For the Record: Chapter 10

>It's early. Octavia looks tired.

>”So did you have a good time doing whatever it was you were up to Saturday?” The cellist drops a cube of sugar into her tea and swirls it around.

“Yeah. Vinyl wasn't too disappointed, was she?”

>”Not that she let on. I don't know. She disappeared pretty early on into the party. I went home a little after.” She takes a sip.

“Was it a good show?”

>”Of course. Three thousand in the crowd, deafening noise everywhere, blinding lights... the usual.”

“I could see some of the lights from uptown.”

>Octavia raises an eyebrow.

>”What were you doing uptown? There's nothing uptown except old academic and administrative buildings.”

“Eh, just hanging out. Brown called, by the way. Says he sent the demo out. Minnie'll have it in her hooves in the next couple days.”

>The mare starts stirring her tea again.

>”I can't believe this is actually happening.”

“We're finally making it happen.”

>Octavia keep stirring idly.

>”Do you think she'll like it?”

>She looks so unsure.

“She'll love it. Remember, I talked to her after the Ponyville show? She liked you then. She even asked me for the demo. I didn't even have to offer it to her.”

>”Not directly, anyway. I'm sure you did some magic.”

>You shrug.

1/

 

>”Anyway, now we just have to wait for a response, right?”

“Right.”

>”Have you heard from Fancypants at all?”

“Nothing recent. I met with Stucco Wall, from the Bow Shack, today. He wants you for a couple nights.”

>”Was that phrasing--”

“--intentional? Completely.”

>Octavia groans.

“Good venue, though. Pretty good. A little small.”

>The cellist doesn't look amused.

“You're not sold.”

>”I just played a big show in Ponyville. It feels odd going right back to Canterlot shows.”

“That's understandable. Still need to keep active, though. The demo's out to Minnie. When we hear back from her, we might be able to get an EP done.”

>”Oh, alright,” she says, sounding resigned.

“Hey, it'll be a good gig. Plus it's extra money. First show's Wednesday”

>”That's only two days.”

“Just play whatever. Play what you did in Ponyville. That was a hit.”

>”They don't want anything specific?”

“Nope. Just get thereWednesday around five. An hour or two of music for a couple nights. Easy.”

>A nearby clock strikes nine. Your eyes go wide as you remember your plans.

>You stand up quickly.

“I gotta go.”

>”What? What do you mean?”

“I mean I gotta go. Got business.”

>Octavia looks perplexed.

>”I don't under—”

>You're already walking uptown.

>”What about the bill!?” she calls.

>You dig in your pocket and take out a bag of coins.

>Seems heavy enough.

>You lob it to her.

“That should cover it!”

2/

 

>It's quiet uptown. You didn't think there was a part of the city that could be more boring.

>The Archive looms over your head. You hadn't noticed in the night, but the building is extremely ornate. Intricately carved marble vines crawl up the columns, meeting at the tops and weaving themselves into a wide braid, encircling the first story. Above that, great  white floral patterns adorn the walls, split up by the tall windows.

“Neat.”

>A wrinkly stallion is the only occupant of the main entrance hall. He eyes you as you walk inside.

>The stallion looks like he's collecting dust. You wonder how many centuries he's been there.

>It's a long climb up the stairs. You know you've reached the right floor when you spot a purple mane poking up from a desk covered in books.

>”You're late.”

“I got held up.”

>”For two hours?”

“Look, you're the one who wanted to start at six.”

>”You kept me out until six on Saturday.”

“You had a good time though.”

>”I had to spend the whole day Sunday fixing my sleep schedule instead of researching.”

“See, you say that, but the look on your face tells me you had a good time.”

>You lean over the table. Twilight grumbles something and goes back to the atlas.

>”I have to make up for *lost* time now, though, and you promised to help.”

“Hey, I'm here, aren't I?”

>”That you are,” the librarian sighs. “Let's get started, then. I wrote up a short Old Unicornian-to-Equestrian cheat sheet for you, so you should be able to at least recognize those names if you see them.” She motions to a stack of papers as big as her head.

“That's the sheet?”

>”You want the full dictionary? It's twice the size. Old Unicornian was... extensive, to say the least.”

“Sheet's just fine.”

3/

 

>Twilight pushes the paper stack to you and starts scanning the atlas.

>You take the papers and look the first few over.

>It's a complete jumble of bizarre characters in one column, with neatly drafted lines of Equestrian in the other.

>You rub your chin to make it look like you've got the slightest clue where to start with this.

“How long did this take you to put together?”

>”A few hours.”

“You spent Sunday doing this, didn't you.”

>”I-- no. Shut up and look, will you?”

>You decide to circle around the table and stand right next to the mare.

>She inches away, but not much.

“So what makes you so interested?”

>Twilight's ear perks up. You smirk.

“In finding out about this place, I mean.”

>”O-oh! Well, it's something nop0ny has seen in thousands of years. Think about what could be there if we could send an expedition! A lost part of the Early Period. Do you know how little we actually know about that part of our history?” she says energetically.

>You get the feeling she's going to tell you no matter your answer.

4/

 

>”...up in smoke. Unbelievable how careless those ponies were back then.” She's been going for what feels like an hour now. “So now all we have on the whole period is a few old scrolls here in the Archive, and I'm not sure even the Steward knows where they are.”

>Twilight sighs.

>”I'm really hoping to find something in the atlas, though. If I'm lucky, we won't have to sift through all this.” She motions with her hoof at the stacks behind her.

“Bet that'd be fun,” you joke.

>”As much as I'd love to have a good look through the Archives again, I really can't spend all month here in Canterlot.”

>It worries you that she doesn't sound at all sarcastic.

>The mare refocuses on the page in front of her. She's gone through half the atlas already. There are slips of paper on some of the pages. You assume they're to mark possible locations of the city.

>After a few silent minutes of searching, she speaks up again.

>”I'm glad you showed up.”

“I don't think I'm much help with this.”

>”I'm still glad. A second pair of eyes is a second pair of eyes.”

>You take another look at the sheet. There's something like twelve different spellings of 'gaersum' alone, all with different characters.

“This one doesn't even look like a word.”

>She looks where you're pointing, eyebrow raised.

>”Huh? Oh. Sometimes a word would be summed up in a single sigil-style character like that instead of being spelled out. It has the same meaning, but it was meant to add to the aesthetic beauty of the written language.”

“So not only is it spelled a million ways, it could also be none of those, but a little drawing?”

>”Yes.”

“And you learned how to read this?”

>”Yes.”

“That's ...wow.”

>”Look, I didn't get out much back then, alright? I know it's not as cool as being able to read faces.”

“I didn't take you for the defensive type,” you laugh. “I'm just impressed that you learned something like that.”

5/

 

>The librarian blinks. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Sore spot, huh?”

>”I don't regret spending so much time studying when I lived here. Sometimes I wish I hadn't been such a shut-in, though.”

“But things changed, didn't they.”

>”They always do.”

“You've got good friends in that small town, from what I've seen.”

>”More than I knew ponies could have. I've got Princess Celestia to thank for that. If she hadn't sent me there, I never would have gotten to meet them.”

“I wouldn't give her all the credit. It took you stepping up to make that happen, you know.”

>She gives only a slight nod in agreement and a minute smile before making a show of going back to the atlas.

>You're not going to pull her away. You can tell.

>Might as well give it a go, then.

>You take the cheat sheet in hand and start actually looking at the maps in front of the two of you.

>The pages must be ancient. Twilight turns the page gingerly, letting out a squeak when a particularly heavy layer of dust slides off.

6/

 

>Hours pass.

>You've gone through most of the book now.

>Twilight's eye twitches.

>”It's got to be here somewhere. It's got to be! How could it not be?”

“We've still got a couple left I'm sure it's here.”

>She lets out a long breath.

>”We'll keep looking. Has the cheat sheet helped at all?”

“I'm starting to recognize some of these characters, I think.”

>”That's good. If nothing else, this can be a learning experience, I suppose.”

“Silver linings. That's a good attitude.”

>”One you share?”

“I try.”

>Twilight takes the corner of the page.

>”Nothing on this one, either. Did you see it?”

“Nope.”

>”Last one, then.”

>She takes a deep breath and turns the page.

>You both stare for a second.

>”Is this a joke? Are you kidding me!?” Twilight yells.

>The inside back cover of the atlas stares back at the two of you mockingly.

“Must have been torn out at some point.”

>”You think?” She slams the book closed and dashes to the stacks where she pulled it out on Saturday. “It's got to be here somewhere! I can't leave it on the last page! Oh Celestia why!?!”

>You push the book to the side and watch the mare as she clamors up the shelf in search of the missing page.

>Eventually she stalks back to the table, looking miserable.

>”It isn't here.” Twilight flops into a chair and rests her head on the table. “I can't believe this...”

>You look out the window at the clouds going by.

“So a total wash, then?”

>”We didn't even find a clue.”

“Hmmm. I think I have an idea.”

>She looks up, brightly. “You do?”

“Yes. We...”

>The mare stares intently.

“...should get lunch.”

>Her eye twitches again.

7/

 

>Twilight sputters for a second before putting her head down again and letting out a sigh of defeat.

>Without a word, she floats the atlas back to the shelf.

>You head to the stairs and wait for her there.

>The librarian takes her time setting everything on the desk in order, but eventually she comes over to you, still looking sullen.

“Come on, you're making me depressed with that face.”

>You let her lead on.

>”I can't help it,” she answers curtly. “I took a whole weekend to come up here for that atlas and for nothing.”

>Her voice echoes through the uninhabited halls of the Archive.

“I'm sure that page is around somewhere. You'll find it.”

>”How do you know?”

“Something tells me you're not one to give up so easy.”

>She falls silent until you're both outside.

>”You know, you didn't have to stay so long.”

“I know.”

>”So why did you? You must have something more exciting to be doing than helping somep0ny you hardly know do something you've got no stake in.”

“You're observant.”

>”So ponies say.”

“This whole week is a bit of a lull. I'm waiting to here back from some ponies in Fillydelphia about a demo I had Octavia record.”

>”So it was this or nothing?” Twilight says with a chuckle as you realize your mistake in phrasing.

>You shrug.

“You got me. I came because I said I would. But I would have left a while ago if I weren't in good company.”

>The streets liven up as you head downtown.

>”Good company, huh?”

“Some ponies would make looking for dots on a map boring.”

>”Having somep0ny to spend the time with *was* better than doing it alone.”

“Usually is.”

8/

 

>The diner on Starswirl Street overlooks a small park. It's fashioned after an old rail car and rests on a set of antique rails pulled from one of the old lines.

>Twilight spends a full minute explaining this to you as you approach the place.

>”...difference between Griffon iron and Equestrian iron of course meant that the lines had trouble merging at the--”

“Alright, we're here,” you cut in, gently pushing her inside. “Two for lunch, Flambe.”

>”You know her?” Twilight asks, glancing at the mare you were addressing.

“We're acquainted.”

>You met her when you were just sober enough to be remembering names at a party.

>You got to know her when you were just drunk enough to not remember where you lived and ended up leading her to an old fling's house instead.

>Twilight and you take a seat in one of the booths.

“So how long have you been living in Ponyville? You seemed well established there.”

>”It's been a couple of years now. I moved there the same week as Nightmare Moon came back.”

“I remember that. We were having an all-night party for the Summer Sun Celebration. It got weird when the sun didn't come up.”

>”It was strange in Ponyville, too. That's how I really got to know my friends, though.”

“That must have been an adventure.”

>”It sure was.”

>You pause as the waitress comes over.

>When she leaves, you catch Twilight looking at you.

>She hastily looks away.

“Ever miss it here?”

>”Wh- the city? Of course I do, sometimes. I did grow up here, after all. Don't you ever miss your hometown?”

“Sometimes.”

>The mare must hear something in your tone, because she suddenly furrows her brow.

>You quickly flash a smile and lean back.

“I mean, it was a good place, but Canterlot's a whole lot more interesting. More for me here.”

9/

 

>”Hmm.”

“So what's the Princess like? You know her, right? I only talked to her a little bit at the Gala last year. Seemed nice. Very... royal.”

>”You were at the Gala?”

“Yeah, making sure Tavi had a good time. I could swear I told you that before.”

>”I must have forgotten. That means-- oh Celestia, you were there for--”

“For the shenanigans? I wish. I got pulled out by some big-timers who wanted to talk shop before it got fun.”

>Twilight has gone red.

“Wish I could have seen it. Tavi's story about the whole thing was hilarious.”

>”It was a memorable night, at least.”

“What else are friends for?” you laugh.

>She's leaning slightly forward now.

“So how long did you say you were in Canterlot for this research thing?”

>”I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I have work to do in Ponyville.”

“A day left, then? If you aren't busy, they're showing some vintage movies at the old Clopollo Theater tomorrow.”

>”Well, I was just planning to stay in tomorrow, but I could be convinced to go out.”

>You suddenly stare out the window, having caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye.

>”Anon? What are you looking at?”

>Out the window, on the side walk, staring back at you, are Vinyl and Octavia. Vinyl raises a hoof and waves. Octavia's jaw drops, mortified.

>”She doesn't look happy to see you.”

End.