Stormfeather and the Bone War

There was no time for rest. Stormfeather had scarcely had any time in the Castle of the Two Sisters since she arrived in Ponyville, and while she wished she could process her journey through the Maze, she simply had to spend some time doing her actual job. Besides, she felt very good from White Ring’s magical healing, and she didn’t feel she really needed rest. In the daylight, it was no difficult task to find the Castle of the Two Sisters. There was a fairly well-worn trail leading to it; the Equestria Historical Society had informed her that some of the students from the School of Friendship sometimes hung out in the area. Fortunately, the castle itself seemed like a less interesting gathering place for the Ponyville youth—unless, Stormfeather supposed, there was a full moon out casting eerie shadows on the walls. During the day, it just looked like a boring old ruin full of nothing but dusty scrolls and torn tapestries. As she approached the bridge to the castle, Stormfeather saw stairs leading down into a chasm below. This must be where the fabled Tree of Harmony grew. Knowing she was bound for the library but unable to resist, Stormfeather flew down the cliff and into the cave below. The Tree of Friendship itself was no longer there, of course, and the students’ treehouse—grown from its remains—was aboveground, but the cave itself seemed virtually undisturbed. The ground was soft and loose from where the roots of the Tree had been pulled up by some magical force. She could only guess they were somewhere above her head now, holding the treehouse firmly in place. With everything that had happened in Equestria recently, it perhaps wasn’t too surprising that nopony had come into the cave since the treehouse appeared. Stormfeather was free to poke around, knowing that everything was exactly how the Tree had left it. It was only because the ground was loose that she noticed a large, ancient tooth poking out of the dirt. Knowing the fragility of old things, she carefully brushed the dust away with the tip of her wing. Her first thought was timberwolves, but timberwolves were obviously made of wood, and this didn’t appear to be petrified wood to her. It seemed like an authentic fossilized bone tooth, but much larger than anything that lived in these parts. It could only have come from a dragon. Heart thumping, Stormfeather used her wing to sweep away some of the dirt in the area, and sure enough, she uncovered a couple more bones, mainly claws and spines. But it was enough. She took out a piece of parchment from her pack, scrawled a hasty letter, and took off back toward Ponyville. This was a find for the Equestria Historical Society. — By noon the next day, a deployment of local archaeologists was dispatched to the cave and a full-scale dig was set up. The Equestria Historical Society had sent their lead archaeologist of the area, a black Earth Pony named Muskwrench, to oversee the project. It was he who met with Stormfeather and got her report of what had happened. And because she was also a member of the EHS, she was permitted to observe the archaeologists as they worked—provided she didn’t disturb them. “It’s unusual to find dragon remains in this area,” Muskwrench explained to Stormfeather outside the cave. “It’s possible some dragon may have used this cave as a hoard, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of that, and they tend to prefer mountains. So why are there dragon bones in the Cave of Friendship?” “That’s exactly the question I plan to answer.” Stormfeather and Muskwrench looked up to see a dark green Pegasus at the top of the ravine. As a small troop of dusty-looking, worn-out ponies carried boxes of archaeology tools down the steps, the Pegasus flew down and landed beside them, narrowing her eyes. “Muskwrench.” “Jubilee Showers.” Muskwrench returned her gaze with an equally unfriendly stare. “What are you doing here?” “Dragons are my specialty,” Jubilee Showers answered, tossing her brown-and-blue mane indignantly. “This is clearly my jurisdiction.” “This find was discovered by a member of the Equestria Historical Society,” Muskwrench fired back, gesturing to Stormfeather, who suddenly felt very unwelcome. “It’s our claim. Besides, we’re a long way from Somnambula—specialty or not, you’re way outside ‘your jurisdiction.’” “I study all over Equestria, not just Somnambula. I’m not as narrow-minded as some ponies.” The two ponies advanced aggressively on each other. Stormfeather didn’t know what to do. How violent could archaeologists get? Should she be genuinely concerned? She didn't have the chance to decide, because just then an Earth Pony archeologist galloped out of the cave. "Professor Muskwrench!" she called. "We found something you need to see!"  Muskwrench abandoned the feud at once and hurried after his compatriot, with Jubilee Showers close at his heels. For a moment, Stormfeather was prepared to leave it at that, fully convinced that the archaeological team wouldn't want her getting in the way of their dig. Besides, she had her own research to get back to.  But a trove of dragon bones? In the Cave of Friendship? Technically, she was a member of the Equestria Historical Society too, just like Muskwrench, even if they were in different branches. And she had discovered the bones…  Her mind made up, Stormfeather hurried into the cave as quietly as she could, careful not to stir her wings even in the slightest to avoid disturbing the dust the archeologists were painstakingly brushing from their finds. The center of the cave had become a pit of the most carefully conducted bustle of activity Stormfeather had ever witnessed. While there were ponies of all three Equestrian races represented, none of the Pegasi were employing their wings for anything other than holding equipment, and even the Unicorns dared not touch an artifact with their magic in case they came across something of magical origin that might react unexpectedly to the stimulation. Here, all three races worked on the same terms, with the same equipment, in the same way: tiny trowels and brushes wielded by mouth.  By now, Muskwrench and Jubilee Showers were both deep in the bottom of the pit, observing something side by side with equal focus. Stormfeather was glad to see that their fascination and love of their work outweighed their personal squabbles. Around them was gathered as many archeologists as could be packed together while still lending proper respect to the active dig site, all peering with rapt attention at whatever had been discovered. Stormfeather knew there was no chance she would be able to get a proper glimpse, but the murmurs circulating around the assembled ponies were equal measures of shock, awe, and concern. "This is not just an old dragon hoard," Jubilee Showers warned. "Do you know what this means? This might be a draconic historical site!"  "Historical site?" Muskwrench scoffed. "What do dragons care about historical sites?"  "Maybe not much," Jubilee Showers conceded. "But they care about powerful objects. If we find a magical artifact here, they will claim they have a right to it, and they might hold it against us. They might say we've been withholding artifacts so we have the upper hoof if there is ever conflict between our nations."  "Do they need to know?" Muskwrench offered the question hesitantly, knowing it wasn't within an archaeologist's rights to withhold the information they dug up. "Dragons may have lived here once a long time ago, but this has been Equestria for centuries. Anything found on Equestrian soil qualifies for entry into our museums. We're under no obligation to return artifacts to their original owners."  "True, but oftentimes the original owners don't see any value in getting them back, so they're happy to donate them. But magical artifacts don't age like ordinary objects do," Jubilee Showers pointed out. "In most cases, they retain their original power and structure. There's no reason why the original owner wouldn't want them."  This brought a hush over the ponies as they considered the impact of this. Finally Muskwrench said, "Well, we don't know yet if there is a magical artifact here, even though there is ample evidence there once was. All we can do for now is get back to work and see what else we'll uncover."  — The next several days were a blur for Stormfeather. While the archaeologists seemed to be trying to keep everything fairly conjecture, there was no stopping the media, and the story of the trove of dragon bones circulated in the headlines of all the local publications, as well as the Equestria Historical Society's own monthly magazine, which Stormfeather got a free subscription to as part of her contract to work for them—though the story must have been rushed through, because the magazine was published only a couple days later. Stormfeather finally found time to get some of her own work done, but traveling to the Castle of the Two Sisters on hoof became more of a hassle than it was worth. The area around the cave was full of archaeologists' tents and equipment, historians trying to preserve the already existing historical site, media trying to get a story, police ponies trying to keep them at a respectful distance, and school board members trying to schedule field trips. So Stormfeather generally elected to fly to the castle, often giving the area a wide berth in case there were any Pegasi policing the area from the sky. The last thing she wanted was to be falsely accused of trying to sneak onto the dig site—or, worse, somehow being recognized as its discoverer. She had specifically asked the EHS to keep her anonymous, but sometimes information leaked out in spite of everypony's good intentions.  Muskwrench and Jubilee Showers must have settled their differences and joined forces to work around the clock, because five days later Stormfeather was surprised to receive an envelope, delivered directly to her by a young Pegasus archeologist, with a handwritten note from Muskwrench that read: "Stormfeather: Here is an article clipping from a reporter who was kind enough to give me a copy of his first draft. It's not customary, but as the discoverer of this site, I thought you should know first."  The clip was only part of a longer article, which Stormfeather assumed Muskwrench didn't feel the need to include because she knew it already. The writer had signed the handwritten clip "Round Table," and reported: Professor Muskwrench, head of the dig, says: "We were originally concerned about discovering a powerful magical artifact at the site, but my colleague Professor Jubilee Showers' specially trained Unicorn team scanned the area and found no traces of any magic apart from that of our own revered Tree of Harmony." Professor Jubilee Showers, an expert in dragon history in Equestria, adds: "This was definitely an important site for dragons before the formation of Equestria. It may have even been the location of their Gauntlet of Fire ritual by which they elect their Dragon Lords. But apart from that, and to a dragon's eyes, it's nothing but an old cave."