The Ash

by Raging Mouse

Inferno

Chapter 12:

Inferno

Twilight sat down in front of Libram’s shelf.

Miss Twilight Sparkle? Isn’t it in the middle of the night?

“The palace guard was doing the shift rotation they always do three hours past midnight as I came here. Why? Does it matter?”

I suppose not. Well then. What can I do for you?

“I would like to study the Embargoed Texts to see if there is anything there that might help end this crisis.”

Do you understand the risks involved? Have we made it clear how dangerous these texts are?

“No.”

Correct. Then: why? Why do you want to study these texts?

“Because if I don’t do it then somepony else has to. I’m here so it might as well be me.”

Libram didn’t answer that immediately. Twilight had patience, though, so she waited. After a short while the disembodied voice interrupted her attempts to estimate the amount of books the library could hold.

I must say I am impressed. Less than half a day ago you made a much less level-headed appeal. It is quite remarkable to see you’ve managed to pull yourself together and even think this through in this short time. I am left with one last question. Are you sure about this?

“No.”

Indeed, how could you be? Well since you are still sitting there I will assume you wish to go through with this anyway. You have the Princesses’ blessing and I deem we’ve done all we can to prepare you. All you have to do is visit me when you’d like access to the books I keep.

“Right now would be great.”

What? In the middle of the night?

Twilight sighed. She was developing a quite strong dislike for having to repeat herself.

“I am used to late-night studying. Does it matter?”

My apologies. I seem to be turning into a creature of habit after all these years. Very well!

The book was lifted off its shelf by an intensifying aura of gray magic. It floated down to hover in front of Twilight and turned so the edge opposite the spine faced her. Then both the front and the back covers opened so their inner sides were displayed. Both contained the same image: an intricate pattern of lines in gold and black that made Twilight think of the watermark on her Scroll, but where the watermark showed the Moon-and-Sun motif this image seemed abstract. An outer circular area was dominated by golden lines, most of which were aligned towards the centerpoint of the diagram, intermingled with black lines. Inside this was a central area almost completely covered by black with only a few streaks of gold visible.

“What’s that?”

These are my eyes.

Twilight became aware of a rushing sound. She appeared to be falling towards the book, or the book appeared to be moving towards her, she couldn’t tell. She tried to push back with her front hooves but it was too late—

She opened her eyes. She hadn’t moved. Libram’s book still hovered in front of her, covers closing. She could feel it in her magic... only the aura around the book was still gray. Her eyes crossed and she tilted her head back in a naive attempt to see her own horn. She could just about see the aura on the edge of her vision, and her eyes were telling her that too was gray.

“Libram?”

Just a moment. Let me put this back on the shelf.

Her ears swivelled until they faced each other. Libram’s voice no longer seemed to come from the book, but from inside her. The book landed gently on its place in the bookshelf and the gray aura around it disappeared.

Now, then – oh. Oh my!

“What? What is it?”

Libram’s voice held an awestruck tone that Twilight considered quite at odds with her mental image of the undead pony.

It’s like a library in here!

A nervous twitch played on Twilight’s left ear.

“You... can see my mind?!”

Well, yes. Side effect of possession, I’m afraid. For the time being you are acting as my physical form, and the magic involved means I gain quite extensive knowledge over it. I see what you see, hear what you hear and so on. All the senses, and your thoughts and memories. I’m sorry, but it’s part of the possession package in case somepony with ill intent manages to trick their way this far. It also means I can impart direct knowledge to you if and when you request it and I judge you have a reasonable cause. There are many additional advantages for you to gain with this arrangement, but let’s just get you accustomed to the basics for now. One step at a time, Miss Sparkle. And... if I may... this is a very tidy mind. Very comfortable. Would you mind terribly if I read some of these books I see? The way they are so well preserved in your memory, making it evident you carefully absorbed every letter... It’s beautiful. Almost as good as what I can do, and it’s my magically enhanced special talent for Celestia’s sake!

Twilight was struggling hard not to panic. This intrusive voice in her mind was among the most frightening experiences of her life. The compliments were helping a great deal, though, and she managed to relax enough to analyse her reaction. It didn’t take long for her to form a theory: her mind was her ultimate weapon, and it being vulnerable or exposed in any way was a terrifying concept to her. It had happened before and long periods of nightmares had always followed: Discord, her experiences with dark magic and the multiple times her own insecurities had made her snap, such as the ‘want it need it’ fiasco, were all heavy weights on her mind and terrors to be revisited whenever she slept fitfully.

She heard a noise like someone clearing their throat.

I think I can put you at ease. Well, at least partially. First order of business is to teach you two very simple spells.

A magical diagram bloomed in her mind. It resembled Libram’s eyes but was of far simpler design and contained runes that Twilight recognised. She knew that if she drew it on a surface or managed to portray it in her mind then it would act as a conduit that Libram could travel through, allowing him to enter her mind from a distance. While she was still ruminating this she became aware of something that wouldn’t really pass as a spell – it was more like a magical command. All it did was eject Libram from the mind of any who so much as meditated upon it. In fact, it was so simple that it could be invoked even while one’s consciousness was impaired. This meant it might occasionally be triggered inadvertently. Twilight regained much of her composure as she remembered these comforting facts.

A polite cough made her look around, but she was alone as always.

“Hello?”

You certainly internalised the exit command swiftly. In record time I think. Not that I am complaining, mind you. It means you can try out the summoning conduit whenever you like.

Libram’s voice was once again coming from his book. Twilight felt relief that her mind was once again her own. She could walk away and do this some other day. Libram was right, doing this in the middle of the night was silly and probably contributed to her unease. She should go to bed.

She should, but on the other hoof...

Steeling herself, she closed her eyes and assembled the conduit in her mind.

Well done. Shall I use the conduit?

Twilight squeezed her eyes tightly shut and whispered through clenched teeth.

“Yes.”

This time the world seemed to lurch, threatening to bowl her backwards, but when she opened her eyes she was as still and upright as always. She breathed slowly to calm herself.

All right, she thought, let’s get to work.

~~~~~

Moonlight shone down from the window high above, hitting the balconies about three storeys up from the floor. Some of it did reflect, but the spot of weak light was still so bright that everything else was rendered pitch black by the high contrast. Twilight intensified the light coming from her horn, letting it shine a little stronger on the figure on the marble slab. She caught herself thinking of the creature as a corpse, nothing more, and there was certainly no visible evidence to the contrary. There was a weak smell in the air that she couldn’t remember ever encountering before, and she found it revolting.

She had heard nothing from Libram in quite a while now. The ancient pony had at first been greatly curious about her situation and the state of Equestria in general, but something seemed to perturb him as she continued her explanation of events. He had stopped asking questions. By the end of her monologue Twilight had been worried that she’d accidentally cast him out of her mind again, but while she’d walked to the hidden chambers she had noticed a slight presence behind her eyes that she’d never felt before and assumed that Libram was still with her as long as that sensation remained.

Libram? Are you all right?

I – yes. I am fine. My apologies. Well, then. First order of business would be to figure out if there’s some type of divination we can use to find out more about this creature. I have some candidates in mind, thanks to some pretty strong suspicions regarding what’s going on, but we should probably test them first, preferably on something other than the creature we are trying to save. You mentioned the scholars have samples of this material somewhere?

Twilight walked to the ledge where the scholars had pitched their tents. She wondered idly why they hadn’t elected to use a couple of the countless rooms that stood empty as she walked up to the one that she thought housed the rock samples. The tent flap withdrew at the touch of her magic and she saw that the tent was mostly filled with stacks of wooden boxes. One box by the entrance had its lid opened and Twilight saw that it was divided into small compartments using thin wooden panels. Each compartment held a mass of straw and a bottle containing a rock suspended in oil. She stopped herself before she would have instinctively tried to grab a bottle with her telekinesis. Instead she elected to plant her front hooves on the side of the box and push it out of the tent. Once outside she carefully picked up one of the bottles with her teeth and carried it a good distance away before putting it down on the ground.

All right, what do I do now?

For now you just have to stand there. I am capable of casting spells through you. When I have something we can use I will reveal it.

Twilight’s horn was quickly encased in a gray aura, but the magic didn’t stay that way. It became a brilliant, pearly white before a silvery beam edged with a riot of kaleidoscopic hues flew out and struck the bottle. She gasped.

“What kind of magic was that?”

Unharmonised magic. Or higher magic, to put it another way. It produced no effect whatsoever. Let’s try this then...

Time passed. Luna’s moon travelled behind Mount Canterlot, letting darkness cover the mountain ledge. There was little to see apart from the multicolored and seemingly infinitely varied displays of light produced whenever Libram cast a spell on the rock sample. Twilight was fascinated by the feel of the spells coursing through her horn, and since she wasn’t the one casting them she could concentrate on that sensation. She was growing impatient, not out of boredom but because there were some questions nagging her and she didn’t want to interrupt Libram. It dawned on her that she didn’t need to ask: Libram could probably see the questions in her mind as long as they were present when he paid attention to it.

Libram cast another spell, but instead of producing a beam of some kind it appeared the whole world had become fluorescent. Every rock and pebble in front of Twilight was illuminated by its own ghostly and colorless light, giving everything a clear outline. The mountain Twilight stood on looked like a clear container of liquid with brightly lit edges and the occasional sparkling particle within it moving lazily. It seemed organic. Twilight noticed her own hooves next: a blaze of milky energy seemed to be contained within her form, forever pressing against her skin from the inside in an attempt to break free.

Please look at the bottle, Twilight.

What is this?

This is a divination of spirit. That everything has a spirit is common knowledge, and much of the magic the zebras use concern its manipulation. We are looking at a visual representation of the spirits that are everywhere around us.

The rock sample was a hole in space, an intruding darkness centered within the bottle’s glowing outlines. It seemed to suck all light from its vicinity.

Oh, how interesting. I’ve only seen theories about this before. Back up a bit and blast it with your own magic, would you please?

Twilight tilted her head and watched her breath condense in the wintry air. Even her exhalation seemed to carry some residual glow. Shouldn’t we get some bricks and glass first?

I’d like to study the effects without any interfering material. You should be quite all right as long as you are further away than a couple steps from it. Just make sure you aren’t casting an actual spell on it because that triggers sensory feedback. Only hit it with your raw power.

A short blast from Twilight’s horn hit the stone. She saw that her magic was also present in her vision of the spirit, but there it was represented as colorless smoke that gathered around the stone and seemed to cling to it. The smoky light focused into traceries of cracks that spread over the surface and brightened, but the darkness it surrounded also increased in intensity and began to encroach upon the glowing outline of the bottle. A bang and the tinkle of glass heralded the bottle’s demise, portrayed in Twilight’s vision as glowing shrapnel erupting from it and flying everywhere. Dark flames shot out from a black rend in space and seemed to injure the spirits of everything nearby, warping and shrivelling the forms and causing them to writhe in an unnerving resemblance to gravely injured animals.

Well that looks bad. But it’s a start, and detecting even minute quantities of the alien matter seems to be very easy with this divination. Do you want to learn it?

Twilight cast the spell. Nah, I got it.

Buh. What the. How did you do that?!

Buddy, ever heard of the Element of Magic? What’s my special talent again? Use my own horn to cast a spell and by Celestia I have all I need to cast it again.

That’s not good, Twilight.

Can’t be helped. Anyways, do you know what happened?

Libram grumbled for a bit, too indistinct for Twilight to make sense of the words. Well I have a theory. The alien matter has its own spirit, but one which doesn’t resemble the spirits of our world. You wouldn’t know this, but Harmony acts mostly through manipulation of the spirit and most of the magic you usually cast is a manipulation of Harmony. Something goes wrong when Harmony comes in contact with the alien spirit and the result is damaging, both for Harmony and for the spirits in the immediate vicinity. What we need to do now is to determine if this really is the case.

How do we do that?

We try to communicate with a spirit. I have several spells to that end and hopefully one or two of them won’t cause a destructive reaction. We test them on more rocks to make sure there’s no danger or destructive reaction, but such a simple object doesn’t really have anything to say. We’ll have to try to talk to the creature. Even if it’s a primitive life-form we should be able to establish some kind of communication. Oh, and could you, I don’t know, close your mental eye or something? All this magic is embargoed for a reason.

Twilight smiled. No can do, mister. New spells and magic is why I get out of bed every morning.

It’s your life to ruin.

Every spell Libram tried avoided reacting violently to the alien matter. In fact, Twilight suspected that he deliberately ceased testing additional spells after four successes. His petulant tone confirmed it.

Well I think four different spells should be more than enough to find the creature’s spirit if it has one. Shall we go and give it try?

Nodding once, Twilight walked through the hallway to the empty theatre. She walked up to the magic circle and sat down on her haunches to wait. A minute passed in silence. She frowned.

Still there, Libram?

How could I have been so stupid! This is inexcusable!

What’s wrong?

I am under a geas not to use magic on those I don’t possess unless they give permission or threaten me somehow. I hadn’t even considered that it might apply to this creature as well! Zapping pebbles is fine, but this thing is still far enough removed from a lump of charcoal to make it an issue.

A grin appeared and widened on Twilight’s face. She could hear Libram sigh in frustration.

Yes, you madpony, it means I have to let you cast the spells.

I’m not complaining. She prodded her memory and the first spell Libram had cast sprang obediently into view of her mind’s eye. What does this one do? How does it work?

They are all variations on the same theme: Letting your spirit contact another spirit and establishing a frame of reference for communication, a mental construct that fetches props from the mind of the contacted spirit to serve as a stage for interaction. The basic construct conforms to—

Twilight cast the spell. She experienced a shock, as if she’d been straining her muscles to push open a door only for it to suddenly swing open without any resistance. Her point of view was moving forward, towards the charred body of the creature. She looked back only to lock eyes with herself. She – her body – was sitting on its haunches at the edge of the magic circle, just as she had left it, except... was that a hint of gray in her eyes?

Her view swivelled of its own accord and the creature’s form loomed in front of her, giant in her vision, and she seemed to be colliding with it just as everything went black.

She felt weightless. She couldn’t breathe! Her eyes snapped open in panic, and she stared straight at... it had to be the creature. The scene was dark, only illuminated by a ruddy glow coming from overhead, but the general form of the creature was unmistakeable. Twilight became aware that she was apparently standing on a small plot of some kind of grass surrounded by blackness. The creature was half-prone among the green and tan straws, and it looked about how Celestia had described it. Its face was turned upwards and one of its limbs was reaching up like those fingers could grab hold of something in the air.

Twilight followed the creature’s gaze and saw an angel/Celestia. Feathered wings like tufts of summer clouds haloed in the fires of hell/the sun and arms/legs outstretched as if to welcome me/save the creature. Am I dead/was this a memory?

If I am dead then why would I be choking? The thought appeared in Twilight’s head, yet it wasn’t hers. She flailed her legs to try to move towards the creature, to make some kind of contact and gain the creature’s attention. She shouted with her thoughts.

You are alive! This is just a memory! We’re trying to save you!

The creature turned its face towards her. She stared into surprisingly small eyes, splayed wide open from terror bleeding into partial insanity. The irises were stormy seas of green and blue surrounding contracted pupils, set in bloodshot white, surrounded by what looked like brown leather in the prevailing lighting. Yet that maddened gaze locked onto hers and the pupils dilated, guided by some emotional swell. The creature’s mouth opened and closed a couple times like that of a dying fish.

A memory? I remember... fire.

The creature’s face became a visage of pure horror. Then light and heat like a giant hammer slammed into Twilight and pinned her against the grass. Half a second later she understood pain on a magnitude that made all her previous encounters with it seem like an itch. She lost all her senses.

Comments

[MyLittleBurger]

[slade03]

Great stuff! Keep it coming :)

[Nordlichter]

Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn. Twilight, you have made contact.

[Vitae]

Sometimes, Twilight is such a dumb little horse.