Courage the Cowardly Dog In: Mare-anormal Activity

by lunabrony

6 - Mares and Stares

30 hours after the first fog had rolled through Ponyville, on midafternoon of the next day, Twilight Sparkle was none the wiser to anything being wrong in any of the surrounding areas. She had been excited about being asked to do a presentation at the Canterlot Library, and had kept herself fairly busy. Spike was in charge of preparations, which meant setting up and taking down.

"You ready, Spike?" Twilight asked, overflowing with excitement. The two were standing behind the curtain of the small stage at the library primarily used for puppet shows. She'd never given a public lecture like this before, and expected a fair turnout. "I really hope lots of ponies show up, Spike," She beamed. "Reading and writing are important attributes that everypony should have. If I have time at the end I'll even reveal some of my trade secrets about writing a successful thesis!"

"If you say so," Spike shrugged. He didn't particularly care either way, he was just happy to see Canterlot again.

"I do say so," Twilight said, and stepped through the curtain.

"Fillies and-" she began, but stopped short as she got a look at the attendants to her lecture. The seats were filled with foals, most of which were younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Most of those children were sitting next to their parents and fidgeting in their seats. This was absolutely not the audience she was expecting, and her eyes focused on the venue sign while feeling her heart sink into her chest like a stone.

TWILIGHT SPARKLE'S READING CORNER 1p-2p

A unicorn mare who'd set up the event stepped forward, delight on her face. "I can't thank you enough for agreeing to read to the children, it's so hard to find good help these days."

"I... anytime?" Twilight asked, a grin plastered on her face while her left eye twitched. She'd been in such a hurry she hadn't exactly been thorough with reading the program requirements, slightly ironic in hindsight.

"Wonderful," the mare said, sounding delighted. "Here's today's selection." She handed over a brightly colored book that Twilight, astonishingly, had never heard of before.

"Lunabrony Presents... Goodnight Woon?" Twilight asked, sounding incredulous. "Are you sure this is a real thing? Because this doesn't sound like a real thing. I know every book in Canterlot, and I don't know this one," she whispered.

"It's a foreign book," the mare said. "Now if you please." The mare turned to the crowd. "Are you youngsters all excited for Twilight Sparkle?!" She asked in a sing song voice. Twilight had never in her life imagined herself in a position where she'd had to read to children, she'd always been more of the 'lecture an auditorium full of ponies willing to be educated' fantasies.

The response was an immediate chorus of cheers and giggling, and Twilight found herself plastering a wide grin on her face to compensate for being backed into a corner. Her eyes glanced at the mare with a devious I'll get you for this sort of glare, but she began reading anyway.

The first ten minutes went smoothly enough, then twenty, then thirty. Forty five minutes passed, and Twilight was just beginning to think that she was going to finish up this unusual situation without any problems when the front door of the library swung open and slammed against the walls, prompting a chorus of "Shhhhhhh!" from scattered, annoyed readers.

Twilight had stopped in midsentence, unable to believe her eyes. Was that Pinkie? And Fluttershy? With a dog?

"What in the world?" Twilight asked, prompting the majority of the young fillies and colts to turn around in their seats for a better look.

Fluttershy was overjoyed to see her friend, although in her excitement she rather forget where they where. She took several steps towards her friend, eyes bright with hopeful relief. "Twilight!" Fluttershy called. "We-"

"Shhhh!" The head librarian hissed. She was an older pony with a remarkable resemble to Mayor Mare, right down to the half moon glasses she wore on her muzzle. But she was sitting behind the desk with stacks of books on either side, an open book in front of her ready to have its return date stamped and placed back in its proper location so it could be checked out again. This was what she spent the majority of the day doing, stamping books and shushing ponies like this pegasus, who didn't seem to know how to be quiet.

"But we came all the way from-" Fluttershy began. She found it slightly insulting that she was the one to be shushed, considering she was the quietest of the six on a naturally regular basis.

"Shhhh!" She wasn't having it. "You two, sit your flanks right down until reading hour is finished. Now." Her voice was so stern that both Pinkie and Fluttershy sat their rumps down at once. Twilight looked absolutely bewildered, but continued her reading session. Although her voice had now taken on an unmistakable shaky tone.

Over at the desk, Fluttershy's cheeks had reddened, and she had marched herself right over to the librarian, speaking a deadly menacing whisper. "Now you listen to me right now," she hissed, trying to appear brave but her pinned ears gave her away. "We have come a very long way to solve a precariously dangerous situation, that very well may turn out to be life or death. We are NOT leaving until we talk to Twilight, and we will NOT be quiet, do I make myself understood?"

The librarian glared at her with such anger, only causing Fluttershy to suddenly revert to her natural position of cowering in the corner.

"Or we can just wait over here until she's done..." She said quietly, and plopped down on her haunches in the corner by the door. Pinkie, or at least the Changeling pretending to be Pinkie at the moment, had never quite seen anything like it, although she didn't know Fluttershy well enough to find it remarkably unusual, and joined her by the door to wait.

Today was already turning out very strangely.

And it was about to get a whole lot worse.

Comments

[Blitz Habanera Tuscania]

A crossover of Courage? From Courage the Cowardly Dog Show Starring Courage?

.............
.............*Squee*

[gamexpert1990]

She'd been in such a hurry she hadn't exactly been thorough with reading the program requirements, slightly ironic in hindsight.

Uh, Twilight? I think that qualifies as more than slightly ironic.

[Blitz Habanera Tuscania]

I want more Courage being Courage lol
Otherwise keep it person!

[lunabrony]

5533660 You'll get more, this update was just to establish Twilight

[Neko Majin C]

Every single one of them were younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders, most of them sitting next to their parents and fidgeting in their seats.

Can you see where this sentence contradicts itself?

"Lunabrony Presents... Goodnight Woon?"

Goddammit, Lunabrony.

~KBO.

[lunabrony]

5533966

No? What am I missing?

[Neko Majin C]

5534017

Every single one of them were younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders, most of them sitting next to their parents and fidgeting in their seats.

Talk about foals having foals.

[Neko Majin C]

6 - Mares and Stares:

Fluttershy was overjoyed to see her friend, although in her excitement she rather forget where they where.

"Were."

She was an older pony with a remarkable resemble to Mayor Mare, right down to the half moon glasses she wore on her muzzle.

"Resemblance."

She wasn't having it. "You two, sit your flanks right down until reading hour is finished.

Extra space.

This always happens to me as a proofreader on my second read-through. I find more mistakes than I did on my first.

~KBO.