//------------------------------// // Chapter Three — A Message From The Past? // Story: Cradle of Dreams // by AterHut //------------------------------// In the morning I, as usual, came back to the library. "I'm really starting to live here, don't I?" As soon as the doors turned open I noticed that something was off in the pile of books and documents I’ve left yesterday. “I definitely don’t remember that falling on me.” There was an old-looking book that somehow felt way less affected by the time. Its soft, pale-burgundy cover was doing a great job of hiding amounts of dust covering it. “Did I get hit too hard yesterday?” No matter how much I stared at the book - I wasn’t able to recall seeing it before. There also was no title to identify the book. Only a big hoofwritten “M” letter that looks like someone’s signature and resembles a mountain with a pony in front of it that… “Yep, I definitely got hit too hard yesterday.” But now I’m sure that I haven’t seen that book before. “Is anything wrong?” I twitched, but didn’t get as scared as before. Probably I’m just too tired. Or getting used to this. For some reason I want to believe in the first option. “Do you know anything about this book?” He was here for much longer than I was, so maybe he knew something. “Let’s see…” I watched the black pegasus taking the book with his hoofs. Seeing this made me angry for some reason. He examined the book for a second. “Sorry, I don’t know anything about this.” Are you capable of anything except scaring me?! “All I can say is that it seems to be protected with some spell.” He tried to open the book and had no success in that. “What does that mean?” It was the first time I’ve even heard about book-protecting spells. I mean, it would make sense for magic scrolls or secret documents... But for a book? That’s getting even more suspicious. “It means that one who wrote this book was powerful enough to seal it and didn’t want others to see what’s inside.” Thanks capitan! I took a book from his hoofs to give it a closer look. I took it with my magic, of course. I hate this rule more and more with each second. “Thus I must bring that book to Mrs Waver. It may contain important information or be secret documentation of the Wavers'. Or even-” Book easily popped open when I tried to open it. Black pegasus stared at the open book with slight disbelief in his eyes. “...Or it can belong to a family of yours, indeed.” After that he turned back and silently quit the library. Forgeting even to give his signature bow. I felt like I finally paid him back for all the stuff he did to me in the last days. But even so it’s weird that he didn’t even check what’s inside. Or delivered that book to my parents in the first place. However, that book interested me too much to think about it. “I just hope it's not one of his jokes.” I sat at a nearby table. Thanks to my hard work it was so clean that I could eat from it. Even if it was only one table out of, like, twenty here? Still feeling bit proud of myself, I prepared to open the book. “Please be helpful, please be helpful, please be helpful!” I peeked inside of that weird book and… Nothing. “It’s freaking empty?!” I knew it’s another of his jokes! I looked around, expecting to see his calm face full of laughter at me, but there was no pony to be seen. “Huh?” I turned back to the book and flipped through. All pages were empty. No hidden letters or any notes between pages. Just nothing. “Oh come on! It can't just be an empty book! It was locked with some kind of magic, right? Who in the world would cast a sealing spell on an empty book?!” But it seems that somepony would. I tried to illuminate the pages to see if there’s some hidden text, just like in old adventure books. “Aha!” Still freaking nothing. Maybe it’s really empty? “But that’s just way too suspicious!” I stamped my hooves in displeasure. I looked around again, checking the surroundings for the presence of a black laughing pegasus. None to be seen. I tried to close and open, rotate, flip upside down, look at the pages in the dark, cover pages in my magic - no results! “WHY WAS IT LOCKED THEN?!” I need to know that, or I won’t be able to focus on work! I should ask mom or dad about that book. “Yes, that’s very important. Very important. Indeed.” I closed the library and went to the main hall. As expected, mom was cleaning here. “What are you doing here, Rettie? Is something wrong?” “Uhh… Kind of? Do you know something about this book?” She took the book with her magic and opened it. Or at least that’s what I’ve expected to see. Because she failed to. “Sorry Sweetie, but I can’t get it. Is that some kind of joke?” “I wonder… Do you know where dad is?” At that very moment dad came into the hall with Mr Waver. “Here he is.” I waved to them to attract their attention and ran up to them. “Dad, can you open this?” He took the book and tried to open it with his wings. No results. “Doesn’t seem so, what is that?” “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Mr Waver, can you try to open this?” His magic didn’t work either. “Bother to explain yourself, Rettie?” He definitely wasn’t happy about me wandering around with some weird magic-protected books instead of cleaning. “I found it during the cleaning, and it seems that I'm the only one who can open this book.” To prove my words I opened it with ease, surprising everyone, especially Mr Wavers, with that. “How did you do that? Is there some trick or puzzle?” Of course he suspects me of cheating. “There’s no tricks! The senior servant told me that there’s some kind of spell protecting that book and that it’s most likely our family documents or something like that, but it’s completely empty!” I flipped through the blank pages as a proof. “Hmm… So nopony else is able to open that book? “Yes.” “Doesn’t that mean that that book belongs to you, sweetie?” Dad’s idea could be right, but there’s a problem… “But how and why was it lying in the library for so long then?” And was it in first place? I still can’t recall seeing it ever before. Even though I've just looked through the entire library! No pony seemed to be able to answer those questions. After that, Mr Waver took this book to Mrs Wavers, so I had nothing to do but go back to work. In two hours black pegasus visited me again. Right before my break. “Mrs Waver says that that book belongs to you so she asked me to bring it back.” “But I have no clue what to do with that!” “I just delivered the book. There’s no doubt that it's yours. So there’s nothing I can help with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do..” As always he bowed and flew away. “And what am I supposed to do with you?” For some reason the book didn’t answer. “Rude.” . . . During the dinner break, I kept staring at empty book pages, trying to solve that mystery. “So what do we have…” Tasty rice with some salad, and coffee with a slice of garlic bread… I shook my head. “Not this.” Well, that’s a book. An empty one. Thanks Sherlock! Anything else? Garlic bread doesn't go well with sweet coffee. “Oh come on!” I had to quickly finish my dinner to stop distracting myself. Book seems to belong to me. So I’m somehow supposed to know what to do with it. “But I have no clue what!” I made a heavy sigh and took the book to put it in my saddlebag along with the lunchboxes. “I don’t have time for this right now. I just wanted to know if there's a way to improve my magic in a short amount of time to be able to finish work…” After those words, the book broke free from my magic field and, after flipping multiple pages, landed at the table, while my lunchboxes met the ground. “The heck?! I thought only that pegasus would try to scare me!” This time the pages weren't empty! *Chapter Two. How to improve your magic in a short amount of time.* “Are you some kind of freaking magic book or something?!” I mean, it was locked with some magic spell. And react only to my magic for some reason but… I quickly put my stuff in my bags and sat in front of the book. “Chapter Two, huh? So there must be chapter one, right?” Pages started to flip again. *Chapter One. How to use that book.* “AND HOW IN THE WORLD I WAS SUPPOSED TO READ IT?!” Well, I’ve managed to randomly open this, but still! But there were still empty pages before the first chapter. “Page one! First page! Page number one?!” It didn’t work. But at the same time I don’t want to read instructions that are literally under my muzzle. “Uhh, then it must be… Title?” Pages flipped again, and voila, the first page is right in front of me! “Here we go!” *Collection of notes for my little dream. Author Mountainhoof.* *Dedicated to my little dream that once visited and saved me.* “Huh? What’s wrong with that title?” But aside the title… “Author is Mountainhoof? That’s my great-grandpa!” Now it makes sense why others weren't able to open this diary. But why then my dad wasn't able to? “Well, I guess I’ll have to read that book to figure it out? So… Contents?” Pages flipped and book contents appeared in front of me. Literally. I was able to see letters apprearing at page! “Okay that's impressive!” Contents. 1. Title. ................................................................................1 2. Contents. ........................................................................2 3. Chapter One. How to use that book. .........................3 4. Chapter Two. How to improve your magic in a short amount of time. ..............................................15 5. Chapter Three. A warning. (VERY IMPORTANT!!!) ....68 6. Chapter Four. The journey. ........................................69 7. That looks… weird. Not like a magic book controlled by voice and titled “Collection of notes for my little dream” wasn’t weird enough, but what’s wrong with those contents?! First chapter contains information about how to even see that chapter in the first place. Second chapter is suspiciously in time for me. Putting some “VERY IMPORTANT!!!” warning AFTER the main contents of the book? Why?! Chapter four sounds normal enough but… “Why is the seventh paragraph empty and not even numbered?” Having no title means that I can’t even open it! And it’s quite worrying after the “VERY IMPORTANT!!!” warning chapter!?! “I think I’ll read the warning first… Chapter Three!.. A warning? ” It doesn’t work. “Chapter Three. A warning. VERY IMPORTANT!!!?!?” No reaction. “WHY?! Why doesn't it work even if it’s that important that you wrote it in capitals!?!” That’s just stupid! “Chapter One!” It works. “Chapter Three!” Now it doesn’t. “Dang it!” Well, I have no choice but to read it from the beginning then?