Dawn Lighter was pacing back and forth within the library in Canterlot Castle. On the surface, she appeared to be just slightly troubled, mumbling to herself. Delving deeper, however, would reveal the debate she was having with her host.
“Please?” asked Twilight within.
“No,” stated Dawn Lighter, gritting her teeth.
“What if I just read a book? Or simply stretched my legs? Anything at all, please!” begged Twilight. “I just want to feel something in the world by my own volition! I promise I won’t try anything!”
“No. I will be forever in control. Lose any hope you have of trying to gain back your body. It is mine now.” Dawn Lighter shook her head.
“Could you at least let me read a book? Something short or productive for me to think about,” pushed Twilight, not wanting to settle for nothing. The spirit thought for a moment, hiding her intentions from Twilight.
“Fine. It would be nice to immerse myself in something outside of serving my queen anyway,” she finally said, before diving into her memories to look for a book to locate. “Interesting, how did…” Suddenly lighting her horn, Dawn Lighter teleported with a pop.
Touching down on the doorstep of Golden Oak Library, she quickly unlocked the door with her magic and stepped into the building. Flicking on a light, she passed through the main hall into the area that shelved all of the books. Rows of neatly stacked books sat in spaced racks with a simple table in the middle. Looking around, she moved over to the first row and began to skim through the many tomes.
Twilight attempted to peer into the spirit’s mind, wondering why they were here in the first place. However her attempts were fruitless, and she could only watch as Dawn Lighter began to grow reckless in her search. The spirit threw books from their spots, tossing them behind her without any care. Soon enough, a clump of them formed on the floor as she moved onto another row. Section after section and row after row she went. Yet still she remained unsatisfied, not even caring about the books she trampled underneath.
Growing angrier, she started to rip whole racks down which scattered more books and smashed covers. Bubbling in vexation as she reached the end, Dawn Lighter hungrily looked around for more. Stomping over to the dining room, she located a single book that lay at the end table there. Her hopes rose somewhat as she brought the book closer, only for them to be dashed as she wrathfully slammed it against a wall.
Growling now, she stepped upstairs to continue her rampage. Entering Twilight's room, she began flinging random objects around in her search. Finding nothing of use, Dawn Lighter continued her frenzy into the guest room. After scrutinizing every room for any more books and still coming up short of her target, Dawn Lighter let out a shriek of anger. “Please, Dawn Lighter, stop!” cried Twilight, aghast at the destruction.
“Where is it!” demanded Dawn Lighter, snorting and twisting around for any spot she may have missed.
“Where is what!? I’ll help you find whatever it is, just don’t break anything else, please!” pleaded Twilight.
“The book. The book of Predictions and Prophecies! Where is it?!” exclaimed Dawn Lighter, her horn sizzling as she grew tempted to burn down the place in her search.
“I-I don’t know!” declared Twilight, going through her memories.
“I know you don’t, because I can’t find it in here either!” continued Dawn Lighter as she waded back to the middle of the main room. “You were here last, you should know!”
“M-maybe Spike knows where it is, or…” began Twilight, racking her brain for potential reasons. For once, Dawn Lighter accepted the suggestion. She summoned the purple and green dragon onto the pile of fallen literature.
“Woah, Dawn Lighter, please give me some warning before you do that! Wait, are we where I think we--What did you do to the place!” Spike exclaimed as he dusted himself off and looked around.
“Where is it!” yelled Dawn Lighter, staring down the drake and lighting her horn again.
“Huh?” Spike flinched, closing his eyes and putting up his arms in defense.
“The book, Predictions and Prophecies! Where is it?! I have looked everywhere and can’t find it!” stated Dawn Lighter angrily, motioning to the chaos around her.
“Okay, okay, slow down. If I show you where it is, do you promise not to hurt me?” he asked, cracking an eye open.
“Yes,” hissed Dawn Lighter, taking a step back and disengaging her horn. Inside, however, Twilight was desperately trying to call out to the drake. Wishing to tell him how sorry she was, that she loved him, anything to show affection to him. She hated how she could do nothing while he was treated like dirt.
Spike gulped before stepping over the many books and making his way up to Twilight’s bedroom. “I had put the book in my cupboard as soon as you and the rest of the group went off in search of the Elements,” explained Spike as he stepped over to his small bed. He pushed it over to reveal a single hole that would have been missed by an untrained eye. Bending down, he inserted a digit and lifted the flap to reveal a couple of comics and a red book. It seemed that the tome shone in the dim lighting as the two looked upon it. Engraved in the front were the words ‘Predictions and Prophecies. By Star Swirl the Bearded.’ Spike hoisted the book up and presented it to Dawn Lighter. “Here ya go.”
Whisking it away, she stepped over to a table and flipped towards the middle of the book. She turned a couple pages before skimming through multiple until she reached the page she was looking for. She traced a hoof over the words before gasping and closing the book with a smack. Looking around again, she shrugged before teleporting into the night, leaving a confused Spike. Grumbling to himself, he surveyed his surroundings before sighing and getting to work on cleaning up the place.
Appearing back in the castle, Dawn Lighter immediately made her way to the queen’s quarters. The book pressed to her side, she galloped through the corridors before locating two silvery doors.
“My Queen!” exclaimed Dawn Lighter as she burst through the doorway. Taking note of two sets of eyes immediately trained on her, she disregarded the second and focused on the first. She breathed deeply for a moment before relaxing her features. “I must speak with you urgently and privately.”
“Very well. Canopus, please complete the first task that I had given you. And don’t fail me again,” dismissed Nightmare Moon, turning towards Dawn Lighter and pointing a hoof. “And what, pray tell, has got you so excited? And what do you have there?”
“I believe I have found something that could either spell our downfall, or secure our reign forever,” began Dawn Lighter after the other pony had left the room.
“Very well, walk with me,” stated Nightmare Moon as she stepped over to an exit. The dark unicorn followed her superior down the darkened hallway and into the next room.
“So, I have discovered the book that predicted your arrival back to Equestria. As well as something more,” spoke Dawn Lighter, keeping pace with the queen as she strode through another doorway. “A new prophecy. This one speaks of five individuals and a coming war.”
“A war? With whom? Last that I heard, Equestria had rather peaceful relations with other nations,” remarked Nightmare Moon, pondering Dawn Lighter’s words with a wing to her chin.
“Perhaps not an outward threat, but an inward one instead. Perhaps your story is not over just yet,” proposed Dawn Lighter. “In the meantime, however, maybe we should hide away this new prophecy. Not just anypony should be able to stumble upon this book like my host did.”
“Actually, I had wished for your presence for another matter. But now that this has arisen, perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone,” Nightmare Moon mused, changing directions to enter another hall. “I wish to show you something within the Canterlot Library Archives. A secret and restricted room that I recently discovered in my acquaintance with this new castle. Long ago, Celestia and I uncovered books of unspeakable power written by a long forgotten mage who specialized in eldritch and powerful magics. I had offered to learn the knowledge and usher in previously unfathomable futures. Celestia had declined and countered that there was some knowledge not worth knowing. Now I find that she has those same books locked away in some secret chamber. But I will not be weak as my dear sister was, and shall put that knowledge to good use.
Entering the library, the two rejected a librarian’s offer for help and made their way towards the back end of the building. Stopping in between two sections, Nightmare Moon stepped forward and brought two books with a star and moon insignia down. With a mechanical click, a passageway opened up before them, and they descended. After two flights of spiraling stairs, the two stepped into a massive underground room.
“It seems that in my banishment, Celestia saw fit to let the sands of time bury the knowledge of such a place. Or perhaps she had realized her mistake and forbade the knowledge from escaping her grasp,” noted Nightmare Moon as she surveyed the dust and cobwebs everywhere. Lighting her horn, she sent a pulse of energy that scoured the signs of age and neglect that had collected over the years. “Now then, there is a particular tome that I am looking for. It was a book about how to summon great beings of power and bend them to your will. It also teaches spells that strengthen different areas in the body, such as wing power, physical muscle, and even magical strength. Though all of them have not been tested, only hypothesized. These spells could only work on magical creatures, such as ponies. The author had mostly scrapped his ideas, but kept some of his work written down. Most of them would never be allowed to be used nowadays, because they are highly dangerous.”
“Are you sure this place is unknown to the nobles? What if somepony stumbled upon this by accident?” asked Dawn Lighter.
“I am confident that Celestia would never reveal this place to another soul. She would be too embarrassed by its existence after… Anyway, perhaps we can place a detection spell that will alert us if anypony except ourselves lays a hoof on it here,” offered Nightmare Moon, taking the red book from Dawn Lighter. She then placed it upon a pedestal and enchanted it. “Now then, let us find that book I was talking about. I have many plans for it in the future.”
“Well, storming the castle is out of the question. We can’t outright declare war on the throne quite yet. A more subtle way will be needed to get in,” stated Shining Moon. Applejack Moon had politely excused herself, claiming she needed to get back to the farm. After the shell-shocking news, the rest of the group began to think of potential ways of getting the book.
“We don’t even know where they are hiding it yet. Perhaps it’s in the huge vault that the castle has,” added Moon Melody.
“Well, we can factor that out already actually. Celestia changed it so that only she could access it. But now that she is gone, Nightmare Moon can’t get in easily. It will be a tough nut to crack for her, and I doubt she has already broken into it,” offered Blue Moon.
“Where else? I can’t think of a more secure place than there. Where could she hide a book?” asked Moon Melody.
All of them scratched their heads in thought, trying to think of a potential place. Dasher Moon was just about to offer an option, before shaking her head.“Duh! It’s so obvious!” exclaimed Shining Moon after an idea hit him, forcing them to all look at him “If you want to stash something as basic as a book, but don’t want to advertise that you're concealing something. Then where would you hide it?” Still seeing their blank looks, he continued, “Hide it in a place full of other books. Somewhere no one will think twice that it would be suspicious. Hide it in a library.”
“The Canterlot library! Of course! It’s a secure place, but it is also open to anypony,” said Blue Moon.
“Great, well, we somewhat have an idea of where the book could be hidden, but won’t it take like forever to find it?” stated Dasher Moon.
“Perhaps, but I doubt Nightmare Moon would just put it on a random shelf. It must be hidden somewhere that nopony would go,” added Blue Moon.
“What about the restricted room?” suggested Moon Melody. Now it was her turn to receive blank looks from everypony.
“The restricted room? I have never heard of such a place.” Shining Moon frowned, shaking his head.
“Me neither, and I have been to that library plenty of times. I’ve combed through that place at least twice in search of knowledge for my bloodline, tracing it all the way back to Princess Platinum,” insisted Blue Moon.
“Well, Celestia showed me the place when I first became an alicorn. Neither of us truly understood what happened, and we searched for potential answers there. Sadly, we found nothing of use,” answered Moon Melody.
“Well where is this restricted room? How do we get in?” wondered Shining Moon.
“It is located towards the back end of the library I believe, with two books that have a sun and moon symbol on them. You must pull both down in order to gain access. There you walk down some steps and into a great room that is filled with many wonderfully dangerous books. Whoever goes in there must be very careful,” cautioned Moon Melody.
“That brings us to a good question, who will be the one who gets this book?” declared Blue Moon. “All of us can’t just waltz in and take it, I am sure Nightmare Moon has placed defenses so that nopony can just come and go as they please. Maybe some guards that will alert her if anypony suspicious goes in.”
“I also know for a fact that Celestia had cast a spell that made it impossible to teleport inside the room. So we will have to physically get in there.” Moon Melody sighed.
“Why don’t I go? I can be in and out of there super quickly, nopony would suspect it,” offered Dasher Moon.
“You could do that, but you also have a much higher chance of being caught. If you are seen just zooming in and out of the library, someplace that you do not normally go. Then there is bound to be somepony who sees you and grows suspicious. No, we need to do this carefully. We need to sneak into the library,” Blue Moon asserted. “We grab the book and run back as fast as we can.”
“And by we you mean one of us, two at most. We need somepony who is quiet, stealthy, and won’t cause suspicion. And possibly another to keep a lookout. But who?” added Shining Moon.
“Flutter Moon!” exclaimed Dasher Moon excitedly.
“What?” squeaked the shy pegasus.
“What do you say, Flutter Moon? Think you could handle the mission?” asked Shining Moon sincerely.
“No! What if I crack under pressure? I’ll snap like a twig!” protested Flutter Moon, fluttering her wings in agitation.
“It’s perfect! Flutter Moon will sneak into the library and find the book,” declared Blue Moon, nodding his head in approval.
“But… but I, I…” Flutter Moon stuttered, before sighing. “Okay. I’ll do it.”