>Part 1: The Figure from the Sand
>The train from Fillydelphia arrives around midday
>As the steam from the engine dissipates, you catch your first view of Canterlot in over a year
>Your excitement at finally visiting the Royal City again is tempered, however, by the reasons for it
>The box in your lap rattles as the train comes to a halt
>Departing the station, you make your way to the Royal University
>You received the box a few days ago with a letter from your friend and teacher Dr. Ivory Tower
>As you enter his office you place the box on the desk and open the letter again
>”To my friend and student Anon,” it begins,
>The letter goes on to detail the Doctor's past months of research
>An expedition in the desert of the Camels had turned up a strange etched tablet with unknown letters carved upon it
>The expedition team noted that the tablet was discovered in a part of the desert with no recorded history of settlement
>In fact, they had only gone to the area after a series of powerful tremors had sent a cloud of dust into the air there
>Having recovered the tablet from a crevasse opened up by the tremors, the team brought it to the University
>They noted seeing what appeared to be a large stone complex further down
>It was never explored, however, as the desert once again claimed the area after the team left
>The letter goes on to say that the tablet is on display in the University Museum
>You decide to take a look at this tablet the Doctor was so keen on having you examine
1/x
 
>You walk across the campus to the Museum
>You remember spending a year here studying under Dr. Tower
>Collegiate ponies walk between classes
>Across the green you see Twilight Sparkle walking
>You haven't seen her since you left the University to study in Fillydelphia's University
>She must be close to graduating by now, Celestia's prize pupil
>The two of you became sort of friends in that time
>Though you never got very close; studies always came first with that mare
>You walk over to her anyway
>”Hey Anon! I didn't know you were coming to the University this week too!”
>Always getting excited when there's school involved...
Yeah, my old teacher called me up here to take a look at some things.
>”Ooh, what did he have you look at?”
Well I was just on my way to find out. Why don't you come along?
>”Ok, lead the way, Anon!”
>The two of you head to the Museum to look at the mysterious tablet
>It stands two feet tall, covered in intricate carvings
>The material seems to be some kind of sandstone, but much more compressed and hard
>There are what look like strange letters along the edges, surrounding the main relief
2/x
 
>The odd-looking script frames a squat, bulbous figure
>Its great clawed feet clutch the rocks upon which it sits
>A pair of flabby, vestigial wings lie behind its hideous form
>The creature's visage is capped by a sac-like head with a mass of tentacles making its face underneath a pair of large compound eyes
>Twilight looks uncomfortable around this tablet
>”Anon...what is that...thing?”
>She shrinks back from the tablet
>You knot your brow looking at the strange artifact
I'm not sure, Twilight. I'll have to take a look at Ivory Tower's research notes again
>The two of you decide to walk back to the office
>Damn thing's making YOU uncomfortable looking at it
>”Hey, Anon, where IS Ivory Tower? I've been here for a few days now and haven't seen him at all”
Actually, I don't know... I came when I got his letter, but I haven't seen him around yet
>Curious...
>Twilight and you arrive at the office
>Putting the strange tablet from your minds, you decide to go take in the City of Celestia
>The tablet can wait until tomorrow
3/x
 
>Twilight walks along side you happily
>Out the corner of your eye you can see her violet mane bobbing up and down
>You decide to go to a late lunch. Maybe you can catch up with your friend?
>The cafe sits on the east side of Canterlot with an impressive view over the mountains
>The two of you sit down at your table and it begins...
>Slowly at first; a vague uneasiness sets in as you order
>It quickly builds to a crescendo
>By the time you realize what is happening it is unstoppable
>You had forgotten the unnatural fury of Twilight's hunger for learning
>A torrent of questions on all things academic flies at you from the unicorn
>Magic, history, mythology, archeology. She asks you about every new thing you could possibly have learned
>She changes gears faster than you can even answer her inquiries
>So much for catching up like friends, she's just as focused on academia as she always was...
>You manage to eat your lunch despite the constant stream of questions
>By the time you leave the cafe, however, she's somehow roped you into going to the Archives for some rare books
>And here you thought you could get away with taking an afternoon off
>The Royal Canterlot Archive is massive. You've heard that the entire written history of Equestria is housed here
>Twilight guides you through the winding hallways
>Eventually you stop at a large tome sitting on a stone pedestal
>”The Elements of Harmony”
4/x
 
>The book looks ancient; at least 300 years old
>As you look at it, Twilight dashes off into the stacks and returns with a pile of books levitating with her horn
>”While you're here, you might as well take advantage of the rare-books collection!”
>She passes you the monstrous pile and trots down the hall
>Great, you know that you're not going to get out of here without reading through all of them...
...Thanks, Twilight...
>You hide your groaning dread behind a curtain of fake enthusiasm
>The unicorn smiles and leads you further into the archives
>She stops again at a large table and drops some books from the pile
>Immediately she's thrown them open and starts pouring over the volumes
>Not wanting to stand around like an idiot, you do the same
>Hours later the two of you finally leave
>Your mind is full of obscure pony mythology and history...
>You hope now you can get some rest
>Twilight left you with 5 obscure titles to read on your own
>You ended up not catching up with each other all day
>Mare needs to get her priorities straight...
5/x
 
>The next day you go in to the University
>Ivory Tower's research notes should shed a bit of light on the origin and meaning of the tablet
>From what you can find around the office, Ivory has gotten a good deal of work done
>You look at the clock
>10:30
>He should be in by now...
>You're a bit worried, but the research notes catch your eye
>It seems as though Ivory was trying to translate the strange lettering on the tablet
>Looking through what is on the desk, he was unable to find anything using similar characters in the Archive
>...An entirely new language, discovered in the Desert of the Camels...
>You decide to visit the Archive again yourself
>Maybe you can find something in the Old Histories that Ivory couldn't
>The old stallion would have an aneurism if you cracked this before he did
>You gather up his notes and take them over to the Archive
 
>The Old Histories wing of the Archive is far less traveled than other sections
>You can smell the dust in the air from the countless scrolls and books from ages gone
>A large desk in the central area provides a place to work
>Placing Ivory Tower's notes on it, you set about looking for the ancient languages area
>There has to be SOMETHING on this in here
>Hours pass
>You look through what feels like hundreds of texts looking for any clues
>The characters on the tablet remain utterly alien
>You look at the clock
>8:30
>You've spent the whole day and gained nothing
>Tomorrow...
6/x
 
>Having found nothing to help translate the tablet, you try instead to make some sense of the bizarre relief
>The squat bulbous figure at the center brings no familiar associations
>The head is vaguely reminiscent of an octopus, but past that is simply unknown
>Your next trip to the Archive brings you to the Ancient Cultures and Civilizations Wing
>You again set about gathering all the texts you can relating to the Desert of the Camels
>The more you try to find out, the hotter the curiosity burns in you
>You've got to get to the bottom of this
>And who knows? If this is some new civilization, you could get published! You could be famous for this...
>The Archive again yields a mountain of information
>Every known civilization is accounted for in the histories
>You're constantly astounded at how rich the history of Equestria and the rest of the world is
>Even considering that fact however, a full day of research passes
>Of all the civilizations to populate the Desert of the Camels, none are recorded in the area of the tablet's discovery
>On top of that, not a single one has art resembling the tablet's bas-relief
>You look back through Ivory Tower's notes
>To your dismay you find that the notes give no more leads
>You've managed to find no new information to add to Ivory's research
>Seems you've run out of leads already
>With a long sigh you return the books to their proper places and put the notes back in your bag
>You decide to stay in Canterlot one more day to say goodbye to Twilight Sparkle and visit some old teachers
7/x
 
>The next day you walk around the University to see your old professors
>You stop by Ivory Tower's office to find it empty once again
>It's a bit worrying; the old pony was never once late, let alone absent, when you were in school
>The other professors say that he went down to Baltimare to examine some artifacts acquired by the Museum there
>You think he'd have let you know since he sent you that letter asking you to come up to Canterlot
>It doesn't matter, you think, since you couldn't find anything new out about the tablet
>You decide to just leave Ivory a letter reporting what you found and catch the next train back to Fillydelphia
 
>As the train pulls into the station at Fillydelphia, the image of the tablet flashes in your head
>It happens so fast that you don't even recognize it right away
>You head back to Fillydelphia University to get back to your studies
End of Part 1