//------------------------------// // Epiphany // Story: Batmare Begins // by Batbrony //------------------------------// Foggy Trotter was a stallion of simple thoughts and simple tastes. Booze, bits, and mares in excessive quantities were all he really wanted out of life; the respect and fear he inspired with the Trotter family name at his disposal were just extra perks next to those as far as he was concerned. As such, given that he was currently knee deep in the latter of the three things he loved most in life, his reaction to a series of knocks coming at his office door at that moment was rather predictable. “Buncha mules, come back bucking later!” he hollered. When the knocking persisted, he grabbed a half empty bottle of liquor and threw it against the door. The knocking stopped, but before Foggy could get back to his fun, a voice called out. “We need to talk, cretin.” The two mares with him gasped at the insult, sure that something ugly was about to go down, but Foggy’s own eyes just widened in recognition. “Crap… alright, alright, come in.” The door swung open and in stepped a rust-colored unicorn who appeared thoroughly unamused by the sight before his eyes. “Alright girls, beat it,” Foggy commanded. “Awww, but Foggy, the night’s only just begun,” one of the mares insisted. “Yeah, we don’t mind. Your friend can even join in if he wants, the more the merrier!” the other said, giggling flirtatiously. Foggy, however, just rolled his eyes in annoyance and barked, “I said beat it! Get out, scram!” He grabbed a hoofful of bits and tossed them at both ponies. Startled by his outburst, they quickly gathered up the bits and made themselves scarce in a hurry. Once they’d left, the newcomer closed and locked the door before pulling up a chair across from Foggy. “Where’s your girl?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Foggy grunted, but after grabbing and lighting a cigarette, which he proceeded to furiously puff away on, said, “With her brat. Not that I was complaining; I like getting to sample new wares. Was shaping up to have a pretty fun night all things considered before you showed up.” The unicorn ignored Foggy’s snide complaint, leveling a cold, no-nonsense gaze at him, icy enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine. Foggy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and bowed his head apologetically. “OK, I can take a hint, sheesh! I’ll shut up now and stop complaining. Just cut it out with those damn eyes of yours, will ya?” The sickly yellow eyes lost none of their chill, but the intensity of his gaze somewhat relented. Foggy figured that was the best he could hope for and tried to lighten things up. “So, who are we this evening, Doc? Haven’t seen this face before.” His guest shrugged. “Some nobody, just the way I like them. Inconspicuous, unrecognizable, and just another face in the crowd. What do you care?” Foggy waved a placating hoof. “Nothing, just trying to make conversation is all. You’re a lousy talker, you know that?” The guest clearly didn’t care, as he completely ignored Foggy’s latest comment and got right down to business. “We’ve got another special shipment coming in this week.” Foggy nodded. “Usual pickup, same time, same place?” His colleague, however, emphatically shook his head. “Are you kidding me? You’ve got a detective on your tail, and an honest, relentless one at that. You’ve been searched three times in the last month at places where something would have been turned up were it not for our contacts on the force. Until you get a handle on the situation, we are taking extra precautions. The pickup will be at an old mill further outside of town than the current location, and it will take place at 3 a.m.” “You gotta be bucking kidding me!” Foggy exclaimed. “Three hours later than usual, buck that! You’re seriously losing your shit over some no-name do-gooder who has literally nothing on us?” “He had enough to track down three solid leads right under your nose. Or did you forget that little detail already?” the unicorn coldly shot back. Foggy winced and yielded. “OK, point taken. But I think you’re seriously overreacting to all this. As long as our boys keep feeding us info from the inside, we’ll be fine. Turner’s been a pain in the neck before, but he can’t get the drop on me if I’m being told his every move.” “Be that as it may, we have responsibilities to meet and duties to uphold. You have a very cushy job which has given you a ridiculous sum of bits and every material pleasure you might desire for very little effort on your part; if you’re not willing to stay up late but a few nights and take some extra precautions, our benefactor’s not going to be happy with you. Not at all.” “I got it, I got it, message received!” Foggy assured him. “Now, if you don’t mind, was there anything else? The night’s still young and I’d like to salvage it while I still can.” “Just shape up, is that understood? You’ve been too cocky lately, buying up properties and muscling out competition far too quickly to go unnoticed. We’re supposed to be inconspicuous, but you are throwing your money and thugs around haphazardly. It needs to stop.” Foggy frowned at that and raised a warning hoof. “Let me stop you right there, Doc. You’re not in the mob. You’ve never been in the mob. So don’t presume to tell me how to handle my affairs. In this business, appearances are everything; you’ve gotta put a little fear in the locals to get their respect. Why do you think the cops won’t go after me, hmmm? It’s because they respect and fear me, and know I run this place now. You don’t get to own a town by playing nice, but you also don’t get it with muscle and money alone; you’ve got to send a message that this is yours now, and make it loud and clear. Capiche? I would’ve thought you of all guys would be able to appreciate the value of striking fear in others, Doc.” If that was supposed to impress ‘Doc,’ it didn’t work. Instead, he simply gave a derisive snort at Foggy’s lecture and glared at him with overt condescension. “Spare me, please. I’ve never been one for fairy tales. You can feed that garbage to your sycophantic toadies all you want, but don’t insult my intelligence. Just do what you’re supposed to do, including not drawing needless attention to ourselves, and we won’t have any issues. Is that clear?” As infuriated as Foggy was by his colleague’s insulting attitude, he knew there was nothing he could do about it and, after a few seconds of fuming, relented and begrudgingly nodded. Mollified, Doc said, “Good. Well then, now that that’s over I’ve said my piece. Is there anything else? I wouldn’t want to keep you from getting back to your fun.” Taking a moment to pour himself a drink while he thought it over, recognition dawned on Foggy’s face as he took a swig. “Oh yeah, there was something now that you mention it!” “Does it involve taking care of someone?” “Well yeah, sure,” Foggy replied, prompting his partner to roll his eyes yet again. “Oh come on, don’t give me that! If you were in my position and had a friend with your talents, you’d better believe you’d be taking advantage of that same as I am.” Sighing, his annoyed associate asked, “Who is it?” “Star Drop, one of my girls. Or was one of my girls. Bitch has been all uppity lately, asking for better pay and shorter hours, you know, all that nonsense.” “Does the idea of working out a compromise completely elude you? I’m sure a far less risky course of action was at your disposal.” “Please, she was asking for easily double what she’s actually worth. Besides, I’m not completely unreasonable. I was just gonna let her walk away with her tail between her legs if working at one of my joints wasn’t good enough for her, but then she decided to insult me. Tells me that whoremonger Midnight Marvel went and offered her even more than she was asking from me and that I could take my money and shove it where the sun don’t shine. As you can imagine, I can’t exactly take that lying down.” “I wouldn’t exactly describe sicking me on her as defending your reputation for all to see. If you’re trying to send a message, my discretion sort of defeats that purpose.” Foggy waved a hoof. “Oh please, anyone with half-a-brain cell can connect the dots when someone I don’t like disappears. Just comes with the added bonus of not getting tied back to me or you. Come on, buddy, it’s a win-win and you know it; I make an example of her, you get to do, uh… whatever it is you do to your ‘guests’. What do ya say?” The unicorn mulled it over, silent as the grave, his features disconcertingly devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Finally he said, “Alright, I’ll do it, but only because I could use another one. Been some time since I had a good hunt too; most of my recent acquisitions have been delivered to me. I don’t like the circumstances of this one, though; if Midnight’s offering her that much, she’s clearly on hers and maybe others radar. Someone’s going to miss her, and you know I don’t like drawing attention to these.” “She’s not that well known,” Foggy attempted to assure him. “Like I said, definitely not one of my top girls. I just think Midnight’s trying to make a fool of me is all. That or she’s letting her damn sentimentality get in the way of good business yet again. But don’t worry, it won’t cause us any trouble, I can assure you, especially if you’re the one doing it. Hay, I’ll even tell ya what spooks her as an added bonus.” His associate sharply shook his head, raising a silencing hoof. “Please don’t. I like deconstructing them myself, taking them apart piece by piece with a raw impression of them. It’s more… challenging and exhilarating that way, in my experience.” Foggy tried to suppress a cold shiver which began crawling down his spine. “Hey, whatever floats your boat, pal. Just do what you have to do, and do it tonight. She quit a couple days ago, but I know where she lives. Here ya go.” Scrawling her address onto a slip of paper, he hastily handed it over to his off-putting colleague. After looking it over, he lit the slip in emerald flames emitted by his magic and said, “It’ll get done. I’ll let you know when it is. If you’d like, I can fill you in on all the details of her forthcoming experiences.” Giving a weak chuckle, Foggy shook his head. “That’s OK, I’ll, uh… I’ll leave all that to you. Have fun, go crazy, all that jazz.” Without another word, or so much as a smirk, the discomfiting figure left as suddenly as he’d come. Foggy breathed a quiet sigh of relief, glad that was over. Never easy keeping up appearances around that guy. Freaky little bucker. Pouring himself another drink, he harshly called out, “Girls, get back in here! Foggy needs some lovin’!” Nothing like some good old fashioned hedonism to get his mind off of anything, even such an ominous character. “There ya go Derpy, hayburger, onion rings, and a cider to wash it down,” Snowflake announced, depositing the food in front of her on the barroom counter. “Thanks Snowflake, this is just what the doctor ordered,” Derpy replied before digging into her lunch. The day’s workload was fairly light for a Saturday, so Derpy had managed to get through her deliveries rather quickly and decided to finish up at Midnight’s Delight and grab a quick bite there afterwards. After the awkward way dinner had ended the previous night, she decided she could use some unadulterated comfort food, and in that department Midnight’s Delight was more than qualified to provide. She’d gotten to be quite the regular face around there since it was on her regular route, so most of the girls and other employees were at least acquainted with her at this point. Truth be told, she had to admit that it was really one of her favorite stops in the South Side. Sure it wasn’t the sort of establishment she frequented, but there were good ponies there, lots of them. As out of place as it might seem at first glance, everyone there just seemed to fit right into Ponyville, and it all started with Midnight Marvel. Beneath her sultry, carefree exterior lay a sharp mind with a keen business sense and a relentless, tireless spirit to be the best at what she did. Her club had to be the most well-kempt in town, not just the South Side, her food and drink had to be among the best one could ask for during a night on the town, and her employees had to not just offer adequate service, but be a major draw for the customers. The results spoke for themselves. Midnight’s Delight was packed every night, possibly busier than any club in town, though it was hardly the rowdiest. Ponies didn’t just come for the girls, they came for the good food, good drinks, and the promise of a great time no matter how the night went. With so much to offer, the girls were often just window dressing for many, though of course that wasn’t always the case. But as Derpy had deduced when Time first described Midnight’s unorthodox business practices to her, even those activities worked out pretty well. Midnight was fiercely protective of her employees and wouldn’t dare let any customer touch them no matter who they were if she so much as smelled a whiff of trouble. If anypony wanted so much as a chance for a night with one of her girls, they had to have the money for a room, be sober enough, and most importantly of all treat each and every one of them with a reasonable level of respect from the moment they walked through the door. After all those requisites had been met, even if Midnight gave her girls the greenlight on a customer, it was still up to them whether or not they’d do anything with them. If they chose not to, the customers would just have to settle for the eye candy onstage. Since everypony knew that Midnight didn’t mess around when it came to her rules (and also that she had the best girls in town if you were looking for a good time), her system worked like a charm. She and her employees got to make a bundle in a safe work environment, and their customers were guaranteed a great time as long as they kept a handle on themselves. Derpy smiled to herself after taking a draft from her cider. Entrepreneurship at its finest. What’s not to love about that? The place was currently empty for the most part, no surprise seeing as it was just a little after one in the afternoon and on any given day things normally didn’t start really hopping until after nine in the evening. There were, however, a peculiarly high number of employees present, most of them either going to and from Midnight’s office or whispering feverishly amongst each other. While Derpy was hardly one to eavesdrop, this was all curious enough that she was willing to make an exception. Ears perking up, she listened in as inconspicuously as possible on whatever she could catch, concentrating her eyes on the remainder of her meal so as not to draw unwanted attention. “– no sign of Star at her place.” “– nothing around town either as far as –” “– don’t think she skipped town, do you?” “Rotten. That’s what this all smells like, R-O-T –” “– he wouldn’t… would he?” “Can’t throw anything past Foggy, weaselly little –” Yup, something’s definitely up. The whispering ceased, however, as soon as Midnight suddenly emerged, announcing her arrival with a slam of her office door. Derpy had seen her mad before, but never as tightly wound up as she currently was; usually, whether she was in a good or bad mood, there was still a natural looseness in the way she carried herself. At the moment though she looked stiff as a board. With a single, thunderous stomp of one hoof, Midnight drew all eyes toward her. “Alright, enough of this, all of you! Quit gossiping like a bunch of hens and find something more productive to do. Celestia knows there’s a mountain of better ways to spend your time right now, especially when I’m the one paying you to spend it here.” One of the girls, Satin Sheets if Derpy was remembering right, said, “But Midnight, what about Star? We’ve got to do something!” Midnight emphatically shook her head. “You leave any doing to me, understood? My employees are my responsibility first and foremost, and if I hear so much as a whisper that any of you decide at any point to go behind my back on this, you’ll be outta here faster than my last one-night stand. Do I make myself clear?” Her employees glanced at one another uneasily for a long moment, but finally each relented and nodded. Satisfied, Midnight waved a dismissive hoof. “Good. Now go on, shoo, all of you. Looking to be a packed Saturday evening, and I want this place spotless and ready for anything.” The girls went their way, scattering to and fro, and once it looked like they’d all found something to occupy themselves with Midnight let loose a heavy sigh and dragged herself behind the bar counter. Without even acknowledging Derpy, she grabbed a bottle from the top of the shelf and poured herself a drink that looked as stiff as it was sizeable. After she’d downed half of it, in one gulp no less, Derpy decided to pry, carefully. “Rough day?” she asked. “You don’t know the half of it,” Midnight groused, scowling down at her drink. “Woof. So what’d Foggy do now?” “Damn gossipy hens,” Midnight muttered. “Never you mind, dear, nothing you need concern yourself with. Let’s just call it… high-stakes competition between two business rivals and leave it at that.” That non-answer was barely even a generality, and Derpy pressed further. “What kind of stakes are we talking about here?” “The kind that silly little mailmares shouldn’t go around asking about!” Midnight snapped. Almost immediately after that outburst, she scowled at herself and took another drink. “Buck, sorry about that. I’m a real shithead when I drink while I’m pissed off.” “Nah, it’s cool,” Derpy assured her, even if honestly she was more than a little concerned by her behavior at the moment. Whatever had happened, it must’ve been really bad to get Midnight this worked up. At that moment, things took an unexpected turn for the worse when Firecracker suddenly showed up, laden with a saddlebag. While she appeared upbeat as usual, Midnight stared daggers at her and seemed to get even more riled up than she already was. “Hey you! Yeah you, hot stuff!” she shouted mockingly at Firecracker, evidently startling her. “Midnight, wha–” “If your pimp daddy wants to buck around with me some more, you tell him to fight me face to face, cause if that spineless, rat-faced bastard dares lay a hoof on any of my girls ever again I’ll break him open like a piñata to see what’s inside!” Both Derpy and Firecracker’s jaws dropped at once, but anger swiftly replaced Firecracker’s initial shock. Flinging her saddlebag from her back without a second thought, she hollered, “What the buck are you talking about!?” “Star Drop’s missing, you naïve piece of arm candy. Nopony’s seen her around town all day, and she wasn’t anywhere to be found at her place.” Derpy had no idea who Star Drop was, but this news seemed to catch Firecracker off guard. Speechless for but a moment, she weakly stuttered, “W-well maybe she packed up and left town, you don’t–” “Her place hadn’t been touched! The door was open, everything she had was still there, buck, there was even food on the table. It’s clear as day what happened, Firecracker. Your pimp was pissed off at Star for telling him off and coming to work for me. Do the math, it ain’t hard to put two and two together, even you can’t deny that.” Oh horsefeathers, this is serious! No wonder Midnight’s so upset. Still, even if Foggy had something to do with this, that doesn’t mean Firecracker did; judging by her reaction, this is clearly the first she’s heard about this. Best try to get a lid on things before these two get at each other’s throats. Calm but firmly, Derpy implored, “Come on Midnight, look at her, she’s speechless. Whatever happened, I’m pretty sure Firecracker had nothing to do with it, and you know that as well as I do. Let’s not lose our heads here.” Midnight seemed to lose a little bit of the angry red in her face, but turned an annoyed look upon Derpy. “No offense, Derpy, but this really isn’t any of your business, so if you don’t mind, we could use some space right now.” Derpy, however, didn’t budge. “You’re my friends, and the wellbeing of my friends is my business whether you like it or not. Now please calm down before somepony says something we’ll all regret.” She laid a hoof upon Midnight’s shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes. She realized it must’ve been the first time Midnight had seen her eyes straight based on the slightly perturbed look she received, but didn’t care. At the very least it might show her just how serious she was about what she’d said. Her words must’ve made some sort of impression, because Midnight soon finally relented and softened her gaze. “OK, OK, I’ll… try to be civil, for what that’s worth. Fire, I’m… well, not sorry for what I said, but sorry for the way I said it.” It wasn’t exactly much of an apology, but Firecracker didn’t even seem to notice. “I… fine, whatever, I have to go.” Her disposition now thoroughly troubled and distraught, Firecracker hurried out without another word. A moment later her sister appeared from upstairs. “Um… is everything alright?” Snowflake asked. Downing the rest of her drink, Midnight bluntly replied, “Nope.” “Oh.” “Snowy, dear, why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I think your sister could use some company right now that isn’t me,” Midnight suggested. After a moment’s hesitation, Snowflake slowly nodded. “Alright, but only if you’re sure. I’ll see what I can do, but honestly, I can’t promise I’ll be able to do all that much. Can’t hurt to try though.” Briskly departing, Snowflake trotted off after her older sister, leaving Derpy and Midnight once again alone. Pouring herself another drink, Midnight dryly remarked, “Well that was fun.” “Midnight, seriously,” Derpy said, “is there anything I can do to help?” Shaking her head, Midnight, no longer miffed or sullen so much as simply melancholy, said, “Derpy, hon, you’re a real sweetheart and I appreciate the thought, but unless you’re thinking of filing the police report for me, there’s really nothing you can do I’m afraid. Nothing that wouldn’t get you in a world of trouble, at least.” “You’re absolutely sure something’s up?” “Sure as a timberwolf’s snout,” Midnight answered. “Star couldn’t wait to start working with me; Foggy treated her like dirt and pretty much paid her as much to boot. After everything she had to put up with, this job was a dream come true for her. Real sweet kid, and there’s absolutely no way she would’ve missed her first day on the job.” “I just can’t–” “Derpy, let it go,” Midnight implored. “Poke around in the wrong places enough and you’ll just get yourself hurt, or worse.” But she couldn’t let it go, not when she could do so much. If there really was nothing she could do it wouldn’t be so bad. But now, there it was again, just like the previous night: the guilt. The guilt of apathy and idleness. Her home had a sickness and was in trouble, and with all she now knew she was and could be, she simply felt no right to play the helpless bystander. She was wasting time, and it made her sick to her stomach. Only her anger about everything going on could surpass that feeling, and even that couldn’t keep her mind off of her own remorse for long. Something had to be done, and whatever it was, in her heart of hearts she knew she could do it. She could make the difference that Ponyville so desperately needed. Or maybe these were just the deranged fantasies of a silly little mailmare trying to poke around in the wrong places. Maybe she wouldn’t find her answer or Ponyville’s. Maybe there wasn’t one. Maybe all they could do was brace themselves and hope for the best. Gloom setting in, she hung her head and breathed a heavy sigh imparting much of the frustrating despondency she was currently feeling. It coursed through her veins like a black, poisonous lifeblood; she didn’t want one bit of it, and yet she needed it, every last bit, to push her to find the answer. Even if there wasn’t one, she had to keep looking. “How much do I owe ya?” she asked Midnight, scrounging up some bits from her saddlebag. “Let’s see… for the meal and cider, seven bits.” Grabbing a hoofful of bits, she slid them across the counter to Midnight. “Here’s ten, figure Snowflake could use a nice tip today.” Midnight nodded. “Much obliged, thanks.” As Derpy began gathering her things to leave, she noticed out of the corner of her eye what appeared to be a magazine of some sort on the floor beside her. “Hey Midnight, what’s that?” Picking it up, she hoofed it over to Midnight to look at. “Firecracker must’ve dropped it on her way out,” Midnight speculated. “I’m guessing it’s for Silver; you know how kids are with their comic books, right?” Taking a closer look, Derpy saw that it was an issue of Mistress Marevelous. The cover featured the titular hero leaping into action amidst a seemingly countless mob of thugs and evildoers, jaw clenched and teeth grit in a defiant scowl. She chuckled softly to herself. “Yeah, that colt sure does love his superheroes, huh?” “Oh yes,” Midnight agreed. “Then again, what colt or filly doesn’t? Horse apples, maybe they’re onto something; I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t mind the idea of a superhero. Not a bad idea at all, if you ask me.” “Yeah, I guess not,” Derpy concurred. That’s when it happened. The second the words left her mouth, something just clicked. In an instant, what started as the raw spark of inspiration rocketed into every corner of her mind, a fireworks show of ideas multiplying exponentially every second. So sudden was the revelation that Derpy’s breath caught in her chest, eyes widening and body going rigid. In the unforeseen deluge of ideas, one word kept resounding throughout her psyche again and again, drowning out everything else. Eureka! Grabbing her saddlebag, Derpy turned and hoofed it out of there as fast as she could go, barely even sticking around long enough to call out, “Thanks for lunch, Midnight! Sorry, can’t stay and chat, just remembered I have some place to go, talk to ya later, bye!” Just like that, she was gone. Left alone once more, Midnight shook her head in bemusement, chuckling to herself between sips of her current drink. “Wonder what’s gotten into that mare?” she mused to herself. If she had known, she would’ve needed a stiffer drink. Even by Ponyville’s standards, Golden Oak Library was an excessively comfortable and homey place. Neither too roomy nor too snug, the hollowed-out tree was just the right size for the town’s denizens, which was probably why more than a few of Ponyville’s larger gatherings were so often held there. It was a place really anypony could feel at home in almost immediately, perfect for relaxing in on a lazy afternoon and curling up inside with a good book by your side. Thus, given the tranquility-inducing nature of the entire place, it was more than understandable that the library’s resident dragon was more than a little perplexed by the current visitor’s feverish behavior. For the past few hours, with nary a word said to Spike, Derpy had been flitting about left and right from bookshelf to bookshelf, scanning titles and skimming through page after page. In one corner of the library she’d gathered a small collection of books, and it was an odd hodgepodge of titles to say the least. History texts and mythological literature lay side by side comic books and even a few Daring Do novels. If she’d been making more of a ruckus or a huge mess Spike might’ve said something by now, but truth be told Derpy wasn’t being all that disruptive and it was a pretty slow afternoon at Golden Oak anyways, with only a couple of other visitors in the meantime, so he let her be while he tended to some minor chores, though he remained curious as to what exactly she was up to. The sound of the front door opening momentarily drew his attention away from Derpy and he found that Twilight had returned from some errands she’d been attending to with her friends. “Hi Spike, how’re things going he- Spike, what’s this pile of books doing on the floor?” she asked with irritation. “What? Hey, don’t look at me, that was –” he looked back but stopped midsentence when he realized Derpy had disappeared somewhere. “Spike, what have I told you about talking back, hmmm? Now where did this mess come from, because it sure as Celestia didn’t make itself?” she demanded. Spike was about to explain when suddenly a grey blur flew down from the top of the stairs and over Twilight’s head, startling her. There was Derpy once more, flying circles around the room while she paged through a few more books she’d scrounged up before depositing them on her pile like a dragon adding to his hoard. Spike shot a look of vindication over at Twilight, but she didn’t notice, appearing even more puzzled by the sight before her than Spike had been all afternoon. “Spike, what’s she doing?” she whispered. “Uh, pretty sure she’s just using the library,” he deadpanned. “You know, the place where you go to get books?” “Oh you know what I mean,” Twilight hissed back. “Why does she have so many? She can’t possibly be planning on checking all of those out.” “Yeah, cause nopony would ever need that many books,” Spike commented under his breath, smirking to himself. Twilight heard his wry remark but let it go, still puzzling over Derpy’s presence. She was hardly a regular visitor to the library. Not that she was illiterate or anything (to Twilight’s knowledge), and to be fair most ponies in town were irregular visitors to the library by her standards, but still, she couldn’t recall the last time anypony had looked for so many books here in such a frantic manner. Well, besides herself, of course. Well, no better place to start unraveling this mystery than with the mare in question herself. “Hi Derpy, is there anything I can help you with?” she asked in a friendly manner. Derpy, however, didn’t appear to hear her, still hovering in the air and fixated on the current text she was skimming through. “Uh, Derpy… yoohoo… Derpy Hooves… Derpy!” Twilight finally exclaimed with just a touch of exasperation. Much to her relief, Derpy finally looked up, glancing behind her shoulder in Twilight’s direction. “Oh, hey Twilight, didn’t see ya there!” she said sheepishly, dropping her most recent acquisition atop her pile. Landing in front of Twilight and Spike, she looked at both of them expectantly. “So what’s up?” “Well, not trying to sound rude or anything, but I was just wondering what it is you’re up to? That is an impressive collection of books you’ve got going on over there, after all. What exactly is on your mind, if you don’t mind my asking? Perhaps I can help.” Twilight flashed a helpful smile her way, but Derpy somewhat waffled at the offer, biting her lower lip and looking away from her. “Oh… it’s nothing, really. Just really felt like feeding my inner bookworm today, you know?” She gave a weak chuckle, but quickly realized the error she’d made. “Oh, but of course I do!” Twilight exclaimed, beaming. “I mean, not to brag, but my inner bookworm is kind of a ravenous beast. Seems like I’m always on the prowl to find a new flavor of tome in order to sate its hunger. Science, history, literature, philosophy, any flavor will do so long as I keep ‘em coming. So, what’s your flavor of the day today, hmmm? Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Trotting over to the pile, Twilight flipped through the varying titles, levitating them in front of her one by one. Judging by the way her brow furrowed, Derpy could tell she was trying to comprehend what exactly Derpy was after. “Huh. That’s… certainly an odd assortment you’ve got there,” Twilight remarked. “Care to explain what comic books and Equestrian histories have to do with one another, or were you just looking to check out a wide variety in bulk? I mean, technically you can if you want, our item limit is 100 total items after all, but you might have some trouble getting all of that home.” Rubbing the back of her neck, Derpy hastily sought to come up with a believable enough of an excuse. “Well it’s uh… I’m not actually looking into any of this for myself, you see,” she began. Twilight tilted her head. “You’re not?” “Nope,” Derpy replied matter-of-factly. “It’s actually for… Silver!” “Silver?” “Yeah, Silver Sunrise.” “I… don’t actually know who that is,” Twilight admitted. Thank Celestia. “Oh Silver? Yeah, he’s great,” Derpy assured her, nodding enthusiastically. “Cute little guy living in the South Side. His mom’s one of the mare’s on my route so I see him all the time.” “Oh, I see,” Twilight said. “Well anyways, Silver’s crazy about comic books and superheroes, all kinds of stuff like that,” Derpy went on, “so I figured why not turn his pastime into an educational opportunity? I figure if he likes superheroes so much, maybe he’d love to read about some of the heroes from Equestrian history and mythology who may have inspired them. That’s not weird is it?” The second Twilight’s eyes lit up with an excitement that’d be hard for anypony to match, Derpy knew she’d read her like a, well, like a book. Oh yeah, she’s hooked. Might just be able to use this to my advantage. “Oh, it’s not weird at all!” Twilight proclaimed. “Believe me, I wish more ponies in this town were concerned with educating Ponyville’s youth, and this sounds like an absolutely splendid and downright inventive way of doing so! Seriously, you have no idea what a breath of fresh air this is to hear.” “Great, glad you think so! So, if you don’t mind my asking, got any recommendations?” Derpy asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d offer all of these to the little guy if I could, but you know how colts and their attention spans at a young age can be. So, what in your opinion are the absolute must-reads when it comes to Equestrian heroes, because I’m sure you’d know better than I would?” “Well as far as I’m concerned, they’re all must-reads,” Twilight asserted, but after rubbing her chin thoughtfully for a moment continued, “But I understand your point. Let me take another look and pick out some of the real gems for you to check out for him.” Practically diving into the pile now, the elated unicorn started scanning the titles once more at a remarkable pace, occasionally selecting one out of the bunch and tossing it over with her magic to Spike, who caught and stacked them as though it were as routine as making his bed. After she’d selected somewhere around a dozen titles, she seemed satisfied. “Alright, that should be a nice start for Silver,” she stated. “Great, thanks so much Twi-” Suddenly Twilight gasped and darted from the room, leaving a very surprised Derpy and a very unsurprised Spike behind. Just when Derpy was about to ask him what exactly just happened, Twilight returned as suddenly as she’d departed, levitating a rather hefty-looking book by her side. “I cannot believe I almost forgot about this!” she exclaimed. “Tacitrot’s The Annals is an absolute must-have, in fact, as far as I’m concerned Silver should start with this!” “The Annals, huh? I don’t know Twilight, it looks a little… substantial for a colt his age,” Derpy suggested. “What’s it even about? Sounds a bit sweeping if you ask me.” “Oh it’s anything but,” Twilight assured her. “Well, OK, it may cover the history of Equestria from its founding through the aftermath of the Lunar Rebellion, but that’s beside the point! Tacitrot was an incredible writer, and The Annals is simply his finest work. He has this way of making so many of the figures involved in early Equestrian history seem larger-than-life, and trust me, there’s more than a fair share of heroes in it, including quite a few most fillies and colts never learn about. I’m telling you, it’s exciting stuff and he’ll love it!” Beaming like a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning, Twilight levitated the book in front of Derpy, allowing her a closer look. Obscure heroes, eh? Well, maybe this is worth taking a look at. Besides, I already let one piece of long lost Equestrian history change my life; who’s to say another couldn’t? “You know Twilight, that does sound like something Silver might like. After all, I’m sure you of all ponies can be trusted when it comes to book recommendations,” she said with a wink. “No problem Derpy, and don’t forget to tell Silver to come on by and get his own library card. Now come on, let’s get these books checked out for you,” Twilight replied cheerily. Once they’d gotten that taken care of, Twilight carefully slid all the books into Derpy’s saddlebags. It was a heavy enough of a load, but nothing she couldn’t handle. “I have to say, I’m so happy to see how well you’ve readjusted to being back home. I don’t know what exactly changed for you while you were gone and after you met that Full Heart fellow, but whatever it was, you’re different, that’s for sure.” Nodding in concurrence, Derpy remarked, “Heh, you have no idea how right you are.”