Background Pony

IX - The Lirmaments

She slowly shook her head. "There's no way to be sure. Luna was known to have composed a lot of music in the century that preceded her banishment. However, the Requiem has no established author."

"But was the knowledge of the Requiem stored in the Celestial Library or the Lunar Archives?"

Twilight fidgeted. She trembled slightly.

"Twilight," I said with a sigh. "This is important-"

"I d-don't know, okay?!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice cracking. "I want to help you, Lyra. I want to help you so much. But... But I don't know. There isn't much in the Lunar Archives that has survived the Great Canterlot Eclipse to tell of what happened during Shadow's Advent. The only records that point to that time period are sporadic pieces of literary antiquity, books that have been preserved in the hooves of common citizens over the last thousand years. Those are difficult to find at best. But..." Her eyes briefly brightened in thought.

"What?" I leaned forward, curious.

She gulped, then said, "I have a unique collection here in the Ponyville Library. It's an extremely old sample of Equestrian literature. Not even I'm capable of reading half of it, seeing that most of the material is written in Moonwhinny and Old Equine. From what I can tell, most of the books are simple almanacs written by pre-Civil War unicorn astronomers. The tomes likely reached Ponyville through refugees who fled from the war-torn fields of Whinniepeg to the north a thousand years ago."

"Where are these books?"

"Spike and I keep them in the basement, along with several books that are even older. With the use of enchanted mana crystals, I cast a protection spell over the archives on a regular basis. There's no telling when a visiting Canterlot scholar might want to peruse the material."

"Well, I think I'd better have a look at them."

"Lyra, I'm telling you..." Twilight stood and looked me in the eyes. "The books have nothing to do with Princess Luna's legacy or music composition or... or..." She shuddered, running a hoof over her face. "What would it mean to you anyways? Don't you have all you need to know about this... this latest elegy of yours?"

"Performing the elegies is never easy," I muttered. I was already eying the wooden door that led down to the library's dark basement. "If I can find any information about them whatsoever, no matter how obscure, then I'll take it."

"Do you have to perform them, Lyra?" Twilight remarked. "You make them sound so dangerous and... foreboding!" She gulped, then smiled hopefully. "I know! Let me perform them with you! I can summon a protection field three times as powerful as any other unicorn in town. I can prepare us for whatever magical consequences your symphony might bring."

"Out of the question, Twilight. The elegies are mine to perform and mine alone. Besides, your memory wouldn't last long enough to let you assist me."

"It's... It's just..." Twilight was shuddering. I've seen this reaction far too many times. It's like an old record being played over and over again to the breaking point. The tonality grows duller and duller, to the point that my ears barely twitch upon each wavering octave of my old friend's frail voice. "It's so unfair."

"I must not let the nature of my curse inhibit me, Twilight," I said. "I've been given one clue, one set of directions, since Nightmare Moon afflicted me, and it's all framed by these songs that haunt my mind. One way or another, I'm performing them. If they destroy me, so be it, for sometimes destruction is the very essence of transformation. Wouldn't you agree?"