//------------------------------// // Chapter Six // Story: Myth Chaser and the Secret of Starswirl // by Myth Chaser //------------------------------// Second entry: Your mother and I are currently at the Canterlot library. As I'm writing this, Pen is writing a letter to send back home to you two. I'm sure you already know what letter that is. You're going to read it before we get back home anyways. She's telling you about how we found what we're looking for and we want Snapshot to have a camera ready to bring along, because we've found just what we're looking for. I told her to purposely leave out details in it so we can explain everything ourselves. Sorry about that, Myth Chaser. I bet you're dying to know what we know. You'll have to wait until we get back. It took a full day of searching through the Starswirl wing, but we finally found something that mentions what we were looking for. We found a book with some blueprints for some enchanted items Starswirl created. Inside is a blueprint of the artifact. The one that I sent you two to go get from the forest. You must be dying to know what it is. Like I said, we'll explain everything when we meet back up with you two at home. I also want to get the information written down here too, in case we need to check back on something later. The blueprint of the artifact seems to confirm what I'd been suspecting. The artifact is a combination lock. A lot like one you'd find on a locker. The symbols around it acting in place of the numbers. Inside the dial, where the needle comes out, is some kind of gemstone. From what we can tell, it looks like that dial won't turn unless a certain spell activates the magic within that gem. We might need Winter or Star, or some other unicorn for this, so hopefully they'll be willing to come help out with that part when we need it. Maybe Page, since she reads a lot of books, and might know some of Starswirl's spells. Anyways, we don't know what the symbols on the artifact stand for. We can't find any translation here. But we do know where a translator might be. Starswirl's own journal. There's been some talk around Canterlot that his journal is being put up for display in the Museum of Magic in Manehattan. An addition to the Starswirl exhibit. We need to get into that museum and hopefully find a way to get some access to that journal. If anything has the translations for Starswirl's runic language, it would be that journal. I'm even willing to bet he'd provide coordinates to the secret meeting ground he shared with Princess Luna. That's about all we know for now. That artifact you two went to get is a lock, it has a gemstone inside the dial that requires a specific spell in order to be used, and the translation of the symbols is most likely in Starswirl's journal, along with the correct combination needed. This all has me even more curious, though. Sure, Starswirl and Princess Luna have a secret, and it's linked to this secret area they always sneak off to, but why is there a magical lock? If this location is such a secret, nopony would know where to look anyways. Why keep it locked up? What were they keeping out? Or, what gets me more excited... What were they keeping in? Do Luna and Starswirl have something they're keeping hidden away in this place? The thought has me so giddy, I hardly even want to keep writing in this journal, because I just want to keep moving and get there as soon as I can. You guys probably saw how excited I am in the picture your mother is sending with her letter. I can only imagine how excited you two will be. We're going to be staying here in Canterlot for a couple of days. There's some new museum exhibit being put up that caught my eye and I want to check it out while we're here. Nothing to do with what we're looking for. I'm just interested. Once we're done, we'll be heading home right away. We want you two with us for the rest of this adventure. This is exciting, isn't it? Myth finished reading the new journal page aloud, and paused for a moment, thinking over what he'd just read. He looked over to Snapshot, still laying in her hospital bed. “He didn't mention anything about that zebra, or either of her goons,” Snapshot pointed out, confused. “And the zebra said that mom and dad found out what they were up to, and they learned too much... That's what got them killed. Why didn't he say anything about them?” “Well he did say he was writing it from Canterlot library,” Myth explained. “I guess this was before they ran into each other. Maybe he was going to write all about that on the train, but... never got the chance.” Snapshot sighed and lay her head back on the pillow. There was a short moment of silence as they thought about that. There could have been a third page for the journal, if the train had gotten just a little farther. Any information about this zebra and her crew would've helped out right about now. “Still want to take this information to the police?” Jewel asked, reminding him of their talk earlier. She still sat beside him. “Or even to the Princesses?” Myth paused for a moment to think that over. He had been willing to tell the police or Luna about the zebra, and explain everything about the group trying to find out her secret with Starswirl. But the fact that the zebra herself was responsible for their parents' deaths made his heart pound. She'd made this personal. They killed his parents. They hurt his sister. He shook his head in reply. “No.” Jewel and Snapshot exchanged surprised glances and looked back to him. “I know we probably should. It would make things so much easier if Luna took things into her own hooves, but...” He sighed. “I know it sounds selfish, but I really want to know what this big secret is. If they're willing to kill just to get the artifact back, it must be something big. Right?” “Are you crazy?” Snapshot asked. “They killed all the innocent ponies on that train just because their secret got out to two ponies. If they're up to something so big it makes that mass murder a 'small price to pay' then we have to tell the Princesses. They could be up to something that threatens all of Equestria. And you want to avoid telling them just to find out Starswirl and Luna's secret?” “I know it sounds stupid and selfish of me,” Myth admitted. “But I have to know. Whoever this zebra is, she made it personal by targeting our parents, and hurting you. I want to screw them over. I want to ruin everything they've working for.” “I can understand that,” Jewel agreed, looking down at the journal page in her hooves. “If it was my parents on that train, I'd have wanted to ruin the zebra's work too.” “Yeah. I wanted Snapshot back unharmed, and in return they could have the lock. But...” Myth looked over to his sister, laying in the hospital bed with a broken wing wrapped in a cast. “They didn't keep their end of the deal. Why should we keep ours by letting them have the lock?” Jewel smiled at him. The two ponies looked over to Snapshot, staring at them like they were both insane. She really wanted to take their information to the Princesses and let them deal with everything themselves. An entire train of ponies was murdered and the zebra just shrugged it off like it was nothing compared to what they'd eventually do... This made her think that all of Equestria was in trouble. But her brother and their new friend both seemed to want to deal with it on their own. She sighed. “Fine. I think you two are insane for wanting to do this on our own, but... I guess I agree. I want to ruin things for them too...” she admitted. “But if things get out of control-” “If things get out of our control,” Myth interrupted, “I promise we'll head straight to the Princesses and tell them everything straight away.” Snapshot smiled, comforted by the thought that her brother was willing to inform Luna and Celestia if they had to. “So what next? It's not like we have a way to find them.” “Actually...” Jewel cut in, holding up the journal page with a smile. “We do.” “How?” Myth asked, confused as she held up the page. “He didn't mention them or give a map to anywhere or-” “The artifact is a combination lock,” Jewel interrupted him, rereading a small portion of the journal. “A lot like a lock you'd find on a locker. The symbols around it acting in place of the numbers. Inside the dial, where the needle comes out, is some kind of gemstone.” She then smiled, looking up at Myth and Snapshot, who both stared at her in confusion. They were waiting for her to continue. “It's right there,” Jewel said, gesturing to the page. “There's a gem inside the artifact.” “Am I missing something?” Snapshot asked, looking over to her brother. Myth stayed silent for a second, just as confused as his sister, until he realized what Jewel was thinking and he began to smile a bit. “You really think you can do it?” he asked her. Jewel's grin widened and she nodded. “I think so.” “Would either of you care to clue me in on what you're talking about?” Snapshot asked impatiently. “I can find the lock,” Jewel told her. “Your dad says there's a gem inside the dial. That on its own is enough for me to start looking for it.” “And why's that?” Snapshot asked, still lost. “I'm a jeweler, remember? It's my business to find stuff like that all the time. I'm so accustomed to it, I sometimes detect them without even trying.” She then nodded her head to Myth's bag as an example. “Like the emerald Myth has in his bag.” Snapshot looked over to Myth. “You have an emerald?” Myth shifted his gaze to Jewel and whispered to her. “That was supposed to be a surprise...” “Really?” Jewel asked. “How come?” “Why didn't you tell me you had an emerald, Myth?” Snapshot asked. “You know how much I love them.” Myth sighed and walked over to his bag, pulling out the emerald. It was fairly small. He held it up to his sister. “I wanted to save it and get it cut down to a necklace for your birthday. You can have it now though, if you want.” “Aww...” Snapshot smiled softly, and gave it back to him. “If that's the case, you keep it for now. I'd love a necklace with an emerald.” “Sorry for ruining the surprise...” Jewel said, regretting bringing it up in the first place. “But, back to what we were talking about. If I'm actually trying, I can find a gem anywhere in the city.” “There's got to be tons of jewelry all over Manehattan, though,” Myth pointed out. “How are you so confident you can find the one specific gem in the lock?” That was a good point... She was good at finding gems, but there were so many ponies in Manehattan, with all kinds of jewelry, it could be hard to locate the right one. “What about Starswirl's magic print?” Snapshot asked. “If that gem was filled with Starswirl's magic all the time, the print on it has to be a lot stronger than what Star felt on the outside of the artifact. Maybe if you search for jewelry and a powerful magic, you'd lock right on to it.” Myth smiled widely. Star Shimmer had explained this before. Unicorns could detect a magical print left by another unicorn, even more easily when left by one as powerful as Starswirl himself. Star had detected it on the artifact when they let her inspect it. But if the real abundance of magic was on the gem hidden inside, then what Star felt was just the tip of the iceberg. Jewel would find it no problem. He looked to Jewel for a response. “That's a great idea,” Jewel said. “I'd need a good vantage point, though. Somewhere with a good view of the whole city.” “Like the roof of this hospital?” Myth suggested. Myth let the door shut behind him as he followed Jewel outside onto the rooftop. Their movement activated the motion sensors, turning on the rooftop lamps. To their surprise, there were a few tables and chairs up here. Probably for ponies to get some fresh air, or have some lunch. It was late at night, bringing a bit of a chilly breeze to the two ponies that were there now. Myth smiled at the feeling. H always liked the cold more than warmth. The unicorn walked over to the edge of the roof, looking out to the city. Her mane waved a little in the cool wind and she just smiled. The lights of the city looked so pretty to her. Almost like jewels sparkling in the night. “Whoa,” Myth said, joining her at the edge. He hadn't expected such a big, busy city to look so beautiful at night, but there were so many lights. Multiple colors shining in the night. A look outward to the coast showed the lights reflecting in the ocean water. “I've never seen a view like this before,” Jewel admitted. “You live here. How could you not?” Myth asked her, unable to shift his gaze away from the city lights. “The view from my apartment looks out to Central Park. It's mostly darkness. Plus my store is street level.” There was a moment of silence after that answer. The two ponies stood together at the edge of the rooftop looking out at the multicolored city lights, enjoying the sight. Myth couldn't remember a time he'd had this sort of view. For him it was usually the starry sky. Jewel's horn began to glow a faint blue and she closed her eyes to focus as she began searching. As her magic reached out across the city, she detected jewelry all over, magic prints left behind on most things. She just had to keep looking and hope she'd eventually come across a gem with such a powerful magic it would be obvious that it was Starswirl's. “Jewel?” Myth spoke up. She looked over to him, though her horn continued glowing as she searched. “Thanks for all the help. We'd be lost without you,” he said, looking over at her and giving her a small smile. “You're just saying that,” she replied. “I'm not. Without you we never would've known about Starswirl's journal being on display at the museum. We wouldn't have come to Manehattan... We'd still be in Canterlot searching for information we'd probably never find.” “You two are smart. You would have thought of something,” Jewel assured him. “And coming with me to get my sister back,” Myth added. “You really didn't have to come.” “I wanted to,” she reminded him. “I wanted your sister back safe and sound just as much as you did. I don't want anything terrible happening to either of you.” Myth smiled at that. “Thank you, Jewel.” Jewel smiled softly. “You're welcome.” The two caught each others' gaze. Myth staring into Jewel's blue eyes as she stared back into his own brown ones. Neither knew what the other was thinking or feeling in this moment, but they each felt their own heart pounding in their chest. Jewel broke eye contact, looking away. “Uhm... I should really focus,” she said, gesturing to her still glowing horn, reminding him why they were up here in the first place. “You can head back down to your sister, if you want.” He nodded. “Yeah. I'll head back.” Myth backed off toward the door. “You going to be alright up here on your own?” he asked. The unicorn mare gave a nod. “I'll be fine. I'll come down a little later and let you know if I find it.” “See you then.” Myth smiled. He held eye contact with the mare for a short moment, unsure if he should say anything else. Before the moment could get any more awkward, he backed off through the door, letting it shut behind him. Even in the coldness of night, Jewel felt a bit of warmth on her cheeks and she couldn't help but smile after that moment the two had just shared. She still felt her heart pounding away in her chest. Was she starting to like him? She had only just met him and his sister not too long ago, but she already felt some pretty strong feelings... She stood there for a moment, letting that thought linger before finally closing her eyes and shifting her focus back to her task. It felt like nearly an hour had passed in silence. Focusing on her search, she'd run it through her mind what she was detecting. A sapphire bracelet. Emerald necklace. Ruby on a ring. A diamond earring... It felt weird, scanning the entire city at once, inspecting all the different jewels she could find. She almost felt like she was spying on ponies, though she knew she didn't see or hear any of them at all. The sound of a pen scratching on a piece of paper reached her ears, surprising her. Confused about what she heard, she looked over to where she heard the noise. Myth was sitting at one of the rooftop tables. He leaned over the table, writing in an open book set in front of him. “When did you get back up here?” she asked. Myth perked up and looked over to her. “About a half hour ago,” he answered. Seeing the confused look on her face, he explained. “Snapshot took some pain medicine and fell asleep. I didn't want to do anything to wake her, so I figured I'd keep you company up here. That okay?” “Of course,” she answered. “But... half an hour? Why didn't you say something?” He chuckled at the question. “I didn't want to disturb you. You looked so focused.” Jewel smiled softly at that, which soon faded. “Sorry about earlier.” “Hmm?” “I ruined the surprise for your sister. About the emerald. I shouldn't have mentioned it. I feel awful for ruining her birthday surprise.” “Oh, don't worry about it,” Myth said with a smile. “Her birthday is so far off, she probably would have found it before then anyways. At least this way she hasn't seen it as a necklace.” “Guess that makes it better.” Jewel smiled. “If you'd like, I could make it into a necklace sometime.” “Would you? That would be great. Don't suppose you have a birthday gift discount, though, huh?” he asked a bit playfully. Jewel giggled softly at that. “In fact, I do. But for you two, I'll make it free. Least I could do after ruining the surprise.” “You sure you want to do that?” he asked. “Of course.” Jewel smiled. “Thanks. That sounds great,” Myth said, turning his attention back to what he was doing before. She glanced to the book he was writing in. It piqued her curiosity. “You write?” “Not usually. I just... thought I'd continue my dad's journal. I'd hate for it to go to waste with only a page or two used.” “That's a nice idea. Your parents started this. Only seems fitting you guys finish it for-” She paused, her eyes closing once again as she snapped back into focus. Myth sat up. “Got something?” “Small gemstone... An inch, maybe two, in diameter... Seems like a ruby. Got a huge amount of magic imprinted in it.” Her horn gave a little pulse of light then stopped glowing and she looked back over to Myth with a smile. “No doubt about it. That's Starswirl's artifact, for sure.” Myth got up from his seat at the table, stepping over toward her at the edge of the roof. “You remember where it is?” “I put a tracking spell on it. I still sense it right now, with nothing else to distract me from it.” “Can you take me there?” he asked, slipping the journal and pen back into his bag. “Of course,” she said with a nod, and started heading toward the door, ready to head back inside. “We can head there in the morning.” Myth stayed by the ledge, looking out to the city. “What?” Jewel asked, looking over to him. He looked over to her with a certain look on his face. The two stared at each other for a short moment. She could see in his eyes what he was thinking. “Really? You want to go tonight?” “What better time?” he asked. “They wouldn't be expecting us to come at all, after that threat, right? Plus we're under the cover of night... I already got it from them in broad daylight in their own camp. Sneaking in at night should be easy.” He had a point. Night would be the easiest time to sneak in. But could he get the artifact and the book? They'd need both or they'd be just as stuck as they were before. “The longer we wait, the more likely they are to get out of the city and we'll lose track of them,” Myth added. “We can't wait for tomorrow. In case they leave sometime tonight or in the morning...” Another good point... Jewel ran it through her mind for a moment. If they waited until tomorrow, they might already be out of Manehattan, and who knows where they'd run off to next? With a sigh, Jewel nodded in agreement. “You're right. If we're going to get it back, we need to move now.”