muffled voice reached my ears as I blearily blinked my eyes open. My vision cleared slowly but surely and I could see that I'd been resting my head and hooves upon a large oak table. Atop the table itself were books stacked upon books.

Some were closed, others lay open, the pages lit by the arcane amber glow of magically illuminated candles. Even at a hazy glance, I could tell I was surrounded by all manner of tomes and texts. This was as much as I could register in my groggy state. This and the gentle, but insistent voice coming from somewhere nearby.

"Huh...? What? What is it?" I mumbled as I searched for the source of the voice, "who's there?"

"Ah, finally," came a friendly, wizened old rasp from behind me, "a pleasure to have you back in the world of the living, Princess."

I turned to find an elderly unicorn stallion with a beige coat and a wild grey mane and beard staring back at me with a patient if slightly amused grin. I blinked a few times, trying to remember who the stallion was through the fog of my tired brain. I looked back into his sparkling green eyes and when the answer finally hit me, I gave the stallion a smile that was equal parts tired and sheepish.

"Oh... it's, uh... good to see you again, Mister Scroll," I greeted with an awkward chuckle, "I take it Princess Celestia sent you down here to check up on me then?"

"That she did, Princess," the old archivist confirmed with a nod, "and from the looks of it, I'd say her worries were well-founded," he raised a bushy white eyebrow, "how long do you think you've been holed up down here in the restricted section?"

"Um... well," I winced and turned away, tapping a hoof on the table as I thought back to when I'd come down here, "I think I came down here about... three days ago?"

"And how long has it been since you've had anything remotely resembling a break?"

"I've had a few breaks for lunch and the like," I argued.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"..."

"Yes, that's what I thought," Ancient Scroll sighed before setting the steaming plate of pancakes and hashbrowns I'd only just noticed he was holding in his magic down on the table beside one of the open tomes, "normally food isn't allowed in the archives, but seeing as it's you we're talking about, Princess Celestia is willing to make an exception."

"Oh wow," I inhaled the aroma through my nose, wondering if it was the smell that woke me up rather than Ancient Scroll himself. I must've been really out of it to not notice such an exquisite fragrance, "thanks, Mister Scroll. Did you make this?"

"Ha! I only wish I were so good a cook," Ancient Scroll scoffed with a shake of his head, "no, this came from the royal kitchen. I'm just the one that brought it down here."

I nodded as I took up the provided fork and knife and dug in. I only realized just how hungry I was when I took that first bite. The rest of the meal was bliss and the coffee Ancient Scroll set down next to me as I ate was icing on the proverbial cake. Though, oddly, the meal wasn't enough to fully wake me up, even with the coffee.

I wondered if maybe it was my surroundings. The restricted section of the Royal Archives was located down a long winding staircase. The staircase was separated from the main repository by a sealed door at the back of the room and you needed special permission from Celestia to enter.

Naturally, I'd obtained such permissions long ago and was free to use the restricted section at my leisure—something I was constantly grateful for. It wasn't just because of the knowledge that I loved this place, but the atmosphere was surprisingly cozy for a place that supposedly housed information on some of Equestria's deepest, darkest secrets.

Sitting inside one of the castle's towers, the room itself was circular in structure and larger than one would've imagined given the tower's outer dimensions. The space consisted of multiple floors with bookshelves lining every single wall from top to bottom.

There were several places to sit and not only was the room warm but the lighting was dim. Small sconces dotted the walls and each table had a small candelabra. The flames in every sconce and lighting every candle were magical, enchanted so as not to cause the books any harm.

The isolated nature of the restricted section along with its warmth and the dim lighting all gave the place that cozy feel. It was very easy to get lost in your work and I wasn't at all surprised that I'd fallen asleep referencing... something. I frowned as I tried to remember what exactly it was that I was reading about.

Thinking back, the whole reason I'd come down to the restricted section was that I couldn't find the answers I'd been looking for in the main repository. I'd already spent close to a week looking for a way to ensure Equestria's safety without having to rely on the Elements of Harmony.

I remembered my search hadn't been going well as every 'solution' I found in old magical tomes or the journals of past Equestrian heroes had one fatal flaw or another. I'd even gone so far as to reference books relating to war tactics and some ancient dossiers on different campaigns fought on both Equestrian and foreign soil.

I knew on some level that I wouldn't find a real solution in the public repository. What I was looking for was something that you probably wouldn't find any knowledge of just lying around. At least, that's the feeling I got. And so I made my way to the restricted section where I'd spent the last three days scouring the shelves for information the general public wasn't privy to.

I found things I hadn't even known were being documented. I found several journals penned and apparently submitted to the Crown by Daring Do—not the author J.K. Yearling, but the real-life explorer and archaeologist behind the books. The journals detailed ancient artifacts and scriptures deemed too dangerous to remain in the public eye.

Then there were all the confiscated manifestos of past villains and tyrants, including several of the records of Sombra's experiments regarding dark magic. I'd actually recovered some of these from the Crystal Empire myself, though I hadn't actually perused any of them until now.

I learned so much—far more than I ever wanted to know, really—about how twisted our world and the creatures that inhabited it could truly be. I remembered Celestia telling me during our lunch that first day that she'd had to make some hard decisions in the past, decisions she wasn't proud of, but it was only now that I realized just how difficult those choices really were.

I learned that Celestia's hooves were far from clean, and finding out some of the things she and her sister had done to protect their little ponies were eye-opening, to say the least. Still, I was mature enough not to let the past cloud my love and adoration of the mares they were now.

Despite all the knowledge I'd gathered though, I still had no definitive resolution to my problem. At least, not one that I was satisfied with. If anything, I'd discovered far more ways to destroy Equestria than to save it. That malicious little voice in the back of my mind that we all had now had several ideas on how to overthrow the other Princesses and take over Equestria.

If I'd wanted to, I could do it right now.

I could lay out three different plans and carry them all out right now. They would all be shockingly easy to pull off given all I knew about the Princesses and Equestria in general. The thought made me shiver in revulsion and I wasted no time in pushing the ideas aside.

I chalked up my grim musings on the content of my studies combined with a lack of proper sleep and moved on. I looked over the books I had lying open on the table in front of me, moving the now empty plate and mug out of the way as I searched.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" Ancient Scroll asked as he took the plate, utensils, and mug into his own telekinetic aura, "if you need help finding a certain book, I'd be happy to assist. I am the Royal Archivist after all."

"Just looking for the book I was reading before I fell asleep, but I can't seem to..." I paused a moment before whipping around to give Ancient Scroll a brilliant smile, "of course! I'm such an idiot! Mister Scroll, do you know of any books or maps or... or anything that might reference a power that rivaled the Elements of Harmony?"

"A power that rivals the Elements, you say?" he repeated in a thoughtful tone, "hmm... let me see what I can scrounge up. Just gimme a minute...."

With that, his horn flashed a soft amber and the dishes vanished with a magical pop. A moment later the old stallion himself disappeared with another pop. A third pop somewhere above me told me the stallion had relocated to another floor of the restricted section.

I could hear Ancient Scroll mumbling to himself as he searched, but from the bottom floor I couldn't make anything out. I waited for him to finish, realizing only then that I probably should've elaborated on what I was actually looking for specifically.

I thought about teleporting up to where he was to tell him, but another wave of exhaustion blurred my vision. I really had been neglecting my sleep this past week or so despite my promise to Celestia to take it easy. In the end I decided to just let Ancient Scroll know once he came back and made a mental note to apologize to Celestia later.

It wasn't much longer before I heard the older stallion give an enthusiastic 'ah-ha!' before reappearing next to me with a single book a moment later. I found myself surprised by his abrupt return and with a book I seemed to have completely missed no less.

I had read a great many of the books in the restricted section, but thinking on it, I supposed it was silly of me to think I'd gone through even a fifth of the classified information this place contained. There was every chance something had slipped my notice and though I was a little annoyed at the fact, I couldn't deny a bit of excitement.

"You found something?" I asked eagerly.

"Possibly," Ancient Scroll replied with a careful frown, "you'll have to see for yourself, but I think this might be what you're looking for. But, Princess, what is this all for if you don't mind me asking?"

"Of course not, Mister Scroll," I said, hopped out of my chair to get a better look at the book, "to put it in simple terms, I'm looking for something to act as a failsafe in the event that my friends, as the Elements of Harmony, fail to protect Equestria from another major threat."

I took the book from Ancient Scroll and looked it over with an inquisitive frown. The book in question looked old. Terribly old. For one thing, the pages beneath its dark brown cover were brittle and yellowed with age. Even at a glance, I could tell that a preservation spell was all that was keeping the thing together, literally.

Another tell was that the cover itself was made of hard, rough leather. Unlike the synthetic leather used for books nowadays, this was real leather. Ponies hadn't used real leather for anything since the Two Princesses took up the throne well over a thousand years ago.

The final clue as to the possible age of the book was that the faded title was written in Old Ponish. The name of the book gave me pause.

"Sé Bóc of Stánas... the Book of Stones?" I muttered before flipping the book open and skimming through the pages. After scrutinizing the words for a moment I gave Ancient Scroll a curious look, "it's all Old Ponish. Can you actually read this?"

"Come now, Princess," Ancient Scroll chuckled, "I've told you before that I was once a teacher. Not only do I know Old Ponish, but I've also taught it."

I frowned at that, trying to search my memory for the conversation. It was vague, but there was something there. I'd known Ancient Scroll since I was a filly and my calling him 'Mister Scroll' had been a holdover from those days when I would wander the main repository. I also had a great deal of respect for the stallion.

I couldn't quite remember when he'd mentioned his time as a teacher, but given how long I'd known him, I supposed such a subject would've come up at some point. In any case, I brushed the distracting thought aside in favor of perusing the book a bit more.

"So what am I supposed to be looking for?" I asked as I scanned the pages, "why this book in particular?"

"Ah, well... funny story, that," the stallion stroked his beard as he spoke, his expression pensive, "I was the one who donated this particular book to the Archives, you see."

That caught my attention and I looked back up at the archivist in surprise.

"No kidding?" I said with a bit of wonder, "this came from your personal collection?"

"Well now, collection is a strong word," he replied with a chuckle, "no, this was a book handed down to me by my father, who inherited from his father and he from his father and so on and... well, you get the idea."

"A family heirloom passed down from generation to generation," I nodded slowly, "and you chose to give up such a precious relic to the Archives? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and I'm sure Princess Celestia is too, but why do such a thing?"

"Why does anypony do such a thing?" Ancient Scroll replied, giving me an assessing look as though he really was the teacher and I the student, "because, in the wrong hooves, that knowledge can be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

After reading over a few notable entries, I felt like I could see his point. Even as I asked, there were some details that stuck out to me about these so-called 'stones'. To begin with, while they were technically stones, the way they were described made them seem more like large stone tablets or monuments of some kind.

Assuming my Old Ponish was up to snuff, the book talked about the existence of three stone monuments hidden throughout the entire world. These monuments had first been carved and sculpted by an ancient tribe of minotaurs known as the Vorðr thousands upon thousands of years in the past.

The tribe in question appeared to have existed in an age long before the documented birth of Star Swirl or the Two Princesses, something I found fascinating. There actually weren't all that many records regarding the history before Star Swirl's time.

That alone gave this book value beyond measure in my opinion, but getting back to what I'd learned, these weren't simple stone monuments. The Vorðr used their unmatched skill to carve and sculpt these monuments out of a special stone they called blðdþigenstán. I wasn't completely sure of the term, but I was fairly sure it meant something like 'bloodstone'.

Once the monuments were built, a circle of Vorðr sorcerers known as Seiðmenn used Seiðr magic to inscribe mystical runes upon them. The magic in these runes was evidently meant to bind a singular fate to each of the three stone monuments.

And then there was the entry that led me—and likely Ancient Scroll—to believe these stone monuments weren't something to be trifled with lightly. The Book of Stones gave only vague details regarding the fates held within each stone. The problem was that once unbound, that fate would affect not only the invoker but the world around them as well.

The entire world.

It looked like activating any one of those stones could change the past or the future for better or ill. That was a scary thought to be sure, but in a way, I realize that might've been exactly what I was looking for. If all Tartarus broke loose and Equestria was on the brink of collapse, then maybe one of those monuments could change that course of history.

It took some searching, but I found out that each monument had a name that alluded to the fate bound to that specific stone. The names in question were Brosnungestán, Edstaðelungestán, and Blædgiefastán—the Stone of Ruination, the Stone of Renewal, and the Stone of Prosperity respectively.

My eyes widened and a hope that I hadn't even realized had started to fade suddenly sparked back to life as I read the names. This was it! This was the solution I'd been looking for! This is what I'd been losing sleep over for the past week.

Everything I needed was right here in this book and I could've kissed the old stallion for donating it to the Royal Archives and bringing it to my attention. The Stone of Ruination did me no good and, while I could make a couple of guesses, I wasn't one hundred percent certain of the Stone of Renewal's purpose.

But the Stone of Prosperity was something that spoke for itself. The Stone of Prosperity was something I could use to presumably ensure a prosperous future for Equestria. Now all I needed to know was where to find the monument I wanted and how to make it work.

I scoured the book for any clue on how to actually invoke the power of the monuments, how to unbind the fates held within, but couldn't seem to find anything. What was worse, the more I concentrated on the words, the harder it became to make them out.

It wasn't until I staggered slightly and the book nearly slipped out of my magical grasp that I noticed how lightheaded I'd become. I shook my head and blinked a few times before straightening up with a grimace. I really did need some actual rest, and Ancient Scroll agreed wholeheartedly judging by the look he was giving me.

"Perhaps it would be best if you picked this up tomorrow, Princess," the old archivist suggested, "Princess Celestia has already risen the sun, but I believe a bit of sleeping in would do you some good. In fact, you should probably take an entire day to—"

"No, no, I appreciate you looking out for me, Mister Scroll, really I do," I interjected with a raise of my hoof, "but I'm almost there, I can feel it. If I can just get a method and location, I'll have everything I need and can finally get a good night's—er, day's rest."

Ancient Scroll's only response to that was to give a disapproving frown. That frown quickly turned to surprise when I shoved the book in his face.

"Anyway, I'm looking for a way to invoke the monument's power but the book doesn't say how. I can't find anything hinting at any of the monument's locations either," I explained quickly, "I know there has to be some kind of explanation, but I think I might be overlooking something due to exhaustion."

Ancient Scroll pushed the book away with an exasperated sigh.

"Well, if that's the case, then why don't you just—"

"Could you help me with a bit of research, Mister Scroll?" I pressed, "normally I'd ask Spike to assist me, but I left him back in Ponyville," I frowned, annoyed at myself, "I knew I should've taken him with me. If I'd known how much trouble this would be..."

Ancient Scroll just chuckled at my grumbling before taking the book into his magic.

"How about this, Princess?" he offered, "I'll see what I can find out about these monuments for you. I'll even take notes, but—" he raised a hoof to forestall my enthusiastic agreement, "—in exchange, you have to go back upstairs and get some rest in an actual bedroom with an actual bed, and you have to do it, now. Agreed?"

"Agreed? I... you..." I stuttered before giving the stallion a pleading look, "wasn't this your book once? Can't you just tell me what you know and I'll take the notes?"

"Filly, it's been nigh on thirty years since I've even seen this book, let alone read it," the elderly stallion replied in the stern tone of an admonishing grandpa, "I'm old. My memory isn't what it used to be. Hay, I have enough trouble keeping track of all these tomes and you expect me to have memorized everything in this book?"

"W-Well, I just figured... y'know," I muttered, feeling thoroughly abashed, "I assumed you'd read the book so many times that you knew it front to back."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I had neither the time nor the patience to do such a thing," he huffed before waving the book in the air, "now, do we have a deal or should I get the other Princess down here to convince you?"

"Wha—hey, that's not fair!" I cried indignantly, "you never said anything about getting Princess Celestia involved! That wasn't part of the deal!"

"It's not part of the deal," Ancient Scroll asserted with a sardonic smirk that didn't fit his wizened features, "it's what I'll do if you refuse."

"I... you... ugh! Fine!" I snapped irritably before storming my way past the grinning stallion and up the winding staircase leading to the main repository. I stopped once I was a few steps up and whipped back around to jab an angry hoof in Ancient Scroll's direction, "I'll capitulate this time, but those notes better be positively immaculate!"

With my final piece said, I turned and continued up the stairs, all the while ignoring Ancient Scroll's wheezy laughter at my expense. I left the Royal Archives and made my way through the castle's many halls. On the way to the bedroom Celestia had reserved for my personal use, I took some time to reflect.

I hadn't even known minotaurs possessed the kind of magic that could create relics so powerful. Thinking back on it, there was quite a lot I didn't know about the minotaur race. There was also the matter of why the Vorðr tribe even made the monuments in the first place.

After stewing over it, then ruminating on it for a while, I also eventually realized that Ancient Scroll was probably right to do what he did. I was in no state to ponder the possible motives or machinations of an antediluvian tribe of creatures I knew almost nothing about. And it was that line of thought that led me to another realization.

I did need to sleep, and badly. I was so out of it that I'd completely neglected to mention what monument I was looking for. I only figured that out once I entered the room and now that I was here the exhaustion seemed to hit me that much harder. I was in no condition to teleport back to the Royal Archives and there was no way I was walking all the way back either.

In the end, I decided to just jot down a quick note on a piece of parchment and teleport that to Ancient Scroll. It wasn't nearly as taxing as teleporting myself and once that was done I could just hop right into bed, something I did with far more relish than I expected. A smile full of relief and satisfaction crossed my face as I pulled the blankets up and closed my eyes.

Even if Ancient Scroll doesn't find the information I need, I now have something to go off of... something I can use. I have leads I can follow and I'll follow them, even if those leads take me beyond the borders of Equestria.

Yeah, so this chapter wound up being far longer than I initially intended, but hey, I'm fairly sure none of you have any complaints about that. I certainly don't.