//------------------------------// // 14 - Twilight Sparkle: Why? // Story: Ponies on Ponies // by Ravenmane //------------------------------// I don’t get it anymore. I go to sleep and there he is. I see him standing there in the library, yelling at Spike for incorrectly categorizing books after Applebloom and her friends have been through. Normally I’d have to stop my experiments and yell at Spike or come back and have to reorganize everything myself. There’s something about Alex after he gets to work though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight sighed as her mind started to wander towards dreamland. “Twilight you’re um,” Fluttershy nudged her friend. “I just want you to know that um… you’re okay right?” “Huh?” The lavender unicorn snapped out of her dream. “Oh, hi Fluttershy, is something wrong?” “Well it’s just um,” Fluttershy jabbed a hoof towards Twilight’s journal, “you don’t normally do that right?” Twilight followed her friend’s hoof to a trail of smeared ink on damp paper. Oh no, she thought as her eyes widened. “Was I saying anything when you came in Fluttershy?” “Um, I heard something about shelving and somepony being tall. I didn’t want to overhear anything, but it’s time for bed and you’re lying all over my side.” The lavender unicorn’s eyes immediately darted to the digital clock on the nightstand. Just as Fluttershy said, it was eleven. Twilight wafted through dreamland for nearly three hours. “I’ll just scoot over for you Fluttershy. I still have a few things I want to write.” The unusual squeak that accompanied Fluttershy’s smile solidified the pegasus’ curiosity. “Do you mind sharing? I promise not to tell anyone.” “I’m sorry, but I-I just… I want to keep it secret.” “Pretty please,” the normally demure mare pleaded. Even if her batting eyelashes and pleading expression went unnoticed, she couldn’t help herself. Twilight fidgeted and shuffled over to clear space for her friend. “I just don’t want to talk about it. It’s embarrassing.” Fluttershy hopped onto the bed and rustled under the covers before she decided to push further. “Is it about somepony I know?” Twilight nodded as briefly as she could, doing her best to clean up her book with magic and obscure her reddening face. Fluttershy means well but I really don’t want to say. You’ll have to tell somepony or it’ll just consume all of your attention just to keep it in, chided a second voice in Twilight’s head. You do want to get back home don’t you? Besides, you said it yourself. You need help! Not even thinking to herself could help Twilight from realizing that she was making a very awkward pause between her and her bedmate. “You promise not to tell anyone?” “It’ll be our little secret Twilight.” Twilight sighed, hoisted her diary with magic and set it before her friend. “Go back a few pages.” I just can’t stand saying it yet, she silently added. Fluttershy did exactly as instructed and turned a few pages back, reading carefully. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brony (Broh•nee) noun - The older demographic of viewers of the show ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ and is commonly used as male term (the term ‘pegasister’ being applied as female in such cases.) Also, a term used for the community as a whole. Comprehensive notes regarding Alex My initial understanding of Alex was hazy at best. He tends to keep secrets close to his chest and almost wears a façade of a warm and reassuring personality. This observation doesn’t mean to say he isn’t reassuring, but it’s almost too prominent at times. I theorize that this is because he’s a brony (defined above) coupled with his attempts to be a good host. After all, there have been moments where he wasn’t a very understanding host. Observations of Alex revealed he enjoys reading and thinking in excess. He solves problems for other humans on those electronic devices he called computers; those at least appeared to be challenging. Studying the books he has told me that he is engrossed in information and books I saw in locked containers also hint at his desire to collect early printings for some grander purpose. My assumption was disproven and they are in reality a collection of first and, when he couldn’t secure them, second printings of his favorite books. Currently I recognize him as a similar individual to me. He is versed in a knowledge-oriented profession and tends to read books or play games where actions have meaning. For example, despite his aggravation towards one game in particular (Mass Effect 3) he enjoyed the overall story. His major complaint was most of the decisions he made in the previous two games had little or no impact in this last part of the story. I inquired to why he was so disappointed, and he explained about how there was initially a radiant story evolution based more around your decisions as opposed to a firm story that you were ‘railroaded’ into. His choice in books ranged from the curious motions of a gentleman thief to a post-apocalyptic fantasy series about a half-blooded vampire. While these are fictional works, they have their own process of thinking and reader interpretation. Non-fiction books are mostly about historical figures, but also contain several mathematic and scientific books. Despite reading every book he has about them, I still have very little understanding of computers. I’ve noticed some social similarities as well. In the past, when I lived in Canterlot, I was cut off from social interaction. I thought I didn’t need it. For the most part, Alex is the same. His work doesn’t make him a complete shut-in, but he still shows similar conditions to me socially. However, unlike me he exhibits several traits I lacked. The most prominent of these is the desire to comfort others physically when he finds he cannot express his feelings with non-contact expressions or words. In regards to this, I find him strangely animated, but I also find it close to a disregard to another’s personal space. I find this sort of feeling similar to Pinkie’s disregard, but it may just be a lot of pent up expression from being alone. He studied at a college and did exceptionally well. Though he could have gone to a more specialized institution, he went to a school that encompassed a wider range of possibilities. Though he was primarily dedicated to information technology, he told me he ‘minored’ in philosophy. Despite both of these paths of learning he seems to have an innate skill at reading a person’s mood and adapting to the state of the situation based on how much he knows about who he’s interacting with. Despite all of this information, from an emotional standpoint I really like Alex. He’s similar enough for me to feel a kinship, but different enough to not see him as a human proxy of myself. He makes my heart race at times and I feel like I’ll have to tell him about this sometime in the near future. I may need moral support. I have no intention of going to Rarity though as she will enjoy the drama too much to provide concise advice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Oh Twilight,” Fluttershy began warmly. “It’s so weird,” Twilight cut her off. “I mean he’s not a pony, he’s not even from Equestria for pony’s sake.” “I don’t want to tell you what you need to do, but it doesn’t seem like you care enough about him not being a pony. You like him that way don’t you?” “Well yes, yes I do but-” “No buts,” the yellow pegasus wanted to sound like she was in absolute control of the situation. “Twilight, I know you don’t want to hear me tell you but you need to be assertive. Don’t you think you need to tell him you like him?” “What if he says no? What if he thinks it’s weird? What if… if…” “What if he likes you too? From what you’ve written you’re both so similar. Twilight, do you think he could possibly share your feelings?” “I don’t have any solid evidence of even a remote chance. I mean I just have my observations and I,” Twilight trailed off as her mind began to hatch a plan. “What would you do in my hooves Fluttershy?” “Well, I’d ask for help sorting things out and then work up the nerve to tell him. Alex is a kind person and I think he’ll be more understanding than you think he might be. If nothing else, he will hear you out. Just remember that the sooner you talk to him, the sooner you’ll get an answer.” “Thank you Fluttershy.”