The Scroll And The Notes ( Pilot )

[Silent Dusk 475]

I was sitting at my desk in my temporary suite at Canterlot Castle, writing a letter to Princess Luna for the warm welcome and the very relaxing tea. Before I could send the letter via a method i like to call Smoke Screening i recieved a request from Celestia, it read as follows " Dear Dusk. I have been informed that there is a new and undiscovered magical serge coming from the snowy landscape that surrounds the Crystal Empire, Me and my sister would appriciate if you'd grab it's source of power and bring it back here for further study. Princess Celestia " I was honored to have been asked to retrieve a some relic, that and I've hardly ever broken a promise to any pony so I may aswell see what I can do. There's a train leaving for the Crystal Empire tomorrow so it worked in my favor. * A few hours pass by * At around mid day i had reached the Crystal Empire, before i started my treck I had the for sight to schedule a visit at the local hotel, enjoy some warm tea and fritters, I'll update my log tomorrow.

 

That's the end of the pilot for The Scroll And The Notes, if you are interested I'd Apricciate if you let me know in your responses. If you don't like it then that's all this will be, just a pilot

 

Have a good day, and keep the magic of friendship close! 

[Silent Dusk 475]

If you haven't read part one / pilot, then this is your friendly reminder to do so. After your done there come on back.

To those of you who are still around, let's get to the story

 

 

In the morning I started on my assignment, however traveling through the harsh and wintery landscape is easier said than done. With all that aside I ventured outside the warm and protective bubble that surrounds the Crystal Empire, by the time I was there, it was mid-day... I think? Possibly in the Afternoon? I Was never sure, the sky was greyed out, only little bits of the suns light cut through the harsh winds carrying snow for miles. But when I saw where the relic was being kept, the cold that burdened my body like a dagger in my leg was suddenly gone. The constuct infront of me was not only large but it was also an achutectual marvel! showing the same hoof work of the ponies from the far north, I knew this because I had skimmed through almost every history book in the Canterlot Library. As soon as i was done looking at the entrance, I noticed what was on the walls, a language I've only scratched the surface of, I was able to make out " Reading the Crimson Rose " and " Sacrafice ". Oddly there was a modern day note at the entrance, using the same kind of paper that we use today in our books, as I read more I was only left with more questions, and scarce answers. " No ponie shall enter this hall without leaving a piece of themself behind. When the first word is uttered on the Crimson Rose, a blood sacrafice will be made in the land beyond our reach, staining the moon red the next night " I was suprised and frightend, as glad as I was to get a translation, it wasn't a good one. Against my better judgement I trotted down the long and wide hall, pictures and inscriptions decorate the walls like snow on a tree at the beginning of Winter Wrap-Up. At the end of the hall was a scroll, laying on a predestol, surrounding the pedestol were skelitons, all of wich looking at a copy of the same scroll, but that was far from the strangest part. The scroll was crimson red, with black highlights. Reluctantly I took the scroll expecting there to be a trap, but nothing happend or atleast not at first. When i turned around, the same scroll was pinned to the wall with knifes, one three feet away from each other, I looked back at the pedestol and the scroll was back... I checked my hidden pocket in my cloak, and the scroll was still there. I had just about enough of this so, I used the Shadow Warp spell. When I appeared back outside, there was a pont where i was previously standing, it looked just like me... " What in Celestia's name is going on here?! " I said aloud, when I looked closer it's mouth was stretched, almost reaching the floor. It's legs had atleast five extra joints, with exposed bone to compliment it's form. Before it could move another inch, a snow bank covered the entrance, I heard it struggle to get through the blockade, produceing the most unsettleing noises of my life. I moved like lightning just to get back to the Crystal Empire. " What had did I just see?!? " " Why did it look like me?!?! "  "When did this thing first come to be?!?! " When I got back, it was as if my bones were frozen the moment I sat down at my desk, i've never been so aware of my own heart rate! " I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia in the morning " Is the only thing I muttered that night before falling asleep.

 

 

 

Edited May 23 by Silent Dusk
Wrong grammar and spelling

[Silent Dusk 475]

After I woke up, my legs still felt like they were frozen from fear, the things face was still fresh in my mind. I could remember every little detail, no matter how much I wanted to forget it... it was always there. When I was done thinking, I got out of bed and got breakfast, took care of my heigien then took a train back to Canterlot. The ride was quite and peaceful, a welcome break to what I've been doing as of late. The red scroll was still in my cloak pocket, I didn't trust it at all. But I knew it was important. The train ride lasted two hours plus an extra thirty minutes to walk back to my suite. I was just about to start writing to Celestia on what I found, but before I could even pick up my writing quill the was already a note the, from Luna. " Burn the scroll " This made no sense, I had not informed anyone what the relic was, nor had a even sent a letter that I had gotten out safely. But it still was unquestionably Luna, I'd recognize that handwriting anywhere. Still... how did she know? Along with the note was a dusty book, Folktales And Their Forms. There was a book mark on page 125, when I saw the page my heart skipped a beat. It was the same thing I saw but this time it looked like another pony with the same distortions. Aparently they're called Mimics, beings born from pure destain and hatred, usualy guarding secrets that have been long forgoten. They also work in packs, but this didn't match the encounter I had, there was only one. The rest of the page was magicaly burned and scratched out. Just as I had put the book down, there was a knock on the door " Come in! " Luna trotted in, her mane had the same magical flow it has always had. " We have heard that our sister hath sent the to retrive a relic from the far north, Was thine mission succesful? " Now I was sure that something was up, if she didn't know that the relic was retrieved, who or what wrote that note? Disregarding this I had answered her question " Yes, ma'am. The relic has been collected and is awaiting further study " I pulled the scroll out of my cloak, with a trembling hoof, not sure what would happen. Luna took the scroll from my grasp and started reading aloud " May the hands of the trials welcome you with open arms, as our guarding Demons watch you complete challenges that will test your physical and mental capabilities. Once done your horn will be weighed on a scale, on the other end will be a tooth from the eldest demon, If your horn weighs less than the tooth you will be welcomed to The Land Beyond Our Reach. The house wishes you the best of luck " After she was done reading, a drop of blood dripped off the page, as if the scroll were alive. Landing on the floor and being absorbed into said floor. Then it clicked " A blood sacrafice will be made, staining the moon red the next night " This is what it meant, I'd have to hold meeting tomorrow morning, with each of the four rulers. I just hope that the Mimic stays in it's ruin, knowing my luck however... It'll break out of the snow bank, and come looking for me.

Edited May 1 by Silent Dusk
Spelling error

[Silent Dusk 475]

I stayed up all night, trying to salvage what I could from the burned pages on the Mimic, what I've pieced together is that they like to attack when you least expect them to, usualy playing around their distortions by watching from a distance. Unfourtunatly that's all the information I could get. At around 2:00 AM, I skimmed every book I could find in the Canterlot Library, even going into the restricted area where the darkest of spellbooks reside. There was only one book that mentioned the Mimics, but it was a dead end. Relateing it to an intirely different beast, The Timber Wolves. I didn't see why they would relate the Mimic to them but, I'm not an expert on Timber Wolves so maybe they could have some similarities. By the time I had read the last book in the Library it was 7:00 AM. As I made my way down the hallway to my quarters, there was an another note on my desk. At first I suspected it was from Luna, possibly even Celestia. But no, it was in my own handwriting. I was shocked, it was as if i had writen it. However I had not writen a note last night, nor had I sent any. I was only left with more questions after it was read " H̸a̷v̶e̵ ̸y̶o̴u̸ ̵e̵v̸e̶r̷ ̶l̵o̵o̴k̸e̵d̵ ̶i̸n̸ ̷a̷ ̷m̴i̴r̴r̶o̸r̷,̵ ̵a̶n̸d̸ ̷w̵o̶n̵d̷e̶r̵e̵d̵ ̸i̵f̴ ̸i̴t̶ ̵w̴a̶s̷ ̶m̴o̸r̵e̵ ̸t̴h̴a̶n̴ ̷j̷u̵s̸t̵ ̷a̵ ̶r̶e̵f̵l̴e̵c̴t̴i̵o̵n̵?̴  " I was stunned, not knowing what else to do, I tossed it in the fire. The piece of paper shriveled and fell apart as the flames engolfed it with it's heat. When I sat down on the bed, another note came flying out of the blanket, again in my handwriting " I̶t̴ ̸s̴e̶e̵s̵ ̴y̵o̶u̸.̸ ̶I̸ ̶S̷E̶E̴ ̴Y̵O̷U̷!̵!̷ ̷ " I started panicing, looking up there was another on the chandelier " I̷t̵ ̷i̷s̵ ̵e̶v̸e̵r̶w̴h̸e̷r̸e̸!̵ " The next two notes I found were too... everything to say aloud. The last note was in my pillow case " T̶h̸e̶ ̸o̶n̶l̷y̷ ̸r̶e̴a̸s̷o̷n̶ ̷y̴o̵u̸ ̵l̸i̵v̸e̴ ̶i̵s̸ ̵b̵e̸c̴a̴u̸s̴e̴ ̷y̸o̴u̶ ̸a̷r̷e̶ ̷o̷f̸ ̸i̴n̴t̵e̶r̵e̴s̷t̶ ̵t̶o̴ ̴i̶t̶.̸ ̸B̴u̸t̴ ̴t̴h̷e̸ ̵s̷e̷c̴o̸n̸d̶ ̴t̶h̵a̴t̴ ̷y̷o̸u̵ ̸s̸t̴o̶p̵ ̵b̴e̷i̵n̴g̴ ̷o̷f̸ ̸i̷n̵t̷e̵r̸e̶s̵t̶,̶ ̶t̴h̶e̷ ̴s̵e̵c̶o̷n̶d̵ ̴y̸o̴u̶ ̴s̶t̵o̷p̵ ̶m̸o̴v̴i̴n̵g̴,̴ ̵i̸s̸ ̴t̸h̷e̷ ̷s̸e̶c̵o̸n̸d̷ ̷i̶t̵ ̴a̸l̶l̷ ̵s̷t̴o̵p̶s̵ " I was so paralized with fear that i didn't move for the next hour, and by then. I'd completely forgoten to hold a meet. If anyone out there finds this page, and knows what's going on. Please inform me.

Edited May 18 by Silent Dusk
Spelling error

[Silent Dusk 475]

I should probably say that it's been two days since my travel log was updated. I'll catch you up with what's been happening as briefly as possible. For the rest of the day my mind couldn't get off that last note, asking more and more questions with very few answers. The appearance of these notes stopped at around 1:00 PM, however that doesn't mean that the most confusing was over. As I walked around the streets of Canterlot I noticed some of the guards were acting differently. Forgetting shifts, being more aggressive towards the residence including myself, and lastly they did not blink not once. I watched one for a full hour, they did not blink, nor did the other guard at his side. I usually go to the Castle Storage room for a little peace and quiet in stressful and trying times, this was one of those times. While reading my personal favorite book, Super Naturals, I heard a rustle come from one of the rolled up rugs. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, when I heard it again I couldn't help looking. Sweet Celestia I wish I didn't. When I saw what was making the noise, my heart went directly to my throat. There was a guard in there, his mouth was sewed shut with what seemed to be bits of his own mane. I looked a bit closer at his face, and I found his eyes were gone, now reduced to black pits bleeding red. Before I could get the wounded and traumatized guard up, a hoof connected with the back of my head and knocked me out. When I woke up I was in the same place I am now. The Dungeons, my mouth could still be opened, and my eyes were still there, so that's good. I looked through the bars and in the main room were two Mimics, both of wich looked like guards. As I watched two discoveries were made, one is a way to stay under the radar, the other is a weakness. Aparently it can collapse it's extra joints and retract it's lower jaw to look just like an ordinary pony, the only two ways to tell if a pony is a Mimic is if they don't blink and they act drasticaly different. The weakness however is in it's mouth, it looked like a purple beating sack in the back of their throat. You distroy it, you distroy the Mimic that owns it. However my own safety isn't what i'm concerned with, it's the rest of Equestria. They could have had their disformed hoofs in our land for years now, and we hardly even knew the existed. I'll update my log as soon as I get out. TRUST NO ONE who doesn't blink.

Edited May 3 by Silent Dusk
Spelling error, please forgive me

[Silent Dusk 475]

Hello to all my fellow ponies and bronies. Writing the Scroll and Notes story has been fun, but unfourtunatly the real world has it's way of throwing you extra work so It'll probably be a while before I can add another part. But don't worry I wouldn't leave you all hanging, I'll give you all a hint about what will happen in the next part, and with that said...

 

Hint one :  XLIC'VI GPSWIV XLER CSY XLMRO. XLI WXEXYIW EVI XLI OIC.

 

Hint two : With every page Dusk read void of information, he SHIFTED uncomfterably. He was only distracted FOUR times. Mainly because some of those books were in LATIN.

 

Best of luck with solving this, the magic of friendship and unity will see you through. I promise!

 

And one last thing, whoever puts the correct answer in their relpy will recieve an honorable mention in my next post.

 

( And yes I know, I have an exact copy of this on my profile page. I'm just trying to be sure everyone sees it )

Edited May 4 by Silent Dusk
Just something I forgot to add, my bad

[Silent Dusk 475]

( Greetings to all, I know that atleast a few of you have been waiting for another part to come. Oh who am I kidding no one has. But it is a pleasure to get back to this little project of mine, I do hope you enjoy )

 

I am glad to report that the Mimic problem is now a now lesser problem, allow me to inform you how we killed a majority of the Mimics. After I escaped the dungeons I headed directly to teh storage area to get my thoughts together, however when I looked at an old bookshelf, there was onlt one book sitting on it. " Mimics And Their Mystery " This was the lucky break that I've been looking for since I first started reading, trying to find something that would give us an edge over the abominations. The first twenty pages were about how they act and their different varriations, the most common one were called Glarks. Mimics able to take the place of any ordinary pony, If taking the place of a unicorn and pegasus they would not be able to perform magic or fly. The next one was Tars, same as the Glarks only they can perform the talents that come along with the body type. And the last one was called Creturians, these are the most deadly of the Mimics, able to take the place of anything and any pony, even princesses. They also have vast intelect, using deception to their advantage. On page 67 it said they all had one universal similarity and weakness, the magic that surronds the Sculpter Garden. A very unique, and rare type of a magic. I had no idea that the statues has their own magic, but I was grateful to have learned it. Each statue has a hidden pocket in their mouths, in each mouth is something called a Y Fruit. When each of them get crushed into one powder, and blown into the wind. It acts like a poison to the Mimics, killing them within seconds after breathing it in. There was only one problem, the mouths could only be opened by magic that has only been summoned by Celestia, one of the most powerful Alicorns to have graced our land. However after escaping, I found her a Mimic. And I didn't think Equestria could wait another hour so I could look for and find her. I only had myself, and I'm not the most powerful when it comes to magic, but I had to try. After sneaking my way past a few Mimics into the sculpter garden, I tried to remember how the book said to use the spell. It only said three words about the spell, " Trust your gut ". To me it made no sense, my gut was commonly wrong, that's why I always follow the voice in my head. Then i thought about what would happen if I failed, all of Equestria would be in ruins. The pony species overthrown by the Mimics, it would be a cold day in heck before I allowed that to happen. When I first tried at the spell, it felt like I was being cooked and eaten from the inside out, the pain krept over my body like water causing my vision to go blury. But I held on for the greater good. When the spell was said and done, and ONE mouth was open, I felt like my bones were becoming liquid, could barely even stand. But the sight of the first Y Fruit snapped me out of it. It looked just as it sounded, a fruit in the shape of a Y. Rather simple but still, our only hope. After I opened each mouth, I could hardly even tell a rock from grass. After about twenty muinets of trying to not throw up, I began to grind each Y fruit into powder, just on the ground had fun getting that into my bag. The next step was to take the powder to the highest point in canterlot, Stalagtite Ridge. After and hour of climbing and a few close calls, I was atop the slope. I knew Equestria didn't have much longer, hastily I pulled the powerder out my bag, and blew it into the air. For a minute everything was silent, it as if the world was holding it's breath as I was. Then I heard it, probably the one and only time I was delighted to hear that sound. Otherworldy and distorted shrieks filled the air, almost defening. The sound died down within two minutes. But not before I had passed out from stress, pain, and a ringing in my ears. When I woke up I was back in my suite in Canterlot Castle. At first I thought the whole ordeal was all just a bad dream. But when I looked at my bed side table, there was a basket full of all types of sweets, and a note to acompany it. I would tell you what the letter read, but let's justs ay it was... personale. The over all messgae was a thank you note, from Celestia and Luna. That and an offer. I told myself that I'd send a letter later via smoke screening but for now, I should take a well deserved rest.

[Silent Dusk 475]

Well, that's the end of The Scroll And The Notes. I know there is one main loose end, " Why was the red scroll important? ". In my next work, I'll answer that question. As much as it pains me to make you wait, not everything can be done in a day. 

 

May the magic of friendship be with you. 

 

( Next bit is a part I forgot to add earlier. The first person will get a shoutout in my next work! Mainly because no one answered before, but why should I be suprised no one ever cares. Anywho best of luck! )

Edited May 13 by Silent Dusk
Just something I forgot to add, my bad

[EtchASketch 3,398]

1 hour ago, Silent Dusk said:

Well, that's the end of The Scroll And The Notes. I know there is one main loose end, " Why was the red scroll important? ". In my next work, I'll answer that question. As much as it pains me to make you wait, not everything can be done in a day. 

 

May the magic of friendship be with you. 

 

( Next bit is a part I forgot to add earlier. The first person will get a shoutout in my next work! Mainly because no one answered before, but why should I be suprised no one ever cares. Anywho best of luck! )

Aw, don't say no one cares. I do, and I'm sure many others who lurk do! I've been reading this and it's excellent and interesting! I do hope you'll write more whether it be on this or on another story. 

[Street Light 667]

Just finished reading all this ^~^ 

honestly, i like the concept :3 the more you write, the more you improve. you have some nice ideas. i think the more you work on them and refine them, the more fleshed out they'll get. if you aren't already, i recommend reading books similar in genera to what you're working on. it'll give ideas on how to blend sentences, how to show more and tell less, and how to make the characters in your story seem relatable or like they have realistic actions or thoughts uwu

if you want, i could spend some time offering suggestions, grammar, or spelling corrections.. otherwise, you should just keep going and perfecting the story you have in mind!! a story is as much for yourself as it is for other people, so don't get too discouraged if it doesn't seem like other people are interested. being creative and building a world is a lot of fun <3

On 2025-04-29 at 10:45 PM, Silent Dusk said:

I was sitting at my desk in my temporary suite at Canterlot Castle, writing a letter to Princess Luna for the warm welcome and the very relaxing tea. Before I could send the letter via a method i like to call Smoke Screening i recieved a request from Celestia, it read as follows " Dear Dusk. I have been informed that there is a new and undiscovered magical serge coming from the snowy landscape that surrounds the Crystal Empire, Me and my sister would appriciate if you'd grab it's source of power and bring it back here for further study. Princess Celestia " I was honored to have been asked to retrieve a some relic, that and I've hardly ever broken a promise to any pony so I may aswell see what I can do. There's a train leaving for the Crystal Empire tomorrow so it worked in my favor. * A few hours pass by * At around mid day i had reached the Crystal Empire, before i started my treck I had the for sight to schedule a visit at the local hotel, enjoy some warm tea and fritters, I'll update my log tomorrow.

 

That's the end of the pilot for The Scroll And The Notes, if you are interested I'd Apricciate if you let me know in your responses. If you don't like it then that's all this will be, just a pilot

 

Have a good day, and keep the magic of friendship close!