“Are you sure about this Twilight?” Spike asked with a whine as he stretched.
Sci Twi pinched her nose. “I mean it, Spike. I do not know who else to ask.” She looked at the journal on her desk. “And after what we saw in the Memory Crystal, this is all I can think of.”
“What about the pony princesses?” He replied with an unconvinced look. A look that he seemed to be using more and more often these days.
Twilight shook her head. “I tried. They can’t read it either. What’s the worse they can do?”
Spike rolled his eyes. He could think of a few things. “Seeing what one did to other you… I can think of a few things. None of them pleasant.”
Before Twilight could respond, however, there came a knock at her lab’s door. She was glad as well, as she went to open it. She put on her best smile as the door opened. “Miss Starsong. Thank you for coming on short notice.”
“Oh think nothing of it, dear. I kinda figured you’d be calling on me sooner or later.” Starsong chuckled as she removed her jacket. “So where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The book you wanted to ask me about. I may not be an oracle anymore but glimpsing the timestream has always been a trate of my clan.” Sitting down Kiyoko smiled tenderly.
Twilight fought back an eye twitch as she grabbed the journal. “Here it is. I’ve gone to everyone, and everypony, I can think of. No one can decipher this. I’m beginning to think that this isn’t human at all.”
Starsong took the journal in hand and sat herself down in Twilight’s chair. One leg crossed over the other and with one hand opened the pages. Staring at it coldly. Twilight’s eye twitched as a shiver ran down her spine. It was identical to how Professor Everfree sat and went over grade books. Leaning up against a table, Twilight stood there silently as Kiyoko flipped page, after page, those cool moonlight eyes scanning the words silently.
“Well?” Twilight finally asked after fifteen minutes had passed.
“Well, you’re right. No human or pony wrote this down. This is old, very old. I would say a product of the lost Hippogryphs. They were the only ones to use such dialect, of course, that was thousands of years ago.”
Twilight wracked her brain, but came up empty. “There’s no record of hippogryphs as far as I know. I even asked some of the none pony species, and not even their oldest records mention that name.”
Closing the journal and setting it aside, Kiyoko folded her hands on her lap and looked at Twilight as if she was a newborn kit. Slowly shaking her head. “I forget how young you all are. So much has been lost or written out of existence. They were a dying race when my mate and I came to these shores from our world. They hated outsiders, almost xenophobic. They always kept to themselves. Hiding away in their mountain peak or under the waves. Where do you think all those sailor tales of mermaids come from?”
Twilight nodded. “I’ve seen the ruins. There was something… wrong about all of it. From what, I don’t know. It almost felt like. Something had been unleashed when the Pearl had been found.” She looked at her own necklace, sitting on its mannequin. “And maybe that’s why I became a mermaid and Twily a seapony, the first time we were there.”
Nodding slowly, Kiyoko smiled. “Well, the two are essentially the same. Mermaids, seaponies. But something being unleashed? It’s possible. But not my concern.” Tossing the journal over to Twilight who caught it with a surprised look as another appeared in Kiyoko’s hand. This one was made of hard night blue leather with silver bookmark streamers. “I’ll leave this with you. You might find it useful to read that. Although I’m not sure if I’m doing you a favor or not. What’s written there is no love story. And I’m not sure you’ll enjoy what it has to tell.”
“Huh?” Twilight looked at the journal, for a moment her hands trembled. Looking up she saw that Kiyoko had dawned her coat again. “Your leaving?”
“I am. I’ve given you want you needed, even if it’s not what you wanted. I’m giving you a bit of advice both as a seer and mother. Sometimes it’s better not to jump down the rabbit hole. Say hello to your beloved for me. Pearl keeps asking when Rainbow is visiting again.” Without waiting for so much as a goodbye, Kiyoko left the lab.
Twilight ran to the door and flung it open only to find the hallway dark and deserted. Her eye twitched rapidly.
Spike gulped. “What was all that about?”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know, Spike. There was something in there she didn’t like, or something happened in the past between her and whoever wrote the journal. I don’t know. And I don’t want to know.”
“So you’re not curious at all?” He asked with a knowing smirk.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I am. Maybe I was seeing things. But she was angry. Perhaps furious.”
“What did you do though?” Spike asked with a whine.
Twilight blinked, before rubbing his ears with a smile. “Nothing. This wasn’t aimed at me, or something I did. This goes back further than any of us know.”
Spike wasn’t convinced though but knew better than to argue when his best friend had an idea stuck in her mind. “You’re going to read it anyway, aren’t you?”
Twilight giggled. “Of course. I have to know. Who knows? Maybe it’s not as bad as Starsong makes it out to be.”
Spike somehow doubted it would be that simple.