Twilight was beaming. So far, so good.
She gathered the crowd’s attention for the next part of the celebration. She floated over a stack of index cards from inside the kitchen. She cleared her throat as she brought up the one from the top and began to read.
She was too engrossed with her speech to see that several guests had adopted an expression of dread.
“Welcome, fellow Ponyvillians, to the first ever Book Awareness Party in honor of Book Appreciation Day. I am honored to be your hostess for this evening’s events. Let me start this off with a quintessential quote for the evening, ‘I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library,’ Mane Austen. And now, I find myself actually living in a library. I guess you could say that I really followed that one to the letter. Indeed, what would we be without the joy of books? After all, is it not them that teach us things, that show us worlds beyond compare, that keep us company in the dead of night? Why, could any of you even imagine a world without them? I certainly cannot. Truly this is the reason, the purpose, for today’s events. We are here to celebrate the written word and honor its glory. We are going to comb the fields of knowledge provided to us by these truly treasured tomes. And how, do you ask, are we going to accomplish this? Why, by performing the acts expected of them. We are going to read our way through this entire library, or so help me Celestia. We are going to follow in the hoofsteps of the great philosophers before us. We are going to learn all about the world we live in, every facet, every nook and cranny, that can be learned of! All that needs to be done is to take that first step. Open that first book. Read that first word! The challenge may seem impossible, but I assure you dear ponies, it is not! I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and that pot is knowledge! The finest of any treasure for it is one that cannot be taken away. Once it is yours, it is yours forever. With these thoughts now in mind, I’m sure you must all be excited to dive right into the sea of literature, but I must warn you, there may be things that your mind is not prepared for. Be wary, for there are some things that nopony must know. But just like a trek into the Everfree, if you know what’s good for you, you come out a better pony. You just have to grab the right book and read it the right way. After all, is it not them that teach us things; that show us worlds beyond compare, that keep us company in the dead of night? Why, could any of you even imagine a world without them? I certainly cannot. We must indeed be thankful for the gifts that these amazing pieces of paper bestow upon us. But we must not forget that they should be treated with care and respect. I remember one time in my youth, back when I was in Canterlot, I saw a stallion reading a softbound in a cafe. It all sounds well and good, I know. But he committed an unforgivable sin. He had the book in his magic so he really has no excuse. He had it floating there with the front cover folded all the way until it met the back cover. The fiend just sat there and casually defiled the poor book’s bindings. I was utterly horrified at this. I tried to tell my mother and she just said that some ponies hold it that way. I was flabbergasted, to say the least. How could my mother, my own flesh and blood, condone such atrocious behavior? It was then I swore that I would make sure that book of all kinds be treated as they should be. And now, here I stand, in front of all you wonderful ponies, ready to share with you my personal, technically library's, collection of books. I hope all of you are ready for a true adventure in learning as we make our way through and increase our awareness of this beautiful Equestria we live in. In a few hours, we will have done more than just ‘scratched the surface.’ No! We will have drilled deep into the mantle as we approach the core of enlightenment. My dear friends, prepare yourselves for a journey of a lifetime. I end this speech with truly heartfelt thanks to all of you who have decided to join in this adventure. Thank you, everypony.”
As the fanfare in her mind ended, she looked to the crowd and found that more than half of them were… asleep. Whilst standing mind you, they were ponies after all. The other half had been taken in by entirely different, and completely mundane, things. All except for one, that is.
“Woo hoo! Yeah! Go books!” cheered Pinkie as she stomped her hooves wildly.
The noise caused by her ruckus ended up rousing all the others. As they collectively regained themselves, Twilight put on a very displeased scowl.
But then she sighed and let it go. The same thing happened to Spike when she tried it out on him. Maybe she should have actually listened and made it a bit... shorter.
She turned around and levitated the index cards back into the kitchen and swapped it for a basket containing several strips of paper. She made sure she put on a big smile before she faced the crowd once more.
“Alright everypony, with the opening ceremonies done, let’s get on with the first group activity!”
Murmurs were heard from them.
“Now, I’ve devised a bit of a scavenger hunt,” Twilight began. “First of all, I need you to pair up. It doesn’t matter who, I just need you to find a pair. There are thirty attendees, so there shouldn’t be anyone who can’t find a pair.”
Shrugs were seen as ponies found themselves partners. Once the commotion had settled and Twilight had confirmed that they were all ready, she began once more.
“I’m going to give every pair a piece of paper, and on that paper are three book titles. The goal is to find those books and bring them back here to the main room. I’ve made sure to balance it so that no strip is easier to find than the others; which will make your search depend only on your skills.
“It doesn’t matter how you find them, you just have to. Whichever team gets here first gets the most points. We’ll have a few more activities and whoever has the most points wins the big surprise prize at the end. ”
At the word ‘prize’ everypony perked up. Now, this was incentive for them to do this. At Twilight’s signal they all began searching for the three book titles. After all, how hard could it be to find three books here? It was just a multi story, multi roomed library with books practically lining every wall, as well as some halls thanks to shelves in the middle of the room.
How hard could it be?
“Well Rainbow, any luck?” asked Applejack.
“No.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to find this dumb book? All the books aren’t even in the right place! I mean look at this one.” She pointed to some books on the shelves. “The letter G obviously comes before the letter M!”
Applejack snorted. “Ya know, we’d go alot faster if ya stopped complainin’!”
The two of them began tossing and turning quite a few more shelves.
Twilight was seated a ways away from the shelves and watched as the other ponies played the next activity on her schedule. She figured that a scavenger hunt would be fun, and what better way to mix both fun and learning library organization than a book hunt?
The only problem was that nopony had even once consulted the Catalogue to help themselves out. It was almost as if none of them had ever used a library before. Of course, such a notion was absolutely ridiculous. At least, in her mind it was.
As she waited in the main room, she noticed a cream and mint pair nearby, frantically going through all the books. She also noticed the mess they were making. Actually, messes were turning up everywhere. Perhaps she didn’t think this through enough, she considered.
“Lyra, will you please start helping me find this thing?!” said Bon Bon in one of her voices.
“Yeah, yeah,” replied the unicorn absently. She was currently perusing a book on monkeys that she had found fascinating. She was currently reading up on their body structure. These creatures were by no means magic, but in her eyes, they had a magic all on their own.
Bon Bon dropped the latest book as she realized it was still not the one she was searching for. As she looked at the next shelf, which was still perfectly organized, something caught her eye. It was a book on making special custard candies. She picked it up with curiousity and began to scan its pages. She then became far too engrossed to even remember that she was supposed to be looking for an entirely different book.