Twelve books. That’s what I have to do. Princess Celestia is counting on me to read these. I can’t let her down.
Even for a self-proclaimed bibliophile like Twilight, the task was awfully daunting for a single weekend. After all, there were few ponies who could read a single book in a day, much less the four that Twilight had to average. But if there was one thing Twilight would not mind being shut in with for an entire weekend, that thing was most certainly books, maybe I wouldn’t mind spending a weekend with one pony in particular, she thought as her mind wandered. She quickly shook the thought from her head; that was for later. It was book time, after all.
To this point, she was done with the first two books, and was about a quarter of the way through her third. Distractions had been minimal, thankfully. Maybe Spike had come by earlier to tell her something, but she really couldn’t remember what it had been about. Other than that, it had been smooth sailing on the sea of knowledge. Of course, this would not last.
“Hey Twilight, whatcha doin?”
She turned around and was greeted by a pink snout only inches from her own. She reflexively began to back up, only to nearly knock down the desk she was reading at. “Pinkie Pie, how did you possibly get in here so quietly?”
“Quietly? I tripped over the books on the ground three times on the way up here. You just didn’t notice because you were reading your book.” She ruffled Twilight’s mane as she continued, “When you’re reading, I could practically throw a party in here without you noticing. But obviously I wouldn’t do that because the party would be no fun if you didn’t notice! I mean, what kind of party is it without the most awesome mare in—“
“Pinkie, I get it. Maybe I block things out a bit when I read, but it’s just a matter of concentration. Princess Celestia trusts me to read these books over the weekend, and I’m not going to let her down. Every time that I get distracted just makes it harder.”
“Twilight, you silly filly, I bet Princess Celestia just sent you all of these books because she thought you would like them. I mean, if I had a bunch of books, of course I would send them to you. You like books more than anypony else in Ponyville, so what else would I do with them? Besides, why do you think you need to read them all this weekend anyway?” replied Pinkie Pie.
“Well, I was going to send in my next friendship report Monday, so I assumed that the Princess would want my analyses of these books at our next contact.”
“Twilight, you know sometimes you can be so boring! Who says the Princess needs you to read all of these books? You know, you need to loosen up a bit sometimes. How about we go to Sugarcube Corner and you help me bake some new cupcakes? I got some brand new purple sprinkes that I bet you would like.”
“Pinkie, just because you never worry about anything—“
“And you like it,” Pinkie added, raising her eyebrows.
“Well, yes, I like it,” Twilight responded, getting flustered. “But that’s beside the point.”
“Of course it isn’t, Twilight. Just because you’re Ponyville’s smartest pony doesn’t mean that you have to spend all of your time reading silly old books. Remember, you’re also Ponyville’s cutest pony. It can’t hurt to take a break every once in a while.” She threw a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Come on, I’ll make it worth it for you,” she added, giving Twilight a wink.
Twilight returned a nervous smile and a blush. “Well, I guess I can take a bit of a break; I do need to de-stress. It can’t be too long though.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Twilight.” Pinkie gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Short breaks can be fun, too.”