//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Planning // Story: Trial by Sound // by Agrith //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Planning Early morning in the town of Silver Grove was a time when very few ponies were out and about, with the exception of Crystal and Stone and their early morning walks. The library, which served as a backup to town hall, however, always had a pony awake during the day; a.k.a. the librarian and local scholar, Magic Knowledge. A red coated unicorn with a black mane and tail with a gold streak and a book for a cutie mark walked around the library, periodically checking books for damages she might have missed. Satisfied, she walked over to a table and began sorting through the things she had to do. “Whenever the new shipment of books comes in, I should have enough reading material for the Summer Reading Program,” Magic Knowledge said to herself and sighed, “If only enough young foals were interested in that sort of thing. Maybe I can make it more exciting by-“ She was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. “Who is Equestria could that be?” she said, looking at the clock, “It’s not even noon.” She opened the door with her magic and was surprised to see Crystal and Stone standing there; surprised as in she knew of the little crush between them and thought they would still be out in the forest. “Stone, Crystal, what a surprise to see to you,” Magic said, “What are you doing here? I thought you would still be out and about in the forest. Please, come in.” Magic stepped aside to let the two foals enter. “I wasn’t expecting anypony to come by this early, so I don’t have much in the way of snacks,” Magic said. “That’s okay,” Crystal said, “Aren’t you going to ask why we’re here.” “I hope you didn’t run into any trouble out in the woods.” “No, at least we hope it isn’t trouble,” Stone said. “What do you mean?” Magic asked, “Is there something out there?” “Actually, there are several somethings,” Crystal said, “I think we should start with the ones you would believe.” Crystal told Magic Knowledge about the Diamond Dog and lizard they saw on the path. When Crystal finished talking, Magic walked over to a window that overlooked the town. “Are you sure you know what you saw?” Magic asked. “Yes, I’m positive,” Crystal said. “Stone, is she lying?” Magic asked Stone. “I saw them too,” Stone said. Magic sighed and turned towards the foals. “This is not good,” Magic said, “If they aren’t just passing through, things could go very bad.” “What do you mean?” Crystal asked. “Some of the guards stationed at Baltimare are being moved east,” Magic explained, “While the city’s defenses won’t suffer, guards for the surrounding area are going to be stretched thin. If something were to happen here, help may not arrive in time to make a difference.” Magic instantly regretted telling two children the grim news. “But if we rally the whole town, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” Magic reassured. Crystal and Stone instantly perked up. “Now tell me about this other thing you found.” “Well, he can’t talk, at least we can’t understand him,” Crystal said. “But he can understand us,” Stone added. “Really? Interesting,” Magic said, raising a hoof to her chin, “Tell me more about him.” “He’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of,” Crystal said, “He’s at least eight feet tall, has a bunch of long spikes on his back, he has a staff with pointy ends, and seems to be completely made of metal.” Magic Knowledge stared, dumbfounded that these two foals didn’t run away in terror at the sight of something like that. “And you didn’t run away from him?” Magic asked, “What came over you?” “To be honest, we were too scared,” Stone explained, “We heard some noises and he fell out of a tree. We didn’t even know he was there.” “And you trust him?” “He could have attacked when our backs were turned, but he didn’t,” Crystal said, “and he helped us hide when he heard the diamond dog and lizard. He doesn’t seem bad to me.” “You mentioned he couldn’t talk,” Magic said, “Why is that?” “He can make clicking noises and a weird screech,” Crystal said, “but nothing we can understand. Maybe you can find some sort of translation spell.” “Yes, if I have time, but the more important matter at hoof is the diamond dog and lizard you saw,” Magic said, “I’ll need to alert the mayor and help with preparations.” “But don’t you want to meet him?” Stone asked. “Meet whom? The metal thing?” Magic asked. “Yeah, we were planning on bringing him here but decided that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Crystal said, “At least not during the day. He’s out in cave in the forest.” “I have a feeling this could go bad if handled wrong, so I want you two to bring him here around midnight,” Magic said, “I’ll leave the door open so you can get in. And make sure nopony sees you; there’s no need to start a panic. Does that sound like a plan?” “Sounds good to me,” Stone said, “I’m sure he’ll be fine for a few extra hours.” *Back at the cave* Derahk left the cave to get better light for observing the bone. Unknown to him, a wolf had been watching him ever since the two foals left him alone. It had been planning on claiming the den until Derahk showed up. Were Derahk not so entranced in the bone, he might have heard the wolf sneaking up on him, but alas, he was unaware of the wolf until it decided to charge. It slammed into his back and sent him flying forward, landing face first in the dirt. Spitting out the dirt that got into his dirt, he turned around in time to see the wolf in mid leap. Instinct took over, and Derahk curled his hand into a fist and punched the wolf in its jaw, sending it flying off to one side. Dazed from the punch, the wolf had barely recovered before Derahk grabbed it and threw it into a tree. Cracks could be heard as the wolf collided with the tree, sliding down it and barely clinging to consciousness. Derahk roared a challenge at the wolf, waiting for it to get up. The wolf struggled to get and when it saw Derahk standing there, it took off as fast as possible, as painful as it was. When the wolf was out of sight, Derahk returned to his bone and acted like nothing had happened. It was almost dark and Derahk was getting a little worried. He thought either Stone or Crystal would have come by now, at least to tell them how they were planning on sneaking him across town. Even if he couldn’t give any input, knowing the plan ahead of time would make things several times easier. Not that he was worried. He could level the entire forest, even if he didn’t know it. He just wanted a distraction from the constant high pitched squeaking the bats kept making. There too many and were too small for him to deal with efficiently, so he had to put up with them. An hour after the last ray of sun had disappeared, he heard something approach. Honing in on the source of the sound, he could tell it was Stone. A minute later, the brush in front of the cave parted and the brown colt walked out. “You should have picked a spot closer to the path,” Stone said, “I almost got lost out there.” Derahk clicked and held up two fingers then pointed at Stone. “Crystal?” Derahk nodded, “She’s on the path using a light spell so I can find my way back.” Derahk tilted his head at the mention of magic. While he had a suspicion that there was magic in this world, he wasn’t fully sure of it until now. “Something wrong?” Stone asked. Derahk shook his head and motioned for Stone to get moving. “Alright, follow me,” Stone said, before disappearing into the brush. Derahk followed, staff assemble and at the ready. Even though he was confident he could detect any threats before they emerged, not holding the staff left him feeling weakened. They pushed through the bramble, Stone stumbling about in the low light while Derahk strode confidently, the low lighting not a bother with his echolocation. Up ahead, he could see a faint light in between the trees. Derahk and Stone emerged from the woods onto the path to find Crystal. At the tip of her horn was a small ball of silver blue light, not enough to be blinding but enough to see the surrounding area. “Took you long enough,” Crystal said, “Do you have any idea how boring it is just standing here?” “Next time, you go out into the woods and get him while I stand here,” Stone said. Derahk rolled his eyes and made a loud screech, enough to frighten the two foals but not enough to wake the whole village. “Fine, we’ll get going,” Crystal mumbled, “Just try to stay hidden as much as possible.” The short journey to Magic Knowledge’s place wasn’t as difficult as Derahk thought it would be. There were very few ponies out and he was easily able to avoid all of them. With the lack of widespread street lamps and a half full moon, it was easy to stick to the shadows and they made it to the Library without being detected. Now there are several things that need to happen in order to successfully sneak into a place. The first thing is to get there undetected. The next thing is managing to fit into the entrance you have chosen. Let’s just say that was easier said than done. After several minutes of struggling to fit through the doorway, trying not to tear the frame out of the wall and amazingly not alerting any of the sleeping villagers, Derahk finally managed to wiggle through the door way. The only damages were a few scratches on the frame and a sore snout on Stone from a wayward fist. Derahk looked around the library before finally stopping on Magic Knowledge. Even knowing beforehand what she was in for, the only words she managed to get out were “Oh my” before passing out.