--- Insomniac Investigation ---
After convincing Rainbow Dash to let her help in this endeavor, Twilight allowed the conversation to fall silent for a time. Both of them needed a few moments to calm down and process what had just happened, and neither one of them was ready to break the healing silence. And they had ample time to do so, as all of Rainbow Dash's twisting and turning about to try and shake Twilight off of her trail had resulted in them ending up rather far away from the operative's objective—or at least, that was what Rainbow Dash had claimed. So if nothing else, they had more then enough time to enough to recuperate.
And the moonlit stroll the two found themselves on served as a good method of doing just that. Even if the moon itself seemed to be at the center of all of this. With just Twilight's admittedly vague knowledge of both the Mare in the Moon and the Moonlight Choir, it was hard to view the silver celestial body with anything other than animosity and dread. As the duo continued throughout the darkened Ponyville, Twilight couldn't help but gaze up to the moon every now and again. Questions bouncing to and fro in her head, just begging for answers. But every attempt to poke and prod at the pegasus who had these answers was frustratingly met with the same old responce.
"For the last time, I'm not going to tell you."
Dash's resolved confirmation was just as stern and unwavering the sixth time as it was the first. She wasn't going to budge on this subject any time soon, and that was a hard pill to swallow. But it was understandable enough, even Twilight could admit that much. The alicorn was the one who was butting in where she didn't have any "real" reason to do so, from a legal standpoint at least, so she was lucky she wasn't being arrested right about now. Though perhaps that had something to do with Dash knowing that Twilight really was, and not being one hundred percent sure if she could even subdue an alicorn. Or Dash was just bad at keeping these kinds of secrets, and letting Twilight help was the best method of damage control.
But the exact reason behind Twilight being allowed to contribute wasn't something of great importance, especially not after it was made clear where Dash was going this evening. Though how Twilight didn't guess that the Golden Oak's library was the target was something of a mystery, it seemed a bit obvious in retrospect. When investigating a crime, go to the scene. They were approaching the building from off to the side, the part of the building that had the least amount of windows notably enough—obviously a measure to try and prevent detection on Rainbow's part. And the desire to remain discreet was made clear when the pegasus subtly gestured for Twilight to keep her head low as the two drew closer to the building.
"I'm guessing you've met old Onwud by now?" Dash asked in a somewhat casual tone as she began converting a series of nearby bushes into something of a makeshift hiding spot. "Not to typecast, but you always were a bookworm, last I checked." Once she was satisfied with her work, her attention was turned towards the window nearest to the front entrance. She pressed her face up against the glass and squinted, peering into the darkened library for any sign of movement or life.
"You could say that..." Twilight didn't think it would be very wise to bring up her current state employment at this facility, or very relevant to the current situation. She was lucky enough that she wasn't facing any serious repercussions for tagging along on this officially sanctioned endeavor of Rainbow's—at least, none as of yet—and she didn't want to try and say anything that could potentially link her to this potential criminal.
That was the plan, at least. But Twilight wasn't even given enough time to say anything even a little bit incriminating, as she soon had to deal with the sensation of Dash wrapping a leg around her neck and yanking her down towards the ground. There wasn't even time to register what had happened before Twilight found herself nestled beside her former flying coach within the bush-made-fort.
"Rainbow, what are you—?!"
"Quiet," Dash hissed in responce, pushing a few leaves out of the way so the two of them could peer into the outside world. "Somebody's coming out!"
The creaky sound of Golden Oak's door opening was the next thing to reach Twilight's ears, just as Dash had forwarned. Both of them had their full attention to whoever was coming out of the library. Rainbow Dash apparently had the same idea, slowly and carefully shuffling forward and lifting her head ever so slightly to peer over the shrubbery, actions that were carefully mimicked by Twilight. Though much to her shock, there wasn't a single pony making their way out of the building. No, instead there were two individuals who were taking their first steps through the door. Walking side by side were two ponies who Twilight was actually able to recognize.
It was strange seeing Knox Onwud after the events of the past few days was a bizarre and unusual sensation. It seemed like yesterday where Twilight thought of him as nothing more than a kindly old stallion who ran the local library, but now she wasn't quite sure what to think. Dangerous, he was definitely dangerous. Or at the very least he had ill intentions, as far as Twilight was aware. This assumption was only reinforced by the look in his eyes. There was only the slightest opportunity to see his expression from this angle, but that was all it took to see that it was cold, cunning, yet oddly satisfied. The best way to describe his expression would be as that of an evil mastermind who's schemes have come to fruition. A look that chilled Twilight down to the bone.
Then there was the matter of the second pony, who's most noticeable was the silver watch that hung around her neck. The very same mare who had shown up the other day with that dusty old book, now confirmed to be working with the old sarosian in whatever scheme he was brewing. She was walking a short way ahead of the older stallion, almost as if he were walking her out as a host would a houseguest. The look on her face was far more dreary then her companion, either she was very tired or not at all happy about whatever it was that had happened there.
Once outside the confines of the old library, the unicorn mare turned around to begin addressing the old sarosian—who still had his back turned towards the building, and by extension Twilight and Rainbow. Though the exact details of how this conversation started were lost upon Twilight, thanks to Rainbow and her sudden urge to think out loud.
"Who in the world is that?!" Rainbow almost silently muttered, only loud enough for Twilight to possibly hear. Though it was evident that the question wasn't for the nearby alicorn outright, it didn't do much to stop Twilight from giving an answer. After all, it took longer then it should have, but it was at this exact moment where Twilight managed to remember that mare's name.
"Starlight Glimmer..."
Her realization was notably louder than Dash's inquiry, made evidence when Starlight's head darted ever so slightly to the side. Her eyes now peering right passed Knox Onwud and now falling upon the series of shrubs that Twilight and Rainbow found themselves hiding in. There was a brief flicker of shock upon her face, but she made no other outward announcement of her discovery. Instead, she simply stared at the bushes.
And both of the mares hiding within the flora froze on the spot. Through the small gap in the leaves that had been made earlier, Twilight could clearly see that the other mare's eyes were locked solely on her. Their eyes were locked in spite of the distance, light, and everything else between them that should have served to hinder it. Twilight wasn't even sure if the unicorn could see her or not. She shouldn't be able to see her, but given the way the mare with the watch was staring Twilight honestly wasn't sure.
"What is it?" Knox's voice cut through the darkness and tension of the situation, the stallion having noticed Starlight's loss of focus in the few brief seconds that had passed. His tone cold and sharp as a brutal knife, even offering his own piercing gaze towards the bushes himself. Yet unlike his compatriot, he didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary at first.
"... Nothing, I think it was just a squirrel or something," Starlight responded. She looked away from the makeshift hiding place and back to her associate. "It's not important."
"Hmm... you might be right..." Knox gazed at the bushes for a brief bit longer before turning back to Starlight. "I suppose we're both a little jumpy. The big night is just around the corner."
"Speaking of, I've actually been thinking about that," there was a slightly nervous chortle as she continued, gesturing with a hoof in an almost overly casual sense, "We've both been working really hard getting everything ready. So I was thinking that maybe we both deserve a little... reward for our hard work? Nothing too fancy... maybe a couple of drinks between friends?" The offer was made with all the tact and grace of a child asking for their birthday presents early. There was some kind of ulterior motive behind the suggestion, that much was clear enough. But whatever it was, it was something known only to the unicorn with the watch.
Her words were left to hang awkwardly in the air for a time, leaving a gracious opportunity for the three other ponies to try and decipher whatever meaning they had in truth. To Twilight's ears, at the very least, the offer sounded forced and improvised. Even more so considering that it came after her supposed discovery of the two hiding in the bushes, almost as if the unicorn didn't want her sarosian friend to make the same realization. But no matter what angle Twilight approached the question from, the reasons that drove these actions remained elusive and enigmatic.
"I'm sorry... what?" Knox responded after a pause, his tone making it clear that he was surprised by her suggestion.
" We're probably more than a bit overworked, I'm not gonna lie. And we've done more than our fair share for the cause," Starlight continued with a shrug, "Who's to say that we can't take one night to unwind?"
"Hmm... We have been pulling most of the weight..." A wing flexed around from his back, being used to scratch at his chin as he pondered the unicorn's words. Even from her limited perspective, Twilight was able to parse that the offer was being considered heavily. "That much is true."
"Then let's just go. You've been in town for a few years now, surely you've found a good bar or pub by now. My treat."
Knox's ears perked up before an almost giddy chuckle escaped his throat. "Well now, why didn't you open with that?" That was all it took for the two to be on their way. They only lingered for a moment to allow for the elder of the two to lock the door, and then they were off. Knox was leading the way, seeming as if he already had an establishment in mind for the evening of merriment ahead of them. Starlight followed dutifully behind, only offering the library the shortest of glimpses back before heading off. Twilight watched the two of them left without a further shred of attention being spared on her or Rainbow. Even still, she did not move from her hiding spot, still worried that she'd be caught by one of them. And that worry kept her frozen in place and kept here breaths slow and shallow.
This sentiment was not shared with Rainbow Dash, however, and it wasn't long before she practically threw herself out of the shrubs with great enthusiasm. She quickly spun around on her hooves and gazed back towards Twilight.
"There's no way she didn't see us," she barked through gritted teeth, "Why did you blow our cover?!"
"You're the one who asked who she was," Twilight gave her rebuttal as she stood up herself, shaking loose the leaves that had clung to her and her cloak while she stepped forward.
"But I didn't ask loud enough to be heard from Canterlot!" Dash groaned and rolled her eyes in frustration, very clearly regretting a number of decisions that she had made this evening. But instead of telling Twilight to take a hike—or arrest her—she instead went over to the library's front door and began investigating the locked barricade. "Well, you seem to know her. Care to share with the rest of the class?"
"I've... only met her one time. Frankly, I'm surprised I remembered her name... She was returning a book. I think you already know which one."
"MmmHmm," Dash murmured back as she freed one of her wings from beneath her saddlebags. She was only half paying attention to Twilight as she swiftly plucked two of her own feathers. These feathers were then taken into her hooves and skillfully inserted into the keyhole, with Dash beginning to twist and push them about methodically. "Anything else?"
"Only that she was acting really nervous," Twilight recalled aloud. She stopped for a moment to try and recollect her previous encounter with that mare, as she hadn't put much thought on it since it had happened. The memories were a bit fuzzy but clear enough to pull an answer from. "It was like she was... afraid of me. If I had to guess." And guessing was as far as she could go with that strange mare.
Rainbow shifted her attention back towards Twilight for only a moment, a look of concerned curiosity upon her face. But just as quickly as Twilight had regained the Black Hoof's attention it was lost once more when Rainbow returned her attention to the locked door. It was only now that she could be bothered to pay attention to whatever it was that her old flying coach was doing—still fidgeting about with those two feathers she had stuck into the door's locking mechanism. There seemed to be a method to the madness, as the movements weren't quite as random as one might think at first glance. It was obvious enough as to what the mare was attempting to do, as impossible as such an act seemed to be with simple feathers.
And it was made even clearer as the lock clicked, the door creaked, and the passageway was opened with a nudge of Dash's hoof. Much to Twilight's astonishment and the pegasus's delight.
"Did you just... pick a lock with some feathers?"
"Yes I did," the pegasus was practically a glowing beacon of pride, "Pretty cool, right?"
Twilight slowly nodded with a slight shrug. Even she couldn't deny that it was actually pretty impressive. "So... was that a Wonderbolt trick or a Black Hoof trick?"
"Neither. That one came from my dad." That was the last time that Dash's feat was brought up, Twilight having nothing further to add after that particular titbit. Of course, she had learned that skill from someone in her family. It just made too much sense. And Twilight shuddered at the thought of what kind of stallion would teach her daughter to pick a lock. Probably the same kind of father who would raise a pony like Rainbow, all things considered. Probably someone very loud and very bombastic. Someone Twilight was glad wasn't at the train station earlier today, for better or worse.
This brief bit of mental wondering was cut short when Dash stopped partway into the library, cutting off Twilight from entering the premises herself.
"So... I know I said I'd let you help and all..." Dash began to murmur in an almost pleading manner, "But is there any chance that 'helping out' can translate to 'keeping watch'?"
The nonchalantly narrow-eyed look that Twilight responded with was worth a thousand words. That lazy, almost bored look upon her face was the only answer that Twilight found appropriate in this scenario. In essence, it was almost more of a lack of reaction, an expression that lacked any and all sign of emotion—not unlike Pinkie's older sister, Maud. But it was definitive enough to get Twilight's point across without fail, made clear when Dash let out a low groan of defeat.
"Yeah, I figured as much. Come on then, who knows how long we have 'till they come back?" Twilight couldn't help but smirk at that as she followed Rainbow into the building, making sure to close the door behind her as to cover their tracks.
The Golden Oak's library was a setting that Twilight had become rather familiar with during her extended stay in Ponyville, but entering this place at night was like walking into another world. Doubly so, now that she had some vague idea of the sinister machinations that were being housed here. Without the lamps and sunlight, the space was almost oppressively darkened by the intense shadows, only contrasted by the pale moonlight as it filtered into the room through the windows—but even this was only a reminder of the dangers that lurked further within. The two of them wasted no time in searching down here, they both knew that whatever secrets were held within these tree forged walls would be found on the third floor and the third floor alone. So the two mares ascended, the old stairs creaking beneath their hooves with almost every step. And with every step they took, the light of the moon became fainter and fainter as the darkness all but swallowed them whole.
And soon enough, Twilight and Dash found themselves at the closed door leading to the third floor. It towered over Twilight like a monolith, or at least it seemed to in what little light was able to reach this place. And while Twilight found herself hesitating at the prospect of going forward, Rainbow showed no such concerns as she pushed the door open. And as the old hinges creaked and the barricade was pushed to the side, their eyes were finally met with an absolutely pitch-black abyss. It was as if this was where the world ended, and all that was beyond this point was an infinite inky void.
A void that Rainbow Dash walked headlong into without any delay. And like a canary in a coal mine, the Black Hoof's action served an important roll in letting Twilight know that the room wasn't booby-trapped. Or at least not trapped to the degree of making the room explode upon unauthorized entry—or something else as ridiculously over the top. Which was better than nothing, all things considered.
"Hey, egghead," Dash's voice echoed out of the darkness, almost startling Twilight as she had almost forgotten that the pegasus was even in there. "I'm letting you tag along on my job, could you at least give me some light?"
Getting over the brief moment of unnecessary shock rather quickly, Twilight rolled her eyes as she stepped into the darkness in turn. As requested, her horn became enveloped by arcane light. Though the glow from her horn wasn't nearly as bright as what she was capable of, and the spell didn't last anywhere near as long. Instead, the magenta aura condensed into a small dim sphere at the tip of her horn—no bigger than a firefly—and it began lazily moving forward towards the center of the ceiling. This was intentional on Twilight's part though, as she had something a bit more potent in mind than just a simple glowing horn.
"Uhh... I had something a bit... brighter in mind..." By the sound of it, Dash didn't exactly sound too impressed with what Twilight had planned.
"Don't look directly at it." Twilight headed her own warning by averting her gaze—tightly shutting her eyes for good measure. The suggestion did fall on deaf ears though, evidence by the loud "huh?" that was uttered at that exact moment. And then it happened, the loud arcane "pop" served as the signal that it was safe to open one's eyes. But that sudden sense of safety was contradicted by the loud shriek of mixed surprise and pain, followed by the unmistakable thud of a grown mare falling upon the ground in a heap. The gift of sight wasn't needed to figure out what had happened, Rainbow obviously didn't listen to Twilight's sage advice.
The cloaked alicorn corrected her posture and opened her eyes, greeted not to darkness but instead something that could almost be compared to sunlight. And in this newfound light, Twilight was free to see what exactly was held within this place. Unsurprisingly accurate to Fluttershy's testimony, the dusty and derelict room was littered with various desks and tables—some clothed, some not. Each had a number of books resting upon them, some of which Twilight was actually able to recognize from a distance. After all, some of the books that she had sold to Knox during her first few days here could be found among this hidden collection. Thick looking tarps held the windows hostage, responsible for the oppressive darkness that had just been vanquished. The only real difference from the story was what hung in the air in the center of the room, a glowing sphere that could accurately be described as a miniature sun. While not as intense as the celestial body it was designed to mimic, it was more than bright enough to cause a bit of discomfort if one were to look right at it.
Doubly so while it was in the process of forming. And speaking of which, a stunned Rainbow Dash could be found laying on the floor a few steps away from Twilight. The shocked mare rubbed at her eyes in some vain attempt to undo what had already been done, moaning and groaning in an almost disoriented manner. But it wasn't long before the pegasus was able to collect her bearings, shakily dragging herself off of the ground with a bit of assistance on Twilight's behalf. It took longer for her to open her now impossibly dilated and watery eyes, rapidly blinking them as she tried to regain her sight. Permanent damage didn't seem to be on the table, thankfully enough, made clear when Dash angrily turned a furious glare to Twilight.
"What the buck was THAT?!" Angry was too weak of a word to describe the cadence carried in Dash's question.
"Portable sunlight," Twilight had to fight back a bit of a giggle at her friend's overblown reaction, "Just a little trick I picked up from the Queen back in the day."
"You could have given me a heads up!"
"I told you not to look at it."
The pegasus remained silent, staring bitterly at Twilight for a moment before walking away and shaking her head. Something was murmured under her breath as she did so, and afterward, she turned back to the cloaked pony.
"Okay. You can go ahead and help me look around," Dash attempted to give her instructions as neutrally as possible, in spite of the fact that she was still clearly a bit miffed. "But don't touch anything. Don't read anything. Don't even breathe on anything. The only thing you do is tell me if you see anything suspicious, and then look away!"
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at the strange set of requests. "Then... what's the point of me being here?"
"Because me bringing you was the easier option since you wouldn't just let this go, you nosey brat." The answer came bluntly enough to get Dash's feelings across. "Besides, I can't legally let a civilian do any investigation. But if you just so happen to be here while I'm doing my job and you just so happen to report something odd to me, then that's fine." A not so subtle wink followed suit before Dash ceased giving the cloaked alicorn any real attention.
Twilight processed the terms she had been given for a short time before shaking her head and just moving along with her own search. She really wasn't in any position to be complaining about not being allowed to break the law any more than she already was. Being here at all was the compromise that Twilight had been wanting, so it wouldn't be a good idea to try and pry for anything more than she already had.
Thus she went forward, beginning her search for the answers to any of her many questions she had been asking for days now. How it took her so long to try coming in here herself was baffling, but she was finally ready to search the lion's den. Thankfully, the past few days had given her some vague idea of what to look for. The old book she'd been seeing in her dreams, as well as the two unusual objects that Fluttershy had described in her story—a strange necklace and some kind of black rock. Not the most specific of descriptions, but it was better than nothing.