//------------------------------// // Panic! at the Library // Story: The Chronicles of Rodentia // by BakaBoy //------------------------------// "If you're just a small guy in a big world, you gotta do something BIG!" -Copper Quill ------------------------------------------------------------------- "SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Twilight's shrill cry of alarm was enough to stagger most of the rats, one rat in particular who was positioned right in front of Twilight was sent tumbling towards his brethren. The small reddish-brown rat was barely the size of a mouse, his smaller stature being stopped by his larger companions as his tumble finished as a ruffled heap in the arms of two of his brothers. Confusion and panic beset the rats as their creator continued hollering up the stairs while her gaze analyzed the group of rodents. Rapid footsteps could be heard from behind Twilight as her ever-faithful assistant came running into view. Wide-eyed and breathing heavily the small dragon stared at Twilight expecting just about anything, the only times he could recall her shouting this loudly was when either an Equestria altering event was happening or when Twilight was just freaking out about a book. Just as his mouth opened to voice his concerns he spotted the large group of rodents milling about and squeaking in panic. Instead of addressing Twilight he immediately fell upon his natural instinct to pointlessly comment about the situation. "Holy guacamole that's a lot of rats Twi'... Where'd you get them?" "Not now Spike! There's something WEIRD about these rats!" shouted Twilight, beads of sweat trailing down her forehead with pupils as sharp as pinpricks. The rats now milled about the room in confusion with rapidfire squeaking filling the night around the Library. In the midst of the chaos was the small reddish-brown rat, his eyes containing a spark of curiosity similar to those found only in small children. It was this curiosity that enabled the small rat to do what his brethren could not. For unlike the older and wiser rats who were milling about in panic the young and foolish rat was enraptured with the sight of the large benevolent creator who had appeared from the darkness. Briskly stepping towards the distressed alicorn the small rat was jostled side to side as he progressed slowly yet steadily towards his goal. In his eyes, Twilight had become his new mother. Although he still could remember who his birth-mother was, it contained little value to a runt like himself. Being weak held no value to the scavenging pack and so the small rat was neglected, resources going to the strong and healthy so that they may continue the family line. It was a cruel but necessary treatment for rats, it was a miracle that there were enough resources for survival for nearly all the rats including himself. But that didn’t change the fact that he was alienated among his peers and brethren, it was only by chance that he managed to join today’s scavenging expedition. Breaking free from the massed panic, the small rat scampered up to Twilight’s hoof while her attention was still directed towards Spike who was still staring in awe at the large amounts of rats that had seemingly appeared from nowhere in the middle of the night into the supposedly secure library basement. Quickly scampering to Twilight, the small rodent started squeaking and tugging his creator’s hoof in hopes of gaining her attention. It was fair to say that the small rat didn’t expect Twilight to react so rapidly. With a quick glance Twilight shrieked in surprise as the small rat gazed in awe below her. Caught off guard, Twilight's hoof shot forwards in an attempt to create distance between herself and the rat in front of her. With a small 'oof' and squeak her hoof collided and the rat was propelled backwards into a stack of boxes, toppling the pile onto and around the small rat while spilling their contents into the air. Quills wafted through the air as the frenzied noise was replaced by sudden silence as Twilight realized what she had just done. A small near-defenseless creature was now buried underneath a small stack of boxes. Twilight has never tried to hurt any creature before, sure she's endured more physical conflict than the average mare but she was a princess! A leader figure! Leader's don't just knock small creatures around! Spiralling into yet another panic Twilight pivoted on the spot and shot Spike a look of sheer mania. "Spike! Get Fluttershy here now! Tell her there's a whole bunch of rats here and one of them got hurt!" She shouted. Spike sighed in resignation, the displaced hairs and pinpricked eyes were the clear indicators for Particularly Panicked Purple Pony Princess (Code 4b). He knew he couldn't calm her down when she worked herself into this much of a tizzy. All he could do was do as she says then lay low for a while and hope for the best (Protocol for code 4b, subsection C (she'll be alright eventually)). The door closed with a small click as Spike waddled out to find Ponyvilles resident animal caretaker. Meanwhile Twilight's horn started to blaze as boxes and rats were suspended into the air. Lavender eyes scanned the ground for the small rodent that had possibly been propelled to his doom. Relief and concern clashed as a small furry heap was seen isolated from the suspended objects. The small rise and fall indicated that there was still life, but the little amount of movement did not bode well for the small rat's physical wellbeing. Twilight slowly started lowering the suspended objects and rodents to a different part of the room. One injured rodent was enough and the oddly sedate rodents she had held aloft in her magic field seemed to be calm enough to be let loose as she focussed her attention to the injured rat in front of her. "Okay Twilight, calm and quite makes for a happy animal." she muttered to herself quietly. Twilight slowly approached the small ball of fur on the floor. Twilight slowly encompassed the rat with her magic, sending small currents over the body to try scan for any external injuries. Thankfully the small rodent seemed uninjured other than a nasty bump behind the right ear, although there was a rather worrying case of malnourishment. That's when she noticed the brilliant bright red quill that had found its way into the small rat's paws, the feathers of Phoenix's were said to contain just as much magic as the rest of their body, and unlike the magical feathers from pegasii, phoenix feathers innate magic allows for near eternal preservation and so the feather and magic would never decay on top of being extremely durable. It was a mystery how such an expensive quill was grouped along with the ever-replaceable standard quills she kept in those boxes, and the chances that this particular quill would somehow end up in the paws of a rat after knocking over the entire arsenal of quills was microscopic at best. Twilight was in the middle of pondering this conundrum and so didn't hear the rapidly approaching sound of laden hoofbeats. The source became frighteningly obvious when the library door was flung off its hinges as a buttery blur sped into the library. Cobalt blue orbs bore into purple as the stare struck fear into the heart of the pony princess. A sharp intake was followed by a bellow that was thought only gods could produce. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE! HOW DARE YOU HURT AN INNOCENT CREATURE!"