Chapter One: The Darkness We Create.
Twilight lightly galloped inside Celesta's personal library, excited at the fact that she was finally allowed in here; it had been years since she became her personal student and now that she was officially the "Princess of Friendship" Princess Celestia had given her access to her personal library. "Wow I still can't believe I'm in here after all those years of wondering what was beyond those doors."
Spike trotted beside her, it had become quite apparent that the once little dragon was now in his Teenage years, his tail was longer and he stood taller than the pony he called his sister. "I don't know Twilight, remember what Princess Celestia said about the Dark Section?" he said worryingly.
"Yes I remember Spike, but just look at all these books! I promised Celestia that I would be extremely careful of what books I read from the Dark Section, after all Magic is Magic; it's not all inherently evil. I mean look at Queen Chrysalis for example, we never thought she would turn a hoof. But then she came to Canterlot and begged for forgiveness from Luna and Celestia, and now her and even a few of her changelings are living in Ponyville." She said reassuringly.
"Ugh, don't remind me; I get woken up every morning by that fluffy pink menace Fluffle Puff. We really need to find a place for her and Chrysalis to live that doesn't involve the castle Library. Twilight, are you listening?" he asked.
"Yes yes, I heard you Spike. Oh my gosh Spike, look!" She ran over to a bookshelf and picked up a large thick and worn book, not realizing that she has just run right into the deepest part of the Dark Section "Its Starswirl the Bearded's book, Reflections in the Mirror! It's the only known copy of his spells, he was nearing perfection of a spell that would let him view and communicate with the world behind the mirror!" She giggled with excitement as her hoof flipped through several pages of the dusty book.
"But Twilight, I thought that was just a legend. Even Princess Celestia couldn't prove that there was a world behind the mirrors!" Spike said. She giggled as she replied, "Even Princess Celestia didn't get as close to the proof as Starswirl has and that's mostly because a lot of the research was lost to the ages when he died, it was one of many of his unfinished spells." She flipped through the book some more, noticing that the spell required a large amount of Dark Magic, even more than she had used in the Crystal Empire.
Several hours passed and Twilight delved deeper into the old tome as Spike the Dragon was curled up in a decently sized ball next to her. Yawning, Twilight used her magic to levitate the book as she used her hoof to gently wake up the sleepy Dragon. "C'mon Spike, let's get some rest; we're going to have a long day tomorrow. When I practice this new spell, maybe just maybe I can finish it." Twilight looked excited ever as she yawned from exhaustion.
Spike rubbed his eyes as he fleetingly stood up, stretching his arms. He nodded as he stood next to Twilight before they were both engulfed in violet magic and teleported back to their castle. But just before they flashed out of the Library, a small folded piece of parchment fell from the book and landed underneath the bookshelf unseen. Seconds later, Spike appeared back in his bed, wrapped in a nice, warm and thick quilt in an upper room of the large crystal spire. Meanwhile, Twilight appeared in the Cute Map room and sat on her throne reading the book some more.
"I have everything I need, there's no need to wait until morning. It's not really a spell that I need spike's help with, not that he could read a language this old anyhow." Various beakers, ingredients lined the table and a dozen mirrors encircled the room as Twilight stood in the middle of them preparing to cast the spell.
"Now to add the Dark Magic!" Twilight groaned as both her horn and her eyes glowed a mixture of green, black and purple magic. The magic in her horn intensified as she muttered the same words over and over, "Est malum quod in Nunc continentur!" As the spell reached its zenith, Twilight's horn suddenly shot the dark magical energy towards the mirrors as she felt something brooding and evil within her suddenly be yanked out of her very soul. Twilight fell to her hooves in exhaustion, recovering as she slowly stood up.
Looking at the mirrors, Twilight only saw her reflection cast back at her at first. But suddenly a ripple in the glass appeared almost like water, making her cringe as she peered back at the other her in the mirror. As she studied her reflection she found it smiled back as the mirror shattered spontaneously. Twilight jumped back, visibly shaken from the sight she just witnessed.
"Get a hold of yourself, you've been working too hard again..." Sighing to herself, she knelt down and used her magic to lift the broken pieces of glass and silver off the floor, sending them into a nearby waste can. She saved the largest piece for last as she picked it up with her hoof instead of her magic, cutting herself carelessly with the shard.
Twilight hissed as she quickly brought her hoof up, assessing how badly she had hurt herself. She noticed however that there wasn't a single drop of blood on the shard, odd considering that her hoof had a fairly bad gash. She looked again to be sure she wasn't crazy, but only saw the same gash starting back at her, eerily bloodless.
"Huh, that's peculiar." She paid it no real heed however as she picked up the shard and stood up. She peered back into the mirror, but only saw her own reflection staring back at her with evil, hateful eyes. She could only watched in horror as her reflection clutched the piece of mirror in her hand and slowly lifted it up to her face. With an evil grin, it slowly dragged the sharp, pointed edge across her neck from ear to ear, making Twilight scream as her skin slowly separated with her own blood flowing down her neck. She clutched at her neck as she frantically reached for her box of medical supplies on the table, knocking over several glass beakers. The shards of glass only compounded her blood loss, making her fall to the floor amidst a coughing fit as she descended into a pool of her own blood.
Spike suddenly jumped awake, hearing the scream even from several stories above. He jumped out of the window and in a flash his large Purple and Green wings spread out as he flew right into the map room. He landed next to the nearly unconscious Princess and picked her up in his claws. "Twilight what happened, what did you do? I told you not to go near that book…" His eyes widened with fear as he noticed the last remaining sparks of dark energy, a sure sign that something had gone horribly wrong.
Twilight could barely lift her hoof up as she pointed to the mirror, managing to croak out, "There...in the mirror..." It was the same mirror that she used to pass into the Other World, where her high school friends lived but now it seemed nothing more than a portal of pure despair. "Spike..." she croaked out as she dropped her hoof and passed into unconsciousness. Panicking, Spike lifted her up and carried her to Celestia, praying she would know how to fix his dear friend.
"That was nearly 3 weeks ago, and she hasn't come out of the Library since she returned from the Hospital.", His voice quivered with worry as he twiddled his thumbs, concerned with the state of his friend after such traumatic events. Princess Celestia nodded in understanding, eyes seeming unperturbed at hearing the horrible news. "Not to worry Spike; Luna and I will research this spell further and see exactly what has happened, maybe the spell had some negative after effects."
"After effects?! She was using Dark Magic, and we all know what happens when Ponies use Dark Magic. Just look at King Sombra, he's still banished because he tampered with things beyond his control. Twilight thinks she can control all kinds of Magic and she doesn't how dangerous a lot of it really is." He then realized how foolish he sounded as he yelled at Celestia and apologized sheepishly. "I'm sorry your majesty..."
Celestia smiled as she nodded in affirmation. "No need to apologize Spike; you're just worried. I am too, but getting ahead of ourselves won't make the situation any better." Spike nodded as he bit his claws rapidly out of nerves. "I won't keep you any longer princess, and I'll be sure to inform you if anything changes."
Princess Celestia nodded, Spike walked beside her and he lead her out of the castle; waving goodbye before making his way up to Twilight's room. He felt his heart beat faster with each step he took up the stairs. Once he reached her door, he tapped his claws against the wood. "Twilight, can I come in?" He said quietly, opening the door as he peered inside.
Twilight sat in the corner, she wore a black hood; that covered her head. Twilight groaned, looking away. Spike stepped up to her back and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Twilight, it's going to be okay" He looked around the room and noticed that she smashed all of the mirrors in her room.
Spike slowly turned her around, "Twilight what happened?" He asked, he was never able to get the full story from her. He looked into her eyes, paying no attention to the now large scar that lay across her neck.
"The mirrors…" She groaned, "The mirrors are trying to kill me." Spike tilted his head in confusion. "That's simply not possible Twilight, mirrors are nothing but glass and silver; they can't do you any actual harm." He said reassuringly. Twilight looked up, yelling out in anger.
"Then what do you call this?!" She screamed, pointing to the large scar on her neck. "We've known each other for years, hell we've practically raised each other..And in all that time have you ever known me to be suicidal?" She barked in rage, smacking his hands away.
"Well, no…but maybe all this stress of being a Princess has finally gotten the better of you. I mean, ever since the first time you left to help someone in need it has been one thing after another." Spike mentioned, placing his hand back on her cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
Twilight smiled, caressing her cheek in his hand. "Thank you Spike, I think all I need is some rest." Spike nodding, helping her over to her oversized changing curtain. "Sleep well my Princess, I'll be standing guard outside if you need me." Spike said chivalrously before bowing and stepping outside.
Twilight stood in front of the only mirror that she had left in the castle "I will stop you, I won't let you hurt anyone else." She said in a demanding tone as she pulled the black curtain off. Once the sheet was removed she saw herself standing in the mirror, nothing strange happened.
"Maybe the stress is getting to me…" She shook her head before placing her hood against the scar, following the jagged edge that lead from one ear to the other. Suddenly, a loud scratching noise filled the air; Twilight cringed. Clutching her ears as she fell to her knees. "Ow!"
The noise seemed to carry for what seemed like eternity before it finally stopped, Twilight took a deep breath and stood up after regaining her composure. And there in the mirror was a single word, "Death" was etched into the glass and try as she might she could not remove it. The word seemed to be etched onto only one side of it.
She clutched her hoof over her muzzle before nervously stepping back. "No no no no" She said repeatedly as she threw the thick black cloth back over the mirror, before running to her bed and hiding herself under the blankets. "It's just a dream, it's just a dream" She said over and over before finally falling into deep slumber.