The Black Book

The Black Book

Prologue

It started out with the delivery of a familiar package in front of the tree house. Spike had opened the door and was greeted by Ponyville’s beloved mailmare. “Hi Ditzy.”

“Hi Spike! I got a package here for Twilight.” She opened up her saddlebag to revealing a series of slender packages. Spike looked at her, head tilting. “Uh… Ditzy, that’s the window your facing.”

Ditzy Doo was a well-known clutz due to her trademark eyes. True enough, her clumsiness was attributed this ‘disability’. Miraculously, her eyes do not seem to affect her job as the mailmare as she has grown accustomed to them, sometimes even proud to have such a talent. “Please Spike, call me Derpy!” She said with a smile.

“Uh… Derpy, you’re talking to a bush.”

The mailmare parted ways and went straight for her next delivery. Spike went back inside carrying the packages stacked in his arms. He directly climbed the stairs to the second floor until she reached the private study room where Twilight was in. “Twilight! The books are here.” He immediately put down the stacked package to the table where Twilight had been reading. Twilight turned her head to her dragon assistant. “Good job, Spike.”

She gave her thanks as the dragon assistant headed back to the ground level to resume his chores. Twilight remained in her study room. She bookmarked the page before closing the book with her magic. “Okay, let’s see what the mail got for us today.” She carefully unwrapped the package revealing a book underneath.

Once in a while, Twilight would get packages containing these books. They were donations from various organizations or even anonymous ponies that somehow no longer find use to these stacks of paper. That said, the books had some considerable age in them or second-hoof to put it simply. To Twilight, it did not matter. Books are books and in fact the older they are, the more Twilight thought they were of historical importance in some manner. What made it more exciting was that the books themselves will become part of her library’s growing collection.

The afternoon was uneventful. The sun had already set. Twilight barely left the room as she continued to study these books. She had gotten out of the room a few times, but only when Spike called her it was supper. Otherwise, she only left when she had to go to the toilet.

Spike had switched the lights off at the ground. The library had just closed as Spike slowly climbed up the stairs to see that the unicorn was still hard at work on her desk. Spike was not surprised though. Being Twilight’s assistant, this should not really surprise him. “Still hitting the books?” He asked even if he knew.

“I’m gonna be little late, Spike.” She replied, her concentration on the book than to the one she was talking with.

“Oh… just take care of yourself, Twi. Wouldn’t want you to end up like the mailmare.”

“Spike, that’s not a nice thing to say.”

“I’m just saying. Good night.” With that, Spike went immediately for bed as Twilight continued on her reading.

Twilight was now burning midnight oil. She never left her chair as she pressed on with the books. Sure, she was tired, and she wanted to rest, but reading books was more than just a simple hobby. It was a passion and she did not become the town’s librarian if not for it. The day she would lose interest in the things she loved would be the day she stops being Twilight Sparkle.

She made an audible yawn, tiredness showing on face. “The things I do for books.” Finally, she closed the last page with her magic. There were still a couple more, but even she knew that she would not be able to read them all, especially in such a tired state. She looked right through one more tempting package. “Perhaps one more book.” She soon levitated the package and uncovered the wrappers.

“That’s strange.” Twilight put the book in front of her. It was a thin soft-bounded black book. It had no title and no author. It was just a simple plain black book. This was strange to Twilight. Over the course of her stay in Ponyville, she would receive books donated to her, some were novels, others were textbooks, and some were collections, but a blank book? “This is going to the garbage.” She said. But perhaps she should not, she remembered her lesson about judging a book by its cover when she first met Zecora. “Perhaps one peek wouldn’t hurt.” And so, she used her horn to flip the book to the first page. Much to her dismay, she found nothing. She flipped the succeeding pages. “This can’t be right.” It was a rather slim book, so she managed to flip the last page quickly. “This isn’t right at all. Unless…” It was a stretch, but it could work.

Her horn began to glow. Perhaps there was spell needed and that all it took was a spark. With just enough concentration, something started appearing in the book. She had done it. Words were finally appearing. “Finally.” She breathed a sigh of relief. But just when she thought of releasing the spell, she only found herself to concentrate even more. “What’s going on?” She could not release her eyes from the book for some reason. It was as if something was taking a hold of her. More and more words started appearing within the book, words that turned into figures that turned into drawings.

Then a bright flash of light, accompanied by a chilling scream…

Chapter 1

Canterlot market was a vibrant place teaming with ponies even on weekdays. Many ponies from all places flocked here to shop or dine. It was not fine dining or 1st class shopping, but that was perhaps a good thing. The market was popular because it was accessible. It has been this way for the past hundreds of years, an unofficial landmark as anypony would say.

“Watch it.” One of the passers-by said as she was unintentionally pushed to the side by familiar grey pony with a straight greyish mane.

“I’m sorry.” Octavia replied.

Octavia had rushed in the crowded market occasionally hitting somepony as she looked back. She eventually hid at one of the market stalls. Her heart was racing. She swore she was being followed by somepony. She did not know who or what. She was on her way home, but half-way through, constant hoofsteps were behind her which gave her the impression that she was being followed. She immediately diverted her initial course. It occurred to her that maybe it’s a harmless pony asking for directions or perhaps a friend, but what if it was a stalker, a killer or worse…

“Journalists.” She whispered as she finally saw for the first time who was chasing her. It was a young stallion earth pony. He had a dark brown mane and a brown coat. His cutie mark resembled a camera with a red light glowing supposedly on the upper left corner of it. Not surprisingly, he held with him a camera that was strapped to his neck. And an ID card with an Ω or the symbol of an inverted hoof. The Hoofington Post, she thought. Other than that, there seemed to be no one else that followed her. Perhaps she could give him the slip.

Without saying a word, she slowly crawled her way out of the market, preferring to stick to the sides. It was a bit demeaning, but with a crowded place like Canterlot market, she was just a face in the crowd. Slowly maneuvering the stalls, making sure no one would notice her. Once in a while, she would peek at the her follower, who was still there searching around the market. She eventually found herself leaving the market and sped to her way back home. She lived in a small apartment. She hurried her way to the third floor where her home was. Opening her door with the keys in her saddlebag, she hurriedly came inside and locked the door. She leaned at the door, relieved that her ordeal was over.

Or so she thought. She heard faint whistling coming from inside her apartment. Her eyes widened in fear. Someone was in her home. She slowly rose to her hooves making small steps. She had realized that whoever was whistling, it definitely sounded feminine. Whoever was in her home was definitely not the colt that had been following her previously. She slowly approached the origin of the voice, which seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She made an audible gulp before finally showing herself in.

There was definitely somepony in the kitchen. A female earth pony with a yellowish coat and a wavy light-brownish mane appeared to be baking something in her kitchen. When she thought about it, she never used the kitchen before, so seeing somepony using the place actually made her a bit satisfied knowing that it finally found some use. But that did not matter, the more pressing fact was that there was a stranger inside her home.

“I hope you don’t mind I let myself in.” The stranger replied, facing away her as she watched baked goods in the oven. “I borrowed the key.” She pointing with one hoof to an object adjacent her.

Octavia was surprised. There was only one copy of her apartment key. She was in fact, carrying it with her right now. She used it to get inside. How did she have key? Then she noticed the mare’s cutiemark. It was a cloud. Wait a minute, I’ve seen that cutiemark before. She then recalled what happened earlier…

“Watch it!” Said the mare to Octavia, who was unintentionally pushed by her. Simultaneously, she carefully reached in the unsuspecting mare’s saddlebag to grab the key and a few personal items.

“I’m sorry.” The grey earth pony replied as she forced her way inward to the crowded streets of the market. She did not even notice that her keys had been taken. The other mare walked over to a locksmith, which was conveniently in the market. While waiting for the key to be duplicated, she opened the wallet that she had also taken from the grey earth pony, reading some of the personal information written in her Canterlot identification card.

While, hiding behind one of the stalls, Octavia peeked to see the stallion journalist, unaware that the same mare that she bumped prior was behind her. She had finished duplicating the key and slowly inserted the items she had taken earlier. The mare then left the market with ease. There was certainly going to be some time before Octavia could get out.

Octavia stood speechless. She felt uneasy at the realization. She should be mad, but she felt more fear than fury.

“Right. I’m baking some muffins. I hope I still got the recipe right.”

“Who are you?”

The oven rang. The stranger carefully opened the door as she let the muffins out. “I’m surprised you forgot.” She put the tray to the table finally revealing her face. But it was not the face that irked Octavia, it was the fact that she too wore an ID card on the side. She was from the Hoofington Post as well. “Our interview.”

Of course. This was what this is all about. Octavia had purposely skipped the interview with the Hoofington Post the other day due to her personal issues. She may have no trouble performing to a crowd with a group of ponies, but she had some confidence problems when she was on her own. Octavia slowly stepped backwards, visibly shaking. “N-No.”

“No?”

“Please understand. I’m not comfortable with interviews.” She said nervously, somehow projecting a sense of vulnerability. Luckily, the stranger took notice to that.

“I see. Well in that case, you should have told us. If you would prefer a written interview, that would be good enough.”

If anything, Octavia felt a bit relieved. Octavia was a mare of few words. “I suppose that’s alright.”

The stranger took a muffin and offered it to her. “No thanks.” replied Octavia. The stranger shrugged as she took a bite. “I’ve left the questions in the living room. It would be nice if we could hear a reply from you soon.”

Octavia nodded. “Will you be here long?” She asked.

The other mare was quick to respond. “Not long. Let me just fix-up the kitchen and then I’m done.”

“Well, I guess while you’re here, I will take my leave.” Octavia said politely before leaving the apartment. She was now walking along the hallway.

FLASH!

“AHHHH!!!” Octavia screamed, confused from the sudden flash that seemed to have come from a camera. The flash had affected her vision. She slowly moved backwards, away from the flash. Unfortunately, directly behind her was an open window.

Premier Cellist falls three stories in Canterlot home

CANTERLOT (MT)– In an unfortunate event, Octavia, the lead cellist at the Canterlot orchestra survived a fall from her home apartment and was rushed to Canterlot General Hospital yesterday afternoon from a shocking visit by members of the press.

“The victim suffered a broken neck, a few shattered ribs and a broken backleg.” Octavia’s doctor stated. “She won’t be able to play her cello for a couple of months. She’s very traumatized about this.”

Police have arrested two journalist for their alleged involvement. Hazel Shroud and Snapshot of the Hoofington Post were escorted to the precinct but were soon released after the police confirmed that the incident occurred after the break-in. “To put it bluntly, it was an accident. The victim said that she will not file charges on the two.” The investigator said.

The unorthodox method of the two journalist has called into question the ethics practiced by the country’s media…

“… The Canterlot Ethics Committee has called for a revision of the standards.” The stallion, dressed in a tie, had read enough as he threw a newspaper on a table in front of Hazel and Snapshot. “What do you have to say?”

“Perhaps we overdid it.” Hazel replied.

“We’re in the Manehattan Times?” Snapshot asked in shock.

“We’re in every major newspaper!”

“Oh.” Snapshot muttered. His mood was gloomier now.

“Well, if there’s any consolation, we’re not in the front page of every newspaper.” Hazel countered.

“That’s not the point.”

Hazel looked over at her assistant’s general direction. “Snaps, you should go. I’ll handle this.”

“You sure?”

“Go on.” She said adding a confident smile as if to say everything is okay. Snapshot stood up and looked at the colt in front of them. “I’m sorry.” He then left the room.

When they were now alone, Hazel broke the silence. “You should go easy on him, Ed. He’s a novice. He’s hardly been here a year. Three months even.”

“Yeah? Well for someone who’s new, I never thought we could get in so much trouble. I mean the orchestra might file a case against us so that they could be compensated. The paper is already paying for the victim’s hospital bills.”

“Oh that’s nothing. Come on, Ed. When we first started, we weren’t so different from Snapshot, were we? I mean I remember my first assignment.” She then made a hearty laugh.

Ed recalled his first assignment. To Hazel’s relief, he also chuckled. “Yeah, those were funny times. I’m just glad I wasn’t severely repriman-” Ed looked at Hazel’s eyes. She seemed to have made her point. “You know what, you’re right.” Ed audibly sighed in front of Hazel. “Things aren’t the same as they used to, I guess. Before, we could do anything we could just to get the story, and still get away with it. Now, it’s ethics this, ethics that.”

“We’ve had our fair share of adventures, Ed. With this new standards revision, we’ll perhaps be considered dinosaurs. But yes. Times are changing, I suppose.”

Ed chuckled slightly at the dinosaur comment. “It’s a shame. Anyway, try to stay out of trouble next time. Both of you.”

“AHHHH!!!” A scream was heard, followed by a loud thud.

Three stories above, two ponies looked down to the unconscious mare. A crowd was starting to gather.

“You think we overdid it, Hazel?... Hazel?”

Hazel suddenly woke up from the brief nap. “Yeah?” He said in a somewhat hurried tone.

“Ed’s mad at me, isn’t he?” Snapshot asked. Both he and Hazel were now in their office.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Ed. He’s mad at me.”

“Come on, now. He’s not mad. He just doesn’t want you to get into any more trouble. That’s all.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m not mad. Sure you may have cost us the interview but that doesn’t really matter.”

“It’s just… I don’t know. To work under a veteran such as yourself. I truly am honoured. It strives me to do better. I thought I could impress you if I could get that picture. Had no idea it would backfire.”

“That’s okay. I know you were. But you have to understand that you don’t have to. You will get there. After all, with age comes experience. I’ve been there. Believe me. I do hope we have learned something from this little fiasco.”

Snapshot smiled. “Yes ma’am.” He emphasized it with bold letters.

“That’s what I like about you Snaps. Enthusiasm, and an undying spirit.”

Hazel then looked back to her table to resume her work. It was a current case she had been working for the past few months now and all she had to work with was a book that had been given to her by an anonymous informant. She looked over a small table shelf where she had placed that same book, but something was wrong. Where did it go, she thought to herself. She knew that before she left for Canterlot, she remembered explicitly that she placed that book on the shelf. So why was it not there? It was just beside a stack of books that she told Snapshot to give away. The books belonged to a co-office worker but the colleague had asked her to donate it for her.

Oh dear . Hazel finally realized what might have happened, but she still hoped for another scenario.

“Snapshot?” Hazel asked with a bit of a fright. Snapshot responded by looking back to her with a puzzled look. “Uhm… well… did you see a black book on my shelf. You know… the one with a blank cover.”Please say you didn’t give it away. Please say you didn’t give it away.

“I gave it away with the other books, just like you said.”

Back in his office, Ed continued fixing some papers, minding his own business.

“WHAT?!” The ground shook as the voice reverberated in the building.

“Go easy on him Ed, my flank.” He simply said as he took a sip of coffee.

Authors Note: My first FiMfic. Anyway, I want to discuss about the updates. Updates will be monthly 'til the 1st week of May due to work-related reasons. After which, updates will hopefully be more frequent =).