//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 - A Trip to the Library // Story: A Cozy Tale // by Leondude //------------------------------// Dear Cozy Glow Thank you so much for your letter. I look forward to reading more from you. Anything to keep myself occupied in this infernal prison! Though I should tell you I was not that different from the rest of my kind. Sure, I was smarter than the average centaur but I wasn't the only one who could harness the power of Equestrian magic. There was a sorceror that taught me everything I knew about draining magic. Being the clever little thing you are, I'm sure you've heard of Sendak the Elder. But if you haven't, then I'd suggest you look him up. Think of it as a history lesson. Lord Tirek In the middle of the night, Cozy looked at the letter sent to her, illuminated with a flashlight. It wasn't a school day so she was allowed to stay up as late as she wanted. While she was happy to get a response from Tirek, she had never heard of this Sendak and didn't know where to look. Whatever Sendak did, it probably wasn't enough to be mentioned in the history books. Hopefully, there was a book about all the sorcerors in all the lands otherwise she would have nothing to send to Tirek. Perhaps she could ask her mum if she knew anything about Sendak the Elder. She flew out of her bed and hovered into her mother's bedroom. She was sound asleep, sprawled about in her great big bed. Why she needed a bed that big, Cozy will never know. "Mommy?" Cozy said as she gave her mother a little nudge. "Yes, Cozy?" Brocade asked. "Have you ever heard of a wizard called Sendak the Elder?" Cozy asked. "Not really," Brocade replied, "Why?" "My pen pal wanted me to talk about him but I don't know anything about him," Cozy replied. Brocade yawned, "Well then, guess we'll have to go to the library in the morning." "Thanks, mom." "You're welcome." On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Cozy and Brocade made their way to the Royal Canterlot Library. While they could have used the local library, Brocade knew that the Royal Library in Canterlot always had the best history books. That, and the last time Brocade borrowed a book from the library in Manehatten, some of the pages were stuck together and had splotches of what she hoped to Celestia was tree sap. Brocade trotted up to the desk with Cozy hovering right behind her. At the desk was a dark turquoise mare with a yellow turtleneck and a fluffy light blue mane. "Excuse me," Brocade asked, "Do you know of any books that have a sorcerer in it called Sendak the Elder?" "No but you could check everything in the 'S' section," the librarian replied enthusiastically, "There's plenty of books about sorcerers!" "Thanks," Brocade trotted away with Cozy not that far behind. As they made their way to the 'S' section, Brocade spotted a familiar stallion. One who wasn't coming into their home again any time soon. It was her husband, reading a book about how to manipulate the stock market or some business like that. But she wasn't going to fall for his charms that easily. She was done fighting. She was done protecting Cozy from him. If he wanted forgiveness, he would have to get on his knees and beg for it. She turned away and helped Cozy look for a book about sorcerors. Problem was there were plenty of books about sorcerors and sorcery that neither of them knew where to start. "Need help with something?" Facade asked. Seeing her husband right behind her, Brocade yelped in surprise as Cozy immediately hid right behind her. Facade just chuckled. "You two are a bit jumpy today," Facade said, "Was it something I did?" Brocade scowled at her husband. "Are you still mad about what happened yesterday?" Facade asked. "You were drowning our child," Brocade coldly replied. "No, I wasn't," Facade lied, "She was playing out in the mud and got all dirty so...I did what anypony would do and get all the dirt out." "Other ponies don't dunk their foals' heads in water when cleaning them," Brocade said venomously. "Well, I wanted to be thorough," Facade said, "Anyway, what brings you around here?" "I could ask you the same question," Brocade replied. "Just doing research for a role in a play," Facade casually said, "Bet you forgot I was an actor." "I'm surprised anypony would work with you considering your penchant for yelling at the director," Brocade deadpanned. Facade raised his hoof, "That was one incident." "Two if you count the guy that wrote 'Please Kill Mr. Facade'," Brocade retorted. Cozy giggled at her mother's witty remark. "Well, that's enough about me," Facade said, "What about you lovely mares?" "If you must know, we are looking for a book about Sendak the Elder," Brocade replied. "School project?" Facade asked. "Nope," Cozy replied, "It's for a letter I'm writing to a friend. He's a big scary centaur named Tirek." "Wasn't that the guy that attacked us in the theatre?" Facade asked. "Yep," Cozy replied, "But if you two taught me anything, it's that anypony can be friends." Facade tilted his head, "And what about centaurs?" Cozy shrugged, "I don't think it's in their nature but it's worth a try." Facade smiled confidently, "I think I know how to help you girls out. Follow me." As Facade trotted away like he owned the place, Brocade and Cozy carefully followed. Brocade was just hoping he wouldn't try to crack both her and Cozy's heads open with a big book. As Facade reached a bookshelf, he pulled down two books, a yellow one and a blue one. And just like that, the bookshelf moved away. "I stumbled upon the restricted section while looking for a book on Equestrian politics," Facade explained. Brocade watched as Facade entered the dungeon below. Curious as to what was down there, she continued following her husband. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Brocade had always enjoyed Facade's roguish behaviour. It was only when he was hurting her and Cozy she put her hoof down. Facade opened a massive door and inside was an ancient study filled with dusty old books. "I'd be careful looking through these books if I were you," Facade warned, "Some of them are hardcore pornography banned in every city in Equestria." "What's pornography?" Cozy asked. "You don't wanna know," Brocade replied. Facade trotted up towards his wife, "So, does that mean I'm off the hook?" "If you ever lay a hoof on my daughter like that again, I will do everything in my power to throw you in jail," Brocade replied with a cold whisper, "You're on thin ice."