She set it ablaze...
But as always, the flame was quenched just as quickly as it had manifested.
The mare whimpered in frustration as she searched for something beyond the endless rows of dusty wooden bookshelves, but the darkness quickly claimed her sight with the absence of light. She fumbled with her magic lighter, trying to ignite the bookshelf to her right once again. Suddenly, her hoof's grip faltered, and her only light source clattered to the floor.
"No, no, NO!" she hoarsely hissed, scrambling towards where she last heard it on the marble floor. She couldn't afford to lose the precious tool in this ancient library of choking blackness, or else she'd surely go mad seeking an exit, knowing the possibility of any being unseen mere meters away. It didn't provide much light, but it was something.
When her hoof finally came into contact with the lighter, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. After gingerly grasping it, she hid it in the secure folds of her left wing. If only she were a unicorn, she could've simply used magic to find her way out. Instead, she was left with the irony of her wings.
Taking flight in the dark was nearly impossible. With light, she could fly over the bookshelves, but such a thing was forbidden here. Despite the danger, she attempted to fly upward in the vain hope of finding a way out above. It did not end well when she smacked into the hard ceiling, then just barely managed to glide back down without falling to her death. In all likelihood, flying was now entirely out of the question with her wings banged up.
Not that it mattered, she supposed.
Slowly, she took deep breaths to soothe her aching heart, resolving not to cry. For if she did cry, her thirst would only grow worse. She had no idea how long she'd been wandering around this place—hours, days, even weeks? It was difficult to tell. The time spent here blended together as she meandered through the darkness, only her hoof clops breaking the silence, seeing the same faint forms of bookshelves on both sides with occasional gaps as the lighter flickered from her constant use of it.
Logically, it had only been a few hours, but the laws of the library could be bending her bodily needs for all she knew. It became too much, too overwhelming, to the point where she tried to burn the library down. Unfortunately, any flame on anything in here would be snuffed, not just the lighter.
She was still lucky to have the lighter with her, though she had no idea how she got it. In fact, she didn't even know how she arrived here. When she first tried to remember anything before this dreadfully empty existence, her mind throbbed in pain, and she fell onto her haunches. Her body involuntarily hyperventilated, her eyes widening to the point where it felt like they'd pop out of their sockets. It was because of what she saw in her mind.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing appeared in her mind's eye, regardless of what she thought about. If she tried to visualize an apple, nothing showed up. If she tried to visualize herself, nothing showed up. Her memories, her very imagination, did not exist. It's as if the library had invaded her body, forcing her to follow its rules. But she must continue to resist it if she wants to ever leave.
Armed with that thought, she began to trot forward. She brought the lighter back out, returning to the routine which was now second nature to her. The lighter lit up, pushing back the darkness a little, only for it to counter with its own push and eliminate the tiny flame. Her breath hitched in fear as she considered something: could it run out of fuel? What if she was wasting it? It was pointless to worry, but perhaps she should use it more conservatively.
When the next flame went out, she waited longer than normal to reignite it. It's not like she needed to use it in the first place to know that she was traversing the exact same path as she had been. But the silence and darkness unsettled her. Anything could be lurking in the shadows, ready to devour her whole...
She tore her mind away from such terrifying musings. Focusing on her surroundings, her mind went silent. However, it was hard to keep it that way with nothing happening, so her thoughts drifted back to her non-existent memories. She knew nothing about herself, looks included.
With the next flame, she inspected her own colorless body, mainly just her front since she couldn't make out her cutie mark.
Was... was it even possible to see color here? It hadn't occurred to her until now, but she has only seen black and white. Yet another rule of the library, it seems. There hasn't been a single positive one so far.
Embroiled in her misery, she automatically started another flame, then whispered into the gloom.
"Who am I?"
She came to a stop, gasping as sensations bombarded her mind in waves.
The busy streets of a large city filled with regal ponies; the bright blue sky as the wind shrieked past her; a smiling maroon unicorn giving her a lighter; countless nights staying up to read books; and... her name? It's...
A great bell rang, shattering the memories just as the flame faded. As it echoed through her mind, she stumbled and almost dropped the lighter again. Was that part of the memories?
It loudly resounded again, as if answering her silent question. Her best guess was that it came from... the left.
She turned toward the noise and exposed a gap in the shelves with another flame. Swallowing dryly, she considered her options. Find the source of this new sound, which could be hostile, or walk onward with no guarantee of finding anything at all.
The choice was obvious. She went in that direction, navigating through many more gaps as she relied on her lighter.
After giving her trust without hesitation, she blindly walked towards this mysterious being. Being? She had felt optimistic, but it would be no surprise if it turned out to be the library playing tricks on her.
A cold wind weakly brushed her face, and she came to a stop in shock. The air had always been static, so this was irregular. She readied her lighter, only for her body to stop, as if an unseen force was constricting her.
"Keep your flame doused, lost pony."
Her mouth gaped, a small grunt escaping her throat. She intensely gazed into the abyss, her eyes failing to pierce it nonetheless. Was there really someone here? She wasn't just imagining it again, right?
Gathering the remains of her courage, she stammered, "W-who are you?"
A raspy voice, sounding neither male nor female as she tried to identify it, whispered, "I am the librarian. If you seek to leave, you should follow me."
Immediately, a barrage of angry demands to unleash upon the librarian entered her mind, but she held back. It would not be a good idea to make an enemy out of this place's ruler. Once again, practicing deep breaths, she considered her current situation.
"Why can't I use my lighter?" she calmly asked.
She had a strange feeling that if she could see, the librarian would be childishly cocking its head. "Why would you want to use it? I am the only guide you need," said the librarian. "In fact, the light would burn my eyes. How could I then serve as a guide? We would both be lost." It gave an awkward chuckle, as if trying to lighten the mood without knowing how to do it.
Although the librarian gave a reasonable explanation, she couldn't help but feel something was wrong here, shivering from the cold that the librarian seemingly emanated. She took a half-step back using one foreleg and twisted slightly away.
"Do not be afraid, my little pony," spat the librarian. "You are safe, but you must relinquish the light. Such dangerous tools should be left behind. It is no different than if I had requested for a soldier to drop his weapon."
She flinched when she heard bones pop, indicating it was twisting or moving in some way. Fear was worming its way into her heart. Her guts screamed at her to run or even fly away.
But in her memory, the maroon unicorn still smiled at her.
"I'm sorry, but I can't just abandon it. This lighter is special to me," she murmured. "It was given to me by a close friend."
The bell from before rang, this time sounding too loud as it crashed into her ears and her legs buckled. "Whatever do you mean?" the librarian sweetly asked. "You just happened to possess it when you came here. You have no connection to it at all."
The image of the unicorn in her mind shattered. She mentally struggled to pick up the pieces, but it all fell back into darkness. With tears streaming down her face, she attempted to use the lighter only to discover it had slipped from her grasp.
Heart pounding, she searched the floor for it as fast as possible. When she finally found it, she took it into her hooves and ignited it. The darkness was pushed back, giving her a glimpse of the librarian.
A ghostly white alicorn with pitch-black eyes reared up above her, ready to crush her beneath its hooves. No, it appeared to be an alicorn at first glance, but it was actually an earth pony with grafted body parts of different shades: a long jagged horn, ragged wings unfit for flight, and chipped kirin scales placed in asymmetrical patterns.
With a wretched scream that grated on her already sore ears, it crumpled to the floor in reaction to the light. She noticed the outline of a previously unseen object floating in the air to its left as it fell. It was strangely still devoid of almost any light.
Soon, the light faded and the darkness returned. Shaking from the ordeal that had just occurred, she nonetheless only momentarily paused before cantering up to where she thought the object was, hoping to find answers from this instead of having to touch the librarian's disgusting body. She cautiously attempted wrapping it in her right wing, doubting the current capability of her hooves.
Pain burned through her wing as an unexpectedly intense heat assaulted her senses. She instinctively flung the object out of her wing, and it hit the floor with a clack. Reeling from the agony, she gently inspected her wing but was very surprised to find that it was unscathed.
After waiting a minute to catch her breath, she used the lighter and was greeted with the sight of the librarian lying on the floor. Peering more closely, she could see a small bell wrapped around its neck. While inspecting the unmoving librarian, she noticed something very peculiar—the flame was still not extinguished.
Reminded of her circumstances, she spun around, scanning for the object from before. That's when she spotted a candle on a small bronze platter. Miraculously, it was still upright despite her extreme treatment of it.
In the corner of her vision, the librarian slightly moved and startled her. When she looked towards it, she found that it was only staring at the candle.
"You have killed my essence's flame," the librarian softly breathed. "You have completed the challenge and can now read to your heart's content."
She could only feel confused in response. "The challenge? What challenge?"
With its rotten black teeth, it gave her a crooked smile that was more creepy than anything else. "You made the wish. I granted your wish, provided that you staked your identity on it. Your exact words were, 'I wish I could read forever instead of dealing with yet another tedious day of my life,' as I recall. Now, I cannot harm you or stand in your way."
She contemplated that for a second, with one eye starting to twitch. "You can't be serious," she muttered. "In what world is reading more important than my life... my friends?"
The librarian only stared back blankly.
She sighed, trotting over to the candle to light it. Once it was lit, she tucked away her lighter and raised the candle, now able to see far more of the library. It really did go on forever.
"You can use the light to guide the way to any book you desire," the librarian asserted. "You can call forth memories as well, but you already know that."
Right, it must've had just enough power for that back then. A library she could read eternally in, huh? Many scholars would likely jump at the chance and gladly stay here.
After taking it all in, she turned back to the librarian. "I've made my decision."
The librarian gradually sat up and gave a knowing nod.
"I have more important things to do than sit idle in some musty library," she announced. "I know there is somepony waiting for me."
She sat on her bed, a book open in front of her. It was readable thanks to the light from the window, but it was now long past daytime. Luna's night had taken hold, stealing it all away in this particular instance. It should've been pitch black in here, yet it wasn't.
Glancing to her side, a candle held in a bronze plate next to her lighter had settled onto the nightstand. It was still bright, encompassing the book's words with light.
Suddenly, a knock came at her bedroom door along with a muffled voice. "Ruly! Hey, don't pretend you're sleeping. I can see the light under your door, silly."
Cerulean Dawn closed the book and dropped down from the bed. When she got to the door, she slowly cracked it open.
Her roommate, a maroon unicorn with a messy charcoal-black mane, frowned as she peeked behind her into the bedroom. "Oh, you were staying up again to read, weren't you? You really need to stop doing that, y'know. Celestia will raise the sun soon. You gotta get your beauty sleep!" She poked her blue coat with the other end of a levitating toothbrush that was enveloped in a red glow.
Cerulean raised an eyebrow at it. "Really, Cinder?"
Cinder Flash spun the toothbrush and glanced down in mild embarrassment. "Well, you know I have to get ready for the Canterlot Sun Committee bright and early," she mumbled. "They'd use it against me for years if I wasn't there in time for the sunrise."
Cerulean held back a giggle, smiling a little. "I have no idea why you stick with those zealots. They're nuts!"
"They're the only ones willing to pay somepony who looks like a bucking arsonist," Cinder grumbled back.
"Well, I, for one, greatly appreciate your talent," Cerulean declared. "Fire may be naturally destructive, but you can definitely save lives with it."
Cinder looked curious at first and half-opened her mouth to say something, but it instead turned into a grin. "Thanks, Ruly. Sweet dreams. No more losing sleep over books, okay?"
"You're right, I'll be more careful in the future thanks to you," Cerulean happily agreed with a gleam in her eye, though it disappeared as she then scowled. "Just say Cerulean or Dawn."
"I can go back to Ceru if you want—"
Cerulean shut the door and huffed in annoyance, though a small smile soon crept up on her face.
Trotting back to bed, she took one last look at the candle. It was her only proof of what happened. Perhaps she could go back if she ever wanted to, but it'd probably be for the best if she left such things alone. It was an insane experience for which she had far too many questions, ones that likely could only be answered with secrets. As a wise mare once told her, secrets are secrets for a reason.
And so, after getting close enough without burning her gold-sand mane, she blew out the candle.
