IMPORTANT: I've decided to make an "alternate" Twilight Sparkle for this fan fiction. If you were one of those who shouted out loud "Thanks, M.A. Larson!" in frustration and sarcasm, then you'll love this replacement. I also added a slight personality change on top of that, along with new stuff such as an alternate house and a slightly modified Spike. But don't worry! I'm not one of those writers who add tons of nonsense into their fictions.
It was around three o' clock, the sun was high in the sky above Ponyville, and ponies were outside doing their daily chores, such as buying things they needed or studying at school. Speaking of studying, a purple mare could be seen reading a book titled "Crafting & Fixing for Bookworms" inside of a cafe. It was unusual for ponies to drop by the restaurant to read a book, but the ponies around there didn't seem to care one bit about that. After having finished reading the seemingly interesting title, the mare or more specifically, unicorn closed the book with her magic and called out a waiter requesting the exact amount of bits she owed to the cafe. After seeing that the purple one had only asked for a cup of tea, the waiter politely replied to the mare.
Waiter: It was just a cup of tea, ma'am. Meaning you've got to pay one bit only.
Twilight Sparkle: Thank you. Here, I want you to have an extra bit.
Waiter: I appreciate it, but I can't take the best of you.
Twilight Sparkle: Oh, I insist! Consider it a gift from me.
Waiter: If that's the case, then I'll take it. Have a nice day Mrs. Sparkle.
Twilight Sparkle: I wish the same for you!
The mare was quite known around there for her famous passion for books. After ending her sentence, the purple unicorn trotted towards the cashier to drop a golden coin which ponies called "bits" over the counter before returning to pick up her book with her magic and leave the building. Twilight looked down, took a deep breath and sighed.
Twilight Sparkle: Each day that passes by brings feelings of unimportance and uselessness. Soon enough I won't have any purpose here in Ponyville. It's not often that I get visitors back at my library, but when I do, it's just some little filly wanting a book for ordinary homework or a source for school researches. No one ever cares about the great tales that are in my possession, neither can they see that I have the most extensive collection of books on history and spell craft in all of Equestria! They just ask for a book and then leave. I feel miserable.
As the purple unicorn lifted up her head, she thought to herself.
Twilight Sparkle: Well, if my memory doesn't fail me there's nothing left to do, so I guess I'll have a walk in one of my favorite places around here. I believe that Spike can certainly handle some "unexpected costumers" all by himself.
Twilight knew exactly where she'd go. The White Tail Woods was a place fit for those who wanted to have a great time in one of the most beautiful forests around the world. The woods were mostly popular because of its charming fall-like scenery, and Twilight knew it deep in her heart that there wasn't anything better than a peaceful walk through a forest whilst observing the leaves fly into the air and fall onto the rocky ground. Better yet if it was afternoon, the time when the sun would shine through the trees implementing what was already good. With no further wait, the mare trotted towards the edge of the town and then in the direction of the elegant "pathway". During her little travel, Twilight Sparkle remembered the time when she was appointed as the best student of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; at the same time that she felt important, she felt as if her title didn't mean anything. After concluding her studies, the mare was sent to Ponyville by Celestia herself to assist the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, which made the unicorn both happy and disappointed. She always has dreamed of leaving Canterlot after finishing school to become an expert in advanced magic and maybe one day, outshine Starswirl the Bearded. However, the summer festival was something that the purple-smart also appreciated; she just couldn't handle the fact that she was needed in order for the ceremony to happen. She felt pressured at that time.
Twilight Sparkle: It turns out that the previous Summer Sun Celebration was in fact Celestia's tool to gather the Elements of Harmony once again. I shouldn't be accusing my mentor, but she isn't that "great" as many see her. She almost forced all that "friendship" stuff down my throat, but in the end I've found people that I wanted to be around of, nonetheless. Only one thing still bugs me to this day; where was she when Nightmare Moon returned?
The mare tried to find a good reason for the sudden disappearance of the solar princess, but nothing could or seemed to match the pieces together.
Twilight Sparkle: Then there is the time when we re-imprisoned Discord. Why couldn't she and Luna defend Equestria from the chaotic plans of the draconequus?
As many thoughts swirled around the unicorn's mind, the mare came to a stop once she noticed that she had arrived at the woods. It's was time for some "brain-cleaning".
Twilight Sparkle: The forest is still beautiful as usual. I don't want to do anything else but dive into this magnificent looking landscape. I need to relax a little bit sometimes and what better way to do that?
As the purple-smart trotted into the immense forest, the breeze of the air blew against her mane and the sun shone on her face. It was indeed, beautiful scenery, one that could hypnotize anypony who took the sight of the woods and drive him or her into a state of pure joy and contentment.
Twilight Sparkle: Look at all those leaves soaring in the air. They remind me of the days of autumn back at Canterlot; the city would be covered with fronds. It was hard to clean them up, but it was a nice thing to see, nevertheless.
As the unicorn dug into her childhood, Twilight gently grabbed the book from previously with her magic and quickly began to read it again. The mare couldn't help but give in to her book addiction. She just loved to flip through the pages and extract every word from a book; it was her hobby, her devotion.
Twilight Sparkle: "Creating your own gems takes simple materials such as magmatic dust, natural dyers (it is recommended to use powder-like dyers) and some polished rocks. The procedure to make gems is quite easy and it only requires a few steps to be taken. First, pick up a-
As Twilight read the book, she heard a "thud" near a tree to her right. She didn't mind, since she knew that it could have been just a dried branch falling from an old tree, it sounded like that. She shrugged that off her mind and continued to read.
Twilight Sparkle: "First, pick up a bowl and fill it with the magmatic dust. Then, add your dyer to the powder and stir it up until both substances are well combined into one. After that-
This time, the mare heard a quiet (almost inaudible) whispering to her left. Instantly scared, the unicorn shot a small beam of magic in the direction of the aforementioned susurration just to be safe. When a squirrel came out from the nearby bushes, the purple one felt relieved and continued on her path.
Twilight Sparkle: I really need to chill out. I'm getting a little bit paranoid these days. Anyways, "after that, pick up the polished rocks and add them to the mixture. In advance, you must use the spell '004' from the elemental guide located on page thirty-seven of this book in order to fuse the rocks with the dust-like substance you've made and melt them together. Finally, pick up the liquefied material with your magic and shape it the way you like it, but be fast enough to pull out the spell '003' so the gem will freeze and become solid. After following all these steps-
The unicorn stopped abruptly after catching the glimpse of a shadow in the corner of her eye. She turned around to see that there was a strange black mist moving right behind her, seemingly aggressive and eager to catch Twilight. Worriedly, the mare began to run as fast as she could in the hope that she'd escape from whatever that "cloud" was.
Twilight Sparkle: What the hay is that?
Between pants and more pants, the mare tried to rush to the end of the forest only to see that the black mist had completely covered her surroundings, making it hard to see where the exit was.
Twilight Sparkle: What do you want from me? Leave me alone!
Unknown: G… O… G… E… T… I… T…
Twilight Sparkle: What do you mean? Get what?
Unknown: G… O… G… E… T… I… T…
With that, the dark cloud opened a path towards a big tree. The entity then repeated again.
Unknown: G… O… G… E… T… I… T…
Twilight Sparkle: Okay…
Twilight didn't know what to do, but attacking this entity certainly wasn't a good option since she didn't know who or what it was, so she went through the path the mist had displayed. Upon approaching the large tree, the unicorn noticed something on the ground near the roots of said structure.
Twilight Sparkle: What's this? It looks like some sort of book.
A strange looking book was on the ground. Knowing how much she cared for books, Twilight quickly picked up the book and almost instantly the black mist vanished from sight.
Twilight Sparkle: What in Equestria was that? And what kind of book is this? It doesn't seem like anything I've seen before. The colors on it are somewhat frightening and I can't open it either. I think I should head back to my library and take care of it. Perhaps I should send a letter to Princess Celestia regarding this "encounter".
After gathering the strange "artifact", the unicorn look straight ahead to see that the exit was visible again. Not wanting to be in the woods anymore, Twilight trotted on the way out of the forest. Upon getting away from the White Tail Woods, the purple mare sighed and thought to herself.
Twilight Sparkle: I can't even take a walk while not getting into trouble. Well, at least that made my day a bit interesting. I bet that whatever it was, the black mist wanted this book protected from harm. Still… I believe that some experiments won't do any "evil" to it, will they?
Twilight was a mare known for her eagerness on learning new stuff. If there's some sort of obstacle on the way of "science", she'd do anything to get it out of the path. However, the unicorn just didn't know how much dangerous that book was and what her rather "clumsy" experiments would bring her. The mare didn't think twice and headed back to her house and library thinking about what was behind the cover of the book.
Twilight Sparkle: I should be ashamed of myself, but I just can't stand back while I've got an opportunity to improve my knowledge! I want to be the smartest unicorn that has ever lived and I certainly won't miss a piece of information! However, I can't deny that studying a creepy looking book could be dangerous, mainly due to the possibilities of it being linked to black magic or stuff like that; so as smart as I am, I'll be twice as safe.I don't want a creature from Tartarus destroying my library anyways.
End of Chapter V
A/N: A little bit late but nonetheless, here it is! Please, if it's not too much for you guys, I'd like some feedback on this chapter as well as on the others. I'm not one hundred percent sure if I corrected all the mistakes and issues or if the story is doing great, so if it isn't asking too much, I'd appreciate a lot if you give me a hand. Although it is my responsibility to maintain this fan fiction, I am not perfect and I can "slip" sometimes too.