//------------------------------// // Chapter LII // Story: Lessons in quirks // by Mike84 //------------------------------// There was a very resolute knocking at the library door. Twilight had just taken a look over the letters Spike had written to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. They had been as thorough, accurate and concise as Twilight could have wished for, yet still carried the clear notion of her own conviction that Frank was not behind the crimes the impending trial was to be about. She had commended Spike for the good work after he had sent the letters. Twilight rushed down the stairs to answer the door. Because of the vigor of the knocking she expected to find Applejack or Rainbow Dash on her threshold, but when she opened the door, she took a surprised step backwards. Instead of her friends, a tall lunatic was standing in front of her threshold. 'A member of her highness Princess Luna, guardian of the night and keeper of dreams in the realm of Equestria's royal guard', Twilight silently corrected her instinctive thought. Ever since a talk with her brother Shining Armor, Twilight couldn't help thinking of the little, hilarious profanity every time she saw one of Princess Luna's royal guards. Her brother had told her about a certain rivalry between the guards of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "Sunshine soldiers they call us...", Shining Armor had said. "...and fair weather guards! But we are a lot more humorous about it than they are about us calling them lunatics in turn." "And are you?" Twilight had asked with a laugh. "Are we what?" "Sunshine soldiers and fair weather guards?" "Twily!" Shining Armor had called in half played, half serious indignation. "Do I look like a sunshine soldier to you?" "Yes!" Twilight had answered flatly, looking at her brother's spotlessly polished armor and helmet, his speckless white fur and his carefully combed mane. Shining Armor had been speechless for some moments about this impudence, but looking at his own reflection in the equally polished armor of another nearby guard, he had started to laugh heartily. "Point taken, little sister. But seriously, we all do our jobs and we do it well. Perhaps...", he had fallen silent. "Perhaps what?" Twilight had asked. "Well, maybe the job of a guard of Princess Celestia may include a little more representation while word is that Princess Luna's guards sometimes do see a little more action during her nighttime patrols and she picks her guards accordingly." Shining Armor had put on a broad smile: "That's why we are the good looking ones while they are the lunatics!" "Princess Twilight Sparkle?" His voice was deep but had a strange sound to it, kind of buzzing, almost metallic. The guard took a deep bow, but he was so tall that even when he did, his lowered head was barely below that of Twilight. He was a unicorn and his fur as dark as Twilight had ever seen on any pony. There was something strange about his armor, it seemed to shine like black glass, though, in accordance with her brother's estimation, it didn't look like quite as much time and effort was invested to keep it polished. A dark cape was covering the back of the unicorn and Twilight was wondering if this was the newest addition to the guards' uniforms, for she hadn't seen that kind of cape on them on any earlier occasion. "Yes?" "I'm here at the direct order of Princess Luna herself." "At the direct— did she receive the letter already?" "I know of no letter, but I am to see the prisoner Frank Blanket." "The prisoner...? But Mr. Blanket is not here, of course." "Where is he?" The tone of this guard was rather direct and Twilight felt a little reminded of Princess Luna's own tone in her more intimidating moments. "He is in the town hall, I can lead you right to him, Mr. ...?" "Thank you, that won't be necessary, Your Highness. I'll find the town hall." "Oh, okay..." The guard took another short bow and was about to turn away. "Wait! Didn't the Princess give you any message for me?" "No, Your Highness. She did not." Twilight was rather disappointed, almost a little offended. "But why did she send you here?" "To see the prisoner Frank Blanket." "Yes, you said so. But why?" "I am not authorized to release that information!" "Not authorized...? I am a Princess of Equestria!" "Yes, you are." "So?" "So what?" Twilight gave a frustrated snorting. Lunatic indeed! "I'll take you to him!" "No, Your Highness!" "What?" "The orders of Princess Luna have been very clear on this. I am to visit him on my own. I wouldn't have bothered you at all, but I didn't know where he was held." "Why am I not to come with you? What is this secrecy about?" The guard looked at her in silence for some moments. His eyes appeared deep, almost hypnotic. "Do you not trust the judgment of Princess Luna, Your Highness?" "What? But of course I do!" "Then you will let me go to Mr. Blanket. On my own." The guard looked at her for some more moments before he bowed again, turned away and marched off down the alley leading towards the town hall. Twilight looked after him dumbfounded. What was all this about? Did it have to do with that strange dream, or lack of dream, which Luna had told her about? But why this strange secrecy? Twilight was looking at the sky. The sun had disappeared and the moon was rising on a clear starry sky now. "Spike?" she called back into the library. Her number one assistant appeared at the top of the stairs. "Who was that, Twilight?" "He... he didn't say his name. Spike, I think I must send another letter to Princess Luna." "What's keeping you, Pinkie? You aren't usually so slow!" Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Something funny", Pinkie Pie said, sounding very serious. "There's always something funny for you, but it doesn't usually slow you down!" "Not the good kind of funny, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said and it was the grave way she said it rather than the words that caught Rainbow Dash's attention. "What is it, Pinkie?" "Something's wrong. I don't know. I feel like I swallowed a big stone!" "Did you?" Rainbow Dash asked, remembering her interest in the stones while they had been waiting. She wouldn't put it beyond Pinkie to have swallowed one for reasons only she understood. "No I did not, silly!" Pinkie Pie continued. "My jaw is achy." "Maybe you didn't notice you ate a stone?" Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "My hooves are prickling, my spine is chilly, my ears are itchy and my knees are pinching, all four of them!" "Wait, you are saying this is your Pinkie Sense?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "What does it tell you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't know. I never had this combo before. But it is getting stronger and pinching knees mean something scary!" Rainbow Dash looked around uncomfortably. She knew Pinkie well enough to take her Pinkie Sense very serious, but signals that even Pinkie herself couldn't explain beyond 'something scary' were neither reassuring nor helping. At that moment a tall dark figure appeared in the alley. It was difficult to recognize at first, but as the figure approached, Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped a little. A member of Luna's royal guard? What was he doing here? Rainbow Dash couldn't remember having ever seen any of the royal guards without either the respective Princess, or trouble, or both of that being nearby. Before Rainbow Dash had recovered from her surprise or had the chance to ask the guard anything, he had stepped past them at a quick pace. He didn't seem to have taken notice of them at all. As Rainbow Dash was looking for Pinkie Pie, he saw she had squatted down behind her. "It was just... one of Luna's guards, Pinkie", she said as reassuring as she could. "Nothing to worry about. Maybe your Pinkie Sense was just exaggerating a little?" "It is not over", Pinkie said. "Come on, let's hurry!" Rainbow Dash dragged Pinkie Pie to her feet and though somewhat wobbly on her legs, she managed to make some good speed and not long after, Rainbow Dash knocked at the door of the library. Twilight opened and her face brightened up at the sight of Rainbow Dash and at the same time she was looking rather confused at her being all covered in soot. "Hello Rainbow, what in Equestria happened to you? You look like a chimney sweep!" "Had to take a different route into Featherscribe's and Inkhorn's house", Rainbow Dash said with a discarding wave of one hoof. "You didn't break into their home, did you?" Twilight asked alarmed. "Kind of, but you don't have to worry about that—" "Did you talk to Inkhorn? My goodness Pinkie, what is wrong with you?" Only now Twilight had spotted Pinkie Pie who had remained a bit in the rear and only hesitantly stepped into the light falling through the door of the library. She looked like she was somewhere else entirely in her mind. Rainbow Dash hadn't realized till now how pale Pinkie had become. In the silvery moonlight it hadn't been as distinct. Apart from the symptoms of her Pinkie Sense Pinkie Pie was shivering as if she was cold in spite of the day's warmth lingering even after the setting of the sun. "Her Pinkie Sense is telling her something, but she doesn't know what exactly. Only that it is something scary." "Something scary?" Spike asked from inside the library. He stood there holding a quill and a piece of paper. "Come on in!" Twilight invited Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Spike dropped the quill and the paper, ran for the kitchen and grabbed for three cups. Twilight levitated the cups right out of his hand and onto a table where she magically filled them with hot tea. Her magically produced tea tasted much worse than any Spike could have made the usual way, but right now Twilight didn't want to delay since Pinkie was looking like she could use any kind of hot drink. "You don't know what it is that your Pinkie Sense is telling you, Pinkie?" Pinkie Pie shook her head while her knees were twitching so much that she spilled some of the tea she was trying to drink. "I don't know. But it is getting stronger!" Rainbow Dash shared Twilight's concern for Pinkie Pie, but as long as they didn't know anything more concrete, she felt she could also tell Twilight about everything she was urging to tell her. "Twilight, we think that Inkhorn has been attacked too and also it seems like Featherscribe may be behind it. He had some school texts with him which Miss Cheerilee had the kids write during the time to which she doesn't remember! And Zecora was there. She says something like she cannot restore any memories of Filthy Rich or Miss Cheerilee because they don't seem to have any memories at all... Did you know there is one of Luna's guards here in Ponyville?" It was a bit too much information for Twilight to put in order so quickly while her mind was still fixed on Pinkie Pie, so she raised one hoof and said: "That guard was here. It was a bit odd. I was just going to dictate a letter to Spike to ask Princess Luna about him. He told he was here on her order, but wouldn't let on what she told him to do. He wanted to see Frank and—" Pinkie Pie took a leap, knocking over her tea cup and almost knocked over the table it stood on too. She had become even paler now. "It wants to kill him! It wants to kill Frankie! It's on the way to him!" she shouted. There was no doubt and no time for delay. "Pinkie, get the others to the town hall! Rainbow, we are flying there now!" It was all there was to say. Twilight ran for the door, swung herself up into the air and flew at a speed she had rarely reached so far. Rainbow Dash was right beside her as the moonlit town hall came into sight. "You are faster, Rainbow! Take the entrance below and come upstairs! I'll land on the cupola and walk down from there!" With a quick salute, sooty Rainbow Dash dived down towards the town hall's entrance while Twilight made for the cupola. Frank Blanket was walking around in circles. His worst fear was that Featherscribe hadn't taken him serious when he had tried to summarize what he had read in the treatise of Dr. Quircs. He had listened for any sounds from below and had taken the absence of any sounds as a possibly positive sign. Hopefully Featherscribe had gone downstairs and really asked a passerby to get Twilight, as he had promised he would. Frank walked up to the cupola. There were very, very few ponies out on the street anymore. The sun had disappeared and the moon was rising. For a moment he considered shouting as loud as he could to attract the kind of attention that might get him the chance to talk to Twilight once again, but he was hesitant to do so while he was still hoping that Featherscribe gave word to Twilight. Frank would have been exhilarated to see Owlowiscious, but unfortunately Twilight's owl was nowhere to be seen. He descended from the cupola and walked over to the book that had provided so many answers. Somehow he felt he shouldn't leave it unguarded for any moment, so he closed it, placed it into one of his saddle-bags, put them on and strapped them with a lace. It was a silly measure to strap the bags as if he was about to go somewhere, but it was one of the quirky habits of Frank to always fixate the saddle-bags when he put them on. Perhaps it was a habit out of concern for the bags which he had held very dear as a container for all his worldly possessions. He had made them himself back in Fillidelphia shortly before he had set out on his first ever study trip, but a highly gifted craftspony named Rusty Wrench had given him a invaluable assistance in word, deed and scavenged materials for the making of these bags. The durability of the bags and the fine working of its mechanics were worth more than all bits Frank had been able to give and Rusty had been willing to accept as compensation back then. Suddenly Frank felt observed. He cast his head around, but there was nobody but him underneath the bell roof of the town hall. "Hello? Is anypony there?" he asked. Of course there was no response and he gave a little snort, sneering about himself. Maybe everything that had happened and what he had read had made him a little paranoid? Then again, most ponies would probably grow a little paranoid in this situation. Suddenly there was a loud sound from below that made Frank twitch. There was the sound of heavy hoofsteps on the stairs. Somepony was coming up, but by the sound of it it couldn't possibly be Twilight. He heard the steps coming closer, finally up on the stairs and then he heard the metal sound of the latch before the hatch was pushed open. He didn't know the dark unicorn that was climbing up through the hatch, but he recognized the uniform of Princess Luna's royal guard right away. He had seen a number of them during the time he had spend in Canterlot. "Who are you?" he asked a little intimidated at the sight of the tall guard. "Is it time already? Are you to bring me to Canterlot?" The guard didn't respond and Frank was wondering if somepony else would come. "There is something I must tell Princess Twilight before we leave! It is of the utmost importance!" The horn of the unicorn flashed, the hatch closed and the entire room was surrounded by an iridescent sphere. Frank knew enough about magic to recognize this as a one way sound barrier spell. Nopony outside would hear any sound that was made in here. Frank's inside seemed to turn into a heavy lump and for a moment he forgot to breathe. How could he have been so stupid?! The alleged attack on Inkhorn! Either she or Featherscribe or both of them must have been taken over by the attacker! Obviously Featherscribe had been at the time when he had laid out to him how he knew exactly what was going on. The 'unicorn' was pointing the horn at the hatch and the latch closed with a grinding metal sound. Frank was now locked up with that creature without any chance from anypony outside to hear anything that was going on in here and he realized that his life was worth just the aim of the attacker.