"Not a problem," you say. It's not a long trip to the library- you should have finished dropping it off before Twilight's ended her speech, and if you rush back here then Twilight won't have to wait more than five minutes for you. She grins at you and walks up to deliver her speech; you set off at a canter through the streets of Ponyville.
Halfway there, you decide to cut through the park, enjoying your solitude and the last glimpse you'll get of it in all its wintry splendour. The snow 's covered everything in a thick white eiderdown, making it clean and quiet. You'll miss this in summer, you think with a wry smile.
Before you know it you've left the park and you're at the door of the library. You knock a couple of times on the door, and while you're waiting for Twilight's assistant you look around with a quiet smile on your face. The crackling cleanliness of the air, the- wait, is somepony there? You squint a little, and on one of the benches in the park you see there's a mint green unicorn sitting in an uncomfortable-looking position. Her forelegs are hanging limply at her sides, and her shoulders are shaking. She's crying, you realise. It's times like this you wish you were better with ponies- you've no idea what the right thing is to do in this sort of situation.
"What can I do for you?"
The voice from the doorway surprises you a little- you hadn't heard it open. Twilight's assistant, Spike, is a little dragon, you think. He looks like a dragon, anyhow. He sounds a little sleepy, but basically cheerful.
"I've got this book. Twilight wanted me to drop it off," you say distractedly, looking over your shoulder at the mare in the garden.
"Alright, come on in. We'll file it up and you can have a cocoa, if you like." He gestures inside the library. "Unless you've got some place else you have to be?"
To go see what the unicorn is crying about and get Spike to help you out, Click here for chapter 45.
To drop off the book and then go talk to her on your own, Click here for chapter 46.
To have cocoa with Spike and see if he has any idea what to do about her, Click here for chapter 47.
Requests closed for this chapter!
To go back a step, Click here for Chapter 9.