#bookofbinding

CHAPTER FIVE

They finally reached the ruined castle. Luckily, no more surprised like the mist ponies had shown up. Adam and Ella walked up to the large castle doors. Adam gave a gentle push and they creaked open. He walked inside and looked around. Ella followed him warily. He looked straight ahead at the short steps leading up to a small stage like area. He walked toward it with Ella in tow. As they reached it objects around the room began to emit black smoke. Adam stopped and started to stare at this. It all began gathering above the stage area and form into a pony that floated down to the ground. He was tall, with a full black mane. He had no cutie mark or discerning features. Everything on him was black. Mane, hair, eyes. Ella took a step away from him and Adam took a step forward and pulled the book from his satchel. He opened it and placed it on the floor then pulled out a vial containing a dark, pitch black liquid. The liquid looked thick, like some kind of slime. Adam poured a small amount over the book, drunk a small amount and then stepped toward Lord Pike.

“You think you will defeat me a second time? Silly pony.” Lord Pike said in a crawling, seething voice.

“I don’t think it. I know it Pike.” Adam replied, his tone scarily solid instead of the normal humored one.

“Cute.” Pike said as he rushed at Adam. Adam dodged to the side and pushed Pike away. Ella watched them clash in awe. This really was the only thing you saw in stories. Adam clipped Pike over the head and Pike kicked back. Eventually they appeared at a standstill. Adam had a hoof over Pike’s nose and was pulling his mouth open. Adam emptied the vial into his mouth and backed away. Pike gagged a bit and started to melt into the mist again.

“Curse you, feeble ponies. If I had been at full power, you would have been mere flies to me.” Half of his body had now melted into the mist. The mist crept toward the book. The amounts that reached it melted into its pages. The pages turned black with the mist until finally Pike had melted away. There was a single circle in the center of the book that still seemed pure. Ella finally connected the dots and looked toward Adam.

“Don’t go. Please.” Ella pleaded with him.

“I’m sorry Ella, but I have to go. In order to keep him in that book I have to.” Adam began melting into a light blue mist. “It won’t be long now Ella. I’m sorry I got you mixed up into all of this.”

“No! I don’t want you to go! I don’t need to be shy around you like I have to with other ponies! You can’t make me go back to my boring old life. You just can’t.” She said, now sad and beginning to cry.

CHAPTER FOUR

After a length of time has passed, Ella rose to her hooves. She walked out of the room, head hung low and saw Adam sitting at the center table, books strewn about, head in his hooves. “ I’m sorry I yelled Ella. I should not have lost my temper like that.” He said, sounding depressed.

“Its my fault Adam. I should have listened to you. You trusted me and I lost it.” She replied warily.

“ You haven’t lost it. I still trust you Ella, but to keep it that way, you need to do me a favor.”

“A- A favor?”

“You will help me put him back inside that book.” He said as he rose to his hooves and turned to her.

“B- but I can’t do that! You saw the size of that thing. The way it came from the book. The way it controlled me like that!” She said fearfully.

“You’ll do fine. If you want the world to not be destroyed you will come along and help me seal him back.”

“I- I still don’t know about that.”

“Well I do, and you’re coming along.” He said forcefully as he walked into the back room again and came out with the book which he slipped inside his satchel. “Get what you need then come back tomorrow. If you don’t, I’ll come find you myself.” he said as he walked out of the library and opened the elevator door, ushering her inside.

“Bye.” She said sadly as the elevator ascended. When the elevator had ascended, Adam walked to the center table of the lab and began pulling out ingredients. Around an hour later, he had a dark and blackened fluid inside a vial. He swished it around inside, looking at it sadly. He finally sighed and put it inside his bag. He sat down at a table and stared into space.

The next day, Ella showed up as needed. She had a side bag that was most likely filled with books of some sort. Adam walked out with his satchel on, almost seeming happy today. “Today’s the day you save the world Ella! How’s that make you feel?” He said.

“Nervous. Afraid.” She replied.

“Thats expected, and its alright.” He said as he walked on. She followed behind, jumping at shadows at every corner. She had no clue where they would go. Where he would take her and they would end up. “It’s not far. Just in case you're wondering. His place is a castle in ruins.” He said after they had left Ponyville.

“Who is He exactly?” She asked warily.

“He. He is Lord Pike. I sealed him away in that book long ago. He summoned an evil demon to torment the world, so I made the book from the demon and sealed his spirit inside.” He replied.

“Oh. That sound’s troubling.” She said back.

“Very.” He said. They continued in silence for a while longer until finally coming upon a bridge covered in mist. On the other side of the thick mist Ella could see the dark outline of a castle that has been in ruins for a very long time. The fog on the bridge was light, but past that it was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“That bridge doesn't look very safe” She said to him, frightened.

“No, no it does not. We will just have to risk that.” He said as he stepped onto the bridge. He began walking as she looked behind her and followed him onto the bridge. It swayed and rocked with their footsteps. As they got to the halfway point, the fog on the other side began shifting and churning. Two shapes began cutting themselves out of the fog and eventually formed into two more ponies that were seemingly made of fog. They both went to the side of the bridge and began pulling at the stakes that held it down. It rocked and swayed and she knew it would fall if they kept up.

“Run!” Adam yelled at her. He ran across the bridge to the end and she tried following. A plank snapped under her hoof and she was stuck. Adam got to the other side and swatted through the mist ponies. When he did they promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke. He turned around in time to see the stakes slipping more and more from the ground and Ella stuck on the bridge. He lunged forward just as the bridge began to collapse and fall toward the cliff wall. He caught the rope as it flung out. He swung to the wall and smashed into it, almost losing his grip. Ella made a small yell above. Adam struggled up the rope to the planks and started climbing those. He finally reached the point where Ella was stuck.

“A-are you ok Ella?” He asked, worried.

“Yes. T-this plank is kind of digging into my leg by the way.” She said, wincing a little.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get us out of this.” He said, donning a smile.

“How do you plan to-” Her sentence was interrupted as he pulled a vial of bright brown liquid from his satchel and threw it toward the ground far below. “What good does that do?” She said angrily.

“Just watch, Ella.” He replied as he stared into the seemingly infinite abyss. As they both stared, a rumbling sound was heard and a bridge of stone rose quickly toward them. It slowed as it reached them and finally allowed Ella to stand on it. Adam pulled the plank from the broken bridge so Ella could free her hoof. “Ta-da” he said, now smiling happily.

“Y-you’re amazing.” She said, awed.

CHAPTER THREE

Ella decided as soon as she left the cafe she would go back tomorrow. She didn’t know why she would though. She could have died in that earthquake. Was that even what it was? She didn’t know. All she knew at the moment was she wanted to go back tomorrow.

The next day she went to the cafe as planned. As she was walking down the road and saw the cafe, she almost fainted. The entire cafe was like new. It was like nothing had touched it in the first place. It was just impossible. It was the kind of thing you only saw in stories. She galloped the rest of the way to the cafe and saw Adam standing outside, almost admiring the cafe. Today he had a bag slung over his shoulder. He turned to her as she ran up and said, “Isn’t it grand, Ella?”

“I-I don’t know what to say. This is impossible. It was almost in ruins yeserday.” She gave a long pause.

“Nothing is impossible with the right tools Ella.”

“Yes, but this should be impossible! Look at it! It would have cost a fortune to rebuild it all in a single night.” “It didn’t take that long. It only took a few hours.”

“Few hours?” She was quite annoyed with him now. This shouldn’t be possible and yet it was. She must be dreaming. Maybe none of it ever happened in the first place.

“Would you like to see my library?” He said, cutting through her thoughts.

“You have a library? I don’t know if I should. I barely know you.”

“Come on! It’s in the cafe. Under it I should say.”

“Under the cafe? That shouldn’t be possible either.” She was getting annoyed and suspicious of him now. This was all too strange. “Why do you trust me so much already?”

“I guess I just trust everyone by default.” He said back to her, almost happily.

“I-I guess I’ll go see the library. I do love books.”

“Great! Come on!” He said ecstatically while grabbing her hoof and leading her off through the newly repaired door. The inside was just as repaired as the outside. He led her to the employee’s only door. Inside was a short but wide hallway that led to an elevator with a cage door. He finally stopped leading her and opened the door. It squeaked loudly as it opened. He motioned for her to go first. “I don’t know about this. It doesn't look too safe. Also, if you could fix the cafe like that, why can’t you fix the squeaky elevator?”

“It’s perfectly safe. Trust me on that part. For the second one, some things just don’t need to be fixed.” He replied with a smile. He walked in first and she carefully followed him in. He jumped, making the elevator shake.

“Hey!” She said, a bit scared now.

“Haha! It’s fine. I promise.” He said, laughing. He reached over and pulled a handle on a rope down, the elevator descended much faster than she thought it would.

“Is it supposed to go this fast?” She said, now completely scared.

“Of course it is! This is the fun part! Just relax.” He said, completely calm, unlike her. The elevator reached its destination with a sudden lurch. She looked nauseous. Like she could throw up any second. She tried to regain herself quickly as Adam opened the door and stepped out. As soon as she saw what was beyond that door, she quickly recovered. It was astounding. A fairy tale come true. It was a giant lab. The size of a hoofball stadium at least. Tables were everywhere. Drawers and cabinets on all the walls, doors every few feet. In the very center was an arrangement of tables surrounding a circular table filled with writings on old, yellowed paper, many strange tubes and beakers and vials.

“Like it?” He asked, amused.

“Its, well, I don’t really have words for this. Its just astounding.” She spoke this softly.

“Now that that is out of the way, to the library!” He once again led her off to a door close to the elevator. When he opened it, she was even more astounded. Behind it was a huge library, shelves lined the walls and dominated the floor space. It must have been bigger than the library even in canterlot. Maps and books galore, along with all kinds of things of interest to anypony. She noticed a door painted completely black, which was crisscrossed with bright yellow caution tape, in the very back of the library.

“What’s that door lead to?” She asked, curious.

“Don’t ever go back there. Theres things nopony should read or see back there.

“Oh.” She said, almost disappointed. They suddenly heard a loud pop back in the lab. “Um, excuse me for a moment. Help yourself to the library.” He quickly ran out of the library, seeming quite annoyed. Her curiosity was getting the better of her at this point. She couldn't stand to not know what was behind that door at this point. She crept slowly toward the door. As she reached it she reached a single hoof out, turned the handle, and gave a gentle push. The door opened slowly, with a creak that was much louder to her than it actually was. It was pitch dark inside save for a single light in the center, illuminating a book. It sat on a stand with a clasp over it. The book seemed to be made of some kind of skin. The skin had hooks in it and the hooks had chains that were nailed into the ground with thick, metal spikes. She had no idea why he would have something like this here. She suddenly felt compelled to go forward. To open the book. She didn’t want to but her legs made her. She began walking toward the book. She heard the voice in her head saying no, but then another, stronger voice spoke to her. It said open it. Open it and unleash the hell contained inside.

Open. Me. It said inside her head. She didn’t know where the voice came from, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to read the words printed inside it. Printed in blood, haha! The voice inside her head said to her. She wasn’t scared anymore of it. She reached the book and began unhooking all the hooks inside the skinlike cover. As soon as the last one was out she fell backwards. It was like coming out of a trance. She looked up to see the book still on the stand. The book suddenly flipped open. Pages began flipping crazily. A black mist shot up from the book as she scrambled backwards. I am finally free. Thank you, girl. I promise to kill you last. Hahaa! The mist said as she bumped into the far wall. The mist suddenly shot toward the ceiling, almost melting through it. Adam rushed inside then.

“Stop!” He screamed at the ceiling. “No! No, no, no!” He yelled, furious now. He turned to her and screamed, “What have you done? You have doomed the world! Gah!” He grabbed at his mane in frustration.

“I-I’m sorry.” She said nervously and shakily.

Chapter Two

The whole cafe rocked. Several windows shattered and the pony behind the counter fell. Ella stood and stumbled from her seat after taking care to retrieve her book. the shaking stopped as quickly as it had started. A flustered, dust covered stallion came from the employees only door and looked around.

“Oh, just look at this mess!” he exclaimed. He looked over at Ella. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes. I’m alright.” Ella stuttered out. She appeared very afraid and shaken up, despite her best efforts to hide it. The stallion looked at her worriedly.

“And you’re sure you’re alright? You look a bit shaken up.” he asked her with care.

“Y-yes. If you don’t mind me a-asking, why do you care so much for a c-complete strangers wellfare?”

“I care for almost all ponies wellfare. I guess its in my nature and my job description.”

“Job desciption? B-but your this cafes manager. Arent you?”

“Well, not really. I make potions.”

“Is that so?” she gave a shy smile with that. “Well, i b-better get going.” she said as she took a few steps, backwards, towards the door. She stumbled over a fallen bit of seat as she did this.

“Be careful miss- I didn’t catch your name.” he asked her.

“Ella. My name is Ella.” She said lightly to him.

“Mine is Adam. You’re welcome back any time Ella.”

Chapter One

              Ella sat alone at the table in the almost empty café. She was a sort, gray haired mare with a black and brown mane and wore round, thick glasses. She came here often because it was quiet, and no one bothered her while she read. She was always reading something. People joked she would die with her nose in a book. Her favorites were the dark, adventure and action ones. She heard of ponies going on actual adventures like that but she would never do that. She was much too shy. Another thing she heard was that the owner of the café was a strange stallion. She had never actually seen him. Only heard the rumors around the town about how he did all these crazy things. Personally, she didn’t really believe any of it. It was the kind of  thing you only saw in books. With that final thought, she picked up her coffee cup, and took a sip.

            Adam sat down his coffee cup and looked at the table before him. He was a reddish stallion with a black mane and wore glasses and a watch. He looked at the variety of bottles filled with strange liquids and cubes of carying materials strewn about the desk. He picked up a vial and began pouring it over a very dense looking cube. It began sizzling and bubbling. He gave a laugh and a small hop. The cube then began to melt which made him immideately stop celebrating and back away. The cube began bubbling much more as he backed away before finally, it began seeping off the table which caused him to turn and begin running to the door. The cube exploded, throwing him through the closed door.