Chapters Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
Twilight Sparkle walked over to one of the many bookshelves that lined the walls of the Ponyville library, which had been her home for the past few years. As she channeled magic through her horn and plucked a book from the shelf, she realized that there were no books left in the library that she had not read at least three times already. With a heavy sigh, she returned the book to the shelf.
"Spike!" she called out to her faithful assistant. "Spike! Where are you?"
"I'm in the basement sorting through the stuff you've got down here," Spike's voice sounded from an open door against the far wall. "You said you wanted some of those old scrolls on improbable spells and fake magic."
"Oh, right. Well, I've decided that I don't need them anymore."
There was a series of loud crashes, and a few moments later, Spike dragged himself up through the basement door.
"Couldn't you have decided on that an hour ago?" he asked as he rubbed his head with one clawed hand. "By the way, you really have to do something with all that stuff down there. One wrong move and you'll end up buried under boxes and stuff."
"I'll make sure to schedule some time for that," Twilight said. "But that's not important. When is the next shipment of books for the library due?"
"Uh, next Tuesday. I think."
"Ugh, not soon enough! There must be something I can do to... Aha! Spike, take a note please."
"Uh sure. Give me a moment," Spike said as he rushed off to find a sheet of parchment and a quill. He returned shortly with both in claw. "Ready when you are, Twilight."
"Ok, 'Dear Princess Celestia, I will be visiting Canterlot within the next few days. I have heard that you recently reopened the Grand Equestrian Library, and I would like to visit it with you. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.' You get all that, Spike?"
"Yeah, Twilight," Spike said as he finished writing. "You want to visit the Grand Canterlot Library, but why? Don't you have enough books here?"
"Nothing I haven't read already," Twilight said with a sigh. "And besides, the Canterlot library just got reworked and remodeled after years of neglect. I have to see it. So go ahead and send that message on to the Princess for me."
"Yeah, yeah," Spike said as he tied the parchment up with a string and breathed a gout of green fire on to it, sending it flying off to the Princess.
Twilight returned to the bookshelf and gazed over the titles of the books there. This particular shelf was filled with the myths and legends of Equestria. Twilight used her magic to pull one of the books free,The Legends of Old Equestria . She opened the book as it hovered in front of her face, and flipped through the pages.
"The Record of All things, the Golden Hoof of Midas, the fabled sword of Lord Penpony. " She rambled off the names of some of the more famous of the legends to give her mind something to do as she waited for a response from the Princess. She was soon absorbed in the book of old legends and was startled back to reality by the sound of Spike belching loudly and the grumble of a dragon being awoken from sleep.
"Well, that was fast," Twilight said as she replaced the book and turned around. She was surprised to see that night had fallen. "Or maybe not.” She saw Spike standing at the top of the stairs with a letter in hand. “How long was I reading Spike?"
"Oh I don't know," Spike said as he rubbed his eyes as he made his way down to her. "I went to bed once the sun went down. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep." Spike passed the letter off and headed back upstairs.
Twilight looked at the message from the Princess as her horn glowed softly to pull the string that held the letter closed off.
"My dearest Twilight, I would be happy to show you about the new library. In fact, I have something important to discuss with you regarding it. Hope to see you soon. Celestia." Twilight read the letter over again, then once more.
What could the Princess have to discuss with me about the library? she thought. Maybe it has something to do with how I've handled the Ponyville library. These thoughts stayed with her as she made her way to her bed and drifted off to sleep.
Twilight was awoken by the light of the sun streaming through the windows of the library. She yawned as she got out of bed and stretched out the last traces of sleep from her body. Twilight reread the princess’s letter as she made her way down to the kitchen where Spike had set a small breakfast out.
"So what did the letter say?" he asked as he placed a bowl of oatmeal and a mug of coffee in front of Twilight.
"I'll be heading out to Canterlot later today, Spike. The Princess has agreed to show me about the new library, and apparently she has something about it to discuss with me. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I trust you can handle the library while I'm gone right?"
"Sure, I've managed the other times you've had things to do." Spike sat down with a bowl of rubies and sapphires and started munching on them. "Bring me back something, ok?"
"Will do." Twilight turned her attention to her breakfast.
An hour later, Twilight had her bags packed and was ready to ship out. She gave one last look to the shelves of books in the library before waving a hoof goodbye to Spike. With her bags magically in tow, she made her way to the station for the train that would take her to Canterlot.
After a long train ride, Twilight finally arrived in the city of Canterlot where she was met by a pair of royal guard pegasus.
"The princess requests your attendance at the Grand Equestrian Library," one of the guards said while the other pulled an aerial chariot into view. Twilight got onto the chariot as the guard who had spoken to her hooked himself up to it. The pair of pegasi took to the air and a short flight brought them to the library. Right off the bat, Twilight could see the changes that had been made. Back when she was studying under the Princess, the library had been in an extreme state of disrepair; its grand stone facade had been worn and pitted with age and the pair of heavy oak doors that lead into it had been cracked and warped. But now, now the building glowed as the sun struck its brilliant flawless white stone front, emphasizing the new set of dark oaken doors. As she stepped off the chariot and bade the two guards thanks and farewell, the large doors opened, and Princess Celestia strode out to greet Twilight.
"Twilight," she said. "I'm so glad that you could make it so soon."
"I'm glad that you agreed to show me around the old place," Twilight said, her eyes wide with wonder as she admired the renovations. "So, what have they done to it?"
"Well, how about we just go in so you can see?" Celestia turned back to face the library and walked in with Twilight following.
As Twilight entered through the doors, her eyes opened wide as her jaw dropped. Just past the doors, lining the path inside, were rows upon rows of bookshelves; each new one marked with an exquisitely created bust of a pony, and each bust different from the last. Above each was a torch which she assumed were magical, designed to light when it was dark and when there were ponies in need of light. Twilight looked up towards the ceiling and saw that the rows continued on up for five more floors right to the very top, where large glass windows let in the sun, giving light to the library. Her eyes began to glaze over at the sight before Princess Celestia pulled her out of her fantasy with a soft laugh and a gentle nudge to the shoulder.
"You'll have a chance to look over whatever you want once we finish what needs to be done," she said with a smile as she walked down the aisle of books, the sound of her hooves muted by the heavy carpet on the floor. "This way, Twilight."
Twilight followed the Princess through the library, gazing at the plaques that labeled the different sections of the library. She remembered when she had first come to this place, everything was covered in dust and the place was run by a gruff old stallion aptly named Book Worm. "So how's old Book Worm doing?" she asked.
"That is actually one of the reasons why I wanted to show you around," the Princess said as the two of them entered into the central atrium of the library. It was much as Twilight remembered; a circular room filled with tables and a pair of spiral staircases that led up to the higher floors with several more aisles heading out flanked by rows and rows of bookshelves. At its center sat a circular desk which Twilight remembered being where Bookworm had spent his time and offered his help. "Dear old Book Worm passed away before we began the renovations to the library."
"Oh," Twilight replied simply. For all of his gruffness, she had taken a liking to the old stallion. He had always allowed her to stay as long as she liked and had even let her take some of the books with her when she had moved to Ponyville. He had been as much a fixture of the library as the shelves and books had been, in fact, she had never seen him leave the building. She had believed that he would always be around. "Oh," she said again, suddenly feeling tears come to her eyes. "I'll miss him."
"I know, Twilight. Old Book Worm ran this library for many many years. I miss him as well," Celestia said, pulling her student into a comforting hug. "Which leads to the matter at hoof. Twilight, I would like for you to take over Book Worm's job as the head caretaker and librarian of the Grand Equestrian Library."
"What? You want me to be in charge of all this?"
"Yes, is that a problem for you?"
"What about Ponyville? If I accept, won't I have to move back to Canterlot and live here? I can't just leave the place I've lived over these past years and all my friends."
"Oh, is that all? Don't worry, I would never want to tear you away from your friends. Though you will be spending time here on a regular basis, you will be able to go back home to be with your friends. You don't have to be like Book Worm and live in the library." Celestia gave Twilight another smile and placed a hoof on her shoulder before she turned and began to head towards one of the staircases. "You'll have more than enough help with running this place. I've already sent out a notice for those interested in working here. Now come on, there is something that I must show you."
Twilight followed as they climbed up to the top floor of the library and turned down an aisle that ended in another circular atrium, this one much smaller than the one at the center of the library. As Twilight looked around this new area, Celestia walked over to the far wall and raised a hoof to it.
"So what does this job as head librarian and caretaker mean exactly?" Twilight said before she lost her thought as the section of the wall the princess had touched slowly swung inward, revealing a hidden room. Celestia walked through the new door and motioned for Twilight to follow her. The room beyond was filled with a myriad of charts and graphs and maps covering the walls. The parts of the wall that weren't covered in graphs or anything, stood large bookshelves that were filled with old worn books. In the center of the room was an old table covered in even more books and graphs.
"What is this place?"
"This is the real job of the caretaker of this library," Celestia said as she lifted a book from a bookcase and cleared a space on the table before she placed it there.
"What do you mean by that, Princess?" Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean by real job?"
"Take a look at this book, Twilight." Celestia motioned to the book that she had placed on the table. Twilight approached the table and looked at the book. She instantly recognized it at a copy of The Legends of Old Equestria , the very book she had found herself absorbed in yesterday, but this one seemed much older than hers.
"What does a book of old legends have to do with anything? Aren't these just stories?"
"It has everything to do with it Twilight. This is one of the first editions of this book. Many of the tales in it aren't in the newer ones." Celestia's horn glowed as she opened the book to an entry on the final page. "This should say what needs to be said."
Twilight looked at the entry in the book. There was just one small paragraph of text there under a heading that said "The Protectors of Myths". As Twilight read the words, she realized the importance of what she was reading, the room she was in, and the library itself.
The paragraph detailed a time before the reigns of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, back when the land of Equestria was a more dangerous place. Back even before the time of the three pony kingdoms, when magic was different and the lands were not in complete control. Back when the myths and legends of Equestria were real. Several ponies realized the dangers that the mythical items and places of Equestria would cause if they fell into the wrong hooves. These ponies took it upon themselves to create a secret order. One to keep these items from the eyes and hooves of ponykind and to protect ponykind from them. Their efforts turned the real into fantasy. Then they took the same precautions for their own order, forcing themselves into the realm of legend.
Twilight looked up from the book and turned to face the Princess. "You're telling me that everything in this book is actually real?"
"Not everything," Celestia said as she used her magic to return the book to its place on the bookshelf. "That is one of the precautions that the order took. They created stories to hide the real myths and legends. I believe the saying is 'hiding a tree in a forest' or something like that. But enough of them are real. Old Book Worm was one of the last members of that order, and with him gone, we no longer have a connection here in Canterlot."
"And you want me to take over where he left off. Fighting to keep these ancient relics out of the wrong hooves and to protect ponykind from the myths of old? Are you sure that I am the right pony to ask for this? I mean, I'm not really the adventuring type."
"You do yourself no justice by belittling yourself, Twilight.” Celestia turned towards Twilight, a large smile on her face. “You are more than qualified. You are one of the most well read ponies in all of Equestria and have organizational skills that rival my own. You'll need all of your knowledge to keep everything in check, that is if you will accept this important position."
Twilight thought on the issue for a moment, weighing the issue in her mind, a life filled with danger and adventure versus a quiet life filled with her books and friends back in Ponyville. With a sigh, she realized the grave importance of what the Princess was asking of her. "I accept the position Princess."
"I thank you, Twilight," the Princess said as she pulled her into a hug. "I'll get you in contact with another of the order in preparation for your initiation."
"Thanks Princess," Twilight said. "Um, what would have happened if I hadn’t accepted?”
“I would have been honor bound to erase from your memory everything we had just discussed.”
“Oh... If you don't mind, I think I need to send a letter. I need to put some things in order before I start here with everything.”
“Of course Twilight, take as much time as you need.”
Twilight hurried to the library from the suite that the Princess had given for her when she had first became her student. As she walked the streets, it dawned on her how different Canterlot was from Ponyville. Back when she was still living in her old tower, she had never realized just how alive the city was, never noticed the thrum of activity or the constant din of hundreds of ponies going about their days. She smiled to herself as she realized just how much her life in Ponyville had changed her, how much her friends had changed her life. She slowed her pace and found herself staring in wonder at the sights she had taken for granted.
She still had the look of wonder when the library came into view, and a large grin broke across her face as she took in the sight. As she approached the doors opened and Princess Celestia walked out to greet her.
“Good morning, Princess,” Twilight said.
“Good morning to you too, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said as she ushered her student into the library. “The last of the order has just arrived. I think it is time to make yourself known to them.”
As she made her way through the library with the Princess up to the atrium on the third floor, Twilight began to hear the sound of hushed voices and as they neared the third floor atrium, she saw the source of the voices. Standing in the atrium were fourteen ponies, all of whom were older than Twilight. Many were huddled around a small dedication to the former head librarian, Book Worm: a small table with a picture of the old stallion. A few had tears in their eyes as they gazed at the picture of the old librarian. Princess Celestia left Twilight at the entrance as she strode across the atrium to speak with an elderly unicorn stallion. As Twilight stood there one of the ponies, an earth pony mare, approached her. She looked to be just a few years older than her, light orange colored with a short cropped mane and tail of a dark brown and a cutie mark of a pair of shovels.
“Hello there,” the mare said as she grabbed Twilight's hoof and gave it a vigorous shake. “I'm Golden Spade, the current junior member of our order.”
“Uh, hi,” Twilight replied. “So, is this all there is to the Hidden Stories?”
“Oh yeah. This is all that's left. Those of our order don't normally live that long once they join. Though there are the exceptions, such as the elder over there.” Golden pointed towards the unicorn talking with the Princess. “And of course, old Book Worm.”
“Tell me about him,” Twilight said. “I only know him as a gruff old librarian who let me stay here and read for hours.”
“Where should I start?” Golden Spade said as she sat and raised a hoof to her chin. “Old Book Worm was the eldest of the order. His exploits were legendary, in fact, some of them have even become legends in their own rights. He survived hundreds of journeys into the unknown and saw generations of members come and go. We even had a bet going between the other members on how he'd go out.” She stopped for a moment and turned her towards the ground. Her next words were little more than a whisper, but they held a sense of longing and loss that was barely contained. “No one ever thought that it would be old age that would take him in the end.”
“Sounds like he was quite the pony.”
“You have no idea, Twilight,” Golden responded somberly and spread a hoof across the group of ponies standing around. “Each and everyone of us here had been part of Book Worm's life in some way. He trained all of us here today. I was the last, and I was there when he died.” The memory of Book Worm that Golden held in her mind brought tears to her eyes. “He was... so kind to me, right up to the end.” Twilight placed a hoof on Golden's shoulder, trying to offer some kind of reassurance to the mare.
“Ah, I see that young Golden here has taken it upon herself to greet you Ms. Twilight,” the elder unicorn that Golden had pointed out as the current elder of the Hidden Stories said as he walked over to the two mares. Twilight took a better look at him; he was of a light tan coloring and a mane and tail of brown that was fading to gray with age and a cutie mark of a compass, and there was something in his eyes that made her shudder; he had seen things in his life that she could not have imagined. “I am Written Word, the current elder of the Hidden Stories. I'm glad that you have accepted the invitation to join, as you can see, we are a bit short on members.”
Written Word let out a short, sharp laugh as he gazed solemnly out over the ponies there. “And each year there are fewer of us.” He turned away from the two mares and walked over to the group of ponies standing about Book Worm's dedication. "If I could have everypony's attention." All conversation about the area died down and the ponies of the Hidden Stories all turned their attention to the words of their elder. “We are here today for two reasons. The first of which I know hits all of you here very hard. We are here in remembrance to the former elder of the Hidden Stories, Book Worm.”
As Written Word spoke Book Worm’s eulogy, Twilight gazed around to the other members of the Hidden Words. It seemed that what Golden Spade had told her about Book Worm’s relation to those here was correct. While a few of the ponies openly wept, she could see in the eyes of those who weren't the sorrow they felt at his loss.
“I still remember when I became a member of this organization. Book Worm was old even back then. In truth, no one ever knew his true age. But even so, he took me under his hooves and showed me the ropes of the Hidden Stories. My very first assignment was to return an artifact, a sprig of mistletoe that was said to be able to slay even the immortal, back into the annals of myth. Unfortunately, we met with heavier resistance then we had anticipated. I was reckless, and was captured. The ones that found it were planning to use the artifact on me to test its properties when Book Worm dropped in. I was amazed at the sight; here was a stallion, who looked like he could have been my grandfather, going hoof to hoof with more than a dozen armed ponies. That scene is still vivid in my mind to this day, even after all these years that have passed. And following that he made sure to beat that recklessness out of me before I became another of those who died young. He inspired me to be better than I could, he made me what I am today, and for that, I can truthfully say that his loss weighs heavily on my heart. Now, Ms. Golden Spade, if you would.”
Golden Spade walked up to the small table set with Book Worm’s picture and turned to face the group as Written Word stepped aside. “Hello everypony. As you know, I am currently the most junior member of the order and as such, I was placed under the tutelage of Book Worm.” Golden Spade paused for a moment as she wiped away some tears that had begun to form in her eyes. “What you may not know about me though is that I was an orphan. I was picked off the streets when I was just a little filly with the hopes that I’d turn into a first rate member of the order if I were trained from a young enough age. Book Worm was like a father to me; he was stern, but never unkind. Always driving me to be the best that I could. He taught me everything that he knew...” She paused once again, and wiped away more tears as they formed. “I’m sorry about this. He seemed to know that his life was coming to an end, because in his final months he picked up on his ventures. His last task was to get an ancient beast, the Mareave Sand Dragon, back into stasis.” Golden had given up trying to keep the tears from her eyes be this time. “He... he managed to do exactly that. His last great achievement. Not a month later he called me in to see him. His body was failing him. I think you should all know his final words. ‘I have lived a long life, and seen many of my friends go before me. I do not fear death, for it comes to all in the end. But there is a storm coming. And my only regret is that I will not be there to stem this one. Be warned, for the past will come to haunt the future’.”
The final words of Book Worm hung in the air as every member of the Hidden Storied took them in. Several members hurried from the library atrium towards the entrance. Written Word approached Golden Spade and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Thank you, Golden, you did well.” Golden Spade stepped away from Book Worm’s small memorial and made her way to the back of those who still stood in the atrium, sobbing quietly as she went. “If there’s anypony else who would like to say something, please step forward so that you can be heard.” At his call, a few ponies approached. Dust Cloud, a light brown coated earth pony mare with a mane and tail of darker brown who seemed to be a contemporary of written word spoke first, regaling a tale of one of Book Worm’s grandest adventures, his race and fight against his greatest rival, Argent Lance, for the fate of the fabled golden quill of Shakesmare. Following that, Fountain Pen, a younger unicorn stallion with a light green coat and a mane and tail of white and blue, stepped forward to tell of a tale of how Book Worm had rescued him from a death trap that he had had the misfortune to stumble into.
After a few more ponies stepped forth to say their minds, Written Word once again took center stage. “And now onto the second matter for today. Ms. Twilight Sparkle, could you please step forward.” The ponies of the Hidden stories all turned to face Twilight as she slowly made her way to the front of the group. “Ms. Sparkle here is to become our newest initiate. Please treat her as you do your fellow ponies.” He turned to one of the ponies of the Hidden Stories and spoke a few words. The pony gave a curt nod and walked to one of the bookcases surrounding the atrium and pushed on it. The book case glided back to reveal a hidden doorway. Written Word's horn glowed softly as his magic pulled open the door, revealing a staircase heading down into the darkness.
“This way, Ms. Sparkle,” he said as he turned towards Twilight. “Your initiation awaits.” Written Word turned back towards the staircase and vanished down into the darkness. Twilight looked around at the other members of the Hidden Stories, they all wore a look of anticipation, they knew what was in store for her down in that darkness and hoped that she would overcome whatever was down there too. She looked at Princess Celestia and she returned her gaze with a smile, as if assuring her that everything would be ok, but she saw the glint of fear behind her teacher's eyes. She gathered herself and walked over towards the staircase.
This is the first step towards the rest of my life , she thought to herself as she looked down into the darkness and hesitated. There was something about the darkness that scared her, like she knew that when she began her descent she would never again find her way out. But she turned her thoughts to those she would be protecting, her family, her friends, and placed one hoof in front of the other and followed Written Word into the dark.
The stairs led much farther down than the first floor of the library, she assumed, as she traveled down the stairs for some time before she hit the bottom and stumbled in the darkness. Her horn glowed softly as she lit up the surrounding area so she could see. Written Word stood just a bit further down the hallway that the staircase had lead too.
“Ah,” he said as the light of her horn signaled that she was there. “Do be careful on this next part. This hallway is filled with traps and spells to keep the secrets of our order safe in case somepony managed to find this place. Follow me and do exactly as I tell you, we don't want you dying before you’re even a member.”
Twilight followed as Written Word led her down the hallway, her head darting back and forth around the hallway as she looked for any sign of these traps the elder had spoken of. Every now and then his horn flared up as he produced a spell to cancel out some of the defenses.
“You’d be amazed at the spells that protect this hallway,” Written Word said as he canceled out another spell trap. “These spells have not seen the light of day since this place was created, more than a millennia ago.” He stopped and turned to Twilight. “Celestia told me that you have a real knack for these kind of things.” His horn flared again a lit up a glyph on the floor. “In particular, this spell here, is a forced relocation spell. We’re not sure where it dumps you, but we know that it’s nowhere near Canterlot.”
Twilight listened with earnest as the elder of the Hidden Stories told her of the spells. She was amazed at the wealth of knowledge that was present in such a simple hallway. After sometime, the hallway ended in a battered wooden door. Written Word's horn flared brightly and there was a shimmer about the door, as if it was an image in a soap bubble. The image began to twist and turn and soon there was a portal where the door was leading into a room beyond.
“The last defense in case somepony makes it all the way to the end,” Written Word said as he walked through the portal into the room beyond. “The door doesn't lead anywhere. There is nothing behind it. All it is is a connection point to this room. And the only way to open that is with a very specific spell that only the eldest of the order know.”
Twilight followed Written Word into the room beyond the portal, and as her hooves struck the stone floor, it flared a bright red as a magical sigil came to life. She looked at Written Word who had taken a place next to a small table. As she watched, a small knife and a book appeared in a flash of the same red of the sigil on the floor.
“Now it is time for the initiation to begin. The sigil on the floor is the heart of the Hidden Stories, it is an ancient magic that binds us to our duty. Don't be alarmed at what is about to happen.”
“Should I be alarmed?” Twilight asked, eyeing the sigil and knife wearily. “What’s going to happen?”
“You’ll either join us, or you won’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?”
“Death?” she replied softly.
“If only we were that lucky,” Written word said as he looked her right in the eyes. “Even the dead can offer up their secrets. No, your mind will erode away until all that is left is a shell, babbling nonsense. We have sent many a prospective member to the sanatorium.”
Twilight turned her gaze from the old stallion as he continued.
“The Princess has said much about your capabilities. Let us hope that you don’t fail.” Written Word's horn glowed softly as he floated the knife and book in front of him. “In this world of light, there are shadows.”
“We few are the ones who know what truly hides there,” Twilight responded, the words flowing from her mouth without her knowing where they came from.
“We move in the darkness, live in it, become it.”
“So that we may better know what it is that we both protect and seal."
“For the good of ponykind, we do this.”
“So that they may learn to live in peace.”
“We pledge our lives to our duty.”
“Until we too, become one with the darkness.”
As this last line was uttered by Twilight, the sigil flared even brighter. Written Word floated the two objects over to Twilight who took them with her magic.
“Now, to finalize your position within the order, you must let the book become one with you and the sigil,” Written Word said. “And to do that, it must taste the essence of life, your blood.”
Twilight looked at the book floating before her, then the knife. She knew what she had to do, and she knew that to go through with this would throw her into a life that she had never imagined for herself. She steeled herself and raised one foreleg over the book and with a quick slash a few drops of blood fell from a shallow cut on to the book. The sigil on the floor flared even brighter, then faded away. A light glowed from the cover of the book that she was holding with her magic. She brought it closer to her and she saw that the cover now contained a copy of her cutie mark.
“Welcome to the Hidden Stories, Ms. Twilight Sparkle.”
Author's Note
And I give a big shout out and thank you to my editor AntiquatedAnnomaly for all the help he has put into helping me to clean up this chapter
Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
The Record of All Things - Part 1
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
Twilight sat staring out the window of the train as it took her back to Ponyville. Next to her was an open book. On the page were intricate diagrams of symbols and circles for magics and spells that even Twilight had never seen before. This was no ordinary book. This was an introduction to the Hidden Stories, a secret order dedicated to protecting ponykind from the myths and legends that weren't quite such and to keeping those same myths and legends from falling into the hooves of those who would use them for ill. The secret organization that Twilight now found herself a part of.
Twilight sighed as she returned her gaze to the book. She looked over one of its many passages, this one detailing several secret signs that members of the order used to recognize each other when out in the field. Her horn glowed softly as she closed the book and went back to staring out the window at the passing scenery. She hadn't been back home in two weeks. Ever since her trip to Canterlot, she had been held up with the duties of her new position as head of the Grand Equestrian Library: supervising the last of the renovations and making sure everything was in order; sitting in on the prospective employee interviews to determine who would make the cut and who wouldn't; and, possibly most important of all, studying up on the Hidden Stories.
Twilight sighed again as she gazed down at the healed cut on her leg, the mark of her initiation . She was now an official member of the Hidden Stories. She was one of those who were charged with protecting ponykind. And she was not looking forward to going back to Ponyville. She had given an oath that her involvement in the Hidden Stories would be a secret, a myth in its own right. What was she going to tell her friends? She didn't like the prospect of having to lie to them, but she knew that it was for their safety that she had too.
She reached into her bag and pulled free her new journal. Aside from her cutie mark being emblazoned on the front cover, it looked like any normal book. “Ok journal, out of everything I’ve learned about the order, you are the only thing that I was not told about. What are you?” She stared at the thing, trying to divine why she had it.
Then, it started to shine. Twilight was taken aback by the sudden development, but after a moment, the glow faded and the journal returned to its former state. She reached out a hoof and carefully prodded at it. When it did nothing in response, she slowly opened the cover. There, on the first page, in crisp black ink, was text that had not been there before.
New job, new possibilities, and new troubles. I have inherited the Grand Equestrian Library and the post in the Hidden Stories that Book Worm had held. I have to say, I was surprised to learn so much more about him then I had known, but still, that knowledge does give me some unease. What had he meant by the words he had told Golden? And what exactly does this whole job entitle? And what’s the deal with the journal that I got? What am I supposed to do with it? Why the whole crazy magic ritual for it? Ugh, those questions can all be answered later, I’m finally back home and that is all that matters right now.
The train's whistle blew as it slowed down upon approach to the Ponyville train station pulling Twilight out of her journal. How had those words gotten in there? She definitely hadn’t written them. Maybe it had something to do with that light that had come from it. She pushed the journal back into her bag and waited for the train to stop.
Once it had, Twilight stepped off and back into the familiar town that had been her home for years. In truth, she had not known if her friends would do anything for her upon her return, but as she looked up and down the station terminal she saw none of them. Strange , she thought. I know I sent a letter back saying that I would be returning today.
"Twilight!" a familiar voice called out to her as she saw Spike running towards her. "You're back!" He wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug as he reached her. "I was worried that you’d decide to stay in Canterlot. I mean, you got offered the job running the library there and... and..."
“Spike, you know that I would never just do something like that,” Twilight said as she returned Spike’s hug.
“But your letter. All it said was that the Princess had offered you a job and that you’d be staying longer than you thought.”
“Yes, that was my fault. I didn’t have anytime to send more letters saying anything about it until yesterday. It won’t happen again.
“Promise?” Spike looked up at her with big eyes.
“Promise,” Twilight replied. “And I got you something from Canterlot.” She floated a small bag over. “Just like I said I would.”
Spike reached into the bag and pulled out a hoof sized rainbow colored gem.
“It’s called a prism diamond, the Princess gave it to me to give to you.”
“Thank you.” Spike again wrapped his arms around Twilight.
She returned it before freeing herself from Spike's embrace and lifted her bags with magic and set off into town towards the library and her home. "So, anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nope. Aside from the new books for the library coming in." Spike stopped for a moment as he remembered something. "Oh, and you got another package. A small one, wrapped in paper and tied held with string. Though, it had no sender or markings on it beside your name."
"Oh really? Nothing at all?" Twilight said. She was certain that that package had to deal with her new job. "So that's everything then?"
"Yes... wait, no. There's a 'Welcome Back' party for you at Sugarcube Corner later."
"So that's where everypony is. Spike, you go and tell them that I'll be there soon. I'm just going to drop off my bags at the library."
"Got it." Spike ran off in the direction of the bakery as Twilight pondered over that unmarked package he had told her about. She quickly made her way through the town to her home and as she entered the old Ponyville library, Twilight stood still and took the whole place in. It was good to be back. She had enjoyed her trip to Canterlot, all the crazy bureaucratic library work and secret organization inductions aside. She spied the boxes of new books and made a mental note to go through them once she had some free time as she carried her bags to her room on the upper floor. After dumping her bags on her bed, she spotted the package that Spike had told her about: small, wrapped in brown paper, and tied up with string. And as Spike had said there was only the address for the library on it. Twilight grabbed the thing with her magic suddenly dropped it as she felt a shock go through her body. The package fell to the floor and the string keeping it closed untied itself, causing the paper to unfold revealing an old book with a picture of an open book on its cover. As Twilight stared at the book on her floor, a small piece of paper flowed out from beneath it and suddenly a familiar voice sounded.
"Ms. Twilight Sparkle," Written Word's voice said. "We apologize about that shock you got from the package, that was a detection spell to verify that it was you who were handling the package. The Hidden Stories is entrusting you with one of our most important texts to you as there are none that are currently available to provide you with adequate training. Read it, learn from it; soon you will make your own ways in our hidden world. We hope to see great things from you." The piece of paper suddenly caught fire, quickly reducing it to ashes.
Twilight remained where she sat, staring at the book. Her horn glowed softly as she pulled a similar book from her bags and set it next to the one on the floor. Then, as she looked at her book and saw her cutie mark on it, it hit her. The book that she had been sent was none other than the journal of the previous elder of the Hidden Stories and the pony who was idolized by them, it was Book Worm’s journal. Twilight couldn’t help herself as she opened up the cover and began to read the tales of the old librarian.
Some time later, Twilight heard the door to the library open and Spike’s voice shouted up from the first floor. “Twilight! What’s taking you so long? I thought you said that you were just gonna drop your bags back here?”
“Huh, what?” She said as she was pulled out of her reading. She rose and walked over to the stairs and shouted down. “Sorry, I’ll be down in just a moment.” She looked back down to the journal that she had barely scratched and let out a sigh. She’d go over it more later, catching up with her friends was more important now. She floated hers and Book Worm’s journals to her desk and made her way downstairs.
As Twilight left the library with Spike en route to Sugarcube Corner and the party her friends had set for her, neither noticed the cloaked and hatted figure that stood in the shadows of an alley, watching as she left.
As Twilight vanished into the distance on her way to Sugarcube Corner, a single cloaked pony slowly emerged from the shadows of an alley just across the way from the library.
"Clear," the pony said to themselves as they gazed about the street. Upon seeing that there were no other ponies hanging about, they quickly made their way across and jumped into a bush just beneath one of the library's windows.
"Still clear." The cloaked pony gazed around the street again to assure that they were still alone as a faint glow surrounded the window. As it slowly opened, the intruder quickly pulled themselves up to its ledge and gazed into the library. Stacks of books lay all over and the cloaked figure set a hoof on one near the window and tested its stability. Satisfied with what they believed to be a sturdy platform, they placed another hoof onto the stack of books and fell ungracefully to the floor as it tipped over under their weight. As they pulled themselves free from the books, the hood of the cloak fell, revealing a bright azure blue unicorn mare with a mane of a very pale silver-blue.
"Stupid books," the mare groaned. "I can't believe that I have been reduced to such a thing. The Great and Powerful Trixie, breaking into a library to steal a book." Trixie gazed about the library and came to a startling realization about the task at hoof. She was looking for a book, in a library.
“Like looking for a tree in a forest,” Trixie groaned as she began to wander through the aisles of book shelves. After an hour or so with no progress, she pulled the note she had received a few days earlier out from beneath her cloak and re-read it.
To the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon:
After much deliberation and thought, it has been decided that you are just the type of pony that we need to complete a number of very important tasks. Now, to answer a question that I am sure that you have: no, you do not know us, but we know you, and we know what you are capable of.
Enclosed with this note is your first payment, a thousand bits seems a fair offer. As for your first task, we require you to acquire a book. A very special book that shall soon be finding its way into the hooves of one Twilight Sparkle residing at the Ponyville library. It’s an old book with an emblem of an open book on its cover.
Get in, find the book, and get out before anypony finds you. Once you have the book in your possession we will send another note detailing your next assignment as well as your compensation for it.
~A
Trixie stared at the note for a moment longer before placing it back beneath her cloak. An old book. Where would she put something like that? “Hum, if I were Twilight and if I had come into possession of a special old book, I would probably put it somewhere safe... my room.” Trixie let out a short laugh as she slowly weaved through the bookshelves and made her way up the stairs to the second floor of the library.
“There it is.” Trixie spied the book she had been searching for sitting on a bedside table. Though as she approached it to snatch it, she realized a small snag in her plan. “Two books, no pony said anything about two books.” Trixie grabbed the two of them with her magic and brought them close to her. Both looked old, and as she spun one around she saw that it had an emblem on the front: a six pointed star with five smaller stars surrounding it.
“That looks familiar... ah, I see now,” she said as she recognized the emblem on it. “They have the cutie marks on the covers. Well, it’s not this one.” Trixie returned the book with the star on its cover to the side table and brought the other book closer, this one had an emblem of an open book on its cover. “An open book, this should be the one then.” She quickly stashed Book Worm’s journal into her bag and quietly made her way back down into the library and to the window she had opened. As she was getting ready to pull herself up, she heard voices at the front door.
“So anyways, Spike, there’s something I really have to look into and I’d rather not be disturbed. So can you just make sure that the library is all closed up for the day?”
“I guess I can do it, Twilight. But what about all the new books?”
“Oh, just leave them in the boxes, I’ll get too those soon enough.”
Trixie froze against the wall and looked around for a place to hide. As she heard the door opening, she dove under a pile of books and hoped it would be enough.
“Ugh, it’s such a mess here. I guess we’ll have to clean up before we get to setting out those new books.”
The sound of hooves headed away and up the stairs. Trixie freed herself from her hiding spot and quickly pulled herself up to the window ledge. Once she landed on the ground outside of the library, she heard a loud scream fill the air. She took that as her cue to flee the scene.
The party that Pinkie had organized for Twilight's return had begun to die down as Twilight excused herself, saying that she needed to get some rest after the trip home and the party. As Twilight left, the nagging feeling of dishonesty at not telling her friends the exact reason she had been so long in Canterlot rose up before it was replaced by a giddy feeling of happiness. She thought on that and concluded that it was probably more due to all her friends actually being there rather than the hard cider that Applejack had brought.
She was glad to have seen her friends after her time away. Over the years, they had all gone their separate ways. Rarity had traveled around to some of the bigger cities in Equestria and managed to open a few more boutiques in them and since had spent most of her time traveling between each store to make sure everything was in working order. So when Twilight had talked about how much of a hassle it was to sit through interviews and go over applications for employees, she had offered her sympathy, saying she knew exactly what she was talking about.
Applejack had taken over all of Sweet Apple Acres once Granny Smith had passed away, and with the help of Applebloom, they had managed to renovate all of the buildings as well as bring in some new technology that helped to make the apple harvests faster.
As for their brother, Big Mac still helped his sisters out when they needed him. But over the years, he and Fluttershy had fallen in love, eventually gotten married, and now lived a quiet, peaceful life caring for the animals of ponyville and offering assistance to those in need.
Pinkie Pie had taken over Sugarcube Corner from the Cakes when they decided to set up another bakery in Manehatten. Though they were missed, Pinkie had upheld the quality and goodness that the ponies of Ponyville had come to expect from the local bakery. How she managed to keep up with her party duty with all the bakery work she had baffled Twilight as much as every other pony.
And as for Rainbow Dash, she'd finally managed to make her dreams come true when she became a member of the Wonderbolts. With the ability to create a sonic rainboom at will, she had made the Wonderbolts even more popular than before. Though, because of that, her time back home had vastly diminished.
That they had all been there when she returned meant a lot to her, but as she and Spike walked back to the library something else began to dominate her thoughts. It was the book that she had been sent: Book Worms' journal. From the little that she had read, the book was filled with tales that were even grander than the likes of Jack Hoofdon or J.R.R. Coltien, because they had actually happened. And she was eager to get her hooves back on it and let the world pass her by as she dove into the depths of its knowledge.
“So that was some party, Twilight,” Spike said as the two of them approached the library.
“Yes it was. It was great that everypony was there. We haven't really had a get together like that in a long time.” Twilight's horn flared briefly as she floated the keys to the library's front door over to it, but failed to get them to go into the lock. “Confound these keys.”
“Here, let me get that." Spike pulled the keys from Twilight's magic and went to unlock the door.
“So anyways, Spike, there’s something I really have to look into and I’d rather not be disturbed. So can you just make sure that the library is all closed up for the day?”
“I guess I can do it, Twilight. But what about all the new books?”
“Oh just leave them in the boxes, I’ll get too those soon enough.”
Spike opened the door and the two of them walked into the library. As she walked among the aisles towards the back staircase, Twilight gazed around at all the books strewn about the floor. She stopped when she saw a particularly large pile lying beneath an open window.
“Ugh, it’s such a mess here,” she said as she turned away. “I guess we’ll have to clean up before we get to setting out those new books.” She made her way to the stair, leaving Spike to lock up. She stumbled once or twice as she slowly made her way up them and into her room. As she closed her door, she reached out with her magic to pick up the two books she had placed on her bedside table. As they came towards her, she realized something odd. She only had one book wrangled with her magic, and it was her journal. Where had Book Worms' gone? She had made sure to lock the door when she had left. Then she remembered, the open window and the large pile of books by it. Somepony had snuck into the library, into her home, and stolen a very, very important book that she had been entrusted with. The scream rose from her lips before she knew what was happening.
“Twilight!" Spike shouted as he threw open the door. "What happened!? Are you ok!? Why are you screaming!?”
“It's gone!”
“What's gone?”
“The book!”
“What book?”
“The book that came in that package that had no sender!”
“Oh, so it was a book. I was right.”
“This is not the time for that Spike!" All traces of the effects of alcohol had vanished from Twilight. "It was stolen!”
“You sure of that?”
“Yes, there was an open window downstairs and there was a very large pile of books which I think before we left were standing up in stacks. Oh, this is such a horrible thing to have happened!”
As Twilight agonized over the loss of the book, she failed to notice what was happening to hers. Spike nudged Twilight to get her attention.
“Hey, Twilight, your fancy book is doing something.”
“Huh?” She turned towards her journal as it softly pulsed with a familiar white light. After a few moments, the light faded away and Twilight approached it. She flipped it open to see what the thing had written now. She skipped over the details that had been written about her time at the party with her friends and found the last paragraph which she was sure would hold some information on what had happened to Book Worm’s journal.
Ugh, a day after returning home and coming into possession of a fabled book of unknown wealth, ‘The Journal of Book Worm’, it was stolen from my home, the very place I felt that it would be safest. How could this have happened!? I was sure that everything was locked up properly. But there will be time for lamenting the loss later, there is something that is in danger of falling into the wrong hooves. Something that holds power untold: ‘The Record of All Things’. It is up to me to stop this from happening. But what is this Record? Looks like it’s time for research, and there is only one place suited for that. Seems it’s back to Canterlot for me, and right after I just got back home.
“The Record of All Things,” Twilight said as she finished reading the new words in her journal.
“What's it mean?” Spike asked as he peered over her shoulder at the book.
“It looks like I need to go back to Canterlot, and right after I just got back home.”
Author's Note
And, once again, I give a big shout out and thank you to my editor AntiquatedAnnomaly for all the help he has put into helping me to clean up this chapter.
Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
The Record of All Things - Part 2
The Record of All Things - Part 2
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
After a few hours of fitful sleep filled with dreams of failure and horror at the loss of Bookworm’s journal, Twilight awoke and swiftly packed a bag with a few essentials. Into the bag went a roll of parchment, some inkwells, a few quills, and her money purse. As she turned to leave, she gave another look around her room and saw that she had left her journal sitting on the table next to her bed.
“Can’t forget you,” she said as she grabbed the book with her magic. She gave it a hard look over, wondering if anything had been written over the night, before opening it.
How could I have left the journal just lying around like that!? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could I have been so careless with it!? I’m such a failure, I’m—
“Ok, no more reading about how much I hate myself right now. Stupid magic journal.” She stowed her journal into her saddle bag before leaving her room.
As she walked through the library on her way to the door, Twilight gave a longing look at the familiar shelves of books that she had shared the past few years of her life with.
“Hopefully,” she began as she reached the front door and turned to face the room. “Hopefully I’ll be able to return.” She knew nothing for certain about what her mission held for her, or even what kind of work being a member of the Hidden Stories would involve. The tales told of Bookworm’s adventures at his remembrance gave little reassurance that it would be nothing short of extremely dangerous. Even so, she remembered the lessons that Pinkie had taught her way back when they had first met, the lessons about fear, and decided that keeping a positive attitude was the best thing that she could do.
Twilight turned from the books and left the library, locking it up after her before she made her way across town. She had sent Spike out to make sure that she’d have a seat on the next train to Canterlot and to make sure that her friends knew she was leaving.
Soon, she once again found herself standing at the Ponyville train station in the early hours of the morning awaiting the train that would take her on to Canterlot, though this time it was in the company of her friends.
“Darling,” Rarity started, a slight look of concern crossing her face. “Are you sure that you must leave now?”
“Ya sure ya really need ta Sugarcube,” Applejack piped in. “I mean, ya jus’ got back yesterday. Can’t ya stay a bit longer?”
“Yeah,” Pinkie said. “And you haven’t even had the chance to try any of the new things I’ve made to sell.”
“I’m sorry girls,” Twilight said glumly. “But this can’t wait. I received an emergency summons. Apparently something went wrong with all the paperwork for the library and I need to be there.”
“Maybe we could help you then?” Fluttershy said through her long pink mane. “I mean, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that it’d all go faster if we helped ya,” Applejack said. The others swiftly agreed with the plan, all nodding and offering their help.
“Thanks, I really do appreciate the offer,” Twilight stated. “But I don’t want you all to have to interrupt your own lives to help. Besides, this is the kind of thing I’m good at.” She gave her friends a big smile, hoping that she had managed to fool them with her tale. “By the way, where’s Rainbow? I thought she’d be here with the rest of you.”
“Poor Dashie had a bit too much cider last night,” Pinkie explained.
“Yep,” Applejack said. “She’s still out like a rock.”
The distant sound of a train’s whistle signaled the arrival of the Canterlot train. “That’s my signal, girls.” Twilight approached her friends and gave each a big hug. “I hope that this time it won’t take too long to get everything dealt with, but then again, you never can tell how things will work out.” She turned from her friends and approached the arriving train. “Tell Rainbow that I’ll miss her and that I’ll be back soon — we can have another party then — and make sure that Spike and the library are ok while I’m gone.”
Her friends all agreed to keep an eye on everything for her as she entered the train and began her journey back to Canterlot.
“I wasn't expecting you to return so soon, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said as she and Twilight wandered through the shelves of books in the Grand Equestrian Library. “I was sure that you'd want to spend some more time with your friends back in Ponyville.”
“And that's what I was planning to do,” Twilight said as she grabbed a random book from the shelves. “Unfortunately, things happened.” She looked at the book before replacing it and pulling another from the shelves. “Could you show me where the books on the old Equestrian myths are kept?”
“Ah, so your first mission has appeared.” Princess Celestia gave Twilight a knowing look filled with just a hint of sadness. Twilight nodded solemnly. “I won't ask for the details or how it came to be, but I will offer what help I can. The old stories are on the second floor, I'll show you where they are.” Princess Celestia started to head off towards the stairs as Twilight followed after her.
“Princess, what do you know of Bookworm’s life as a member of the Hidden Stories?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason in particular. Just wondering if he confided in you anything.”
“I'm sorry, Twilight, but I only knew of his involvement with the order and nothing more. He was very secretive.” She stopped herself in front of a large section of bookshelves set into a corner of the library's second floor. “Here is everything you should need. Anything else you may be able to find in Bookworm’s research room, though I guess that it's yours now.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight turned to the shelves and began to look over the titles.
“I wish you the best of luck, my most faithful student.”
The Record of All-Things, a magic artifact created in ancient times, long before the foundation of the three pony kingdoms. Back when the world was vastly different, a time when magic itself was very different. In order to dedicate more time to their Thaulmatic research, pony mages sought out a way to keep track of the histories without having to actively write them down. After years and years of grueling trial and error and research, they succeeded. Though, once they knew success, they realized that what they had created was too powerful to be left in the hooves of ponies, or any creature. For the Record of All-Things not only kept a perfect history of everything that had happened, it also showed something that startled and unnerved its creators: events that had yet to take place.
In order to keep the Record safe and out of the hooves of those who'd use it for ill, its creators took extreme measures. It was laid to rest within a tomb of pure crystalline magic that could not be opened save through the use of a complicated magical ritual which was known only to its creators. This tomb was then contained within another, far greater tomb hidden at the very ends of the known lands of the time.
This tomb was fitted with all sorts of traps, both magical and corporal, to ward off potential thefts. And, as legend has it, the Record has lain there undisturbed for the countless millennia since its creation.
~~~
Twilight returned the book to the shelf, as she had done with the many others before it and let out a sigh of frustration. So far, all the books had been telling her the same thing; that the Record was lost somewhere at the borders of an ancient civilization. To make matters worse, there was nothing on this ancient civilization aside from these old tales and myths. No history books, no records of ancient ruins found, nothing. She'd begun to believe that the Hidden Stories were somehow involved with that little omission from history. Then, as quickly as that thought passed through her head, she remembered that there was a place in the library that was crawling with Hidden Story things. She quickly ran through the shelves of books to the central staircase.
As she approached it, she realized just how much time had passed while she'd been reading through the old books. When she'd arrived, it had been late morning, now bright moonlight shone through the ceiling windows backed by the dark of the night sky. Twilight slowly made her way towards the center of the library, magical torches burned softly, giving off a gentle glow as she passed.
She took a moment to appreciate the quiet beauty that the library gave off at night before she turned and headed up the stairs and back to the rear atrium of the top floor. As the door to the hidden room swung open, Twilight sprung into action; carefully pulling the old books from their shelves and flipping through them with the hopes that the information she needed would be there. Soon she found what she'd been looking for, an ancient book, its cover worn and cracked, with a symbol of a crossed pair of golden trees above a golden crown.
As she sped through the book, it dawned on her why there were no records of the ancient land in any history book. Something had happened, something that had destroyed everything and scattered the few survivors to a new land which would come to be the three pony kingdoms.
“What could have caused such a calamity?” Twilight mused, caught up in the book. She turned her attention to the maps on the walls, and using the book as a guide, searched for a map of the lost country. She found it, right at the center of a web of maps. As she looked at the others around the one she was looking for, she realized that they were all of the same place, yet set at different periods of history. According to them, the place she needed to go to was far to the northwest, beyond the frozen lands and the mountains that they bordered.
“How am I supposed to get there? That'll take weeks of travel...” Twilight thought trailed off as a glow came from her bag. She remembered that her journal had glowed before something appeared in it, perhaps it was doing that again. She grabbed her journal from her bag and opened it; she was right, there on a fresh page, a new section of text had appeared.
How in the name of Celestia am I supposed to make it to wherever this lost kingdom is? It’ll take weeks of travel and I’m sure that whoever stole Book Worm’s journal already knows how to get there faster than that. Wait, that gives me an idea. Golden Spade sent me that message, the one brought by one of the new employees, Cara, saying that she was in town and wanted to meet up. She’s been a member of the Hidden Stories for a lot longer then I have; she’s got to know a way to travel fast.
“Ya know journal,” she said as she finished reading the new bit of her personal story. “While this is convenient and all, it's still a bit creepy. And you didn't even tell me when this message is supposed to arrive.” Then, the soft sound of bells sounded in the room. Twilight looked around for its source, and her eyes fell on a small string of bells connected to a rope leading out of the room.
“Must be the way to let anypony up here know that somepony’s looking for them.” she said. “Guess that’d be Cara.”
Twilight quickly made her exit from the hidden room and made sure that it was closed properly so that nopony could stumble upon it before she made the journey down to the first floor and the central desk. There, in front of the desk, stood one of the ponies that she had approved of for employment to the library; a slight, light yellow colored earth pony mare with a cutie mark of a map and her green mane and tail pulled into simple buns.
“Good morning, Miss Sparkle,” the mare said as Twilight approached.
“Good morning to you too, Cara,” Twilight replied. “What brings you here so early?”
“I have a message that is directed to you. It was given to me with the distinct orders not to look into it and to deliver it to your hooves only. And a quick inquiry with some of the guards placed you here in the library since yesterday. If you don't mind me asking, have you been here the whole time?”
“Yes, Cara,” Twilight replied, thinking up yet another tale to tell. “I've been here going through some of the older sections of the library to make sure that the books were still in proper order and pulling those that weren't so that they could be either repaired or replaced.”
“Ah, getting ready for the big day when this place is finally opened back up to the public. You certainly show your dedication to the place. Now where did I put that note?” Cara rooted around in the bag she had with her before pulling out a sealed letter and passing it to Twilight. “There we go. Now I gotta go. I'll see you later.”
“Thank you.” Twilight watched as the mare left and once she heard the door close, she unsealed the note and read it.
Hey Twilight, just wanted to know if you'd want to meet at some point. I know that you were sent old Book Worm's journal and all, but I'm sure that it'd help if you were able to talk with an active member about stuff. If you want, I'll be at the Yoke and Saddle inn here in Canterlot for the next few days before I head off on assignment. Hope to see you.
~ Golden Spade
“Thank you journal for letting me know what I need to do.” Twilight made her way from the library and headed off towards the Yoke and Saddle inn. “I hope Golden won't ask about Book Worm's journal.”
Twilight arrived at the inn a short while later. It was in the older part of Canterlot, where the buildings were made mostly from wood, as opposed to the stone the newer parts were made of. The inn itself had an old rustic feel to it, the complete wooden facade and water trencher set the mood to olden times. As she entered the building, the smell of cooking food struck her and her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in more than a day.
“Twilight, you got my letter.” Twilight saw Golden Spade sitting at a nearby table, motioning for her to come over. “I just ordered some breakfast. Care to join?”
“Yes,” Twilight replied as she sat herself down across from Golden. “Thank you, Golden Spade.”
“Please, just Golden is fine. Saying my full name's a bit too formal and wordy for me.”
“Ok, Golden, so you said something about teaching me a few things?”
“Yes, I did say that didn't I.” Golden raised a hoof and scratched the back of her head. “Though I'm not quite sure how much I can teach that's not in old Bookie's journal.”
“Yeah, about that,” Twilight began, bracing herself for the bad response she expected. “It kinda got stolen.”
Author's Note
Here's another shout out and thank you to my editor AntiquatedAnnomaly for all the help he has put into helping me to clean up this chapter.
Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
The Record of All Things - Part 3
The Record of All Things - Part 3
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
Twilight and Golden Spade stared at each other for a few seconds before Golden opened her mouth to say something.
“What?”
“I left it lying on a table and went out to a welcoming party my friends threw,” Twilight looked down and grimaced before she continued. “Somepony stole it while I was out.”
Golden went silent as she placed her front hooves beneath the table and heaved with all her might.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she shouted as the table twirled through the air over Twilight’s head.
The improvised projectile landed with a thunderous crash, which set off another table, and another, and another. Twilight winced slightly with each crash as the destruction dominoed its way around the room. Golden didn't seem to notice the cacophony around her as she was far too busy violently shaking Twilight.
“That book holds the truth of many of the lands greatest and most dangerous legends! And you let it get stolen!”
“I’m sorry!” Twilight shouted as her words became muddled by the shaking. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Apparently!”
“Excuse me,” a voice said behind the two of them.
“What!” Golden snapped as she turned and found herself face to face with the owner of the inn, a large brown earth pony stallion with a cutie mark of a filled glass wearing a green vest.
“You two! Leave this instant, before you end up breaking anything else, or I break you.” Twilight and Golden looked around at the shambled mess that had formerly been a nice inn; tables and chairs were broken and strewn all around.
“Uh... sorry,” Golden said as she let go of Twilight.
Twilight took a moment to gather her wits and pulled free a piece of parchment and an inkwell and quill. With a flourish of magic, she quickly wrote down something and floated the note over to the innkeeper. “This should be enough for the repairs sir. Just take this note to the bank. Sorry about the whole mess.”
The innkeeper gazed the note over then nodded his head as he grabbed it and stuffed it into a pocket in his vest. “Now get, both of ya.”
The two quickly made their way out of the inn lest they incur the wrath of the innkeeper. Once they were some distance away, Golden once again grabbed Twilight about the shoulders and began to shake her.
“You blockhead!”
“I know that! Please stop shaking me!”
Golden, once again, stopped shaking Twilight. “So what now? You got any idea what happened to it or any idea who stole it?”
“I wish I did, but I can’t focus on that right now.”
“Why?”
“Got a mission already.”
“Wow, two days in and you’re already gearing up for something. So what is it? A small time magical artifact unearthed? Or perhaps some creature menacing a village?”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the library,” Twilight said as she began to head off. “So no wandering ears can hear.”
“Fine with me,” Golden said as she fell in step behind Twilight.
~~~
“I still just can’t believe you left it lying around like that!” Golden Spade shouted as she and Twilight entered the Grand Equestrian library. “Didn’t the note tell you how important that thing was!?”
“It did,” Twilight replied. “I know, I was stupid and I’ve said I was sorry about leaving it out like that a dozen times already.”
“Ugh! I still feel the need to give you a few smacks about the head.”
“Please don’t. I don’t need my mind addled anymore, and I don’t think I could afford it if something else wound up being broken.” Twilight walked over to one of the tables in the central atrium of the library and motioned for Golden to take a seat while she did as well.
“So, about that mission of yours?” Golden said as she sat. “It’s not an easy thing is it?”
“You know of the Record of All Things?”
“Yeah, one of the greatest and most powerful artifacts from pre classical pony history... wait a minute, don’t tell me that—”
“Yep.”
“Ouch, even Bookworm had trouble with that one.”
“What? You mean Bookworm had to deal with the Record?” The thoughts in Twilight’s head began to whirl at that. If Bookworm had gone to the Record, then his adventure would be recorded, thus if somepony wanted to get the Record, the easiest way would be to get his journal. Twilight groaned at the thought.
“I know the feeling,” Golden said as she placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Well, actually, no I don’t. I never had to deal with saving something from somepony who had the knowledge on how to get it.”
“So my first mission’s a failure from the start...”
“Now I didn’t say that.” Golden stood and walked over to the other side of the table, right next to Twilight. “No, they just got a head start on ya is all. We just gotta get you into motion.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight stared at the other mare with a dumbfounded look. “All the maps point to the thing being weeks of travel away. And I’m sure that whoever took the book knows how to get there faster than that.”
“Time for me to teach you of a little secret of our order Twilight.” Golden grabbed one of Twilight’s front legs and dragged her off as she ran towards the stairs. “I’m sure you’re gonna like this.”
“What are you talking about and where are you taking me?”
“I’m sure that Bookworm had one somewhere. The room’s up on the top floor right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Twilight pulled herself away from Golden’s grip. “How about I take you up there instead of the other way around?”
“Sounds good.” The two mares made their way up to the hidden room at the back of the top floor of the library and once it was open, Golden dove in and began to search for something. “Now where is that stupid thing?” she muttered to herself as she sorted through mounds of papers and books. Twilight stood by the door and watched as she rummaged through the room. Having no idea what Golden was looking for she decided it was best for her to just stay out of her way.
“Here it is!” Golden shouted as she pulled herself out of a large pile of papers and charts with what looked like a piece of wood.
“That looks like a piece of wood,” Twilight said bluntly as Golden brought over what she’d found.
“This ain't just any piece of wood. Take a look at what’s on it.” On the wood was carved an intricate design of many interlocking circles, each one inscribed with symbols and weird letters. As Twilight looked at these, she realized that what she was looking at was some sort of magical device, the symbols and letters were the language of written magic, and she recognized several of them.
“Teleportation magic!?”
“Exactly. This little baby here’s a teleport node that’ll take you to the central hub for the order’s mass transport spell matrix.”
“Wait, what?” Twilight stared at Golden, slightly dumbfounded.
“The order’s been around a real long time, remember? We’ve gotten good at getting ponies where they need to be. Though, this one looks like it’s in need of a little work. Don’t worry; I should be able to get this thing working in no time.”
Once she had secured the book that she had been tasked to steal and fled from Ponyville, Trixie took a moment to catch her breath out of sight behind a large rock just off the side of the road. As she sat, she pulled her prize from her saddle-bag and gave it a look over. It was old, very old; she could feel the history of the thing just by holding it. As she began to open it, a soft pop sounded behind her, startling her and making her drop the book. She spun quickly and there, lying on the grass, was a letter similar to the one she had received telling her to steal the book.
Trixie reached out with her magic and opened it.
To the Great and Powerful Trixie:
Let me first offer you congratulations on a job well done. As to how we know, you do not need to know that. We knew that you would be able to pull off such an important job as that one, and as such, your compensation of another thousand bits has been safely and securely delivered to your residence.
Now onto the next order of business. Your next assignment will be much harder than this one, but we are sure that you’ll be able to complete this one as well. You will need to travel to a forest just on the outskirts of Manehatten, once there; you will find an old shack. For the first part, all you need to do is enter and let your magic flow into the house. After that, you will need to consult the book, look for an entry dealing with something called “The Record of All Things” and follow what it has to say and retrieve it.
As with the previous assignment, once you have successfully retrieved the record, a new message will be sent, detailing further assignments and compensation.
Now, get going post haste. You need to find the record before those who guard it do and stop you.
~A
“Great, another book that Trixie must acquire...” She grumbled as she picked herself up and began her run towards Manehatten.
~~~
As the sun began to set again, Trixie slowly approached the old building described to her in the letter. It had taken her all through the night and the day to get here; she hoped that whatever was going to happen wouldn’t need her to do any more running.
She slowly opened the door with the key that had come with the letter and let her magic light the interior. She gasped at what she saw inside, every surface was covered with intricate designs of magical symbols and lettering. While she hadn’t spent too much time on classical magic, she did recognize some of the symbols.
“Long distance teleportation magic,” Trixie said softly in awe of the magic of the building. She let her magic expand from herself and out into the building. The designs began to glow softly as the magic slowly flowed into them. Suddenly, Trixie felt a pull at her horn as magic began to pour from her, causing the symbols to glow ever brighter. Then, with a blinding flash of light, she felt herself pulled violently from where she was.
As the light faded, Trixie rubbed at her eyes and horn to ease the pain of her sudden exertion. Taking a look around, she found herself to be in some kind of terminal, similar to something she’d seen before in the larger towns of Manehatten and Fillydelphia with their transit systems, only instead of trolleys and trains, there were rooms set with teleportation circles.
The circle she was standing on was enormous, easily big enough to accommodation dozens of ponies. Layer after layer of runic text rippled out from where she stood in the center like ripples in a pond. The runes themselves were etched into granite the floor and inlaid with silver. This system had been built to last, and no expenses had been spared. Trixie just stood there in stunned silence as she imagined the immense ley-crystals that must be buried underneath each pad, acting both as ethereal anchors and a target for the teleportation matrix above. And that was just one node of the entire system.
Th-this is incredible, Trixie thought to herself. I've never seen anything like this before. No, I've never even heard of anything like this. It’s like something fit for the princesses, but then why is it here? Somepony else must have built this place. And whoever I’m working for must be related to them somehow.
Trixie shook her head, effectively clearing her thoughts. "When this is over I'm demanding a raise. Whoever this 'A' character is, I’m sure he can afford it."
“Aha, here it is,” she said as she found an entry on it. “Hum… blah blah history, blah blah danger, oh! Untold powers… hum, here we are, location. The kingdom of Gilded Trees far to the northwest beyond the frozen northern wastes.” Trixie wandered through the terminal, looking at the signs for the rooms, each one had the name of a city or a region, though as she walked, the signs began to show fewer words and more pictures and began to show the effects of many years. Soon, she came across one that appeared to be blank. She let more magic flow into her horn to give her more light to see by, and there, faintly visible, was a pair of crossed golden trees over a golden crown.
“Gilded trees indeed.” Trixie entered the room and with a similar process to before, gave her magic to the magical symbols before vanishing in a flash of blinding light.
“And there we go,” Golden said as she passed Twilight the, now slightly better looking, teleportation node. “Good as new. Well, as new as I can make it without a good set of tools anyways.”
“So what do I do with it?” Twilight asked.
“Just power it up. Ya know, use your fancy magic on it and all that stuff.”
“Just that... wait, if it’s powered by magic, how do earth ponies and pegasi use them?”
“No need ta think on that.” Golden waved a hoof in the air, dismissing the question for the time being. “We have our ways. Now, go on and charge it up.”
Twilight focused her magic on the wood and soon felt it begin to radiate with magic as the symbols glowed softly.
“Just like that, Twi,” Golden said. “There that looks ‘bout ready to use. Now, what this thing’ll do is it’ll teleport you to the central hub for the order’s transport. Once there, ya just gotta find the right portal. Each one should have a sign that says where it’s going.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“’Fraid not. Got my own mission to handle and all that. Hope ya come out of this thing alive.”
“But—” As Twilight began to protest, she felt a forceful pull on her horn as the glow turned blinding. She felt herself soaring through the air for a moment before coming to a stop and falling onto her face as her legs found ground again.
“Ouch...” she said as she regained her footing before the sight of where she was left her speechless. She stared at the central hub of the Hidden Stories’ teleportation hub with the look of a filly finding that she had gained her cutie mark. The place was filled with history; it was in the architecture, in the lighting, in the very air itself. She could have spent days searching for the secrets of this one place alone. But then, a flash of light from her saddlebag reminded her of her duty. She brought free her journal and gazed at the most recent passage.
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Just look at this place! Look at architecture, that has got to be pre-pony kingdoms workmanship. Oh I could just spend days on end here trying to find out the secrets of this place. But that’s for another time. I have a mission, a very important mission. The Record is long off, and whoever’s after it has a giant lead on me. Golden said this place is the central transport hub, so the further I go, the older the spells should be. The one I’m looking is one of the oldest, set behind a sign with the faded crest of the fallen kingdom.
“Thank you again journal.” Twilight nodded her head and sped off past the multitude of rooms, noting the destinations of some. It seemed to her that there was one here for each and every city and major location in Equestria as well as many that she did not know. She soon found the room she was looking for: a sign with a faded representation of a pair of golden trees over a golden crown, just as her journal had said.
She remembered how she had powered the portal teleport node, and sent her magic into the symbols of the room. “Here goes nothing,” she said as she found herself pulled once more into a blinding light.
Author's Note
Once more, a shout out and thank you to my editor AntiquatedAnnomaly for all his help.
Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
The Record of All Things - Part 4
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
As the light of the teleportation spell faded, Trixie found herself in the dark. There was a faint sound of water dripping from somewhere and the smell of mildew filled the air. She sent magic into her horn, and it began to glow, illuminating where she was with a soft light. It was a cave, and not a natural one by the looks of it. The walls and floor were clean cut, flat and even, and lead away down a hallway that faded into darkness. The layer of dust that surrounded the teleportation matrix showed that no pony had been here in a long time.
Gazing around, she hesitantly stepped from the matrix pedestal onto the floor. Nothing happened. Trixie breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly began to make her way down the hallway, gazing all over for any signs of traps or other markers that may have been left by whoever created this cave.
“This was just like something out of one of those crazy adventure novels,” she thought aloud. “An intrepid adventurer traversing the old and dangerous places of the world.”
Soon, she reached a door as the hallway ended. It was a wooden door, reinforced with thick iron bands, marred with age. It had a large metal handle and a heavy wooden crossbar keeping it shut. Trixie reached out with her magic and lifted the crossbar from its holding place before pulling the door open. Light flooded into the cave, blinding Trixie as her eyes slowly adjusted.
When she could see again, her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open. Before her, down in a valley, stood the remains of several large stone buildings, some many times larger than even the royal palace in Canterlot. Trixie floated out the book and flipped it back to the entry on her task.
Wow, I know I was expecting ruins of a sort when I did all the research, but I wasn’t expecting this. I guess this is the proof of the greatness of the age before the time of the three races. The tall monolithic ruins stark against the green of the surrounding hills and not a single soul in sight—
“Blah blah blah, that’s not what I need to know. I need to know where the Record is being kept.” Trixie skipped through the book, looking for something, anything that’d tell her what she wanted.
From all the research I’ve done, I’m almost certain that the Record is deep within a tomb within a vault within the largest of the buildings, the ruins of the imperial palace of the kingdom.
“That’s what I wanted.” Trixie replaced the book back into her bag before she made her way towards the ruins of the lost kingdom.
As the light of the teleportation spell faded, Twilight found herself in the dark. There was a faint sound of water dripping from somewhere and the smell of mildew filled the air. She sent magic into her horn, and it began to glow, illuminating where she was with a soft light. It was a cave, and not a natural one by the looks of it. The walls and floor were clean cut, flat and even, and lead away down a hallway that faded into darkness. The hoofprints that stood out against the thick layer of dust proved her journal’s words that there was somepony out there who was going for the Record. She was certain that it was the same pony who had stolen Bookworm’s journal. The tracks looked to be less than a day old, so Twilight quickly sped down the hallway to find a doorway with its door standing ajar.
As she exited, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. Before her was the ruins of the ancient civilization that had created the Record; the precursor to pony culture, and in her eyes, they were magnificent. The way the buildings were made, what they might contain, all of it could help to shed light on just how ancient ponies had lived, and possibly on what could have happened to cause them to vanish from the annals of history.
“No! No, gotta stay on task.” Twilight shook her head, banishing the temptation to explore for the sake of history. That could all be done later, once she’d secured the safety of the Record. And yet, she had no idea on where to begin her search for it. All she knew was that it was in a tomb somewhere at the end of the known lands of the time; where that could be, she had no clue.
“End of land… end of land… maybe there’s something on it in one of the buildings.” Twilight gazed over the ruins and decided that the best bet was the large one in the center. Large buildings always were the most important. She slowly made her way down towards the ruins and as she approached her destination, an arrow embedded itself in front of her, still quivering from the force of the hit, and a voice echoed around her.
“Bídsteall! Hwa geonre?”
Trixie approached the ruined palace slowly, keeping to the shadows. She knew better than to assume that the place was abandoned and not inhabited. She’d read the books, these places were never abandoned. Her caution won in the end; as she peaked around a corner, she spied a pair of ponies standing a little ways from where she was, right in her path. They were speaking to each other, but in a tongue that Trixie couldn’t understand. Thinking fast, she levitated a small rock and tossed it down a side path that was near the two. The noise attracted their attention and they moved off towards the sound.
Trixie took advantage of the small distraction she had created and moved quickly down the path. She didn’t meet any other ponies after the first two and soon she found herself at the base of the palace ruins.
“Ok Trixie,” she said to herself. “You can do this. This’ll be easy. You have a book that probably can tell you exactly how to find what we’re looking for and how not to get caught by anything.” She moved towards an entrance and peeked in. It was empty and she quickly ducked in. She removed the book from her bag again and flipped through it.
Upon entering the ruined city, I found that it was far from abandoned and empty. It wasn’t much, but there were small signs of inhabitance; a fresh hoof print here, the remains of a small fire there. Then, turning a corner, I came face to face with a pony in clothes that let him blend in with the surroundings. He spoke in the ancient tongue and—
“Ok, I get it. Place isn’t abandoned,” Trixie said as she flipped past the section. “What is with this thing and detailing such unimportant things? Ah, here we go; the entrance to wherever this Record is being kept.”
After the savage beast that had been ravaging the nearby grassland had been captured and secured, I returned to the local encampment to the cheers of all there. And for upholding my end of the bargain, and swearing an oath to protect it, History agreed to inform me of the location to the Record’s resting place and the keys to the several locks and seals guarding it. They are as follows...
Trixie marked the page with the spells and started on her journey through the ruins of the palace to the vault and its hidden secrets.
Twilight jumped back in surprise with a small shriek as the arrow struck the ground in front of her and the voice sounded out. “Who’s there? I don’t mean any harm here, in fact I mean—”
“Swíge! Ingehygdnessa,” the voice sounded again. While she didn’t know exactly what was being said, she did recognize the ancient Equestrian language. “Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you are saying.”
At that, an earth pony stallion wearing clothes of the same color as the ruins appeared from a small niche in the stone and slowly approached, brandishing a wooden spear with a stone head. “Who you? Why here?” he spoke in broken modern Equestrian.
“One moment, I think I can make this easier for us.” Twilight sent magic through her horn, and as it began to glow, startled cries came from ruins.
“Þyrs!”
“Helrýnegu!”
“Galdricge!”
“Miscenning!” The stallion standing before Twilight shouted back at the voices. “Scinnlæce.” The voices quieted down at that and Twilight let her magic flow out over her.
“There we go. That should do the trick,” she said.
“What did you do, Sorceress?” the stallion asked. “You are speaking in our tongue.”
“Just a simple translation spell. It allows for me to understand what you are saying and for what I am saying to be understood. What were they saying while I was casting the spell?”
“They called you a demon, witch, and enchantress. But do not give them fault, they are young and do not know of the old times yet. You are none of those things. In our culture, you are a sorceress, one who has the gift inherent within themselves. And one to be revered, as the gift does not come to us like that but once in a generation. We usually channel power from the land through the use of fetishes and rituals.”
“Oh, ok.”
“Now we must return to before. Sorceress, may you please reveal your name and your purpose here. I don’t believe that you mean us ill, or you would have already smitten us with your powers.”
“You are correct,” Twilight replied. “I mean neither you nor any others of this land ill. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my purpose is one of utmost importance, if you could take me to a library or a historian or something.”
“Of course, Sorceress.” The stallion lowered himself in a bow before Twilight. “My name is Speaker, as I have always been the one to deal with strangers to our lands, and I will do what I can to help you.” Speaker rose back up and motioned for Twilight to follow him. “This reminds me of another time when a stranger entered our lands with a task of utmost importance. He wasn’t like you, a Sorceress, but he was a learned stallion.”
“Was his name Bookworm?”
“That is what he called himself,” Speaker said as he led Twilight through the ruins. “Are you perhaps related to him? A daughter maybe? Or granddaughter?”
“No, no,” Twilight said quickly. “He’s more of a… mentor and teacher.”
“I see. It makes sense that he'd take a student to teach what he knew.” Speaker turned a corner and as Twilight followed, she found herself at the entrance to a small village nestled within a grand plaza. A dozen or so small huts made of wood and woven blankets lined the walls while ponies all similarly dressed to Speaker, and similarly all earth ponies, milled about doing everyday things; preparing food, mending clothes and equipment, watching children.
Though, as she entered, all actions came to a halt as the residents watched her with curious eyes. Speaker led her to the largest of the huts, set aside not just by its size, but by the signets and colors set on the blankets; they were the same as the crest for the kingdom.
Speaker stopped short of the entrance and motioned for her to enter. “Inside you shall find your answers, just as Bookworm did all those years ago.”
Twilight gazed around at the ponies who were watching her before a familiar light caught her eyes coming from her bags. She smiled at the thought of her journal telling her that it was what she needed to do and nodded at Speaker before she entered the hut.
Trixie let the magic in her horn fade as she looked over the pair of dolls that she had created. The book had told her of the magic seals and how to open them, and it had confused her. It seemed that the magic of the time, whenever this place had been created, was completely different from what it was like today. The magic was not channeled through one's body, but through the use of small figures and baubles and the like. And even with that, the magic had to be prepared and gathered from the land through a ritual.
Luckily, it had all been described for her. The dolls were as they should be, a pair of ponies pieced together with scrap wood and cloth that she had found above. She placed the two on a pair of pedestals set on opposite sides of the vault and stood between them. Now came the time for the ritual. She shrugged off her bags and cloak and lowered herself until her belly laid on the floor as she moved her fore hooves in circles along it. She slowly rose up onto her hind legs and, while trying to keep balance, she began to spin slowly as she threw her head back and stared up at the ceiling. She dropped back down onto all fours and began to keen a tune that seemed to come from the ground itself. Soon, she was swaying along in time with it, her mind slowly forgetting the book and its instructions. Then something took her; she began to bob and weave to some unseen beat, to spin and leap and howl as the powers of the earth flowed into her.
After what seemed to be an eternity, she once again rose to her hind legs and flung her fore legs towards to two dolls. Something flowed from her hooves across the air to strike each and there was a loud crack as the wall in front of her split open to reveal a hidden entrance. Trixie dropped to the ground panting as the power left her, a smile slowly working its way across her face. The end was in sight for her. Once she got the Record she could get back home and deal with everything it entitled. She pulled herself to her hooves and grabbed her bags before setting off down the newly opened doorway.
Upon entering, Twilight was assaulted by smoke and the smell of burning herbs. As she coughed, a papery voice sounded from deeper within.
“Come in, come in, have a seat,” it said. “Sorry for the smoke, it helps to channel the power.” As Twilight moved further into the hut, the smoke cleared up some and she saw the voices owner. It was an ancient mare, an earth pony like all the rest, her mane and coat pure grey and her features sunken into her face, giving it the look of a skull. “Hello there, I am History, the record keeper and oracle for our clan. I have awaited your arrival for some time.”
“You have?” Twilight said as she found a cushion and sat.
“Yes,” History said. “The smoke told of your arrival, though nothing on why save for an image of one who I know, though he has already passed from this world. Now tell, how is what are you here for, and what does it have to do with the one named Bookworm?”
Twilight stared at the ancient mare with her mouth open a little before she shook her head and smiled. “Why am I even surprised by that anymore. Of course he'd have found his way to this place. Bookworm was here once, to deal with the Record. Well, to say the least, that is the same reason I'm here.”
“So you are of the calling as well then.”
“The what?”
“The calling,” History repeated. “Those who are lead by the powers of this world to where they are most needed.”
“The journals, you know of the order?”
“Only what the powers have granted me to know.”
“I see. Speaker said that the answers I need could be found here.”
“And I take it that these answers are of the utmost importance, correct?”
“They are,” Twilight agreed. “There is somepony who seeks the Record. They have all the knowledge on where it is and may already be there.”
History took a long look at Twilight, as if she could see the very words that she had spoken and was judging their validity. “I see. And you are not sure where that is.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “All the information I could find never gave anything more than an enigmatic 'hidden at the ends of the known lands'.”
“Yes, that old tale. It's rather simple when you think on it,” History said matter-of-factly. “Where does the known lands end for the simple viewer? Where's the place that they cannot see?”
“You mean to tell me that the Record is hidden here?” Twilight asked. “I mean right here, underground?”
“Bingo, you got it.” History pulled a piece of rope that had appeared next to her and Twilight was covered in confetti. At that, Twilight thought that she may have found something to Pinkie's 'powers', but that was a thought for another time. She instead turned her thoughts to the next stage of questioning.
“The entrance is under the really big ruin isn't it?”
“Yep, the old royal palace itself. Hidden in the vaults is a secret door that is sealed with several magical locks and seals that can only be opened through a long ritual.” A flash of light came from Twilight's bag again, showing that something new had appeared in her journal. “And I'm sure that you now know how to perform it, same things happened when Bookworm learned about the rituals. If the powers see fit to tell you the secrets then we shall hold it to you to protect the Record. We have been here since the fall, keeping watch over the entrance to the Record's tomb. I still remember that day, it wasn't a very pleasant one.”
“Wait, you mean to tell me you―”
“Uh uh,” History interrupted. “But you need to get going. This is a task that only you can fulfill. Perhaps we can talk more after you come back.”
“Ok, History,” Twilight said as she stood. “Thank you for the help. I just hope that I am not too late.” Twilight turned and left the hut. Speaker was still waiting where he had been when she had gone in. “Speaker, I need you to take me to the palace ruins.”
“As you wish, Sorceress,” he said and lead her back into the ruins.
Trixie consulted the book again as she gazed down a long straight passage, it said something about traps in this place, but seemed to skip over anything important about them, like where they were or what they did. She sighed as she put the book away. “So, looks like your usefulness has come to an end for now book. Whoever wrote you must have had stupid luck if he didn't trip any of the traps, if there are any that is.”
She tentatively placed a hoof ahead of her; nothing happened. She placed her weight on it and still nothing happened. Then she took another step and there was a click as a gout of flame erupted before her, singeing the ends of her hair as she pulled herself back. She looked down at where she had stepped and there was a faded symbol of a crown. She'd seen something similar in the book and thought that it was simply nonsense.
“So that's what it meant. Trap markers.” Trixie slowly made her way through the hallway, keeping in mind the faded marks that covered the floor and walls. As she went on, the hallway slowly changed from a straight cut path to one of rough rock. Then, the path opened up into an immense cavern; at its center stood a large crystalline structure glowing softly giving light to the entire room. Trixie was about to rush down towards the structure, before she caught herself.
“No, no, it can't be that easy.” She brought out the book and skimmed through it.
Guess I wasn’t the first here. Seems that the band of thieves I was chasing has already been taken care of, their lifeless bodies were laying all over. Hmm, right there, under one of the bodies is a similar marking to those from the hallway, and it looks like they are all over. Looks like this place is just as guarded as the hallway. But this one is different. It has a much heavier air of power, as the locals say, to it. Well, that’s one problem taken care of, but an even bigger one is due to show up any―
“Ok, death symbols here, just gotta be careful and make sure not to touch any by mistake.”
“This is as far as I can go Sorceress,” Speaker said as she halted outside the entrance to the palace ruins. “It is taboo for us to go any further.”
“I understand,” Twilight said. “I thank you for all your help Speaker.”
“There is no need to thank me. This is my purpose. And I speak on the behalf of everypony here when I say, we hope that you succeed. The Record brings nothing but anguish and despair and we would wish that on no pony else.”
Twilight looked at the stallion after he spoke. That settled it, there was something about the ponies living here. History blatantly said it, and Speaker had reaffirmed it. Whatever happened here was bad enough to keep ponies around for the eons after it. She gave Speaker a nod and ducked into the ruins.
The insides had held up little better than the outsides had, but that wasn’t what she paid attention to. Off to the side of the doorway was a small area of ground that had been cleared away. It couldn't have been any of the natives, so Twilight took it to be a sign that whoever had stolen Bookworm’s journal was already here. She sped off through the nearest doorway in search of a way down.
As she searched, she began to notice that there was a distinct similarity in the construction of this palace to the Castle of Canterlot. With that in mind, she turned into a new hallway and found what she was looking for, a stairway leading down. As she made her way, she noticed that there was another set of hoofprints on the dust, further cementing that she had to make haste.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she found herself in a large room that faded into shadows at the far end. A step into the room caused torches to flare to life along the walls, revealing the full scale and regality of the room. It held the same air as the grand ballroom of the Canterlot castle; it even had a raised dais at the far end that contained the remains of a pair of thrones. The walls, below the torches, held the burned remains of banners of faded gold and green each one containing the crest of the the land, the twin trees over a crown. The floor held similar markings of flames, setting Twilight's mind reeling as she tried to piece together what had happened to this place.
But like above, she saw the hoofprints in the dust and ash leading off to a doorway next to the dais and she hurried on her way. She gave a passing glance to the thrones as she ducked down the stairs and a little while later, she found herself at the entrance to the vaults. As she had assumed, there was already a door opened up on the back wall with another pair of steps leading down into the darkness.
Trixie gazed at the Record as it lay deep within its crystal tomb. She had somehow managed to make it to the center of the large cave, the book was decidedly lax on the details of the room; its writer was concerned with something else happening to record it she guessed. But here she was, and the book had the details on how to free it.
It detailed another ritual, one that, while stating that it was recommended to be done by several ponies, could be done by a sole one with time. She read over the details to it again and again, making sure to commit them to memory so that she could perform it with no interruptions.
She shed her bags once again and approached the crystal again.
As Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs, she found herself before a long straight hallway. There was something off about it to her, really off. She thought back to what she knew about the Record's resting place. Entombed in crystal, hidden behind traps. This was most likely where the traps would be. She gazed at the hallway with an attentive eye and saw a faded crown on the ground in front of a faint scorch mark. She reached out slowly and placed a hoof on that tile. A gout of flame rose before it.
“Ah ha!” Twilight said aloud as she understood the implications. “Trap markers. I guess so those guarding it wouldn't get caught themselves.” She slowly made her way down the hallway, keeping a wary eye out for the marks.
Yet as she placed her hoof down on a tile with no mark, it gave way a little with a soft click.
“Uh oh,” she said softly as things went downhill. A long curved blade fell from the ceiling right in front of her. She jumped back to avoid it, but she felt another tile give way as panels opened along the wall and arrows fired at her. She raised a magical shield just in time, but in her haste, she move to another tile which also gave way. A section of ceiling gave a loud groan, warning Twilight of its impending fall. She dove out of the way as it came crashing down and landed on another tile that gave way. She groaned loudly as the floor beneath her gave way to a pit filled with spikes. She caught herself with her magic and slowly lifted herself from the hole to a tile with no crown on it. She flopped down and laid there for a moment to regain her strength after having to levitate herself.
“Stupid... not marked... trap!” She raised a hoof and slammed it down on the tile she was on, only to feel it give way too. “Oh come on!”
The ceiling opened a little ways behind her and a large round boulder dropped down and began to roll towards her. Twilight got to her feet and ran down the hallway, heedless of the traps as the boulder began to gain speed.
“Ahhhh!” she screamed as she dodged between gouts of fire, ducked under arrows, and jumped over pitfalls. As she neared what she believed to be the exit, another tripped trap started a large stone slab on its descent to seal the hallway. With a giant ball of death behind her, and the exit quickly closing before her, Twilight found a reserve of speed that she didn't know she possessed and managed to slide under the stone and into the room beyond. After a moments rest, she realized that there was a familiar weight missing and she turned to look back into the closing hallway to see her bag lying just on the other side of the threshold. In a desperate act, she reached a hoof back and managed to drag the bag to her just as the stone wall came slamming down.
“Why did I just do that?” she said as she laid there, panting from exertion. “Why didn’t I just grab it with my magic?” Then, a loud gasp came from the center of the room, followed by a loud shattering.
“Sparkle!?” Trixie exclaimed after she'd watched the other slide in.
“Trixie!?” Twilight responded in kind as she pulled herself to her hooves and began to move towards the center of the room. “You stole the book from me? What reason could you have had for that?”
“No, stay where you are!”
“Why should I?”
“If you don't want to die a horrible death, you'd better stay put.” Trixie gestured to the bones laying about. “There are death traps all throughout this room.”
“I can't, Trixie. I have to stop you from taking that Record.”
“I can't, Sparkle,” Trixie said as she grabbed the Record and jammed it into her bag. “You wouldn't know, but I've fallen on hard times. No pony has the time to watch a magic show anymore and this is my shot at regaining some semblance of livelihood.”
“And how are you going to get out? The exit’s closed”
“I don't know. I'm sure that―” And with bright flash of light, Trixie was gone, vanished into thin air. Twilight stared at where she had been, trying to figure out what just happened. She hadn't seen her horn light up in preparation for a spell. Then the reality of the situation hit her.
“I failed...” She sat back on the ground as it set in. “I failed, and I'm trapped in a cave who knows how far underground.” Then came the soft glow of her journal from her bag again. She pulled it free with her magic and flipped it to the new page.
What... just happened? How could that have happened? This doesn’t make any sense! Why Trixie? Why the Record? Why anything anymore!? Ugh! There’s no time to sit around and think on these yet. I have to find a way out of this cave, but where... was that a breeze I felt? Yes! Up there, on the wall, a staircase leading to a door...
Twilight turned to face the wall that her journal had mentioned and sure enough, there was a doorway set halfway up with a set of stone stairs. She pulled herself up to her hooves and made her way around the outside of the room, keeping in mind what Trixie had told her about death traps, and up to the door. Some time later, she exited back into the palace and made her way to it exit. Speaker was there, waiting for her.
“How did it go, Sorceress?” he asked.
“I couldn't stop her,” she replied. “I failed to save the Record...”
“So this was what History spoke of when the power said that something terrible was due to happen. I'm sure that you did all that you could. I will take the news to the village, I'm sure that you need to get back to your home to work out what to do next.”
“Thank you, Speaker.” Twilight began to head off towards the outlying mountains, but turned back. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“You and History, you were around for the fall weren't you?”
“So you pieced that out did you,” Speaker said with a smile. “Yes, we two were around back then. We've always been around. We are the guards of the land's history. And being such, have been granted eternal life by the power. But ask not what happened to this land. I wouldn’t wish that knowledge on any pony. Now you must hurry on your way.”
“Thank you again, Speaker.” Twilight turned back to the mountains that contained her way home and set off.
Trixie found herself in a dark room after being teleported out of the Record's tomb. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten there or where she was.
“You have succeeded,” a deep voice said within the darkness. “I knew that you were the right choice despite the reservations some of the others had.”
“Who are you?” Trixie asked. “And what happened? How am I here?”
“Simple, Miss Trixie Lulamoon. It was a long distance teleportation spell inscribed onto those notes of yours. Through those, we could monitor your actions and collect you when you finished. As to who I am,” a bright white light filled the room, illuminating a pure white unicorn stallion with a flowing white mane and tail and a cutie mark of half a mask and a lance, “I am Argent Lance. Welcome to the soon to be new rulers of this world.”
Author's Note
Just for the measure of understanding, the language being spoken before Twilight cast her spell is old English. The more you know.
And a shout out and thank you to my editor AntiquatedAnnomaly for all his help. This is the last chapter that needed retroactive editing, now onward to the new stuff. Look for them soon.
Twilight Sparkle, Librarian
The Golden Horn of Midas - Part 1
The Golden Horn of Midas - Part 1
Twilight Sparkle: Librarian
Twilight sat on the bed of her suite in Canterlot, musing, once again, over her journal and what had gone wrong during her mission to protect the Record of All-Things. She sighed again as she reached the ending of the narrative that the journal had kept.
As if responding to her thoughts, her journal gave off the familiar glow as a new passage was added. She couldn't help but take a peek at the thing, already knowing what was to fill the new pages.
Why! Why! Why! I'm useless! A failure! I couldn't even keep a book safe...
“No!" she shouted as she tossed the book away. It landed, splayed open face down and she quickly jumped up to retrieve it, looking it over to make sure that no harm had come to it. With a sigh, she sat the book on the room's desk. "I did the best I could..." Her words died out as she laid down on the floor next to the desk. No matter how many times she said it, she just couldn't manage to convince herself of that. That was one of the reasons why she had decided to remain in Canterlot rather than return to Ponyville once she had returned from the Kingdom of the Gilded Trees. It had already been a week, and she still couldn't get over her failure. Maybe if she had secured Bookworm's journal properly, maybe if she had made sure the library had been locked up properly, maybe if she had been faster in her research and action. A whole lot of maybes.
The other was that she knew that her friends would know something was wrong with her the instant they saw her, they were like that. She’d sent regular messages out though, to keep the appearance that all was well with her, but she knew that she couldn't keep that up forever. She needed to go back home at some point. “I'll need to actually talk to them all at some point... but what will I say to them?” She sighed again as she thought on the subject. “Ugh! I... need something to help clear my thoughts. What's worked before?” And without a second thought, she knew exactly what she'd do. “Of course, studying. I can go over all that's in the library on everything!”
It had already been a week since Trixie had found herself welcomed into a strange group of ponies who claimed to be the up and coming rulers of the world. And for what it was worth, she was having trouble trying to wrap her head around the whole experience. Why had she been singled out to join? Where was she? And what was this group even called? And the answer to that question was not given to her, no matter how many times she had asked Argent Lance, or any of the other members of whatever this group was called. It seemed that, while she was welcomed in, she wasn't fully trusted yet.
And it was during one of these mulling that Argent Lance found her. "Ah, Miss Lulamoon," he said as he found Trixie in the library of where ever she was. "What is that you are reading?"
"It's a history book," she replied, raising her head from the book that she'd been reading. "Apparently, whoever wrote it didn't like the way things were written in other books. Everything is at odds with what I know of history."
"Ah, yes." He grabbed the book with his magic and casually flicked it into a corner. "The history as dictated by one Historic Flare. Nonsense all of it, written by a certified insane stallion who believed that he could see into the past and the future. Nothing worth reading, but it's good to keep around for laughs. Now, I know I've asked you every day since you came here, but how are you faring with the change of scenery?"
"And like every other time," Trixie retorted, "I'd like to know where I am, what this group is, and why I'm here?"
"All in due time, Miss Lulamoon. All in due-"
"That is the only answer that I've gotten!" she shouted. "I don't care who you think you all are, but I think I deserve to know some-" Her rant cut off suddenly as she found herself unable to breathe, something seemed to be grabbing directly at her lungs.
"Knowledge is power, Miss Lulamoon," Argent Lance said as a pair of unicorns appeared at his side, their horns flaring with magic. They were a mare and a stallion who looked exactly alike; pale gray coats, messy white and black streaked manes, even the same cutie mark, a field of stars. "And if you wish to stay here, and more importantly, live, I'd suggest that you learn that quickly. Star, Comet." As he addressed the two unicorns, their magic cut out and Trixie managed a gasp as she was allowed to breath again. "I find you to be a useful asset for us, and as such, I shall grant you a small portion of our knowledge to sate your appetite for the time being. I will give you the name of our group. We are the Gilded Tales."
“Good afternoon, Ms. Sparkle.” Cara, one of the 'normal' librarians greeted Twilight as she arrived. “How have you been?”
“I've been fine, Cara.” Twilight forced a smile that she hoped looked convincing. “I'm just here to check on some things up on the top floor. There's no need to make a scene. Just go about your work as if I'm not here.”
“Of course, Ms. Sparkle.” Twilight left her employee to her work and made her way up to the third floor atrium. She took her time as she went, admiring the library in all it's refurbished glory. Everything shined in the sunlight that flowed through the skylights, and there were ponies, actual ponies coming and going, looking for books and reading. It all was a far cry from what she remembered of the place, and of what it looked like less than a month ago. After setting a standing placard at the entrance of the third floor atrium saying it was under repair and placing an empty bookcase behind it, she opened the door to her secret headquarters. And she was immediately pulled into the room by the pair of light orange hooves belonging to Golden Spade.
"About time you got here, Twilight," Golden said as she pulled Twilight into a hug. "I've checked in every day for the past... uh... what day is it?"
"Tuesday?"
"The past four days, waiting for you."
"How did you get in here?" Twilight asked. "I was pretty sure that this place was locked up and that no one could get in beside me..." Then Twilight remembered the teleportation node that was lying on the floor, in the center of the room. "Right, never mind that question. Do you need me for something?"
"Well, no, not really," Golden replied as she released Twilight. "I just kinda wanted to hear how your mission went and all that stuff. I assume that it didn't go too well, right?"
Twilight grimaced at that and turned her head away from Golden, trying to find something that she could use to steer the conversation away from this topic. It didn't work.
"I didn't know what I was getting into. I wasn't ready... if... if I had had more time or... or training or something..."
"The first mission is always the toughest, especially when you don't have a mentor." Golden walked over to a bookshelf and pulled free a book. "My first mission alone was terrible. Book Worm insisted that I do it on my own, almost died several times to simple traps and wound up destroying the thing I was trying to recover." She sat the book down on the large table and turned back to Twilight. "I know what you are feeling, Twilight. I've been there too. And that is why I'm here." She reached into a bag that was sitting next to the table and pulled out a familiar looking book, this one with a pair of crossed shovels on the cover. "Take a look." Golden opened her journal to an entry set a few days ago.
Golden, go and help out the new member already! You haven't had a mission in awhile and Twilight is in a bad way. Her mission didn't go too well, and you'll be able to relate to her experiences. She needs an experienced hoof, find her and talk with her, and then things will go from there.
"That's... very straight forward," Twilight said as she finished reading. "Not like mine at all. Mine just seems to be like rambling thoughts or something."
"Every member's journal works a bit differently," Golden replied as she flipped a few pages forward to the most recent entry. "You remember Bookworm's, his read like a travel guide and a how-to manual. But anyways, here we go, this is what I needed to show you." Twilight took a look at the pages of the journal again.
New mission: Protect the resting place of the mystical Saddlevarius violin from the infamous music thief Lumina and her henchmen. The Saddlevarius Violin: The original was believed to hold mystical powers over all who listened to the music, holding them in thrall to the player. The violin also provided any who played it with the instant knowledge of how to play, but once it left their possession, they lost that information. Threat level: High Note: Bring Twilight with you this time.
"You ready for some 'on the job' training?"
Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. That one line kept reverberating around Trixie’s mind after her little ‘talk’ with Argent Lance. And it was a line that made more and more sense to her the longer she stayed with the Gilded Tales. Now Trixie knew why she was being kept in the dark, why all the books here were filled with lies and tall tales. She found herself walking aimlessly through the halls of wherever she was when a familiar pair of unicorns approached her.
"Greetings, Mrs. Lulamoon," Comet, the stallion, said dryly. "We do apologize for the… incident that occurred earlier."
"Uh huh," Trixie replied simply.
"It seems that you do not believe us," Star, the mare, said. "Well, that is on you. Everypony that comes to us eventually comes to an understanding of the rules that governs this place."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Knowledge is power and upstarts that don’t know how to follow that are dealt with severely." Trixie ran a hoof through her mane in frustration. "Is there some reason to this?"
"Yes," both replied.
"And that would be?"
"We are here to pass a letter on to you," Star said as Comet floated over a rolled-up letter sealed with wax. "For your eyes only, from our leader." Comet dropped the letter as Trixie’s magic grasped it.
"Good day, Mrs. Lulamoon." The pair continued on their way, passing by Trixie as she watched them with a weary eye in case they decided to do something like earlier again. Once they were out of sight, Trixie broke the wax seal on the letter and unraveled it to see what it was about.
Greetings, Mrs. Trixie Lulamoon.
I regret that I am not able to bring this to your attention in person, but your next mission has been chosen. Unlike last time though, you will have to do your homework yourself.
You will still be allowed access to Bookworm’s journal, as what you will be going after was once handled by him. But aside from that, you will need to gather your equipment and plan your travels accordingly. You will be allowed restricted access to the actual library of the Gilded Tales as well as to our stores. And you may recruit two followers to assist you.
Now, what you will be retrieving is the fabled Horn of King Midas. I wish you luck.
~A
"I hate him so much." Trixie rolled up the letter and put it away and sighed. "Midas... why do I feel I've heard that name before. Time to find this library."
Author's Note
So.... long time coming on this one. Yeah, sorry about that to everyone who is following this story. I have nothing really to say other than that other things have taken importance for me and that this story just somehow turned into something hard to write.
