//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: The Journey Beyond // by Derpyditzydoobubbles //------------------------------// The commute back to the library was short for Riolu. Once he and the others had entered Celestia's chariot, he kept silent and dared to not look in the direction of where the statuette was. He waited patiently to head back home, and when the Pegasi that were carrying them had finally landed next to the library, Riolu happily got out of the chariot and ran to the doorstep. "Whoa, where are you going Riolu?" Spike questioned as he watched him fly out of the chariot and toward the door. "Where does it look like I'm going? I'm just eager to go lie down." Riolu spoke quickly. "Lie down? Why now? We're going to bring the statuette in now, and we may need your help getting it in." Spike said. "Fine." Riolu sighed as he walked over to the carriage and approached Twilight. "So Twilight, you need help getting the statuette in?" "Maybe, just let me say farewell to Celestia first." Twilight whispered. "Alright then." Riolu sighed as he leaned up against the carriage. "Thank you," Twilight whispered to Riolu. "Princess Celestia, I'll be on my way now. Thank you for taking us. It was an honor." "You are quite welcome, Twilight. It was also very nice to of met your friend, Riolu. He certainly is a vigorous young fellow." "Vigorous?," Riolu questioned. "Umm, but of course! Thank you very much for the compliment." "Do you even know what vigorous means?" Spike's voice whispered in his ear. "Nope. Just go with it." Riolu replied through closed teeth. "You're quite welcome, Riolu," Celestia replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way back to Canterlot." "Canterlot? What is that?" Riolu questioned. "You could basically say that it is the capital of Equestria." Spike answered softly in his ear. "Ah, alright then." Riolu whispered back as he watched Twilight climb out of the carriage and wave goodbye to Celestia. "I hope to see you later, Princess Celestia!" Twilight smiled respectfully as she levitated the statuette out of the carriage and watched the carriage take off from the ground. "Same here, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Celestia smiled with a bow of her head as her carriage flew off into the sky. Riolu watched as Princess Celestia was carried off into the blue afternoon. She seemed to have had a glow of wisdom when she was around him. As if she knew more than she lead on to. "So, you guys gonna help me get this sculpture in?" Twilight asked as she interrupted Riolu's thoughts. "Why? You seemed to have lifted it out of the carriage with ease," Riolu stated. "Just stating the obvious." Twilight looked at Riolu with a contemplating look in her eyes. "I have other stuff to carry too, though." Twilight directed as she showed him her satchel, "So…you wouldn't mind if you carried it in for…" "Fine." Riolu interrupted as he padded over to the statuette and grabbed it with his mouth. Suddenly, thoughts of the past had started flowing through his mind. He remembered picking up the statuette like this before, and the very thought of him doing it again had made him want to shake in fear. He could just hear the voice of his old master. "Dumb, stupid, disappointing animal!" The voice shouted in his head. "Riolu, are you alright?" A voice asked next to him. Riolu looked up from where he was and gazed at the curious eyes of Twilight. "Uh, yeah, everything is fine. Just, taking this out of my jaws, and…putting it in my hands. No need to grab it with my mouth since I'm bipedal, right?" Riolu asked nervously. "I guess so." Twilight replied with a hint of confusion. "Exactly," Riolu chuckled. "So…I'll be on my way with carrying this thing inside." "Sure thing." Twilight said with a hint of confusion in her tone as she watched Riolu walk to the treehouse with the statuette in his hands. "Are you alright, Riolu?" Spike whispered as Riolu approached him. "I'm assuming that I am." Riolu said with a grunt as he carried the statuette. "Oh, okay then…want me to get that door for you?" Spike asked as he politely opened the door in front of Riolu. "Thanks." Riolu said as he walked into the treehouse and quickly placed the statuette in the center of the room. "Anytime." Spike replied with a grin. "Alright, everyone. Time to go to work!" Twilight shouted as she suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Sure thing, Twilight." Spike spoke as he padded over to the statuette with his hand to his ear in discomfort from her sudden shout. "So…what exactly are we going to examine this statuette for?" Riolu questioned as he looked at the stone wings of the two mystical creatures. "Oh, you know, the usual. Stuff like spells, specimen that lead to an ancient history, you know, that stuff." Twilight smiled as she padded over to the statuette. "Oh, I see now. T-that makes since." Riolu stuttered. "Something wrong, Riolu?" Twilight asked in a concerned tone. "Oh, no. Everything is fine. Nothing wrong or out of the ordinary here. Especially that…statuette." Riolu answered. "That's good to hear, though we'll see about that statuette part." Twilight stated as she lowered herself to the statuette's height and stared at the eyes of the two horses. Twilight's face had scrunched up in concentration as she looked at the statuette, eyeing every single detail. Even the very specks of stone that combined to make the eyes were carefully analyzed by her. "This really is a peculiar oddity," Twilight noted. "In fact, I believe what Celestia said about this object being other worldly is now a high possibility of being the only logical outcome. Although, there is something about this statuette. It is a reference to Celestia and Luna after all." "So, what are you trying to say?" Riolu questioned. "What I'm saying is, is that it is too coincidental," Twilight explained. "It doesn't seem right on how this could come from a distant world without the inhabitants of said world knowing about Luna and Celestia. This is in fact a sculpture of them, but the theory of someone or something from a different world crafting this is just…too coincidental!" "Twilight, are you okay?" Spike spoke up. "No, Spike. I am not feeling okay at the time. I just got so many ideas swirling around in my head right now…it's a bit too much!" Twilight sighed. "Anything you may want Riolu and me to do?" Spike asked politely. A sudden look of horror fell upon Riolu. Doing something was the least thing he wanted to do at the moment. He wanted to stay here and watch Twilight do her analysis on the statuette, just in case something odd happened. He didn't want to keep his eyes a second away from that sculpture. "Sure," Twilight spoke at last. "Umm…what I really want right now is…something to eat!" "Something to eat?," Spike questioned. "Why?" "It would really help get my brain working. Besides, I haven't eaten anything in almost an entire day!" Twilight answered softly. "Yeah, same here," Spike frowned as he rubbed his tummy. "Tell you what, Riolu and me will go down to the restaurant and order some take out for all three of us. Sound good?" "That sounds brilliant, Spike! Thank you!" Twilight smiled. "Wait, what?" Riolu interrupted. "No need to be waiting, Riolu. It'll be fun," Spike smiled as he threw his arm around Riolu and directed him toward the front door. "Come on, you'll see. The restaurant serves really good hayburgers. Honest." Riolu looked back at the statuette as Spike lead him toward the entrance. The eyes were still closed, and he was now hoping that it would stay like that while he was gone. "Thanks for the worrying, Spike." Riolu grumbled as his feet were involuntarily pushed outside by him.