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The Library Fine of Doom (Bellosh101, SteelEagle, & Robi) [Closed]


Bellosh

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The sun was shining, the birds were out singing, and ponies all over the town of Ponyville happily milled about town enjoying lunch hour. Not that Dr. Spin Tale acknowledged his surroundings though; he was too busy fighting nausea while standing right outside the Golden Oaks Library. Dr. Tale had a book to return… an incredibly overdue one that is. He borrowed the book, a journal belonging to the infamous Lootraider, from this very library a few years ago. The tale of how such a diary came in the possession of the local library was quite curious indeed, but Spin long ago traced the clues that brought him to the resting place of Lootraider’s journal. The journal served him will, along with other primary sources the then-student found for his doctorial dissertation.

Spin Tale had every intention of bringing the book back by the due date, but then that Nightmare Moon mess happened. After a very brief yet chaotic Night Eternal, Princess Celestia arrived in Canterlot with her long-lost sister in tow. Naturally, the commotion surrounding Princess Luna’s return led the now-doctor to forget all about Lootraider’s diary. Mysteriously, no overdue notices from Ponyville had ever been mailed to Spin… and so the book hid in obscurity; gathering dust in a closet stuck behind a pile of boxes for a couple of years.

That was, of course, only until yesterday, when Dr. Tale stumbled upon the book again while cleaning out his closest. It didn’t take a genius to predict that Spin Tale didn’t take the news well at all. Ever obsessed with his finances, the curator of the Canterlot Army Historical Museum surmised that he’d have an astronomical library fine to pay off; somewhere in the range of, who knows, a thousand bits! Maybe even ten thousand! He’d go bankrupt for sure! Realizing such a horrible truth would make any pony queasy enough to vomit all over the museum floor.

However, Spin Tale gathered his wits (and his icky mess) after trying to understand just how he could have forgotten to return the journal of Lootraider… the answer to that riddle was simple; because that old librarian mare back in Ponyville never mailed him any overdue reminders. It didn’t matter how or why that elderly matron made no effort to get the book back; the very fact that she made no effort to do so meant that nopony knew Dr. Tale had a book that needed returning. If he brought the book back without anypony knowing, then that meant he’d never have to pay that dreaded fine!

Not that any of that made Spin Tale less nervous as he hesitated at the library’s doorstep. All through the train ride to Ponyville, the stallion felt the sensation that someone… or something, was watching him. That feeling didn’t leave him as he departed at the train station and trotted over to the town's tree-library. Whatever this stalker was (if there even was one), it did a good job of hiding since Dr. Tale didn’t glimpse any tailers behind him. Perhaps his paranoia was simply acting up on him again? No matter; at least the curator took extra care to brush his mane today, least anypony cast suspicion on him. Taking a final look behind him and glancing at the saddlebag hiding Lootraider’s journal, Spin Tale slowly and quietly opened the library door, hoping that the elderly librarian was out to lunch…

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[colour=#800080]Twilight jerked her head up at the sound of the library's front door opening. She looked down at her desk and frowned at the slightly drooled on scroll that was laying there, covered in notes and scribbles. The purple mare stretched and blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus. Once she could clearly see the clock on her wall she jumped out of her chair; it was almost noon!

It was uncommon for Twilight to sleep in this late (or fall asleep at her desk) but she had been up all night working on some important homework for the princess. Celestia had asked her to analyze a few of Starswirl the bearded's books to see if she could figure out some of the more confusing spells. Starswirl was brilliant but he didn't have the best hoofwriting and sometimes his notes were complicated and strange. Twilight had managed to make some headway on a long distance teleportation spell that nopony else could make heads or tails of, but not nearly enough to cast it herself. The research was going quite slowly; last night had been her 3rd attempt to pull an all nighter to finish the spell.

Twi looked around the room trying to find Spike, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he had been the one who woke her up by walking into the library. "Spike?" she said loudly enough to be heard in the other room "was that you?" after a moment of silence she concluded that it couldn't be Spike, or at least if it was he couldn't hear her from the bedroom.

After a quick shake of her mane to get a few tangles out, she decided to go see if somepony needed her help down in the library. She pushed open her bedroom door and was faced with a stallion she had never seen before. Based on his cutie mark she suspected that perhaps he was from a different city and was looking for some of the rare books that Celestia had shipped over to Ponyville. Canterlot Univeristy students and professors came into the library on a semi-regular basis these days. "Hello!" Twilight said, trying to be cheerful despite the fact that she hadn't really slept "Are you looking for a particular book?" [/colour]

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[colour=#ff6666]“So far, so good,”[/colour] Spin Tale whispered to himself. The stallion’s initial look into the library seemingly suggested that nopony was around. Unlike back in Canterlot, Ponyville residents must feel free to leave their doors unlocked. Maybe returning the book covertly would be far easier than originally anticipated? Cautiously optimistic, Spin Tale crept inside the main room, all but confident that the librarian indeed left for lunch. All the stallion would have to do now is go over to the “L” section and...

[colour=#800080]“Spike, was that you?”[/colour]

An unfamiliar feminine voice rang out from the upper floor, stopping Spin Tale dead in his tracks. Spin chastised himself for making assumptions over the probable ease of his clandestine task, but the voice also sounded nothing like the librarian he remembered. No; it sounded much more youthful... whoever the mare was, she couldn’t be that much older than the curator. Even though it now appeared likely that the previous library matron had finally retired, it didn’t stop Dr. Tale from panicking over how to proceed. Therefore, the stallion couldn’t think of a way to respond to the mare’s question.

[colour=#ff6666]~Maybe… just maybe she’ll stay put up there… please Celestia?~[/colour]

The appearance of a lavender unicorn mare trotting down into the main room dashed Spin Tale’s final hope. However, Dr. Tale’s feelings of apprehension slightly yielded to those of bewilderment as he finally recognized the unicorn; Twilight Sparkle, the apprentice of Princess Celestia herself. Like any well-informed Equestrian citizen, Spin read of the heroic exploits of Twilight and her companions in The Canterlot Times, although for whatever reason, the newspaper stories heavily skimped on details surrounding their personal lives. At another time and another place, Spin would have started asking the mare questions all about her encounters with some of the country’s most notorious foes. For now though, the stallion gazed wordlessly at Twilight like an awe-struck idiot, completely unsure of what to do next.

[colour=#800080]“Hello! Are you looking for a particular book?”[/colour]

A few awkward seconds later, Spin Tale’s mind snapped back to reality as he finally grasped the enormity of his situation. While he needn’t worry no longer about the one soul in Equestria who knew that he forgot to return Lootraider’s journal, standing in the former librarian’s place was a pony closely connected to Her Majesty the Co-Ruling Princess of Equestria. Getting caught with an overdue book no longer meant just paying a sky-high fine (if that wasn’t bad enough), but also having the princess potentially know about Spin’s transgression. Who knows what consequences he could suffer from that?

Fortunately, not all appeared to be lost yet. Spin Tale still had enough awareness of his surroundings to pick up on the librarian’s grogginess. Taking a snap look at Twilight’s mane, he noted that it had not been effectively brushed as well. With any luck, Dr. Tale could convince Twilight to leave him alone and go back to whatever she was previously doing. [colour=#ff6666]“Actually, I’m just browsing to see what’s here,”[/colour] said the earth pony, summoning false courage in his voice while adjusting his tie; [colour=#ff6666]“If I see a book I want to check out of the library, I’ll uhh... let you know.”[/colour] The stallion hoped that Twilight wasn’t one of those librarians who enjoyed chatting it up with their patrons; while Spin appreciated those sorts of ponies in most cases, today was absolutely not the time and place to suffer such bothersomeness.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[colour=#800080]

Twilight couldn't help but smirk when she noticed that the stallion standing in front of her seemed a bit caught off guard. It was always a little funny when somepony recognized her and then didn't know what to say. Although she always tried to play it cool, she sometimes got a little embarrassed by the attention. After all, she may have gone on some crazy adventures but she still thought of herself as a regular, every day filly, just trying to get through school.

After their short exchange, it seemed clear that the stallion just wanted to be left to his own devices in the library. However, it wasn't good protocol to leave ponies alone so Twilight decided to keep herself busy in the main room while he looked around. "Ok, well, my name is Twilight if you need anything" and with that her horn glowed as a few stacks of books floated from from their respective corners over to the purple mare. She watched as the stacks organized themselves a bit and then let them gently drop to the floor with a soft thud. It was obvious that she was only half paying attention to her work (if it even was work), and was keeping an eye on the mysterious stallion who was walking around her library.

[/colour]

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[colour=#800080]"Ok, well, my name is Twilight if you need anything."[/colour]

Forcing a smile, Spin Tale nodded at Twilight and made his way over to the “L” section… or more appropriately, where the “L” section used to be. Sweat formed on Dr. Tale’s face as he realized to his horror that the library had been re-categorized since his last visit. By the looks of it, he was now actually looking at the foals’ literature section of all things, filled to the brim with assorted picture books, pony tale anthologies, and short volumes of schoolyard song lyrics.

[colour=#ff6666]~Alright… perhaps this is a tiny bit awkward~[/colour]

Tentatively twisting his head to keep a tab on the librarian, Dr. Tale noted her lackluster attempts to appear busy with organizing book stacks. Figuring out that Twilight was watching him too, the stallion hurriedly shifted his gaze back to the book shelves. Spin quietly sighed; this would probably cause Twilight to keep even more of her attention on him, making the stallion’s task of covertly returning Lootraider’s journal all the more difficult.

Buying time to think of a new strategy to lure Twilight out of the room, Dr. Tale turned back towards the mare. [colour=#ff6666]“Excuse me uhhh, Twilight,”[/colour] asked the stallion; [colour=#ff6666]“Can you tell me where I can find materials like personal diaries that have been donated to this library? Just curious, that’s all.”[/colour] At least, Spin would know just where to stash Lootraider’s diary when the time came.

Assuming that he’d seem a bit suspicious by not revealing his own name, the curator hastily added for politeness’s sake; [colour=#ff6666]“My name’s Spin Tale, by the way.”[/colour] Dr. Tale left it at that; he didn’t want to get distracted having to explain his duties as President and Curator-in-Chief of the Canterlot Army Historical Society. Unless Twilight had happened to read that article about him in last month’s Young Mare’s Tail, Spin reckoned the unicorn wouldn’t bombard him with additional questions and such…

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  • 1 month later...

[colour=#800080] Twilight halfheartedly paid attention to the stack of books she was alphabetizing, but mostly kept an eye on the mysterious stallion. He seemed nervous, like he was trying to sneak around and wasn't very happy having company. As he wandered over to the children's section Twi casually raised an eyebrow, although it wasn't that odd; a lot of ponies came in looking for books for their foals. At least it wasn't terribly odd until he started to look almost horrified at the fact that he was standing in the children's section. Twi ignored the oddness of the situation and floated another stack of books over to herself; another soft thud filled the extremely quiet library. It wasn't like she could do much, he wasn't stuffing books into his saddle bags or doing anything else wrong.

Twilight's eyes dilated a bit after Dr. Tale told her his name. This stallion ran the Canterlot Army Historical Society! Her brother always loooooved that CAHS and so of course, Twilight tried her best to stay on top of the news about it. There had been an article published recently about Spin Tale, it was certainly interesting. Although the fact that the same Dr. Spin Tale who ran the CAHS was now making himself quite suspicious in Twilgiht's library seemed even MORE odd than when he was just some random stallion.

Deciding maybe it was time to go in for a closer look at Dr. Tale, Twilight walked over to a wall of books and pointed a hoof. "Oh! well any personal books such as diaries would likely be over here. Although, one of our rarest books has been missing since before I even got here. I hope you aren't looking for Lootraider's journal... we had one of the only copies in existence here; it went missing and the old records are too shoddy to trace where it went.

Twilight felt a little silly after rambling on about that book, it was just one book in the whole personal journals section. Granted, the entire section took up one small shelf, but the odds that this Stallion was looking for that book were pretty slim. [/colour]

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Pathfinder was a mare of many secret missions and desires who didn't for the life of her ever consider any of it unusual or unbecoming. What mare's existence, should she devote herself to the cause of adventure, wasn't without a few times when she had to completely ignore social niceties and play the part of a spy. Admittedly it was less fun than being an adventure but a committed adventurer worried more about setting the stage for future exploits when there was none to be had than wandering aimlessly in search for one. Pathfinder did her fair share of partially aimless wandering in search of adventure because how else was she supposed to identify mysterious caves and ruins for future expeditions? But when you had a clear target in mind, a goal, you had to hit it and hit it hard. And this Dr. Spinny had a big ol' bullseye on that little book of his.

She had been looking for clues and hints regarding who had the nerve to steal her special trinket from her fillyfriend Snowfall for a few weeks now. Whoever it had been, he or she had been highly skilled. Snowfall was the CEO of Northern Storm Industries and took security rather seriously, yet somepony had broken right into her home and stole the Ruby Claw from a secure locker. That meant they had dodged guards, evaded security systems, and then managed to pick a professionally done and secure lock before absconding with it. Truly, a pony after her own heart! Sadly, the thief had stolen from the one pony who was nearly as important to her as the fictional mare of adventure herself. That made the thief a target of Equestria's most seasoned adventurer and Pathfinder wasn't going to give in. Yet for all of her gusto, it had proven a rather annoying search. The thief was superb at covering his or her tracks and Pathfinder had been following cold crumbs for some time.

The last real clue had pointed to a journal used by somepony named Lootraider. Pathfinder had consequently spent time traveling around, trying to locate this journal in every library in all of Equestria. She was soon following the trail of a book, not a thief, and that had been nearly as cold. Multiple cases of breaking and entering(she had no use for open hours- if the library was closed, she just sauntered on in) later, she had trailed it to the curator of some military museum in Canterlot. Did he feel like a failure? Probably not, but she doubted his little museum was visited all that often by ponies other than veterans. Celestia bless them- she loved them. But she hoped that museum didn't rely on making a profit.

She was about to visit him when she saw him out and about and- well, he had Lootraider's journal. This piqued Pathfinder's interest. Her initial thought had been to to just snatch it, but then the possibility that he was somehow involved cropped up in her mind so instead she just tailed him. After a while they had found their way to Ponyville, a town Pathfinder knew somewhat well. It was the closest town of size to the Everfree, which made it the ideal location to stock up before an expedition. The library was also a nice place since it had a pretty decent collection of information pertaining to the Everfree, but she hadn't visited since the last librarian left. As she hid outside in a bush and overheard the conversation inside, Pathfinder became giddy.

Everypony knew who Twilight Sparkle was! Well, anypony who kept her ear to the ground for signs of epic Equestrian action, which Pathfinder certainly did. That soothed Pathfinder a bit- if one of the most famous heroines in Equestria was meeting with him, then he couldn't be a bad pony. Still, she wasn't about to blow days of sneaking about for nothing, so she stood up, straightened herself up, and then immediately went back to hiding. Her back had been hurting, you see. Regardless, she just had to wait a little while longer- once she knew what the score was, she could make her appearance.

[colour=#006400]"Achoo!"[/colour]

Unless she sneezed, of course.

Darn sage brush.

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Spin Tale picked up on Twilight’s expanding pupils as he mentioned his name; judging by that silent reaction, the curator surmised that the lavender unicorn really did know who he was. Fortunately for Dr. Tale, Miss Sparkle kept her mouth shut about his academic line of work, freeing the scheming stallion from getting bogged down in time-wasting conversation as the two trotted over to the library’s personal narrative section.

[colour=#800080]"Oh! Well, any personal books such as diaries would likely be over here. Although, one of our rarest books has been missing since before I even got here. I hope you aren't looking for Lootraider's journal... we had one of the only copies in existence here; it went missing and the old records are too shoddy to trace where it went.”[/colour]

Instead of fretting over work-related chatter, Spin Tale now slightly quailed as Twilight started mentioning that blasted journal. If she knew it was missing, that meant… wait a second; the library records were indeed incomplete! That meant Miss Sparkle had absolutely no clue that Dr. Tale owed the library Lootraider’s diary! It looked like the red stallion would sc[colour=#333333]ra[/colour]pe by scot free without fear of a stupendous library fine after all.

Exhaling a breath he didn’t know he was holding back, Spin Tale calmly picked up a book from the personal narrative shelf and pretended to skim through it. Relived to know that he wouldn’t need a grand trick to sneak Lootraider’s journal past Twilight, the curator thought that all he needed to do now was act like a normal library patron for a few more minutes. Once Dr. Tale took his leave and returned home, he’d simply donate the book anonymously to the Great Library of Canterlot. That way, he’d keep his conscience clear without paying off a library fine in the process.

[colour=#ff6666]“Sorry to hear about the missing book,”[/colour] Spin Tale remarked, begging to the stars that he didn’t sound insincere; [colour=#ff6666]“Boy, I sure would hate to be that unlucky pony who never returned that book. Heh, imagine that huge fine you’d give them when you discover-“[/colour]

[colour=#006400]“Achoo!”[/colour]

Dr. Tale stopped talking mid-quip, thinking he heard a cough originate from outside. Recalling his earlier suspicions of being tracked, the stallion twisted his head towards all visible windows to see if anypony was there. Seeing nothing but sunny skies above and sage brush on the ground, Spin turned his attention back towards the random book he pretended to read. Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him again.....

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  • 3 weeks later...

[colour=#800080]Twilight watched as the doctor absentmindedly skimmed through a book off the shelf. He seemed quite preoccupied, and didn't even seem to be looking at the book he was flipping through. He seemed to be staring past the book, and was flipping the pages way too quickly to catch more than a few words on each page. This whole situation was so strange, it really seemed like the stallion must be up to something, but what that something was, Twi just couldn't put her hoof on.

Dr. Tale brought up the subject of library fees, which was a touchy one. When Celestia had her take over the library she was told to never forget to collect late fees. However, Twilight, being a bit absentminded herself always felt bad since she had been known to keep library books for far too long. So she collected the late fees occasionally but most of the time she just let everypony off the hook. A faint noise quickly distracted Dr. Tale right in the middle of his thought, he looked all around the library as if he was expecting someone to pop out at him. "Uhh... yeah... library fines can really add up." She said slowly and awkwardly as he went back to his book.

"Expecting somepony you know?" Twi said shyly, it was honestly the only reason she could think of for him to act so jumpy at a little noise. [/colour]

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Pathfinder thanked Celestia that her sneezes were more background worthy and adorable than attention grabbing, but she doubted such luck would hold for more than a moment longer. Her allergy to sage brush wasn't going away any time soon and with her head swimming around she wasn't going to hear much more that would be useful. Then again, if she didn't want to do that, her options were limited. She couldn't just fly or run away, because that would have made the entire venture unproductive and while few agreed with her belief that everything she did was amazingly productive there was little she could to dissuade that notion if she did. But she also had the sneaking suspicion that it was beyond her control.

[colour=#006400]"Achoo! AaaaaaaCHOOO! Achoo"[/colour] She sneezed three times in quick succession, the sage brush whipping her good despite her best efforts. Pathfinder's mind swam in circles and she did the only thing she could think of, which was more credit than she was willing to give herself in all honesty. She pulled herself up and pulled the windows out, greeting the stuffy air of the inside of the library with great excitement. Eyes closed and wings momentarily not in use, she pulled herself through the window and tumbled into the inside of the library. She rolled on a table, sneezing as she went, knocking books and quills and parchment off as she went. Office supplies weren't awfully effective anti-mare traps, it turned out.

[colour=#006400]"Aaaaachoo! Achoo!"[/colour] Pathfinder continued, stumbling up for a moment as she tried to regain her footing. A moment of clarity followed as she shook her head, taking a deep breath.

[colour=#006400]"Ahhh, Celestia's socks, sage brush is annoying!"[/colour]

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[colour=#800080]"Uhh... yeah... library fines can really add up."[/colour]

Twilight Sparkle’s uneasy statement concerning library fines did not fill Spin Tale with ease, but it didn’t cause him to overly panic either. If anything else, it motivated the curator to do a better job at acting natural; something he seemed to be abysmally failing at right now. If only he could leave the library on a good note, then everything would be all dandy and he’d never have to worry about the librarian ever again. Maybe for starters, he could actually read the books he was browsing through instead of rushing through them.

[colour=#800080]"Expecting somepony you know?"[/colour]

[colour=#ff6666]“Well... umm..... not exactly,”[/colour] Dr. Tale tensely replied with another fake smile, not wanting to set Twilight’s alarm bells off any further; [colour=#ff6666]“I think I may have uhh... overdosed on coffee today, just before I got here to the library, ha ha ha.”[/colour] A pathetic lie, but Spin would have to make do with it.

Now, maybe if he could get the lavender mare to do anything besides awkwardly stare at him... [colour=#ff6666]“I’ll be honest; I think I really need your help today. You see, I’m here to dig up any journals written by members of the Royal Equestrian Army. They and other research materials may not be in short supply in Canterlot, but relying on those alone can skew one’s perspectives a bit also. So I came here... but as you can see, coffee and I don’t mix together sometimes.”[/colour]

Chuckling, the red stallion felt prouder about his latest deception. Unlike the last lie, there was a grain of truth to this one; Dr. Tale had indeed made long-term plans to start actively searching for primary sources outside of Canterlot to incorporate into his army historical museum. Even though he had put it off for sometime, it looked like now he’d get an impromptu start to his-

[colour=#006400]"Achoo! AaaaaaaCHOOO! Achoo"[/colour]

Hearing that blasted noise from earlier had become louder this time, Spin Tale turned his head to the sight of thrashing shrubbery. Gulping, the curator came to the realization that just perhaps his paranoia was not a figment of his imagination after all. To his utter shock, a mare quickly emerged from the sagebrush; a mare who by all accounts looked like a dead-ringer for that popular children’s character Daring Do. Whoever this mare was, she displayed absolutely no decency at all as she opened the window and rolled all over the table, knocking everything off of it as she went. Once she finished with most of her sneezing fit, the unknown pegasus stood up on the now-messy table without so much as a single apology.

[colour=#006400]"Ahhh, Celestia's socks, sage brush is annoying!"[/colour]

[colour=#ff6666]“Who are you,”[/colour] a disgruntled Spin Tale interrogated the mysterious cosplayer; [colour=#ff6666]“And what were you doing in the bushes?”[/colour] Assuming the mare had indeed stallked him, Dr. Tale didn't have the faintest clue as to why she'd covertly follow him out of all ponies. Surely it couldn't be for Lootraider's journal; if Twilight didn't know he had the tome, there was zero chance in Tartarus that this spy could have known also. Whoever this mare was, she better not screw up the curator's plan to get out of there scot-free; Spin wouldn't know what to do if his plan failed and he'd have to pay that infernal fine.....

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Twilight grinned sheepishly in response to Dr. Tale's coffee joke. She sure wished she had Spike around right now, awkward situations were always a lot more bearable when she wasn't alone.

Finally, after a little more awkwardness, the doctor started being honest and the whole situation seemed a lot more doable. [colour=#800080]"Oh, well.. okay."[/colour] Twilight said now feeling a little awkward herself. The library's selection of REA memoirs was extremely thin, mostly because Twilight had lent the majority of those books to her brother who may or may not have completely forgotten about them in the back of his closet. [colour=#800080]"well"[/colour] She paused again and looked over the little section of books. Finally, her horn glowed softly and she pulled a small notebook off of the shelf.

Just as Twilight was about to start explaining the book she had pulled for Dr. Tale, a pony climbed right though the window of her library! Twi watched in horror as the mare knocked everything off of her personal study desk where she had been working on a paper the night before. Small glass jars of ink, delicate quills and books all ended up on the floor; they made awful shattering noises and dull thumps as they landed. As she was distracted by the sneezing mare, the book that Twilight was floating fell to the ground with a gentle thud.

The pony who did all of this looked exactly like a real life Daring Do, something that Twi would usually be excited to see. However, under the circumstances, Twilight couldn't do anything but stand and stare in complete shock Dr. Tale started talking to the mysterious mare.

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Pathfinder was still having to fight a desperate battle against her sage brush allergy, which was threatening to overwhelm her rather formidable defenses. In fact, there was no stopping it, and she unleashed another barrage of electrifying sneezes that sent the feathers on her wing shooting up straight as her wings flapped haphazardly, sending papers flying around. Good move, Sparkle. Good move putting sage brush strategically around your windows, though if Pathfinder had known about the window on the other side of the tree-library she would have fluttered there. Well, you couldn't reverse time unless you were a high level unicorn and while her Dungeons and Ponies and Dragons (Or DP&D) character was a level unicorn wizard, she was simply the best pegasus adventurer. She was going to try and stat her out for the game, but everypony else complained when all her stats were maxed and she carried all sorts of awesome magical artifacts that gave her powers that nopony else had. She also created new skills and new attacks and generally changed everything, but she couldn't be blamed for being too awesome for a game to handle!

After her sneezing fit was over, she shook her head to clear it and smiled at Spin Tale. She couldn't blame him for being so pointed, seeing as some shadow of his soul had made itself known. Still, she was betting that the beauty of her wide, toothy smile (the counselor at the orphanage AND her fillyfriend told she had a pretty smile, so it had to be true!) would win him over, so she kept that smile wide and bright as she trotted happily over to the goodier doctor. She then swiftly gave him a conspiratorial hug, leaning in close.

[colour=#006400]"Oh, I've been tailing you since Canterlot! I had to made sure that you weren't one of the thieves I'm tailing, you see,"[/colour] She leaned in close and winked,[colour=#006400] "-don't want that journal to fall into the wrong hooves!"[/colour]

She then pulled back, turning her attention to Twilight Sparkle.

[colour=#006400]"Heya! You're even cuter than Celestia led me to believe. My name's Pathfinder, Cloudsdale President of the Daring Do Fanclub and professional adventurer! I think I might have read a letter of yours- are you the Ponyville President of the Fanclub? I'm not sure. I'll admit that I've been out of the loop for the last few months, I was stuck in a Talinopolis prison and then trailing a thief who stole my little Snowy's Ruby Claw. Oh well! either way, it's a real honor to meet you and all, what with the saving Equestria and stuff," [/colour]She sneezed, tumbling backward.

[colour=#006400]"Yikes! That sage brush of yours is a real hazard! That allergy- ACHOO- didn't think I'd be dealing with that for a while. You don't see it in the sky! I once had a nightmare where a griffon made out of sage brush kidnapped me when I was a little filly. The counselor at the orphanage thought it was a trite silly so we had some nice jokes about it, but do you know how often you see that in the Everfree?"[/colour] She nodded.

[colour=#006400]"Once. One griffon made out of sage brush. That caught me off guard. You never want to make the Alluhan Psych Spider angry, they dig up all your worst nightmares!" [/colour]She finished before her eyes sunk a little to the ground. Then she pivoted and turned to Spin Tale.

[colour=#006400]"But that's not for here! I've just got to take that journal and get some clues off of it. I'm on the trail of something big! Something adventurous Something-"[/colour] She shot right next to Spin Tale, leaning in and with a sinister glint in her sideways glance, [colour=#006400]"DAAAAANNGEROUS!"[/colour]

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Whoever this blasted allergy-stricken mare was, Spin Tale sure didn’t appreciate her being here. The good doctor was actually making progress sweeping away Twilight Sparkle’s uneasiness before the die-hard Dairy (ignorant of the correct spelling of “Darey”, Spin never quite understood how milk production related to being a Daring Do fan) barged into to library. But now... Dr. Tale didn’t know if Twilight’s minor catatonic-state helped him or not. Maybe if the pegasus’s business was with the librarian, Spin could just sneak off and-

[colour=#006400]"Oh, I've been tailing you since Canterlot! I had to make sure that you weren't one of the thieves I'm tailing, you see... don't want that journal to fall into the wrong hooves!"[/colour]

Even as the pegasus cast a predatory smile in his direction, a wide-eyed Spin Tale knew something was very wrong. His fears were sadly confirmed as the Daring Do impersonator brutally violated his personal space and ensnared the stallion in a hug. Squirming in the allergic mare’s forelegs, Dr. Tale failed utterly to remove himself from her vice-like grip. Just as Spin was ready to contemplate signing up for a gym membership to improve his strength, the unknown pegasus uttered the unthinkable.

She knew.

What little warmth that remained in the curator’s body would have all but drained away if it was not for the pegasus revealing her name; Pathfinder, the so-called “master explorer”. Spin Tale knew very well who this mare was; a no-good ruffian whose only claim to fame was stealing the Helm of Commander Hurricane from its griffon owners. Ponies may gush over the exploits of Pathfinder and her accomplice, but treasures weren’t the only thing that Equestria received from their illicit activities.....

Shortly after Pathfinder’s return, unsavory griffons started popping up all over Canterlot and elsewhere throughout the land. It was rumored that these seedy folks all escaped from the same Talonpolis that Pathfinder broke out of; whoever they were Dr. Tale lost plenty of sleep over the past few weeks wondering about their intentions. Knowing he was quite powerless to thwart a retaliation robbery of his small military museum, the curator did know who to blame though should a successful break-in occur. Namely, the featherbrained pegasus in the same library he was in at this very moment.

[colour=#006400]"But that's not for here! I've just got to take that journal and get some clues off of it. I'm on the trail of something big! Something adventurous..... Something... DAAAAANNGEROUS!"[/colour]

Irritation now flowing freely through his veins, Spin Tale zoned out of Pathfinder’s nonsensical ramblings about sage brush griffons and psychedelic spiders until she turned back towards him. Conscious of Miss Sparkle’s presence however, the stallion restrained an angry grimace as the madmare mentioned that accursed journal again. Not only would she end up smothering Dr. Tale with the largest library fine in recorded history, but the airworthy lunatic was also heck-bent on actually following all the various clues in Lootraider’s diary on a crazed pursuit of treasure.

[colour=#ff6666]~Relax Spinny; we can get through this. Just go into curator mode and see if we can’t get Featherbrain out of here~[/colour]

After involuntarily shuddering from another of Pathfinder’s personal space violations, Spin Tale knew what he had to do. Clearing his throat and producing a blatantly-canned smile, the stallion calmly pitched his last great lie in the lavender librarian’s vicinity as best he could; [colour=#ff6666]“Ha hah, thank you for expressing an interest in the many journals that have been graciously donated to the Canterlot Army Historical Society. However Miss Pathfinder, I’ll need to learn more about the primary source you inquire into before I can lend it to you.”[/colour]

Walking towards the exit, Dr. Tale gestured towards the adventurer; [colour=#ff6666]“If you’ll just step outside for a moment miss, I believe we can make the necessary arrangements, maybe over some lunch?”[/colour] It was all or nothing now. Either Pathfinder had the good sense to play along with Spin’s desperation gambit, or he’ll get dragged down into the fiery depths of Tartarus forever for his terrible crimes against book lending. Sure, Lootraider’s book would probably wind up destroyed in the insane explorer’s possession, but it sure looked like a small price to pay at the moment compared to the doctor's alternative fate.....

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  • 2 months later...

[colour=#006400]"[/colour][colour=#006400]DAAAAANNGEROUS!"[/colour] Was the only word the approaching dragon managed to pull out of the conversation intact. Now, that was a pretty serious word to be throwing around, but given the enthusiasm behind the speaker's tone, it sounded like some sort of call to adventure, as if 'danger' were a thing to be desired and sought out. Spike was not looking too forward to what he might encounter on the other side of the doorway, his home and best friend aside.

Laden with a wagon of books, the young dragon approached the library with this week's shipment of study material, waiting to prove itself useful in some way or another. So, the library had visitors - or customers, more the point - which meant Twilight was probably handing a stranger or two. One boisterous, the other a bit nervous-sounding. But no words from Twilight? That was a little odd, she was usually in her element when helping recommend books - which, in turn, meant she wasn't recommending books. A couple of knocks on the door and an [colour=#4b0082]"I'm back!"[/colour] preceded the baby dragon, who soon enough opened the door, likely proving to be some distraction or outright interruption to the conversation at hand.

The window, open... and Twilight's work, ink and quills all on the floor, oh dear. That... wasn't going to help her mood in the slightest, surely. A quick grimace dashed across spike's face, and he tried to take a quick check on Twilight's mood; she wasn't steaming at the ears, which was definitely a plus, but some calming down was probably in order, at least once things were sorted out. However, seeing as the library wasn't in imminent danger of becoming ground zero for a full-on Twilight Panic Attack, the wagon took priority, and so he lugged that in behind him with more than a little effort. Or, at least he tried to do so. Unfortunately for the bookish fellow, this also blocked his exit entirely for more than a few moments while the baby dragon tried to gesture him to one side.

[colour=#4b0082]"Sorry there, pal, but if you could just give me a little more room to work with... the wagon doesn't, uh, exactly turn on a dime, heh."[/colour] Spike requested of the present stallion, exerting himself a little more to get the wagon's back wheel up and over the doorframe. Books were, after all, rather dense. But, with the wagon nearly in the doorway, the dragon turned his attention to his superior apparent, trying to keep her calm through his own competence. [colour=#4b0082]"Anything else you need, Twilight?"[/colour] He asked, nodding his head very briefly towards the mess that had been made of her desk, subtly suggesting he clean it up for her.

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  • 3 months later...

Aww, Spin Tale was trying to pull a fast one on her and trick her out. Maybe he didn't know her, but she knew her, and Pathfinder know that Pathfinder was good at Pathfinding, and that was code for being really good at sniffing out clues which were more or less the foundations of adventure. She was pretty good at heading off deceit because she was darn good at it herself, skill number eighty-seven she had learned from her time at the top of the highly competitive and dubiously legal adventuring game. But it was hard trying to get leniency for some of her friends as adventuring wasn't part of a work-release program and another selection of her pals were simply missing, a stunning number of them in the Everfree. But the point was that she was darn good and deception wasn't very effective against her, and darn right she wasn't gonna leave this room without that journal!

[colour=#006400]"Silly curator! I'm not gonna fall for that one again, nope! Now how about you just be a cool stallion and-"[/colour] She began before in a wave of disorientation struck her and in a flash of purple she found herself outside again, head shaking.

Inside, a slightly angry Twilight Sparkle's horn dimmed as she finished teleporting Pathfinder out of the library.

[colour=#4b0082]"Such a rude pony! But more importantly-" [/colour]She turned to Spin Tale, eyes digging curiously through the journal as it levitated between them from Tale's position,[colour=#4b0082] "what is it that is so special about this that she felt the need to come here?"[/colour] She opened it up, quickly scanning it and giving an annoyed murmur.

[colour=#4b0082]"Lootraider's Journal? There's no way I had it just lying around, and it wasn't what you were reading before..."[/colour] She closed it and shot an angry glance at the curator. It was coming together and she felt like quite the fool for not having seen it either- odd behavior was odd behavior, and he was in a position that told her his behavior should have been anything but odd. She didn't dwell on it for too long, her gaze turning accusatory.

[colour=#4b0082]"Well, regardless of how this journal has mysteriously appeared, who is that pegasus and what's so special about Lootraider's Journal?"[/colour] She muttered, not averting her gaze as she considered what Spike had said.

[colour=#4b0082]"Spike, I need you to get us tea for three...and fetch 'The Vast and Complete History of Pre-Return Equestrian Explorers'."[/colour]

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[colour=#006400]"Silly curator! I'm not gonna fall for that one again, nope! Now how about you just be a cool stallion and-"[/colour]

[colour=#000080]"Such a rude pony! But more importantly, what is it that is so special about this that she felt the need to come here?"[/colour]

It was a very good thing a teleportation spell cut off Pathfinder mid-sentence, for it saved Dr. Spin Tale the trouble of doing it himself. Regrettably for the stallion, Twilight’s magic was now in possession of the Journal of Lootraider, and there was absolutely nothing Dr. Tale could do to forestall her judgment. Cowering there with only unintelligible murmurs for his pitiful response, he couldn’t as much as look at the lavender librarian.

[colour=#4b0082]"Lootraider's Journal? There's no way I had it just lying around, and it wasn't what you were reading before... Well, regardless of how this journal has mysteriously appeared, who is that pegasus and what's so special about Lootraider's Journal?"[/colour]

And just like that, Spin Tale’s fortunes reversed from certain punishment to blissful absolution. Instead of concentrating on his transgressions, Miss Sparkle opted to instead merely interrogate the tardy lender. Taking a few seconds to take a deep breath the red stallion hadn’t realized he had held back, Dr. Tale commenced his explanation; [colour=#ff6666]“Well... you see Miss Sparkle; as the mare already explained, her name is Pathfinder, and she is a wanted criminal in Aquellia for numerous counts of burglarizing museums and resisting arrest. That’s not going into... all the crimes she’s committed here in Equestria; of all the archaeological sites she’s trespassed on, plundered, and irreversibly damaged throughout her... heh, illustrious career.”[/colour]

Snorting as he finished with his description, Spin Tale in only a matter of moments had changed from a quailing mess to a snobbish accusatory figure, finding strength though his now very-much personal loathing of the winged adventurer. [colour=#ff6666]“As for that book,”[/colour] the good doctor pressed on; [colour=#ff6666]“Lootraider was a figure very much like Pathfinder, who found great profit centuries ago in demolishing abandoned cities and selling off the rubble for use as contemporary building materials. It’s thanks to stallions like Lootraider that nopony can’t seem to find ruins within highly populated areas in our realm anymore. Pathfinder here,”[/colour] Spin dramatically paused to point at the featherbrained pegasus; [colour=#ff6666]“She undoubtedly thinks this journal is key to discovering a confounded ruin or some other thing to that effect. There is absolutely no question that had this book been here in Ponyville, Miss Featherbrain would have stolen the book for her nefarious designs long ago.”[/colour]

[colour=#ff6666]~Making Featherbrain look bad AND implying your incompetence was a good thing? My my, we just may survive this day after all, dear old chap~ [/colour]

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[colour=#4B0082]"Spike, I need you to get us tea for three...and fetch 'The Vast and Complete History of Pre-Return Equestrian Explorers'."[/colour][colour=#282828] [/colour]

The dragon gives a small salute at Twilight, before taking a small moment to regard the other occupants...uh, well, now the only Occupant LEFT...in the room - something about the stallion was giving Spike an odd sense of distrust, and whilst the youngster wasn't particularly one to just out and out believe in his gut hunches all of the time, there was just SOMETHING in this gut feeling that was ringing true. Spin was exuding an odd confidence, as though he was being far too self-assured about something - still, Spike shakes off the feeling and decided that it was far better to simply focus on the required tasks for the moment at hand...afterall, Twilight was the boss.

" Right on it, Twi! " came his general response, shooting off a small uncertain glance at Spin before heading to the relevent destination locations...fetching the book from it's perch in the relevent reference section, and then off to the kitchen to make the cup of teas that Twilight had asked for...for now, it was all just a part of Spikes general daily activity until something else cropped up, which for the most part he was hoping it didn't...unannounced days of danger weren't exactly his favourite, and if today wound up in such a direction...well, that wasn't a scenario the young Dragon was particularly fond of thinking for too long about.

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As soon as Spin Tale gave Twilight the name, her mind jolted into action. She had heard it before, and not so long ago either. Before she had been Princess. Before the Equestrian Games were announced. It had been a minor news event for most, but for those in the upper echelons or aware of he happenings of them, it was a much bigger deal. Some brave mare had spent herself dearly to recover an ancient relic and while Aquila was anything other than happy, they had a lot of explaining to do. Namely, why they had refused to return such an important piece of Equestrian history and often denied they even had it. Their protests thus fell on mostly deaf or indifferent ears and all they could do was fight among one another to place the blame. Meanwhile, the Helm now sat in the Royal Museum where it belonged for future generations to come to know and understand. Pathfinder had been the mare to recover it, and along the way had released from a prison that the Griffons still denied existed a number of criminals who even now were causing issues. A few had even entered Equestria and promptly sought asylum, alleging any one of a number of abuses at the hands of the authorities. Their claims were unverified but alarming, and the two allies had never been further apart because of it.

[colour=#4b0082]"Yes, she does seem a bit...reckless, but Celestia was quite pleased with the return of the Helm," [/colour]Twilight replied in a low voice, mind starting to turn on a few concerning points. It was true that Pathfinder had a bit of a reputation, but that didn't make it true that this journal was bad news. They didn't often carry such nefarious materials outside of the Royal Library and Twilight wasn't really a fan of the lying and general skirting of issues by Spin Tale. Still, he was right in some cases. Adventurers by nature caused untold damage to ancient ruins in their quest to find their targets, and she couldn't deny a certain longing to find some of them still intact and not just a name on a map that would one day lose all notoriety because they were little more than destroyed and gutted mounds or caves. Not exactly the best.

[colour=#4b0082]"Still, I hope this journal isn't anything...unusual. We don't want more ruins, well, ruined," [/colour]She said confidently, not really allowing him to figure out that for all intents and purposes she was starting to tally up the biggest fine in library history for more than a few reasons.

[colour=#4b0082]"Though if Pathfinder is after it, I'm interested in it as well. She might be a bit, uh, unsettled, but anypony that would go as far as she did for the Helm wouldn't start trailing somepony else for a journal unless something piqued her interest. You didn't notice her trailing you the whole way here?"[/colour] She asked, dumbfounded at the possibility. Surely he had to have seen something and if he hadn't, either he was incompetent or Pathfinder wasn't a blundering lunatic as he claimed. In due time- when the tea and book arrived, the mystery would be solved.

Personally, she was looking forward to the tea.

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[colour=#4b0082]"Yes, she does seem a bit...reckless, but Celestia was quite pleased with the return of the Helm."[/colour]

Dr. Spin Tale shook his head as Princess Twilight reminded the stallion of the woeful fact of how Princess Celestia awarded Pathfinder for her thievery; [colour=#ff6666]“And personally, I feel that is was a big mistake on Her Majesty’s part. Say what you want about the various ills present in Aquellia, but that republic is one of Equestria’s greatest allies, and stealing one simple helmet to lure visitors into a glitzy museum is not worth the astronomical price of tossing alliances aside. And heh, that’s me speaking as a curator myself.”[/colour] Dr. Tale would never admit it, but a little part of his anger was fueled by the grim truth that more ponies would come see the Helm of Commander Hurricane in a day then visit his museum in a month. For small-time curators like the red earth pony who especially disowned the notion that history was all about the accomplishments of ‘Great People’, they could be filled with resentment indeed.

[colour=#4b0082]"Still, I hope this journal isn't anything...unusual. We don't want more ruins, well, ruined.”[/colour]

[colour=#ff6666]“Hmmm, I wouldn’t count on that Miss Sparkle,”[/colour] assured Dr. Tale, who found himself hard-pressed to think of the librarian right there as a royal princess; [colour=#ff6666]“Aside from occasionally writing down unsubstantiated rumors about mystery objects, Loot Raider’s records probably won’t be of much use to our uhh... friend here. Raider was in the business of scavenging for pre-existing building materials; not anything concerning hunting down artifacts. If anything, Loot Raider’s journal would be a rather dull read for a non-scholarly pony.”[/colour] Spin guessed that Pathfinder would truly have to be a genius to make anything else out of the old book... or completely insane.

[colour=#4b0082]"Though if Pathfinder is after it, I'm interested in it as well. She might be a bit, uh, unsettled, but anypony that would go as far as she did for the Helm wouldn't start trailing somepony else for a journal unless something piqued her interest. You didn't notice her trailing you the whole way here?"[/colour]

For some demented reason, Twilight deemed Pathfinder’s actions to merit further investigation... something Spin Tale didn’t quite agree with. [colour=#ff6666]“Well,”[/colour] admitted the stallion as the lavender alicorn; [colour=#ff6666]“I actually had the distinct sensation that somepony was watching me the entire way over to Ponyville; I’m just glad to know I wasn’t being delusional, eh heh heh heh.”[/colour] After a round of nervous chuckling, Dr. Tale added; [colour=#ff6666]“Perhaps we should have Featherbrain come back inside to explain everything.....”[/colour]

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" [colour=#008080]Pfft, who IS that guy[/colour]? " Spike mutters to himself as he prepped brewing the tealeaves in the pot in the kitchen, far enough away from the scene to hear and not be heard.

" [colour=#008080]I mean, I don't even really know half of what the guys talking about, but he still doesn't seem all that...well...trustworthy[/colour]! "

" [colour=#8b4513]Hoo[/colour]? " Came a familiar hoot from behind him - leading to a near instinctual reply of " [colour=#008080]That Spin Tale doc' guy outside[/colour]! " before Spike realised that it wasn't exactly going to be met with much more than similar in reply. " [colour=#008080]Ugh...Nevermind[/colour] " Spike sighs as he grabs some cups and the bowl of sugar from the table - after hopping up on one of the chairs to do so, that is...such is the life of a baby dragon of short stature, afterall. Making teas never really took TOO long, but Spike liked to take time to make sure things were just right, even if one of the ponies imbibing of the liquid was one whom he wasn't particularly fond of currently.

Spike just wasn't particularly fond of ponies who seemed too smug and self-assured for their own good, and his mind couldn't help but tick over how Spin Tale seemed to just ooze far too much of both for his liking. Of course, he hoped that it was all just a silly overreaction on his part and that this Doctor character was more 'honest' than he was seeing...but something told the young dragon that there was always a chance his instincts could still be right - either way, he finished up brewing the tea, placed a few snackable biscuits onto a plate and put them all on a tray to carry out to the main room again for Twilight and Spin Tale to enjoy.

"[colour=#008080] Tea's up...[/colour] " Spike cheerfully announced, none of his prior inner monologues and thoughts leaking into his tone whatsoever. " [colour=#008080]Come get it whilst it's hot[/colour]! "

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Twilight couldn't help but have her reservations about Spin Tale grow larger by the moment. The fact he had tried to sneak a journal back didn't bother her too much initially, seeing as he was but one of many who did so. But as the possible value of the journal increased and his rather arrogant line of reasoning continued, Twilight started to believe she had sent the wrong pony out. Then again, it was all confusing- and he was a stranger. Who was she to judge him? Even the persnickitty among them were worthy of her friendship, even if some of her barriers were by nature up until he proved himself to not be as...decidedly unkind as he had so far. Soon, hopefully.

[colour=#4b0082]"Well, as someone who knows his military history, I didn't think I'd have to tell you the historical value of the Helm. And if nothing else, Celestia was happy to have an Equestrian relic back in Equestria. I don't think she was all that excited about museum attendance, to be honest. In any case, I do agree that we should get the other mare's opinion. This Pathfinder may know more about the journal than either of us, as frustrating as that is to believe,"[/colour] Twilight muttered, opening the book and perusing it. Definitely written in short form, with different quill depth and style. Not something that he had written in just a few sittings, adding veracity to the claim that it was indeed an old journal. The fading told her it was also not well preserved- not somepony who was often under the caring skies of Equestria, perhaps. Interesting.

[colour=#006400]"Thanks for the tea!"[/colour]

Pathfinder appeared next to Spike and took the tea meant for Spin Tale, coming to a fluttering stop next to Twilight before taking a sip. A big sip. The whole thing!

[colour=#006400]"That's good stuff! Is this special dragon tea or just normal green tea? Is Dragon Tea purple or green?"[/colour] She turned to Spike quizzically, "which one?"

Twilight gave the pegasus a twice over, thoroughly confused.

[colour=#800080]"How'd you-"[/colour]

[colour=#006400]"Your window was open!"[/colour] Pathfinder offered up cheerily, eyeing up the journal like a hungry dog.

[colour=#006400]"Can I have it now?!"[/colour]

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[colour=#4b0082]"Well, as someone who knows his military history, I didn't think I'd have to tell you the historical value of the Helm. And if nothing else, Celestia was happy to have an Equestrian relic back in Equestria. I don't think she was all that excited about museum attendance, to be honest. In any case, I do agree that we should get the other mare's opinion. This Pathfinder may know more about the journal than either of us, as frustrating as that is to believe."[/colour]

Bleh, just because Twilight Sparkle may be a princess didn’t mean that Dr. Spin Tale wanted to put up with her bothersome counter-arguments. If Commander Hurricane wanted to keep that blasted helm in Equestria long ago, she wouldn’t have fought those Aquellian griffons in the first place. Why, Spin guessed that there were a fair number of griffon relics locked away in various Equestrian archives that the Aquellians would sure love to have back. Either way, as significant as the Helm was, the curator felt that more legal methods should have been used to encourage the Aquellians to return instead of rewarding somepony for the criminal act of burglary.

But rather than argue further, Dr. Tale chose to instead fetch a cup of tea that the young dragon brought in... only to pout again as stupid Pathfinder swooped in and drank his cup. GLARRRG! Thoroughly annoyed with the rude pegasus by now, the curator exhaled a primal equine snort from his nose, his foreleg kicking out as if he’d charge the so-called adventurer at any time now. Despite all that, Spin saw no further reason to keep Lootraider’s Journal away from Pathfinder any longer. [colour=#ff6666]“Meh, let Featherbrain have the book already,”[/colour] he irritably instructed;[colour=#ff6666] “So she can have her fun reading it and we can all get on with this miserable day.....”[/colour]

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  • 2 weeks later...

Spike was just about to get back to taking care of the wagon of books he'd left unattended, when the pegasus from before seemingly makes their way back into the room, creating something of a stir and clearly riling up the so-called good doctor Spin up just a tad...

Spike couldn't help but mentally giggle at the scene as Pathfinder sipped at the tea...finishing it in one go!

"That's good stuff! Is this special dragon tea or just normal green tea? Is Dragon Tea purple or green?"

Spike couldn't help but blink a couple of times, not quite sure if he could answer that with a straight face... " Uhh, thats pretty much normal morning leaf tea " the Dragon says, deciding that simple answer was the better solution when handling a rather manic pegasus of this particular mares nature. He would have commented further, but it seemed like her attention was immediately drawn back to the book in discussion, which apparently left Spin Tale looking a whole lot less than pleased despite his comment - Spike didn't really wanna get caught in the middle of this weird fray, considering it looked like Spin was going to explode at any moment.

" All this over a single book? " Spike blinks and looks at Twilight with a shrug, entirely bemused at the scene unfolding before him. " These ponies are crazy.... "

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Twilight looked at the pegasus with a fair bit of well-hidden annoyance. She was pushy and brash and not at all polite or considerate of those around her, and while she wasn't one to judge other ponies there was little this Pathfinder was doing to put herself in Twilight's good graces. In that, at least she and Spin Tale were on the same page- Pathfinder was incredibly vexing to deal with. But at the very least she was honest, totally and completely honest while Spin Tale was in many ways a liar. Or just creative with the truth, which was a more polite way of saying it. Still, she had a madmare and an historian and curator (and liar) in her library arguing and getting worked over a book. A journal. Perhaps one of importance. In any case, she wasn't comfortable with it leaving her sight. She turned to her shrugging assistant and followed suit.

"Yes, I suppose some of us may be a bit, umm, crazy. But anyway, Pathfinder-" She started, levitating the book out in front of herself. That proved to be a mistake as the pegasus immediately snatched it

"Thanks, Princess! Now I'm gonna totally find the Claw for sure!" Pathfinder blasted out before trying to make her escape. As she tried to shoot out the window however, Twilight held her in place via her tail magically.

"No no no! Stop flying around and being obtuse!"

"Stop being what? Is that fancy unicorn for obese? I'm not obese. If anything I'm super under weight."

"No, it means not being direct! Why do you want the journal? What does it have that's so interesting?"

"Because of the Ruby Claaaaaw! I gave it to Snowfall and somepony stole it and I think it's part of this Staff of Fate thingy mobober!"

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