Scytale said:
Start things off by mentioning her request to the guild. Beginning with something simple, neutral, and constructive should make for a better ice-breaker than immediately getting into gushing recollections.

Recalling how talkative Honourshine used to get when discussing subjects she was knowledgeable about, you decide to start the conversation by asking her about her request to the Equestrian Voyagers Agency.

Honourshine: "You know about that? I suppose that would explain how you found me."

Moonflower: "Yuh uh! Blazer rushed here as soon as somepony said your name!"

Honourshine: "Heh... well, I don't blame him; I probably would've done the same. Blaze, do you remember the bell we found when we were foals?"

You nod, remembering it well: while you were out playing in the mountains, you ventured down to a mossy valley and into a small stone cave, and found a bell half-buried into the ground. It was that bell which later earned your friend her cutie mark.

Honourshine: "The moment I sat alone with a relic of the past in my hooves and a stack of books by my side, I knew where I belonged. Since then, I've done all kinds of research, from deciphering ancient texts to piecing together archaeological finds, but this bell..."

Honourshine retrieves the bell from under her mantle, and places it on the table. You recognize it immediately, with its golden shine and its magical engraving, though it looks just a bit smaller than it did in your memories.

Honourshine: "I couldn't find any leads about it. The material, the engraving, the sound it makes..."

To exemplify the latter, she gives the bell a single strike. The sound that rings out through the library is unlike anything you've heard before, as though its every echo has a different tone, all blending together into a harmonious metallic choir.

Moonflower: "Whoa‼ S'like the whole room's all sorts'a sizes at the same time! Weird!"

Taking a closer look at the bell, you realize that something about it is indeed off. While the engraving on the front looks similar to your typical arcane runes, the light it gives off is pure white, as though made of sunlight. And for an old bell you found in the dirt, it doesn't look old at all. In fact, it looks brand new, without so much as a dent in it.

Honourshine: "The engraving looks like arcane runes, but none of these symbols match any of the runes we know, nor does the bell react to a Detect Magic spell. As for the material, I couldn't get a sample to analyze if I tried; not even enchanted diamond can scratch it. There's nothing else like it in Equestria."

Moonflower: "So ya think Elves made it? What are they?"

Honourshine: "I... wish I knew more. A few weeks ago, while I was out surveying a field in the middle of nowhere for the College, I decided to take a break and catch up on some reading about acoustics. I rang the bell a few times to try and identify the bell's frequencies until I realized that they kept changing.

Then, some strange armoured traveller passed by. The sound of the bell must've caught his attention, because the first thing he did when he arrived was ask where I got it.

I told him I'd found it in a small cave a while back, and asked if he knew anything about it. His accent was thicker than a sailor's, but his words were clear as day: he said that it once belonged to the Elves, and that I should throw it into the trash — or better yet, into the mouth of a volcano where it belongs."

Moonflower: "Whoa, harsh!"

Honourshine: "It gets worse. When I tried to ask him if he had any information about the bell, he laughed. Suddenly, he claimed that he'd forgotten, and suggested that I help him jog his memory in what must've been the most repulsively obscene attempt at courtship I've ever heard. Naturally, I refused to indulge him, so he immediately lost interest and left."

Moonflower: "Oooh... maybe he was jus' really bad at flirtin'."

Flirting or not, his offer implied that he viewed a mare's intimacy as little more than a currency. In all of your travels, you've only ever heard of harpies making these kinds of deals, and even so, the avians are far more polite about it. Curious, you ask her what the stallion looked like.

Honourshine: "Greyish coat, large orange beard... I didn't get a good look at him under the armour. Dark purple plating — simple yet angular design —, a horned helmet with a slit for the eyes, saddlebags and a bedroll on his back, and a lantern hanging from his tail."

Judging from his outlandish looks and mannerisms, you conclude that he must have been a long way from home.

Honourshine: "That's what I figured, wherever that is. It's possible that he was simply messing with me to try and get something out of it, but he seemed genuinely peeved when he talked about these Elves.

Unfortunately, even assuming he did speak the truth, I wasn't able to find any mentions of them in any of the books I found about Middle Earthian civilizations, including myths and legends."

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