Moments in Time

by Shingo

Creating Worlds Through Prose

Hundreds of thousands of words exist, each of them are used to describe reality. In a single language alone, there are at least a hundred thousand words capable of describing the world. It would take an eternity for a sapient being to count up all the words used in every language. Even with an eternity to count, they would only scratch the surface. All of the words in the universe are used to describe reality, and it is a writer’s job to string them together to create a cohesive world.

Up above Sugar Cube Corner, a writer was creating a world. The Writer was hard at work putting prose to paper. They were writing in a black notebook and a crimson quill was moving through its pages. Every word was important and every word shook the very foundation of the world they were creating. The Writer set their quill down after placing a period on the page. They flipped through the book’s pages looking for where they started. After flipping through a few pages, they reread their work, hoping that every detail was to their liking.

*

The purple unicorn who had taken residence in Ponyville’s library was hard at work restocking the shelves. On an ordinary day, she would have her assistant do that. But, today wasn’t an ordinary day. Today was the day that she did something life changing for her. For the life changing moment, she needed a certain pony with her. That pony was helping her with restocking. A pink earth pony mare with a poofy mane and tail was standing on her hind legs pushing a book in a shelf above her. After sliding the book in its place, she fell onto her forelegs.

“There we go,” she said. “Are there any other books left, Twilight?”

“Actually,” Twilight said. “That’s the last book. Thanks for helping me, Pinkie.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Pinkie giggled. “Helping other friends is what friends do.”

“Very true,” Twilight shuffled her hooves. Her head was down as she tapped a spot in front of her. “Pinkie, we’re close right?”

“As close as two ponies can be, why?”

“Well,” the tapping slowed down into a steady beat. “Hypothetically speaking, what if I was worried about sharing a part of myself to others?”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Twilight,” Pinkie stood on her hind legs. A bright backdrop appeared behind her and started rotating. “I’ll accept you! Friendship is the fruit and vegetable market for worries! All you have to do is come shopping if you’re worried.” She tapped her left shoulder with her right hoof twice before pointing at Twilight.

“Does that mean I’m shopping for worries?”

“Yep! Wait, no. That doesn’t sound right…” Twilight giggled. Pinkie landed on her forelegs with a faint blush on her face. “Okay, I’ll admit, that’s a bad metaphor. But you know what I mean. If you’re worried about something, all you have to do is talk with me. No matter what comes out of your mouth, I won’t stop being your friend.”

“Alright then,” Twilight took in a deep breath. She sighed before looking straight to Pinkie. “I need advice on something.”

“I can’t help unless you tell me what’s going on. Talk to me, Twilight.”

“Okay, here’s the gist of it. I want to ask somepony out. But if I do, I might lose what I already have with them. I don’t want that, what should I do?”

“What happens if they accept your offer?” Twilight blinked. “You didn’t think of that did you?” The librarian looked down and shuffled her hooves.

“Don’t be sad about that, most don’t think of the positives,” Pinkie said. “I say go for it. Ask this pony out. If they say no, then shrug it off. It may hurt for a while, but you’ll still have them. If they’re a good friend, they’ll stay with you no matter what. Does that help?”

“It does, Pinkie. Thanks.”

Pinkie stood on her hind legs again and bowed. “Always a pleasure to help. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Actually yes, there’s something else I need to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Would you like to join me for dinner?”

*

The Writer looked over their work with a smile on their face. They turned the page over and read another piece of their work.

*

Pinkie was happy. While that statement was rather mundane given who she was, this happiness was different. Her hooves felt lighter than air and each step didn’t feel like a step. Her heart was soaring and thoughts of love danced in her head. She had just been asked out by somepony that she had her eyes on for…

*

A wooden door opening stopped the Writer from looking over their work. The quill was placed in between the notebook’s pages and they were quickly pushed under a bed. The Writer turned around before being swept up in pink hooves. Pink cheeks rubbed themselves against their own.

“Oh Gummy,” a female voice said. “I’m so happy! Twilight just asked me out! Can you believe it?!” The Writer blinked.

“I know!” the voice continued. “I was planning to ask her out, but she did it for me! I’m just so excited for the date!” A gasp left the pink pony’s mouth before she dropped the Writer.

“What if I do something wrong?!” the voice panicked. “What if I do something during the date that will make Twilight hate me forever?! Gummy, what should I do?” The Writer gurgled.

“That’s perfect! I’ll talk to Mister and Missus Cake and ask them about their first date! I can learn what to do and what not to do during the date. That’s perfect! Thanks Gummy. You always give good advice. I’ll get you something nice as a reward.” The pink pony hopped to the entrance of the room. The sound of the door opening reached the Writer’s ears. The Writer reached under the bed and pulled the notebook back out. As the door to the room closed, the notebook was opened. The pages were turned and the Writer briefly skimmed through their contents. All of the actions that the Writer experienced and all of the dialogue coming from the pink pony were already written in the notebook. The Writer smiled and flipped to a blank page. Their neck was cracked before picking up the quill. The quill was placed on the page and again, prose was put to paper.

Pinkie was nervous. It was the very first date she would have with Twilight. And if everything went well, it would only be the first of many.

Comments

[Hope]

hah, gummy, god of the world