//------------------------------//
// Prologue: Black Magic 
// Story: Made Of Magic 
// by EmeraldRing 
//------------------------------//

 Tap, tap, tap. Hoofsteps, slowly making their way down the cobbled corridor of the crumbling ruined castle. Stepping carefully around the weak parts in the floor, not wanting to fall through the floor to the level below, the hooded pony looked to all the rooms, hoping to find the room he was looking for. Suddenly a wall slid in place in front of the intruder and one behind him. There was no way out.

Lifting up his hoof the pony realised that he had been standing on a pressure pad and that he had activated a trap that was there to keep out intruders like himself. Spiders, he could hear them crawling down the walls and floor. Hmm, spiders, how cliche thought the mysterious pony. No matter, he knew exactly what to do.

The spiders were closing in, they were your average Star Spiders, poisonous, but not deadly. The hooded pony relaxed. These spiders detected their prey via body heat but, while he was no unicorn, he had a few tricks up his metaphorical sleeve. Pulling out a can of some kind of spray from a pocket in his cape, the stallion sprayed the spiders and the trap with the heated air in the can. The spray would confuse the spiders enough for him to make his escape.

 Now, how to get out, those spiders won't be a bother any more. The pony searched around the edges of the 'room' for any triggers that might release him. Nothing. Perhaps it was a spell, not being a unicorn would prove problematic if that was the case. Aha! Right there, a little button that had slipped passed my radar the first time round. Pressing the button did indeed move the walls back to where they were only minuets ago and the stallion continued to search, being extra careful to mind where he put his hooves this time.

Unfortunately for the uninvited guest, while he was watching his hooves, he had forgotten about the walls and accidentally hit a switch on the crumbling bricks that made up the walls around him. A cage. So simple yet so effective if done properly. Really small gaps between the bars, strong metal and to heavy to lift off, yep, this is one well made cage, to bad that I have to destroy it the stallion commented in his head. Pulling out yet another gadget from his collection. A blowtorch, hm, I didn't have that before, did I? Oh well, it'll come in handy given my current situation. So, using the randomly found blowtorch that he had apparently brought with him, the pony broke through the bars. Right, back to searching, at least I know it will be worth it.

Finally, after hours of endless searching, the mysterious visitor came across his prize. The library. An ancient room with hidden secrets embedded in its shelves. This uninvited guest unbolted the eroded door as it creaked on its hinges, dilapidated from lack of use. It opened. There, in the centre of the huge library, lay the very book he was looking for. Lying there as if waiting to reveal its secrets. Tap, tap, tap. More hoofsteps. Warily stepping towards the book with its two covers that seemed to have been woven by evil and darkness. Taking a deep breath he did what he came here to do. He opened the book of black magic. 

Suddenly a titanic gale flew from the dreaded book, propelling the strange pony onto the cobwebbed shelves, sending a cascade of hardback books tumbling from the sky. From this blood curdling book rose a figure of darkness and death. A shadow of the last pure black magic alicorn.

“Ah, I am free. Thank you little pony.” Whispered the ghostly alicorn.

“Master, your welcome, what is your will?”