The earth pony stood there in the doorway, having a slight grin on his face.
Twilight didn’t know what to do but smile back at him. Her eyes began darting back and forth very slowly, with her smile expanding.
“I’m sorry Your Highness, did I upset or offend you in anyway,” said Clever Quill after a few awkward moments,” I mean no ill will.”
Twilight closed her grin and responded,” No, no, no, you did nothing wrong. It’s just no one really refers to me as royalty with such… extravagance, plus I still haven’t got used to the fact I’m a princess.”
“Well,” Clever Quill responded,” you have been a princess for a few months. I’m surprised you still haven’t gotten used to being declared royalty.”
“Well, when you become a princess from writing a few words into a book you become a little flabbergasted,” Twilight stated,” If you don’t mind me asking, why have you come to my home?”
Clever Quill responded saying,” I have come to help prepare you for your trip to the summit in the Crystal Empire. I’m traveling there myself as an ambassador for the police and science divisions in Trottingham.”
Twilight seemed slightly confused as to his response, saying,” Why is an ambassador helping me prepare for travel, especially when no letter was sent to me by the Trottinghamian government?”
Clever Quill only laughed a little under his breath. He looked up at her said,” Well, that’s because I was never asked to come here by the government. I have been traveling around the world for a few months and figured the best way to get to the summit was to travel with the Elements of Harmony themselves from Ponyville. I do hope that doesn't come off as strange or eerie in any way.”
Twilight only looked him, her eyes squinting, as if she was getting a deep, in-depth look into his very soul.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Clever Quill, breaking the few moments of awkward silence. “Now, do you mind if I come in?”
Twilight responded saying, “A little, yes. I don’t mean to sound rude, but how do I know I can trust you?”
Clever Quill simply chuckled, leaning against the open door. “Your Highness,” he said, “If I was to commit some heinous act or injure you in any way, I would have done that the moment you opened the door. Now, would you mind if I came in?”
Twilight thought to herself for a few seconds. She eventually chose to let him in.
“Alright,” she said, “But if you do anything suspicious, then you will be teleported out of my home in two seconds flat.”
Clever Quill simply smiled and trotted slowly into the library, taking in the large bookshelves and the beautiful smell of an autumn afternoon.
He looked at the bookshelves, and paced along each one, perusing through every book he found interesting, reading each one for about ten seconds before putting them back. Twilight just looked on, with Spike standing right next to her, waiting to scorch Clever Quill if he ever barged toward them.
After another ten minutes, Clever Quill looked toward Twilight and asked, “You appear to have some books missing from the shelves. Have you noticed their disappearance?”
Twilight and Spike raised an eyebrow and looked each other with puzzled expressions. “How do you know that?” Twilight asked.
“Well,” Clever Quill responded,” As I was walking along the bookshelves I saw that throughout this whole library there were six empty spaces, thus meaning six missing books. Now, or course, they could have been taken out by other ponies if not for one thing: dust. Two of the spaces have a layer of dust, as well as other book leaning over the gap, meaning that they have been outside of the library for quite some time, about a week or so. The other four spaces, however, are perfectly clean. No smudges, dust, and the corresponding books have not moved a millimeter. This, of course, means that less than a few hours ago the books were taken. I could also deduce that those were not taken out today since I have made an attempt to come back here more than twice today, but have found the door locked on both occasions. Simple as that.”
Twilight and Spike's jaws were on the floor. In the span of two minutes he was able to see four missing space in a library full of books and was able to prove that they were stolen and not taken out. Twilight shook off her surprised expression and proceeded to ask him a question. “If this is the case, how do you suppose they were able to get into my house, let alone sneak around without being heard by Spike?”
Clever Quill simply licked his hoof and held it up. “Can you feel that? A draft, my guess is they came through a window, preferably a big to fit themselves through. Probably the big window I could see from the back of the tree when I entered town above your bed.”
Walking along the floor, Clever Quill climbed the stairs, which creaked with every step he took, until he reached the window in Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight and Spike followed up the steps.
Clever Quill motioned toward the glass-less window. “As you can see, somepony used magic to sublimate the glass, turning it into vapor, which could be evident from the lack of glass shards. Now, only a unicorn could do this, clearly, so now you have your race of pony.” He then proceeded to trot back down the steps into the library. “As you can hear, I make the stairs creek with every step I take, yet you and Spike seem to not make a single noise. This means you are looking for a mare, preferably one who weighs almost exactly like you, Twilight, or maybe slightly less. This would also explain how Spike was unable to hear anyone moving around as well as how the books next to the stolen ones were not disturbed: levitation. Thus the culprit is a unicorn mare of light weight and adept in at least some expert levels of magic.”
Twilight just couldn't believe what she heard. How can a pony see this much detail in such a short amount of time?
Twilight simply said to Clever Quill, “How are you able to do that in a span of less than five minutes?”
Clever Quill laughed under his breath and replied, “I like to study.”