The Trials of Shmarity: an Ogres and Oubliettes Story

by TheMessenger

32. In Search of Secrets

32. In Search of Secrets

“Hm?” The unicorn turned, giving Rarity a better view of her features and more reason to suspect that the mulberry mare in the purple cape was indeed the one and only Twilight Sparkle. It was the same face, the same flatly styled purple mane with streaks of rose and blue, the same violet eyes bright with intelligence and inquisitiveness. The only differences that Rarity could tell from a glance were that this mare had somehow grown a lengthy gray beard from the bottom of her chin, a feature Rarity was confident Twilight lacked, and was wingless, but then, Spike also had on ridiculous and impossible facial hair when Rarity saw him last while she herself was a unicorn without her horn, so such discrepancies weren’t entirely unprecedented. Perhaps physical changes like that just came with being pulled into these strange land and Rarity should have count herself lucky that she didn’t end up with a tacky goatee.

What could not be explained away was the complete lack of recognition on the mare’s face as she faced Rarity. Their eyes even met, and still there was nothing. The shine in Twilight’s eye whenever she’d see one of her close friends, even if it was as inconsequential as bumping into one of them while doing errands, was missing, and like that, Rarity started to spot more divergences in the appearances of her friend and this lookalike. The purple body was about a hair of a shade darker than Twilight’s, and the Twilight Sparkle Rarity knew was too young to have so many lines on her face and all that additional gray in her mane.

“You might want to decide on something soon,” not-Twilight said in Twilight’s voice. “Before—“

The cat in the bow tie let out a yowl as it leapt onto the table, digging its claws into the cloth and nearly knocking over the glass of water. Once all four paws were safely on the table, the cat walked over and batted at the menu.

“That. Before that,” the unicorn finished, shaking her head as the cat meowed impatiently.

“O-oh, right. Of course.” Rarity brought her attention back to the meal list, but after a few seconds of studying, she looked back to the bearded mare and saw that on her table was a partially eaten pie, its yellow and orange filling spilling out onto the plate. “Is there anything you would recommend? It’s my first time here, and I’m having a little trouble deciding.“

“It’s all pretty good, really, especially if you haven’t had any real homemade food in a while,” said the unicorn. “Though the curry pie is a bit heavy for my taste.” She raised a hoof to her lips as a muffled burp left them. “Excuse me. But yeah, I’d probably go with the apples and potatoes plate.” The unicorn paused to take a sip of sparkling red juice from a stemmed glass cup. “Mm, and if you’ve got the gold to spare, get yourself one of these. In fact, hey, get me another glass,” she said to the cat sitting on Rarity’s table before levitating up a dark bottle and giving it a shake in the air. “Plenty left to share,” she said, grinning.

“That’s kind of you to offer, but I couldn’t.”

Their feline server had since returned with a new glass. “Sure you can,” the bearded mare said while she poured in the bottle’s contents, filling the glass with the same sparkling red liquid that was in her own cup. “Please, I insist. I’m in a bit of a celebratory mood over a long awaited promotion, and, I, ah, don’t have anyone to celebrate it with at the moment.” She sighed and took another sip from her own drink as the glass floated over to the other table and set itself right in front of Rarity.

“The sautéed apples, potatoes, and cabbage plate, please,” Rarity said to the cat in the bow tie who continued to yell out its impatience until her order was placed at last, and once the cat had strutted away, Rarity tried the gifted drink. It had a tart raspberry flavor with a noticeable hint of honey which resulted in a delectable blend of sour and sweet, and despite its cool temperature, the moment the drink passed through her throat and entered her stomach, Rarity’s body was filled with a pleasant warmth. “It’s quite good,” she said with a smile to the unicorn who had given her the sample. “And congratulations on your promotion. I’m sorry to hear that no one was available. What a terrible shame.”

The unicorn shrugged, but the indifference of the gesture was counteracted by the obvious distress in her sigh. “It’s not really any of their faults, the schools like to keep us busy. It’s always something or another up there, though that excuse can’t really apply to my old apprentice. The least he could do is respond to my sendings about the news. The whelp knows how hard I’ve been working to finally be in this position after all.” She started to sigh again when she suddenly frowned and reached into her cape to pull out a shield-shaped badge. On it was a star that was flashing red.

“And speaking of the schools keeping us busy,” the unicorn muttered as she stowed the badge away with an annoyed huff. “I can’t even finish a meal in peace.” She took out a cloth sack and, to Rarity’s surprise and disgust, shoved the leftover pastry and the bottle of juice right into it. “Sorry, what was your name again?”

“Rarity.”

“Elkraps Thigliwt.” The unicorn got up and dropped a couple of gold coins on the ground. Out from beneath the table extended a paw that quickly swept up the coins and pulled them behind the tablecloth. She started to leave but stopped to turn back to Rarity with a questioning look on her face. “Wait, did you say, ah, never mind.”

Elkraps the bearded unicorn gave Rarity one last nod before hurrying out of the dining room, nearly trampling over a serving cat in her haste. Despite all its hissing and the arching of its back, the tray the cat was carrying kept balanced, and its contents remained unsullied. Once it had calmed down, the waiter continued to Rarity’s table and presented to her a plate of caramelized apple slices and chunks of golden potato with large pieces of chopped cabbage leaves sprinkled through the dish, the scent of which caused Rarity’s mouth to water. Rarity picked up the utensils that accompanied the plate, and when the server had left her to eat in peace, she took her first bite.

It was as delicious as it smelled, the sweet gooey apple sauce going wonderfully with the soft potatoes. Certainly the best meal Rarity had experienced in a long time. As she ate and finished her drink, she kept her eyes and ears open to the rest of the dining room as it slowly started to fill with guests. Nothing came out of it, however, as the other diners kept to themselves and their parties too closely for Rarity to smoothly interject.

When she had finished, the server returned to pat on the menu once more, and when Rarity finally understood what the cat was trying to say, she decided to indulge in a cup of dark tea. Her check appeared while she was busy sipping away and nibbling at the cookie that came with the hot drink, and once she counted out the right amount and set her payment on top of the paper slip, Rarity left and headed back to her room, with Mr. Whispers suddenly appearing along the way and following closely behind her until she had reached her door.

There to welcome Rarity was the bowl of warm water the receptionist had promised her along with several washcloths, a towel, and a bar of soap. The bowl wasn’t big enough for her to take a bath in, but she supposed it was better than nothing and immediately got to work, soaking the cloths in water and covering them in soap to wipe down the rest of her body after she had finished washing her face and mane. It took some time and a lot of effort, but eventually Rarity was satisfied that she had gotten the last of the desert dust out of her fur.

It was still relatively early, the night still quite young, but Rarity, feeling warm and tired from her wash and thinking of little else that she could do at the moment, decided to go to bed once she had finished drying and brushing out her mane. Tomorrow was to be a busy day after all, and she had planned for an early start.

*

She awoke the next morning to the feeling of paws dancing on her face and to the sounds of loud purring, a familiar sensation to any owner of a pet cat, Rarity included. As she slowly sat herself up, she heard a meow and felt the mattress shift as something moved across it. Rarity found Mr. Whispers sitting at the base of the bed and staring right back at her when she opened her eyes. The cat mewed again and took off, escaping from Rarity’s view, and she heard the door slam closed behind him as she got out of bed.

Some creature had refilled the bowl with newly warmed water and had replaced the used towels. A few quick splashes against her face helped chase away her remaining grogginess, and once she had scrubbed off those dirty paw prints from her cheeks, fixed her mane, and put on her cloak and her saddlebags after storing away some of their contents like her camping gear in the room’s closet to lighten her load, Rarity was ready to go.

The lobby was dark and quiet when she arrived downstairs. The fireplace, cold and full of ash, had been abandoned by its feline audience now that the warmth it been providing was extinguished. A couple of cats could be found wandering around, but the desk was empty, and there was no sign of the receptionist anywhere to be found. It would’ve been nice to share a good morning and thank the mare for meeting all of her requests, though the means of the wake up call might need some discussion should she require another one, but with Rarity having no other business here and deciding that it would probably be faster to pick something up for breakfast along the way than to wait in the dining room that might not even be open at this early hour, she set off.

Rarity stepped out onto the streets in time to watch the remnants of a morning mist be banished by the rising sun. With the roof of the main campus building easily visible, Rarity quickly made it to the center of town where the cathedral stood, looking as majestic as the map had represented it. The area wasn’t exactly what she’d call bustling, but it was certainly busier here than it had been anywhere else Rarity saw on the way, with groups of creatures awake and walking about and a steady traffic moving in and out of the main building. There was even a line, albeit a moderately short one, at the small coffee shop where Rarity grabbed some tea and a blueberry scone.

When she had finished eating, Rarity continued into the building, past a pair of open double doors made of stained glass. Her first impression of the place was that it reminded her more of a town hall or a court house than an institution of learning. The white walls were all polished to the point of shining, giving the building an air of sterility. Echoes of footsteps and conversations rang out and were amplified as they bounced off the sides of the dome ceilings. Hallways splits in every direction, leading to rooms and more halls. Winding staircases led to raised platforms that jutted out of the walls, their edges guarded by railings to keep the creatures traversing them safe as they went through the doors on the upper floors.

At the front, where it was impossible to miss as one entered the building, there was a ringed desk. A set of four griffons in blue vests sat behind it and appeared to be directing the crowd surrounding them. Signs were posted on the walls with arrows and names, but Rarity figured she’d be better off asking for directions to the library than following the signs and risk getting lost while trying to find her own way through unfamiliar territory, so she got in line and waited for her turn.

“Alright, next!”

Rarity stepped up to the desk. The griffon before her appeared to be a young female, possibly still in her teens, but like with the mare from last night, there was a beard, a small one but one that still made Rarity wonder whether she was jumping to assumptions. Now that it was brought to her attention, she noticed that many of the creatures here had a graying beard of some length regardless of gender, age, or species.

“Welcome to the main campus hall,” the griffon said in a bored voice that was clearly feminine. She looked up from her talons that she had been filing to glance over her most recent guest. “Huh. Not a student, are you? Well, if you’re looking for a tour, you’re a couple of hours too early.” She tapped a claw on a sheet of paper taped to the desk’s surface right before her. On it was a series of times and events which included guided tours and a few publicly open seminars and lectures.

“As interesting as a tour of this place might be, I’m actually looking for the library,” Rarity explained. “Could you point me toward there, please?”

“The campus library isn’t open to the general public today,” the griffon said as she checked her claws. “I’m going to have to check your pass first to make sure I’m not wasting my time giving you directions.”

A more impulsive and emotional creature might have loudly slammed their provided roll of parchment on the table as a means of expressing their displeasure. Rarity resisted the childish urge and held her tongue as the young griffon sighed and unraveled the scroll, but she wasn’t above finding some slight enjoyment over the change in the griffon’s expression which slowly went from complete disinterested to surprise and confusion. She looked up at Rarity, then to her pass, then it was back to Rarity before she leaned to the side and nudged her coworker.

“What?”

“Hey, was there supposed to be some diplomatic thing happening today? Any bigwigs meeting up or visiting?”

“No, there’s nothing like that planned for today. Why?”

“Well.” Rarity’s pass exchanged claws. “We’ve got a princess here. No, really. That’s what it says. What are we supposed to do?”

The second griffon blinked unsteadily for a few seconds after studying the parchment, and she quickly sprung into action by grabbing grabbed their third. Soon, all four griffons were gathered around Rarity’s pass, flipping through a number of manuals and calendars and discussing the matter in nervous whispers as the lines around them stopped moving and the crowd grew larger, noisier, and more frustrated.

Rarity cleared her throat loudly over the rising din, getting the griffons’s attention. “I can’t say I completely understand what’s causing this delay—“

Well actually, from the bits and pieces of their conversation that Rarity managed to overhear, she had pretty idea about what the issue was but felt that it would be more expedient for every creature if she didn’t draw more attention to her problematic, royal alias.

“—but I’d truly appreciate it if I could get those directions to the library. I’m in a bit of a rush, you see, and I can see that you yourselves are all quite busy.” Rarity took a small step to the side, giving the group of griffons a better view of the increasing mob behind her. “So perhaps we could speed this up? Then I’ll be out of your manes, or rather feathers as it were, and you can get back to work.”

“Er, right. Library. Here.” The initial griffon returned Rarity’s pass and pointed her down one of the halls. “Head all the way until you hit the split at the wall. Take a right, and it’ll be the big set of doors at the very end. They’ll be signs around if you’re not sure, but it’s pretty easy to find.”

Rarity nodded. “Thank you,” she said and started toward the path she had been directed. It sounded as if the griffon had more to say, but when Rarity turned back to the desk and found it swarmed, she shrugged and continued on her way.

Finding the library was easy enough, the instructions she had been given were clear and simple and there was a sign right over the doors that read Library in bright, bold, and unmistakable text, but the length of the hallways meant that it took Rarity some time to reach the library’s entrance. She looked around and was a little surprised to see a lack of guards considering that access to this place was supposed to be limited, at least according to that griffon. Making sure that her pass was ready in case it was asked of, Rarity pushed aside the door and stepped inside.

Rows and rows of shelves all stuffed and stacked with books were the first to greet Rarity’s eyes. They stretching up to the roof and all the way to the back of the room, going as far as she could see. Lanterns hung from the ceiling and were attached the solid sides of the shelves and on top of the many study tables scattered around, most of which were unlit and unneeded as the morning light streamed steadily through the tinted glass roof above. Although it was still relatively early, the place was far from deserted, with creatures dressed in all manners of robes and capes and their beards in various stylings wandering between the shelves and sitting at the tables studying.

It was an impressive sight of an impressive collection for sure, but while Rarity could easily visualize Twilight, bibliophile that she was, squealing with glee and dancing in place out of excitement, she herself struggled to feel a fraction of that enthusiasm. You’ve seen one library, you’ve seen them all really, though Rarity would never say such blasphemy aloud and in front of her friend, lest she test Princess Sparkle’s capacity for banishment. If anything, the thought of having to go through all these heavy texts alone left her feeling cold.

Rarity shook herself and headed over to the desk out in front like the one that had been at the building’s entrance. Here too was manned by a quartet of creatures, four ponies to be exact of which two had coats that gleamed in the light like those from the Crystal Empire. Even more so in fact, almost as if those two were made entirely out of glass.

“Yes?” said one of the librarians, a bespectacled older mare with her mane held up in a neat bun, a more mundane, less shiny body and, of course, a gray beard.

“Ah, yes, good morning,” Rarity said, smiling politely. “I’m looking for information on a magical subject. Where can I find your books on necromancy?”

The mare lowered her glasses and stared at Rarity over their rims. “Really? And what, exactly, are you looking for?”

Rarity stumbled for an answer before blurting out an unhelpful, “Anything.” When the mare continued to stare, Rarity tried to explain, saying, “I’m afraid don’t really know what, exactly, I’m looking for. I honestly don’t know anything about the topic, but I need to learn as much as I can about it.”

The mare pressed her lips together tightly. “Let me see your pass.”

Again, Rarity gave away her pass. She prepared herself for a reaction similar to the one the griffons had had, but all she got out of the mare was a single raised eyebrow before the scroll was rerolled and returned. “Right this way, miss,” the librarian said with a gesture as she stepped out from behind the enclosure. “Or, er, Princess.”

“Miss is fine.” She followed the mare through the forest of shelves, their hooves barely making a sound against the laminated wooden floorboards. The silence was jarring when compared to the noise of the rest of the building, but it was appropriate for the setting.

After some time, they finally stopped before one of the many walls of books. The librarian cleared her throat and tapped her hooves together, and suddenly, the brass ladder attached to the shelf slid over to them. The sound of steps against the rungs could be heard echoing out, and the ladder shook as if weight was being applied to it, but Rarity saw no climber. One of the books near the top started to wiggle out, and once it had been freed away from its siblings, the book floated down onto the librarian back. They continued on then stopped at another section to repeat the process.

“Here you are, miss,” the mare said once they were finished. She held the collected books out toward Rarity, all three of them. At first, Rarity felt relieved that her search had been reduced to a mere two textbooks and an old looking journal, but that comfort turned to confusion, and confusion soon gave way to worry over whether it‘d be enough. The research process was definitely going be shorter and easier now, but with what was at stake, Rarity would have rather had more material to work with.

“Is this it?” she asked.

“Oh goodness no, of course not,” the mare answered with a sniff, as if Rarity’s inquiry had been a provocative insinuation. “But we wouldn’t want to immediately bury you beneath a hill of books, now would we? It’s a start, and if, for whatever reason, you still need more on this macabre topic, come talk to me or any of the other librarians. And if what we have here is still not enough, you’ll have to talk to the dean of necromancy to request access to their department.” When Rarity had taken the books from her, the mare motioned her to continue walking, and they got to one of the open study spaces.

“Now as you are not a student here, we cannot allow you to take any of our books with you. However, you are welcome to anywhere in the library for as long as you’d like, provided that you are not being a disturbance.” The mare in the glasses gestured to the tables and chairs, some which were already occupied by readers and note takers. “And again, if you require any further assistance, do not hesitate to ask for my colleagues or I or any of our simulacrums. Rest assured that they are just as capable as the original creatures they were based on.”

Then, with a short but polite nod of her head, the librarian walked off and left Rarity to find herself a vacant spot. There was another pony at the nearest available table, but the stallion had his snout so deep in his own book that he didn’t seem to notice Rarity when she took the seat across from him.

Rarity spread the gathered texts over her side of the table and frowned. Where to begin? She picked up the smallest of the books, the journal. This one, perhaps? Its lesser size would make it easier to get through. But wouldn’t the larger textbooks with their many, many pages be more likely to have the information Rarity needed? She tried to imagine herself as Twilight Sparkle, the same mare she had envisioned dancing around only a minute or so ago. What would a pony with an aptitude for research do in Rarity’s current shoes? She looked down at the covers before her.

“An Abridged Introduction to the Schools of Magic, Volume Four, Fifth Edition,” she quietly read aloud off of one of the textbooks. “Well, that sounds like a good a place to start as any.”

Rarity opened the book to where she hoped to find the table of contents. From there she flipped to the first page in the section on necromancy, skipping past the lengthy foreword, and began to read:

The School of Necromancy, the seventh of the eight great schools of magic, explores the cosmic forces of life, death, and undeath. Those who focus their studies on this tradition learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living beings. Such manipulation often requires the sapping and transformation of a being’s vital life force into magical power, a process that results in the destruction of the being’s body. As such and in conjunction with the school’s close association with death, necromancy as a magical art is feared and considered taboo in most societies, and even among some within the schools of magic, its usage has been frowned upon...

The image of Spike lying motionless on the floor before her kept popping into Rarity’s mind as she continued through the pages, and it got worse as the book went on to describe the creation and control of thralls made from corpses. She had only gotten through the first couple of chapters, but she had to stop and break and come to terms with what was being suggested. All that Rarity had read so far made necromancy seem to be just about making, ugh, zombies and raising the dead, so why would the Queen of Fey think this would help her save Spike and Discord unless they were—

Rarity shook her head furiously. No, that’s impossible. The very idea that Discord, a spirit of chaos, could be put down permanently was absolutely preposterous. And as for Spike, her precious Spikey-Wikey? It was just unthinkable, it just couldn’t be. Rarity went back to the book. Maybe there was something she missed which was causing her to misunderstand, or maybe she just hadn’t reached to the right section yet. Maybe it was just on the next page. No? Then the next book. Her eyes ran across line after line in a desperate search for something, anything to dispute those horrific implications.

It wasn’t until Rarity had finished flipping through the glossary of the second textbook to reveal the book’s blank back cover when she realized just how little she had learn. She tried to recall the words she read, and all she managed to get was a jumbled, meaningless mess. She couldn’t even remember what had been on the last couple of pages she had just gotten through. Rarity held her spinning head between her hooves and released her frustrations out in a sigh.

The exhaustive exhale got Rarity hushed by her neighbors. There were more of them now, and the stallion across from her had been replaced by a hippogriff. How long had she been at this. How much time had she wasted struggling with just these two textbooks? She looked around for a clock, and finding none, she looked up to see if she could spot the sun’s position through the glass ceiling.

No such luck. Rarity forcefully held in her sigh as she turned back to her books. She cracked open the third one, the smaller journal, and discovered that she couldn’t get past the first full page. The difficult to read script, the old style grammar and spelling, it was too much. Perhaps it was time for Rarity to try a different approach. She just didn’t have Twilight’s way with literature, but books weren’t the only resource here, and she’d surely have an easier time convincing a living creature to assist her than getting these lifeless collections of papers to give up their secrets, if they even had anything useful to her.

She gathered up the books and started to make her way back to the front of the library. From how those around her had reacted over a simple sigh, Rarity doubted any of them would be all that willing to help, and really, she should have thought of going to one of the librarians sooner.

As she moved through the library, Rarity noticed that the place had become significantly busier. There were a lot more creatures about, which forced her to carefully maneuver through a couple of crowded sections, and books were flying off and back on shelves almost constantly. Busier, yes, but not necessarily noisier as the studious solemn atmosphere was still maintain. With all the extra activity, it did take Rarity some time before she found her way back to the front desk which she saw had become just as lively as the rest of the library. Lines had formed as patrons waited to check out the books they had on their backs and in their appendages, and this increase in business was likely why there were two additional crystal ponies working behind the desk.

Rarity continued forward and was trying to determine which line would take the shortest amount of her time when she noted that one side of the desk that was significantly less crowded. Only one creature stood there chatting away with the librarian, a unicorn in stately red robes and an equally fine and similarly colored wizard hat that had a gold star ornament dangling from its tip, but no one dared approach them. Every creature here seemed to be giving the unicorn a wide berth, but if the expressions Rarity read on the faces around her were of any indication, it was out of respect and awe rather than due to fear or loathing.

The librarian speaking to the unicorn suddenly paused, and Rarity saw that the mare was the same pony who had assisted her earlier today. The bespectacled mare waved to Rarity and gestured her to hurry over. Not seeing any reason to refuse the call, Rarity approached the desk as carefully and respectfully as she could. The last thing she wanted was to offend this clearly important figure and get kicked out before she could find any answers.

“Ah, Miss Shmarity, how fortuitous,” the librarian said. “We were just about to send someone to get you.” The smile she had on was reassuring, and at the very least it didn’t seem like Rarity was in any trouble. The mare nodded to the unicorn. “Your diplomatic liaison is here.”

Rarity turned to the unicorn to find a very familiar face. The unicorn’s expression became one of surprise, but her smile quickly came back, and it returned twice as large.

“I thought your name sounded familiar. I really should have recognized it sooner, but then, I thought I must have misheard it in my rush.”

Rarity shrugged for a moment to come up with the name. “Oh! It’s, Elkraps, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, though with everything that’s going on, I think I should, ah, probably reintroduce myself properly.” The unicorn crossed a foreleg over her chest and bowed. “Elkraps Thigliwt, newly appointed dean of the school of evocation, at your service.”