//------------------------------// // Making House Calls // Story: Love is in bloom // by bookwormbrony //------------------------------// Chapter two Making house-calls "Okay, first stop, Sugar Cube Corner." Bookworm read off the list of places he needed to go to retrieve overdue library books. Bookworm walked into the cheerfully decorated sweet shoppe and was immediately greeted by a pink blur that almost knocked him to the ground. Once Bookworm's eyes refocused, he got a better look at the bouncy, pink, hyper pony standing before him, "Hi, Pinkie Pie!" The first thing that Bookworm thought of, every time he saw Pinkie, was bubble gum. Yes, bubble gum. Pinkie was a bright pink mare that never stood still. Her mane and tail were bubblegum pink, and were more bouncy than the mare herself. Her cutie mark consisted of three balloons, each a different color. "Hi Bookworm!" Said Pinkie "Oh, you must be here for that library book I borrowed, it's over there behind the counter, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get it back, but I've been super-duper busy, you see, I've been working on a new type of super sweetie-weetie treat, I'm calling it, The Super-Sweety Cider Cupcake Six-Thousand, tell me what you think, it's next to the book I borrowed, oh, and don't worry about paying, it's on the house because you're such a good friend!" Bookworm went behind the counter and picked up the book, "101 USES FOR SUGAR AND ALCOHOL". Knowing Pinkie, the cupcake that laid next to the book was bound to have an uncelestial amount of cider in it. Bookworm carefully tasted a bit of the frosting and gagged instantly. That was some STRONG cider-cupcake...thing. "I'm just gonna teleport this back to the library, I mean, Pinkie is throwing a party to celebrate the three month anniversary of me arriving in Ponyville tonight." As Bookworm continued making house-calls, he absentmindedly reflected on the day and reason he left Canterlot... [INSERT BACK-IN-TIME HARP MUSIC HERE] Bookworm stepped out of his bedroom in his expansion of The Canterlot Library. The Library has a number of buildings in Canterlot, but the majority of the library actually ran underground, so it made sense that there should be a number of entrances across the city, each entrance was, actually, a library all it's own. But that's a different story, I'm getting off topic. Bookworm was tired, bruised, and covered in a smelly, green, gooey substance, it didn't help that his body was covered in a the remains of a large, green chrysalis. "Ugh, buckin' Changeling army." Bookworm grumbled, as he walked to the bathroom. His house was quite ornate, or at least, it's supposed to look that way. The large amount of Changeling goo and broken Changeling eggs kind of contrasted the ornate, beautiful design of Bookworm's residence, and made the features almost unrecognizable. Bookworm knew that there was one more clutch of unhatched Changeling eggs, he reached out with telekinesis and grabbed his lucky crowbar, ready to beat down any giant pony-bugs that stood in his way. But, when Bookworm got to the bathroom, the clutch had hatched, and fifteen very hungry, very angry changelings all stared down at Bookworm. Bookworm got ready to defend himself, raising his crowbar threateningly, and at the same time, preparing an assortment of combat-applicable spells, to be ready on a moments notice. But, suddenly, the weirdest thing happened, the changelings flew away, right out the windows. "Wha-?" Bookworm thought aloud. Suddenly, the reason became clear. Bookworm felt something rush through the library. Like a warmth, a kind, loving warmth, that got rid of all the slime, chrysalis shells, dirt, and changeling eggs. It felt so nice, like a hug from a kind, loving mother. Loving... "That's what it is," Bookworm thought aloud, "It's love, I guess those two finally tied the knot, oh Shining, you lucky stallion." Bookworm went to the window just in time to see the army of changelings being thrown away, screaming. Then Bookworm looked down, a big, bucking, mistake. After bookworm regained his bearings, he decided that he wanted to talk to the princess about his decision. "I respect your choice to move to Ponyville," said Princess Celestia, "but I must ask, why?" Bookworm stood before the two most famous ponies in all of Equestria, Princess Celestia, and her younger sister, Princess Luna. Celestia was a tall, stark white Alicorn (she possesses the traits of Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi), and even though there was no wind, her multi-hued, sparkling mane and tail waved softly, as if a light breeze was blowing her mane and tail in slow motion. Her massive wings were folded down by her side as she sat on her ornate golden throne, looking at bookworm with kind, gentle, but ancient, and battle-hardened golden eyes. Her cutie mark was an orange sun, the same symbol sat on her golden chestplate, and her hooves were clad in ornate, golden boots. Finally, her crown, it was a golden tiara, and encrusted with Jewels, in its center, sat an orange sun, made of carved firerubies. Man, a diamond dog would get a nosebleed at the sight of so much wealth. Next to the sun goddess pony, sat her younger sister, Luna, The Princess of the Night. She was smaller than Celestia, and was a deep shade of purple. Her mane and tail, like her sister's, waved softly, even with no breeze, both were a midnight dark shade of purple, flecked with points of light, making her mane and tail look like the midnight sky. Luna's chestplate was pitch black, with a single, white crescent moon in the center, her ornate boots were a light shade of blue. Her cutie mark was rather interesting, it was a crescent moon, but what was interesting, was that the area surrounding the moon was black, so towards her flank, her coat faded and blurred as it shifted to black. Luna's eyes were light purple, and shone with a grim determination. Luna's crown was a small tiara made of obsidian, making it pitch black. This crown, being made of a volcanic glass, was enchanted, to make it much tougher, quite an impressive magical feat, if you think about it. "Well," said Bookworm "as you know, Princesses Celestia and Luna, the Changeling army attacked recently, and last Autumn, Discord broke loose, and Canterlot was attacked by an army of Chaos monsters. I just feel like Canterlot gets attacked a little too often." "And-" Bookworm began, but stopped himself. "Yes?" asked Celestia, "what is it?" "I'm-, I'm afraid of heights." Bookworm said, feeling embarrassed. "It's ok," comforted Celestia "I understand, you may leave whenever you like, just let us know." Bookworm did, and when he left, he was given two gifts, an amulet from Celestia, which allowed him to locate any book that he had lost or misplaced. And from Luna, a book, "Legends of the Lunar Republic", one of the few remaining copies, kept in pristine condition. After Bookworm got on the carriage, he thanked the princesses for the gifts, and waved as he set out for his new home, Ponyville, all throughout the trip, Bookworm didn't look down. [END FLASHBACK] "Well, this is the last house on my list." Bookworm said as he knocked on the door and a mare stepped out. He knew this pony, she was always nice to him, and Bookworm appreciated that. She was a good friend, ever since Bookworm had met her. Her name was Lightning Dasher, she was a pitch-black unicorn. Her mane and tail were somewhat well groomed, and were the same shade of black as her fur, with light blue ends. Her cutie mark was a light blue swirling pattern, going downwards, with a few lightning bolts coming off of it. Her eyes were a deep blue, and around each hoof, she wore a silver bracelet. "Oh, hi Bookworm," she said, not meeting his eyes. "You ok LD?" Bookworm asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, "You must be here for that book I borrowed." LD said as she pulled out the book "HOW TO WIN AT GAMBLING, VOL. 5: RULES DO NOT APPLY IN LAS PEGASUS" "Thanks," Bookworm replied, as he put the book in his saddlebag. "Say, Lightning, Pinkie is throwing a party tonight to celebrate the three month anniversary of my arrival here in Ponyville, would you like to come?" Lightning Dasher's eyes lit up as she exclaimed "Of course, thank you!" In an even more excited manner than Pinkie Pie herself could summon. "Great," said Bookworm, "I hope to see you there."