Voice of Reason I – The Arrival
Five months before the end of harmony
“Spike! Stop messing around and get this place cleaned up!”
“I wasn’t messing around! I fell down the stairs!”
“Oh no… this just won’t do!”
Spike rolled his eyes and sighed as he watched Twilight rush from one end of the library to the other, readjusting books, shelves, quills and stacks of scrolls in a mad flurry. Spike had spent the past two hours dusting and despite the library looking as pristine as it could be, Twilight was still in a state of panic.
“Spike, are you going to just sit there yawning or are you going to help me!? Remember that this pony is a friend of Princess Celestia and we have to make the best impression we can!”
“Twilight, you’ve rearranged the same desk three times! It doesn’t matter if the quill is in the ink pot, out of it, how the books are laid out… It looks fine! Besides, she should be here in—”
Spike was cut off by a knock at the door which caused Twilight to gasp, knocking over an oil lamp in her surprise and causing one side of it to smash into pieces. “Spike! You’ll have to stall her!” she hoarsely whispered, levitating a dustpan and brush as she cleared up the mess. “Remember to be polite! ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ and ‘May I’ and all that!”
Spike rubbed his sore knee and traipsed over to the library’s entrance, keeping an eye out for any shards of glass that might have peppered the floor-space. He took a deep breath and opened the door, ready to greet their guest. “Good morning Miss—”
Spike was left scratching his head in bemusement as he was met by an earth pony stallion clumsily trying to catch reams of paper that were fluttering around him. “Get back here!” he cried, catching them in his mouth and stuffing them into his saddlebag. He blushed, straightening himself up to greet Spike. “It’s good to finally meet you, Twilight Sparkle. Somehow I imagined you’d be a bit taller… and a bit more… female.”
“Oh, I’m not Twilight,” Spike replied with a chuckle. “I’m Spike, Twilight’s—”
“Hello and welcome!” Twilight interrupted with, knocking Spike aside and extending her hoof, which her guest politely shook. “You must be Voice of Reason.” She took a moment to examine her guest, feeling a little perplexed. “Somehow I imagined you’d be a bit shorter… and a bit more… female.”
The bulky stallion before her blushed and began laughing nervously. He had a dark blonde mane that spiked up at the fringe, a pure white pelt and blue eyes. On his flank was a cutie mark depicting a scroll and quill. “Princess Celestia should really have been more specific about me to you, and you to me.”
“I… sure,” Twilight responded with an anxious smile, not seeming to understand what he’d said. “Would you like to come in? Sorry it’s a bit of a mess,” she said nonchalantly as she led him into the immaculate library, levitating a disgruntled Spike in with her before closing the door. “Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Coffee? Biscuits? Pie? Sandwiches?”
“A glass of water would be just fine, thank you.”
“Absolutely! Spike, a glass of water for our guest, please!”
Spike grumbled something inaudible and made his way to the kitchen while Voice unclipped his saddlebags and dropped them at his side. “Thank you so much for letting me stay. Is there anywhere I can put these? Maybe next to my bed or something?”
“Certainly! Just follow me upstairs a minute and I’ll explain the sleeping arrangements.”
Voice went to grab his saddlebags again but Twilight was already levitating them up the stairs, smiling to herself. He followed her, taking in his surroundings with mild wonder. As they reached the top floor, Twilight dropped his saddlebags next to a ready-made bed with a velvet cover draped across it.
“You’ll be sleeping here. I do hope it’ll be comfortable enough. The pillows are filled with the feathers of puffins from Zebrica for an extra fluffy sensation! Not that any birds are harmed to make them, mind you. In fact, in a lot of cases—”
“And that’s where you’ll be sleeping?” Voice trembled, pointing out Twilight’s bed a few feet away.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Wouldn’t you consider it disrespectful… having a stallion sleeping in the same room as yourself?”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” Twilight cried, lifting the bed into the air. “I should have realised that! I didn’t know if you were going to be a stallion or a mare since the Princess didn’t tell me so I kind of assumed that you’d be a mare and then I sorted out the sleeping arrangements and didn’t think of that possibility and now I don’t know where you can sleep downstairs unless we move a few things around and I really wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable and—” Twilight brought the bed to the top of the stairs, knocking over an unsuspecting Spike and sending the glass full of water all over him.
“Twilight, it’s OK,” Voice said worriedly, standing between the bed and the archway. “I don’t mind where I sleep. I just wanted to make sure that you were OK with it. It would be un-gentlecoltly of me to impose something on you that you were uncomfortable with.”
Twilight blinked emotionlessly before becoming increasingly flustered. “Oh, you’re right! Um… I don’t have a problem with it if you don’t have a problem with it!” She dropped the bed back into its original position and began fluffing up the pillows. “I’m a big girl now and I’m not embarrassed by having a stallion in my room. Not that I’ve had them in my room before! I’m just not that kind of mare. Not that I’m… you know… or anything! I’m just not… and not that I have a problem with ponies like that! I just…”
As Twilight blabbered on, her face getting redder and redder, Spike glumly wandered up to a mortified Voice and placed a friendly claw on his shoulder. “She’s always like this, I’m afraid. Welcome to hell, Mr Reason.”
It was the next day, and Voice awoke to the sight of a breakfast tray next to his bed. A tulip sandwich, an empty teacup and two croissants were on top. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, only to jolt his head back in surprise.
“Oh, sorry if I startled you!” Twilight smiled cheerfully, levitating a silver teapot and pouring him some herbal tea with a heavenly aroma. “I made you breakfast. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh, yeah… thanks.”
“You don’t have any allergies I should know about, do you?”
“No.”
“Wheat intolerance?”
“No…”
“Well that’s great! Enjoy your meal! And if you’re still hungry, I have some muffins I’m baking downstairs.”
Twilight happily skipped downstairs as Voice gave her a confused look. The lavender unicorn was humming cheerfully to herself, checking on the muffins and making a checklist for today’s picnic. Spike rounded the corner with a suspicious expression on his face.
“There you are, Spike. I need you to head out and get me some croutons, some lettuce and some fresh daisies. While you’re at it, we could also do with some fresh orange juice.”
Spike merely eyed her curiously as the mare continued shuffling around the kitchen, flicking through recipe books. After a few moments, he spoke. “What’s gotten into you, Twilight?”
“Me? Nothing’s wrong. I’m perfectly happy today!”
“Right… right… that’s not the question I asked you, Twilight. Since when do you make muffins? Something’s different about you today. I just can’t quite put my…”
Voice began trotting downstairs with an empty tray between his teeth. “Hank hoo hurr.” He dropped the tray onto a hoof before speaking again. “Thank you for my breakfast.”
“Oh, no problem at all! No problem whatsoever!” Twilight continued humming to herself as she instantly moved the tray over to the kitchen side and began washing the plates with her magic. “We should be meeting some of my friends in a little while, so if there’s anything you want to do in the meantime, just say. Spike, didn’t I ask you to pick up some supplies?”
Spike hesitantly grabbed the pouch of bits presented to him, a cheeky smile appearing across his face. “Oh, I know what you’re up to,” he said slyly as he walked out the door, flashing Voice a glance and raising his eyebrows. Instead of heading for the supplies, he took a few minutes to spy on the two ponies by hiding in a bush opposite the window, only to hear a voice from beside him.
“Hey, Spike. What’cha doing?”
The purple dragon leapt in surprise. “Pinkie! What are you doing here!?”
“Playing hide and seek with Cranky Doodle Donkey! It’s been nearly a week and he still hasn’t found me! What about you?”
“I’m just spying on Twilight.”
“Oh really? Why?”
“Huh. Just ask her new colt-friend.”
At that, Pinkie leapt from the bushes with the most overly dramatic gasp that Spike, or any pony had ever witnessed.
"Is there something up with him?" Voice asked as Spike slammed the door shut.
"Oh, he's probably cranky because he thinks you're here to be my new assistant, or something," Twilight said dismissively. "He'll open up to you soon enough. Did you want some more tea?"
"No thanks," Voice answered, observing as the mare whipped through the rest of the washing up in record time. "I'd like it if you told me a little about Ponyville, though. I've never been here before, so it'd be nice to know a few things."
"Most certainly!" Twilight declared proudly, clearing her throat. "I've only been living here a few years myself, mind you, but I do know a thing or two. I guess we could start with Sweet Apple Acres, which is run by the Apple family. They're responsible for almost every apple sold in a ten mile radius. Their orchards span several hectares all the way from..."
Voice couldn't help but smile to himself as Twilight carried on with her speech, the unicorn's words flowing together elegantly as if she had spent hours in preparation. She painted a mental image of the town with delicate precision, relaying more information than he could possibly remember. He didn't ask any questions, simply because he wouldn't have needed any more answers.
"Oh, listen to me, blabbering on!" Twilight giggled awkwardly, her cheeks growing red. "I never even let you tell me about yourself."
Voice smiled, happy to see that she was as polite and inquisitive as ever.
She was just as he had remembered her.