A New Power

   Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of Twilight's palace.

   "Yay! My friends are here! We're going to have so much fun!" Twilight exclaimed.

   Unfortunately, it wasn't her friends. It was the mail pony.

   "Oh, umm, hello sir, are you... Having a good day?" Twilight asked. It had been a while since Twilight had just had a nice, quiet chat with a normal pony and she wanted to at least remind herself of what it was like.

   "This package is for you, your Majesty. Oh and by the way, well, yes, I am having a good day, thank you. Now, I must be on my way, plenty of mail for other Canterlot ponies!"

   Twilight took the package inside and shut the door behind her. She hoped this was what she thought it was, that would make her feel a little bit happier.

   It was the spellbook Celestia had sent her. Twilight's eyes lit up with happiness and wonder.

   The book itself had an old, worn but still lovely purple cover ;  in fact, the purple cover was just like Twilight's coat, only a lot dustier. On the front, it had a picture of the sun and moon creating an eclipse, which was a very rare in Equestria. Twilight had always wanted to see a real eclipse, but thought she never would. Underneath the picture were the words 'Spells of Extreme Difficulty.' This didn't put Twilight off, though.

   She then flicked through the pages of the book, wondering why she didn't know about these spells before today, who had written the book, how some of the spells were even possible...

   There was then a sudden knock on the door, startling Twilight. Even though she just wanted to continue reading, she knew that whoever was at the door was probably her friends. Maybe they could help her figure out what some of them meant. She carefully levitated the book to her bedroom, before opening the door.

   This time, it was her friends who were waiting outside.

   "SUPRISE!" Pinkie Pie shouted enthusiastically. She actually seemed more energetic and hyper than normal, but then again, after two weeks of not speaking to her in person, Twilight just realised that things had been calmer during those two weeks. Kind of.

   "Howdy, Twilight!" Applejack said."How're things going here in Canterlot? Ya havin' a good time?"

   "What's the nature like in Canterlot?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "Have you seen any rare animals?"

   "Have you seen any of the new designs in Canterlot?" Rarity enquired. "I'm starting to run out of inspiration, but I just know that the fashions here are spectacular!"

   "Hey Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Guess what? I'm one step closer to being a Wonderbolt! How awesome is that!?"

   "Well, hello guys!" Twilight said joyfully. "Hey, come in here and I'll get Spike to make us all drinks while I tell you about the letter I got from the Princess earlier today!"

   After Twilight had told her friends about the letter, the book and the spell, she came to something that just made her feel slightly anxious.

   "The only trouble is, I need somepony to volunteer to help..."