Midnight knew this was probably a waste of time. But considering who was at stake, any chance of success was worth pursuing.
The Golden Oaks library wasn’t half as large as any of the big city libraries she’d visited, particularly in her younger years. Yet as she began digging into the selection of titles there, it became immediately apparent that Celestia’s connection to its current operator meant that Ponyville’s library had some advantages over the competition.
Beside her, Sapphire set down a fresh pile of books, this one so tall that Midnight was a little amazed she could carry the whole thing over at once. That was some impressive balance in her wings. “This is everything on conjuration, Midnight. Not that…” She shifted uncomfortably, glancing down the hall. Twilight Sparkle was upstairs, they could hear her moving around with Spike. Sooner or later she would come down here, and might even want to get involved in the investigation herself.
But if Twilight found out what they were doing, then it was only a matter of time before Celestia heard about it too. The Sun Princess might not be too happy about the two of them trying to go over the heads of her own appointed ponies.
Midnight still marveled that Sapphire had been open to the idea, even going so far as to get a copy of the file for them to use for reference.
It was true that Midnight cared so much more deeply about this than some random scholar at Celestia’s school. But the deeper she dug into the mountain of books, the more obvious it became that simple passion would not be enough to solve this mystery.
Magic was a complicated subject, with a rich history of associated figures, sciences, and mythology. Even with Sapphire’s help, the chances of noticing something the masters had missed did not seem terribly large.
“Thanks, Sapphire,” Midnight said, trying to sound more eager than she felt. “That’s good. I’ll… start on those next.”
She glanced back at her sheet of terms—maybe a dozen words in all, none of which she could pronounce but all had been present in the summoning spell. At least, assuming the two of them had transliterated the runes correctly.
To her surprise, she felt someone climbing up into the bench a second later. Sapphire Breeze didn’t seem too bothered about personal space, because she barely even left enough room for the list between them. “We can read twice as fast with two of us,” she said by way of explanation. “Besides, I bet I know more about lore. Lots of what we get sent to investigate ends up connecting to some ancient legend or another.”
Midnight raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you read about it, but I am lore. It’s in my blood. I’ve got a horn and everything to prove it.”
“That you can’t use,” Sapphire said playfully. “Get back into your book. We only have… what, two hours before Nightfall gets out of school? At least one of us will have to go pick her up, and then we’ll be back to investigating at half speed.”
Midnight sighed. “You’ve already done so much more than I would’ve asked for, Sapphire. I probably won’t even find anything, you don’t have to waste your time like this.”
“Who says I’m wasting my time?” She grinned a little wider. “If helping to solve a nefarious crime isn’t interesting enough, then I can also stay interested by getting to know a living legend like you.”
“Come on.” Midnight pushed her a little further away with the back of Star Swirl: Famous or Infamous?, but not hard enough to bend the spine. “Fine, you can help. Just don’t be so loud next time. Twilight will hear you, we don’t need to rush her down here.”
They read in silence for some time—long enough for Midnight to eliminate two of her books as having any value and start on a third.
“Here we go!” she exclaimed, spreading it out on the couch between the two of them. “Look, right here! It’s on my list. Celestial… crystalized… mana. We got one of the ingredients!”
Sapphire Breeze looked between her book and the sheet of paper for a long time, expression darkening. “That can’t be right, Midnight. Even if it… looks like it is. It just can’t be.”
“Why’s that?” Midnight rose to her hooves, beaming. She occupied herself sorting out several of the useless books into another pile, which the poor librarian would have to deal with when she finally noticed them.
“Because I know that stuff. Just look in your book, I bet it says…” She didn’t wait for Midnight though, pulling the book over to herself and reading from where Midnight had left off.
“Celestial crystalized mana is considered a prohibitively expensive ingredient for almost all spells, as it can only be personally produced by Princess Celestia. A single drop of the substance collects from her horn each time she raises the sun, and is gathered for—” She trailed off, pushing the book over for Midnight to read. Not that she doubted anything she was being told, but it was good to get confirmation.
“That can’t be one of the ingredients, Midnight. The only ponies who could ever get their hooves on it are university staff—I’m pretty sure the entire supply is locked away with all the other exotic ingredients. We must’ve translated that wrong.”
“No, this is… this is right for sure.” Midnight didn’t really feel that way yet, but it felt like she was onto something for sure. “I bet Celestia’s other investigators are making the same assumptions you are. So let’s explore this road a little further. Maybe we’ll find something they missed.”
Sapphire Breeze rose as well. “Midnight—I mean this with love, but you’re thinking like a rookie. Getting obsessed with something that’s obviously impossible, digging deeper and deeper to find a conspiracy that isn’t there while the real culprit gets free. Neither of us is a unicorn, or an archeologist. We’re probably just translating wrong.”
“I know one way to find out,” Midnight walked a few steps past her, calling up the stairs. “Miss Twilight, are you there?” As though she didn’t already know the answer.
A second later and Twilight appeared—literally—at the top of the stairs. “Yes? Oh, Midnight Storm! I, uh… sorry if you’ve been waiting for me all this time. There’s a bell you can—”
“I know,” Midnight said, backing up a little. While Twilight walked around the corner, she pushed aside the book they’d just been reading, burying it in the pile with most of their notes. They would still have to get those out if they wanted to stop Twilight from figuring out what they’d been doing. “I had a question about transliterating runes. I don’t know if it’s something you’ve ever covered, but it did sound like…”
“That’s… a strange subject for a non-unicorn to ask about,” Twilight said as she came around the corner. She stopped, staring at their little fortress of books and notes. “My my, you two are… determined to figure something out.”
“Yes, very,” Midnight agreed, holding up the sheet copied from the original spell. “I’m trying to figure out what this says. I copied the translation on the back. Maybe you could help me check it? There are a few guides over here if…”
“No need.” Twilight walked right past the books that explained the process, levitating out a quill and an abacus and setting them down beside Midnight’s sheet of notes. She ignored Midnight’s translation entirely. She went several times as fast as Midnight and Sapphire had gone together, without needing any reference materials. “I can see why this might give you trouble, there’s a third-order sympathetic interlink between…” She trailed off, eyes widening. “Sweet Celestia, I know what this is.”
She dropped the quill, eyes narrowing. “Why are you trying to translate the Nightmare cult’s spell?” Her eyes fixed on Sapphire Breeze. “Didn’t Celestia assign you here to keep this kind of thing from happening?”
“Celestia put me here to protect everyone involved,” Sapphire Breeze said. “I can do that and do research at the same time.”
It looked like Twilight was about to keep going, so Midnight stepped between them. “This is my project, Twilight. The unicorns the princess assigned can’t find the cult, so I’m trying to see if I can figure out things they missed.”
“I already explained what you’re about to say,” Sapphire added helpfully. “They’re better informed, better qualified. We know. But that doesn’t mean they’re infallible. Worst case, we waste our time.”
“Please, Twilight. Just verify that translation for me. I’ll do anything you want.”
Twilight Sparkle had obviously been about to put the pad of paper down. But then she stopped, a guilty grin spreading across her lips. “Anything. You’ll do…” She met Midnight’s eyes, expression almost predatory. “Will you finally do that interview? I’ve got so many questions about kirin, and you didn’t answer any of them last time.”
“Yes,” Midnight said, her tone only slightly exasperated. “I’ll do the interview.” She didn’t point out that any questions about her race as a whole would be out of her reach—she didn’t know where they had gone, for instance, though her own life gave her some suspicions. But she was better off pointing those things out after Twilight had given them what they wanted.
“I suppose… there’s no harm in it,” Twilight eventually said. “I’m almost done anyway.” She scribbled over the sheet for a few more seconds, then held it out in her magic. “There, done. Triple-checked. But don’t think just because I’ve translated it that it will make sense. Most spells are too complicated to just read. Only the old master spell crafters like Star Swirl made their spells so they could read in any language.”
“Oh, we know,” Sapphire said, taking the sheet and setting it down in front of Midnight. They bent over it together, focusing on the portion Midnight had noticed before. Sure enough, Celestial crystalized mana was right where it had been before. Not all of the translation matched exactly with Twilight’s, but that part did.
Sapphire sat back, frowning to herself. “Stars above, look at that. You were right.”
“Right about what?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “No, that can wait. Let me get my notebook—that’s where I’ve got my questions for you.”
“I can pick up Nightfall for you,” Sapphire Breeze said, loud enough that Twilight would be able to hear. “You just finish things up here, I’ll bring her here as soon as she gets out.”
Sapphire was already on her way out, though she had to pass by Midnight on her way. Midnight spread one of her wings, blocking the path. “That isn’t how you cover for me,” she whispered.
“It’ll just be a minute!” Twilight shouted from up the stairs. “Don’t go anywhere, Midnight!”
“I’m not covering for you, you’re covering for us. Put the books away, then blow her mind with trivia about kirin or whatever. She’ll forget we were here for anything else.”
Midnight’s eyes widened, and she grinned in response. “That’s… that’s brilliant!”
Sapphire Breeze grinned back. “I try to be. Maybe if you manage to pull it off I’ll make you dinner, too.”
“You’ll—” Midnight felt her face flush, but Sapphire Breeze was already on her way out. She wouldn’t see her embarrassment. She set to work quickly after that, so that she’d mostly cleaned up the library by then. Except for the book that had contained her critical insight, and the notes she’d taken along the way. There was probably more to learn, but—that would have to wait for another day.
“Finally found it,” Twilight said, levitating a thickly bound book in her magic as she settled back down on a bench. “I’ve had a long time to think about this stuff. I hope you don’t mind if I take notes.”
“Sure,” Midnight said. “Just stamp these books for me real quick… I’d like to check them out. Then we can go ahead with anything you want to know.”