//------------------------------// // I : Books are a Mare's Best Friend // Story: Plush & Polished // by PurplePolymath //------------------------------// Princess Celestia, here, alone in the library with me. She… said she… loves me. “Princess Celestia said she loves me!” she threw her hooves to the sky with glee. “Twilight, that’s not exactly what the princess said. I was there too ya know.” The dragon sighed the same tired sound he had for the third time today. “Hush Spike, the princess said she loves all her subjects, I am her student and I also happen to be her subject as well.” Spike just rolled his eyes, Twilight always got all starry eyed whenever Celestia paid a surprise visit to the library to check on her pupil’s current progress in Ponyville. If only the little dragon could see what unicorn saw, her eyes were filled with far more than stars, they appeared as big as the sun and saw even further. The princess had come earlier for an entirely different reason this time, to give her ever faithful student her biggest assignment yet; a trial further beyond friendship. Truth be told it had been quite a day for Twilight Sparkle, and it was only just the beginning. Currently Twilight Sparkle had been sitting for her mentor knows how long in the center of the room, sighing longingly, and eyes ajar to the ceiling. Every now and then she kept taking slow and steady breaths, filling her lungs to keep her belief of what transpired to be true. The scent of heaven was still strong; it was proof for the polymath. Spike had returned to their room upstairs and tidied his basket, heading downstairs once again for a snack before making the trip upstairs once more to groom is scales; followed by his embarrassing set of stretching and flexes to the mirror. He didn’t know how long he’d taken to do all these things, but he knew it took a fair bit of time to polish his scales. Spike was almost stunned as he made his way down the stairs once more, Twilight hadn’t moved from that spot. The little dragon ran to her side, hoping he wouldn’t have to call for help like the last time. “Hello, earth to Twilight! Super-important assignment from Celestia, you might wanna get started soon.” Her number one assistant had been waving a claw east then west to her vision, still, she continued enjoying her euphoria. Luckily the scaly little devil knew just what to do. Grinning through his teeth, he took one book and replaced its position with another, utterly destroying the alphabetical order of books referenced for magical aliments and cures. The very second the book was shelved, it was encased in a shimmering, lavender aura and both pieces of literature were returned to their proper place. “Spike! You know I can’t focus when the library out of order, its best the books are always kept arranged so they won’t be associated to the wrong affliction.” Ignoring the mare’s frown and lecturing tone, Spike handed her the scroll her teacher left with her in case she had any questions. The letter simply repeated all Celestia had said earlier that afternoon, she’d begun to notice how her student of late usually seemed a bit… off whenever she arrived, she honestly worried sometimes. The scroll itself stated that Twilight was to understand as much as she could about love; it also said that all literature on the subject of the matter had been removed. Twilight had checked numerous times after reading that, it was indeed true. The last line of the message suggested that she start with her friends first, any and all allies, perhaps acquaintances she’d known to help her get started. And she decided to do just that. After making certain for the fourth time that she’d shelved the books properly and that there were none to assist her, she turned to Spike with a warm smile. With the will of her horn she held parchment and inked quill close in preparation. She’d just recently perfected all forms of horn-writing to make task that required proper penmanship less of a burden for her number one assistant, that and Spike couldn’t very well take notes on himself. Twilight trot to his side and sat herself down beside him, the excitement clear in her tone as she spoke. “So Spike, tell me everything you know about love, I’m all ears.” “A-About love, me!?” The baby dragon had been bewildered by the sudden question, taking a step back in shock; he was the last creature he ever suspected to be considered for such an assignment. With a talon he rubbed his temple, searching for an answer that would suffice, the last thing he remembered he loved. He looked down at the librarian, she was all smiles, and he was practically sweating through his scales until the answer came. Oh, that’s it, how could I have forgotten? Honestly, how could he let that gem engraved beauty his eyes had beheld just the day before, slip through his memory? Returning Twilight’s smile, he gave his answer in clear confidence. “Boy, I sure did love that gem encrusted cake I made yesterday, ‘he rubbed his belly without a hint of regret,’ wasn’t it the most beautiful, delicious, mesmerizing thing you’d ever eaten?” The dragon’s mouth had already moistened by the time he’d finished his honest answer, his claws contently clasped as he remembered his wonderful culinary affair; Spike didn’t even recall that ponies couldn’t eat gems, meaning the grandeur of what he gazed upon and gulped down was only a gift to him. Twilight furrowed a brow at her assistant. Is he… serious? Normally Twilight would giggle, sometimes chuckle at how Spike genuinely loved what passed through his palette. However, today something had been bothering her for quite a while and she seemed to have forgotten exactly what it was by the time Celestia arrived that morning, still it was bothersome to have something unknown bucking at the back of your mind. Her frustration led her to believe it best to force it out, all she could, unfortunately she attempted to force out the wrong thing. “Ugh! Not like that Spike, what about Rarity? How does she make you feel?” “R-Rarity! Well, I, uh…” Spike was still a child but he could tell the clear difference between affection from his palette and for ponies themselves. “Well Twilight… you see…” The little dragon fiddled with his claws, trying to find words he never thought could even come close to being described, not what he’d felt. In the midst of his stammering Twilight heard a familiar whistling sound, one she’d heard only a few days ago, and then… it hit her! Immediately she stood and darted toward the window, throwing it open as quickly as she could. “WATCH OUT!” Twilight and Spike ducked for cover as a blur shoot through the window and into the room, crashing into and tumbling into the wall with an unhealthy sounding thud. The two rushed to her side to aid her to her feet. “Rainbow Dash, are you alright? she asks, as her and Spike kneel down to help their friend to her hooves. The stars orbiting Rainbow Dash’s head had finally vanished, using the tips of her wing she brushed herself off as best she could; she was still a bit dizzy from the harsh landing. “Uh… new trick,’ she groaned, ‘I spun out on the ninth flip.” There was a competition on the rise, Rainbow Dash had been training for weeks now, but she had indeed intended to come to Golden Oaks today. Now on all four limbs, she had a cyan hoof to her head, the ringing was almost gone. A few moments later, she shook off the unsightly landing and frantically trot back to the window, pointing the same hoof toward the setting sun. “Come on Twilight, we’ve gotta jet like, now if we wanna make it to Daring’s latest book signing!” Twilight would have reminded her friend that things such as doors exist for entrance and exit, but she herself happened to be a bit… ill prepared due to the princess’ earlier visit. She’d no idea where she last had her bits or her saddlebag, that and the extra-special assignment Princess Celestia had given her over half an hour ago, one which she still had no new information on yet; a new record actually. The student’s eyes suddenly went wide as she realized her chance; this was her opportunity to ask a mature creature… well… more mature than Spike. She ran to Rainbow Dash and took hold of her hoof to stop her from leaving too quickly, she took a deep a breath, gazing directly into her eyes only when she was certain the pegasi would stay. “Rainbow Dash… do you love me?” She spoke the words so softly, so close, so clear. Cyan cheeks quickly went crimson, hearts raced while the rest of the room sat still. “Twilight, t-this isn’t funny ya know!” Rainbow Dash’s first instinct was to run, but those large, lavender eyes kept her from letting go. The Pegasus took a deep breath, sudden or not something this small shouldn’t scare her away, bravery was her forte after all. She swallowed hard, and exhaled as she fought those fearsome yet adorable eyes. “Listen, Twilight… the truth is I kinda-“ “Rainbow Dash, ever since we braved the Everfree forest, recovered and revived the elements, and defeated Nightmare Moon: I knew how I felt about you then. And I know deep down you felt the same way.” Oh my gosh! This pony’s got it bad for me. The room fell silent, the two seemed to had forgotten Spike was still there, suffering the same shock as a certain Pegasus. Twilight couldn’t tell how her confession was taken, a reddened face could register as many things. “Twilight! You can’t just go and say that kind of thing to one of your best friends!” Spike shouted toward the two of them. The moment Spike uttered those words the pegasus unfurled her wings and fled to the door as fast as she could, out the front door she went, flying outward into the sun. Twilight clearly miffed, turned to her assistant with a glare that would have given a dragon ten times his size a fright, but he stood his ground. “Spike, what was that all about?!” You say the same things to Rarity all the time!” “But that’s different Twilight, Rainbow is your friend, Rarity and I are… a work-in-progress. There are different types of love Twilight,” the dragon reasoned. “But what’s wrong with telling somepony how you feel? I love her the same way I love you Spike, and all the friends I’ve made here in Ponyville.” The librarian had already begun to pace the floor, as she often did when she was riddled with a thought or situation she couldn’t right in a moment’s time. Spike groaned at his realization, a claw stamping against his forehead. She needs this lesson more than I thought. “Twilight, there’s nothing wrong with what you said, it’s just how you said it.” A pair of hours passed and Spike had spent every second trying to explain when to properly pronounce love to the appropriate other. But again, he was a baby dragon, not a book; his knowledge was only as matured as he was. In the end the two decided to retire once the moon sat upon its starry shelf. Spike found himself fast asleep in his warm basket, Twilight lift her head from her pillow and her eyes wandered the sky; her desperation almost demanded she seek out a silly star, in the end she dismissed it as nothing more than an old pony’s tale before she rose from her bed. The day had taken quite a toll on her, she couldn’t take not comprehending things as quickly as she cared to, again she began pacing the room, and the little pony kept pondering and just couldn’t sleep. Still in desperate curiosity she made her way down the stairs to visit her shelves, just looking at them always gave her some solace of mind, Twilight checked them all once more, and still she found none on the subject of her frustration. With a sigh she found herself leaning against the window sill, the day’s events dancing about in perfect order, until the mare felt something odd. The floor, it’d turned to cotton-no, clouds and the front door had found its way to the center of the ceiling. As if they weren’t enough, a knock came upon the door, instinctively the unicorn looked to the front entrance which was now without a shield. Her attention quickly returned to the door as it slowly but surely began to open with an awful creaking sound, causing Twilight and her ears to cringe in response. Once the door had finally ceased, out emerged Equestria’s one and only living atrocity. It or rather he, was a curious collection of creatures composed of paws, claws, talons, feathers, horns, fangs, fur, and fur. Twilight readied her horn without a moment’s hesitation, she grit her teeth as she watched the enormous entity slink and slither like a snake. The pony’s eyes never stopped following, even as the creature sank into the clouds and his horns swimming about made him appear more and more like that of a shark about to strike at a second’s notice. The devil emerged from the cloudy sea and placed a paw to the pony’s shoulder. “Discord! What are you doing here?!” she practically spat the words at him. With a grin he gave his answer. “Why, I’m here to help you of course.” He touched his paw to the pony’s snout. “Help with what? And how is this helping?” she gestured a hoof to the room, marking the uncommon chaos. The king of confusion simply snapped his talons and the library returned to its original state. “Well, if I didn’t make an entrance, then how would you know to expect me?” And being the dear, /reformed/ friend that I am, I came to help with your assignment. I’m honestly surprised you hadn’t call upon me sooner.” Discord treated the very air like a bed, lounging in absent space, neither of his opposite wings ever moving. He was wearing his usual joyous grin he wore whenever he knew a game of his was about to begin. “No-thanks,” she replied flatly, nothing about her tone was fair.” Twilight had finally settled once her library was back to normal, although it wasn’t the best thing to alter on arrival if one wanted to win her over. Discord furrowed a brow, so surprised that the most curious pony he’d ever known could refuse his favor so quickly and even turn her back to him. “You’re not even going to ask /how/ I knew, or how your entire home stood on a cloud?” He flew closer to the stubborn mare, now he was the curious one, it was rare that he couldn’t reason with another, a rarer case was him using reason with another. “Chaos can’t help me here Discord,” the mare said with her eyes shut to her uninvited guest and his ideals. “Oh my dear Twilight, but it can. The two are attached at the hip more than most would have you believe. I could show you a truth no book ever would, something better, something a pony would never find between pages.” His eyes and newly formed smile began to glow, silhouetted in the surrounding darkness; he smiled a smile so sly because he knew he had gained interest yet again, because he knew he was right and because he’d seen her earlier desperation. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder as she turned to Discord, he was thousands of years beyond her in terms of experience; he had to know something on the subject. “How so?” she inquired as she took a cautious step forward. “Ah, but I can’t tell you that, if I did that would be cheating. But I could lend a helping paw I suppose.” The trickster snapped his paw again, this time a sack appeared out of thin air and landed in the center of the room. Twilight couldn’t help but follow the deity over to it, captured by her own curiosity before she even realized it. Discord reached inside and pulled a miniature plush of the unicorn herself. “Inside are copies of you and all your little friends, including everypony from Ponyville. Put a pair together, for example: have their noses touch, and their worlds will intertwine; their hearts will have tied knots by the next day. As long as the pair remains outside the sack and only a few inches apart, they’ll remain affected by the spell. You could experience a relationship yourself, or just up close, at any time.” Discord placed the miniature back in the sack, in turn he took two others and set them about the table, they’re adorably snitched snouts touching one another in the dark. He chuckled at the two he’d chosen, making certain they weren’t seen by the sun’s student. “Oh, and there are no Canterlot residents in here, no Luna, nor Celestia to be precise. I can’t have love-struck princesses about, that is a power even I wouldn’t dare play with.” “Now, any questions?” he asked all smiles, knowing full well the answer. “Actually I-“ Discord suddenly tossed the sack toward the unsuspecting unicorn, the very item she caught catching her and her question off guard. “Good, I’ll be going then.” And with a haunting laugh Discord’s entire form coiled in midair and furled, tightening further and further until he vanished in a tuft of smoke. “Remember Twilight… all is fair in love and war.” Discord’s words echoed in ear, only when they ceased was she certain he was gone. Twilight was undoubtedly a bit saddened to hear Celestia hadn’t been added, even if she was sure this was a trap she at least knew she’d enjoy it if she could spent time with /her./ Honestly the mare still hadn’t decided what to do with the sack just yet. She knew Discord was hiding something other than details, and it was true he couldn’t be trusted, but, who else could she turn to after today’s embarrassing events? Twilight trot to the table to see the pair Discord had placed atop the table, she’d almost forgotten as she had begun tying the sack once her guest had gone. With an audible gasp a completely new color flushed to her cheeks, a hoof brought to her muzzle in fear she might speak their names, nevertheless the unicorn was again embarrassed beyond words. Quickly she took both from the table with her horn, holding them over the sack, she paused… it wasn’t the worst pair she’d ever seen; it was certainly possible. And just like that, in the dead of night, she was left with an interesting decision.