Chapter One: The Librarian and her Duties
~BlackRoseRaven
Twilight Sparkle was a very smart, very loyal, very good unicorn. She was a student of Princess Celestia herself, and even though they were apart, she still felt the love and guidance of her Princess each and every day, helping her through the trials of tribulations that came with studying the Magic of Friendship and all the bizarre troubles that all too often came her way.
Princess Celestia was always there for her: she gave her the freedom to make mistakes, but picked her up when she failed or fell. Twilight appreciated that: it was like having a second mother, a best friend she could always turn to no matter what went wrong, who would always try and understand even her weirdest and most eccentric feelings and arguments,without judgment.
The purple unicorn smiled to herself as she looked out across Ponyville from atop the balcony of the library, a cup of tea floating beside her. Coming here at first had been so strange: living in a giant old twisted tree-house – that is to say, a house that was made from a tree, not a house on top of a tree – had been so very strange. Of course, it hadn't helped that she had been trying to find a way to stop the return of Nightmare Moon, either, but that was a story for another day.
In some ways, adjusting to the flow of life here in Ponyville had been harder than dealing with the adventures that had come her way. It was like learning an entirely new culture: she went from locked up in her room to study all the time, to always being out and about, spending time with her friends, helping them with their problems, being social. Or at least as social as she could be.
She'd read quite a few books on the subject, but she'd come to learn that it was something that only came in time and practice. She was just lucky she had five good friends to help her out.
Well, she thought, as her eyes shifted back over her shoulder with a smile. Six, really.
“Hey, uh, Twilight? I just got a letter from Princess Celestia for you.” came the voice of her Number One Assistant. He wandered out onto the balcony on two stubby legs, a rolled-up letter held in one foreclaw and his big green eyes looking up at her with a mix of curiosity and a touch of worry.
“Hope I'm not interrupting anything. You've sure been out here a lot lately, though, Twilight.” Spike said as he offered the letter to her, and Twilight took it from the small purple dragon with telekinesis, smiling at him as she ran a hoof almost maternally through his green headfins.
“Don't worry about it, Spike. I'm okay.” Twilight promised as she unrolled the letter. To this day she felt such pride and happiness whenever she received a letter from Princess Celestia herself: it was a sign of how close they were, of the fact that the Princess trusted her, had confidence in her...
She furrowed her brow slightly as her eyes scanned the contents, biting her lip. She forced herself to take a breath before anxiety could take over, and read it from the top:
Twilight Sparkle,
Please arrange a time within the next week to meet me in Canterlot. We have a pressing matter to discuss regarding your studies.
Princess Celestia
Short. Almost terse. That wasn't like her at all.
Did this have something to do when she had left in a hurry the other day? That had been so unlike her, just up and leaving all the foals in the middle of storytime. She had tried not to think too much about it or make a big deal of it – Princess Celestia was a, well, princess, after all, and she had plenty of royal duties – but it had gnawed at the back of her mind ever since...
“Twilight? Is everything alright?” Spike asked uncertainly, bringing her out of her thoughts, and the mare blinked before she looked down with an awkward smile at the dragon.
“I sure hope so.” she said. “But Princess Celestia wants me to meet her in Canterlot for something. It sounds really important, so maybe I should try and get the train today...”
“I dunno, Twilight. You've got a few things to do today.” Spike pointed out. “Did she say it had to be as soon as possible?”
“Well... no.” Twilight admitted, glancing down at the letter. “She said I should meet her by the end of the week. Still, if it's important-”
“You should make sure you're ready to meet with her, then.” Spike interrupted gently, looking up at her in that pointed way he sometimes did when she was getting carried away.
She hesitated, but then nodded and sighed a little: he was right. She had a bad habit of blowing things out of proportion: for all she knew, maybe Princess Celestia needed her to give a friendship report, so of course she'd want to sound and professional as possible.
She had learned many lessons, but she was still working on mastering many others, even some of the most important ones: not abandoning what was happening right now for some event that she always blew completely out of proportion was one of them. Any time something related to Princess Celestia came up, for example, she got so anxious to please that she almost forgot about her friends, and her many other responsibilities here in Ponyville.
But she wasn't going to let that happen! Why, this could even be a test of that lesson, couldn't it? No, no, Twilight shook her head and banished that thought quickly; that was overthinking things, and just leading back to the same old problem. She would drop everything and end up working so hard to prove to Princess Celestia that she didn't need to drop everything for Princess Celestia that all she would do is prove how obsessed she still was with proving herself to Princess Celestia!
Twilight blinked as Spike nudged her, looking down at the little dragon as he gave her an awkward smile. “Hey, uh. You were doing that thing again.”
“Sorry, Spike. I didn't mean to space out on you. You're right, you're right...” Twilight hesitated, then admitted: “It's just hard not to get carried away, that's all.”
“Well, don't worry, Twilight, that's why I'm here.” Spike replied with a broader grin. “That's what your Number One Assistant is for, after all!”
“Thanks, Spike.” Twilight couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head as she looked at him with affection. He always knew just what to say and how to distract her: she appreciated it more than he could know.
“Okay, enough dawdling.” Twilight announced after a moment, nodding firmly more to herself than Spike. “What's on the agenda for today?”
Spike immediately brought out a scroll and unrolled it, glancing down the length of the parchment before he listed off: “Well, first we have to head over to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack, and then we're supposed to meet Fluttershy at her cottage. Rarity wanted you to stop by, but we need to be back at the library this afternoon so we can finish putting together the book fair.”
“The book fair, I'd almost forgotten about that!” Twilight nearly slapped herself: how could she nearly abandon Ponyville when there was such an important event this week!
The library's book fair wasn't just about selling books, after all: it was a chance for Twilight to meet some of Ponyville's less privileged youth and share her knowledge with them. She gave away old schoolbooks and worked with Cheerilee to help teach foals to read: it was a precious few days that made a very real difference in the lives of many young ponies, and encouraged them to learn and develop the necessary skills to succeed in life.
“Okay.” Twilight said, gears spinning in her mind as she bit her lip, quickly settling on her schedule. “We'd better get started, then.”
Spike nodded in agreement, but as Twilight turned, he cleared his throat, and the purple unicorn glanced back to see the little dragon holding her previously-floating cup of tea, which she'd dropped in excitement. She blushed a bit as she took it, and Spike said with a smile: “First, though, you need to eat a bit of breakfast, Twilight, you have a long day ahead of you.”
“Oh, Spike.” Twilight smiled a little all the same, though, and she nodded, as reluctant as she was to agree. But he was right: it was going to be a busy day, and the last thing she needed was to spend it distracted by a rumbly tummy.
Spike already had her breakfast laid out: he was always one step ahead, she reflected, and he so rarely got the credit he deserved for that. She knew it wasn't easy looking after her: she was always fretting about this or that, organizing and taking care of everything else but her own life. So that was where Spike always had to come in: he was the one who made sure she ate, and slept, who kept her schedules and sorted out her messes.
They ate, and they left, and Spike followed along behind her, humming as he made notes, waddling and cute but always so professional for such a little dragon. Twilight was proud of him, and maybe a little sad, too: how much of his childhood had he missed out on, with all the time he spent being her Number One Assistant?
But she had to banish those thoughts as the approached the Apple Family's farm on the outskirts of town. They walked up that now-familiar, winding path from the road to the front of the house, and Twilight smiled at the old green horse who was rocking away on the porch, humming a happy tune to herself as she kept herself busy with her knitting.
“Why, hello there, Twilight!” crowed the old mare as the unicorn approached, the earth pony looking up with a crooked-tooth grin. “What brings you here today? Oh, wait, don't tell me, you're going to help Jackie with the trees, is that it?”
“Yep, that's right Granny Smith!” Twilight answered with a smile and a nod. “She asked me if I had any magic that would help protect the trees over the winter, and I was able to find some old weatherproofing spells.”
“Well, thank you very much, Twilight! Our earth pony artes are only so useful, you know.” Granny Smith answered with a chuckle. “We much appreciate you putting some of your magic to use for us.”
Twilight smiled at this, blushing a bit as she answered modestly: “I'm happy to help! This is a whole different field from what I'm used to working in, though, so I can't promise anything spectacular...”
“Ah shucks, Twi, I reckon you'll do just fine.” broke in another voice, and Twilight turned a warm gaze towards Applejack as the familiar mare came loitering towards her, smiling wide beneath the brim of her stetson.
The orange mare came trotting towards her, already dirty from her early morning work as she greeted: “Great to have you here, Twilight, and great timin', too! I just finished in the garden, we can head on out to the field and get 'er done right now if you're ready.”
“Sure, Applejack, that's fine with me.” Twilight agreed.
“Great! 'Scuse us, Granny Smith, but I'm sure Twi would love to stick around for some of your pie after we're done.” Applejack added with a smile.
Granny Smith chuckled as Twilight blushed, hurrying after Applejack: as good as that sounded... “Oh, I would, but I still have to go see Fluttershy, then I have to stop by Rarity's before I finish setting up the library for the book fair.”
“Oh shucks Twilight, you can stay long enough to have a bit of pie! We got everything set up for you just like you asked, don't worry.” Applejack replied with a smile. “And asides, once we get this done, that's all the hard work for the winter out of the way. I'd be more than happy to give you a hoof gettin' the library ready, can't be much different from when we set things up 'round here for the cousins to visit.”
Twilight smiled warmly at the mare, nodding her gratitude: part of her wanted to say that it was fine and she had it covered, but she had slowly been learning that it was okay to accept help from your friends, and that every time she denied help, she wasn't really the one who suffered: rather, Spike, who was already responsible for more chores around the library than she was, was the one who ended up saddled with more work.
“Thanks, Applejack.” Twilight said, as she glanced back at Spike, who was just following along complacently, likely adjusting her schedule for her again. “We're really appreciate that, right Spike?”
“You bet, Twilight! If we work together we can get it done in no time!” Spike agreed cheerfully, smiling at her: Twilight saw the gratitude in that smile, the thankfulness and recognition that she had just made his life a little easier. “I sure appreciate it, Applejack.”
“Ain't nothin'.” Applejack warded off with a smile, then she gestured with her head as they entered the field and approached one of the old, gnarled apple trees, saying briskly: “Now, I know you can't help us protect every single tree here, Twilight, but if we could even give a quarter of these trees some extra protection...”
“Actually, the magic I was researching was used to place wards across entire crops.” Twilight said, although she bit her lip and added quickly: “Although I've never done it before! So it might take me a few tries to figure out how much I can do at once. And I'd be happy to come back tomorrow and do more-”
“I don't think that'll be necessary, Twilight, although I appreciate it. If you can get a good amount of these trees done, my brother and I can use our artes to protect the rest.” responded Applejack with a brief smile.
Twilight sighed a little, giving Applejack an amused look: she was such a stubborn mare, always wanting to help other ponies but never accepting help herself. She knew by now there was no point in arguing: it was better just to start doing. “Well, either way, let's get started and see how much we can get done.”
Applejack nodded in agreement, and Twilight turned towards the tree, taking a breath as her horn glowed. She had practiced it on some potted plants she had in the library, but that was a far cry from trying to place a protective ward over an entire field...
Still, in practice it was the same, just on a larger scale, and Twilight bit her lip for a moment as she held her breath, then she forced herself to exhale as she closed her eyes and tilted her head forwards, letting the magic flow through her, visualizing the effect in her mind and concentrating on the spell.
A gentle, warm wind whispered through the trees, and Applejack's eyes widened as the entire field seemed to glow: a green, grassy, healthy shimmer that sizzled across trunk and bough and root, and the air itself seemed to dance with the vibrancy of Twilight's magic.
Twilight wheezed a bit, her eyes flickering open as she looked out over the field before she winced when Applejack slapped her on the back, the mare grinning as she said cheerfully: “Well now, I reckon you might have cast that spell over the whole field! Now, not that I don't trust you, Twilight, but lemme just see...”
Twilight shook her head quickly, then smiled awkwardly and nodded: that was the most she could do to acknowledge Applejack at the moment, lightheaded as she felt. She'd overdid it just a bit... but when Spike nervously came up to her side, she reassured him with a smile, and she was still coherent enough to look up with interest as Applejack approached the base of the tree before them with a hum.
The earth pony placed a hoof at the base of the tree and sketched a short rune, and Twilight watched with interest as the earth pony performed a different sort of magic than Twilight had: an earth arte, as it was known, a special branch of elemental magic that only earth ponies could perform. Likewise, pegasi had air artes, while unicorns used magic artes... although because of the nature of their horns and magic, they did not draw on the natural powers of the elements as earth ponies and pegasi both did.
A unicorn's magic was also different in the focus and training it required: for Applejack, calling on her earth arte was as natural and easy for her as breathing, the earth pony whistling a little before she grinned and announced: “You must have covered half the field, Twilight! Hey, that's more than enough for us to finish the rest!”
“Did I?” Twilight asked, surprised, before she blushed a bit and shook her head quickly, rambling: “I'm more than happy to finish-”
“No, Twilight, you've done more than enough! Don't you worry about a thing, hear?” Applejack answered with a smile as she walked over and patted Twilight firmly on the back, the unicorn wincing as she was nearly knocked over. Again. “Sounds like you got your hooves full today, after all, and y'already helped plenty.”
"Well, if you say so, AJ, but-”
“Besides! You gotta try that pie! Ain't just for Granny's sake, you know, Apple Bloom's been workin' real hard on her cooking. Bet she'll have all sorts of treats for you to try!”
“Oh. Good.” Twilight said with a marked lack of enthusiasm, as Spike awkwardly half-turned away, making a few adjustments on the scroll in his claws.
But Applejack didn't notice, only smiling warmly and patting Twilight again before she pushed her a little, encouraging: “Go on back now, I should be able to take it from here. And thanks again for comin' out to help out, Twi.”
“No problem at all, Applejack, you know I'm always happy to help.” Twilight answered, before adding quickly: “And you know that I'm more than happy to keep-”
“It's fine, Twilight, really. Go on, and don't worry, I'll come by the library later to return the favor.” Applejack answered, and Twilight smiled lamely as Applejack turned and walked away.
She sighed a little, then shook her head before she looked at Spike and gave him a brief smile. “Well, I guess we're done here, then. Let's head back-”
“And get some pie.” Spike finished, and Twilight winced, but the little dragon only smiled at her and pointed out: “You wouldn't want to disappoint the Apples, would you?”
“I guess not.” Twilight admitted grudgingly, and then she sighed and shook her head as she turned around, Spike following her back towards the ranch house as she said: “It's not that I don't appreciate it, but... apples, apples, apples. And Apple Bloom.”
“She's trying. Even you did silly things when you were younger, Twilight.” Spike smiled again and nudged the purple mare gently, adding: “Sometimes you still do kind of silly things.”
Twilight gave Spike an amused look, bumping against him lightly, and they shared a laugh as they walked back to the Apple family's home. They were greeted and welcomed warmly, and whether or not Twilight quickly got sick of all the apple cakes and apple pies and apple fritters, she was glad for the company and the distraction they provided.
They had to leave all too soon for the friendly family, but Twilight had other things to do, places to go, ponies to visit and help. Fluttershy was next on their agenda, and Twilight wondered – not for the first time – if Spike had purposefully arranged this schedule so that she would have a nice long walk and a quiet break with a slightly less boisterous pony before she lost likely an hour or two gossiping with Rarity.
As they walked towards Fluttershy's cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest, Twilight remarked: “You know, Spike, sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.”
Spike chuckled at this and shrugged, answering: “Well, I am your Number-”
“Number One Assistant, that's right. But you'd still be that whether or not you went to all this extra trouble for me. I just mean... thank you, Spike. For taking the extra time and effort you do.” Twilight responded with a small smile. “I know it's not always easy and sometimes I get carried away and forget to be grateful. But I really am.”
“Aww, Twilight, it's nothing, really.” Spike responded, blushing a bit and waving a claw modestly. “I just want to do the best I can for you, that's all.”
Twilight smiled wider at this, then turned her attention back ahead, and they continued on in a pleasant quiet together, enjoying the walk and each other's company. Sure, at times they needed a break from each other and wore on one another's nerves, but most days they were happy to be working together, to have each other to rely on.
Fluttershy's cottage was outside of town and at the edge of the Everfree Forest: to be entirely honest, Twilight still found her a little strange. Not in a bad way: it was just that she was very different from any other pegasus she'd ever met.
Twilight walked up the little winding path to the dutch door of the cottage, gently knocking so as not to startle Fluttershy or her myriad of pets. There was no answer, but that didn't entirely surprise Twilight, who only shrugged before she made her way back down the little path across the scenic landscaping of Fluttershy's yard.
She took a fork in the road that led around the house, and she was unsurprised to find Fluttershy around back, already in the middle of feeding animals: Twilight was never sure which were hers, which were quote-unquote 'wild,' and which were strays or other pets from Ponyville who just wandered down to Fluttershy's for a snack or extra meal.
The yellow pegasus glanced up as they approached, giving them a small but warm smile even as she shyly shifted a little, almost hiding behind her long pink bang. Twilight greeted her with a bright smile of her own and a friendly: “Hello, Fluttershy! I hope I'm not interrupting!”
“Oh no, not at all.” Fluttershy murmured, shaking her head before she glanced down as a small white bunny pointedly shoved a paw against her, glaring up at her with his beady little eyes. “Oh, yes, Angel, of course. I hope you don't mind if I finish here first, Twilight...”
“Not at all, take all the time you need.” Twilight answered, her eyes roving curiously over the cluster of animals: predator and prey, omnivore and scavenger all alike sat together, doing little more than jostling each other occasionally. Twilight had always wondered how Fluttershy managed to keep them all in line: was she really able to understand and communicate with them that clearly, or was it some unknown arte?
She couldn't sense any magic, and of course as a pegasus, Fluttershy would have access to air artes, not any kind of earth arte. That was how it worked, right? Unless one of Fluttershy's parents was an earth pony, but that seemed so rude to ask...
Spike cleared his throat and nudged Twilight, who blinked and looked at him dumbly before he said pointedly: “Wasn't there something else you wanted while you were here, Twilight?”
“Uh...” Twilight blanked for a moment, but then she blinked and nodded as she rose her head, blurting out: “Right, yes! Could you point me in the direction of your bird seed, Fluttershy? I'm just about out. I swear that Owlowiscious is sneaking seconds...”
“Oh, of course, Twilight. You can take one of the bags in the shed, I've got lots.” Fluttershy answered with a smile.
“Sure, I'll go do that while you finish up here. Then I can help you... out.” Twilight realized she didn't actually know what Fluttershy needed help with, but she disregarded it: how bad could it really be, after all?
The unicorn trotted away, and Spike followed her to the little storage shed at the other side of the backyard: as they moved out of earshot, Twilight muttered: “You didn't have to hit me that hard.”
“You were staring again. You should really just ask her if you're so curious, I'm sure she wouldn't mind explaining it for the dozenth time to you.” Spike responded with another nudge, and Twilight huffed and bodychecked him back.
“Well, that's exactly it! She's told me before all about it, that she just 'talks' to them, but I still don't get it.” Twilight complained, then she shook her head and added: “You're going to have to carry the seed back, by the way.”
“Great. Thanks, Twilight.” Spike grumbled, tucking his paperwork away into his little pack as they approached the little shed. They opened the door and peered inside, and Spike sighed as he walked in to slowly drag out a bag of seed almost as large as he was. He grimaced as he dragged it up over his shoulders, then he looked up at Twilight for a moment before saying finally: “You're the horse, you know. You should be doing this.”
“And you're my assistant, so I'm delegating it to you.” Twilight hesitated, then she sighed and reached up to pat his head gently. “Take it home, then take the rest of the day off, Spike. You've done a lot for me and I can handle things from here.”
Spike blinked in surprise at this, and then he gave a little smile before he said finally: “How about I meet you at Rarity's in an hour or so? I'm fine. Really, I am, see?”
Spike straightened, hefting the bag higher, and Twilight shook her head with a smile before she answered: “Just take care of yourself. But I won't say no. I know you just want to make googly-eyes at her, anyway.”
Spike blushed and laughed, then he shook his head before he turned and walked away: well, waddled, more like, his awkward gait accented all the more by that extra weight he was carrying. Twilight watched him go, her smile lingering for a few moments before she closed the shed door, then turned to head back over to Fluttershy, taking her time, since it looked like the pegasus was still carefully distributing food between her animal friends.
“So would you like me to set up anything at all? I don't want to rush you or anything, but I'm happy to help.” Twilight said, trying her best not to put any pressure on Fluttershy. She could be very sensitive, after all.
Fluttershy only gave her a small smile, shaking her head briefly as she stepped back from the bowls she had filled from the collection of bags beside her, and her animal companions immediately swarmed in. But they all skidded almost comically to a halt when Fluttershy simply looked at them, scolding in her quiet way: “Now wait just one moment, please. I didn't say you could go ahead yet, now did I?”
The pack of animals grudgingly backed off, and Fluttershy turned with a smile back towards Twilight, answering: “I'll be done here in just a moment. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. It's been a very hectic morning...”
“Oh, no rush at all, Fluttershy, it's totally fine.” Twilight replied quickly. “I don't want you to hurry on my account. All I have left today is to visit Rarity and then do some cleanup at the library.”
“Yes, the book fair is tomorrow, isn't it? I'm looking forwards to it.” Fluttershy smiled, raising her eyes a little bit. “You know, ever since you arrived, you've made all our lives a lot better, Twilight. You're so helpful and generous, and you really helped bring us all together.”
Twilight laughed a little at this, blushing and waving a hoof as she said modestly: “I was just in the right place at the right time. And you girls were the ones who really opened me up to friendship, and taught me there's more to life than books and studying. I'm just... trying to make up for lost time, really.”
Fluttershy gave a quiet giggle at this, and then she turned her eyes back to her animal friends, saying gently: “Okay. Now you can all go ahead and dig in.”
The animals wasted no time in charging to the bowls of food: at first they shoved and squabbled, but Fluttershy only had to give them a sharp look, and they immediately arranged themselves nicely, eating in quiet. She lingered for a moment, her gaze softening as her eyes drew across the birds and beasts and everything-else, and then she shook herself out a little before returning her attention to Twilight. “The animals I need your help with are just down this way.”
“Of course.” Twilight smiled and followed after Fluttershy, away from the animals: glancing back, she saw that even if the animals were jostling each other again, they seemed to be respecting Fluttershy's silent orders even with her walking away. Maybe that was just because they knew she was still in sight and earshot of them, but... “It's one thing to see how well you get along with animals, but something else entirely to see how much they respect you.”
“Oh, I'm not really worth that much respect...” Fluttershy murmured, blushing a bit as she lowered her head, but Twilight thought she saw maybe a teensy-tiny bit of pride there, too, and Twilight was glad they had kindled that spark.
“I think you are. Now, what did you need help with?” Twilight asked kindly, and Fluttershy hesitated, biting her lip.
“I think it's better if I show you.” she said, and Twilight frowned a little as they headed down a path along the edge of the Everfree: it twisted and wound away from the cottage, not any great distance, but rather, past a cleft of trees and slope of hill on a turn steep and sharp enough to put them out of sight of the cottage.
Back here, there were several sheltered pens, and Twilight's frown deepened as she saw there were several animals in each of these secured paddocks, and all of them were injured. Prey animals, she noted, and as they approached the closest pen, Fluttershy explained in a low voice: “Sometimes, I find animals who were hurt in the wild. But rarely like this, and never in these kinds of numbers. They all seem to be coming from the same place, in the direction of Canterlot.”
“Is there a savage animal on the loose? Should we ask for help?” Twilight asked worriedly as she studied one of the lethargic pheasants in the pen, which only quietly cooed as it huddled into a sleeping – but mangled, awfully injured – fellow.
“I don't know. I'm not sure, Twilight. The wounds all seem to be... they don't look natural to me.” Fluttershy said finally. “I've seen bites and scratches of all kinds, and these don't look like that. I hate to think that someone has been hunting them, but...”
“Why would ponies do that?” Twilight asked, but her mind informed her of the answer even as Fluttershy looked uncomfortably away. For materials... or for sport.
Twilight shivered a little at the thought, then put it out of mind as she said quickly: “No, nevermind. I have a meeting with the Princess soon, I'll make sure I mention it to her. For now, though, I know enough healing magic I should be able to help them, at least a little.”
“Thank you, Twilight. I really appreciate it.” Fluttershy said, and Twilight gave her as supportive a smile as she could before she took a breath, gathered her wits and strength, and turned her attention to the task at hoof.
She spent a little over an hour helping Fluttershy with her animals: while Fluttershy had no artes to speak of that could help with healing, her natural grace and skill with animals helped enormously in keeping them calm as Twilight did what little healing magic she could. It wasn't a field where she had learned much: most of what she could heal were scrapes and bruises. But she was able to stop bleeding, and numb some of the pain.
It was enough, she hoped, to help carry these poor injured things through, and Fluttershy was very grateful for her aid. But as Twilight left and made her way to Rarity's, she couldn't help but wonder uneasily just what had happened. It was so out of the ordinary!
She chewed on her lower lip as she walked into Ponyville, barely paying any attention to where she was going. The Princess had summoned her... was that maybe connected to what was going on with the animals?
Twilight mused: that thought wasn't so insane, was it? Well, either way, she also knew she had responsibilities she had to attend to, but at the very least, she could ask Fluttershy to keep her informed about any other animals that might show up injured.
Her hooves carried her to Rarity's boutique mostly by themselves, although there were a few close calls along the way where she nearly bumped into somepony. Thankfully, ponies were so used to her wandering around, lost in thought, that they were always sure to move out of her winding way.
A throat cleared, and Twilight blinked before looking up and smiling awkwardly at the sight of Spike, who was waiting for her at the door of the boutique. He waved, and she nodded to him as she apologized: “I'm sorry. I got caught up in... things. I'll have to tell you about it later, it's not good.”
“Okay Twilight. Try and relax though, huh? You did what you could. That's all you can do.” Spike encouraged, even though he looked a little worried as he met her eyes. “You do seem pretty tired, though...”
“Oh, I'll be fine. Just used up a lot of magic, that's all. I'll probably just have to be careful not to exert myself too much more.” Twilight answered as she reassured him with a smile, even if her lips wouldn't curl all the way up, and her eyes still felt heavy.
But she pressed on, heading to the door and opening it, and she was almost immediately pulled into a whirlwind of movement, yelping as she felt another unicorn's magic drag her and haul her across the room, a proud voice declaring: “I've been waiting forever, darling! Now, just look at what we have here for you, dear, it's going to be perfect!”
Twilight yelped, wincing as she felt her mane rapidly pulled and styled: she attempted to squirm away, but cloth was already seizing around her, constricting and crushing into her body like snakes as she gasped out: “Rarity!”
“Oh, just a moment more now, Twilight, I made this especially for you!” Rarity answered cheerfully, and Twilight grimaced and did her best to stay still, knowing that the more she struggled, the longer it would take, and the more pokes she'd receive from the needle that was zipping around in the grip of Rarity's magic.
The white unicorn herself was prancing quickly around her, studying her from every angle: beautiful and radiant, she was cultured and poised even in the throes of creative passion. She tossed her curly mane, eyes sparkling as they took in every detail of the dress and accouterments she was adorning Twilight in.
She hummed happily as she adjusted the dress across Twilight, who smiled awkwardly as she asked: “So uh... what's the occasion?”
“Well, dear, your library gala, of course!” Rarity replied with surprise.
“You mean the book fair?” Twilight blinked, looking dumbly at the mare.
“Oh, but it's much more than that!” Rarity said enthusiastically. “You deserve to look good, darling, why, last year there were quite a few handsome stallions who had their eyes on you...”
“Uh, I'm pretty sure most of the stallions there are married.” Twilight answered awkwardly, clearing her throat a little as Rarity flitted around her, making adjustments here and there.
“Oh, psh-tush, there are a few handsome single fathers too, you know. And you're so good with foals!” Rarity paused, drew back with a critical look, and then she clicked her tongue before she grabbed a mirror with magic and floated it over to Twilight. “Now, dear, what do you think?”
Twilight hesitantly took the mirror, but she was pleasantly surprised when she took a look at herself: the dress was modest and pretty... a little too fancy, she thought, for something like a book fair, but it wasn't nearly as flashy as her gala dress or many of the other clothes that Rarity had put together for her. “This is... actually, it's really nice. But Rarity, it's-”
“Shush, dear, it's fine. If it will help you feel less bad about taking it, however, Sweetie Belle needs a little bit of help with some of her schoolwork.” Rarity smiled. “You're a far better teacher than me,Twilight, so if you could afford a few minutes to tutor her...”
“Oh, sure.” Twilight smiled back, nodding and brightening a little.
“Well, go ahead! She's right in back in the kitchen. Make yourself at home, dear.” Rarity replied kindly, and Twilight nodded, giving her a grateful look before she headed on her way.
There was quiet for a moment, and then Rarity remarked in a low, gentle voice: “She looks very tired.”
“She's stressed.” Spike admitted, smiling a little at Rarity before he added: “Thanks, by the way.”
“Oh, no problem at all, dear, I couldn't ask her to do all this extra work for me when she's already got so much going on. It's no big rush, anyway... Sweetie and I can pick at it a little over the next few days.” Rarity shrugged, looking at the racks of disorganized fabric with a chuckle before she turned her kind eyes to the little dragon. “She's very lucky to have you, Spike.”
Spike only blushed a bit and shrugged a little, and then he added as he shyly scuffed a foot against the floor: “You know, while Twilight's busy, I can help you out.”
“I'd appreciate that very much, Spike.” Rarity smiled a little wider, and then she chuckled as the little dragon immediately turned and went to work.
Ponyville was lucky to have such good people here. And she didn't want to imagine what life would be like without either the eccentric purple unicorn or her young dragon assistant.