Silent Ponyville 3

by SamRose

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Here Twilight, I found some tea bags in the kitchen.” Spike said holding up the warm cup of tea for the lavender unicorn.

“…Thanks Spike.” Twilight mumbled quietly. She levitated the cup up to her mouth and slowly sipped on the tea.

It had taken a while to get the strength back in her legs, but once they had recovered, Spike led her down to the living room. Somehow he’d managed to find a blanket and wrapped it around her. In this moment of need, he was proving to her that he really was her number one assistant.

“I’m sorry Spike.” Twilight sighed softly, looking into the murky waters of her tea, “I should be the strong one right now, not y-”

“Twilight, how’re your wounds?” Spike interrupted her, looking at her seriously.

“My…” Twilight blinked a little confused before looking down at her body. She shifted the blanket a little to get a better look at the damage that had been done.

Her chest was swelling, though she was actually surprised at how small it was. She’d expected bigger bruises from the way it had felt, but she seemed surprisingly well off there. They were also the worst of her injuries. The cuts she’d received from the creature’s mouth had already stopped bleeding.

“My wounds are fine Spike. But why is that-“

“You just got hurt Twilight. I’m fine. You rest for the moment and we’ll continue when you’re ready.” Spike interrupted her again with a soft smile. Twilight blinked in confusion at him, before returning the smile.

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re really a baby dragon anymore.” Twilight chuckled softly, closing her eyes to sip her tea.

“Yeah, I’m growing up pretty fast.” Spike nodded happily. There was a comfortable silence shared between the two of them, leaving Twilight to her thoughts as she drank the warm liquid. Spike smiled as he watched Twilight relax, before softly scratching the back of his head, “Hey Twilight, I know it’s a little soon but,” Twilight looked up at her dragon assistant from the rim of her cup, “When we were in the room I saw a key on the floor next to that thing. I think that might be the key for the door. I didn’t grab it cause I was helping you, but…”

“Say no more Spike.” Twilight softly nodded her head, putting the cup of tea down and standing up, the blanket falling from her shoulders, “I’ll go grab the key.”

“Wait, are you sure? Maybe you should just-“ Spike tried to stop her from acting hastily, but Twilight just held out her hoof to silence him.

“Thanks for the concern Spike, but I’m okay now. Besides, I can handle retrieving a key from a room. I can’t let you do everything.” She took a deep breath, “I’m supposed to be taking care of you. Not the other way around.” She smiled softly at him.

“It’s okay to need help Twilight.” Spike furrowed his brow, looking worried for her.

“I know, and if I need it I’ll ask.” Twilight rubbed his head gently, “I’ll be okay, just wait for me and I’ll be right back.”

“Alright Twilight… I trust you.” Spike still looked at the lavender unicorn with worry, but did as she asked.

“Thank you Spike.” She nodded before turning to the stairs. She looked up the flight towards the walkway that lead to the room they’d escaped from, swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, and then slowly began her ascent back up.

‘Come on Twilight. If Spike can handle this, you can too. He’s just a baby dragon, you’re an adult unicorn AND Celestia’s personal student. You can face what you did.’ She mentally reassured herself several times. She could feel her face flushing with anxiety, her heart beating more heavily with each hoof step. She was trying to force herself to stay calm, taking deep breaths while repeating to herself that everything would be okay.

At the top of the steps she hesitantly looked into the half open doorway leading to the destroyed room. Even as she approached she could glimpse some of the rubble and destruction within, most prominently the spatters of blood that had come from the thrashing-

“You okay Twilight?” Spike’s voice carried from the first floor.

“Yeah. I’m fine Spike.” She quickly flashed him an assuring smile before walking to the door and stepping inside.

A hoof went straight to her mouth as she observed the remains of the room. The creature’s corpse was still there in the center, lying limp in a pool of its own blood. She couldn't look away, only barely able to discern the destroyed decorations everywhere, the wrecked walls and ceilings, the room of utter chaos laid out around her.

But something was also amiss. Something about the room didn’t seem right. As if some important detail that she had left there was no longer where it should be...

“The sword! Why isn’t it still…” Twilight stared in shock at the head of the creature. The sword that should have been impaled through it wasn’t there. Instead, looking just in front of the creature, she saw it lying on the ground, not a speck of blood on it. Right next to it on the floor she saw a small glint of light reflecting off of a small key.

Had the sword fallen out of its head? Had it not actually been dead and managed to pull the sword out before it died? Had something else come along and pulled it out? Had she or Spike pulled it out without either of them realizing? Were they still not alone?

Twilight gulped down another lump of nervousness that had formed in her throat. Not daring to take another step into the room, she felt fortunate that her desired items were already within her line of sight. She quickly lit her horn up and wrapped the sword and the key with a magical aura. The two items quickly disappeared into their waiting storage inside her pool of magic and the room grew dim once more. She hadn’t planned on bringing the sword with her, but if more things were going to go wrong then she might need to defend herself again.

Not waiting to see what surprises might pop out at her, Twilight quickly turned around and headed back down the stairs.

“Okay Spike, I grabbed the key. Let’s go ahead and get out of this place.” Twilight said trying to hide her desire to leave from Spike as she hurriedly walked past him.

“Oh, uh, sure Twilight. Once we head out we should continue looking for your friends or the Princess.” Spike suggested, making a mental note of the task at hand while following after the lavender unicorn.

Twilight wasted no time turning her pendant on and illuminating the kitchen. She summoned the key once more and approached the locked door, fitting the key into the lock. With a turn the key opened the lock. With a push of the hoof the door opened, revealing the fog laden world just beyond it.

It lead to the backyard of the house that was surrounded by a small fence cornering it off from the streets of Ponyville. It seemed a small garden used to be raised there, but the small patch of vegetables had fallen to a state of rotten disuse. The grass was dying and the air suddenly felt thick.

“Whoa, look Twilight, it’s snowing again!” Spike said eagerly running out into the backyard without a care.

“Spike wait! We don’t know if it’s safe yet!” Twilight cried out, chasing after the baby dragon.

Spike didn’t seem to care though, just looking up into the fog filled sky as specks of white floated down around him. He briefly spun in place before opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out, letting one of the flakes of snow land on his tongue.

Instantly he retched and started spitting, wiping his mouth of the vile snowflake.

“Ugh! That wasn’t snow at all!” Spike groaned as Twilight walked up next to him.

“Not snow? What do you mean it’s not snow?” Twilight wondered, looking up at the flakes. She held out a hoof as a speck landed on it. She expected it to be cold and to melt, instead it seemed to smear onto her coat. Perplexed, she drew her nose closer to it but didn’t notice any smell aside from the thick smell that seemed to hang in the air. Curious about what Spike had tasted she licked the speck that had landed on her hoof.

“…This isn’t snow…” Twilight whispered to herself, suddenly realizing what was falling from the sky, “Its ash…” Suddenly the thick smell in the air made sense and brought a horrible realization to her mind. Either something in Ponyville was burning, or these were the remains of something having been burnt and scattered through the sky.

“…Uhhh… Twilight...” Spike said suddenly scared of something. Twilight looked down at the baby dragon, before looking to where his eyes had followed. She regretted what she saw.

It must’ve been the owner of the house, or at least what was left of her. It was a mare she vaguely memorized, one of the newest ponies to move to Ponyville. She had a strikingly white coat and silver mane. Her body was covered with lacerations, as if she had been severely whipped all over staining her white coat with blood. But worst of all was that she had been mounted to a large wooden cross with giant nails piercing each of her hooves and holding her in place. The mare to which this had happened was named Winter Withers.

Winter had been crucified.

“Oh… Oh Celestia… we have to get her down!” Twilight said racing over to the crucified pony. She wrapped the mare in her magic, gripping hard against the nails before pulling them out carefully. The body went limp in Twilight’s magical embrace as she carefully lowered the pony to the ground. As the white mare lay there Twilight put a hoof to her neck, desperate for any sign of life.

“Is… is she…” Spike stuttered, walking up slowly.

Twilight was quiet for a few minutes, hoping for a conclusion that wasn’t what Spike was thinking. She checked several spots where she knew she would be able to feel a heartbeat. She put her ear next to her mouth to try and hear breathing. Finally, her horn lit up and she placed a small blanket of magic on her chest to try and detect a heartbeat.

Twilight’s face grew dim as the magic of her horn faded, closing her eyes and softly shaking her head.

“Oh no… why is this happening Twilight?” Spike asked, now truly scared. It had been one thing for Spike when he had seen a monster dead. It was another to see a pony mutilated and hung up for display.

“I… I don’t know Spike.” Twilight spoke softly, looking down at the mare’s face. Winter was a face she rarely saw in the streets of Ponyville, someone who had recently moved there to get away from her city life and enjoy a peaceful one there. They’d only talked on two occasions, and with it being a small town she was having a hard time adjusting to everypony knowing everypony else.

Twilight stood up, her horn lighting up once more. With her magic she quickly formed a shovel and began to dig up the dirt of the back yard. Spike watched silently as Twilight dug the hole. The two of them could only hear the stifled sound of the shovel digging into the dirt as she dug deeper. It took a long time for the hole to be deep enough to satisfy Twilight, yet not a word was shared between the two of them.

Twilight carefully wrapped the white mare’s body with her magic and placed it down at the bottom of the hole. Picking up the excavated dirt with her magic she gingerly placed it back in, covering the mare and filling the hole. She made sure the dirt was meticulously flat before forming a block of wood into the shape of a head stone and placing it at the front of the grave. She carefully etched onto it, ‘Here lays Winter Withers, may she find a peaceful rest.’

Twilight sat at the foot of the freshly dug grave, looking solemnly at the ground. Spike walked up and sat next to her, putting a claw against her back.

“Maybe we should say a few words?” Spike mentioned solemnly.

“You’re right… but… I barely knew anything about her. I met her briefly Spike, enough to know her name and why she moved but… she was just a passing friend.” Twilight sighed softly, not sure what to make of this. Just knowing everypony in Ponyville wasn’t enough to call them true friends. If she only had one conversation she could maybe call them a friend, but she didn’t truly know a pony in that case. It took a while to truly earn great friends like the ones she had.

“Winter…” Twilight spoke up softly, “I’m sorry I never got to know you that well. You seemed like an interesting pony and… I know you were starting to enjoy life here in Ponyville. You were starting to make friends and who knows; maybe you could’ve become a great member of the community…” Twilight paused for a moment, turning her head away from the grave feeling guilt hit her stomach, “And I’m sorry you had to die this way. You didn’t deserve this… nopony deserves this.” She took a deep breath and looked back at the grave, “And I promise… your death won’t have been in vain. We may not have been the closest of friends, but you were still one of mine. I’ll put a stop to whatever is going on here Winter, you have my word.”

Twilight stood, feeling the weight of her words in her heart. Spike looked up at the unicorn, not sure how to feel anymore. In the span of a few minutes, the two of them had been through more emotions than they ever thought they’d go through in a lifetime.

The young dragon’s body was surrounded with magic as Twilight lifted him up on to her back.

“Alright Spike, we have to find the others now. We can’t leave things like this, not if innocent ponies are going to get hurt.” Twilight spoke with near vengeance in her voice.

“But… But Twilight, what if… what if they…” Spike hesitated, looking back at the bloody crucifix that stood impaled in the ground before them. Twilight looked at the device, glaring at it. Twilight was reminded of when she had read about the horrible devices, where she had learned what being killed this way was called, in the biography of Merlin the Great.

Upon hilltops of Saint Clydesrow was where I saw the ghastly sights of our fellow blood, nailed to wood in the shape of a cross to serve two purposes; one of execution, the other of warning. Their bodies spoke of the atrocities the nation would commit. If you broke their laws, invaded their land or offended their nobles, the fate of death was brought to you. You would be seen by those you knew and loved, by your enemies and by your Goddess, that you were an example of their power. They called this execution the ‘crucifixion’.

Twilight grit her teeth as her horn flared once more. The bloody cross was gripped in her magic and let out a loud groan as the wood began to bend. With a loud and powerful snap, the cross fell over, slamming into the ground in two pieces. Twilight stared with satisfaction at her work and walked towards the edge of the small picket fence that surrounded Winter’s yard.

“Our friends are going to be okay Spike; they wouldn’t let this town get to them so easily. Now hold on.” Twilight told the baby dragon. Taking her advice he gripped tightly to her neck as she took a few steps back and galloped at full speed. She cleared the fence in a single jump, landing once more into the cobble stone streets of Ponyville.

“Spike, do you know where we are in town at the moment?” Twilight asked pulling the map out of her pool of magic and handing it to Spike. Spike fumbled with it for a moment before opening it properly. He swallowed down nervousness that had been building up and cleared his throat, examining the map.

“I’d… guess we’re on Pen Street.” Spike followed the roads, noting the buildings that they had been around before being chased into the mansion, then the location of the mansion itself. “So, Sugar Cube Corner should still be the nearest place, we just have to head to the right and down the road.” Spike explained.

Just as he finished though, the medallion on Twilight’s neck began to let out a buzz.

“What’s that!?” Spike said jumping into the air and landing on Twilight’s back. Twilight grunted at the sign and sighed softly.

“It’s something I found in that house that seemed important.” Twilight lifted the necklace of her pendant up to show Spike the medallion that was attached to it, “It was doing this back at the house too. It was acting right before-”

Twilight was interrupted by the sound of metal scrapping against the cobblestone. Spike and Twilight instantly turned their attention to the direction of the fog, seeing a silhouette of a pony once more.

“Oh no, not more of them.” Twilight growled, reaching into her magic and swiftly pulling out the ancient, rusted sword. She inspected the condition of it, noting that it was still holding together well despite her recent encounter. She feared that it was on the verge of breaking, many of the chips digging into the blade. However, it was something to defend her and the young one she had to protect. So help Celestia, if anything came to harm Spike-

“Twilight, come on, let’s get out of here!” Spike said tugging on her mane, “We shouldn’t fight it, it might draw more!”

“We’re not surrounded already?” Twilight quickly glanced around, seeing that the only silhouette around them was in fact the one slowly approaching them. Looking back at the figure in the fog she began to slowly walk backwards away from it. The figure didn’t pick up any speed, just continuing to saunter slowly towards them, dragging whatever weapon it carried along the ground.

“We’re not going to get any closer to our friends if we keep running away… but I understand, we shouldn’t fight if we don’t have to.” Twilight returned the sword to her magic, then quickly turned and ran from the creature. It didn’t chase after them and the silhouette fell out of view. As it did, the buzzing of the medallion grew silent.

“Hey, that sound went away.” Spike said taking note of the silence returning as Twilight moved into a quick jog over a full sprint.

“Hey, you’re right Spike.” She said slowing to a walk as she examined the runic symbols of the metal, “It seems to make noise whenever a creature draws close… I think its warning of us danger when it draws near.” Twilight was amazed at this deduction, that something she’d found was so useful.

“Well that’s convenient.” Spike said reaching around and poking the medallion softly, “If it makes a noise whenever danger is near, all we have to do is avoid dangerous areas.”

“I… don’t know if that’ll be as easy as it sounds Spike.” Twilight said thinking back to the mansion, “We only got the key to leave BECAUSE I… because I killed that thing. It dropped the key when it died and the medallion was buzzing before I encountered it.” Twilight sighed as she thought about it, putting the pieces together in her head, “Whatever is going on in this town it seems to be following some strange rule set. You have to follow the rules or else you won’t get out.”

“Are you sure Twilight? That makes it seem like something is trying to play a game with us.” Spike scratched his head at the words.

“Maybe Spike. But think about it, when we were locked inside the library, we couldn’t escape until we solved the puzzles on those boxes. Then when we finally got outside we we’re rounded up into that mansion. Then the only way out of the mansion safely was through that creature.” Twilight listed the events for them to analyze logically.

“So… you’re saying that the only way out of this mess… is to obey whatever rules are presented to us?” Spike felt a chill run down his back as he spoke.

“I’m afraid so Spike. And it seems the consequences of disobeying are dire.” Twilight spoke gravely.

“Do… you think that’s what happened to Winter?”

Twilight stopped walking, head instantly lowering to stare at the ground.

“I… sorry, I just…” Spike began to mumble.

“I don’t know Spike.” Twilight sighed lifting her head up, “But Winter… she was crucified. And when you crucify a pony, it isn’t just to kill them. It’s to send a message.” Twilight narrowed her eyes again, “And I think the message was intended for us. I don’t know what it meant, but I plan on finding out.”

Spike didn’t say anything after that. He just sat on Twilight’s back as she began to walk once more. The only sound the two of them heard was the loud click of her hooves hitting the cobblestone road. The read she was heading down would eventually lead to a fork, where she could either turn to head for the school house or down further into Ponyville.

Twilight came to a dead stop at the end of the road, her mouth slowly falling open as she stared at the building that had appeared before them in the fog.

“Whoa, I don’t remember THAT building being in Ponyville.” Spike said looking at it in confusion.

“That’s because it doesn’t belong to Ponyville.” Twilight explained, looking at the building once more. Where more houses should have been was instead a large brick building. A small flight of stairs stood before double doors that lead into the building. Above them was a weathered sign, seemingly battered by the elements that read ‘Stalliongrad Library.’

“Well… if it doesn’t belong in Ponyville, what’s it DOING here?” Spike asked perplexed, not accustomed to buildings suddenly shifting entire locations like this.

“I’m not sure Spike, but I’m certain we’re supposed to find out.” Twilight said stepping closer to the building.

“Are you sure this is a good idea Twilight?” Spike asked hesitantly as she began to climb the stairs.

“Good idea? Probably not. But, if this really is Stalliongrad Library there might still be other ponies inside. One of our friends might have taken refuge in here.” Twilight slowly pushed open the front door, finding a dark abyss inside waiting for her. “Or we might find out more clues as to what happened here.”

Her horn lit up and magic surrounded the pendant around her neck, causing the crystal to light up the area before her. The door opened up to a hallway, the red carpet floor looked like it had seen better days. The color was worn with age and a layer of dust seemed to cover it. The cream colored wallpaper was peeling and seemed to be covered in scratches. She could see the reception desk from the entrance.

“Whoa, what happened to this place.” Spike wondered aloud as Twilight walked over to the desk.

“I’m not sure Spike, but we should probably keep our voices to a whisper.” Twilight whispered back to the dragon on her back as she approached the rotting wooden front desk. Her eyes began to scan what lay on top of it.

“Why to a whisper?” Spike asked quietly, “If there are other ponies wouldn’t we want them to know we’re here?”

“We could also attract more of those zombie things from outside if they’re in here.” Twilight replied, “The medallion is quiet so far, but I don’t want to chance having to fight something… at least not with you in harm’s way.”

“Twilight…” Spike spoke softly, but was interrupted as Twilight’s horn lit up once more. She picked up a map from off the reception desk and quickly examined it.

“Alright, the layout of the library is pretty simple. We should be able to find any pony who is here quickly.” She rolled the map up and let it vanish into her pool of magic, “And with any luck we might find some information too.”

Twilight then levitated the note that had been lying next to the map. It was a sloppily written note, as if whoever had wrote it had been in a hurry. But it was just clear enough for her to be able to read what was there.

Oh no I lost them I can’t believe I lost them
Those things are going to guard them now I know it
I can’t hide in the backroom without them
I’m done for, I won’t survive
Oh Celestia, why did it have to be a puzzle?

“What’s it say Twilight?” Spike looked at the note curiously, not able to get a good look of it past Twilight’s head.

“I think its saying that in order to get into the backroom of the library we need to find items that are… being guarded around the library.” Twilight gulped softly, vanishing the note into her magic.

“So… you’re going to have to fight again?” Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight’s neck a little tighter, as if hugging her.

“Most likely Spike, if we want to find out what’s back there.” It wasn’t a conclusion Twilight was happy to make, nor was it one she wanted to face. But she’d already killed one creature that had been out to kill her; if she kept it to self-defense she might be able to stay sane.

Her eyes wandered to the small dragon on her back, who looked back at her with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Besides, she had to protect Spike no matter the cost. She wasn’t about to let anything happen to her young assistant.

Twilight turned from the reception desk and walked a few paces down the hallway when she saw the first door to her right. A sign next to the door labeled it as the ‘Reference’ section.

“Well, I guess this is as good a place as any to start searching.” Twilight said with a bit of hesitation in her voice. Spike gripped her neck softly as Twilight carefully opened the door.

Her light going into the room was able to pick out several bookshelves, all containing several different books lined up on them. Most of the books appeared to be worn with age, dust collecting on the shelves and bindings. She stepped quietly into the room looking back and forth with her light. At the entrance way she could see large piles of books had been dropped at the end of the bookshelves, blocking a pony’s path from going around. The only path they could take was to go forward between the openings of the shelves.

Twilight took a few steps further into the reference section, slowly closing the door behind her, when her ears perked up. Her medallion began to softly hiss.

Spike gripped Twilight’s neck a little harder and she instinctively pulled the sword out from her magic, gripping it tight within her magic. She stood in place waiting for whatever creature was causing the hissing to step forth. However, despite standing in place for what felt like an eternity, no creature walked out in front of them. They could only hear the soft hissing of the medallion.

Softly swallowing her anxiety, Twilight began to take slow, careful steps forward. The hissing remained quiet for her first few steps until she was standing at the opening between the next two shelves of books. The medallion slowly began to buzz louder, but now it was accompanied by the sound of something chewing. She looked to her left, seeing another large pile of books blocking the end of the path. She then slowly turned to look to her right.

At first she thought she was seeing a pony hunched before a small pile of books. But something was clearly wrong with that. She focused more and details began to fit into her vision.

What she thought was the pony's back seemed to be made of a rotting brown leather that was moving and bulging, as if giant worms lived under the skin. Several areas looked as if they had been sewn together, like the skin was a suit made out of rotted pony hide. Extending out of an opening in the skin on its back were two purple and red muscle-like tentacles that sharpened to a point at the end. Its head lifted up, revealing two flaps of what looked like a pony head falling to the side, revealing a skin-stripped and eyeless head that was chewing hungrily on a book.

Twilight almost gagged. She could hardly describe the horror of the creature before her. Its head shredded the book in its mouth easily, swallowing whole the cover and the pages. The tentacles on its back suddenly reached out to the bookshelf next to it and stabbed a book straight through its binding. It picked the book up and laid it down next to the small pile the monster had gathered, its head digging back down to grab hold of another book.

Twilight slowly moved, continuing across the gap in the bookshelves away from the monster. It didn’t seem to notice her as the monster disappeared from sight past the bookshelf once more. The medallion’s loud buzzing dulled to a soft buzz as she let out a soft sigh.

“Twilight. What IS that thing.” Spike hissed into her ear, gripping hard against her neck, though being careful not to choke her.

“I don’t know Spike.” Twilight hissed back, lowering her sword as she continued to slowly back away, “But I’d rather avoid it if possible.”

Twilight felt her back bump into a large pile of discarded books. She turned her head to see that the path ended because of the obstruction. She glared at it softly and lit her horn a little brighter, trying to grab hold of the books and move them out of her way.

However, the books refused to budge, as if wedged tightly into place. She glared softly and tried teleporting the obstruction out of her way. However, despite the spell casting the books didn’t move. It was as if they were just like the locked doors, immune to magic.

“What is with this place and its magic immunity.” Twilight growled softly, checking her location in the short maze of bookshelves. She could see the end of the room, counting off six book shelves within the room in total. The large piles of books seemed to be positioned in such a perfect way as to direct her straight towards that creature. She quickly pulled the map of the library back out and checked its contents.

It seemed that there were three rooms just at the other end that were used for studying. However, with her path blocked by the large piles of books, the only route that seemed like it would reach them would be to go through that creature that was devouring the books.

“Spike…” Twilight spoke softly, yet seriously, “I need you to get off of my back for a minute.”

“T-Twilight?” Spike asked hesitantly, “What’re you going to do?”

Twilight took a deep breath, closing her eyes and steeling her nerves. She pictured the scene back from the library of Spike torn to pieces. She pictured the creature from that mansion that had tried to kill her. She pictured the zombie soldiers, each carrying their weapon and attempting to cut them down with their weapons.

These creatures were cold and harsh; they didn’t care for the sanctity of life. They blinded sought to kill and harm. And though she desired to leave them alone, she knew that she couldn’t avoid this fate for long now. Though they were living creatures, she had to see them as obstacles. No more than puzzles standing between her and getting out of this miserable situation. To save her friends, to find Celestia, to let no more harm come to any pony.

“Spike… I’m going to take out that creature.” She raised the chipped and damaged sword in front of her, looking it over with her eyes, “And if you’re on my back you may get hurt. And no matter what, I can’t let you get hurt Spike.”

“Twilight no! You shouldn’t fight it unless there’s no other choice!” Spike tugged on her mane, trying to persuade her not to be foolish. “What if it hurts you Twilight!?” his voice began to rise, Twilight eyeing him carefully, “If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do!? What do I tell the others if I find them and you’re… if you’re…” Spike shut his eyes as tears burned at them, a lump forming in his throat.

Twilight eyed the hallway of the booshelves carefully. She could still hear the creature devouring away at the books. Its distraction seemed deep.

Spike felt himself being shrouded in magic and forcefully lifted up and off of Twilight.

“Twilight! No! I-“ Spike began to shout, but found himself muffled when suddenly embraced deeply into Twilight’s chest. His eyes widened as he tried to look up at the lavender unicorn that held him close to her with one hoof in a hug.

“Spike, I know all that.” Twilight spoke softly, trying to calm the young dragon. Spike wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. “I can’t promise I won’t get hurt, but I’m not about to die and leave you behind Spike. I’m also not about to let these things hurt you either. So if I can stop one before it has the chance to strike, I’m going to take the chance.” Twilight’s voice seemed different to the young dragon ears, in a way he very rarely heard Twilight speak. It was as if the voice of a mother was coming from the lavender unicorn now.

“But… but!” Spike tried to interject, but Twilight just gently shushed him, rubbing his head softly.

“Please Spike, I promise, everything will be alright.” She spoke to calm the young dragon down and it seemed to be working, “Just wait for me right here. This will only take me a moment.”

Spike was quiet for a moment, holding onto Twilight tightly. He didn’t want her to have to fight, but the more Twilight’s words sunk in and the more he thought about the situation, he began to realize it truly was an inevitable outcome.

“O-Okay… just… be careful…” Spike spoke softly shifting away from Twilight. Twilight nodded her head and took another deep breath. She could hear her footsteps echo loudly now as she rounded the corner, holding the sword out before her. The creature came into view once more under the shine of her pendant. The creature tore out a large section of paper from its recent book, chewing upon the leaflets of paper before swallowing them messily.

Twilight stepped forward towards the creature, the creature stopping to turn its head.

The buzzing of Twilight’s medallion began to grow. It grew feverish with noise, crying out to her that danger was right in front of her.

The tentacles on the creatures back flicked back and forth, the spiked ends seeming to cut the air they sailed through. The creature let out a snarl as its skin moved underneath the flesh it wore, as if more tentacles were waiting to burst out.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, keeping her sword even before her, ready for the slight shift of movement from the monster. Though it had no eyes she could feel it watching her, waiting for her to make her move. It seemed to want to ambush her, attack her when she wasn’t ready for it, but she wouldn’t give it the chance.

She could feel a small sweat forming on her brow. The creature wasn’t going to budge and if she showed her back it was going to strike. She would have to make the first move.

Her hoof took another step closer.

The creature let out a loud wail as the serpent like tentacles struck out at her. They sailed through the air intent on getting her blood.

Without a moment of hesitation her sword swung broadly, striking both of the offending appendages. They flew to the side as she drew closer once more. The creature turned now to face the unicorn challenging it, letting out another screech at its foe.

The foul odor of its breath hit Twilight’s nose. She grit her teeth and raised the sword to swing down at its head.

One of the tentacles came striking down towards her. Her sword quickly sailed through the air, striking the limb and stopping it just short of slashing her. She poured her magic into the sword and slashed it furiously against the limb.

The creature cried out as the spiked end of the tentacle flew off, carrying a trail of blood with it.

Blinded by the pain the creature charged Twilight, opening its mouth wide intent on biting down on her.

The sword moved swiftly down towards her, her magic holding it tightly. With a thrust the sword struck the creature, burying itself deep inside of its open mouth.

Twilight dodged out of the way as the creature crashed into the bookshelf, writhing in pain and smashing its head against the bookcase to remove the horrible item that had lodged itself down its throat. Her horn lit up and engulfed the sword inside of the creature, swiftly pulling out of the creature.

The creature gagged and roared as blood spilled from its mouth, lifting what it would dare to call hooves to its throat, grabbing for some relief. The single sharpened tentacle that remained thrashed around haphazardly, striking books and the shelves in an attempt to defend its own.

Twilight wasted no time and aimed the sword. With a loud cry she thrust the sword forward, impaling the creature through the side of its head. The sword imbedded into the bookshelf behind it, nailing the creature to the surface.

The creature writhed a moment longer, trying desperately to cling to what remained of its life, before finally falling limp, the tentacle crashing the hardest from its position in the air.

Twilight breathed heavily, letting the shock of the moment sink in. She had been focused, she had been calculating, she had carefully seen through the creature’s movements and had struck it down when it was its most vulnerable.

“I don’t get it Princess…” A young Twilight spoke as she walked through the training grounds with her teacher, “How come your soldiers train so hard to fight when no one fights in Equestria?” She admired the several stallions, each wielding swords in a different manner as they struck wooden mannequins. Some wielded weighted wooden practice swords as they sparred with each other, ensuring they’re in top shape.

“Well…” Celestia thought her words carefully, “It’s true that peace has reigned during my rule for a very long time now, it wasn’t always that way. There are still times when ponies or other creatures would rather settle things with hooves than with words.” She spoke solemnly, “But it’s not just for those moments. We live in a world filled with creatures that wish to do us harm, there many creatures who would enjoy feasting upon ponies as a snack.”

“W-What? R-Really?” Filly Twilight looked up at her teacher with big sorrowful eyes, scared at the idea that something in the world might come to eat her. Celestia looked down at the sight and softly chuckled.

“Never fear Twilight. I work every day to ensure peace remains in Equestria.” The Princess smiled sincerely, “ And if you’re so worried about your safety, you can always partake in practicing your swordsmanship between down time of your studies.”

“R-Really?” Twilight spoke curiously, looking back at the guards. One of the white Pegasus guards, having overheard the conversation slowly walked over to the small filly, smiling as he looked down at her.

“Hello there.” He spoke proudly, but sincerely. Twilight backed up a little, almost frightened, “I heard you’d be interested in some sword training. How’d you like to try?” He asked holding out the wooden sword he’d been practicing with.

Twilight looked at the sword hesitantly, before moving a hoof over to touch it. The Pegasus guard moved it approvingly towards her. She grabbed the sword with both hooves as he let go of it, Twilight dropping to the ground with the weight of the equipment. She got on her hooves and lifted as hard as her little legs could to lift the sword, only managing to lift it a little ways off the ground. She panted heavily as she gave up trying to lift it. This elicited a chuckle from both the guard and the Princess.

“Here, I’ll go get you a lighter training sword, the ones we use when young foals like yourself want to practice their swordsmanship.” The guard smiled, picking up the wooden sword with his teeth and turning back to the training grounds, heading for the equipment shed.

“Hmph. Why are those things so heavy?” Twilight grumbled, folding her hooves as she sat on the ground defeated.

“It’s because the material of a real sword, to make them strong and reliable, also makes them heavy. So the training swords are weighted.” Celestia smiled explaining, “Have you taken an interest in training with a sword?”

“A little.” Twilight thought it over in her head before standing up on her hooves and smiling, “I want to become a great unicorn magician! And if I practice sword fighting with magic it’ll help my studies over all!” She seemed eagerly excited, “Besides, if I learn magic how often will I need to fight with a sword?”

Twilight and Celestia shared a small laugh.

“Is… is it safe?” Spike asked cautiously, peeking his head around the corner. Twilight looked over at the baby dragon, seeing his eyes filled with fear.

“Yeah…” Twilight spoke softly, looking down at her medallion, the buzzing having come to a stop. “It’s safe now.”

Twilight vanished the sword back into her magic as the body of the creature slumped to the ground. She stared at it solemnly as the baby dragon slowly walked over to her. The scene truly was sinking in. She had killed yet another living creature and this time she’d done it on purpose.

But this was also different. As she felt the young dragon wrap its arm around her front leg, she was reminded of why she had done it. Right now, she had to protect Spike. She was the adult here; she had to be the one there to comfort him. She had to remember she wasn’t a little filly anymore. Once all of this was over, she could morn over the lives she cut short. But until then she had to focus, her only focus had to be the safety of Spike and returning Ponyville back to the way it had been.

Twilight carefully lifted Spike up onto her back and finally walked past the creature. Rounding the corner of the bookshelf her light fell upon the back of the reference section. She could see a broken down door that would’ve lead to one of the study rooms in the back. She walked over to it and pressed her hoof against the door, finding the door broken and lodged in place. There would be no getting into that room.

With a soft sigh she turned her head to the left and saw the second door from the back, though this door looked to still be intact. The third door appeared to be buried behind a pile of discarded books and desks.

Twilight approached the middle door carefully and placed her hoof against it. Her medallion wasn’t buzzing yet which put some confidence into her hooves. She pushed the door open, not certain of what she would see next.

The study room was surprisingly well lit, a lantern hanging from the center of the room. Unlike the rest of the library the room didn’t appear to be falling apart. The walls were painted with a simple cream coat with a simple wooden pattern on the bottom. A table sat in the middle of the room, set up for anypony to come in and start studying. On the table were only two items that sat right next to each other, a few sheets of paper and what looked like a large jigsaw puzzle piece.

“What is that?” Spike asked looking at the large puzzle piece that lay on the table. It had several lines on it, seeming to be part of a bigger picture. Twilight couldn’t quite decipher what was on the puzzle piece. It looked like it might’ve been a picture of a mural.

“Hmm…” Twilight hummed softly looking at the puzzle piece, before pulling out the sheet from the lobby desk and reading part of it out loud. “I lost them I can’t believe I lost them, those things are going to guard them now I know it… why did it have to be a puzzle.” She looked from the note down to the puzzle piece before making the paper disappear. “Spike, I think this is what the note was talking about. Pieces of a puzzle that when gathered together will unlock the door to the backroom.” Twilight levitated the puzzle piece up before placing it in her magic.

“I guess that makes sense. How many pieces do you think there are?” Spike asked aloud, “And are they all going to be guarded by one of those… things?” A shiver rolled down his spine.

“I don’t know. It’s a pretty big piece so I would assume there’s not that many of them.” Twilight pondered, “And they might each be guarded…” she put a hoof to her chin in thought, thinking about their current predicament. “If only there was a way to know where the other pieces would be…”

“How about a locator spell?” Spike suggested quickly.

“A locator spell…” Twilight blinked before a light bulb seemed to go off in her head, “Spike, you’re a genius!” She smiled as she pulled out the map and the puzzle piece.

“Well, you know, I try.” Spike chuckled accepting the compliment with his usual graciousness.

Twilight flattened the map out onto the table and floated the puzzle piece above it.

“Alright, this puzzle is part of a whole. I should be able to use the spell to locate the missing pieces of it and show us where they’re located.” Twilight concentrated her magic on the piece. The piece began to glow brightly as invisible strings of ether shot out into the library, connecting the separated pieces of puzzle. The piece then shot down three separate beams of light down onto the map, marking the separate locations of which the pieces were located.

Once the spell was complete she vanished the piece back into her magic and looked over the map, observing their locations.

“Alright, it seems there’s only three more pieces to the puzzle.” Twilight scanned carefully, checking each of the locations that had been marked. “Two appear to be in the main section of the library, and the third is in another study room. If we can head straight for them we’ll get into the backroom quickly.” Twilight smiled placing her hoof against the backroom section of the map.

“I don’t know Twilight; it’s likely that the main section of the library became a maze just like the reference section did.” Spike looked over the map a little worried.

“Well… perhaps, but I guess we’ll find out.” Twilight said putting the map away once more. Her eyes fell upon the papers that lay on the table next, reading a large title that read ‘The Cat Who Married a Mouse’. She blinked confused before beginning to read out of curiosity.

Once upon a time there was a cat who made acquaintance with a mouse. They knew each other so well that they grew to be friends and gained love. So they decided to wed. The married couple lived their lives in peace.

One day in the summer they realized their need to store food for the winter. Together they found a beautiful piece of meat covered in fat and sealed it in a jar. To keep it safe they hid the jar in an abandoned field so that others could not find it.

However, the cat began to long for the meat and dreamt up a lie to tell the mouse. When the mouse believed his lie he went to the meat and ate a small portion. He returned to the mouse with his appetite satisfied and a belly full.

However, the cat soon began to long for the meat once more. So he dreamt up another lie to the mouse. The mouse being trustworthy believed the cat, and the cat went back to the jar and feasted once more upon the stored meat.

Even after two feasts upon the meat, the day came when the cat was still not satisfied with his prior feasts, and once more dreamt up a lie to the mouse. The mouse grew suspicious of the cat, but let him leave once more. The cat returned to the meat and ate the rest of the spoils, leaving none in the jar.

When the cat returned the mouse questioned the cat. The cat tried to lie, but the mouse caught wise. As the mouse began to accuse the cat of eating their food, the cat grew tired of the questions. So the cat snapped the mouse up in one fell swoop and swallowed the mouse whole, filling the cat’s belly once more.

Twilight looked at the story with a confused awe. The moral seemed confusing, the message seemed unclear. Though the story had a beginning, middle and end, she could not tell for what purpose the story was written or the relevance it had to being near the puzzle piece.

Deciding not to ponder on it for much longer at the moment, she surrounded the paper and combined it with the other papers she was storing inside of her magic.

“Alright, let’s find the other puzzle pieces Spike.” Twilight said, confirming their plan of action. Spike nodded in agreement and they quickly left the study room. They wandered back through the small maze made from the reference section, Twilight eyeing the body of the creature once more as she passed it before quickly returning to the main hallway.

“Alright, according to the map the next piece is actually fairly close. There’s about twelve books shelves in the main room and it should be in the walkway between rows three and four…” Twilight spoke optimistically as she walked into the main room of the library. She could see the bookshelves coming into view now. She scanned her light across the shelves, seeing them in the same state of disrepair as the ones in the reference section. Dust was covering several of the books and she could see grime starting to climb up the sides of the bookshelf.

She moved the light to look down the center isle of all the bookshelves, hoping to spot the puzzle piece between the second and third shelves. Instead, her pendant fell upon a pile of books that was blocking her path. She let out a soft sigh, scanning her light upwards. The pile of books seemed unnaturally neat and stopped at the top of the bookshelf.

“Of course… this area is going to be a maze too.” Twilight sighed softly. She turned to the left and walked down the aisle of shelves one and two, trying to find a way around to the puzzle piece.

“How many more monsters do you think are in here?” Spike asked nervously, trying to keep an eye on the darkness around him, though it was difficult to see anything not illuminated by the pendant.

“I don’t know Spike. I’m trying not to think about it right now.” Twilight said trying to shake the thought from her mind.

At the end of the row she could see the line of study rooms that lined the walls just beyond the bookshelves. To her left she could see the public bathrooms and to the right were more shelves and study rooms. Each of the doors to the study rooms seemed to have fallen to the same disrepair as the first study room door she had seen.

“Well…” Twilight began to think, pulling the map out once more, “I assume we’ll be able to reach each piece, but the library has been turned into a maze against us. So all we have to do is figure out which sections are blocked, which ones aren’t and find our way around.” She viewed the map carefully before sighing, “I wish I had grabbed some quills and ink before we’d left.”

“Here you go.” Spike said suddenly producing a red quill and a small bottle of ink. “I figured you’d want them eventually.”

“Wow. I suppose you are my number one assistant for a reason.” Twilight smiled grabbing the items in her magic and dipping the quill into the ink. She then began to mark the map with the where she had seen the piles of books. With that in mind she began to walk towards the back of the library, following along the wall.

She marked off a pile of books that blocked her way between shelves two and three, but saw that the path through shelves three and four was open. Hoping she’d get closer to the puzzle piece she began to walk down it, though she didn’t get far before she saw that the end was also blocked by a pile of books.

She softly sighed and marked it off on the map. Then as she was turning to head back she saw a particularly noticeable red book sticking out from the shelves. Curious, she levitated the book off the shelf. The cover read ‘The Old Widow’. Twilight opened the book up and read what was inside.

In a certain large town there once lived a Poor Widow, who sat every evening thinking of everyone she had lost; her husband, her son, all her relations and friends so that she was quite alone in the world. Her heart grew sorrowful with her thoughts; but the loss of her son troubled her the most, and she wept very bitterly.

One day she sat quite still, lost in her thoughts, when she began to hear bells ringing from the town hall. She wondered how she had spent all of the night sorrowing; but lighting her lantern she went to the hall. As she entered she saw it already lit up: but not with the usual tapers, but glimmering light shone through the whole building.

It was already filled with ponies who stood, seemingly to await their deeds for the day. When the widow walked to her normal spot, she found that it was already filled. As she looked round at the ponies, she perceived that they were her deceased relations, who sat there in their old every-day dresses; but with pale countenances. They neither spoke nor sung, but a gentle whisper and hum floated through the hall.

Presently an Aunt of the Poor Widow got up and said to her, “Look towards the steps, and you will see your son.”

She looked and saw her son, hanging from the gallows.

“See,” continued the Aunt, “thus would it have happened to your son, had life been given to him, instead they were mercifully taken when they were but an innocent.”

With trembling steps the Old Widow went home, and thanks the heavens for their mercy. Then on the third day after, she laid down on her bed and died.

“What’s that Twilight?” Spike asked just as Twilight finished reading the story.

“I’m not sure Spike.” Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion, closing the little red book. “It was sticking out of the bookshelf, and unlike the rest of the books here it’s practically immaculate.”

“Imacawhat?” Spike asked confused.

“Ugh, it’s pristine, un-damaged, it hasn’t fallen to disrepair like the other books have.” Twilight sighed, vanishing the book into her magic.

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so?” Spike asked confused, causing Twilight to softly roll her eyes before exiting the aisle.

She continued along the wall slowly, marking off the blocked path between rows shelf four and five before coming to a stop between five and six.

The medallion had started to buzz once more.

Twilight glanced the light slowly down the aisle between five and six. The aisle was empty, but the medallion continued to buzz. Spike grew silent as the unicorn began to slowly step through the aisle. She quickly put the map away and pulled the sword out from her magic, holding it ready for anything that might happen.

She stopped as the sound of munching suddenly hit her ears. She quickly looked around for the source, hearing it nearby. Then she stopped as she realized where it was.

“Spike… it’s behind the bookcase…” Twilight whispered looking to the shelf to her left.

A spiked tentacle suddenly broke through the shelves, causing Twilight to jump back and raise her sword over her head. The spike wriggled just a foot away from her, having nearly impaled one of them. It seemed to be searching around for something, before coming back to settle against the books.

The spike stabbed straight through the cover of one of the nearby books before dragging it through to the creature. The sound of munching rang loud as the creature seemed to engulf another book into its mandibles.

Twilight nervously raised her hoof to her lips, turning to look at Spike and giving the quietest ‘shhh’ she possible could. Twilight then aimed the sword to face the bookshelf in case the tentacle returned and began to slowly tip-hoof across the aisle as quietly as she could.

She froze for a moment when the creature seemed to give a grunt and stop eating. She didn’t move again until she heard it going back to munching away at its find.

Twilight soon reached the end of the aisle, the buzzing of the medallion finally growing quiet. Together her and Spike let out a collective sigh of relief.

“That was too close.” Spike said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

“Yeah…” Twilight agreed putting the sword away and pulling the map back out. “But, there should be another puzzle piece right over there.” Twilight pointed just past the sixth bookshelf to the wall. Spike looked in the direction she was pointing, seeing the familiar looking puzzle piece sticking out between two books on the bookshelf. Twilight quickly covered the piece with her magic and carefully pulling it out of the shelf.

Twilight then looked to the left of the bookshelf and spotted the door that lead to the backroom. On the door was a square space that looked like it was slotted to fit four separate pieces of a puzzle.

“See? I told you that the puzzle pieces opened this door.” Twilight smiled as she summoned the second piece from her magic. She aligned the corners of the pieces to where they would fit appropriately in the slot. The pieces fit into place with a ‘click’ each, forming half of the picture.

“So we just need to get those other two pieces and the door will unlock.” Spike said smiling.

“It’d be nice if getting the pieces was easier.” Twilight sighed softly turning around. She began to walk down the center aisle of all the bookshelves when she stopped, hearing the medallion start buzzing again.

“Oh no, not another one.” Twilight softly cursed under her breath and drawing the sword once more. She looked around herself; the door was behind her and two empty aisles to her sides. She snapped her head back to the center aisle and saw the creature beginning to walk slowly into her field of vision.

The two tentacles on its back were slowly moving back and forth, as if scanning the air around it. The creatures seemingly skinned head was wobbling slowly back and forth, as if trying to taste or feel things around it. The two halves of skin that used to be a head flapped to its sides as it walked.

Twilight looked around once more in a panic. The creature was going to be upon her quickly and Spike was still on her back. She could feel the young dragon gripping onto her tightly once more. She couldn’t stand there and fight, not with Spike possibly being put in danger.

She had to find a safe spot for him if she was going to fight again.

She turned to her left and quickly ran down the aisle. At the wall she looked around, trying to find a study room with a working door. The first door was a mangled mess of splintered wood, boarded up to prevent entry. The second however, had a door that looked perfect.

Running quickly to the door she pressed her hooves against it and flung it open. The room was brightly lit like the last study room she entered, consisting of a simple table once more. She quickly moved inside and shut the door behind her, the loud buzzing of her medallion turning into a very soft hiss, but never quite going silent.

“Okay… I think we’re safe in here for the moment.” Twilight commented quietly backing away from the door, “We’ll just wait a moment or two and see if the creature passes.” It seemed like a logical idea in her mind, after all it didn’t seem to be in any hurry and if she could avoid fighting when possible, she’d prefer to. Even then she could feel the worry building inside of herself that she would become too accustomed to killing living creatures.

“Hey, Twilight, look there, on the table!” Spike said suddenly pointing to something that lay on the table, Twilight looking towards it, “Isn’t that like one of the boxes we found in the library?”

“…It is Spike.” Twilight said surprised. There was a small mahogany box lying on top of the table. Twilight covered it with her magic and levitated it over to herself. “If it’s here, then that must mean there is something inside of it.” She gripped the top half of the box with her magic, expecting the box to be locked and she’d have to go find some miniscule key hidden inside of a box half way across the library.

However, the box opened easily.

In the next instance something shot out of the box quickly, rising straight up and exploded against the ceiling. Twilight bumped into the back of the room out of surprise as the bright dust began to fall all around the room.

“Hey, this is the same as back at the library!” Spike said standing up on her back and pointing to the dust. “Right afterwards the Princesses showed up!”

Twilight was going to say something, but the room itself seemed to begin to visibly warp and deform. She could barely keep track of the configuration when everything changed, turning into what seemed to be a castle, though not the same castle as the one in Canterlot.

“Hast thou heard? That unicorn is coming to the palace. The stories of his talents have spread fast across our lands.” The regal voice of Princess Luna was heard, walking with her sister down a hallway in the castle, “He returns to us from his journey. It is said he has bested the Dragon of Apocalypse.”

“We have heard the stories and if his words be true than we have many reasons to be grateful to this powerful stallion.” The eldest regal sister, Princess Celestia, spoke in turn of her sister. “For he has done what we could not. The Dragon of Apocalypse is a mighty foe, one that would only otherwise have been bested by our combined unity under the Elements of Harmony.”

“That is exactly what we speak of sister!” Luna put her hoof down with more force, stopping in place. Celestia softly turned to look at her younger sibling, “What force can best the Elements of Harmony? Tis impossible I say! There is no such force that can outshine them! I sense treachery and deceit dear sister.”

Celestia was quiet for a moment, considering her sister’s anger and her words. She looked towards the ground, before looking back up at her sister.

“The feats of heroism are astonishing indeed, but I dare not rule out the possibility that his words are true. Perhaps it was not a force greater than the elements, but something much more deceptive. Perhaps he did not best the dragon with power, but with wit.” Celestia smiled to try and comfort her sister.

“We shall reserve our judgment. Until we see this stallion with our own two eyes, his presence shall be one of suspicion and disbelief.” Luna raised her head as she walked past her sister. Celestia could only smile and softly shake her head as she followed the younger alicorn.

They approached two large, majestic doors that with a single grace of their magic opened wide, revealing the spacious throne room. Guards stood at attention near the throne room chairs as the two sisters took their seats. Their presence was regal and imposing, befitting the rulers of the land.

“Guard, fetch for us the unicorn that has come to see us today.” Luna decreed to one of the nearby guards. The soldier saluted before spreading its wings and flying to the opposite end of the throne room. While the regal sisters had come in from their back room, the guard opened the doors to the front where any awaiting guest to speak to the royal sisters would wait.

Upon the doors opening, a pony began to make its way forward. Around its body it wore a dark blue cloak, with a hood that stretched to cover its face. Around his neck was a golden necklace, the center of which sat a blue octagon gemstone. The pony approached the throne, stopping just short and bowing before the Princesses.

“We welcome thee brave stallion.” Celestia spoke first, setting the regal tone, “Thou may stand and speak with us.”

“And let us see thy face, so that we may know thee better.” Luna added, prompting a look from her sister.

“But of course your majesty.” The stallion spoke clearly, his voice deep. He stood from his bow and raised a hoof up, pulling the hood of his cloak back to reveal himself.

The unicorn had a blonde light blue coat with a long mane of gold, a beard began to form just under his chin and his face looked just freshly turned stallion. He did not look strong, as though he had had the body of a youth. Yet his eyes pierced fiercely with an ice blue stare, as if in his short life he had seen and learned much.

“My name is Merlin, Merlin Ambrosius. I have come to the castle of the Royal Sisters so that I may speak with thee. It is an honor to meet you both.” He bowed once more.

“The feeling is returned, for a pony whose name is heard across the land we are honored to have met thee.” Celestia smiled as Merlin came back up from his bow.

“Yes, thy feats have amazed us all. Tell us, are thy tales true? Has a pony such as thee vanquished the Dragon of Apocalypse all by thyself?” Luna cut straight to the chase, not wanting to delay the question any longer.

“It is true my lady. Acnologia shall no longer be a threat to our lands.” Merlin spoke clearly, without a moment of hesitation in his voice. The quickness of his reply seemed to astonish Luna.

“Acnologia? Who, pray tell, is Acnologia?” Luna narrowed her eyes at the suspicious unicorn.

“Oh, pardon my manners.” Merlin swept some of the hair out of his face so that he could direct his conversation to her more clearly, “Acnologia was the name of the dragon, I discovered it when I came to confront the creature.”

“And how did thou take down such a creature?” Celestia asked as curious as her sister.

“Yes, this is a tale we would like to hear.” Luna added, wanting to hear more of Merlin’s words.

“It is one that I shall share, nor will it take much time. The Dragon of Apocalypse as thou know was destroying our lands, leaving destruction in his wake. No pony could stop him and all diplomacy was for not. He knew to hide and escape from you, the royal sisters, but he feared not the common pony. When he destroyed the village I had visited, I tracked him to his newest home and saw him face to face.” Merlin began his tale.

“And he did not swallow thee or burn thy flesh?” Luna puzzled at him, ever skeptical of his tale.

“He did not, for his curiosity had peaked. He asked what a foolish pony thought he could do and wanted to hear my words before I died. So I spoke to him plain and true. I was there to stop his fiendish deeds, to save our fair ponies and world alike.”

“And he did not strike thee where thy stood?” Luna winced more.

“Nay your majesty, instead he bellowed with laughter.” He raised his hoof and closed his eyes, giving the impression of an aristocrat, “He thought it hilarious that a common pony by himself could defeat one such as he.” Merlin put his hoof back down and looked back up at the princesses, “So I told him that I would offer him a challenge. Interested he asked what it was. I told him that if I could present to him an item he could not destroy that he would lose his power and be forced to live the rest of his life as but a fair earth pony. Should he break my item, I would give him all the powers and strengths of a Unicorn.”

“WHAT!?” Luna roared loudly across the chamber halls, “If the Dragon of Apocalypse acquired the power of unicorns the world would end in but an instance!”

“Dear sister, calm thyself.” Celestia spoke clearly, Luna realizing she’d acted brash, “Let our guest finish his tale.”

“Very well.” Luna calmed herself sitting back down, “Tell us the rest of the tale.”

“But of course your majesty.” Merlin adjusted the hair out of his face once more and continued to speak, “The dragon was confident, knowing his power could shatter anything within the land. He agreed to my game and I cast the pact forming spell, to ensure that whoever won our game would give up their bet. This is where I learned the name of the dragon, for one must speak thy true name for the pact to work. He then asked me to present his item and from my cloak I drew this.” Merlin reached into his cloak and pulled out a large black scale.

“What, pray tell, is that item?” Luna asked, not recognizing it.

“It is the very thing that cannot break. For Acnologia who has the magical power within him to break anything, can break not but one thing, the armor of his own hide.” Merlin held the scale a little higher to behold, “This is a scale from his back. During my travels I witnessed the dragon several times, studying his true nature. During one of those times this scale fell from his back. I know not why it fell or how it did so from the impenetrable shell of the best. But with it in my possession I challenged him to my game.” Merlin put the scale away back in his cloak. “So try as he might, with crushing fists, gnarling jaws and fire hot as magma he could not break the scale.”

“Then what became of the Dragon?” Luna asked, demanding to know more.

“True to the pact he could not best his own scale. The spell activated and his power was stripped from him and his body changed to that of an earth pony. With no way to change back I left him in his cave to wallow in his new form.” Merlin smiled, “And thus ends the terror of Acnologia, the Dragon of Apocalypse.”

“If thy words are true then there is much to celebrate.” Celestia smiled, amazed at the tale, “Once we have confirmed the end of this nightmare upon our land, we must hold a feast in your honor.”

“I would be most honored to be hosted a banquet by you, your majesty.” Merlin bowed once more, “But I am afraid there is something else of grave importance I came to speak of thee with.”

“Speak away my subject, you have earned thy words in this room.” Celestia spoke once more.

“Very well, I shall speak a message first then tell you of why I came.” Merlin cleared his throat quickly, before turning his head, as if not looking at either of the royal sisters, but at somepony that wasn’t there yet, as though they would be there for him to look at one day.

“Twilight.” Merlin spoke clearly, “Thou must find the rest. Memory is the key.”

The world suddenly twisted and shifted, molding itself back into the simple study room that it once had been. The glowing dust that had fallen from the ceiling faded, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

Twilight and Spike stared in absolute shock at the sight they had just witnessed. At the last words that had been spoken.

“Twilight… was… was he talking to you?” Spike asked confused, not sure of what it was he just saw.

“I… I think so but… how is that possible? That wasn’t happening right now, that had to happened a long time ago, well before I was even CLOSE to being born.” Twilight’s mind was reeling, her eyes moving around frantically as she tried to gather her thoughts into one place. “Was this a magical documentation of events that had occurred? Is it possible to record events like this? And if so who had placed this specific event in this box? Why would it be made for me to find it in this crazy mess?” Twilight spoke quickly and bewildered.

“I don’t think it was any of those things… maybe it was a memory of the past? That Merlin guy did say that memory was the key.” Spike said trying to think about it.

“A memory…” Twilight thought to herself, “But then… whose memory was it Spike?”

“Uhm… I guess it’d be Celestia’s memory… or maybe Luna’s… they were both present for that event.” Spike thought scratching his head.

“Well… he said I had to find the rest. I guess that means there must be more memories hiding like this one was.” Twilight examined the box, finding the contents now quite empty. With no need for an empty box she placed it back down on the table.

“Hey, your medallion isn’t making noise anymore.” Spike noticed, trying to listen for any sound.

“Oh, you’re right Spike.” Twilight lifted the medallion with her hoof to look at it, confirming it had gone silent, “It must be okay to wander outside again, since it was still buzzing when we got in here.” Twilight walked over to the door and put her hoof against it. “Let’s hurry up and find those last two puzzle pieces Spike and get into the backroom. I have a feeling something very important is back there.”

“How can you tell?” Spike asked curiously.

“Like I said Spike, whatever is going on is following its own rules. This includes the puzzles, the monsters and things like the memory we just found. Something important is locked inside the backroom, or else it wouldn’t be locked.” Twilight nodded, taking a deep breath and opening the study door once more.

The dark library came into view once more and she realized her pendant had turned itself off in the study room. With a quick tap of her hoof light returned and she could see into the dark library. She scanned the area around the door quickly, finding no monsters waiting for them in ambush. It seemed that the creature had simply walked by and left them alone. Twilight quickly pulled the map back out and examined it.

“Okay, the last two pieces are actually nearby. They’re that way.” Twilight said looking to her left, before quietly closing the study room door behind her and following along the wall. She scanned with her light down the aisles of the book shelves she passed, stopping when she saw a light blue book sticking out of one of the nearby shelves.

Without moving from the wall she grasped the book within her magic and levitated it over to herself. The title of the book read ‘Heaven’s Food’. She did a quick glance around to make sure no monster was near and listened carefully to her medallion, before she opened the book to read what it contained.

Once there were two sisters, one of whom had no children and was rich, and the other had five and was a widow, and so poor that she no longer had food enough to satisfy herself and her children.

In her need, therefore, she went to her sister, and said, “My children and I are suffering the greatest hunger; thou art rich, give me a mouthful of bread.”

The very rich sister was as hard as a stone, and said, “I myself have nothing in the house,” and drove away the poor creature with harsh words.

After some time the husband of the rich sister came home, and was just going to cut himself a piece of bread, but when he made the first cut into the load, out flowed red blood. When the woman saw that she was terrified and told him what had occurred. He hurried away to help the widow and her children, but when he entered her room, he found her bowed.

She had her two youngest children in her hooves, and the three eldest were lying dead. He offered her food, but she answered, “For earthly food have we no longer any desire. Heaven has already satisfied the hunger of three of us, and it will hearken to our supplications likewise.”

Scarcely had she uttered these words than the two little ones drew their last breath, whereupon her heart broke, and she sank down dead.

“Can reading wait till later Twilight? I’d like to finish our business here as quickly as possible.” Spike asked, trying to get Twilight’s nose out of another book.

“Oh, right, sorry Spike.” Twilight vanished the book into her magic and continued following the wall.

Each study door she passed continued to be broken and boarded off. The map showed that the last two pieces of the puzzle was in one of the study rooms and in the middle of the maze of bookshelves. Twilight’s light scanned down the aisles looking for anything that might jump out at her. The pathway ended when she was stopped by a large pile of books, but lead down into another aisle of the bookshelves. She examined the map and looked at the study door that was next to her. The door wasn’t broken or boarded up, looking perfectly good for use. One of the puzzle pieces was contained inside that room.

Not wanting to waste any more time she placed her hoof against the door and pushed it open slightly.

Her medallion suddenly began to buzz loudly as the sound of chewing struck her ears.

She quickly closed the door shut and the buzzing silenced itself.

“Oh no…” Twilight took a deep breath, realizing she might have to fight another one of those creatures and opened the door slightly once more.

The medallion began to buzz as she looked in through the crack of the door. The room was brightly lit like the others, she could spot the creature and its tentacles easily. It was devouring a pile of books in the corner of the room, the table pushed to the opposite wall for it to have room. She saw the tentacles floating around its back, looking for some prey to stab into.

Her eyes moved over to the table, spotting the puzzle piece lying on top of it. She thought about her actions for a moment, before having a brilliant deduction. She lit her horn with magic and the puzzle piece covered the distance with her magic.

The creature feasting stopped for a moment, as if noticing her use of magic. Twilight softly gulped and vanished the piece into her magic, before closing the door.

The medallion continued to buzz for a moment or two after the door closed, causing Twilight to softly sweat at the idea of having been discovered.

However, the buzzing grew quiet and she let out a soft sigh, realizing she’d gotten away with it.

‘Thank you Merlin, your spell has worked miracles today.’ Twilight thought to herself. She turned around and walked away from the door, heading for the center of the library now. According to the map, the puzzle piece should be right under her nose.

At the end of the aisle she saw it, sitting on the floor comfortably, surrounded by three separate piles of large books that blocked off any other way to the puzzle piece. It was a dead end in the maze, but a dead end that hid the final piece.

With a smile she whisked the puzzle piece up with her magic and vanished it into her magic.

“Alright, we have all the pieces we need Spike. Let’s go open that door.” Twilight smiled confidently, ready to go into the backroom and away from all these monsters. She turned around and made her way back to the wall, planning on following it back to the locked puzzle door and putting the pieces into place.

As she began to follow along the wall, she was stopped in her tracks when her medallion suddenly began to buzz once more. She quickly looked down the aisle that was next to her, hearing the sound of groaning coming down it.

From the shadows appeared another one of those creatures, only it seemed different. Its tentacles were at attention; point straight forward, its head wasn’t wobbling back and forth but instead heading straight forward. It wasn’t searching; it knew where its prey was now.

The creature let out a screeching wail, charging forward straight at the unprepared unicorn.

Twilight leaped forward as the two tentacles came crashing down, breaking into the wall where she had just been standing. She couldn’t stand around right now; she couldn’t stop and fight the thing. With Spike on her back and nowhere safe to quickly put him, she had to just run.

She felt like she ran faster than she ever had before, but the world itself had grown in size. It was all in her mind, she knew, but it felt like the aisle would end. She could hear the creature screeching as it pulled the tentacles out of the wall; it was going to head for her once more.

Twilight made a sharp turn at the end the wall. She could hear her breath as her heart began to pound in her ears. One thing was constantly shouting out in her head.

Spike was in danger.

She could feel the baby dragon clinging to her head tightly, looking back at the creature chasing them. She could feel his panicked breath, his terrified claws, his racing heart. Everything about him wanted to be out of danger quickly and she was the one who had to protect him. She had to get him out of danger.

The door came into view, the puzzle pieces still locked into place where she had placed them before. She could hear the crashing of books and the splintering of wood behind her as the creature thrashed its tentacles out, it attempting to drive them straight into her body.

“TWILIGHT! HURRY!” Spike shouted gripping hold of her mane. Twilight winced in pain but held back her words, summoning the two pieces of the puzzle out from her magic. With speed and precision she placed the remaining pieces into the door, hearing it ‘click’ with the sound of the puzzle being completed.

Her magic gripped the door and forced it open, Twilight sprinting straight for it. The creature wailed as its tentacles missed her by inches, slicing through the air. Twilight turned in the opened hallway, seeing the creature flail for the door, its skin flapping around as its mandibles mashed around.

With her horn lighting up, she swung her head and slammed the door shut hard, the echo of the slam being heard through the library.

The medallion didn’t let up its buzzing and Twilight stepped back from the door, still hearing the creature wail behind it. The sound died down for a moment, causing an unnatural calm. Twilight gulped softly, not liking the quiet.

The door cracked visibly as something hard was struck against it. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized the door could be damaged by the creature.

Another strike hit the door, loudly splitting the wood it was made out of.

A tentacle burst through the door, heading straight for Twilight. She jumped back and let out a startled scream as it stopped a few feet away from her.

The tentacle suddenly began to wither and writhe, a loud high-pitched screaming sound coming from it as if it was suddenly being attacked. Steam started to rise from the entire appendage as it began to wrinkle and shrink.

The creature tried to pull the tentacle back out the door, only for it to fall off mid-pull. The tentacle landed on the ground curling up, before vanishing completely in the steam of smoke that it had produced.

Twilight stared in confusion at where the tentacle had been, then up at the door, hearing the creature wail and moan behind it. It wailed and seemed to scratch at the door for a minute or two, before giving up and walking away. The buzz on the medallion began to fade as it walked away, before finally going silent.

“What just happened Twilight?” Spike asked confused, though still riding from the terror of having survived a close encounter.

“I… I don’t know Spike.” Twilight gulped softly, looking down at the ground. Her light illuminated the spot where the tentacle had been, then she lifted it up to look down the hallway to see what might have caused the tentacle to suddenly fall apart.

“Hey, what’s that?” Twilight asked walking closer to the door, spotting a strange marking on the ground. She carefully stopped right before it, illuminating the symbol with her light.

“Hey, isn’t that the same symbol as the one from the box in the library?” Spiked asked curiously looking at the design.

“It is Spike…” Twilight spoke softly looking over the strange circle design. It was indeed the circle within circles design with the cryptic runic writing. However, it was different. Instead of being a red symbol, this one was blue. “Do you think this thing being here is what hurt that monster?”

“Maybe. It’s the only thing that makes sense right?” Spike commented, tapping his chin in thought.

“Then who put it here…” Twilight pondered as well. The two of them sat there for about a minute in thought, before Twilight looked back up at the door with a hole in it leading back to the library. “We can contemplate about it more later Spike. Let’s head into the backroom and see what we can find.” Twilight spoke firmly, turning around and heading down the narrow hallway.

Twilight was a little surprised that the backroom was at the end of this long, narrow hallway. It seemed unusual for a library to have a useless hallway like this within its borders anyway. But her light fell upon the door at the end of the hallway, the words ‘Backroom’ written onto it. Quickly approaching it, she put her hoof against the door, braced for what might be behind it, and pushed it open.

The door let out a loud creak as she pushed it open. She winced at the sound, realizing it would likely attract anything that was inside of the room. Though when she looked, she found it to be surprisingly well lit. A few candles were lit around the room and there appeared to be several tables in the center of the room with a few bookshelves along the back walls.

“Oh, hello there.” A voice suddenly came out, causing Twilight to nearly jump out of her skin, “I wasn’t expecting to meet another pony here.”

Suddenly, a unicorn walked into her view from across the room, one she hadn’t seen before.

His coat was a light brown, while his mane was a striking blonde with darker blonde highlights going through it evenly. On his face was a pair of glasses that showed off his dark blue eyes, while he had a scruffy goatee growing in around his mouth and nose. On his body was a lighter brown sweater with dark brown edges to it and a white collar that popped up out from the sweater. But most striking of all was that his cutie mark appeared to be a red magic circle with a simple cross square pattern, with a large question mark in the middle of it.

He closed a book he had been reading and levitated it gently down onto one of the tables.

“I was here doing research on my latest book, when things suddenly started going weird. So I thought I might poke my nose into some other research.” The stallion smiled oddly. Twilight wasn’t sure how to read his reaction, but she was grateful to see another pony.

“O-Oh… well I wasn’t expecting to see another pony too.” Twilight spoke hesitantly, walking into the room and closing the door behind her. “Are you from Stalliongrad? This is the library there after all…”

“No, I was born in Canterlot actually.” The stallion said walking closer, “But I was in Stalliongrad doing research. Tell me; based on your question this library is no longer in Stalliongrad. So where am I?”

“You’re… in Ponyville.” Twilight mentioned, the two stopping a few feet short of each other. Spike was gripping onto Twilight’s head, eyeing the new pony with suspicion. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on here.”

The stallions face seemed to light up upon hearing her name, before smiling his odd smile. Twilight couldn’t help but think he seemed a little off.

“Twilight Sparkle? The one and only? The student of Princess Celestia and the current wielder of the Element of Magic?” He asked simply fascinated by this information. Twilight went to open her mouth to respond, when Spike did it for her.

“She’s the one and only alright, but who are you?” Spike asked pointing a finger accusingly.

“Spike? What are you doing?” Twilight glared softly at the baby dragon’s rudeness.

“Now, now, it’s alright.” The stallion smiled, adjusting his glasses, “I’m certainly not as famous as you would be Ms. Sparkle, but I have started to gain a name for myself. You see, I’ve published a few books recently in my ever growing hunger to know more about the world. I love nothing more than finding answers to the questions that the world brings up.” He chuckled softly to himself, before making sure to look straight into her eyes. “My name is Magus. Magus Vince Darkarts. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Spike practically fell off of Twilight’s back. Twilight’s jaw felt like it could have hit the ground. There was a moment of stunned shock as Twilight took all of that information in. Magus just seemed to chuckle softly at her reaction.

“Oh my, I take it you’ve heard of me?” He asked amused.

“Heard of you!?” Twilight could barely contain her voice, “You’re the guy who… you practically caused this mess!” Her mind jumped straight to conclusions.

“Huh?” Magus asked confused, raising an eyebrow, “What do you mean? I certainly would have nothing to do with what’s been going on with this library. I’ve simply been doing research.”

“Well… no you haven’t done anything directly.” Twilight said trying to reign in her emotions, “But your spell has caused a lot of indirect problems… and it’s helped some good ponies too…” Twilight bit her lip as she began to realize what she was saying and how she was reacting.

“Start from the beginning Ms. Sparkle, what are you talking about?” Magus asked a little more confused than he likes to be.

“Okay, well, see, I have these friends who had been having nightmares. So I looked up a book on dreams and found yours. I used the spell you created called the Mind Delve on them to find out what was wrong.” Twilight quickly explained.

“Ah yes. Dreams: A Psychological Understanding. I remember writing that.” Magus mused rubbing his chin. “And the Mind Delve is one of my personal favorites. Oh a lot of work went into weaving that spell. I assume it brought your friends problems to the front and they were able to confront them?”

“Well… yes and no.” Twilight explained, causing Magus to be a little confused again. “See, I never saw what their problems were. I saw a floating picture and then the spell ended on its own. But when it was over my friends said they had come to understand their problems and were better for it.”

“…You don’t say.” Magus thought once more. “That is certainly odd. The spell was never intended to do either of those things.”

“Exactly. So if you’re here now… can you tell me, why did the spell do that? And what reason would my friends have for not telling me what they experienced while under the Mind Delve?” Twilight wanted answers.

Magus grew quiet as he thought in silence. It seemed to take a minute or two before he finally responded.

“I couldn’t tell you Ms. Sparkle.” Was his answer, “I didn’t intend for the spell to have those effects. And you should’ve seen what their problem was when you cast the spell.” He smiled, looking off into the distance. “But this intrigues me now. I’d like to find an answer to this question myself.”

“Is this guy right in the head?” Spike asked a little confused about Magus’s words.

“Spike, no need to be insulting.” Twilight huffed a little before turning back. “Sorry about asking such questions with the situation we’re in. I just… I never expected to run into you of all ponies here.”

“It’s alright Ms. Sparkle.” Magus nodded slowly, “All things must happen for a reason. With the recent phenomenon going on in this library, I’ve been busying myself with research on it.”

“How can you research something noponies ever experienced before?” Spike asked confused.

“By finding clues and hints left behind of course.” Magus chuckled softly, “Like for instance, did you know that the monsters that have appeared hate something? It brings them pain and suffering to simply even be in the vicinity of it.”

“…The blue circle.” Twilight gasped in realization.

“Oh excellent, you saw that on your way in.” Magus smiled, adjusting his glasses again, “That’s exactly right. I found that symbol adorned in red while I was here researching. Then the monsters suddenly started showing up. I knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence, so using my knowledge of runic symbols, I figured out quickly that changing the color turned the symbol from a positive effect for the creatures, to a negative one.” He chuckled softly, “Of course, the symbol has its limitations.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Twilight asked confused.

“You see, Ms. Sparkle, the symbol runs on a strange system. The monsters hate the symbol in blue, but only in small numbers. The more you create, the weaker the effect becomes. I discovered this when I tried to create a wall to stop their movements, but they were simply able to walk through it.” Magus turned to walk back over to the table where his book now lay, “But if I put a single one in a hallway, then the creature feels its maximum effect. So in short…” Magus’s horn lit up as he pulled out several different books from the shelves around him and piled them neatly into a small structure in front of him, “You can create a safe room that the monsters won’t be able to get inside.”

“I see… that’s amazing. You were able to find this all out with a short time researching?” Twilight asked astonished, amazed at his work.

“Indeed I have.” Magus smiled, walking back towards Twilight, “And I still have a lot more research to do. So I’m going to be remaining her in this safe room until I’ve finished it.”

“I see…” Twilight softly murmured to herself, thinking things through in her head. She had just found a safe room, a room that would prevent from any kind of monster attack. She couldn’t stay there for long, her friends needed her and she needed to find the Princess.

However, there was something that the safe room could do for her.

“Magus.” Twilight spoke suddenly, causing the stallion to tilt his head curiously, “I’m going back outside to look for my friends and for Princess Celestia. Are you going to be staying here and studying?”

“But of course.” Magus smiled adjusting his glasses once more, giving that strange grin of his, “I love finding answers. I’ll be here for a while at it.”

“Good. Then can I please ask you to watch my assistant Spike for me?” Twilight pointed to the baby dragon with her hoof.

“What!?” Spike said shocked at the sudden proposal, “Twilight, what are doing? You need me with you!”

“Spike, please.” She looked at her assistant before looking at Magus, “Would you be willing to do that for me?”

“But of course.” Magus smiled his creepy smile, “Anything for the wonderful Ms. Sparkle.”

“Twilight no! I want to go with you!” Spike cried out, clinging to Twilight’s leg. Twilight sighed softly and sat down on the ground, holding Spike close to her. She pressed his head up against her chest so that he could hear her heart beat. Spike looked up at her worriedly as she smiled down at him.

“Listen Spike… it’s dangerous out there. Those creatures don’t show any mercy. They’ll rip you to shreds if they get the chance.” Twilight spoke gravely, yet comfortingly.

“I know that! And if you’re going out there that means they’re going to come after you too! I have to be there to protect you!” Spike cried out, clinging harder to Twilight. Twilight lifted a hoof and wrapped it around the baby dragon’s body, closing her eyes as she hugged him.

“Spike, listen. I can protect myself. You’ve seen me do it. I can avoid the monsters and save my life much easier if I don’t have to constantly protect you.” Twilight opened her eyes and lifted her head, Spike looking up into her eyes as water started to form at the edge of his, “I won’t be putting myself into any intentional harm and I’ll stop anything that plans to hurt me. I won’t let those things get to me Spike, but I do have to go out and find the others.” Twilight put both her hooves on his shoulders and lowered her head to look him level in the eyes.

“Do you trust me to keep my word Spike?” Twilight asked solemnly.

“I… I…” Spike hesitated, not wanting to be separated from the lavender unicorn. But her words spoke true, if he continued to stay with her, he’d be a liability more than he would be an aid. “I… I do Twilight.” Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight’s neck, “I do trust you. And you better come back for me! I won’t forgive you if you die on me!”

“I won’t Spike. I promise you.” Twilight hugged the baby dragon close to her. They sat there for a while, just enjoying each other’s embrace.

“Well,” Magus spoke up finally, causing the two to slowly break out of their hug, “If you’re going back out there then maybe this will help you.” His horn lit up and from a pocket in his sweater he pulled out a strange key. Her levitated it over to Twilight who held out her hoof, the key gently falling into it. “I found that back here but have no use for it since I’ll be researching. Perhaps you’ll find a use for it out there.”

“Thank you Magus.” Twilight nodded her head, vanishing the key into her magic, “Thank you for everything.”

“Don’t mention it.” Magus flashed his creepy smile, before turning to head back for his books. Twilight stood up and headed back for the door to the library.

“You’re going to come back for me. You got that?” Spike said, giving Twilight a soft glare, out of fear and worry.

“I do.” Twilight smiled back at the baby dragon. The two looked at each other for a long period of time, before Twilight opened the door to the backroom and exited, leaving her number one assistant behind.

Comments

[Lord-Sparda]

no man come on........ why did she leave spike with that dude? come on maaaaan......... and if i saw one of those..... 'things' wanna know what i'd do to it if it tried to hurt someone i cared about? I'd put away my sword and rip its head off its shoulders with my bare hands. and also, please message me and tell me what game this is based on, if any at all, because i want it it sounds KICK ASS!!!

[RedvsBlue327]

>Creepy strange and probably insane colt that indirectly caused this mess.
>Leave Spike with the him for 'Safety'
Proof Twilight just wats to get rid of dead weight.
(JKing)

[FuryoftheStorm]

353569 The Silent Ponyville series is based off the Silent Hill video game series. Not sure if this one is based on any particular game in the series, but the first two stories seemed to be more based on Silent Hill 2's gameplay mechanics.

Regarding the story, Twilight seems to be a terrible judge of character. I mean come on, the guy's name is essentialy "Magician of the Dark Arts". Not exactly someone you'd be wanting to leave a child with

[Fiendly]

355827 Or maybe precisely the pony you'd leave a child with considering that if he is indeed a magus of the dark arts then he would probably know quite a few defense methods or spells for taking out a creature, that and he knows how to make the runic circles. So I think it was actually a good call leaving Spike with Magus.

[Ehrlichkeit]

^ Well. This was very interesting. And one thing... I never found one story grimdark that i could find to like. Rainbow factory an exception, but for reasons other than the intended genre. Until i found the silent ponyville series. Derp.

[CrazyIan]

Wow. This story is really Interesting.

And Im guessing that Magus is supposed to be Vincent right? If so, Good Job, you captured his creepy personality well!

[ZoomthePony]

[Rainbow Sparkle]

357036
Incorrect, your thinking Harry Potter. In this case, the guy's a magician who USES dark magic. Plus, I think this guy has something to do with this entire situation...whether or not it was intentional is a question, but I think its intentional. If it wasn't intentional, then this means that the Mind Delve broke the barrier between Silent Equestria and Normal Equestria and awoken whatever slumbers in that dark world.

[Gikotius]

and here comes the epikk Twilight vs monsters montage

[Aydn Duncan]

JUST... AWESOME!

[Captain Grim]

Hi Hi

[Lord King Cocoon]

Every time one of those...things thrusts one of it's tentacles, I keep expecting a voice to call out "Get over here!"

[babadoo]

353569
in all reality, everyhting would feal real, it might even be real, you would be scared shitless, not knowing what to do, choosing irrational descisions, and inevitably dieing.
not trying to sound like an ass, but thats what realists do.

[Basement Native]

The first story is my new favorite. Even beating My Little Dashie. They are all grate, but the first is my favorite.

[VelvetHeart]

It's a promising, good story, but I couldn't help but notice you never seem to get the word 'scraping' right. For some reason you always add in an extra 'p', turning it into 'scrapping'. Scrapping is what you do to something you no longer need: "My car was a total loss, so I had it scrapped." It means 'to reduce to scrap'.

Scraping, on the other hoof, means 'to scrape', as in scratching something across something else, like a surface.

[Zelda Spectrum]

Stumble upon unfamiliar stallion with creepy smile who supposedly started this whole ordeal.
Leave Spike in the same room while going off to find the others.
Seems Legit.

[Thegodhand]

The read she was heading down

You mean the road

but it felt like the aisle would end.

I think you meant wouldn't?

[Azure Steel]

And now that she's separated from Spike, shit will go down and hit the fan.

[bronybrofist]

1540125
exactly. i betcha magus did this.

[kitsuneito]

373652 either him or Merlin is the one setting the rules.its like " hi! I almost inderectly murdered your friends, and now I'll kill your assistant!"

[Swirls]

The comments section is scarier than the story.

The spelling...

[SonicRainBoom709]

353569
U really dont (or didnt, dependending if already discovered in those 2 days) the game? Its Silent Hill, probably the only PSX starting horror game that hasnt rather disappeared or turned into an action game (no wait,i think a Alien has also survived )

[SonicRainBoom709]

In my life i hve come to learn 2 things about character names

1st: names starting with "V" are a simbol of badassnes or evilness (Vince Vallentine, Victor Von Doom, Van Hellsing, etc.)

2nd: If the guy has "dark", "doom", or any other suspicous word in their name, u autamaticaly must lose all confidence.

[jtc09999]

Upon hilltops of Saint Clydesrow was where I saw the ghastly sights of our fellow blood, nailed to wood in the shape of a cross to serve two purposes; one of execution, the other of warning. Their bodies spoke of the atrocities the nation would commit. If you broke their laws, invaded their land or offended their nobles, the fate of death was brought to you. You would be seen by those you knew and loved, by your enemies and by your Goddess, that you were an example of their power. They called this execution the ‘crucifixion’.

I can cleary see that is the crucifixion of Christ you are hinting at.
I really enjoy your writing, as i really think about what things you are hinting at

[Cyborcat]

Your Vincent expy could be a little more subtle about it, but this Vincent fangirl still approves--pretty cool that, after all this time, Darkarts turned out to basically be Vincent. Squee ^.^

[plasmasword]

I love silent hill and my littlepony but when you combine them what do you get...... YOU GET THE BEST FANFIC EVER!!!!!!!!

[PaulAsaran]

While I like your depiction of Twilight in general, I think you're hammering us over the head with her 'protect Spike at all costs' bit. We got it the first 100 times it was mentioned, thanks.

I love how Twilight completely fails to wonder where Spike was keeping quills and ink. Nice nod to this particular oddity in the show.

Acnologia, huh? Well, looks like we have our great villain.

,,,Magus Vince Darkarts? This guy's got 'I'm going to be evil later!' written all over him. Of course, that could be exactly what you want me to think.

I wholly object to this idea that Spike would be useless and a liability. I'm guilty of neglecting him myself on multiple occasions, but this is downright insulting to his character. I do hope you make up for it later, but I honestly doubt it.

[Dusk Raven]

“Heard of you!?” Twilight could barely contain her voice, “You’re the guy who… you practically caused this mess!” Her mind jumped straight to conclusions.

How exactly did she decide that? To my knowledge, the others didn't tell Twilight anything about what happened, not even the creepy town...

[NecromancerKing]

5341569 he could also be the one that started this. I'd say he could even be the dragon, if it somehow found a way to become a unicorn. I don't know anything for sure, I posted this comment right after finishing this chapter.

[NecromancerKing]

The fact that Magus is still alive in a library, that was moved from one area to another, and then heavily altered, raises suspicions about him for sure. If something did this to a building that had at least a few other ponies inside, it would have killed him too. He must be involved in this somehow.

[Featherflight]

Three stories, with a bittersweet feel, taken from Grimm's fairy tales? Interesting. Also, why is Twilight leaving someone she 'has to protect' with a guy that has a creepy smile, and a broken spell? Eh, video game logic. I'll put that next to mazes and reluctance to fight.

[King of Kings]

“Whoa, look Twilight, it’s snowing again!” Spike said eagerly running out into the backyard without a care.

Well someone obviously didn't listen to a lot of Doctor Whooves and Assistant...That isn't snow! It's ash!

[StarryTwilight120]

THE FAIRY TAIL REFRENCE HAS ME SCREAMING OH MY GOD DNCN ACNOLOGIA AAAAA

[CrossoverFanficReader]

6137649

Also, why is Twilight leaving someone she 'has to protect' with a guy that has a creepy smile, and a broken spell?

Plot reasons my friend.