Dark Twilight
Twilight had always wondered what lie beyond the perpetually closed door. Whenever she visited (which happened to be every hour) she would become transfixed by its mysterious nature. That is, until the old librarian came and shooed her away. Then she would hang her head in disappointment and go off to find another, less interesting book elsewhere.
~~~~~~
"Why can't I go in?" Twilight demanded indignantly, stomping her small hooves on the ground.
The librarian, whom she called Miss Book Mare, sighed heavily. It made her grey hair shake and reminded the filly of a dancing ferret. "Twilight," she began carefully. "That section is closed like that for a reason. It's the Forbidden Section, meant only for adult ponies."
Twilight furrowed her brow, bringing her hoof up to her chin in thought. "Adult ponies? That's silly! Why can't I just read words, Miss Book Mare?"
The older mare then smiled tightly and repeated a name Twilight did not care to remember.
"The section has some material that if fallen into the wrong hooves could be... dangerous," she replied with a slight grimace. "But," she continued with a brighter face. "Princess Celestia has made sure there are plenty of other great books that--"
The librarian stopped suddenly when she felt a tug on her mane.
"But I have glorious, not-wrong hooves!"
And that would bring the conversation to an abrupt end.
~~~~~~
Today was different, however. Miss Book Mare, so old she probably watched the dust collect, was always present. She would always be there, sitting placidly behind her wooden desk with her eyes following Twilight around. Yet, this day was free from her gaze, and instead replaced by an empty chair.
Twilight trotted hesitantly forward, her heart pounding in excitement. Princess Celestia had told her that she was still allowed to visit the library, and simply had to write down her name on the checkout list.
The little filly's hoof knocked over the clipboard as she scrambled around the desk to the drawer. She wouldn't be writing anything down; she was on a secret spy mission!
Twilight crawled up on to the chair, her legs kicking frantically to get herself up. She had observed from the bookshelves the way Miss Book Mare's drawer stayed closed, and how she would occasionally glance at it cautiously.
"That's where I would hide if I were a key," she giggled to herself as she yanked open the old drawer. She was greeted with a bunch of old gum, and stacks of parchment paper. Wrinkling her muzzle at the pink lumps, Twilight began to sort through with a growing grin. Her smile widened when her hoof made contact with a metal figure.
"I got it!" she exclaimed proudly, pulling out the key in her grasp. Finally, all would be revealed! Twilight hopped down, closing the drawer, and rushed to the door. She stood there for a moment in awe. She had to admit, she was taken away by curiousity. Whenever that happened, she would stop at nothing to achieve knowledge. And this was no exception.
With a dry mouth, the filly placed the key inside the hole and eagerly turned it. The lock clicked, and Twilight squealed in glee as the door creaked open to a large room. Her eyes grew wide at the sight. Sure, it was just many bookcases in a row, but the fact that they were forbidden made it even better!
The filly stumbled inside, turning at every angle to catch a glipse of everything. The place smelled old and musty, the books nearly falling apart in their bindings. Old was good, right? Just like Princess Celestia!
One particular book caught Twilight's eyes. It peeked out from the top shelf, easily one of the largest. With a grunt, the filly reached out with her magic and pulled it down in a magenta glow. The pages made her nose twitch as she brought it out in front of her.
Dark Magic. Twilight stared in bewilderment, mouthing the words to herself. There was no author, just bold letters on a dusty old cover. But what the hay was dark magic? She had never heard anything about that from her lessons. Was it the opposite of light magic?
Twilight shrugged. Whatever it was, it sounded like something she could totally manage! She flipped open to the first page, licking her lips in anticipation.
Death Spell (irreversible )
This incantation, derived from the name: mortem hailom, is an extreme use of dark magic, thought to be founded in 567 B.D (Before Discord). It's purpose is to kill the pony the spell is directed at--
Twilight stopped reading, and looked up.
What was... death?
The question startled her. She was well-read, and well spoken, especially for a 4 1/2 year old. Many ponies had confused her with older children, seeing the classes she was in with them. Yet how could she not understand that simple word? It was used so casually; without reference! She had just assumed that the Forbidden Section would be no more difficult than all the other books!
Twilight found that she had stood up in panic. She tucked the book under her arm. Well, no matter. She would find out.
With the book cloaked in her telekinesis, Twilight determinedly made her way down the castle hallway. She flagged down the first pony she saw. "Raven!" she gasped, dashing up to older, ash-maned mare. "I have a question for you!"
Raven glanced down, a pleasant smile on her face. "Of course, Twi. What is it?"
Twilight beamed. "What is death?"
Raven's smile fell off her face, and she went pale. "Oh, umm--that. That is an interesting question." She appeared to be taking a deep breath. "Death is... just when somepony goes to sleep for a long... long time. Because... well, it's the best thing for them at that point," she finished nervously.
Twilight squinted her eyes. "So, for like 25 minutes?"
Raven held her hooves up, her eyes wide beneath her thick glasses. "Oh, no no no no! No... it's--"
Twilight cut her off with a gasp, her horn giving off little excited sparks. "Oh my Celestia! I just had the best idea! Thank you Raven, I gotta go!"
The little filly flew off, leaving a bewildered and slightly frightened assistant behind.
Twilight sighed, satisfied, and covered her book up again. This was a wonderful plan, no doubt. She knew she was an organized foal, and had taken her time in memorization.
Oim kartilam morteque proteproni.
She nodded, grinning. The words were a bit hard to pronounce, but she was positive she had gotten it down. Stepping out of the bathroom stall, she slid out the door and galloped down the carpeted hall. She turned, almost laughing. Princess Celestia would be so happy!
All she had to do was utter those words, and her beautiful mentor would be able to rest for as long as she needed. She certainly deserved it!
As Twilight neared the throne room, she caught sight of two guards blocking the door. That was no problem--they would certainly let her pass. When she got closer, Twilight took note of their faces. They both seemed utterly bored, their posture lacking after the entire morning. Twilight pressed her lips together with a humming noise. The problem was their eyes. They were ringed with black, almost closing beneath the helmets.
Well, she could help! She stood before them, smiling almost too wildly.
"Hi!" she chirped. The two guards looked at her oddly. Twilight inhaled deeply, and began to recite her words.
"Oim kartilam morteque proteproni!" She channeled her energy through her horn, and directed it to the poor, sleepy stallions.
"Goodnight," she exclaimed joyfully. Her aura, for some reason, appeared almost black and green. Well, it was pretty, anyhow!
The guards slumped to the floor in peaceful slumber.
Twilight let out a cry of accomplishment. She had done it! She jumped up and down, smiling fondly at their lifeless forms. "You're dead! You're dead! You're dead!"
She leaned in closer. "But, don't worry, I'll wake you up in half an hour!"
Her celebration was cut short when the throne room doors flew open. "Twilight? What are you doing?" Princess Celestia stood before her in all her glory. Then her face dropped and she stumbled back. "Twilight Sparkle, what are those guards doing on the floor?!" She didn't wait for an answer, and instead wrapped her wing tightly around Twilight and pulled her inside.
With the doors slammed shut, Celestia stared strickenly down at her young student. "Twilight," she began slowly. "What did you do to those guards?"
The filly's smile faltered. "I only deathed them, Princess."
Princess Celestia's face contorted. "You killed them?" she whispered, her eyes as small as pinpricks.
Twilight nodded, unsure. "I just put them to sleep, like Raven said," she told her quietly. "That's fine, right? I was coming to you, because you have to work all the time, and I was gonna help you sleep."
Celestia's eye twitched. She carefully pulled away from her, and tilted her head. Without any warning, she uncloaked the Dark Magic book and pulled it out of Twilight's grasp. "Why are you hiding this?" Her voice sounded panicked.
Twilight whimpered. "I just thought that I could read the books from the Forbidden Section," she said.
Celestia shook her head. "No, you can't! And you can't go around killing ponies either! It means they never, ever, ever wake up!" She stomped her hoof on the rug, placing the book on the ground.
Twilight felt the beginning of tears. "I'm sorry!" she cried, rushing forward to embrace Celestia's warm chest. "I didn't know!"
Celestia relaxed, soothingly rubbing the filly's back. "...I know, Twilight. You're okay, you're okay." She pulled away, glancing down at the floor. "But I need you to go to your room for the rest of the day, so we can get this sorted out, okay?"
Twilight nodded, wiping her tears from her lavender cheeks. "Okay," she whispered, turning around and opening the doors.
"We're going to have a long talk about what you've done after," Celestia intoned to the retreating filly, who stepped casually over the corpses and just made a small noise.
As they slammed shut, Celestia slummed to the ground, shuddering. She stiffened when she noticed something.
The book was missing.