The New Moon Rises

by Kit Wolfkat

Lesson 2: First Impressions are Important!

My Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I’m sorry for the sudden letter yesterday. In this case, the royal supervisor who was originally supposed to supervise the celebration, announced her sudden retirement early a few days ago.

We didn’t have enough time to quickly hire another to supervise on her behalf. I briefly considered postponing the celebration.

“WHICH SHOULD’VE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE!” shouted an angry voice.

Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle, apparently still fuming about her being an (involuntary) replacement.

He read back the scroll.

I understand that you are feeling frustrated and upset about this, Twilight Sparkle, but I hope you understand that this isn’t a decision that I made lightly. Your exceptional organisational skills make me confident that you are more than capable of supervising the celebration.

I know that this is not the news you were hoping for, but I hope that you can accomplish this task well. I promise, I will repay you handsomely for your efforts.

Your loving mentor,
Princess Luna.

After Spike finished reading the scroll, he looked back up at his caretaker. She wasn't even looking at him anymore; instead, she was staring off into the moon.

He looked behind him and saw that both thestral drivers were carrying the chariot he and Twilight were still on towards Ponyville.

Looking back at Twilight sighing profusely, he walked over to the other side of the chariot and placed her claw on her shoulder.

“Twilight?” he asked with a tone of worry, “Are you alright?”

After a moment, Twilight sighed again, this time much softer.

“I .. guess I’m fine, despite literally everything that happened. This is only my first year as her protege, and now not only do I have to supervise the most important event in the Kingdom, but I have to do it in some backwater town that I don't even know how to start in” she said, her tone getting more upset.

Spike looked worrily at his caretaker, “"Come on, Twilight. You’re superb at organisation. In fact, didn’t you remember that you were the one who literally listed every single book in the Royal Library in each genre, they were all in alphabetically ordered for goodness sake!” Spike said reassuringly, excited to her.

“And what about the time at Moondancer’s birthday party where you listed out every present she’ll get from her friends and parents?”

Twilight turned to Spike, “It was a surprise party.” she said blankly.

Her assistant took a step back, grinned weakly before settling his claw on her shoulder again, looking out of the chariot.

“Okay, bad example. BUT you are always able to come up with a plan and make things work out in the end, Twilight. No doubt, you’re going to do the same, and even better, for the Lunar Moon Celebration!”

Twilight sighed and then looked at Spike, giving him a weak but otherwise warm smile.

Oh Spike, what would I do without an assistant like you? she thought. Spike was giving a smile to her, still awaiting for an answer.

She turned towards Spike and quickly in her magic, pulled Spike’s body towards her. She wrapped her hooves around him, while at first put a look of surprise on his face before chuckling and hugging her back.

After a brief moment, Twilight pulled away and looked at Spike, still sporting a soft smile. “Thanks, Spike. I guess I needed that after-”

“Getting extremely stressed and panicky?” Spike said with a grin.

Chuckling lightly, “Yeah that.” she rolled her eyes. “I guess I could use a bit of relaxation after the celebration.” She looked in front of the chariot, Ponyville was in sight but still a bit further.

“That’s the spirit, Twilight! We can go to the stalls, they might sell some gems or comics there! And what if I say that they have a specific book there, like say Star Swirl’s Unabridged Magical Theorem of Space and Field Volume I?”

Twilight’s ears perked up and her eyes went wide as if they were about to pop. She quickly turned her head towards Spike pointing her hoof at him, “De…de...de..don’t lie to me Spike! That book has been sold out almost everywhere! Even the Royal Library doesn’t have it!” she nervously said.

“Well, I have heard from Lyra that she saw a copy of the book in the local library, apparently a griffon donated one of the copies there.”

Sounding confused, “Who’s Lyra?”

Now it’s Spike’s turn to be confused, “Uh Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings?”

A head shake.

“Your old friend who moved away to Ponyville 2 years ago?”

Another head shake.

“You two used to study together at Winter’s when you were fillies?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head, “Wait, who’s Winters?”

Spike looked flabbergasted at Twilight's forgetfulness, “You’re his oldest friend? You're both best buddies of sorts. You went to his house just to see his family’s library almost every day? He even let you borrow his!”

Twilight shook her head rather indifferently.

“Come on Twilight, don’t you remember every friend you’ve had?”

“I’m sorry Spike, but I don’t think managing an old friendship is more important when I’m being the princess’s protege. I have not only to live up to the princess, but ensure that she sees the best in me!” Twilight said confidently without a care in the world.

“Anyways, let’s get back to something more important than silly friendship. Is Star Swirl’s Unabridged Magical Theorem of Space and Field Volume 1 still available?”

Spike pondered a moment whilst walking round the minimal room chariot had, “I think so, I mean not a lot of ponies borrow a heavy book that details magical theory, except maybe if they're doing homework or something. So yeah, I think they still have it.”

“Great!” Twilight said excitedly, she’ll get that book whether anyone likes it or not. Star Swirl’s Unabridged Magical Theorem of Space and Field Volume shall be hers!

“Oh and, Twilight. Don’t forget that you still have to supervise the Lunar Moon Celebration.”

After the celebration is over.

As the chariot descended onto the dirt path, Twilight stepped off into the ground with Spike sitting on her back. As Spike jumped off from her, she looked around her surroundings. On her right were the various stalls and vendors that had set up shop for the Lunar Moon celebrations. Food stalls, toys, merchandise, literature, ornaments, and even furniture. On her left was the town hall. Ponies were leaving in and out of the town hall, whether with paperwork, decorations, or food. Behind was the Ponyville Train Station, there were more arriving beings than leaving for the celebrations while in front of her was the Old Ponyville Bridge, sturdily made from brick and stone.

“Khhek.. Kheeek.. BLLUERK, cough cough.” she looked behind her to see Spike throwing up a scroll. As Spike was on all fours panting, using her magic, Twilight took the scroll on the ground and read it.

My Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Apologies for the sudden letter, and my apologies to Spike as well.

I’ve forgotten to give you the list of preparations you’ll need to check for and make sure everything’s settled. Inscribed below will be the checklist of the preparations.

You’ll also have to report to Mayor Mare to inquire about each of the organisers duties and location.

Your loving mentor,
Princess Luna

“What kind of name is Mayor Mare anyways?” Spike said curiously.

Looking at Spike, “Probably just a title name the residents here call her, creative.”she rolled her eyes.

As she was about to read the other half of the scroll, a pink earth pony suddenly appeared between her and the scroll, almost face to face. While Twilight was processing her mind of what was going on, the pink pony leaned forwards causing Twilight to lean her head back.

“YOU’RE A NEW PONY! OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH,” she said excitedly and jovially at her. ‘ Something’s wrong with this mare,’ Twilight thought.

“Hey uh, Twilight what’s wrong with this pony?” Spike asked, walking over to Twilight at her side. He then looked questioningly at the pink mare, still leaning forward at Twilight. “Hey, miss. Can you uh, step back a little? You’re kind of creeping out Twilight.”

The pink mare stepped back, allowing Twilight to roll up the scroll and also to look at her a bit more definitively ,her hair’s all puffed up in a cotton candy sort of way, all curled up.

Giggling to herself, she started to bounce up and down erratically, much to the confusion of the 2 newly arrived. “You’re two new ponies, I mean one new pony and one dragon! I can’t wait to- GASP!” she gasped.

Twilight looked even more perplexed, “Uh.. okay? I guess we should be on our way.” She tried to walk around her on the right, but the pink pony moved to the right, still smiling. She tried moving to the left, the pink earth pony moved to the left.

“Okay, that’s ENOUGH!” Twilight’s wasn’t having any of this, is this mare intentionally delaying her from getting that book?

Okay, this mare is definitely crazy. She angrily pushed the bubbly mare away using her hoof while picking up Spike in her magic and putting him on her back.

“Come on Spike, I don’t have time for a laugh, a joke, a prank or ANYTHING to have my time wasted!” said Twilight, frustration evident in her voice as she walked away quickly, still looking behind at the pink mare, who was still bouncing. Those near them were looking at them both.

“Twilight watch out!” Spike suddenly shouted out.

The unicorn didn’t get a second to register those words before slamming into something that felt like a concrete wall. Spike fell off from Twilight’s back while Twilight herself dropped onto her haunches, rubbing her head on the sore spot. Thankfully, her horn wasn’t damaged at least.

A grunt escaped from somewhere, at first she thought it was from Spike but Spike was already on his feet brushing himself off from the dirt and gunk on him. Realising that the princess’s scroll wasn’t with her anymore, she looked around her on the ground. However, there were too many of them and they were nearly identical to the princess’s.

What the, where did these other scrolls come from?

Unrolling the scroll, inside wasn’t the words Princess Luna had written, instead it was a bunch of technical gobbledygook and doohickey drawn crudely on a sheet of long paper.

Twilight tosses the paper away, picking up another scroll and unrolling it. But this one was just the same as the first, filled with technical drawings and nonsensical jargon. Though Twilight couldn’t help but those two looked familiar, somehow.

“Owww, that hurts..” a voice yelped out.

Turning towards the source of the voice, she didn’t hit a concrete wall but apparently a grey-coated stallion, now laying on the ground rubbing his head. Wearing a white canvas vest on his body and a dark brown beret on his head, his mane was a dark turquoise-colored tint and thin stripes of white flowing through at mid-length, just enough to part over his eye.

The stallion was slowly standing back up, but still looking dazed. “Oww..” he rubbed his head. He looked at the Twilight and then back down at the mess.

“Great, now all of my prints are on the ground, some of them even got unrolled.” he said to himself.

As he started to pick up the rolls of paper scattered on the ground,“Hey, uh sorry for my impatient caretaker’s clumsiness, she wanted to be in a hurry and didn’t look where she was going.” Spike looked briefly at the stallion, before looking back at Twilight, who glared at him. Looking back at the stallion, Twilight sighed to herself and started to pick the remaining rolls to help him.

The least I could do, better get this done quick so I could hurry up.

Looking up while picking the rolls of paper, “I guess it’s my fault as well, too busy trying to read the schematics of my… my.. wait.. wait a minute..” He pulled his head closer to Twilight to get a better look at her, narrowing his slit eyes at her Twilight looked confused.

“Uh, you’re alright?” she asked.

The stallion’s eyes widened at first in surprise, then excitement.“Twilight Sparkle? Is that you?” he asked. Twilight was unsure.

“I.. uh I don’t know you?” she said nervously to the stallion.

This town is getting crazier, who is he?

The grey-coated stallion grinned for a moment before wrapping his forehooves around Twilight, much to her shock. “It’s me Winters! Your old friend!”

…….
…….
…….

Twilight’s mind felt heavy, like a steam train making its way through a train track or a mountainous number of books were laid on her shoulders. Her body dropped to the ground, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. Both Spike and Winters gaped in shock as Twilight slowly closed her eyes.

"Did I kill her?"

"Not yet, I think?"

6 years ago

Steel Family Manor

A 12-year-old Twilight Sparkle was sitting at a table, leisurely reading her favourite book of the day, The Advanced Comprehensive Guide on Magical Properties in Living Beings.

“Magical essence requires that every living being has magic deep within their body, some might have more magical potential than others, some magic might be different for other living beings. For example; Changelings have the ability to shapeshift, thestrals have the ability to see in the dark, in particular-”

A drawing of what looks like technical gobbledygook and doohickeys was placed on the pages, fully covering what Twilight was trying to read.

“Look at this! I’ve drawn one that has an automatic loading mechanism, and I’m gonna make it super light that anybeing can carry it! I’m also gonna put a grip so they won’t get pushed by the re-” an excited voice called out to her.

Twilight looked in front of her, a colt, 2 years younger than her, was looking at her, grinning. Twilight put out a frustrated sigh, pushing the schematic away from her.

“Winters, can’t you see I’m studying for the end year exam in a few months?” said Twilight looking annoyed at him.

“But this is gonna be the next greatest innovation my family has ever done, they’ve already made great things so it’s my turn! They’re gonna be proud of me, mom, grandpa, and most importantly dad! He’ll look at this and he’s gonna be proud of me!” Winters said with a hopeful smile in the air. He took the schematic in his hooves, taking a pencil from his canvas vest and started to draw on it.

Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend, always trying to make something but never actually coming through fruition. Her eyes went back reading the book on her table, hopefully he wouldn’t ask something as dumb as-

“Hey Twilight, should I make it cheaper?”

Never mind.

Successfully holding herself from being frustrated again, she looked at Winters again, this time revising the schematic with extreme focus. As she watched him, his eyes inches away from the paper.

Noticing that he was holding the schematic too close to his eyes, practically blind to everything else around him, “Winters, you’re gonna kill your eyes if you keep them close to the paper like that.” she warned.

“I will if you stop studying like a maniac. You’re studying a few months too early!” he replied curtly while grinning at her with his teeth showing a bit.

Despite wanting to continue her studies and roll her eyes, she closed her book despite however much it pains her to do so. “ There, no studying.” narrowing her eyes, gritting her teeth so close that it might break, but still smiling at him.

Winters, not noticing her frustrated demeanour, smiled at her while putting his pencil down, “Great! Because I wanna show you something amazing, come on!” Putting the schematic in his vest pocket, grabbing Twilight’s right forehoof tightly and dragging her with him, much to her reluctance.

Off they went, walking briskly through the manor’s main hallway,the sound of their hooves echoing off the walls. In front of the hallway itself was a massive family portrait, showcasing the entirety of the Steel Family in all their splendour and glory, including young Winters, smiling widely as he sat behind his father, True Steel on the left, and his grandfather, Iron Heart Steel on the right.

In front of the painting was the stairwell, split into two sides and covered by a silver acrylic carpet flowing from top to bottom, as if it were a river shone by silver moonlight flowing gracefully after midnight. They went up the stairs and turned right, revealing a smaller hall with multiple doors on the left and metal railings on the right.

Arriving on the second floor, Twilight asked him, “Winters, could you at least tell me what we're doing?”

“Just watch!” he told her quickly.

Maybe he’s trying to make a surprise or something? she thought to herself. Usually Twilight wasn't able to control herself nor be patient with anyone really, but with him she can't help but feel a bit uneasy at his vagueness.

Soon, they stopped their track as they reached a large wooden double door or at least large enough according to their foal-like minds. Winters pulled out a key from his left pocket in his vest.

“Where did you-”

“I took this from my dad’s drawer, he doesn’t know.” he said quickly as he put the key in the keyhole and turned it, making the clicking sounds of gears. Twilight’s eyes widened at hearing this, “Wait, Winters I don’t think we should mess with-” But it was too late. The door was already open, revealing a completely dark room.

Neither of them said anything as they stood outside the room, looking straight into the pitch black room. Winters in particular took a step back, with a scared look on his face.

“Uh, Twilight? Can you turn on the lights please? Hehe?” he nervously laughed.

Twilight rolled her eyes in mild annoyance, before using her horn to illuminate a sparkle of light, not enough to light the whole room but just enough to see.

“This better be worth it.” she said.

Feeling her magic on the nearby walls, she felt a switch tugging at her magic and pulled down on it. The fluorescent lights illuminated the room brightly, flickering continuously in white light. As the room slowly illuminated itself, Twilight gaped in awe while Winters simply looked excited at it.

The room revealed to still be under construction, with various tools, bricks, metal parts , and other construction materials scattered around the room. The walls were in poor condition, covered in layers of dust while the floors were various shavings of wood. But the elephant in the room wasn’t the construction, it was the giant sheet hung in front of her, covering what appears to be a giant window.

Twilight and Winters walked to the big sheet, rustling towards them, signifying a breeze. Winters went to the other end of the sheet.

“Come on Twilight, you should see this!” he said, before disappearing in the sheet. Taking a deep breath, she took the other end of the sheet and nervously stepped through.

She emerged from the other side, her lavender eyes widened at the view.

The night sky, in all its beauty and splendour, and the stars twinkling brightly in contrast to the sky’s dark canvas. The moon just over the horizon line, casting a soft light over them. In front of her, the Misaki Forest drew long around the Canterhorn mountains and the capital, Canterlot, so calledThe Platinum City lay before them, its buildings and streets illuminated by the soft glow of streetlights and its grand buildings.

The ambience was peaceful and serene, the wind breezing gently against their manes. Twilight stood in awe, while Winters settled his body onto the steel railing, placing his head on his hooves.

“It’s.. it’s beautiful.” Twilight said in a whisper, taking in the breathtakingly beautiful scene before her. Winters only nodded in silence, also taking in the serenity of scenery. Twilight walked over to stand next to Winters and smiled.

“They built this balcony first, you know? Fully sturdy supports, smooth stone floors, and steel railings. So this place is quite safe to play around in.” he calmly said, forgetting the excitement he had shown earlier.

Twilight placed her forehooves on the railing, settling her head on it.

After a few moments of silence, Twilight turned to look at Winters. “So, is this what you wanted to show me?” she asked softly. Winters turned to her then smiled.

“Do you like it?”

Twilight nodded.

“Then, I like it!” he said, smiling at her.

Twilight’s face felt wet and cold, too cold. Her head shot up, and her eyes slowly opened. Her mane was wet, her fur was drenched in ice cold water and there were even some ice cubes stuck in her hair. She looked in front of her, a baby dragon holding a bucket in his claws, with ice and drops of cold water dripping from the tip.

“Woooooh! Finally, you’re actually alive!” Spike cheered, raising his claws above his heads in a fisting motion, and tossing the bucket in the process.

Instead of the Thanks Spike! You’re truly the best dragon assistant I’ve ever had! I’ll make sure to bring you some gems for you! Oh and you don’t have to do chores for the rest of the month. as he expected, it was more of a-

“SPIKE, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK TO DROWN ME IN A BUCKET OF ICE COLD WATER!” Twilight shouted, getting up to her hooves, her ears perking up, and her eyes furiously glaring at her assistant. Everybeing in their vicinity looked at the two, unbeknownst to them.

Spike stepped back in a bit of fear before looking back at Twilight. “Uh.. you were unconscious for a few minutes soooo I might’ve taken the liberty to uh… wake you up? Hehe?” Spike explained, nervously chuckling to himself.

“So let me get this straight,” Twilight said calmly, her mane and fur still dripping wet. “Instead of calmly, shaking me, dragging me, or even slapping me hard, you decided to wake me up... using ice cold water?” she told him, narrowing her eyes while emphasising the ice cold part, heavily.

“At least you’re awake now right? Well uh.. Winters tried to help you but he had to leave after I told him I’ll wake you up, so… yeah.” he added quickly, trying to change the subject. Twilight’s ears perked up at hearing Winters’s name.

“Wait, Winters?” Spike gave her a confused stare, “You know, Winters? Your old fri- you know what, never mind. I think it's better if you both talk directly than having you just being forgetful and spaced out, besides, it’s about time you have some actual friends.” Spike smiled at her, grinning.

“Well smart alec, do you even know where he went?” she asked, calming down a bit, knowing him that he almost never asks for details. Spike had a look of ashamedness and uneasy smile on his face, “Well uh…-”

“You must be Twilight Sparkle.”

Both Spike and Twilight turned to the sound of the voice. It was a white coloured changeling somewhere in his mid 40s, his mane was transparent blonde yellow, most of it was parted to his left. He wore smartly in a button-up suit, sporting a red tie in contrast to his white chitin. In his upper pocket was a long gold chain, clearly chained with something inside. But the most odd part about the changeling was that on his face was a long scar, stretched near his eye across his cheek. Despite that, he held an aura of sophistication and his tone spoke of confidence and no nonsense demeanour.

“Uh.. can I help you?” Twilight asked warily, after an encounter of a crazy mare, and an old and frankly forgotten friend. She’s definitely suspicious of this one.

Spike meanwhile stood still, and immediately ran towards the changeling, “Hey buster, who are you supposed to be?” pointing his claw at the changeling.

“Nero Severus, secretary of Mayor Mare.” he bowed. “She was expecting you to meet her in the Town Hall, 30 minutes ago, right now it is 0337.” he said respectfully but sternly.

Twilight widened her eyes, in shock realising that she forgot about reporting herself first to Mayor Mare! She quickly took on her hooves towards the large bright-lit building that surely is the town hall.

“Wait, Twilight wait! Wait for meeeeee!” Spike’s voice called out for her, but Twilight was already far away from earshot to be heard by Spike.

....
....

As she ran, she couldn't help but feel a mix of panic and anxiety. Twilight Sparkle was never late for anything, but now she was going to be tardy for the most important assignment of her life!

She reached the door of the town hall but before she could push it open, she was immediately pushed back by the door itself with a bunch of suited journalists with notepads in their pockets, decorators, hard hats and a couple of unaccounted randoms. Luckily managing to avoid being trampled, she entered the main hall.

Half- finished decorations, unhung curtains, coupled with a few builders finishing the groundwork for the stage. Ignoring everything else, she rushed up the stairs on the right, almost causing one of the decorators to drop a box of ribbons on the way. Finally stood before Twilight was the double door, leading into the mayor’s office.

Mayor Mare sat at her desk, frowning as she read a notice from the Ponyville Business Council. “I can’t believe they wanted to decrease the marketplace’s budget.” she muttered to herself. “It is a great source of income not only for them, but for Ponyville as well. The crown is even paying for everything!” she crumpled up the notice and threw it in an impressive lob towards the trash bin across the room.

“First those nosy wanna-be journalists, and now this!” she said to herself in frustration.

Just as Mayor Mare was about to pick up another piece of paperwork from the piles of paperworks, there was a knock on the door. Mayor Mare turned towards the door. “Who is it?” she called out, hoping that it wasn’t another pesky journalist.

“It’s me, Twilight Sparkle. May I come in?” a voice said from the door. Mayor Mare brightened at the prospect of some worthwhile and better company.

“Yes you may, miss Sparkle!” she said excitedly. The double door opened, revealing a panting Twilight Sparkle with a dishevelled mane. Mayor Mare quickly left her chair and walked over towards the protege, and in a rather excited enthusiasm, shook Twilight’s hoof fast, much to Twilight’s confusion.

Taken aback by the mayor's excited greeting, she figured it was better to apologise for being late than not at all. Twilight returned the gesture, but her motion was slow and ashamed.

“I’m extremely sorry for my tardiness and uh, I understand that if you feel like I’m-” she began but Mayor Mare quickly put a hoof on Twilight’s mouth.

“Now, now, don’t worry about being late!” she said, waving her hoof dismissively. “ Just take a seat at my desk and I’ll have Tadwell make some tea for both of us.” she pointed to her desk.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before taking a seat at Mayor Mare’s desk. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for being late, especially since this was such an important meeting. Mayor Mare must have noticed her discomfort, because she gave her a reassuring smile before turning to call out for-.

“TAAADWELL!” Mayor Mare yelled suddenly, causing Twilight to close her ears as the sound waves vibrated her eardrums. The loud hoofsteps of someone approaching grew louder and louder until they reached the door.

The door opened to reveal a young, lanky stallion carrying a stack of papers on his head. Somehow, he managed to keep them from falling off whilst also wearing a pair of rounded glasses on his face. He was panting a bit, as if he had rushed to get to the office.

“You called miss Mare?” he asked, a hint of exhaustion in his voice as he placed the piles of paper on the desk.

“Well.. Thank you Tadwell.” Mayor Mare sighed, looking at the even more piles of paperwork she needed to do. “ Tadwell, make some tea for both of us here, would you?” she said. “ Would you like sugar in your tea, miss Sparkle?” Mayor Mare asked, looking at Twilight seated at her desk.

“Uh.. no thank you. I should be fine with plain tea.”she replied, trying to be polite as she looked at Mayor Mare and then Tadwell.

Tadwell nodded, bowing slightly before turning to leave the room. Mayor Mare waited until he was out of earshot before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Great, more paperwork to do more reading and checking.” she frowned, resting her head on the desk.

Mayor Mare then raised her head, looking up at Twilight, her frown disappearing quickly. “Well, anyways I hope the town’s been welcoming enough for you since you arrived! Some of them can be quite overly enthusiastic at times. You’ve certainly made an impression on some of them!” she quickly smiled at Twilight.

“Yeah.. overly enthusiastic. Like just earlier, I was sidestepped by some random mare who was trying to stop me from going to the-” Twilight’s eyes widened as she realised that she had forgotten all about the book she had been so desperate to get.

“LIBRARY!”

………………….
………………….

Mayor Mare looked at Twilight Sparkle, who had now placed both her hooves on the desk, her chair pushed back and looking off into the distance above the mayor’s head. Twilight then looked down, and immediately sat back down ashamed at the little scene she just made.

What definitely didn’t help was that was the exact moment Tadwell came back holding a tray, with 2 cups of tea and a sugar packet on it. Mayor Mare turned to look at Tadwell before signalling him to come near the table, placing the tray.

“Thank you, Tadwell. You may leave.” she nodded at him.

As Tadwell left the room, Mayor Mare turned back to Twilight, picking up the tea cup in her right hoof and giving her a curious but slightly concerned look.

“Uh.. should I be concerned about this? More specifically, anything that happened between this mare and you?” she asked, taking a sip of the tea, its aromatic blend satisfying her taste buds.

Twilight looked at Mayor Mare, and then shook her head. “No, no need for anything, Mayor Mare. It’s just a minor inconvenience. Nothing at all.” she said, forcing a smile that showed a bit too much of her teeth.

“Uh.. right.” the mayor nervously said, before quickly pulling the drawer handle and taking out a rolled up paper with a dark blue velvet ribbon tied around it. She quickly unrolled it to reveal a telegraph message, which she gave to Twilight. The unicorn quickly encased it in her magic and levitated it up to her face.

IVORY SCROLLS,
PONYVILLE MAYOR,
PONYVILLE TOWN HALL,
PONYVILLE, MISAKI.

PROTEGE TWILIGHT SPARKLE WILL ARRIVE IN PONYVILLE. WILL MEET WITH YOU FOR ORGANISERS DETAILS. CHECKLIST WITH PROTEGE. SIGN CHECKLIST AND APPROVE. BEWARE OF SOLARIANS.

HER ROYAL MAJESTY.

PRINCESS LUNA FAUSTRIANIS

“I received a telegram earlier from The Crown’s postal office informing me that Princess Luna gave you an assignment to check in with the organisers’ duties and locations. Is that correct?” she asked, taking another sip.

Twilight looked up from the telegram message and placed it on the desk. “ Aah, it is. I’m just hoping things will go smoothly for the rest of my supervision here. And not some more crazies around here, pestering me wherever I go.”

Mayor Mare nodded in understanding, “Yeah... Well, don’t worry about that miss Sparkle. Ponyville may have its fair share of very eccentric ponies, but I can assure you that most of them are good-hearted and mean no harm. You’re still new here after all Hahahaa!” she grinned.

“Actually, Mayor Mare, I need to ask a quick question.” she said.

Mayor Mare nodded as she took a longer sip of tea, sighing in pleasure at its exquisite taste.

“Is the library by any chance open for today?” Twilight asked, hoping that she could finally get the book she want-

“Nope, it's closed indefinitely.” the mayor casually interrupted her thoughts, taking another sip.

Twilight couldn’t fathom and dropped her mouth, she thought to herself. How can anybeing just close the library! It’s absu-

Mayor Mare snorted in annoyance.“The last librarian we had last month apparently was performing coitus acts with her stallionfriend. We ended up having to fire her because a group of school foals walked in right at the moment, unlocked at the front door.”

.….
…..
…..

Silence dominated the office, as Twilight took a moment to process the mayor’s words. “Wwwwhat?” she stuttered in a mixture of shock and embarrassment, blush appearing in her cheeks.

Mayor Mare placed the cup of tea on the desk, “And now, we don’t have anybeing to take care of the library.We’ve been trying to find a new librarian, but it’s not easy. We’re a small town, and the rate of new applicants here has been.. less than stellar lately.”

Twilight pondered her for a moment, her mouth slowly formed a smile as she had an idea, a very good idea. “What if I were to be your temporary librarian until the end of the celebrations?”

Mayor Mare stared at her in disbelief. Twilight Sparkle, the Twilight Sparkle! The protege of Princess Luna, essentially the second highest power in the kingdom, is asking to be a librarian here!

“Are you sure, miss Sparkle? I mean, we are only a small town community.” she tried to explain.

Twilight shrugged the mayor’s explanation right off. “I mean it, Mayor Mare. I’m extremely good at books,I can organise them all alphabetically, by genre, author’s names, and publication date!” she said proudly, her snout raising up in the air.

Mayor Mare looked at Twilight, considering her offer. It was certainly tempting, having someone as accomplished as Twilight Sparkle as the temporary librarian of Ponyville.

She grinned at her, “Well, if you’re sure you want to do it, then I don’t see why not! It would be a great help to have someone like you in charge of the library. And who knows, maybe you’ll even find yourself as a permanent librarian among the applicants during your time here.”

Twilight nodded.

Yeah, as if.

She then picked up the other tea cup in her magic and a sugar packet. She ripped the end of the packet and tipped the sugar into the cup, watching as its contents slowly dissolved in the now warm tea. She stirred the tea with the spoon provided and soon took a sip, enjoying the aromatic tea.

“Oh and by the way, I need the checklist you have for me to sign on and approve.”

GULP

Twilight’s eyes widened as she slowly lowered the tea cup in her magic and placed it on the desk. Sweat started dripping from her body, struggling to pick words.

Crap, crap, crap where did I leave it! Did Winters took it from the ground? Oh.. crap.

“Wwwell… I.. I uuuh.. mmay have .. uuh lost it?” she said nervously.

“What?”