It was two o'clock when the afternoon sun shone on Celestia's face. She took in the bustling hallway that surrounded her. Noise and images filled her mind with a flurry. Information flooded in from everywhere. It made it incredibly hard to think clearly, something the white alicorn was not fond of.
"A day filled with royal addresses and form approvals and this is the lowest point yet. Just my luck," Celestia thought to herself.
A light tap on her shoulder from somepony's hoof was enough to break her trance. The alicorn princess gave a quick shake of her head, rainbow prism mane flowing, and turned towards the hoof's owner.
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"
Celestia took a moment to analyze the inquiring equine that stood patiently beside her. It was the captain of the royal guard, Searchlight, an experienced leader who had served many years under her rule. Celestia considered him a loyal friend and was glad he was the one to be leading this investigation. She suddenly recalled the discussion they were having.
"My apologies Captain, you were saying?"
Searchlight gestured towards a stallion being treated by a doctor over near the vault door. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, covering a large abrasion on the back of his scalp. Two guards stood on either side of the entrance to the vault, watching everypony that moved through the hall.
"That's the guard that was on duty last night," Searchlight continued in a gruff voice. "We questioned him about what happened, but he doesn't seem to remember much. Other than being knocked unconscious that is."
Celestia let out a sigh as she stepped into the vault.
"What do we know about what was stolen?" she asked.
"That's just it," the Captain snorted, looking at the adjacent wall. "A room filled with treasures and all the thief takes is whatever was hidden behind this painting." He gestured to an overturned canvas that lay on the tile floor.
"Do we have any records of what this artifact might be?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If we do, we don't even know where to start." Searchlight tapped his hoof against the cold floor. "Though, Princess Luna did seem to have some recollection of what it might of been. She should be talking to one of the archivist as we speak. It sounded to me like she wants to know about what happened here as much as you do."
Celestia gave a small frown. The theft had taken place at night, her sister's domain, one that had been entrusted back into her care not that long ago. She could picture Luna now, furiously tearing through the archives, starlight mane flaring, deep blue eyes examining every document to a point. The fact that the event went completely unnoticed under Luna's watch was troubling. It would not be a mistake she would take lightly.
"Any idea of how the intruders made it this far without raising any alarms?" Celestia inquired.
Searchlight shook his head. "There are no signs of forced entry, no record of anypony leaving the palace, not even the slightest hint that there was a theft. Other than the obvious of course," he said, eyes turning back to the assaulted guard, who was now being led down the hall by a doctor.
"Any theories of your own?" Celestia asked, peering into the hole in the wall.
"None that you'd like," sighed the Captain. "If you ask me, I think there was only one thief. It may have even been an inside job. For all we know, the culprit could still be on the palace grounds." He gave a small shrug. "Other than that, your guess is as good as mine."
Searchlight turned to see one of the guards escorting a young purple unicorn into the vault.
"It looks like you have a visitor, Princess. I'll be here if you need anything." Searchlight gave a quick salute, before going to talk to a few other guards.
"Ah, Twilight," Celestia said brightly, trotting over to greet her student "It's good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Princess," replied Twilight, taken aback from the activity around her. "I came as quick as I could, but the trains were running slow today. What's happened?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," said Celestia, looking around the room. Of course the trains were slow today. She had ordered guards to check all ponies entering and leaving Canterlot. As Celestia's eyes passed over the hall, she noticed a tall, dark blue figure moving through the crowd. Celestia turned her gaze back to Twilight.
"Captain Searchlight can fill you in on the details. For now, I must discuss the matter with sister. Excuse me for a moment."
Celestia approached Luna at a steady pace, leaving Twilight to talk to the Captain. She was anxious to learn what her sister had discovered about the stolen item. The fact that Luna was here meant that she had at least come across something of interest. Of that much, Celestia was certain.
"Sister, we are pleased to see thee," greeted Luna, looking up at her older sister.
Despite the fact that they were both powerful and ancient alicorn goddesses, Celestia still stood almost a foot taller than Luna. Not that it mattered much to anypony else, considering they tended to intimidate any normal sized pony with their presence alone.
"Did you learn anything about the artifact that was taken?" Celestia asked promptly.
"We believe so." Luna replied coolly, observing the scene around her. "Though we find the information to be somewhat... disturbing."
She turned her attention towards the two ponies behind Celestia, a surprised expression forming on her face.
"We did not know that thou had sent for the young Twilight. Are thou certain tis wise to include her in such affairs?"
Celestia gave an obvious role of her eyes. "Yes, Luna. We could use her assistance with this problem. She is my greatest pupil and a trustworthy friend. And trust is a valuable commodity at moments like this."
"Of course sister." Luna gave a curt nod. "We only ask out of concern for thine student."
"Luna, remember how we talked about the way you speak?" Celestia asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "You needn't to be so formal anymore. A lot has changed in a thousand years."
Luna looked at the ground, rather embarrassed by her sister's remark. "We- I mean, I'm sorry Tia. I'll do better to remember."
Both princesses suddenly noted that Twilight had begun to walk towards them, having finished what little there was to discuss with the captain.
"Princess Luna." Twilight respectfully nodded towards the star-maned mare. "It's good to see you again. Did you learn anything from your visit to the archives?"
Luna gave a small smile in return. "It is good to see thee- I mean, you as well Twilight Sparkle. I was just about to go over the details with Celestia. Though, it appear that you will be joining us as well. If you would both follow me, I believe I have found something of interest."
The three ponies entered one of the archive's many chambers. It was a room filled with knowledge, centuries old. All of it recorded, yet much of it forgotten. At the front of the room, only a short walk from the entrance, there was a long table covered in ancient books and scrolls.
Princess Luna walked over to a particular book and lifted it with her magic, placing it on a nearby podium for the others to see.
"This is a record of events from a failed mining expedition that took place within the Everfree Forest," Luna explained as she flipped through the text. "The documentations that are within predate the founding of present day Ponyville by more than a millennium. It's amazing that they even still exist. Even I scarcely recall the events within myself."
"Wait," Twilight interjected, "aren't the oldest texts kept in deep storage?" Her bookworm personality was beginning to show. "How did you manage to find this so quickly?"
Luna nodded grimly. "That's just it, young Sparkle. This book was viewed recently. Perhaps even multiple times. It was lying out in the open." She gestured to a few sheets of parchment in the book. "Notice how the pages do not stick," the princess noted, turning through the articles. "This is not common with older texts in storage. And here as well. See how a reader marked pages of interest," Luna said running her hoof over a creased corner. "Although why they did not go to greater efforts to hide their research, I do not know."
"What was so interesting about this expedition?" Celestia asked, looking over Luna's shoulder. "And what does it have to do with the artifact?"
"I see you struggle to recall these events as well sister." Luna continued. "It says here that the mine was open for under a year and overseen by a team fifty strong. Surveyors detected high concentrations of gems, making it a valuable find. As excavation began, more readings began to appear unlike any ever recorded. Around this time, some of the miners reported sounds of a piercing whine. It only worsened as they continued digging. The team leads dismissed it as some sort of isolated paranoia, and had the workers continue, as scheduled."
Twilight cocked her head as Luna turned to the next page, noticing the hardness of the princess's gaze increasing.
"The miners soon came across some sort of cavern that they described as, 'Too perfect to be a natural occurrence.' In the center of the cavern was a pedestal. It was here that the miners found an artifact which had been dubbed, 'The Codex.' It was said to be a metallic cylinder, just over a foot in length. Foreign symbols had been etched into the surface. It was sent to the school of magic for study, then stored away at the Everfree castle archives. It must have been moved to the vault after Canterlot was built." Luna stopped to catch her breath.
By now, all three of the investigators were leaning to get a better view of the text.
"Is that all?" Celestia asked impatiently.
"On the matter of the artifact itself, yes," Luna replied, either oblivious of her sister's tone or uncaring of it. "It's what else they found that is disturbing." She turned back to the article. "Embedded in the floor around the pedestal, there were shards of red rock. These were covered in the same foreign symbols as the Codex. The miners who attempted to remove the shards all fell back in pain, clutching their heads. The records are scattered from there on. Some mentions of team members experiencing hallucinations, mass hysteria, acts of murder, suicides..."
Luna paused to compose herself. "Even reports of cannibalism. Only thirteen of the crew managed to escape the mine. It was sealed off from the world and forgotten. Until now."
They all stood wide eyed. The room was quiet enough to hear all of their hearts racing.
"But why would some pony take an interest in something so horrible," Twilight questioned, breaking the silence. "I mean, how would they even know about this incident? Not even you two remember it happening."
"That's what we need to find out," Luna stated matter-of-factly. "I propose that I go and examine the mine. Its location is provided by the text. If you are willing to come Twilight, I would gladly welcome the assistance."
"I'm always up for a little hooves-on research," Twilight said looking to the princess. "I'm in! That is... if you're okay with it Celestia."
Celestia slowly nodded her head, contemplating the situation. "Find out whatever you can, but be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks. I'm needed here to handle the public. You should do well to head off as quickly as you can." She hesitated for a moment. "I would suggest that you be accompanied by a royal escort, but I have a feeling you would refuse such a notion."
Princess Luna gave a small smile. "You know me too well dear sister. Come Twilight," she said, walking towards the exit. "New discoveries await."