A Book of Ponies

by Scripture

Prologue: Mintylock Berries

“Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine… one hundred! Alright Spike, I think that’s enough now for the muffins, at least, that’s what it says according to the book…”

Spike, the small young purple and green dragon, cheered in glee at finally being done with the task of counting all the berries. Sliding them back into the basket, he looked over at Twilight Sparkle, a purple unicorn pony with dark blue hair and a pink highlight down its middle, and asked her about the strange looking berries.

“So, Twilight, why do we need one hundred of these berries for the muffins? Why not just simply grab a whole bunch of them?” It seemed logical to him after all. “We could just eat the extras!”

Twilight Sparkle sighed a bit and shot a bit of magic at the basket, hovering it in the air in front of them. Spike, like usual, climbed up her back and took a seat. “Because Spike, these are Mintylock berries which are quite rare and very fragile. Taking too many will harm the bushes and grabbing a lot of them at one time will damage the berries. After all, we don’t want to give Derpy any crushed berries now, do we?”

While Twilight stepped over a few branches, Spike shook his head and laid back, admiring the scenery. Although on the edge of the Everfree forest, there wasn’t much to be afraid of around this area. Fluttershy’s house sat only a couple hundred yards away and they could easily go there for shelter if the case arose anyways.

As they entered town, Twilight smiled joyously and thought about the muffins out loud. “Apparently somebody from out of Ponyville today ordered those Mintylock berry muffins we are helping Derpy with right now. Hopefully everyone else got the ingredients we need to- Spiiiike!” Twilight had turned her head around to see a curious Spike trying to sneak a berry out of the basket, a sheepish grin on his face as he placed it back in its bin.

Twilight though didn’t have the patience for that at the moment and went off on Spike. She needed to vent a little bit from time to time after all. “Spike, you know that we need these berries…”

“Yeah, I know but-“

“And every berry counts with this recipe too!”

“Okay Twilight but there’s-“

“Honestly, what would everyone say if we showed up and-“

“TWILIGHT!” Spike physically turned the pony’s head around. They had finally reached their home but he pointed at their front door which just happened to be wide open.

Inside of their house was a rather handsome looking unicorn stallion, looking through all of the books inside and using his magic to shift through one after another, casually reading them. His body was white and his mane short, but the color was ink black and very deep. On his flank was a cutie mark emblazoned with a pen and book

“Hey who does that bub think he is, coming in and-“ Immediately Twilight shoved the young dragon and herself next to the open doorway, her face all aglow and her breathing heavy. Spike, muffled by Twilight’s arms, struggled in her grip a bit until finally breaking free. Gasping for air, he glared at the wide eyed Twilight. “Hey, what was THAT for?”

Twilight glared similarly back at him and shushed the young dragon repeatedly. Inching her neck around the door she saw the stallion once more, fishing through each book with a bored expression on his face. Her heart fluttering with glee, she slipped out a rather loud squeak, her hoof reaching her mouth just a bit too late to stop the noise.

The trespassing pony’s ear suddenly perked up and he looked outside, mouth slightly ajar as if surprised or worried. Twilight, knowing that she had been heard, nervously shuffled in front of the doorway and smiled meekly. She couldn’t believe that she was in the same room as... him! Face flushed, she didn’t expect him to be so proper looking in real life! However, her thoughts were invaded when Spike trotted beside the purple unicorn and huffed a bit. “So who are you and what are you doing in our house?”

The white stallion chuckled and put away the book he had been reading, some tale about an arabian pony. Approaching Spike, who was being scolded by Twilight for being rude to the guest, he pointed around the library with his hoof. “Ah, isn’t this the library though? Someone told me that it was and that I should meet with a... Miss Twilight Sparkle?” He smiled a bit and looked at the magical pony in front of him. “Would that be you?”

Immediately drawn out of her scolding phase, she laughed nervously and nodded, her attention back onto the other horse. “Uh... yes, that’s me... I’m Twilight, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike, my assistant...” Spike crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly confused about this new pony and how Twilight was acting. Just who was this bub anyways?

The ‘bub’ nodded respectfully to each of them and put a hoof to his chest. “I’m sorry, I forgot my manners! My name is-”

“Scripture!” Twilight shouted out suddenly in glee. “Famed author of many books and one of my favorite authors of all time!” Prancing about in place, the young lavender unicorn squeed for a bit, having a total fanmare moment. She just couldn’t hold it in anymore!

Scripture chuckled nervously and looked about. “Uh... yeah, that’s me...” Spike rolled his eyes, finally getting the reason why Twilight had acted so funny around him. The black-maned pony shifted his eyes a bit, feeling uncomfortable in the gleaming face of an adoring Twilight.

Off on a shot, Twilight immediately raced around her library, pulling out book after book from their shelving's. Spike meanwhile had walked outside to grab the basket of Mintylock berries so they wouldn’t forget about them. Spike, now knowing that this pony wasn’t some kind of burglar, softened up a bit and looked at the other male. “Ya know... she might get a bit crazed about meeting you. She’s talked a lot about you...” He rolled his eyes and smiled a bit. “Trust me, I know.”

The stallion had a look of knowing across his face and shook his head. She was going to be… interesting. Now that Twilight had started a rising pile of books, he noticed they were all written by him. Feeling more relaxed than before, she just let her speech spill out of her mouth, not totally sure what to say. “Oh my gosh I can’t believe that Scripture, such a great author, is actually in my house! In my library! Looking through my books! It’s such an honor and a privilege and, and... GAH! What am I doing?! I have to get back to Sugarcube Corner!”

Twilight’s eyes sunk down a bit and she had to abruptly stop feeding the fairly sized pile of books on the table. This was a chance of a lifetime, to talk with one of her favorite authors of all time, but her friends were waiting for her to bring the Mintylock berries. Oh sweet Celestia what was she going to-

“Did you happen to say Sugarcube Corners? The bakery in town?” Scripture looked at her, interested. “I actually need to go over there myself... Would you mind if I accompanied you?”

The awestruck unicorn’s jaw would have hit the floor if she didn’t put a hoof under her chin to stop it. This totally took her off guard! So sudden! Thinking about it for a bit, Twilight looked left and right, trying to rack her brain some ideas. Finally, thoughts about a book she read, “Meeting New People” popped into her head. Hmmm... Chapter 5: Accepting an Offer. If somepony offers to do something with you, do it! It means that they have taken initiative to get to know you and therefore you should also take the time to be with them!

Smiling, she vigorously shook her head. “Yes yes of course you can come, uhm... Scripture. I think my friends will be really excited to see a real-life author! I know I am! Hehe!”

Scripture’s expression turned down a bit and he nervously chuckled, rubbing a hoof behind his head. “Uh, well, maybe I shouldn’t go now, I mean, I have to-”

“Alright let’s go!” Twilight shouted, totally in a fanmare moment. Without pause she literally slid the stallion out of the door, much to his nervous displeasure. Spike, being left behind with the berries, had to run to catch up with them, shouting out at the distancing pair, “WAIIIIIIIT! You forgot the Mintylock berries!”

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Author's Note:

Well hey everybrony! Finally decided to get some of my stories out there and hope to at least get a few viewings, haha! Well, like i say whenever i put up stories on the net... Please critique and criticize all you want! I use it only to further myself in writing and it would be great! Besides that, enjoy! :)