Secret of Starswirl
Chapter One

With an exhausted sigh, Myth shut the front door behind him. Snapshot had already left him to go get her pictures developed, and with their parents still on their trip to Canterlot. He was alone for the moment, and completely fine with that. It just meant he got to have some peace and quiet for a little while. This was a good time to take a seat and examine the artifact more closely. Maybe search through some of his dad's books to find something about it.

Setting his bag on the floor next to the door, he took out the artifact and brought it to his bedroom, leaving the door open. His room looked to be a mess; papers with sketches, maps with pins stuck to certain places, and open books left on certain pages, all strewn about somewhat randomly in his room over his bed, the floor, and even the desk. Mom's really gonna get on to me if I don't clean this up... he thought to himself. Eh, I'll do it later.

Taking a seat at the desk, he turned on the desk lamp to give himself some light. He'd been wracking his brain the whole trip home trying to figure out what this thing was, but he had no clue, and it's not like he could keep it out in the open the whole time. No way, others would be curious about it and possibly try to take it from him to find what it leads to themselves!

The artifact was circular in shape, about half the size of a dinner plate if he had to guess, seemingly made of gold. Upon closer inspection, he found it was actually just a golden-colored stone. Holding it in his hooves, he turned it, looking at the runic symbols etched around the edge. He'd studied foreign languages and text since he was little, and he had no idea what this stood for. Either it was some ancient language he never understood, or it was some secret code made up so no one else could read it. Seeing the needle protruding from the center he had to wonder if it could be some kind of compass, with the symbols being different directions for the needle to point, but it didn't move on its own to point in any specific direction like a normal compass would. He should know. He knew a lot about compasses. He did have one as part of his cutie mark, after all, next to a green gem to show his love and talent for adventure and treasure.

Myth sighed and got up from his seat, heading over to his bookshelf. His eyes scanned over what he had. Some books written by his mother, journals he had written, a few potion recipe books... Then he pulled out a book focused around runic text, meant for translating. Along with that, he also grabbed some paper and grabbed a pencil. Setting back at the desk, he moved the artifact close to the paper and started copying down the symbols etched into it in a ring by the edge, and moved on to draw a quick sketch of the object itself.

The earth pony then set the artifact aside and flipped through the pages of the book in search of anything that looked similar.Gryphic... No. Zebrine... No. Yakyakistani... No.

Time went by as he searched through the book, looked through other books of his, and found nothing. He was starting to get frustrated. With a groan, he sat upright in his chair and rubbed at his aching head, messing up his mane in the process. There's got to be something about this somewhere!

"Find anything?"

He looked to his doorway to see his sister looking at him. With a shake of his head, he responded. "Nothing yet. I don't know what the deal is. These symbols don't match anything in any of my books. I can't even figure out if it's a compass or something else entirely. For all I know it could just be some ancient toy that won't work anymore."

Snapshot walked into the room and looked over his shoulder, seeing that he'd copied the symbols onto paper and sketched it. "Well, I doubt that. If it was just some toy, you wouldn't have gotten into a fight with that zebra and her guys."

"Yeah... I guess we'll just have to wait for mom and dad to get back," Myth said, getting up from his chair and turning off the desk lamp. "I bet dad has an idea."

"I'm sure he would. He is a lot smarter than you."

"Rude!" he shouted, giving his sister a shove as they shared a laugh. "Anyways, how did those pictures turn out? Anything good?" he asked, passing by her through the hallway into the living room.

"Oh, yeah," she nodded, following reaching into her bag. She pulled out a photo album, setting it down on the table. She scooted it toward him for him to take a look. "They actually gave me a discount this time, because I come by so often."

"Sweet. Was it a good deal?" he asked, flipping through the pages of pictures, showing their whole trip. Snapshot had taken so many pictures of the train ride, the hike, the camping, and all the scenery. He had to admit, she was good at those scenery shots. The waterfall at that lake didn't look nearly as pretty as the pictures made it look.

She nodded. "Half off."

Myth's ears perked up and he looked up at her. "Wow, seriously? That's a pretty good deal." He then turned his attention back to the pictures and turned to the last page, showing an aerial shot of the camp the zebra, gryphon, and unicorn had been at. "What did you take a picture of their camp for?"

With a shrug, Snapshot sat down beside him. "I figured you might like to have it. You know, as a reminder of your first successful artifact find."

"What do you mean first? I've found plenty of things!"

She looked at him and shook her head. "Things that dad hid around the house and through town for you don't count."

He opened his mouth again to retort, but stopped and gave a little chuckle. "I guess it is my first real find. Thanks, Snaps." He leaned over and gave her a one-hoofed hug. "Appreciate it."

"No problem, Myth." She smiled, hugging him in return.

Myth then pulled out of the hug and looked down at the picture. Seeing the zebra in the picture from above made him think. "Hey... While you were flying over the camp, you didn't happen to overhear them talking about anything, did you?" he wondered.

Snapshot thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Hmm... No. Why? You got a crush on that zebra or something?" she teased, nudging him in the side with a playful smirk.

Myth chuckled at the teasing and nudge. "No, of course not. I mean, she was pretty, but I tend not to fall for anyone that tries to shoot me."

"Fair enough. Being shot at would be a deal breaker for me, too. So why'd you ask?"

"Well. I didn't realize it at the time, but... When we were at the cliff..." he looked at her. "She said my name."

She gave a little laugh at that. "Yeah, so? What about it?"

"Well... I don't know." He got up from the couch, thinking as he made his way to the kitchen. "It just seems weird."

"What about it is weird, Myth?" she asked, following him into the kitchen. "Typically, if you know somepony's name, you might say it at some point when you're talking to them."

The clinking of glasses sounded through the kitchen as Myth pulled one out and held it under the sink, pouring himself a glass of water. "That's just it, Snaps. She couldn't have known my name. You never encountered them, so I know they wouldn't have gotten it from you. Plus, I know for a fact that I never mentioned it." He then took a drink from the glass and set it down. "Know what I mean?"

Snapshot was silent for a moment as he explained, pouring herself a glass of water as well. "Yeah, that's... That's weird."

Myth nodded, looking down at his glass of water. "M'hm... Makes me a little nervous. I mean... How could she have known my name? What else could she know?"

"We could always see if we can stay with Winter and Star until mom and dad get back, if you're afraid they know where we live," the mare suggested, drinking her water quickly. It was a hot day today and she could use the cold drink.

"Nah. I doubt they could know where we live." His stomach growled just then at the mention of Winter, and he looked to his sister. "Speaking of Winter, you want to get something to eat at her restaurant? It's been a long trip."

"Are you kidding?" Snapshot replied with a little giggle. "We've been eating nothing but those granola bars and apples the whole time we were gone. I could use one of her tasty sundaes!"

Myth laughed at that and downed the rest of his water before setting the glass down. "That sounds pretty good." He went out into the living room again and picked up his saddlebags, slipping it on and strapping it in place for the bags to hang at his sides. "Could probably stop by Page's bookstore on the way back. I could use an updated book of maps."

With a nod, Snapshot agreed, strapping her bags on as well and leading the way out the door, with Myth locking it behind them. "Sounds good. I'd like to pick up the new book in that Fogborn trilogy anyways."

"I'll have to take a look at that series sometime. I've heard good things."

Ding. The bell ringed, signifying the entrance of a new customer. The two ponies took a quick look around, seeing that the shop wasn't quite busy just yet.

"Hey!" a mare's voice greeted as Myth and Snapshot walked in. The white unicorn mare stepped out from behind the counter, wearing her black apron with her name tag pinned on her chest, identifying her as Winter Chill. She tucked a stray hair of her black mane behind her ear and smiled as she approached the siblings, her blue eyes locked on theirs with a friendly gaze. "I didn't think you'd be back in town already. How was the trip? Find what you were looking for?"

"We sure did!" Myth answered. "Neither of us have any idea what it actually is though. We'll have to wait for dad to check it out."

"Well I hope it's something good," Winter replied. "I'd hate for you two to have made that long of a trip for something useless."

"I doubt it's useless," Snapshot chimed in. "Some group beat us to it and nearly killed Myth over it when he stole it from them."

Before Winter could respond, a filly cried out in excitement a few tables down. Myth, Snapshot, and Winter turned to look in time to see a young orange unicorn rushing to them with a big smile. She jumped up at Myth and wrapped her hooves around his neck in a tight hug.

"Myth, Snapshot, you're back!" she shouted happily, hugging them each in turn.

"Hey, Ember!" Myth greeted, chuckling as he hugged back, and let her go to hug his sister. "How have you been?"

She hugged Snapshot tightly and smiled, sitting on her haunches in front of them. "I've been good! Mom said she was going to make me a sundae for me and Lance!"

Snapshot giggled at that and looked over to the white mare. "Better make that two sundaes. I could really use one after that long trip home."

Winter nodded at that with a smile. "Sure thing, Snapshot. And what can I get for you?" she asked, turning to Myth.

"I'll take one, too."

"Three sundaes coming right up!" she chimed. As she headed back behind the counter, using her magic to get out some bowls and spoons, getting to work as Myth and Snapshot followed Ember over to the table she'd been sitting. There they find a dark red colt sitting there quietly with a smile. The orange filly slid into the booth, scooting herself next to her blue-and-white-maned earth pony brother.

Snapshot smiled at the sight of the two young siblings together. "Wow, you two are getting so big."

Lance stayed quiet, but smiled. He always was a quiet colt. Not really shy, just... quiet and polite. Ember was smiling happily and nodded. "Dad says we're old enough to go camping! We're going to camp at the lake next weekend!"

"He's just taking you on that camping trip, Ember, remember?" Winter reminded her, making her way over with three bowls of sundaes levitating in her magic. She set one down on the table between her two kids for them to share, and gave the others to Myth and Snapshot. "He wants to spend some time alone with just you."

Ember giggled a little and nodded. Once Winter set the spoons in front of them, she and Lance both began to dig in to their ice cream with happy looks on their faces as they enjoyed the treat.

"Aw, you didn't have to bring the sundaes to us," Snapshot pointed out. "We would've come and picked them up at the counter."

The mare shook her head. "Nope! You two just got back from a long trip, and knowing you two, you haven't even stopped to rest since you got off the train. Plus, how about I make this on the house, huh?"

"Oh come on," Myth responded immediately. "At least let us pay for it. You deserve it!"

"No, I insist!" Winter giggled, nudging his sundae closer to him. "Try to pay for these and I'll just sneak the bits back in your bag."

"Hey, how come they get free food?" some random mare called out a few tables down. "I want free ice cream! How do I get stuff for free?"

She looked over at them. "Become a close family friend, go on a long trip in the forest, hiking up mountains, risk your life to find something cool hidden away in some cave, and come here as soon as you get back."

The mare that had spoken up stayed quiet after that answer, and sat back down in her seat, going back to her ice cream cone with an embarrassed blush as her friends laughed. Myth chuckled as well, but not at the mare's reaction. "Heh... That actually does sound kind of worthy of a free sundae when you put it like that. Thanks, Winter." He then picked up his spoon and went to work on his ice cream.

"We appreciate it," Snapshot said in between bites, not even looking at the mare, her attention more focused on the ice cream, happily eating the delicious treat.

"No problem."

"So, where's Tenzo anyway?" Myth asked before taking another bite.

"My monthly order of napkins hasn't shown up yet, and it's a week later than usual. He just went to find out why it hasn't shown up yet. You must have just missed him, he left right before you got here."

There was a moment of silence after the answer as the ponies all enjoyed their ice cream, and then Winter perked up again. "Oh, yeah!" Quickly, she used her magic, levitating her saddlebags up from behind the counter and bringing it over. Digging into the pockets, she searched for something, and pulled out an envelope, holding it out toward Myth. "We got this delivered to our house yesterday. It's addressed to you and Snapshot, though. Guess it was delivered to us by accident."

"Oh, thanks for holding onto it for us." Myth put his spoon down and took the envelope. There was no return address on it, leaving it a mystery as to who it was from. He opened it and pulled out the letter, finding a picture hidden behind the paper.

Hope you two had a good trip. I suspect you'll be back by the time this letter is delivered, as long as things went well. Your father and I are still here in Canterlot, and from what he's mentioned, it seems like we've stumbled onto something big! You should have seen his reaction when he found out what we've been tracking this whole time. I would tell you what it is he's found, but he wants it to be a surprise for when we get home. Plus, I'd hate for this letter to get in the wrong hooves, and get the information, so we'll tell you both everything when we get back. We can hardly wait to get back home and get you two on board.

Myth, try to contain your excitement when we tell you what it is we're looking for. I just know you'll be as excited as your father is right now. And Snapshot, you better get a good camera ready. Trust me, you'll want to take some pictures when we find it. This will be all over the news and magazines, and I'm sure they would appreciate the photos.

Your father wants to stay another day or two to check out the new museum exhibits, so we'll be staying here a few more days. We'll see you when we get back! Oh, and... enjoy the picture. I'm sure you two will get a laugh out of it.

The letter wasn't signed at the bottom, but it was obvious who it was written by. Myth and Snapshot's mother, Pen Scribe.

"Oh boy, looks like mom and dad finally found out what's waiting for them," Myth explained to the ponies at the table. "And they're going to be in Canterlot for another couple days to check out some museum exhibits."

"The museum was dad's idea, I'm guessing?" Snapshot inquired, finishing up her sundae and wiping her mouth off with a napkin.

"You guess correctly."

"So what's the picture?" she asked, noticing that Myth held one behind the letter.

He pulled the picture out from behind the letter and set it in front of the paper to look at. Almost immediately, Myth let out a chuckle and leaned over to show his sister, making her laugh a little at the sight. The picture showed a stallion similar-looking to Myth, with a tan coat and brown mane and tail. The only differences between them were that his dad was darker shades of the same color, wore a ring hanging on a cord around his neck, and he was a pegasus while Myth himself was an earth pony. Fortune Hunter was in the Canterlot library with an excited smile on his face, hugging a book tightly in his hooves. After the context their mom had put into the letter, it was obvious that it must have been the book that helped him find out what they'd been hunting for this whole time.

Winter smiled at the reaction and gave a little giggle as well when Myth showed it to her. "Must be something pretty big. I've never seen him like that before."

"Neither have I," Myth agreed. "Oh, I can hardly wait to find out what it is they've found, and show dad the artifact I got."

"Heh. Well you won't have to wait long," Snapshot said, patting Myth on the back. "Considering the delivery time between Canterlot and Ponyville, and the letter arriving yesterday, I'd say they'll probably be back tomorrow or the next day."

Interrupting the conversation, the orange filly sat up, putting her hooves on the table. "Mommy, can we have more ice cream?" Ember asked, ignoring the ice cream dribbling from her chin.

With a little giggle, Winter took a napkin in her magic and wiped her daughter's face off. "Maybe after dinner. I wouldn't want you and Lance to get a tummy ache."

Ember tried not to show her disappointment, but then felt a nudge in her side. Lance was smiling at her. "How about we go see Aunt Star?" he suggested. "Remember, she said she had a surprise for us?"

"Oh yeah!" the filly perked up and slid out of her seat, letting her brother slip out of the booth as well. "What do you think it is?" she asked him as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Now I'm curious!" Myth exclaimed, turning his attention from the siblings to their mother.

"That's what you said about that artifact that nearly got you shot, Myth." With a giggle, Snapshot nudged him in the side. "'Curiosity killed the cat', right?"

He nudged her in return with a chuckle. "Well I'm not a cat, now am I?"

Winter brought out a rag and cleaning spray, picking up the ponies' empty sundae bowls, and began to clean the table. "It's just a little tent in the backyard. Since Tenzo is taking Ember on that camping trip next weekend, Star wanted to have a little camp out back for them both tonight, so Lance doesn't feel too left out."

"Aww, well that's sweet of her," Snapshot said with a smile.

Ding... The chime of a clock in the restaurant sounded on the hour.

Myth scooted out from the booth. "We better get going if we want to get those things from the bookstore before Page closes up for the night."

"Right." Snapshot slid out with him. She gave the unicorn a hug. "It was nice to see you again, Winter."

"It was nice to see you too." She smiled, then turned and gave Myth a hug as well.

"Tell Tenzo we said hi," Myth told her as they pulled out of the hug.

The two siblings gathered their bags and made their way to the door. "See ya later... fellas." Winter's voice called out to them. Hearing this, Myth stopped in his tracks in the doorway, resulting in the mare letting out a giggle before she went back to her work, cleaning up tables and taking orders from new customers.

The stallion looked to his sister, seeing her holding back a laugh of her own. "I told you not to tell her about that!" he exclaimed, remembering how she wanted to tell Winter about it in a letter, for her to read before they got back home. He didn't think she would actually go through with it.

Snapshot just laughed. "I couldn't help it!" she shouted, taking off running to the bookstore.

Her brother chased after her. "I can't believe you!"

A black unicorn mare sat bored at the front counter, tapping her hoof as she looked around at the few ponies in the silent store. She was a bit worn out now that the day was almost over, but after the rush of all the sales from the latest Fogborn book the last couple of days, the lack of customers she had now seemed so... dull. With a look in the mirror beside her, she took a look at herself, taking a moment to fix her curly, blue mane, noticing it had a stray hair out of place. Her heterochromia made her smile. Having a green eye and a blue eye made her feel unique, like one of those characters in a book she read a few years back where the ones with special abilities were marked with eyes like hers.

Ding. The bell chimed above the door.

Page Turner glanced over to greet the customer, but stopped short when she saw who it was.

"Myth! Snapshot!" she exclaimed, waving to them from her spot behind the counter. "It's been so long. Can I help you find something?" she offered. "Please. I'm so bored."

The two approached her with little laughs. "Nice to see you again, Page," Snapshot greeted. "I actually came to pick up my pre-order of that new Fogborn book."

"Oh, right!" She reached under the counter and pulled out a brand-new hardcover copy of the book in question, making the blue pegasus smile wide in excitement. "You're going to love it. No spoilers, but I got to read it already, and I think it's a great ending for the trilogy. And for you, Myth?"

"I don't suppose you have anything on ancient runic languages, would you?" he asked.

"Hmm..." the unicorn tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. "I think so. If I do, I probably would have put it in the games section, thinking it was for some role playing game or something."

With a nod, he turned and headed for that section, hearing Snapshot and Page start to talk about those books. I've got to check that series out... Sounds like a good read. He thought to himself.

Approaching the games section, he ignored the board games and rule books, scanning any book he saw to see if it was something similar to what Page mentioned. Soon his eyes came across the spine of a book with symbols on the side. Grabbing it, he opened it to quickly scan through. It just seemed like a copy of the runic symbol books he had at home, but with some new additions. He smiled and closed it, carrying it with him. It was obvious to him that it wasn't for any sort of role playing game, and since it seemed to have a couple new runic languages added in that he hadn't seen, he had to get it. Maybe one of them would match the symbols on that artifact!

Continuing on to a different section, Myth found himself looking at atlases, maps of different parts of the world. Most seemed the exact same that he always knew about, aside from one or two that seemed to have added newly-marked hiking trails through mountains and forests. He picked out a few at random, carrying them back to the front counter.

"...hardly believe how the final battle actually happened," Page was saying as the stallion returned, still in a conversation with his sister about the books they were discussing. She turned her attention to him as he returned. "Find what you were looking for?"

"Sure did," he said with a smile, setting a stack of four books on the counter for her to scan for the prices.

"Good." Page smiled, starting to go through them, scanning the codes on the back and totaling up the cost.

Myth counted the bits and set them on the counter as she slipped the books into a bag. "Been busy lately?" he asked curiously.

The bookstore employee nodded and sighed. "Kind of, it was really busy for a little while when I got some new releases in stock, but the last couple days have been pretty slow."

"Everypony's home, reading the books, huh?" Snapshot assumed.

"Guess so. I still get enough business to stay open, of course, but it'd be nice to have some more ponies to talk to about some books we like."

The two stepped aside as a pink colored pegasus mare approached and paid for what they were getting. Myth looked over the counter to Page and made a suggestion. "Maybe start a book club?"

"A book club, huh...?" she thought about it.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea," Snapshot jumped in. "Assign the group a book to read each week or month, and discuss your favorite parts and what you liked when you're all done."

The pegasus that had approached to pay for her books, which seemed to be about animals and how to train them, smiled wide at the idea and nodded. "If you do start a book club, I'd sure love to join."

"See?" Myth gestured to the pegasus, looking at Page. "Already got somepony wanting to join."

The mare giggled and nodded. "Yeah! If you do end up starting it, I'd be happy to put up a few posters for it around my store during the grand opening."

"Grand opening, huh?" Snapshot's attention turned to the new pony out of curiosity. "What kind of store you opening up?"

"Pet store," the pink mare answered with a smile. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a flier, showing the ponies she was with now. "Collars, leashes, toys, pet food, cages, pet beds... and pets, of course."

"Explains the books about animals you just got," Page pointed out, gesturing to the books still on the counter, and looking at the flier handed to her. "Fauna Paws' Pet Store grand opening..."

"Yeah... Name's still a work in progress. This is actually the only flier I have, just as a basic design. I'd like to use something that doesn't have my own name in it, so I'm waiting for the right name to hit me before I make lots of copies."

"Ooh," Snapshot interrupted with a big smile. "I'd love to stop by during the opening and take a look around."

"Oh, you have a pet?" Fauna Paws asked with great . "What kind?"

The pegasus gave a little chuckle and shook her head. "We don't have a pet, actually, but I would love to come by the store sometime if you ever need help with the animals."

Myth nodded. "I'd sure like a pet sometime too, but with all the traveling our family does, I kind of doubt any pet we get would get the love and attention it deserves."

"Ah. Well, if you change your mind, I'd be happy to help you pick someone out. Just come on by when you get the chance." As Fauna said this, she gathered her now-paid-for books and started to head for the front door. She stopped in the doorway and looked back to them with a smile. "I hope to see you all stop by sometime, even if it's just for a chat." She then waved goodbye and stepped out, leaving the bookstore.

There was a short moment of silence after that before Page spoke up. "Well, anyways... It's about time to close up. You two can stick around a while if you'd like. Browse around for more to read or something."

"It's getting late," Snapshot reminded her. "We should probably be getting home."

"Yeah, I'm beat," Myth said with a bit of a yawn. "Been a long trip home. I might stop by again tomorrow, though."

The unicorn smiled at that and nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

Myth and Snapshot both gave a little laugh, picked up their books, and went for the door, ready to get some sleep.

Knock, knock, knock.

The noise woke up Myth and Snapshot from their sleep in the middle of the night. They came out of their bedrooms to meet in the living room, yawning and with messy manes.

"Ugh, who could be here at... four in the morning?" Myth asked tiredly, looking at the clock. "Did you invite somepony over or something?"

Snapshot shook her head with a little yawn. "If I was expecting somepony, I wouldn't have gone to bed." She flopped down onto the couch, laying her head down. "Could you answer it, please?"

Myth Chaser rubbed at the back of his neck as he went to the front door and opened it to find a unicorn stallion in a police uniform. He looked at the visitor, feeling more awake now that there was a cop at the door. "Can I help you, Officer?"

"You two Myth Chaser and Snapshot?" the stallion asked.

"Yeah, that's us," Myth confirmed, stepping aside to show his sister laying on the couch.

"I'm sorry for waking you," the stallion interrupted, pulling out a wallet and holding it open, showing his police badge. "Name's Silver Cuffs. I have some bad news for you. May I come in?" The tone in his voice told them that they might not like what he had to say, but surely it was something important if he showed up this late.

Snapshot got up from the couch when she heard that, suddenly not so sleepy anymore upon seeing a police badge. "Umm... Sure," she said, fixing her mane the best she could with just her hooves.

Myth stepped aside to let him in, shutting the door behind him. "What's this about, officer?"

The cop seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact with the two ponies for the moment. "It's about your parents, Fortune Hunter and Pen Scribe..." he trailed off, the news he was about to share seeming to affect him as well.

The two siblings looked at each other, a bit worried now. Nopony had ever come to the house to tell them something about their parents. Especially a police officer.

"Uh... What happened?" Myth asked. "They're not, like... arrested or anything... right?"

"No. I'm sorry to say, but... this is much worse," Silver answered with a shake of his head. He then looked up to them with a look of sorrow on his face. "I hate to be the one to tell you two this. Your parents are dead."