LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME

Chapter 6: For What It's Worth

Floating the box in front of her, Trixie asked, “Where does this one go, Dearest?”

Twilight looked up from the checklist she was triple-triple checking. Taking note of the box, she absently replied, “Lab equipment goes in the basement, Trix. Just be careful with it, it's extra-fragile.”

A wave of goosebumps went down Trixie's spine at the new nickname for her. She had never been close enough to another pony to allow them to call her anything but 'Trixie', 'Great and Powerful Trixie', or 'Ma'am'. “Of course I will, Twi.”

A similar wave of goosebumps went down Twilight's spine, and she blew a kiss at the departing mare. Returning to her list, she mumbled to herself, “Lessee, change of address: check. Reversion of Library Zoning form filled out and returned: check. Food moved over to the new, bigger icebox: check.” As she went through the list, she absentmindedly removed the drop cloths from the cozy and plush furniture that Cheerilee had covered when she had moved into the library.

A knock on the open door attracted her attention, and she looked up to see several large pegasi stallions dressed in identical uniforms standing next to a crate. “Twilight Sparkle?” the oldest inquired.

Twilight trotted over to the door happily. “That's me. What can I do for you sirs?”

The pegasus pulled out a clipboard and hoofed it over to her. “Delivery from...” he consulted the clipboard again before returning it to its proffered position, “Twilight Velvet. Sign here, please.”

Twilight's eyes lit up and she smiled as she produced a quill, signing the paper with a flourish. “Ooo! It's here!”

Nodding, the old stallion asked, “Where do you want it, miss?”

“In the den, through those doors, please,” Twilight said, pointing at a partially closed door, which her magic opened fully. The task completed, the delivery ponies departed, and Twilight resumed her list checking. However, she didn't even get to find her place before she felt a familiar warmth behind her. She turned to the open door with a meek smile to find her suspicions confirmed.

“May I come in, Twilight? We need to talk,” Celestia asked politely.

Twilight gestured towards the living room, where she had a pot of tea waiting among the freshly uncovered furniture. “I was expecting you'd want to talk face-to-face instead of through letters,” she said. “Excuse me a moment, please.” She walked over to the stairs leading to the basement and said loudly, “Trixie, she's here.”

The showmare appeared at the top of the stairs and looked into the living room, spotting the white alicorn, sitting patiently. “It appears I owe you dessert,” she said quietly.

They walked into the room, where Celestia held up a letter from her Faithful Student. “What is this about you getting Trixie pregnant? I hope this is some poor attempt at a joke, Twilight.”

The disappointment in her mentor's voice made Twilight flinch. “I- I'm afraid not, Princess.”

Celestia shook her head sadly. “I'm surprised at you, Twilight. This was very irresponsible of you. Taking care of one infant is tough enough, but two? How did you manage to lose your head like this? And before your herding ceremony, too.”

Twilight did not look up from the tea she served the three of them. “I... I'm sorry, Princess. I never meant to disappoint you, I just... I was... in the heat of the moment when I cast the spell. I got confused about which version I had cast, and...”

“Do not blame Twilight,” Trixie said, throwing a hoof around her lover's withers. “It's not entirely her fault. Trixie would not let her pull out. She... I got greedy. I wanted something of Twilight that I could always look at and know that there was proof in this world of our love for each other.”

Celestia, shocked to her core, said, “Trixie, there other ways of doing that; ways that don't put so much weight on a foal's shoulders.”

“I... I know. I just... I wanted to prove to Twilight that I'm somepony worth keeping around. That I have something worthwhile to offer.” Trixie looked down to her belly and rubbed it. “I never meant to put something like this on our foal's shoulders. I promise that she'll never have to live with it, no matter what.”

Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Trixie, comforting her, and looked to her mentor. “We discussed this already as a group. We've decided to hold off on using the spell anymore because it can be so... unreliable in its current iteration. We're going to do some research and see if we can make it foalproof- so to speak, so we don't have to worry about events like this cropping up again.”

Celestia nodded as she sipped at her tea. “That's probably for the best. The herding ceremony isn't too far off, so they shouldn't be showing until afterward, but it's best to avoid further complications.”

“I'm sorry we're such a cause for worry for you, Princess,” Twilight said glumly. “We really don't mean to keep filling up your day with our problems.”

“You can fill all of my time with your problems, both good and bad, Twilight,” Celestia replied, nuzzling the smaller mare. “You should know that no matter what it is, I'll always be there to help you through it, my Faithful Student.”

Twilight smiled brightly at the mention of the title.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Several days later found Twilight's herd (and Spike) walking along an overgrown path through the Everfree Forest. The five of them walked along chatting amiably, but keeping an eye out for trouble. While they were fairly confident that they could handle just about anything that might come their way, they didn't want to bring trouble upon themselves by being blasé about the danger.

“Wait'll you see it, Spike. This library is enormous! You could fit the entirety of Canterlot inside it, and I don't think I even saw half of it!” Twilight exclaimed. She gamboled around them excitedly, kicking up small clouds of dust. “I bet we could do so much research there!”

Trixie looked a little weak at the prospect. “We?” she silently mouthed to nopony.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Twi, be a little reasonable, here. This is a long enough walk as it is. Doing this everyday would just not be practical; not to mention leaving the library unattended. You know, the Mayor wasn't too happy at you closing it down for Fryday and Satyrday, even if it's used about as often as a slide ruler in Rainbow Dash's house.”

Stopping in front of him, Twilight pinched his cheeks. “Silly, Spikey-Wikey. I'm sure Rainbow uses a slide ruler. They're so useful for calculating. She probably just hides it really well, because she's afraid somepony will call her an egghead for having one.”

“Yeah, I'm sure,” Spike said, gently knocking away her mothering hooves. “Setting that aside, what's this dragon in the library like? Is it really a he?”

“You'll find out when we get there, and yes, it really is a he,” Twilight replied. “I can't wait to see what texts on magic Miss Nyx has!”

They stepped out into the field of ruins, and a reverent hush fell over the group. They passed by some of the remains of buildings, and Spike couldn't help but stop and get a closer look. He ran a claw over the eroded edge, and noticed a peculiar bulge. “Hey, Twilight? What happened to this place?”

Twilight stepped over to her assistant and peered closely at the wall. “I dunno. What did you find?” She noted the bulge closely. “No tool marks, so I don't think it's part of a bas-relief.”

“It looks like the stone was melted,” Cheerilee said.

Twilight looked at her with a wry smile. “Cheerilee, this is granite. It would take temperatures around thirty-one hundred degrees to melt it. You won't find that in an ordinary building fire, not sustained long enough to damage it like this. It would take something on the order of-”

“Dragonfire?” Spike offered.

Twilight rubbed her chin speculatively. “Possibly, but it would have to come from an especially old and powerful dragon. Heat like this outside of a kiln or forge is difficult to attain.” She rubbed the top of the wall remains with a hoof. “If only this weren't so eroded. If we could see the damage sustained at the break, it would tell us a lot about what had happened here.”

“And if we had an archeology team here we could discover even more,” Spitfire said, “but we don't have either. Let's get moving. Miss Nyx didn't strike me as someone you want to keep waiting.” She flapped her wings impatiently as she walked away.

“Trixie thought we didn't have an appointment?” the showmare asked.

Twilight walked past her, indicating that their pit stop was over. “We don't, but she was expecting us for lunch.”

Spike perked up at the mention of a meal. “Lunch? With a dragon? Yes!” he pumped his little claw in triumph.

They arrived at the wall, and Twilight held the curtain of greenery with her magic, letting the others through first. Spike looked at the wall hesitantly the others had walked through without a second's thought, and hopped up onto Twilight's back. He grinned nervously at her. “What?”

Twilight said nothing, and walked through the wall, letting the curtain fall back in place. Joining her three herdmates in the hall. She looked to Cheerilee and Trixie and asked, “How did you know what to do?”

They shrugged. “I guess it was during the dream where we got our marks,” Cheerilee said.

Walking into the library itself, they were surprised to find that Nyx had set up a table built for pony-sized creatures near the checkout desk, and was herself sitting at it. The sphinx, who had somehow shrunk herself down to a size comparable to Luna, was setting out a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade. She waved them over, saying, “Come in, come in! I was just setting the table.”

A black dragon, no larger than a pony stallion walked out from behind the desk. “Nyx, I can't find any napkins back here. Ever since the arc- Oh! Hello,” he said, noticing the ponies and fellow dragon for the first time.

As they took their seats, Nyx said, “I suppose we look a bit strange like this, huh? Well, I figured this would be best for entertaining rather than our true forms. Ponies tend to find them a bit... intimidating.”

“How big are you normally?” Spike asked, not taking his eyes off of Onyx.

The black dragon smiled, baring a few more teeth than normal. “Oh, about the size of an Ursa Minor. Nyx is normally about half that.”

Spike dropped the ruby he had been about to bite into back to the plate of gems before him, his eyes as wide as the saucer before him. “That big?”

Onyx nodded with a smirk. “Yes, but then, my breed is fairly small where I come from. The big breeds can rival an Ursa Major, and there's a few individuals that I know of that never stopped growing. I know one who could wrap herself around Ponyville; minus Sweet Apple Acres, of course.”

“I had heard it theorized that dragons never stop growing,” Twilight said, “but to hear it confirmed... Is there anything in this library about her?” she asked Nyx.

The sphinx smiled at her excitement. “Oh, yes. I have many tomes dedicated to her youthful- ah, adventuring days. I dare say Sal would get a thrill knowing her story was being read by a scholar like you, Twilight.”

“Sal?” Trixie inquired. “Trixie has never heard of such a dragon name. Aren't they usually something descriptive?”

Onyx answered for Nyx, “Sal is just a nickname we use for her, because her actual name is a bit of a mouthful. Salanshandaraen is ancient- emphasis on ancient- Draconic, which roughly translates into Equish as-”

“The Hammer of Heaven,” Twilight finished in awe. “She's real? I thought she was just an old tale to tell bad foals to get them to straighten up.”

“I assure you that she is very much real, though it has been some time since she left the Firmament,” Nyx said with a nod. “As a matter of fact, she has several books overdue here. If the arcaneficarum were still functional, I could send her a message that way.”

Twilight's eyes went wide and she slammed her forehooves onto the table. “You have an arcaneficarum?” she practically shouted.

“What's an arcaneficarum?” Cheerilee asked. Trixie and Spitfire shrugged and looked confused as her.

“It's only one of, if not the greatest lost secret of magic,” Twilight said, immediately going into lecture mode. “It is essentially a living ward that watches over, serves, and protects an area designated by its creator. There are two kinds, the everyday magificarum, which was serviceable for everyday uses and threats, and the full arcaneficarum which was used only for the the areas in most dire need of protection. They are insanely powerful, but rare and fell out of favor because they require the sacrifice (not necessarily willing) of a living being to form the core of the enchantment.”

Her fillyfriends looked horrified at the thought of sacrificing a life. “That's horrid!” Trixie exclaimed. “Who would do such a vile thing?”

“To be honest, the stories of the unwilling sacrifices say that they were often truculent and contrary with their owners, frequently following the word of their orders, but twisting them so that they never even came close to the intent of them.” Twilight smiled devilishly at the thought. “Many of those arcaneficarae got their revenge on the casters by hovering over their every word, waiting for a weak or careless moment to exploit. That's actually where a lot of the stories about genies come from, as well as the phrase 'be careful what you wish for; you just might get it'.

“However, I doubt that's what we're talking about here, is it?” she asked, looking up at Nyx, who shook her head. “A willing sacrifice is another matter entirely. When a being feels strongly for an area or the population, or some object, they can willingly give up their mortal soul to form the core of the enchantment. These arcaneficarae are true protectors. They not only go by the letter of their orders, but the intent, which only a sapient being can do.”

Nyx smiled over at the didactic mare, lost in memories of long ago. “If you don't pay attention, Nyxie, you'll never excel at this field of magic. Now come on. What's the formula for determining the amount of mana needed to prepare an object for permanent enchantment?” The voice of her oldest and best friend echoed in her head, a voice that bore an uncanny resemblance in mannerisms if not tone to the one talking now.

“So who volunteered for that job?” Spike asked, interrupting Nyx's thoughts.

“Spike!” Twilight scolded. “That was very rude! It was likely someone very close to her. Show some respect.”

Nyx smiled at her reassuringly. “It's alright, Twilight; no harm done.” She turned to the baby dragon and said, “Actually,I could never ask anyone to do something like that for me, so I used a shard of my own soul. It was... an experience I wouldn't care to repeat.”

“I can only imagine,” Twilight replied. “Doing that must have been like chewing off your own head.”

Nyx nodded grimly. “As close to an apt description as you'll ever find. Few ever survive the attempt.” Her eyes grew distant as she looked at a nervous Twilight and her countenance lost all semblance of happiness. Onyx cleared his throat, and a genuine smile returned to her face. “That actually brings me to why I asked Celestia to just send you to me to return the books instead of going back to Canterlot, Twilight. I'd like your help repairing my arcaneficarum. My forte in magic lies in divination, not enchantment, so I'd like to have your expert opinion and help if I may?”

“I'd be happy to lend a hoof,” Twilight replied with a huge grin.

Nyx's paws shifted in form to resemble a human's, so as to make dishing out the sandwiches easier. “But first, lunch!”

After the last sandwich was eaten, and the pitcher was left with only melting ice and lemon dregs, they stood from the table, and Spike walked up to Onyx asking, “Can you tell me about the dragon homeland? I've only been there once, and it wasn't exactly the friendliest place. I had to leave in a hurry.”

“Sure,” the larger dragon replied. “Let's go over to my desk, and I can show you some excellent books on it.”

The ponies were about to follow Nyx, when she turned and stopped them. “I'm sorry, Cheerilee, but I'll have to ask you to wait out here. Where we're going, the magical energies will have... negative effects on your foal, I'm afraid.”

“Then you'd better wait out here too, Trixie,” Twilight added.

Nyx raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean you've already... My, my, you have been busy. Is there anyone else that should stay behind?” she asked with a grin.

Twilight blushed and silently shook her head. Seeing her fellow herdwives' obvious distress, Spitfire said with a wry smile, “Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her. Make sure she does nothing too foalish.”

Cheerilee and Trixie gave each other worried glances, but said nothing as the three left the room.

Nyx led the way down the spiraling stone staircase, an orb of light floating next to her head. “Normally, the magic in this area would light the way for us, but the arcaneficarum monitored things like that, so it's sporadic at best,” Nyx explained.

“When did you start having trouble with it?” Twilight asked. “Er, should I say her? I mean, it did come from you and...”

Nyx turned back to smile at her. “She always did prefer being addressed as a person, rather than a construct.” Turning forward again, she added, “It started a little under twelve thousand years ago. At first it was little things like a section not getting cleaned, or misplacing books; but when it got to the point where the books themselves were being destroyed, I had to shut her down.” Unseen by her guests, a pained expression made its way across her face, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

“That's a long time to go with out her help,” Twilight remarked. “How did you deal with the clean up, let alone maintaining all this?”

“For a time, the library still received visitors, mostly from other dimensions and realities,” Nyx said as she ducked under a particularly large and dusty cobweb. “I would exchange library time with them in return for favors, like cleaning up, repairs, and such. Sadly, I had to discontinue that practice when several customers decided to take advantage of the reduced security and pilfer some of my more valuable and irreplaceable tomes.” She sighed, lamenting their loss. “I have yet to track those conniving thieves down and bring them the justice they so richly deserve.”

Twilight looked aghast. “That's horrible! How could anypony come to a library under such false pretenses! Why, if they're willing to go that far, I'd bet they would even eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over them! Do you know which were missing?”

Nyx shot her an understanding smile. “The fiends managed to make off with an entire shelf! I don't mind telling you that I lost a lot of respect for my fellow sapient beings, that day.”

Patting her shoulder, Twilight reassured her, “It'll be okay. I'm sure you'll get those books back someday.”

“It's nice to have someone to talk to, who understands,” Nyx replied.

They arrived at the bottom of the stairs, coming to a stop before an enormous, and heavily engraved brass door. The door was decorated with etchings of flourishes, and words of power. Nyx sat on her haunches and motioned Twilight and Spitfire back. “Stand clear. The protections I placed on this door are very old, and may have decayed in odd ways.” When they were clear, she began chanting in a deep, sonorous voice, the words coming out like a song.

Twilight perked an ear, trying to make out the words. She reared back in surprise, exclaiming, “That's Ancient Draconic!”

“Is that significant?” Spitfire asked.

Twilight turned to her, wide-eyed. “I'll say it is! It's only the second oldest magical language there is. Only the Words of Creation and Destruction are older.” She turned to regard their host with awe. “She must have been taught magic by the old dragons.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Spitfire asked, “Is it truly that rare? Surely the thousands of dragons out there-”

“-who never take on non-dragon students,” Twilight interrupted. “Never. And when it comes to protection, nothing beats draconic wards. It's how they guard their hoards.” She turned to examine the door from their position, so far away. “What I wouldn't give to learn just one or two of those spells...”

There was a dull THOOM, and the great brass door opened, a gust of wind rushing inside as the seal was broken. A blue glow could be seen emanating from the room, which grew brighter as the door swung open, blinding them temporarily. When their vision cleared, they saw a circular stone room, about eighty hooves across, it's roof soaring above the flagstone floor in a tower-like dome that capped the room over one hundred seventy hooves above. In the center of the room was a massive tower of crystal, floating about a hoof or two from the ground, gently bobbing up and down. A single gigantic rune, along with many smaller runes on each face of the crystal gave off the blue glow that lit up the area. Some of the smaller runes were unlit, the only indication they even existed from this distance being the light glinting off of an edge.

Several smaller crystals floated around the tower, each glowing a different color. Carved into the stone of the room itself, were tens of thousands of runes, some glowing, but the vast majority of them not. Many of the unlit runes showed signs of wear, as if they had been exposed to the elements and eroded; some so bad, that it was impossible to tell what the rune was at one time.

Twilight had to restrain herself from running inside to examine the large crystal, and waited impatiently for Nyx to lead them in. The sphinx motioned for them to follow, and they came up beside her in front of the tower. “Wow, even I can feel the magic coming off of this thing,” Spitfire remarked.

“It's a shame we had to leave Cheerilee and Trixie behind,” Twilight said with a nod. “They'd have loved to see this.” Turning to Nyx, she asked, “So what happened here? What caused all the damage? Does it have anything to do with the ruins outside?”

Nyx got a sad, faraway look in her eyes. “Sadly, yes. A long time ago, I did something that angered a fellow immortal. It was a terrible crime, but it had to be done for the safety of the world. Unfortunately, she didn't see it this way, and attacked. That's when the city around the library was destroyed, and the library itself cast adrift among the outer planes. It was only through the most tenuous of links that I was able to find my way back to Equestria, and that was only very recently.”

She noted the disgruntled look on Twilight and smiled at her. “Don't be too angry at her. This other immortal was acting out of hurt, and didn't mean to cause anyone any suffering; not really. She even gave the city time to evacuate before destroying it.” Looking back at the crystal, the sphinx ran a paw over one of the broken runes. “It was me she wanted to hurt, but many others ended up being hurt along with me. But at least some good came of it.”

Spitfire looked at her incredulous. “What possible good could have come of all that wanton destruction?”

Nyx patted her on the head, and Spitfire felt like a foal being comforted by her mother. “She learned several important lessons from that. First of all, she learned that exacting vengeance is a pointless endeavor, garnering hate, for only an instant of satisfaction. Secondly, she learned that restraint is more useful than blind rage. Lastly, she learned that among all the beings on Equestria, only the immortals can truly be our equal, for no other, save the longest lived dragons, know what it's like to carry the burden we shoulder; and it is amongst our own kind that we form the strongest of bonds.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“So dragons don't really have a monarchy?” Spike asked, looking up at Onyx seated next to him at the table.

“Of course not,” the black dragon replied. “Could you see a group of creatures as independent as us heeding the rule of a single dragon, no matter how powerful? It's more of an honorary hereditary role. We're ruled by a council of clan leaders who make all the real decisions, and the King makes sure they're carried out. He doesn't even have his own personal guards anymore.”

Cheerilee, sitting across from them and next to Trixie, asked, “But doesn't he have any say in the government?”

Shrugging, Onyx brushed it off. “He's allowed to cast votes in order to break ties, but that's it. He's a mouthpiece for the council, nothing more.”

“Frankly, given how the past kings have acted, that's the way I prefer him.”

All four looked up to see the strangest, yet most beautiful dragon walking towards them, shrinking to the size of an alicorn as she moved. Her golden scales shone like liquid metal, accentuating her rippling muscles as she moved. A barely perceptible golden aura surrounded her, that could most likely be attributed to the light reflecting off of her scales. What really caught their attention were the feathered wings she kept tucked at her sides. Even fully closed, the tips of the opalescent feathers dragged on the floor. Her voice was that of a well practiced singer, carefully modulated so that even a whisper would carry across a room.

A beatific smile spread across Onyx's face, one that was matched by the new arrival. “Sal! We've missed you!” He got up and clasped arms with the golden dragon. “Who told you we were back?”

“A little white pony, about yea high,” she held a claw almost equal to her head, “billowing pastel mane? Maybe you've heard of her?”

Confusion apparent in his voice, Onyx said, “Celestia told you? I guess she's trying to-” He stopped himself and turned so that he could introduce his friend. “Forgive my manners. Sal, this is Cheerilee, Trixie, and Spike. Everyone, this is Salanshandaraen.”

The two ponies and baby dragon shook hooves/claws with her, but when Spike went up to her, he was swept up in a hug that threatened to break him in half. “You are just too cute!” Cradling him in her arms, she reverted to baby talk and pinched his cheek. “Who's a little Spiky? Who's a little Spiky? You are! Yes, you are!”

“Excuse me, but put my baby dragon down!” Twilight fumed as she stomped over and telekinetically swiped Spike from the dragon's arms.

Sal smirked at her. “Technically speaking, he was my baby long before he was yours.”

Silence descended upon the room.

“What?” Twilight deadpanned.

Extending her claw, the golden dragon replied, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Salanshandaraen, Spike's mother. Pleased to meet you at last, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight's eyes took on a glazed appearance, while Spike fainted dead away.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“Sooth, 'Tia. One day, thou wilt goeth too far by half,” Luna said sourly. “Springing a surprise like this upon thy favored pupil, t'is just cruel.” She laid down a black rook on a square, perilously close to her sister's queen.

Celestia shook her head and smiled, moving a knight to to take Luna's bishop. “You underestimate Twilight's resilience, Lulu. Granted, there will be a period of adjustment, but with the support system she's built for herself, she'll pull through stronger than ever before.”

“And what of her ward, Spike?” Luna asked pointedly. “Is it not cruel to just suddenly produce his mother without warning?” A pawn moved one space closer, threatening the white king.

Celestia shook her head. “It couldn't be helped, Luna. I went to see her to let her know that the library had returned, and she asked about the eggs she left in my care. You know it's nearly impossible to dissemble to her. She sees through lies and half-truths as if they were cheesecloth.” Celestia considered her options before moving a pawn to take back the square.

Luna shuddered involuntarally. “Sooth, We would rather not think of her. That disagreeable business whence she mistook one of our night guard for a vampony hath left an indelible impression upon us.” The game seemed to lose some of it's charm, and she stared out the window, counting the pegasi that flew into her field of vision.

“She is rather... zealous when it comes to combating evil, isn't she?” Celestia sighed. "Try not to hold it against her, though. She's a very good dragon, just... inflexible.”

They passed the moment in silence, listening to the ponies play amongst the clouds. Luna broke the silence with, “'Tia, thou didst remember to warn her about...”

Dawning realization overcame Celestia, who disappeared with a muttered “Roadapples!”

Author's Notes:

A fairly exposition-intensive update, but it couldn't be helped, I'm afraid. At least I managed to make it look like the characters were learning along with the audience, right? Right? O_O

The usual disclaimers go here. I own the arrangement of the words, Nyx, Onyx, and Salanshandaraen. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.