//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Tune of the Piper // by Bookpony579 //------------------------------// Once they were inside, Twilight turned to Yearling. "What's going on?" Yearling opened her mouth to speak when she noticed Flash in the room and began eyeing him suspiciously. "Can we talk in private, please?" Twilight put a hand on Flash's shoulder. "Don't worry. He's a friend, we can trust him." Poor Flash was even more confused now. "Twilight? What's going on? Why does Ms. Yearling want to talk to you?" Yearling looked at Twilight, who nodded reassuringly, before sighing and turning back to Flash. "Okay, whatever I tell you stays in this house, understood?" Flash nodded and Yearling and Twilight began to explain. Flash's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and it looked like his jaw was in ganger of outright detaching from his skull. "YOU"RE DARING DO!? THE DARING DO!? THOSE STORIES ARE REAL!?" Yearling nodded. "Yes, and I'm here on important business." She said impatiently. "What is it?" Twilight asked. "I need the Flute of the Pied Piper." Twilight could only blink. "The what of the what now?" "The Flute of the Pied Piper." Yearling explained, pulling out a book and opening it to a picture of a man playing a flute. "Hundreds of years ago in the City of Hamelin a plague of rats infested the city, eating all the food, destroying property and spreading disease. Nothing the citizens did seemed to stop or slow them down. They had just given up hope and were prepared to abandon the city when a mysterious young mage came into town and offered to drive the rats away. Using an enchanted flute he had crafted himself, he played a melody that led the rats away from Hamelin, saving the city. The mage became known as the 'Pied Piper'." "Woah..." "Wait a minute." Flash spoke up. "If all it did was drive rats away, why do you need it. I know you're supposed to protect all these magical artifacts from Caballeron and Ahuizotl, but why would they want something like this?" Yearling turned the page. "Because the flute has the power to control anything or anyone as well." She pointed to a picture showing the flute's notes controlling several people. "The Piper knew how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands, so he hid it away just before he died." "I still don't understand." Twilight said. "I know it's imperative that you find it, but why do you need my help?" Daring looked her right in the eye. "Because you're grandmother was the last person to have it." Now it was Twilight's turn to look at Yearling with with wide eyes and her jaw dropped. "What!?" Yearling nodded. "It's true, the Flute was last seen during one of Detective Aurella's cases in Hamelin about thirty five years ago. All I know is that a mobster found it and was using it to get people to do his dirty business for him and essentially control the whole city. I don't have most of the details, but your Grandmother stopped him and hid the flute to prevent anyone else from getting to it. Didn't you know that?" Twilight shook her head. "No! Grandma usually loved to talk about her cases. I guess she just never got around to that one..." "Probably for the best. The fewer people who knew about the flute, the better." "So what do you need Twilight for?" Flash asked. "Ahuizoltl and Caballeron managed to get wind of it and my sources tell me they're heading to Hamelin as we speak. I was hoping Aurella had left behind something like a clue or map to where she hid it." Yearling said, looking at Twilight. "Maybe but-" As Twilight tried to think of something, she pressed her hand on the book, specifically on the picture of the flute, before gasping as a wave of energy rushed through her body and her eyes went white. In a dark room, a hooded Caballeron is speaking to one of his subordinates.... "Just go in and see if you can find Aurella's journal and bring it back to me." Caballeron ordered. "B-but.." "What!?" "W-what if that girl catches me-" "Are you telling me you are scared of a young girl!?" Caballeron roared. "N-no!" "Then just go in and see if you can that journal, do you understand!?" The thief was now in Twilight's home, looking through the books for the journal. "Freeze!" The goon turned around in fright when Night appeared. Then an image of an old journal appeared, with worn red covering with the image of a star inside of a magnifying glass on the cover. The image zoomed out, revealing it to be in a box in the attic. Twilight blinked and stepped back as she returned to the real world. "Twilight? Are you ok!?" Flash asked, holding her arm to help steady her. "Her journal! Of course!" Twilight gasped. "What are you talking about?" Yearling asked. "Whenever Grandma was on a case she kept a journal of sorts to to keep track of the facts, record clues and all that stuff." "Of course!" Yearling gasped. 'She always kept a journal right by her side!" "When she hid the flute she might have written where she hid it!" Flash realized. "I had a vision of Caballeron ordering one of his goons to come here and find it! That must be who broke in last night!" "What!?" Yearling exclaimed. "That means they're already one step ahead of me! We need to find that journal now!" "To the attic!" Twilight announced, leading them up the stairs. In the attic, Twilight held a box. "Okay, i have good news and bad news." She said. "What's the good news?" Yearling asked. "I found where we put the journal." Yearling grinned while Flash remained skeptical. "And the bad news?" Twilight set the box down and opened it, revealing several similar journals. "She had more than one journal." The dismay immediately appeared on Yearlings face. "Grandma didn't trust her memory, so she liked to write and draw during her cases, so they went by pretty fast." Twilight picked up a book and blew the dust of it. "And she had a LOT of cases." Flash sighed as he sat down. "Better start looking." He picked up a journal and skimmed through it. Yearling and Twilight followed his lead, looking for any mention or drawing of the flute. After a few minutes, Twilight was about to pick up another book when hesitated. "Twilight?" Flash asked. Following her instinct, Twilight dug through the box and picked up a journal, seemingly at random. "This is it." Yearling raised an eyebrow. "How? You haven't even looked through it." "I-I can feel it." Twilight then opened the covering to the inside cover. With dark pen and swift handwriting, was written: Property of Master Detective Aurella of the World Detective Agency. If found please contact her immediately at... Twilight skimmed through the rest until she came at the dates the journal was used. "Did the Hamelin case happen sometime during this?" Twilight asked, showing Yearling the dates. Yearling's eyes widened. "That's it! The dates match up perfectly!" Without asking, she grabbed the journal and began flipping through it until she reached a drawing of the Flute. "This is it! Look!" She pointed to the text. "She admits she DID hide it to keep it safe!" She flipped through for more information, her smiled slowly disappearing as she looked though. "What's wrong?" Flash asked. "These puzzles...I can't do them." "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "Aurella wasn't just a Master Detective, she was a Master puzzle solver! I've seen my fair share of puzzles during my adventures but these..." She shook her head. "These are way beyond me." "Yeah.." Twilight nodded. "Grandma did like her puzzles, she would have us solve one before we could get out birthday or Hearths Warming gift." Yearling perked up upon hearing that. "Then that means...yes!" "Huh!" "The solution is simple!" Yearling grinned. "You just need to come to Hamelin with me!"