//------------------------------// // The Record of All Things - Part 4 // Story: Twilight Sparkle, Librarian // by Raryn //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle: Librarian The Record of All Things - Part 5 By: Raryn As the light of the teleportation spell faded, Trixie found herself in the dark. There was a faint sound of water dripping from somewhere and the smell of mildew filled the air. She sent magic into her horn, and it began to glow, illuminating where she was with a soft light. It was a cave, and not a natural one by the looks of it. The walls and floor were clean cut, flat and even, and lead away down a hallway that faded into darkness. The layer of dust that surrounded the teleportation matrix showed that no pony had been here in a long time. Gazing around, she hesitantly stepped from the matrix pedestal onto the floor. Nothing happened. Trixie breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly began to make her way down the hallway, gazing all over for any signs of traps or other markers that may have been left by whoever created this cave. “This was just like something out of one of those crazy adventure novels,” she thought aloud. “An intrepid adventurer traversing the old and dangerous places of the world.” Soon, she reached a door as the hallway ended. It was a wooden door, reinforced with thick iron bands, marred with age. It had a large metal handle and a heavy wooden crossbar keeping it shut. Trixie reached out with her magic and lifted the crossbar from its holding place before pulling the door open. Light flooded into the cave, blinding Trixie as her eyes slowly adjusted. When she could see again, her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open. Before her, down in a valley, stood the remains of several large stone buildings, some many times larger than even the royal palace in Canterlot. Trixie floated out the book and flipped it back to the entry on her task. Wow, I know I was expecting ruins of a sort when I did all the research, but I wasn’t expecting this. I guess this is the proof of the greatness of the age before the time of the three races. The tall monolithic ruins stark against the green of the surrounding hills and not a single soul in sight— “Blah blah blah, that’s not what I need to know. I need to know where the Record is being kept.” Trixie skipped through the book, looking for something, anything that’d tell her what she wanted. From all the research I’ve done, I’m almost certain that the Record is deep within a tomb within a vault within the largest of the buildings, the ruins of the imperial palace of the kingdom. “That’s what I wanted.” Trixie replaced the book back into her bag before she made her way towards the ruins of the lost kingdom. As the light of the teleportation spell faded, Twilight found herself in the dark. There was a faint sound of water dripping from somewhere and the smell of mildew filled the air. She sent magic into her horn, and it began to glow, illuminating where she was with a soft light. It was a cave, and not a natural one by the looks of it. The walls and floor were clean cut, flat and even, and lead away down a hallway that faded into darkness. The hoofprints that stood out against the thick layer of dust proved her journal’s words that there was somepony out there who was going for the Record. She was certain that it was the same pony who had stolen Bookworm’s journal. The tracks looked to be less than a day old, so Twilight quickly sped down the hallway to find a doorway with its door standing ajar. As she exited, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. Before her was the ruins of the ancient civilization that had created the Record; the precursor to pony culture, and in her eyes, they were magnificent. The way the buildings were made, what they might contain, all of it could help to shed light on just how ancient ponies had lived, and possibly on what could have happened to cause them to vanish from the annals of history. “No! No, gotta stay on task.” Twilight shook her head, banishing the temptation to explore for the sake of history. That could all be done later, once she’d secured the safety of the Record. And yet, she had no idea on where to begin her search for it. All she knew was that it was in a tomb somewhere at the end of the known lands of the time; where that could be, she had no clue. “End of land… end of land… maybe there’s something on it in one of the buildings.” Twilight gazed over the ruins and decided that the best bet was the large one in the center. Large buildings always were the most important. She slowly made her way down towards the ruins and as she approached her destination, an arrow embedded itself in front of her, still quivering from the force of the hit, and a voice echoed around her. “Bídsteall! Hwa geonre?” Trixie approached the ruined palace slowly, keeping to the shadows. She knew better than to assume that the place was abandoned and not inhabited. She’d read the books, these places were never abandoned. Her caution won in the end; as she peaked around a corner, she spied a pair of ponies standing a little ways from where she was, right in her path. They were speaking to each other, but in a tongue that Trixie couldn’t understand. Thinking fast, she levitated a small rock and tossed it down a side path that was near the two. The noise attracted their attention and they moved off towards the sound. Trixie took advantage of the small distraction she had created and moved quickly down the path. She didn’t meet any other ponies after the first two and soon she found herself at the base of the palace ruins. “Ok Trixie,” she said to herself. “You can do this. This’ll be easy. You have a book that probably can tell you exactly how to find what we’re looking for and how not to get caught by anything.” She moved towards an entrance and peeked in. It was empty and she quickly ducked in. She removed the book from her bag again and flipped through it. Upon entering the ruined city, I found that it was far from abandoned and empty. It wasn’t much, but there were small signs of inhabitance; a fresh hoof print here, the remains of a small fire there. Then, turning a corner, I came face to face with a pony in clothes that let him blend in with the surroundings. He spoke in the ancient tongue and— “Ok, I get it. Place isn’t abandoned,” Trixie said as she flipped past the section. “What is with this thing and detailing such unimportant things? Ah, here we go; the entrance to wherever this Record is being kept.” After the savage beast that had been ravaging the nearby grassland had been captured and secured, I returned to the local encampment to the cheers of all there. And for upholding my end of the bargain, and swearing an oath to protect it, History agreed to inform me of the location to the Record’s resting place and the keys to the several locks and seals guarding it. They are as follows... Trixie marked the page with the spells and started on her journey through the ruins of the palace to the vault and its hidden secrets. Twilight jumped back in surprise with a small shriek as the arrow struck the ground in front of her and the voice sounded out. “Who’s there? I don’t mean any harm here, in fact I mean—” “Swíge! Ingehygdnessa,” the voice sounded again. While she didn’t know exactly what was being said, she did recognize the ancient Equestrian language. “Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you are saying.” At that, an earth pony stallion wearing clothes of the same color as the ruins appeared from a small niche in the stone and slowly approached, brandishing a wooden spear with a stone head. “Who you? Why here?” he spoke in broken modern Equestrian. “One moment, I think I can make this easier for us.” Twilight sent magic through her horn, and as it began to glow, startled cries came from ruins. “Þyrs!” “Helrýnegu!” “Galdricge!” “Miscenning!” The stallion standing before Twilight shouted back at the voices. “Scinnlæce.” The voices quieted down at that and Twilight let her magic flow out over her. “There we go. That should do the trick,” she said. “What did you do, Sorceress?” the stallion asked. “You are speaking in our tongue.” “Just a simple translation spell. It allows for me to understand what you are saying and for what I am saying to be understood. What were they saying while I was casting the spell?” “They called you a demon, witch, and enchantress. But do not give them fault, they are young and do not know of the old times yet. You are none of those things. In our culture, you are a sorceress, one who has the gift inherent within themselves. And one to be revered, as the gift does not come to us like that but once in a generation. We usually channel power from the land through the use of fetishes and rituals.” “Oh, ok.” “Now we must return to before. Sorceress, may you please reveal your name and your purpose here. I don’t believe that you mean us ill, or you would have already smitten us with your powers.” “You are correct,” Twilight replied. “I mean neither you nor any others of this land ill. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my purpose is one of utmost importance, if you could take me to a library or a historian or something.” “Of course, Sorceress.” The stallion lowered himself in a bow before Twilight. “My name is Speaker, as I have always been the one to deal with strangers to our lands, and I will do what I can to help you.” Speaker rose back up and motioned for Twilight to follow him. “This reminds me of another time when a stranger entered our lands with a task of utmost importance. He wasn’t like you, a Sorceress, but he was a learned stallion.” “Was his name Bookworm?” “That is what he called himself,” Speaker said as he led Twilight through the ruins. “Are you perhaps related to him? A daughter maybe? Or granddaughter?” “No, no,” Twilight said quickly. “He’s more of a… mentor and teacher.” “I see. It makes sense that he'd take a student to teach what he knew.” Speaker turned a corner and as Twilight followed, she found herself at the entrance to a small village nestled within a grand plaza. A dozen or so small huts made of wood and woven blankets lined the walls while ponies all similarly dressed to Speaker, and similarly all earth ponies, milled about doing everyday things; preparing food, mending clothes and equipment, watching children. Though, as she entered, all actions came to a halt as the residents watched her with curious eyes. Speaker led her to the largest of the huts, set aside not just by its size, but by the signets and colors set on the blankets; they were the same as the crest for the kingdom. Speaker stopped short of the entrance and motioned for her to enter. “Inside you shall find your answers, just as Bookworm did all those years ago.” Twilight gazed around at the ponies who were watching her before a familiar light caught her eyes coming from her bags. She smiled at the thought of her journal telling her that it was what she needed to do and nodded at Speaker before she entered the hut. Trixie let the magic in her horn fade as she looked over the pair of dolls that she had created. The book had told her of the magic seals and how to open them, and it had confused her. It seemed that the magic of the time, whenever this place had been created, was completely different from what it was like today. The magic was not channeled through one's body, but through the use of small figures and baubles and the like. And even with that, the magic had to be prepared and gathered from the land through a ritual. Luckily, it had all been described for her. The dolls were as they should be, a pair of ponies pieced together with scrap wood and cloth that she had found above. She placed the two on a pair of pedestals set on opposite sides of the vault and stood between them. Now came the time for the ritual. She shrugged off her bags and cloak and lowered herself until her belly laid on the floor as she moved her fore hooves in circles along it. She slowly rose up onto her hind legs and, while trying to keep balance, she began to spin slowly as she threw her head back and stared up at the ceiling. She dropped back down onto all fours and began to keen a tune that seemed to come from the ground itself. Soon, she was swaying along in time with it, her mind slowly forgetting the book and its instructions. Then something took her; she began to bob and weave to some unseen beat, to spin and leap and howl as the powers of the earth flowed into her. After what seemed to be an eternity, she once again rose to her hind legs and flung her fore legs towards to two dolls. Something flowed from her hooves across the air to strike each and there was a loud crack as the wall in front of her split open to reveal a hidden entrance. Trixie dropped to the ground panting as the power left her, a smile slowly working its way across her face. The end was in sight for her. Once she got the Record she could get back home and deal with everything it entitled. She pulled herself to her hooves and grabbed her bags before setting off down the newly opened doorway. Upon entering, Twilight was assaulted by smoke and the smell of burning herbs. As she coughed, a papery voice sounded from deeper within. “Come in, come in, have a seat,” it said. “Sorry for the smoke, it helps to channel the power.” As Twilight moved further into the hut, the smoke cleared up some and she saw the voices owner. It was an ancient mare, an earth pony like all the rest, her mane and coat pure grey and her features sunken into her face, giving it the look of a skull. “Hello there, I am History, the record keeper and oracle for our clan. I have awaited your arrival for some time.” “You have?” Twilight said as she found a cushion and sat. “Yes,” History said. “The smoke told of your arrival, though nothing on why save for an image of one who I know, though he has already passed from this world. Now tell, how is what are you here for, and what does it have to do with the one named Bookworm?” Twilight stared at the ancient mare with her mouth open a little before she shook her head and smiled. “Why am I even surprised by that anymore. Of course he'd have found his way to this place. Bookworm was here once, to deal with the Record. Well, to say the least, that is the same reason I'm here.” “So you are of the calling as well then.” “The what?” “The calling,” History repeated. “Those who are lead by the powers of this world to where they are most needed.” “The journals, you know of the order?” “Only what the powers have granted me to know.” “I see. Speaker said that the answers I need could be found here.” “And I take it that these answers are of the utmost importance, correct?” “They are,” Twilight agreed. “There is somepony who seeks the Record. They have all the knowledge on where it is and may already be there.” History took a long look at Twilight, as if she could see the very words that she had spoken and was judging their validity. “I see. And you are not sure where that is.” “Yes,” she admitted. “All the information I could find never gave anything more than an enigmatic 'hidden at the ends of the known lands'.” “Yes, that old tale. It's rather simple when you think on it,” History said matter-of-factly. “Where does the known lands end for the simple viewer? Where's the place that they cannot see?” “You mean to tell me that the Record is hidden here?” Twilight asked. “I mean right here, underground?” “Bingo, you got it.” History pulled a piece of rope that had appeared next to her and Twilight was covered in confetti. At that, Twilight thought that she may have found something to Pinkie's 'powers', but that was a thought for another time. She instead turned her thoughts to the next stage of questioning. “The entrance is under the really big ruin isn't it?” “Yep, the old royal palace itself. Hidden in the vaults is a secret door that is sealed with several magical locks and seals that can only be opened through a long ritual.” A flash of light came from Twilight's bag again, showing that something new had appeared in her journal. “And I'm sure that you now know how to perform it, same things happened when Bookworm learned about the rituals. If the powers see fit to tell you the secrets then we shall hold it to you to protect the Record. We have been here since the fall, keeping watch over the entrance to the Record's tomb. I still remember that day, it wasn't a very pleasant one.” “Wait, you mean to tell me you―” “Uh uh,” History interrupted. “But you need to get going. This is a task that only you can fulfill. Perhaps we can talk more after you come back.” “Ok, History,” Twilight said as she stood. “Thank you for the help. I just hope that I am not too late.” Twilight turned and left the hut. Speaker was still waiting where he had been when she had gone in. “Speaker, I need you to take me to the palace ruins.” “As you wish, Sorceress,” he said and lead her back into the ruins. Trixie consulted the book again as she gazed down a long straight passage, it said something about traps in this place, but seemed to skip over anything important about them, like where they were or what they did. She sighed as she put the book away. “So, looks like your usefulness has come to an end for now book. Whoever wrote you must have had stupid luck if he didn't trip any of the traps, if there are any that is.” She tentatively placed a hoof ahead of her; nothing happened. She placed her weight on it and still nothing happened. Then she took another step and there was a click as a gout of flame erupted before her, singeing the ends of her hair as she pulled herself back. She looked down at where she had stepped and there was a faded symbol of a crown. She'd seen something similar in the book and thought that it was simply nonsense. “So that's what it meant. Trap markers.” Trixie slowly made her way through the hallway, keeping in mind the faded marks that covered the floor and walls. As she went on, the hallway slowly changed from a straight cut path to one of rough rock. Then, the path opened up into an immense cavern; at its center stood a large crystalline structure glowing softly giving light to the entire room. Trixie was about to rush down towards the structure, before she caught herself. “No, no, it can't be that easy.” She brought out the book and skimmed through it. Guess I wasn’t the first here. Seems that the band of thieves I was chasing has already been taken care of, their lifeless bodies were laying all over. Hmm, right there, under one of the bodies is a similar marking to those from the hallway, and it looks like they are all over. Looks like this place is just as guarded as the hallway. But this one is different. It has a much heavier air of power, as the locals say, to it. Well, that’s one problem taken care of, but an even bigger one is due to show up any― “Ok, death symbols here, just gotta be careful and make sure not to touch any by mistake.” “This is as far as I can go Sorceress,” Speaker said as she halted outside the entrance to the palace ruins. “It is taboo for us to go any further.” “I understand,” Twilight said. “I thank you for all your help Speaker.” “There is no need to thank me. This is my purpose. And I speak on the behalf of everypony here when I say, we hope that you succeed. The Record brings nothing but anguish and despair and we would wish that on no pony else.” Twilight looked at the stallion after he spoke. That settled it, there was something about the ponies living here. History blatantly said it, and Speaker had reaffirmed it. Whatever happened here was bad enough to keep ponies around for the eons after it. She gave Speaker a nod and ducked into the ruins. The insides had held up little better than the outsides had, but that wasn’t what she paid attention to. Off to the side of the doorway was a small area of ground that had been cleared away. It couldn't have been any of the natives, so Twilight took it to be a sign that whoever had stolen Bookworm’s journal was already here. She sped off through the nearest doorway in search of a way down. As she searched, she began to notice that there was a distinct similarity in the construction of this palace to the Castle of Canterlot. With that in mind, she turned into a new hallway and found what she was looking for, a stairway leading down. As she made her way, she noticed that there was another set of hoofprints on the dust, further cementing that she had to make haste. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she found herself in a large room that faded into shadows at the far end. A step into the room caused torches to flare to life along the walls, revealing the full scale and regality of the room. It held the same air as the grand ballroom of the Canterlot castle; it even had a raised dais at the far end that contained the remains of a pair of thrones. The walls, below the torches, held the burned remains of banners of faded gold and green each one containing the crest of the the land, the twin trees over a crown. The floor held similar markings of flames, setting Twilight's mind reeling as she tried to piece together what had happened to this place. But like above, she saw the hoofprints in the dust and ash leading off to a doorway next to the dais and she hurried on her way. She gave a passing glance to the thrones as she ducked down the stairs and a little while later, she found herself at the entrance to the vaults. As she had assumed, there was already a door opened up on the back wall with another pair of steps leading down into the darkness. Trixie gazed at the Record as it lay deep within its crystal tomb. She had somehow managed to make it to the center of the large cave, the book was decidedly lax on the details of the room; its writer was concerned with something else happening to record it she guessed. But here she was, and the book had the details on how to free it. It detailed another ritual, one that, while stating that it was recommended to be done by several ponies, could be done by a sole one with time. She read over the details to it again and again, making sure to commit them to memory so that she could perform it with no interruptions. She shed her bags once again and approached the crystal again. As Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs, she found herself before a long straight hallway. There was something off about it to her, really off. She thought back to what she knew about the Record's resting place. Entombed in crystal, hidden behind traps. This was most likely where the traps would be. She gazed at the hallway with an attentive eye and saw a faded crown on the ground in front of a faint scorch mark. She reached out slowly and placed a hoof on that tile. A gout of flame rose before it. “Ah ha!” Twilight said aloud as she understood the implications. “Trap markers. I guess so those guarding it wouldn't get caught themselves.” She slowly made her way down the hallway, keeping a wary eye out for the marks. Yet as she placed her hoof down on a tile with no mark, it gave way a little with a soft click. “Uh oh,” she said softly as things went downhill. A long curved blade fell from the ceiling right in front of her. She jumped back to avoid it, but she felt another tile give way as panels opened along the wall and arrows fired at her. She raised a magical shield just in time, but in her haste, she move to another tile which also gave way. A section of ceiling gave a loud groan, warning Twilight of its impending fall. She dove out of the way as it came crashing down and landed on another tile that gave way. She groaned loudly as the floor beneath her gave way to a pit filled with spikes. She caught herself with her magic and slowly lifted herself from the hole to a tile with no crown on it. She flopped down and laid there for a moment to regain her strength after having to levitate herself. “Stupid... not marked... trap!” She raised a hoof and slammed it down on the tile she was on, only to feel it give way too. “Oh come on!” The ceiling opened a little ways behind her and a large round boulder dropped down and began to roll towards her. Twilight got to her feet and ran down the hallway, heedless of the traps as the boulder began to gain speed. “Ahhhh!” she screamed as she dodged between gouts of fire, ducked under arrows, and jumped over pitfalls. As she neared what she believed to be the exit, another tripped trap started a large stone slab on its descent to seal the hallway. With a giant ball of death behind her, and the exit quickly closing before her, Twilight found a reserve of speed that she didn't know she possessed and managed to slide under the stone and into the room beyond. After a moments rest, she realized that there was a familiar weight missing and she turned to look back into the closing hallway to see her bag lying just on the other side of the threshold. In a desperate act, she reached a hoof back and managed to drag the bag to her just as the stone wall came slamming down. “Why did I just do that?” she said as she laid there, panting from exertion. “Why didn’t I just grab it with my magic?” Then, a loud gasp came from the center of the room, followed by a loud shattering. “Sparkle!?” Trixie exclaimed after she'd watched the other slide in. “Trixie!?” Twilight responded in kind as she pulled herself to her hooves and began to move towards the center of the room. “You stole the book from me? What reason could you have had for that?” “No, stay where you are!” “Why should I?” “If you don't want to die a horrible death, you'd better stay put.” Trixie gestured to the bones laying about. “There are death traps all throughout this room.” “I can't, Trixie. I have to stop you from taking that Record.” “I can't, Sparkle,” Trixie said as she grabbed the Record and jammed it into her bag. “You wouldn't know, but I've fallen on hard times. No pony has the time to watch a magic show anymore and this is my shot at regaining some semblance of livelihood.” “And how are you going to get out? The exit’s closed” “I don't know. I'm sure that―” And with bright flash of light, Trixie was gone, vanished into thin air. Twilight stared at where she had been, trying to figure out what just happened. She hadn't seen her horn light up in preparation for a spell. Then the reality of the situation hit her. “I failed...” She sat back on the ground as it set in. “I failed, and I'm trapped in a cave who knows how far underground.” Then came the soft glow of her journal from her bag again. She pulled it free with her magic and flipped it to the new page. What... just happened? How could that have happened? This doesn’t make any sense! Why Trixie? Why the Record? Why anything anymore!? Ugh! There’s no time to sit around and think on these yet. I have to find a way out of this cave, but where... was that a breeze I felt? Yes! Up there, on the wall, a staircase leading to a door... Twilight turned to face the wall that her journal had mentioned and sure enough, there was a doorway set halfway up with a set of stone stairs. She pulled herself up to her hooves and made her way around the outside of the room, keeping in mind what Trixie had told her about death traps, and up to the door. Some time later, she exited back into the palace and made her way to it exit. Speaker was there, waiting for her. “How did it go, Sorceress?” he asked. “I couldn't stop her,” she replied. “I failed to save the Record...” “So this was what History spoke of when the power said that something terrible was due to happen. I'm sure that you did all that you could. I will take the news to the village, I'm sure that you need to get back to your home to work out what to do next.” “Thank you, Speaker.” Twilight began to head off towards the outlying mountains, but turned back. “Can I ask you something?” “Of course.” “You and History, you were around for the fall weren't you?” “So you pieced that out did you,” Speaker said with a smile. “Yes, we two were around back then. We've always been around. We are the guards of the land's history. And being such, have been granted eternal life by the power. But ask not what happened to this land. I wouldn’t wish that knowledge on any pony. Now you must hurry on your way.” “Thank you again, Speaker.” Twilight turned back to the mountains that contained her way home and set off. Trixie found herself in a dark room after being teleported out of the Record's tomb. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten there or where she was. “You have succeeded,” a deep voice said within the darkness. “I knew that you were the right choice despite the reservations some of the others had.” “Who are you?” Trixie asked. “And what happened? How am I here?” “Simple, Miss Trixie Lulamoon. It was a long distance teleportation spell inscribed onto those notes of yours. Through those, we could monitor your actions and collect you when you finished. As to who I am,” a bright white light filled the room, illuminating a pure white unicorn stallion with a flowing white mane and tail and a cutie mark of half a mask and a lance, “I am Argent Lance. Welcome to the soon to be new rulers of this world.”