Most Unicorns enjoy studying and learning about new types of magic. Aether Lightshine, The short dark gray shaggy maned unicorn stallion, enjoyed this more so than most his age. Aether often prefers learning about new forms of spellcasting rather than casual socializing. Despite this fact, the studious stallion was always happy and grateful for the friends he has who have become as close as family to him.
One day, Aether went over to Domino Effect's house to share with him some Ideas he's been working on regarding some transfiguration spells he's been practicing lately. Domino Effect, the Boomastic charismatic brown Earth pony stallion with a black and white stylized spiky mane, gave his friend his full undivided attention.
"Umm so Domino, I've been really excited to try out this new combination spell I've been learning." Said Aether.
Domino sipped his glass of carrot juice and grinned.
"yea I can tell. You've been telling me about it for the last 3 hours haha! But I have just one question. Have you actually done this spell before?" Said Domino with sincere curiosity.
Aether remained silent for about 2 minutes before replying.
"N-No….I haven't…." Said Aether softly.
Domino shook his head and stood up.
"Hey, I'm no expert on magic or anything, but perhaps it might be a good idea to practice it a little before going all the way with it. At least that's what I would do anyway. Come with me, I have some old junk in my backyard that you can practice on." Said Domino as he began to lead Aether to his backyard.
Once they got there, Domino pointed out a small pile of old tools and worn-out Items that he suggested could be used as target practice. Aether looked at him with concern.
"A-Are you sure its ok for me to practice on this..?" Said Aether with genuine concern in his voice.
Dom nodded and said "Of course my short buddy. To be honest I kind of forgot most of the shit that I threw in there anyway. Go ahead and practice on it."
Aether took a deep breath and fired up his horn. After a moment of concentration, Aether fired his spell upon the pile of junk. It all started glowing for a few minutes then suddenly, it combusted in all directions. Aether summoned a magic shield to protect him and Dom from flying debris.
"woooow! Now that's an amazing spell bro!" Said Domino while clapping his hooves in amusement.
"Damnit….T-That wasn't supposed to happen…. something went wrong... but i thought i was doing it right…." Said Aether with visible disappointment.
"well…I suppose I'll just go home and try to figure it out again…."
After saying this, Aether said his goodbyes to Domino Effect and made his way back home. As he arrived, he saw a package laying at his doorstep. He picked up with his magic then opened the front door.
"Looks like Derpy actually delivered a package properly for once…" Aether said quietly to himself before going inside.
Once inside, he proceeded to examine the package. The tag said it was from his Great Grandfather, but he's been deceased for years. Aether shook his head in disbelief.
"Probably some pony playing tricks on me…" said Aether as he began to open the package.
Once open, it was revealed to contain a large book of archaic magic that appeared to be very old. It was the kind of book that was most likely out of print for decades. Aether opened it and a large folded piece of paper fell out. He picked it up, opened it and saw that it was a map of Equestria as well as other nearby lands. It had a couple spots marked on it and the upper corner, there was a smaller piece of paper taped to it. He opened it up and saw that it was a note that said:
"Dear Aether, I went through a lot of trouble getting this to you. Please study this book carefully. I've also included this map that leads to a secret family treasure from deep in our ancestral past. Only a select few know about its existence and I feel that now you are ready to know about it too. It's called the Chest of Enigma and it contains an artifact of immeasurable power. Find it before it falls into the wrong hooves."
The name at the bottom was smudged out. After reading the note Aether sighed and put the map in his desk.
"Ugh….why am I getting stuck with this weird hero quest nonsense?" He said to himself.
"As for this book, it looks ancient. I wonder if Felix might know a thing or two about it. He's a book expert after all."
Aether put the old book into a saddle bag and left his house to make his way to the town Bookstore in the center of Ponyville where his friend Felix Floetry the Kitsune Fox works. Once he arrived, Aether placed the book on the counter and looked around for his friend. It was a busy day at the bookstore and lots of Ponies and other creatures were roaming the aisles looking for various books and scrolls. Aether soon found himself getting caught up in the curiosity and began looking through the various spell books for unicorns.
"Hmmm perhaps one of these can help me perfect that new spell I've been trying to learn…" he said quietly to himself.
"you might be right, but personally, I'd search by the specific spell category that it would apply too instead of just spells in general" said a voice from behind him.
Aether was slightly startled as he quickly turned around to see the familiar bright orange furred, green shirt wearing anthro fox standing there with a playful grin. He licked his whiskers and chuckled a little.
"Oh, did I startle you lil homie? Sorry 'bout that bruh. Even I have to try and be as quiet as possible in here. It ain't no library, but they really want us to try and make it seem like it. Ya know what I mean?" Said Felix as he began to organize the shelves.
Aether cleared his throat and tried to pretend that he wasn't caught off guard.
"Well that's umm... nice. But I actually came here to see if you can help me with something else." Said Aether.
"oh? What can I do for ya man?" Said Felix
Aether took him to the counter where he placed the book and showed it to him.
"I wanted to see if you know anything about this book at all. It was delivered to my doorstep today and it was apparently sent by my dead great grandpa. and I know that's exactly as weird as it sounds." Said Aether.
Felix took the book and spent several minutes examining it front to back. After some time he handed it back.
"This is a book of old pony magic that is long outdated. As far as I can tell, a lot of the spells talked about in it are still used, but not as commonly as they used to be. Whoever gave this to you must have held onto it for many many years. My Marefriend used to own one of these. I'd say this is more of a collectors item." Said Felix as his tail wagged gently.
Aether looked at the book with newfound wonder then quickly remembered what else came with it.
"oh I forgot to mention that it also came with a note attached along with a strange map of Equestria. Kind of like a treasure map. Thanks Felix, I'll talk to you more about this later. I'm going to go see Jackal Rock!" Aether said with rising excitement before heading out the door.
"No problem homie, I'll see you later!" Said Felix while waving goodbye.
Aether quickly ran home, grabbed the map and then quickly made his way to Jackal's place. As he arrived he saw that Jackal was visited by another friend of theirs, a bright yellow Pegasus mare with a black and white braided mane named Epic Velocity aka Epic V as most Ponies call her. She and Jackal were having a discussion about Ogres and Oubliettes. Jackal had recently begun teaching her how to play with the help of their friend Toxic Cure the Cyborg Unicorn. After they finished talking, Epic V left.
"Hey There Aether!" Said V as she flew past him.
Jackal looked up the road and saw Aether approaching so he made his way to Meet him. Jackal Rock is a rather large and very tall black coated "Chaos" pony with what appears to be a green mane, though the true color is hindered by some form of magic. Little is known about the Chaos race but Jackal is a very strong individual with a lot of unique Magical abilities.
"Greetings my friend, what brings you here today?" Said Jackal in a very polite tone.
"hey Jackal, I came here to see if you could help me with something." Said Aether.
He began to tell Jackal Rock the same story that he told Felix but this time he showed the map that came with the book in hopes that Jackal could verify its authenticity. Jackal took a close look at the old map and verified its legitimacy.
"Yes this is indeed an authentic Equestrian map. Though some of the locations are a little out of date, this is indeed a real map. Are you by any chance planning on going to the marked areas? Some of them are within dangerous territories." Said Jackal.
"I'll get back to you on that. But for now, thanks for your help it really means a lot. I'll talk to you again later!" Said Aether before hurrying back home.
"sheesh, he hardly ever visits and the one time he does, he only stays for 5 minutes…." Said Jackal Rock under his breath.
Once Aether returned home he layed out the book, the map and the letter. First he carefully read through the book from cover to cover. Next he examined the map and compared it to a more modern up to date map, remarking the same spots onto the new map. Then finally, he began to pack a few things in a couple of bags. Aether was preparing to embark on this new unknown journey. But not just any journey, it was a Quest!
After packing, he stopped to think for a moment then said;
"hmm I think I should probably bring some help with me…"
-THE END-