The Joys of Learning
Twilight and Shining Armor got home in record time, Twilight's enthusiasm fueling her near constant gallop. However, much to her disappointment, her father wasn't home from work yet. Seeing her daughter looking crestfallen, Twilight Velvet made her way from the living room to check on her children. "What's wrong sweetie? Did something happen at the park?" she asked, worry clear on her features.
"No," Twilight sighed, "I just wanted to ask dad if he can teach me magic. Shiny told me he had books, but I can't read!" Twilight was exasperated, until she got an idea. "Hey mom, can you teach me magic?" Twilight gave her best puppy dog eyes, that almost always worked... almost.
"Sorry sweetie, but learning magic isn't really something I can teach you, or your father for that matter. Plus, you're still a bit too young. Most unicorns can teach each other specific spells, but most ponies learn their first cantrip from magic kindergarten," Velvet said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She really hated not being able to help her little filly.
This gave Twilight pause, yet she quickly scrunched up her face in thought before asking a question. "Well, if I can't learn magic yet, can you at least teach me how to read?"
"Oh, of course dear! Let's start right away, I still have some of Shining's old foal books when he was learning to read." With that, she trotted off to the basement library, little Twilight in tow. With no surprise to anypony, Twilight was a quick learner, taking to reading like a fish to water. By the end of the day, she had finished reading aloud all of the reading aids and foal stories at Velvet's disposal.
"What's next mommy! What's next?" Twilight's excitement over reading had overshadowed her desire to learn unicorn magic. Instead, she discovered the magic of books, and the endless worlds within.
Realizing her daughter breezed through what should have been at least a month's worth of lessons in an afternoon, Velvet took a moment to pick her jaw up off the floor. "What's next? Nothing, you've read through all the materials faster than I expected! There isn't anything else I can really teach you honey," Velvet stammered out, awestruck at her daughter's prodigious reading skills.
Taking a moment to collect herself she focused on more immediate concerns. "For now it's time for me to make dinner, but tomorrow you can read your first chapter book," Velvet announced, beaming with pride. She figured her filly would take at least a few days to get the basics, but she had run out of teaching materials for foals. She was surprised Twilight didn't get a book for a cutie mark, I guess she's just a prodigious reader, thought Velvet.
"Chapter books? Does Shiny read those?" Twilight asked with a tilt of her head. She followed her mother back to the ground floor of their home where Velvet promptly got to work on dinner.
"Yes Twilight, your brother started reading chapter books last year," Velvet said absentmindedly. Just as she finished speaking, she heard a loud gasp from her purple filly.
"That means I'm a better reader than Shiny!" Twilight announced to the whole house.
"Somepony call my name?" Shining called down from his bedroom.
"Yeah! Mom said I can start reading chapter books tomorrow! That means I'm better at reading than you because you only got to chapter books last year!" Twilight bragged shamelessly as Shining made his way down stairs.
"Pft! That's only because chapter books are boring! Comic books are way better. Still, I bet I'm a faster reader than you! I've been reading way longer than you and I'm older," Shining stated, determined not to be beaten by his little sister.
"Hmm, would you two care to put that to the test?" Velvet asked, stirring a pot of sauce with her magic.
"What do ya mean mom?" Shining asked, curious to know what he could do to prove he was the best at something.
"Let's keep track of each book you read. Whoever reads more books in a month is proven to be the better reader," Velvet explained to her two children as they nodded in understanding. "Oh, and comic books don't count Shining, they have to be chapter books." Shining slumped a bit at that news, but quickly recovered.
"Sounds good to me. You ready to loose Twilie?"
"In your dreams Shiny!" At that, they both spit on their hooves and bumped them in their usual act of commencing a challenge.
"Oh I wish you two would stop that! Now your hooves are dirty," Velvet complained. "Now go wash up before dinner. Your father should be home soon and I'm sure he'll want to know about this, as well as our little Twilight learning to read." Her previous annoyance once again faded, she couldn't help but gush over her daughter's accomplishment.
That night, the rules of engagement were set over dinner. "Okay so if you two really want to do this, we gotta have some rules," Night Light announced after being briefed on the situation. "Rule one, comic books don't count."
"But dad," Shining protested, "comic books are real books!" He tried his best effort at a puppy dog stare, but it wasn't very effective.
"Rule two," Night Light continued as if without interruption, "since every book you'll be reading is one myself or your mother have read, we'll require a summary of the book you read in the form of an oral or written report."
"But dad, I can't write yet," Twilight pouted. While this was much more effective than her brother's attempt, it was in vain.
"That's why he said 'oral' Twilie, you can just say what happened in your book," Shining Armor explained, earning him a thankful nod from his father.
"Rule three, since we don't have copies of all our available books, you'll have to take turns. But whoever reads the most books by the end of the month out of your shared reading list wins. So if one of you is reading a book, you'll have to pick a different one. Any questions?" Night Light gave a warm smile to his children, ready to clarify anything they had questions on.
As expected, little Twilight's hoof shot strait up before she blurted out her question. "Dad, what happens if we both finish the list by the end of the month?"
That gave Night Light some pause, forcing him to consider a question he honestly wasn't expecting. "Well, to be honest Twilight, I don't expect either of you to finish the list in the time limit. It's quite extensive, but if one or both of you finishes the list before the end of the month, I suppose we could go to the Canterlot library to pick out some extra material." Night Light had heard of his daughter's prodigious reading skills from his wife, but even so, he doubted he could get through the list in a month, and he'd already read all of them.
Next came Shining Armor's question. "Dad, what do we get if we win?"
This was a question Night Light was prepared for. "Well, you win the title of 'Best Reader' as well as a trophy for a month. However every month one of you has the chance to win it back, so don't rest on your 'Laurens' or you'll regret it"
The next morning, Twilight hit the books running. She got up at the crack of dawn to get first pick of the book list. She purposefully chose the longest option in the list, 'A Tail of Two Fillies'. By the time Shining Armor woke up and got breakfast she was already a quarter of the way done. "Uh, Twilie, you sure you can handle that book? It's pretty big isn't it?" Shining asked after getting a look at the cover.
Without even looking up, Twilight answered. "Yup, it was a bit hard at first but after I got past the first chapter, it got way easier to read."
"Well, ya know you don't get extra points for reading longer books right?" Shining was starting to sweat.
"I know," Twilight answered nonchalantly, "I just wanna get the longest book done so when you read it, I wont have to wait around for my turn."
Shining was dumbfounded. Wait, did she just call me a slow reader? She only learned to read yesterday! "Well, I'm still gonna read more books than you!" Shining declared before making his way to the library. He ended up picking the smallest book he could find. Just over a hundred pages, perfect! Shining thought to himself, smirking at his self assured victory.
And with that, the reading rivalry was off to a riveting start. By the end of the day, Twilight was three quarters done with her book while Shining Armor had finished his. Although it was his intention to just get an easy start to the competition, he soon realized the story he picked up had more in those hundred or so pages than he thought could fit in a book a dozen times longer. It took time gathering his thoughts, but after writing down a basic outline, he insisted he give an oral presentation to his parents.
So after Twilight was put to bed, Night Light and Velvet relaxed on the couch while Shining sat on his haunches, looking resolute as a royal guard. "Many Scales is a heart wrenching tale that opened my eyes to the horrors of the real world, but it's also a beautiful experience and I'm grateful I got to read it." Shining's parents gave each other knowing glances before returning their undivided attention to their son.
Shining Armor actually choked up a bit before he gathered the resolve to continue. "This story follows a young earth pony filly and her father as they learn to live on after the... d-death of h-her older... sister." He struggled to get through that sentence, giving his parents pause, but he kept on, determined to see this to the end.
"You see, this young filly named Berry Stone loved her sister more than anything. They were best friends, and she looked up to her sister Heart Shine for her selfless nature, always thinking of others before herself. But when she left home on an outreach mission to Zebreca, she never came back. You see, she was... murdered in cold blood by some zebra that just wanted..." Shining trailed off. His parents didn't ask for clarification.
"Anyway," Shining said, sniffing, and wiping some rain that fell on his face, indoors. He would have to file a complaint with the nearest pegasus for that. "Berry and her father go to Zebreca to commemorate and celebrate all the good Heart Shine did in their community. Berry makes a lot of observations about the different culture over seas, as well as... the less than appropriate actions of her father during the trip. But at the end, she was asked to give a speech about her sister."
Shining forced his eyes shut before they tried betraying him again. His parents remained silent, yet captivated by their son's report. "She gave a... to say it was a beautiful speech would be an insult to what I read. Suffice to say, she eloquently summed up what her sister meant to her, and I felt like I got to know her a bit through Berry. In the end, she didn't blame the zebras of the community for what happened to her sister, and she was happy to know someone she loved and looked up to was also loved by so many others." At this, Shining visibly relaxed, having gotten through his report.
"Well done Shining, I'm proud of you," Night light said before picking his son up in his magic. He was gently floated over to his parents who embraced him in a gentle hug. After his father thought he could handle speaking more, Night Light spoke up. "I'll be honest Shining, I forgot half of what was in that book. I'm sorry we didn't give you more of a warning."
"Don't be sorry dad, I'm a better pony for reading it. I only picked it first because it was the smallest on the list, but I'm also glad I read it before Twilie..." Shining trailed off, suddenly realizing something. "You can't let Twilie read that book! I don't care if it doesn't count for the competition, please don't let her read it!" Shining pleaded, wide eyed.
"Whoa there son, don't worry, we'll take it off the list," Night Light reassured his son. At those words, Shining did indeed relax. "However, we'll still count this toward your score. We'll just get a new book to compensate for the list, and if Twilight asks us about it, we'll tell her she isn't old enough to read it yet. I'm sure she'll understand."
"Thanks dad, I'm gonna go to bed now, I'm exhausted." Shining left his report outline with his parents before making his way up to his bedroom.
"Do we have any other books on the list that might be an issue?" Night Light asked his wife, a hint of concern in his question.
"Hmm, there's A Tail of Two Fillies, but Twilight is almost done with that one. But if there was anything in there that was worrisome, surely Twilight would have mentioned something," Velvet insisted confidently.
"That makes sense. But I remember that book having a lot of advanced wording. How is Twilight reading through it so fast?"
"Oh I gave her a dictionary after the third time she asked what a word was in her book," said Velvet waving a hoof in the air dismissively. The pair kept talking about their mostly mundane lives for a while longer before turning in for bed themselves.
The next morning, it was Twilight's turn to give her report. "A Tail of Two Fillies is about some worker ponies fighting back against the noble ponies, and there's also these two stallions and a mare who only loves one stallion but both love her and the stallion she doesn't love sacrifices himself to save the stallion the mare does love." Twilight recited, smiling up at her mother.
"Huh, I'd say that's a pretty good summary. Good job sweetie!" Velvet nuzzled her daughter before making her way to the star chart they made to keep track of their progress. "Looks like you're tied with Shining now," Velvet told her as she added a gold star next to Twilight's name.
"Really? He already made a report? How was it? Did he write it down?" Twilight asked, eager to hear how her big brother did.
"It was a wonderful report Twilight, but the book he read... well it has some things in it we don't think you're ready for. It made Shining sad, and he offered to not have the report count. But your father and I decided he did such a good job we'll count it and replace the book with a new option to keep it fair," Velvet explained as gently as she could.
"What? That's not fair! I wanna read it too!" Twilight pouted and stomped up to her mother to look as intimidating as possible. It just ended up making her more adorable.
"Now Twilight, you can read it when you're older, but we just don't want you to be sad if you read it now," Velvet soothed as she gently hugged her little filly. "Trust me, there's plenty of other books to choose from. In fact," Velvet paused as she got a brilliant idea. "How would you like to read a book written by a friend of mine?"
"What? You know somepony who wrote a book?" Twilight asked, amazed.
"Oh yes, A.K. Yearling and I are long time friends. I even edit most of her books," Velvet bragged, knowing it would only amaze her daughter more. "It's a whole series of books about a pegasus named Daring Do." As she explained, Velvet made her way to the library, Twilight by her side. "Daring Do goes on all sorts of dangerous adventures, hunting for artifacts, and fighting monsters and bad ponies!"
Stopping at a specific book shelf, Velvet grabbed the first Daring Do book with her magic before levitating it down to Twilight's eye level. "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone... wow! She looks so cool," Twilight gasped, instantly wanting to tear into the pages. Seeing her daughter's anticipation, Velvet set the book down and opened it to page one. Twilight immediately glued her muzzle to the pages. Velvet just giggled at the filly's antics.
"I'll leave you to it then," Velvet said, regardless of the fact Twilight had already checked out, being transported to a torturous trek through a jungle with her new friend, Daring Do. By the end of the day, Shining had finished another book, while Twilight had read the first six books in her new favorite series.
After the first month had passed by, Twilight had read the entire reading list, while Shining had only read about ten books, having gotten stuck on the first book Twilight read. Despite loosing the competition, he wasn't upset with his little sister. In fact, reading all those books gave him a new and deeper appreciation for his closest family member.
After the first book Shining read, he generally gravitated toward stories that had some sort of theme around siblings dealing with various traumas and hardships. One was a fantasy story about two brothers who tried resurrecting their mother with dark magic, but after it backfired, the older brother preformed a blood sacrifice to bind his brother's soul to a suit of royal guard armor. Then there was that other book about the older brother who went on a quest to cure his sister of a curse that turned her into a vampire pony.
It seemed that Shining had gotten more emotional growth out of them than Twilight did. But in the end, she was still a filly, and Shining was happy her innocence was still intact.
"Alright kids, it's time to announce the winner!" Night Light proclaimed, hyping up his family. "This month's best reader is... Twilight!" he announced as he popped a tiny confetti cannon. Shining looked a bit disappointed, but his frown dissolved the moment he saw his sister jumping around like a rubber ball.
"yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" Twilight squealed repeatedly as she bounced off the walls.
"Aaaaand, on top of bragging rights, we made a crown to signify your position as the best reader!" Twilight Velvet added as she gently grabbed her daughter in her magic.
"A crown? Like Celestia?" Twilight asked, stars in her eyes. But before she could start up another rampage of adorableness, her mother brought out an aluminum foil crown made in the likeness of Celestia's high profile ceremonial crown as opposed to her usual tiara. Putting it on her head caused Twilight to freeze as if afraid any movement would destroy her new treasure.
"Looks good on you Twilie," Shining congratulated her with only a little snark in his tone. "Just know, I'm coming for your title next month."
That took Twilight aback for a moment. "Wait, how will you catch up to me? I finished the whole list, and you only read like, ten books, including that one mom and dad took off the list." Twilight grumbled that last bit. She understood that her parents didn't want her reading some books, like the advanced magic books, but she was still salty about the whole affair.
"Well," Night Light answered, "we realized your reading skills have surpassed any of our expectations. If we kept this up, you'd win every month, and likely read every book in the Canterlot library," he explained.
"So, we decided to make this a more fair competition," Velvet continued.
"Wait, are you gonna count comic books?" Twilight blanched, feeling a bit insulted that her competition would suffer such debasement.
"Oh no," Velvet contradicted, much to Shining's dismay. "But reading books wont be the only way to earn stars. We'll keep track of your good behavior, acts of selflessness, good grades in school, and doing chores around the house."
"But wait, I'm not in school yet, and Shiny is on summer break," Twilight pointed out.
"Yes, but you will be starting school soon, and Shining will be going back to school in the fall," Night Light replied. "We just want to make sure you're able to keep this up for more than a few months. Also, you won't be able to get away with reading the whole time Twilight. You'll still get stars for reading, but only one book per month will count. You can still read on your own, but it won't help you win."
"Heh, this is great! Now I actually have a chance Twilie," Shining boasted. "Just you wait! I'm gonna be the best big brother ever!"
Twilight was a bit confused until she caught on. "Nuh-uh! I'm gonna be the best little sister ever!" With that, their cut-throat competition of who could be the best sibling was underway.
The days bled into weeks with both siblings spending increasingly more time together, thinking up various ways to get gold stars. Shining taught Twilight how to fly kites, Twilight managed to play a full campaign of Ogres and Oubliettes with Shining. Shining shared his comics with Twilight, and she showed him some tricks for reading faster.
While she still preferred regular books, and Shining only got marginally faster at reading, they still enjoyed just spending time together. Half the time they didn't even think about getting gold stars, they just naturally came to enjoy making each other happy. They even helped each other with the other's chores.
By the time the end of the month rolled around, they had all but forgotten about the competition. So at the reminder from their parents, their surprise made way for anticipation. Would Twilight keep her title? Would Shining edge her out? both of them had lost track of their scores and the star chart was already refreshed for next month.
"Before we announce the winner, your mother and I just want to say how proud we are of you two," Night Light said, beaming down at his children.
"To be honest, we were afraid this competition might drive a wedge between you two, but we are so happy to be proven wrong!" Velvet mirrored her husband's expression.
"So, without further ado, the winner of this month's sibling competition is..." Night Light paused for dramatic effect. "Shining Armor!" He proclaimed, popping another mini confetti cannon as Velvet placed the home made crown on his head.
After the shock worn off, Shining lit up. While he didn't bounce off the walls like his sister, he did rear up and whinny in excitement. "I am the sibling supreme!" he proclaimed at the top of his lungs.
While Twilight was initially upset at loosing her title, seeing her brother so happy melted her negative feelings away, similar to her big brother the previous month. Thinking back on the last month, she realized he really did deserve it. "Congratulations Shiny!" Twilight said, honestly happy for her brother to feel the way she felt.
"Thanks Twilie, you're still the best little sister a brother could ever have," Shining said, nothing but love for his sister in his heart.
"Well, you're my big brother best friend forever!" Twilight claimed before glomping onto his front legs.
Hearing her words caused his eyes to go wide as dinner plates as he had a flash back to the day Twilight was born. Just make sure she knows you're her best friend and big brother, and it'll be fine... The words of that guard stallion echoed in his head, clear as they day they were spoken. He looked down at his hooves... where he saw baby Twilight. So small, so precious, his little sister, his best friend forever.
As his eye's gathered moisture, he scooped up his sister in a gentle, yet firm bear hug while sitting back on his haunches. "I love you Twilie, you know that right? You really are the best little sister ever, and I promise you, I will never abandon you, ever."
"Yeah Shiny, I know, and I love you too..." Twilight replied before noticing the drops of moisture trailing down his muzzle. "Shiny? Are you okay? Are you crying?"
Sniffing, Shining cleared his throat before answering, "Of course not, it's just liquid pride," he insisted. All the while, their parents just basked in the light of their children sharing such a wholesome moment of pure love.
Though the display eventually ended, and Shining brushed off his emotional outburst with a joke, everypony knew he meant every word he said. That night, Twilight made her way into Shining's room. "Hey Twilie, what's up, have a bad dream or something?" Shining mumbled, squinting at the silhouette of his sister holding her smarty pants doll in one hoof.
"Not really," Twilight replied, "I just couldn't get to sleep, and I was wondering if I could sleep with you tonight."
Shining was a bit confused, but quickly got over it, tapping his hoof on his bed inviting her to lay next to him. "Come on in Twilie. Nightmare or not, you're always welcome," Shining whispered, not wanting to wake his parents. Twilight hopped up on the bed as shining covered her in the sheets. They both snuggled up together, Shining curling around his sister in a protective crescent shape as Twilight nuzzled into his neck and mane, letting out a sigh of contentment.
"Good night Shiny, I love you..." Twilight mumbled finally feeling tired enough to sleep. She just felt so safe in his embrace.
"Good night Twilie, I love you too," Shining whispered back before yawning. He wasn't having as much trouble falling asleep as his sister before, but now it was taking an active effort to not pass out. Though he wasn't opposed to sleep, he also wanted to savor this moment.
It seemed like just yesterday he was holding her for the first time. His life had changed so much since that day, yet he couldn't imagine a life without his little sister. Before long, his will power lost out and he too fell victim to the sand mare.
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Literally what my younger brother thought. I'm the one who reads chapter books (400-700+ pages are my preferred length) and my brother reads graphic books/comics. Fun fact, my favourite book series would be the Shadowhunter Chronicles. Percy Jackson is a close second.
Correct me if I'm wrong here but this kinda reminds me of a tale of two cities by Charles Dickens. Is the title a reference to it (I haven't read the full story but I've heard of it a million times before) ?
I love the idea of Velvet and A.K Yearling being long time friends too.
Anyways, well done again! Slice of life or not, it was certainly worth waiting for!
11857478
The tale of two fillies was actually a meta reference. In the story Liquid Pride by Shakespeareicles, Shining is trying to read the aforementioned story to impress Cadence and her book club but he can't get into it. So he asks twilight to summarize the story for him since she already read it a while ago.
So I basically just wrote down an over simplified version of what I read in Luquid Pride because I've never read a tale of two cities and I thought it would be a fun little nod to one of my favorite authors.