> So Twilight ends up dragging you to a crystal tree looking castle. > Slowly you both enter. And you're greeted by a small purple dragon. “Hello Twilight! Who's this?” > “Spike, this is Warren. Warren, this is Spike.” She says in response. > “Hello Spike.” You say calmly. > “It's nice to meet you Warren.” Spike responds to you. > You give a slight bow. “I appreciate the pleasantries.” > Slowly the alicorn and dragon guide you throughout the castle. The tour ending at a library where you're greeted by a pinkish purple unicorn. > “Who's this?” She asks directly. > “Meet Warren. He's going to be staying here for a while.” Twilight says. > “Hello, I'm Starlight Glimmer. Student of Twilight.” She says cheerily. > “Are there any others living here I don't know of?” You ask bluntly. > Twilight chuckles. “Nope.~” > Without a word, you place down your backpack. In it are all your earthly possessions. You never were one to stay in one place for long. > You take out a large tome. Full of years worth of occult knowledge. > “I assume your library has books on magic. I'd like to see them. For the sake of comparison.” You say emotionlessly. > Both ponies' eyes light up. “Well you happen to be staring at two ponies who are experts at magic.” Twilight beams with pride. > “Well then, enlighten me. What is the nature of magic in this world?” You respond. > The two unicorns bombard you with information on magic. Often cutting each other off. But you manage to get the jist of it. One thing of note was her mentioning of harmony and its elements. > You chuckle to yourself. This world's magic is far different from your world's magic. “Interesting. I suppose I should enlighten you on the magic of my world. Magic in my world is far different, and a lot less common. Most don't even think it exists. It relies on sacrifice. The bigger the sacrifice, the stronger the magic. The more you sacrifice, the stronger one’s magic gets. For example, I've sacrificed so much that I can cast lesser spells without the usually required sacrifice. The few who practice magic are secretive societies and cults, or people like me, occultists. Scholars who study the occult and the twisted reality beneath the facade of normalcy our sick society floats on.” > “Can we read your book?” Starlight asks you. Your tome floating within her medical aura. > “First off, please be careful with my tome. It contains all of my life's occult research. Secondly, I'm not really sure if you want to read that. The world of the occult can get quite twisted.” You warn. > “How bad is your world really?” Twilight asks with concern. > “You mentioned harmony before. And how the first 5 elements bring out the 6th, magic. Those are laughter, kindness, loyalty, generosity, and honesty. Well in my world those 5 things will only end in tragedy. Try to show kindness, and you'll receive cruelty. Try to be generous, and the greedy will drain you dry. Give others loyalty and they'll use it to betray you without you noticing till it's too late. Try to be honest with others, and they'll deceive you and accuse you of being the liar. And if you try to make others laugh and bring them joy, they'll return the favor by giving you sorrow and misery. Trust me, I speak from experience.” > The two ponies hug you. You just sigh in response. “Don't pity me. I'm not someone who's worth it.” You say bluntly. Getting up. > “Now if you excuse me, I'll be meditating and resting. Though my body is not tired, my mind grows weary.” You say as you slowly meander to the room they showed you earlier. Grabbing your tome and backpack. > The two ponies look at each other with concern as you leave. > Once you reach your room, you sit down at a nearby desk. Out from your backpack you pull out a jar with air holes. In it is some dirt, leaf litter, and countless isopods. They are your pets. And spare sacrifices whenever you need to do a small sacrifice. > You take out some paper and a glass pen. Writing the symbols of the lords of terror individually on each piece of paper, before murmuring a prayer and sacrificing an isopod to each of them. Smearing the dead crustacean gunk on each of the symbols. > Hanging them up on the wall with a bit of sticky tack, you go onto your bed and begin to meditate. Slowly falling asleep eventually.