Lies In The Library

"I'm back, Twi!" Spike said as he entered the throne room, medallion gleaming around his neck as usual, before noticing that his sister wasn't sitting on the larger throne. Instead, she was next to one of the glass-stained windows on his right, apparently intently listening to an older mare that Spike didn't recognize.

Not wanting to interrupt her if she was in the middle of something important, he quietly tried to turn around and leave again, until Twilight noticed him in the corner of her eye. She said a few words to her conversation partner, before looking at Spike again.

"Spike? Come here, you. I thought you wouldn't be back for another week?" Twilight said out loud, spooking the drake and making him turn around, a slight blush on her face.

'Uh, well, yeah. I wanted to, you know, surprise you or, something. I didn't know you were entertaining guests, which is my fault, should have checked it with the royal guards." Spike eventually blurted out, making his way over to the pair of ponies.

The other pony, now that Spike got closer, seemed somewhat familiar to him, though he couldn't quite put his digit on it. Still, he greeted her with a bow, which was likewise returned.

"I take it the discussions went well with between the Yaks and the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked, giving a short nod as well.

Spike briefly glanced to the still unknown yet familiar mare, unsure if he really should have interrupted their conversation or not. Upon noticing this, said mare simply shook her head.

"Oh, no, please do, sir Spike. Matters of the monarchy come first, I can wait a bit longer." She said, taking a step to the side.

Spike furrowed his brow, but eventually shrugged and decided to give his report.

"As well as it could have gone, yeah. Prince Kendrew agreed that the destruction during the late Prince Rutherford's funeral went out of control, and that the Yaks never should have crossed the border while celebrating to 'invite' the crystal ponies, drunk as they were. Flurry, on her part, agreed that repayments weren't necessary, as long as the responsible Yaks would help with rebuilding whatever they brought down, and then it'll all be good again." Spike recounted, taking a scroll from his hipsack and handing it over to Twilight. "Here's a copy of the agreement."

Twilight nodded again, a smile on her face as she unfurled the scroll and read it.

"Good work, sir friendship ambassador." She said with a slight wink, rolling the scroll back up and teleporting it away, "I certainly didn't expect the new Yak prince to agree so quickly, knowing his temperament. So, like I said, I'm surprised you're back so soon. Still, I'm all the more happy for it, as we certainly could do without a new conflict with the Yaks so soon after Rutherford's unexpected passing."

"Ah, well, you'd have to thank Flurry Heart for that, actually. She had an, eh, unconventional discussion strategy." Spike replied, a slight blush again on his face. "It, eh... involved a personal bet between the two of them, and a lot of booze. And with a lot I mean, like, uh... yeah. Flurry won, of course. It would seem that no-one had informed the prince that alicorns couldn't actually get drunk." He finished, lightly scratching his neck as he did.

Spike thought he heard a light snort come from his sister as he ended, but Twilight's pokerface, honed by decades of diplomacy, was uncrackable. Instead, she simply nodded. The other mare seemed too stunned to talk.

"I'm sure Shining would have been proud of how she handled the situation... though I can imagine that Cadence wasn't all too pleased with how my niece handled the situation?" Twilight asked.

The drake nodded. "She wasn't, eh, disapproving of it, as it mended all bridges in the end, but she wasn't all too happy with how, how did she put it, 'brazen, unfit of a princess' her daughter acted either."

Twilight shook her head, a smile showing through. Right then, her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at her guest again, who had been quiet for a good while now, before turning her gaze towards her little brother. "So, all things considered... that means that you don't have any outstanding duties at the moment, right?"

Spike was taken back a bit by the unexpected question, as he was hoping to take it easy for the next few days.

"No, not really. I was, ah, thinking I could take a few days of leave, actually. You know, before the next crisis comes up." He slowly replied, putting emphasis on the 'leave' part.

"Excellent." Twilight simply said. Spike didn't particularly like where this was going all of a sudden.

She then gestured towards the guest, still standing to the side. "Spike, have you met professor Petunia before? Professor, I think Spike here can help to alleviate the situation."

She was called Petunia, then? Weird, Spike thought, he faintly seemed to remember her name, but it must have been a long time ago.

The older mare finally stepped forward, bowing again. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir Spike. I'm Petunia Paleo, professor of equestrian and pre-equestrian archaeology at the university of Vanhoover, with a focus on the bald ape era."

Spike could smack himself on the head. Right, the mistaken pirate pony from Ponyville, how could he forget?

He suddenly got a weird look from Twilight, while Petunia let out a quiet laugh. Only then did Spike realize that he might have blurted that last thought out loud.

"Yes, as you said, sir Spike. I'm ever grateful for what the crusaders did for me back then, and this is indeed not our first time meeting. Though I was sure you'd have forgotten about that already, given that it's been, uhm... well, a long time since our last meeting. Anyway, that's not why I'm here." Petunia said, before looking at Twilight.

The princess only gave a nod, and Petunia turned towards Spike again.

"The problem regards one of my students, and the, ah, zeal, she has showcased in her recent activities. Don't misunderstand, I'm always happy whenever students show their honest interest and appreciation for subjects they are interested in, but this one might be a bit problematic in that regard... which is admittedly something I never expected to say."

Twilight chimed in, "You know her too, Spike. She's one of my students as well."

Spike sighed, starting to stick the pieces together. Not many students of Twilight are interested in history, as she herself begrudgingly admits behind private doors, and if she's 'problematic and has zeal'...

"Luster Dawn, right?"

Both mares nodded at this.

"And I can't really say no to this, right?" He asked, though he already seemed to know the answer.

"I'd appreciate it if you accept, yeah." Twilight replied. "Luster is, as much as I don't want to admit it, not an easy to person to interact with. I would solve this issue myself, of course, but I'm swamped with other matters, and now that you're suddenly free..." She left the sentence hanging, but Spike could the finish the rest of it himself.

Petunia continued, "And I have university matters to attend to. I loathe that I can't attend to her myself, but I only managed to make this much time to arrange a meeting with the Princess, so let alone arrange travel to Luster's current location. I'm worried about her, honestly, but this situation is not something I'm used to, hence why I looked to her other teacher. And that apparently, well, led to you, sir Spike."

He grumbled to himself, recalling his previous encounters with his sister's top student. Twilight looking at him with pleading eyes was not helping, either. After mulling it over a bit, he sighed and nodded.

"I, sure, I'll help. What's the problem? It sounds like she's not in either Canterlot or Vanhoover?" he said, clearly defeated.

Petunia seemed elated at Spike's consent, before composing herself.

"The problem is as such, sir Spike: Luster Dawn has been camped in the Third Vale for over a month now, studying the Silent Library, and refuses to return to the university until she's finished her project there. Though I don't particularly mind she stays there, as she's kept up with regular correspondence, university rules require that all students not travelling outside Equestria personally visit the main building in Vanhoover at least once a month and report on their projects, to ensure students aren't simply wasting university funds. Failure to do so could result in immediate expulsion, so you see the issue here."

Spike frowned, not sure what the problem is. "I... don't, if I'm honest. It sounds like she just needs to visit the university, and then she can go back to her research, right? Why am I needed here?"

Twilight stepped up, continuing. "Because, as Petunia already mentioned before, Luster seems to have become utterly obsessed with the Silent Library. From her recent letters, she's convinced she's very close to actually opening it, and doesn't want to waste even a few days when she could further her research. And while this might be a very important discovery indeed, it doesn't explain to either of us why she's willing to risk expulsion for it, and neither is she willing to explain it when asked about it through a letter. Hence, this is why someone has to visit her and try to convince her to come back, preferably someone that is already familiar with how difficult she can be... and why it's very fortunate indeed that you just showed up, Spike."

Spike grumbled a bit to himself, before sighing. "So she's just being stubborn again? That's it?"

Both mares nodded, and Spike accepted his fate. "Alright, fine. Just give me some directions, and I'll start preparing, I guess."

Petuna gave a short bow. "My deepest gratitude, sir Spike." Getting back up, she looked to Twilight. "And I thank you for taking the time to receive me, Princess. Now, I really must return to the university for those important matters, so I hope to hear news of Luster's expected arrival. I'll try to delay the university's punishment for Luster not checking in for as long as I can, but I'm not sure just how much sway I have in that regard, so a 'sooner' would be much better than a 'later', if you catch my meaning."

Twilight returned the bow. "Of course, professor. Though I wish it wasn't under such circumstances, I was pleased to meet you again. Spike will of course do his utmost best for the task ahead. The guards will escort you outside."

And with that, Petunia Paleo nodded and turned around, leaving through the same door Spike entered before, leaving the siblings alone.

Both were silent for a short while, each a bit lost in thought, until Spike spoke up.

"Okay, she's gone now. What else do I need to know?" He asked bluntly, though Twilight didn't seem surprised by the sudden question.

Instead, she cocked her head the side, a coy smile on her lips. "Whatever do you mean, Sir Spike? If I didn't know better, I'd think you're accusing me of withholding vital information?"

Spike stood his ground, clearly not wanting to play along. "Twilight, please, just tell me. I'm obviously not the only person you could have sent for this, especially when I made it clear I didn't really want to do this, so there's something else going on as well. Something professor Petunia apparently couldn't know about it, right?"

Twilight's gaze softened a bit at this, before looking down. "I'm sorry, you're right, Spike. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit beforehand. Okay, first things first, have you heard of the silent vaults?"

Spike thought for a moment, then replied, "Mysterious black structures that have been found throughout history, spread about Equestria and beyond, with only a single icon above a door-shaped outline and impenetrable walls that lets no sound or magic through, more commonly know as the 'black bricks'? And that, in the thousands of years since the first one was found, not a single creature in recorded history ever managed to open one up? Oh, and that it's believed to be the build by the bald apes, and as such is the last hope scientists and historians alike have that opening them could finally solve the mystery of what happened to them? Yeah, I know a thing or two about them."

Twilight seemed to be a bit taken aback at the response. "Well, yes, that's the gist of it. I'm kind of surprised, actually, as I thought history wasn't your thing? Like, at all?"

Spike only grumbled in response. "It isn't, you're right about that. But if one of your drinking buddies keeps bringing up his own failure to open one of them before throwing in the towel and switching careers whenever he gets a bit tipsy, it's pretty hard to not know after a while. He's a good guy, mind, and conversations with him usually take a more pleasant turn when he's done dredging up those memories, so you learn to get used to it... Actually, now that I think about it, didn't you say that Luster was actually close to opening it?"

"I believe she is, yes, but the method she's using for it is also the reason why I couldn't just send anyone. You see, Luster's actually using an experimental spell for it, one which must be kept secret at all costs." She said.

"A spell? I thought the walls are magic-proof?" Spike said, not quite expecting this answer.

Twilight nodded. "The walls are, yes, but what was on the walls is not, even if it may have disappeared over the ages. So if you could somehow see what was on the walls before it disappeared, you might know how to get in, which is why..."

It slowly began to dawn on Spike. "Which is why... you let her use time-magic!? Didn't you ban that kind of magic yourself, Twilight, after what Starlight did with it?"

"I did, yes. And I still do, don't misunderstand me. But think about it, Spike, a chance to open a silent vault? It could change everything we know about the bald apes, and maybe the whole world itself. So that's why, when Luster came to me and brought up the idea that there might be information that was lost with the ages on the silent vaults themselves, I agreed, though not without a small amount of pestering, and I taught her an experimental spell of my own creation that could let her 'look' into the past, as it were. If she could find anything with it, even if it's in one of the dead languages we believe the bald apes to have used, it might just be worth it to try. After all, Luster is one of the few ponies to have taken the effort of learning some of those dead languages, putting her in an unique position to translate her possible findings on the spot."

"Even if you and I personally experienced the risks with time-magic?" Spike asked, incredulously.

"The spell itself should be absolutely harmless, this I can assure you, but I couldn't risk anyone else but her learning about it. Both admittedly for my own reputation, as I publicly banned it, but also so a possible nefarious party wouldn't become aware of it and use it to create a derivative that might not be so harmless. So I hope you also understand now why I couldn't just send anyone to get her. The less people that know about this, the better." Twilight said, easing Spike's concerns.

"I understand, yeah... wait, so does that mean she's been alone there? For a full month? Without getting supplies or the like?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, Emerald Streak is accompanying her, of course, as she always does. And Luster is, if nothing else, prepared and resourceful, so I'm sure she brought enough supplies to last her for a whole year, if she had to. If you want, I could teleport you directly to her location?"

The dragon quickly shook his head. "No, no, that won't be necessary. I don't know how ponies can stand it, but I always get such a squeezy feeling afterwards, I'll just fly. If that's all, I guess I'll be off then. I better get some guaranteed vacation when I'm back though." Spike said, making a mental note of what he needed to prepare for the flight, turning to leave.

"You will get that, I promise. Ah, Spike, and one more thing before you leave." Twilight called out, making Spike turn around again.

"Yeah?" The drake asked.

"Be... careful, alright?" she said, an unsure tone to her voice. At the raised eyebrows of the drake, she elaborated further, "I already mentioned that Luster seemed to be unusually obsessed with opening the Silent Library, right? Being one of if not the first pony to have a chance to accomplish such a feat could explain it, but a voice in the back of my mind thinks there might be another reason for it as well. Whatever happens, can you, well, watch out for her? Emerald will be there to help as well, of course, but it'd put that voice at ease if I knew you were there to help her as well, before she does something rashly."

Spike frowned at this, but nodded either way. "I will, sure. Though I hope nothing actually, you know, happens. Well, I'm off then."

"Good luck." Twilight replied, and watched the drake leave again. When she was alone, she couldn't help but look out the window, in the direction of the Third Vale, countless thoughts flying through her head.

Or, well, that was until the doors suddenly opened again, surprising her. As she turned to look, she saw a very sheepish Spike standing before her again.

"Uh, right, I don't... actually know how to get there."

Twilight simply let out a small laugh, shaking her head.

"Oh, you silly. Here, let me get a map..."