As it turned out, Coco didn’t have a mending spell, though she knew someone who did. The male caagan they’d met earlier in the day showed up a few minutes after she summoned him, gave them a long talk about the priceless nature of the art stored inside Libiris, and then mended it and left. Scootaloo personally thought that most of the stuff they were finding looked just like any other pottery in the world. Mimic didn’t look any more impressed, but Thistleroot looked chagrined enough for the three of them.
From there the work continued, working their way through pottery and more weird bronze sculptures, through several boxes of creepy hippogriff dolls, and into a section full of clothes. Coco helped them throughout the day, when she wasn’t being called off to speak with Rare Breed or help other groups in other areas.
Finally, the growling of Scootaloo’s stomach got her attention, and she snapped out of the zombie-like state of working she’d slumped into. “I think it’s about time we called it a day.”
“Oh, thank Celestia,” Thistleroot said, setting aside a gold trimmed robe with six leg holes. “I didn’t want to be the first pony to say something.”
“Finally,” Mimic said, dropping the white, bedsheet-like garment she’d been moving unceremoniously on the floor. “Tomorrow, we should bring something to eat.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Thistleroot agreed. “We’ll pack some lunches. I wonder if this place has a cafeteria.”
*****
Ivory Quill felt Law’s presence before she could see the sphinx. One moment, she was alone, walking along the path through the forest back toward town, the next, she felt like she was being watched. Before she could do anything about it, or worry that she was about to be attacked again, Law dropped in from above, landing lightly for something so large, and began walking.
“You entered Libiris,” Law said without preamble.
Ivory Quill nodded and began walking again, following after the sphinx. “Yes.”
“And what did you learn?”
“That you were telling the truth. Unless everything I saw inside was some unbelievably elaborate setup, but at this point, that explanation is even less believable,” Ivory Quill said. “And those ponies that came to town are part of this. They’re champions, though I don’t know of who. Mimic is probably working for the changeling queen, but I don’t know about the other two.”
“And have you come to a decision?”
Ivory Quill nodded again. “Yeah. There’s no way I’m going to let somepony like Discord take over Equestria again. I’ll help you.”
*****
“Good morning, Scootaloo,” Rare Breed said. He paused, then glanced at the clock on the far wall. “Well, good afternoon at any rate.”
Scootaloo gave him a half-hearted wave and stifled a yawn.
“I’m surprised. You three are usually up and gone before us.”
“Day off,” Scootaloo answered, making her way into the kitchen. She dug through the pantry and came out with a box of cereal held sideways in her mouth. “Ah fough’ we nee’ed on’.” She grabbed a bowl from a cupboard and poured, then set the box down.
“Hmm, yes,” Rare Breed said, having followed her to the doorway of the kitchen. “I have noticed you three being a little less cheerful the past few days. Our joint research hasn’t been going well on your end, I take it?”
“It’s boring. Especially after you’ve been doing it for eight hours a day.”
“Maybe, but it’s important,” Rare Breed said. “Just think of the history you’re unboxing. The culture. It’s an undertaking any anthropologist would give their right forehoof for.” He shrugged. “Of course, it might be more efficient to just skim some boxes.”
It wouldn’t, Scootaloo thought. For all they knew, the heart was at the bottom of a random box, buried beneath some kid’s thousand year old art project. It was like hiding a needle in a haystack. Not that Rare Breed knew anything about that part, so she just shrugged and opened the fridge. “Darn. We’re out of milk.”
“There’s a store on the way to the post office. I’ll pick some up.”
Scootaloo’s head perked up. “You’re going to the post office?”
“Yes. New camera should be coming today.”
“Do me a favor?” Scootaloo swiped an envelope off the table with her wing and tossed it to Rare Breed in the same motion, then she grabbed the bowl and started eating her dry cereal. Rare Breed caught it and turned it over in his hooves. He arched an eyebrow. “Canterlot Castle?”
“It’s a letter to the princess, telling her what a great job you’re doing learning all about Lego Ventus whatever you call them.”
“Of course it is,” Rare Breed said, rolling his eyes, but he tucked the letter into his vest. “And Lignum Viventum is a classification, not the name of the species.”
Scootaloo gave a noncommittal grunt and then paused halfway through her next bite. “Are you going to name the species?”
“Normally I’d have some say,” Rare Breed said. “Probably the rest of you too, if you wanted to argue that you discovered them first. That’s for non-intelligent species, though. They already have their own name, it seems rude not to use it.” He paused, and then shook his head slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “To think, this is a race of intelligent creatures locked away under ground for a thousand years. An entire culture untouched by modern Equestria. We’re going to be so famous once the book comes out.”
Scootaloo blinked. “Book?”
“Of course. I’ve been workshopping titles. What do you think of ‘Behind Stone Walls, a Species Adrift in Time’?‘Or ‘Rare Breed’s Rare Breeds: the Caagan’?”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but chuckle. “First one’s too wordy.” Somepony was shuffling about on their side of the house. “I’m gonna go grab my friends.”
“Sure.” Rare Breed stepped aside to let her by. “Any plans for your day off?”
Scootaloo nodded. “It’s a small town and they don’t even have a bowling alley, so I had to ask around. A girl named Dawn Flower had a good idea.”
*****
Green Leaf Lake was less than half an hour’s walk South of town, along the road that eventually led toward Las Pegasus, if one followed it for several days.
The trees parted and the lake appeared as they did so. It was set off from the road, the bare, rocky ground sloping gently toward the shore. The water was calm, undisturbed by any wind, and Scootaloo could clearly see the trees reflected in it from the opposite shore, their leaves just beginning to turn from green to red and yellow.
A particularly large tree grew right at the edge of the lake nearest them. Its twisted roots probably made for a good place to sit and look out over the water, and a rope hung from it’s lower branches for anypony more interested in swimming than relaxing. Unfortunately, Scootaloo thought, it was just a little too late in the year to go swimming.
Dawn Flower was already waiting for them, along with Star Charmer and Ivory Quill. She waved, as did Star Charmer.
Ivory Quill looked up from where she stood beside a circle of rocks several feet off and gave them the same suspicious look she’d regarded them with the week before. If anything, she might have even looked less friendly than at the diner, Scootaloo thought. After a moment she turned back to the circle. She was arranging a pile of broken sticks inside the stones, and stuffing dried leaves between them.
Scootaloo swallowed uncomfortably, but tried to keep a smile on her face. Ivory Quill would come around eventually. Even Star Charmer had, after all.
Scootaloo approached. “Hey, girls.”
“Hi,” Dawn Flower answered. “Glad you found the place.”
“Yeah. Thanks for inviting us along.”
“Pretty place,” Thistleroot commented. “I can see why you suggested it.”
“So, we’ve got our stuff over there, if you want to set your bags down.”
Scootaloo walked toward the shore. Just under the large tree to her right were a trio of beach towels spread out beside a pair of saddlebags and a cooler. She shrugged out of her own bags and pulled out their own towels.
After a moment of thought, she put Thistleroot’s bright green towel next to the white one that she guessed was Dawn Flowers, then set Mimic’s and her own beside his. She turned back to the group.
“So, how have you been adjusting to our little town?” Dawn Flower asked Mimic.
“Fine,” Mimic answered.
“That’s good. Meet any new friends?”
“Nope.”
“Okay,” Dawn Flower said, drawing out the word and arching an eyebrow, but then she grinned and turned to join in the small talk that had started between Thistleroot and Star Charmer. Scootaloo sighed and turned back to switch her towel and Mimic’s, moving the changeling to the furthest end. Satisfied, she turned again, and noticed Ivory Quill, studying her.
She offered the earth pony a polite smile. Ivory Quill didn’t return it, but she did turn her attention back to the pile of sticks.
“Setting up a bonfire?” Scootaloo guessed.
“Yes,” Ivory Quill said. “We usually light one when it gets dark.”
“Sounds nice,” Scootaloo said, awkwardly trying to figure out a way to carry on the conversation, or at least to cut it short without seeming rude. Luckily, she was saved the effort.
“Alright,” Dawn flower said, making her way to the bags near her towel. Her horn glowed white and the bag popped open. “We’re here to have fun. Thistleroot, catch.” She bent over the bag and grabbed something from it in her teeth.
“Oh no,” Thistleroot said, turning his body toward her.
Dawn Flower whipped her head around, flinging a frisbee toward him. To his credit, he managed to get his hooves up, but missed the disk entirely. It bounced off his muzzle and landed a few feet away. He fell back onto his haunches with a little, “Oof.”
Dawn Flowers eyes widened. “Sorry.”
“I’m fine,” Thistleroot said, blinking and rubbing the end of his nose. “Just warn me next time.”
“She did,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle, walking over to where the frisbee had fallen. She scooped it up with her wing, transferred it to a hoof, and sent it sailing in an arc toward Star Charmer. Star Charmer, watched it, one hoof coming up, ready.
At the last second, Star Charmer’s ear twitched and her eyes flicked aside for just a moment. She swiped at the disk, but her hoof knocked it high into the air. She grabbed it in a flash of silver blue energy that lasted only a moment, just long enough to tug it toward her, and then caught it and tossed it toward Mimic.
They tossed the frisbee amongst themselves for almost an hour. Scootaloo used her wings to make several impressive catches. After the second, Mimic joined her in the air, and they started trying to one up each other whenever one of the ponies on the ground threw to them.
Thistleroot managed a few catches, and even Ivory Quill relaxed long enough to play.
By the time they were ready to call it quits, everypony was at least smiling. Dawn Flower made her way to the towels, sitting down to look over the lake, and pulled half a dozen bottles of orange juice from the cooler. Scootaloo accepted one and dropped onto her own towel.
Thistleroot flopped onto his own in an unmoving heap, “That was fun, but I’m just gonna lie here and catch my breath, ‘kay?”
Dawn Flower giggled at that and set one of the bottles beside him, then passed out the rest to Star Charmer, Ivory Quill, and Mimic.
“Sure beats opening boxes,” Scootaloo said, twisting off the cap of her bottle and taking a swig.
“You can say that again,” Thistleroot said.
“Boxes?” Star Charmer asked, tilting her head curiously.
Scootaloo nodded, and then paused, her breath slowing. How much did Star Charmer know again? About their original reason for coming, since she’d been the first to encounter the cagaan. But they hadn’t mentioned Libiris, had they? No, as far as any of them knew, it was still sealed. Unless her dad had checked in on it in the past year.
Then again, they’d let Rare Breed and Triplicate know about Libiris, so it wasn’t that much of a secret. Coco had even mentioned getting it set up for others to visit, and that they had precautions to keep the other champions from gaining access.
Learning more about Libiris was Midlight’s whole reason for moving to Greenhaven Grotto. And maybe, if Scootaloo were being completely honest with herself, she might have still felt just a little bit guilty for breaking his wing, even if she wasn’t actually the one to hit him.
“Inside Libiris,” Scootaloo said, finally, against her better judgement. “That’s where those wooden deer creatures came from, and since we were sent here to learn all about them, we’ve basically been going through all their old stuff.”
Thistleroot threw her a look, and she imagined Mimic had a similar reaction on her other side.
“You actually went inside?” Star Charmer asked.
Scootaloo nodded. “We never got a chance to tell anypony, but we got it open last time we were here. And now we’re back to learn all about the guys inside, which mostly means looking at pottery and trying not to fall asleep.”
Star Charmer arched an eyebrow, but a slight grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “What’s it like inside?”
“Big and quiet, mostly, but they’ve got... You know what, I’m not gonna ruin it. See it for yourself sometime. The deer inside are really nice. They call themselves caagan. A couple of them even speak Equestrian.”
“If you can, talk to Coco,” Thistleroot said. “She’s the nice one.”
Scootaloo gave him a sideways glance.
“What? Mahoney’s scary. You saw him after he had to fix that pot for us. And he has that big bass voice that rumbles the floor when he speaks.”
“It’s a little deeper than average.”
“That’s not how I remember it.”
Scootaloo looked back to Star Charmer, but found the girl staring out over the lake, a small frown on her lips now. “Everything okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking. I mean, I’ve been curious about that place ever since we moved here, and now it’s just opened?”
“I know what you mean,” Dawn Flower said. “What if there’s some kind of super evil monster trapped inside? Or worse, what if it doesn’t live up to the hype?”
“Can’t speak of evil monsters,” Scootaloo said. “It’s pretty cool though.”
“The whole reason you visited last year was to try to get inside. You guys managed to save Equestria from Nocturne, so I guess it’s not so surprising that you managed to do that too.”
“Yep. We’re just that awesome,” Scootaloo said, taking another swig of orange juice. “Uh, maybe don’t go telling the whole town, just yet, though. Give the caagan a little time to adjust.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dawn Flower said. “There were really people living down there all that time? Or were they like, living wooden puppets?”
“They’re... uh...” Scootaloo looked toward Thistleroot.
“They’re pretty similar to Timber Wolves, and not just in appearances,” he said. “They’re alive, but they’ve got metabolisms closer to those of plants. They can live as long as some trees, as far as I know.”
“Wow,” Dawn Flower said. “Oh, it’s starting to get dark. We should get the fire going.”
Ivory Quill wordlessly got up and set about it, taking a little kit from her saddlebags and pulling some flint, steel, and fine tinder from it. As she got the fire going, Star Charmer pulled out a few bags of marshmallows and chocolate bars.
Thistleroot’s eyes lit up when he saw them. He straightened up, his horn glowing with blue magic, and the tree branches above them shivered. A few slender, straight sticks fell to the ground in front of them.
Dawn Flower gave the tree a look, and then turned to Thistleroot, a small smile on her face.
Come on, Thistleroot, Scootaloo thought, don’t mess this up.
Dawn Flower collected the sticks, passed them out, and speared a marshmallow on one. “So, living plants?”
“Well, technically, all plants—”
“All plants are living, yes. Realized it the moment I said it,” Dawn Flower said with a faint sigh. Scootaloo winced.
Thistleroot chuckled, “Sorry, I know what you meant. But yeah. They’re smart, too. At least as smart as ponies. And they can do magic.”
“Like botomancy?”
Thistleroot shook his head. “No. Well, maybe, but I haven’t seen them do it. Most of their magic seems to be more information based. The word caagan in their language literally means knowledge seeker.”
“Do you know any plant magic?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, I dabble,” Dawn Flower said, giving a playful grin. Hadn’t Thistleroot said something similar when they met her? That had to be a good sign, right?
“Anything you want to show off?” Scootaloo asked.
Dawn Flower shrugged, looking just a little self conscious as everyone watched, but her horn started glowing with a soft white light. She used a hoof to brush her green mane from her face and focused her attention on a point just past the edge of her beach towel.
The ground twitched, and a little, green sprig pushed its way out of the dirt. The stalk grew several inches, the tip budding and blooming into a blue and white, six-petal flower.
“Wow,” Thistleroot said, eyebrows raised in an impressed look of surprise.
“Thistleroot can do that too,” Mimic said.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo added, looking to Mimic and giving the changeling the best “shh” she could manage without actually raising her hoof or making the noise. She turned back to Dawn Flower. “You guys sure do have a lot in common. Watch.” She gestured toward Thistleroot.
“Eheh, um, actually, you know what, maybe not right now.” Thistleroot rubbed a hoof against the back of his neck. “I mean, it would be kind of rude to try to upstage her, right? That was an impressive bit of magic.”
“Or you’re not as good as your friends think you are,” Ivory Quill said, voice uninterested as she pulled a marshmallow from the fire and blew it out.
Dawn Flower waved a hoof toward Ivory Quill in a vaguely dismissive gesture. “Hush.” Scootaloo noticed that her grin was a bit wider than before.
They honestly thought he couldn’t do it, Scootaloo noted, and Dawn Flower was probably feeling pretty good about herself right then. And of course, Thistleroot wasn’t the kind of pony who felt the need to defend his pride. Scootaloo fought back her own smile, and felt a twinge of pride for Thistleroot. He was actually better at this than she’d given him credit for.
“That’s a stargazer lily, right?” Thistleroot asked.
Dawn Flower nodded. “It’s my favorite flower.”
“It’s pretty.”
“It is. Do you know what it represents?”
“Uh,” Thistleroot furrowed his brow. “Wealth? Or innocence? One of the two.”
“Innocence,” Dawn Flower said. “In a lot of different cultures. But around here, there’s a story about this particular kind of lily, how it was a gift from Princess Luna, before she became Nightmare Moon. It was her way of promising to watch out for all the innocent little ponies while they slept.”
“I remember that story,” Star Charmer said. “That was always my favorite lullaby.” Ivory Quill nodded in agreement.
“Lullaby?” Scootaloo asked.
Dawn Flower just sighed as Star Charmer and Ivory Quill focused their attention on her, their marshmallow roasting sticks drooping, forgotten, the two wearing identical, somewhat hopeful smiles.
“There’s a lullaby about the story,” Dawn Flower answered.
“One she made up,” Star Charmer added, drawing another sigh from Dawn Flower.
“You did?” Scootaloo asked. She smiled, and her voice became teasing, “Was it any good?”
“Of course it was,” Star Charmer said.
“Dawn Flower was the best foal-sitter ever. All of her songs were great,” Ivory Quill added, with more enthusiasm than they’d seen from her yet. “But that one was the best.”
That got a surprised blink from Scootaloo. She’d guessed that Dawn Flower was the oldest of the three, and that the other two were several years younger than Scootaloo herself, but she hadn’t realized there was that much of a gap.
“Can we hear it?” Thistleroot asked.
Dawn Flower opened her mouth to answer, but glanced aside to her friends. Star Charmer and Ivory Quill were both leaning in, pouts and big, watery, puppy-dog eyes firmly in place. “Fine.”
Scootaloo settled down to listen, and without much preamble, Dawn Flower started singing. Her singing voice was much like her speaking voice: light and full of barely contained laughter. There was something more to it, though. At times, a certain sense of sadness, maybe, that fit the tone of the lullaby, giving it depth. Even though the song itself had nothing to do with Nightmare Moon, listening to Dawn Flower sing, Scootaloo was reminded of Luna’s own tragic story.
“When the day, comes to an end
And all is cast, in silver light
Rest, now child, close your eyes
Sleep, dear child, and goodnight”
The singing settled over the shore of the lake, now otherwise silent but for it and the crackling of the fire. Dawn Flower sang about the night, and darkness, and the creatures that lived in it, and about promises to watch over the little fillies and colts, until morning came.
“Come the dawn, I'm still with you
So don't you worry, don't you fear
Rest, now child, time to sleep
Dream, dear child, I'll be here”
Silence fell when she finished, broken after a moment by Thistleroot. “Aw, that was beautiful.”
“My favorite story. And flower.”
“Oh, oh,” Star Charmer said. “Do the one about the—”
“No,” Dawn Flower chided, drawing the word out. “I’m not your foalsitter any more. And even if I was, you remember the rule. One per night.”
Star Charmer grinned, picked up her stick and speared another marshmallow, and settled in front of the fire again. Scootaloo yawned and closed her eyes, resting her head. She heard Mimic beside her, absentmindedly humming the tune they’d just heard.
*****
Law watched the ponies of the little town settle in for the night. Few were out this late, even on the main streets, and those that were didn’t give her a second glance, as usual.
Progress had been going more slowly than she’d hoped, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. Her champion had gained access to Libiris, but she wasn’t welcome to just go wandering about.
It seemed the other champions had turned the Archive’s creations to their side. Ivory Quill had managed to get inside once, through luck more than anything. The caagan girl had taken to asking if visitors were champions, no doubt with some form of lie detecting divinations. Depending on what lies Discord’s champions had been telling them, they might do away with Ivory Quill if they found out the truth, and there was no way for Law to protect her inside Libiris.
After thinking on the problem for a week, she still hadn’t come up with a tasteful solution, and she was running out of time. She might have to rely on Trader, after all. The thought nearly made her growl in frustration, and she could feel a phantom headache coming on, one to surely become the real thing if she involved him
A pegasus mare was approaching, walking up the street with the unsteady gait of someone who’s had one too many drinks. Her coat was a garish rusty red spotted with white wings. Her mane was short and windswept, and she carried a metal flask under her wing.
Law paid the mare no mind. Her attention was on the task ahead. Each day that passed was one more day Discord’s and Nocturne’s champions could find the heart.
The drunk mare had drawn even with Law and was turning to reach for the flask under her wing when she paused. She tilted her head, blinking slowly a few times in Law’s direction.
Law arched an eyebrow and turned, looking over her shoulder. Nothing stood out. She turned to face the pony again. “Are you looking at me?”
“Yesh,” the mare said simply.
Interesting. Another pony capable of noticing her. She’d certainly never been noticed by somepony who was staggering home drunk.
“What are you supposed to be?” the mare demanded.
“A sphinx,” Law answered simply. She briefly considered speaking further, but dismissed the idea. She already had herself a much more suitable champion, and little else mattered right now.
“Neat,” the mare said. She unfolded her wing and offered the flask to Law. “Want some?”
“I do not.”
The mare shrugged. “More for me.” She lifted her back leg toward the flask, nearly lost her balance, and planted the leg again with a frown. She raised her front hoof and began unscrewing the flask. “Darn body has too many limbs.”
Law barely registered the words as her mind was turning back to her newest problem. A second later, the mare got the flask open. Law could just make out the faint smell of wine as the mare drank. It wasn’t the cheap, harsh wine she’d expected. It was sweet, but not sickly so. The bouquet. The smell of wine was called the bouquet. And the one who’d taught her that...
“Too many limbs?” Law asked, frowning. Her eyes narrowed and she swiped toward the mare with a massive paw, knocking the flask to the ground. Expensive wine poured out onto the dirt road.
“Spoilshport,” the mare said, looking down at the wine sadly.
“I don’t appreciate being made a fool, Sybaris.”
Sybaris smiled, eyes narrowing. “Well, I ain’t the one who made you a fool. I ain’t the one who made you at all.”
Law breathed out through her nose, closing her eyes. The phantom headache edged closer to reality. “So, you’re finally here.”
“Yup,” Sybaris said, lifting the flask to her lips. No, not the same one, Law noticed. The first was still where she’d smacked it to the ground. She had no idea where the second flask came from. Sybaris finished a large swig and smacked her lips.
“You’re the last one to arrive,” Law said. “And the only one to not yet have a champion chosen. You’re running behind, as usual.”
“You find the heart?”
“Not yet.”
“Then we’re still even, so shut it.” The drunk pegasus turned, taking in the little town of Greenhaven Grotto. “Like you said, we’re finally all here. Time to get the real party started.”