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// Who ends a book with... 
// Story: Twilight Writes A Book 
// by Arreis Of Avalon 
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	Twilight sat at the typewriter, her mind stubbornly, for once in her life, idealess. She had absolutely no idea what to write next. Her brain was drawing a blank. She was so very close to the end of her book, the one she had spent years writing, and now she was infuriatingly stuck. After years and years of writers block and editing and more editing and more reading and more writers block, she had finally gotten so close. She was so frustratingly close.
“Uuuugh.” She fell backwards, watching the ceiling. She scanned its surface once. No use doing that, though. It didn’t have any answers on how to complete her story. It was just a ceiling. She tilted her head back further. Sadly, her bookshelf heralded no more answers than the ceiling did. Although, there were quite a few good reads.
She stood, sighing. “Dumb book…”
“Who are you and what did you do to Twilight!?”
“GAAH!” Twilight jumped in alarm as her fiery assistant glared at her. “Spike, what are you talking about?!”
“No Twilight of mine would EVER say ‘dumb book’.” Spike grinned, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile as well. He had always supported her in her efforts to write, even though writing a book was impossibly hard. He gave her little ideas and feedback. “You got more writers block?”
Twilight groaned. “It’s just so hard. I’m so close to finishing this book, and I just cannot figure out how to finish.”
“Sounds like a real problem. Want me to have a crack at it?”
Twilight smiled brightly. Her horn sparked, and suddenly, Spike sat in front of the typewriter. “Thank you thank you THANK you. Just, if you have any ideas on how to end it, I would be so so SO happy.”
Spike smiled back, chuckling. “Alright, let’s see here…”
Twilight was in agony as she waited for him to finish reading. He simply sat there, mouthing to words to himself. Twilight watched in anticipation, wishing he would just say the words she needed to finish this story, finish all she had worked for for so long. 
He finished reading. He blinked. He looked at her, then back at the story. He blinked again.
“WELL?!”
Spike gasped and fell back. “Well, what?!”
“What does it need??” Twilight pinned him to the ground, her eyes wide. “I’m so close, Spike, please. Just tell me, what does it need?”
“Oh, gee, I dunno.” Twilight groaned, sitting back up. Spike sat up too, grinning. “Wow, this really is a pickle. Gee, even our friends would be stumped by that whopper of a question.” He laughed a bit, rolling his eyes. “Not even Princess CELESTIA could figure this one out.”
Twilight gasped, smiling brightly. “That’s it! I’ll go ask my friends! I’m sure they have PLENTY of ideas on how to properly end a story!” Twilight quickly ran to the door, turning back. “If you need anything, Spike, I’ll be at one of our friend’s houses.” Without another word, she ran out.
“W-wait, Twilight, I was being sarcas…” He groaned, bringing a claw to his temples. “She’ll figure it out eventually…”
Ponies had grown more used to Twilight running through town in a rush. As such, Twilight was glad that nopony got in the way of her search for the way to complete her story. She wasn’t sure where to head first, but it was obvious after a quick thought. As quickly as she could, she rushed to the outskirts of Ponyville, her magic helping her along the way.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash,” she shouted as she reached the cloud home. She was happy to see her friend learn her head out the window. “Could you come down here for a minute? I need help!” 
“On it!” Rainbow quickly sped down the stairs and through the front door. With a whirl in the air, she turned to the ground. Without a seconds hesitation, she dived and landed right in front of Twilight. She grinned, fixing her mane slightly. “What’s up?”
“You owe me a favor after I introduced you to Daring Doo.”
Rainbow nodded, smiling. “That cop chase was the best mistake of my life. Got to read a lot of books since then. Nothing as great as Daring Doo, but a LOT of great books. What’s it y’need?”
“I’ve been writing a book for the last 5 years.” Rainbow’s eyes widened. “I’m almost done, but I can’t figure out how to finish it. I was wondering if you had any idea how I should.”
Rainbow grinned. “Heh. Figures a book worm like you would have written a book!” She tapped her chin lightly, thinking. “Hmm, how to end a book…”
“If you don’t have any ideas, that’s alright. I’m planning on asking everypony.”
“Well… Y’know how A.K Yearling always has Daring do something totally epic, but then get caught?”
“Mhm?”
“And then there’s all this suspense and stuff, and just when you think all is lost, she comes back. It’s awesome, and after that, she saves the day and everything. Your ending should be like that. It should have a suspenseful moment, and right RIGHT on the last part, it’s all good.”
Twilight nodded, thinking. “Suspense… Alright, that might help me out… Thanks, Dash!” Twilight turned, her horn already glowing. “I’m going to check around and see what other ideas there are. Thank you for your help!”
“Anytime, Twi!” In a burst of lavender, Twilight vanished. In that same flash, she appeared at Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy was always one to lend helpful advice.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight gently knocked on the cottage door. A small ‘eep’ was heard inside. “I wanted to ask you something! Are you free?”
Softly, the door opened. Fluttershy smiled as she peeked out of the opening. “O-Oh, hello Twilight. Me and Angel were about to go on a picnic, but I’m sure I could help you out first. C-come on in.”
Twilight smiled and trotted inside. Little critters scurried about, but Twilight was used to them after coming to Fluttershy’s in the past. “You see, Fluttershy, I’ve been writing a book for the last few years.”
“Oh, my. I hope that’s been going nicely for you.”
“It has been, but now I’m stuck. I don’t know how to finish my story.”
Fluttershy frowned. “Oh no… I’m sorry to hear that, Twilight.”
“Well, I was wondering if you might have any idea how I might end it.”
“O-Oh!” Fluttershy smiled softly. “I-I’m glad you would think to ask me… Most of the stories I read are fairy tales, but I’ve always enjoyed them, and so have my little friends. Almost each and every single one of them end off on a happy note, where the princess and the prince both live happily for the rest of their lives.”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “You think I should end it happily, like a fairy tale?” 
Fluttershy nodded, blushing lightly. “I-If that works for your book, I mean.”
“I think it would work very well. Thanks for the idea, Fluttershy.” Twilight hugged her. “Enjoy your picnic with Angel.”	
“O-Oh, thank you.” Twilight smiled and trotted out, teleporting to her next destination.
That destination turned out to be Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight appeared in the orchards, panting. “So. Much. Teleporting.” She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead before glancing around. “Now, where would she be around now?”
Twilight trotted around the orchards a bit, hopelessly lost. Eventually, however, she managed to find the Apple family’s house. Luckily enough, it was lunch time, so all of the Apples would be inside for lunch. Even better was the fact that Twilight was starving. She trotted inside, smiling. “Hello?”
Applejack looked up from the table. “Well, howdy, Twilight! What brings you up t’Sweet Acres?”
“Well, I’ve been asking around about-“ A small rumble interrupted Twilight. She looked down to her stomach, which was rather stubbornly reminding her that it was time to eat. “Ehe…”
Applejack grinned and dragged Twilight to a spare seat at the table. “Enjoy a nice lunch, Twi. We can talk over food.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said. Granny nodded, smiling. Twilight thanked them and dug in with relish. It was a good lunch of hay-flower sandwiches and dandelion salad. Twilight ‘Mmmm’d’ appreciatively as she ate.
“So, what were y’sayin’ earlier about askin’ around, Youngin’” Granny said, smiling.
“Oh!” Twilight smiled as she remembered. “Well, I’ve been asking around to see if anypony knew how to end my book. You see, I’ve been writing for a long time, and I’m almost done, but for some reason I just can’t figure out how to finish it.”
“Woo-eey, Twilight. Writin’s an awful lot of work. Y’must be proud of doing so much.” Twilight beamed at her friend’s praise. “As for how t’finish it… Hmm…” Applejack thought for a moment. “Well, it’s just gotta be an honest t’true ending. If y’wanna do a sequel some day, that’s fine, but y’shouldn’t do that hokey stuff where something MIGHT happen. Tsk.”
“Worst cliché I’ve ever read,” Granny said, shaking her head sadly.
“Eeeeyup.”
Twilight smiled. “So, just make it a real ending, instead of a cliffhanger?”
“Y’got it, partner. Now, Ah think we’re all done eatin’, so how’s about we decide whose turn it is t’wash the dishes?” Big Mac grinned. 
Twilight glanced between the two. “I think I’ll just get going…” With a small smile, Twilight trotted out. She didn’t want to get caught in the middle of Big Mac and Applejack fighting over whose turn it was to clean up.
Twilight chose to walk back to Ponyville instead of teleporting. It would help her stomach settle after the lunch, and in the long run would probably be less exhausting. She strolled back to town and quickly went to her next stop. 
Twilight smiled as she opened the door. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!” Twilight chuckled softly at her friend. “Oh! Twilight!” 
“Hi, Rarity.”
Rarity smiled, letting the aura around her horn fade as she gently put down her sewing needles. “Whatever brings you here, Darling? Did your gala dress rip again? Oh, or perhaps you need a new gown for some event?”
“Sorry, Rarity, no need for a dress today. I was wondering, though, if you could help me with something.”
“Anything for a friend, Darling!” Rarity smiled, sitting on the nearby couch. “What seems to be the problem?”
Twilight sat as well. “Well, I’ve been trying to complete a book that I’ve been writing all day, but I can’t think of how to end it. I’ve asked around for some help, and I was wondering if you had any advice.”
“Oh, well. I’ve read quite a few novels myself, but I doubt any of them are quite what you’ve written. I’ve always been a fan of, I’ll admit it, juicy little romances.” Twilight chuckled, smiling. “All of them seemed to end with a nice, resounding spark of love, both from the author and the characters. There’s plenty of build up to the steamy confession, and when that happens, the end is simply so wonderful!”
Twilight nodded, thinking. “So you think I should romanticize the ending a little? Make it well worth the wait?”
Rarity nodded. “Oh, I simply cannot wait to read it when you get it published, dear.”
Twilight smiled brightly. “Thank you for the tips, Rarity. I’ll leave you to your work for now – You always seem to be so busy!”
“Never too busy for a friend, Darling. Hope my advice helped!” Twilight nodded and trotted to the door. One last stop.
Rarity waved her goodbye as Twilight began to go towards Sugarcube Corner. Before she got there, however, a familiar pink pony bounced up beside her. “Heya, Twilight!!”
Twilight looked at Pinkie, pleasantly surprised. “Hi, Pinkie. I was just going to Sugarcube Corner to look for you!”
“I know, silly!”
Twilight tilted her head, confused. “How on earth could you have known that??”
“Well, Spikey came in looking for a treat, and he asked if you had already stopped by, and I said no and I was wondering if you wanted to stop by for cupcakes or other sweets or maybe needed a party planned, but he said no and that you were looking for some help on your book and were asking around and that you would probably come looking for me at some point, so I went ahead and left so I could find you first, but now that I think about it, that was probably a bad idea in case you DID stop by Sugarcube Corner and you missed me, and then you would’ve gone home and never gotten to hear my idea!!!”
Twilight blinked once as she processed what was quite possibly the longest run on sentence she had ever heard in her life. She shook her head once, smiling. “Well, I’m glad to have found you nonetheless. So, did you have any ideas?”
Pinkie bounced up and down, giggling. “Oh boy, do I! It’s sure to make the perfectest ending to any story!”
“Yes??”
“All you need to do is…” Pinkie grinned ear to ear. “Make is something nopony would ever ever EVER expect from somepony as amazing and awesome as you!”
“Huh?” 
“You heard me! See, everypony thinks the great Twilight Sparkle would have some sort of biiiiig wind up to the ending, but you should just keep it short and sweet. Like a cupcake!” Pinkie giggled, then gasped. “Ooooo, what if the pages of your book TASTED like cupcakes?! Oh my gosh, and then you could make EDIBILE COOK BOOKS, where you lick the page and you can see what that recipe tastes like so you knew what you were cooking before you cooked it!!” Pinkie beamed. “I need to get back to Sugarcube Corner so I can try and make this a reality! Bye, Twilight!!” Without another word, she sped off, leaving Twilight rather confused, but pleasantly aware that she had gotten sound advice. At least, as sound as any advice from Pinkie Pie.
Twilight sighed, trotting back to her house. So many options to choose from. What sort of ending was suspenseful, but not a cliffhanger? Nice and romanticized, but to the point, short and sweet? She opened the door to her house and sat at the typewriter. She thought a moment.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. It was so simple, even the best writers struggle to discover why certain authors put it as the closing part. You could make it sound so much better, but that was what they chose. Suddenly, she understood.
It was short and sweet.
It was suspenseful in the fact that she could do anything she wanted in a sequel, but it wasn’t a cliffhanger.
It was a wrapped up ending, and the characters would all live happily.
And it was a classic ending, one that romanticized the classic and confusing way certain authors write the conclusion. 
Twilight beamed. “Thank you, everypony, for such a great idea! It was so simple, I would’ve never thought of it! Besides… Nowadays, who ends a story with the words…”






THE END