The Witch

by DavidReinold

Cantamen Primum - Bibliotheca Hieme (V Pars - Insomnium)

Long ago, in the magical land of Equestria... the story begins. I pull my wooden chair tighter in to the table at which I sit. The only other library-goer is an elderly man in the opposite chamber. I would have no disruptions. My eyes return to the page and I continue reading.

...there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects; all the different types of ponies.

I pause for a moment, beginning to wonder why she wanted me to read this. It's starting to look like a children's story. Something you'd read to your daughter to help them fall asleep. Certainly not serious or legitimate reading material. Had I misinterpreted her message? Perhaps this book is completely irrelevant.

I mean, honestly...ponies...

It really is absurd, isn't it, that such a tale could ever be relevant to whatever she means to tell me. Perhaps, then, there is some note folded up inside the volume? A hidden message, perhaps? I flip the pages one by one, but come out nil each time. None of the pages have any writing on them either. Frustrated, I glance around once more to make sure no one is watching before grabbing the book by its spine and shaking it vigorously over my desk.

Nothing doing, the surface of my table remains completely free of secret letters from that purple-haired girl who gets more and more mysterious by the minute.

It seems I must take this children's book, this fairy tale, at face value. It contains no secrets. Its only purpose, one must surmise, is to be read. By me.

It really is...just an ordinary book.

I continue reading, now determined to watch the details closely and absorb every ounce of literary content the volume has to offer. If I am going to read this book, this message from her to me, then I should do so with the utmost care and concentration. Obviously, this is important to her.

With each passing line, the story weaves itself further and further into an intricate tale of loss, heartbreak, and redemption. The sister of the night, I ascertain, was transformed by bitterness and hate for her inherent inferiority to her sister. Her emotions overwhelmed her, and - donning the new title Nightmare Moon - she sought to bring death and destruction upon the residents of Equestria.

To end Nightmare Moon's rampage, the elder sister exiled her sibling to the moon and sealed her there for a millennium. The elder sister then took upon herself the responsibilities of the night as well as the day. All the while, for that next millennium, Nightmare Moon plotted her revenge, eagerly awaiting the day when the stars would aid in her escape and she would be able to ensnare all of ponykind in an eternal night of despair and sorrow.

And so came the solstice of the thousandth year, and Nightmare Moon was liberated from her celestial prison. She subdued the elder sister at the annual Summer Sun Celebration - a festivity held in honor of the sun and the plentiful harvest season it would bring - and used the large crowd to announce the eternal night that had just been thrust upon all of Equestria. The joy and excitement that had resonated in the hearts of all those in attendance was quickly replaced with dread and terror as-

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and nearly jump out of my chair as I am thrust from the world of the book back into my surroundings. Twilight Sparkle stands next to me, smiling kindly.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she says, "but it's just about time for the library to close for the night."

I look out the window and find that the street lamps are once again shining bright over the dark, calm avenue of the frigid winter night. I look back down at The Mare in the Moon, and find that I am already a solid chunk of the way in. How long had I been reading? It can't have been less than 18 hours. I had read all the way through breakfast, lunch, and supper, and it isn't until now that I realize how hungry I am. But I also want to finish the book very badly. I'm not going to lie - this fairy tale has me legitimately captivated.

"Like I said," Twilight continues, noticing my plight, "you can feel free to borrow any book you like. This is a library, after all."

A wide grin crosses my face, and I rush to grab the due date card from the back cover. Just sign my name, and the book is all...wait a second...where is the card? There is no pocket. No stamps, no card, no anything. I look back to Twilight with a look of horror, and she just smiles at me.

"This one's not registered in the collection yet," she says, "don't worry, just hang onto it. I'll make a note that you have it, Mr. Kenbroth."

My sense of elation returns, and I'm not sure if it's because she's letting me keep the book, or because she remembered my name.

* * *

I find myself back in my cozy little house, on my cozy little bed, staring down at the epic tale in which I was currently engaged. I cast aside hesitation and thrust the cover back, immersing myself once again within the legend of Nightmare Moon.

Except that the large ink image that greets me is not entirely what I expect.

On the page just past where I left off was a full-color image of what looked like stained glass. In the center was what appeared to be a pony. A unicorn, to be precise. But this was not what struck me. What struck me was that she had purple hair with a pink stripe in it, the deepest violet eyes, and a keen smile that spoke volumes.

"A smile like that of someone who knows all the secret ins and outs of life..." I speak aloud as I think the words. Could it be? No, that's not...that's not possible. Probably just a coincidence. Definitely just a random occurrence. Hesitantly, I read the subsequent paragraph, half-hoping that any resemblance is just my imagination.

"But in the midst of this endless night," I read on, "one unicorn and her five closest friends rose from the shadows of despair and stood united against Nightmare Moon. Together, they fought off the trials that stood between them, as they sought out the power that could dethrone the sinister Princess of the Night - the Elements of Harmony. This one unicorn possessed magical ability beyond belief, and was second to none in her skills.

"Her name was...Twilight Sparkle."

Comments

[DavidReinold]

1061009 Thank you so much! You have no idea how much that means to me. After countless failures in my writing, it's an amazing feeling to finally have a story that people enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it.

I'm not going to lie - I actually often surprise myself with this story. My general procedure is two to three hours of brainstorming (this is usually done during mindless activities like mowing the lawn, vacuuming the house, or making dinner), after which I will go to bed, and - now this is the weird part - as I'm trying to fall asleep, I'll spend half an hour typing it up, and it's generally ready for publication right away. I always do a single read-through edit just to make sure it all works (can't be too careful) but I seldom change anything. Once in a while I'll fumble on the present tense, but generally, my first draft is what you get. I'm often as surprised and impressed as many of my readers, because I've never seen myself write like this before.

The only issue is that I can only write like this when I have the urge. As was discovered from my blunder earlier on in the story with the dummy chapter 3 conclusion, I can't force myself to write this on a schedule. I just have to wait, and think, and hope a good idea hits me so I can ponder it. But once I know what I want to write (and sometimes I'm still thinking it through while I'm writing!) the chapter seems to write itself.

This story is very spooky to me, in how it comes to me. It feels like someone else is writing my story, even though I watch my fingers type it up.

Anyway.

[Kitsuneisuki]

"I guess the change in mah pocket wasn'-"

Wait, woops. Wrong story. Any way, Great chapter!

[Daxisle]

Hmmm? Now things are getting interesting.

[Mimsy_Borogove]

Clearly, this "Twilight Sparkle" woman has been writing self-insert fanfiction. What's her Mary Sue character going to do next, vanquish Cerberus?

As for the Latin, you've lost me. Not even Whitaker recognizes "tantibus" as a word, and I can't figure out what you were going for there.

[DavidReinold]

1063519 The dictionary I've been using seems to think it means nightmare. I guess I didn't even question it.

EDIT: I dug a little deeper...hope this one's correct...