Chapter 1 - An Unlisted Book
Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship, sat idly within the Castle of Friendship’s chamber of thrones on hers, reading a book within the glowing grasp of her magic. Next to her, resting upon one of the throne’s arms was a scroll and pen. At the sound of the huge doors swinging wide open, she lift her eyes from the pages and saw her assistant Spike and a delivery pony escorting a cart of boxes stacked on top of each other. She set the book down on the throne’s arm, took the scroll and pen, and made a small leap from her seat, gliding towards the two with wings outstretched.
“Hello you two! Glad to have these so soon,” Twilight said as she patted the boxes.
The delivery pony tipped his cap. “It was no problem, your highness. Always glad to be of service.”
“Let me get that for you.” Spike said as he climbed onto her back with one claw at the ready. He focused his attention on one of the taped boxes, slicing at the crucial spots and revealed the books packaged inside it.
“Would you like these in the library again?” The delivery pony asked.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll need some time to actually take a look through these. Make sure not one is out of place.”
“That’s fine by me. I’ll just take my leave. Spike, can you help me to the exit? I always seem to get lost in here.”
Spike chuckled as he walked with him out the room. “That’s alright! It took me a while in the first few days to know where everything is.”
“Don’t take too long, Spike!” Twilight called out. “I’m going to need your help with this soon.”
“Won’t be a problem,” he said, giving an ‘a-okay’ claw sign before leaving.
Alone, Twilight Sparkle levitated the books out of the boxes in single file, unrolling her scroll and clicking her pen as well. She checked off books from the list as she read each title that floats on by, making a neat pile.
“Abstruseness of Tartarus by Lore Seeker, Addendum to the Psyche by Insightful Analogy, Artbook of Dark Souls,Astrology of Luna’s Stars Tenth Edition by Sharp Stars, Attorney Ace’s Guide to Law by Attorney A-” Twilight’s tongue paused as she back tracked to the third book. “Artbook of Dark Souls? I didn’t ordered this. Did I make a mistake?”
She inspected the detailings of the black hard cover, appreciating the delicate gold frame that bordered the edges with curling shapes like leaves and vines of a grape farm. Releasing the book from her magic and taking it in her hooves, she can feel the smooth texture slide across her frog. As she opened the book, a gasp came to her lips. Greeting her was an array of intricate designs varying between swords and shields, grotesque monsters of many kinds, and ragged, olden knights of yore. As she browsed through the pages, only more questions came to her. Suddenly a thought lit up inside.
“Wait a minute… Dark Souls… I recognize that name. Isn’t that a really violent video game Spike wanted to play?” Twilight let out a frustrated sigh. “I told him he shouldn’t involve himself with such things. He’s not old enough to see such violence. Although I suppose he probably snuck this in my order to get a taste for it.” However as she studied the concept arts a little more, a small smile grew on her. “Well at least these are really pretty to look at. However scary these may be, got to admit whoever drew these had quite the creativity and talent to make them come to life. Still though, I should probably talk to him about this.”
Just as she was about to close the book, a sudden flash of light erupted from one of the pages, blinding her momentarily. “H-huh?! What was that?” She rubbed her eyes and looked at the book again to see a sentence shimmering with light. “Was that there before?” She narrowed her eyes, attempting to discern the words from the bright glow. “Come hither and set thine eyes upon me. Hie thee hither and set thine heart upon me. Tarry and hear the sounds of yore. May thee find glory and escape from these darkest lands of souls.” Twilight tilted her head. “Now what does that mean-”
Sound escaped from her throat as light poured out from the entirety of the book. From around the edges of her vision she spied what seemed to be hot-white tendrils grasping around her body. Heat tied around her hooves and neck, sending searing pain across her body. Twilight tried to cry in agony she was being pulled towards the book, but she could not scream. Her heart was set racing and her hooves shakingly resisting whatever ethereal force is upon her. She attempted to blast the bright book with magic shots but they shattered like glass upon impact. Feeling the last bit of her strength fading away, she resigned to her fate and then all she could see was white.
Just as her form disappeared into the book, it snapped itself shut, releasing a loud thundering echo before falling onto the violet rug. Standing within the entrance of the room, numbed and shocked to witnessing his longtime caretaker and friend, was Spike. He lifted his claw towards the spot where she used to be. A small whisper came out.
“T-Twilight?”
