Chapter 1
Normally, the restricted section of the Royal Canterlot Archives was, well, restricted. But now that Tirek was roaming across the land, stealing magic and devastating towns, Equestria’s alicorns were so scared that they’d seen fit to give Twilight their magic. Why they gave their magic to an alicorn who was a baby compared to them in both age and skill was a mystery, but she intended to use the benefits it gave her to their full extent.
“I need access to the restricted section, please,” Twilight said, giving the trio of guards posted before the hidden entrance her most trustworthy look. It was basically a poker face, which should have made them trust her less, but apparently those in power were expected to look like they were trying to con everyone out of their life’s savings.
The middle guard—a high-ranking one, as he was wearing a piece of armor that turned his mane and coat white—looked around and edged away from her, as if trying to avoid doing his job.
“Me?” he finally asked, when it became clear that Twilight wasn’t going away.
“Yes. I need access,” Twilight said, slowly and clearly. She should’ve tried breaking into the restriction section ages ago. These guards were completely incompetent.
“Uh, I don’t know where that is...if you want to find a certain section you should probably check with the librarian,” he said.
“Look. I have the power of four alicorns right now, and I’m not afraid to use it. Either you let me into the restricted section or I get to see how well I remember that mind-control spell from the last time I got in.”
It was a bluff. She’d only managed to get in for a few seconds before Celestia’s alarms went off. From then on, there were always a bunch of guards in front of the secret entrance.
“Oh. Um, sure. Just let me get the, uh, key...” the guard said, then galloped off, looking behind himself every few steps.
Huh. The restricted section hadn’t required a key the last time she’d been in. Then again, she’d been a filly. Who knew how many safeguards Celestia had on that place?
Twilight waited in front of the bookshelves, tapping a hoof impatiently. When was that guard going to come back? At this rate, Tirek would be halfway to the castle by the time he got back.
With a sigh, she levitated a book from the shelf in front of her.
The Treaty of Fluttershy’s Cottage?
Twilight remembered that. Fluttershy had gone berserk over some pegasus accidentally catching a bird in a tornado, and then flown to Cloudsdale’s weather factory and taken their entire winter department hostage by somehow putting a hibernating bear inside of it. Cloudsdale’s finest had flown out to her cottage and negotiated a treaty. In exchange for her getting the bear out, they put proper safety precautions for flying animals into law. Twilight didn’t remember there being a book about it.
But more importantly, Twilight didn’t remember this book being on the bookshelf that hid the entrance to the restricted archives.
There was only one thing she could do.
“Does anypony know where the restricted archives are?” she bellowed, holding the closest bookshelves in her magic to keep the books from flying into the air. Wouldn’t want to damage them, after all. The spell she used to increase her volume was potent.
Well, time to visit the librarian. Maybe she would know where it was.
“Come on Ink Quill,” Twilight patted the tan unicorn on the shoulder. “Don’t let a little blood coming out of the ears stop you from helping your favorite customer!”
The librarian stared at her uncomprehendingly.
“Okay, so what if I’m not a ‘customer.’ Just because this isn’t a store doesn’t mean you don’t have to help me.”
Twilight sighed.
“Fine. I’ll fix your ears.”
A purple glow surrounded the librarian’s head.
“Thank you! Thank—”
“Great, you’re better, now bring me to the restricted archives.”
A thought.
“Please.”
Ink Quill pranced nervously. “Um, I’m not sure I have the authority...”
“I’m pretty much the only alicorn left. I am the Princesses.”
“Right. Right. But...don’t you already know the library? Like...intimately?”
“That was private!” Twilight glared at the other unicorn, who flinched back.
“I only meant that since you used to visit so often…”
“Oh...yeah, well, you try navigating a place where the bookshelves constantly move in a never ending maze and the Princess won’t fix it because she think it ‘builds character’ to have you scrambling around all the time trying to find the last book you need to complete your magic thesis and then when you find it, it laughs at you and explodes, and then you get a late grade for your work.”
Twilight’s sides were heaving by the time she finished, and the librarian’s mane was blown back from the force of her tirade.
“Not that I know what’s that like,” Twilight said.
“Uh...huh. Anyway. If you would follow me...”
Ink Quill scurried away, swerving around bookshelves as if she were trying to loose Twilight. Which would be silly, because Twilight had a tracking charm aimed at the librarian.
Then the bookshelves decided to move, and a particularly large one blocked off the one between her and Twilight.
Twilight flew up over it and found Ink Quill had stayed in place, panting.
“Decided to wait up for me, huh? That’s very thoughtful of you, but there’s no need. I need to get to the restricted archives as soon as possible. Tirek will be here soon, you know.”
“Ah...oh. Okay,” the librarian said, and darted off again.
Twilight followed. Having the magic of four alicorns really paid off in the physical department. She might even be able to beat Rainbow Dash in a race.
A flying bookshelf knocked her out of the air, sending her to the ground in a sprawling heap.
Then again, maybe not.
She picked herself off the ground and started at the librarian, daring her to say anything. Ink Quill hesitated, hiding her face under her black mane. “Um...we’re here,” she said.
Twilight studied the nearest bookshelf. It looked familiar, but so had the other one.
“Other side.”
“I knew that!” Twilight said, annoyed. “I was just making sure there wasn’t anything I wanted to read here.”
“Right…well you need to pull this book,” Ink Quill said, taking hold of a book titled Book of Dark and Forbidden Magic. All of the pages were blank. Twilight had checked last time she’d been here.
The bookshelf started rotating. Twilight galloped to the other side before it could close on her.
She was met with darkness. Then she lit her horn.
The most books she’d ever seen in one place met her eyes, covering the walls of the room that probably made up the entirety of Canterlot mountain. She wiped away a bit of drool and stepped forward toward the staircase in the middle.
There were more floors. With more books. Many more books. And none of them randomly switched places.
She needed to get reading.
Necromancy had apparently been really popular at one point in time. The section she’d picked to study contained books on necromancy and nothing else. At least they were interesting. All she had to do was keep a certain dark god’s name in her head while holding someone in her magic. Which wasn’t hard to do, seeing as how the name was repeated over and over again. Really, it was harder to stop thinking about it.
She lifted another book off of a nearby shelf.
Tezzena Pethera.
It was an odd name for a dark god of necromancy, but she could roll with it. She held the book in front of her.
Then it tried to bite her face.
Apparently necromancy worked with inanimate objects as well.
“Gah. Uh, go bring me another book,” she commanded.
The book hissed at her and then flew to the shelves and bit another book. Right through the spine.
“No! Bad book!” Twilight shouted, getting to her hooves and galloping over.
“How could you? Treat other books as you want to be treated!”
The undead book wilted where it floated in the air and hissed sadly.
“Aw, it’s okay. You didn’t know. Tell you what: you find another book that you would like to read while I fix this poor damaged one here.”
The book fluttered off anxiously.
Twilight’s tongue stuck out of her mouth as she repaired the damage. There. Good as new. She settled back to read it.
“Night time already? Wow, I’ve been here longer than I thought.”
“That’s what you pick up on? The Princesses are captured, Tirek’s going after your friends, and Discord’s helping, and the thing you comment on is that it’s night time?” Ink Quill shouted.
“Well, yeah. Whatever Tirek and Discord do is reversible. But time is a pain to go back in. I tried it once, and you do not want to know what happened.”
“What? Okay, look. Tirek destroyed your home. You know, your tree house library?”
“My library?!” Twilight shouted.
Twilight stood in the middle of a Ponyville that was surprisingly intact aside from her library. Tirek had probably wanted to rub it in. Jerk. Even indirectly giving her access to the restricted archives and four alicorns worth of power wasn’t worth the destruction of poor, innocent books.
“Tirek! Discord! Get over here!”
The force of her shout caused the ruins of her house to fly in all directions.
Discord popped into the air above her.
“Now now Twilight, don’t be—”
“Fus-”
“Twilight, if you’re not going to listen, you’re not going to get your friends back.”
“Ro-”
“That’s not going to work, you know.”
“DAH!”
Discord teleported away.
“Hah! Joke's on you, I don’t even know that spell!” Twilight said, the magnification spell she had on her voice sending several chunks of rubble into the air where the Draconequus had been just seconds previously.
“Wait! Come back! I need you to fix my library before I destroy you!” Twilight said, kicking at the road.