Books

by All_Hail_The_Smooze

The Knight on the Ravine

The ruby-encrusted hilt of his sword clung lazily to his side. His armor glimmered in the sunlight giving him and almost angelic glow. He was a rider of sorts but no name could be attached to him; an unknown wanderer.

Below him was a dark chasm, filled with a terrible magic. He paused, for a brief moment, only to hear the screams that echoed through the valley; sending chills down his spine. What ever was down there was far more evil than he had first anticipated. There was no light and no way of telling what would await him when he descended. The Rider was going to have to take a leap of faith.

His horse gazed down into the trench below and shifted with unease. She could feel the dark forces that writhed beneath.

"Stay yourself, Twilight." He spoke gently while offering a comforting hand agains her flowing, purple mane. The Rider's calm, even tone had an immense soothing effect on his mount. Unfortunately, his peaceful demeanor proceeded him in this situation. He was many things; a great fighter, a noble and brave soldier but, most of all, he was careful. And this was careless to the point of self destruction. To say that this journey did not please him would have been a severe understatement.

He dismounted his horse flawlessly. Others have scoffed; claiming that this perfectionism had no place in the appearance of such danger. But this trait, however unnecessary, would forever be a part of him. Like his armor or the sword that rested inside of it's sheath

Spike lowered the quill from his parchment and checked over the last few paragraphs he had written. There were no obvious mistakes that he could make out right now but time would give him the distance he needed in order to perfect his writing. He placed the supplies under one of the loose floorboards by the bookshelves.

It was turning out to be a normal day for Spike. Three or four ponies had come in already to take out books and Twilight had busted down the door and grabbed a book while grumbling about rabbit-bat hybrids, but nothing to much out of the ordinary. A twinge of loneliness tugged at him. Sure, he had hobbies like reading or writing to keep him busy but the Library wasn't exactly a social hotspot.

He sighed to himself then picked up a book and began to read.

--O~O--

Today was a great day for flying or, in Rainbow Dash's case, crashing in the most painful and spectacular ways. Every time she tried to get some sort of arial headway, gravity would firmly deny her attempt. Also, the multitude of ponies that were obliviously occupying her designated landing space did not help her cause in any sort of form. Then again, that's probably why aerial stunts were often frowned upon in the Ponyville Marketplace. Especially when she did them.

Rainbow Dash finally decided against risking another trip to the hospital and landed. But the problem with landing was how fast the boredom sank in. One might say that she was bored in ten seconds flat; if that person also preferred regular facial beatings.

She spotted Twilight's Library down the street. Why not? She thought as she walked towards it. Behind her, every one in the Marketplace breathed a sigh of relief.

I wonder what Twi's up to, she thought, she's probably face-deep in a book or doing something science...-y. The activities that went on inside that hollowed-out tree were a mystery to Rainbow. It's not like she's cooped up in there making some sort of horrible machine that would turn everyone in Ponyville into mindless zombies- she wouldn't do that, Dash reasoned, or would she, she countered while she stared a The Library's door with suspicious appraisal. Whatever. She would either enter Twilight's Library as her best friend or Ponyville's next, greatest hero. Which was a win-win situation in Rainbow Dash's book.

--O~O--

In the background, the door opened. Spike placed his book down and lifted his head up, ready to meet whomever had entered the library. He recognized the multicolored mare immediately. "Oh, Hiya! Rainbow Dash," he said, "What are you doing here?"

Rainbow gave Spike a small, polite smile. "Hey Spike," she replied while gazing casually around the library, "Do you know where Twilight is?"

"Not offhand," he said, "but she did come by here earlier to grab a spell book." He added while recalling Twilight's displeased mood, "Though I'm pretty sure that she didn't want to be disturbed."

"Oh..."

Both of them glanced around the room, refusing to acknowledge the awkward situation. Silence seemed pretty intent on dominating the room, that is, until Rainbow happened to spot the book that rested on Spike's lap.

"Watcha' reading?" She asked while tilting her head to try and glimpse at the title.

"Just a book," Spike was quick to catch on, "one of my favorites, actually." He lifted up the cover so that Rainbow could get a better view of the title. "It's called Rings. It's an epic adventure about four friends who end up traveling around the world to destroy seven rings. I won't lie, the length is pretty daunting," he lifted up the book, showing the plethora of pages, "but once you actually get into it, you won't put it down."

"That," Dash began, "actually sounds pretty awesome."

"It really is." Spike confirmed.

"Do you think that I could borrow it?" She said. "I mean after you're done, that is."

"You could borrow it now, if you want." Spike handed the book to her, "I've already read it a couple of times, so it's not a problem for me."

"Cool!" Dash excitedly took the book and placed it under her wing. "I've been looking to start reading something else ever since the Daring Do series ended."

"Well we always have books here. I mean, that's the point of a library isn't it?" He joked. "But seriously, if your looking for something else to read, swing by here and I'll recommend some things." Spike added.

"Thanks." Rainbow Dash said. She began walking towards the door, a little bit happier than when she came in. "I better get home and start reading!" She said, exiting the library.

--O~O--

"Spike take a letter!" A disgruntled Twilight yelled into the library. One could tell by all the scratches, bruises, and bat-bites that she had on her that, clearly, today had not been a good day.

"What?" Spike said mindlessly, his face still stuck in the new book he was reading.

"Take. A. Letter." She repeated rather abrasively.

That tone had registered down in Spike's subconscious, it signaled that something was wrong. He looked up to see Twilight standing in the middle of the library, fuming in her disheveled stated. Knowing the big ball of anger that Twilight would become, he tried desperately to keep a straight face. "What happened to you, Twilight?" He managed to release before letting out an ill-timed snicker.

Twilight was definitely not amused. She gave Spike the darkest glare that she could muster which, unfortunately for Spike, seemed to compound the humor in this situation. "Spike," Twilight said through a series of his chuckles, "please take a letter or I will melt your face." She practically hissed.

"Wow, looks like someone needs an attitude improvement." He jabbed.

Twilight threw him another dirty look before practically shoving a scroll and a quill in his claws with her magic. "Now." She commanded.

"Fine, whatever." Spike replied, obviously unimpressed with Twilight's intimidation.

Dear Princess Celestia, He wrote instinctively while waiting for Twilight to begin talking. She soon did.

Today I have learned that Friendship is a powerful thing that can overcome almost every obstacle. Pretty standard stuff for a Friendship Report.

But today I also learned that being friends with someone does not give you the right to test Chimera Creation Spells on your friend's animals. Even if she's given her consent. Okaaaaay, maybe it's not the standard, run-of-the-mill Friendship report.

I've also learned that Chimeras, while a novel idea, are actually a terrible crime against nature. They're ruthless, brutal, and desperately violent. I would advise against anyone to utilize any spell that may involve these horrible demon spawns. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.

"Okay, Spike, you can send it." Twilight said in a much calmer tone.

"No." Spike's reply was clear and simple. "Twilight, I'm not going to lie. This is less of a 'Friendship Lesson' and more of a 'Twilight-Sparkle-should-probably-not-use-magic-without-parental-consent Lesson'."

An ocean of emotions splashed across her face: rage, loathing, anger- actually it was really just synonyms for the word anger. Spike prepared himself for the worst. Thankfully though, Twilight's frenzy had sputtered out; she was just too tired to be angry anymore.

"Fine," she sighed "just leave it on the table, I'll think of something to send tomorrow."

"Will do!" Spike said, setting the letter and quill down. "How `bout I start on dinner!?" He offered.

For the first time today, Twilight smiled. "Yes. I would like that very much."

--O~O--

Dinner was pretty simple tonight. For twilight, the standard Daffodil and Daisy sandwich and for Spike, who really wasn't that hungry, a couple of gemstones. They ate a large portion of their meal in a peaceful silence until Spike finally spoke up.

"Rainbow Dash came in the library today." Spike said casually, while clearing the last gemstone from his plate, "She was looking for you."

Twilight looked up "Did she mention anything specific?" She asked, finishing her sandwich.

"No, not really." Spike replied, "She came in, we talked for a little bit, I let her borrow a book, and then she left. Nothing too unusual."

She nodded, "Well, I'll just have to see her tomorrow." She stated while she began to clear off the table.

"Actually Twi," Spike interrupted her cleaning, "you've had a long day. Let me take care of this. Go and get some rest."

"Thank you, Spike." She said gratefully before turning and heading up the stairs.

Spike began where Twilight left off. Whistling a tune while he worked. He couldn't place his claw on it, but today had been a pretty good day.

Comments

[Paper Crease]

Neither the title nor the description of this story assist me in my quenching my thirst of knowledge, specifically about WHICH PAIRING THIS STORY IS. Now, while the character tags include Spike and Rarity, Rarity has not taken part and Twilight is more often represented as Spike's older sister or mother figure. Also, Rainbow seems like she might have a large affect on the story and on Spike and is also on the cover image. Therefore, my logical assumption / educated guess is SpikeXRainbow. Then again, that character tag "other" is looming over me, its shadow dousing my flesh with frost, and its wild-card nature throwing off all judgement...

[Wobble Bass]

Pretty good start : ) Keep it up!

[FireFlash13231]

moar

[nemryn]

704742
I'm guessing Rainbow x Twilight.

[Lateinshowing]

Thank you for not giving away much (if anything) in your description. Nice change of pace trying to guess what the story is going to be about without being told at the beginning.

[Roarin]

So the hook you have laid has caught my attention, >. > BACK TO HOMEWORK!

[classyhispanic]

Indeed, the story does seem interesting so far and it looks to be worth tracking.
...But who actually gets shipped here is a small question of mine that, I hope, will probably be hinted in the next chapter.
+?

[Darkiepie]

704742 that comment... YOU should write. And I don't mean comments!

[Dr Cuddles]

Yup, I'm gonna guess it's a Rainbow X Spike, but props to the author for not giving it away through the description or even perhaps the first chapter.

Also, why is this pairing suddenly so popular? First it was "Purple Skies", then "Growth of a Dragon" then "Common Interests" (kinda) and now this, all in a very short space of time. I'm not trying to imply anything here, but... it's weird. Not that I'm complaining. I personally enjoy the pairing.

Onto the fic at hand... I'll be honest; it was a little short for my tastes. I prefer my chapters to come in big, meaty servings. Other than that one gripe, everything else is very well done and the characters are portrayed pretty realistically. I approve.

Edit: Not Purple Skies sorry, April Showers was what I meant.

[0956]

so may i ask what will be the pairing in this fic?

[Ultimate Punch]

One might say that she was bored in ten seconds flat; if that person also preferred regular facial beatings.

^That.

[Dr Blankflank]

first paragraph: an unknown wonderer...

wonderer?

no no - *wanderer*