//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: A secret revealed // Story: Tales of Fate: A new Future // by Navanastra //------------------------------// /Chapter 17: A secret revealed/ Story: Navanastra Editor: Fillyphil “Come on, Lulu, hurry up, Dad is already waiting for us in the living room. Does it really take so long to change batteries on a flashlight?” Big Sis called out from the door as I slowly began to screw shut the battery compartment for the flashlight. “Ugh…why are we even using flash lights? Can’t we just use our horns as a light source instead of these?” I asked my Big Sister as I made my way over to her. Big Sis simply rolled her eyes at my proposal. “We could but it just won’t have the same immersion when we are just using our horns for this,” Big Sis answered. “What immersion?” I asked. “Well duh, the immersion of being Indiana jones in the search of lost treasure inside an ancient temple,” Big Sis answered in an almost fan girl attitude. I simply rolled my eyes I trot past her. The idea of going down there was still a very uncomfortable thought for me. It’s not like that I am scared or anything, it’s just that the cellars have always been very creepy for me: the wet and fungus covered walls, the insects and other form of pest that roam down there, the creepy echoing sounds that you always hear down there, the massive open empty spaces and not to forget the constant empty darkness that is down there. Well…ok I admit even after all these years I am still somewhat scared of that place, but I never really admitted that to either Big Sis or Dad because…well…I am pretty much a grown mare now and telling them that I still believe that the place might be haunted down there is…a bit embarrassing to me. My sis and I made our way over to the living room where Dad was waiting for us. “Ok, Dad, we are ready and geared up…lets go an explore!” Big Sis announced while shooting one of her hooves into the air. I shook my head. “What gear? All we have is our flashlights. And Dad, how come you have never installed any lights down there?” I complained while looking at the two. Dad simply shrugs. “Never had the reason to do so. The underground cellars where mostly locked up and I never found a reason to ever go down there,” Dad explained. “Well anyway, let’s go then," Big Sis announced, a bit excited. Dad simply smiled and shook his head. “Not yet. I actually invited someone for this search to tag along,” Dad said with a smile. I was confused. “Who…who did you call?” I asked. “You will see, Lulu. I think it might surprise you,” Dad simply answered with a smile. The three of us sat down after that and began to wait patiently for whoever Dad had invited over to us as Dad and my big sis started to talk. I, for the most part, simply kept to myself as I was once again occupied with my own thoughts, but hey–the longer we could have simply sat here and not go down into the cellar, the better. At this point I can’t really remember when exactly was the last time I had seen my friends from school after being basically trapped inside our own home, especially Lukas….Lukas…I really wonder what he has been up to for the last couple of months since I last saw him… and if he misses me and Big Sis especially. “Hey, I think that must be him," Dad suddenly announced as a very familiar doorbell rang across all over our home and breaking my train of thought. “Hey wait, Dad," I called out as I quickly followed him. One minute later, my jaw literally dropped when I finally found out who Dad had called over to us. “Hey there Lukas, nice for you to come over despite these…difficult times for my two young girls and I," Dad greeted Lucas after he had opened the door. Lukas only shook Dad’s hand and smiled. “No problem at all, Mr. Julius. Always happy to help," Lucas simply replied. His attention quickly switched over to me, which forced me to quickly regain my composure again as I also looked at him and smiled awkwardly, trying my best to look normal. “Oh my gosh, Dad, you could have just told me directly that you had invited Lukas over," I thought to myself, a bit panicked as a small blush started to form on my face. “Hey there, Lulu. Long time no see…for a very unfortunate reason though, but still it’s very nice to finally meet up with you again after these few months," Lukas happily greeted me with a smile. “Yeah…hi there," Was all I got out of myself as I awkwardly smiled and waved at him. “Hey there Lucas, it’s so nice to finally see you again. I really missed you and your quirks," Big Sis suddenly greeted Lukas as she came up from behind me. I simply grunted but I was also somewhat thankful as it gave me the time needed to get rid of that embarrassing blush on my face. “Hey there, Celly. Same here, for the both of you," Lucas answered back with a smile. At this point both Celly and Lukas simply began to talk to one another while I watched and listened for the most part. It was really nice to finally see Lukas again after all this time, but also, once again, my one on one time with him gets seriously ruined by my big sister as she simply steals all the attention and focus. For some reason, though, I can’t really complain about it as my feelings for situations like these are pretty much evenly split. For one, yes I am very annoyed that Big Sis once again ruins my chances to get a little bit more closer to him, but at the same time I am also somewhat thankful for it because it prevents all of that very awkward conversation and overall shyness I can easily get whenever I am alone with him. “Ahhh, why is this so horribly difficult for me? Why can’t I just kiss him once and be basically done with it? After so many years it's really driving me nuts," I thought to myself in frustration. “Hey Lulu, are you coming? We are ready to go now." Big Sis suddenly tapped me from behind, once again breaking me away from my train of thought. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming," I simply replied as I began to followed Sis, Lukas and Dad. “Oh boy…the Cellar…let’s see how creepy it still is after the last time I accidentally stumbled into there," I thought to myself in dread as I prepared myself for a very long day. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (POV Celestia) “Geeze Dad, how old is this door? it must be from the middle ages or something," I jokingly comment as Lulu, Lukas, Dad and I were finally confronted with the cellar door, which was tucked away in a small hallway corner Lulu and I have never been to…except once or twice in our whole life. Dad simply scratched his chin. “Well...this door was placed her when my grandfather first built this home for our family. So yes it is old…but not that old, probably just from the early 20th century," Dad answered as he quickly pulled out a key out of his pocket and inserted it into the old and corroded lock. As the door opened, I was the first to quickly step in into the darkness that was the underground cellars. The very first thing I was confronted with was a very long and old looking wooden stairway leading deep into the darkness below. I placed my first hoof onto the first step and was immediately greeted with a loud and worrying cracking sound that began to echo down into the dark abyss below me. “Watch out Celly, those stairs don’t look very sturdy to begin with," Lukas warned me from behind. “I know, but don’t worry. I got his," I answered him back as I finally turned on my flashlight and began to shine down to cast away the imposing darkness below me. I took another step onto the wooden stairs and was once again greeted with loud crunching sounds as I was fully standing on the stairs. Again and again I took one step after another as the wood under me began to strain and bend underneath my Weight. “Careful…easy does it," I thought to myself as I descended down the stairs, hoping that the whole thing wouldn’t suddenly collapse under me. “This is taking forever, here let me try," Lulu suddenly announced in a whiny tone as she casually passed me to trot down the stairs herself. “Luna! What are you doing? don’t!” I called back to her in slight panic as the stairway underneath me began to protest on the added weight of my little sister as it cracked and groaned horribly. “It’s fine, Big Sis, look the stairs are holding and nothing is happening," Luna casually answered back as she trotted pass me and further down with her own flashlight shining her way. I was about to say something but couldn’t as both Lukas and Dad eventually passed by me as well, following Luna down the stairs. “Come on, Celly, we still have a whole underground maze to search for this hidden chamber of yours," Lucas told as he continued to descend. I simply sighed. “You guys have no sense of immersion, do you?” I mumbled as I carefully followed them. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (POV Luna) “What was that?” I asked a bit panicky as I shone my flashlight around widely to look for the source of that noise. “Why the heck I am even down here as well…this place really gives me the creeps," I thought to myself as I continue to hear creepy noises and see moving shadows that could or could not have be mine. The cellars under our home where huge. It consisted of many individual rooms linked together by long, stony, and somehow windy passage ways. The cellar rooms themselves where pretty big as well, with high stone ceilings and filled with lots and LOTS of wooden barrels, shelves and crates which once used to house all kinds of liquor, from highly expensive to simple but cheap beer. The one thing that made this place creepy in the first place though were all of the old air and water pipes running through this place, dripping or making noises which echoed all over the long dark pathways and the huge empty and cold cellar rooms. It also didn’t help the fact that all the light wirings down here no longer work, which meant that anyone who wants to venture down here needs to bring a flashlight or any other working light source in order to navigate this place. “Why are you being so jumpy, Lulu, there is nothing down here so don’t worry.” Lukas suddenly came up and momentarily surprised me. “Holy crap, Lukas, don’t sneak on me like that as long as we are down here…it’s…it’s really not…uhm nice," I shouted back at him, my tone lowering down with every word I spoke. Lukas simply smiled as he patted my back. “Sorry there, Lulu, it's ok to admit that this place is somewhat creepy with its echoing noise and empty darkness. To be honest…I don’t feel very comfortable down here either which would be even worse if I wasn’t here with you…or with anyone for that matter," Lucas explained to me as he began to look around and shine on some dusty looking crates stacked up against a mouldy looking wall. I simply rubbed the back of my head after that. “Yea…yeah…it’s a good thing that the two of us are together down here or else I would have panicked long ago," I finally admitted to him with a sheepish look. Lucas again smiled and nodded as he began to move further into the room that we were in, walking behind some shelves and slowly disappearing around them. “Hey Lukas don’t leave me here alone…wait for me," I called out to him as I quickly galloped after him. The two of us continued to look and search behind empty bottle shelves, wine barrels and storage crates while the constant sound of old hammering pipes was around us. I always knew that Cellars were supposed to be cold, but not THIS cold, and the constant blowing cold gusts probably coming from the rusty pipes wasn’t making anything better. It really was a good thing that I had fur all over my body otherwise I would be probably freezing down here. “Well…I guess this room is pretty much clear except of all that early 20th century junk we found in the corner behind some open up crates, let’s move on to the next chamber shall we?” Lukas announced as he shone his light at the ceiling a bit. “Sure…I guess," I simply responded with a nod as I trot over to him and followed him towards the closest exit of this chamber. I really don’t know what is worse. The big empty and open dark chambers of this place or the long and claustrophobic pathways that go all over. Either way…this whole place is really creepy and I rather spend a day up in the attic then down here anytime. “Ugh…everything is so darn wet and cold down here and it doesn’t help at all. The ceilings now are starting to drip as well…ahh not the tip of my nose," I thought to myself in irritation as I continued to follow Lukas through these claustrophobic tunnel. “So uhm…Lucas…how have you been, these last few month…since the last time we saw each other?” I casually asked him trying to somehow start a conversation with him. Lukas turned his head to look at me. “Not much to be honest…Me and the entire class have been really missing you two for the last couple of months and we felt very depressed regarding the reason behind it…I personally feel pretty pissed off that some…evil government individuals would want to capture you and trap for their own interest and self-gain…for some reason, but what really pisses me off is the fact that I personally can’t do anything to help you two," Lukas ranted. I simply lowered my head a bit after hearing that as I continued to follow him. “Yeah…it really has been hard for us…very…very hard. Personally I sometimes wish that all of this was just a bad dream and everything will eventually go back to normal whenever I wake up the next day…I…I really miss the old days now," I explain to him with a small tears running down my cheek as I remember all the fear and pain I felt these last few months. I was actually pretty surprised when I got suddenly stopped by Lucas hand touching me gently on my forehead as I looked up at him. “Hey…don’t worry Lulu…everything will be alright in the end…I know it will…plus you two got your amazing father to constantly look after you two and protect you. I know you two can get through this," Lukas told me with a smile, trying to lift my spirits. I gave him a weak smile as I wiped away my tears with my hoof. “Thanks Lucas…I…I really hope you’re right…I…I just can't live like this anymore…isolated and afraid…it kills me," I thanked and admitted to him. Lukas kneeled down in front of me after I said that, deeply looking into my eyes as he comforted me with his gentle stroking. He didn’t say anything, but continued to gently and caringly stroke me while occasionally scratching behind my ears a bit while caringly smiling at me. I simply sighed as I felt myself relax at his touch, my fears and worries slowly draining away as I leaned into his hand. After a while he eventually stopped and broke off as he stood back up looking down at me with a smile. “Feeling a bit better now?” He asked. I smiled back at him with a small blush on my face. “Yea…yeah…a bit…thanks Lukas…I really needed that," I thanked him, smiling. “No problem, Lulu, anytime,” he simply replied happily. “Well…let’s continue our search then…shall we?” I ask him as I began to once again look around me warily. “Sure thing, Lulu, just stay close to me and no bad-ol’ monster is going to get you," Lukas jokingly told me as he once again lead the way through the tunnel. “Ha, Ha. Very funny," I replied with a role of my eyes as I followed him. ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………. (POV Celestia) “Within the darkness of these ancient temple, Celestia the adventurer was searching for an ancient, all powerful artefact, the magical golden idol of machoo-capua. After many restless days of wandering around these ancient labyrinths, fighting off monsters and ancient guardians, she has mostly been……” “Hey Celly, found anything yet over there?” My dad suddenly called out from the other side of the room, annoyingly breaking me from my roleplaying. I grumbled in annoyance. “Daaaaad, I’m try to play Indiana Jones," I whined like a little filly despite the fact that I was already 18. Dad looked at me while defensively holding his hands up. “Oh im sorry Ms Professor Indie, please continue your research and exploration while I just humbly continue to dig over here for more bones," Dad apologized playfully as he made a digging motion with his hands on the ground. I simply giggled. “Uhm actually…I gave myself the name Celestia the Adventurer. Very uncreative, I know, but…Ms Professor Indie sound pretty good too," I corrected him then gave a thoughtful look. “Well ok then, Ms Indie, what is your next plan for this expedition? Where should we go and search?” Dad asked me, happily playing along. I again smiled and giggled. “Well…” I began thoughtfully, “Since we haven’t been encountered by any lethal traps since we entered this chamber, it could only mean one thing," I explained to him thoughtfully. I gazed upon him with a smile as I continued. “That means that the big ancient treasure and idol of the Machoo-capua must be located somewhere in this chamber itself," I explained to him while raising a hoof into the air. Dad simply looked at me questionably as he began to shine his flashlight directly to me. “Uhm…how so? Wouldn’t no traps normally mean that we aren’t close to the treasure at all, but instead far away from it?” Dad countered. I simply shook my head. “Nope, the ancient peoples of Machoo-capua were known to be a very forward thinking people, which means that there burial and treasure chambers were usually left trap less to trick and confuse enemies and temple robbers to make them THINK that since this place isn’t booby trapped like everything else that this room would be worthless and empty and therefore move on to different areas while obviously passing by the actual hidden treasure chamber of these ruins," I happily explained to him with an all-knowing wink. “That…actually kind of makes sense when you look at it like that," Dad commented, holding his chin. “Well in that case it means that we need to search this chamber very carefully, and if necessary, completely flipping it upside down in order to find this ancient idol," Dad quickly added while pointing her index finger in the air. I nod. “Yes, exactly, mister…uhm…” “Duke Hamchester of Liverpool," Dad answered me with a fake British accent. I giggled. “Alright, Sir Hamchester, we already know that the treasure chamber is somewhere within this area of the temple, you go flipping stones over there, I’ll go flipping stones over here," I suggested to Sir Hamchester as both of us went over to our sides to search for any sign or clue for this hidden treasure chamber. “I guess I should have really brought a jacket or something like that with me…these old wine cellars under our home are really, really cold," I thought to myself as I began to look around some stacked up barrels with the flashlight. After an hour or two I began to understand why Lulu really didn’t like this place. For one, it is very dark, and two, confusing as heck with every room being completely identical to the other. The longer we stay down here the creepier the place seems to get with all the noises from the pipes and the nasty critters like rats, spiders and cockroaches to just name a few. “Hopefully we will find this treasure pretty soon…I really want to get out of here as soon as possible," I thought to myself as I was forced to dodge a runaway mouse with an eep and accidentally dropping my flashlight. “Ugh, darn it. Stupid mouse," I muttered as I went over to the spot where my flashlight fell and rolled off, right under an old bookshelf. “Hm…it has rolled too far under for me to try and grab it with my hoof…guess I have to use my magic then," I thought to myself after i kneeled down under the shelf where the flashlight was. It was then when I noticed something right on the wall where the shelve was leaning against. “Hey Dad…come have a look at this.” I called out to him after retrieving my flashlight. “What is it?” Dad shouted back from the other side of the room after he stopped whatever he was doing. “I think I found something," I called back as I kneeled down to see under the shelve. It wasn’t long till Dad finally navigated himself over to where I was. He kneeled down beside me to see where I was looking and shining with my flashlight. “Look at this crack Dad…can you see what I see?” I asked him with my flashlight pointing. Dad squinted his eyes to focus more on the spot where I was shining. “Yeah…I can, there is something behind this was…like…like a walled off section…another room behind this wall," Dad commented excitedly as a smile also began to spread its way around me muzzle. I quickly jumped up excitedly from my crouch position. “Oh my gosh we found it we actually found it," I excitedly shout while hopping in place. “Wait…we got to go tell Lulu and Lukas about this…LUKAS…LUNA!!!” I shouted into the air, trying to call them over to where we were. “Geeze, Celly, not so loud, you shouts echo in here," Dad complained while holding his ears. I giggled. “Sorry” “Anyway…you really don’t have to shout like a mad girl…I have Lukas’ phone number, so I can just call him and Luna over here," Dad suggested as he whipped out his cellphone from his jacket and began to call. I began to scratch my head as I watched him. “Uhm…when did…you ever use a cellphone, Dad?” I asked him, confused. Dad looked at me with equal confusion. “Well…yeah…yeah you have…many times in fact," Dad simply answered. “Oh, uhm…yeah, silly me. I must be loopy from the excitement…hehe…derp," I answered sheepishly with an awkward chuckle. “Anyway…they say that they are on their way over here. While that is happening, let’s see if we can move this shelve away from the wall," Dad suggested as he positioned himself on the left side of the shelve and tried to push it away. “Oh yeah…let me help with that," I suggested as I moved to the other side and began to pull. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (Luna’s POV) “So you really think this is the wall?” I asked Big Sis as the four of us were standing in front of it. “I know it is, and I already told you why, didn’t I?” Big Sis responded as she continued to observe the rather run down looking section of wall. “Well, how are we going to bust this wall down then? I don’t remember anyone bringing a sledgehammer," I asked again while looking over at Dad, Lukas and eventually Big Sis. “Well the walls looks brittle, so maybe kicking and slamming into it might work," Lucas suggested, shining around the wall with his flashlight. “Hm, actually I could just go back up and get a sledgehammer from the attic and…” Dad started but stopped as all of us suddenly looked over at my big sister as she suddenly began to do something neither of us would have expected. She ran up and slammed against the wall with a heavy thud. It began to bristle and shake a bit after the impact, looking quite unstable. I continued to stare at her with wide eyes and slightly agape mouth as I thought to myself how uncharacteristic that was of her. I could imagine myself doing something like that if I was in a better mood, but not her. “See, no big fat hammer required. This wall actually seems very brittle. I’m sure we can just kick our way through this with a little bit more effort. Hey Lukas, wanna help me with this?” Big Sis asked as she looked over to Lukas with an excited smile. Lukas simply nodded as he placed his flashlight on an old and mold-covered table. I gave Dad a worried look. “Dad…are you sure what they are doing is going to be safe. I mean, it’s very easy for them to get hit by falling bricks if they keep kicking and hacking at the wall like that," I asked him with concern as I also began to wonder why I am suddenly the much safer and level-headed one. Dad nodded at my consideration. “You’re right there, Luna. Hey Celestia, Lukas…” Dad began but didn’t really have the time necessary to finish his sentence as the entire wall suddenly crumbled down in a massive display of rubble and dust–a lot of dust as both of them luckily jumped away in time as it continued to tumble down in front of us. I could easily hear both Big Sis and Lukas coughing violently as nothing but a very thick dust cloud was visible in front of me and Dad, causing both of us to take a few steps backwards as not to get swallowed up by the dust as well. “Are you two ok in there?” Dad finally asked while I simply stood there, worried like heck, hoping that they didn’t get seriously hurt. “Yeah…cough…we’re fine…just a lot of...cough...dust in my mane.” Big Sis replied as both she and Lucas finally emerged from the dust cloud. I sighed in relief, knowing that both of them were ok and unharmed after that sudden incident, but I quickly turned to glare down my big sister as she and Lukas made their way back to us. “What?” Big Sis casually asked after she noticed my glare. “Are you kidding? You just suddenly went full retard and started slamming and kicking on the wall like a little child until everything collapsed almost on top of you, and you just casually ask me WHAT?” I scolded at her with a stomp of my right hoof. Big Sis simply looked at me with a sorry look. “Yeah, now that I think about it, it really was extremely reckless of me. I’m just so excited to finally find a REAL hidden treasure, right under our home nonetheless. I’m just so curious to see what it is,” Big Sis explained to me with excitement in the end. “While yes, I can understand your excitement, your little sister is still right, Celly. That was pretty reckless, from the both of you," Dad also commented. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. But hey, at least we got the way to the treasure open, so let’s just go in and see what has been hidden in there for almost a century," Big Sis apologised again before giving a somewhat awkward smile and trying to quickly change the subject. I simply sighed. “Well I guess…but where is Lucas all of the sudden?” I quickly asked after realizing that he was no longer in sight. “I’m actually over her," I hear him suddenly shout from where the wall used to be. “Come over here, quick! You guys got to see this," He quickly added in a tone of awe. Dad, Big Sis and I quickly made our way over behind the still settling dusk cloud, coughing all along the way as we passed through, but quickly stopped after we saw the scene that we were presented with. “Woooooow…this is just like in one of those Indiana jones movies…but in real life," Celestia commented in awe as we all simply stared at the largest piled up collection of treasures and ancient artefacts that we have ever seen. “Yeah…this really is awesome…who would have ever guessed that this all was hidden under your home all this time. I wonder if it is okay to inform my big brother of this discovery or not," Lukas added. “Wow this really is amazing. I can’t believe that all of THIS was right under our noses the entire time," I thought to myself as I took a very good look around the treasure-filled room. “Hey wait…is that actually an Egyptian idol?” I asked out loud as I pointed at the mentioned item with my front hoof. “Well…I guess all we can do now is have a good look around and see how many interesting goodies we have here…and yes Luna, that is an ancient Egyptian statue," Dad announced and answered me as he quickly began to move passed us to have a closer look around this amazing place. “Already on it," Big Sis announced as she took her flashlight in her mouth and dashed off somewhere behind some ancient pottery and what looked like to be an ancient war carriage. “Hey Big Sis…wait for me," I quickly called out after as I regained myself from my awe stricken state and quickly galloped after her. ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………... (POV Celestia) “Wow check this out…no wait CHECK THIS OUT…look at all this Historical ancient stuff down here from all different corners of the world, from all different eras!" I said out loud to myself I began to run around excitedly looking at every single thing around me like a little girl loose in a toy store. “Big Sis, wait up…don’t go so crazy or you might break something," Luna suddenly said as she came up from behind me. I turned to look at her. “Don’t worry, Lulu, I am not as clumsy as you sometimes," I answered her with a teasing smile but quickly dropped as I suddenly heard a shattering sound coming from behind me. “You were saying," Luna responded with a smug look as she pointed behind me. I quickly turned around find that I must have somehow managed to knock down an old looking vase from a crate, probably when I turned around to look at her. I simply grumbled a bit to myself before looking back at Lulu’s flank-eating grin. “Stop smiling like that and let’s just explore this place," I suggested with a bit of an annoying tone as I turned around to look at a set of old stone statues. “Sure thing, Mrs. Clumsy," I heard Lulu respond behind me with a small giggle at the end that made me groan and roll my eyes. “Hmm…this statues look very Mayan-like, I wonder what sort of deities these are, or maybe they're just statues of Mayan priests or chieftains," I thought to myself as I continued to examine the stone statues in front of me. I slowly and very carefully picked one of the small statues up with both of my hoofs to have a closer look at them. “Hm, I wonder how old these things really are, though," I wondered to myself. “Hey big Sis, check this out," I suddenly heard Luna call out from behind me, almost making me drop the priceless artefact from the initial surprise. I quickly turned around with a sneer on my face. “Luna you almost made me break yet another priceless artefact. I almost dropped this statue because of your…wait what are you holding there?” “It’s a Bronze sword of course, looks really awesome. I’m not sure from what time period or what corner of the world this came from, but I like it. It looks very well preserved. On second thought, it looks like one of those ancient Greek swords from the movie Troy," Luna answered me with a glee filled tone. She took the handle of the sword into her mouth and began to dangerously swing it in the air around her. I had to quickly dodge one of her swings as she eventually lost her balance and almost hit me with it. “Luna stop, that thing is not a toy and you almost hit me. Put that down before you break something…or even me," I scolded her as I decided to just yank the sword away from her with my magic, a bit wonkily though. “Ugh…it has been four years since Luna and I discovered our unique talent of being able to use and cast magic (ever since that frightful day) and I still can’t really use it properly," I thought to myself as I concentrated to wobbly levitate the sword over to a small crate behind me and carefully lay it down. Luna simply gave me a childish pout face as she quickly went back in search for something of interest in her little corner. I simply shook my head at her as I too went back in search, looking at and examining every little or big object that I could find. Most of them of course we're still packed away in dozens of dusty looking crates that were literally all over the place, some of them already open, some of them not which only made me guess what could be inside of them. This place literally had everything: ancient looking figurines and jewels from Egypt, fantastic looking vases and swords from ancient Greece, well preserved roman centurion armour and so much more. Stuff from China, stuff from India and even stuff from what looked like Aztec or Incan to me. “Man, Dad, grandfather was a real traveling buff. Having visited and excavated in so many different places in his life is crazy," I thought to myself in amazement as I was examining what looked like an old Celtic shield. “Wait a minute…what is that?” I asked myself out loud after I spotted something that was far behind the Celtic shield. I slowly made my way over to the item of interest. I got closer and closer to it, the object appearing golden. It became clear it was a tiara that was sitting very lonely on a single wooden crate. “What is a little tiara doing sitting here? Actually, why am I even asking this question in the first place? It’s a golden tiara that is obviously just one of the dozens of treasures and artefacts that Dad’s grandfather has brought with him here from his expeditions," I told myself out loud. “Hey Big Sis, did you find something interesting over there? I just heard you talking about a tiara or something," Lulu suddenly asked from behind a pile of other stuff that I already looked through before. “Well yeah I did. Come over here and check this out, Lulu," I called back to her. “Is…Is that a tiara?” Luna asked as she came up to me. “Yeah it is. It’s dirty and dusty but a pretty good condition from the looks of it," I told Luna as curiosity and interest made me pick it up with both of my hoof. I began to carefully move and turn it around to carefully inspect every little detail on the tiara. it was as I previously thought, made of pure looking gold and decorated with neat little markings all over the front of it with a lonely but beautiful purple stone right at the center. I could have sworn that the stone began to faintly glow for a very brief moment while I was looking at it, which was very strange to say the least, but I quickly dismissed it as my imagination playing trick on me as I quickly turned to Luna to show the tiara in my hoofs. “Here Lulu, what do you think? I think it looks kind of…well, beautiful," I told her with a small smile as I continue to stare and admire the tiara in my hoofs. Luna simply scratched her head a little bit while switching her gaze from me over to the tiara I was holding. “I guess, but I think you should try it on to see if it even suits you in the first place," Lulu Suggested as she pointed at the head accessory. “Oh yeah, that’s a good idea Lulu, let’s see if this thing even fits on my head," I responded with a gleeful smile as I carefully began to place the tiara on top of my head and mane, carefully to avoid my long horn while doing so. It felt strange at first, a little bit heavy too but thankfully not uncomfortable at all as I adjusted it a little bit more to make sure it was sitting neatly on top of my pony shaped head. I quickly looked over to Luna with a smile as I did a little spin for extra effect in front of her. “Well, how does it look Lulu? Do I look like a princess now?” I asked her with glee. Luna simply stared at me, or specifically the tiara on my head with a very curious look on her muzzle, which made me a bit curious myself as I began to wonder why she was staring at my tiara as if it suddenly began to glow. “Hey Lulu, what’s wrong? Why are you staring off into the air like you saw a ghost, or is the tiara on my head suddenly on fire or something?” I asked her jokingly on the last part. My sister nodded in confirmation to my last question. “Well…uhm…not on fire but…the gem on the center of the tiara is suddenly glowing, like literally," Lulu answered me while still staring. “Wait what?” I asked as I quickly grabbed the tiara from my head to look at it. Luna was right the, the purple Gem on the tiara was in fact glowing. I dropped the tiara on the floor with a shriek and a very audible clanking sound as it bounced along the ground in front of me. “Hey Celly, are you and Lulu ok over there? I heard someone call over, “Was that you Celly?” Dad suddenly voiced up from the other side of the chamber, quickly catching me and Lulu’s attention. “Y-yeah it was me Dad...sorry, but please come over here quickly, there is something that both you and Lukas got to see…it’s freaky,” I called back as I looked over to the still glowing tiara on the ground. It didn’t take long for both Dad and Lukas to navigate themselves over to where we were and I immediately began to explain the situation. But as bad luck, fate or whatever had it, the moment both Dad and Lucas made it over us, the gem on the tiara was no longer glowing, making it look like any normal looking tiara. “But…But I swear Dad…the gem suddenly began to glow like a lamp when I had it on…Luna even can confirm it, right Lulu?” I tried to explain and asked Luna in which she nodded. “Yes Dad…we’re telling the truth. I was the first one to notice it and point it out to Big Sis," Luna added while looking over at Dad. Dad simply scratched his chin for a while, looking at the tiara on the ground in deep thought before looking back to us. “Don’t worry, I do believe you two’s story. Ever since the two of you discovered your inner gift of being able to actually control REAL magic with those horns of yours, a magic tiara doesn’t sound so crazy anymore," Dad commented while still scratching his chin in thought. Lukas simply nodded at Dad’s remark as he bent down in front of us and picked up the tiara. “Wait, be careful Lukas. Who knows what else it can do," I warned him with concern as he began to turn it around his hand to look at everything. “It looks and feels normal, a bit heavy though but that’s what you can expect from a pure gold tiara," Lukas commented. “So…where did you find it?” Dad eventually asked. “Over there sitting all by itself, but why does that matter?” I responded. Dad simply shrugged. “Just a feeling that’s all," Dad simply said as he suddenly began to move past us towards the small crate with his flashlight shining on it. Luna, Lucas and I simply followed him with our gaze in both curiosity and confusion as we watched him place his flashlight on another wooden box next to him and carefully opened the small crate in front of him. “Dad what are you…” I tried to ask but stopped when Dad literally ripped the top part of the crate right off with loud wood ripping and cracking sounds accompanying it “Well didn’t realize how brittle some of the wood down here really is," I thought to myself as Dad immediately grabbed his flashlight again to have a better look at the now open crate in front of him. “What inside, Dad? Did you find something in there?” I asked him curiously as I trotted over behind him. Dad didn’t answer but instead reached down with one hand and lifted something out of the crate what looked to me like a large, rotten looking wooden jewellery box. “Oh, what is it, what is it," Luna repeatedly said as she too suddenly came up behind me and in front of Dad. “That’s what we are about to find out, Lulu," Dad answered her as he carefully began to open the lid on top of the ancient looking jewellery box. Peering inside, he raised a curious eyebrow. “Well…what’s inside, Dad? Please tell me, the curiosity is killing me!" Luna begged and whined as she began to impatiently hop around in place like a little girl. Dad simply shrugged as he closed the lid and handed the brittle looking box over to Luna. Luna looked at the box in her hooves and then at Dad in confusion. She curiously lifted the lid with one of her hoofs and quietly gasp to herself in surprise at whatever she was looking at. “Well, come on Luna, don’t leave us hanging over here. Tell us what’s inside the box,” I asked her with a hint of impatience myself. “It’s…it’s another tiara," Luna simply answered as she eventually pulled something out another but smaller, Jet-black-colored tiara out of the Jewellery box, a depiction of what looked like a white crescent moon on the center piece. We all simply looked at it for a few silent moments, which was broken when Luna suddenly decided to place it onto her head. “Well…how does it look?” Luna asked with a small smile while doing a slow spin. “Pretty good, Lulu, like a true princess," Lucas commented happily which made Luna blush a bit. “Re-really? You really think so, Lukas?" Luna asked shyly while looking at the floor. Lukas simply nodded. “Yeah totally…that black little thing really suits your look and color," Lucas added which made Luna blush even more. “Well…Dad…what do you think?” Luna suddenly asked while looking up towards Dad with her little blush still visible. Dad kneeled down in front of her as he place a hand onto her cheek while warmly smiling at her. “You look beautiful as always Luna. I personally think that you should keep the little tiara, because I have to agree with Lukas that it really suits your look and everything," Dad lovingly answered her which made Luna immediately spread a happy smile of her own as she gently nuzzled Dad’s hand. Both Lukas and I simply smiled at the father-daughter scene in front of us when I suddenly caught a little glimmer coming from the moon symbol on Luna’s new tiara. But that was all it seemed to be, a brief glimmer. Eventually Luna removed herself from Dad’s grasp and she faced us all with a happy smile on her muzzle. “Then I shall claim this tiara as my own and wear it proudly like any true princess would!" Luna announced as she held her hooves high for extra dramatic effect. Dad and Lukas simply smiled while I giggled at her display as she continued to hold her dramatic pose longer than necessary. “So uhm…Dad, what are we going to do with all of this here, now?” I asked him curiously while motioning with my hoofs to everything around us. “Well…uh…that’s actually a good question…never thought of it," Dad responded with a thoughtful look on his face as he began to scratch his chin. “Send it to a museum?” Luna suggested. “Sell it online," Lukas suggested after stepping in. “Just…give it all away since I don’t see any of this being any use to us at all besides bragging rights." I also threw my hat into the stage with a small smile. “Actually no…none of those to be honest," Dad counter suggested as he began to look around him. “What? Why not," I curiously asked him. “Because of you two’s current situation, that’s why," Dad answered while turning his gaze to look at me. “You two are still being hunted and spied on by governmental agents. Giving ourselves a lot of attention by announcing this discovery to the world could just be the chance they need. How could we tell the difference between a reporter from TV and a secret agent, or an appraiser, or a historian? Not to mention we’d be giving away our location to everyone, including potentially other wrong type of peoples who are going to be interested in getting their hands on you two as well. So just keeping all of this secret and to ourselves is the best move at the moment," Dad quickly added to his explanation. I began to nod in realization as I looked down at the floor with sadness, remembering the actually serious predicament that both me and Luna were in. Luna also began to look sad and defeated after being reminded again of the reasons why we have been stuck in our own home for the past few months. “Hey, I know that we are all in a very tight spot at the moment…but at the very least we have each other, and that’s what matters," Dad reassured with a smile to raise our spirits. “You're right, we do still have each other, and nothing is ever going to separate us, not even if the whole world was be against us," I added. Luna finally also smiled again but kept silent as Dad simply chuckled at my enthusiasm. “Well anyway, I would say we have looked around enough down here for one day, and it is getting late as well." Dad announced while looking at his watch. “What do you all think? Should we head back up and call this a day?” Dad quickly added while looking over at us. I nodded with a yawn as I realized how long and exhausting the day really was. “Yeah, I think that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I could really go for a warm bath now after having spent most of the day down in these dirty cold cellars," I answered him, fantasizing of actually having that wonderful hot bath. “…And I think it’s time for me to head home anyway as well, it’s really late now and I don’t want my uncle and big bro to worry about me," Lukas added. Luna looked sad for a second after she heard him say that but eventually smiled up at him while poking his side to get his attention. “Hey Lukas…it was really nice seeing you again after such a long time, and…uhm, also thank you again for…lifting my spirits earlier," Luna thanked him with a smile before blushing a bit in the end. I only nodded at her statement. “Yeah, it really was nice to see you again Lukas. I do hope that we can in the future see each other again more often, really," I added with my own smile. “That’s actually a very easy thing for him to do. He could easily visit at any time if that’s what you two want–and if Lukas has the time for it as well," Dad also added. “Yeah, that would great…can you?” Luna asked Lukas. “Sure, if I can get some free time from my constant studies I can totally come over here and hang out with you two," Lucas answered with a smile which made Luna almost jump and giggle in joy…almost. The moment was quickly interrupted though by a very loud and ominous rumbling coming from somewhere in the room, until I realized that it was actually my tummy, which quickly caused me to blush in pure embarrassment as I looked around at everybody with a sheepish smile on my face. “Uhm…hehe…sorry, I guess it really is time for us to head back up after all. I completely forgot that I hadn’t eaten much during lunch," I announced, still feeling quite embarrassed. Both Lukas and Dad simply chuckled while Luna giggled, which quickly died down when her own tummy began to protest as well. “Aww come on!!!” Luna whined at her tummy which quickly caused us all to laugh. “Well let’s just get back up and make some dinner. You can stay for dinner too, Lucas, if you want?” Dad offered. “Well, I guess I could–heh. I am kind of hungry right now anyway," Lukas responded while scratching his neck. “Can we have cheese macaroni, Dad?” Luna suddenly asked with a hopeful smile on her face. “Sure, why not?" Dad responded as he began to move past me and towards the hole in the wall. “Yes…Luna for the win," She cheered quietly as she quickly began to follow him. I giggled at her antics as I began to remember how much I actually missed those since these last few horrible months. We used to have a pretty awesome life filled with happiness, joy and most importantly, love and acceptance. So how did all of that suddenly turn into this? All I really want right now is to be able to enjoy life with my friends and family. I want to be able to go back to school, have a good time with all of our classmates while getting pop quizzes thrown at our faces for no reason. I want to be able to run around the woods outside our home enjoying the wildlife and nature. I want to be able to chat with people online, play games with my friends and my sister. I want to be able to just spread my wings and take off into the sky, seeing the world and making its sky’s my personal playgrounds. I want to be able to go out with both sis and Dad and have fun how we used to. “I…I really miss those days. I really wish that one day…we could come back to that…just me, sis, Dad having fun together," I thought to myself as I stared down at the ground. “Let’s go Celly...or is there something wrong?” Lucas suddenly asked while tapping my shoulder. I quickly shook my head and looked at him. “Uhm, yeah, I’m coming. I…I was just thinking about something, that’s all," I responded trying to look cheerful which seemed to work. I was about to follow him when all of the suddenly the thought about the golden tiara popped back up inside in my head. I quickly looked back behind me from where I last left it and began to ponder whether or not if I should take the thing with me. I don’t know how and why I suddenly began to feel this way, but for some unknown reason, despite the glowing freaking me out, the tiara on the top of that crate seemed suddenly very appealing to me, almost as if that thing was ASKING me to take it with me. I again began to ponder on that idea for a moment while directly glaring at it. “Hey Celly, are you coming?” I heard Lucas suddenly call out from way behind me and breaking my concentration. I quickly shook my head while turning around to look at him. “Yeah, yeah Im moving don’t worry," I called back. After that, I immediately took another look over the still enticing looking tiara behind me before I finally sighed. “Oh well…I guess I can take it with me, Luna has one now so why not me as well," I told myself out loud as I quickly grabbed the tiara with my mouth and began to gallop out of here and to where Lukas was waiting for me. “Today was still a very good day in my opinion. I managed to meet and talk with Lucas again after such a long time, managed to spend the whole day exploring and having fun together as a family, and also found a massive treasure trove right under our home. Heck, I even got myself a real princess tiara that may or may not be magical. A very good and interesting day indeed, and the perfect change in pace I needed after these horrible and depressing few months," I thought to myself with a small smile as Lukas and I made our way back up stairs and left the cellars behind us. ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………. (Luna’s POV) “I think this tiara really suits me. It’s perfect for my size and coat color, and fits well on my head too," I announced as I stood in front of our mirror, admiring myself with the tiara on my head. “Well yeah…I do have to admit it does look good on you Lulu," Big Sis called back from the bathroom as I also heard the sound of brushing teeth. Today was a real treat for the both of us, something we definitely needed. I feel so much calmer and happier than I have in a while, giving me once again a lot of hope that everything would be A-okay in the end. Plus I got to talk to Lukas again so that’s another huge plus as well. I might actually also try to play some games again with my friends online. My poor PC and consoles have been collecting dust for far too long in my opinion. “Oh man, today was really exhausting. I seriously feel ready for bed right now," Big Sis announced as she came out of the bathroom yawing. “Well, yeah it was. It was also really fun. I feel…happy for a change," I admitted to her as I turned my head to look at her. I watched her smile and nod to my claim. “Yeah, same here. Today was really something we both desperately needed, finally doing something fun together as a family while also meeting up with our number-one friend again. Really fun and spirit lifting," Big Sis added with a cheerful smile. I nodded at her statement as I began to trot over to my bed and place the tiara carefully onto my night desk beside me. “So…what do you think will happen next after this?” I curiously asked while eyeing the tiara on my nightstand. “I honestly have no idea," Big Sis simply responded as she crawled onto her bed and covered herself with her blanket. I simply stood there, pondering for a moment about our future while still staring down at the tiara in front of me. For some reason I just began to get this strange feeling that it has something to do with these two tiaras Big Sis and I found in the cellars, but I quickly disbanded that idea as I slowly began to climb onto my own bed as well. “Well, better save those thoughts for tomorrow, I am too tired right now to think anyway," I thought to myself as I quickly turned off my night lamp and began to drift off into the realm of sleep. As I drifted off I began to momentarily notice the light of the full moon outside coming into our room and illuminating it, but what was even stranger to me was that I suddenly felt a very strange and unfamiliar sensation within my body, mostly in my lower regions. I only got a single second glimpse of a small light coming off from underneath big sister’s blanket before I finally closed my eyes and drifted off into dreamland itself.