//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: It Started With a Hoof // by Skillet Biscuit //------------------------------// “Hey Spike, think she’s waking up?” “Maybe? It’s hard to tell right now. She does seem pretty restless though.” Twilight could barely make out the faint echoes. She groaned as her eyes lazily fluttered open, the blurred vision of her library coming into view. As she tried to conjure up the energy to wipe away the fog, the serene coziness of the couch immediately reeled her back to sleep. At the drop of a hat, her eyes closed, separating her from the real world. She heard a distant chuckle. “Oh wait! Did you see that Pinkie? I think she’s waking up!” A giggle filled Twilight’s ears, followed by a most recognizable voice. “Twilight? Oh Twiiiliiigghht. Wakey wakey!” Twilight moaned as she hugged her pillow and buried her face in the soft fabric. “Hmmm, go away,” she murmured. A second later, Twilight felt a soft hoof on her head, stroking her mane down from her scalp. Pinkie sighed. “And the little mockingjay cocked its head and said, ‘it’s time to get up you little sleepy head!’” Twilight snickered as Pinkie’s little limerick rung in her ears. She shook her head, smothering her face deeper into the pillow. “Hmmm, nooo. Piinnkiiiee, it’s too early.” Pinkie giggled. “What? No it’s not silly! It’s midday!” What!? Twilight’s head popped up like a frightened prairie dog, causing Spike to yelp and jump back in surprise. Eyes wide with horror, Twilight looked around the library until she spotted the clock on the far side of the room. Reading the time, she felt her adrenaline switch into overdrive. “Noon!?” Twilight cried as she sprang to her hooves and leapt off the couch. “I slept in until noon? Oh dear Celestia this is horrible!” Pinkie chuckled as she nervously backed away from the couch. “Uhhh, Twilight? Are you oka-?” “My study schedule for the day! It’s ruined!” Twilight gasped. Like a cheetah, she dashed by Pinkie Pie and ran for the stairs, sending Pinkie spinning around the room like a deranged top. Spike jumped for cover under the couch cushions. “Tw...Twilight?” Pinkie asked as she steadied her footing. Her eyes were still bouncing around like tennis balls and her posture swayed around like a tree in a storm. “Gahhh! Where is it?” Twilight yelled from upstairs. Pinkie could hear a cacophony of sounds coming from the bedroom. At the same time, Spike poked his head out from his hiding place and checked to see if the coast was clear before pulling himself out from under the cushions. Pinkie looked at him, a timid chuckle escaping her lips. “Eh heh. Are you sure this was a good idea?” she asked nervously. Spike gulped and gave Pinkie a shrug. “I don’t know. It was your idea! Celestia knows she’ll need a break after last night. Still, good luck trying to convince her.” “This can’t be happening!” Twilight cried again. Spike and Pinkie Pie both let out a gasp as a cacophonic crash erupted from upstairs. They looked up towards the bedroom, then back at each other. Their faces were full of dread. Spike shook his head. “On second thought, maybe I should help you out Pinkie. Knowing her, this is going to be a job for two.” Pinkie nodded, and without a second word, the two walked up the stairs to confront the rampaging unicorn. As they reached Twilight’s room, they were shocked at the disaster before them. By now, Twilight had ripped the bed covers off, thrown the pillows all over her floor, and pulled all her drawers out of the cabinets. Pens, books, paper, erasers, and other miscellaneous items were strewn all across the wooden floor. It was as if the storm had ventured right into the library Twilight was standing in the middle of the room, her head jerking from left to right. The hairs on her mane and tail were beginning to stand up as if she were a frightened cat, giving both Spike and Pinkie terrifying memories of another moment of hysteria that the librarian had gone through a couple years back. Pinkie gulped. “Uh...Twilight? Can we talk?” she asked as she nervously approached her. “No! I can’t! I’ve gotta find my to-do list!” Twilight squeaked as she rushed over to her bedroom desk and began scouring the premises. “I left it right here last night when I finished making it out! I had everything planned out for the day on it and now I can’t find it! And to make matters even worse, I woke up late! That’s six hours of precious study time down the drain! Six hours!” She looked back at Spike and Pinkie, her left eye twitching. “What am I going to do?” Pinkie sighed. “Ah, Twilight silly! How could you even be thinking about working on your smarty booky magic stuff? You barely got any sleep last night!” “I feel fine!” Twilight said as she turned to face Pinkie, letting out a crazed chuckle. “I’ve never felt better! I feel like I could read an entire book in one day! No, half a day! Oh forget it! I’ll read all the books! All of them!” Pinkie shook her head. “Oh Twilight! You’re not reading anything today! You poor thing, all that lack of sleep has gotten into your sleepy weepy little head! You can’t even think straight right now.” She gave Twilight a proud smile. “And so that is why I hid your list from you, to force you into taking a day break from your studies!” In a split second, Twilight was upon Pinkie, crashing into the pink pony and pinning her on her back against the hardwood floor of the library. “What? Where is it?” Twilight gasped, her eyes staring right into Pinkie’s. Pinkie just smiled and shook her head. “No no, Twilight. If I told you it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it? Besides, if I hid it from you, what makes you think I would just tell you, silly! Ah Twilight, you crack me up at times!” Pinkie giggled, oblivious to the fact that she was being pinned to the ground by one of Equestria’s most powerful mages. “But...why? Why would you do that to me?” Twilight asked, her ears flattening in fear. Pinkie’s smile faded, replaced by a disappointed frown. “Twilight, you need to take a day off from your studies. Otherwise you’re going get tired and depressed and that’s no fun.” Twilight looked over at Spike who nodded in approval, his arms crossed. Pinkie continued. “Me and Spike got up about the same time this morning. We actually tried to wake you up early like you wanted, but you just mumbled in your sleep and pulled the blanket over your head.” She blushed. “In the end, we just kinda felt bad about disturbing you. You looked so peaceful, and I remembered how you had such a horrible night. Then Spike told me about your list of things to do and we decided to hide it from you so you could focus on relaxing!” “But...but I’ll fall behind on my studies! I can’t afford to miss a day! If I miss a day, then I’ll have to make up for it in the future! Oh I just can’t do it!” “Twilight…” Twilight looked down at Pinkie and found herself looking into the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen in her entire life - eyes that she just couldn't resist. “We’re really worried about you, and it would make both me and Spike happy if you took a day off from your smarty melon-head duties.” She quivered her lower lip. “Pretty please?” Twilight couldn't find her words, no matter how hard she tried. Her passion for reading and learning was an immense driving force in her life, an unmovable object that usually could never be broken by the strongest of waves. But between Pinkie’s pleads and the soreness of her own joints, she just couldn't muster the energy needed to deny her request. Sighing, she backed away from Pinkie, freeing her from her prison and allowing her to scramble to her hooves. “Well, I guess I could take a day off. I mean, it's not like I'm going to be thrown too far behind schedule.” Pinkie and Spike nodded in unison, causing Twilight to chuckle. “I guess I kinda overreacted a bit, didn't I? She sighed. “I’m sorry about worrying you two.” She chuckled. Spike face-palmed. “Uh, you think?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll admit it; I really went over the deep end. And I’m really sorry. It was completely uncalled for.” Pinkie giggled. “Ah, don’t worry about it silly. We know how dedicated you are to your studies.” Spike huffed. “You haven’t seen the worst of it believe me. I’ve seen her use her books for everything.” He looked at Twilight. “Hey Twilight, did you ever tell Pinkie and the others about the times when you used to make book fortresses back in Canterlot?” He snickered. Twilight froze, her mouth open agaped. “What? Spike please that was a long time ago! I was still a little filly back then and-” Pinkie looked at Twilight, wide-eyed. “Really? Oh that sounds like so much fun! Did you fight giant, terrifying monsters, or defend your keep against waves and waves of evil changelings? Did ya, did ya, huh huh huh?” Spike snickered. “Pretty much. Sometimes she would even hide in there during the night to hide from, the monsters.” He flexed his fingers teasingly at he finished. “Spike!” Twilight yelped,  the crimson in her cheeks darkening. “What was the name of the monster you were scared of the most Twilight.? The boogey pony? I think that was the one you said fed on the brains of little fillies. Heheh, you were so scared that he was going to attack you in the middle of the night and rid your mind of everything you ever learned. Heck, I think you even stayed up a few nights to avoid being attacked by him!”  By now, Spike was chuckling intensely and Pinkie Pie was struggling to stifle her own snickers. “Awww Twiley! Were you scared of the ghosties when you were young? You poor little thing,” Pinkie gasped through her snorts and giggles. Twilight blushed furiously. “Okay, that’s enough! Seriously, that was a long time ago. You’re starting to embarrass me!” Pinkie shook her head. “Well, okay then, if you say so. Don’t worry though. I won’t tell anypony about your little secret okay, Twiley?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. Twiley? Where did that name come from?” she asked curiously, her mind set completely, changing tracks. “Huh?” Pinkie asked and Twilight noticed her freeze for a split second as if she had been surprised by her sudden question. “Twiley,” Twilight repeated, her curiosity growing with every second. “I’ve never heard you use that nickname for me before. Why did you just start calling me that now?” “Well…” Pinkie began, but went silent as she cautiously clapped her hooves together, a small amount of shakiness in her voice. “I just like to give my friends nifty little nicknames at times, you know, like Dashie! I just thought it would be about time that I gave you one! After all, you are my bestest best friend in the whole wide world, right?” Twilight looked at Pinkie, confusion in her eyes. “Uhhhhhh, well yes, you are. Why you were the first pony I met when I arrived in Ponyville. Of course you’ve been a close friend of mine, Pinkie. I could never doubt that.” Pinkie’s smile grew and she let out a squee and clapped her hooves in excitement. “Oh yes yes yes! We’re just like two peas in a pod, don’t you agree?” She lifted her eyes at Twilight in eager expectation. “So, do you mind your little nickname? Can I call you Twiley? Oh, or do you want something better? I can probably come up with something flashier, smarter, magicaler.” Twilight sighed. “Oh Pinkie Pie, please, it’s too early for me to embrace this. But, yeah. I don’t mind the nickname. I kinda like it.” She chuckled. “Although I don’t think magicaler is a word.” Pinkie giggled. “Oh come on Twiley! If a word can be said, then it can exist right? You don’t always have to go by those dippy dictionaries!” Twilight rose an eyebrow. “But Pinkie, proper use of language is...well...oh never mind.” I should know better than to question Pinkie’s logic by now. Pinkie cleared her throat. “Umhum. So...while you were being all snoozy, I made some waffle batter this morning! There’s still about half a bowl left! Want me to whip you up a batch?” she asked, hopping up and down with glee. Twilight smiled, the last remnants of sleep finally clearing from her woozy head. “You know what Pinkie, that actually sounds like it would be quite satisfying. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I’ve gotta get cleaned up for the day. I must look like a complete mess.” Pinkie giggled. “Yeah! You look more like Twilight Barkle again!” She teased the librarian as she flicked her messy mane, which was still in complete tatters from the the following night. Twilight gave Pinkie a smug look, a look that quickly disintegrated as Pinkie continued to flip her mane around as if she were a young kitten playing with a toy. “Pinkie Pie...ack….knock it off!” Twilight laughed as she backed away, desperately trying to evade her assault. Pinkie frowned and pouted. “Aww, do you really have to get rid of it?” she pleaded. “Uh, yes Pinkie. I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t want to go around looking like I’m wearing a bird’s nest on my head all day long,” she acknowledged as she turned and headed into the bathroom. “I’ll be down there in a few minutes!” Pinkie gasped. “Oh goody! I’ll have the waffles ready for you when you come down! Have you ever tried them before? They’re super scrumptiliciously, deliciously yummy! You’ll love them!” And with that, she zipped down the stairs, leaving a cloud of confetti in her wake. Twilight walked into the bathroom, and stumbled to the mirror, a wave of weariness washing over her. She noticed a slight blurriness in her vision and for the first time that morning, she felt a splitting headache digging into her skull. “Pinkie Pie. She really does know me, doesn’t she,” Twilight agreed to herself as she looked at her reflection. Her eyes were baggy with lack of sleep and her mane, as she had predicted, looked horrible, bangs lobbed around randomly and strands of hair sticking up here and there. She chuckled. “Oh dear. If Rarity ever saw this, she would have a raging fit.” She turned on the faucet, allowing fresh, warm water to fill the sink. For the next few minutes, she cleaned herself off, straightening out her mane, washing her face, and trying to remove any traces of her hassle from the night before. About ten minutes later, she found herself looking at somepony decently presentable. “Meh, this will have to do for now.” She stared at her reflection, her wakening mind recounting everything that had happened to the pony in the mirror the night before. Geez, how long was I up again? Until around five or so? I can’t even remember. So much happened last night that I can’t even keep track of it all well, Twilight thought to herself as she brushed her front locks out of her face. Struggling to get to sleep, reading in the middle of the night, Pinkie coming down to join me, reading about Sapphire Mist together, and… The dream. Twilight shuddered as the faint memories of her strange visions from last night finally began to creep back into her mind. What caused me to have those visions last night? They were so weird and, surreal. She rubbed her chin as she tried hard to recount all of her weird apparitions. The memories of her battle with the Scylla, falling through the clouds, the stacks of floating waffles and marshmallows. None of it made sense to her. Then she remembered the ending, the moment in the dream that happened just a few minutes before Pinkie had woken her up. That gem. Pinkie really seemed to be pretty familiar with it. I’ve never seen it before, nor has Pinkie brought it up with me. So, how did it come into my hooves? It doesn’t make sense. After pondering over it for several long seconds, Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Ugh, I’m just overanalyzing it probably. It was just a strange dream, nothing else, right?” Deciding to put the memory in the back of her mind, Twilight hung up her towel and walked out of the bathroom and down the steps. As she reached the bottom of the stairway, she began to hear Pinkie Pie clattering about in her kitchen, drawers opening and closing with discordance. She shuddered as a thought ate at the back of her mind. Did I really allow Pinkie Pie to use ‘my’ kitchen? Oh dear what have I done? She could picture it now; pots and pans strewn all over the counter, batter splatters on the floor, dirty dishes piled up in the sink, total harum-scarum. She reached the doorway and peered in. She froze, her jaw hitting the floor. The kitchen was not like she’d left it. It was, clean, very clean. The fridge shined, reflecting every object clearly in its casing. Not a speck of dust rolled across the wooden floor. Not a spot of food or batter was seen on the counters and tables. All the dishes had already been done, stacked up neatly on the drying rack next to the sink. “What the…?” Twilight could barely muster the words. She and Spike were usually good at taking care of her home, but never had she seen any part of her treehouse this...refreshed before. “Hey Twiley! You’re here! Great!” Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who was standing next to the counter. She was balancing a huge plate of stacked waffles on the tip of her nose as if it were nothing, the leaning tower of pastries swaying in the air. Before Twilight could say anything, she flung the entire stack up off the plate towards the table. As the waffles tumbled through the air, she grabbed a plate and zipped over to the table with lightning speeds and, standing on her hind legs, balanced the plate on the tip of her nose. The waffles fell from the sky and stacked themselves on the plate with perfect grace. Pinkie turned to face Twilight and, with a smile on her face, struck a pose. “Tada!” Twilight couldn’t help it. She sat down on the floor and clapped her hooves in joy, her voice filling the room with laughter. “Wow Pinkie! That was incredible! Encore!” she cheered. “Thanks Twilight!” Pinkie carefully set the plate down on the table and took a triumphant bow. “After seeing you so disheartened when you woke up, I had to do something to cheer you up!” Twilight giggled. “Oh, why thank you. How very thoughtful.” As she stood up and walked towards the table, she looked around the room, admiring how clean everything looked. “Uhhh, Pinkie Pie? Did Spike do some extra clean up work this morning, because this place looks neater than usual.” Pinkie gasped and shook her head. “Oh no no no no! He didn’t clean the kitchen, I did!” “Really?” Twilight sat down at the table. “But, why? You didn’t need to.” Pinkie shrugged. “Well, I felt like it! Plus…” She blushed. “Well, since you’re allowing me to stay over for the next couple of days, I decided I had to do something in return, you know! Otherwise I would feel like a big ole’ stingy pants who doesn’t carry her hoof!” Twilight noticed a slight hesitation in Pinkie’s voice, but the observation was quickly cut out of her mind as the sweet aroma of maple syrup delighted her nose. She looked upon the stack of waffles before her, and the for the first time that morning, her tummy grumbled and begged. Pinkie looked back at the waffles, then back to Twilight, eagerness in her eyes. “Go on! I know you’ll like them!” “They really do look good,” Twilight complimented as she grasped a fork and knife in her magic and cut a piece of the delightful looking pastry for herself. The sweet aroma of maple and butter wafted across her muzzle, sending her senses into spasms. She gulped down the delectable morsel, chewing it slowly and delightfully basking in the terrific taste. Pinkie’s eyes lifted expectantly as Twilight finished her first bite. “So, do you like them?” Twilight’s smile grew as she licked her lips. “Wow Pinkie! You’ve really outdone yourself this time! These are some of the best waffles I’ve ever tasted!” she replied, cutting another piece from the stack. “But honestly, I wouldn’t have expected any different from you.” “Awww...thank you Twilight,” Pinkie cooed. Twilight noticed a tinge of warm crimson form on the party diva’s cheeks. She would have attempted to evaluate it, but the scent of the waffles in front of her called her mind away before she could think too much of it. “Pinkie Pie, trust me, you’re one of the best cooks I’ve ever met. Don’t you forget that.” She took another bite. Pinkie smile cheerfully. “I got it from my granny! She was an incredible baker. I used to learn how to cook from her all the time when she was visiting! Nopony else in my family could whip up a more delicious batch of cupcakes than she could! She’s the one to thank!” Twilight chuckled as she gulped down her morsel. “You know, I wish I had a chance to meet your family, Pinkie Pie. They sound like nice ponies.” “Yeah,” Pinkie said, a small sigh escaping her lips. “Things were nice back then. We had a lot of trouble though too. Life wasn’t always easy for us since our family was poor. We had to improvise much of the time.” Twilight frowned, and she set the fork down on the table. “Still, you had each other. That’s more important than anything else, right?” “Yeah,” Pinkie said, her eyes drifting off as she thought back to her past. “We had a lot of good times back then. We did so much together. We lived far away from town, so for the most part, we had only each other to call friends.” Twilight cocked her head. “Really? Did you not have anypony living nearby?” Pinkie fell silent for a moment, as if she were trying to remember. Twilight waited patiently for several long seconds for her to respond. “There was one family who lived nearby. They worked in a gem cavern not too far away from the valley.” She smiled as she recalled the memories. “They were a very nice family, very kind and generous.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “We were all close friends.”