//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Armed and papyrus // Story: Stories they weave // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Spike groaned as sunlight leaked in from the window. He slowly rolled onto his side. “Twilight, can you close the blinds?” he asked with a grumble. After a few moments with no response he glanced up. “Twilight?” Her bed was empty with no sign that she had even touched it last night. The little dragon crawled out of his nice warm nest and stretched. “Sometimes I wonder how someone so smart can make such bad decisions...” With a soft yawn he climbed down the stairs and opened the door. He let out a shriek as a wave of paper suddenly crashed down and buried him. “AHHH!” he screamed as he struggled to un-bury himself. “Spike, calm down,” Twilight yelled as a purple aura enveloped him. “You should be more careful, you could have damaged the story.” As the dragon was lifted into the air his mouth fell open. The library floor was covered, end to end, in papers. Flow charts, graphs and even a few presentations were stacked and hanging about. Stacks of parchment that towered over him were lined up all over the ground. “W-what... what is all this?” “Oh! It's just the outline of my story, look. This will be the first part,” she said as she pulled out a stack of papers that was about three inches thick. “First... part?” he asked as he was finally deposited on the ground. “How many parts are there?” “Oh, don't worry. This is just the first of six. This one is based on the books. See, there are currently thirteen books so I've decided this one will have thirteen different mini arcs! They'll all be about one companion and a different villain and plot based off each of the books. See? The first book was about the sapphire stone so the first arc will be about a lost sapphire statue that was stolen by, you guessed it, Plotsberg! Named after the writer of the first book.” Spike slowly nodded as he took a step back. “I... I see. So it's going to be about the books then?” he asked as he tried to make his way towards the kitchen, stepping around the papery obstacles. “Oh no. This is just the first story,” Twilight said as she dipped her quill back in the ink pot and started writing again. “The next story is going to be about the games and about a new companion and three adventures inspired by the games. After that comes the learning adventures, the coloring books, the movies and then I'm going to finish it all up with one-hundred and seventeen adventures based on the comics. I have all the notes and information about each piece of entertainment made since then. I even requested a slight vacation from the princess until I have all this finished. Well, I will once you send the letter. It's around here somewhere...” the unicorn mumbled as she began lifted and stacking papers together. “I'll find it in a moment.” “Gee Twilight, you sure that's enough?” Spike asked with a roll of his eyes as he opened the fridge and took out some juice. “Maybe you should try writing stories referencing all the other fanfiction and the creator's life. Maybe name a companion after her first dog or something.” “Spike, you're a genius!” Twilight said as she lifted a stack of paper. “Oh, here it is! Yes, the creator's autobiography! I bet I could find plenty of other adventures here! Though writing about all the fanfiction could be difficult. Ohhh! I could write about some of the ones that had a great impact on the following! Like her butler! Did you know that Daring Do doesn't even have a butler in any books? Yet, thanks to a story some pony wrote and passed around in one of the larger fanclubs, many fans of the series believe she has one named Mister Crobblepot. I think some ponies even wrote their own stories just about him.” Spike blinked before face clawing. “Twilight... I don't think this is such a good idea. I don't even think we have enough paper to write something like that.” “Nonsense. I ordered triple our normal shipment of paper this morning. It should arrive in plenty of time for me to finish my notes.” “Arghhhh...” the dragon grumbled as he took out a frying pan. “I'm going to start breakfast. Have you had anything to eat? Have you had any sleep?” “No! Too busy to sleep! There's a treat for you in the stove! Oh! I found the letter, here!” Twilight called back to him. Spike yelped as he dropped flat on the ground, an envelope, bloated almost an inch thick, nearly hitting him. “Careful with th... how long is this letter you wrote?” “I had to explain everything! Thanks Spike!” The dragon sighed as he picked up the letter. With a roll of his eyes he blew his flames on it, making the paper disappear in a burst of magic. “Prism Runner is awesome!” a little brown pegasus filly with a light purple mane and tail said as she flipped through the few pieces of paper in front of her. Her name was Scootaloo, number one fan of Rainbow Dash. The rainbow maned pony was sitting besides her on a log near the forest. “Heh heh, yah think so Scoots?” the older pegasus asked as she smiled at the little mare. “Totally! The way she escapes all those bad guys and is all 'Bang! Boom! Kick! Bam!' and then warns Daring Do is just awesome! Though... she might be too awesome,” Scootaloo mumbled as she shuffled the papers a bit. “What? Why?” “Well, Daring Do hasn't done anything yet. The other mare is doing everything. It's almost like Prism is the main character and Daring is the sidekick. Not to mention when they first meet and Daring thinks she's a wonderbolt. She seems almost... too awesome. Something about her seems familiar, too. Is she based on somepony from the comics?” “No, she's completely original,” Rainbow mumbled as she took the papers back. “Well, I did base her a little on the main character from the novel I was writing. I guess you're right. I don't want her to be too awesome. Maybe when she brings the warning to Daring Do, rather than having her kicking the flanks of her pursuers, she gets wounded and saved?” “Yeah! Then they could go off together once she's better!” Scoots said with a grin. “No,” Rainbow said as her voice got higher, “she gets hurt then, but decides to go with Daring! So the entire time Daring is trying to protect her while trying to stop the bad guys, until it eventually backfires on her. Then Prism runs in and shows what she can do and they escape from the bad guys clutches and capture a few of them!” “That would be awesome!” Scootaloo squealed as her wings started flapping excitedly. Rarity hummed as her quill glided across the sheet of paper. She was sitting at a desk in the front entranceway of the Carousel Boutique. “No no. This simply will not do, he must save her in a manner befitting his royal heritage,” she mumbled as she crossed out a few sentences before starting again. “Ah, there. Fini. Oh Sweetie Belle, it's ready,” she called out. Within moment a small white unicorn filly with a curly light purple mane and tail came running into the room with a giddy giggle. “Oh! Oh! Let me see!” the filly squealed as the elder unicorn merely chuckled and handed the papers over. After a few seconds the filly flipped through them and blinked. “That's it? It's only four pages and almost all of it is crossed out...” “Well of course, darling,” Rarity said with a radiant smile. “A truly great story must have the perfect beginning, especially a romance such as this. Remember, dear Sweetie Belle, it is all in the presentation. Notice the way all hope seems lost as Daring lies captured and trapped. Then, when it seems she shall perish, the dashing prince Steel Hoof appears to save her. Sweeping her up in his powerful magic he reveals that he is truly a prince as the two go off to live happily ever after... sigh...” the unicorn said gently as she leaned against her desk. Hearts radiated from her horn. “Uh huh... isn't it a bit early?” Sweetie asked as she prodded the paper. “Where's the build up? The adventure? You just cut to the end where she's in danger and they fall instantly in love. Isn't that a little... boring?” The elder unicorn blinked a few times before her magic picked up the papers. “Well, I suppose you are right. Perhaps I should have a bit more lead up. Since I'm using Steel Hoof maybe I can start it off a little bit after the third book, right after the two escaped with the golden sword of Zebrona. Perhaps start off with a nice, romantic resort...” “I guess,” Sweetie mumbled. “I still don't see why you're using Steel Hoof though. Everypony knows that Daring Do was meant to be with Twitch.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Now, Sweetie Belle, he was only in the junior adventure series. While I'll admit he has been in all of them and they did have that one dance, he never even gets mentioned in the adult books. Besides, he's hardly princely material. Always getting scared and trembling.” Sweetie hmphed. “He could be an awesome prince! He was always super nice and shared all his candy with Daring Do. He made her smile when she was feeling sad too.” Rarity sighed and shook her head. “This is just a story, darling. No need to get so upset, it's hardly cannon.” The filly hmphed and headed back towards the other room. “Fine. I still think it's a stupid pairing!” “Of course, darling,” the unicorn mumbled as she went back to writing. Far from the boutique, outside Ponyville, Applejack sat in front of the television while a Daring Do junior adventures video played. She groaned and looked to the side, “Ah don't remember them bein' so gosh darn... silly,” she mumbled. “What? This is one of the good ones!” a small yellow earth pony filly mumbled. She had a red mane with a big red bow and a red tail. “She caught tha' pony red hoofed.” “Yeah, but why they arrest 'im? He didn't actually do anythang illegal. He jus' went and scared a buncha ponies so they'd stop comin' around and botherin' him on festival week. I dun know, Applebloom, I remember it makin' more sense when I was a filly.” “I dunno,” Applebloom said as she smiled up at her big sis. “Wanna read some ah the books later? They might be better!” The mare smiled before nodding. “Sure. I'll get right on it after I help Big Macintosh out in the fields. We still gotta fix the fence for the sheep, finish plowin' the eastern field, chase off those darn fruit bats that keep trying to lounge in the old barn down by the pond and buck all the trees in the south field,” the mare said as she got to her hooves and started to trot off but stopped after a few seconds. “Yah wanna come with and help your big sis and bro out?” “Yes!” Applebloom squealed as she jumped up and ran after the larger earth pony. “Can I pull the plow?” “Heh. Maybeh in a few years when yah get bigger,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “For now I think we'll see about gettin' that fence nice and fixed. We leave it cracked like that a few more days and the sheep'll never let us hear the end of it.” “Okay! When are you going to work on your book then?” Applejack glanced back and shrugged. “Tahnight. I'll work on it a bit before bed. I ain't plannin' to write anything fanceh so it shouldn't take to long. I'll just read a couple ah your junior adventures and write somethin' like that.” “Okay!” Applebloom said as she trotted after her sister. Far from the farm, in a small cabin on the edge of the Everfree forest, the trash can was so filled with pieces of paper it nearly touched the roof. “No no no NO! It's just not developed enough! Nopony would realize that Daring was doing it out of her kindness, she just comes off as an arrogant jerk! This entire section has to be scrapped!” she wailed as she brought her hooves to her eyes and cried into them. “I-I never should have a-agreed to do this. They're going to read my story and hate me forever because I-I make it all c-come off s-so badly a-and I c-can't get Daring Do's character right at all!” Angel softly patted her back and shook his head as he motioned to his sweater. Alas, even the sweater was not enough to calm to crying pony. “Oh, Angel,” the pegasus said gently, “how could I do this? J-just look at this!” the mare said as she shoved the papers in the bunnies face. “Daring Do takes the artifact and runs, but she's so brave that the villain would have to suspect something was up. So why wouldn't he chase her? But if he doesn't chase her, then half the previous chapter doesn't matter! It was all written for nothing!” she sobbed as she rolled onto her back. “The trap needs to happen, b-but it's going to be horrible and- Oh!” she gasped as her wings pomfed and she ran back to the paper to begin writing again. “I... I have it... look!” she said as she held out the paper to the little rabbit. Angel took the paper and slowly read through it. After a few moments he closed his eyes and put the paper down. Fluttershy watched him with baited breath. Finally the wise creature nodded his head. “YAY!” she squealed happily as she dove right back into the papers. “With that part done I can move onto the finale! I think it's almost... are you sure it's not to short? Perhaps I should add a third section... I mean the entire thing is just over so quickly. What if they don't like it because it's not long enough?” the mares wings began to droop as she dropped the pen. Behind her the bunny face pawed. Deep in Ponyville, in Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie jumped across the furniture as she enacted her story. On the ground were two little foals, one a pegasus with brown mane and tail as well as a light gray coat and the other a unicorn with orange mane and tail as well as a light yellow coat. They were the cake twins, Pound and Pumpkin respectively. “So then Daring Do grabbed the time key,” Pinkie said as she grabbed a blue lamp and yanked it from the wall, “and ran across the bridge as fast as she could!” The pink mare ran across the couch, clutching the lamp to her stomach. “Then she jumped! Straight towards the lava, oh no!” she squealed as she leaped from the couch. The little foals gasped as their babysitter landed behind the coffee table and disappeared from sight. A moment later she appeared behind the foals. “With quick timing she activated the key and boom! She was back home! But oh no when she got there the evil version of herself was there, waiting! She was all 'Mwa ha ha ha!” Pinkie laughed as she tossed the lamp onto the couch and grabbed a black blanket, wrapping it around herself like a cape. “'You've done well, Daring do,' the evil clone said with a wicked grin! 'But your time is up! You have brought the key to me and now I will use it to gather all the evil villains and evil versions of heroes throughout all time and space and then rule the timey whimey verse! None can stop me!'” Pinkie said as she cackled maniacally. “Pinkie!” a voice called out. She turned and saw a light orange coated earth pony with an orange mane and tail walking into the room. He gasped and darted to the lamp. “I know you're excited about your story, but do you have to run through the house and tear everything apart when you tell it? Besides, shouldn't you be writing all this down?” “Sorry, Mr. Cake!” the pink mare said as she tossed the blanket onto the nearby recliner. “I'm just super duper excited because this story is going to be awesome! I was going to write it down, but I've decided it'll be funner to act it out! Besides, everypony is going to read their story. This'll give mine the creative edge to make it stand out!” Mr. Cake glanced around the messy room. Lamps were tipped over, cushions had been thrown everywhere and the twins were staring up with wide eyed wonderment. He sighed and moved to sit besides the twins with a chuckle. “Okay then,” he said as he pulled the foals into his lap, “continue.” “Hee hee!” Pinkie said as she tossed the blanket aside. “So Daring Do goes, 'No! You haven't won yet, evil me! For you see, I planned for this! It's time for you to meet the Daring Do council of Goodness!' and then there was a zap, bam, boom...” Many days passed until Twilight was once again chewing on the end of her quill as she glanced at the multiple stacks of paper surrounding her, each one taller than an average pony. “Hummmm...” “Running out of ideas?” Spike asked as he chewed on some popcorn. The little dragon was lounging on a reading chair while watching the pony write her over stuffed manuscript. “No, it's not that. I'm just not sure if I should do the books before the movies any more. Perhaps I should do them first? Or maybe I should start with the companion who is based on the creator's life story first? Should I end with the long comics stories, or end with the fanfiction based one? So many ideas...” the mare said softly as she moved a stack of papers neatly to the side. “Maybe you should try just writing one small story?” Spike offered. “Or cut down one of the stories you've already written down to only three inches thick?” “Nonsense, Spike,” Twilight said as she dipped the quill back in the ink and began writing again. “It's hardly going to be good if I don't give as much effort as I would any other assignment. Besides, I've already gone through and gathered all the information I need. I just need to figure out the correct order of each companion so the story doesn't feel too long...” “Too long? Compared to this Canterlot castle looks like a walnut sized replica...” he grumbled. A moment later a thick stack of papers was dropped on his lap. “Okay, that's the first half of the game-based stories. Proof read them while I try to finish the second half.” “Fine. Twilight, have you gotten any sleep since you started all this?” “Yes! I've been getting a few hours here and there, why?” “You're starting to get that look in your eye. It's twitching...” Spike mumbled. “I'M FINE!” Twilight snapped. She then gasped. “Spike, you're brilliant! In the eighth book she finds the ancient treasure of the golden sleeping lamb! I'll have the adventure based on that be about when Daring Do is so tired she can't get the treasure and gets captured! Eeeee!” Spike groaned as he face clawed again and hopped out of the seat. “I'll be back soon...” he said as he jumped out of the chair and ran towards the door. “Uh huh,” the unicorn said without paying attention as the door slammed shut. Rarity sighed softly as she neatly wrote the finishing touches on her story, her quill dancing gracefully across the pages. She then gathered all the pages and gently hugged them to her chest. “Such a marvelous story. Romance, love and happily ever after. It's almost a shame I'm such a fabulous designer. I could have gone into the romance industry and written dozens of beautiful stories,” the mare said as small hearts flew up from her horn. She then glanced down to the papers and sighed. “I do hope it's not too short.” A sudden knock on the door drew her attention. She put the bundle of papers down and walked to the entrance as she opened it with her magic. “Hello and welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I... Spike? Darling, what ever are you doing here?” “Twilight's snapped again. She's been writing fanfiction all week and she's not even a tenth of the way done. There's paper all over the place, ponies can't get into the library and she hasn't slept since it started. Even more worrying is that she hasn't done any homework since,” the dragon said as he gazed up at the unicorn. “Can I stay here for a bit?” the dragon asked with a hopeful smile. Rarity chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Now darling, there is no need for that. If Twilight's doing all that again I know exactly what we will do. An intervention for the poor dear. You go get Applejack while I grab Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. We'll meet at Sugarcube Corner and make a plan. Okay?” “Awwww... okay,” the dragon mumbled in disappointment. The unicorn smiled and patted him on the head as she passed. “Don't worry, we'll have Twilight back to... focused on more important things in no time.” The unicorn headed for the outskirts of Ponyville first, straight to the darling little cabin where Fluttershy lived. Gently the unicorn knocked on the door. “Oh Fluttershy! Are you home? It's me, Rarity.” After a few moments the door opened as the little yellow pegasus appeared. “H-hi Rarity. Ummm, how can I help you?” she asked with a nervous smile. “Twilight seems to be going a bit overboard with her story,” Rarity said as she motioned with her head back towards the town. “We're going to-” The door slammed shut in her face. “Fluttershy?” “I-I can't do it! I-I'm sorry, R-Rarity. My story is horrible! It should be burned, destroyed, tossed into the Everfree Forest and never seen again! I-I'm s-so sorry I w-wrote something so horrible... sob...” The unicorn sighed as she reached out to knock on the door. “Now I'm sure it isn't bad at all, darling. Come on, please just open the door?” She waited for a few moments, but there was still no response. The mare banged on the door a few more times. “Fluttershy, open the door.” Slowly the door began to creep open as the yellow pegasus whimpered. “I-I'm s-sorry. It's just a really bad story and I don't want any of you to hate me I'm sorry...” Rarity chuckled as she stepped inside to give her dear friend a hug. “Now darling, this story writing is just for fun. None of us are going to get mad at you no matter how you wrote the story. Besides, I'm certain your work is marvelous and you have no reason to feel this way.” “That's what Angel said,” the mare mumbled softly. “Well, then your little bunny was correct. Come now, let's grab your story and I'll take a quick look at it,” Rarity said as she smiled at the mare. “But after that we really must go find Rainbow. It seems Twilight has gone over the edge and has Spike in a bit of a panic.” Fluttershy gulped as she looked down and shuffled her hooves. “H-how about we just go get Rainbow now? We can see the story later. If we have time. Angel!” she shrieked as the bunny hopped out from under the nearby desk, clutching the story over his head. He stopped in front of Rarity and held it up. The unicorn chuckled and wrapped the papers in her magic. “Now relax. I can afford a few seconds to look over the first page or so,” the mare said as she held them up to her face. The yellow pegasus whimpered and began chewing on her hooves. “T-there's really no need,” she squeaked out. “I-it's really not any good. It would p-probably be better if I just s-started over. P-please stop...” “... Oh Fluttershy,” Rarity said as she shook her head. “This story is fine. I can't understand what you're so frightened of.” “Well the intro is too short, the descriptions are too vague, the hiring scene I can't get it right so Daring doesn't sound too arrogant, the traps were based around ropes and sticky things when they obviously called for a more wooden approach, the zebras are too quick to trust her and the villain is two one dimensional,” the little shy mare ranted. Rarity stared for a moment, her mouth agape, before shaking her head. “Darling, calm down. It's just a bit of fun. No pony expects it to be perfect. Even the books had their own minor flaws. Besides, what I've read is no where near that bad. I felt the descriptions were fine and Daring didn't sound too arrogant, just experienced. Have you already finished the full story?” “Y-yes,” Fluttershy said as she hung her head. “I'm sorry i-it's too short. It's only a few pages long and doesn't describe anything well...” “Calm down, dear. It's fine,” Rarity said as she lightly patted the pegasus's head. “Remember, this is all for fun. Besides, I've already finished my story and its almost the same length. No pony expects you to dedicate your life to these little stories. Now come along, we need to find Rainbow.” “Okay...” the stressed out mare said as she followed the unicorn out the door. “So you really don't think it's that bad?” “It's not bad at all, darling,” Rarity said as they trotted away from the small cottage. Rainbow groaned a little as she laid comfortably on her big puffy cloud. The mare had been up late again the night before and was now enjoying an extra long noon nap. Her tail dangled over the edge of the cloud as she dreamed of adventure through ancient ruins and fighting off villainous thieves after long lost treasures. She was disturbed from her nap by a sudden tugging on her tail. “Nhgg?” she asked as she slowly lifted her head with droopy eyes. She let out a shriek as suddenly her tail was yanked even harder, pulling her right off the cloud. “AHHHH!” she screamed. About a foot later she landed sprawled out on the ground. Her heart was racing as she looked around wildly. “RARITY! What was that for?!” “Well, you were sleeping on the job,” the unicorn said with a soft smile. “I believe today's forecast called for clear skies.” “Ugh... you know I could of gotten hurt,” she snapped in annoyance as she glanced up. The sky was filled with clouds. “Besides, I can knock out those clouds in no time.” “Oh, relax,” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. “I made sure that Fluttershy brought the cloud down low enough first.” “Sorry...” the yellow mare said gently. “Also,” the unicorn said, “we have some important things to discuss. Apparently Twilight has been over doing it with her story writing and-” “Wait, she's still working on hers?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle. “I finished mine ages ago. It's totally awesome, filled with adventure and an amazing new character I made up just for it.” “Ah, so you're done as well?” Rarity asked with a smile. “Good, then how about you bring yours and we can all finish this experience.” The mare glanced to Fluttershy, who had gone considerably paler. “Before any pony has a breakdown.” “Pfft,” the blue pegasus said with a chuckle. “Who'd have a breakdown over a little...” she went silent as she glanced to Fluttershy who Rarity was gesturing to with her head. “Oh. Right. I'll go get my story. Meet at the library?” the mare asked as she took off into the air. “No! Sugercube Corner!” the unicorn yelled after her. “We'll meet you there!” She then glanced back to the other, much more timid pegasus. “Come along, let's go get our stories. Hopefully Applejack has finished hers as well.” “What in... oh right, the lil story thing,” Applejack said as she gazed down at the dragon. With a mighty kick she knocked some apples down from a tree and straight into a bucket. “I've only just started the thing. Got a few ideas so I guess it'll jus' take a few days ah writin'. Twilight really goin' that outta control?” “She isn't sleeping or eating,” he grumbled. “It's just like the time the princess assigned her to do a report on the magical ripple effects of area transformation spells using crystal focuses. She ended up spending days in the library and didn't get any sleep. She had six months to write the paper and she had it done within three days,” the dragon mumbled as he face clawed. “Well, it's not so bad. Ah mean, it's not like she hasn't gone a lil ova board before. I'm sure once she finishes tha story she'll be right as rain. Hup!” the earth pony said as she bucked another tree. “She's already been working on it for days and she's barely even started,” Spike objected. “If we wait for her to finish the entire story she won't be able to do anything but draw little blobs with her quill.” Applejack hummed as she gazed out over the fields. After a few moments she let out a sigh. “Fine, tell yah what. I'll go let Big Mac know I'm comin' down for the afternoon and won't be back til later. I got a lotta work to get done, but you're right. If Twilight needs our help ah wouldn't be much of a friend if ah just stood by and watched. Go on ahead and let em know I'm on mah way, okay?” Spike nodded and brought his claw up in a little salute. “Yes ma'am! Bye!” he yelled as he turned tale and ran. The earth pony chuckled as she turned and trotted off towards the barn. When Applejack trotted up to the large bakery she saw her friends sitting at a table near the front. They were all talking and nibbling at pastries as she made her way inside and took a seat at their table. “So I say we go inside and toss some jello on her!” Pinkie started, “Then while she's confused we grab her and drag her out to the lake and toss her in! When she gets all the jello off and comes back to the library we say all the quills have disappeared forever and ever and the stories are done!” the mare said loudly as she hopped around the table. “Now darling,” Rarity interjected, “there is no need to be so extreme. We just need to walk up and talk to her.” “Awwww, but that's no fun,” Pinkie whined. “Does that ever work?” Rainbow asked with a roll of her eyes. “I'm with Pinkie. Not to that level of course, but just take all the paper and run! She gets wayyyy to involved in all this stuff. I don't see why she cares so much, we all know my story is going to be the awesomest.” “That's not a word, Rainbow,” Rarity said with a sigh. “Besides, this was all for fun. No need to get so competitive.” “Fun?” the pegasus said with a smirk. “I don't know about you, but I wrote my story to win this contest! It's... Fluttershy? Are you okay?” All eyes turned to the little yellow mare who was trying to sneak out, story hidden under her right wing. “Y-yes? I was just... g-going to... w-water the plants...” she lied. “Fluttershy...” Applejack said as she trotted over and patted her back. “I didn't know it was a competition!” the little mare said with a squeal as she fell flat on the ground and put her hooves over her head. “I-I just thought it was stories because Twilight wanted us to and she seemed so excited I didn't wanna upset her but my story isn't that good and please don't judge it and hate it I didn't know I'm sorry!” the mare shrieked as every pony in the shop turned to stare. After a few moments Rarity sighed again. “Now darling, none of us took this little contest as a serious competition.” “Hey, speak for yourself!” Rainbow snapped. “Very well. Most of us didn't take it seriously. This is just a nice, friendly competition. Nothing to feel nervous about. Besides, your story is marvelous.” Fluttershy gulped as she slowly got back to her hooves, coaxed by the unicorn's soothing words and the gentle back rubbing from Applejack. “R-really?” “Can we hurry this up?” Spike asked as he tapped his foot. “Twilight is still in there going... whatever it is you'd call that.” “Yeah yeah,” Rainbow mumbled as she rolled her eye. “We all got our stories done anyway. Maybe we should set a page limit or something. If she's that absorbed how are we going to get her attention anyway?” “Leave that to me,” Applejack said with a smirk. “I haven't actually finished mah story yet though.” “... Fine,” the pegasus said with a groan. “Most of us have our stories done though. Let's go!” The five mares and the little dragon soon made their way to the large library and opened the door. They let out a loud shriek as they tried to run, but were too slow. Waves of paper washed over them and buried the small group in its embrace. After a few moments Spike's head popped out from the pile and he looked around. “Still think I'm exaggerating?” Applejack popped up a moment later and gave him a guilty look. “Sorry, sugarcube,” she grumbled as she slowly pulled herself from from the stacks of paper. “Everypony okay?” Rainbow popped out and spit out some papers as she glared at the door. “Okay, this is getting out of control. TWILIGHT!” she yelled as she flew out of the pile and then in through the front door. A moment later a crash could be heard from inside. “We're comin' sugarcube!” Applejack yelled as the other pulled themselves free and shoved through the piles of paper. Inside Rainbow was stuck flank deep in an even bigger pile of papers, her back hooves kicking feebly as she tried to break free. The earth pony snickered as she moved up behind the mare. “Hold on, I'll have you out in a jiffy,” she said as she grabbed the mare's tail in her mouth and yanked her out. “Ow! Ugh,” Rainbow grumbled as she rubbed her flank. “How does one mare need this much paper? I think there's more out here than there is on the shelves!” she grumbled as she looked around. The entire building was covered top to bottom in paper, drawing, pictures, notes and most of all, words. She couldn't even see Twilight. “Where is she?” “I don't know,” Applejack said as she put a hoof thoughtfully under her chin, “but I know one way tah draw her out. Come on, help me make it to one of the book shelves.” Slowly the two mares made it through the swamp of paper, shoving the sheets aside until they finally managed to unbury a portion a part of the L section. “Okay, here goes nothin',” the earth pony said as she reached forward with a hoof and pulled out a thick tome. A moment later she popped it up on the shelf directly above where it had been. A few seconds later they heard an 'Ahhh!' as one of the larger nearby piles began to move. Twilight's head popped out of the pile a second later as she headed towards the mis-shelved book. “Hey Rainbow, hey Applejack,” she mumbled as she walked by them. “Hey?! Don't you hey us! Look at this place! It looks like a paper factory exploded in here!” Rainbow snapped as she looked around. The unicorn stopped as she glanced around. “W-well, I guess it is a... little messy...” she mumbled as she brought a hoof up to stifle a yawn. Small black bags had formed under her eyes. Her horn glowed as she re-shelved the book where it belonged. “But it's all perfectly organized. You see that stack is possible one liners, and that stack is information on all the previous villains, that stack is all the allies Daring Do has had and proven or theoretical relationships between them, and that-” she was cut off as Rainbow put a hoof over her mouth. “Look at this place! It's a mess!” the pegasus snapped as she gestured towards the stacks. “You look horrible, when's the last time you slept...” Her eyes trailed down to the purple mare's stomach. “When's the last time you ate? I can actually see bone...” “I-I had an apple for breakfast!” she objected. “Ask Spike, he got it for me!” “Twilight, that was two days ago,” the dragon mumbled. “No, I remember. I was just in the middle of writing... oh,” she squeaked as she looked towards her buried desk. “Maybe I did get a little carried away... Oh! But I finished one of the books! The one based on the games is now completed and I've finished about three of the stories from the actual books but after that I still have twelve more books until the book is done and-” “By Celestia's mane! Twilight, enough!” Applejack said as she shook her head. “What you're going to do is go upstairs and get some much needed sleep. Once you do that you're gonna come back down here, get some grub and be done with it. No more writin' for yah.” “But-” “No buts! Now go upstairs and get some sleep young lady or I'll tan your hide!” the earth pony snapped. Twilight let out an eek as she darted away from the papery mess and up into her room. “Wow,” Spike said as he looked to the orange pony. “Where did that come from?” “Yah learn a thing or two when yah got a lil sister like Applebloom,” she said as she began picking up and stacking papers. “Now help me pick all these up. We got a lotta work to do before she wakes up.” “Aye aye,” the little dragon said with a smirk and salute before he got to picking up papers. The others soon joined him as they got to work. Within a few hours the library was mostly clean. All the blank papers were deposited, neatly stacked, in the basement. Tall stacks of notes were bundled and tied with string in the kitchen, nearly touching the roof. Finally, the much smaller stack of actual story, only about five or six inches tall, was laying flat on the desk besides the three stories brought by the unicorn's friends. The five were laying on the library floor, panting and sweating, while Spike worked in the kitchen to make up some nice cold drinks. Rainbow glanced over to Applejack and groaned. “If I ever accept to do anything with Twilight and writing again, please buck me up side the head.” “Don't have to tell me twice, sugarcube,” the earth pony said with a groan. “How did she even get all this paper in here with those tiny lil legs of hers...” “Magic,” Rarity grumbled, “and big strong delivery ponies. My horn is so sore...” “S-sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled gently. “I-I didn't mean to trip on you like that. With all the paper I couldn't see where I was going...” “Think nothing of it, darling. Mistakes happen,” the unicorn said softly. “Pinkie, I don't know how you can do that, I never want to see a piece of paper again as long as I live.” Pinkie looked up from Twilight's story and giggled. “Awww, but it's actually pretty good!” the mare said as she flipped through a few pages. She hummed a moment as she glanced to Applejack. “Where's yours?” “Haven't had much time tah get on it. Been too busy with all the work back home,” the pony said with a tip of her hat. “I'll get workin' on it soon. Already got it planned out. Gonna base it on- hey!” the mare objected as Pinkie hopped on her. “Shhhhh! Don't tell us! Spoilers, silly!” the pink earth pony said with a giggle. Applejack rolled her eyes. “I guess if we're gonna wait on her tah come down anyway ah should probably get tah writin' it,” the mare grumbled as she moved to the desk. After a few moments she sighed and plopped back down. “Ah horse feathers. Ahm jus' gonna do what Pinkie's doin'. Tell it. Maybeh we can get a nice fire goin' and do it campin' style.” “Ohhhh! A campfire! That would be awesome!” Rainbow said as she got up and stretched her wings. “Ahem. I hate to break everypony's fun,” Rarity interjected, “but may I mention the inherent danger in starting a fire in a library?” Applejack coughed as she looked to the side. “Ah didn't mean in here...” she mumbled as she shuffled her hooves a little. “Twilight's probably gonna be sleepin' for hours. How about we all come back tah night and do the lil readin' and story tellin' then? Big Macintosh could probably use mah extra pair ah hooves. Ain't right tah leave it all for him while ah lounge about here,” the orange pony said as she adjusted her hat. “I suppose that makes sense,” Rarity said as she glanced to the kitchen. “Spike, darling? Will you be able to keep Twilight out of trouble until we get back?” “I'll try my hardest,” the dragon said as he came out from the kitchen, holding a tray with six glasses. “I finished the drinks though. Why don't you-” he eeked as the five ponies moved past him, taking their drinks and replacing them on the tray. Calling back their thanks the five ponies headed out the door. Spike sighed as he put the tray down and moved towards the four stories sitting on the desk. He hummed a little bit as he picked up Rarity's and opened it to the first page. “No spoilers!” Pinkie said as she popped out of the book. The dragon shrieked and dropped the book as he fell backwards. His claw clutched his chest as the pink pony happily skipped off towards the exit.