Sweetie Belle: Assistant Librarian

by GandalfDaGreat

Chapter 3

“Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! You aren’t going to believe this!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked with excitement as she burst into the clubhouse. The Crusaders’ faces kindled with newfound interest as they looked up from the crossed-out and balled-up sheets of paper that littered the floor.

“I was helping out at the library today, and Twilight said that she’s going to teach me to use magic!”

“Wow Sweetie Belle, that’s great!”

“Yeah! Maybe doing magic will help you to find your cutie mark!” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“Maybe it’ll get us all closer to finding our cutie marks!” Scootaloo added.

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t get too excited quite yet. It’s probably going to take a pretty long time to get good at it.” With a small sigh, Sweetie Belle walked over to where the other two fillies were sitting amidst various crayons and pencils, with a stack of paper between them. “So what are you girls up to?”

“What else? We’re still trying to come up with ways to earn our cutie marks.”

“It’s really tricky though. It feels like we’ve tried absolutely everything.” With an exasperated groan, Apple Bloom crumpled up the sheet of paper she was working on and tossed it onto the growing heap.

“What have you come up with so far?”

“Well, we’ve got airship pilot, pyrotechnician, and train conductor. Only trouble is we just don’t know where to start.” There was a small noise from another balled up sheet of paper landing on the teetering pile. Scootaloo chewed on the eraser of her pencil thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure about the other two, but I think I know where you could learn to fly a hot air balloon!” The other crusaders looked at Sweetie Belle quizzically. “Remember the hot air balloon that Pinkie Pie used during the Running of the Leaves? Maybe you could use that.”

“Oh yeah! That’s a great idea! Thanks Sweetie Belle! Let’s go ask Pinkie Pie if she can teach us!”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BALLOONISTS! YAY!” the three fillies shouted in unison. “Let’s go!”

---

“I’m sorry girls, really I am. It’s just that I’m super-duper busy this afternoon! The Cakes and I are catering for a super-special royal birthday party in Canterlot tomorrow! All of the most important ponies in Equestria will be there!” In a more more confidential tone, Pinkie Pie said “I’m even working on some extra-special top-secret new recipes! Maybe if you stop by tomorrow afternoon I can help you girls out. I Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” As she said this she picked up a cupcake from the counter and mushed it on her face. “Mmm!” she squealed in delight as she licked the squashed cupcake from her face.

“Thanks Pinkie Pie!” the three called as they pulled on their helmets and loaded into the wagon that trailed behind Scootaloo’s scooter. “See you tomorrow!” they shouted as they zoomed away from Sugarcube Corner, narrowly avoiding several ponies going about their business in the market.

“Wow! Apart from parties, Pinkie Pie sure has some awesome other talents!” Apple Bloom’s voice could barely be heard over the rumbling clatter of the scooter over the uneven ground, but the other crusaders agreed with hearty nods.

“I guess that just goes to show that even if you have your cutie mark you can still do pretty much anything you want.” The others nodded.

“I should probably be getting home girls. I promised Rarity that I’d be home before sunset, and it’s already getting dark.”

“Sure thing Sweetie Belle.” And with that Scootaloo veered sharply towards the Carousel Boutique.

“Thanks girls! I’ll be at the library tomorrow, but I’ll come visit after that.”

“Sounds good! See you tomorrow!” With that the remaining crusaders rumbled off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Now that she thought about it, Sweetie Belle was rather glad she’d be missing flying lessons with Pinkie Pie. She knew how easily distracted Pinkie was, and thought that it might turn into quite a nerve-wracking experience. She opened the door of the boutique to the sounds of her big sister scrambling around in her workroom. Knowing that she hated to be disturbed, Sweetie Belle walked quietly to the kitchen to fix herself a salad for dinner. As she worked to prepare her food, she reflected on how different her life would be once she learned to use magic. No longer would she struggle to wield utensils with her hooves, when she could simply control them effortlessly with her mind. Right on cue as if to illustrate this point, the knife she was using dropped to the floor, and she had to jump back quickly to avoid being cut. She sat down to begin eating her salad as her sister bustled down the stairs levitating a large roll of purple silk in front of her which obstructed her view.

“Hey sis,” said Sweetie Belle. Startled, Rarity whirled around to face her, and the fabric she was carrying fell to the floor.

“Oh! Sweetie Belle I didn’t hear you come in. You gave me quite a fright! I’ve been so busy with this new project, and it demands my full attention. I feel like I haven’t had any time to talk with you. I certainly don’t want this to turn into another problem like with the Sisterhooves Social.” Rarity said all of this rather fast, as if she had much better things to do, but Sweetie Belle appreciated it nonetheless.
“I’m glad you asked,” Sweetie Belle said, some of her earlier excitement returning. “While
I was at the library today Twilight said she’d teach me how to use magic! This way I’ll be more helpful in the library, and maybe it’ll even help me get my cutie mark!”

“Well that’s excellent Sweetie Belle! You know how busy I am, and that’s why I haven’t been able to teach you any more magic. I’m also glad you’ve found somewhere to stay out of trouble.” As Rarity picked up the roll of fabric she had dropped, she thought to herself “I just hope Twilight knows what she’s getting into...”

---

At seven o’clock the next morning, Sweetie Belle awoke to the smell of her sister’s excellent cooking wafting up the stairs. When she came downstairs she found a steaming stack of pancakes fresh from the pan, and her sister pouring apple juice into a glass.

“Good morning Sweetie Belle!”

“What’s all this for?”

“Well I’ve just been feeling so awful about our argument we had the other day that I decided to make it up to you. I wanted to make you a proper breakfast before you have to leave to go to the library.”

“Wow! Thanks sis, but it isn’t really necessary. I know I should’ve asked before I went in your room.”

“Oh Sweetie Belle, you’re just saying that. I know that I have been treating you very unfairly. I’ve been letting my work come between us, and I’m very sorry. Perhaps once you learn some magic, I could use your help.”

“We’ll see. I’m pretty happy being Spike’s assistant. Anyway, thanks for the breakfast sis, but I really have to go. I’ll see you later.”

Rarity watched as her younger sister walked out the door and onto the street of Ponyville. As she did, she thought to herself “She really is growing up.”

---

When Sweetie Belle arrived at the library, she heard the sound of raised voices coming from the back. When she went to investigate, she found Pinkie Pie and Twilight arguing.

“Pinkie Pie, I barely trust you with my hot air balloon as is, but putting two little fillies in charge frankly sounds like a horrible idea and might even be dangerous! Where did you ever come up with this idea?”

“It wasn’t my idea, Twilight! I swear! The Cutie Mark Crusaders came to Sugarcube Corner yesterday especially to ask me about it. I promise it’ll be totally safe!”

“I’m really sorry Pinkie, but I just don’t feel comfortable with this idea.” With this statement, Pinkie’s hair seemed to deflate and her ears drooped, but they quickly perked up again when she came up with an idea.

“Why don’t you just stop being such a party-pooper-pants and come with us. That way, nothing can possibly go wrong, right? Besides, I Pinkie Promised them that I’d do this with them! Even I can’t break a Pinkie Promise!”

“I would, Pinkie, but I’m really busy with my studying. Plus, I promised Sweetie Belle that I would teach her to use magic.” Once again Pinkie looked downcast, but perked up once another idea occurred to her.

“Why don’t I ask Rainbow Dash if she can come with us? She could make sure the weather is good and that everything goes a-ok!”

“Well, allright. Just promise me that nothing will go wrong.”

“I’ll do you one better Twilight! I Pinkie Promise!” as she said this, she pantomimed the required actions. Only then as she gestured wildly did she notice Sweetie Belle standing there. She quickly pivoted around and said “Hey Sweetie Belle! I didn’t see you there!”

“Oh, hi Sweetie Belle. Sorry we didn’t notice you. You could’ve said something.”

“Sorry Twilight, Pinkie, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I just heard raised voices and came to investigate.” said Sweetie Belle

“Oh it’s no problem at all.”

“Hey what’s all this commotion about?” Spike had just come to the balcony to investigate. When he saw Sweetie Belle standing there his face brightened and he said “Oh boy I’m so glad you’re here! We just got a whole new set of books and I’m going to need lots of help getting them all shelved in the proper places. Do you think you’re up to it?”

“I sure am! let’s get started right away!” With that, Sweetie belle raced around to the door and let herself in. Inside she found a large cart piled with books that must’ve just been dropped off. “Whoa! where did all of these books come from?”

“Well, since Twilight agreed to teach you magic, she’s really been stressing out about the best way to go about it. Since Princess Celestia runs a school for gifted unicorns, Twilight sent a letter asking for tips, and what she got was a whole cart full of books delivered to the library. All I can say is that the princess sure knows Twilight!”

“Wow! She really went to all of this trouble for me?” Sweetie Belle was touched.

“Yep, but in return, we gotta put all these books on the shelves. Why don’t you read the titles, I’ll find where they go, and you can bring them to me so I can shelve them?”

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Sweetie Belle. To her, the time seemed to fly by because of her excitement to finally learn magic. They had soon finished sorting and shelving, and Sweetie Belle ran up to where she knew Twilight would be.

“Wow Sweetie Belle, I didn’t expect you to be finished so soon.”

“Well, I was just so excited that I had to finish at top speed!”

“As long as you’re finished we might as well get started then.” Sweetie Belle could hardly suppress a squeal of excitement! “The first thing I need to know is whether you’ve done any magic before.”

“Rarity taught me how to levitate stuff, but it’s so difficult. I must be doing something wrong, because you and Rarity can do it like it’s nothing!” as she said this, her expression grew downcast and she stomped her hoof on the floor.

“I know it can be difficult for you, Rarity told me, but do you think you could show me? This way I can figure out exactly how to help you. I’ve told you the story of how I got my cutie mark right? It seems odd now, but I think I had more trouble with magic than you when I was a filly.” Twilight chuckled to herself when she thought back to the day of the academy entrance exam.

“You mean it? If you really think it’ll help, then I guess so.” Sweetie Belle looked around the room for something small to practice on. Her gaze fell on a small ball of parchment in a wastepaper bin. She concentrated all of her mind on the small, insignificant object. As she did so, her horn began to emit a feeble glow and the parchment scrap began to rise from the bin. as it did, Owlowiscious hooted, and Sweetie Belle’s concentration broke. The glow around her horn fizzled out and the scrap of parchment fluttered down to the floor.

“That wasn’t too bad, but I think I know how I can make it easier for you,” Twilight said, as she walked over to the stack of books near her desk and began searching them for the relevant passages she had marked with ribbons and random bits of parchment. Once she found the section she was looking for she began to read it aloud. “When a unicorn first learns to use magic, he or she may find it very difficult to perform even simple tasks. This is due to the fact that the magic power that is easily accessible to the beginner is merely the small amount that is leaking from the vast reserve stored within a unicorn’s horn and the connected brain area.” Sweetie Belle looked at Twilight perplexedly. “Basically,” Twilight translated, “Theres a huge amount of magic power in your body, but until you learn to tap into it, you can only use the excess.” Comprehension dawned on Sweetie Belle’s face.

“So, how exactly can I tap into this power?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, the easiest way is if you let me into your mind, and I can guide you through the whole thing,” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

“That doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s get started!”

“The thing is, sometimes when a filly’s magic is first released it can be somewhat... violent,” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Maybe we should go outside.”

Looking a little less eager, but still hopeful, Sweetie Belle followed Twilight out of her room, down the steps and out into the backyard of the library.

“This should do,” Twilight said. “Now what I’m going to do is...” but before she could say any more, she was cut off by loud giggling and shrieking.

“Hey Sweetie Belle! Look up here!” the other Cutie Mark Crusaders called down to Sweetie Belle. When she looked up, she indeed saw Scootaloo and Apple Bloom waving down at her from the basket beneath the giant pink balloon, and behind them she saw Pinkie Pie looking ready for anything in a leather helmet and a pair of goggles. “This is awesome!” they shouted down in unison.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief when she saw the balloon and its occupants to be safely in one piece. “I’m glad you girls are having fun! Though, I would suggest that you turn on the burner and gain some more altitude. You’ll definitely want to be out of our way for a few minutes.”

“If you say so Twilight!” called Pinkie Pie, who reached up to pull the cord that controlled the burner. “Might I ask why?” Pinkie had to yell now in order for Twilight to hear her.

“It’s a bit tricky to explain, but feel free to stay and watch. Just keep your distance. This could be a bit violent.” Twilight carefully disguised a nervous gulp with a clearing of her throat. “Are you ready Sweetie Belle?”

“Uhh, I guess so,” said Sweetie Belle, who was having a much harder time covering up her nervousness.

“Well, let’s begin then.” Sweetie Belle was startled, as she could hear Twilight’s voice clearly, but her mouth was not moving any more.

“Are you reading my mind?” Sweetie Belle asked aloud.

“Something like that. I’m using my magic to see inside your mind, and this will also allow me to control your magic. You can talk to me in the same way. Give it a try!”
“Like this? This feels pretty weird.” To her surprise, Twilight smiled and nodded.

“If it’s ok with you, I’m going to start the process now. It shouldn’t take long, but it’ll be easier if you just relax.” Sweetie Belle nodded in assent, and closed her eyes in preparation for whatever was coming.

Sweetie Belle could feel Twilight’s magic moving around inside her head, stopping occasionally to examine something. Eventually, she seemed to find what she was looking for, and Sweetie Belle could feel the strength of Twilight’s spell increasing. She could also feel an unfamiliar tingling that she could not identify. Sweetie Belle concentrated on it and realized that it must be her own magic power. She opened her eyes to find that her horn was emitting a bright blue pulsating glow, much brighter and more intense than it had ever been before. Suddenly she felt power rushing through her much more intensely than she had ever felt before, and Twilight said “That should do.” Sweetie Belle felt Twilight withdraw from her consciousness, and was amazed that all of the power coursing through her was her own.

“How do you feel?” Twilight asked in a slightly concerned tone.

“Twilight, it’s wonderful! I feel great!” Sweetie Belle was prancing around in excitement. “I need to find something to practice on quickly. As she said this, a rubber ball hit the ground in front of her and bounced far up into the air again before she could catch it.

Too late, Pinkie Pie called down from the balloon, “Look out below! My Pinkie Sense warned me of a ball emergency.” Twilight looked skyward exasperatedly. “What? You didn’t think I would go flying unprepared did you?” Pinkie Pie yelled in a tone of indignation.

“Thanks Pinkie Pie! This will be perfect!” Sweetie Belle called up to the floating balloon. She began to concentrate with all of her might on the rubber ball that had come to rest in front of her. She could feel the newly released power coursing through her body and into her horn. To her immense surprise, her horn released a blast of electric blue magic, bright enough to light up every shadow in Ponyville, prompting oohs and ahhs from Pinkie Pie and the fillies watching from their lofty vantage point. The ball shot upwards past the balloon, and punched a hole right through a cloud. Sweetie Belle thought that it sure was a good thing that there wasn’t a Pegasus up there.

“I got it, I got it!” Pinkie Pie screamed, and then proceeded to stretch her foreleg out to an impossible length, snagging the ball from the air as it fell back towards the ground.

“Wow. Thanks Twilight!” Sweetie Belle positively beamed at Twilight. “I never could’ve done that without you.”

“Well it was my pleasure Sweetie Belle. There’s so much I can teach you now, and I can’t wait to get started.” Twilight seemed almost as excited as Sweetie Belle. “It’s getting pretty late though, and Rarity will probably be looking for you. Same time tomorrow?”

“You bet! See you then. Thanks again for everything.” She called up to the fillies in the balloon, “I’ll see you girls tomorrow, okay? I’m pretty tired.”

“Sure thing. See you,” Called Scootaloo.

“Seeya later alligator,” Yelled Apple Bloom.

“Silly Apple Bloom. There’s no alligator here!” Giggled Pinkie Pie, “I left Gummy back at sugarcube corner, but I’ll tell him you were thinking of him.”

Everypony had a good laugh at this, and soon Pinkie Pie joined in, her raucous giggling drowning out that of the others. As Pinkie Pie and the Crusaders floated away to a nearby field to land, Sweetie Belle thanked Twilight again and again. Twilight brushed off the thanks, and told Sweetie Belle to go home and get some rest. This she did, as she could feel her fatigue beginning to weigh her down as the magic ebbed and receded back into that part of her that she could now control. As she walked through the quiet streets of Ponyville she thought to herself “I really did magic today!” Occupied with that thought, Sweetie Belle mounted the steps of the Carousel Boutique, and made for her bedroom. It had been a long day.

Comments

[GandalfDaGreat]

Thanks to Tyrfang the Writer and JP for editing/prompting/putting up with me, and to everyone who is still interested in this story months later...

[Blackbelt]

YAY! UPDATE!

[John41]

Twilight: "My mind to your mind."

images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080518203739/memoryalpha/en/images/5/58/Mind_Meld_Spock_Valeris.jpg

It was an amusing read.

[MasterSpike]

So you're not dead?

Good... good...

[Kiryu123]

wait....an UPDATE?

[BlackWidower]

There's a few problems here. First off, the dialogue is still a bit wonky, second, the plot seems to be meandering quite a bit. Is there even supposed to be a plot here?

[Kiryu123]

What?....
Cancelled?....

[GandalfDaGreat]

1918427 I'm sorry, but I have so little time to work on it, that I totally lose focus, and when I come back, the plot wanders away. Not really sure where to go with it. I would like to re-work the final installment into a one-shot. Trying to focus in on an actual plotline XD

[BlackWidower]

1922941

So the plan is to abort and start from scratch? Should be interesting.