Twilight Sparkle admired the bright and peaceful surroundings as she trotted into town. Nearby ponies chatted away, some smiling or laughing, and the smell of freshly cut grass scented the air. It all told her that it was going to be a good day … but if that was the case, then why did she suddenly feel so uneasy?

She stopped and threw a few glances around her, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just then, she felt a chill in the air, and the sunlight was obscured. The unicorn looked up to find a blanket of clouds rapidly expanding to engulf the sky.

There was a deep rumble from above, like the throaty growl of a manticore. Twilight did not recall any lightening flashes. Her eyes remained fixed on the turbulent mass, which continued to darken further still. This is not a storm cloud, she thought, as her unease was replaced with fear.

The rumbling took on a staccato effect, making it sound like a laughing giant. It left her feeling tiny and defenseless. The sound continued, but Twilight started to make out words.

“Tartarus will open,” thundered a voice that sounded like a talking avalanche. “Those in our path shall be destroyed.”

“No, I won’t let you!” she cried out, but her voice was barely audible over the thunderous noise that surrounded her. She struggled to take her eyes from the wicked cloud formation, but what she now saw was even worse. Twilight stifled a gasp when the once-cheerful town was now a ruined shell of its former self, and the scent of grass was replaced with the smell of burning. In the murky light, some buildings were scorched, and others looked as if a giant hoof had come down and crushed it … and not a single pony in sight. It was all gone, destroyed, and she was helpless to do anything.

Returning her gaze to the roiling mass above, a part of the cloud swirled and took on a different shape. It started to resemble a face … and it was looking right at her. Her fear became terror as she started to backpedal away from it (what little good that would do). It increased in size—or maybe it was getting closer—and to its left, a section of cloud started to extend toward her, and what looked like claws formed on the end. Helpless and afraid, she clenched her eyes shut and screamed.

All of a sudden, the hellish noise was gone. When Twilight opened her eyes again, she was sitting up in her bed with a cold sweat. She then turned to see her little purple assistant trembling.

“I … I just came up to wake you, like you asked,” Spike stammered.

Realization sunk in, and she gasped. “Spike, I’m so sorry!” She started to feel embarrassed. “You just caught me at a bad time. I was having a bad dream.” As she looked at him, she thought of the face in the clouds, and the claw that had been reaching out for her. She suddenly felt silly, and let out a long breath. “Oh right, it was just you.”

“What was that?” asked Spike, who looked a little calmer now.

“Never mind,” she replied shaking her head, causing her messy, purple mane to sway from side to side. “Maybe I’ll explain later.”

“Okay then,” he said. “I better get going; I’m in the middle of making breakfast … or at least trying to.”

After Spike left, she got out of bed, grabbed her brush with her magic, and started working at her mane. As the brush glowed and did its work, she trotted over to the window and pulled the curtains open. She winced at the bright sunlight, and could see a grass-cutter pony doing his rounds. She didn’t notice the smell of grass until she was right up at the window because it was overpowered out by the burning from downstairs. Guess that explains why the smells seemed so real, she thought, smiling to herself.



Spike snatched another piece of charred toast from the plate. He had this idea of being more efficient, and decided to cook it with his own fire. Sadly, there was a bit of a miscalculation, and it ended up a good deal darker than he intended. Also, he may have accidentally used the wrong fire on a few of them. I hope Celestia doesn’t mind the random delivery of bread slices, he thought.

Sitting at the table with a bowl of oatmeal held in her hooves, Twilight nibbled away at it while her mind was clearly elsewhere.

“So, umm, Twilight,” he said, while trying to swallow a mouthful of toast.

“Yeah, Spike?” she said distractedly.

“What exactly was the dream about anyway?”

Twilight stopped, and her attention snapped back into place. “Oh, it was nothing really.”

“Come on, that wasn’t nothing,” insisted Spike. “I want to know what you were screaming at. That really scared me, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I did that.” Twilight took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I gather you’re aware of Tartarus, a part of the underworld that contains many scary and powerful creatures?”

“Uh huh,” mumbled Spike, as he munched at another blackened triangle.

“Well, I was dreaming that monsters had escaped, and they destroyed Ponyville … and I was powerless to do anything about it.” She put her bowl down with a frown and downcast eyes.

“Cheer up, Twilight, it was just a nightmare.”

“I don’t know, Spike, it felt so real. How do I know it wasn’t some kind of premonition?”

Spike sighed. “Come on, we already have Pinkie Pie claiming to see the future. There are no records of anything like this ever happening in Equestria. I’m pretty sure we’re safe. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything we could do about it.”

The purple pony’s eyes widened. “That’s it, Spike,” she said with enthusiasm. “If I’m not prepared to face a threat like this, then I should get to work.” She quickly got up and trotted down to the library section.

He watched her disappear out of sight. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, more to himself, and sighed. He could tell that she was slipping into one of her obsessive moods, and trying to argue with her now would be an uphill struggle. I should probably keep an eye on her just in case, he thought, and headed after her.

He saw Twilight systematically working her way along the shelves. Intermittently, she pulled a book down with her magical grasp, skimmed through it, and then returned it to its former place and continued the search. After several minutes, a feeling of hope rose inside Spike when he saw resignation start to form on her face.

“There are plenty of books I still haven’t checked,” she said, “but who am I kidding? The sort of spells I’m looking for would not be in a small library like this.”

“So, does this mean …” Spike started.

“Yes, Spike, I’m going to the Canterlot library,” declared Twilight. “What I’m looking for would surely be here.” She stopped for a moment, as if in contemplation. “Then again, they won’t have material like this just lying around for anypony to see. It would probably be locked away somewhere.”

“Oh well, I guess there’s nothing we can—” the baby dragon tried, but was cut off again.

“Then we’ll just have to find it, won’t we. Care to assist me with another late night stroll through the library.” Saying it that way made it sound innocuous, like going out to buy some groceries.

“Umm, don’t you mean breaking and entering?” he countered in a deadpan tone.

“Don’t be silly, Spike, it’s not really breaking in when you know how to unlock the doors.” Twilight made her way back to the bedroom.

“But we’re still going somewhere we shouldn’t. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be—”

“Oh, details,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, then searched the room for things to take with her.

---

The dark courtyard was illuminated by the golden glow of lamps. Twilight was wearing all black, and she worked to remain in the shadows. She leaped behind a bench, and then sneaked along the dark side of a hedge. She poked her head out, glad to see the building was just ahead, but dropped down again when a guard pony walked past.

She lay flat on the grass, with Spike sitting beside her. After a long moment of holding still, she whispered, “It should be clear now.” When she popped up to take another look, there was no one around. “Good, the coast is clear. Let’s go.” She leaped over the low hedge and landed on the cobblestone path with a soft patter, appreciating the soft pads on her hooves. It made sneaking around a lot easier.

Spike scrambled over the hedge and closed the gap from Twilight who cautiously trotted along the building wall, away from the main entrance. After going around a corner and along a bit, she stopped and looked at one of the windows. With a glow of her horn, the locking clip on the other side moved, and the window creaked upward. She climbed up, and then reached down to help her little assistant.

“Right, we’ve made it,” she said, closing the window behind her. “Now to locate that room.”



Iron Bars the security pony was making his rounds, and the clopping of his hooves echoed along the dim, quiet corridor. There was a shuffling sound just within the threshold of his hearing. He halted and tried to listen for it, but it had stopped.

Up ahead, he reached a t-junction in the corridor. He looked toward the left. It was clear. When he turned and looked the other way, there seemed to be something near one of the curtains. Clicking on his flashlight, he could now see the end of a purple ponytail protruding from behind it. It prompted a feeling of familiarity, and it took a moment for him to put his hoof on it.

Silly pony, he thought. Did she not know that, as a personal apprentice to the princess, she was fully authorized to access any part of the library? Or maybe she just enjoyed sneaking around. In that case, who was he to spoil her fun?

“Hello, anypony there?” he called out, making a show of it. “Hmm, I guess not.” The guard pony clicked his light off, and trotted right past Twilight. A few seconds later, he heard what sounded like a sigh, followed by a light patter of hoofsteps.



Twilight was still trying to calm herself after that close call. It shouldn’t take much longer, she told herself. She thought about searching Starswirl’s wing, but she doubted that he ever made the sort of offensive magic that she sought. A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a door with a sign that read “powerful and unstable spells” in red lettering.

“Ah, this must be it,” she said, clapping her front hooves together. “Now let’s see if I can open this lock.” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed. In her mind’s eye, she visualized the tiny pieces that moved with a key turn, and attempted to use her magical force to emulate those movements. Her eyes clenched tighter as she exerted herself more. The lock was more difficult than others she had experienced, and it was a bit of a struggle, but eventually she heard the click. The unicorn sagged with relief, and from the exertion.

This room was noticeably darker, and Twilight searched around for a light. She found and switched on a small lamp which was perched on a stand. The warm light source illuminated the various scrolls and dark leather-bound tomes up on the shelves. However, these books were not stored together in rows, but each one was separated by a partition that was several inches wide.

Looking at a few of them, there were books about dark magic, and a book with something to do with exponential growth. Taking a closer look at that one, she examined the picture on the cover, and spotted a cluster of what looked like parasprites.

“Could it be,” she said, “were those things the result of a spell gone wrong? What do you think, Spike … Spike?” She turned around and he wasn’t there. He did enter the room with her, didn’t he? Just then, she heard a loud burp with an accompanying green glow from behind another isle.

“Umm, sorry, I guess I had some trapped fumes,” he said, coming back into view. “I’m sure it’s gone now.”

“Yeah, I hope so. The last thing I need is for you to start burning old books.” Twilight levitated out a peculiar tome covered in unfamiliar runes, which seemed to morph and shift around on the cover. There was also a chain and padlock sealing it shut. Just then, some of the glyphs on the front started to take the form of words. It read: ‘Demons of Tartarus, and how to defend against them,’ but then it was back to unreadable markings. Her eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, Spike, this is precisely what I’ve been looking for!”

Spike gave the book a wary look. “I don’t know, Twilight. With the way it’s all locked up, I don’t think it’s something we should be messing with.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s only there to stop inexperienced ponies from reading advanced spells that they can’t control. I mean it’s just some text, after all. What could possibly go wrong?” The lock didn’t have a keyhole, so it must’ve been designed with magic in mind. With some mental effort, the padlock clicked open, and the chain slipped off and dropped to the floor with a clatter.

When Twilight opened to the first page, she saw more dancing and changing runes, like those on the cover, but smaller and much more densely packed. She flicked through the pages, but only saw more of the strange markings. “Hey, there’s nothing here but gibberish!” she said as frustration started to take hold. She considered that maybe it was some sort of magical code, but the glyphs were nothing she had seen before, and it didn’t help that they kept changing. If it was so heavily encrypted, then why even lock it in the first place?

“Okay, I really think we should stop now,” said Spike

“No, not when we’re so close,” protested Twilight.

“I’m so glad I sent it when I did,” the little dragon muttered.

“What was that?”

With a start, he replied, “Umm, nothing!”

Returning to the book, she noticed that something about the runes had changed. She still couldn’t read any of it, but they did look different somehow. Suddenly, she realized what it was. The animated symbols were now floating above the parchment, and they were beginning to glow. The flowing light patterns were entrancing, and she felt her eyes becoming heavy. The world around her faded until it was just the lights.

There was a distant rumbling sound, but it steadily got closer. She was startled to find herself outside and looking upon the same dark and menacing clouds from her dream.

Over the din, she heard a voice, a different one this time. “With my help, I can prevent this travesty from happening.”

“What are you?” Twilight called out, but she didn’t need to wait for a response. “Are you … from that book I was reading?”

“In a manner of speaking,” it responded. “If you allow me inside, you may call upon my powers whenever the need may rise.” She thought about it for a long moment, and was about to open her mouth to respond.

“Do no listen to it!” said a familiar female voice, and it took a moment to place the commanding tone. Princess Luna, she realized. “It is only telling you what you want to hear. You must resist.”

At first, she didn’t want to hear it, but then realization struck her like a spear. Like other situations before it, she had dwelled on it until she lost perspective. And here she was, ready to deal with some manipulative presence. Twilight closed her eyes and tried to resist the illusion around her (taking the form of her dream).

“No, you’re making a mistake. You need me!” cried out the previous voice.

The presence in her mind became a figurative dead weight. “Get out,” she strained, struggling to push it away. But suddenly it let up.

There was a sound that resembled a sigh, and the voice said, “Fine. I cannot inhabit a pony who objects so strongly to my presence, even if I wanted to.” It started to fade now, and Twilight opened her eyes to find herself back in the dim library chamber.

“Twilight!” yelled Spike as he darted forward and hugged her forelegs. “When I saw you going into that trance, I was so worried.”

“Yeah, I’m okay now, Spike,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed. She then turned to the princess, who stood a few paces away. “Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you here?”

Luna hovered a scrap of parchment in front of her, and there were some rushed scribbles on it. “I received this … letter, and I knew to come.” Spike suddenly withdrew and looked very self-conscious. “I know the letters are addressed to my Sister, but I agreed to read any that arrived during my cycle, in case of an emergency.”

Twilight took the note in her hooves and strained to read the sketchy writing. She read it aloud. “Princess, Twilight had nightmare and is now obsessed with finding something. In the royal library, in a place with dangerous magic. Something bad going to happen. Please help. P.S. Don’t be mad at her because she only had good intentions.”

It took a moment for it to settle in. “Wait a minute, that fire you let out a few minutes ago.” She made an indignant gasp. “Spike, did you just … tell on me?”

Spike, who had now taken refuge behind Luna’s left foreleg, said, “I’m sorry, but I just knew something unpleasant was going to happen the moment we entered this room, and I started to feel that you weren’t listening to me.”

Twilight sighed. “No, Spike, I should be the one that’s sorry. I got carried away, and I should have paid more attention to you.” Looking at Luna, she said, “I’m grateful for your help … though I really shouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place.”

The night princess smiled at her. “Do not worry yourself.” She picked up the book with her magic, reapplied the chain and lock, and returned it to its place on the shelf. But before she was done, she gave it a stern look. “What did I tell you about messing with the minds of ponies? I let you sit here as a privilege, but anymore of this and it’s back to the basement with you.”

“Umm, Princess, what is that exactly?” asked Twilight.

“There is a lot of complex magic in the world,” said Luna “In fact, some of it is so intricate and powerful that it starts to take on a life of its own. But sometimes they’re driven to propagate, and grow by absorbing other magic, so we have to takes measures to make sure it does not happen.” Then she turned and headed for the door. “Come, I shall escort you out of here.”

---

Trotting along a lamp-lit Canterlot street, there was a soft, cool breeze and a peaceful silence. The princess turned to Twilight. “I am curious, what was it that wound you up like this?”

“Well, you see,” said Twilight, coming to a halt. “I was dreaming that the monsters of Tartarus had escaped, and destroyed everything in its path, but I was not … hey what’s so funny?”

Luna had started giggling. “Is that really what had you worried? How much do you know about Tartarus?”

“I know it’s a part of the underworld where a lot of powerful monsters are imprisoned,” said the unicorn.

The princess shook her head. “You do not understand. It is not really a prison, and they live there for their own sakes as well as ours.”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

“You see, most of the beings down there are no more ‘bad’ than us ponies. However, they are so big and powerful that it is simply not safe for us to co-exist.” Luna tapped her hoof against her chin. “Oh, imagine you are trotting along, and you feel a squish under your hoof.” She stomped her hoof to the ground for emphasis. “You look and find that you have killed a few ants. You did not mean to do it, and it is possible that you could do it without even realizing it.”

“So, what you’re saying is, they don’t mean us any harm, it’s just too easy for them to harm us without meaning too?”

“Precisely,” said Luna, nodding. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my royal duties. Night shift has more work that you think, you know.” She spread out her voluminous wings, and took off into the air.

“Good bye, Princess,” said Twilight.

“Take care, Twilight Sparkle. I hope you visit again soon.” A few seconds later, Luna was out of sight.

“Let’s go home, Spike,” said Twilight, and she had a stretch and yawn.

“I couldn’t agree more.” They then headed for the train station. Along the way, Spike started to make joke roaring sounds and said, “I’m going to destroy you!”

“That’s not funny,” she protested.

“Yes it is,” the dragon responded, then made another roaring sound. After a long moment, Twilight smiled. Sometimes, you just had to laugh at yourself.