Twilight Sparkle happily sighs to herself as she walks out of the Carrot House, the cheery voices of her friends fading off into the distance. She pauses on the porch, not minding the slightly damp texture of the wood as she sits down. She smiles as she stares off into space: they are her friends. A more superstitious pony might have avoided it, but Twilight both doesn't believe in such things, and even if she did she couldn't help herself: this day is turning out just fine.
"Hey, Twi, you doing okay over there?" comes the hesitant voice of her best assistant ever, Spike. "You... waiting to go back inside and talk to Doug some more?"
"Nope!" Twilight says, perhaps a bit too much cheer in her voice. She tries to rein it back in just a little, "Nope. I wouldn't want Applejack to get mad at me again."
"Wow," Spike says, hopping up next to Twilight. "That's... awfully mature and patient of you. Are you feeling okay?"
"Of course I am!" Twilight cheerily says, managing to suppress her eye roll.
"Oh. So, you're just going to drop it, and let Doug talk to you when he's ready?" Spike raises an eye, his tone even more disbelieving.
Twilight snorts, "Of course not." She motions forward with a hoof, "I'm just going to ask them instead."
Spike looks out along the dirt road leading towards Ponyville, spotting most of the fillies of the Apple Herd walking back from school. He points a claw at each of the fillies, reminding Twilight their names; he had met each of them at the Summer Sun Celebration parties that Twilight had skipped, after all. The five mares each share a quick nuzzle with their filly, except for Rarity who after a brief glance around, looking for Sweetie Belle, nuzzles Pomarbo.
Rainbow Dash takes to the sky in a blur of color as Scootaloo turns around, dumping her bookbag on the ground and zooming back towards Ponyville on her scooter. Pinkie Pie and Rarity follow behind, though far enough so the mud kicked up doesn't get in Rarity's coat or into Pinkie Pie's mouth as she chatters, the pink pony's mouth moving almost as fast as her legs pronking up and down.
Fluttershy and her filly Hedge cut through the southern orchard, heading towards the pond and the ducks basking on the water's edge. Both seem content to listen to their surroundings, only the sound of their hoofsteps as they get away from the other ponies. They eventually get to one of their favorite picnic spots; Hedge pulls the remainder of her lunch out of her pack, some of her papers spilling out of the side. Hedge grimaces, gathering up the papers before she carefully rips the bread into smaller pieces. Fluttershy nibbles on the greens, leaving a few in case Hedge wants some for a snack before they head home.
Hedge slowly ascends, flying several feet into the air before she holds the position as long as she can, Fluttershy smiling up and softly cheering her on with a quiet 'yay'. Several seconds later Hedge throws the bread towards the pond before dropping back down, panting as she rips off another piece. She starts telling Fluttershy about her day as she rests her wings, though it isn't too long before she takes to the air again. Fluttershy watches until she notices a turtle sitting all alone near some of the reeds. It has the saddest look on its little turtle face, and Fluttershy moves over to investigate.
Applejack heads into the orchard, glancing up at the many blossoms scattered among the branches. Applebaum shucks her bookbag before following her dam, watching closely as Applejack gently places her front hooves on the trunk. The orange farmpony concentrates, the back of her mane slightly lifting up as if blown in a gentle breeze. Her hind legs set into the ground as she pushes against both the tree and the dirt.
Twilight Sparkle gasps as the blossoms open up, spreading their white and pink and red petals to the bright and sunny sky. Just as quickly the boughs shake back and forth, the same breeze that seems to lift Applejack's mane plucking the petals from their resting spots. A blizzard of blossoms surrounds the earth pony, who lifts her closed eyes and forelegs to the sun, a euphoric smile plastered on her muzzle.
Applejack turns towards Twilight as the unicorn clops her hooves on the porch, taking off her hat and bowing as a cyan face peeks out from behind the tree. Rainbow Dash gives a cheeky grin and wave at Twilight before disappearing again, her low altitude keeping her hidden by the many trees. Applejack turns to Applebaum, barely audible to Twilight, "Now, most of the time we don't go for that much spectacle. Instead, we're focusing on speeding up the process of turning flowers into fruit. Ah've heard some ponies like the apple blossoms, but since they ain't as tasty as rose petals or make as fine a wine, we generally don't bother collecting them." Applejack moves further into the orchard, stopping at the next tree as Applebaum places her brown hooves on the trunk.
Lemon, Pomarbo, and Meringue gather their sibling's bags, though only Lemon is able to shoulder the extra weight without staggering around. They slowly make their way to the Carrot House; Lemon nods at Twilight as they pass by, unable to spare a hoof to wave, as she beams, "Hi, Twilight! Spike! It's great to see you! Did you have a good day so far?" Twilight returns a smile and nod, Spike a wave; Pomarbo gives a shy smile while Meringue returns more of a blank stare and barely perceptible nod. Lemon calls, "Daddy! We're home!" as the three dump the bookbags onto the floor just inside the doorway. "We'll be outside if you need us!"
Lemon pulls Pomarbo to the side once they get inside the house, saying in a low voice, "Hey; I know Daddy is probably busy, but I want you to stay with him, okay? Like, even if it's just you sitting in the room with him, both of you doing your own thing."
"Why?" comes the timid response, Pomarbo pulling his reader out of the bag.
Lemon shrugs, "Lemon sense?" She winks at her brother, rubbing his head, "Nothing like what mom has, though. I just have this feeling he needs somepony by him, you know?"
Pomarbo nods, sharing a quick nuzzle with his sister before heading inside and quietly letting himself into Doug's office.
Twilight glances back as the door opens, half expecting to see Doug standing in the doorway, but instead it is just Lemon and Meringue who exit the house, the two year old colt staying inside. Pinkie Pie's two fillies, despite sharing a similar color palette, couldn't be presenting themselves more differently. Four year old Lemon, her pale yellow coat a sharp contrast to her poofy bright yellow mane, oozes energy as she not-quite-pronks towards them. The cream streaks in her mane draw even more attention towards her head, styled almost to point to her mouth and scream, 'Listen to me!'
Two year old Meringue, on the other hoof, is taking slow, almost calculated steps to minimize the amount of effort she needs to put into her unhurried pace. Her cream mane droops down, covering a lot of her bright yellow coat; at least from the angle from which she approaches Twilight. The yellow streaks draw one's eye to the ground, the vertical straight lines the opposite of her sister's twists and curls. Her eyes stay focused, analyzing the unicorn in front of her as her mouth remains pursed in a thin line.
Twilight smiles, opening her mouth to say hello as Lemon cuts her off.
Lemon starts talking almost as soon as she steps outside, her movements almost but not quite approaching Pinkie Pie levels of sugar fueled hyperactivity, if only because her hooves stay on the ground. "So, have you finished moving into the library yet? There were a lot of books around the boxes when we went exploring. All kinds of topics, too! Do you have a favorite kind of book? I like adventure! I almost couldn't believe it, but Meringue found quite possibly the most boring book imaginable. Read through it when we weren't playing party games. Like, the whole thing!"
"Oh?" Twilight says, somehow breaking into the conversation despite the lack of breaths Lemon is taking, almost insulted that a book in her library, neigh, that any book in existence might be accused of being boring. "Which one is that?"
Lemon rolls her eyes, her voice briefly flat and dry, "A dictionary. The non-abridged version. She even showed me where it said that." She perks up as she huffs, "I know, right? Can you believe it?"
Twilight turns to Meringue; Lemon's enthusiasm is a stark contrast to the dull stare the filly is giving her. Not an unintelligent one, but of one so disinterested in the conversation she might as well have been a rock. "Did you enjoy reading the dictionary?"
"Yes."
"Huh." Twilight glances at Spike, the dragon returning a shrug as he picks at his teeth, dislodging a bit of hay. "Well, I don't know if I have a favorite book, because I like all of them!"
"I can tell!" exclaims Lemon, "Because your new home is full of them! I don't know if I could live in a house with that many books. Although books do make good presents, and if there's one thing that puts a smile on a pony's muzzle, it's a good present!"
Twilight practically dies as she swoons, "Oh, I know! Every time Princess Celestia gives me a new book to read I just want to explode into tiny little pieces!"
Spike snarks, watching Fluttershy poke at the turtle, "Want to?"
Twilight ignores the dragon as she squees, "Books are just the best! I don't know if I could take giving them away like that, but if they were finding their way to a good home? I think I could. Oh, and I heard you all were giving book reports today in class. How did those go?" She deliberately looks at Meringue, Lemon taking the hint and glancing over as well.
"Reports uneventful."
Spike whispers to Lemon as Twilight squints one eye, "What happened to Meringue?"
Lemon whispers back, Twilight bending an ear to hear, "I think Nightmare Moon messed with her or something. Like, she used to be a lot more exu-... exurb-... um..."
"Exuberant? It means filled with a lively energy." Twilight glances at Meringue, the young filly still dispassionately observing.
"Yeah! Meringue used it yesterday. Actually, she used it to describe me." Lemon chuckles, "I don't know why, though!"
"Can't say that I see the resemblance," Spike snickers. "What about you, Meringue?"
"Conversation superfluous."
"Right." Spike glances at Twilight before turning back to Meringue, "So, um, why were you reading the dictionary?"
"Precision. Always can improve."
"Right. Yeah, I can see that." Spike leans over to Twilight and whispers, "I'm having second thoughts about this place."
"Nonsense, Spike! I admire her dedication to learning about and becoming more precise in her language." Twilight sighs, "I wish everypony put as much attention to the words they are saying as she does."
Lemon finally breaks back into the conversation, having slowly grown more and more antsy during the long pauses. "I know, right? Sometimes dam tells me that I need to spend more time thinking about what I'm saying and less time trying multiple versions out. But sometimes I just don't know how to phrase something, you know?" She brings a hoof to her chin as she stares up at the sky, "The phrasing of a sentence can be hard to parse?"
Twilight nods; she wanted to get something out of the filly about Doug, but the constant chatter is beginning to get to her. "Well, speaking of different ways to phrase something; Spike, we should probably head back to the library. I hope the animals cleaned up everything after we left." Her voice gets more and more excited, "We can spend the rest of the day deciding what organizational paradigm we're going to use for the library! I always wanted to design and implement my own classification system!"
Meringue perks up, "Design?" She pauses, a hoof slowly rubbing against her chin. "Meringue offer assistance."
Spike shakes his head, "Sorry, girl, but Twilight already has her number one assistant."
"Spike!" Twilight admonishes, the dragon rolling his eyes as he sighs, "I always appreciate the help of a friend."
"Well, I suppose. You're going to have to really work hard, though!" Spike gives a slight chuckle, "Twilight can be very demanding."
"Always can improve."
Twilight beams, patting Meringue on the head. The filly disdainfully looks at the hoof at first, but allows Twilight to stroke her head a few times. The barest hint of a smile peeks out from her neutral stare; while it doesn't completely escape, neither does it disappear after a second.
Spike smirks, "I suppose you might say, 'restoration complete'?"
"Emotional response: Appropriate."
Spike laughs, "Okay, I take it back. I like this one. Can we keep her?" The three start walking towards the Golden Oaks Library.
"Acceptable outcome."
Twilight snorts, waving to Lemon as she says, "We'll be sure to get her home in time for dinner. Have a good day, Lemon!"
Lemon beams, "You too, Twilight! Have fun sorting the library!" She turns back inside to make sure Doug and Pomarbo are doing okay. She glances into the room; Pomarbo is snuggling into Doug's lap, reading a book, as her sire keeps working, one hand occasionally coming down to rub into his mane. Satisfied, Lemon heads outside; maybe she can catch up with Applebaum, hang out with her for a little while.
Twilight, Spike and Meringue walk along the road, glad when it stops being dirt and turns to paved stone. Spike, growing a little uncomfortable at the lack of conversation, asks, "So, Meringue. What makes sorting through the library so interesting? I mean, Twilight practically has to beg to get me to help out. Sometimes."
"Spike!" Twilight admonishes, "It isn't that bad."
Spike nods along, a smile on his face, "Okay, yeah, I guess not. I am your number one assistant, after all!" He turns back to Meringue, the filly taking the time to contemplate her response. "So?"
"Intriguing concept. Perfect classification paradigm."
Spike groans, holding a claw to his head, "Great. Now there are two of them."
Twilight replies, "Oh, but I don't think my system is perfect, by no means! None of them are."
"Incorrect interpretation. Verb. Perfect."
"Oh." Twilight glances over at the filly still staring straight ahead as they walk. "Right. So, you want to help me design and work towards the best library possible?" Twilight beams at Meringue's nod, "That's so exciting! Maybe I can offer you a job at the library? If you wanted to come over after class, and help me organize and categorize the books?"
"Unable. Lacking proper credentials."
"You mean you don't have a cutie mark?" Twilight scoffs, "Please. Spike doesn't have a cutie mark and he works with me."
"I do?" Spike says, raising an eye. "Does this mean I get paid?"
"Oh, don't be silly, Spike. I pay you in gems! That, room and board in lieu of an actual paycheck, of course." Twilight grimaces a little, "Since I don't know if many ponies would look kindly on a dragon being employed instead of another pony. Especially because they didn't have a librarian before me, and now they would have two?" She motions down to Meringue, "Or three?"
"Oh." Spike nervously looks around, "You think that matters that much?"
Twilight nuzzles Spike, "It doesn't matter at all to me, Spike. I just worry how other ponies might take it." Twilight glances over at Meringue, "So, what do you think?"
"Acceptable."
"Okay!" Twilight smiles, "First, though, I need to write a few reports to Princess Celestia. Who knows, I might have material for several of them just from today!" Twilight nervously glances around, "Ooh, but she might think I'm not giving my all if I don't tell her everything that happened!"
"Don't worry, Twilight! You'll do great." Spike beams up at Twilight, "You're the best!"
"Thanks for that, Spike," Twilight replies as the two enter the library. Twilight grins; the library is clean, the books ready to be organized, and she has two amazing helpers! She glances over at Meringue, the filly already pulling a book out and glancing at the title. "Okay, first, we're going to decide what kind of desk or table we need for the library, and the placement of the various reading chairs and couches."