Celestia’s Tiny Student
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Bonus Chapter
Day Before Summer Sun Celebration
“Hey Twilight! What are you doing?” Spike called up to his adoptive mother, as she perused a long row of books a few meters above him.
Twilight picked out another book, adding it to the mountain of tomes levitating above her head as she checked off another item on the long checklist floating in front of her.
“Twili—”
Spike stopped as Twilight turned suddenly towards him, jumping from the five meter height to land squarely on his nose. She wrapped her magic in a gentle embrace around his mouth to keep it closed even as she still kept the giant heap of books levitating behind her. “Shush, Spike, this is the Royal Library. One of the main rules is to keep quiet. That includes shouting and loud noises too. Understand?”
Spike tried to answer, but his mouth was still held in Twilight’s powerful grip, so he simply nodded his head. A moment later, Twilight loosened her hold on him, and her angry glare vanished.
“Twilight,” Spike mumbled, “you know that besides us, your mentor, your foalsitter, and your personal guards, nopony else uses this library, right? Why do you even bother with the rules, if there is nopony here to disturb?”
Twilight shook her head. “Rules are rules, Spike. What if some very famous and important scholars come here in search for knowledge, and the noise we make discourages them from their pursuit?” she replied, giving Spike a questioning look.
The little dragon sighed in defeat. “Fine, fine. I'll try not to be too loud, but could you please tell me what you're searching for?” Spike asked, pointing up at the books still being levitated in Twilight’s magic. “Are you still working on that spell to turn unicorns and earth ponies into pegasi, or is this some new project?”
“Nothing of the sort. I’m just preparing for an important assignment,” Twilight replied cheerfully, giving her assistant a smile.
Spike stared at her uncomprehendingly, and Twilight’s smile slowly turned into a frown. “Don’t tell me you forgot what day it is today.”
Spike blinked a few times as he continued to look up at the unicorn on his muzzle. “Umm... is today your birthday? No wait, you had that a few months ago. Maybe... or... okay, I got nothing.”
Twilight let out an exasperated groan. “Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration! It’s going to take place in a town not far from Canterlot—Ponyville, I think—but the point is that I’m responsible for overseeing the preparations for the celebration. Do you understand what this means?” she said, a mix of excitement and panic in her voice.
Twilight looked at Spike desperately as he tried his best to think of an appropriate response. “Umm... free food?” he replied hesitantly.
“No Spike,” Twilight said firmly, resisting the urge to facehoof. “It means that I am on my first royal assignment! Princess Celestia is entrusting me with a duty for the first time, and I cannot fail her trust. This day has to be perfect!” she said anxiously, taking a few agitated breaths as a few hairs of her mane sprung out of place.
“Twilight, calm down!” Spike said, as the little mare jumped down from his head to pace restlessly on the floor. “You are, once again, panicking over nothing. Also, didn’t Celestia assign you to the Wonderbolt Headquarters so you could learn about pegasus magic? You didn’t panic back then, so why is this any different?” he asked, giving Twilight a questioning look.
“No, no, and once again, no! My one month trip to the Wonderbolt Headquarters and the time I spent learning from Spitfire and Soarin’ were a part of my studies. Overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration is the first duty the princess has requested of me. For the first time since I became her apprentice, I can prove myself useful to her, and I must prove myself useful!” Twilight replied, shuddering from the images of a ruined celebration and a giant, disappointed princess glaring down at her as they flashed through her mind.
Before her assistant could reply, Twilight jumped onto the bookshelf and began climbing back up, her levitated books following her. Spike sighed and followed the little mare as she skimmed through the titles even quicker than before, once again five meters above him. “So let me guess, those books are about past Summer Sun Celebrations and this village we’re going to visit, right?” he asked quietly, not wanting to get another lecture from his over-energetic mother.
“First off, it’s Ponyville, and yes, you are correct. Just today, Silver Scroll informed me about my assignment and left a list of tasks to do and places I need to inspect. She said that I’ll be staying at the local library, but I need to be prepared," Twilight answered, taking a single solid jump to land on the edge of another bookshelf. "I’m trying to find as much literature as I can about this place.” She looked up at the sign posted on the shelf, proclaiming it to be the ‘History and Traditions’ section of the library. With a nod, she began skimming through the titles again, though her hasty search stopped when an interesting book caught her attention.
“Twilight, you’re going to visit a town near Canterlot, not some isolated island with an alien culture… Twilight, are you even listening to me?” Spike asked, as Twilight buried herself in her new find, a picture of the moon emblazoned on its cover.