From behind the curtain

‘Oh if there was ever a time for the notebook! Royal guards censoring news, I could probably add a few more pages of theories and what their agenda is.’ Truth thought to himself.

Truth grabs some coffee from the break room and trots back to his cubical. He needs to find out where they took the notebook. Truth knows that he can’t just pass this up, if he can just track them or talk to them. He thinks about talking to them he settles on that it’d just be better to find where they take it first. He looks at the stack of papers in his hooves and pulls out the stack of ‘rejected’ articles. He undoes the note he put on it and puts in his bag to dispose of later; he was always suspicious of ponies going through his trash here. To be sure that they didn’t think he was on to them, if they really do go through the trash, he made sure to go out of his way to make some rough notes or garbage made it into his can almost every day. He figures the boss won’t be too happy if he rewrites all of them so he just picks out two that have been kicked back multiple times and rewrites them as close to the recommended revisions as possible, but making sure he left enough in there to be turned over to these censoring ponies that he heard of from Final. He took the rest of the ‘rejected letters; rips them once; crumples them a little and throws them into the trashcan.
“Hope fully that’ll make the possible dumpster diving ponies happy.” Truth said under his breath.
‘Now as far as tracking it… I could wait around… nah, I don’t know everypony that works here meaning I’d have to see the paper trading hooves I would be seen here, possibly, then they’d know that I’m from here and following them… enchanting it would be more useful, especially if I couldn’t keep up… though, if they inspect it they might find the enchantment… it would give me away that I’m onto them… Ugh… It’d have to be a passive remote and an active feeder… it’d have to disappear before they could inspect it… nothing flashy or destructive just vanish… so passive with that’d disappear after 30 seconds without anything from the feeder or too much energy sent from the feeder.’ Truth thought.

Truth set about thinking about how to draw the symbols and the enchanting process. He got one design in mind and Grabbed a different Clopix marker from his desk. This marker had no enchantments on it was just unnoticeable. Marker in hoof, he started drawing and enchanting it. After a few test tries and tweaking, he got it working perfectly. He had setup a pocket watch to glow in the direction of the paper, sending it power and getting the location sent back. He played with the settings to figure out just how much to send. He also tested out the ‘vanish’ spell on it. Once satisfied with his tests and progress, he carefully applied the spell to the back of his rewritten article. He was going to figure out where they were taking his stuff to.
“One step closer to getting my notebook... I sure hope this works.” Truth muttered.

Truth turns in all his assignments and starts working on the ones collected yesterday, checking his watch every so often. The watch had been setup up to automatically adjust the power sent and had a stored charge that it was running off of, but it needed to be recharged every two hours or so. At least that’s what he figured; he was filling it back up almost every hour just to be safe also figuring out how to tell the distance from the paper. It seemed the farther away the fainter it got, but he could still make out which way it was pointing.
Truth finishes all his work and leaves for the day. First thing he does once out of the office is look at the streets and shops. He walks to one of the café a shop that’s in the direction of the Castle. It’s the most logical place to stake out. Royal guards would most likely take this route to get to their command over there and He can just hang out and read a paper and enjoy a beverage. With the choice of stake our venue picked, he sits down outside and pays for his drink, after telling the waitress that he may need to leave at any moment.
Time passes slowly; Truth had been on stakeouts before, but the fact that this held the life of his notebook on the line was getting to him. He can handle his caffine just fine, even if he was on his sixth cup so far at the shop, it probably didn’t help much at this moment. He left the stop watch with the lid open on the table and was reading a book. He may have gone through a few pages and was just looking at the stopwatch for the most part. He would also be checking it a few times during the two times he had went into the bathroom.
‘Finally!’ He thought.

The glow got slightly brighter and the directional glow shifted with the papers movements. Two stallions; one yellow with brown mane and one grey with red mane rounded the corner. Truth figured it was one of them, since there was no pony in the air and the indications on the watch pretty much lined up with them. The watch’s direction continued to fallow with them. He knew this was it. Truth threw back the current coffee and threw the book in his bag and the bag on his back. He left a tip and hung back from them by about fifty hooves. He would go from one side of the street to the other and check his watch, triangulating the target. He was glad that this proved it was one of them. They weren’t walking together as friends or anything, just trotting about the same speed but the yellow one was ahead of the other.
At least with the knowledge it was one of them, he could fallow them without looking like some time obsessed pony that was just trotting slowly along. They didn’t make any stops or talk to anypony just kept trotting towards the castle. The castle in all its glory was coming closer and closer into sight. It’s a stunning sight to behold. The two trotted past the guard without a word then yellow coat went right and grey went left. Truth flipped his watch open and it pointed left. Truth went trotting after grey coated stallion only to get stopped by the guard.
“Halt. What business do you have at this late of an hour?”

From afar, Truth hadn’t noticed, but this was one of Luna’s personal guards. The bat wings are a dead giveaway most of the time, but she also had some unicorns with those same weird eyes and this was the later. Not to be detoured Truth formulated a response quickly.
“I am from the local paper, Canterlot Times and I was set to do a story on the Royal Gardens beauty at night.” Truth say showing his journalist ID.
“That sounds ridiculous. No pony really goes there at night.”
“By no means sir. I’ve heard with moon as full as it is tonight, it covers the garden in nice calm cool colors. I’d also be taking some pictures of it too, since my words may not do it enough justice. To me it’s so sad that the effort that Princess puts into the night, nopony goes to appreciate the sight of the Royal Garden at night. It’s one shame that I’d like to change.”
“Fine just let me check your bag and apply a magic limiter to your horn.”

The contents of the bag were quickly levitated and inspected. The guard put the band and shot a quick spell into it. Truth always hated wearing the magic limiter, suppressors and restraints all of them gave Truth some very mild to extreme headaches. None the less, he was happy that he could still use most of his magic with the limiter.

The conversation put Truth into a strange position. Being one that hated to tell a lie, but found it necessary in certain circumstances, would atone for the lie in some if not most lies by carrying out or doing what he had lied about. One time he went so far as to break his knee, so he didn’t have to go do something. So now, Truth now had to play catch up to his target and write an article about the Royal Garden.

As soon as he passed the guard shack he checked the watch and started going into a power trot then a quiet as possible gallop. The twists and turns made him feel like he was in some bad maze. He rounded a corner and saw it point to a non-descript building that was about fifty by seventy hooves. He looked at the watch and saw that the paper was pretty far away so he trotted around the building and it was in there. Truth thought it may have been broken and he held the watch vertical and gasped as the arrow pointed down. He sent a burst of energy through the watch to destroy the enchant on the paper.
“They’re underground?” he mumbled. “Just who are these ponies?”

Setting up a hidden camera, Truth set it to take snaps of the ponies going in and out of the building. He figured that there was no way for him to remain unseen seensince there was nowhere really to hide, so camera was the best option. Plus he figured tht the guard would question whattook so long to work on his article if he tried to stake this out. He’d just come back later for the camera, then try to figure out the ponies that worked there.
‘The castle really is some sort of maze’ Truth thought as he was trying to figure out the way to the garden.
“Wish there was a map or signs…Ugh” He said.

The Royal Garden came into view. It really was a great sight to behold. Truth set about taking different shots and wrote as much as he could about it. After half an hour he was happy with the work and headed back to the guard shack to get that blasted limiter removed and be on his way. Truth took a more direct route out and got to the guard shack with same guard there.
“Hey, thanks again. I got everything I needed. I’m going to look up some more info on the history and origin of everything that was there so it may take a few days to a week or two, but it’ll be great”
“Nice. If you took any longer I was about to send someponies in after you.”
“Sorry just got lost and it took me longer than I thought. Can you get this off?”
“Sure” he said as he removed the limiter. “Oh” he continues as he goes through searching for something in his booth. “Somepony turned this in saying you dropped it” He says as he pulls out my camera. “Said you should be more careful with stuff that’s important to you or you’d lose it forever.”
‘They found it!... but I didn’t see anypony… they’re onto the fact I’m onto them… I never should have done this!... “be more careful with stuff that’s important to you or you’d lose it forever” are they threating me or was that in reference to my notebook?... I’ve failed my notebook…this whole night was a failure.’ Truth thought.

Thanking the guard and acting grateful for the return of his camera Truth trotted away. He didn’t know what to do or even what he could possibly do now that his plan failed. Worse yet They knew he was in some way shape or form onto them. He thought that he may as well act ‘normal’ and figure out something to get information and the drop on these guys before they could on him. ‘Normal just be normal and they should leave me alone’ Truth thought.
Without his friend, the notebook, he’d arrived home without really noticing the pass in time. With new knowledge and theories he quickly wrote everything down an some spare notebook paper that he swore he’d insert into the notebook once returned. For now it was his only stress release and comforted him to have the lines on the paper to formulate his next possible move

//-- Shimmering Truth--/
“AHHHH!!”
“Yep. There it is. There’s nothing like waking up screaming to a nightmare you can’t remember.” I mumble.

A piece of paper that had been stuck to my head falls onto the desk. I look at it and see that I some of the ink had been damaged by me falling asleep on it. I can’t remember that last time I fell asleep at this desk was. My muscles and joints are yelling at me for it though.
I go through my normal routine. The only exception is that I didn’t eat at Joe’s, since I didn’t feel like talking about anything with him. I played it off by buying enough donuts for everypony at the office and wanting to get work done. It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just I’m not really sure if anypony would understand what I was going through. A loss of a book, some might just consider that laughable, others may want to know why the book was so important and I wouldn’t want to get into that topic.
At the office, the reject paper was there along with some other articles. I sit and eat one of the two donuts I took for myself and look up at the ceiling. Last night was a bust and I still couldn’t figure out where to go next. I can’t rightly spy around that place, they found my camera. I can’t stake it out from above, even if I were a pegasus watching from a cloud I couldn’t be that close to the Royal palace to view it and to far I couldn’t see anything but dots. The pony, that I saw deliver my letter; I didn’t see his mark just his colors and searching for ponies colors would take too long. It would also require too many bits to grease those wheels or draw too much attention to me if I went looking myself.
The only thing to take my brain off of this was work. Beautiful mind numbing work is a good cure to problems. I grab the papers off of the in box and look at them. I quickly drop them and my jaw as I look at the box. There in all of its beaten glory was my notebook. I was speechless. I grabbed it, inhaled its musty secnt and hugged it.
“Wait.”

Why is there an undertone smell of freshness and glue? Those foreign odors stopped me from going full joy in a spilt second. I inspect it from the sides, as I start undoing the string holding it shut. The edges don’t look right at all.
“They didn’t. No. This would just be too good.”

There on the first page was a brand new piece of paper. It’s edges crisp and bright, just like all the pages underneath.
“They switched the notebook! UGH!”
The writing on the first page said ‘You should keep that which is truly noteworthy in a book like this. Love, Your Friends’

The notebook was sent sailing across the cubical slamming into the door. I breathed heavily after the throw and my blood was boiling. Bolts of static electricity were making popping noises on my horn.
“FRIENDS?! They replace my book with a fake and dare call themselves my friends?! Just throw it it in my face that I lost to them will they?”

Words started flying out of my mouth almost incoherently curse words and just random strings of words that may not have been truly insulting but you’d understand the meaning I had put into it with the pure hatred in my voice.

After twenty minutes or so of ranting and raving I was slowing down. I collected myself just glad nopony else was here. I’m sure they would have reported me or worse try to calm me down. The level of rage I was at I probably would have directed it at them and I don’t even want to think where that would ended.
“The audacity of them!”

That was the last thing I had to say about the notebook switch. I pick the fake one back up and the writing on first page was gone. Most have been some different type of magic spell. I flip through the pages and there were all my articles that made it to print. Page after page it was in chronological order each article careful cut from the paper it had come from. Oddly there were some pictures of me here and there that I hadn’t taken nor were ever submitted. None of them seemed like I was doing anything special. In fact, it looked like I was by myself or far from anypony around, usually deep in thought or messing with notes and pens.

This notebook was collection of me, not like the other one which was the inner me that I could talk to and share myself with it. The old notebook was so much more to me. This new one obviously had some effort put into it but it’s like they killed my dog that I’ve had for years and just tried to replace it with a hamster. I may have been indecisive before but this… this poor excuse for my notebook had just riled me.

Ok they know who I am; everything I’ve written; possible had some surveillance on me; they had my notebook or have destroyed it. They stopped my efforts at getting photos of them. I don’t know anything about them but they must know all about me. So if they know me they may know or think they know what I’m going to do, so I just have to do something that I would do to get the drop on them.
“It’s so simple it might work” I mumbled.

Working up until an hour before lunch, I kept thinking of things that I might or might not do. I blazed through all the sent back papers I even organized and cleaned up the “Royal Gardens At Night” article, affixing a note about pending photos being processed. I still didn’t have any idea of what to do though. Then Grey Mare Trotter came and asked for my finished pieces. I hoofed them over and she stared at me briefly.
“What’s got you looking so out of it today Truth?”
“Nothing… I just lost my other notebook.” I replied holding up the fake one.
“Oh… you should go wherever you last had it and ask around.” She smiled.
“Umm… thanks …I guess I’ll do that later” I respond not really caring.
“Well, I hope you find it. Bye”
“See you later Grey” I said as she trotted off.
Social interactions have never really been my cup of tea. It is usually just drivel; banter; or repeating whatever you saw, heard, read or have been indoctrinated to respond with. With my line of work, it is a necessary evil, which I try to limit my daily intake of. Just get the facts and views. Then get hay out.
“Phhtt just ask someponies, like hay I’d do that.” I uttered.

Flashing lights went off in my head. I don’t think that I’d ever do that. They would probably think I’d never do that. I’m a lone wolf and they’re a pack or flock… they’re some large group of something that I would never take head on. At least that’s how I thought they would think that I think.

Donning my trust satchel I mean saddle bags. I put the fake notebook in and signed out of work. They must know that I want it back and think that I might slink around and be sneaky they got another thing coming. Truth is coming.

//-- Star --/
“This paperwork is flipping tedious” I complain to nopony.

Filling out the four tack bravos in triplicates had taken the majority of my morning. It’s not like I needed to do them but it is procedure. Tartarus would freeze over before I would completely disregard all procedure. Granted if it really was training it should have been filed beforehoof, but there was definitely no way I’d let anypony see me disregard what I uphold around here. Luckily I have the benefit of making the paperwork go smoothly and faster than anypony else since I review almost every document that passes through here. So it’s fair to say I know those common mistakes and the more elusive errors that pass past every pony, but me. Also I can sign off my own documents for the boss. I smile at that one. I could order a whole new office desk and all and it could be approved and paid for in fifteen minutes. Then be done before lunch. I’m not one to abuse my power like that, most of the time and definitely not by wasting money so frivolously.

All the other meetings and papers so far today breezed by pretty quickly. Just those dang papers toke the majority of my time. I wouldn’t have much left to do today after lunch. The downside to boss is I can’t really be as fun and outgoing as I used to be around here. I have to be more subtle and tame at work with the added responsibility of being the director.

Well it’s off to see that big old lug and get his ‘John Hoofcock” on these papers. I placed them in a protective notebook and slipped it into the saddlebag and throw it on. Heading out, I tell my executive assistant to handle the calls accordingly and that I’d be back after lunch. I get a few questions on the way out and quickly answer them as best possible or refer them to some pony that could help them. I swear a few of them it is like I have to hold their hoof through everything. I mean come on and grow a pair. The worst that has happened here, in the office, is a stern yelling. Make your own Celestia damn decision and live with it. I think I’ll have to have that stern talking to a the repeat offenders soon unless they change.

Getting to the final door out I tell Vigilant Eye, our number one security guard to note that I was heading out. “Vigil” as most ponies call him isn’t that bright or fast, but he can see everything. Even reading a book or asleep he just sees everything. One day I did ask ‘if he could see why foals like cinnamon toast hay cereal’ as a joke in the morning. When I was leaving for the day he busted out laughing scare the Luna out of me. It wasn’t until he repeated what I said that I knew what happened. He’s got his heart in the job and has never let us down. I do feel bad when some of the other guards get him to stand their watch, he’s a big softie and he’ll easily volunteer himself for more work. I smile and say goodbye to him he returns the smile and returns to the same book he’s been on for the past few weeks.

Trotting out, I stop abruptly. I know this stallion and his eyes are staring daggers into me. Odd, If I’ve ever done somepony wrong I’m sure I’d know about it. But there he is just radiating resentment and focusing it on me. He doesn’t even look like he’s about to say anything. I can’t’ see his mark, being blocked by his bags. I’m at a loss. The door shutting makes a loud thunk noise, combined with the atmosphere it caused me to jump a little.
“Umm…Do I know you?”
“I you or somepony in there does.” He steps one hoof closer.
“Ok. I don’t rightly know you. What business do you have here?” I stayed calm and still.
“All I want is my book back.”
“Your book back?”
“This one… The real one.” he levitates a dungy old notebook out and throw it at me.

The notebook unfurled as it was tossed I caught it and its pages settled and I say the articles and the side pictures of him. I quickly scan and pick out his name ’Shimmering Truth’. I remember his caseworker complaining about all the extra work he would have to do to keep the articles down. A lot of the articles covered subjects that they had caused or been a part of. So somehow our Department must have gotten his notebook and gave him a scrap book back. I laugh on the inside, that switch is so something I would have done if I still worked on the floor.
“I could look into it for you but I’m going to be running late.”
“I want my notebook back.”
“Here” I toss him the one he gave me.
“NO the REAL one!”
“I really will look into it for you, but not now.”
Truth wasn’t moving he wasn’t responding. It seems as though he won’t take my offer. I’m not going to be late just cause of some lone hotheaded stallion. I summon my powers and I feel the wondrous flow. Truth seemed to take my aura and eye change as a threat. He quickly made a shield and readied himself. Flash. Outside the Canterlot Place walls I look back and I figure Vigil will probably have an interesting watch. Truth will probably just run off if he knows what’s good for him
Hunter is waiting at the café for me. Obviously he arrived early by the sign of an empty glass. We chat and enjoy a nice meal. I pass the papers to him getting him to commit the explanation to memory and get him to sign all of them.
“You know you wouldn’t have to do these if you just used your powers the first time”
“I don’t care it was more fun this way and I got to see your surprised look twice when you thought you were just fighting me without all my power. It was totally worth any mountain of paperwork.”
“Well I still got to rest up some to restore my energy I’ll see you later.”
“Later Hunter. Thanks for lunch.”

The trip back to the agency didn’t take long. I open the door and see Vigil still reading the book. I’m not sure if I ever stayed around him long enough to see him flip a page.
“Vigil I’m back. Anything happen?”
“Yup. Trespasser that refused to leave.”
“Is he in one of the rooms I take it?”
“Yup. One tack One. I knocked ‘im out, put a MagRest on him and tied ‘im up for good measure. Clean Slate is checking him out.”
“Thanks Vigil!” I happily say.

If Clean Slate is on it I can just wait for his report. So I head back to my office.

“Miss Directing.” Says a green coated stallion with a blue shaggy mane.
“Clean, please just call me Star. So what’s up with our guest, Shimmering Truth?”
“I didn’t know you knew his name.”
“I ran into him outside before lunch, but I didn’t feel like dealing with him at the time.”
“Well he came in and gave vigil a hard time demanding his notebook and tried to enter the facility. So Vigilant handled it quickly. I ran a check on him to see if I could wipe the notebook, but his memories of it are so intertwined with his whole life.”
“Ok so…”
“The best option I could think would replace today’s memories and have it so he believes the notebook was destroyed.”
“That should work just well.”
“But… there is a problem with that there seems to be a botched still running spell in his mind. I don’t believe I could fix the spell that’s in there now and casting another with a still active spell may have repercussions.”
“… nothing is ever just easy around here is it.”
“Yes Miss. I mean Star.”
“Can we just give him the notebook back?”
“No. What heard from the R&I-Team, it contains some class one through four materials.”
“Right and we can’t very well release class three or four once in our possession. I’m guessing purging wouldn’t work either since the pony would grow suspicious of the removed items.”
“Exactly Miss”
“… I’ll take care of this from here. Thanks for the brief Clean Slate.”
“No problem ma’am” he bows his head and leaves.