Written by: MrBackpack
Rated Everyone
Twilight sighed as she flipped the page of her book with her hoof. It was already well past noon and there had been no visitors to the library, not even Rainbow Dash had stopped in to see if the latest volume of the ‘Daring Do’ series had arrived; it hadn’t. Even Spike was out doing something with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
She sipped her tea, drawing a modicum of comfort from the complex and familiar flavors that flowed hotly over her tongue and down her throat. The weather had turned towards winter and Twilight had wasted no time in breaking out her best tea leaves from storage. There was nothing like a warm cup of tea on a lazy autumn afternoon.
Just Twilight, her books, and her library all to herself.
Twilight turned back to her book and continued to read as the day wore slowly on, the ponies of Ponyville living out their daily lives without worry. Simple ponies with simple pleasures. Applejack’s familiar voice could be heard from the market square, above the clamor and bustle of her fellow stall keepers.
Finding a stopping point, Twilight floated a bookmark into the volume and shut the worn cover. After adjusting it on her reading desk until it was just so, Twilight turned to the rest of her library. Trotting from shelf to shelf, purple auras corrected out of place books and generally tidied up the overall appearance of her library.
There is only so much cleaning and general organizing one pony can do before sinking into the depths of insanity, however.
Twilight was up-to-date with her letters to Princess Celestia, and even her minor correspondence with Princess Luna was waiting on the lunar diarch’s reply. Her work on her latest spell awaited a book from the Royal Canterlot Library for further development. The grocery list had been filled and completed yesterday and even her list of books to order had been completed and checked...
‘I could go over the order list again,’ Twilight thought to herself, magicking the particular list out of a small pile on her writing desk, her quill following quickly after.
Replacements for nearly every spell book on the theory of magical travel needed to be ordered, the library’s copy of Star Swirl the Bearded’s biography, various atlases and encyclopedia volumes, several cookbooks had been lost to Ditzy’s desire to learn how to bake muffins on her own...
The list wasn’t long, but it was detailed to the extreme. Everypony who had had a hoof in the needed replacement of a book was listed next to the title accompanied by a checkbox to signify if they had paid or not. Most had, but there were a couple of stragglers that needed another reminder. Another piece of parchment floated next to the order list, having been summoned from her desk, and another checklist was formed with the names of ponies that needed yet another payment reminder.
Her mind wandered, the list and quill floating onto the center table without being noticed by the violet mare. Her magical talent had certainly progressed since coming to Ponyville all those years ago, meeting all of her friends and their adventures together. Unicorns, by and large could not manipulate vast numbers of objects in a telekinetic field, limited to somewhere around five or fewer; Twilight had never been bothered by such limitations. Using magic was as natural as using her hooves.
Her cup of tea floated over from the desk and she drained the last bits of the cooling liquid from the intricately decorated piece of ceramic. In the kitchen her kettle made its way through onto the stove, having been recently filled with fresh water.
There was a quiet knock at the door before a yellow coated mare stepped into her quiet sanctuary.
“Hi Twilight,” greeted the mare closing the door behind her.
“Hello Junebug,” replied Twilight with a smile. “How are you today?”
“I’m good,” giggled Junebug. “Just bringing back that book.” She pulled a cloth bound volume out of her empty flower basket. “One copy of A Cure for Writer’s Block back on time.”
“That’s a handy little book,” Twilight said, taking hold of the book her magic and floating it over to another desk. “Did he like it?”
“Oh yes,” sighed Junebug dreamily. “He thought it was the greatest thing ever, even ordered his own copy so he could write in it and everything.”
“He didn’t--” started Twilight in shock.
“Oh no!” gasped the yellow mare, putting a hoof over her chest. “He would never do that!”
Twilight sighed in relief, floating a large ledger over from the center table.
“I take it, then, that’s everything’s going well?” The ledger creaked open, pages fluttering as they turned, coming to a stop at the last written page; Twilight marked off the the checked out book under Junebug’s name.
Junebug nodded, a blush blooming across her face. “It’s been wonderful.”
Twilight smiled for her customer. “Bring him by sometime, I love his work.”
“You got it Twilight,” Junebug said turning towards the door. “Quick Write said that he really wants to meet you.”
Twilight laughed good naturedly, walking the yellow mare to the door. “I look forward to it, does he still have that beard of his?”
“Oh yes,” laughed Junebug as she opened the door. “Its even bigger and bushier than before.”
Twilight laughed as she waved goodbye and shut the door, blocking out the cool gust of wind that picked right up. The setting sun pooled through the windows of the library, filling the room with a warm, orange glow. She couldn’t help but smile as memories of her tutelage under Princess Celestia and the time that they spent together at sunset, watching the Alicorn lower the sun and raise the moon over Equestria. It was among the few times that they truly had to themselves during the day, without any real obligations to anypony.
Her kettle whistled angrily from the kitchen breaking Twilight from her fond memories and sending her trotting hurriedly after it. The library’s ledger still floated in the air, the ink still drying next to Junebug’s name.