As Twilight shoved the wooden door open and stepped into the well-lighted room, Spike greeted her with a puzzled look. The purple dragon was sweeping the dirt and dust from the floor with a broom. The unicorn was huffing and panting, as if she was chased by something. Her left saddlebag was taking the form of something rectangular, something big for it stretched the cloth well. It seemed to be heavy for it tilts Twilight to her left as she struggled to balance herself.
“Twilight what is that?” Spike asked, pointing the broom at her filled satchel.
“Gee Spike, I don’t know! Maybe it is a ball or a jug of juice?” The unicorn replied sarcastically.
“Okay, okay, okay. So it is a book then, what sort of book? He continued.
The pack slowly opened and a thick, dark-brown, eerie book floated out from it. Spikes scales and spine tingled as the ominous feeling towards the book came over him. Twilight gently dropped the book to the floor and took a deep breath. The book was constructed in a very odd and creepy way. The openings on the sides were covered up with sharp, yellow fangs. The spine was a clear glass tube with a small skull for a lid. Three flaps that resemble a face were on the front cover.
“I brought it here since I can’t open it back the Canterlot Library. Maybe I could do further research about this, it’s not every day that I find something like this you know.” Twilight squealed.
“I sure hope not, I have a bad feeling about that book. It gives me the creeps, it feels like that thing is even *gulp* alive.” Spike commented as he shivered faintly.
“Don’t be silly Spike, what can a book do? This is just a compilation of lifeless pieces of paper bound with a hard cover; its design is meant to be intimidating so that no one would dare to snoop around with it. But I saw through its lie and I’m getting that information!” Twilight giddily answered.
She threw her bags aside for Spike to tend and quickly picked up the book, hastily trotting upstairs. Spike just looked at her, fearing for the worst but wishing for the best, but whatever happens he will always be by her side. The purple unicorn docked her head outside with a smile then shut the door with a loud thud.
She then proceeded back to the book, sitting on the floor silently yet the expectation that it might move is ever lingering. Twilight sat down beside it and let her gentle hooves play around the object. She touched the hard and dirty teeth, the smooth and sparkly glass container and the rough and leathery feel of the cover.
She tried to pry the flaps open but to no avail, the stubbornness of the book shut it well. She pulled the bony lid open and peered inside, there was nothing but she thought it would make a nice container for ink, in case somepony would want to write something. Frustrated, she tried to forcefully open the book with her hooves, trying to split it open. She later on tried to use her magic on it; the book was now floating in the middle of the room with a purple glow around it when suddenly:
“I see that somepony is not used to saying please.” The creepy voice seethed out in the air.
The startled purple unicorn lost focus and dropped the book down, nearly breaking the fragile glass tube. She slowly approached the book as her insides began to twist and her mind starting to play tricks on her. Where could that voice come from? Maybe it was just Spike or Pinkie pulling off a prank or something. It’s not possible that a book could speak, but to her surprise the flaps opened up and revealed two black eyes and a wide, toothy grin.
“I see you’re the kind of bookworm that likes her books battered and broken, ponies nowadays are so strange.” The flaps moved perfectly in synch with the voice.
“Wait… You CAN talk?” Twilight yelped in surprise to see a non-living object respond and mock.
“No, no I can’t talk. I really can’t.” The book replied with a disappointed look.
“B-b-but t-t-that’s imp-p-possible! There are currently no records of such t-t-things! I have never encountered anything like this! My studies can’t be wrong! I CAN’T BE WRONG!” Twilight yelled out.
“Actually you were wrong about three things today, first, when you thought that no one saw you stealing me, second, when you thought that I can’t speak and third when you thought that your brother, Shining Armor is still a vir-“ The purple unicorn shoved her hooves towards its mouth.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong, but more importantly what exactly are you and what kind of knowledge do you contain?” Twilight asked the freaky item.
“My name is Scribble.I was a pony like you but since I wanted to share my wisdom I morphed myself into a book. I contain the greatest, darkest and the well-kept secrets in all of Equestria. Only those who I see worthy are given access to my records but only for a price.” The book explained.
“You said I just had to say please.” Twilight protested.
“I lied.” It replied.
“Okay, let’s just say you do have this contents, what more could you want?” The unicorn asked.
“In order to write more of what I learn, I need a very special medium. Although this ink I ask for is very common, only few dare to offer me this.” It started to clarify its deal.
“And what is this medium; surely I could find you something.” The unicorn nodded her head.
“Blood that is all I ask of you. For nothing is grander than writing the mysteries of life than using its very own source.” The book grinned maniacally.
Twilight fell into deep thought as she began to ponder about the deal. Admittedly it was good, no, it was great, just a simple sacrifice for a chance to learn something that is very valuable. But how would she get what it asks, she can’t use her own and she couldn’t hurt anypony just to get what she wants. She just sat there by the book, silent and unmoving. The face began to roll its eyes impatiently, waiting for her reply.
“So what is your answer?” The book hissed out.
“I’m terribly sorry; I don’t think I could help you. The price you ask is too high; I prefer not to trample on others for my own joy. I’m afraid I have to turn down your offer.” Twilight replied with her head down.
“And besides, if that is what you ask then surely you are evil, and I am against to that.” She continued.
“I am giving you a chance to reach such heights of knowledge, it doesn’t matter if I am good or evil, the question is, are you evil?” The book asked.
Hasty knocking broke their conversation; Twilight pulled the door as it creaked open. Spike stumbled in and crashed down on the ground, faceplanted nonetheless. The book quickly obscured its identity as it became quiet and turned back to “normal”. The dragon was sweaty and panting, like he saw a ghost or something.
“S-s-s-she’s back Twi and she’s going here.” Spike’s shaky voice rang in her ears.
“Who’s back? Nightmare Moon? Chrysalis? Who Spike?” Twilight immediately questioned.
“It’s Trixie, she wants to have a duel with you!” Spike warned her.
“Please, I beat her once and I’ll beat her again. No need to worry.” Twilight calmly stated.
“Wait, was that book just talki-. “ Spike was cut off from his question.
She began to pick up Spike and slowly pushed him outside with her head. She could feel the little dragon trembling but only ignored it. She knows Spike cares about her but this is just too much, Spike can’t be too attached with her. She simply closed the door, leaving Spike sitting down, dismayed.
“Ooh, some fight we have here. This should be interesting.” The book said.
“It won’t be much of a fight, trust me. I am a LOT more powerful than her, more powerful than she’ll ever be. I will show that I need none of your help.” Twilight declared.
“Don’t make me laugh, telling me that is like stating that you’ll take the stick rather than the sword. Foolishness leads to death my dear.” Scribble hissed.
Annoyed, Twilight went out of the room then marched on outside. She readied herself to face her rival, which she did not expect to come back. After being humiliated like that, it takes some guts for her to show her face again. There were loud chattering outside; nearly everpony was there, wanting to see what was the ruckus all about. She was standing there, proud as ever, that purple hat and cape that she always wore. Trixie still looked the same but something is different, you could tell it by her stare.
Twilight soon later joined the crowd and as soon as she appeared all eyes was fixed on the purple unicorn. The two magical ponies kept a cold and long eye contact with each other, the tension and pressure was high and overwhelming. It could start anytime, anypony could get hit, and the blue unicorn seems to be a lot fiercer and aggressive than the last time.
“What do you want now? Here to be humiliated, again?” Twilight mocked.
“I the Great and Powerful Trixie, is here to kick your flank and shove your words back to your throat you absurd egghead.” Trixie muttered out loud.
“You should remember that I am better than you in magic, in tricks and in every single way.”
“You talk big but can you take on the new and improved Trixie?” She yelled.
The other ponies stepped back for precautionary measures as soon as they saw two horns glowing intensely. A duo of different colored beams flew throughout the air and as they crashed with each other. Sparks flew as the two powerful attacks collided with each other, spewing out dangerous particles. Twilight seemed to be focusing all her strength and power into her attack but Trixie, still in her offensive stance, seemed to be very lax and confident.
Twilight’s stamina was slowly deteriorating; casting such a powerful spell requires a lot energy to perform. She was now panting, trying to catch with her breath as fast as she could and now she was gradually losing the fight. With a loud grunting sound, Trixie leapt up and released a much more powerful attack which effortlessly broke through the purple unicorn’s attack. A bright, blinding flash engulfed the place which hindered everypony’s sight. When it wore off, the winner was decided.
With gasps of gasps of amazement, everypony was gazing into an unexpected result. Twilight was lying on the ground, barely conscious and weakly breathing while Trixie was unscathed and smiling with pride. The surprised loser was staring at the ground with cold and blank eyes; it was hard for her to accept that she was defeated, after all those talk and mocking she shamefully lost.
“Hah, see, I the Great and Powerful Trixie proved that I am the greatest of all!” Trixie declared.
The blue unicorn walked to Twilight and hit her head with her hoof. Twilight’s face kissed the ground and little dusty waves blew as it did. Trixie then went away from the scene with her head help up high and a wide smile on her face. Defeated, Twilight slowly propped herself up, trying to get steady and bracing herself back. She weakly limped away, ashamed to all the ponies around her for not meeting up with their expectations. Lots of things were running on her confused mind as she fled back to the treehouse.
“Twilight, are you alright?” Spike worriedly asked.
Twilight halted and looked at the dragon dead straight to the eye and shook her head in complete disapproval. She
then went back to her room upstairs to rest her tired body. Spike just watched her in agony, with no idea what to do and powerless to even do something he just kept quiet and left her alone to pull herself back together again. Spike peeped outside to the crowd of ponies whispering with each other and closed the door.
“Well that went well and as expected!” The book greeted her, giving no time to rest and recuperate.
Twilight did not respond, she was too downhearted to even notice the object annoying her once again. The book was still grinning and its unblinking eyes were staring at her coldly as usual. Its smile slowly faded as it gazed upon Twilight still grieving about her loss. Silently, it concocted a plan to somehow cheer her up.
“Hey, I really can’t stand watching you still fuming about that stupid loss, so stop it.” He asked.
“Really now? What is it with you watching me get sad?” Twilight meekly replied.
“You make me remember of somepony that I used to know, she loved me but I never loved her back. When I realized that I did, it was too late.” Scribble narrated.
“Look, I’ll try my best to hide it. It’s just that I was so sure I would end up victorious; her sudden change took me by surprise. I never thought she would be more powerful than me.” She responded.
“Say what, if it is power that you seek I will be more than happy to accommodate. I’ll give you a full hour to read my archives, just remember that I strictly forbid that this knowledge be publicized.” Scribble said to Twilight.
The book began to shake and the teeth around began to move in a disturbing manner. The sets of fangs parted with each other and the book flipped open. Various writings and illustrations were inscribed on the old, dusty pages. Transmogrification, Mass Teleportation, Summoning Spells, Illusions, Necromancy and Advanced Witchcraft were few of the many titles written on it.
All of these inscriptions were done with the same color, a deep, dark red as Scribble stated earlier. Even with the grisly appearance of the book she was not repulsed, and upon reading this, Twilight was easily enticed and attracted on reading the book.
Like falling into a trance, all of Twilight’s attention was placed on the book. Nothing seems to bother her as she read it, not the cold blowing of the wind from the open window, not Spike silently cleaning her room and not even the array of dangerous incisors ready to plunge right into her face. Time was quickly marching on and on, catching up to her limit, but the unicorn was too absorbed to notice. And as the hand of the clock touched two, the book snapped shut like a bear trap.
“W-wait I’m done? But I want to know m-more!” Twilight’s protested with a shaky voice.
“Enough is enough, if you want more you have to do it my way.” Scribble said.
“Okay then and I shall do it by any means necessary.” She replied with a nasty grin.
Quickly snatching a couple of glass vials from her desk and hastily stuffing them to her saddlebag, she excitedly opened the door and ran outside. The sounds of the clinking and clanking of the experimental tubes caught Spikes attention, but Twilight already sped outside before he could even start his question. The book was left at the room, alone and free the stick his tongue out, imagining the succulent snack he is about to get.
“By any means necessary, I just love to hear that.” The book hissed silently.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Hello Twilight are you there?” A voice behind the door asked.
Spike cautiously opened the door only to find Nurse Redheart standing there, stretching her neck out still looking for the unicorn who had returned shortly, carrying all those vials like her life depended on it. It was quite odd for a medical pony to come to the library at this time of the day with no one that needs her assistance. Maybe Twilight mistook something from the clinic.
“Spike where is she?” The nurse continued her questioning.
“Twilight is upstairs, still grieving about her loss earlier; did she do something terrible that could alarm you?” The little dragon replied.
“Not really, a while earlier she barged in and asked for blood samples that she was going to use on a research. I agreed that she could take two but instead she took ten of them and fled away. I just want to know why she did that; she could get in real trouble.” Nurse Redheart warned.
Alarmed, Spike led the nurse up to her room, distorted growling, creepy chuckles and bright flashes of light came out of the room. They tried to open it, but unfortunately it was locked up good. The nurse kept on knocking on the door until the purple unicorn opened a bit and peered through the opening. Her eyes seemed to be tired yet they were opened out widely, it was creepy to see beyond a darkened room.
“Yes? What do you want?” Twilight popped up the question with a raspy voice.
“Twilight, Nurse Redheart told me you took some blood samples without her permission, is this true?” Spike replied with another question.
“I took them WITH her permission, don’t you dare to fabricate vital details, and you told me that I could take some.” She replied angrily, banging the door with her hoof.
“I said you could take two, please don’t lie Twilight.” Nurse Redheart responded scornfully.
“I NEVER lied to you; I am currently using them for research. Now if you’ll excuse me I have some important matters to attend to.” The unicorn ended their conversation as she slammed the door.
Dismayed, the nurse stormed out and away of the library, disappointed by Twilight’s sudden change in personality and mannerism. This only made the dragon more and more curious, that book must be something to make a stunning transformation at such a short time. Driven by questions, he tried to spy on Twilight from the windows and thankfully they were not closed.
He was quite shocked when he witnessed what was inside her room. Copies of Twilight were busily squabbling around; each had their own task to do. Some were drawing circles and runes all over the floor; others were practicing all sorts of spells and a single one in the middle of the room, reading that book. Mucky, red liquid filled the book’s container and the emptied vials were scattered all around her, a horrendous and an unexpected sight from a pony like her.
Flustered, Spike lost balance and fell down into a soft and warm body. Twilight had caught him by her back, and boy did she not look well. Her mane was disorganized; her eyes and ears were twitching every now and then and her gaze was unnatural. The dragon remembered this side of Twilight and it did not end well, it even needed royal intervention to stop her.
“Spike, it is impolite to peep at mares when they are in their room.” The unicorn started.
“Uhh,…. Hey…, just checking how you are doing.” Spike nervously replied.
“How am I doing? I feel so great; I have never felt so alive in all of my life!” She squealed.
“Say, can you do me a favor? I need to send a message to somepony.” Twilight continued.
“Absolutely, that’s why I’m here for,…… right?” The dragon gulped down as he answered.
“Good, good. I thought of seeing my good friend, Trixie.” She grinned as she said this.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The silver moon was shining brightly and peering through darkened woods. Shadows had consumed the place and a simple illuminating spell provided a little glow to fend it off. Her eyes were rolling from left to right, still searching for the one who called her. The feeling that she is being watched gripped Trixie by the neck; her heart was thumping like a drum as her fear grew stronger.
“Where are you, you psycho mare?” The blue unicorn growled.
Out from the darkness, a figure stepped out to the light. Wearing a toothy grin and messy hair, Twilight appeared midst the trees. She was chuckling creepily, like a pony that has escaped the asylum. A book was sitting on the unicorn’s back and those eyes and mouth were surely not cosmetic.
“What do you want? Are you here to beg me to teach you?” Trixie scoffed.
“Oh no, I am here to show you what my new teacher taught me.” Twilight replied laughing.
“You now think that a book is literally teaching you? I might have hit your head far stronger than I expected to send you nuts.” The proud pony mocked.
“What is wrong with ponies nowadays? Is talking to me makes one crazy? That hurts my feelings.” Scribble inserted himself in the conversation.
Upon seeing the book talk, Trixie’s jaw dropped like a rock. She could feel the object reaching out to her insides in a special yet eerie way. She could imagine that the sticky, crimson liquid inside the glass phial was her own blood. Scribble was staring at her, like how a predator gazes its prey.
“How sad, you bring a companion to fight me. You really are weak!” Trixie toughened herself.
“But too bad, I am not outnumbered.” She continued as she split herself into five individuals. Each one was smiling giddily as their sights were set on the purple unicorn. With clenched teeth they seemed to be all set and ready for a good beat down.
“WE don’t think so!” Twilight’s slithering voice seemed to be all over the place. Purple copies stepped out from hiding, there were like a dozen of them, just enough to surround Trixie’s army. The blue pony was getting more and more nervous as resistance looked futile in the situation.
Now her pride was gradually getting eaten by fear and with Twilight looking like she wouldn’t leave her alive, all traces of it soon vanished. She was shaking like a leaf, trembling like a filly that has seen a ghost and her heart was pounding faster and faster. This wouldn’t end well that’s for sure.
Spike was quietly watching the scene, being obscured by the lush, green bushes. Surely his friend was tainted by some sort of evil and he knows he has the responsibility to save her from it. The main culprit was that object which was now yawning in boredom. The tension was mind-boggling and the place became silent in which you could hear their breathing.
What happened after did not seem like a fight, it was more brutal than that, it was more like a slaughter. Like pathetic, blue ragdolls, Trixie and her clones were tossed high up in the air, shot with magical blasts and then slammed back down to the ground. The book was ever grinning as he witnessed all of it. Either he is a sadistic madman or just proud on creating this abomination.
There was one left, one making a last stand for it, the blue pony was huffing and puffing and her garments were now soiled and tattered. Her sight was becoming wobbly and she was running out of breath. A will of steel and her stubbornness were the only things keeping her from fainting.
“What’s wrong? I though the Great and Powerful Trixie was more powerful than this?” Twilight mumbled as she picked her enemy up and smashed her wounded head against a tree.
“It seems I have overestimated you, stand up and fight!” The maddened mare continued yelling at her opponent who was hanging on desperately on her life.
“PLEASE FIGHT ME!” With a decisive blow, Trixie was sent flying through the air and her hat was knocked off her head. Twilight was giggling and chuckling as she approached the bested pony, which was no longer moving. The victor tried knocking her head a couple of times but she did not respond. After spending some time on thinking, she realized she had committed murder.
The sight of the lifeless, unmoving body knocked some sense into Twilight’s clouded head. She could not believe she had done something this evil. Her sights were turned unto her accomplice, she was waiting for any advice or answer, and she was too confused to think to make a move.
“I-I-I did it, I killed her.” The purple pony breathed out as her conscience began to bother her.
“It’s grand isn’t it? How do you feel about it?” Scribble asked smiling.
“It’s a-a-a-aw-aw…” She was stammering, she could not provide a direct answer. Lots of things were running on her mind, she pledged to do good and stop evil, now that promise is as good as trash. What would her friends think about her? What would Spike think? Would it really matter?
“It’s awesome!” Her loud voice pierced through the air and Spike heard it, loud and clear. He knew this pony was no longer that Twilight he used to know, but his hope and fate with her was unyielding and now he had to do something about it.
“I feel powerful, like I could do anything I want, that nopony can stop me and I have the right to create or destroy!” The purple pony expressed her feelings to the fullest and the book seemed to be very pleased with her answer. She began to drag away the corpse in order to dispose it, nopony must know about what happened to Trixie and what happened here.
She left the book alone in the woods, unprotected and extremely visible to anypony’s eyes. Knowing it was now safe; Spike slowly approached the book, looking for answers for his long list of questions. Even though he was well-hidden, Scribble’s eyes were dead set on him.
“You, what did you do to Twilight?” Spike started.
“Hmm? Nothing actually, I just gave her what she wanted.”The book casually gave an answer.
“Nothing? Do you think I am blind? Something is wrong with her, and you are to be held responsible. If you can make her that strong then you must have corrupted her mind with your magic.”
“No, I think you are stupid. She corrupted her own mind. I only gave her power for she needed it and as you can see she abused my gift. It’s quite interesting on how much potential she has, overflowing with pure, raw power.” Scribble smirked.
“What is she to you then? A slave? An experiment?” The dragon angrily questioned.
“She is my partner, I give her power she gives me purpose. Those who had served me gave my existence meaning, I have devoted all of my past life into studying abilities I know I could never harness. I could not let all of those go to waste!” The book declared.
“Why do you need to do this? Dreams, hopes, families and lives are being destroyed in your search for “meaning”! You’re not a helper, you’re a monster.” Spike disappointedly replied.
“Dragon, pray tell me, who is the monster? Is it her, who abused her supremacy over others? Is it me, who gave her power to ravage lives? Is it you, who just watched her, become what she is right now? Or the world, for making our lives a hellish nightmare?” Scribble was confusing Spike.
The sole witness in all of this was left speechless. He knew that he had made a mistake for doing nothing even though the events happened right before his eyes. He let his claws grab hold of the book and lifted it up. They glared at each other, face to face, eye to eye, and soul to soul.
“Your evil ends here, I cannot afford to see another pony get hurt.” Spike said, taking a deep breath and heating up his throat, preparing to set the book on fire.
“Fool! You would destroy an instrument that makes the weak strong? That can provide protection to those who are oppressed? You are madder than me my friend.” Scribble responded.
All of a sudden, Spike was thrown back and tossed against a tree. Twilight shot him to save the book from getting destroyed. She did not look very happy with the dragon’s attempt. Spike couldn’t believe that her long-time friend could hurt him just like that. Twilight was carrying a dirtied jug which swishing of liquid can be heard inside, Spike tried not to think that it came from Trixie.
“What do you think you are doing?” Twilight growled furiously.
“I am trying to save you Twilight, he has tainted you. You have to come back to us!” He begged.
The heart-felt pleading of the dragon only sent Twilight laughing uncontrollably. It seemed like friendship doesn’t matter to her, love and tolerance is a stupid joke. Spike just gazed at the mad mare with dismay and despair in his heart. She was too far gone to be reached out to anymore.
“From whom are you saving me from? From him? He had made my sights on the world much clearer! Only those who are strong survive and those who are weak are mere leeches, blood-sucking parasites that feed on their superiors! Why couldn’t you understand that?” The purple pony asked.
“And you dare destroy him right in front of me? You would take away the only thing that gave me true sight? The one who taught me the truth about the world? Why I could never forgive you!” She added as she neared her horn against Spike’s forehead.
The dragon closed his eyes, waiting for his oncoming demise. Familiar voices suddenly popped out from the woods, it was those three fillies, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. They seem to be on their never-ending quest on obtaining their cutie marks. Twilight averted her attention on the three, making Spike uneasy and nervous on what she is about to do next.
“Are you sure about these directions? Go left, and then left, then left, and when you reach the tree go left again?” Scootaloo asked her friends.
“Ah think so; ah mean that’s what is on the map.” Apple Bloom replied, holding the map upside down.
“Hey girls...” Twilight’s voice slithered into a greeting.
“Err… hey Twilight. What are you doing out here with Spike? Did you lose something?” Sweetie Belle asked the purple unicorn.
“No, no, goodness no. But I have a problem you see and I think you can help me with it.” Twilight picked up Scribble from the grassy ground.
“Sure, that’s what the Cutie Mark Crusaders are for right!” Scootaloo confidently replied.
“Oh just perfect! You know so well that I love reading books and I have found myself a good piece of reading material right here. I would really love to read-“The unicorn continued.
Setting the jar aside and brandishing the twisted book in front of the three, her smile began to widen more and more and her eyes and ears were twitching much more often. Spike began to shake his head as he saw her horn begin to glow brighter and brighter. Scribble began to laugh aloud, surprising the youngsters with a strange feat. Twilight’s stare began to become colder and colder as she thought of the knowledge the book could provide her more if she does her task well.
“One……More…..Page….”