Azil

"Did anyone even see him leave his apartment that day?"

"Yeah, he's had a job as a clerk up in Canterlot's southern district for awhile now from what I hear. Took the train just about every day but ever since that episode he had he's been missing. Some colt friend of mine down along the Maresississippi River says he swore he was spotted in one of the towns nearby there, but its unconfirmed. Weird thing is, there's evidence of him still being around on the site, but not much of his work's been seen since the last updates he made."

"Yeesh...it's no wonder we don't see much of his work anymore. How long was it in between those last updates? Years wasn't it?"

"I've heard he has been working on a lot, but mostly unfinished ideas and concepts...also heard he hit a rough spot that sent him into some kind of spiral downward but that he's planning on writing again soon."

"Huh...what do you think could have caused that?"

"Dunno, what makes anypony go crazy these days?"

Twilight sipped her coffee quietly, her back pressed gently against the cushioned booth seat and her ears turned out sideways to get a slightly better grasp of what they were saying. Eavesdropping was more of an art than most ponies gave it credit for, taking time to master. It was a skill she had often read aristocrats employing professionally to get the upper hoof on one another, divulging dark secrets and thwarting carefully laid plans and schemes of various types and ranges, from reputation smearing to being downright lethal. She studied it more out of boredom than anything, her curiosity driving her to discover what manner of secrets rested in the shadows of ponies' hearts. She thought it would just be an assortment of harmless gossip and information: A scandalous affair, a rumor or two, nothing too serious. Placing her coffee mug down, the conversation in the booth behind her switching tracks and the mare quickly becoming disinterested in the topic now pertaining to the weather and sex, she scolded herself for not being more careful in her endeavors. Like always though...she just had to learn the hard way.

She stared at the empty mug before her, her mind wandering about and settling on the words she heard a week ago...

"Can you believe she's only getting off with a warning and mandatory meetings?"

And a week before that...

"I think she's faking it honestly. Did you hear about what happened at the weather factory? Bet you she couldn't handle her marefriend getting all the attention and pulled some 'poor me' bullshit to steal some of the spotlight."

And the week before that...

"If she wasn't 'the' Twilight Sparkle we would have poisoned her to death by now."

~~~

The hub-like Library came into view as Twilight passed through the door, squinting her eyes heavily as the lights from the bright lamps attached to the surrounding walls hit her vision. She could tell immediately something was off as piles upon piles of books lay scattered about between the towering bookcases and various tables that littered the rotunda's expanse. Vasil's sudden voice from behind her caused the mare to jump slightly as he said "Good luck...hopefully you find what you're looking for." Though as she turned her head to thank him, the door shut swiftly with a thunderous, echoing thud, the sound bouncing off of the many walls.

She squinted at the door for a moment, tilting her head slightly as the familiarity of the door piqued the far corners of her memory. It was the cracked rainbow door she had first walked into when she had set out from the Library, the one that led to Rainbow Dash...and the 'cell'. She turned forward, taking careful hoofsteps forward and minding the various discarding of books all around her while her mind wandered for a moment. That Rainbow Dash...though she wasn't technically 'the' real one, she was a perfect depiction of the mare she left behind when she was brought to this place. All of the memories, the feelings, the experiences...it was all genuine, all very real. She figured she was supposed to take something away from that whole ordeal, though sadly as she expected...all she had were just more questions.

Questions she was going to have answered....

Navigating the sea of fallen tomes, Twilight tried her best to find a path more towards the middle of the Library, her eyes keen on spotting the Librarian's desk. Her ears flicked as a sudden memory bubbled up, the lavender mare cursing as she opened her mouth to call out for whom she hoped was still around. "Ditzy??" She shouted to the sea of literature "Ditzy are you still there?! It's me, Twilight!" Nopony answered her, her hoofsteps the only sound audible through the library as she turned this way and that through the leather-bound maze of papers and scripture. Where was she..? Certainly she would have heard her and responded...she hadn't been gone all too terribly long, at most maybe a couple of hours or so.

So where was...?

"Bine ați venit înapoi Twilight Sparkle" a voice suddenly called out from above, causing the snap-horned unicorn to nearly jump out of her skin and fur. She whipped her head upwards to find herself coming upon a massive pile of books, towering high up in the air...and nestled atop its peak was the Librarian. She was resting comfortably it seemed on a cushion balanced precariously at the top, munching almost silently on a green apple and reading from a book hovering before her...though how it was doing so was a complete mystery considering the Librarian had no unicorn's horn to speak of.

Twilight's face quickly turned from alarmed to a very angered expression as she shouted "You've got some serious explaining to do Librarian!" She stamped her hoof for added emphasis, her nostrils flared as she snorted "Get down here!"

To this, the Librarian merely turned her head downwards and peered at her, blinking for a few moments before her signature smile stretched out across her muzzle. It was an expression Twilight was quickly starting to become very irritated by. "Twilight, please I'm just getting to the good part!" She said calmly back, her voice carrying over the wide expanse of air that separated them "You of all ponies should know the importance of the 'good part' of a story, the meat, the climax!" She stared back at the page a moment, taking a good hard look at it as she tilted her head and giggled "Though...I do also love a bit of suspense..." The book snapped shut, resting neatly on the cushion before her hooves as she turned her head back down to address her "So, what kind of questions do you have for me? I trust at least some of them were answered through the door, yes?"

Twilight sat on her haunches, scoffing as she retorted with "Hardly! You told me the answers to Azil were through those doors, and the only thing I've learned so far is that I had an abusive mare-friend who ra-...who hurt me really badly! On top of which, the memory somehow sent me into a infinite plain of snow and wind, a holding cell for...something! I got trapped in a time bubble for THREE, YEARS!" She shot a hoof up towards the Librarian, pointing angrily and shouting "You didn't even bother contacting me at all through your stone! Not once did you try and help me out through any of that ordeal! What was I supposed to learn in there other than that the answers I'm trying to find are coming with a grievous price tag!"

The Librarian's smile stretched wider, an uncomfortable silence falling over the Library as Twilight finished her outburst. A giggle like crystalline glass escaped her lips as she gently propped her head up on one hoof, reclining on her cushion and getting a slight bit more comfortable as she waited for Twilight to take a breath. When she did, her breathing slowing a tad did she respond. "That...is exactly what you were supposed to learn," She said, a glint of mischief in her eyes, flicking the vision of her eyes towards the far wall, some of the far doors coming into view "Knowledge, regardless of how significant or insignificant it is, comes with a price. Sometimes it's time...in other instances...blood. Regardless, to learn is to risk...because some knowledge, without restriction, without study, and without care...could unravel the very fabrics of reality." She looked back towards Twilight, seeing the very annoyed, very unconvinced face of the Lavender mare. Another giggle escaped her, her hoof waving about in the air as she went on "So let's go over what you learned......you know Rainbow Dash was abusive, harsh, cruel...you discovered that there others sympathetic to your plight, but what else...think...what was happening, what did you hear?"

Twilight blinked, frowning as she cast her eyes downward, putting a hoof to her head as she started to concentrate, reaching back to her memories within the rainbow door. She fell through the door...she was caught by Thunderlane...she heard voices, a radio that sounded like...? "Hurricane Astronovere...." Twilight breathed, looking up "A hurricane that destroyed Romaneia, and there was another like it on its way to Equestria." She felt a chill run through her heart as she tried to put some of the pieces together, looking up towards the Librarian and asking "I remember Pinkie Pie saying one day when we were all out getting coffee that Romaneia's duke had cut off ties to everyone, and then a couple of months later the hurricane destroyed the entire country...and the way Raindrops said it was 'Divine intervention, the language that you and her speak..." She pointed a hoof up, her voice, though low, carrying up to the grey mare "Is...is Azil in Romareia? What's left of it anyway...? Did the hurricane do this?"

The Librarian smiled, whispering "Warmer..." as she leaned towards the edge, peering eagerly down at Twilight Sparkle "Romareian is indeed the language that I and the others of this place speak...but Azil is not in Romareia dearest Twilight. Not...fully, anyway." She repositioned herself on the cushion, the hovering book closing shut and falling from the air into the sea of other tomes below "A storm approaches Equestria, a battered and abused mare tumbles into a world of terror, ash, and blood, and a mystery begins its long journey of becoming solved...quite a story you are brewing here." She inclined her head towards the far wall, a loud, auditory 'CLICK' sounding off as the door to the right of the rainbow door opened slightly, a chilly wind bursting through and kicking up several piles of papers and pages near its blackened expanse. "But you've only a small selection of pieces to this puzzle Twilight. Facts, yes...but not enough to align to form a solution." Another book floated up from below her, hovering before her face and opening slowly to the first page "Off you go then, the other puzzle pieces are yours to collect."

Twilight sat there, dumbfounded, taking in the words that the Librarian was saying and slowly processing them. Azil was not in Romareia...but the ruined, isolated country was a definite clue. Raindrops spoke the language, so did the Librarian, hell, even Vasil's name sounded Romareian. There had to be a connection somewhere...something that linked Azil to Romareia.

A sense of determination filled her for a brief moment, her heart thudding at the elation she felt at getting at least a little traction on her journey of discovery. Just as she was about to venture off towards the newly opened door however...a sudden realization washed over her. "Ditzy Doo..." Twilight said, looking up at the Librarian "Where's Ditzy Doo?"

The Librarian slowly looked from her book towards Twilight, raising an eyebrow as she answered "Back in her cell of course...that's where inmates go."

"W-what?!" Twilight shrieked, rounding back on the Librarian as her eyes widened "You sent her BACK there?! D-do you realize what's back in that prison tower?! Those ashen ponies are going to melt her alive!"

The Librarian clucked her tongue at Twilight's outburst, shaking her head as she said "All ponies and creature are here for a reason Twilight Sparkle, same as you and I. Ditzy Doo is here because of a crime, just as you are, just as I am and everypony else here. It's simply the way of things. Now then if you'll excuse me I must get back to my book."

"Now wait just a minute!" Twilight growled, but her next words were suddenly cut off by the slightly-cracked door flying open, a murderous gust of wind bursting forth and suddenly retreating back within the blackened void, the entrance roaring with thunderous noise as papers and books started to get sucked within the darkness at a violent rate and speed. Twilight let out a scream as she was whisked away off of her hooves, desperately flailing for anything that she could use as an anchor. Her efforts were in vain, the unicorn's body tumbling through the doorway and into the wretched dark beyond, a blood curdling scream escaping her lungs.

She fell for what felt like a good minute before she landed with a thunderous crash in a pile of...something. There wasn't enough light to see very well, but the mare could clearly tell she had tumbled into some kind of closet. Below her was a random assortment of what she could only perceive as supplies: A bucket, broom, a pile of sponges, some bottles of cleaner. "Celestia damn it all..." She grumbled with a voice high and raspy, trying to pull herself out of the mess and onto her hooves "Looks like I landed in a broom closet...not that I'm complaining, I'll take this over the open sky any day."

She trudged through the clutter, squinting her eyes in attempts to see into the darkness. The supplies around her all seemed so big, like they were made for much larger ponies, or even griffons. Even the bucket looked big enough to fit into fully. She spotted a door handle on the far wall, quickly making her way over and trying it with a flick of her hoof. The door opened, the mare wincing as bright light spilled into the dark crevice, illuminating her surroundings and revealing that she had indeed fallen in a broom cupboard. "Damn Librarian," She swore, opening the door further and pushing her way through "I swear if I get out of this one alive I'm going to give her a piece of my mind..."

As she stepped out, she found herself in a long, black and white checkered-tile hallway, the walls lined with green lockers. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized where she was immediately, though she prayed desperately that she was wrong. What was more alarming was the fact that everything in general looked...way too big. The lockers, the other doors in the hall, even the windows to which a gray, overcast sky met her gaze. She turned back around, eyes flicking upwards to see the door handle much higher than it was a moment ago, a terrified squeak passing through her muzzle as she looked back down.

She was tiny. She was little. Somehow...she had become a filly.

"Oh..." Twilight whimpered, slowly looking down the hallway, the lights above ending about a hundred feet away and giving way to a completely darkened void in which the lockers couldn't even be visible anymore. What -was- visible however, was the tall, towering figure standing just beyond the light and halfway into the darkness, a flowing mane and a pair of very sinister, furious eyes boring straight into hers.

"Oh no..."

Somewhere a bell rang.

Somewhere, the wind laughed.