//------------------------------// // Disappearing Act // Story: OC, Oh Crap! // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Tessla and Austin had searched high and low in the castle. They searched four floors down from where they started and found nothing. Nothing but more rooms of varying sizes, that is. Few of the rooms had furniture, but that was to be expected. Twilight's castle was still rather new. So they trekked back up the four floors to where they started and started over. They moved up this time. One floor was apparently composed of nothing but closets. Closets and rooms that led to balconies overlooking other rooms. Strange. The next floor had a grand ball room area with high vaulted ceilings and a great chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Every step and footfall echoed throughout the grand hall as they moved through it. It was kinda creepy. Finally, three floors up they found it. Austin and Tessla stood in awe. Before them were two large doors that looked nearly impossible to move. They knew Twilight could use her magic and open them with ease, but how would they. They were sure that the library lay beyond. It had to be on the other side of those doors. “You think that's the library, Tessla?” “It makes sense. Big doors mean really important, right? And Twilight does love books, so the library would be really important to her.” “Yeah, especially after what happened with Tirek.” “So, how do we get in?” “I suggest we push the doors.” Austin smiled and stepped up to the doors. Tessla quickened up right behind him. Both of them laid their hands upon the doors and were about to push when Tessla got a thought. “What if this doesn't work?” “Then we find a handle and pull.” Tessla shook his head and chuckled. Yeah, that was Austin for ya. He had an answer for just about everything. It wasn't always a smart answer, but it was usually an answer. Tessla smiled again and both him and Austin pushed on the doors. For a solid minute they pushed and nothing happened. They were about to give up and try pulling when the doors finally gave way. Just not the way they were expecting. The doors were opening outward. Both of them stepped back to avoid the path of the doors, but one of them wasn't fast enough. The large doors swung open and Tessla's fingers got caught between the door and the wall. He stifled the pained scream as he heard the sound of small feet walking toward them. It was coming from inside the library! He pressed himself against the wall as best he could and Austin did the same. Luckily, the large doors covered most of them. As long as whoever it was didn't look back they would not be seen. As the footsteps grew closer Austin and Tessla took one last look at each other. They sucked their guts in and remained as silent as they could. Seconds later a small, purple baby dragon emerged from the library carrying a stack of books that looked too tall for him to handle. He struggled as the stack leaned to one side, but he recovered nicely with a well timed jolt that shook the books back into a straight stack. Even when one fell off Spike didn't falter as he quickly lashed out with his tail and caught the book. He then proceeded to catapult the book back to the top of the stack like it was an everyday thing he did. Maybe it was. All Austin and Tessla were thinking was that the library doors were closing, and fast. They quickly rushed out from their places by the doors and entered the library. Austin's big feet proved a problem however, as he nearly tripped over them on his way in. He was able to quickly get back up and hide on the other side of the wall. Tessla did the same just as Spike looked back. “That's odd. I thought I heard something,” He said, but as he looked back he saw nothing. “Huh, must be my imagination. This big, empty castle gets kinda creepy sometimes.” “Yeah, right. Have you been to the ballroom?” Tessla's sarcasm was barely above a whisper. The doors closed fully behind Spike, leaving Austin and Tessla in the library. As soon as they were sure the doors were closed and nopony else was coming in they emerged from their hiding places. And they emerged into a place of wonder and magic: Twilight's library. “So where are you heading first?” Austin asked Tessla a very reasonable question. There were rows upon rows of bookshelves, and each of them had dozens upon dozens of books. Every subject was here. Pony lore, pony history, pony anatomy, and everything else they could think of. “I was thinking about checking out some pony mythology. You?” “Come on, Tessla, you know me. Pony magic, of course.” “Of course.” The two friends nodded as they moved to the center aisle. They looked down either way of the long library. They said nothing as the same thought entered both their minds. It was one of those 'needless to say' moments. Now all I have to do is find the section I'm looking for. That shouldn't be too hard, right? The two split up and each took one side of the library. Austin went left and Tessla took right. The search for knowledge had begun. Meanwhile, Ben was still on his own search for his friends. His was not going so well. Ben. . . After Rarity left Ben alone, he went off by himself. He did wonder why they were being left alone in Twilight's castle on just their second day being there, but he was quickly pulled away from that thought. The castle had oh so many wonders to distract him. First it was the kitchen. He wasn't quite sure how he got there. It was either two lefts, a right, up a flight of stairs, another right, and then three lefts, or it was two rights, three lefts, up some stairs, across a hall, and then two more lefts. Something like that, yeah. It didn't matter to him, though, because he was there. He was in the kitchen. Ben smiled as he walked in. He loved cooking, and so the kitchen was one his favorite places to be. He was pretty good at it too. He wasn't quite chef material yet, but he was on his way. Ben made himself busy looking around and inspecting everything. It could have been considered snooping, but he didn't see it that way. He looked in the fridge and the cupboards. He looked on shelves and in drawers. He was simply curious about what a royal Equestrian kitchen was like. And he was getting hungry. The whole thing with Rarity took longer than he expected and all this walking was building up an appetite. “AAAAHHHHHH!!!” Ben whipped around faster than a startled Fluttershy. Well, maybe not that fast, but you get the idea. Spike was standing there in the doorway to the kitchen. His eyes were wide with terror and his little dragon body was trembling a bit. “Sorry, Spike. Am I not supposed to be in here? I got a little turned around on my way back to my room.” Spike snapped out of his own stunned state. He shook his head and turned back to Ben. “NO! You are NOT supposed to be in here. Especially not now. Twilight has an official royal staffer coming over and they cannot see you!” “'Official royal staffer'? What's that?” “It's a pony who's job it is to find staff for royal castles and stuff. I'm pretty sure that's what it is, at least.” Spike got lost in his own thoughts for a moment after that. He quickly snapped back to reality at the thought of Twilight's fury if Ben ruined this day. “It doesn't matter! You have to leave! NOW!” Spike got behind Ben and started pushing with all his might. It didn't really do much as Spike's tallest point only came up to just above Ben's knee. The tips of his claws were pretty sharp though, even for him being a baby dragon. That got Ben moving. As they walked toward the door, they both heard voices coming from down the hall. The voices were clear as day and one was unmistakable. It was Twilight, and the other voice must be the royal staffer. It was an older male voice that teemed with a hint of royalty and a lot of experience. “Oh no! Twilight can't find you here. You have to hide. NOW!” Spike was freaking out. He ran over to some empty cupboard under the counters and threw the doors open. “Hurry! In here.” Ben just looked at him and tried not to laugh. “I'm not going to fit in there.” Spike looked at Ben, and then at the cupboard. Then at Ben, and back again. He was right. He wasn't going to fit in there. The voices were closer now, they were almost to the kitchen. Spike was epically losing it at that point. He grabbed Ben by the hand and dragged him over to a door. He opened the door and pretty much tossed Ben inside. He quickly closed the door just as Twilight came into the kitchen. “This is the kitchen. As you can see it is quite spacious, with four stove tops, two large refrigerators, and plenty of storage space.” Twilight just then noticed her small, purple assistant standing at the other end of the kitchen. “Spike, what are you doing here?” “I'm sorry!” “Sorry? Sorry for what?” Damn. Spike let it slip. Just a little, though. Maybe he could salvage this. As he stood with his back to the door he heard a small voice in his ear. It was barely audible, but it gave him a good idea. “I slipped and fell in the pantry. I made a bit of a mess doing it. I was actually trying to clean it up before you and your guest arrived, but I wasn't able to.” “Oh, well I'm glad you tried at least, Spike. Maybe we can come back around a little while later. Is that okay with you?” The royal staffer looked half asleep as he stood there. Twilight's question shook him awake, though. He jumped just a little and adjusted his glasses. “Oh, that's fine by me,” He said in his old voice. Twilight left with the royal staffer and Spike waved her goodbye as she took him to see the rest of the castle. Spike stood there for several moments after they left to make sure they were gone. Then he opened the door to the pantry and saw Ben. He was munching on a carrot. “Eh, what's up, Spike?” “What are you doing?” “Eating a carrot. Good idea with the pantry, by the way. There is a lot of room in here.” “Just get out,” Spike breathed. Ben walked with Spike to the hallway and then Spike turned him over to himself. “I would show you to your room, but I have to go and get a bunch of books from the library for Twilight.” “Have fun with that,” Ben called out as Spike trudged off. “Please, do you know how hard it is carrying a stack of books that's taller than you down flights of stairs?” It was a rhetorical question, and Ben knew that. Therefore, he kept his answer to himself. No. No, he had never had the chance to carry a stack of books that was taller than him down flights of stairs. And he was proud of that. That was because Ben was a tall guy. A stack of books taller than him would have to be at least seven feet tall, if not taller. And he wouldn't make it past the first step before something terrible happened. That he was sure of. So, Spike went one way and Ben went the other. He figured it was best this way as Twilight and the staffer went the same way Spike was going now. His thoughts were that he was less likely to be spotted if he went away from them. Seemed logical, right? Back in the Library. . . Austin was having the time of his life. Well, as well as he could with a mountain of books. Magic had always interested him, but back in his own world, it was little more than illusion and fantasy. The stuff of stories and not something to be taken seriously, but here in Equestria it was real. It was real and taken seriously, so naturally he was curious about it. He stalked the great shelves of the library until he found the section he was looking for. It was a rather difficult search as there lay mountains of books everywhere. Twilight had made a lot of progress when it came to shelving the books, but there were just so many of them. It took forty-five minutes at least for him to find what he was looking for. The section was so neatly labeled 'Magic' making it easy to spot. Austin delved into the first books that caught his eyes. They were all on magic, of course, but they varied so much. Some were on growth magic, some were all about nature magic. A few even had to do with the anatomy of ponies and how magic could affect it in all sorts of ways. Austin placed that one back on the shelf. He found about five or six books that interested him and then he came upon one that made sense to him. Magic for Ponies: The Beginners Guide. Made sense to start with that one. He sat down in one of the conveniently placed chairs nearby and opened the books first pages. The book was all about the basics of pony magic for young Unicorns. Obviously, he was not a young Unicorn, but he read the book anyway. He also had a stack next to him that was ready to be read after he finished with that one. Even if he couldn't do magic himself, he still wanted to learn about it. He was pretty damn sure it would help him out along the way while he lived in Equestria. And he wasn't the only one having a grand time in the library. Tessla was at the other end of the library indulging in his own interests. Tessla found what he was looking for much faster than Austin did. That was mostly due to the fact that his section was much bigger than the one Austin was looking for. Tessla was looking for pony mythology and lore. That fell under the 'History' part of the library, which was almost half of Twilight's entire collection of books. So he found some books to read quite fast. However, finding a chair to sit in while he read those books. That was another thing altogether. Every possible seat or place to put your ass was taken and filled by books, bindings, and pages. He settled for the floor under one of the windows and started to read. The first book he chose was about the many strange creatures that could be found throughout Equestria. The book delved into details about such creatures as hydras, manticores, chimeras, and even parasprites. Tessla knew of all of these, but nothing in great detail. And he was a man of details. So he read and read and read. Every word, every page, and every picture was studied and committed to memory as best he could. He would most likely forget a lot of it by tomorrow, but he could always read the book again. Maybe. If he could sneak into the library again. Hours went by and the both of them had gone through several books each by then. Austin was fascinated by all the magical insights those books provided. Some confused him, and some were simple to comprehend. He was really into the books he found about elemental magic. But even as fascinated as he was, there was only so much time he could spend on his ass before it went numb. He stood up and placed a marker in the book he was reading so he wouldn't lose his place. “I wonder what Tessla's up to. He's awfully quiet,” Austin yawned out the last words. He stretched out tall and heard all the cracks that came with it. That was normal, so don't worry. Austin knew that Tessla was supposed to be at the other end of the library. That was where he would start looking. It felt good for him to stretch out his legs. His left foot had fallen asleep some time ago, so that made walking a little awkward. But he pushed onward. It was not the first time he had been forced to move on asleep feet, and he had gotten rather good at it. As long as he didn't fall on his face he was okay. Austin searched for Tessla in the library the same way he would at a store back in his own world. He walked down one aisle and glanced down each one he passed until he saw something or someone that was familiar. It was a bit easier in the library as there were only two people in there, and Austin knew where he was. He was waddling down the center aisle with a tingling sensation taking over his foot and slowly traveling up. Tessla was found at the far end of the library, only two rows away from the very last one. He was huddled up underneath a window. Austin passed by it, only to back pedal a moment later and turn down that row. “Hey man. Light's fading. You may want to find a candle or something.” He playfully said. Tessla didn't look up from his current book. “I would, but all the tables and chairs are covered in books. And I highly doubt that there would be a candle so close to all those books.” “Good point.” Austin looked around Tessla. He had a pretty good stack of books on either side of him. “How may of those books have you read so far?” “Four.” Tessla stated proudly. “They were all on the beasts of Equestria, both magical and mythical. Some interesting stuff in there.” “I bet, but I think we should be going. Somepony might start wondering where we are. I still have no idea if we're allowed to be in here or not.” Tessla was about to respond when a sound echoed throughout the library. It was a sound they had heard just a few hours earlier. Doors. Two large, heavy looking doors. The library doors, to be exact. Both Austin and Tessla peered around the corner of the bookshelf and looked for whoever it was that was coming inside. “WHOA! Now this is a library!” “That's gotta be Ben,” Austin said. Tessla agreed. They walked out to meet their friend. He was so entranced by the sheer volume of books that he didn't even notice them coming towards him. He turned to every side, taking in all the knowledge that must be accumulated in that room. It wasn't until he heard some talking that he looked down to see his friends standing there. “Oh, hey guys. You found the library, too.” “Yeah. We've been here for a few hours now. Reading.” Austin said. Ben was still in awe a little. “This place is awesome. What have you been reading about?” “Magic,” Austin state flatly. “Beasts of Equestria, magical and mythical,” Tessla told Ben. Ben nodded. His pudgy cheeks turned out as a huge smiled grew across his face. As the three stood there the library doors opened up once again. It was too late for any of them to move. Even if the wanted to there was no way they wouldn't be seen. That was it. They were done for. “Wha-? Not again!” Spike griped as he stomped up to the three. “You can't be here. Nobody is allowed in Twilight's library. Nobody! Not to mention that she on her way here right now with the official royal staffer.” “The official what?” Tessla asked, confused. “Oh, its a pony whose job it is to find staff for the castle,” Ben explained with a smile. “And she's on her way here right now?” Austin asked. As soon as the words left his lips sounds could be heard coming from the hallway. All of Spike's color drained out of him. Even Ben went kind of pale. Tessla shrugged when Austin looked back at him. Austin himself understood the importance of it all. “No, she's not on her way.” Spike uttered, barely. “She's here. Hide!” The four of them scrambled about as they searched for a place for them to hide. It was quickly discovered that no such places existed in a library. It was just shelves and books. A few tables thrown about the room and you have all the big stuff. Wait a moment. Tables! Austin got a great idea. He took Ben and Tessla over to a nearby table and shoved them underneath. There was only room for those two and even that was a tight squeeze. With Spike's help he stacked piles and piles of books up to create a wall of pages and words around the entire table. Spike sighed as they got done, but that left one more problem still around. Spike scrambled around and ended up hiding behind the end of a bookshelf. Austin was at the end of another a little ways off. In between them, the doors and a whole lot of empty space. Twilight came in just a second ago and Spike's heart started racing. Seriously bad news. Even worse was the fact that Austin was still in plain view. Spike's heart skipped a beat when he saw that. Austin was also freaking out a little, but that did nothing to calm Spike's nerves. He wanted to tell him to hide, but he couldn't say anything without giving away his position. The only choice he had was to motion and use hand gestures. Spike frantically waved his hand from one side to the next. Hide! Hide! Austin got the message and looked around, but found no suitable place to hide. Spike glanced back at Twilight. She was standing in the doorway talking with the staffer. That would not give them much more time. Spike looked around him. Both sides of the library were basically the same, so if he found a place to hide over here, it should be the same over there. He looked around and found about as much as Austin did. He got a few ideas, but not really any good ones. He decided to throw them out there anyway. He looked over at Austin and picked up a few books. He used them to make a four sided box and and stuck another book on top of that. He then motioned a person going inside the box. Make a fort out of books and hide in that. Austin raised an eyebrow at that. He pointed at Twilight and then made a two fingered gesture from her to the box. Don't you think she might notice that? Spike facepalmed. He was right. Of course she would notice that. He tapped his chin and another idea came to him. This one was sure to work. He looked back at Austin. He used both hands for this. He put one in the air higher than the other and then made it look like climbing. At one point he stopped and rolled on the floor just a little bit. Austin raised an eyebrow again. Donkey Kong in a barrel? That can't be right. He looked back at Spike who was waiting impatiently for a response. The shrugging of Austin's shoulders was not the one he wanted. So Spike went into more detail with his motions. He didn't have much time either. Twilight was beginning to move closer. He frantically made the hand over hand climbing gestures again, but instead of rolling this time he moved over to behind the bookshelf. He removed some books and shoved himself into the space the books used to occupy. Now Austin got it. He gave Spike a thumbs up. Climb a ladder and hide on an empty shelf. Got it. Austin was lucky. There just so happened to be a ladder in the first row next to him. He was rather unlucky in the fact that the only shelf that was empty enough for him to squeeze into was high up. Too bad, oh well. He caught sight of Twilight's coming closer. She was about to round the corner any second. He scrambled up the ladder as fast and quietly as he could, which was actually pretty damn quiet. But it was no use. He was going to be caught, found. Or was he? “Oh, Twilight. You're here?” Twilight and the staffer turned around to see Spike carrying a small stack of books. “Spike, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked with more than hint of curiosity. “Well, I finished cleaning that mess in the pantry after I delivered those books you asked for, and then I remembered how messy it is in here. I came to clean up the library a little bit.” Spike smiled, but it was not genuine. It was one of those 'I'm lying, but I want to look innocent' smiles and he was really hoping it was working. Twilight didn't say anything right away. She looked around the messy library, and then looked back at Spike. “It looks the same in here. Did you fall asleep or something?” Spike glanced over Twilight's head. He saw that Austin had made it to the shelf and was securely 'hidden' away. “Gee, Twilight, you caught me. I may have taken a small nap. Anyway, I'll get out of your hair and leave you with your guest. Bye!” Spike put the books down and ran out of the room as fast as he could. Any faster and he would have left a trail of fire behind him. “That was weird. Spike doesn't usually act that way.” Twilight was stunned, Spike doesn't usually do that kind of thing, and when he does it usually means he did something wrong. Twilight brushed it off for now. She had important business to attend to. She walked throughout the library with the pony staffer and spoke with as they walked. “As you can see, the library is one of my most prized rooms. I love books, and I know how to treat them well. Don't mistake the mess here for laziness. I just haven't had the time to do all of this by myself, and it's just me and Spike here at the castle.” “Oh, yes. This would be a lot for just one pony to do, Princess or not.” The staffer said. “Now, what kind of ponies were you looking for again?” “I am looking for ponies who will treat these books with the utmost respect and thoughtfulness they require. Some of these books are quite old. You understand, don't you?” “Yes, I do, Princess. I know just what you mean. And I think I know of a two ponies in the Crystal Empire who might be perfect for the job. A sister and brother pair who love books almost as much as you do. They would most certainly treat your books right.” “That's wonderful. I look forward to meeting them. Well, that concludes the tour of the castle and the list of all the ponies I will need. How soon do you think I will get them?” “Well, it will take some time. These things always do, but I assure you, Princess, you will have the finest royal staff I can get you. I promise that.” Twilight smiled. She had been waiting for months already to get some ponies hired in to work at the castle. Now she actually had a plan. And this pony here was used by Cadance and Shining Armor, so he could be trusted. As the Princess and the staffer walked back to the doors a book caught the eye of the staffer. It was one of the only books that was open, so it seemed a little odd to him. He stopped and investigated. He looked at the book for a second before closing it and then he saw the title. It was only then that Twilight noticed his absence and walked back to find him. “Oh, did one of my books catch your eye?” She asked genuinely. She didn't often meet other ponies who shared her love of books as deeply as she did. “You could say that,” The staffer replied as he held up the book, “A book on basic pony magic? Why, Princess, I would have thought you above this level by now. Or perhaps, do you have a young pupil that nopony knows about?” Twilight stared at the book. It really was the book he said it was. She would recognize that book anywhere. But she couldn't figure out what the book was doing out. She shelved that book a long time ago. It was one of the first books she shelved. Twilight brain rattled as she tried to find some response, any response. “So, where did you find that?” That was all she could come up with. She was going to beat herself up about it later. “It was right over here by all these other books on magic.” Twilight looked over to where he gestured. There was a chair pulled out and several books on magic were stacked up on the table. She quickly read through the titles and saw exactly what they were. That was almost the exact pile of books she studies when she first began to study magic under Celestia. That also gave her an idea. It was a fib, but maybe it would work. “Oh, I had a fit of nostalgia the other night,” Twilight fibbed. “This being my castle, and having Spike here all the time. I was reminded of the time I spent with Princess Celestia as my mentor. I ended up going through and reading a lot of the books I read back then. And you know what they say about magic. You can't do anything if you don't understand the basics. Hehe he he.” “Ah. A moving tale. Well, I should go and get to work on those ponies for your staff. I'll be off.” He moved for the doors before Twilight could stop him. She was still kinda surprised that her fib actually worked. It was only half a fib really. She did feel nostalgic at times in her castle. She hadn't reread any books, but now kinda wanted to. “Oh, wait.” She turned and trotted off after the staffer. “Let me walk you out.” “No need to worry about me, Princess. I have a good memory. I can find my own way out.” The staffer turned and gave one last wave to Twilight before leaving. She gave him a weak wave back, still feeling kinda bad that she fibbed. Eh, she'll get over it. The staffer turned around quickly and smacked face first into the doors. “Oof. That always happens at least once. Don't you worry now.” The staffer mumbled as he righted himself and tried again. As soon as he took his first step the door swung open real fast and slammed into him. “Or maybe it will happen twice,” The old pony said as he stumbled out the doors. He passed a confused Spike along the way, but didn't seem to acknowledge him at all. Spike just shrugged and walked up to Twilight. She was still waving. As soon as the staffer was safely out of earshot- and hopefully safely out of her castle- Twilight turned her attention to Spike. She whipped her head around and gave him the nastiest glare she could. Not many ponies knew this, but Twilight could get really scary sometimes. Spike had been with her long enough to know that. Twilight's eyes narrowed to mere slits as she glared at Spike. Beads of sweat began to run down the scales of his face. He could swear his heart stopped beating. The color left him, pale and helpless. Twilight came up on him like a wolf stalking prey. “Spike,” She growled, “Have you been messing with my books again?” “No,” Spike squeaked. “It wasn't me. I swear!” “Then who was it? Who else could it poss-” Twilight's anger stopped mid flow as her sentence did. Normally, it would have been a perfectly reasonable question. But things as of late were not normal. Not in the least. “Spike,” Twilight growled as she turned her attention back to him, “Have any of the strangers been in my library?” As if on cue and in response to her question, a table surrounded by books. . . well, it basically exploded. The sudden wave of pages and colored bindings caught them all of guard. Twilight was utterly stunned as she watched many of her precious books fall all around her. It happened so fast she almost forgot how angry she was. Then one of her books landed flat on her face. It barely missed her horn and all that anger came rising back up to the boiling point. “There may be two in here,” Spike weakly mumbled. Twilight grumbled and ground her teeth as she peeled the book off her face. She gave Spike one look. One look that said it all. “Is that all, Spike? Are you sure?” Before Spike could talk, another noise drew Twilight attention away. It was a voice. “Oh shit!” It said. “This is gonna hurt.” It said. And then Austin fell and hit the floor. His body hit the floor with a sharp crack and a loud groan followed. He was hurting, but alive. “Maybe all three,” Spike uttered, but it was barely audible. Twilight was fuming at this point. Smoke was practically bellowing out her nostrils. Fire nearly engulfed her mane. Spike shrank back to avoid the rage, but it was no use. Twilight was driven over the edge, and poor Spike was never seen again. “WHAT?!?!?” “You cannot do that! Rewind! I said re-fucking-wind!” Cautiously nervous “Calm down, Pinkie. Calm down. It was just a joke.” “Well, it wasn't funny! You don't go messing with Spike like that!” Slightly afraid “Okay, okay. I'll change it. It shall be rewound.” “Good. Now re-fucking-wind the story. It was getting good up til that part.” Cowering in terror “Okay, okay. Rewinding.” “And that poor narrator was never seen again. See? How do you like it? Oh,wait. He's gone.” Several minutes of rewinding later. . . “Spike,” She growled, “Have you been messing with my books again?” “No,” Spike squeaked. “It wasn't me. I swear!” Twilight's anger subsided at that point. “I'm too tired to do this right now. Just be honest with me, Spike. What happened?” “It was the strangers! They were here when I got here just before you got here with the staffer. They must have been reading your books.” Spike blurted it out as fast as he could to try and exonerate himself. “And where are they now, Spike?” As if on cue and in response to her question, a table surrounded by books. . . well, it basically exploded. The sudden wave of pages and colored bindings caught them all of guard. Twilight was utterly stunned as she watched many of her precious books fall all around her. It happened so fast she almost forgot how angry she wasn't. Then one of her books landed flat on her face. It barely missed her horn and a small amount of annoyance rose up. She sighed as the book slid off her face and landed on the floor in front of her. “There are two right there,” Spike mumbled. “And the third,” Twilight asked flatly. Before Spike could talk, another noise drew Twilight attention away. It was a voice. “Oh shit!” It said. “This is gonna hurt.” It said. And then Austin fell and hit the floor. Or he would have if Twilight's magic hadn't caught him in time. “Thanks,” Austin said as he stared at the floor. “No problem,” Twilight said, just before dropping him on his face. “That makes three,” Spike said weakly. “Ugh, I'm going to bed early. This day has been exhausting, and I need some sleep before the ceremony tomorrow.” Twilight left them with that and went off to her room for some rest. “That's so much better! Thank you!” Several moments later. . . “Oh, wait. He's still gone.”