Chapter 1
Twilight Sparkle set down her quill next to the marked up scroll on the table before her, letting loose a long groan. “Ugh! No, no, no!” She balled up the piece of paper in her magical aura and deftly tossed it in the wastebasket near the door.
“Jeez, Twi,” Spike quipped as he entered from the kitchen. Held securely in his claws was a plate of freshly-made cucumber sandwiches, which he quickly placed on the coffee table in the reading area. “Never thought I’d see the day when you have trouble on a writing project!” Grabbing a sandwich from the plate, Spike plopped himself longways on one of the reading couches. Twilight could practically hear his lips curl up into a smirk.
His recent growth spurt had definitely not dulled the dragon’s snark in the slightest. Though he stood a head taller than Twilight when fully upright, Spike had not yet lost his biting wit. He only used it playfully and never in a derogatory manner, so it was a trait Twilight doubted he would ever outgrow.
She crushed another piece of paper, lobbing it at Spike’s head with a playful scoff. “Very funny. Give me a scientific article to read and summarize, and I can have it done in the blink of an eye. Poetry is hard!”
The lanky dragon rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “Come on,” he muttered before taking a voracious bite. “You muft have thomthing by now! Lef’s hear what you got.”
“Well, the session wasn’t a total loss.” In truth, there was one of her attempts that had not met the same fate as the others. Twilight levitated a single sheet in front of her nose, wondering what exactly had survived her meticulous standards. A brilliant blush danced under unsure eyes as she quickly reread the short passage to herself, clearing her throat nervously. “I’m no Shakescolt, though, so promise me that you won’t laugh!”
Spike swallowed the bits of sandwich in his mouth after a pause. “What’s the deal with you today? It’s not like you to be this embarrassed over something.” A wicked grin crossed his face as he shook his head knowingly. “I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened a couple of weeks ago…”
Before he could laugh, Twilight was an inch from his nose and doing her best impression of Fluttershy’s stare. “I thought we had agreed to never speak about that. Ever.”
Spike closed his eyes, snickering as the memory rushed back to him. “I still don’t know how you ended up with your muzzle in th—”
“Never!”
“And how I had to go get Rarity to come over and—”
“Spike!” Twilight shrieked, her face growing hotter by the second. She let her gaze sink ashamedly. “Dear Celestia, I couldn’t even look her in the eye for days after that…”
“Alright, alright,” Spike relented, throwing his arms in the air. “Fine! I promise I won’t laugh or anything. Sheesh, just don’t leave me hanging after all this.”
The alicorn nodded, backing off from her assistant and levitating the sheet before her eyes once more. “Here goes…
Her mane shines like grapes in my favourite jam,
Her voice reminds me of a harpsichord.
I think she’s divine,
I wish she was mine,
That mare who helped us beat Discord!”
“...”
“...”
The silence was deafening. Twilight was certain the air in the room had turned to molasses, drowning any and all attempts to alleviate the tension. Why wasn’t Spike saying something? Surely anything would be better than the cold, crushing silence.
Spike could have heard her thoughts, or karma may have simply decided to smite her wishful thinking. Either way, the next sound she heard was decidedly not one she wanted.
“Pffft!”
Fuming, her eyes narrowed to slits and her wings flared aggressively as she watched the dragon feebly try to contain his mirth. A hoof lashed out, smacking his scaled arm. “You promised me you wouldn’t! You promised!”
“I’m sor — heh heh — I’m sorry! It’s just…” He wiped away an incoming tear before it could leave his eye and anger the mare even further. “It sounds like something a lovesick schoolfilly would write!”
“It’s not that bad,” she muttered, looking over the limerick again. “Is it?”
“Twilight, you rhymed harpsichord with Discord.”
Twilight ruffled her feathers, huffed, and balled up the paper, condemning it to the fate of all the others. It wasn’t fair! “Stupid poetry! Stupid rhyme scheme! Stupid iambic pentameter!”
Spike gave his friend a pat on the back. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Twi. I’m sure lots of ponies struggled with poetic writing on their first try.” He stood, grabbing the plate to bring back to the kitchen. “I think it’s good that you’re not giving up, no matter how awful your attempts have been so far!”
“Oh, you’re just the worst!” Twilight shot back, sticking her tongue at him foalishly. Much as she wanted to deny it, Spike had a point. Despite spending hours reading a couple reference guides and trying her hoof at it herself, she had made very little progress in recreating the beautiful and creative passages for her own. She shook her head and snatched the remaining sandwich in her aura. It wouldn’t do her any good to continue on an empty stomach, after all.
It’s not like I was trying very hard to hide my intention with that poem, she thought as she idly chewed the cucumbers. No doubt that Spike suspects what’s going on.
“So what’s up with the fascination with poetry all of the sudden?” Spike’s questioning voice wafted from the kitchen, but Twilight could hear the telltale tone that he knew the answer already. “Imagine that; it’s just in time for Hearts and Hooves Day, too.”
“Speaking of that, Spike,” Twilight chirped idly with a sly smirk. “Word around town is that you’ve been spending some time with a certain little appleseed. Would there happen to be something you wish to tell me?” She cackled to herself as she heard him yelp alongside a sharp crash from something hitting the floor. No way he could deny it further after a reaction like that!
“You heard about that, huh?” The dragon poked his head in sheepishly, rubbing a claw behind his head. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag. I’ve been hanging out with the Crusaders lately, and, uh...” He paused for a moment, unsure of how to phrase it. “Mostly with Apple Bloom, though. I’m really happy whenever she’s around, and she’s got the cutest little laugh. When the light catches her mane just right…” Twilight giggled to herself. It really was adorable the way his eyes sparkled when he talked about his new crush. “We’re having our first date at Pinkie Pie’s all-day Hearts and Hooves party tomorrow.”
Twilight let a knowing smile play across her lips. “I have a feeling you two will have a great time. No more feelings for Rarity, though?”
Spike shrugged, moving back into the depths of the kitchen to finish washing the dishes. “I’ve moved on. As much as I felt my feelings for her were real back then…” Twilight noted the pause carefully. Perhaps, she reasoned, he still felt some minor pain over letting her go. “I realised that I was mostly interested in her looks, and that’s not fair to either of us. She deserves someone more refined.” It could be her ears playing tricks, but Twilight was certain she could hear him smile through his words. “Someone who can treat her like a lady, but isn’t afraid to be playful at the same time. Somepony who could treat her to the finer things in life, like wine, ballroom dancing, moonlit walks…”
Spike walked out, drying his hands on small towel. He smirked as he passed Twilight and headed toward the staircase, failing to resist one more lighthearted jab. “And poetry. Especially poetry.”
Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
Twilight wasn’t sure if those were the sounds of Spike’s heavy footfalls on the wooden staircase or if her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. She had an inkling that Spike had known for a while, but to hear it straight from his mouth made it all the more real.
She probably would have sat there, mortified, had there not been a knocking at the front door of the library. “It’s open,” she called weakly, struggling to compose herself quickly for her company. She realised she need not have worried about appearances as the local mailmare, Ditzy Doo, came trotting through the door with a smile on her face, no doubt out on her morning delivery rounds.
“Letter for Miss Twilight Sparkle!” Ditzy called, nosing her way into her saddlebag to retrieve a single ivory envelope. Even from her seat a few feet away, Twilight could just make out Rarity’s curly script.
With a newfound enthusiasm, Twilight levitated the envelope from the mailmare gently. Surely a personal letter would be just the thing to get her mind off of her abysmal attempts at prose. “Thank you, Ditzy! I hope you’re having a great day. Please tell your daughter I said hello!”
“Thank you very much! And I will!” Ditzy gave a friendly wave as she floated back through the front door, bumping into the end table only slightly on her way out.
Twilight wasted no time in tearing the end of the envelope, coaxing the letter hidden within onto her waiting hooves. As she suspected, it was indeed from her best friend Rarity, eloquently penned onto the page with meticulous care and thought. Twilight wondered if Rarity ever made a mistake while writing her letters, for she had never seen a single hint of a scratched out phrase or a hastily changed letter’.
My dearest Twilight Sparkle,
I do so apologize for making myself scarce as of late. With the upcoming holiday, I’ve been positively swamped with custom orders of matching ensembles and the occasional dress adjustment for some dedicated customers.
It’s a bit discouraging that I haven’t seen you around the Boutique lately. I hope you haven’t forgotten us little ponies as you take on more responsibilities as a princess! Oh hoh hoh, I jest, of course. I can always make time for you, dear, but only if you find the time to visit!
Twilight squinted as she read that last section. Surely she had caught Rarity scribbling out a mistake in the letter, or that it was just a smudge on the paper, but sure enough, her friend had drawn a tiny picture of herself winking at the reader. Astonished, Twilight muttered, “How does she get so precise with her hornwriting!?”
Down to business, though. I’d like for us to play a little game, if you’re willing. It’s taken me several days and a few helping hooves along the way, but I’m confident you’ll enjoy this little activity. I’ve composed several letters containing riddles, the first of which you hold in your hooves as we speak. These riddles shall lead you around our fair little town, and I hope that by the end of it, we’ll both walk away better for our efforts.
And it’s as simple as that, darling. I just know you’ll be able to do it with that big, beautiful brain of yours. You may use any resources and friends you have available to you, and if you should find yourself struggling terribly, don’t hesitate to drop by for a chat and maybe I can… nudge you in the right direction, so to speak. Happy hunting!
Time is on your side for this clue,
but wait too long and my tone may change completely.
Answer me one question:
‘What object is it perfectly okay to date?’
Twilight stared at the final clue. “What object is it perfectly okay to date?” She didn’t know of any objects she felt romantically attracted to, let alone those that she would date! What kind of game was Rarity playing at? “Well, poetry be darned. If Rarity wants to throw down a riddle challenge….”
She rolled up the scroll, a determined look on her face. A grin spread from ear to ear at the prospect of proving her ingenuity to her crush.
“Then it’s just as well that I love a good challenge.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
719 users online
693,782 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I love my little incentive program. It makes wonderful ideas like this come to life, and I have a feeling you'll do this one proud, amigo.
Nice. I can't wait to see were this goes!
this was interestin read to say at least
n' if i could i'd probally giv 
a sympathy pat for her attempts with poetry 
plus dealin with 
's playfully teasin on her crush with 
. Yet, it's gonna be also interestin to see what/where 
has to go/do in her lil riddle game with 
4047967
That it does. I think I've read every entry to the contest so far, and I was worrying that I wouldn't get my own done in time! But luckily I finished up in the final week.
i.imgur.com/5OGeQ.png
4048190
Stay tuned! Chapters will be updating daily until the entire story is posted.
4048590
Thanks for reading! Hopefully you still enjoy when Rarity makes her appearance in the coming chapters!
i.imgur.com/9yFw70j.png
voyle.net/Un-Worked%20Pics/Big%20Thumbs%20Up.jpg
Huh, well this is interesting. I love it when I see a story with one of my favorite pairs that's not just the same old thing
.
I'm looking forward to the next update, I was always bad at riddles.
Also, I can sympathize with Twilight. Writing poetry is hard, and my few attempts have been crumpled up and eradicated from existence
, hopefully Twilight will get better at it by the end of this
4048877
Twilight's not wrong -- poetry IS hard! I never had a talent for the really complex forms, as you can probably tell.
Thanks for reading!
4048757
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/23/479481.gif
4048604
well, as long as t fic keeps bein interestin then i'll be happy
I saw this fic while I listened to this:
Coincidence?
Probably.
Oh very nicely written! I could definitely learn from your use of vocabulary and attempt to do as well when I write.
I do like that you shipped spike and Applebloom. He definitely needs a change of scenery (and somepony closer to his age) away from Rarity. This is also the first fic I've read in a while that isn't shipping Fluttershy and Rarity. Well done!
I am confused about one thing though. I thought that Derpy was the mailmare and Ditzy was her daughter? It's probably just me being Derpy and not paying attention!
Well done. Bob recommended this, and I can see why. It's very good.
I think I have an idea as to what the answer to the riddle may be, but I don't want to say it and in case it's wrong. I'm like that.
~ Decaf
4049520
Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to get a comment that led me to a good piece of Batman music. Thanks for commenting!
4050373
With all the name switching, I know it probably gets confusing. Dinky is the fanon name for Derpy's daughter, and in my headcanon Derpy's real name is Ditzy Doo. Just sounds a little less derogatory for an everyday name to me.
4051170
Thank you for giving it a shot! I'm glad to have friends like Bob. I'm surprised that nobody has tried to guess the riddle in the comments yet, actually! Whether that's because it's super obvious or because it's super confusing, I don't know. Either way, we'll get an answer in the next chapter!
4051195
You should check out this guys music. He's got another batman song, and at least one for all the major recent titles.
A calendar obviously.
25.media.tumblr.com/81ee1aa6330b2af24bada92beccdc0e7/tumblr_n1bg0fxFfU1rckw3lo1_1280.jpg
4049520
Considering the first thing I did for laughs when I read the title was to start this exact same tune? Yeah, probably!
Oh, dear Author!
If this Twilight is an alicorn, you should probably include that in the character tags!
Hmmmm...
Nice start.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Time, date... like geologic date? Rarity, geology... Tom. Its Tom. Well, Tom or the clock tower.
That poem Twilight wrote, I swear I've read something that sounded a lot like that before. Argh, I can't remember.
Looking good so far. Onto the next chapters!
Oh, and I'm guessing a calendar for this riddle.