//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Tune of the Piper // by Bookpony579 //------------------------------// 7 years ago.... A young Twilight laid in bed, wide eyed and clutching her Smarty Pants doll as she listened to her Grandmother's story. "...and then, just as Arabus's cloud covered the town and began sucking up all of their shadows, I came back!" Aurella exclaimed, waving her arms up. "With the box of the Umbra in my possession, I opened it and sucked that nasty cloud demon right inside! Not only stopping his spreading darkness, but returning the shadows to their rightful owners." "And then what happened?" Twilight asked excitedly. "Simply put, I entrusted the box to some very dear friends of mine, who would hide it where nobody would ever find it again, before returning to my comfy home." "Yay!" "Now I think that's enough stories for tonight." Aurella said, patting her granddaughter's head. "Next time I'll tell you about Kaida the dragon rider." "Grandma?" "Yes?" "Are...Are your stories actually true?" "Hmm....aside from some slight exaggerations here and there.....yup! They are most definitely true!" "I knew it! Shining said they were too crazy to be true!" Aurella just chuckled and rubbed Twilight's head. "Believe it or not, sometimes reality is even crazier than fiction. Now I believe it's time someone got to sleep." She reached down and kissed Twilight's forehead. "Goodnight my little star." "Goodnight Grandma." Aurella turned off the lights and just before she shut the door, she took one last look at Twilight, and smiled, before gently closing the door. Twilight quickly drifted off to sleep, with dreams of adventure awaited her. Present. Twilight woke up in the middle of the night with one though in mind. There's somebody else in the house. Right after that, she heard somebody shuffling around downstairs. She realized instantly that an intruder had tripped her father's security spell, which immediatly woke the residents and alerted them if anyone other than the residents or an invited guest were inside. Looks like tonight it was being put into use. "Twilight?" Spike asked, blinking awake. "What's going on?" Twilight immediately got out of bed and headed for the door. "There's somebody in the house. Be quiet and stay close to me." She opened the door and saw her parents coming down the hall, having also been alerted. "Twilight, stay in your room." Night whispered quickly, getting his magic ready. "But-" "We can handle this." Velvet whispered, wielding her 'Emergency Bat'. Twilight hmphed and stayed in place as her parents went ahead....before tiptoeing a few feet behind them. "Twilight, are you sure about this?" Spike whispered. Twilight didn't acknowledge him, but just kept going until... *BANG* "Hey!" Night's voice shouted. "Freeze!" There was more shuffling, a whack followed by a moan of agony and by the time Twilight reached the top of the stairwell and looked down, the their had escaped into the night. "Are you guys ok!?" Night took a deep breath and gave his daughter a reassuring nod. "We're fine. He got away, but nothing was stolen or broken." "Thank goodness. Do you think we should call the police?" "Of course. It's important for them to be on alert. Of course..."He glanced at Velvet, who was proudly holding her bat. "...Something tells me they won't be coming back here any time soon." "Woah." Flash's eyes widened. "Somebody actually tried to break into your house?!" Twilight nodded pulling a few books out of her locker and stuffing them into her backpack. "And you know what the weirdest part is?" She looked at him. "I think he was looking for something." Flash looked confused. "What do you mean? My dad's an officer, and he said that most thieves like that are just looking for small stuff they can make a quick buck off." "I know but...nothing was actually stolen. And he didn't leave any real mess for the police to investigate. My mom saw him look through a bookcase and rummage quickly through a drawer but left them alone, like he knew what he was looking for but couldn't find it." Flash frowned, thinking. "Yeah...that is weird. Do you think he was looking for the Elements or something?" "I don't know." Twilight admitted as they left school. "Maybe he really was just a petty thief looking to make some quick cash. Whatever the case, the police are keeping an eye out. Minor burglaries are kind of out of my league." Flash shrugged. "Fair enough." "I'm sure they'll catch him soon. Right now we need to focus on getting you ready for your math test next week!" A few weeks ago, Flash was having trouble in his math class and so his teacher had suggested that Twilight tutor him until he got the hang of it. Though nervous initially about being around his crush one on one, Flash soon found himself enjoying the sessions, as Twilight often found ways of explaining the problems and concepts in a way that was both fun and easy for him to understand. He might not share her enthusiasm for the subject, but he was still improving in class. The two teens headed to Flash's car and drove off. Within a few minutes, they arrived at Twilight's house, only to see something unusual. Well, not exactly something, but someone. A woman stood at the door, as though waiting for one of the residents to come home. She wore a purple cloak, red reading glasses and jungle hat. Her eyes were scanning the area around her, as though on the watch for someone following or about to attack her. She clutched a green carpetbag to her chest as though her life depended on it. Twilight recognized her instantly. "A.K. Yearling!?" Twilight exclaimed once she got out of the car and spotted her. "What is she doing here?" "'A.K. Yearling'?" Flash repeated in surprise. "The author of the Daring Do books?" A.K. turned around and, spotting the young mage, waved her hand to signal them to come forward come forward. "I need to speak with you. It's a matter of the upmost importance. Can we go talk inside?" Twilight nodded and used her keys to unlock the door and rush everyone inside before shutting and locking it again.