//------------------------------// // On the Third Day // Story: A Sniff of Magic // by TheUziel //------------------------------// Mmm. The library smelled like chocolate. Twilight had insisted that Bon Bon make her chocolates there in the library, to make sure nothing went wrong (or, more accurately, to be there to fix it when something did.) With Lyra’s enchantment, she seemed her normal, overly generous and pipful self, always offering samples to everypony else while she prepared her candies. “Ah don’t think ah should…” Big Macintosh reeled away from the chocolate-covered spatula, and Bon Bon gave him an angry glare, and shoved it closer to his face. With reluctance, Big Mac took the spatula in his mouth, and started licking. Once he had the chocolate on his tongue, he really didn’t seem to mind. Bon Bon happily began carefully pouring the chocolate into their containers, placing the candy, and then pouring chocolate over the fillings. She was completely in her element here, and her stride seemed to have improved over just a couple of hours. “I much prefer her like this,” Lyra said, “She’s happiest when she’s making chocolate. She’s just got this smile, it’s infectious. Everything’s better in the world when there is chocolate, you know what I mean?” “I know somepony who might agree with you a little too much on that one,” Twilight smiled, “We’re going to need a few boxes of Bonbons, for those affected, including her.” “I figured you were planning something like that,” Lyra nodded, “Let me guess, I’ve got to enchant them?” “Yep. But only the chocolates for her, I’ll enchant the others, unless you think you can handle it. Of course, you don’t want her eating too many of them. You should enchant all of her food, her bed, that sort of thing, and keep me posted. Swing by every day so I can make sure she’s doing all right. It’s probably not a good idea to leave her alone, either.” “Ugh, so I’ve got to ponysit her all day…I can deal with that,” Lyra lamented, “She’ll just have to come with me to practice and shows. How long will this go on for?” “Until it’s finished. I honestly don’t know. Like I said, I’m going to write to somepony who knows this sort of thing better than I do.” “Wow. Twilight Sparkle admitting she doesn’t know everything,” Lyra teased, and Twilight rolled her eyes. “Does this peanut butter taste good to you?” Bon Bon asked, shoving a gob of the stuff in Twilight’s face. She was very intense about it. Twilight reached for something to scoop it off of Bon Bon’s hoof, but the mare pressed it towards Twilight’s face, and she took the hint, and slurped it right off of Bon Bon’s hoof. “It tastes fine. A little on the sweet side..” “I knew it. The honey…Do you have any non-honey peanut butter?” “Yes, in the pantry,” Twilight pointed with her hoof, “Lyra, does she do that often?” “Ugh, you have no idea…I always keep a bag of some salty snacks, she’s always shoving sweets in my mouth. Artists, you know?” Lyra shook her mane, “It’s all I can do every day to run it all off…I think I’ve gained weight anyway…” “Nonsense! You’re a beautiful pony, Lyra! Don’t you agree, Big Macintosh?” He gave an inattentive ‘Ay-yup’ in response. “Thanks, Twilight. It’s good to hear somepony say it once in a while.” “Done!” they heard from the kitchen, and Bon Bon presented a large tray of bonbons for them to marvel at. It wasn’t just a tray of chocolate, it was a display of art, and they all knew it. Each candy had been made with meticulous planning and dedication, no two looking exactly the same. “All right, now for the finishing touch,” Lyra said. She took a deep breath, and charged her horn, and let it go, ignoring Big Macintosh and Bon Bon’s gazes of wonder and desire of the pony’s horn. When the spell was finished, Lyra looked somewhat tired. Bon Bon’s gaze went from Lyra to the chocolates, and Twilight grabbed most of them with her telekinesis, placing them neatly in boxes. “You can keep those. These are for somepony else,” Twilight said. She produced a bag of bits, and handed them to Bon Bon, “Payment, for the chocolates. I insist.” Twilight put a bow on two of the boxes, and placed another in the pantry. She stood in front of Big Macintosh. “Now, the chocolates in the pantry are off limits, do you here? I don’t want you gorging yourself on chocolates and making yourself sick. It might feel good when you do it, but you’ll hate yourself afterward.” Bon Bon had already eaten three of the chocolates, and seemed ashamed under Lyra’s disappointed gaze. Big Macintosh bit his lip, and nodded. “I think I should get started on those preparations,” Lyra said, putting the rest of the treats into another box, and putting them on her back. Bon Bon gazed at the box, a crazed look of desire in her eye, and Lyra scowled, “Do not touch the box.” Bon Bon’s head lowered, and she gave Lyra big, adorable, ‘Please?’ eyes. Lyra rolled hers, and took out a single chocolate, and handed it to her friend, which Bon Bon savored as they trotted out of the library. Lyra gave one final ‘Thank you!’ just as they left. Twilight turned to Big Macintosh. “It’s late. We should wind down for bed.” “Kin Ah jus’ have one?” “Bed.” “But-“ “BED.” “Fahn!” Big Macintosh huffed, “Kin Ah do some readin’ on the porch first? It’s a beautiful naht…” “Well, I can certainly agree to that,” Twilight said with a smile, and she picked out a book, and met Big Macintosh on the porch. Owlicious was there to keep them company for a little while, but eventually grew bored, hungry, or both, and flew off. The silence was palpable as they both just read, in silence, without anypony saying anything, enjoying both the subtleties and grandeur of the Ponyville night sky. Big Macintosh was the first one to go to bed, and Twilight sealed his room with a spell, but she decided to stay up a little bit longer before going to bed herself. That night, she was not awoken by Big Macintosh touching the forcefield, to her surprise. He’d slept fairly well. “Best night Ah’ve had in days,” he admitted, “Ah was plum tired. Ah could go fer strechin’ mah muscles though. We still have more t’ do on the farm. Mind if we head down there t’day?” “Well, if you don’t mind me doing some studying. I’m a little behind with everything going on, and I’d like to start committing some of my observations to paper. I’m afraid I won’t be much help today.” “That’s fahn,” Big Macintosh assured her. Spike managed to crawl out of his bed, and slumped into the kitchen, and pulled out leftover, sat at the table, and started eating. He didn’t notice Big Mac doing the same until halfway through breakfast. Twilight was preparing some materials for Spike to send a letter before grabbing a bite herself, and she saw the moment of realization. Spike, the fork still in his mouth, slowly turned to Big Macintosh, his eyes wide. The draft pony gave Spike a pleasant smile. “I forgot you were here…” Spike admitted. “It is usually just us two,” Twilight explained, “He’s not used to having anypony else at breakfast.” “Ah know th’feelin’. When Applejack was born, it were like havin’ a screamin’ stranger at every meal.” Twilight finished getting the letter materials ready, and fished out some food for herself, and relaxed with the boys. It was a quiet meal, but she didn’t mind, it was nice to have a quiet breakfast. “So, Twilight, what do we have to do today?” “Well, Big Macintosh wants to do more work on the farm, and I’d like to commit some of my observations to paper. So, once you finish your chores, you can have most of the day off, but we will be having company later tonight. But first, I need you to take a letter.” Spike darted and grabbed the materials, the quill at the ready. “Dear Doctor Oblong. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am writing to you because I am hoping to get your opinion on three Magic Addiction cases…” Twilight dictated the situation without giving away personal details of the patients, and asking for what his opinion was on her methods and precautions, and the like. Spike couldn’t burn this letter; it would have to be sent by mailpony, but Twilight was fairly sure that she had acquired the correct address. Doctor Medul Oblong had contributed significantly to that section of the book, she had read in the index, and it was a recent edition. The biographical information that was included showed that he wasn’t too old, and was doing research in a prestigious Manehattan university. With any luck, he would get the letter within a few days, and would write her back quickly. The letter took longer than she thought it would, as it was coming upon noon by the time they left the library. Twilight had forgotten all about being embarrassed, though she still got funny looks from the ponies around when they passed through the town. Twilight didn’t even notice. Let them gossip, and talk behind her back; she was confident in the truth, and had no reason to be ashamed of other ponies’ assumptions, though she would have to do some dispelling to prevent them from getting out of hand… They stopped by the post office first, where they were nearly run over by a swooping Ditzy Doo as she darted off to deliver more mail. “That pony…” Twilight muttered. She looked to the sky, checking for anvils. When she was confident that she was quite safe and protected by a roof, she turned to the mailpony behind the desk. He was a tall, older pony with a letter cutie mark, a navy blue coat, and a white mane. “Hello! I’ve got a letter to mail off,” Twilight said, and she handed him the letter. “All righty, to Manehattan. We’ve got an experimental delivery system that’ll send the letter straight to their offices today and save a lotta time, but it’s twice the price.” “Well, I can afford that, and this is a bit important. But…Experimental?” “Well, there’s a chance that the letter will burn and won’t be received at all. But, we’ll make a copy of your letter, just in case, if you don’t mind us doing so.” “By all means.” Twilight watched as he unrolled the letter, and pressed it in what she assumed was a magical book (from Big Macintosh’s gaze mostly.) The postmaster was kind enough to show it to Twilight in action. It was pretty simple, really. The book needed to be loaded with ink, but when a letter was pressed onto the page, it copied the contents, creating a perfect duplicate. The postmaster rolled up the scroll again, and walked into the back. She heard a ‘Phoomp!’ and he returned with a smile. “It went through just fine! You letter should be received by tomorrow or the day after at latest.” “Why thank you so much!” Twilight shot him a pleasant grin. “My pleasure,” the postmaser replied with a nod, and they went on their way to the farm, where there was still yet more work to be done, and Big Macintosh was glad to be back in his natural element. The sunshine and fresh air put Twilight in a good mood as she scratched away with her notes. Eventually, Big Macintosh’s chores were finished, and they had to return to the library, since Twilight was expecting the mayor. Eventually, she did slip into the library. The mayor seemed better composed than the last time Twilight had seen her. For one, her mouth wasn’t smeared with chocolate. Her mane was better brushed, and she didn’t have a strange, crazed look in her eye. “And how are you feeling today, Mayor?’ “Much better, thank you. I actually managed to get some work done. After what happened, the only thing I could think of was chocolate…” “Well, I’ve found a way to get the best of both worlds,” Twilight informed her, producing one of the boxes of bonbons. She checked to make sure that they were all there, and the chocolates were quite safe. “These have been enchanted. But they’re still chocolates. Don’t eat too many at once,” Twilight instructed. The Mayor pursed her lips and nodded. “Thank you, Twilight. I just did not feel like myself until you helped me,” the Mayor commented. Twilight took the chance to look for physical signs, such as the Mayor’s coat, her eyes, and her teeth, for signs of recent neglect. She noticed that the Mayor’s collar was a little sweaty around the neck. “Did you take your collar off at all?” she asked, and the Mayor looked away. “Mayor, you’ve got to take it off once in a while. You’ll get a rash. Tomorrow, if you have any others, I’ll enchant those, too. In the meantime…” Twilight looked around, and pulled a blanket out of her linens closet, and imbued it with magic. She draped it over the Mayor’s back, “At this rate I’m going to run out of linens…” The Mayor took her leave, and Twilight returned to the kitchen to start preparing dinner, when she caught Big Macintosh red handed with the box of chocolates hanging from his mouth. Twilight glared, and Big Macintosh’s eyes gave her an innocent puppy-dog look. “You may have one before dinner,” she conceded, and Big Macintosh was more than happy to make use of her kindness, picking out the biggest one in the box, and putting it away. Until after dinner anyway.