Tune of the Piper

by Bookpony579

Chapter 7

They soon arrived the old Cemetery just outside of the city. Following the signs, they soon found the large, ornate mausoleum dedicated to the Piper of long ago. Carved in stone on the front was written:

In memory of the musician who saved this city long ago.

"Alright, we're here." Daring noted. "Now what?"

Twilight looked at the amulet they picked up. "Well, this is the symbol of death, so...maybe we have to go inside to figure it out?"

"On it." Daring quickly looked around, making sure there was no one else around, before opening the door and rushing them inside. "Alright, try to find something the amulet might go with."

"Does anybody else feel weird about exploring the tomb with a long dead guy in it?" Flash inquired as he searched the walls.

"Oh don't worry about that; he's not buried here."

"Huh?" Daring and Flash turned to Twilight.

"The book said that this tomb was built as a memorial to him after he died. His final resting place is still a mystery." Her eyes widened as the pieces clicked in her mind. "Gah! How could I have been so stupid!?"

"What's wrong?" Flash asked.

"We're searching in the wrong place! Don't you see?! This mausoleum isn't his 'final fate'!" Twilight began to pace back and forth. "If I know my grandmother, she's talking about his actual final resting place."

"But it's just like you said:" Flash interrupted. "Nobody knows where he's actually buried." He walked over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which stopped her pacing. "Let's just do a quick look through here for any clues before moving."

Twilight took a deep breath and nodded, and they continued to search once more.

---

The sun was beginning to set by the time they left the mausoleum, defeated and empty handed.

"Nothing." Daring muttered. "No spot to put the amulet in, no note with another riddle, nothing!"

"What are we going to do now?" Flash asked. "This cemetery's huge. It would take weeks to find anything that would go with the amulet, and Twilight and I are only here for the weekend. Who knows when we'll get the chance to come back?"

Daring sighed. "Maybe this was all just a big mistake. I should have never involved the two of you in this."

Twilight gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it. Did you know how excited I was when you asked me to help with this? To find something my own Grandmother found and hid a long time ago. It's like I was living the adventures she was always telling me about!"

"Really?"

"Of course." Twilight sat down on a nearby bench and looked at a nearby pond with a distant smile on her face. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved reading and hearing about her cases, and just her life in general! It was all so exciting, all those places she's been to, the monsters she's fought, the people she's met....it all seemed so amazing! I wanted to do all that too!"

"I know the feeling." Flash sat next to her. "My parents were away a lot when I was a kid, so Scootaloo and I usually ended up with our Aunts. They're great and I love them, but when your a kid with only your aunts and baby sister for company, it can get lonely. Reading mysteries gave me something to do. Then one day I stumbled onto a few old articles about Aurella's cases and I was hooked! I looked up everything I could about her, articles, books, even old news recordings. She was brave and smart and pretty much everything I wanted to be when I grew up. I got my aunt Holiday to get me puzzle books or puzzle boxes for me to solve so I could be ready." He caught her eye and they smiled at their similar stories.

"But it wasn't just that either." Twilight continued. "It wasn't just her past adventures I loved, it was the woman I knew. She was funny, caring. She always knew how to cheer me up when I got upset. She listened to me without interrupting and gave me advice. She was crazy, but in a good way! And when your a kid who feels like an outsider a lot....that's the best kind of person to have around."

"I know that too." Daring smiled. "It was her who inspired me to become an adventurer in the first place."

"Really?"

Daring nodded. "Her and my Uncle Ad. They were friends and he used to tell me all about the adventures they went on together. Not only was she clever and bold, but from the way my Uncle talked, you'd think she was the greatest person who ever lived! I knew right then that I wanted to be just like them, solving puzzles, finding long lost treasures." She sighed. "Except for this one, I guess."

"Let me see the amulet again." Twilight held her hand out. "Maybe there's something we missed."

Daring handed her the amulet and Twilight looked at it before placing her other hand on it to move it around.....

Just as her fingers brushed the stone, Twilight's eyes went white.

---

She saw her, her Grandmother, only far younger than she remembered.

She was walking right outside the exact tomb, only unlike Twilight, she walked right passed it.

Looking around for anybody that might be following her, Aurella walked through the cemetery before coming upon a lone raised grave with the inscription:

Ed Pipe

Rip

Right in the center of the headstone, was a circular stone, carved with the symbol of death.

---

The vision ended and Twilight took a quick gasp of air.

"Are you ok? What did you see?" Flash asked with concern.

Twilight just gave a knowing smile. "The answer we've been looking for."

---

Twilight led them through the cemetery, the same path her Grandmother had walked years ago.

"Where are we going?" Daring inquired.

"You'll see." Was all Twilight replied.

She walked on, the path fully ingrained in her mind from the vision, until she came upon the grave.

"This is it?" Daring asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just some random guy's grave?"

"Not just anyone's grave." Twilight pointed to the headstone. "What's their name?"

Flash looked. "Ed Pipe? Who's that?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not just Ed Pipe, what's written under it?"

"'Rip'?" Daring was even more confused now. "I don't get it. All graves had 'R.I.P.' on the. You know? 'Rest In Peace'?"

Twilight shook her head again. "'R.I.P.' is written differently here for a reason. Now read the whole thing together. Does anything sound familiar?"

Daring ran the words and letters in her head until it clicked. "It's an anagram!"

Twilight nodded. "Exactly." Using her magic, she summoned created pink floating letters that read the inscription from the headstone. "Put them in a different order..." With her magic, she began rearranging the letters of the name until a familiar one appeared. "..and you get-"

"'Pied Piper'!" Both Flash and Daring exclaimed when they saw the name Twilight's magic created.

Twilight nodded and swished away the letters. "Now look at this." She pointed to the center of the headstone. "in my vision it was full. But now?" She gestured to the small, carved out circle that appeared to have once held something.

Flash's eyes widened. "The Amulet!"

Twilight nodded, pulled the amulet out, and set it into the headstone before pressing down on it like a button. It fit and moved back with ease. The familiar sound of stone scraping against stone was heard as the top of the casket dropped down into the earth, creating a set of stairs that led further down.

"Alright everyone!" Twilight announced, stepping onto the staircase. "Time to finally find this Flute!"

Comments

[Machine]

Awesome chapter!

[Comickook]

Excellent work on this latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places as usual.

I especially liked how Twilight, Flash and Daring all talked about how they were all inspired by Aurella as well as Twilight's psychic flash as to the next clue .

I am very certainly going to be looking forward to seeing where this ends up going.