//------------------------------// // Library of the Moon Sister // Story: Music of the Night // by CharlieOist //------------------------------// "Welcome to the Library of the Moon Sister! It's been so long since we've had living visitors..." The mare's eyes glazed over momentarily, as though she were remembering better days. Suddenly, she shook her head, coming out of the past and back into the present. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Nightsong shook his head and smiled. "No, ma'am, just here to look around, thank you." He trotted off, leaving the Element bearers staring at the strange librarian. Long, pointed ears stuck up from the mare's thick, black mane, and steaks of silver only heightened the overwhelming sense of knowledge the librarian seemed to exude. Bat-like wings were folded neatly at the mare's side. Otherwise, they could have mistaken her for a normal bat pony... if it weren't for the large fangs that still dripped blood protruding from her upper lip. Twilight was the first to recover from the shock. "Excuse me, but... did you say living visitors?" Her voice shook a little more with each word, but she somehow managed to get through the sentence without a stutter of fear. The vampony looked up and smiled, revealing more of her pearly white teeth. Her tongue darted out and licked the last few drops of blood from her oversized canines before she spoke. "Yes. You see, with the huge magical blast caused by the Elements of Harmony being used on Nightmare Moon, there came a perversion of the entire castle, which eventually seeped into the forest. No one is quite sure what caused it, though many speculate that it came about because of the corruption of one element bearer and then the use of that bearer's elements upon her. Whatever the reason, there was corruption, and, when the dust settled, the only thing still living within a mile of the castle was the Princess of the Sun. In anguish, Princess Celestia fled, and better that she had, for, if she hadn't, what happened next may have had more drastic consequences." The librarian leaned in, looking for all the world like she was about to share a secret with six mares in front of her. "The dead began to rise! Zombies, liches, vampires, and more, all came about. Scared and confused, most of the intelligent undead fled to the deepest, darkest parts of the castle, where they remain, doing Luna-knows-what. Some of us stayed above, however, and looked after the castle. I chose to remain with my books, and I've recruited some zombies and a skeleton to help me. Every now and again, one of my fellows will venture in here, seeking a book on one subject or another, but mostly it's just me and the help, day in and day out, making sure the library stays living, and that the knowledge left here is not destroyed." "So...There are... intelligent undead?" Twilight was dumbfounded. "Of course!" The vampony seemed mildly offended for a moment. "I apologize. I'm still getting used to the idea that undead exist at all." Twilight bowed her head in embarresment. "Oh, it's alright. Very few ponies know anything about us. In fact, there are only about two experts on the undead in the world, and only one knows of the existance of undead." Twilight was about to respond, when what the mare had said hit her. "How can you be an expert if you don't believe the existance of the object you study?!" The librarian smiled. "You'd be surprised..." With that, the grey coated mare turned back to the book she had been reading, using the tip of her wing to flip the page. Twilight, understanding she would get no more answers from this source, decided to explore the library. Her friends had already dispersed, having either been unwilling to follow their conversation, or, in Pinkie's case, unable to stay still long enough to. She followed the path Nightsong had taken, wandering deeper into an unending maze of bookshelves. For a moment, she worried she wouldn't be able to find her way back out, but she immediately dismissed the thought from her mind. If she panicked now... Nightsong noticed the purple unicorn coming down the row towards him. He had found his way towards the back of the library, to the section of books dedicated to the castle itself. He had already pulled down a rather large stack when the other unicorn joined him. She began sorting the piles into different types, working in silence alongside him for a few moments. One of the book titles caught the lavender mare's eye, and she stopped. "'The Temple of the Moon.'" She read out loud, roughly translating the text out of habit. "Isn't that one of the places you wanted to visit, Nightsong?" The sudden break in the silence seemed to catch the black-coated unicorn off guard, and, for a moment, Twilight was afraid he wouldn't answer. However, he turned to her and smiled. "Yes. I'm worried, though. The priests there were the most fanatical beings in all of Equestria, and Celestia knows what kind of spells or traps could be lingering for us to fall into." "Do you really think it will be that dangerous?" Twilight quelled the tremor in her voice. She hadn't come this far to be scared by a few thousand-year-old traps and spells. "Not particularly, but, as we've seen, there's no telling. Better safe than sorry, I always say." Nightsong began passing books back to the purple mare, and they continued in silence. ******** Later that night, Twilight awoke in a cold sweat. They had decided to camp out in the library, the librarian having sworn to watch over them through the night. Most of the Element bearers had been reluctant to stay, but with night closing in fast, all had agreed that this was a better option than dealing with the whatever creatures haunted the outside corridors under the cover of a darkness that only the dawning of a new day could hope to banish. The first thing she noticed was two large, blue eyes, staring out at her from beneath the cover of the sleeping bag that neighbored her own. "Twilight?" Fluttershy's voice called from beneath the makeshift cavern she had created, "Ae you alright?" "Yes, Fluttershy, it was only a bad dream..." The lavender mare shivered as images from the nightmare rose to the surface once more. She became so lost in them that it was only when she felt a warm body slide into her admittedly-oversized sleeping bag that she was snapped out of her reverie. Startled, Twilight looked down into the shy pegesus's wide blue eyes. "M-maybe, since w-we're both a bit, um, anxious, w-we could, uh, share a sleeping bag tonight? " Fluttershy's last few words were almost lost to the wind as she buried her muzzle in a pillow while uttering them. Twilight smiled, her horn lighting up. Suddenly, the sleeping bag expanded, allowing room for both ponies. "Sure, Fluttershy...Thanks." Suddenly, the lavender unicorn noticed another presence to her left. "Mind iffin' Ah joined ya'll" Applejack's voice drawled out. There was a chorus of 'Me, too!'s from all sides, and without warning, Twilight found herself the center of a group snuggle. She smiled happily, then yawned. "Thanks, girls...Goodnight." Another chorus of 'Goodnight!' answered her, and she drifted off to sleep with a content sigh. Next door, Nightsong listened to the scene playing out in the next tent over. He felt a pang of jealousy as he heard the mares' goodnights to each other. Then he smiled. It must be nice to have such great friends... The lone unicorn drifted off to sleep, thoughts of friendship still fresh in his mind.