//------------------------------//
// To Decipher 
// Story: A Bridge Between Brothers 
// by Rammy 
//------------------------------//


ബഐബഐബഐ Twilight ബഐബഐബഐ


I yawned a bit as I sipped on my coffee. For some reason I was having some problems waking up this morning. At least things have gotten a bit better the past month, at least partially. The talk Spike and I had in his dream helped but there was still times when Spike mood would be down, and he remained very guarded around me or the girls. I wish he would open up a bit more but something told me to be patient with him on this. 

"Twilight I'm heading out to Garble's now!" Spike called out from the main library floor.

"Just make sure he keeps his sooty claws off the book this time Spike." I yelled at Spike as he was leaving.  

I was surprised when I learned from Spike that Garble of all dragons would want to borrow a book. I was so surprised that I originally laughed as I had thought for sure that Rainbow Dash had somehow bribed Spike to say that for a joke. That was before I realized that Spike was being serious. I ended up consents for Garble to 'borrow' the book as long as Spike was with the book. I wasn't sure about how safe the book be in Garble's claws given that I don't think he knew about common book borrowing etiquette and the last thing I wanted to do was to have to replace another book due to dragon fire. As it was I already had to repaired one of my books because Garble got soot on his claws then turned the pages. I shouldn't been surprised given that he had borrowed a book on blacksmithing but I had hoped Spike would pay better attention but I think he got too caught up in helping that he forgot to make sure the book stayed safe.

"I will!" Spike shouted back.

I sighed as I heard the door to the library closed. With him gone I could work on the journal again. The secrets of the journal had proven to be difficult to decipher. Sometimes it was because Starswirl had scribbled something in the margins or there was a smudge. Other times it was because Starswirl would reference a spell he was creating or of artifacts he found that I didn't immediately recognize  requiring me to borrow several rare scrolls from the Canterlot Archives just to cross reference. I may be a fan of Starswirl but even I didn't know everything of his by heart.

In the end I managed to fully figure everything out but the last few pages. Those pages contained one unknown and semmingly incomplete spell that I assumed was his and well as information that seemed to be on the Elements. Sadly because of the legendary and mythical status of the Elements there was next to nothing on the Elements that I could find that could confirm what Starswirl was writing. Though practically everything he wrote on them was either something I had already guessed or knew already...

That left me to mainly try and figure out the other half of the spell. Its placement in the middle of Starswirl's notes on the Elements was very intriguing, however, so far, it had become an exercise in frustration. There wasn't any missing pages nor was the rest just not visible because of fading or smudging. I had made sure to check for that after making that mistake with the Crystal Heart. The phrasing mad it cleat that it was part of a spell but I had gone through every book and scroll written by Starswirl or about him and there is no reference to this spell anywhere. Not even a spell array that one needed to construct a spell array before writing the rhyming part of the spell.

My ears perked up when the library door opened once again and Rarity called out. "Twilight, darling, are you here?"

"I'm coming." I shouted up the stairs, quickly conjuring away the journal and my notes. I don't want to risk forgetting about it and getting an earful from Spike later.

"What brings you here?" I asked as I entered the library proper.

"With winter coming I was hoping to get some inspiration for my new winter line..."

"Let's see fashion, fashion... Ah, here." I pulled out several books on fashion and levitated them over to Rarity.

"Thanks Twilight... uh, where is Spikey-Wikey?"

"He's with Garble..."

"I see..." I had to stop a giggle as it was clear that Rarity really wanted some help from her favorite gentledragon. "I understand needing to have an older male to look up to but why that brute of a dragon Garble?"

I sighed. I understood Rarity's disapproval of him. He was still a bit of a jerk and was quite a bit more rude and insulting then Rainbow Dash.

Rarity must have noticed my discomfort as she quickly asked me an unrelated question. "Are you still working on the journal we found?" 

"How did you know?" I blinked in surprise.

"Twilight you are quite predictable." Rarity smirked as she raise an eyebrow. "You always are working on that journal every time Spike goes to see Garble."

"I see... yeah, I am... I have managed to decipher everything but a partial spell... which has alluded all my attempts to figure it out. Worse still I am running out of resources to check. I'm beginning to think that the spell is lost to time..." Which was beginning to frustrate me. I hate not having the answers... more so because H.K. had said that this would help me... unless there was more then one journal hidden in the catacombs...

"Darling maybe you should give it a rest."

"I can't Starswirl knew about the Elements!"

"He did?"

"Yeah, let me show you." I teleported the book up and turned to the page with the partial spell.

"Hmmm it does look like he did..."

"Did you notice that partial spell is in the middle of the notes on the Elements?"

"I noticed... Darling could this be another contrived puzzle like the one protecting the book? What was that phrase again... Tzrüstel Atülājal?"

"I..." Why didn't I think of that!? The strange phrase, that Rarity had butchered, which was needed to open the door protecting this journal, was not spelled out at all on the engraving, something that any good riddle or puzzle creator wouldn't do. Even Discord's riddle when he stole the Elements didn't break riddle logic I had just over thought it. So, maybe, the other half won't appear unless I tried to do something illogical like cast the incomplete spell. It was something that most unicorns outside of impatient foals would never do as it would normally never do anything... "From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled."

Both Rarity and I looked around to see that nothing seemed to have happened. I quickly scanned the book taking particular attention the the final pages to find nothing new. Nope that didn't work... Why H.K.? Why? You directed me to this book for a reason so what was it?! I wish I could contact him for assistance but true to his word he had completely disappeared without a trace. If he was spying on us like before he was hiding it too well for me to detect. That, and if his prediction of his death was accurate, then he was no more...