A screech rips through my mind, sounding something akin to a cross between a rabid vultures cry and the malevolent yowling of a cougar. ~God do I hate mornings~ I think to myself as I muster the courage and willpower to open my eyes. I actually succeed, or at least manage to partly crack my right eye open. I am greeted with the sight of my mold green ceiling and the dull shards of light shining through my window.

I grimace as I roll off my cot, mumbling a curse at the new day as I turn to look at my "Numba 1 assistant" as he continued to screech that horrible cry in that infuriating nonchalant pose of his as he sat on the bottom ledge of the stairs leading out of my room. That snide sneer on his face constantly mocking me(There wasn't a single part of his face that wasn't mocking me actually). Those stupid 8 tails of his lashing back and forth, back and forth...Oh how he hates me so, and why shouldn't he? I was the one that spawned him from The Paths That Meet wasn't I?The only one that can use his ''True'' name, and the only one that can sever the ties that bind us willingly (As if that would ever happen!).

(That's not to say that the loathing isn't mutual...)

I raise my hand toward the imp, giving him a charitable warning look. He continues to blare on unyielding. I sigh as I begin to focus my frustration, Frustration gleaned from the memory of our first ...''encounter''...

That was when I lost what little innocence I had and became the 42nd favored apprentice to the ''benevolent" Duke Dusk. The last one had died of natural causes of course. That is, if a natural death was the rearrangement of ones insides with ones outsides. Apprentices never last long under the tutelage of the duke.

Then at last,I finally felt it, I felt the "Hex Pop". It was the tune in my head that told me that my magic could manifest and be controlled somewhat accurately.(Not as accurate as I would like, But what can you do.) The imps tails stop moving and tense up as I let out a chortle.
~Wow! That's a new record! It usually takes me about 5 tries before I manage to rile myself up like this.~ I thought to myself as I start reaching out with my mind...

The door bursts open as a reddish blur hurtles across the corridor, screeching until it abruptly slammed into the opposite wall. A figure strode out of the broken entry way, scowling at the red imp sprawled out in front of him.He looked to be a stern harden man, but his voice betrays his guise "Are you quite done Ehcuod?" The man said in a soft voice that sounded more like something belonging to a shepherd gently scolding his flock, then the cantankerous Grim-wizard that he was supposed to be acting like.

"Tick tock, tick tock "master" Ryze. The master is late again, as always. When will the master learn that the GREAT and POWERFUL Ehcuod is not a clock!" the imp sniggers and gives Ryze a mocking Tsk.

Ryze's eye twitch's as his ire once again builds up.

"Once again I asked you, trusted you, to set the clocks to wake me up normally for once, and once again you twist my words to your own means... Tell me Ehcuod, How did you manage to disobey me this time?" Ryze asked wearily.

"Silly master forgets yet again! Normalcy is a matter of opinion, doesn't the master know? Somewhere, somewhen, Demons make the best clocks for waking silly masters up." This lead to another bout of sniggers.

"Are you ever going to take that vacation of yours pest?" Ryze muttered dryly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he stared at the malicious imp.

"Oh! The Master wants the GREAT Ehcuod gone does he? Well Ehcuod will go when the Master Ryze Dayborn truly needs Ehcuod!" The red imp announced as it and its ominous giggling started to fade away.

Ryze sighs, knowing that the imp wasn't really gone, that Ehcuod was only taking a ride in the back of his mind, along with the steady tune from his Hex Pop.

At that moment Ryze finally realized the true purpose of the demons conversation with him. It was to distract him from the fact that he was late for a meeting with the duke Dusk. He gave a terrified gasp as he made a mad dash for the throne room.

I awaken to a stubby scaly finger finger prodding me in the back. I shove my muzzle into the pillow muttering,"Five more minutes" I muttered in my groggy state.
"Wakey wakey sleepy head. I have a surprise for you!" My assistant said excitedly as he continued to poke me.

"Alright! Alright already! I'm up! I'm up!" I say as I rub the sleep out of my eyes and turn to see a purple baby dragon. My purple baby dragon. I still remember our first encounter like it was yesterday...

That was the day that I became Celestia's favorite apprentice, and the start of the events that led to me being the pony I am today. I smile at the memory as I look at Spike, the dragon.

"Um... hello? Equestria to Twilight..." Spike said, waving his arm in front of me," your new book is here!"

I give out an excited gasp as I shooting out of bed a bit faster then I intended, falling flat on my face. Not that I really noticed past my glee. ~It's finally here!~I giddily thought to myself as I scrambled off the floor. The new tome has been delivered to ponyville and, as far as I know, it's the only one in Equestria!

"Gimme gimme gimme!" I barked at spike.(Okay I may be a tad zealous when it comes to new books in the library.) I focused my horn to grab the book, but it seems I was a little to forceful with my magic when I accidentally pulled spike along with the book. This time he was the one to fall on his face.

"Sorry spike..." I said, Restraining myself from giggling maniacally as I ogle the new book. This was it! This was the hoof-written tome of Star-swirled the bearded himself! The title Compitales: periculosum sine maleficio unicornium was engraved on the faded plain looking royal blue binding.

I quickly trot to the nearest table eager to study the book. What was most peculiar indeed was that something so old looks as if it was written only a few years ago. I decided to tackle this problem by first examining the binding. Although It was quite faded, it had the strangest texture! It didn't appear to be made from any of the usual wood pulp used in the creation of hardback books back then, or the thin parchment-like leaf-pulp used to create the modern paperback binding ponies use today.

~If I were to guess I would swear it wa- No, that's a stupid thought,Twilight ...~ I shake my head, dismissing a morbid thought as I continue my examination.The ink used in the griffphonic font in the title seems to still be fresh some how. I then noticed a strange smell in the air.

~Where is that smell coming from? Could it...Could it be comin- No, that's just silly, Twilight~ My thoughts, becoming tempted to make a strange assumption.I shake my head, giving a mental chuckle. All that's left before I start reading is the spine... ~Why am I so nervous?~

I sigh, scolding myself for being ridiculous. It's just a book! It's only ink and paper! So what if it was possible one of the last books made be The Greatest Unicorn Equestria Ever Had... Ever.

...

I facehoof so hard it hurts. I have been treating this like a normal book! No wonder it felt strange! To study a magic book, you need to have magic eyes!
Satisfied with what I decided, I start to reach out with my magic, feeling the true binding of the book with the tendrils of my mind.

"Umm... Twilight? Ya need anything?" Spike asked, interrupting me, sounding more then a little nervous.(I had completely forgotten about him!)

"Why don't you see how Rarity is doing spike? I am sort of busy here at the moment." I said to spike, who was distracting me from my work.

"Are you sure you don-"

"Yes spike, I got everything under control!Now go enjoy yourself!" I snapped.

"Sheez, No need to tell me twice Twilight..." Spike said, oblivious to the fact that I had to tell him twice to enjoy himself at Rarity's. ~Forget the pest,Twilight, there is work to be done~ I think to myself as I went back to the moment at hoof. I refocused my mind, barely noticing spike leaving the room.

Most enchanted books are usually enhanced to gain an edge in the very competitive world of book selling, catering to the readers need for more "immersion" .Usually, it may be a story book that actually reads itself to you, or a cookbook that manifests the smell of cupcakes when you read aloud its recipes. Most of the serious book lovers (such as myself) find this more then a little gimmicky, to say the least. This book however, was most definitely not a gimmick.
To call the magics placed upon this book serious magic would be an understatement .

As I opened my mind to examine the magic spells that kept the book in it's ageless state, I became acutely aware of the other details of the book. The aroma I noticed earlier became much more apparent, but still strangely untraceable. I then started to hear a horribly keen ringing sound. The worst thing I noticed however, was the taste. It was barely noticeable, but it was there on the tip of my tongue. It was a taste that reminded me of a mixture of curry and chili, except that it tasted...wrong.

~There is nothing wrong with the book,Twilight~ I think to myself as I proceed with the book probing.(That I could have stopped at anytime I wanted... Honest!)

The magic spells were masterfully intertwined, making it nearly impossible for me to discern its inner workings, but all the more curious.This must have belonged to Star-Swirled!Only he was skilled enough to do magic this complex! That was when my mental magnifying glass hit a snag in my examination. (Well, not a snag per say, more of a running muzzle first into a brick wall...) The magic spells covering most of the book abruptly stopped around the spine.

I felt my blood run cold as I gazed upon the spine of the book with physical eyes. It's mysteriousness cruelly taunting me to delve deeper into it's secrets. The temptation was to much for me as I reached for the chimi-cherry-conga thick spine, the power source of the enchantments magic. What was it going to be? A phoenix feather?(philomeno's perhaps?)Maybe a strand of hair from one of the princesses manes... Or will it be something a tad morbid, like a vial of Chimera venom?

It would be easy to unravel the spine using magic, but that may contaminate the spell. (The last thing I need is a magic book that, instead of making your brain smarter, makes your brain squirt out your ears via telekinesis) So I had to resort to using Rarity's latest gift to me, three heavy-duty gem-incrusted tweezers.

~ You shouldn't use such an inconsiderate gift, Twilight~

Ignoring that strange thought I began the dissection of the books spine. The tweezers were surprisingly effective in peeling the spines covering, but it was still a delicate, time consuming process, much like peeling an onion without crying. I couldn't rush the process without detaching the spine altogether unbinding the books pages, and the mysterious magics placed on them. I manage to remove the cover of the spine, only to encounter a curious object wrapped in what appeared to be white threads of silk.

One by one I peeled the white layers of the wrapped core, taking a certain grotesque pleasure in my work. As I unraveled it, it's shape became more apparent. It's silhouette looked like a short, stubby cone, and after prodding it, I decided that it wasn't alive (I can be so paranoid sometimes!) and continued my unwrapping. At last I heard the telltale tapping when my tweezers struck the exposed core. I was still confused to what it was however, the only detail I could notice about it so far was that it's color was a grim shade of lavender.

~ There you have it, Twilight, it's just a simple stone cone.
Then how would it be the source of the spells on the book?~

After a confusing conversation with myself (Is this book making me crazy?) I finish adjusting the remaining strands to get a better look at the strange core. I still had no idea what it was.Not a single one... Was I simply refusing to comprehend the object before me? I wouldn't accept this for an answer, so I decided to examine the one sensory detail that I couldn't get with tweezers... Taste.

I thrust my muzzle into the spine, momentarily noticing that the threads that were once wound around the cone smelled like stale grass. I hesitate, but only for a moment as I give the weird cone a quick poke with my tongue. The taste is familiar, a tangy, tingling sensation on the tip of my tongue, reminding me of pinkie pies hoof-buzzer. Reminding me of my first coltfriend,(Well more like a "friend friend", But I digress!) a Noblepony that went by the name of Sunner Dayset.

He was another unicorn that I met when I was a filly in Cantorlot, before I had even seen princess Celestia and became inspired to learn as much as I could about magic! He had golden hued mane, his coat was a deep indigo, and his eyes were a dull gray. He had this annoying habit of tackling other unicorns to lick their horns.(Yuck!) He used to do it all the time, that is, until I gave him a taste of his own medicine and bit his horn. It tasted... It tasted just like the mysterious cone!

The strange texture and smell makes sense now! It all makes horrible sense! This princess forsaken tome isn't made of paper! It's made of UNICORN! Why hadn't I realized it sooner? It was so obvious! The sight of the blood red ink, the gruesome binding, and the hair that wrapped around the horn that formed the core of this abomination of a book burrowed into my mind.

~Don't scream, Don't scream, Don't scream-~
~It's alright, you are a big filly, You can handle this,Clover~

Spike heard a deafening scream come from the library. He knew that Twilight was excited, but he hadn't expected her to scream that loud. He gave out a nervous chuckle, which abruptly turned into a horrified gasp as he realized that he was late for rarity's scheduled diamond hunt. Spike couldn't bare to see the mortified look of rarity upon finding out that he was late!(even if it was the most beautiful thing ever) He made a mad dash for the carousal boutique, sure that twilight won't be needing him for a good while.

De Author:And there you have it, The first chapter for my first fic!

LoL I traumatized twilight! What will she do? Who in the $#@! is Ryze Dayborn?

Why did the author leave you on a cliffhanger??? (To watch you squirm of course!)

P.S: I shall edit this for any mistakes made