//------------------------------// // Secrets and Lies // Story: More than a Storybook // by balletdivagirl //------------------------------// Twilight and Spike lit a fire in her library’s fireplace. The storm outside had begun in earnest (all of the books safely inside), but everypony now seemed more worried about Storybook. Blaze watched as the mares brought a blanket and scooted her closer to the fire. Even Pinkie Pie, who had bounced and sang and talked for most of the hours he had known her seemed to have a grasp on the severity of the situation. Blaze looked at the letter from Princess Celestia again. Storybook, I am sorry that I must cut your mission short, but you must return to Canterlot as soon as possible. An attack has been made on the library, and I fear that the culprit is not after the books or magic with in. Many of the books were completely destroyed. They may have been looking for you. We will find the culprit as soon as possible. Please come back as soon as it is safe to do so. Princess Celestia Blaze had a thousand questions, none of which could be answered here. But Story was his main concern right now. She was still pale, and she hadn’t eaten any of the meal someone, maybe Applejack, had prepared. She was just staring, straight ahead, but looking at nothing. Her pupils were still dilated, and none of her color had returned. She hadn’t even cried yet. That library was her whole life. She’d poured years into it, first helping her grandfather, then keeping it running through a slew of interim heads, and now running it on her own. He had no idea what to do. Over the years he’d seen her emotional breakdowns and seen her stressed out and angry and even depressed, but this, this was scary. There had to be something he could do. Just, nothing seemed like enough. “Uncle Blaze?” Scootaloo drew him out of his thoughts. Blaze looked down and saw Scootaloo biting her lip and throwing her gaze around. “Yes? What is it?” “What do we do? Is Miss Storybook ok?” Poor thing. This was a terribly grown up situation, and Scoot was in the middle of it by accident. “I’m not sure what to do either. But I think Story will be ok after this all sinks in.” Blaze looked around. Rainbow Dash seemed a little uncomfortable too. “For right now, I think we need to tell your mom where you are. See if Rainbow Dash can help you send a message.” Scoot nodded and headed off. Now he just needed to figure out how to help Story. “Blaze darling, do go sit next to Storybook.” Rarity said softly, giving him an answer to his immediate question. “I think she needs an old friend, and you look a little pale yourself.” Blaze nodded and followed her advice. He actually lay on his stomach, hoping to encourage Story to do the same. After a few seconds, she did, and her eyes softened a little. “I’ll go make hot chocolate,” Pinkie’s cheery voice did little to brighten the mood, “nothing like a warm drink during a storm.” Pinkie walked off. “That’s a good idea, thank you Pinkie.” Twilght sat on the floor across from Story. She looked calm, but there were tears in her eyes. She’d spent a great deal of time in the Celestia’s Library as well. “I can’t believe it. Why would anyone…” Twilight stopped. She knew a few creatures that would destroy a library without a second thought, but she was not brining that up right now. Story put her head on Blaze’s shoulder and started to cry. Blaze didn’t stop her. This was truly life changing news. At least he was here, and she wasn’t alone. Not that the girls weren’t handling this really well. They were the Elements of Harmony for a reason. “It’s too bad Fluttershy isn’t here, she’d know just what to say.” Twilight tried to smile. She levitated a box of tissues over and put them in front of Storybook. “I wish I could say I knew how you feel.” Rarity sat down next to Twilight. Applejack joined them as well. “Wh-why w-would anyone do this? Why w–would they be after me?” Story wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Still, she wasn’t able to stop the tears. Blaze nuzzled her neck. He hated seeing her cry. It hurt. “I wish I knew, Story.” This time Blaze wasn’t lying. He knew a few secrets, but none of them meant someone was after her, or was willing to destroy a library to get her. “I’m sure they’ll have some answers when you get back.” Applejack smiled. “And we’ll do what we can too.” Story nodded, there were no more tears, but she still seemed sad. “And we don’t know they are after you.” Blaze hoped they weren’t. He hoped that this was a Royal Guard problem, a crime against Equestria, and not against Story. “But I’ll make sure you’re safe, and once your dad finds out, he’ll protect you to.” “I know, but I really want to know why.” Story said, just as Pinkie brought in the drinks, Rainbow Dash following, Scootaloo-less. “Scootaloo fell asleep with Spike. I think I wore her out today. They’re both in your room Twilight.” Rainbow took a spot on the floor, and Pinkie finished handing out the drinks. Once she sat down, they made a semi-circle around the fireplace. As Story calmed down, they all drank cocoa and started talking. The conversation was mostly about travel plans and how to deal with what Story and Blaze were supposed to do in Ponyville. Blaze only knew he was not going to let Storybook go back to Canterlot alone, but he was here to help Scootaloo’s mom. “Well, I think we can help with Scootaloo.” Applejack said between sips of hot chocolate. “Applebloom loves having sleepovers, and its summer so she can stay with us a while.” “I’m sure my parents and Sweetie Belle would be happy to host her as well.” Rarity smiled, “with a little warning of course.” Blaze felt better that Scootaloo’s mom would have some help, or at least a break. When this was over, he’d be sure to come for an extended visit. He’d probably need the vacation. Blaze looked down at Story, who had been quiet, and discovered she was asleep. It had been a very, very long day. “Twilight, where are your guest rooms?” Blaze nodded to the sleeping Story. Just then an owl flew down and landed in front of him. “Owlilcious will show you.” Twilight looked at the bird, “but let’s try one on the first floor.” The owl seemed to nod in response. Blaze stood, and then lifted Storybook on to his back. He’d carry her and fly, but his wingspan was too big for inside. He followed Owlicious out of the room. When Blaze was out of the room, there were a few seconds of quiet. Then Applejack was the first to speak, “Do you reckon he knows he’s in love?” The others stared at her in surprise, but her comment did help to lighten the mood. “I’m surprised you noticed,” Rarity smiled. “I think he does, but I’m not sure why he hasn’t told her.” “And according to what Scootaloo said earlier, it sounds like Story is the only one who don’t know.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. Pinkie joined in. “I think he doesn’t want to accidently ruin their friendship.” “Blahhh, who cares?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Blaze and Story sitting in a tree K-I-S-“ Pinkie was stopped by Rainbow’s hoof over her mouth. “Right now they both have more important things to worry about.” Twilight admitted, “but I hope we can see them get together after this craziness winds down.” Twilight let her self wonder about Story and Blaze, but it was mostly a distraction so she didn’t think about all those books. She hoped the section of the library with rare books was ok. She’d read the letter, but it was vague. Maybe she should go with them to Canterlot. “l want to know how we can help solve this mystery.” Applejack bumped Pinkie with her hoof to get her to stop blowing bubbles in her hot chocolate. “and I know you’re stressing over the library too, Twilight.” “I am worried, but Princess Celestia will ask for our help if she thinks we are needed.” Twilight looked over at the boxes of books. “Maybe I should send some of them back.” “Don’t worry about that.” Blaze entered the library. “They might be safer here anyway.” Blaze looked over at all of the boxes. Two were books, and one was his, or what he’d found anyway. “And there is one more thing you can help me with.” Crossing the room he picked up his box and carried it to a table. “This is the real reason I came here.” Blaze pried open the wooden crate. “Princess Celestia hoped Twilight either knew or could figure out what this is. She told me only to tell Twilight, but I think the four of you would have found out anyway.” The girls walked over to see what was in the box. As they looked down on it, a confused look crossed over everypony’s face. “This old thing has something to do with Storybook and the Library being destroyed?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “I don’t know, but it could.” Blaze watched the mare’s gazes turn to him, “Story herself came with a huge mystery, and this might be part of it.” “Are you going to tell us, or will we have to guess?” Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes, I’ll explain, but promise you won’t tell Story.” Blaze didn’t think she could handle the stress at the moment. “If it turns out she has to know, I want her parents to tell her.” He sighed, “And I don’t know the whole story, but I just have a feeling it will be important.” “We promise, but what is the secret you’ve been keeping from her?” Twilight spoke gently, “I can tell it bothers you.” “It does.” Blaze took a deep breath before beginning. He hoped he would feel better for getting it off his chest, “As I suspect Twilight has guessed, Storybook is adopted. Cloud Dancer and Wind Seeker were chosen to be her parents because so few ponies knew them personally. They, and as I recently discovered, Princess Celestia, went to great lengths to hide this from her and everyone else. Even her siblings don’t know, and neither did her Grandfather.” “How did you find out?” Rainbow Dash hovered above him. “If it was such a big secret?” “My special talent is finding things,” Blaze answered, “Story went through a phase where, strangely enough, she didn’t think she’d been adopted, but switched at birth. So, she asked me to find her birth certificate. I never found it because she doesn’t have one. I found her adoption certificate instead. “Her parents found me with it and begged me not to tell. They seemed so frantic and worried I promised I wouldn’t. I was just young enough not to question why it was such a big secret. I wish now I had.” Blaze looked over at the contents of the box. “Then I found this.” The group sat in silence waiting for him to continue. “I was working in the caverns under Canterlot. Princess Celestia hired me after several of the surveying ponied claimed to have seen an unfamiliar pony wandering around in the caves past the old mine. Everyone knew if there were other ponies down there, I would be able to find them.” “It turns out that while there were no living ponies, there was a lot of evidence that ponies had once inhabited the caves. The caves were so deep in the mountain, however, that I was surprised anypony could survive so far from the sun. “Most of the things down there were just old junk, valuable maybe to an archaeologist, but nothing particularly unusual for an ancient inhabitance. Except this.” Blaze now lifted the artifact out of the box, and carefully unrolled the cloth, revealing a tapestry, faded and slightly moth eaten, but in fantastic shape for something even older than the Canterlot mines. “That is a fascinatin’ blanket. Can we get to why it’s important?” Applejack tapped her front hoof impatiently. “Applejack, it is a tapestry, not a blanket.” Rarity came up closer to it. “A tacky one, but a historical treasure none the less.” “I don’t think it’s tacky, just a little boring. I mean who makes a tapestry with nothing on it?” Pinkie started, “A blank tapestry is just like a cupcake with no sprinkles or a cake with no icing or a party with no canons!” “Pinkie, this tapestry isn’t blank, it has a symbol on it.” Twilight now joined Rarity, examining the cloth up close. “Uh you’re seeing things Twilight, it’s just a dirty old piece of cloth.” Rainbow Dash turned to Blaze, “Princess Celestia sent you here with that thing?” “Yes, its actually rather fascinating.” Blaze examined the cloth closely, “I’m sorry to prove Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack wrong; there is a symbol on this cloth. But only unicorns and alicorns can see it.” “That is remarkable. It must be some kind of spell, but magic like this usually fades after the caster dies” Twilight was now levitating a corner of the tapestry to get a closer look, “and based on its age I’d say the caster has long since left us.” “That’s exactly what Princess Celestia said.” Blaze saw a question forming in Twilight’s eyes. Story had the same look all the time, “No, I can’t see it. I only pulled it out of the cave because I remembered that ancient textiles are rare and the Canterlot museum has very few. A unicorn who was working with me noticed the symbol.” “I can see why this tapestry caught Celestia’s attention.” Rarity walked around it. “But what does it have to do with Storybook?” “I’m not sure,” Blaze answered, “only when Princess Celestia saw it she said she’d never seen the symbol before. I suggested that we show it to Story, because she would either recognize it from a book, or know where to look it up.” Blaze remembered the look on Celestia’s face when he suggested that. He’d never seen the princess look worried before. “But she insisted that I not show Storybook the cloth, or tell her about anything we’d found in the caves. When I asked why, the princess would only tell me that Storybook was better off not knowing about her past. She said I might be able to tell her after we figured out what it is.” Twilight nodded and bent over the cloth. “The symbol looks like two unicorn’s horns, as they are casting a spell on something.” Twilight studied it intently. “I don’t recognize it as a symbol for a group or a pony, though.” She yawned. “I think that I will be able to think better in the morning.” The others yawed one at a time after her, Blaze included. Twilight used her magic to roll the tapestry back up carefully. “I agree,” Rarity made a light with her horn and then extinguished the fire in the fireplace. “I think a little beauty sleep would do us all some good.” The ponies headed to guest rooms in the castle. Blaze realized that the others all knew where they were going, so he followed the same path he’d taken with the owl. He was fairly certain there was a room next to Story’s. The castle’s lights began to dim and he assumed they would go out soon. Blaze stopped in the room where he’d left Story. She was still sleeping, even though she had managed to fling all the covers off the bed. Blaze picked them up and covered her again. Without thinking, he lightly kissed her cheek. He hoped tonight she had only the best dreams. *** The light of powerful magic swirled around the withered old unicorn, who was seated on a throne carved into the wall of the cave. No longer able to cast such spells himself, his apprentice was the one calling back the followers from their mission far away. The magic ended and three unicorn stallions were standing in the darkness of the cavern. “Welcome home.” The old unicorn’s words crackled and shook. “Did everything go as planned?” The first unicorn stepped forward. “Yes, my liege.” He bowed low, “We left our message for the lost one, and retrieved all but one of the texts.” The unicorn did not look up. Beads of sweat began to roll down his face as the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. His companions bowed low as well. “Which one did you leave behind?” The old unicorn growled. “And what could have made you leave it?” “I-it was not in the library, my liege.” The first unicorn spoke again, “we searched for it, but it must have been moved.” Now the old unicorn’s apprentice stepped out from the shadows next to the throne. “My Teacher asked you which text you did not bring back.” The younger unicorn’s horn and eyes were glowing sinisterly. “I-it was the diary, o-of The Betrayer.” The scout shook and stared at the menacing apprentice in terror, “but we know it was written in code, so wh-what could we really do with it?” “Codes can be broken, and ancient texts deciphered.” The apprentice moved in front of the scout. He held his glowing horn only a few inches from the other’s face. “Maybe not by a worthless no-brain like you, but for a pony with my teacher’s skill and my magic, it would be child’s play.” The scout nodded silently and the apprentice backed off. “Go. We will find a better way to get what we want.” The scouting party ran out of the throne cavern and down one of the long passages of caves. “Imbeciles.” The apprentice spat as he walked back to his teacher. “Why must we send scouting parties? Why leave messages for the lost one when you know I could simply cast a spell and bring her here?” His angry tone did not worry or surprise the old unicorn. “The Lost One is better guarded that you think.” The old one spoke again, “The lies she’s been told make a strong cage. We must make the tellers cut her free first.” The apprentice bowed, “I accept your wisdom, my liege.”