Big Rumble
Chapter Two: Curiosity
By Scribe Feather
✶✶2✶✶
Rumble made his way through town in no time, flying over the stout buildings that lined the cobblestone streets. Below him walked groups of ponies, going about their daily lives.
Princess Twilight Sparkle’s home was an easy thing to find in the small town of Ponyville. She now lived in a large, crystal castle that sat high above most buildings in the valley town. Located near the busy part of town, Twilight Sparkle’s castle’s crystal exterior gleamed in the sunlight. It’s tree like design was incredibly different from the various timber framed buildings of the town.
As he approached the building, Rumble utilized every sneaky move he could think of, sticking to what shadows existed around mid afternoon. He kept his body form as small as possible, avoiding detection from passersby as he peeked through one of the windows of the castle.
The window opened up to a large library that was filled with tall bookshelves all neatly organized. Inside the room he could see Twilight and her dragon assistant, Spike. The two paced around the large room, moving books around and sorting through the various piles.
“The girls really left a mess,” Spike said, gathering a tall stack of books to carry back to the shelves.
“But willing to learn and we can’t let a few housekeeping rules get in the way of their willingness to learn.”
“I guess so,” the dragon shrugged, "hey, what should I do with this hypnosis book Applebloom was lookin’ at?" He held up a heavy, blue tome that was lavishly decorated in a peculiar mock-medieval fashion. The book’s pages were gilt-edged with a shiny gold, free of any tarnishing or water stains.
"Let me take care of it,” Twilight answered as she picked the book up with her magic. “I can't imagine why this sort of thing was on the shelves to begin with. It’s much too dangerous." And with that said, Twilight scurried off to another room.
“So I guess I’ll just...keep sorting through the books then,” Spike said mostly to himself, lifting up another stack and carrying the books to their designated shelves.
Fluttering around the castle, Rumble followed Twilight as she walked into another room. This smaller room appeared to be some sort of private study, equiped with all the essential materials one would need to write something. Wide shelves on the far wall contained small stacks of loosely tied up scrolls and parchment. A large, tan tinted globe sat beside the papers, displaying the various continents of the world.
In the middle of the room stood a wide, stout desk, made of a heavy dark wood. The left side of the desk was made up of a set of shelves, used for storing mismatching mundane books and knick knacks. On the right side sat a set of drawers that were made of a sturdy looking metal, each with a visible lock tied to them.
Rumble watched from his hiding spot as Twilight carried the book to the desk, placing on its top face before digging out a key. The key was slowly lowered to one of the locked drawers, just about to be inserted into the metal lock.
Suddenly there was a loud crash, followed by the sound of falling stacks of books as well as a loud yelp from Spike.
“Spike?” Twilight called out, pulling the key away from the desk. In her haste, she dashed out of the room to attend to her assistant.
Now was Rumble’s opportunity. With stealthy hooves, he slowly opened the window’s shutters, slipping in once a crack was made big enough. The colt kept low to the ground, his wings tucked tightly to his sides as he slunked to the desk.
The book sat before him, resting on top of the large desk as it gave off an ever so faint blue glow. From what he learned from his magic classes, the young colt knew right away that this book was enchanted. There was a faint charge in the air around the item, much like the sky before a thunderstorm. Beveled into the front cover in shiny gold foil read “Controling the Mind” in fancy, swirled text.
Peeking over the desk to make sure the coast was clear, Rumble slowly reached for the book. As his hooves made contact with the tome, faint needle pricks could be felt that disappeared in an instant. For a moment, touching the book felt like touching a bail of pine needles, but upon closer inspection, the book’s cover was smooth and free of any other of place bumps or gashes.
For a few minutes, Rumble gazed upon the heavy book that rested in his grip. The faint, blue glow seemed to die down in his hooves as he examined the object. With every passing second, plans to teach his brother a lesson multiplied and developed.
He knew stealing was wrong, but he wouldn’t need this book for long. He figured a simple spell or two or a well placed hypnotic suggestion would be enough for him to succeed. After that he could easily return the book and nopony would be the wiser.
Hearing hoofsteps approaching, Rumble quickly tossed the book into his school bags. With every ounce of stealthy skill, he slipped back to the window, slipping out and closing it before Twilight returned. He didn’t dare look back at the scene of the crime, instead opting to dash away and get out of sight as soon as possible. His heart pumped heavy as the rush of being caught fueled his mad dash out of there.
The young colt hoisted his heavy books far into the distance before flying up into the cloudy sky. It wasn’t until he felt a soft cloud under his hooves before he bothered to look behind him. With his heart beating and his lungs panting heavily after the immense exertion, Rumble peeked over the cloud’s edge.
The coast was clear, now he was able to catch his breath and relax. Plopping down onto the pillowy cloud, Rumble allowed himself to recover from the sprint. He took heavy breaths, slowly steadying himself as the adrenaline drained from his system. Now it was time to look over his spoils.
Once again the book was pulled from his bag and closely examined by the curious pony. Turning to the first page brought forth a bright flash that made Rumble flinch. The light was only there for a split second before fading as quickly as it appeared.
The book’s text was written in a neat, handwritten font, patiently explaining what the book was about. The first few pages acted as an introduction, warning the reader the dangers of excessive use of hypnosis and emphasized the importance of self discipline.
With perked interest, Rumble read on. The book went on explaining the finer points of hypnosis. Breaking the practice down to scientific steps, even a novice like Rumble could grasp the concept of manipulating the mind.
It seemed that before he could head home. He needed to do some studying.