//------------------------------//
// Al-l-l-l-literation 
// Story: Pinkie's Pretty Purple Pony Princess Problem 
// by sleepingwithwolves 
//------------------------------//

      "But Rarity, I just don't know what to do! Ugh, my tummy feels like I at four whole triple-layer double-dipped chocolate chip fudge cakes... Even though that's one of the Cakes' best recipes, it would still make me sick!"
Pinkie Pie tossed and turned on the pristine floor of the Carousel Boutique, while Rarity was busy squeezing bits of ribbon and fabric on mannequins.
"Darling, why can't you just ask her on a date?"
Her eyes wide and her jaw loose, Pinkie sat up.
"Are you KIDDING? She just became a princess! I'm just a silly earth pony from boring old Ponyville..."
"Oh, don't be such a drama queen."
Pinkie glared daggers at her, and she smiled sheepishly before continuing.
"Sorry. Anyways, Pinkie, you are one of the most important ponies in Twilight's life! You are the Element of Laughter, a ray of sunshine on even the darkest of days. She wouldn't be where she is now without you. And besides, she loves Ponyville!"
It took a moment to soak all of Rarity's words up, but once she did Pinkie smiled with a little more confidence.
"I think you're right!"
Smirking, the unicorn trotted over to a shelf stuffed with fabrics. She prodded them with her hoof, idly browsing for something special.
"Darling, I know I'm right. You still need a plan, however. How are you going to execute this?"
All confidence disappeared.
"I, uh... I don't know..."
Pinkie felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up, discovering Rarity had sat down beside her. She smiled warmly. but there were glints of excitement and mischief in her eyes.
"I think I can help you with that."
The earth pony beamed: any suggestion was helpful.
"What did you have in mind? Does it involve a party? Ooh, does it have cake?" She asked, her eyes widening with each question.
"No, I'm afraid not," Rarity laughed, shaking her head, "But I think it will be more... Convincing on Twilight's part."
Pinkie raised her eyebrows and she furiously waved her hooves back and forth.
"Not like that! I meant that it appeals to her interests," She said, a bit annoyed.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
With that, Rarity began whispering her plan in Pinkie's ear.







Twilight buried her thoughts into the book in front of her, trying desperately to ignore the never-ending knocks coming from outside her door. She had been completely absorbed in Emotions and Magic: Where Science Meets Philosophy before somebody decided to disturb her. When the tapping didn't stop, she groaned and got up, trotting to the door.
"Can I help you? I was very busy studying the Theory of... Pinkie?"
Her friend stood bouncing in the doorway, so close that their muzzles brushed. Twilight leaned back a little, but Pinkie seemed unfazed. In fact, she started giggling.
"Uh, Pinkie, are you okay?" Twilight asked halfheartedly.
Between snorts and gasps, she managed an answer.
"Yeah, I just-- I didn't know there was an entire theory on me!"
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Very funny. Now, what do you need?"
"Oh, yeah! I need a favor," Pinkie said, reaching back and rummaging through her saddlebag. After a few moments she pulled out a journal with a pencil attached.
"I want you to teach me how to write!"
Twilight's mouth dropped like a stone, and she stood gaping for a while. She shook her head, staring at the beaming mare before her.
"Really? You want me to teach you to write?"
"Yeah! I've loved writing since I was a filly, but you don't get much edumucation on a rock farm. I figured since you're such a smarty-farty, you could help me with that!" Pinkie said, nodding vigorously.
Twilight could tell (even if Pinkie was just being silly). None the less, she was flattered.
"Well, I'd be happy to help you! Come in," she said, though her friend had already had one hoof in the doorway.
This would push back her study time, but Twilight could deal. It seemed Pinkie genuinely wanted to learn how to write: she was being very calm and concise (for Pinkie, that is).
"I suppose you want to start right away?" She asked, leading Pinkie into a smaller room with a table and less bookshelves. Pulling out two chairs, she sat in one and waited.
"Yep!"
Pinkie hopped in and set her things down on the table, sitting in the chair. The minutes that passed were quiet, but not awkward. The earth pony looked hopefully at Twilight, who was working things out in her head. Where should they start? She figured maybe Pinkie brought something for her to critique.
"So... Did you bring something to show me?"
"No. I was hoping you'd, um, give me some pointers before I actually started writing."
Twilight smiled shakily, forcing out a laugh. This is going to be harder than I thought, she judged, making a mental note.
"Well, okay. I guess we should start with the basics. A good piece of writing needs a center conflict or subject, and--"
She was cut off by Pinkie's hoof.
"No, no, no, I know all that! I want to work on mechanics."
Twilight's ears perked up and her eyes brightened, but Pinkie wasn't finished yet.
"Not nit-picky stuff like grammar," hearing this, the alicorn's ears fell, "but these things called "devices". Dashie talks about them all the time when we get into the subject of Daring Do, and she makes them sound so fun! And you know how much I love fun," Pinkie said excitedly. She still grimaced a little as she remembered The Mirror Pool incident.
Twilight spit her hoof out and smiled.
"Ah, okay! I'll teach you about literary techniques!"
"Literary what now?" Her friend asked, tilting her head.
The unicorn giggled and brought Pinkie's supplies closer.
"Literary techniques. It's the formal name for the devices Rainbow was talking about. Authors use them to give description or insight."
Seeing Pinkie nod, she picked up the pencil, flipped the journal open, and wrote something down. Pinkie peered curiously at the paper.


Her eyes were like stars.


This reminded her of a certain mare who has scooted her chair pretty close, causing her to flush. 
"What does that mean? Well, aside from the fact that 'her' eyes were sparkling," Pinkie asked, laughing a little at the end.
"That's called a simile. It's when you use 'like' or 'as' to compare two things."
Pinkie nodded.
"Okay! Here, let me try!"
She took the pencil from Twilight's mouth with her own, quivering a little, and began to scribble on the page. Her brown furrowed as she paused a moment to think, then erased what she had written and wrote something new. Then, the pencil was cast away and Pinkie proudly slid the journal over to her friend.
"Like this?"


Twilight's mane is pretty as chocolate cake.


"Aw, thank you. And yes, exactly! Cake is a bit of a strange thing to compare to hair, but it's original, which is always essential for writing. Now, a metaphor is like that, except you don't use 'like' or 'as'."
"How would you do that? Just say whatever your describing is what your comparing it to?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head.
Twilight clapped her hooves, smiling warmly.
"Exactly! Try it."
Pinkie thought for a moment, then grabbed the pencil and began writing. It only took a minute or two before she was finished. I think I'm getting the hang of this, even if it's not why I originally came, she laughed silently. Twilight leaned over to look, her head resting just beneath Pinkie's neck. The earth pony's fur tingled, but she didn't dare move.


Twilight's eyes were glowing.


The alicorn smiled, withholding a giggle. Carefully taking the pencil, she began writing a sentence right below Pinkie's.


Twilight's eyes were cupcakes.


When she was done, she let her friend look it over. Pinkie was a little confused, but smiled at the word cupcakes.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Not... Entirely. You had the right idea, and I bet you had a good picture of what you wanted to compare my eyes to," she paused briefly and Pinkie looked away, "but you didn't quite make a metaphor. Mine is correct because I used cupcakes, a noun, rather than glowing, a verb."
"Oooh, that makes sense!" Pinkie said, her eyes brightening.
"Now, there's one more thing I want to cover before I have to go."
This distracted Pinkie. She sighed in sadness, laying her head on the table and looking up at Twilight.
"Aw, where are you going?"
"Fluttershy asked me to help her gather supplies for her animals from the Everfree Forest. But that's not important right now," She said, waving her hoof.
"Are you ready for something fun?"
Pinkie perked up right away and nodded very quickly.
"All right. The last device is... Alliteration!"
Twilight threw her hooves up for emphasis. Her friend wasn't buying it.
"Alliteration?"
"That's right! Al-l-l-l-literation!"
No matter how hard they resisted, the pair soon broke out into laughter. When she finally calmed down, sputtering and snorting, Pinkie spoke.
"What's alliteration? Why do you say it so funny?"
"Alliteration is the emphasis of a letter or sound. For example..."
After wiping her eyes, Twilight took the pencil and wrote something down, leaning back to let an eager Pinkie see.


The salty sea swirled sleeplessly.


"Ooh, ooh, that makes sense! Can I--"
Twilight was already handing her the pencil.







If Twilight thought Pinkie's writing lesson was a one-time thing, she was wrong. Very wrong. Since they had had so much fun the first time, they decided they should meet for writing more often. It started out every other week, and then that evolved to every Wednesday. Not long after that, however, they began meeting multiple times a week!
Honestly, though, Twilight didn't mind. In fact, she quite enjoyed it. Her and Pinkie had never been so close before. Also, she was getting to see a side of the earth pony she didn't even know existed: a calm, concise, eager-to-learn side. Maybe that's how she was when she first learned to bake she thought.
Their final meeting was exciting for the alicorn. Sure, it wasn't like Pinkie was her actual student. She was just helping a friend out. Still, it was such a beautiful thing to see somebody learning and growing. There was personal growth as well as academic. Besides, Pinkie told her she had something big planned.
It was a warm spring afternoon. A breeze wafted in from the windows, dancing with the curtains and tickling Twilight's nose. Though it was only a few minutes past 1:00pm, she was wondering if Pinkie would ever show. Sure enough, there was a knock on the door. A timid,  nervous knock, but a knock.
Pinkie Pie was standing at Twilight's doorstep, much farther away than she had been that first day.
"Hey, Pinkie. Come right in."
"Hi, Twilight! Thanks."
She followed Twilight to their usual room. Sitting down, she nervously dropped her things on the table and stared awkwardly. Twilight offered a smile, which she sheepishly returned, but that was it.
"Are you okay, Pinkie?"
"Y-yeah... Just... Nervous."
She waved it off, laughing a little.
"Don't be. It's not like I haven't read your work before!"
"Heh... I guess you're right... I guess I'm worried because it's a poem, and I've never been to good at those, even with your help."
Pinkie knew it was much more than that. She wouldn't dare say it out loud, though.
"Oh. Well, you shouldn't worry. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's lovely!" Twilight said, smiling and gesturing towards the journal.
I guess this is it, Pinkie thought as she nervously flipped through the pages until she found the right one. Sliding it to Twilight, she looked away. The alicorn seemed to brighten up as she dove right into the piece. That's a good sign, I guess.


Pinkie's Pretty Purple Pony Problem


Though I'm just a simple sap from a small seat,
I hope you'll secure my supplication
Your mane is a mingling masterpiece of magenta and mulberry
And your fur is as silky and smooth as the swirling sea
Your magic bewilders, befuddles, and bemuses me,
But when I look into your alluring, angelic eyes
I know I'll be safe and sound.
Will you go on a date with me?


Something clicked. Though it took her a few moments, but the poem did it's job (even if it wasn't the best). Twilight got the message.She got everything. So... Pinkie did this entire thing because she has a crush on me? Her cheeks caught on fire, and her stomach did gymnastics.
Stealing a glance over, she saw Pinkie watching her with hopeful eyes. She turned, facing the earth pony.
"Pinkie, I--"
Twilight stopped when Pinkie drew closer and touched her arms. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. No sound was needed. Each slowly, slowly leaned forwards, until they finally closed the gap.
It was a small, quick kiss, but it seemed like time itself slowed down. Just as Twilight felt Pinkie's mane tickling her neck, they felt each second drag by. 
After reluctantly breaking the contact, Pinkie spoke first.
"So, how about it?"
"Of course I'll go on a date with you," Twilight said, giggling, "What did you have in mind?"
"Well..."
Pinkie smirked, got up, and strolled behind Twilight's chair. The alicorn jumped when she felt her stroking the feathers of her wings.
"I've always wanted to go flying."