~~~
Have you ever thought about it what it means to love a book? To adore the idea it contains between its covers and the messages it planted into your mind?
I have thought about it, and now I know, ‘cause I love books. Not all of them, but there are some I would do anything for. And I’m not just saying that.
The first step is to realize what a book is. Paper and ink you say? Well, then a pony is nothing but a fuzzy sack of meat and bones. Maybe a pony is just that, and the ideas, the creativity and spirit of a pony are separate? But that just makes a book all so much more. Because a book is both, at the same time, a physical object, ink on paper in a binding, and a spiritual subject that carries ideas and puts them into ponies’ minds. A book is the perfect amalgam of the here and now and the what might be.
What happens to the idea once it’s been read? That depends upon the reader, you see. If the reader is very young and hasn’t found truths in her life yet, the idea will take root and wait. But if the reader already has other ideas in his head the ideas will fight and mix, and a new idea will be born in the reader’s mind. An idea she might then commit to paper and so write a new book. And a the big circle will continue, as long as there a ponies who read. In a way, this is the way to immortality: put yourself, the idea of yourself, that which makes you you into a book and become a part of this eternal flow of ideas.
~~~
Celestia looked up from the ancient letter. Her gaze wandered over to the huge comfy couch she liked to sit on when she was alone. You could have placed three normal ponies on it without a problem; the baby dragon looked utterly lost between all the cushions. Celestia took the letter in her magic, and the piece of paper floated over to him. He caught it in his claws and seeking her approval looked at her with fearful eyes.
“Just read it, Spike,” she said. ”The part I’ve marked is the important one. Don’t be afraid. While I hold it in my magic you can’t damage the paper, however brittle it may seem.”
As he read the letter he nodded, nodded and nodded again. “Yes, Princess,” he said and released the piece of paper from his grip. “That’s pretty much what Twilight talked about today. Now, I know I’m not as clever as her, but all that? Turning yourself into an idea and live forever inside other ponies’ heads?” He looked over his shoulders, as if expecting somepony sneaking up on him. “That’s really creepy. And I know creepy: I read Nightmare Moon on Oak Road. But that wasn’t half as creepy as that.” He waved his claw towards the letter that now settled back on Celestia’s desk.
Celestia raised an eyebrow at the little dragon. “You read such scary stories?” She shook her mane. “Please, promise me that you will not read more of that … filth.”
Spike twiddled his thumbs and tried to avoid the Princess’s eyes, but he ultimately failed. “Well, okay. I won’t read the rest of the series. But you have to promise to do something about Twilight.”
“You like her very much, don’t you?” Celestia smiled a little smile as she saw red shooting into Spike’s face. “I will look into it. In fact I already have an idea. Do you know if Twilight has any plans for the Summer Sun Celebration next month?”
“You mean beyond ‘spending all day in the tower and reading’? None that I know of.”
“Very well. You can go now. Please tell Twilight that I will be late for our lesson. About thirty minutes, I guess.” Celestia watched the dragon hop down from the couch and walk out of her office. She rolled the scroll up to place it back in it’s container as her gaze fell on the last lines of the letter and sighed.
~~~
At least it is the best shot at immortality for those of us who aren’t blessed with eternal youth already.
Your devoted pupil, Starswirl.
~~~
“Just why didn’t you aim higher?”