Only a couple of days passed since the wedding and yet while most Ponyville residents decided to relax and take time off, not the Postal Service.
Cipher’s sleeping problems disappeared after the meeting with Fluttershy’s family. And a good thing too, the Post Office got almost flooded by letters and presents to the new royal couple. Cipher needed to make multiple trips to the Castle of Friendship, where Starlight and Spike, with the help of the Reverend moved them to a side area of the entrance for the couple of open and read.
Cipher arrived back at the Post Office in time to see Parcel Post leave, with a pile of posters on his back, they greeted each other and went to their duties. Parcel went to the station and Cipher returned the Post Office.
Muffins carefully pressed at the corners of a new poster. The poster displayed a print of the front of Kimblewick Hall. Cipher walked up to it and read “Kimblewick Hall open to the public, well I never,” he turned to Muffins “mind you it’ll be a lovely show, it’s a fine house.”
Muffins sorted out the rest of the post “But Cipher, think off all the carts, ponies and the litter. Oh, before I forget, Miss Cheerilee asked for you to drop in at the school and have a word. I don’t know what she wants.”
Cipher hummed “I expect it’s something to do with the opening of Kimblewick Hall, I remember her mentioning the Hall this morning but I didn’t catch it all.” He took the post “I won’t forget. Bye for now.” He went to the door.
He walked up to the cart and an impatient Jakhowl “Alright Riolu, I’m coming.” He put the post in the cart and climbed up on the driver’s seat “You never know Cheerilee might have a bone for you today. I just hope she doesn’t want to continue with the algebra lesson.” He started the cart and rolled off “Find out what X equals, how can I when it always seems to be something else?”
He followed the road and stopped outside the schoolhouse, no foals out in the playground and he couldn’t hear any lessons. Cheerilee must be giving to foals a day off after the wedding. Cipher still wondered what she wanted him for and he carried a parcel for her. He knocked on the door before opening it “Hello Cheerilee?” Looked about the room “Where are you?”
“In here Cipher.” Came the teacher’s voice, from a side room. Cipher walked in met a ladder, he climbed up and blinked, piles of paper everywhere and in the middle Cheerilee filing through them “Now where did I put it?”
Cipher step closer “Good grief Cheerilee.”
Suddenly a wind blew through the opens front door and into this study just below the bell tower. The wind caught the paper and start to blow them about. The front door shut with a clatter and the papers started falling.
Cipher gulped “Oh dear, I’ve made a real mess.”
Cheerilee grabbed some of the papers as they fell towards her “Oh dear, Cipher can you pick the sheet of the floor please?”, he hastily put the parcel down on a chair and began grabbing the papers with his magic “Where should I put these?”, the parcel fell off the chair.
“Just put it where you can.”
Cipher put the pile firmly on the chair and picked up the parcel “I wouldn’t like to sort this lot out.”
Cheerilee picked up a familiar poster “I’m looking through this paper to get ready for the grand opening of Kimblewick Hall. The Major has asked me to show ponies around. So, I’m trying to find out about the history of Ponyville.”
Cipher put the parcel on the desk and nodded “Yes, I saw the poster. I don’t know if there was much history to Ponyville, no famous battles, no ghost, nothing like that. The only thing I can think of is the Castle of the Two Sisters, and I doubt any tourists want to go into the Everfree Forest. Now that I think about it, what’s this idea about tourism anyway?”
“Well,” Cheerilee said “Perks told me there’s been an increase of day trippers to Ponyville ever since the Everfree Kingdom was established, and interest has increased again since Twilight and Flash’s wedding. The Major’s opening the Hall as an attraction, since in Ponyville there’s only the Castle of Friendship, the Town Hall and the Market. And Granny Smith isn’t going to open Sweet Apple Arches to the public.”
“Talking about the Apples,” Cipher said “is there actually much history to Ponyville? Applejack told me it was founded only a hundred years ago, and all because of Zap Apple Jam.”
“Don’t be so sure Cipher, you never know what you’ll find in these old papers, Ponyville may be a recent settlement compared to Canterlot, but some of our traditions date back centuries to time of independent Earth Pony nation, Winter Wrap Up dates from before the founding of Equestria. And of course, Vincent van Colt was a citizen of Ponyville soon after its founding.”
“That’s true I suppose, I wonder when Kimblewick Hall was built, and for who?”
“That reminds me, there’s one thing I would to see, folks say Chelsea Porcelain has a very old diary that her uncle kept, and he was the first head butler at Kimblewick Hall. Could you ask her if she could lend it?”
“It’s worth a try, I’ll ask when I call with the letters.”
“I feel sure she’ll let you have it. I’ll take good care of it. I’ll be at the Hall this afternoon.”
“Alright, I’ll pop in after I’ve finished with the letters and tell how I get on. Bye for now.” Cipher walked back to the ladder and climbed down and went to the cart.
After a few more stops, he went to visit Time Turner. A load buzzing came from workshop, Riolu held his ears tightly and hide inside the cart. Cipher got down and took the necessary letters and went to the door.
Time Turner stood at his work table with a dirty and slightly rusted suit of old armour. Using a special spinning tool, he worked at the dirt and revealed the shining metal. To protect his face, he wore a mask with a visor.
Some of the smaller pieces of armour looked done. The helmet, which cover the entire head, then the cranium extended up to a pointed apex, a visor hinged to it, it extended out to a pointed beck like nose and with small breathing hole and small eye slits. Next to the helmet smaller gantlets.
“Hello Time.” Cipher called, but Time didn’t notice, he stopped and lifted his visor but focused on the shine of the armour. Cipher walked up confused, he tapped Time on the shoulder and the doctor jumped, the visor fell down and he looked up at Cipher “Hello Cipher, you gave me quite a fright. I didn’t hear you come in.” He lifted the chest plate he worked on, and smiled at the shine “Look at this, just like new. Almost ready for the grand opening.”
Cipher nodded “I know, of Kimblewick Hall, I didn’t know the Major had a suit of armour.”
“Neither did I, he kept it in storage, was in the Hall when he bought the house during his days in the Royal Guard.”
Cipher blinked “He bought the Hall? Where did he get the money from?”, Time shrugged “I haven’t a clue.” He chuckled “You know, if I do a good job with this Princess Twilight may want me to restore the armour in the Castle of the Two Sisters.” He reared up and placed the plate at his chest “What do you think Cipher? I’ve always wanted to try something like this on.”
Cipher chuckled “Well now’s your chance. I’ll bring a tin opener next time I call in case you get stuck.” He gave Time his post and turned to leave. He then stopped at a new set of drawings on the wall, they looked somewhat familiar and turned to Time “You not building another robot, are you?”
Time put the chest plate down and walked up “I am, but not as a Post-stallion and I’ve designed a type of intelligence to it, I worked out the problems of the Forget-Me-Not Computer by working from the ground up, it’ll work using what I call a Quantum computer, instead of having the Quantum Mechanics of the wild magic interfere with the prosses, Quantum Mechanics are the prosses. I’ve got it worked out don’t worry.”
Cipher scratched his head “How are you going to build it them.”
“Well, there’s a company in Manehatten who make a wide range of things, from cuckoo clocks to money boxes to garden gnomes. Spotted Wood and Company I think, there main machine called Bright One should be able built it. I still need to think of the control system.”, he went over to the drawing board and tapped his chin with a pencil.
Cipher decided to watch, he never saw Time’s thinking prosses before.
Time started to sing as he thought out load “What can we have, that will do the job nicely? Easy to control and will job the job precisely…” He tapped his pencil few times, blinked then smiled and drawing “A Talk Operated Machine is what we need here… Some I can think of that will run for a year… A Talk Operated Machine is what we need here… T O M, yes, T O M…
“A Talk Operated Machine is what I’ll do then… A super little robot that can be like a friend… A Talk Operated Machine, I call it Tom then… T O M… T O M…
“Then I can go and work with Bright One, set a programme through… I’m sure that she will work out what I’m trying to do… I’ll have to work it out as quickly as I can to get it done… I know that when I finish, it really be fun!
“Talk Operated Machine is what I make then… A super little robot that can be like a friend… Talk Operated Machine, I’ll call it Tom then… T O M… T O M…” Time then started mutter to himself excitedly.
Cipher chuckled and left, he looked forward the meeting the little robot, hopefully an improvement on Time’s first attempt, the Knight of the Field still stood in Windy Miller’s garden.
Cipher got the cart rolling again and travelled along the road to the Retirement Home. He got out and went inside, he asked the receptionist where Chelsea Porcelain lived and she directed him to her room. He knocked and entered “Hello? Any-pony at home?”
Chelsea walked from her small study area into the room with a book on her back “Oh, Cipher, I’m glad to see you. I’ve just been sorting out some old stuff and there’s this dairy, come and have a look.” She walked to a table and put the diary on as, she smiled as Cipher approached “Oh, it takes me back seeing these old pages, my uncle Wilfred Porcelain’s very words just as he wrote them all that long time ago,” she started to talk about her uncle.
Cipher meanwhile opened the dairy and filed through a few pages, not actually reading the pages but more checking the amount of content “I’ve never seen anything like it. Do you think I could borrow it, so Miss Cheerilee can make a few notes for when she shows ponies around Kimblewick Hall?”
“Well,” Chelsea said adjusting her spectacles “I can make it out with my glasses now so you might as well take it, don’t forget to bring it back.”
Cipher nodded and held it carefully in his magic “I’ll take great care of it, I promise.”
“Bye Cipher.” Chelsea called as he opened the door, he looked back and nodded “Bye.” And he shut the door. He made his way through the retirement home, out the gate and back to the cart. He gave the dairy to Riolu “Take good care of it.”, the Jakhowl saluted. Cipher started the cart up and flicked the reins to get it rolling, with the dairy and his letters delivered he now needed to get to Kimblewick Hall, Miss Cheerilee would be waiting for him. He followed the road towards Sweet Apple Arches, stopped at a junction, looked both ways before turned to the left.
He turned into the circular driveway of the hall, and parked the cart next to the Troop Transport Truck for the Home Guard, he looked the Riolu and saw the Jakhowl decided to get some sleep. Cipher climbed down and glanced at the Troop Transport before going to the front door.
The Major stood in the doorway as Cipher approached “Come along Cipher,” he said, “I see you’ve got the dairy, Miss Cheerilee’s waiting for you.” They entered the house and the Major quickly escorted Cipher into the dining room, Cipher asked “Where’s Porter?”
“He’s caught a cold, so he’s quarantined in his chamber for the time being, it’s a good thing we have a dummy butler system to the rooms, whoever built this house really liked privacy.”
Cipher entered the dining room and found Cheerilee sitting at the table with a clipboard and some older papers. She looked up and smiled “Ah, there you are Cipher, you made it in good time,” she looked down “And the diary, well done.”, Cipher gave her the dairy and she opened the first page and mutter “Now let me see, there must be something here.”
Cipher waited, then he heard metallic sound, like a mix of a thump and a clunk. He looked back.
Time Turner and the Major walked in, the suit of armour in it various pieces stacked on the doctor’s back “Where do I put this stuff Major?”, the Major pointed “Over there by the fireplace Doctor Turner.”, Time walked over, then stumbled and the suit fell off his back and onto the floor and a monstrous racket “Makes a real clatter, doesn’t it?”
Cheerilee held her ears and shut her eyes grimacing “How can I write the history of Kimblewick Hall with this racket going on?”
The Major waved his hoof and spoke “Come and sit in library Miss Cheerilee, you’ll find it nice and peaceful in there.”, the teacher nodded, gathered her thing and followed the Major out of the room, “Thank you Major, very kind of you.” She said, she looked down the corridor one way and then turned to walked down the other way.
Cipher turned to Time Turner, who for some reason started putting the armour one. First the gantlets for his right foreleg, then he picked up few other pieces and looked at them like a foal working out a jigsaw puzzle, he picked up the part for his right hind leg and strapped it to it “Just about me size. Let’s see now.” He picked up the front chest plate and held it to his torso.
Cipher chuckled “I’d better leave you to it Time. I need to get home. Bye.” He left the dining room and slowly walked about the corridor. He looked at the paintings on display, one caught his interest, the signature said, ‘Vincent van Colt.’, a renowned artist today, but in his lifetime, as an early citizen of Ponyville living on the outskirts, viewed as a mad stallion with little skill, now viewed as one of the most influential artists having helped lay the foundations of modern art.
The painting in question didn’t show up on any artist catalogue about Van Colt, it looks an original. It featured Princess Celestia, looking up at a swirling night sky with bright yellow stars, and a white glowing moon with the Mare in the Moon, now gone from the moon after Luna’s return. Celestia stood on a hill overlooking the village Ponyville used to be. Cipher narrowed his eyes at the expression on Celestia’s face, it looked sorrowful, he could just make out the tiny silver spot of a tear down the Princess’s cheek.
Cipher wondered why no-pony knew of this painting, either whoever own the Hall before the Major never gave it to be looked at, or a forgery, he would need to speak with the Major about this, but he could do it another day, he wanted to get home, and then spend the rest of the day with Fluttershy.
He opened the next door and walked into the entrance hall. The grandfather clock struck one as Cipher passed it and reached for the door.
“Is that you Cipher?” Cheerilee called from the library she walked out and looked worried.
“Um,” Cipher said turning back to her “I was just on my way out Cheerilee, on my way home.”, she nodded but spoke looking back at the library “I want to show you something.” And she went back into the library, Cipher followed confused “Something wrong?”
He walked into the room and glanced to his side, in the cabinet sat the Major’s collection of tin soldiers. He then looked about the room, itself a few shelves but very small compared to other libraries and much like the top room in the schoolhouse pieces of paper laid everywhere in a haphazard fashion.
Cheerilee stood at the desk with the open diary “Cipher, what am I going to do? Look at this diary.”
“What’s wrong with it Cheerilee?”
“What’s wrong Cipher? There’s not a thing in them I can put down in my story of Kimblewick Hall, the entries are just boring.”, Cipher wondering what Cheerilee could mean picked up the diary and read it “It was a nice day today. Went fishing, caught three trout. Went to bed early.” He put the book down “Well I see you mean, nothing historical about that.”
“Historical Cipher?” Cheerilee said rubbing her temple “It’s making me feel hysterical!”, she grabbed her clipboard from earlier the pages utterly blank “I haven’t a single note on my paper, not one thing. The diary doesn’t give out a single legible name, only referring to the ‘Master of the House’, ‘The Master’s son’, but he disappears near the end, ‘Our Guest’ and the ‘Builders’, it would be interesting if we knew who they were, the Master might be the pony who first owned and built the house, that guest could be any-pony, could be some-pony important, but we don’t know who.”
Cipher blinked, he’d never seen Cheerilee like this before, she could get stern to her students from time to time, but she always remained cheerful, here she looked about ready to rip her mane off.
Time Turner crashed into the door of the dining room, he walked about reared up, stiff and off-balance whiles stuck in the suit of armour, he called out with an echoed voice “Help Cipher! Get me out of this I’m stuck! Get your tin opener! I can’t see where…” he leaned to the side, but the rigidness of the armour caused him to stop.
He went back onto all fours. Reached up to the visor and tried to lift it, but it wouldn’t move “You can’t leave me like this. Great Whickering Stallions I’ve gotten myself into a pickle.” He turned around and started walking forward. The suit clattered and groaned with a load squeak.
“Are you still here Cipher? This armour’s a bit stiff.” He crashed into the table. Fell forward onto it. The weight made it tip. Table, chairs and armoured pony tumbled to the floor in a cacophony of wooden and metallic clatters.
Slowly and stiffly Time Turner got up and saw a door through the tiny eye slits and went to it. A back door to the outside.
Cipher managed to calm Cheerilee down. She sat at the window while the Changeling flew about the top shelves looking for any possible book or journal on the history of the Hall. But with little success. He landed and sighed, he sat down beside the desk at took hold of the diary, at the very least it seemed amusing to him.
Cheerilee looked out the window trying to think when this loud noise took her attention and she tried to get a view of where this anomaly came from. Her eyes widened “Cipher, come and look at this.”, Cipher looked up, shut diary, put it back on the desk and came up alongside to Cheerilee, she pointed “There’s some monster going straight through the flowerbeds in a suit of armour.”, Cipher peered over her “You’re right, a suit of armour.” He chuckled “And I think I know who’s in it.” He turned around and walked out the door to get the Major.
Outside, slowly and groaning, Time Turner clacked and trudged stiffly on. He didn’t notice the flowerbed he trampled over.
“Oh, my back.” He groaned. He turned around sharply “Where am I?” He asked before stumbling forward “Get me the Fire Brigade! What’s this in front of me?” he walked head first into a tree and tumbled down a small hillock.
The Major and Cipher walked into the garden, the Major turned confused to the Changeling “Did you say, my suit of armour? Out here? In the flowerbeds parading about?”
Cipher looked about “Yes Major, it was…”
“It should be in the dining hall.”
“I know Major,” he pointed with his hoof “Look at your flowers.”, the Major turned to the flattened flowers in the middle of the garden as Cipher continued “All crushed and spoilt.”
“Badges, foxes and rabbits.” The Major suggested assuredly “No stopping the blighters, that’s what it is. The only reason I don’t kill them is out of fear of Miss Fluttershy’s Stare.”, Cipher nodded having seen Fluttershy do it once or twice, he hoped to never be on the receiving end of it.
Suddenly a load clattering sounded and Cipher looked about “Sounds more like an elephant Major.”
The Major narrowed his eyes confused as well “A whole heard of them if you ask me Cipher.”
From the library window Cheerilee waved like mad and pointed further into the Hall. Cipher turned to the Major as they stared at her “I think it’s gone back inside. Come along Major.” The went back to the front door and looked about the entrance hall “Which way?” Cipher asked as the Major entered “This way followed me.” He said heading quickly for the dining hall “Charge!” he called.
Back in the dining hall Time Turner tried to lift the visor up again. He stood very close to the door.
It opened and the Major walked in hearing a clattering noise, he frowned and looked about “Where is it? Dash, the fellow disappeared again.”
Cipher walked in “I’m sure I heard something in here.”
“But the suit of armour,” the Major said, “it’s gone!”
A loud crash sounded from behind them. The jumped and turned around, Cipher looked to the door “Sound as if you’ve got mice Major,” he chuckled “big metal ones.” He pressed his ear to the door and heard the noises from behind it and a voice shouted, “If only I could see where I was going!”, Cipher pulled the door away and found a square hole in the wall, the wooden panel turned inward revealed hinged “A door,” Cipher said and he walked in “and a secret passage.” He walked further in.
The Major stepped closer as Cheerilee walked into the dining room. They heard Cipher’s voice, he seemed vert jovial “Hello suit of armour. Let’s get that helmet off.”
The clattering came closer. From out of the secret door came Time Turner, now with the helmet off and on his back, he looked very embarrassed “Hello every-pony. Great Whickering Stallions I’m glad to get this helmet off. I got stuck, could see a thing.” He clanked out the doorway and to the corner to get out of the armour.
Cipher voice echoed from the passage “It’s so dark in here. Worse than the hive. What’s this?”, Cipher then came out with an old file filled with parchment. “I found this in the secret passage Major.”
The Major turned to Cheerilee “Might be something you could use Miss Cheerilee.”
“Let me have a look.”, she took the file, see the table and chair scattered about she turned to the others “Let’s go into the library.”, they nodded and followed.
Cheerilee, sitting at the desk, untied the ribbon keeping the file close and filed through it “Old papers.” She lifted one “A letter. To whomever find this file, this is a documented time capsule of sorts to tell the generations of the future the history of this hall, before I lose it.” She looked through the letter and her eyes “By Celestia, this is just what I needed.” She looked up to the two “Kimblewick Hall was built as a hunting lodge, for Big Game Hunter WDM Bell, so he could research the Everfree Forest, the house was still being built when he died. His youngest son inherited the house because he spent most his time here, he didn’t hunter and spent most of his time in his room, but he died young not long after the house was complete with no-pony to inherit it.”
The Major sniffed “Well that explains why it was abandoned and for the dummy waiters. What else is there.”
“Well,” Cheerilee said, then read the letter and grinned “Vincent van Colt lived her as a guest of Mr Bell.”, the stallions stared, the Major’s mouth bobbed and Cipher spoke “You mean the Van Colt in the corridor could be one he painted here?”
Cheerilee blinked and looked to the Major “You have a Van Colt here?”, the Major nodded and rushed out, he returned carefully handling the painted.
Cheerilee took it and blinked “Wait a minute.” She grabbed he diary and filed through the pages to one “Before turning in saw our guest outside painting the night sky.” She blinked and looked up at the two then two the papers and smiled “This is just the stuff I needed, and at the last minutes too.” She turned to the diary “And now this diary may prove more useful now we have the names, thank Celestia for our luck. You never know what skeletons there might be in an old cupboard.”
The Major cleared his throat “Well yes, very interesting, I think this calls for a cup of tea.” They all agreed.