"So, how do you feel?" asked Princess Cadance, addressing Equestria's newest princess, Twilight Sparkle.

"Overwhelmed and overjoyed are the two best things I can think of. I've just been thinking about the responsibilities I have to undertake, now that I'm in a position of power. Will I have to live in the palace now that I'm a princess?" asked Twilight, sipping the tea that Candace kindly prepared for her. They were having a talk in Cadance's room immediately after the coronation about her upcoming duties, as Celestia and Luna were in a press conference about the newly reformed Discord.

Cadance shrugged. "That has always been a personal choice. The castle was made for Queen Faust and her husband, King McCracken, but that was a long time ago. Little known fact is that there are many castles around Equestria, some from abandoned cities and some made specifically for seclusion. If you were to pick one of those we could bring servants and such down to one of the castles. The Crystal Empire is always open for your use, as is the Castle in Canterlot. Why do you ask?"

"I would rather just stay at the library, honestly. All of the ponies I've gotten to know in Ponyville would miss me and I could never leave my friends..." Twilight responded. Cadance smiled.

"That's fine. You can do whatever the hay you want to now. Be my guest." Cadance put her tea down on top of a book next to her. Twilight had become interested in the book as soon as they sat down; it was brown and seemed to have nothing written on it to indicate what book it was. It had to be important if Cadance was reading it, though.

"Reading a book?" Twilight asked, pointing toward it with her hoof. Cadance rolled her eyes.

"I read all the books that the Crystal Library deems controversial. They leave it to me to judge which books can get in the library and which ones are banned. This thing was sent to them in the mail a few days ago by an unknown sender; it was deemed controversial within the first five pages. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but if I don't start soon that librarian will keep pestering me about it-"

"Can I do it?" Twilight suddenly asked. Cadance gave a skeptical look.

"Why do you want to read it? I'm sure it would just be a waste of your time. Half the things this library deem "Controversial" end up being nothing."

"No, I'm interested. What's the title of the book?" Twilight asked.

"It says "Volume Four" on the inside cover. Whether that is the title of the novel or just the volume in the series, I don't know. The book itself appears to be very old, but that could just be the owners fault, treating it badly. If you really are interested in reading it, be my guest. Just tell me what you think about the content and if I need to ban it from the library. Consider it your first duty as a princess." Cadance replied.

"Consider it done." Twilight said, smiling. She was very intrigued by the mysterious book. Whatever was inside it couldn't be that bad, right?

"Alright, thanks. I owe ya one. Now, we need to talk about your upcoming duties as a princess, which is why we're here in the first place. The first thing you need to know is-"

* * * * * *

If you could fit everything that was illegal in the arcane world in one single book, it would be the book Twilight was reading.

It was filled to the brim with dark magic and witchcraft, detailing how to do it and what to do with it. Not only that, it gave a full analysis of all the beings you could summon with dark magic, usually with a short anecdote to go with it. Twilight already knew that it couldn't be put in a public library but she kept reading anyways.

Twilight finished around ten o'clock. She put the book by her bedside and hopped into bed. The Crystal Empire was nice enough to let her stay at the castle for a week as she began her training there, and everything they had to offer was luxurious. She fell asleep thinking about her upcoming duties, with that book in the back of her mind...

* * * * * *

Twilight shot out of bed, panting. She had a horrible nightmare. All those creatures from the book were hunting her friends, and she had to watch as they were killed, one by one. She turned over to her bedside where the book was; she was met with a surprise.

The book was gone.

As Twilight was turning towards her left, wondering if she had put it at the other side of her bed, she saw the most terrifying thing she ever looked upon.

It was a huge figure, composed entirely of black mist. It had no facial features beside it's eyes, which seemed to be made up of fire. It stared at her menacingly.

Twilight screamed and instinctively fired a powerful electricity spell towards the figure; it passed right through it, and the figure continued to stare at her. Twilight tumbled out of the bed in attempt to further the distance between the two. However, as soon as she looked up, the figure was gone.

Twilight nearly had a panic attack, but she managed to bring herself under control. Whatever was at her bedside was not described in the book, and it seemed to want the book, since the book was now gone. Not to mention the castle had a protective barrier against things it wasn't enchanted to allow through; usually involving wild animals, but it still shouldn't have been able to get inside the castle.

Cadance and Shining Armor came into the room running and turned on the lights.

"What happened? Are you okay?" asked Shining. Twilight got up and turned around to answer them.

"I...I don't know." Twilight said, once again looking to where the book had once been.

Author's Note

Is this the end of the beginning?
Or the beginning of the end?