Twilight had expected—or at least hoped—to find a library of some kind beyond the impenetrable veil of darkness. The faceless voice that had spoken inside her head had, after all, referred to itself as a librarian, so it would stand to reason that a library was what she'd find. What she and Grogar stumbled into instead all but shattered any and all expectations she could've possibly had about what a library could be.

It was as if Twilight had stepped into another reality entirely—one where she could breathe in knowledge like oxygen. One where each sound was like the turning of a page. It was an abstract and alien space where words, both arcane and contemporary, fell like rain upon the skin. It was a place where blood became ink and flesh turned to parchment and every feeling, every sense, every emotion was conveyed chapter by chapter.

Twilight Sparkle was a book with no real end or true beginning, a story that was continuously being written by the world around her. In this place where literature ruled as a fourth immutable law of the universe, there was no architecture in the physical sense. Perception held no one single shape or form and there was no distinction between what could and what could not be read.

In this place, all are made and unmade through words.

It all should have been too much to take in—too incomprehensible for her young mind. Such sights and sounds should have driven the undead filly mad... and yet Twilight found that she understood. More than that, she felt as though an impossible weight had been lifted from her back. She felt lighter, more clear-headed than she had in some time. Her mind was alive and positively bursting with secret knowledge both terrible and wonderful.

She existed in an endless sea of concepts as nothing more than a simple amalgamation of words upon a cosmic page and yet she did not drown. But why? she thought, none of this makes any sense... or it shouldn't, but...

"Steel your mind, child," came Grogar's wary voice. To Twilight's ears, it sounded so close yet so terribly far away all at once, "I may be yet a stranger to all Domains but mine own, however, I am well versed in how one works on a fundamental level, and this... this is no mere Domain."

Oh? How very perceptive of you, Your Highness, came a deep, unearthly voice in response, allow me to welcome you to Breostbedern Bocgestreon, a realm where words and erudition reign supreme and where we are all simply subjects under their rule.

Twilight heard the words—the name of this place—and the information poured into her mind like a warm tonic and she understood. Everything this place was and would ever be had been shaped by the creature at the center of it all. It was a being of boundless wisdom and unknowable strength—a god that took the form of an imposing shadow. The dark silhouette was positively mastodonic in size and vaguely strigiform in its shape.

Though Twilight could no longer 'see' in the traditional sense, the knowledge of the void-black owl's existence impressed itself upon her and Grogar. Its towering presence was like a keystone, anchoring their mind and body down lest they be washed away by the abstract nature of this 'world of words'. Its eyes, two brilliant golden orbs that shone like miniature suns, watched them with undisguised curiosity and just a hint of amusement.

Though it may have been her overwhelmed imagination, Twilight got the sense that the creature's gaze had lingered on her in particular. Regardless of where its attention lay, she and Grogar 'watched' in turn as the titanic owl-like creature shuffled its monstrous, stygian wings and let out an odd sort of coughing chirp that was vaguely reminiscent of a laugh. As the sound faded into the roiling sea of words surrounding them all, it spoke again.

Doubtless, you are wondering who or perhaps what I am, no?

The two were indeed wondering just that, but as the world around them rushed to fill in the blanks, the knowledge was seized and ripped away from their minds in that same instant. It was as if the creature before them had reached out with its talons and snatched the information away. Twilight and Grogar were left knowing nothing about what the golden-eyed shadow actually was or where it came from.

Ah, no need to respond, for it is as clear to me as the stink of dark magic etched upon both your souls. Yes, I know the questions you wish to ask, but you'll get no answers from me save for that which you have originally come here to ask... though I suppose I should at the very least provide you a name, shouldn't I?

The owl-like shadow snapped its 'head' to one side at an almost ninety-degree angle—a very owl-like thing to do, though it unnerved Twilight nevertheless.

I have taken many shapes and have been given many names by many beings beyond this realm, but for the two of you... Hmm... 

It hummed in thought for a moment before straightening its head once more and letting out that same odd coughing, chirping laugh, as though it had suddenly remembered some amusing joke.

I suppose... Owlowiscious shall suffice for now.

Something in Twilight's mind stirred at the name—something warm and familiar, yet horribly cold and alien at the same time. It was like a word on the tip of the tongue or a memory almost, but not quite recalled. The name lingered there just beneath the surface—infinitely close but wholly unattainable. Grogar frowned as the avian shadow introduced itself.

To the filly who was quite literally connected to Grogar on a spiritual level, the ancient, imperturbable ram seemed concerned. Nervous even. Definitely guarded if nothing else, and that was confirmed for Twilight in the next words he spoke.

"Owlowiscious then,"  he began after a moment, "you say we are all merely subjects within in this realm, and yet I cannot help but feel it a bit disingenuous to include a being such as yourself in that same position given the kind of... presence you exude."

The creature chuckled his strange chuckle again.

Believe me, necromancer, the will I am able to exert within this place is but a trifle—a drop in the bucket compared to the entities that make their home in this place.

"Entities?" Twilight couldn't help but wonder aloud.

Almost as soon as she voiced her curiosity, the world seemed to shift and a horrible sense of foreboding passed over the undead filly like a wave. Though she no longer had ears with which to hear, she could feel the distant rumble of something old and terrible.

On some instinctual level, Twilight and Grogar knew they didn't belong here, but in the wake of that distant, ancient presence—older even than the owl before them—they could sense it down to the very core of their currently abstract beings.

Before Twilight could begin to internalize the true scope of what was approaching, the sensation and knowledge of what that ancient presence might've been were both plucked from her mind. Just like that, the rumbling ceased and the world stabilized once more.

Shaken, the filly wanted to ask what had happened, but even young and curious as she was, she truly understood—perhaps for the first time—that certain knowledge was best left in the dark. Owlowiscious gave another caoughing chuckle even as his guests shuddered in relief.

Careful, little one. In this place, you are, quite literally, an open book. One that any passing denizen may read at their leisure. It would behoove you not to let your mind wander too much. Your tenuous existence can ill afford such a luxury.

"Your advice is duly noted, "Grogar replied, answering for his unsettled charge, "I believe it best to simply obtain what we came here for so that we may be about our own business."

The titanic silhouette gave a disappointed sigh and made an obscure movement that might've been a shuffling of his shadowy wings.

Yes, I suppose you are quite right at that. It wouldn't do to linger here and spoil the child's mind before she's even begun to truly walk her path.

"Oh?" Grogar asked, giving a mental frown, "and what do you know of her path?"

At that, Owlowiscious chuckled again.

No need to be so wary, my dear necromancer. Truth be told, the real reason I brought you both here to this hallowed place was that I was simply curious.

"Curious?" Grogar pressed.

For a long moment, the owl-like shadow didn't reply. Instead, he blinked the luminescent golden orbs that were his eyes and leaned down as if to get a better look at Twilight. The filly had no physical form, but was still somehow able to shrink away from his uncomfortably intense gaze.

Looking into his eyes was like looking past the seemingly endless expanse of the sky above and into the dark void of space beyond. She had no flesh but she still felt her skin crawl at the attention. Ownlowiscious gave a quick ninety-degree tilt of his head before straightening back up, evidently satisfied with what he saw.

I wanted to see this one with my own eyes... to see how she compares to one who has started down a similar path. I must admit I am quite pleased to see that this one has just as much potential if not more. Very good. Very, very good...

Both Grogar and Twilight waited for more. Waited for some kind of explanation as to what or who the eldritch owl could possibly be talking about, but he just laughed his strange laugh and spread his impossibly wide wings. His immense wingspan seemed to blot out the rest of the world and his golden eyes suddenly shone like collapsing stars.

When he next spoke, the world shook with the power of his words.

Perhaps we will meet again one day, little one. But until that day comes, I bid you both farewell. Go now. Take this knowledge and reach ever greater heights!

With a blinding flash of otherworldly light and the fading echo of an avian's cackle, Owlowiscious vanished. As the divine creature faded from their sight and mind, so too did the strange and unnerving realm that was Breostbedern Bocgestreon.

The memory of that place and the being Twilight and Grogar met therein scattered and drifted away like leaves on the wind. With that, they were left to plunge into the depths of an endless black abyss as reality reasserted itself. After what could have been seconds or hours, Twilight finally opened her eyes.

It took a moment for her to collect herself, but eventually, the residual haze in her mind began to fade. Once the fog cleared and she could see again, Twilight found that she and Grogar stood once more within the blasted ruins of the old library.

A few books lay haphazardly among broken and batter bookshelves. Some had fallen to the ground, both the covers and the pages within rotting away where they lay. More dislodged pages lay scattered about the entire floor, aged and tattered, the ink upon the paper no longer legible.

The sight of it all was almost too much for the bibliophilic filly to bear. The absolutely abysmal state of the library and the few remaining books it held made her want to cry for the injustice. Unable to help herself, she went about the ruined library inspecting and bemoaning the wretched state of the books.

So distracted by her woes was Twilight that she hadn't stopped to consider her current circumstances. Thankfully Grogar was there to bring the filly's focus back to where it needed to be—namely on their situation and what had just transpired. Calling her over, he fixed Twilight with a pensive scowl, making the undead filly flinch uncomfortably.

"Tell me, child," the ram finally began after a moment, "what do you remember of our trip to this library?"

"Well," Twilight frowned, "I know Katrina brought us here to meet with somepony, and... um..." her face scrunched up in confusion as she gave their surroundings another look, "I feel like we did meet somepony, but I can't remember. And actually, weren't we outside a minute ago?"

"Hm, as I thought," Grogar nodded slowly, "there seems to be a gap in both our memories then. I know that we met someone and I know that meeting did not take place here, but both the creature and location escape me."

"So... what?" Twilight tilted her head in bemusement, "did they erase our memory or something?"

"I would have to assume so," Grogar raised a cloven hoof to his chest and grimaced in displeasure, "my memory of the encounter may be gone, but the echo of the meeting with that creature still remains. Whoever it was that we met... I am certain it was no ordinary demon. I do believe, in fact, that the creature was no demon at all."

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.

"Call it intuition born of experience," Grogar huffed and returned his steady gaze to his undead pupil, "in any case, it appears our little rendezvous was not a complete waste."

"It wasn't?"

"No, it was not," Grogar shook his head and favored Twilight with a rare wry smile, "tell me, child, what is the name of this library?"

Twilight's ears perked up at the question. It was unexpected but she raised a hoof and opened her mouth almost as if she'd been waiting to reply.

"The Infernal Archives, or Kolasména Archeía in the ancient tongue of demonkind," she replied succinctly, "built and maintained by a few of the lesser demons who managed to escape their master's clutches with pilfered knowledge in tow, it was sadly destroyed and most of the knowledge lost during the rampage of the Voracious Nightmare," she puffed out her chest proudly as she finished, but frowned in confusion after a moment, "wait... why do I know that? Well, I mean, I could've guessed that last part, but how did I know about the name?"

"A gift from our mysterious host I imagine," Grogar replied with a sardonic chuckle, "I'm willing to bet there is yet more to what you know. I too bear knowledge I was not privy to prior to our arrival at this place."

"So we got what we came for then?" Twilight asked uncertainly. She gave the ruined library another pained look, "does that mean we're done here?"

"I'm afraid it does, child," Grogar nodded before turning towards the entrance, "we've more to do and I'll not be delayed any longer now that we have the information we sought."

"But..." Twilight shuffled from hoof to hoof, "but we can come back, right? M-Maybe I can work with Katrina to fix up the library a little..." she winced as one of the bookshelves she'd been messing with earlier collapsed in on itself, "...or a lot. Maybe if we find some more books we can add them to the library?"

Grogar frowned as he looked from the pleading filly to the dilapidated library. He scoured the ruins with a thoughtful gaze before shaking his head with a sigh.

"In the unlikely event that we find the time and resources, perhaps something can be done," Grogar conceded, "I admit, a repository of knowledge would be a boon if we ever have need to make this valley our base of operations," he nodded to himself, "I will talk to Tirek about it when the opportunity next arises, but for now, we take our leave. I would see the witch's progress regarding our agreed-upon solution. Come."

"Yes, Father!" Twilight cried as she happily trotted out of the library after her mentor. Her smile fell into a worried frown as a sudden thought hit her, "so assuming we did meet with that... whatever or whoever it was. How long do you think it's been since then?"

Grogar's brows furrowed.

"A very good question," he replied after a moment's thought, "I suppose we shall see soon enough."

Author's Note

For those of you still following this story, you know how it goes by now. Next chapter is a Shiny chapter.