Applejack walked down the road towards Twilight's house, angry Crusaders in tow. When she had discovered them doing...that in their clubhouse, she had attempted to destroy the book so that there would be no more issues and she could punish them beyond belief. They had even murdered a chicken in their attempt to summon evil demons and that wasn't right at all.
However, when she had gone to destroy the book, she found that she could not.
Applejack was by no means the most learned of ponies when it came to magic, but even she knew that if a book containing rituals that were supposed to summon evil spirits was that difficult to destroy, especially when it looked so fragile, that something was going on. Something that suggested that there was more to the book than met the eye.
The Crusaders followed behind Applejack, looks of anger plastered on their faces.
"I don't see why you had to go and interrupt our ritual Applejack," said Apple Bloom.
"Apple Bloom, I don't want to hear it until we get to Twilight's. Believe me, you have a lot of explainin' to do!" said Applejack. A look of unease crossed Sweetie Belle's face.
"Are we in trouble?" asked Sweetie Belle. Applejack stopped and wheeled around to face the fillies.
"Are you in trouble!?" she growled. "You better believe that you are in a heap of trouble! You killed one of Fluttershy's chickens in an attempt to summon ancient gods of the underworld to destroy all of Equestria!"
"But we were gonna let you stop them once they gave us our cutie marks!" said Scootaloo. Applejack turned back around and continued walking to Twilight's house.
"That ain't how it works," said Applejack.
"How would you know!?" asked Apple Bloom. Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Basic common sense!" she said. "Do ya really think that evil gods would just give ya your cutie marks and then be stopped by somethin' as simple as the Elements of Harmony?"
"Uh...yes?" said Sweetie Belle.
"It just doesn't work that way," said Applejack as they walked up to Twilight's door.
"We could still try," mumbled Apple Bloom. Applejack shook her head and knocked on Twilight's door. The four of them stood silently on Twilight's porch for a few moments before a very sleepy purple unicorn answered the door.
"Oh, it's you guys," she said with a yawn when she saw who was at the door. "Come on in."
"Thank ya kindly Twilight," said Applejack. Twilight nodded and yawned again as she moved out of the way so that the four ponies could enter. Once they were inside, she shut the door and turned to address them.
"I take it you're here because of that," she said as she pointed to the destroyed section of the floor. Applejack looked where Twilight was pointing and she saw the large hole in the floor that the antics of the Crusaders had left that afternoon. She turned back to the Crusaders once more.
"Did you do that?" she asked, pointing to the hole.
"Well duh," said Scootaloo. "How else do you think we found the book?"
"Oh of course. How silly of me to think otherwise," said Applejack sarcastically. Twilight looked at them interestedly.
"Book? What book?" she asked.
"This one," said Applejack as she pulled the book in question out of her saddlebag and placed it on the floor. A now alert Twilight walked up to it and reached over to open it up.
"Careful Twi," cautioned Applejack. "Those three there opened it up and they decided to perform one of the rituals in it."
Twilight's hoof shot back and her eyes widened in horror.
"What rituals?" she asked in a horrified whisper.
"I caught them in their clubhouse with fancy gibberish symbols drawn on the floor. They were wearin' these robes here and they had lit a few candles," said Applejack. She pulled out the robes in question and showed them to Twilight. Twilight looked at the robes with concern on her face.
"Anything else?" she asked.
"Yeah, there was one more thing," said Applejack. "They had stolen one of Fluttershy's chickens and they used it as a blood sacrifice." Twilight's eyes widened and she quickly backed away from the book with a yelp.
"What's wrong Twilight?" asked Scootaloo.
"That's a book of evil!" said Twilight.
"No duh," mumbled Applejack.
"I'm not sure which one it is specifically, but I do know that there are seven of these books scattered all over Equestria. Their main purpose is to corrupt whoever opens it so they have a need to perform the spells and rituals inside to summon the hordes of evil upon Equestria!"
"Yeah," said Apple Bloom. "Can we go get back to that? We were kind of in the middle of it when Applejack interrupted us."
"No you ain't gonna finish the ritual!" said Applejack. "What in Equestria possessed you to ask that!?"
"The book," said Twilight, pointing to the offending tome. "They're pretty much under its control."
"So what'll we do then?" asked Applejack.
"We have to contact Princess Celestia right away! I think she'll know what to do!" Sweetie Belle scoffed.
"Your puny princess cannot stop the all-consuming darkness that is to come. The lords of evil will surely triumph over one as weak as she is."
"Stop talkin' nonsense!" said Applejack.
"Remember, they're under the book's control. As time goes on, the book's hold over them will become stronger!"
At that moment, Spike came downstairs with an urgent look on his face and an official looking scroll wrapped in his claws.
"I just got this!" he said, holding the scroll up to show Twilight. Twilight used her magic to take the scroll and she opened it up and began reading.
My faithful student,
I am writing to tell you that I am coming to Ponyville immediately. A great evil may be upon us, something far worse than Discord or Nightmare Moon. I am bringing the Elements of Harmony with me and I will be arriving at your library within the hour. Gather your friends and meet me there.
Princess Celestia
Twilight and Applejack immediately sprang into action. Twilight used her magic to pick up the book and she placed it in her saddlebag.
"I'll go get Pinkie Pie and Rarity. You go get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and I'll meet you back here in half an hour."
"What about them?" asked Applejack, pointing at the Crusaders.
"Spike, I need you to watch them until we get back. It is crucial that you don't let them out of your sight!"
"For goodness sakes guys," said Scootaloo. "Stop talking about us as if we weren't two feet in front of you."
Twilight and Applejack paid them no heed and immediately ran out the door of the library.
When they were gone, Spike turned to the Crusaders.
"Do you have any idea what is going on?" he asked.
"Oh they're just overreactin' to a little demonic ritual we were performin' in our clubhouse," said Apple Bloom.
"Uh...what?" said Spike.
"Well basically, we found this book in that hole over there and we decided to perform one of the rituals in it. See, it said that the ponies who summon the evil spirits of the underworld will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams and we figured that meant our cutie marks!" said Sweetie Belle. Spike stared at the Crusaders in total shock.
"Uh...nope, I got nothin' for that," said Spike.
"I wish they hadn't taken the book though," said Scootaloo. "We could have finished the ritual before they got back! I mean, I know that Twilight has to have candles and some chalk here and we have the ceremonial robes. That table could be an alter!"
"But what would we use for the blood sacrifice?" asked Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom grinned and inclined her head in Spike's direction. Spike took a step back.
"Oh no you don't,” said the dragon. “You're not using me as a blood sacrifice to summon ancient evil!"
"Your loss I guess," said Apple Bloom.
* * * *
Twilight ran back towards her library with the sense of urgency and worry that could only come when Princess Celestia was coming to Ponyville. If even Princess Celestia was worried about something attacking Equestria then there was a huge problem brewing. Beside her ran (and bounced) an equally worried Rarity and Pinkie Pie, both of whom had immediately come to Twilight's aid when she had requested that they come to the library with her to meet Princess Celestia.
On the way back, they ran into Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack and the six friends reached the library in no time at all.
When they reached the door, Twilight used her magic to fling it open and the six friends rushed inside, hoping that Princess Celestia had not already arrived and was waiting for them. However, the sight that greeted them was far worse than the goddess of the sun waiting for the six friends.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had put their ceremonial robes back on and had found chalk which they had used to re-draw the symbols in the book on the floor. The lights were dimmed and the candles were lit on the table in the center of the room. To Twilight's horror, she saw Spike tied to the table, desperately struggling to get free. When he saw the six enter the room, a relieved look crossed his face.
"Twilight, you gotta help me! These three have gone nuts!" said Spike. Twilight immediately rushed over to Spike and used her magic to slice the ropes holding him down. Spike jumped up and immediately ran behind Twilight, hoping that she could protect them from the fillies.
"Oh come on!" said Sweetie Belle.
"Well hold on now," said Apple Bloom. "They brought the book."
"You're not getting the book!" said Twilight.
"What book is that?" asked a familiar voice from behind them. The six turned around to see Princess Celestia standing in the doorway of the library, concern and worry etched in every inch of her face.
"Princess Celestia!" said a relieved Twilight. "Thank goodness you've arrived!"
"Indeed," said Celestia. "I am glad you are all here too. We have a lot to discuss."
"What's going on?" questioned Rainbow Dash. "Twilight said something about an ancient evil coming to destroy Equestria." Princess Celestia nodded.
"It seems that way," said Celestia.
"What do you mean?" asked Rarity.
"Well," said Celestia. "Imagine that the barrier to our world between other dimensions is like a tough membrane. Somepony could see through it, but they would not be able to break through it unless they had inside help. Basically what is happening is that ancient demons have been awoken from a slumber that has lasted for tens of thousands of years and they are trying to break through the barrier into our world." The six gasped at this news.
"Can they break through?" asked Fluttershy nervously.
"Not with their current strength," said Celestia. "It seems that somepony started the ritual to release them on our world but for whatever reason, they did not finish it."
"That's because Applejack stopped us before we could finish it!" said Apple Bloom. Princess Celestia looked confusedly at the Crusaders.
"Are you saying that you three are the ones who began the ritual?" asked Celestia.
"Yep!" said Scootaloo proudly. Celestia turned back to Twilight.
"May I see the book in question?" asked Celestia. Twilight nodded, took the book out of her saddlebag, and put it on the floor before backing away from it uneasily. When Celestia saw it, her look of unease turned into one of sheer horror.
"Oh no," she said quietly before she turned to Applejack.
"How far into the ritual were they before you stopped them?" she asked.
"They had just..." Applejack glanced over at Fluttershy. "Completed the blood sacrifice." Celestia closed her eyes and put a hoof over them. Twilight gave Celestia a nervous glance.
"Princess, how much longer is the ritual?"
"Not much longer at all," said Celestia. "All they need to do is recite the final incantation and the first of two stages of the ritual will be complete.
"Uh...just out of random curiosity, what is the final incantation?" asked Apple Bloom.
"We don't want to say it, we just want to know what it is," said Scootaloo.
"You know, just out of curiosity," said Sweetie Belle.
"We're not tellin' ya so just be quiet over there!" snapped Applejack.
"How do we stop the demons?" asked Rarity.
"It's quite simple, we just need to destroy the book and the demons will go back to sleep," said Celestia.
"Will it snap the three of them out of it?" asked Twilight. Celestia nodded.
"I believe it will," she said. "In the meantime, we need to keep this book far away from them so they cannot complete the ritual."
"Again, can you all stop talking about us like we aren't here?" said Scootaloo.
Spike walked up to the book and examined it interestedly.
"So let me get this straight, even opening this thing has bad consequences?" Celestia nodded.
"You will become possessed by the book and you will do everything that you can to complete the rituals inside."
Spike backed away from the book uneasily and the other ponies did the same. However, the Crusaders slowly walked closer to it, their eyes flashing red once more. Celestia's magic glowed around the book and she lifted it up.
"Now, I'm going to--"
At that exact moment the Crusaders charged. Before anypony in the room could react the Crusaders snatched the book out of the air and began running away from the group. Twilight's was the first one to react and she quickly shot a freezing spell at the three of them, freezing them to the spot before they could go any further. The book dropped from Apple Bloom's grasp and landed on the floor. The Crusaders looked down and saw that the book had opened on impact.
"Hey, the book opened up to where we were! We can get the incantation now!" said Scootaloo excitedly. Celestia quickly whisked the book away from them and placed it in Twilight's saddlebag.
"Ya know, you really should be more careful with books like that," said Apple Bloom. "I mean, why didn't you expect us to at least make a small effort to get it?"
"Enough!" said Celestia. "I see that we have to secure them in Canterlot until this mess is over!"
"I suppose that could work, if I hadn't read the final incantation on the page." said Apple Bloom.
Celestia's eyes widened and she fired up her horn, ready to perform a memory spell on them.
"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you," said Apple Bloom smugly.
At that moment, all of the lights in the room went out and the very foundations of the ground began violently shaking, sending all of the books and ponies in the library crashing to the ground. Thunder began crashing and lightning began flashing outside, getting louder and brighter with each strike.
"Apple Bloom, what have you done!?" asked Applejack.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Apocalypse Bringers are a go!" said the three Crusaders at once, high-hooving each other.
"Now we'll get our cutie marks for sure!" said Sweetie Belle.