"Twilight, we've been walking around Canterlot for nearly an hour. Are we there yet?" Rainbow Dash asked loudly, just to be shushed by Twilight. "What'd I do?"
"This place isn't forbidden for no reason." Twilight said, peeking around a corner to make sure there were no guards patrolling the area.
"Just how forbidden is this place?"
"Well for the most part, the forbidden part is just there to ensure that no residents come by."
"Then why are we sneakin' around if it ain't actually forbidden?" Applejack questioned.
"I would rather not let it be known that we were here."
"Ah see. N' what happens if we get caught?"
"For most ponies, being in there would be a heavy fine due to the dangerous nature of what's inside, but since it's me I'm going to assume we'd get off lightly."
Twilight went around a corner and jumped, back up against a wall. The girls quickly followed suit as a guard walked past the hallway that they were hiding in. After a few seconds Twilight peeked out and saw the guard continuing down the path. She let out her held breath and motioned the girls to follow her lead. She crouched down and quickly crawled to the other side of the hallway, stopping in front of an iron gate.
"Why doesn't this place seem guarded?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It is guarded. Quite heavily in fact."
"I thought that the Starswirl the Bearded wing was the most heavily guarded wing."
"Technically it is. There are just more guards at the Starswirl the Bearded wing."
"But, why?" Rarity asked. "If this magic is so dangerous, wouldn't Celestia want it defended just that much more?"
"There is a spell cast on the entrance that prevents those with evil intentions from entering. Not to mention that most ponies want to be escorted into the wing by Celestia anyways."
"Why would they want to be escorted so badly?"
"Because though the tomes hold invaluable information, most scholars are too scared to go in alone."
"They're scared of books?" Applejack snorted.
"Well, sort of.” Twilight replied. “There are legends that some of the books are more than just words printed on paper. Some of them supposedly bind evil spirits and those spirits... well..."
"Well what?" Rainbow Dash interrupted nervously.
"Well some of the spirits try to reach out of those bindings with promises of power if you help them."
"Please tell me you're joking..."
Twilight shook her head and slowly made her way to the entrance, triple checking to make sure there were no guards. The girls shared an uneasy look with each other before slowly following Twilight.
"So what's the plan?"
"We go in, find a tome that entails necromancy, make sure it is safe - or as safe as necromancy can be - and then leave."
"And if ya can't find anything?" Applejack grunted.
"We ask those trapped inside if they know where one is."
"Ah don't know Twi, this sounds awfully risky..."
"Come on, we're doing this for Pinkie." Twilight begged.
"And Church?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, and Church." Twilight nodded slowly before turning to the others individually. "And Sarge. And Tucker. And Simmons. And Grif. This is affecting all of them on different levels, and you've all seen it first hoof."
"Even then, is it wise to tamper with life and death?" Rarity asked. "As much as I like Caboose, I don't feel this is the best path for us to take."
"Yeah, what would Celestia think?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't spend all of my time trying to please Celestia." Twilight said quietly.
"What?" The girls asked in unison, astonished at her words.
"Please don't misunderstand me. I still want Celestia to be my mentor, but I realized that my friends are just as important as her." Twilight sighed, swinging the iron gate open and looking around inside. "Well here goes nothing."
Twilight used her magic to light up the room, allowing them all to take a good look at the surroundings. The layout was nearly identical to that of the Starswirl the Bearded wing, though there were no windows to the outside world and everything was covered in a layer of filth. Considering the piles of books on the floor it was clear that the original design of the room had not taken into account the possibility of so many additions. The corners of the room held many cobwebs, each abandoned by the spider that had created it, giving the room a darker feeling. The wood of the bookshelves themselves looked ancient, making it look as if this room was the first room built in all of Canterlot.
"Alright, stay close to each other. If you find anything that you think may be of use, just bring it to me without saying anything. I don't want to find out if these legends are true or not." Twilight whispered, to be given a nod by everypony.
The girls split up and began scouring the first bookshelf for anything. After finding nothing they made their way to the next book shelf. Rainbow Dash slowly made her way to one of the small towers of books. She looked at the spine of the book, but could see no name to to the amount of filth on the book.
"These books sure are dusty." Rainbow Dash said quietly, blowing some dust off of one of the books.
Rainbow Dash observed the front of the book, which had the face of a pony with glowing red eyes. She noticed something in between the eyes and leaned forward to get a better look. The eyes suddenly shifted and looked straight into Rainbow Dash's eyes, causing her to yelp in surprise as she kicked the tower of books over.
"Rainbow Dash what happened?" Twilight asked as she helped her startled friend off the floor.
"That book looked at me..." Rainbow Dash chuckled impishly, before gulping and looking back at the pile of books. "I don't think I want to be in here much longer."
"We'll pick up the pace." Twilight promised.
"Thanks."
"What is it in my home that you seek?" A voice said from under the book pile.
Twilight used her magic to remake the tower of books until she came upon a leather bound book with the face of a pony on it, which seemed to be making eye contact with each of the ponies simultaneously.
"D-did that book just talk?" Applejack stuttered.
"Why yes, yes I did." The book smirked. "But please, do not refer to me as book as I find the term vulgar."
"What should we call you?" Twilight asked nervously, thinking of a way to make the spirit forget about them so they could leave.
"The Necronomicon."
"What's a necromajikallit?" Applejack asked.
"It's the book of death." Twilight gulped.