//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: A Study In Magic // Story: Old Stories, Older Curses // by KillerSteel //------------------------------// “What to do, what to do…” The ceiling of Ponyville Library was a very interesting thing; how does bark grow on the inside of a tree like that? How long did it take to get these bookcases cut into the wood? Just how long could Spike lie there on his back, staring up at the ceiling? Answers to these questions seemed to evade the dragon as he thought of ways to beat his boredom. I could go hang out with the Cruasaders. Eh... nah, that’d probably end in… was disaster the word? I think it is. Twilight calls whatever the Crusaders do a ‘disaster’. Isn't that kinda mean? Guess I could ask her. “Never felt this bored before. Usually chores keep me occupied all day, but today? Things just felt… simple? Easy? I dunno, maybe I’m just getting better at cleaning up… and maybe this boredom is driving me crazy, since I’m talking to the ceiling. Trees are alive though… maybe it’s not talking to myself?” Spike scratched his chin in thought. Talking to inanimate objects was usually a sign of one going insane, but the library was alive… so did that mean he was talking to a plant? Plants aren’t inanimate, are they? What the hay does ‘inanimate’ mean anyway? A loud crack and a bright flash of light stole away all manner of coherent thought from the dragon, and he responds to this complete derailment of his mind in the best way possible; he quickly jumped up and dove behind the couch for cover. Peeking over it after a few moments, he spotted Twilight, looking quite panicked. “Spike!? Spike! Where are you?!” She screamed. She’s looking for me? What’s with that look in her eye? Oh no, it's not the Princess again, is it? “I-I’m over here, Twilight! What’s going on?” Spike shouted, pulling himself over the back of the couch and onto the seat. Something’s wrong, very very wrong. Twilight only gets like this when she misses a deadline, and that usually means her really crazy side is right around the corner… and that’s not fun. I don't wanna restock everything again! Twilight quickly spun around to face him, the panicked stare derailing the dragon's train of fearful thought, “Quill. Parchment. Now,” She ordered, and Spike quickly jumped up into a salute; Something is wrong! “We’re sending a letter to the Princess, and I’m leaving for Canterlot soon.” “Say what? Why?” Spike asked as he set about his task, digging through the bookcases for the needed supplies. Where did I put them? Historical section… between uh… G and I? “You don’t need to worry about that, I just need you to write something quickly and send it, then I’m off to Canterlot,” Twilight started yanking books off the shelves. The Magic section? Is she studying a new spell to wow the Princess or something? He decided not to press the issue, simply gathering the needed materials, going through a short mental checklist. Parchment, check. Quill, check. Ink pot, check. Panic? Considering she's already been here and made a letter to Princess Celestia about the Guard... well, already over that cliff and right into the canyon. “Ready t’ go, Twilight,” Spike nodded, quill and paper at the ready, furrowed brow made for insurance; he had to look serious to be serious! He dipped the quill into the inkpot on the floor beside him and braced himself. Whatever’s coming is gonna be a real long run-on sentence… “Alright. Write as I speak,” Twilight said with a nod, reading tomes as she paced back and forth, starting to dig a trench again. Splitting her brain between three things? Did the Princess order a two-hundred page report due tomorrow? She isn’t like this, usually. ”Dear Celestia, this is an urgent request for access to the Canterlot Archives. Something has happened that requires your immediate attention, which I will explain in full upon my arrival. I am leaving immediately, so please spare Spike the reply. Yours truly, Twilight.” Warning lights thought dormant start going off in Spike’s head, signalling something similar to Nightmare Moon’s second coming. “W-Wait, something happened? What’s going on, Twilight?” “Send it,” Twilight didn't even look up from her book. Why is she so serious? “R-Right…” Spike slowly nodded and wrapped up the letter, sealing it. With a quick blast of green flame, the letter was blown off on its single-minded trail to the Princess, leaving Spike with his thoughts. Why do these things keep stacking up? Why does Twilight suddenly need access to the biggest library in Equestria? I thought it was open to everypony. “Twilight…seriously, you’re freaking me out here. What’s going on?” “I don’t want to talk about it,” Twilight said, slamming a book closed and placing it back on the shelf. She mumbled somthing in passive thought, ‘necro’ being the only noticeable term in her speech. “I’m leaving right now.” “Wait, I’m coming with you!” “No you aren’t, Spike, I need somepony to watch the library, and you’re the only one I trust. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, and I don’t know what state I’ll be in when I come back… just stay safe,” Worry finally broke through her stalwart look as she headed to the door, "If Fluttershy and Rarity come by, tell them I'm in Canterlot and won't be back for a while!" “Twilight! Hey!” Spike shouted, only the slamming of a door being provided as an answer. Twilight, the most level-headed pony in Ponyville… sent into a panic, and she’s not saying why? “Just…what in the hay is going on?” Spike tilts his head slightly in thought, thinking of what to do. He could go after her, try and figure things out, but right now she’d just teleport him back to the library. “I can barely think of what’s going through her head on a good day; what’s got her so wound up now?” "Two teleports, two letters, and now she's running off to the Archives? Fluttershy and Lady Rarity coming by? And I don't know a single thing, great. Maybe I can ask Lady Rarity, so not much point in freaking out if they're already coming here. I'll wait ten minutes, then head to the Boutique, see if they're there," He whispered to himself, satisfied with his plan; guess this day wasn't going to be as boring as he first thought. “What can I do, anyway? It’s better to let her sort things out and calm down,” Spike rubbed the back of his neck in idle thought; what was there to do while he waited? Well, he was staring at the ceiling before. And stare at the ceiling he continued to do, only in a new position; a weird sitting position, with his feet over the back of the couch and his back on the cushion. So what if the blood rushed to his head? Maybe it’d kill time faster. “C’mon, gotta make it to the train!” Twilight whispered to herself in the middle of a mad sprint through the streets. An unplanned visit to the Princess? Desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was about as desperate as Twilight could get. Rainbow was dead, an Element of Harmony cut off from the world, but maybe it wouldn’t have to stay that way. Maybe the Archives held some long-lost secret? Starswirl the Bearded figured out time travel, for Celestia's sake! This kind of science had to at least have been studied in one way or another! "Hi, Twilight! Whatcha doin'!?" Pinkie? Now of all times!? "Uh, just heading to er..." "Looks like you're going to the train station!" "Yyyyes! That's where I'm going! Why?" "Just wondering! I was actually looking for you!" "And why's that?" "I need some help with a new recipe, and I thought with your magick-y stuff, you could help me bake it faster!" "Now's not the time, Pinkie!" "Aww, c'mon! It'll take five minutes, I promise!" "Pinkie-" "Pleeeeease? I don't ask for much!" Not the puppy eyes, not the pu- oh, she's pulling out the puppy eyes! Diversion, Twilight, diversion! Got it! "Pinkie, I saw a new pony in town!" "You what?!" "Yeah! New pony! He's um...over by the spa!" Good thinking, Twilight! "I'll ask you later then! Bye!" With that, a possible disaster was averted as Pinkie ran off in the opposite direction of the station. Rainbow's death couldn't be revealed just yet, not until Twilight had had a proper chance to research it. Hopefully Fluttershy and Rarity would restrain themselves from blurting the truth first chance they got; if any library in the country had anything on bringing back the dead, it'd be the Archives, and causing a panic when Rainbow could just be brought back would be useless! Right? Right?? One crazed sprint later, and Twilight was at the station. She charged up to the booth, mane most likely in disarray, as it usually was when the librarian was panicking; the poor mare's shocked face in the ticket booth was certainly signal enough! "Ticket! Ticket to Canterlot, now!" "Of course, Miss Sparkle...er, i-is something the mat-" "No talking! Just get me the ticket, please!" Time was of the essence, an essence more critical than anything else in Twilight's life! "Right, here you are. That will be ten bits, please." "Oh, darn it, why'd I forget my money!? Listen, I'm in a really big hurry, can you hold it on a tab until I get back!?" "W-Well, I'm not su-" "Thanks!" The gust of wind created from Twilight running off to the train had to have been quite strong; that mare's mane wouldn't be straight for the next few days. The gust of wind from Twilight sprinting back to the booth and grabbing her ticket only served to mess up the mane more, then again when Twilight ran back to the train. Her friends would be calling her 'Sleepy Bedhead' for the next two weeks! Twilight crashed into her seat, panting; that was the most running she'd ever done in her life. To Tartarus with athletics, not even AJ or Rainbow could run that far! "Allll aboooooard! Mornin' train t' Canterlot! If y' got a ticket, it's invalid after we return! Last call!!" The conductor shouted to the station boarding area as hoofsteps echoed up and down the hallway beside Twilight. I wonder where that accent comes from? Maybe I can think about it after a nice... nap... "Miss? 'Scuze me, miss," Twilight snorted, her eyes fluttering open. She looked around, that stupid haze in her vision obstructing everything. Was the voice speaking to her a pony or some kind of Changeling monster? "We're about t' head back to Ponyville." "Oh! Sorry, sorry! H-Here's my ticket!" "Hm...alright. 'Ave a nice d-" And she was off like a shot, nearly blowing the poor conductor into the wall. He stared down the hallway, wide-eyed. "Oy, reminds me o' the little lassy back home... bleary tornado, that one. What's on this letter anyway?" The conductor raises an eyebrow, taking a note off the other seat and opening it. "The lassy who gave this to me did say del-" I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. "Oh dear." As the crowds of Canterlot parted to allow a very frantic-looking lavender mare by, Twilight retreated to her thoughts; her body could run on its own to the castle, she knew the route like the back of her hoof. Right now, she needed to think of ways to help Rainbow. Now, considering she was already... dead, the many fields of medical research were pretty much rendered null; without a beating heart, the body can't help itself, and without blood, the heart has nothing to pump and the body has no oxygen to feed itself. So what could be done with a mare with no blood? Transfusion? Fill the body back up with as many blood packs as they could get? Even then, the time it would take to fill the body would be extremely long, and the brain would suffer tremendous damage from oxygen deprivation before they managed to even get a litre back into Rainbow's body. What else? Was there a way to save the brain so a transfusion could be done? Re-ignite the pathways? Shocking the body may cause the muscles to respond, but there's no fuel for them to work with! The entire body lacks redundancy for the absence of blood in the circulatory system! Curse Equestrian evolution!! Ok, calm down. There has to be a way! Rainbow can't die! She's the Element of Loyalty, a vital part of Equestria. She wouldn't leave her friends behind...death is the ultimate betrayal, isn't it? Dying, leaving your friends behind...marching off to...th- NO, no! She can be brought back! There has to be a way to save her! Twilight came out of her thoughts in time to see the gates of the castle fly past her, soon charging through a crowd of Royal Guard. No details were ever apparent, but the sheathing of swords was definitely audible; Yeah, training exercise. Twilight shouted a final time before throwing herself at the doors to the main hall of Canterlot Castle. "I'm coming in!!" "Luna, what exactly are you doing?" Celestia raised an eyebrow as she watched her sister float lazily about the main hall, horn clouded by a deep blue. Curtains, cushions, couches and furniture flew about the room, all cloaked in the same starry night. "Re-decorating. We thought that the hall required some 'sprucing up', as the citizens call it," Barely even a whisper. Well, at least Luna was getting better at controlling her voice; it seemed Twilight was right about her learning a few things during the last Nightmare Night. "I'm not sure the hall really needs re-decorating, Luna. It's fine the way it is." "It's been the same way for the last thousand years, sister. Just let us perform, and the hall shall be rendered anew!" Celestia sighed, smirking slightly; if anything, Luna was always determined to finish a task given, even if the task itself was rather mundane. Still, it was less work for the castle staff, so some relief could be taken to that. Watching Luna work away helped provide a distraction, for all it was worth trying to figure out that strange letter that ended up in Celestia's chambers that afternoon. Why would Twilight Sparkle require immediate access to the Archives? So much old information was kept there. Indeed, the genius mage, Starswirl the Bearded's work was contained there as well - it still surprised Celestia how he was able to create and solve Temporal Theory on his own -, but what could Twilight possibly need? Something had happened, certainly. Well, once she a- "I'm coming in!!" "Hm? Do we have a visitor, sister?" Luna asked, looking to the door as it becomes shrouded in a deep purple aura. Oh dear. The doors were thrown open to reveal a lavender mare flying into the hall; quite the jump for a librarian! She crashed to the floor, and the doors slammed shut behind her with shocking force, the wind blast throwing her back onto her hooves. "Well, Twilight Sparkle. To what do I owe the rather... flashy entrance?" Celestia smiled slightly, hoping to hide her worry behind a joke. Everypony liked jokes, right? "Celestia, we have a problem," Twilight walked towards the steps, speaking with a tone that rivalled Captain Armor during his disciplinary lectures with the Guard. Didn't the citizens of Manehatten have a term for this? This dire situation? 'The feces has impacted the rotary device', wasn't it? "Well, Twilight, I find it surprising how you're foregoing title." "I'm sorry, Princess, but we don't have time. I need access to the restricted areas of the Archives, I'll explain on the way." Twilight managed to get one step short of being crushed under a falling alicorn, as her view was blocked by a black chestplate, crescent moon adorning the center. The impact knocked Twilight onto her flank. "We don't believe you should take another step before explaining thyself," Luna leaned down to Twilight's eyes, her own showing off a rather unsettling glare; angering one of the Princesses was a death sentence. "I really am sorry for not addressing the Princess in the proper manner, but every second counts right now! I-I've got... horrible news. It's about Rainbow Dash." Wait a moment... Rainbow Dash? The Element of Loyalty? Celestia thought there might have been something going on with the necklace Dash had worn in the past. It was strange... it was so much like a thousand years ago when she sealed the Elements within her castle after Nightmare Moon's banishment. The Elements had lost their color, and calling out to them resulted in nothing but the typical wind blowing past the trees. That memory played itself again today after checking on the Vault; one of the gemstones had lost its color, growing a deep black... it was cracked. The lightning bolt. "She's..." Celestia had never seen Twilight cry in the past; distraught when she forgot how a spell was weaved, depressed when she failed a test - which was rare enough to suggest a test failure heralded the end of the world -, but never before has a tear left her eyes... the same tears now drawing rivers down her cheeks as her mouth twisted to form the words. A heart-rending sight. "Twilight, please, say no more." "B-but...!" "No. I shall take you to the Archives, and you will have free access to all materials contained within for the rest of the week. Please, lay your worries at rest...I can see this news is very painful to share." "...T-Thank you..." Twilight seemed so determined when she crashed through the door... it didn't require a thought-appraiser to know what happened. Rainbow Dash fell today... and with her, the Element's power. Celestia could only pray the seal on Discord was strong enough to prevent him from escaping; without the Elements, he'd well have free reign unless she could summon up the same kind of power she'd had twelve hundred years ago. Thoughts of the past could wait however. Celestia turned to the West Tower, walking up the steps as Twilight dashed to keep up. They could wait until Rainbow Dash had been taken care of. Was this all related to that escaped prisoner, though? He brought down a company of Guards before escaping the castle and the city... did he really go to Ponyville? It wasn't that long a flight by any stretch of the imagination, and the Lunar Guard detachment that went after him hadn't yet returned... she just hoped that Luna's soldiers would have some good news. "Princess, I have a question..." "Yes?" "It's about the material in the Archives," Twilight was shaken, definitely. There really was only one field of magic suited for fallen soldiers. "Yes, Twilight... there is a section dedicated to necromancy." "Really?" "Yes. It has been sealed for the last four hundred years, however," Now there was a memory that wasn't worth bringing back... she still regretted allowing that research to proceed. "Would I be allowed-" "If my assumption is correct, then it's the one section of the Archives that would be useful to you." The grand threshold of the Archives passed over Celestia's head as she spoke, and she walked into the center of the vast tower of records. Every bit of research not contained in Canterlot's library was held here; notes on pegasi and unicorns, documents on weather pattern theory, even a few enticing novels that were kept for historical value. All the information contained within the tower was preserved using a shield spell known only to the Royal Records Department, the blue glow over the bookcases marking the spell's effect. A thousand years, and none of these books had aged a day... unicorn magic was remarkable. "The section you want is two floors down." "Wait, this is the Archives? I thought it was further up in the main body of the castle..." "That is important documents still valued today, and are constantly used by the Magic Corps. Even Starswirl The Bearded's spells find use today in inter-continental teleportation and divining the future." "Th-this information isn't... classified, is it?" "You are my personal protege, Twilight. You would be learning the information contained in these walls one day," Celestia smiled, thinking of the notes and documents held within the tower. The real Archives, built so long ago and immediately added to by every library in the country... a spectacular show of how cooperation in Equestria could grant so much to its citizens. "There's a lot to learn..." Twilight sighed, furrowing her brow as she stepped forward, "How do we get down?" "Like this," Celestia's horn sparked to life, a platform of light appearing in the open air, "The entire tower is enchanted, and the air will solidify into something of a cloud by command of a certain spell. Cloud-walking is necessary, but I find it very useful." "No kidding! Once I'm done here, I'm definitely learning that!" Celestia chuckled to herself as Twilight's own horn lights up, her hooves sparking slightly with the spell's effect. At least she was easily pleased, even when it came to dire tasks. They both step onto the platform, the light bending like water to accommodate their weight, and it slowly moved downward. Under the platform, the records quickly hid themselves in the darkness, as if the light from above was cut off by something. The platform slowed to a stop after a minute's descent, the books surrounding Twilight and Celestia tied and bound in chains. Luckily, the preservation spell functioned as well on chain and binding as on paper and leather. So much information contained within these books and tomes... all locked away from the public. "Is this platform permanent?" "As long as a source of magic is nearby, the air will hold its form by feeding off the reserves of that source." "Good. Thank you, Princess." The chains release with a mighty shattering of steel as Celestia undoes the spell, a thousand years of black magic ready to be put to use. A field of magic sealed away for so long, but she could still feel that creeping shadow in the black, the thing that corrupted those who approached it, and granted so much power to one who mastered it... that same one sealed away in the North. "...Twilight, before you begin reading-" "I promise to only do what is necessary with what I learn here. If I step beyond that, then I'm at your mercy." Well, it helped solve Celestia's question, but that was a rather dire way of putting it. "Very well. Simply call on me if you need anything. Moving the platform is as easy as conducting your levitation spell." "Right. Ok..." Twilight closed her eyes, a book levitating over to her. 'Necros Nemis Flota', an interesting book on necromantic rituals. "I shall leave you to it then, my student. Good luck." "I'm going to need it," she mumbled, and slowly pulled open the ancient covers of the first book, the space in front of her seeming to darken as the dust and dirt of a millenniums imprisonment floated away. So many terms, so many formulae... half these symbols were abandoned for more efficient equations centuries ago! Twilight had a lot of work ahead of her, and the blinding flash of her mentor teleporting away didn't help much for her focus. Still, this was the magic that could bring Rainbow back, to drag her away from the void of Death. Twilight read the first page quietly to herself, cementing every word in her mind. "Necroyis, a search both vile and freeing; the negation of Death's hand and the returning of souls. Necroyis finds a foundation in the existence of spirits that remain 'chained' to their original bodies in a state of limbo. This 'chain' is a magical connection between the body of the fallen, and the spirit that belongs to it. "Current mages know not of the time of this chain's existence, nor how long it can last, but theories suggest that the chain's strength is based on the final moments of a pony's life; great regret forges a stronger chain." "Great regret? That's interesting... Rainbow Dash would have a lot of regrets if she died, maybe that gives me time?" The book continued, the ink seeming to drag in light like a parasite deprived of sustenance for years. "Formulae linked to Necroyis-" "Ok, Necroyis means 'necromancy' in today's terms..." "-all find basis in the movement of magic in the environment. The spirit is naturally tuned to the world around it; the air, the earth, the trees, rocks, any form of existence within the world. A spirit will bind itself to each of these objects in an attempt to stay connected to the world. Regret creates stronger bonds." "Interesting..." "The use of Necroyis is in ritual. Blood, skin, hairs of a mane and tail, bones and even close possessions all hold a binding link to the spirit, and can be used in order to call on it. These 'beacons' provide the easiest way for a spirit to find and interact with the world." "...Blood?" "Ritualistic acts are banned by moral and law, as they involve the taboo of connecting oneself with the next world, putting themselves and other ponies around them at tremendous risk. A spirit attempting to find its way through the other side will attract other spirits, many who have been linked to Equis for years, perhaps-" "Wait... Equis? I thought this country's name was Equestria? I know the Griffins call the world we live in 'Kalis'...maybe Equis was the old name for Equestria?" "-centuries. Two cases of spirits other than the one being attracted have been reported, the mages involved reporting strange hallucinations, chills running down their spine, and severe pain in organs and extremities without any injury being apparent. The most common injury is a 'gripping' of the heart, almost crushing it to the point where the muscle stops beating-" Twilight's eyes shot wide in shock; wait, spirits could do that? Crush a heart?! She slowly lifted a hoof to her own beating heart as she continues. "-, deaths having been reported related to this injury." That was the clincher. The line that said everything about this field of magic's banishment. Twilight nearly dropped the book, her thoughts freezing over at that line. Doing this wrong could lead to her own death...