I’ll Bring You Home
Chapter Seven; Keepers of Knowledge
Hours.
Rainbow Dash had been wandering empty halls of endless books for hours. When she got out - if she got out - she never wanted to see another book again for as long as she lived. The thought of banning Twilight from libraries when they got back to Equestria was a tempting one, if she was being honest with herself. Not that it would go over particularly well with the bookworm. Or be at all a reasonable request. Rainbow sighed. At the very least she’d stay as far away from libraries as possible.
Checking her compass, Rainbow’s gaze hardened as she focused. Repeating over and over in her mind that all she wanted was for Twilight to forgive her. The needle stopped shaking, and once more pointed straight. It had never really stopped acting up entirely, and never pointed as true as it once had. Some forks in the hall made it spin uselessly, and she’d have to pick at random only for the compass to tell her to turn around. To get it to stop spinning at all she had to focus on what she wanted, as though it didn’t believe her.
A part of her wondered if she believed it herself.
Rainbow’s thoughts trailed off as she came to another staircase, and the needle helpfully pointed slightly downward. She sighed. This would be the fourth set of stairs, putting her far deeper into the library than she’d first thought possible. “Come on, Twi. Just how deep in this place did you go?” Rainbow asked aloud, throwing out a hoof to the full shelves around her. “Were these ones not interesting enough?”
“...”
The pegasus jumped, wings flared wide. Hairs on the back of her neck stood straight, and a shudder ran down her spine. “Hello?” She questioned, when there were no further sounds. Truthfully, she didn’t know what she’d heard. Just that she’d heard something. A few more moments of silence passed, and Rainbow was forced to shrug it off. “Probably the walls moving around…”
Despite not fully believing the answer, Rainbow forged ahead down the staircase, glancing occasionally back over her shoulder. There was never anything there, but the shelves shifting usually made more noise than that. It had almost sounded like… whispering. It had felt close, too; she could practically feel breath tickling the hair of her ear.
Coming to the landing of the stairs, Rainbow noticed that the scenery changed slightly. For the last three floors it had been the same wooden shelves and stone pillars between them, but this new floor was different. It was more open; the halls were more than twice as wide and much taller. Already she could feel the sense of claustrophobia she’d long grown used to fading. Though for how much more accomodating the floor was, there was also significantly less light; while before the lanterns had provided enough of a flickering glow to be comfortable if a little dim, this new area had barely enough light to see more than a few paces ahead.
What caught Rainbow’s attention most, however, was something right at the base of the staircase; a stack of books holding up what looked like a makeshift sign made of roped together wooden planks. On it in big, black lettering were two words; ‘Keepers Ahead’.
Looking between the crude sign - which Rainbow assumed to be some form of warning - and the dark hall ahead, the pegasus shrugged and pushed forward. Whatever it was warning about, she’d just deal with it.
As she began her trek into the new floor, she started wishing she’d brought a lantern. It was dark. There was no visible lighting in the hallway, but it stayed at a constant illumination that was just barely bright enough to be able to read a book right in front of your face. In other words, entirely too dark.
Rainbow Dash paused as the floor shook slightly, and a groaning filled her ears as the walls shifted behind her. She couldn’t help but notice it happened more often the deeper she went. Always behind her. It was easy to go deeper; leaving seemed to be a different beast entirely.
“...”
A shiver ran through Rainbow’s body from her snout to the tip of her tail, and she jumped into the air. That time she knew she’d heard something. Something that was not the walls changing. “Who’s there!?”
The darkness didn’t answer, but she could hear… something. Small and quiet. Barely there at all. It was like… scratching, almost. Rainbow scanned the shelves around her, searching for the source of the noise. Nothing. Nothing she could see, at least. Still, there was a noise. Right in her ear, almost. It felt like whatever was making it was right next to her.
Deciding it best not to stick around, Rainbow didn’t hesitate to take off down the hall, consciously refraining from looking back on the off chance she’d see something she didn’t want to. Her wings didn’t stop beating until the sound faded into the distance, and an intersection in the hall ahead forced her to stop. Just as she landed she heard the walls shifting behind her, and a part of her knew the exit was getting further and further obscured.
But why would she want to leave?
Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. Where had that thought come from? It wasn’t her own. She held a hoof to her head. Why would she want to stay? Why would…
She stopped.
“It’s like the Halls don’t want you to leave. There’s this… feeling, you get, when you try. It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t want to leave.”
As Gale’s warning came rushing back, Rainbow swallowed nervously. Of course. The curse - or whatever it was. Gale had mentioned it got worse the deeper she went, and Rainbow was four floors down and what must have been more than half a day in. It only made sense it would start affecting her.
Taking a deep breath, Rainbow held a hoof to the pendant around her neck. “I want to leave,” she said aloud, closing her eyes and focusing. The words came out like molasses, and some part of her denied them. Fought against them. “I want to get Twilight and leave this place.”
A little, niggling thought of staying remained, but it failed to form a coherent thought in her head, and she nodded to herself. “Do your worst!” Rainbow boasted openly, glaring into the darkness ahead. “You’re not keeping me here.” She pulled out her compass and followed the needle down the right path, not even batting an eyes as the corridor shifted right behind her.
Rainbow held her head high, trotting quicker through the halls. A new sense of urgency had descended upon her, and Rainbow wanted to spend as little time in here as possible. She noticed how hard it was to keep that thought in her head, and shuddered. Then, a far more worrying thought struck her. She’d only been down here a half a day, and was already having to focus to keep the curse at bay.
Twilight had been here more than a year.
Her pace quickened again, and the idea of Twilight not wanting to leave became a much more salient threat in her mind. Before, when Gale hard warned her of the curse, she’d brushed off the notion; how could Twilight possibly refuse coming back to all their friends? But now that she’d experienced the strength of the Hall’s grasp first hand, it seemed more than plausible.
Almost inevitable.
Rainbow had to force herself to calm down, gritting her teeth. It didn't matter. It didn’t matter if Twilight fought tooth and nail to stay in this library. If she had to knock Twilight out and physically carry her out if this place, she’d do it. If this was to be her own version of Orpheus’s task, then so be it. She cared about Twilight far too much to let some measly curse stop her from bringing the alicorn back.
Rainbow Dash was not as weak as Orpheus.
She pushed through the darkness defiantly, the echoing sound of her steps filling her ears. There was nothing in this place that would stop her. Nothing that could stop her. Honestly, she felt bad for anything that tried.
Her hooves stopped dead moments later when a new sound reached her ears. It was distant, but clearly defined; a groaning creaking. Like old metal hinges. A metal gate being opened and closed slowly, as though blowing in the breeze. Unlike the sound of the halls shifting, this one came from ahead of her rather than behind, and Rainbow squinted forward, ears swiveling. The sound grew louder. Came closer.
A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as from the inky black depths ahead a pale white light appeared, rocking back and forth in time with the squeaking sound. Rainbow didn’t know what it was, but some base, primal instinct buried inside her told her all she needed to know.
Run.
But her hooves felt like lead, and she was rooted to the spot as the white light came closer, slowly. Rocking back and forth... back and forth in the darkness. Finally, it came close enough that she could see what it was; a lantern, casting a pale flickering light like nothing she’d ever seen before. It swung from side to side, its metal hing the source of the sound. But what was beyond the lantern made Rainbow’s blood freeze in her veins.
The ring of the lanter was hooked onto a metal pole, the other end of which disappeared into a tattered black cloak roughly in the shape of a pony, but larger. As tall as Princess Celestia, the cloaked figure didn’t walk so much as floated forward without making a sound save for its lantern. The cloak didn’t quite touch the floor, and there were no hooves either; the entire thing was floating. If Rainbow didn’t know better, she’d have sworn there wasn’t anything under the cloak at all.
When the thing was just a dozen feat away, something in Rainbow Dash kicked back into gear, and she turned on a dime and flew down the hall as fast as her wings would carry her. The trail of wind behind her knocked several books off the shelves, but she didn’t care. Didn’t bother looking back. She could still hear the creaking of the lantern. It was faster, now. She didn’t need to check to know the thing was chasing her.
It was slow, though, and it didn’t take long for the sound to fade into the distance as Rainbow came to a T and turned left around the corner, and was forced to fan her wings wide to slow herself before crashing into a shelf.
It was a dead end. So was the other path from the intersection.
Rainbow turned around and cautiously peeked past the corner, ears perked and ready she she tried to block out the sound of her own heartbeat. The darkness remained silent for a few, tense seconds.
Then she heard it again. Faster. Coming closer. It sounded like somepony slamming a heavy iron door. She swallowed thickly, backing away and looking for a way out. It wouldn’t be long before that thing was on top of her, and she’d rather not find out what it was going to do.
“H-help! Somepony help me!”
Rainbow ‘s jaw dropped, and she rushed back to the hall. There, in the distance, was another pony; an earth pony stallion, a panicked look on his face as he sprinted down the hall towards her. The white light wasn’t far behind him, and it seemed to be gaining ground. How he got behind her she hadn’t the foggiest idea, but her heart sank as she realized he was about to run into the same trap as her, and lead the thing right to them.
“C’mon, Dash, think!” She shouted at herself, running her hoof along the shelf at the back of the dead end. There must have been a path on the other side. The wood was thick, but she might have been able to break it down. Especially with the boost in her magic, she could probably Rainboom through it. But there was always a chance there was nothing but a stone wall on the other side, and she’d wind up breaking her own neck.
“Somepony! Anypony please!” The stallion’s shouting grew louder, and Rainbow turned just in time to see him reach the T. He turned his back to her and ran down the other path, quickly finding the wall at the back of it. He turned, and his eyes grew wide when he saw Rainbow.
“Hey! You there! Do you-” he was cut off by a scream as the cloaked figure came around the corner, floating towards him. Rainbow backed away from it until her flank bumped the shelf behind her, heart beating against her ribs. The stallion’s screeches echoed through the halls, and she watched as he was forced into a corner. As the creature grew closer, and the pale white light from its lantern touched his hoof, his cried became pained. Rainbow watched in horror as the stallion’s hoof started fading wherever the light touched him.
The floor shook violently, only adding to his cries as the walls shifted around them and Rainbow watched as a shelf grew out of the wall next to her, cutting her off from the stallion and the thing attacking him. She couldn’t do anything but watch as the shelf stopped moving, the shaking stopped, but the stallions screams continue for a few short seconds before they, too, faded.
For a long few moments Rainbow Dash just sat and stared, wide-eyed, at the shelf in front of her. Waiting, hoping to hear the stallion’s voice again. But nothing more came. Not even the creaking of the lantern. She held a hoof to her chest, feeling the thundering of her heart and realizing how fast she was breathing. Slowly, Rainbow turned, and her dead end had become just another hall when the walls shifted. It wasn’t lost on her just how lucky she’d just gotten, hooves too numb to continue forward. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what she’d just witnessed, but she knew she’d not see that stallion again.
It took longer than she realized just to stand up again, and even then her legs shook. What was that thing? What did it do to him? There were too many question, and she didn’t have any answers. All she knew was that she’d never forget those screams, and that, no matter what, she had to stay out of the light.
She stumbled forward blindly. Something in her told her she had to keep moving now. Couldn’t risk stopping. Rainbow pulled the compass from her bag, and watched as it spun in slow circles.
“Twilight…” her lips were dry. The pendant was gripped tightly, and a little bit of Rainbow Dash returned as her breathing slowed. The spinning slowed, but didn’t stop. She shook her head, forcing her breathing to slow even as her heartbeat still rang in her ears. “C’mon, focus!”
Slowly, Rainbow Dash managed to calm her racing heart and spinning thoughts, centering her mind on finding Twilight. Nothing else mattered.
The compass pointed forward again, if shakily, and Rainbow nodded, blowing out a long breath. “Okay…” she looked ahead into the darkness, and a pit formed deep in her stomach. That thing was out there, somewhere, in the twisting corridors. Maybe more than one.
“Can’t think about that right now. Just gotta go.” She took one step forward. Then another. The shaking of her legs steadied gradually, and she managed to start walking.
In and haze Rainbow Dash pushed on. The lack of light seemed to play tricks on her mind. Every time she rounded a corner, for just a split second, she could have sworn she saw that pale light ahead. In the silence, every now and then, she heard the creaking groan of the lantern. Behind her. In front of her. Right next to her.
Before long Rainbow was sprinting down the halls in a panic. Her ears flicked in every direction, trying to pick up on the faintest sound she could have sworn was there. But there was nothing. There was never anything.
Then Rainbow rounded a corner at full speed, glancing back over her shoulder when she swore she saw something, and crashed into something else. Something warm and covered in fur that grunted as it fell away. Rainbow turned forward, and her heart stopped dead. In front of her was a silhouette of a pony, illuminated from behind by the ghostly white light from a large lantern.
Rainbow Dash screamed.
The figure jumped to its hooves and shoved a hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “Quiet! They’ll hear you!”
Rainbow panted through her nose, staring wide eyed at the pony. Slowly the gears in her head turned, and she realized that this was an actual pony, not the thing in a cloak.
That lantern, however, was definitely casting the same white glow on them.
The pony glanced around carefully, before looking back to the pegasus. “You need to be quiet,” she said, slowly removing her hoof when Rainbow nodded her understanding. “Are you okay?”
Rainbow took a big gulp of air. “Y-yeah… yeah I’m okay. Who are you, a-and why do you have…” she trailed off, motioning to the lantern. Now that she could take a step back - and out of the lantern's light - she saw that the mare she’d run into was a unicorn, with a light green coat and silver mane. Light blue stripes ran through her hair and tail as well, sparkling in the white light.
“Name’s Clover,” she said quietly, ears still at attention. Rainbow noticed a pile of books at the mare’s hooves, and a quill resting atop a four leafed clover on her flank. “I’ve got one of their lanterns for protection. Judging from that question, though, you’re new around here.”
“You could say that.”
Clover, seemingly satisfied Rainbows not-at-all terrified screaming hadn’t attracted anything, visibly relaxed and turned to face the pegasus properly. “Look, it’s a lot to go through, and we’re not safe down here. Follow me.” Without waiting for a response she picked up the lantern in her jaw and started down the hall.
For a moment Rainbow hesitated, but when she glanced back over her shoulder at the endless dark, she decided it best to stick with Clover. She seemed to know what she was talking about, and the mare seemed familiar in a way she couldn’t quite put a hoof on. Hurriedly catching up, Rainbow shivered as she felt that pale light wash over her, and she could see that stallion again. Hear his screams.
“Relax,” Clover mumbled quietly, taking the lantern from her mouth and into her magical grasp. “I don’t know what you saw, but I’m figuring you had a run in with a Keeper.” She turned abruptly, and Rainbow was surprised as they rounded a corner and came to a staircase leading up. She didn’t think twice about following the unicorn up the stairs, into the more brightly lit floor above.
Clover set the lantern down, falling back onto her haunches. “Alright, we’re safe up here; they don’t come to the upper floors.
“What are they?” Rainbow asked, keeping a suspicious eye on the stairs. “And who are you? And what’s with the lantern? What the hell is going on?”
Holding a hoof over her mouth, Clover had to stifle a chuckle. “Well, I certainly see why you ended up here; you’re as curious as they come. I already told you my name; I’m just a mare who likes books. That’s all. The thing you saw down there is… well we’re not really sure what they are, but we call them the Book Keepers.”
Rainbow shivered. “I… I saw another pony down there. It chased him, a-and… when the light touched him…” she clenched her jaw, screams echoing in her ears.
“They got another one then…” Clover trailed off with a sad sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that; it must have been terrifying. Especially if you didn’t know about them.”
“I-I’m fine, but what happened to him?
Clover frowned deeply. “Nopony really knows. Some say the souls they capture become Keepers themselves, others think their knowledge is added to the Halls. All we know for sure is that once a Keeper catches you, you’re never seen again. Whoever he was, he’s gone.”
“Then… why do you have one of their lanterns?”
“Oh, right.” Clover patted the top of her lantern fondly. “This is the only way to get past the keepers. If you can steal one, you can hide in the light. The Keepers seem to assume anypony with their own lantern is just another Keeper and they ignore us. For the most part…” she trailed off with a melancholy look in her eye. “A lot of people gave their souls to find a way past the Keepers.
“But enough about that,” she said with a smile, the fog lifting from her gaze. “What about you? How long have you been in the Halls?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Half a day maybe? It’s hard to tell. I’m-”
“Half a day? And you’re already delving into the deeper levels?” Clover raised an eyebrow. “Either you’re a fast reader, or you’re looking for some very specific knowledge.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Rainbow chuckled humorlessly. “I’m actually here to find somepony. I don’t suppose you’ve seen an alicorn wandering around down there? Lavender coat with a purple mane, name’s Twilight Sparkle.”
Clover’s eyes widened. “You know Twilight!?”
“You’ve met her!?” Rainbow asked excitedly.
“Yeah, yeah; Twilight’s been here ages now. I met her on the upper floors a long time ago. Taught her the ropes of the Halls myself. Helped her steal a lantern for herself when she wanted to go to the deeper levels. Said she was looking for something specific down there. Why are you-”
Rainbow cut through her words, grabbing the unicorn by the shoulders. “Can you take me to her?”
“Probably? But why-”
“Let’s go.” Rainbow started toward the stairs. “I’ve taken long enough already.”
“Hey!” Clover shouted, grabbing the pegasus’s tail in her magic. “You haven’t even told me your name! Why are you looking for Twilight?”
Rainbow yanked her tail free, rolling her eyes. “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I’m here to bring Twilight back to life.”
Rainbow glared into the darkness ahead, ruffling her feathers.
“Fascinating.”
Another hoof prodded her side, and Rainbow’s already limited patience snapped like a dry twig. “Enough!” She smacked Clover’s leg away. “What’s your issue?”
Clover shrugged. “Sorry! I’m just curious; I’ve never seen a living pony here. You shouldn’t be here; you’re wrong. It’s interesting!”
“Could you stop poking at me?” Rainbow’s teeth ground together, and she slowed as they came to another fork. “Which way?”
“Hmm? Oh. Left,” Clover answered distractedly, hovering around the pegasus and fawning over her like a certain orange filly used to. “So how did you get here?”
Rainbow grunted. “Told you; I crossed a river in a boat, then a bridge, then through the big door.”
“Details!” Clover practically hissed, taking Rainbow’s wing in her hoof and ruffling through the feathers. “Excellent wing care, by the by. Did you fly for a living? Military, maybe?”
Rainbow snapped her wing closed. “Knock it off. I’m not some specimen in a jar you can study.”
“Fiiiiine.” Clover sighed, doing her best pout. “Right ahead, by the way,” she commented, before once again focusing on the pegasus. “So, how’d you make it to the Underworld alive?”
“Boat.” Rainbow answered flatly.
Clover groaned. “Yes, you said that, but what boat? Did you cross the Acheron? How did you get across?”
Rainbow stopped walking, and the unicorn bumped into her flank as she whirled around. “Look, Clover. You’re a nice mare. A little annoying, but nice, and you’re doing me a huge favour here, and I appreciate it. But stop with the prodding. I’m here for Twilight, that’s all you need to know. I’m not in the mood to answer a hundred different questions, alright?”
Without waiting for a reply Rainbow turned and continue forward, making sure Clover still kept up with the lantern. “Which way?”
“S-straight…”
Rainbow nodded to herself, passing through an intersection. A few moments passed, and Rainbow welcomed the silence again. She’d grown accustomed to it more than she’d realized. Though she could practically hear the pouting unicorn behind her, she didn’t feel bad. Well… maybe a little for snapping like that, but Clover had it coming.
The floor shook, and the halls behind them shifted. The rumbling settled, and Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. There was still nothing back there except a sulking mare. She bit her lip to stop of grunting.
“I’m… sorry…” Rainbow muttered quietly. “It’s been… stressful.”
Clover seemed to perk up instantly. “Oh, that’s okay! I totally understand; you’re on a mission to find your friend, all serious and stuff. At the risk of your own life. Have you read Orpheus’s Journey? It’s very similar to what you’re doing. I’ve often wondered if those stories had any truth to them, and-”
Rainbow just tuned her rambling out, rolling her eyes. Though she couldn’t help the small smile on her lips as various memories of Twilight doing much the same filled her head. Soon, she thought, glancing down at her necklace.
When she glanced back up, there was a pale white light coming towards them. She heard the creaking of the lantern, and realized Clover had stopped talking.
“Hey!” Rainbow whisper-shouted over her shoulder, motioning ahead. “What do we do?”
Clover nodded. “It’s okay; as long as we don’t make any noise it’ll pass by us. Just stick to the wall.” They made their way over to the edge of the hall, continue forward more slowly. The light glot closer, and Rainbow shuddered as she saw that same tattered black coat. The Keeper floated towards them slowly, lantern swaying from side to side. When it came close, Rainbow felt Clover grab her, miming a shushing motion as they pressed themselves into the wall.
The Keeper floated along, lantern creaking and groaning, and paid no attention to them. It moved past and Rainbow let out the breath she’d been holding as it faded into the darkness behind them, only its pale white light visible. For a few tense moments they waited, then finally Clover stepped away from the wall. “Come on; it’s far enough away now.”
Rainbow nodded, wasting no time and hurrying forward, throwing the occasional glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t stop her hooves from shaking. “I thought this was supposed to be eternal paradise,” she muttered. “Why is this place trying to kill us?”
“To be fair, the upper floors are harmless. For the most part. It’s only the lower floors that are guarded.”
“It’s not just them,” Rainbow argued. “The curse, too; this place tries to trap you here. What kind of paradise is this?”
Clover sighed. “It’s the Hall’s way of making sure we don’t bring forbidden knowledge to the living realm. Think about it; you’ve made it here, and there’s information on the deeper floors that no one should ever have. It’s harmless within the Halls, but if a book makes it to the mortal world there would be chaos. I’ve found a lot of spells that if they fell into the wrong hands would very likely spell doom for Equestria. There are books down here that haven’t even been written yet. Could you imagine if knowledge from the future made it back to Equestria? It’s for the best that no knowledge ever leaves this place, and it’s the price you pay for that knowledge that you never leave either.”
“It’s stupid, and I’m leaving with Twilight if it kills me.”
There wasn’t anything to say to that, and the two continued in silence down the hall. For a while the only communication between them was Clover’s directions, and eventually they descended yet another staircase.
Rainbow barely registered it, lost in her own thoughts. She knew taking Twilight out of here would be a challenge, and the way she could feel her own mind turning on her, starting to believe she should just stay here, with Twilight, wasn’t helping.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, if she just stayed. At least she’d be with Twilight…
No. No. Their friends were waiting for them. She couldn’t let them down, no matter what.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Huh?” Rainbow turned, looking to Clover. “You say something?”
The unicorn shook her head, and Rainbow frowned, but shrugged it off. The dark was playing tricks on her. It had been quiet for far too long.
“I have the answers you seek.”
Rainbow’s ears swiveled. She knew she’d heard something. There it was again; that small scratching, right in her ear. Louder, this time. She looked to the books, and tripped over her own hooves when she caught sight of one of the spines, labeled ‘Twilight’s Feelings’.
“Hey, you okay?” Clover rushed over, helping Rainbow stand.
The pegasus shook her head, and the book’s title had changed to some language she didn’t recognize. “Y-yeah… just the light playing tricks on me…”
Clover watched her suspiciously, but after a few moments accepted the excuse, though she kept one eye on Rainbow.
“Don’t you want to know?”
Rainbow scanned the shelves, looking for that book.
“Don’t you want to know how she feels?”
She spotted it again, glowing faintly as though it were calling out to her in the dark. Without a second thought Rainbow started towards it, reaching out a hoof to grab it. She needed to know. Needed to know if Twilight felt the same. If Twilight blamed her. If the alicorn could ever forgive her for what she’d done. She needed to-
“Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it!”
Rainbow jolted awake and looked to the book she was reaching for. It was nondescript, and its spine held no title. She backed away slowly. “W-what’s going on?”
“It’s part of the curse,” Clover explained quickly, ushering the pegasus away from the shelves. “There are some books here that act the same as the Keepers; if you open them they’ll trap your soul in this library forever. You need to stay focused.”
“Sure… sure…” Rainbow shuddered, eyeing the shelves before following Clover. “This is not my idea of eternal paradise…” She trailed off, and the quiet moved in again. The sounds, too; the scratching in her ear, the whispering from the books. She heard it clearly, now. Murmurs from the shelves, promising her all the things she wished she knew. Just barely there at all, like an itch on the back of her brain.
“Sooooo...” Rainbow Dash started awkwardly, the silent whispers having grown a little too much for her. “You said Twilight was looking for something specific?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah,” Clover shrugged. “Didn’t tell me what it was, just that she needed to know where the books on the Tree of Harmony were kept.”
Of course. Twilight never had figured out the mystery behind that box the Tree have given her. Rainbow rolled her eyes, then paused as something caught her attention. “Wait… you mean this place is actually organized?”
Clover raised an eyebrow. “Well… yeah? It’s a library,” she deadpanned. “What kind of library isn’t organized? We’ve mapped out most of the library for twelve floors, and are working on the lower ones.”
“How? The place is constantly changing!”
“The halls shift, yes, but it’s like… if you take the right series of turns, you’ll come out the same place every time. Like, two lefts, a right, straight through and two lefts on the third floor will bring you to a section on the history of the Gryphon Empire. Finding things isn’t hard when you know what you’re looking for. It’s the same with finding the staircases. Just knowing the right turns to take will get you there.”
Rainbow could already feel a headache developing. “And… how deep did Twilight go?”
They rounded a corner, and Clover motioned ahead with a hoof. “Not too far.”
Rainbow turned, and froze. Down the hall in front of them were several tall stacks of books. On top of one pile was a lantern that cast a pale white light over a lavender mare with a purple mane, head buried in a book as it always was.
“T-Twilight…”