Grey saw a flash of light in the middle of the field. From it a purple unicorn appeared and walked toward the palace. She wore saddle bags and had red and purple highlights in her mane and tail. She walked with an air of confidence. She ignored Grey’s presence and strode straight for the stairs. Grey intercepted her and stood in front of her.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Twilight Sparkle. Princess Luna and I were talking about her library at the plays. I’ve come to see it.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I’m Twilight Sparkle; I am Princess Celestia’s most faithful student. Princess Celestia has given me access to every library in Canterlot at any time of the day or night including the Royal Library. Now if you will just step aside.”
“Excuse me but this is not Canterlot. Do you have an appointment?”
They butted heads, literally.
“I am Princess Celestia’s most faithful student. I AM here to see the library.”
“I recall you saying that and I recall saying ‘do you have an appointment’?”
Twilight’s horn glowed as she pushed Grey back.
“There is a very old library behind you and I intend on seeing it.”
“That’s a nice story. How’s it working for you?”
Twilight was pushing Grey up the stairs backwards.
“I can transport you to someplace nasty if you don’t get out of my way.”
“Go ahead. The doors won’t open for you anyway. Then what will you do? Transport yourself into Princess Luna’s palace without knocking?”
“You. Are. In my way.”
Grey had moved up the stairs. When Twilight’s hoof touched the first step he yelled.
“Princess Luna intruder alert at the front entrance!”
Luna appeared on the veranda at the top of the stairs.
“What is this commotion?”
“Good day princess. I’ve come to see your library as we discussed at the plays.”
Grey stared at Twilight. “She doesn’t have an appointment.”
“I am sorry Twilight Sparkle my sentinel is correct. You have come unannounced. Please arrange an appointment with him.”
Twilight looked at the sentry she had pushed up the stairs. His back legs were bent and low on the porch his front legs were down the stairs and his head was low making him appear very aggressive.
“Oh your highness I am so sorry you are right of course, I have come unannounced. I was so excited about seeing your library that I totally forgot my manors. I apologize for my rudeness.”
Twilight looked at Grey. “You may return mid-day in one quarter of a lunar cycle.”
Twilight bowed to Luna, smiled at Grey turned and walked away.
Grey stood up on the veranda next to Luna. “I don’t get it princess. She was wrong, she admitted she was wrong and it didn’t bother her at all.”
“Twilight Sparkle accepted the responsibility of her error therefore becoming more flexible than you.”
"‘One who accepts the misfortunes of the organization can be called the leader of the world.’"
You could learn a lot from that one. In fact that is an order. When she returns you will learn as much as you can from her. ‘A quarter lunar cycle’ seriously? We never spoke in such a manor.”
They watched Twilight walk away. Then Grey watched Luna watch Twilight walk away.
/]*[\
Grey lead Twilight to the library as if he had been there before. The doors opened before them. The library was the height of the palace. There was a ladder on each wall to reach the books and to get to the balcony of the next floor. There were couches and old wooden tables for reading. The windows across from the doors were narrow and stretched the height of the room. Grey noticed that there was only one lamp and it was on the centre desk.
Twilight spoke as they both looked around, “First of all I’d like to apologise for the way I acted last week. That was very rude of me. I behaved in a stereotypical Canterlot fashion. I am sorry. I am against pigeonholing ponies then I became what I dislike.”
Grey still thought of her as a lofty Canterlot pony.
Twilight Sparkle was thrilled to be in this private old library. They were both curious as to where she would begin.
“Princess Luna has ordered that I learn as much as I can from you. Can you tell me how you find the books you want?”
“Of course, this library is laid out in the old tradition. This desk holds a card catalogue with a description and an approximate location of every book and scroll. I really should make a card catalogue for the Ponyville library but I know where everything is anyway.”
Twilight’s horn glowed as she pulled out a long narrow drawer of cards and then flipped through them faster than Grey could see.
“Here’s one I’ve always wanted to see.”
Twilight looked at the wall of books to her left and an old leather bound book slid out of its place and landed on the desk.
“This is the Book of Celtic Spells in its original language.”
Twilight leafed through the book.
“I know these spells of course but it’s interesting to read them in the language they were made in.”
“How can you read something that’s not in our language?”
“Silly, think about what you just said.”
“Princess Luna said I don’t even know how far the sun and moon are away. Um, how far are they away?”
“According to Canterlot astronomers the sun is about 720 million furlongs away and the moon is about 200 thousand furlongs away.”
“I do understand astronomy and that the moon and earth have elliptical orbits and we say the sun follows the moon because of the way they appear in the sky.”
“The moon follows the sun.” she said in a correcting voice.
“Twilight Sparkle I have another question. You’ve been in lots of palaces and castles in Canterlot and probably other places. In those places do the floors ever move?”
Twilight was engrossed in the book and said flatly. “Floors don’t move.”
A mystery for another day I guess.
The Tao of Power; passage 78. Lao Tzu translated by R.W. Wing. 1986.