Chapter 1
The Tawny Sunrise
The early twilight was a soft orange as it came through Twilight’s window. As the light of the sun graced her face her eyes opened, the sunlit them like amethyst. It’s as if the suns rise and fall were connected to her sleep schedule. She slowly crawled out of her bed, almost hesitant as she reached the end of her blanket. There was that pause, the ‘I want to sleep for five more minutes’ pause. But her will to learn far overpowered her lethargy. She did however take the blanket off of her bed. It kept her wrapped up in a literal blanket of warmth as she moved down into her library. She didn’t need to find a new book to start. Instead she came to her desk, which had a book with a bookmark in it. She opened it to her page which read, “Fundamentals of group teleportation.”
Transporting herself was one thing, but moving more than two ponies was a tough feat. She began to sink her teeth into the reading. Unsurprisingly Twilight began to get wrapped up in her studies, even though she was the prize student of Celestia there were certain advanced spells she couldn’t just pick up. She had been away from school for two years, and without her tutor. She loved living in Ponyville that she couldn’t deny, but certain magic just couldn’t be self-taught. Spike wouldn’t wake for several hours still, which gave her the opportunity to cram that extra bit of knowledge in before she made the daily checklist. Peewee landed lightly on her back, providing extra light in the early hours.
The reading went on for not even an hour, it would have continued, if not for a knock at the door. Twilight blinked away her focused and sleepy eyes to make her way to the door. Only to find on the other side, a bright and energetic Pinkie pie. She bounced, but the energy was not reciprocated as Twilight only blinked. “Hi Twilight!”
Twilight blinked again and placed weary smile on to see her friend. “Hey Pinkie…” Her own sentence was interrupted with a yawn. “How can I help you?”
Light tufts of dust spread with each bounce “Didn’t’cha hear? Somepony moved in last night!”
Again Twilight blinked again knowing what was coming she still felt inclined to ask. “Okay… and?”
“Well we got to go meet them silly!”
“Pinkie…” Twilight blinked a few times as she thought about her words. “How about you go gather everyone else first then come back?”
“Oh!” Pinkie chuckled delighted with herself, “I already woke them up!”
Twilight tilted her body and leaned her neck around Pinkie who respectfully took a step to the side so that she may see. Yup, there they were. Fluttershy was letting out a soft yawn, Applejack was laying in the bush sleeping, Rainbow’s eyes were closed, it looked like she would fall over if not for Rarity taking a step over to keep her balanced, her eyes were wrought with exhaustion, she even still wore her nightgown with her sleeping mask on her head. Twilight sighed as she could only concede; at least she had been awake for a while. Some other ponies looked like they were dragged straight out of bed. “Alright Pinkie, give me a moment.”
Twilight retreated and simply placed a bookmark back in her book. Then returned to the door. “Alright let’s go.”
The troupe trod taciturnly toward their goal, with of course the exception of Pinkie. She hopped with her usual vigor. Rarity tilted half-awake toward Twilight “How does anyone have that much energy this early?”
Twilight shook her head lightly with a smile. “Pinkie is a bundle of energy, truly a phenomenon.”
It wasn’t long before the six reached their destination. It was just on the outskirts the main road. With the exception of Fluttershy’s own cottage it would be the closest house to the Everfree forest. The streets were completely empty as they approached, not uncommon for this time of day. Pinkie bounced up the stairs onto the porch while the rest merely stood at the bottom, seeming to be too lethargic this early in the morning. Pinkie knocked the door with her head, a grin stretching across her face as she couldn’t wait to meet her new friend. Nothing, there seemed to be no answer. Pinkie looked over her shoulder a moment to see her sleepy friends before turning and knocked again. There were another few moments of silence. “Pinkie… Maybe they’re still asleep.”
Pinkie was about to rap more vigorously on the door before the lesson she learned from Cranky Doodle popped into her head. He hoof withdrew in a flinch. She didn’t want to annoy some pony again. “Maybe you’re right Twilight.”
Rainbow, as well as a few of the others seemed annoyed, being awoke so early only to head back before their objective was complete. Twilight smiled, “Alright, lets head back to the libr-”
Her sentence was cut short by the sound stirring from inside the house. Pinkie turned half way back toward the door. They all stared a moment before the door opened. An androgynous face with a horn poked out. The six were greeted with a light yawn followed by a smile. “Why hello there, how can I help you all this fine morning.”
Their coat was a creamsicle orange with a brown mane and deep green eyes.
Pinkie perked propitiously. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! We’re here to give you a warm welcome to Pony Ville!”
The new pony simple blinked with light confusion and amusement. Pinkie’s squeaked out happily as she spoke. “This is Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow dash, and Fluttershy!”
The group of them let out an amorphous greeting. Each other’s words lost in the mash. The pony looked at the five concerned; he then looked at Pinkie before opening his door wide. He was wearing a large cloak similar to those worn by the high mages of Canterlot. “Well thank you all. Why don’t you come in?”
Pinkie bounce with a smile before rushing in, the new pony only watched quizzically before turning to the others who were now making their way up the steps and into his door. The last to reach him was Twilight who looked at him concerned. “Are you sure it’s alright? You look like you need sleep.”
He raised a hoof and waved it dismissively. “Oh no it’s alright; I’ll have plenty of time to sleep later.”
The mare was hardly reassured by his smile, he seemed like he could fall from exhaustion at any moment, and it was obvious he was able to sense this as he spoke again. “Now come in, I’ll put on some tea.”
Twilight dipped her head respectfully and proceeded to make her way inside. The new pony followed suit closing the door behind them both. Twilight was, for some reason surprised to find no furnishings. But instead cardboard boxes stacked into the corners of the room were all that there was to fill the empty space. Twilight turned to him, “How long have you been here?”
The pony turned lightly as he passed her toward the kitchen. “I only finished getting the boxes off the wagon an hour ago.”
Twilight blinked as he passed into the kitchen. Applejack looked to Pinkie “Ah ya sure that we had to do this now? It couldn’t have waited until at least noon?”
“Or after noon?” Rainbow chimed in annoyed.
Rarity withheld a comment about beauty sleep and found herself taking off her sleeping mask so that she may tuck it into her night gown. The coming tea would be quite welcome to this otherwise early morning. Beside Pinkie Pie and Twilight, Fluttershy also seemed to be awake. Taking care of the chickens was probably work done early. It didn’t take long before the pony returned with a tray of cups on his head. He moved to the sole table in the middle of the room. “Sorry about the wait, I had to find the rest of the tea cups.”
He lowered his head and placed the tray. He then pushed it to the center. “Nah, it’s alright. We’re the ones knockin on your door so early.”
Apple Jack said with a smile. She knew for herself, if it were anyone else but Pinkie, she would have stayed in her bed. Waking this early was strictly reserved for harvest season. “So… ah, do you have a name?”
The pony perked realizing he had yet to introduce himself “I am Tawny Blast. I just moved from Canterlot to continue my studies in quiet. Sorry I’m a little sleepy.”
He gave a light bow before taking a sip of the tea, his voice held a light regality with the lack of haughtiness. Rarity and Fluttershy were taking small sips of the tea, though their eyes still had light weary infecting them. Rainbow smelt the liquid, her nose curled and she brought her head back. Though she did her best not to seem rude and forced herself to take a sip. Finding the concoction wasn’t completely intolerable, though it certainly could use a tea spoon of sugar.
Rarity looked up, at Tawny. He seemed rather quiet for a Canterlot pony, and the occasional sound of sipping did little to lighten the awkward air. She supposed it was time to take a shot in the dark and try to start a conversation. “So, Um, this tea is from Canterlot?”
Tawny nodded lightly as he took a ginger sip, his green eyes didn’t rise to meet her. “Yes, If you like I could give you some. I can always send Abby to get more.”
Pinkie smiled wide once again as she put down her, now empty, tea cup. Her eyes lit immensely as she asked, “Abby!? Is there another new pony??”
Everyone took a moment to stare at the Pinkie’s cup, which was now empty of any traces that I once contained a scalding hot liquid. “Uhm, no. Abby is a Dragon.” Tawny answered
“Ooh is she around!?”
Pinkie seemed to be simply bursting she began to run around the house, looking for aforementioned dragon. Meeting more new people, how could this day get any better? But Tawny shook his head with an amused smile as the pony returned to the room. “No she won’t be here for a few more days.”
Pinkies head drooped, like a child being scolded for drawing on the walls. “Aww.”
He took a moment watching with some sort of empathy before he quirked eyebrow. “How
about when she gets in I’ll bring her around town and introduce you two?”
Without a beat she bounced. “That would be super-duper fantastic!”
The seven chat about little things for a little while longer. They have some tea, laugh and smile, their discussions don’t wander far from pleasant conversation. There was discussion about the difference between Ponyville and Canterlot, Twilight obliged some tips on adjusting to a slower paced town. All was taken in mental notes and met with understanding nods. Time passed and Tawny looked out to see the high sun. “Alright, it’s getting…. Uh… early. I should probably take a nap before going to the market. If you’d all like to come back tomorrow we can have tea again.”
The six got up, the first to show herself out was Applejack “Ah right there we’ll just see ourselves out. It was great meeting ya Tawny.”
Pinkie clicked her heels. “Yeah! And I can’t wait to meet Abby!”
Rarity smiled “You are by far one of the most civilized ponies I’ve met from Canterlot. I do hope to see you in my boutique.” She grabbed a small parcel of tea leaves that Tawny had prepared for her and exited, looking far more elegant now that she had time to wake up.
Rainbow Dash hopped into the air and began to fly out. “Yeah, you’re pretty cool, for an egghead.”
Fluttershy silently moved toward the door. “mm. uh. Pleasure.”
She dipped her head shyly before exiting, which left Twilight who was finishing a cup of tea. She readied a farewell. “Alright Tawny I’ll-“
But Tawny held up his hoof to silence her. “You know, you’re not what I had expected Twilight.”
She blinked, before running the words through her mind again. “I’m sorry… do you know me?”
The orange stallion shrugged and shook his head. “Well… we’ve never met. But I’ve heard a lot about you from the other mages. You know… ‘Celestia’s star pupil’ and all.”
Twilight felt a little uneasy as she felt her hooves shift uncomfortably underneath her. “What do they say…?” concern was lightly wafting throughout her voice.
Tawny gave an awkward smile with a quirked eyebrow. “Nothing bad, C’mon… Not everyone is terrible and uptight in Canterlot. Mainly they just talk about how you have much prowess for one so young. They all see much potential and expect great things from you.”
Twilight blinked she was unaware she held such high interest with the mages of Canterlot. She was happy that people were excited to see what she could do, but what if she didn’t meet what they thought she should be able to achieve. “So… what do you mean not what you expected?”
She thought maybe he thought she would be more powerful by now. Perhaps he expected her to be prettier. Maybe she didn’t smile enough, but all of her worries were put to rest with his next sentence. As he spoke, he stared out a window, allowing the sun to shine on his face. “I guess… I just expected you to be ungracious. To look down on others because of your status, but you’ve surprised me. You entertain the company of earth ponies and pegasi. You don’t look down on them like many others mages do. It’s nice to see, I haven’t seen that in many academy students.”
After a moment he turned to her inspecting her stance. “Twilight Sparkle…”
Twilight picked her head and looked into his eyes. “Y-yes..?”
“Don’t ever lose that grounded presence. It’s nice to see a pony that could actually represent the academy. The princess was right to choose you.”
It wasn’t what she had expected to hear. She blinked half sure she hadn’t heard correctly. But she didn’t get a chance to ask before he nodded, indicating that she should join her friends. “Oh. Um. It was good to meet you Tawny.”
He nods to her and she makes her way out. Tawny turns around seemingly so that he may rest like his original intent.
Applejack had been waiting for her friend. She looked quirk eyed toward the door then her friend. “What the hay was that about?”
Twilight felt herself unconsciously tilt her head for a moment. “I’m not really, sure. I think he was informing of what’s going on in Canterlot.”
Apple jack began walking with her friend toward the library. “What d’ya mean ‘in Canterlot.’”
She shrugged and shook their head. “I’m not sure. I guess people are looking forward to my work.”
Her hatted friend looked at her with a smile “Well that’s good ain’t it?”
“I guess…” she began. “But what if I don’t meet their expectations?”
Apple Jack smiled lightly. “Now sugar cube, I’m sure they’ll like whatever you present. After all, the princess seems to really like what you’re doing.”
Twilight bit her lip a moment. “That’s why I’m worried; I’m the princess’ student. They might all be expecting some phenomenal work, maybe new spells or a new theory on magic.”
Apple Jack and Twilight reached the library. Twilight was opening the door. “Well, Twi, I don’t know anything about magic. But if you think there is any way I can help just ask.”
A grin reached Twilight’s face. “Thanks AJ, I know I can always count on you.”
She went to shut the door, before Applejack chimed in. “Uhm, Twi, would you mind if I took a nap here? I think I would collapse if I tried to make it back to tha farm.”
A smile was returned. “Sure AJ my bed is just upstairs.”
She watched her friend, who gave her a thankful nod, walk up the stairs and flop over on the bed. She seemed to be out like a light. As she watched she noticed Spike, who was cleaning. “The morning chores are almost done Twilight.”
She smiled to him. “My Spike, you’re vigilant even in my absence. I’m going to have to buy you a treat later.”
He let out a small child like laugh. “Gee, thanks Twilight.”
Twilight smiled as she closed the door behind herself. “Now spike, I need some parchment.”
He blinked and went and got the parchment she asked for, she already had a quill. “I’m going to write a letter to the princess, if you could do me a favour and go to the market to grab some groceries that would be great.”
He blinked a moment looking at her, a little skeptical but he had no reason to question her. “Yeah… Sure Twi.” He moved over to the desk and took out a bag of bits before heading to the door. He looked at her confused at first but then opened the door and moved on. “Alright, time to learn a little about Tawny Blast.”
It had been two days since Tawny had moved into Ponyville. Twilight hadn’t seen him, but apparently he had been in the boutique to buy a new cloak as well as Sweet Apple Acres to buy apples for tea. He never went to the sweets shop but Pinkie had seen him around the market gathering ingredients for supper, apparently she invited herself over and ate her fair share of food. But other than that Tawny seemed to keep to himself. Meanwhile Twilight was educating herself on the pony. He was actually quite prestigious. She even got Celestia to send him some of the tomes he wrote. Though most of the spells they contained were advanced and she couldn’t use them, or not immediately or without proper preparation anyway. This morning she noticed that a dragon was flying in from the direction of Canterlot. She could only imagine that it was Abby, Tawny’s dragon. She was considerably larger than Spike, this was to be expected. By her math Tawny was at least six years older than herself. Abby came down by his house and walked in casually. Twilight retreated back to her chair, where a book lay. She opened it and continued to read. After the investigations she had been doing, along with her regular studies it was about time she had time to sit and read a good book purely for enjoyment.
The day slowly passed. Twilight dominated chapter after chapter of her mystery novel before Spike had interrupted. “Hey Twi, Pinkie and a dragon are at the door.”
Twilight finished reading her paragraph before gingerly placing a bookmark, she seemed hesitant to leave it but she managed to pull herself away so that she may see her friend with the cotton candy mane. She trotted down the stairs with Spike following closely behind. “You didn’t wonder about the fact she had a dragon with her?”
Spike looked up at her with a half bored stare. “Asking Pinkie would give me more questions than answers.”
Twilight smiled as she met miss pie at the door. “Hey Twilight, This is Abby! Look at how tall she is!”
She looked up at the dragon before her; it stood about a heads length above her. The crimson scales had a light sheen in the sun, topaz eyes gazed down at her for a moment before she gave a smile. “You must be Twilight.”
The voice was surprisingly soft, though it was spackled with a hint of knowledge. Twilight had caught it, but she convinced herself that it was just her imagination. “Yes, and you are of course Abby, it’s so good to meet you.” Twilight lightly dipped her head in greeting, possibly channeling some forgotten class about proper manners.
“Yeah! She’s been telling me all about Canterlot and all the things she’s seen!” Pinkie chimed in.
The dragon looked down with an amused grin. Twilight tilted her head for a second before steering this conversation forward. “You must have seen quite a bit of the world Abby.”
The topaz eyes lit for a moment as if remembering the adventures of her life. “Yes, well Tawny likes to travel. Result being, I’ve seen much of Equestria.”
She blinked away her memories, placing them into the back of her mind. “But that’s not why I’m here. Tawny was wondering if you’d like to stop by for tea again this afternoon.”
A grin attacked the cotton candy pony, she was about to speak before Abby continued, “To discuss studies.”
Obviously disheartened, the normally bouncy Pinkamena put her best pouty face on. Twilight looked in concern for a moment before returning her attention toward her new scaled acquaintance. “I’m sure Tawny’s not sooo busy he can’t afford to exchange some pleasantries first… Right?”
The scaled being attempted to keep a stern expression, but it was easy to tell as the corners of her lips twitched. Abby had obviously found a friend in Pinkie Pie “Oh of course,” She looked down at Diane. “Having you would be a treat.”
There was a hop and skip followed by a turn as the pink pony began to leave. “Awwright! I’m going to go make some cupcakes! I’ll bring them around later to share!”
“So…” Twilight began as she watched her friend run off mirthfully. “What do you think of Ponyville so far?”
The dragon looked around for a few moments. “I haven’t been here long…” her voice trailed off as she began to process the town and the inhabitants she met. “It’s quiet, and that Pinkie Pie is a bundle of joy.” There was a pause before she grinned lightly. “I think we’ll like it here.”
Twilight smiled glad to hear, from what she understood Tawny wasn’t one to stay in a single place for long, his pursuit of magic had taken him all over Equestria. Perhaps he finally had enough data to sit down and piece it all together. Perhaps… perhaps he wanted her to help! Tawny Blast, graduate and grand mage wanted her help! Wait! It was best not to get ahead of herself. As the thoughts raced through her head Abby looked at her confused. “Uhm. Miss Sparkle? Are you alright?”
“Oh?” Twilight flicked her tail as she was pulled back into reality. “Oh right, so this afternoon then?”
She was met with a quirked eyebrow as she dodged Abby’s question. “Yes. This afternoon, Shall we expect you?”
A slight nod was passed. “Yes, I’ll be there. It was great meeting you Abby.”
The two lightly bowed to each other before Abby turned and was on her way. Twilight watched silently for a moment before closing her door and turning toward her books. “I wonder what studies he could possibly want to discuss.”
Spike had long since retreated the door. He seemed to be looking for a book. “Maybe he wants to discuss your findings?”
As he finished his sentence he pulled a book from the third shelf in the middle of the room. Something else Twilight had noticed was Spike was reading, quite a lot. She noticed it last week but for what she knew this could have been going on much longer. She didn’t really question it though; a healthy dose of reading was never something to be suspicious of. “I don’t have any findings to present.”
The soft sound of a page turn was all that filled the silence. She wasn’t sure what he was reading but he seemed fairly focused on it. “Sure you do Twi, you may not have it written down but you know plenty and can probably teach him a thing or two.”
She looked at the ground, thoughts about her time in Ponyville spun around her head. She found a smile catch on to her lips. “Yeah, maybe you’re right Spike.”
Twilight saw a grin creep onto Spikes face as he continued to read. The two stayed in silence a moment. Watching gave her the itch to read as well. She picked up the tome about glyphs and opened it to the first page.
The two read in silence, the sound of the clock muffled itself out of their minds. The only sound they would hear was the occasional scrape of paper on paper as a page was turned. Several hours had easily passed and it wasn’t until Spike looked up at the clock and blinked a few times to refocus his eyes. He closed the book, rather forcefully actually, which caused Twilight to look up at him. The dragons’ green eyes were staring at her questioningly. “So Twilight, what have you been talking to the princess about?”
Twilight blinked blankly for a moment. “Nothing in particular. I just wondering about some stuff.”
The answer provided little to slake the dragon’s curiosity, though he didn’t seem to have the will to press the matter further. “Twilight, I’m not only your friend but also your assistant. I trust if there is something you want to talk about you won’t hesitate to.”
He hopped off the stool he had been sitting on and proceeded to walk up stairs. Purple eyes could only follow him blankly. Even as he disappeared, to whatever task he had gone to do, her brain continued to try to connect dots that didn’t exist. Unsure what had brought that on she looked to the window. Only now did she realize how much time had passed. She found her bookmark and placed it before readying herself to see Tawny. All the while what Spike said pressed on her mind.
The walk wasn’t long and she wasn’t any closer to knowing what was going on with Spike or putting together any findings to discuss with Tawny. She unconsciously head butted the door. The shock forced her to take a step back, but also it brought her to reality, out of her dream like state she had been walking in. The door opened moments later. “Hello Twilight.”
It was Abby, her smile was warming and welcoming. “Hello Abby, I hope I’m not too late.”
“Of course not dear.” The dragon said as she stepped aside to let her in. “The tea isn’t quite ready yet.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “That’s alriiiii…” her sentence trailed off as she walked into the room. It was a mess. No, calling it a mess would be an insult to messiness. This was a disaster. Books were strewn about all over the place, there were still unopened boxes all around, and many were being used as tables. Pinkie sat at one of the makeshift tables where several boxes of cupcakes were stacked. Tawny would have been invisible if not for his tail at the side where Twilight could see it. Parchment on the table they had sat at for tea the first time, it similar to what she used for her letters had writing to Celestia but these had writing scrawled all over them.
Abby could see the obvious shock. “He’s normally not this messy I promise…”
“What happened in here…” Twilight’s shocked gaze slowly turned to see Abby. It was clear that she felt uncomfortable in the mess.
“I’m not sure dear…” Abby began before looking at the stack of cupcake boxes which hid Tawny. Pinkie and he seemed to be talking about something amusing, or at least amusing to Pinkie. “Yesterday he began researching and working frantically. He won’t tell me what it is or why.”
A low whistle, which had been ever present, only now became apparent as it turned high pitched. “Oh, excuse me, the tea is ready.”
Twilight watched her walk out of the horrible place of chaos, into the kitchen, which seemed extremely clean and well organized. She was tempted to go in just to escape but instead she looked at the ground and began walking making sure to avoid tomes, books, or any other items that didn’t belong on a floor. “Hey Twilight!”
The unmistakable voice of Pinkie called. Twilight's head didn’t look up but she returned the greeting. “Hello.”
“Greetings Twilight.” Tawny said abstractedly.
As she managed to finally make it to a point she could see the pony that had sent the invitation she found an amusing scene. Tawny sat, deeply concentrating on a piece of parchment which was held up by the soft orange glow of his magic, similarly to a half-eaten cupcake which he slowly took a bite of, his body and cloak however were covered in cupcakes. Twilight had to force a giggle to stay put before Pinkie interjected. “Watch!”
The cotton candy pony reached to the top of the cupcake boxes and pulled out a perfectly pink frosted cupcake. She readied herself by pulling her hoof back and closing one eye. Twilight refused to believe this was happening, she stuck her tongue out and bit it to stifle her laughter. But it was no use, Pinkie hurled the cupcake. Not even sitting a foot away Tawny did nothing to budge as at full speed the cupcake found him, and stuck. It stuck to the side of his head but his eyes kept reading the parchment. “Thanks Pinkie.”
Twilight exploded with laughter, Pinkie pie following suit. Abby walked in with a tray, almost immediately a cup of tea was lifted with Tawny’s magic followed by him sipping from it. “Thank you Abby.”
Abby only stared at the two on the floor, killing themselves laughing, and her friend who was covered in cupcakes. In all of her years with him, never before had she seen Tawny look so ridiculous. He still wore the serious expression he always did when he was studying or exploring. Abby made sure to place the tray down before trying to conceal her laughter, it was a fruitless endeavour. Though even with the three laughing Tawny seemed to refuse to turn his eyes from whatever he had his focus on. He seemed to be off in his own little world, but as the laughter subsided it became apparent he was well aware of what was going on. “So, Princess Celestia sent me a message the other day.”
Twilight wiped a tear from her eye as she snuffed out her last chuckle. “Oh yes? What did it say?” she asked as she tried to regain her lost breath.
“Oh not much…” His voice slightly trailed a moment as his eyes squinted, possibly trying to discern a smudged word from what he was reading. “Just pleasantries.”
Pinkie smiled as she chimed in. “It’s good that the princess is able to keep in touch with her subjects.”
Twilight nodded lightly in agreement, Abby however looked confused. It was obvious she knew nothing about this letter which was cemented by Tawny’s next line. “Never before had I met or communicated with her.”
As he said it, his eyes broke from the page to look at Twilight. It wasn’t even half a second but his deep green eyes pierced her, and she knew why. She had asked the princess about him, and it seemed the princess had communicated this with Tawny himself. Twilight was frozen; she wasn’t sure what to say. Though it seemed she didn’t need to as Abby pulled a cupcake from the box and a cup of tea to give to her. Twilight looked thankfully before taking a large bite out of the cupcake. As long as she had a full mouth there was no need to talk.
“What did’ja guys end up talking about?”
Pinkie’s body wiggled back and forth with curiosity as she asked. Abby was able to tell there was a reason that he had asked Twilight. Obviously it had everything to do with the mess. He lowered the page of parchment and looked up, seemingly at the cupcake boxes. “Oh nothing in particular; I told her what was pertinent or what I thought she may find interesting.”
As he spoke Abby could sense he wanted Pinkie to leave so that he may speak privately with Twilight. “Pinkie dear,” Abby begun. “Could you show me how to make such delicious cupcakes?”
A smile found her as the cotton candy pony bounced with an audible ‘sproing.’ “Oh of course!” Pinkie grinned as she began to make way to the kitchen Abby following behind. “It’s pretty simple really! First we’re going to need some flour, salt, vanilla…” Her voice seemed to fall into the distance and usher in the clatter of rummaging around the kitchen. Twilight seemed distraught as they were leaving. She attempted to chew the cupcake faster so that she may protest, but it was far too late. She looked at Tawny for a moment before he finally spoke, putting his eyes back on the parchment. “So what exactly did you ask the princess about me?”
Twilight slowed her chewing to a leisurely pace. Silence filled the room until she was able to swallow the unhealthy chunk of cupcake she had taken. “It wasn’t anything bad; I just wanted to know a little more about you.” Her voice lightly wavered.
Tawny quirked an eyebrow before he felt obligated to ask, “What could you possibly want to know about me?”
Twilight looked up with small smirk on the corner of her mouth. “Well, you’ve been on adventures, written tomes, and traveled across all of Equestria.”
He lowered his reading material for a moment to look at her. He blinked a moment before his magic carried the inked parchment to its brethren on the table. Twilight looked out the window; the sky was turning a shade of lavender similar to her coat as the sun dipped below the horizon. “Well doing so has prompted her to ask me something rather interesting.”
Twilight turned her attention away from the sky and refocused on him. Her questioning was apparent even without words. Yet Tawny took his time to take a few sips of tea before standing and walking to the table where all the parchment lay. As he did so a few cupcakes fell off from their places and landed messily on the floor. Twilight watched and felt the need to follow, even without instruction. He was looking over all that lay on the table, and so she did the same. It was obvious. It was so obvious, how could she have missed it? “These are my letters…”
She hadn’t been able to pick it out immediately, possibly because of all the comments scrawled on them by the princess. Tawny nodded lightly as he spoke, “Every single one since you’ve arrived in Ponyville.”
She blinked in confusion as she looked over the table. The messages brought back memories of what had been the best two years of her life. “Why…?” She asked herself before looking at Tawny. “Why did she send them to you?”
“Because Twilight.” His head turned to meet her awkward gaze. “She’s asked me to be your teacher.”