Twilight glanced over to Eclipse, sitting right next to her in the steam room, looking fairly content in her position.

“Oh, hey Eclipse.” Twilight whispered, not wanting to disturb Rarity and Pinkie.

The dark unicorn nodded, “Hello.”

“So, how are things with the others?”

“Silver is trying to put the moves on us while Huntsmen is searching for wood. It’s not really effective, to me at least.”

“Hm,” Twilight snickered.

“Yeah, it’s pretty silly, similar to how your friends are acting now…”

“Huh?”

“Don’t play coy, you know that your friends are acting ridiculous over the book.”

“Yeah,”

“It’s just a simple piece of recreation, yet your friends act like it’s the end of the world if you lay a hoof on it.

“Like you can even call them ‘friends’,” Silver commented.

Twilight waved a dismissing hoof at Silver at the end of the bench.

“Don’t be silly Silver,” she replied with a smile. “They just care for my wellbeing.”

Silver simply rolled his eyes and prepared for the final wave of steam to polish his white fur.

“Uh, darling, who are you talking to?” Rarity then asked.

Twilight turned to face Rarity, and was met with a face of confusion. Her eyes darted back to the other side of the room, seeing a blank bench lightly coated in dew.

Realizing her mistake, she returned to Rarity and calmly answered, “Nothing.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but soon accepted Twilight’s explanation and returned to her aura of relaxation. Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep and didn’t feel the final wave of steam wash over her and the others.

Twilight glanced back to the other side and was greeted by Eclipse again.

“Looks like you have good faith in your friends.” Eclipse noted.

Yeah, Twilight thought. It’s been fun talking to you, my imaginary friend…

Just as Twilight returned to Rarity and Pinkie, Eclipse then replied, “Yeah, let’s see that ‘faith’ after what happens to the book...”

“Wait what?” Twilight quickly looked back, only to be met with a thick steam cloud.

“It’s time to go.” Rarity repeated herself, tugging on Twilight’s shoulder.

Pinkie Pie broke from her nap and joined alongside Rarity as the two left the steam room. Dizzily, Twilight followed behind and met up at the hallway. There, they are greeted by one of the spa ponies they met before.

“Enjoyed your bath?” She asked.

“We most certainly did.” Rarity nodded.

As the two engaged in some fancy banter, Twilight suddenly became distracted by something. Something was gnawing at the back of her neck, but it wasn’t anything physical.

It was mental. Something that Twilight imaged Eclipse saying struck a chord, and it’s now driving her ballistic. The book instantly came to her mind, and Twilight began to wonder if it’s still secure in that locker.

No, no! Twilight barked at her own self in her mind. No more reading. No book! I have to break the drive. I have to unwind. No more books for the day… or at least till the end of this spa visit. Maybe I can read a magazine of something in the mud bath. Hopefully it ends soon…

“Right this way please.” The spa worker announced, motioning to the room down the hall.

As the girls walked down the hall, the other spa pony trotted past them, looking to be in a hurry. She turned the corner to the lobby, probably to greet a long-waiting customer. Twilight recalled when she entered the lobby, when her book was taken and placed in the locker area right next to the waiting room.

Being in the back of the group, it wouldn’t be too hard just to teleport to the corner, peak into the lobby, and teleport back.

Just as Twilight was about cast the spell, a little voice whispered in her mind.

Be sure not to forget your basic needs, it said. Food, water, and social time with your friends…

Twilight sighed and dimmed her horn. Spike made those instructions very clear, and they sure weren’t going to be broken by a mere tingle of doubt. Twilight continued to follow the others into the next phase of their spa treatment, despite the red eyes that watched her from the corner, staring into the back of her neck.

The once battlegrounds between Damascariot and Centura were greeted with a red morning sky. The army of Lord Thanatus was marched across the crater riddled plains, heading straight for Centura. The stomps of its Earth ponies caused rampant earthquakes, the wings of its pegasi created ghastly storms, and the chants of its unicorns frightened the bodiless souls than wandered the battlegrounds.

At the center of the massive army was a towering carriage, being slowly pulled by three Earth pony soldiers. Its golden structure, turned black with the ashes of fallen foes, brightly shone in the red sun, illuminating the land ahead with a haunting light. Inside it was the King of Nightmares himself, the commander of the Undying Armies, Lord Thanatus.

Few have ever gazed upon the stallion’s face, fewer have returned alive to tell the others, and only some came back as they once were. They say he has the face of a dragon, and that his body is only a disguise. However, others say that his face is something beyond describable, and that gazing upon it promises a violent death. They say he is a horror beyond horrors, that the mind can only interpret Thanatus in the form of what vaguely resembles a pony.

Yet, the real horror is said to be one thing, one thing that no pony has ever seen, or at least, not without dying on the spot.

His eyes.

What may appear to be burning embers from an offhoof glance through his war helmet and grand crown, is only the gateway to whatever Thanatus lays within. It is said, that with once strong glance, his eyes can bring an entire army to its knees, and open themselves to the slaughter that awaits them.

As the army marched forward to the entrance Veiled Forest, the scout with a blade emerged from the trees. His body was heavily damaged, but he retained nearly full motion of his body. He lifted a hoof to the air and gave a loud grunt. The army halted.

Quickly, the scout ran to the carriage where Lord Thanatus was seated. He kneeled before the stallions pulling his mobile chambers.

“My lord,” the scout growled with his gravelly voice. “I have brought news that you must heed.”

The cloth flaps of the front of the carriage slowly pulled back, unveiling Lord Thanatus. Dressed head to tail in solid steel armour and sitting upon a throne made of smoldering riches and bone, the King of Nightmares listened.

“There are a group of five ponies that seek to end your reign, my liege. My partnering scout has been slain by them.”

Lord Thanatus slowly lowered his head and raised it back up.

The scout explained further, “There is a pegasus stallion, equipped a bow and a bewildering sense of bravery. There is an Earth pony stallion as well, armed with a deadly bloodlust and power beyond measure. There is a bat-pony mare also, with a magically-imbued headdress and a heart that beats strong. There is a mysterious unicorn mare with them too, wielding powerful magic and an unknowable range of wisdom. And leading them all is a young unicorn mare, determined to see this through.”

“…” Thanatus remained deadly silent, so much so, that not even his armour clung.

“They seek Glacadh An Bháis, the blade that usurped your pedagogue’s ways. At this point, they may be only a day and a night’s journey away from its resting place.” The scout concluded before bowing once more.

Like a statue coming to life, Lord Thanatus rose from his chair. His rising presence parted the clouds above, and each step he took towards his soldier withered the ground below to sand.

With the voice of one hundred moaning souls, Lord Thanatus spoke, “Fear not, my loyal slave, for they shall be sought out with the shadows, and be destroyed… Yes, I sense each of the five bodies you speak of. Yet, I hear eight voices, with three wielding vast amounts of knowledge.”

“You mean to say that the mysterious mare-”

“Is a vessel in which four wise souls possess. Indeed. That vessel… Eclipse… shall be the armament of their end, the unit that shall destroy them from the inside. I shall see to it myself and my personal guard that the deed is done. The rest of my stallions shall camp in the Veiled Forest and prepare to strike Centura upon my return.” Lord Thanatus declared.

The scout bowed once more, muttering, “Yes, my liege.”

“But,” the lord spoke, examining the body of the bowing scout. “Your body has become weak, the vessel which binds you has torn. You as a soldier, have worn out your usefulness. Let Margáil Le Bás aid you…”

A blood red light beamed across the scout. Lord Thanatus drew a blade from behind, and swung.

Spike stretched his back against the bench at the back wall of the spa building. He was enjoying this book too much to simply put it back in the locker and gather dust.

I finally see why Twilight enjoys it so much! Spike declared to himself. The characters, the action, the drama, they’re all so interesting-

The voice of Discord interrupted Spike’s thought, “Do you mind if I sit here? My dogs are barking.”

Spike peaked up from his book and saw the draconequus, with his lower limbs being replaced by two small dogs, yipping fanatically.

“Go ahead.” Spike replied.

The dogs disappeared and Discord flopped onto the bench, right next to Spike. He silently watched as Spike returned to reading, bored out of his semi-existent mind. Ever since Spike had that book between his claws, he has been endlessly reading it. He no longer payed attention to Discord, nor anything outside of that book…

Discord suddenly entered a brief state of panic and snatched the book from Spike.

“Hey!” Spike immediately barked.

“Snap out of it, you little idiot!” Discord snapped back, clutching the book to his chest. “Don’t you see? It’s got you too!”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine. Just let me finish that chapter and I-” Spike quickly snapped his mouth shut and locked it in place with his hands.

“You were saying?” Discord asked with a literal ear-to-ear grin.

Spike didn’t want to be wrong, and he really wanted to read that book. Thinking as carefully as he can, he explained himself.

“Well… From what I’ve read, there’s nothing really wrong with it. I just really like it. It is not driving me to suicide, I just want to read it in peace. There is no subtext to it, it’s just a simple fairy tale.”

“Hm…” Discord nodded, sitting upon his armchair looking over the papers on his clipboard.

Spike looked over the top of the clipboard, and saw a black blob of paint on the top paper.

“Tell me,” Discord asked in a sophisticated tone. “Isn’t that the same language Twilight told you regarding the safety of the book?”

Twilight’s voice echoed in Spike’s mind, and repeated those exact words he had said. He attempted to see himself in his mind, but only saw Twilight, the Twilight now that is reading the book. Spike realized the truth. The book had gotten control of him, even if it only were for only a minute. The desire to read, his sudden intolerance of others, and the stinging in his limbs when the book was out of grasp, all were an exact replica of what Twilight is experiencing.

“Ten minutes,” Discord explained. “Ten minutes, you were sucked into that book. If I hadn’t been around, you’d probably be in Twilight’s horseshoes.”

Spike slumped back in the bench, dazed at this realization.

Words finally came to his mouth, “You were right. I’m sorry, Discord, I just-”

“No need for a pity party,” Discord nonchalantly interrupted, examining the book in his claws. “At least we now know that this thing really is more disturbing than appearances.”

Spike agreed, “That’s right! Now we can tell Twilight for sure that the book is… that the book is… Oh.”

The two boys looked at the book, the book no longer in the locker, the book no longer where Twilight left it.

“We have to put it back!” Spike exclaimed. “Before she finds out-”

“Finds out what?” A bitter voice stabbed Discord and Spike in their sides.

Their eyes darted over to the end of the bench, and saw the purple alicorn there. With a damp mane and her hooves crossed across her chest, it was evident that she knew something was up. Her eyes locked onto the book held by Discord, but her voice spoke towards Spike.

“Spike,” she coldly asked. “Why does Discord have my book?”

Spike answered in the least incriminating manner he could, “We just wanted to check it out, see how you like it, look into the backstory, you know?”

Her ears lowered and pointed back. A low snort escaped her snout. She wasn’t taking that as an answer.

“Give it back.” She sternly snapped at Discord.

“Can’t let you do that Twilight.” Discord teased, raising the book above his head like a hoofball.

“I said give it back!” Twilight howled. Her horn instantly lit up to a brightness only associated with dangerous, if not lethal, magic.

Spike dove in front of her and blocked her view of Discord, but not the book.

“Twilight! Listen to me!” He demanded.

“Are you in cahoots with him on this?!”

“Twilight! That book is evil, I know it! I read it myself.”

“You not only stole the book from me, but you also read it, ruining my perfect bookmark placements?!”

“It’s the book that made me do it! I swear!”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight replied in a mocking tone. She pranced around Spike and Discord as she continued, yet her horn never dimmed. “Blame the book for this, blame the book for that. ‘It’s evil, runaway, let me have it so I can read it!’ You can’t take responsibility for your own actions, huh? You just can’t bother to respect me once in a while, and only want to soil my book with your grubby little claws and read it.”

“Like what you’ve been doing to your friends, and even your own body?” Spike calmly asked.

Twilight prepared her retort, but suddenly stopped. Discord and Spike watched in caution as the still mare’s wheels turned in her mind.

What is she going to do? They wondered. If it took words from a friend to break somepony out of the book’s entrancement, could it also work on Twilight?

Twilight’s eyes only slowly moved up to see Discord and Spike staring at her, judging her.

Look at them, her mind thought. They can’t wait for me to say they’re right. But they aren’t right! They can’t be! I am not hallucinating, I am perfectly sound in mind! Just give me the book and- …quit staring at me. Quit looking for faults in my face! Quit judging me! They think that I’m unstable! Stop it!

“Please, Twilight,” Spike slowly walked towards Twilight, reaching his hand out towards her. “Calm down-”

“I am not unstable!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Pinkie emerged from around the corner, frightened by the sudden screaming of her friend.

“Twilight!” she called out to Twilight. “Are you okay?!”

Pinkie was instantly met with a snarling face by Twilight. Her eyes had shrunk into pinpoints, and her horn was on the verge of firing a deadly spell by mistake. Pinkie quietly shrieked and backed away. She whimpered as Twilight’s predatory face followed.

Twilight saw the fear in her friend’s eyes, and suddenly realized what she was doing. Her face unlocked and her pupils regained normal size. They grew alongside Pinkie’s, and her horn finally dimmed down to a mere twinkle.

Slowly, Twilight approached her friend.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Twilight gasped.

Pinkie stayed distant, and back up as Twilight made a step forward. It had become quite evident. There was nothing Twilight could do now.

However, that didn’t stop her from trying. As Twilight approached, she attempted to comfort her shaken friend.

“Come on Pinkie,” Twilight said in a casual, but very shaky tone. “It’s me, your friend, Twilight.”

Pinkie remained hesitant.

“That thing earlier, pfff, that was just a bit of banter. Harmless really, so… are we okay?”

Pinkie stared into Twilight’s eyes and examined her face. Although tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and her mouth was quivering as she spoke the words, there was still an essence emanating from her.

Something was, dishonest about it.

Perhaps it was in her eyes, as they kept darting back and forth between her and the book in Discord’s claws. A small flicker of cold fire reflected from her eyes each time they swapped. Ever since Twilight got that book, more and more abnormal occurrences have happened, occurrences far outside her character.

“Spike, Discord,” Pinkie asked the boys behind Twilight. “Why did you um, borrow her book?”

Twilight quickly snapped her head back at them, waiting for their response.

Are they going to betray me? She wondered. Just tell Pinkie the truth, there is nothing wrong with it. Stop making me look like the madpony… Spike.

Spike seized for a moment as a cold chill ran down his spine. He stared at Twilight as he thought of a response. He has already destroyed her trust by stealing her book. He has already hurt her by insulting her own self-awareness. Although it was out of love, what he has done has hurt her a lot. He didn’t want to hurt her anymore. It felt sick inside him, worse than anything nature or magic could throw at him.

Taking a gulp of air, and taking one last moment to think it through, Spike told Pinkie, “We… we have reason to believe that there are some… abnormal properties to the book that we didn’t notice at first glance.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Tell her. My words mean nothing to them compared to yours. They trust you more than me.” Discord’s voice hummed in Spike’s head.

“I can’t.” Spike replied to Discord before replying to Pinkie, “It’s very addictive… like it was written by a higher being.”

Twilight’s steel gaze softened. She was relieved that her friend was still loyal, and trusted her. With a flick of her horn, Twilight swiped the book from Discord’s paws and clutched the book to her chest.

Twilight returned to Pinkie and agreed, “Exactly, Spike. See, Pinkie, everything is just peachy.”

She did ease up, but still remained suspicious of Twilight. She nodded her head and began to make her way back to the spa.

“Well,” she said as she left. “I might as well finish my treatment with Rarity. You wanna come back, Twilight?”

Twilight answered with a whistle to her tune, “Nah, I got some business to take care of.”

“Okay…”

Pinkie disappeared from the corner of the building, and Twilight instantly took a huge sigh of relief. With her book in tow, Twilight pranced to the castle. Discord looked at Spike and shook his head in shame.

“I… I couldn’t.” Spike silently confessed.

“Couldn’t what?” Discord hissed back. “Couldn’t warn our friend that some demonic entity is controlling Twilight through that blasted book?”

Spike barked, “Twilight’s already on edge because of what’s been happening, Discord! I can’t push her anymore just because of a hunch.”

“A hunch? A moment ago, you said you knew something was wrong and something had to be done.”

“I thought so. And perhaps it was just what I said, somepony special wrote it and that’s why it’s so addicting. Outside of that, we can’t say that it’s evil.”

“…” Discord rolled his eyes.

“I, I just don’t want to hurt her by telling her closest friends she’s going crazy.”

“And what about me? No pony’s going to trust me. I’m the Spirit of Chaos, a known trickster with no pony on my side to tell fact from fiction.”

“Spike!” Twilight called out to her partner.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

She answered, “Come with me, I want to talk to you.”

As Spike began to walk up to her, Discord said one last thing, “It only takes a single glare to change your mind it seems. Are you going to keep bending to her will, even when you know something’s wrong?”

His, for once, solemn tone resonated in Spike’s head as he continued to walk to Twilight’s side as they headed to the castle.

The sky turned orange as the two approached the door. Twilight had one eye on the open book and the other on Spike.

She spoke, “Spike, what has Discord been saying to you recently?”

Spike replied, “What do you mean?”

Twilight only had to be quiet for a moment for Spike’s attempt at acting coy to stop.

“He’s been telling me how your book is, strange.” He answered, honestly.

“And do you believe that?”

“Yes, no, somewhat, gah-”

Twilight snapped a glance at him with both of her eyes and told him, “Discord is a mischief maker. He’s probably saying that stuff to get a rise out of you and all of us. It’s not like he actually cares about whether or not a book is evil. Do us both a favour, and don’t listen to him.”

The doors swung open, and Twilight and Spike walked into the castle. A pair of red eyes stared at them from outside, and Twilight had an idea who they belonged to.