Chapter 10: Wrapped Up in Books
Undesirably the sun seeped through the drapes of the library and onto the sleeping form of the dragon that was curled up beneath a lump of sheets and covers on the owner's bed. A few minutes passed and the lump began to shudder and stir.
"Ah, another chapter another waking up," Spike yawned to himself. He cringed upon exiting the clothy domain he'd been covered in. Beams of the celestial star shot right across his eyes blinding him. He didn't need sight to notice however that the same thing that'd been missing the previous time he'd woken up was still gone. Twilight. Knowing he should already be up and hard at work on his chores, the number one assistant felt around for the edge of the bed and dropped down. Instantly he lost his balance on the unsteady floor below and toppled over, bits of it flying up and landing back on him.
"Hold on a sec...this isn't the floor," Spike realized ruffling around the messy pile that littered the dwelling. What he was feeling were a bunch of blocky structures. Curiously he picked one up and brought it close to his face. His vision was finally unblurring.
"This...is a book..." Spike blinked a few times and looked around the room. The entire place was covered in them! Not a single spare space of the floor remained! They practically flooded up to the bed's level!
"Dear Celestia," he grumbled at the thought of having to clean the mess up, "Twilight could've at least gotten Owlowicious to help her...during...the..." Spike's eyes widened even more. It wasn't like Twilight to stay vacant from her room. If anything she holed up in there whenever there was severe studying that needed to be done! Something was wrong! This wasn't a normal Twilight session! As quickly as possible the little dragon waded to the door (he had to admit it was pretty fun to adventure through the obstacles) and flung it open. What he was met with threw him to the ground. Books stacked to the ceiling outside the room collapsed on him.
"What the hay is going on!" he cried, "We don't even have this many books!" Desperately Spike burrowed through the loose terrain. Every minute or so he dug downwards to see where he was. Luckily for him he knew the library's layout without even have to look at it by now. Still, he felt like a mole in a mountain! But he had to find out what was going on! He was Twilight's number one assistant, he couldn't let her down!
"Twilight!" his muffled voice sounded through the pulsing trail he dug, "Twilight! Where are you!" After what seemed like hours the digging finally came to an end. He'd burrowed straight into some sort of hollow chamber in all the madness. Books made the walls and ceiling. And there in the center was Twilight Sparkle, her face buried deep in one of the fiendish nightmares.
"Twilight!" Spike clamored over and shook her, "Twilight! What's going on! Are you alright!" Violently the pony shook her head and looked down at Spike. Her face was a mess to say the least. Her hair sprayed out all over the place and her eyes had deep rings around them. She obviously hadn't gotten any sleep what-so-ever. But her eyes were odd. They were just as alert as they normally were.
"Oh hi Spike..." Twilight replied forming a slow smile as she spoke, "How are you today? Did you know that dragons need to eat gems in order to fuel their fire?"
"..um...yes? I know...I am one...but Twilight wh-"
"And rolling around in their treasure coats them better for defense, much like the Kaleid Ooze collects more magic as a barrier to shell its core sentience. Why in just-"
"Twilight! SHUT UP!" Spike shook her again, this time more viciously, "What is going on! What's with all the books!" The unicorn gave the dragon an odd look as if she didn't understand what he was saying and looked around slowly.
"Books?..." she blinked, "...oh, you mean the house! Oh silly Spikey, I just cast a spell to bring books to the house. Once that worked I brought a copy of all the books ever written here. Now I never have to leave!" Spike backed up a bit from the freaky smile she gave him.
"But uh...what about our...friends?..." Spike gulped.
"What about who now?" Twilight asked him in confusion. Spike's brows bent a bit. Yeah, there was something definitely wrong.
"Oh Spikey, what's wrong?" Twilight sensed his distress and took started walking towards him, his feet countering her's with every step, "We'll have lots of fun here! Just think of the knowledge we'll gather!" With no other exit available, Spike decided to simply burrow into the wall. He had hardly gotten a few centimeter's in before he was yanked back out by his tail and glomped in Twilight's grasp. He shuddered. This wasn't just another Friendship Report gone wrong. No, this was far worse. Her obsessiveness over learning would rule out any simple scroll to the Princess.
"It'll be okay boyfriend," Twilight stroked his spines robotically, her eyes not even on him, "I'll learn everything. And then we can have fun here forever in the world I'll make. You can be king and I can be queen...no, I can be goddess and you can be god! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Spike bit his lower lip with each passing iota of sanity. He had to find some way to snap Twilight out of her delusional fantasies.
"Yeah..." he cringed in agreement, "That'll be just...perfect..."
---
"So you're telling me that there's some recolor of Spike with a visor and a gasmask wandering around saving you?" Rainbow Dash asked. Happily Fluttershy nodded her head.
"He was so polite and...complimentary," she blushed. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
"You realize it's probably just Spike in an outfit right?" the blue pegasus gave her thought. Fluttershy laughed.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, Spike isn't a super hero!" Fluttershy giggled.
"If he was a super hero he'd have Spike as his secret identity," Rainbow Dash told her more timid friend, "And if he had a secret identity you wouldn't know that he was a super hero. Besides, you guys were the Mysterious Mare Do Well once and I couldn't figure that out."
"Yeah, but that's you that couldn't figure it out," Fluttershy waved causing Rainbow Dash's eyes to narrow a bit at the subtle insult.
"Look, I'm just saying that you can't say it isn't Spike. And if it is him you do know that he's dating...dating...bwahahaha!" Rainbow Dash still couldn't get over what Spike had told her after helping to find Tank, "Him...and...and Twilight...they're...HAHA! Oh Celestia make it stop! He could be a comedian!"
"I don't think he'll be much of anything if we don't see him again," Fluttershy whimpered. Rainbow Dash gave her an odd look.
"What the hay are you talking about?" she scratched her head. Instantly her head was yanked towards the scene below. Her jaw dropped. Where Twilight and Spike's tree normally stood was now a tower of books flooding over any spot that a branch might stick out. Gathered around the structure were quite a numerous amount of the residents of Ponyville.
"Atta boy Big Mac!" Applejack cheered as her brother slammed his head into the side of the tower, "You bring that thing down! We need to rescue Spike and Twilight!" Slowly the pegasi drifted down and landed next to the Earth pony. Fluttershy tried her best to hide behind Rainbow Dash. The structure, though not alive, was rather scary from its sheer height alone. The fact that Big Macintosh's tackles were causing it to wobble didn't help at all. But the other ponies that were gathered were joining in the cheers.
"You get em bucko! Show em how we bring da pain!" Granny Smith yelled.
"Anyone done an aerial view yet?" Rainbow Dash asked. To her dismay Applejack nodded.
"Covered all the way to the roof, and just as sturdy up there..." she sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, despite her brother's efforts, nothing was happening. The most that would happen is a ripple or two would vibrate across the firm tower and dissipate into nothing.
"I'm sure a Sonic Rainboom-"
"Would blow out every window from here to Canterlot?" the mayor finished. Rainbow Dash gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. Another wave swam across the books.
"Well we can't just do nothing...they're our friends..." Fluttershy cautiously suggested hoping that the tower wouldn't smite her for giving the idea. Applejack rubbed her chin and glanced at the place where Big Macintosh had hit. Each time it formed a small crack. Just big enough for somepony to be able to slip in... A grin crossed her face.
---
The young purple dragon stood amidst a vast meadow. The sky was crystal clear with the various shapes of clouds occasionally dousing the land in shadow as they floated gently by on the currents of the wind along with a few cherry blossoms. The scene was like something out of a dream. To make sure it wasn't one Spike knelt down and dug into the earth beneath him. It pulled from the crust just like real dirt as well as trickled through his fingers upon breaking apart. The world was real. The place he was in actually existed. It was...unbelievable. What had been nothing but endless piles of books that morning were now trees and grass and wind and clouds and land...life...
"It is beautiful is it not god?" Twilight's voice giggled. Spike jumped at the sudden manifestation of his friend. Now standing beside him was Twilight. But not her normal self. Instead she wore the hat that she had when she'd taken up her costume of Star Swirl the Bearded on Nightmare Night. Over her body was a rather long cloak. Not even her back legs could be seen. And her eyes...if nothing else Spike could now see the veins getting pretty red on them.
"Is there anything you want my god?" she giggled again as she rubbed her cheek against his. Spike blushed.
"Um...a jewel would be nice..." he suggested. A moment later gems and rubies literally started climbing towards the sky in front of him. They just simply began appearing on the ground! Spike couldn't contain himself. Instinctively he dove into the pile and started swimming around, the shiny delectables flooding his mouth the further in he swam. After a good five minutes he popped back out the top and his eyes practically fell out of his head. He was in space. He didn't want to look down but he had to be sure. Yep...he'd swum up to outer space with the land far far below.
"Anything else?" Twilight's voice asked. Spike looked to the side. There was Twilight with her cloak now stretching down to the world below as it lifted her to his height.
"Twilight...we're...still in the tree right?...I mean...how did you..."
"Books Spike!" Twilight laughed picking up the dragon and pulling him to her chest firmly. The scenery melted around them as she spoke revealing the piles and piles of literature that had cloaked the dwelling before he'd been thrust into the world Twilight had made.
"Spells and spells and knowledge! All of it mine to create the world that I see fit! The ultimate experiment and ultimate way of finding out just how everything works! We no longer have to age for any reason. No longer have to eat or sleep if we don't want to. Just a world all for us! Whatever we want at our whim!" Spike could've sworn he saw Twilight's eyes glowing redder the more engrossed she got in the whole concept.
"Um...but what about our friends?..." Spike gulped. One of Twilight's ears flapped at the word.
"...what's a friend?..." she asked. Slowly Spike tried to push away from the crazed pony only to be pulled back to her chest full force.
"Um...like me?..."
"Oh Spikey I'll always love you!" she nuzzled into the top of his head gleefully.
"...and uh...I'll love you...but what about the others? Like Applejack? Rarity? Rainbow Dash? Flutt-"
"Oh those pests?" Twilight scoffed, "Don't worry I've been making sure they can't get in. And that stupid brother of Applejack's certainly isn't getting in. I had our world fling him into another pony's house a little while ago." Spike violently fought to get loose from the unicorn upon discovery the revelation. He had to get out! If nothing else he had to help the others! He certainly wasn't going to be able to last even if he was essential to keeping Twilight in check. But her grip was unbreakable.
"Oh Spikey..." Twilight cuddled Spike robotically, "It'll be so fun. We'll be here togther...forever..."
---
"Um...what's going on out there?" Fluttershy quivered. She'd hardly moved an inch since being forced into the situation, "And um...why am I the one that was chosen to go inside?..."
"For comedic effect darling," Rarity's voice sounded from her communicator, "Why the viewers will just die from laughter once they see that you of all ponies are the one we sent in!" The answer only made Fluttershy die a little more inside.
"I thought I heard a loud bang..." her voice quivered.
"Ah don't you worry none," Applejack told her, "That was just ol' Macintosh. The tower finally got tired of him once he made a hole so you could get in. Somehow a large hand formed from the wall and slammed him into somepony's house. But not to fear. It'll take more than a few lousy books to keep my brother down. Ain't that right big Mac?"
"Eyow!" he yelped.
"Oops, er, sorry. Hehe."
"Look, just ignore everypony here and find Twilight and Spike!" Rainbow Dash barked, "Why didn't you guys let me do it?"
"You'd be liable to destroy Spike and Twilight's home?" Rarity suggested earning a groan from Rainbow Dash's voice. After being reminded what was at stake, Fluttershy took a few deep breaths and started again to crawl through the eternal tunnels of books. She never thought she'd ever be scared by simple stories, especially not in Twilight's home...but she was. The books themselves felt alive...and watchful. The pegasus could feel thousands of invisible eyes staring her down. Daring her to take another hoof forward. She'd felt the presence ever since she saw the newly decorated dwelling.
"G-guys?..." Fluttershy stopped to check up on them again. They were still caught up in their arguments. With a sigh Fluttershy clicked the communicator off and laid still to regain her composure before continuing. She forced her eyes shut to gather her concentration. Fluttershy wished she hadn't. That moment is when she realized just how correct she'd been in her belief that the books were alive. Though it was slow, almost nonexistent to a pony that wasn't observing, she could feel them. The books. They moved...they pulsed...they were actually flowing in a pattern. It was like they were veins being pumped...from a heartbeat...
Scared to death, the pegasus did the first thing that came to her mind. She dug. Frantically Fluttershy tore through the books faster than any evacuation she'd ever made in her life. She needed to find an exit! Simply staring at the foreboding structure from the outside had been far more than enough for her; but to be forced into the ungodly abomination? It was worse than any cave she'd ever glimpsed at, any dragon she'd ever been afraid of! She was actually inside a living entity! And in the desperation she'd left her communicator in the streaming passageways.
"RAINBOW DASH!" she cried once she'd noticed the communicator's absence, "APPLEJACK! TWILIGHT! RARITY! PINKIE PIE!-" "Hi Fluttershy, bye Fluttershy!" "-SPIKE! SCOOTALOO! OH DEAR CELESTIA! SOMEPONY HELP ME!" She didn't know whether it was from the atmosphere of the unholy realm or her own panic but Fluttershy could feel her tears flooding out of her eyes forming a trail behind her. She knew the books could hear her and see her. They had to!
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Fluttershy cried burrowing ever further through the bound pieces of literature.
---
"-ike!.." the purple dragon lifted his head from the citizens of Twilight's manufactured castle that had taken to worshiping him. Someone had said his name. Somepony had said his name...a normally timid voice... If nothing else it'd broken him out of the hypnotic spell of Twilight's world. It took all of his effort and concentration to keep from losing himself to the artificial realm that Twilight had created. And Twilight noticed.
"Is there something wrong my majesty?" she chimed moving over to him and rubbing her cheek against his, "You have all the riches a dragon could ever want, as well as a fanclub larger than an entire city! Though it is interesting to see its effects on you, which I shall take note of, I thought you would be happy." As she spoke a book materialized next to her which her magic scribbled her research down in. Spike clenched his eyes shut. He needed to focus.
"Spikey?" Twilight asked more sincerely. He couldn't help but look at the unicorn. Sure she still retained the chaos beneath the surface that she'd displayed before, but Twilight was still there. It wasn't enough to distract him however.
"Fluttershy," he spoke. Twilight's brow lifted at the name. It seemed so distant to her.
"What's a-"
"Our friend," Spike cut her off, "I heard her. You remember we had friends right?"
"Oh that parasite?" Twilight chuckled nonchalantly earning a rather shocked expression from the dragon, "Don't worry, the antibodies are taking care of her."
"An...antibodies?..." Spike gulped. Pleasantly Twilight nodded her head.
"Gotta have some way to keep the unworthy out of this world," Twilight figured. Spike bit his lower lip.
---
"Fluttershy?...darling are you there?..." Rarity tapped the communicator hesitantly. It'd been four minutes since they'd noticed they were no longer receiving complaints or excuses from the shy pegasus. And since then nothing had responded from the other end of the communicator.
"That's it! I am going in!" Rainbow Dash growled and began to rear up. Applejack tackled Rarity out of the way just in time for Rainbow Dash to charge through where she had been...and smash head-first into the sturdy wall of books.
"Did I win Spitfire?..." Rainbow Dash's eyes rolled around in her head after falling back to the ground. Applejack cringed at the near-unconscious state that Rainbow Dash had bestowed upon herself.
"Oh it should have been me that went in," Rarity declared dramatically, "Why if anything happens to the poor dear I don't know wha-"
"Well Rainbow Dash there just made a mighty fine hole. We could probably slip you in so you could look for-"
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Rarity cried. Upon realize what she'd just said she'd clamped her mouth shut and her cheeks started to redden. The stares of the crowd around her just worsened the coloring.
"That fortunately shall not be needed," a bright light declared turning all the inhabitants of Ponyville's heads to the sky. Some draws dropped and others rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't hallucinating. Floating in the air above was none other than the alicorn Celestia.
"We have come to free thy great and mighty Twilight!" Luna announced drifting down next to her sister.
"...guess the cavalry's arrived," Applejack rubbed the back of her head.
---
With a crash the screaming pegasus collapsed onto the ground in front of the dragon and unicorn. Spike blinked a few times and leapt onto her.
"FLUTTERSHY!" he exclaimed covering her in desperate kisses and hugs, "Oh thank Celestia you came! I-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" Noticing the clinging being as well, Fluttershy let out a shriek and began shaking like crazy. Eventually it flew off and landed on the ground in front of them. It looked like some bizarre lump of matter that'd been formed from broken down paper. Its steps were even odder. Instead of walking like a normal being, legs shot out of the front and retracted once the limb's stepping cycle was complete. Fluttershy put her hooves over her head when it finally made its leap, but it never touched her. Instead it crumbled into nothing from a puff of green fire.
"You're welcome," Spike patted the scared pegasus who squeezed him in a tight hug.
"Oh Spike we were all so worried about you and Twilight!" she pouted, "and they forced me in here for comedic effect and I heard the books having a heartbeat and crawled all over and-and-I'm so happy I finally found you two! Now come on, let's get out of this...paradise?..." Fluttershy finally noticed the landscape before them. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. The very definition of beauty. The sun gleaming across the clean land...it was unreal.
"Yeah...that's the thing..." Spike rubbed his arm in nervousness, "Twilight here sorta...made this world...and uh...doesn't want to leave..." Fluttershy's mouth shrunk and she turned to Twilight. Neither of them had been paying any attention to her. Nor did they want to when they finally did. She was just staring at the pegasus.
"You shouldn't have been able to make it past the antibodies," Twilight muttered and conjured up her book to scribble in, "I will have to make adjustments to them I guess. But other than test data you're of no use. I'm going to have to expunge you from the system myself I guess."
"Ex...expunge?" Fluttershy quivered. With a nod, Twilight started walking towards the frightened intruder, her horn glowing brightly. On her face there was no emotion what-so-ever. She was like a robot.
"B-but Twi-twilight, I c-c-came to rescue you g-g...oh dear..." Fluttershy began backing up once the dangerous pony had entered a perimeter of about five feet from her. Her path was halted however when a large page from a book shot up out of the ground and planted itself firmly in back of her.
"...Twilight...please don't..." Fluttershy cringed. The unicorn just continued her walk. That is, she did continue until another figure entered her field of vision. Firmly, Spike put his foot down in front of the advancing purple pony and folded his arms over his chest. Twilight blinked and tried to walk around only for him to step to the side as well.
"Spike, please move," she politely commanded.
"No." Again Twilight blinked.
"Spik-"
"Twilight Sparkle, this is our friend. Fluttershy," Spike grabbed the unicorn's ears and yanked her face towards the timid one. For about half a minute she studied the pegasus. And she did have to admit, something in the back of her mind was scraping at her subconscious about the shuddering form.
"Remember?" Spike urged. Twilight's eye twitched a bit.
"I...I...Flutter..." Twilight's mind spasmed. Unfortunately the reminiscing didn't last. All of a sudden a loud crash sounded and the world around the trio rippled. Spike and Fluttershy instinctively looked at Twilight for an explanation as to what had just happened. The unicorn however had quite an expression on her face. In an instant her emotion had shifted from researching to a sharp glare that could probably slice a tree trunk in half.
"More interference..." Twilight hissed. To the surprise of both Spike and Fluttershy, Twilight simply melted into the ground before them.
"Must delete errors," her voice sounded around them as the scenery continued to shift, "All not fit for this world are errors. This is the world, their's is flawed." Spike and Fluttershy gave each other a worried look. What was once paradise had shifted back into what it should have been. Stacks of books piled to the ceiling, now whirling around them and forming something entirely new.
---
"Thou shalt not best thee!" Luna exclaimed letting loose another barrage of energy from her horn at the tower. Again it shook. Her sister too gave another shot. Little by little the alicorns were chipping away at the structure. It seemed like it finally was going to give way when something entirely unexpected happened. What seemed to be the form collapsing was actually it changing. It was transforming! Gasps came from the crowd below as the ponies around the dwelling scattered into the streets of Ponyville. Hastily Applejack and Rarity pulled Rainbow Dash to the sidelines.
"Why yes Soarin', I'd be happy to accept the trophy of coolest pony in the land," Rainbow Dash dreamily drolled. Applejack rolled her eyes. When she looked back up the structure had finally stopped shaking. And her eyes nearly fell out of her head.
"Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Celestia and Princess Luna said in disbelief. Looking back at them was now the head of Celestia's best student, the books of the structure having melded together to present the figure.
"You are an enemy," Twilight's voice declared. Her horn began to glow.
"Die." Mainly from shock, the blast that she sent at Celestia knocked the sacred being to the ground. Swiftly her sister dodged through the various beams that projected and launched a vicious counter of her own.
"Thou shalt not raise her horn to-yah!" the nighttime sister cried from the projectile she received. Only when they'd confronted something near Discord's level had she even come close to feeling that kind of force!
"Sister...though I hate to say I think that we might need some help..." Luna said quietly landing next to the white alicorn.
---
"You alicorns are to be eliminated," Twilight's voice boomed throughout the organic setting. Though Fluttershy had been scared into submission, Spike took full notice of what was being said.
"Alicorns?..." he repeated quietly to himself, "She couldn't be...Twilight! There is no way you're taking on Celestia and Luna!" Another tremor rippled through the odd organ that he was standing on. He hurried off as liquid started to seep out of it.
"Spike!" Fluttershy yelped. Turning around, the dragon could see some cocoon-like strings beginning to form around the pegasus. With as much force as he could he pulled against them, but they were just forming too fast. With every strand he pulled away, ten or twenty more wrapped around her!
"Twilight! This has to stop!" Spike shouted still giving his attempt to free the whimpering pony, "You can't kill our friends!"
"I would never dispose of you Spikey," the voice replied calmly, "You are not an error. You are my number one assistant. You've been with me when no one else was."
"I'm talking about Fluttershy here! And Rarity, and Apple...wait a second..." an idea popped into Spike's head, "I'm the only one she still considers a friend..which means..." Spike tried to think of something else. He knew that what he'd thought up would more than likely end with him probably worse off than Fluttershy if it went the wrong way.
"Say Twilight, what's the organ in this body that contains the most destructive liquid?" Spike asked. "The Hydrofluoric Gland," Twilight's voice answered.
"And where would that be?" Spike inquired.
"It's to your left."
"Alright," he said walking over to it and getting his claws ready, "You either stop attacking Clesetia and Luna and free Fluttershy and get rid of this world you've made or I will tear this organ open." Spike could feel the presence of his friend pause. He'd at least caused enough of a distraction for something to cause another ripple to shake across the structure he was in.
"Spike, if you open that you'll-"
"I know. You have your decision to make. Stop all this or..." he scraped a claw delicately along the pulsing organ causing it to jiggle. Another tremor vibrated through the body.
"They are our friends...your friends..." he continued hoping he wouldn't have to actually risk tearing the sac open, "Stop attacking them...please..." More ripples shook. Out of the corner of his eye Spike could see the container that had been assimilating Fluttershy into the organic chamber crumbling to pieces. At the same time he also noticed something else. The antibody that had attacked Fluttershy earlier. It was crawling out of the wall...and it wasn't alone.
"Twilight, you're not going to stop me," Spike warned reluctantly. The paper spiders were gaining on him and fast.
"I'll keep you safe," Twilight told him, "The antibodies won't harm you. They'll just keep you so that you can't do anything. You'll be safe...in our world-"
"Your world!" Spike yelled yanking his hand back, "Have fun in it!" He closed his eyes and made his slash into the pulsating structure.
---
Celestia and Luna looked at each other for a clue as to why Twilight had stopped her assault. A few seconds passed before it made its final movement. All at once the structure rumbled and caved in on itself, the tree underneath poking out through the piles of books that toppled to the ground around it. Once they'd realized that the fight was over Applejack and Rarity rushed into the tree with Rainbow Dash in tow.
"TWILIGHT!" Applejack exclaimed as she burst through the door.
"SPIKE!" Rarity gave her cry.
"Fleetfoot!" Rainbow Dash moaned.
The two mentally stable ponies approached the group slowly. Fluttershy was knelt over a shivering Twilight. She was cradling Spike's body.
"Spike...Spike...I stopped it...you're alright...right?..." the purple unicorn's voice stammered. Once he was sure that the unicorn he'd spent his life with was back grounded in reality he popped his eye open.
"Course I am," he laughed and gave Twilight a hug around the neck, "I knew you'd come to..."
Fluttershy joined in the embrace, simply happy that things were back to normal...well as normal as things got in their town.
"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said sternly. The unicorn bit her lip at the voice. It took a while for her to actually turn and face the royal alicorn.
"H...hi," she waved with an innocent smile plastered on her face, "I'd uh...like to give my friendship report of the week..."
"Very well," Princess Celestia allowed to her sister's amazement.
"Um...well...first off sorry for all the trouble I caused...but uh, the report...I learned today that you should never get too caught up in something you're interested in...if that makes any sense." To everyone's surprise Celestia let out a small laugh.
"Oh Twilight, that's why I told you to not spend so much time with those books back in Canterlot and make some friends when I sent you here," she informed. Twilight's face reddened as everyone else joined in the relieving chuckle.
---
"FINALLY!" Apple Bloom exclaimed hugging the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to her, "It's done!"
"Now all I have to do is write up some good prank calls," Scootaloo rubbed her hooves together mischievously.
"And I...gotta get home," Sweetie Belle added. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at the horizon. None of them had realized how long it'd taken to fix up the phone booth. But somehow or other they'd done it. And boy did it give off an atmosphere like no other.
"Well tomorrow we make our first phone call!" Scootaloo declared.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Prank Phone Callers! YAY!" With that the ponies headed off towards their homes.