Chapters "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..."
Instructions from the past
"I'm almost done, miss." The green-coated mare said, trying to focus more on transcribing the runes that were flickering through the floating window of light than on the building pressure between her hind legs. Her companion only silently nodded, eyes still closed while she was continuing to maintain the spell.
After a while, try as she might though, the pressure eventually became unbearable, and the pegasus suddenly stood up, dropping the pen and paper filled with alien symbols on the ground. "I, uh, think I saw something move in the bushes, miss. I'll go and investigate first, as per the princess's instructions.
In response, the window of light broke apart, the symbols within disappearing in a flash, leaving only a few scattered and unrecognisable scraps on the dull, black surface. The unicorn opened her eyes, the brilliant orange irises doing nothing to lessen the look of annoyance towards the pegasus.
"If you need to relieve yourself, you can just say so, you know." She said, rubbing her forehead with a hoof while picking up the dropped paper and pen with her magic and floating it towards herself. "We're the only two ponies here, Emerald, I don't understand why you always have to be so secretive about it."
Emerald Streak could only muster a blush in response, before flying off. Luster Dawn rolled her eyes.
'At least don't forget to take your spear with you if you want to make it believable.' She thought to herself, as she started translating the text Emerald had written down.
Things were quiet for a while, the scribbling of the pen on paper putting Luster in an enjoyable mood, until she was disturbed by the sudden soft glowing of the alarm crystal on her right.
Luster sighed, putting the paper away again. Though she was happy that her field detection spell actually worked for the first time, she also knew that whoever triggered it was either just an adventurer exploring the Third Vale, or, and far more likely, someone sent for herself specifically, considering the professor's repeated warnings in her recent letters.
She didn't particularly feel like dealing with the latter option, at the moment.
But a few moments later, she could hear the flapping of wings coming in from the east, and turned to see a familiar figure landing a few steps from her.
"Spike. How good of you to visit." She said drily, a sour look in her eyes.
Spike put up his claws, as if in a defensive position. "I didn't want to be here any more than you, trust me. I take it you already know why I'm here?"
Luster nodded, taking the paper out again and starting her translation again. If it was Spike, then Luster didn't need to worry about revealing the secretive nature of the spell she had been using.
"If it's about my immediate expulsion from the university, I'm afraid you've come for nothing. We were nearly done transcribing all of the dead language writings we could find on the Library walls anyway, so I was going to return tomorrow in any case, if it didn't turn up anything immediately useful."
"Would have been nice if you mentioned that in your letters, then." Spike said, already annoyed at how Luster was treating him.
The mare shook her shoulders, still not looking up. "Didn't see a need to, if I'm being honest. I made it perfectly clear how close we are. Besides, I thought you were still tangled up in that mess in the Crystal Empire?"
Spike sat down next to her, feeling more tired than he thought from his flight here. If Luster minded, than she certainly didn't make an attempt to express it.
"It certainly wasn't clear enough to your teacher then. And the issue with the Yaks was resolved faster than I thought, as it only took Flurry Heart, a bet, and a lot of booze."
The scribbling paused for a moment, before resuming again. Luster spoke again, "Well, you needn't toil here any longer. Like I said, we're leaving soon either way, so shoo."
"No can do, Luster." The drake said, idly playing with the medallion on his neck. "Twilight specifically requested me to make sure you're coming back. She'd hate it if a student, even if it wasn't one of her own, got kicked out for something that was so easily preventable."
The scribbling paused again. Luster finally looked up.
"Princess Twilight did?"
Spike looked up as well, meeting Luster's gaze head-on. He couldn't quite place the look she was giving him though, weirdly enough.
"What, don't you know Twilight already? Heck, I'm sure that if I didn't come back when I did, I'm sure she'd have personally teleported here to come and get you, pressing royal matters be damned."
Luster didn't respond to that, staying quiet for a while. She then turned to her paper again, scribbling again, though Spike could have sworn he saw a glimpse of a smile on her lips, before it disappeared just as quickly.
"Very well, do as you wish then. But don't bother me until we're done."
Spike grunted, agreeing with the thought. He looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time since he landed.
Even the Silent Library itself, as imposing as it may seem when seeing it for the first time, gave off an aura of peace. The symbol of a stack of books above the outline of a doorway so tall even two ponies stacked on top of each other wouldn't be able to reach the upper edge seemed taunting, sure, but also inviting.
He also noticed several large sacks lying around, some stuffed to the brim, large writing clear on each of them. 'Provisions', 'Equipment', 'Study', 'Entertainment', just to name a few. Actually, no, there were multiple 'provisions' sacks, but most seemed completely empty, making Spike wonder if Luster ever got more since she came here.
He also saw a large lake while flying earlier not a long distance from here, so that explained where she got potable water from if she never left this site in over a month. 'Prepared and resourceful', as Twilight described Luster yesterday, doesn't even seem to do it justice, now that Spike's taking it all in.
"I wish we could have been more amicable than this.' Spike idly thought.
"You know that I don't want to, Spike." Luster suddenly said, shaking him from his thoughts. He started to blush.
"Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? I didn't
"Hm, but I don't particularly mind. I tried to give friendship a chance, and it didn't work out. You know that just as well as I do, though I don't think there's any shame in admitting that. I'm doing just as well without it, after all." Luster said, putting the pen down. It seems like she finished her work. She got up and walked towards the sack with supplies, taking out some foodstuff before coming back. She offered some to the drake, who accepted the offer, though he knew she did so more out of politeness than anything else.
"I... do, yeah. But I don't think that means that you should give up on it all together. Moondancer was like that too, once, but she tried again, and she turned out to be a much happier pony for it."
Luster looked uncertain at his words, nibbling on the dried grapes. "Moondancer? I don't think I ever heard of that name before."
"Ah, right, she, eh... died, a long time ago. But she was happy, in the end. I think. Hah, it seems like more and more of my old friends from when I was still a hatchling are going on without me, and I don't even notice it."
Realizing that the mood took a sudden dip when he brought up Moondancer, as Luster was just looking at him now, Spike hurriedly tried to change the conversation.
"Actually, speaking of friends, wasn't Emerald Streak supposed to be here as well? It's been quite a while since I got here, and I never even noticed she, well, wasn't here. I don't think Twilight is going to like it if she knew one her twilit guards would leave one of her students unguarded out in the wild like this."
Luster tilted her head. "Oh, now that you mention it. She needed to take a piss, but with how long it's taken, I think it might have been upgraded to a dump as well."
Spike couldn't help but laugh at the bluntness of the statement. At same moment, a very red Emerald came storming out of the foliage.
"I did no such thing, miss! I told you I saw something move! Ah, oh er... good day, sir Spike, how nice to see you." She said after slowing down when she noticed the visitor, instead giving a short bow.
"Hey, Emerald." Spike smiled, waving a claw.
Emerald looked at Spike, doubt clear in her eyes. "If I may, sir Spike, are you... informed, as to what we're doing here.?"
Spike nodded. "Experimental time-magic that Twilight banned herself, yeah. I was a bit surprised when she mentioned it, though, as I personally experienced just what that type of magic is capable of, a long time ago."
Luster looked towards Emerald. "Our guest here has been tasked with retrieving me, wouldn't you know it. It would seem I was not 'clear' enough in my letters to professor Paleo. So he's not going to budge until we leave, sadly enough. Anyway, I already translated what you wrote down, and I need to rest a bit longer. You can explain everything to him, if you want to, I'm going to lie down for a while."
"Rest?" Spike asked, but Luster already walked away, not responding anymore, before lying down on one of the beddings.
The green mare clad in a dark purple armour sat down next to the flabbergasted drake.
"It's the spell, you see." She said, gaining his attention. "Miss Luster isn't as, well, gifted, as the Princess is, in all matters of magic, and casting the what she has dubbed 'window to the past' is incredibly taxing on her, even for short durations. She needs at least two hours of rest in between every ten minutes of casting it simply from the exhaustion, and if she were to strain herself she would get a severe headache without fail, requiring an even longer rest period. It's partly the reason why we have stayed here for so long."
Spike looked at the sleeping figure. "I... had no idea. She looked perfectly fine when we were talking before."
Emerald let out a small laugh. "Of course she did, don't you know her already? Always has to appear like she can take on anything the world throws at her, never faltering for a moment." She sighed, shaking her head. "Just as she imagines Princess Twilight would have done."
Spike wasn't sure what to make of those words, but as he didn't really like to talk about someone when said person was quite literally laying within earshot of them, he decided to change the subject.
"So, what have you discovered so far? It has been made very clear to me that the sole reason I even had to come here was that the two of you were close to opening the Silent Library, and Luster refused to lose not even a few days, even if expulsion was on the line, so I'm more than a bit curious. And how the heck does this vaunted 'window to the past' even work? With Twilight's permission, this could all make for a very interesting talking point with a drinking buddy of mine back in Canterlot."
Emerald thought for a moment. "Before I talk about that, do you mind if I explained the history of this place a bit more? It's going to help with understanding the whole picture, I promise."
"Sure, go ahead. I apparently have some free time now, after all." Spike nodded. "Though I'm sure you're not doing it just to impress me, right?" He said with a slight grin.
Emerald Streak was taken aback by the comment, slightly blushing.
"I... well, yes, you got me there, sir Spike. The chances for a royal guard like me to talk about a passion such as this are few and far between if it's anyone but Luster, you see? It seems no-one else in the guard seems to care all that much about the grand majesty of things long gone, and the excitement you can get if you tried to delve into it."
Emerald whistfully sighed. Spike raised a brow at that.
"Then I don't really understand why you became a guard anyway. Even rising to the royal guard and even twilit guard. I've heard the rumours, you know, about how... passionate you could get whenever you manage to, how did they put it, 'lock someone down' if they showed any interest in the topic."
He then dropped his tone to a lower volume, almost a whisper. "I've also heard that you're the only pony to volunteer whenever Luster requires an escort or guard detail, and they think it's not just because she shares your interests in history. Maybe I shouldn't ask this, but I'm, well, personally a sucker for these type of situations. So if you don't mind, are you, well..."
Emerald looked him straight in the eyes, blue meeting green, without the slightest hint of wavering.
"Love?" She finished, and the dragon nodded. She shook her head in response. "No, it's nothing like that. She is more than a friend to me, yes, even if she loathes the idea of seeing me as one, but that's because... well, something happened in the past, which I'd rather not want to talk about. And if not for her, I probably wouldn't be here today. If anything, think of it as... well, a dragon code, like the ones you practised as it was written in the Friendship Diary, sir Spike."
Spike leaned back, somewhat surprised at the answer. "Ah, I understand. So that's why you joined to guard, then? To personally be able to help and protect her? Alright, I won't pry further. Thanks for being so, eh, open with me about it."
"It's no problem, sir Spike. I only told you because I trust you'll keep it a secret, as trusted as you are by the Princess herself. I'm sure Luster herself has forgotten what she did for me, so I don't want to bring it up to her again." Emerald said, looking the the sleeping unicorn again.
The drake nodded. "I will, yeah, on my honor of friendship ambassador. That, and I know you can absolutely kick my ass if I didn't uphold that promise. Now, with that cleared up, I think you were going to give me a history lesson next?"
The pegasus looked back to the drake, excitement clear in her eyes. Nodding, she stood up and walked over to the bed next to Luster, picking something up before walking back. All the while, she never even made so much as a sound, which Spike recognized as a testament of her training.
Sitting back down again, she opened a notebook and began leafing through it, before she started speaking.
One for the history books
"Alright, first things first. I suppose Princess Twilight already gave you a general overview of the Silent Vaults?"
Spike nodded. "She wanted to, yeah, but I already knew the basics. That drinking buddy I mentioned earlier was already a good source of information... though I don't know anything about this Silent Vault in particular, the Library?"
Luster hummed, flipping some more pages. "Alright, that simplifies it somewhat. Let's see... okay, to start, this story begins some four centuries ago, nearly a decade in the aftermath of the Deer War, when Celestia authorized and used Starfall to wipe out the invading force. Due to the absolute destructive nature of the spell, seven enormous craters were formed from the multiple impacts, which eventually turned into the Seven Vales as we know them today after nature settled into them."
"Right, that was an... unpleasant history lesson, back when Twilight first told me. I still get shivers whenever I hear about that event, to think that Celestia and Luna could annihilate an entire species, just like that." Spike said, looking down solemnly.
Emerald thought for a moment, before continuing. "Well, Celestia did what she had to, in the end, to protect Equestria. The Deers had already conquered and razed a few notable nations before they set their sights on our homeland, and their unique anti-magic equipment and dreaded airships had made them widely known as being brash and brazen, thinking themselves unbeatable. They were not, obviously, as history has shown."
She started to bite on the pen in her hoof, somewhat trailing off.
"It was unfortunate, however, that we never managed to learn just how they came up with their designs. Anti-magic is difficult enough as it is to cast, so to use it as an enchantment is unheard of, even after so many centuries. A pittance, then, that Starfall also destroyed all their records."
Emerald stopped talking when she noticed Spike giving her a strange look, before realizing what she was saying.
"I mean, the enormous loss of life was, eh, terrible as well. Just to be clear, sir Spike! It's just, you know, it happened so long ago, and it, well..." She started to bumble, blushing as she was trying to pick herself up.
Spike shook his head, putting up a claw. "Ah, no, it's okay. I didn't meant to insinuate that.. well, I admit that anti-magic is an interesting topic, so it is a shame that there was no other option Celestia could take back then. Please, do go on."
Emerald breathed in and out a few times, trying to find her pace again, and started turning some more pages.
"Okay... eh, Silent Library, right. So, the craters slash vales were declared forbidden zones by Celestia shortly after they were formed. Initial reports of ponies entering the craters to officially look for survivors, and unofficially to loot whatever was salvageable, spoke of numerous ponies suddenly falling ill, and when they were brought to a hospital and examined, the doctors discovered that all the magic in their bodies had effectively been destroyed. Somehow, someway, the doctors theorized, the impact of Starfall had somehow broken the anti-magic enchantments, and that clouds of anti-magic were somehow 'floating' inside the craters, as impossible as it may sound to modern scientific standards."
Emerald looked particulary annoyed at that last statement she made.
"Celestia immediately barred all entry when she was notified, of course, and ordered that the entire area around the craters was effectively on lockdown, until she was certain that the clouds had, eh, dissipated or something. It took over ten years ago before the craters were deemed safe again, at which point, like I said earlier, nature had already settled in and was in the process of turning the the craters into the Seven Vales we know today. Of course, by then nearly all traces of the Deer folk were gone, including all of their records. And so a great nation, as terrible as they may have been, was lost to time."
Spike cocked his head. "You're right, that does sound somewhat insane, clouds of magic? Then again, Twilight's always bemoaning how hard it is to study and research anti-magic, as it's so hostile to innately magical beings like ponies and even us dragons, so maybe we still don't know enough about it... wait, the craters were untouched for a decade, and nothing remained? Then you're saying..."
Spike's eyes went wide at the realization, before jumping up and looking down at the ground he was still sitting on. Emerald was confused by his sudden behavior, before it dawned on her.
"The remains of the Deer folk themselves? Well, yeah, that goes without saying, it's how nature settled in here in the first place. Starfall made sure that everything that lived here before the impact, be it plant or animal, on the ground or under it, died near instantly. So the, eh, tens of thousands or so corpses of the Deer folk that eventually started to decompose in the craters formed a base for new live to move in. If you dig even a few steps down, I'm sure you'll stumble on some kind of bone or the other."
Spike almost looked sick as the words sunk in. Emerald, noticing the look on his face, stood up and got a bit closer.
"Ah, I see... My apologies, sir Spike, I could have eased that in a bit better, perhaps. Are you alright?"
Realising that Luster and Emerald had already spend a month here, having known what was under their hooves before they even began, Spike mentally berated himself. As morbid as it is, and the feeling of nausea still somewhat present in stomach, he forced himself to calm down.
He put up a claw to halt Emerald's advance, trying to show that he was better now. "I... yeah, just needed a moment to... process that. Circle of life and death and all that, huh? Hehe..."
Spike tried to laugh, but stopped when he noticed Emerald's gaze was still concerned. "No, really, I'm, well, fine now. Just, you know, didn't see that coming." He sat down again, as if to prove his point. "I mean, if the two of you managed to hold out here for over a month, who am I to complain? Just... you know, don't remind me of the whole, eh, sea of skeletons under my feet again, if you could. I can, well, do without that, for now. Let's... let's continue, yeah. I don't think it'll be much longer before Luster wakes up again, after all."
Emerald looked at Spike a few more seconds, clearly unsure if his listener was being honest. In the end, she decided to comply with his request, and went to sit down again, picking her notebook up again.
"Well, where did I leave off... oh, right, ten years later. When search parties were started up again, this time without anyone falling sick, the Vales were properly scoured for the first time. Like I said, nothing really remained for them to find, but one party did stumble on something they never expected to find. I'm of course talking about the structure in front of us, the seventh and so far last of the Silent Vaults. Perhaps it was a stroke of pure luck, perhaps it was an act of fate, but the impact of Starfall directly on top of it is what lead to its unearthing and subsequent discovery. It was eventually dubbed the Silent Library, after the image of a stack of books above the entrance, and that's pretty much where we are today."
Luster finally closed her notebook, seeming satisfied with her story.
"This place was thoroughly examined after it was discovered, naturally, with researchers from all over Equestria and beyond swarming about. The fact that there was an indication of dead language writing on the outside walls got them even more excited. But in the end, just as with the other Silent Vaults, they couldn't conclude anything worthwhile. The writing on the walls was too faded away, and the only thing they did learn didn't help them at all."
Emerald suddenly turned towards the Library, and pointed a hoof at it. "Actually, you can see it for yourself, sir Spike. Have you noticed the state the outer walls are in?"
Spike turned to look, but try as he might, he didn't notice anything in particular. Other than the icon of books and the outline of a doorframe, the black walls were immaculate as far as he could tell, beyond the few scraps of faded symbols here and there. "They... look fine, I guess? I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking at?"
Emerald looked at him with a sly smile, almost smugly. "Precisely, sir Spike. They are entirely undamaged, to the point that you can't even see a single crack or the like anywhere. It endured Starfall, maybe head-on, and even now, four centuries later, it looks none the worse for it. Back then, even though all attempts to damage a Silent Vault in the hopes of making even the tiniest of an opening were met with disappointment every single time, it was then that researchers truly realized how impregnable the Silent Vaults were, if even Starfall couldn't so much as make a scratch on it."
Spike softly whistled. "I already knew that no-one ever managed to break one open by force, but this is... well, beyond words, I'd say."
Emerald hummed in agreement. "You're right about that. It's a big part of why the Silent Vaults are so fascinating, but also so frustrating at the same time, and clearly showcases just how advanced the bald apes must have been to build such a thing. A truly unforceable vault."
"And one that you and Lusted are somehow apparantly close to opening, lest I forget why I came here in the first place. So, can we now talk about what that time-spell uncovered?" Spike asked, eager to hear the conclusion of this story. Whether it was the enthusiasm with which Emerald relayed its discovery, or the anticipation of what could be a monumental scientific and historical event, he wasn't even entirely sure if it wasn't both, he somehow was happy that Twilight convinced him to come here.
His mission came first, of course, and if Luster didn't leave tomorrow he would personally drag her back, but still... he couldn't help but feel a shiver of, something, though he couldn't quite place it.
"Not just close. We already know how to open it." A voice suddenly said behind him, making him jump up.
Turning around, he noticed Luster was standing behind him. Was he so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear her wake up and approach?
Spike shook his head, lambasting himself for dropping his guard like that. Then he suddenly froze, actually realising what Luster just said.
"You... wait, what?" Spike began, but found himself lost for words.
Luster sat down herself, clearing a bit of her frizzy hair out. She looked at the pegasus, a bit annoyed.
"Weren't you going to explain it, Emerald? I had thought you would be done already, so we could continue where we left off... how long was I out?"
In response, Emerald Streak looked up, taking a peek at the sun shining through the treetops overhead.
"A bit over an hour, miss. And I was just about to, actually, I simply... went on a bit of a tangent, here and there. Oh, do you want to inform sir Spike yourself?"
The unicorn sighed. "Alright, I will. Spike, you listening?"
The drake snapped out of his thoughts, still stuck on those few words.
"What... what do you mean, you know how to open it?! Neither Professor Paleo or Twilight told me anything about that." He asked, clearly in disbelief.
Luster rolled her eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because I didn't inform them yet, of course. We hadn't finished translating all the dead language writings on the wall, so I didn't see a need to yet."
Spike looked at Emerald with a pleading look in his eyes, clearly flabbergasted. Emerald could only offer a sheepish smile in return.
"It's true, sir Spike. We couldn't have done so without the 'window"-spell Princess Twilight gave us, of course, but we already uncovered instructions on how to open the Silent Library about a fortnight ago. Still, there was a lot more writing on the outer wall that we hadn't studied yet, and miss Luster wanted to be certain she had all the possible information before attempting to follow those instructions, which is why we've been taking so long, just in case there was some kind of warning hidden there."
Luster clacked her tongue at this. "And it didn't even teach us anything, in the end. Because as it turns out, it's just the same sentence written all over the wall, just in over thirty different dead languages! Would it have been too much to ask for the Bald Apes to just stick to one or two? No, of course not, let's make over thirty different ones, that's not going to cause problems or the like. Or, well, we think it's that many, at least, because we've never even seen a majority of them before, so we're not even sure about the number, and neither what those parts are saying as we can't translate those!"
She stopped and thought for a moment, calming down while considering something. "Okay, no, that's not the right way to put it. What we found is helpful, yes, immensely so even, as being able to compare different dead languages that describe the same sentence could teach us a lot about them, if that is even the case, and helps with the study of the Bald Apes in general. But that's just in a linguistic sense. What I meant to say is that it didn't tell us a bloody thing about the Silent Library itself, or what is in it, as far as we are able to tell, if you catch my drift."
Spike couldn't help but scratch his forehead, overwhelmed as he was. If she noticed, Luster made no effort to slow down.
"Still, we were almost done with outer wall at any pace. Just two or so more casts and we've looked at everything we could find, which is why I said that earlier that we would be leaving tomorrow either way. Once we're done, we'll try to follow the instructions, see if the Library opens, and if it doesn't then there's nothing left for us to do here, end of story. Did I forget anything, Emerald?"
The pegasus thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, I think that's all, miss. Sir Spike, do you have any further questions? If not, then I think miss Luster wants to finish with those last few casts now. And while she's channeling, she needs to be as focused as she can be, so we can't talk during it."
Both mares looked at the drake, who suddenly didn't know what to do with himself.
"I... uh... not really. No, wait, there is one thing I've been meaning to ask. How does this "window"-spell work then, precisely? Twilight said that it was completely harmless, which I found a bit, eh, difficult to believe."
Luster waved a hoof dismissively. "Oh, no need to worry about that. Put simply, think of it as a photograph drawn in the air, the image on it being directly what's behind it. Now, imagine that same photograph being taken hundreds of times in the past, with years between each other, then taking tiny pieces from each photograph and compiling them into one large picture. That's effectively what you see once the 'window' is channeled, do you understand?"
Spike frowned, somewhat understanding the explanation. "I, yeah, I guess. But that sounds needlessly complicated when the result is almost completely useless, right? If the, eh, subject of the photograph changes in any way over time, the picture itself will be, what, a jumbled mess?"
Emerald hummed in agreement, and Luster chimed in. "That's right. Then again, it's also still a spell in its experimental stage. If the princess ever changes her mind about time-magic and this was properly developed, it could bring about, to put it mildly, a lot of changes. Anyway, if the subject of the photograph doesn't change over time, than the image is a lot more clear, though still somewhat distorted. Like, say, our ancient Silent Library here."
Spike started to catch up, wanting to speak up but Luster cut him off. "Well, if you want to see for yourself, we're going to start again. Emerald, are you ready?"
The pegasus nodded silently, and both mares suddenly got up, leaving Spike scrambling to follow. Taking a seat to the far right end of the wall, Luster closed her eyes, an intense glow starting to envelop her horn. A few moments later, a rectangular shape of light appeared between them and the wall, slowly expanding in size.
Spike watched on in amazement, the wall inside the window violently flickering before it settled down. Parts of the view inside the window still flickered, but Spike could now clearly see the general outline of strange symbols where there were none before. Emerald seemed to see them as well, as she silently started to transcribe the symbols he could make out in the notebook she had been holding all this time, and Spike now understood how they had been working together, remembering what Luster was doing when he first saw her earlier today.
While Luster can channel the spell, she needs to close her eyes to maintain focus, and so it falls to Emerald to transcribe the readable writing down, even if she herself doesn't know how to translate it. Afterwards, when Luster is recovering, she takes the notes Emerald wrote down and sees if she can translates them herself. Rinse and repeat.
Time passed, and the window eventually broke apart, taking Spike out of his train of thought. If he had to guess, he would say that about 15 minutes had passed since they started... which matches up with what Emerald told him.
"Does that satisfy your curiosity, Spike?" Luster said, and the dragon nodded. Emerald Streak handed her notebook to the other mare, who immediately started writing. The pegasus stood up and walked to one of the sacks, mirrorring Luster's earlier actions and taking out some snacks, this time enough for three, while also grabbing a few flasks of water.
Spike didn't even realize that he hadn't drunk anything since he arrived until Emerald offered him a flask, which he gratefully accepted. Taking a large gulp, he eagerly cleared his throat, before looking as the other mares did the same.
Emerald eventually broke the silence. "I think we explored everyting, miss Luster."
The unicorn didn't even look up, continuing to write away. "You sure? I thought we still needed one more cast?"
"No, I couldn't see anything more from the side. We should be in the clear now." Emerald said, before emptying her flask.
"Alright, good. Good. Can you start the preparations then, Emerald? I'm almost done here, and it's looking like this batch wasn't useful either, so the plan hasn't changed." Luster said, looking back at the notebook.
The drake wanted to ask what she meant by that, but the other mare had already gotten up and walked over to the bags again, this time opening the 'equipment' bag and starting to empty it, organizing the tools that came out on the ground.
Spike was looking between the two, wondering what was going on, before he remembered what Luster had said to him when she woke up.
"Wait, wait... you're going to actually try it? Try to open the Library? No, wait, how are you even going to do that? I totally forgot to even ask what those translated instructions you found even were!"
Luster closed the notebook, having finished her translations. She stood up and walked towards the outline of the tall door, giving Spike a sidewards glance. "Eh, that can wait, this should take just a moment. Luster, are you ready?"
The pegasus nodded, having already finished her organizing and holding her spear at the ready, standing next to Luster Dawn. Before Spike could say anything else, the unicorn's voice suddenly rang out loud and clear, in a tongue that sounded almost intelligible to him.
Registreer nieuwe gebruiker; Annelies Lambertsen.
Everyone was quiet for a while. Emerald gripped her spear tightly, Luster looked intently at the Library, while Spike was... well, not sure what to do, if anything, so he stayed silent as well.
Then, to the surprise of everyone present, the outline of the door frame started moving downwards. It revealed a lit tunnel gently sloping downwards behind it, a faint tune audible from within its depths, until a voice started ringing out from no discernible source.
Nieuwe gebruiker geregistreerd. Welkom, Annelies. Geniet van uw verblijf. En herinner, we sluiten om seven uur stipt vandaag, dus verlaat gelieve het gebouw voor het aangeduide uur.
Emerald started to shine, elation clear on her face, while Luster audibly let out a breath she had been holding. The two looked at each other and smiled, knowing what they had accomplished.
Spike, meanwhile, was absolutely losing his mind.
Emerald Dawn noticed the expression on Spike's face, and amusedly motioned towards Luster, who turned around as well.
"You heard it, Spike. We're officially welcome inside the Silent Library now, wouldn't you know it?"
Spike couldn't even say anything, taken aback as he was. As he did, that strange voice suddenly rang out again.
Gelieve de doorgang vrij te maken, deze gaat nu automatisch sluiten. Ik herhaal, gelieve the doorgang vrij te maken, deze gaat nu sluiten.
Just a few moments after that, the door that slid down before now suddenly slid upwards, sealing the Library again, as if it never even opened.
Luster nodded, as if understanding something, though Spike could only guess as to what. He still hadn't regained himself enough to speak up.
"It closes at seven o'clock, then. Emerald, what time is it now?" Luster asked, turning back to the pegasus mare, who had put her spear away again by now. Said mare looked skywards again, studying the position of the sun.
"Four o'clock, give or take, miss. If you're right, we should still have about three-ish hours left, I suppose?"
Luster gave an approving nod, before walking over to the drake. "Alright, that's enough of that. I take it you're wondering what just happened?"
Spike suddenly snapped to attention when he was adressed, finally shaking him out of his stupor.
"That's... putting it very lightly, Luster. At least give me a blazing warning before you pull something like... whatever that was!"
Luster shrugged. "Eh, you seem fine now. Here, take a look at this. This is the only part we could translate from the dead language writings on the wall." She pulled the notebook out again, and flipped to a specific page before turning it around and giving it to Spike.
As he took the notebook, he looked at the page and noticed the same weird symbols he saw through the window of light earlier. A bit under it, there was a translation written in Luster's elegant writing style, which was underlined several times. He read it out loud.
"To enter the building, please state your registered name loudly and clearly. If this is your first time visiting, please register with the following command, 'new user, (name here)'?" As he finished, he looked up, right into Luster's eyes, disbelief clear in his face.
"It's... no, that's it? That's... you're telling me that the... I'm sorry, I need to process this, that's..." He said, shaking his head.
"It's practical, at the very least. If you know how, entry is extremely easy to obtain, and considering said 'how' was clearly written on the outer walls if you could understand it, this indicates at the very least that this was once a publicly accessible building. Perhaps even for travellers from far and wide, considering how many times the instruction was repeated in all those dead languages." Luster said.
"I was going to say dumb, but that works too, I suppose." Spike said, not managing to hold his sarcasm back. "And even then, it still worked! It's been here for what, millenia? And the door just, what, worked, after you asked it nicely to? Did no-one ever bother to try that?"
"Well, I don't know if people tried to before, but you're forgetting a small detail here, Spike. I specifically needed to say the entry command in a relevant dead language, which in itself is a small miracle that it even worked, all things considered. Our theories on the Bald Apes and their languages are shaky at best, let alone the pronunciation of one, so I'm, well, very happy we seemed to nail the head on part of it, at least. And as for it actually still running... well, it seemed the Bald Apes knew how to build things to last, in more than one sense of the word. That's all."
Spike suddenly seemed to realize something.
"I... I need to let Twilight know. She's going to be... well, she's going to want to hear about this."
He took out pen and paper from his hipsack, and wanted to write something down, until said paper was suddenly ripped from his grip in a magical glow.
"Actually, if you mind... could you wait with that for a while longer, Spike?" Luster suddenly asked, confusing him.
"What, why? She's going to want to hear of this, no doubt about that. Heck, I'll bet she'll even personally teleport here when she receives my letter, just to congratulate you!" Spike said, not knowing where Luster was going with this.
Luster nodded. "Yeah, I think she will as well... which is kind of the problem, you see." After Spike clearly did not, she continued.
"As happy as I would be for my teacher to come here, it also comes with a caveat. If she were to learn that we found a way in, I have no doubt that she would immediately lock it down and set out to assemble an exploration team to enter, which knowing her could take, well, months at worst."
Spike still wasn't following along.
"So what are you trying to say? Wait, no... Luster, please tell me you don't want to explore it now ?!"
Luster brightened up at that. "Ah, so you do understand, that's good. Well, it'll only be a short, cursory expedition, at best. You heard what that... voice said earlier, right? If I translated it right, it basically said that the library will close in three hours, so we can take at least a quick peek before reporting back. In and out, as it were, that's all. If you want to come along, be my guest, but I'm not going to lose this chance." She finished, determination clear in her eyes.
Spike wanted to object, pointing out how insane this was... until he suddenly recalled Twilight's words from the day before.
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 silently cursed himself for recklessly agreeing with her back then, but recognized a promise when he saw one. Luster clearly wasn't going to back down from this, so he begrudgingly accepted that he didn't really have a choice in the matter, silently wondering if Twilight already anticipated this outcome, if only subconsciously.
"I... fine, I'm coming along. But on the condition that I let someone know what we're doing, who can inform Twilight in case something does go wrong and we don't come back out."
Luster seemed to agree, thankfully. "Fair enough. It's an additional layer of precaution, if nothing else. Did you have someone in mind?"
"Yeah, Starlight Glimmer. If she needs to, she can quickly reach Twilight, and she still owes me a few favors, so she's trustworthy enough. I'll write what transpired here, how we got in, and that she should hold off on telling Twi if she doesn't receive another letter after four more hours. Will that do?"
Luster considered it for a moment, before agreeing. "Alright, go ahead."
Spike retrieved the paper Luster took away, wrote his message down, and then rolled it up before throwing it in the air and incinerating it in his flames, the ashes flying away towards their destination.
After he was done, he looked at Luster again. "Okay, so what now? Do we just go in, just like that?"
Luster shook her head. "No, I still need to recover from casting the window-spell, after all. And we need to be properly equipped before entering, though Emerald's busying herself with that, speak with her for more information. I'm going to lie down for an hour or so, and then we'll enter. Eat, drink, go to the toilet, I don't care, just be ready when we are."
And with that, she once again turned around and walked to her bedding, plopping down with a care in the world, a quiet snoring once again audible.
Spike was almost jealous with how quickly she managed to do that.
Turning to the side, he saw Emerald was busy off to the side, standing back near the tools she took out before the door was opened.
Walking over, he struck up a conversation. "So, that was quite the surprise, huh?"
Emerald looked up, putting down a few sets of what looked like crystal-powered flashlights. "You could say that again, yeah. Well, we were at least expecting it, or more like hoping for it, but yeah, I'm, well, ecstatic that it worked. This is, eh, calling it exceptional would still be doing it a disservice, I feel like. I take it Luster already told you about her plan?"
Spike nodded. "That she wants to enter before informing Twilight, yeah. Which I feel is still incredibly stupid, mind, but I agreed to come along, as she's clearly not going to be swayed by anything I could bring up, so I might as well tag along to make sure that nothing happens to her. She told me about being properly equipped before going in?"
"Right. As you can see, I was doing just that." Emerald said, before grabbing a few different things here and there. "Besides a small supply of food and water and some rope, here's the essentials you're going to want to wear before going in. Best case scenario, we don't end up using any of them, but considering we're about to plunge into one of the most mysterious places left in this world, it doesn't hurt to be at least somewhat prepared for whatever we might find in there."
She started to go over each item, explaining its function and how to securely fasten and wear each.
"First up, oxygen tanks with attached gas mask, and a rebreather just to be sure. We don't know if the inside of the Silent Library was hermetically sealed or not, or if there has been a circulation of fresh air present. If not, these two combined should guarantee any healthy pony about six hours of breathable air, though I remember dragons managing to do even longer with them."
"In addition, there's also this particular Diamond Dog marvel of engineering, a multi-tracker wristband for a variety of gasses, essential for any serious cave explorer. Basically, if any of the needles leave their green zone and an alarm starts to blare, be sure to put your mask up, as the air isn't certain to be breathable. Additionally, because Diamond Dogs never had any magic, this is designed to run on another power source, crystals in this case. One small pure crystal can make it run for well over seven days, so for short exploration sessions there's no fear of it suddenly running out of power. I just swapped the crystals yesterday, by the by, so that's all in order."
"Next is a compass with built-in depth gauge, so you can keep your bearings about you. This comes packaged with a set of crayons, in case you get lost and want to mark the path you've taken, to avoid running in circles. You'll also need to carry a first-aid kit, because if you do get lost and then get hurt, you'll at least have a chance to patch yourself up before continuing on."
"And lastly, there's the trusty flashlight, powered by crystals as well. Take a set of three, just in case one breaks while we're inside. And that's... about it, I guess. Luster and I are also going to carry climbing gear, in case we encounter any spaces that are too cramped for me to fly in, but I take it that isn't going to be a problem for a dragon like you?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, claws are much better suited for that than hooves. Okay, that's everything then. I was going to ask why Luster even brought three or more sets of all those things if it was just going to be the two of you here, but I realized that this is Luster we're talking about, and that she just brought along a spare of everyting just in case. I suppose we now just wait until Luster wakes up again?"
"Mmh, you're right about Luster always being prepared. And I suppose so, yes, we just have to wait for the time being. If you want, we can just talk until then."
Spike agreed, and sat down, Emerald following along. As they fell into a relaxed rhythm, time flew by.
After an hour, Luster woke up, and walked over to the pair. Talking a bit more amongst themselves, they each started to gear up, afterwards walking over to the entrance of the Silent Library.
Sharing one last look between them, they all nodded, and Luster spoke the words again to open the door. It opened, the voice spoke again, and the way forward was clear, a faint tune becoming audible once again at the far end of a well-lit passageway. Though they were all anxious, some more than others, they all continued on all the same, already well aware that they were writing history.
Spike went in first, his dragon eyes seeing the clearest of them all, and his dragon body being more resistant to damage than the others should they trigger some kind of trap ahead, as unlikely as it was. Emerald Streak followed, spear at the ready to defend her friend, her dark-purple armor gleaming under the exploration equipment. Luster Dawn closed the small column, intently studying her surroundings.
Not even a few steps after entering though, Luster suddenly froze. Emerald noticed, and turned around.
"Miss? Is there a problem?" She asked.
"No, that can't be... Emerald, Spike, wait here, I'll be right back." Luster said, and ran outside again. Spike and Emerald looked at each other, confused.
"What happened?" Spike asked. Emerald shook her head, before turning around to look in the direction Luster herself was looking in, before noticing something peculiar.
"Oh, down here. On the wall, it seems to be some kind of writing? Scribbled, though, as if it wasn't planned to be written here? If it's dead language writing, it isn't similar to anything I've transcribed from the outer wall, that I'm sure of."
Spike got closer as well, and when he took a closer look, his heart almost skipped a beat. "Wait, I... I think I recognize those symbols. Some of the books in Twilight's study have covers with text similar to these symbols, I think she called it-"
"Proto-Equestrian, no doubt about it." Luster finished for Spike, surprising the other two. When they turned, they saw the unicorn approaching with a thick book levitating besides her, one she was quickly paging through.
"Proto..." Emerald began, but Luster quickly cut her off, stopping before the scribble on the wall. "Proto-Equestrian, the language used by the pony tribes in the early days when Equestria was formed, when each tribe still had an unique language specific to them and a unified language was needed. It went extinct well before your own period of historical interest, Emerald, so it's not too surprising you hadn't heard of it. Actually, outside of a few people at the university, some librarians, and the Princess of course, I don't think anyone currently alive knows about it, as it relatively quickly evolved almost unrecognizably shortly after being adopted, eventually leading to the Equestrian we're using at the moment. Good thing I brought an old treatise on it on the trip, though I only intended to read it when I had some free time. This is... unexpected, to say the least."
Spike scratched his head. "In the early... wait, no, that doesn't make sense. This Silent Vault was uncovered after Starfall impacted here and unearthed the entrance, Emerald mentioned that just earlier. But that was just a few centuries ago, while Equestria itself is thousands of years older than that, right?"
Luster nodded. "And even if someone decided to write this down sometime between Starfall and the present day, in a language no-one had used for millennia, that would still imply that the Silent Library had actually been opened in Equestria's history. As there has been no mention of it in any record that currently exists, as far as anyone else knows, this in itself is something of a conundrum, considering how huge such an event would have been whenever it supposedly happened."
Emerald Streak had a hard time keeping up, not noticing how tight she was gripping her spear. "So, this means... what, precisely?"
Luster kept paging through the book, occasionally looking at the wall and back, and shook her head. "Not a lot we can know for certain, for now. There's a lot of things we can assume from this, but many conflict with each other, so it wouldn't do us any good to unnecessarily brood over them when we could explore further instead. The few things we do know for sure is that someone that knew Proto-Equestrian somehow entered the Silent Library and decided to write this message here, where it was preserved until we came in. Well, that, and the contents of the message itself, of course, which I'm almost done translating. Just one more... word...?"
Luster closed the book, looking unsure at what she just said as she frowned, before the glow surrounding the book suddenly dissipated, dropping the book entirely.
"Luster? What does it say?" Emerald asked, troubled by Luster's reaction. Spike wasn't sure he could handle the stress either. Luster meanwhile could only shrug her shoulders, dumbfounded as she was by the answer, before speaking up.
"The lie must live?"
Author's Note
The name used in the text was created through a random name generator. If this is a real name, then this is purely a coincidence.
Furthermore, If this is in fact your name or someone you know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, pinky promise.
No-one was sure what to say, until Luster suddenly stomped her hoof down.
"It would seem that whoever wrote this down had a very twisted sense of humour indeed." She said, visibly annoyed. "It clearly was written down so ponies could see it, but even if you can read it it doesn't even say anything useful, just this cryptic nonsense? Then what's the point? If it's a warning, then it sure as hell is failing to do even that, Celestia-dammit."
She clacked her tongue, before turning away. The others were still quiet.
"Bah, whatever, I'll keep it in mind, if it somehow does come up. Both of you, stay on your guard, we can't waste time now."
Emerald and Spike shared a look of understanding. Even if Luster didn't show it, she was just as on edge as the two of them were, so encountering yet another mystery wasn't helping anyone.
The pegasus bowed down, picking up the book Luster had dropped. "Here, miss, you dropped this. It wouldn't do to already be littering in this place, I would assume." She said, trying to lighten the mood.
The unicorn looked at the green mare, frustration replaced by confusion. "I... dropped it? Wasn't I levitating it?"
Emerald didn't know how to reply, so she just gave the book. Luster took it, placing it in her sack. "That's weird. Well, I'll bring this along, just in case we find any more scribbles. Let's move."
And with that, the group continued again. None of their wristwatches started to blare, signifying that the air inside was in fact breathable. Still, as Luster had instructed, their masks were at the ready, just in case.
As they walked, they noticed that the downwards sloped hallway started to curve, eventually settling into a spiral. The tune had gradually been growing louder and louder, until they eventually and to their surprise recognized that it was some form of music that had been playing.
"This... is this Bald Ape music? It doesn't sound all that different from a normal orchestra, doesn't it?" Emerald spoke up, straining her ears.
Luster nodded behind her. "Not that that's much of a surprise, all in all. From some of the records historians managed to translate regarding Bald Apes, we already knew that they were extremely varied in their arts, including producing sounds through instruments. Of course, just like the voice we heard earlier, we could assume that this too is a recording that plays if someone is in the building. Think of it like background music, like the ones you hear in large malls. Or well, it's probably precisely that."
Emerald understood, before speaking up. "Miss, if you want, I can fly ahead to see how much longer this spiral goes on?"
Luster mumbled in approval, and before Spike could object that they shouldn't split up, Emerald already took off... before immediately crashing down.
"Emerald, are you alright?" Luster called out, quickly running over and helping her up. Spike wasn't sure what just happened.
"I... I think so, miss. My... apologies, but I don't know what... this has never happened before." Emerald eventually said, still a bit dazed. "I tried to fly, and I did... until I didn't?"
Luster thought for a moment, before closing her eyes. Her horn started to glow brightly, before the glow suddenly fizzled out, and she opened her eyes again.
"That's... going to be a problem." She said, taking out a first-aid kit to start treating the scrapes on Emerald's front legs. The pegasus hissed as the antiseptic was applied, but kept quiet. Her armor seems to have protected her from the brunt of the impact.
Spike didn't follow. "Wait, what is? Do you know what happened, Luster?"
Luster nodded, before looking at Spike. "I'm sorry for the sudden request, but could you send a letter, right now?"
The drake was taken aback, but complied all the same, taking out pen and paper again. "Sure, I guess. Who to?"
The unicorn shook her head. "No, just leave it blank. And send it to me, please. Just so we can be sure about this."
Spike frowned at this, but did as he was told. Throwing the paper up, he let out a belch of flame again, incinerating the paper. The ashes floated down.
Luster nodded. "Right, that clears it up then. The flame came out, but the paper was just burned, instead of reforming as a letter."
She finished treating Emerald, and put the first aid kit away again, before speaking up again.
"Our magic is being blocked. I can't cast spells, Emerald can't fly, you can't send a letter, those are all things enabled through magic, and we apparently can't do them anymore. Keep it in mind as we continue." She said, and the others understood.
"Any idea what causes it? I thought these walls blocked all magic as well, so there can't be a source of anti-magic in here as that would have been blocked as well, right?" Spike wondered aloud, being reminded of his adventure in the changeling hive a few decades ago. After a bit more thought, he was also reminded of the story Emerald had told him before, of supposed clouds of anti-magic occupying the vales after Starfall, and shuddered.
Luster pondered for a bit. "I'm not sure, but I know that it's definitively not anti-magic. Like I said, our magic is being blocked, rather than being prevented, as small as the difference may seem. If it was the latter, then I wouldn't even have been able to generate a glow on my horn earlier, you see."
She considered it a bit further. "Could it be the music? The theories for it exist, but it was never reliably proven. And would that mean that the Bald Apes sought to prevent to use of magic here? But then... " She started to trail of, mumbling to herself, until Spike cleared his throat.
"Okay, we know that magic's out now, shall we head back now? I'm not even sure if our equipment is going to be reliable anymore." Spike said, not wanting to lose Luster already.
Luster snapped to attention. "No, no, we can still go on. All of our gear is designed to not use any magic, so that's not going to be an issue. Emerald, can you walk?"
The pegasus nodded, getting up again. "Yeah, I'm fine, the fall wasn't that bad. My gear seems to be fine as well. Let's go."
Spike sighed, having hoped that Luster would have changed his mind, but turned around and continued, the others falling in step.
Shortly thereafter, the passageway ended into another doorway, and the sight behind it was almost breathtaking.
Stepping through, the party was amazed at what they saw.
"It's... " Spike began, but went silent. Emerald picked in.
"A library. It really is a library!"
As far as they could see, the huge, well-lit room they had entered was filled to the brim with shelves and stands that nearly reached the ceiling, each one overflowing with books and papers of all shapes, sizes and colours. And said ceiling was beyond tall, an estimation of forty steps probably from ground to top probably not even doing it justice, while they could only barely make out the far walls of the room.
If Spike had to guess, the numbers of books in here could range well into the millions, as he had never seen such a high density of them before. Twilight would probably faint on the spot if she were to see this, he could vividly imagine.
Walking forward, he wanted to reach out and take one of the books, before Luster quickly stopped him.
"Don't, Spike. Don't touch, well, anything."
Spike looked confused, as he thought Luster would have been jumping with joy to explore, until she explained.
"These books have been here for who knows how many millennia. Without the proper procedures, or even just without any magic at all, I don't want to risk anything turning into dust just by touching it, or something worse still. We're just here to look, for now."
Spike had to comply with that logic, remember how careful Twilight was whenever she handled a book even a century old.
"You're right, I guess. So what do we do then?" Spike asked, looking around.
"Look around, try to map out the area. See if you can find any more doors or the like, as well as anything that's unusual." She stopped, before correcting herself. "Well, more unusual than the literal ocean of literature that's staring us in the face, I suppose. Emerald, can you go left? Spike, you can go right, and I'll go down the middle. Shout out if you find something, don't try to explore it on your own. And if not, then we'll regroup once we've reached the far wall."
The others nodded, and the group spread out.
As Spike went along the right wall, he quickly lost sight of the others, the sea of books blocking his vision of them. He still couldn't quite believe it, looking around in amazement, as he walked on. So many books, all of them presumably as old as the bald apes themselves? It's a damn miracle that this place even exists. He realized that he couldn't even comprehend the scale of this discovery, and was quite eager to see how Equestria would react to... well, all of this.
Lost in thought, simply enjoying the sights, he made it about halfway into the large hall until he heard a voice call out to his left.
"Luster, Spike! Come here, you'll want to see this!"
Emerald Streak found something? Weaving his way between the various stands and shelves, he eventually found the place Emerald shouted from. Luster was already there, crouching over a...
As soon as he realized what he was looking at, did Spike lurch forward, a burning sensation in his throat almost causing him to vomit. He didn't, in the end, for which he was grateful, but he instead had to take a knee, panting heavily.
He suddenly felt a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to look up in shock, only to find Emerald standing there, looking at him with troubled eyes.
"It's okay, Spike. There, there, everything's okay. They have been lying here for a while, from the looks of it, so they aren't a threat."
That wasn't the issue here, Spike almost wanted to snap, but he forced himself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up.
"I'm not an archaeologist, you know? I... I've never seen something like, well, like that before." He said, pointing towards where Luster was kneeling down... and the grim skeleton lying besides her. Actually, now that he could focus for a bit, Spike noticed that it wasn't just the one skeleton. There was a whole group of them lying around, some against the wall, others scattered between the shelves, one lying halfway in a doorway Spike hadn't seen before, but all very much very dead.
"This is a library, dammit, not a graveyard! Or, well, at least I thought it was. Guess I didn't get the memo, huh?" He said, not without a tone of anger to his voice.
Emerald shook her head, slightly blushing. "You're right, Spike, I didn't think about... well, me and Luster have had a lot of experience with digging up such things, yet I didn't stop to consider how this would impact you as well. That's my fault, and I apologize for it. I should have warned you in advance."
Spike shook his head, breathing in and out a few more times. "It's... fine, now, I guess. So, what's up with the bone circus over there?" He said, trying to lighten the mood, if only for himself.
Emerald looked at Luster, who had been pacing between the various skeletons now, until she made her way back.
"Curious. Very curious indeed. Did you see the fractures as well, Emerald, even on the back of their skulls?" She asked, looking at the pegasus, who nodded. "Then I guess it's clear what happened to them. As for the why and when, I can't know for sure of course... oh, Spike, are you alright? You seem like you've seen a ghost?"
Emerald let a small laugh out, though Spike himself didn't find it particularly funny, though he realized that Luster wasn't being malicious with her remark. "Mind initiating the one person here still recovering from seeing a dead person for the first time in his life? Heck, I don't even know if they are Bald Apes or not!"
Luster looked at the skeletons again, nodding to herself. "Well, for a start, they aren't Bald Apes, though it would have been nice if they were. No, they are, well, various races you can find today. A few ponies, a pair of gryphons, even a minotaur. My best guess is that they were responsible for that message back at the entrance, as my initial estimations would put them at around the time Equestria was formed, judging from what's left of their clothes and overall decay. As for how they died, it isn't... particularly pretty."
Emerald chimed in, perhaps not wanting to be left out. "They all sustained heavy fractures on their overall skeleton frames, as if they endured an extremely heavy blow, which would have instantly incapacitated them. Additionally, they all have a smaller fracture near the base of their skull, just above their neck, where the spinal nerve of most know species runs. If that was damaged, they would have been instantly and fully paralyzed from the neck up, eventually leading to their deaths as they couldn't control their breathing anymore, even subconsiously. As Luster put it, it wouldn't have been a pretty way to go."
Spike frowned, not wanting to recognize the thought, but saying it all the same. "They were... what, murdered, then? And in a pretty gruesome way at that?"
Luster nodded. "That's what I conclude, yes. Furthermore, studying the positions of the skeletons, it seems like they were all... well, running away from a single point. The door frame, over there, with the pony skeleton halfway across it? Every single one of them is turned away from that, pointing to the possibility. Still, if they did do so, then they didn't get far. Whatever did them in, it was fast, and they probably didn't even stand a chance, as their magic too was presumably blocked."
As she finished, she turned around, walking around the skeletons and towards said doorframe.
Spike finally snapped at this, anger flaring up, and he called out to Luster. "Oh come on, don't tell me you want to explore even further now!"
Luster turned around, cocking her head. "Of course I do. If there's something in there that interested them, then I want to see if I can find out what. This is an exploratory expedition, after all, what else would be doing? Emerald, are you coming? Spike, if you don't want to, you can stay outside." She turned around again, not even waiting for an answer.
Emerald gave a sheepish smile, and started to followed. "Something killed them, yes, but that also happened at least centuries ago Spike. Whatever it was that got those people killed, it shouldn't be there anymore, as only alicorns are known to live that long. Sorry, but I'm going to follow Luster now. Can't let her out of my sight, after all."
She finished with a wink, clearly alluding to what she had confided to him earlier. Spike in turn sighed, clearly not happy with how things are turning around, and cursed himself yet again for promising Twilight to look out for Luster.
And so he followed along, giving as much berth as he could around each skeleton, into the darker lit room.
As they entered the room, after making sure to not disturb the skeleton in the doorway, did Spike suddenly freeze, transfixed on an item to the side. Walking over, he couldn't help but whistle, catching the attention of the other two.
Luster spoke up first. "Did you notice something, Spike?"
The drake shrugged his shoulders, still in disbelief. He also quickly realized that this day was starting to get filled with such occurances, but put the thought aside.
"More like recognize. Is this what I think it is?" He took a closer look, turning the device around. Luster tried to stop him, but Spike spoke up before she could.
"No touching, yeah, but trust me. You're going to want to see this, if the Bald Apes really were so good at building their stuff to last."
After finally finding what he was looking for, he suddenly pressed in on the device, a soft click suddenly resounding through the room. Shortly thereafter, a kind of whirring was audible, and a vertical rectangle next to the device lit up, surprising the mares. Spike softly whistled.
"Well, what do you know? The Bald Apes had computers as well." He looked triumphantly at the confused pair, happy to forget about the skeletons lying outside for a while, starting to explain.
"It's a device me and Twilight encountered in the other world, beyond the crystal mirror, way back, before the pathways were cut off. I guess the easiest way of putting it is, eh... it's like a sort of storage device, that compresses information incredibly efficiently. Like, imagine a book, with each letter in that book being a book itself, and each letter in that book also being a book, and so on... All those books we saw outside? Yeah, I guess you could find the contents of every single one of them inside this device as well, just like it was in the other world."
Emerald was at a loss for words. Luster, meanwhile, seemed to be following along. "I don't think I ever even heard about such a device before, outside of extremely vague descriptions in recovered dead language writings. You're telling me the Princess already had knowledge of things like this?" She asked.
Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Twilight tried to replicate it in our world, of course, but it required a very specific sort of power that either didn't exist in our world, or hadn't been explored and studied, as we instead had magic to satisfy our needs. She failed, and any knowledge about it was eventually laid to the side, forgotten amongst everything else Twilight was doing at the time, if I remember correctly."
Emerald eventually spoke up as well. "Then, do you know how to use it, sir Spike? If this does contain what you said it did, it would massively simplify the process and going through all those books outside, which in and of itself could be as huge as our discovery on how to get in, honestly."
"If Luster can translate, I think I can? The buttons are too small to be used by hooves, after all, but not too small for my claws."
Luster nodded, and stood next to the drake, peering at the screen.
"I think it's asking for a user name?" She looked down at the symbols on the keyboard before her, even if she didn't know it was called as such, and directed Spike to which keys he needed to press.
As he did, the same symbols started to fill up on the screen, spelling out the name Luster had used to enter the Silent Library. After hitting the confirmation key, the symbols changed again.
Welkom, Annelies. Gelieve een zoekterm in te geven.
Pausing for a moment, she directed Spike again, and a word was entered. Another press of the confirmation key, and a figure of an hourglass appeared, occasionally turning around. Luster explained. "It's a word that came up time and time again in dead language writings, though the descriptions tied to it varied immensely. So this is just to see how much this device has in store for us."
The screen changed again, a list of titles, names, dates and other miscellaneous information starting to fill the screen.
Zoekterm: Automaat. Ongeveer 52.000 referenties gevonden.
"Incredible." Luster softly whispered, and asked Spike if he could open one of them. He did, and the screen was filled with dead language writing, interspersed with strange diagrams here and there. Luster almost couldn't believe her eyes.
She asked if she could see a few more, and Spike followed along, multiple windows being opened one after another. This continued on for a quite a while, until an image popped up that gave them all pause. Even Luster was shaken by what she was seeing.
Emerald eventually found the courage to speak up. "Is that... are those... but that can't be, right? They aren't that old, surely? Please, please tell me this is a joke?"
Spike shrugged his shoulders, too stunned to even reply, while Luster was reading the text underneath it.
She audibly mumbled to herself. "... no, it's not their names, those are... designations?"
"Well done, little ponies. And dragon, of course. You've truly made me proud, all of you." A voice suddenly rang out from behind them, making them all jump. As they turned around, they saw an exact copy of what was currently being shown on the screen.
Celestia and Luna were standing there, just before the door opening, almost blocking it. The white alicorn had a great smile on her, while the black alicorn was looking intently at the trio before them, a neutral expression on her face.
Emerald Streak and Spike were too shocked to even comprehend what was happening, as Luster suddenly started to laugh.
"So, it's like that then, is it? 'The lie must live' indeed. Well, I suppose that clears a lot of things up." She said, looking towards to two princesses, though they preferred to not be called as such anymore. Twilight was the ruler now, as they had said multiple times in the past, and their time had passed, instead preferring to travel around the world as tourists.
"Celestia, Luna... or should I perhaps call you Celestial and Lunar, as this document here seems wont to do?"
The expressions on either alicorn didn't change, as Celestia spoke again.
"Truly, to think another would come this far. Luster Dawn, you are without doubt exceptional beyond measure. Twilight is fortunate indeed to have found a student like you."
Noticing the looks both pegasus and dragon were giving here, Luster decided to explain further. "It all makes a lot of sense, if you think about it a bit further. We were looking at the automaton section, which as it turns out described artificial beings that can work on their own, some even with complete intelligence and authority over their own actions. And then that image popped up, with those names under it. Do you see it now, both of you?"
Spike didn't want to consider it, dreading the answer.
"They... aren't ponies?" Emerald said, not quite believing her own words.
Luster nodded. " 'The lie must live', remember? As it turns out... this is what it was referring to."
Spike shook his head, still trying but failing to wrap his head around it.
"No, I don't understand... I mean, even if they are these, what automatons or the like, why would they need to pose as..."
"Order." Luna suddenly spoke up, catching the attention of the trio, though Luster already seemed to know where she was going to go.
"That was what we were built for, as is outlined in that document. If, in the circumstance that our creators disappeared, me and Celestia, or Lunar and Celestial if you prefer to call us, were tasked with rebuilding a new land, a new people, to stem the inevitable conflict that would arise between the other intelligent species that were co-existing with our creators, and were now warring between themselves in order to claim the technologies of our creators for themselves."
She paused for a moment, looking between each of the three ponies and dragon.
"Our creators did not want to see the world go up in flames, even if they themselves were not present anymore, and so we were given power. The power to cultivate, the power to teach, the power to build, the power to lead... and the power to destroy, if it was necessary. And so we did. We cultivated intelligence in a then yet unintelligent species, we taught them how to live, we build them a home, we led them until we were certain they could lead themselves, all the while destroying any threat along the way. As a result, the world is not in flames, as Equestria is acting as a mediator between the various races, due to its overwhelming military and diplomatic might. In short, we fulfilled what we were set out to do."
Luster spoke up. "Which wouldn't have been possible if word ever got out that you weren't one of them, of us, right? Again, the 'lie' had to 'live', as Equestria would been collapsed in on itself if ponies learned that their leaders weren't even ponies."
The dark alicorn nodded. "Then you also understand what we want to ask of you now?"
Before the other two could speak up, did Luster nod. "I do. But I neither consent nor reject your offer, just yet. Instead, I would ask you to consider a third option. Erase all mentions of your construction and purpose from these archives, as well as anything that could endanger the world, but keep the rest intact. We ourselves will not tell a single soul about the information you have removed. Does this sound agreeable? You have fulfilled your purpose, after all, do you not believe that princess Twilight can decide for herself what she should do with the remaining information stored in here?"
Celestia somehow looked suprised at that, though the smile quickly came back. She shared a look with Luna, who after a moment only nodded.
"This... is agreeable. Very well, we consent, Luster Dawn. Again, I have to say, you are truly one of a kind. Now, if you would, could you please leave and return to Vanhoover? I think someone is waiting for you there."
Luster Dawn nodded, and started to move. Noticing that the other two were still standing still, confused as all heck yet again about what just transpired, she called out to them.
"Emerald, Spike, we're leaving. Now ." That seemed to do the trick, as they started to move, still dazed.
Once again taking care to not step on the skeletons in the doorframe and outside, they followed Luster, who was heading for the doorway they had come in.
As they were making their way back through the spiral staircase, did Spike finally speak. "What in the hay just happened in there?"
Luster glanced back at him, slightly shivering. "We lived, that's what happened. Honestly, for a second there I really thought they were going to reject it."
Emerald spoke up as well, realization finally starting to settle in after considering everything she had been through. "You mean, those skeletons we found were..."
"Yeah, that was probably Celestia's and Luna's doing."
Spike's vision started to swim again, while Luster continued. "Essentially, they were going to give us a choice, just as I presume they had given those poor sods lying down there. Whoever uncovers the 'truth' about Celestia and Luna, was from that point considered a 'threat', as they could very well topple all of Equestria, like Luna explained, so they were given a choice. Shut up about it, never tell anyone what you found, and leave the Silent Library sealed yet again so no further explorers could discover the same. Or... well, I already explained what I assumed happened to the skeletons. Luna and Celestia had the power to destroy, and not just on a large scale. It seems like those skeletons chose the latter option, probably not believing that Celestia and Luna were serious. Until they did make it clear that they were serious, and why they were all found turned away from the doorway. We'll probably never know how they opened the Library on their own, sadly enough. Still, as uninviting as the second option was, I would have never taken the first one either, as I simply couldn't throw away everything we accomplished. So, we lived. And we can inform anyone we want of what we found, not including the 'lie'."
Spike spoke up again just as they were nearing the entrance. "No, wait, that doesn't explain how you knew there would be a choice in the first place? What stopped Celestia and Luna from outright killing us in the first place, if it's so important? I mean, I know I'll definitely not ever tell anyone else now after all that, but that doesn't mean that they could trust us, right?"
Luster shook her head, pointing at the wall again right before they stepped outside, the symbols scribbled on it a lot more meaningful now.
"Well, because they have done so before, of course. Who else do you think wrote these words on the wall here if that wasn't the case?"