Glory to The Necropolis!

When Twilight saw that one word, the black book fell to the floor with it still open to the same page. Twilight thought she heard Spike say something, but her eyes were transfixed to the book and its greeting.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard a voice whisper something to her.

Turn.

Twilight did as was told, and turned to the next page, and to her horror more words were on the next one. But now she could hear a voice calling out to her.

"Twilight!" Spikes words brought her out of the trance like state, and she looked at him with fear in her eyes. "What's wrong? Please, tell me!"

“The book, I-I think it’s alive!” Twilight shakily answered. Her eyes dared to make a quick glance at the book on the floor. "And... I think its trying to talk to me."

The both of them slowly turned their attention to the black book, and the words written upon the new page.

Hello there dear sorry for the scare, but I needed to gain your attention. By the looks of things I have.

Now the rules are simple dear. When you turn the page its my turn to speak, and once you've read then it's yours.

Ask what you want, and I shall answer to my best.

Spike just stared wide-eyed, while Twilight’s worry grew. Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

After a few moments, Twilight was able to regain her composure, and willed a determined look upon her face. It was time for answers, and if she had to play this book’s 'game' then so be it.

"Who are you? What are you?" she asked, and promptly turned the page for the answer.

Who I am dear, is not important, what I am though is. I am a greeting, I am an answer, and I am a warning.

By this point, Spike had snapped out of his shock. "A warning for what?" Spike reached out to grab the page, and felt feelings of cold and dread greet him as he turned the page for the answer.

The dead king is coming. Hold close those you hold dear, lest they be lost to his city.

Lost to his city? What's that supposed to mean? And why can't these sort of things just give a straight answer? Twilight thought to herself as she gave an annoyed look at the book.

"Okay... what do mean by 'they'll be lost to his city'?" She promptly turned the page, and froze at what she saw.

Above the words on the page was a drawing of two eyes and a mouth. The eyes stared right back at her with malicious intent, and grinned at her with a twisted maw of jagged teeth.

Why don't you ask the dead king that question?

The face had caught the pair off guard as they looked into its eyes. Whoever or whatever was speaking to them through the book clearly did not mean well.

Spike was the first to recover from the surprise of the evil grin's appearance.

"Who's the dead king, and what about his city?" He was about to turn the page for the answer, but froze as the page turned for him. The page turned to reveal the silhouette of what looked to be a large tower topped with two spikes that was in between four smaller towers.

Oh you'll be meeting him and his city soon enough I assure you.

Twilight glared at the book and decided she'd had enough of its ‘answers’. "Alright that's it I'm done playing your game! What's going to happen? I want the truth, no more riddles!"

The book hastily turned the page on its own and once again there was a face, this one angry.

You want the truth? FINE THEN! This world is damned to bear The Necropolis. Whether your world survives, or not I don't care, and neither does he!

Then the book turned its pages once more to reveal the malicious grin again. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, and both were certain that they weren't going to like what the book said next.

Oh and by the way, I ‘forgot’ to mention something earlier. Not only am I all the things I said before, but I’m one other thing.

The page turned again to continue.

I am a herald.

Slowly page after page began to turn in the book, and Twilight and Spike froze as they heard something that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere around them. Slow mocking laughter.

As the pages picked up the pace, so did the laughter, and in half a minute the pages looked like they were going to shoot right out of the book. On each page was the face laughing right at them.

Page after seemingly infinite page turned as the laughing turned mad and psychotic. When another half-minute passed the book slammed shut, and the sound echoed off the walls of the library until it slowly died away. Twilight and Spike stared at the book, mouths agape in shock at what they'd just bore witness to.

As if that weren't enough, the book began to ooze out what appeared to be thick black ink from its closed pages that began to puddle onto the floor beside it.

Slowly, parts of the puddle evaporated in wisps of black smoke to reveal jagged letters that eventually formed two words

He's coming.

Suddenly, the two words collapsed together into a single point, and a thin black tendril shot up right at Twilight. She didn’t have time to react as the black tendril touched her right between her eyes. As the tendril made contact, Twilight felt a strange tingling sensation run through her mind, and as quickly as it had appeared the tendril faded away to nothing.

"Twilight! Are-are you okay..?" Spike asked, his face full of fear and worry. Twilight only stared at the spot where the tendril had been just mere moments ago. After a full minute of starring off into nothing, she registered Spikes question, and turned to give a frazzled look at her friend.

"I... I think so..." she replied, uncertainty etched in her voice and features. But then a thought crossed her. If the book was telling the truth, then whoever this 'dead king' was sounded like bad news. As she finished her thought, a feeling of resolve won over.  "We need to warn the princesses. Spike, take a letter."

Spike answered with a nod, and ran off to go get a quill and parchment.

When spike returned, Twilight thought for a moment on how best to word the letter. When she was done, she cleared her throat, and started pacing back and forth as she began to dictate the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that the books you sent me have arrived safe and sound, and I am grateful for the gift. But something is not right with one of the books you had sent, and I'm not sure how best to describe it as of the writing of this letter. I am returning the book back to you, and I would like to ask if you, or Princess Luna, or one of the arcane  scientists in Canterlot could investigate it for anything out of place.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. Now I know this will sound crazy, and that's probably why Twilight didn't say it, but personally, I think the book is haunted. - Spike.

As Spike finished adding the last part to the letter, Twilight floated over to him a red ribbon and clip to bind the scroll to be sent. She then turned to face her desk and used her magic to open one of the drawers, and lifted out a big piece of brown wrapping paper and a long piece of string. Twilight turned back to the black book, and lifted it into the air. And now to put you away.

In a few moments the book was all wrapped up and ready to go, when she was done she handed it over to Spike for the final part. "Spike if you please."

"With pleasure," Spike said with a small smile. With a deep breath, and a puff of green flame the letter, and book were on their way to Canterlot. Spike smiled as he dusted the soot off of his hands. And good riddance.

* * *

The clock read 1:46am in the library bedroom, but neither Twilight nor Spike knew that as they both slept in their beds. But one of them would hardly be getting any sleep that night...

Twilight tossed and turned in her bed as she saw in her mind, not a nightmare of the book, but of something else...

O O O

Twilight saw in her dreams what looked to be an upside down mountain floating in a black nothingness. At the mountain's 'base' rose a large hill, and atop the hill stood a walled city. Within the walls rose a palace made of black stone with eight towers circling a larger keep that rose high into the dark void above.

Her dream began to focus on the black palace, and she felt an unknown presence within the structure. As Twilight's dream grew closer to the palace, she began to feel as if something was tearing away at her from within.

When the dream grew closer and closer to the palace, she felt the tearing sensation intensify. When the dream finally stopped advancing, Twilight herself stood before a pair of massive ebony doors at the castle's base. Slowly, the black doors opened inward to reveal Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and even Spike all of her friends stood there in the doorway… and all of them had lost hope.

Twilight wanted to get closer to them, ask what's wrong, and try to help. But as she grew closer to the door, the tearing sensation magnified within her, and she watched in horror as her friends, one by one, slowly turned to dust before her eyes, and started blowing away on an unseen wind.

Twilight ran to the door faster than she had ever ran before. But no matter how fast she ran, her friends never seemed to get any closer. As the massive ebony doors began to slowly close before her, she finally began to close the distance between her and her friends, but it was all for naught.

When Twilight finally reached the doors, they closed shut right in front of her. As she stood there she knew that she had failed to save them. She fell back onto her haunches, she hung her head low, and she too lost all hope.

The tearing sensation now felt like it was going to rip her apart at any moment now. As Twilight's eyes fell down to meet her forelegs, she watched as they slowly turned to dust before her, and began to slowly blow away on the unseen wind.

She was not scared, she was not horrified at what she saw before her, she knew that she deserved this fate for she had failed them... all of them...

As Twilight's body faded away to dust, she released a mournful tear as she, and the city around her faded away to nothing but dust on the wind...