> A Book of Ponies > by Scripture > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: Mintylock Berries > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine… one hundred! Alright Spike, I think that’s enough now for the muffins, at least, that’s what it says according to the book…” Spike, the small young purple and green dragon, cheered in glee at finally being done with the task of counting all the berries. Sliding them back into the basket, he looked over at Twilight Sparkle, a purple unicorn pony with dark blue hair and a pink highlight down its middle, and asked her about the strange looking berries. “So, Twilight, why do we need one hundred of these berries for the muffins? Why not just simply grab a whole bunch of them?” It seemed logical to him after all. “We could just eat the extras!” Twilight Sparkle sighed a bit and shot a bit of magic at the basket, hovering it in the air in front of them. Spike, like usual, climbed up her back and took a seat. “Because Spike, these are Mintylock berries which are quite rare and very fragile. Taking too many will harm the bushes and grabbing a lot of them at one time will damage the berries. After all, we don’t want to give Derpy any crushed berries now, do we?” While Twilight stepped over a few branches, Spike shook his head and laid back, admiring the scenery. Although on the edge of the Everfree forest, there wasn’t much to be afraid of around this area. Fluttershy’s house sat only a couple hundred yards away and they could easily go there for shelter if the case arose anyways. As they entered town, Twilight smiled joyously and thought about the muffins out loud. “Apparently somebody from out of Ponyville today ordered those Mintylock berry muffins we are helping Derpy with right now. Hopefully everyone else got the ingredients we need to- Spiiiike!” Twilight had turned her head around to see a curious Spike trying to sneak a berry out of the basket, a sheepish grin on his face as he placed it back in its bin. Twilight though didn’t have the patience for that at the moment and went off on Spike. She needed to vent a little bit from time to time after all. “Spike, you know that we need these berries…” “Yeah, I know but-“ “And every berry counts with this recipe too!” “Okay Twilight but there’s-“ “Honestly, what would everyone say if we showed up and-“ “TWILIGHT!” Spike physically turned the pony’s head around. They had finally reached their home but he pointed at their front door which just happened to be wide open. Inside of their house was a rather handsome looking unicorn stallion, looking through all of the books inside and using his magic to shift through one after another, casually reading them. His body was white and his mane short, but the color was ink black and very deep. On his flank was a cutie mark emblazoned with a pen and book “Hey who does that bub think he is, coming in and-“ Immediately Twilight shoved the young dragon and herself next to the open doorway, her face all aglow and her breathing heavy. Spike, muffled by Twilight’s arms, struggled in her grip a bit until finally breaking free. Gasping for air, he glared at the wide eyed Twilight. “Hey, what was THAT for?” Twilight glared similarly back at him and shushed the young dragon repeatedly. Inching her neck around the door she saw the stallion once more, fishing through each book with a bored expression on his face. Her heart fluttering with glee, she slipped out a rather loud squeak, her hoof reaching her mouth just a bit too late to stop the noise. The trespassing pony’s ear suddenly perked up and he looked outside, mouth slightly ajar as if surprised or worried. Twilight, knowing that she had been heard, nervously shuffled in front of the doorway and smiled meekly. She couldn’t believe that she was in the same room as... him! Face flushed, she didn’t expect him to be so proper looking in real life! However, her thoughts were invaded when Spike trotted beside the purple unicorn and huffed a bit. “So who are you and what are you doing in our house?” The white stallion chuckled and put away the book he had been reading, some tale about an arabian pony. Approaching Spike, who was being scolded by Twilight for being rude to the guest, he pointed around the library with his hoof. “Ah, isn’t this the library though? Someone told me that it was and that I should meet with a... Miss Twilight Sparkle?” He smiled a bit and looked at the magical pony in front of him. “Would that be you?” Immediately drawn out of her scolding phase, she laughed nervously and nodded, her attention back onto the other horse. “Uh... yes, that’s me... I’m Twilight, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike, my assistant...” Spike crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly confused about this new pony and how Twilight was acting. Just who was this bub anyways? The ‘bub’ nodded respectfully to each of them and put a hoof to his chest. “I’m sorry, I forgot my manners! My name is-” “Scripture!” Twilight shouted out suddenly in glee. “Famed author of many books and one of my favorite authors of all time!” Prancing about in place, the young lavender unicorn squeed for a bit, having a total fanmare moment. She just couldn’t hold it in anymore! Scripture chuckled nervously and looked about. “Uh... yeah, that’s me...” Spike rolled his eyes, finally getting the reason why Twilight had acted so funny around him. The black-maned pony shifted his eyes a bit, feeling uncomfortable in the gleaming face of an adoring Twilight. Off on a shot, Twilight immediately raced around her library, pulling out book after book from their shelving's. Spike meanwhile had walked outside to grab the basket of Mintylock berries so they wouldn’t forget about them. Spike, now knowing that this pony wasn’t some kind of burglar, softened up a bit and looked at the other male. “Ya know... she might get a bit crazed about meeting you. She’s talked a lot about you...” He rolled his eyes and smiled a bit. “Trust me, I know.” The stallion had a look of knowing across his face and shook his head. She was going to be… interesting. Now that Twilight had started a rising pile of books, he noticed they were all written by him. Feeling more relaxed than before, she just let her speech spill out of her mouth, not totally sure what to say. “Oh my gosh I can’t believe that Scripture, such a great author, is actually in my house! In my library! Looking through my books! It’s such an honor and a privilege and, and... GAH! What am I doing?! I have to get back to Sugarcube Corner!” Twilight’s eyes sunk down a bit and she had to abruptly stop feeding the fairly sized pile of books on the table. This was a chance of a lifetime, to talk with one of her favorite authors of all time, but her friends were waiting for her to bring the Mintylock berries. Oh sweet Celestia what was she going to- “Did you happen to say Sugarcube Corners? The bakery in town?” Scripture looked at her, interested. “I actually need to go over there myself... Would you mind if I accompanied you?” The awestruck unicorn’s jaw would have hit the floor if she didn’t put a hoof under her chin to stop it. This totally took her off guard! So sudden! Thinking about it for a bit, Twilight looked left and right, trying to rack her brain some ideas. Finally, thoughts about a book she read, “Meeting New People” popped into her head. Hmmm... Chapter 5: Accepting an Offer. If somepony offers to do something with you, do it! It means that they have taken initiative to get to know you and therefore you should also take the time to be with them! Smiling, she vigorously shook her head. “Yes yes of course you can come, uhm... Scripture. I think my friends will be really excited to see a real-life author! I know I am! Hehe!” Scripture’s expression turned down a bit and he nervously chuckled, rubbing a hoof behind his head. “Uh, well, maybe I shouldn’t go now, I mean, I have to-” “Alright let’s go!” Twilight shouted, totally in a fanmare moment. Without pause she literally slid the stallion out of the door, much to his nervous displeasure. Spike, being left behind with the berries, had to run to catch up with them, shouting out at the distancing pair, “WAIIIIIIIT! You forgot the Mintylock berries!” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Author's Note: Well hey everybrony! Finally decided to get some of my stories out there and hope to at least get a few viewings, haha! Well, like i say whenever i put up stories on the net... Please critique and criticize all you want! I use it only to further myself in writing and it would be great! Besides that, enjoy! :) > Chapter 1: Sugarcube Corner > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Look Spike, I’m sorry that you had to run all the way here but I, uh, couldn’t hear you...” Twilight grinned sheepishly as the baby dragon huffed, exhausted from carrying the basket while racing after the speedy ponies... granted Twilight, in her fervor, pushed the stallion all the way towards the bakery. Spike glanced up at Twilight disapprovingly, having caught his breath some, and scoffed. “Yeah, that was totally it...” With his eyes rolling a bit, he picked up the basket and pushed himself inside, Scripture following close behind. Twilight was a bit taken aback by him not letting her go first, but Scripture surprised her once more by holding the door open for her after he got inside. “It may be ladies first, but I don’t think that they should be the ones holding the door.” Twilight sighed a bit, taking his words in like sweet honey, and followed Spike inside of the kitchen to drop off the berries. Scripture, meanwhile, approached the front desk and glanced around, noticing nobody was on duty for the register. A shiny silver bell was on the counter and he softly chimed it, wondering if anyone would- “Well HIYA!” Scripture’s only reaction was to yelp out and back up suddenly by the blur of pink that happened to appear only a second later of ringing the metallic bell. He could feel it now though, the whole backwards motion, the loss of balance and gravity, and finally... SLAM! Back met floor, floor met back, and the famed author was now simply a confused pony on the floorboards. Shaking his head, he tried to get his bearings straight when the same entirely pink pony was only a few inches from his face, looking confused herself. “That usually doesn’t happen... Ponies usually just say ‘Hi Pinkie Pie!’ back to me! But honestly I like your way MUCH better!” The now-hurt stallion couldn’t help but chuckle at the eccentric antics of this Pinkie Pie. With a delighted “SQWEE!” she launched herself backwards, similarly to Scripture, only to roll about on the floor as an added bonus. Scripture, still laughing, righted himself to his feet and went over to help her up, both grinning in delight. “Pinkie Pie’s the name, shop keeping, party making, bakery baking, smile broadening, and dessert eating is my game!” Scripture had to smile. This pony was absolutely hyperactive! But he liked that, the total randomness, and indeed thought it to be quite... something! “Scripture’s the name, book writing, smart thinking, uber imagination, and friend to all is my game!” They both chortled, almost out of breath now, but Scripture was finally able to get to his intended purpose. “So, uh, Pinkie Pie... I’m here for an order?” Pinkie Pie bounced about in place and nodded vigorously. “Yep yep yeppidy do! Mr. and Mrs. Cake told me about that order earlier today but had to go off on a very important catering trip! Luckily for you, you have some of the best bakers in Ponyville making your very special, very awesome Mintylock Muffins!” The white stallion didn’t know how she did it, but she somehow was able to pop in some of the most incredible places as she talked... Once from a cookie jar, from behind him, and even from his mane! How she got in their he would never know… Grinning broadly however, he found her actions pretty funny and laughed some more. It had definitely been a great move to come to Ponyville for awhile! The door chime rang again and both ponies looked towards it, curiosity snapping on in their brains. A large red wooden bin, brimming over the top with amazing ripe looking apples, was precariously making its way in, wobbling slightly to and fro. Immediately, in a rush of quick comprehension, Scripture raced himself at the doorway, just making it in time to stop the entire bin from spilling its load. Two released breaths of air could be heard behind the bin, the owners who obviously had a hard time trying to haul this bin. The voice on the left of him spoke first, talking with a slight drawl that irritated Scripture’s grammar-set mind. “Thank ya kindly whoever is helpin’ out. Now if ya can please help us get this here bin into the kitchen, that would be a load of help.” The other breath- owner, which was slightly more irritated and gruffer sounding than the first voice, groaned a bit in response. It was distinctly female and Scripture could feel quite a bit of strength coming from her side as she started to shove the bin inside the kitchen, nearly tripping Scripture in the process. “Oh c’mon Applejack! We were just able to bring this hunk of worthless fruit all this way! Couldn’t we just set it here?” The first voice, apparently Applejack’s, retorted back in a tired manner. “No Rainbow Dash! We are almost there an’ they need it... IN the kitchen! Not outside, IN!” Rainbow Dash could audibly be heard groaning, grumbling about how stupid this all was. Scripture smiled and would have shaken his head if it didn’t mean the action would spill the bin and its contents. This Ponyville citizens… something else! As they attempted to bring the apples to the kitchen, Pinkie Pie had assumed the role of a trafficker, somehow finding two flags to try and direct the trio around. “Alright guys... left, not left! There you go! Now right! GO STRAIGHT NOW! Not your straight MY straight and -” “THAT’S ENOUGH PINKIE!” All three of the bin holders said in unison, noticing they hadn’t gotten anywhere with Pinkie’s directions. If anything, they had only moved an inch from their original position. The pink mare, taken aback, said in an offended voice, “Sheesh... just trying to help was all!” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Author's Note: Yeah, admittedly, one of my shorter chapters... but basically this is because the original document, which contained the first chapter of this story, was originally 15 pages long and needed to be condensed a little bit in my opinion... so this is what you got! Please, comment, critique, criticize, etc! :) > Chapter 2: Apple-anche! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Ugh… well… this is highly annoying…” Scripture mumbled as he guided the bucket with his head. Finally, after a few more minutes of wobbling around with the giant bucket of apples, they made it into the kitchen. Releasing their cargo, they let it hit the ground with a loud THUMP. Wiping a single sweat from his head, Scripture allowed himself a good look at this Rainbow Dash and Applejack behind the bin. On his left, Applejack was a downright pretty country mare. One look at her though and Scripture could tell that the orange colored pony was definitely a hard worker, more than likely something to do with apples for several reasons around her. She dusted off her hat with a hoof and put it back on her head, all smiles now. Looking at Rainbow Dash, she put on a smug expression and crossed her forehooves, leaning against the wall. “Well, we got it here, safe an’ sound... See? Whad I tell ya Rainbow?” A light blue pegasi with rainbow colored hair, surprising Scripture, hovered slightly above the floor, stretching her wings slightly. “Well, it was OBVIOUSLY only because of my awesome strength and skills that it got here safe and sound!” Noticing Scripture, she smiled meekly and added, “Although this guy helped us out near the end...” Rubbing the back of his head with his hoof in embarrassment, the stallion chuckled. “Oh, it was nothing... I just did what I need to!” He chuckled again and realized, once again, he was short on telling his name. “Oh, yes, I forgot to mention... My name is Scripture, and I assume you are Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” Applejack nodded. “Yep, that would be us!” Twilight and Spike then walked over, curious as to what was happening, and the country mare indicated them with her hoof. “This’n be Twilight and her assistant-” “Spike. Yeah, we met earlier today as I checked out the library... Unfortunately, I wasn’t informed that it had some residents!” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at him and shy her head away a bit. Spike, on the other hand, looked like he might gag at any moment. “Ooooo! Apples apples APPLES! I want some apples!” Suddenly, a grey pony whizzed on into the room, immediately going for the apple bin, an expression of complete bliss on her face. Each pony in the room looked fairly concerned about this new pegasi entering the room but only shuffled in place nervously. Scripture, totally confused, looked at the blonde maned pony and noticed she had something wrong with her eyes as if one was lazy. Her tongue stuck out, her eyes gleaming in hunger fancy. Applejack was the first to speak up however and put a hoof on the mares back. “Uhm... Derpy Hooves... Please, only take one and-” With a squawk of glee, Derpy immediately grabbed a rather shiny apple in front of her. Hugging the sweet apple tenderly, she didn’t notice the small avalanche of apples coming down upon everyone in the kitchen, herself being swept up by them. Honestly, it wasn’t something you would readily expect after all. Scripture shouted out and was similarly caught in the tidal wave of red and green, even though it was only a mere few seconds. A few groans escaped the flooded ponies, Scripture popping his head up to see how everyone fared. Only Derpy seemed untouched by everything and a sheepish grin played across her mouth, her hooves placing the apple tentatively behind her back. Applejack popped her head up soon after along with the others in various places amongst the kitchen’s newest messy work. The country mare glared at Derpy but sighed and muttered, “And please don’t be takin’ them bottom apples...” As if expecting it, nobody else scolded the pony while she brooded over the apple, not feeling particularly hungry anymore. The stallion wanted to help out the poor pony and had opened his jaw to say something when Pinkie Pie interjected, bouncing about the place like her usual self. “WHEEEE! That was SO fun Derpy! I might have to come up with a prank like that in the future! Heehee!” Cheered up by the pink pony, Derpy smiled a bit and extended her wings. “R-really?” Pinkie Pie pshed and laughed a bit. “Of course silly mare! Everyone was all like, ‘WHOA!’ And Applejack was all like, ‘THE APPLES!’ Twilight made a face like this-” she smushed her face in with two hooves, making everyone giggle and laugh in response. However, an attention grabbing gasp was heard right outside the door, making most of the group look over in its direction. Scripture’s eyes befell probably the most regal looking unicorn Scripture had ever laid eyes on. She was pure white, like him, but had curled purple hair and a sense of style and flair about her. The mare, however, uglied her face with a frown as she beheld the apple-filled scene before her. “Oh, hey there Rarity! We just had an accident with all these apples and-” started Twilight but was cut off by Rarity, her voice lisping with displeasure. “My word! What a terrible mess this all is! This will not do, this will simply not do at all!” Rarity then, with a glow of her horn, lifted every apple off from the floor while righting over the bucket in the corner of the room. Derpy could be seen trying to gain her apple back but Rarity didn’t notice the pegasi reaching for the apple. Luckily, she was able to fetch it right in time, quickly munching on its sweetness before she could mess something up again. In no time flat, the bucket was back to where it belonged and the apples stacked in a neat cone shape. Sighing in relief, Rarity finished her work and smiled. “All right then, who needed this flour?” Pinkie Pie immediately leapt up in the air, waving her hoof around erratically. “Ooo! Ooo! Me! Me! Me! It’s me, pick me!” Rarity sighed and shook her head, using her magic to deposit the sacks of flour from her saddle bags on the cooking table. She stuck her tongue out in disgust as they passed her and waved away the small flour dust clouds. “Yuck! Do you know how much this will dry my skin out? It was dreadful, going through that marketplace, trying to find the perfect bags of flour for those Mintylock Muffins and-” The white mare finally seemed to notice the white stallion in the room and contemplated him for a bit. She squinted her eyes at him, as if thinking him familiar, and asked questioningly, “Have I seen you somewhere before?” Scripture shrugged his shoulders and nervously looked around. Could she have known he was from Canterlot? He didn’t remember her being there... Although he had to write that autobiography for a client... The book gave him the brilliant idea of coming here too! That was the whole reason he had come here after all, to- “This is Scripture and book writing, smart thinking, uber imagination, and friend to all is his game!” Pinkie Pie joyfully said, much to Scripture’s displeasure. How she was able to remember his exact words like that was a mystery to him, but he wasn’t very pleased obviously. Rarity raised an eyebrow in interest, along with some of the other ponies. “Oh really now? You write books? I’m surprised that Twilight hasn’t-” Scripture’s eyes got wide and he nodded slowly, shifting his eyes repeatedly towards Twilight as an indicator for the others. Even though he had been around her for a little bit, it’s like he could feel her staring at him at times… Like now, who could be seen staring admiringly at the stallion with a slightly hazy expression on her face. This elicited some giggles from the rest of group, making Twilight blush in embarrassment. “Uhm... Excuse me but... Rarity, could you move, please? That is, if you can... These eggs are quite heavy and I would like to put them down, if that is alright with everyone...” Scripture turned his head back over to Rarity, but behind her this time. Rarity smiled and shook her head, but moved to allow the yellow pegasi gain access into the kitchen. “Really darling you don’t need to ask me... you could have simply flown over me you know!” The pink maned pegasi blushed a little bit and moved into the kitchen, putting her saddle bags full of eggs next to the flour. Derpy, now next to her, put her forehooves and head on the counter, watching one egg slowly roll out of the bag. A smile on her face, her hooves began playing around with it, her curiosity like that of a child. “Awww cool eggs Fluttershy! Are they from your chickens?” Fluttershy nodded and seemed genuinely proud. “Yes, they are, and Elizabeak had been generous enough to give us extra eggs to use. Hopefully we should have enough to-” The soft spoken pegasi’s eyes had finally wandered over to Scripture. Caught off guard the black maned pony chuckled nervously and waved a hoof at her. “Uh... hi there?” With a sudden burstful “Eep!” Fluttershy flipped over, stiff as a log and hooves straight up in the air. Even her hair seemed to be rigid as she laid on the ground! Rainbow Dash zoomed over to her friend and laughed awkwardly. “Eh... sorry about that… Fluttershy isn’t exactly the most social of ponies and she can be very shy like this... Get on up Fluttershy! He’s a cool dude!” Finally, after a few seconds of verbal poking and prodding from Rainbow, the yellow pegasi regained her senses enough to stand back up, although now she had her head hung a bit lower and her eyes shifted a bit more often. Scripture smiled wide now and looked across the kitchen at the assembly of ponies before him. He hadn’t realized how big his job was and how hard some of it was going to be compared to others! He huffed a bit and shook his head, making some of the others wonder what he was thinking. Before anyone could say anything though, Derpy suddenly shot up in the air and a sharp dinging sound could be heard right afterwards. Everyone watched as the pegasi went over to the oven and fished out a few trays of sparkling green dot littered muffins, her face splayed with a silly but ecstatic smile. “My perfectly made, ultra-y yummy, super fantastical Mintylock Muffins! All right!” Suddenly Rarity shouted out with a loud, “WHAT?!” Prancing up to Derpy on the other side of the table, she glared at her. “You made me go into a stinky and, not to mention, filthy marketplace at the other end of town for two heavy sacks of flour for the muffins you ALREADY MADE?!” Spike, whooshing next to Rarity, stuck up his chest even though his head couldn’t go above the table top. “Yeah, how could you subject that to such a lovely female like Rarity?” Derpy, looking confused, backed away from the table and hit the counter under the sink. “I-I’m sorry! I asked Octavia to tell you all but I guess she got wrapped up in things... I’m sorry...” Before anything could happen, Scripture immediately went over to the table, smelling the baked but minty scent of the muffins, genuinely happy with the results. “I would have to say great work Derpy! These look and smell delicious!” This brought a slight smile to Derpy’s face. Rarity seemed nearly about to say something when Scripture took out a hoof-full of money and gave the small pile to Rarity, who was quite shocked at the money. “This is for getting the flour to my muffin order, thank you. Hopefully this will pay for everything, right?” Rarity was shocked at first but eventually had to smile at the stallions essentially benevolent behavior, much to Spike’s displeasure. “Why... thank you very much! That was awfully kind of you...” After putting the money away, she turned her head over to Derpy and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry Derpy... Can you forgive me at all darling?” Derpy couldn’t help but chuckle and bring herself up in the air, giving a silly salute. “Of absoluteliness!” Everyone had a small laugh then and went into the eating section of the bakery, ready to taste some of the awesome muffins Scripture had ordered. A small rumble hit Scripture's stomach. "Yeah... I need a muffin..." -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Author's Note: Hello again~ Yeah, the Author's Note will be a chapter-like thing for me... just so I can interact with the viewers and such! That is NUMERO UNO for this guy! Anyways, questions are always accepted and such, so please, comment away underneath! Always happy to answer! :) > Chapter 3: The Book > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite growling stomach, Scripture casually looked at everypony in the room. Certainly a diverse crowd... he thought. But I still wonder what they will think of my idea... He sighed heavily and walked out of the kitchen along with the others. When they filed out however, a dark grey mare had actually just entered Sugarcube Corner. Her black proper hair and spiffy tie around her neck suited her calm presence very well, a presence even Scripture felt across the room. When she saw Derpy along with the others though, she tried to explain the situation, her voice purposeful and at ease. “I’m quite sorry Derpy and everyone... I couldn’t find any of you around town! When I was searching for you all, I had this resurgence of my muse when looking at this calm field and.. and... well, I couldn’t help but play my cello for at least a little bit!” She looked down, a sad sight to see for the musician. “It’s alright Octavia, it wasn’t too much to handle. Just next time, try to at least tell Derpy about the situation.” Twilight smiled warmly, trying to cheer up the pony, when Pinkie Pie leapt to the front of the pack near Octavia. “Yeah! Cuz then, you have less tired ponies, and less tired ponies means more fun ponies, although the more fun you have the more tired you are, unless you are me, I never get tired hahaha!” Octavia chuckled a bit and eventually found herself looking at Scripture, curiosity splayed on her normally calm self. “And who might this gentlecolt be?” The author smiled, embarrassed. He had never been called a gentlecolt before... that was something new! Honestly he liked it... Scripture the Gentlecolt! Lady’s man to all! His mind scoffed at that idea, making him grin slightly. Like that would ever happen… “This’n here is Scripture, an author of some books. He’s here in Ponyville because... Because...” Now everyone’s attention was turned to the white unicorn, his former embarrassment now plastered over with worry. Crap… He didn’t think they would be asking so soon! Applejack took a step towards him, squinting her eyes at him in skepticism. “Why are ya here anyways Scripture?” “Yeahhhh... just what ARE you here for, hm?” Rainbow hovered in front of his face, putting on a suspecting look with her lip pouted out and everything. Scripture chuckled nervously and gulped, his throat dry now. Even Twilight seemed to be thoroughly curious as to his reason to visit Ponyville. After all, it wasn’t the most well known or prestigious place in Equestria, so why here? “Ah well, you see...” Everypony’s heads strained a bit closer to him as he talked, tensions raising high now. Sighing, he figured that the truth was the best course of action for ponies like these. “Alright alright... I’m actually here for you.” “AH HA! I knew the public would want me sooner or later!” Rainbow struck a pose in midair, confidence and pride beaming out of her like it was physical. Scripture couldn’t help but laugh at her and shook his head, much to her disappoint. “Uh, no actually... when I meant you, I meant you all!” A few gasps and slight murmurs went through the room, except Pinkie Pie, who was whooping and yaying in the background, bouncing around like a pogo stick. Scripture continued. “I’m doing a book all about the six ponies who both stopped Nightmare Moon, now Princess Luna, and the evil Discord! Not about those incidents, which there are many of, but about them, the ponies themselves! And if I’m correct… those six would be you?” Twilight was absolutely shocked by this news and her mouth actually did hang agape this time. “Yes! But…Really?! One of YOUR books?! Oh… Oh my gosh! This is amazing news!” Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight all shouted and cheered at the news along with Pinkie now, excitingly chattering amongst themselves. The author noticed Octavia and Derpy on the side however, hanging their heads just a little bit at the news their friends got. It wasn’t their fault that they hadn’t harnessed the Elements of Harmony or conquered Discord though. They were simple ponies in the background that were around but never would have- “Of course, Octavia and Derpy, I think I’ll be able to slip you two in there also... I’m going to be here for quite a long time so I might as well get every pony that I can, right? Maybe I could do a bunch of ponies while I’m at it, make it like a Book of Ponies!” Scripture smiled at the pair, who were both initially shocked, until Derpy broke the trance with a loud exclamation and flapping of her wings. Octavia smiled pleasantly and nodded, entirely liking the idea. Spike was a bit skeptical though and had his arms crossed, lounging on one side of the room. His expression obviously made him the dark cloud in the room. “Wait, you said you’ll be here a long time... Just how long exactly?” Even though he knew the stallion was overall a nice guy, Spike couldn’t just fully accept him yet. Scripture put a hoof to his chin, thinking about it for a bit, and looked at the excited group of ponies in the bakery. “Well... My editor told me that if I can get the Six Bearers of Harmony, I had as much time as I wanted to get my facts straight… At the moment, I honestly don’t have a place to stay yet, getting here earlier this morning...” It had been a hellish trip in all opinions… Trains were one of the worst places to sleep on! The stallion cleared his throat a bit. “I was almost wondering if, so I can get as much information as I needed, I could simply live with each one of you for a few weeks each to get to know you and your families better. That would make me stay in Ponyville for about a half year, plenty of time to get my own place! I know it’s a tall order but would you allow me to-” “YES, YES YOU CAN!” Twilight shouted out, unable to control it. After a few snickering stares from the others she composed herself and smiled, although a bit red. “You can with me, I have no problem with that and I don’t think Spike will either... right Spike?” Spike was given a small yet hard nudge by the purple pony and he rolled his eyes, nodding shortly. “Just don’t mess with my gems and we are all good, ok?” Applejack nodded right afterwards. “Why, I’m sure Granny Smith would love ta see a new face round the farm!” She chuckled a bit. “Hope ya can buck well!” Rarity took a scan through her schedule and smiled slightly, putting it away swiftly afterwards. “Well I have no big orders of late so I think it will be an exceptional idea!” Spike’s jaw immediately hung low, all his beliefs crashing around him when she said that. Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, it would be up to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, but they do have one last guest room you could possibly use. I’ll have to move Gummy’s water park but I think it will be all good!” She suddenly jumped up and down really quickly, apparently having struck an idea. “Oooo! We gotta have a super duper extra special party for you now since you’re gonna be in Ponyville for a really really long time!” Scripture laughed a bit and nodded his head at the pink bundle of hyperactivity... And wondered who Gummy could possibly be. Rainbow rubbed her head a bit and shrugged. “I don’t know how you can stay at my house, since it’s in the clouds, but if you know some kind of spell that’ll get you up there, be my guest!” She chuckled and crossed her arms. “Think of it as the challenge to get to know me!” Fluttershy, although still nervous, stuttered out her response with a small flush of color. “Oh... Oh my... Uhm… Well... If you need the information, and to get it is to stay at my house... I suppose you could have the upstairs room... That is, if you don’t mind sleeping at my house...” Derpy smiled widely and zoomed around the room a bit, extremely excited. “ALRIGHT! My first sleepover buddy! WOO-HOO!” Unfortunately during her short flight, she had brushed over a few pastries with her wingtips. Pinkie Pie, quick as a whip, made sure to eat each one before letting it hit the ground. A frosting faced party pony and an embarrassed muffin-loving mare was all that was left of incident afterwards. Octavia sighed slightly, knowing her schedule to be busy, but nodded in agreement. “I suppose so, since I would not want to be the odd one out... I would gladly have you in my house for your book.” She bowed gracefully. “It would be an honor.” Filled with excitement and joy, Scripture shouted out in the air. “Alright! This will be my best work yet! Probably even better than being co-author of the Daring Do novels!” Rainbow’s jaw was now the one to hang low. Applejack chuckled to herself and lifted the blue pony’s mouth back up with a hoof. Everyone was thoroughly ecstatic now except Spike who didn’t like the idea of this new-in-town stallion sharing a house with his precious Rarity. The ten of them, all jubilant from Scripture’s news, each took a muffin from the tray. Scripture raised his up in the air, as if it was a wine glass instead. “To new friendships!” He looked at everyone and felt quite cheesy doing this, especially with a muffin. However, it was sort of a tradition to him to make a toast on each book he wrote. “I hope that they will last a lifetime and we should all-” “DIG IN!” Pinkie Pie shouted, unable to contain herself from muffiny goodness any longer. A quick laugh from everyone else resounded and they all bit into their muffins, save Derpy. Her muffin had popped into the air only for her to catch it and eat it swiftly with only one gulp. Another laugh belted out amongst the newly aligned friends, even from the tensed-up Spike. Scripture smiled and sighed. “Now THIS is going to be great!” If only they group realized what was going to happen in the few months this author would be living in Ponyville… Maybe things would have turned out better. Maybe worse. However, only one pony in all of Ponyville truly had a perfect ending… A perfect ending written by Scripture himself. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Author's Note: DA-DA-DUMMMMM! So yeah, now you know! Now, the big thing is this though... Who should be the first Pony he researches about and interviews, etc? This is all user based and I want to know what you guys think for this! If nobody answers then... Meh, I will just choose randomly! Anyways, like always, please comment, critique, etc... and most of all enjoy! :) UPDATE: I just decided, along with a few influences of friends and from the comments, that Twilight will be the first one to come up~ So please, be patient, and i will try my best to get her chapter up :D > Chapter 4: First Impressions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle: That Night and Day 1 Twilight started to panic. Why wouldn’t she? One of her favorite authors of all time was coming to stay in her home for a couple weeks! She was so elated she could barely hold it in! But another emotion in her stomach also battled within, keeping her cruelly down to earth; fear. What if he doesn’t like me? What if Spike accidently burns one of his literature pieces? What if he hears me snoring in the middle of the night and decides to put it in the book?! Oh Celestia I wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of embarrassment! “UGH!” She finally cried out in disgust, her hair already starting to frizzle from the mental stress. A sudden smack to the face by her own hoof brought the mare out of this funk and she breathed deeply, finally getting a grasp on herself. “Alright, get it together Twilight… It’s just an author, nothing too big, and he is here to interview and observe you, nothing more… Just do what you always do in stressful situations!” With her magic she levitated a quill and a piece of parchment over to her and began making a simple checklist. “Alright… First thing! Get him a bed and room…” She looked over to the spare room they had in the library, which had been refurbished with her spare bed and desk for Scripture. A quick scratch with the quill checked off a box on her sheet. “Alright, next, we have his saddlebags unpacked and organized in his room…” She peered into the room a bit more and used her magic to make sure every pencil, quill, and piece of paper was thoroughly organized. A swift nod and another check. “Finally, set up romantic dinner to try and sway that stallion into-“ She froze as her vision finally caught the white form of Scripture on the far side of the library, his eyebrow arced in curiosity. “Uh…. Into knowing he ate incredibly well while with me, hehe!” Dang that was a close one… she silently thanked in her head. Scripture only chuckled and waved a hoof casually. “No no, please, treat me like… like I’m just another pony! No special dinners, no overdoing anything, just a casual friend, sleeping over for awhile is all!” “Mhm… sure…” was all Twilight muttered as she stared deeply at Scripture, whose words obviously took a trip right through her head. He sighed a bit but couldn’t help but smile at her half lidded eyes. How had she been chosen first? Obviously through cheating… he chuckled in his head at the memory. Earlier that day, at Sugarcube Corner, the mares all decided to draw lots from Applejack’s hat to see who would be the first to have Scripture over their houses. Scripture was chosen to be the one to draw the lot seeing as this all due to him. When he put his hoof in to mix and grab a lot out, he had a funny feeling one in particular kept following his hoof. When that same lot was drawn in the end, Twilight seemed much too excited about the choice, although Scripture chalked it up to both luck and her fanmareness at the time. Of course, he had totally forgotten about her magic. The stallion honestly didn’t care though. As long as he got the research he needed and the information totaled up, he didn’t care less about whom he went with first, so long as he was with them in the end period! He knew that even just being with each pony for about two weeks each would be about three months, not including Derpy and Octavia, whom he found both to be quite interesting mares as well. Well, he did have the money due to him selling a good number of books in his time… he could buy a small house in town… Scripture shook the thought from his head however and turned his senses back to reality, watching as Twilight began talking to Spike. He may be here for an extensive time but living here in Ponyville? No… not yet at least. “…and make sure that the sheets are green Spike! I read that Scripture loves the color green!” Spike’s audible groan snapped Scripture out of his mindful haze and he waved at hoof at the notion. “Its fine Spike, I should be fine with what I have right now…” He looked into his room and smiled mischievously. “I do rather like the color purple after all.” Twilight couldn’t help but elicit a small gleeful squeak at the comment, her face in a goofy smile. Scripture rolled his eyes, mostly because of how easy it was to tease this mare. I mean, seriously, am I THAT much to her? thought Scripture, the idea simply ludicrous. He didn’t think of himself that important at all! A good yawn from Spike though sent a chain reaction throughout the library as everypony yawned in return, soon realizing that it was rather late into the night now. Scripture, however, seemed to practically beam at the notion that he had yawned, making Twilight wonder why he seemed so… awake now! Shouldn’t it be the opposite?! “Alright! Second wind kicked in! Thanks for that Spike! Now… to work!” He chuckled merrily and sped off into his room, shutting the door swiftly behind him. Twilight, taken aback by his antics, only looked at Spike in wonderment. The young dragon was just as perplexed as the unicorn however and only shrugged. “Uhmm…. Ok? That was… weird…” Twilight said, although through a sleepy yawn. She looked positively exhausted from today’s events… Way too much excitement for her mind! Spike seemed equally tired, if not more, and made his way to bed. Eventually he slid into it and curled up, only muttering a soft “Night…” before drifting to sleep. Twilight chuckled and used her magic to wrap the blanket up nicely around him, all snug and soft. The purple unicorn, her thoughts full to the brim, eventually waddled over to the bed to slip into the cozy covers. Tonight, she just wanted to sleep… No more studying, at least for a little while… Her goofy grin emerged on her face once again. Well, while he is around anyways! ******************************************* Scripture listened by the door as the other two drifted off to sleep. He was about to turn around and write for a little bit when a rather loud burst of snoring reached his ears. Curiosity unfolding in his brain, he couldn’t help but peek at the sleeping Spike, who must have- The white stallion nearly couldn’t hold in his laughter as he watched Twilight’s blankets rise and fall in time with the comical snoring. Shaking his head, Scripture headed back into the room, gently closing the door. Maybe I should put that in the book… He smiled, getting ready with his quill and parchment. A good way into the night, his room was filled the scratching sounds of feather on paper, along with a chuckle or two. ******************************************* Scripture, yawning sleepily, rubbed his eyes a bit as he finally exited the room. He stretched out his legs a bit, yawning once more, and smacked his lips dryly. Bridle my mane, I hate mornings… he mumbled in his mind, his half lidded gaze settling upon a rather good looking breakfast muffin. Shifting his eyes sneakily, he looked left and right to see if anyone was looking. With a small grin on his face, the stallion immediately dropped to the floor and tiptoed over to the counter where thy scrumptious muffin lay innocently. If you could imagine for yourself… A full grown white pony with a black mane, sneaking all across the library from shelf to shelf, James Bond music playing in the background. His moves, graceful! His speed, outstanding! His appetite, hungry! Only a mere few feet until his prize is before him, ready to be munched upon! Five feet, four feet, three, two, one… “Scripture… What in the name of Celestia are you doing?” Spike asked, having observed the entire scene from upstairs by his bed. Scripture, in mid-pouncing mode, mouth wide open, smiled sheepishly from his paused state and coughed, returning his hooves back on the floor. “Uhm… Just smelling the muffiny scent of a good morning?” He sniffed the muffin deeply and was surprised to find a Mintylock Berry Muffin. Mmmm… I do love that minty taste… he thought dreamily to himself. Spike chuckled and crossed his arms. “Well… alright then… it IS your muffin after all.” He turned around but jumped a bit as a thought struck his brain. “Oh! By the way Scripture, it’s really about noon now, not the morning… That muffin was gonna be your breakfast earlier today-” When Spike turned around however, there was no longer a muffin on the white plate, just a couple of minute crumbs and a chewing pony before it. Scripture smiled a bit and swallowed quickly after, licking his lips. “Mmm… Delicious! Anyways, I kind of figured… I usually sleep longer on nights like last night.” He looked around a bit and cocked an eyebrow. “So where’s Twilight?” Spike, sliding down the railing, landed near Scripture and pulled out one of her famed checklists from under some books. “Let’s see here… 8:00, get up and prepare self. 8:30, breakfast. 9:30, watch Scripture while he sleeps…” Both of them shuddered a bit at that one. “Ok, she is starting to freak me out now…” Scripture said, biting his lower lip a bit. Spike gave him a look that screamed the words, “I told you so!” The young dragon only gave a shake of his head though, as if trying to get rid of the memory. “Alright, here we go… 12:00, meet with Applejack to see about apples in the market.” Spike gave a quizzical look and wondered out loud. “Apples? What’s wrong with the apples?” Scripture shrugged and started to walk out the door. “I have no clue myself, but like I said, I need to study her if I want the best results. Anyways, bye!” He opened the door with his magic and waved a hoof goodbye at Spike, who simply rolled his eyes. Something about that bub just makes me… gah! ********************************** Twilight was smiling brightly as she walked through the crowd, apples weighing down her bag slightly. Her mind absently flicked through her daydream’s as she thought about her plans for the next few weeks. “Well… Hopefully he turns out to be as smart as his looks… He is a sturdy stallion for a writer, but still, you never know with ponies these- OOF!” In her thought processes, she neglected to keep an eye on where she was going, clumsily bumping into somepony. Her bags unbuckled on themselves and their contents were strewn all over the place. Disoriented for a second, she didn’t see the white hoof that extended out to her initially until she heard a soft chuckle in her direction. “Careful there Twilight! Don’t want you breaking anything while I’m with you… I would feel mighty guilty if that happened!” Twilight flushed horribly as she took Scripture’s hoof. “Uhm… thank you…” She smiled sheepishly and looked around at her supplies. Sighing, she began to clean them up along with Scripture. Scripture however, had found a book amongst the spread pieces. It was worn, used, and pieces of paper could be seen sticking out from it. It wasn’t terribly big but there seemed to be some weight to the book. Curious, Scripture began to open it. With a shrill “EEP!” Twilight threw herself at the book, catching Scripture by total surprise. With a small shout, they went a-tumbling for a bit, supplies scattered anew. Finally, when the tumbling did stop, Twilight happened to be on top of Scripture, pinning his legs down with her own. Scripture’s back met the ground for the second time since being in Ponyville and he groaned in discomfort. Twilight however, looked very bothered, her eyes looking menacing but her expression showed she was more fearful than anything. The purple unicorn’s face was only a mere few inches from him but she didn’t seem fazed by that at that moment unlike normally. Her voice came out calmly and evenly though, being very serious. “Scripture. Please, don’t ever read that book. Do you understand?” “Yesssss!” replied Scripture, his voice a key higher than usual and choking near the end. His eyes were watering a little bit and he bit his bottom lip tightly Confused, Twilight cocked an eye at the stallion, leaning a bit backwards onto her haunches. “Uh… you okay?” he didn’t sound too good, and his eyes just seemed to get wider. “Noooooo!” he squeaked, his voice significantly higher than before, his forehooves trying to wiggle himself free from Twilight. With sudden realization, Twilight’s cheeks turned a deep red color and she took herself off the white stallion’s crotch area. Breathing regularly now, his forehooves raced over to the previously occupied area while he rolled along the ground in pain. Oh by Luna’s Moon, what have I done? Was all that she could think as she let the white unicorn handle his… private problems on the ground. No magic in the world could help him with THAT kind of pain, even if Twilight could help him. So she simply got all of her belongings, piling them back into her bag once again, and dismissed the gathering crowd around the writhing pony with a couple of short remarks. After Scripture had finally pulled himself together, he stood up and sighed, looking at Twilight, now both of them blushing a bit. Scripture rolled his eyes down low while Twilight rolled hers up high, both thinking the same thing. This is gonna be a looong week for us… ***************************** Day 3 A yawn gripped the white pony as he walked dutifully behind the purple unicorn, his head half lowered to the ground. “Ugh… I hate waking up…” He looked up a bit and went red however, suddenly getting wide awake. “Although, this isn’t too bad…” He wasn’t sure if Twilight meant to do it or not, but she had a little swagger into her step as she walked, her flank moving rhythmically. Scripture couldn’t help but stare at it for a little bit until finally he forced his eyes away, reminding himself he was on business, even though with friends. Twilight looked behind her and smiled at the white unicorn. “C’mon Scripture! I wanna get to the park soon! By this rate, we’ll never get there!” Scripture rolled his eyes but had a grin on his face. “Yeah yeah, you’ve said that for the past 10 minutes! I get it, I get it!” He felt more relaxed today, more than the last three at least. Twilight’s fanmare moments seemed to have dissipated more or less, becoming less and less frequent. The purple pony seemed to have finally gotten used to Scripture, much to his relief. She would occasionally go over and beyond a normal ponies needs for him, but he couldn’t complain. Twilight was a fan, would he deny her? Finally, they had reached the bountiful park, making Scripture sigh in wonder at its peacefulness. Fillies and colts played in the fields, pegasi flew to and fro in the air, and everypony just seemed so serene and relaxed… “Man, this is so much different than my home!” He burbled out loud, happy at the sight. However, in the back of his mind, an old foe spoke up a little bit at the sight of all the ponies. Twilight gave a wry little grin in response, simply laying herself under the shade of a great oak tree to read the book she had brought for herself. The white unicorn followed her and laid down nearby, but not too close to make people wonder about them. He didn’t need something like that for him only a few days into his research! Soon however, Scripture couldn’t help his drooping eyes from falling, or his neck to slowly drop down to his forehooves. His mind began getting fuzzy, his muscles taking actions on their own, and soundly, the white pony fell into a deep and restful, sle- “WAKEY WINKY, HERE IS PINKIE!” Scripture shouted out in surprise, shooting up into the tree like a frightened cat and shaking on the tree branch he clutched. Pinkie Pie giggled a little bit before bouncing around underneath the stallion. “Oh come on down Scripty-Cat! We have a special surprise for you!” Scripture, finally taking notice of some of the other Wielders around the baker, wondered what in all of Equestria’s name she could have in store for the author. Sighing, he brought himself down from the tree with a tight grip, plopping his hooves on the ground. “Alright Pinkie, what is it that you-“ “SURPRISE!” Scripture would have shot himself back into the tree if Pinkie and Twilight had not come over to wrap their hooves around his neck, extending their other hooves to all of the ponies in Ponyville who happened to be there also. Scripture’s jaw dropped as he watched every pony blow on streamers, wear party hats, and mostly importantly, wear a good smile on their face. “Who...? What…?” He started, but Pinkie immediately cut him off, although not rudely. “Well, you see, every pony that comes to Ponyville to stay, even for a short time, is welcomed by ME! If you stay for a longer time, you get a BONUS; a patented Pinkie Pie Party! In this case though, I decided to go ALL OUT, inviting all of Ponyville too! Oh boy did it take a lot of work but everyone was happy to have a big party so that’s why they are all here! So now… LETS PARTY!” The crowd of ponies shouted in joy, getting on with the rather large party at hand, and Pinkie Pie bounding away with spunk in her step, er, bounces. Scripture, however, could be seen in a cold sweat, looking across the expanse of grass, balloons, and tables at all the ponies and fillies. His eyes were distant and they shifted constantly before all he saw. A small group he could handle… but this many ponies?! There were probably around a hundred or so of them! What should I say? What should I do?! Panic rose slightly in his body, gripping his legs as he was frozen still. The normally calm pony was now scared out of his willies before the crowd, who didn’t seem to take much notice in the stallion himself, but on all the games and food around them. Even still, something about big crowds paralyzed his brain to only short thoughts, mostly of fleeing away. Before he could bolt away however, Twilight placed a hoof on Scripture’s shoulder. Her expression looked like she was going to say something cheerful to him but it changed immediately, going downcast, her eyebrow cocked up in worry. “Scripture… are you okay? You don’t look very well…” Scripture gulped once and gave a weak smile, still sweating bullets. “Uh, y-yeah, it’s fine… I’m just, ah, not the best with large crowds like this…” Twilight smiled sweetly, thinking of some other pony that didn’t get along with others at one point in her life. Applejack walked on next to Scripture, hearing him speak, and nudged him softly with her side. “Ah, don’t you worry nuthin’ bout this here crowd! This is Ponyville after all! This here is ya party, so enjoy it a bit!” The orange pony gave him a slight nudge forward. As if the crowd was a conglomerate being, the small step that Scripture took to keep his balance also swallowed him up into the sea of ponies before him. Yelling and shouting, he was threaded through the crowd, nopony apparently caring too much about him except that he was being passed around like somepony bodysurfing at a concert. Even a few hundred feet away, Twilight could still see the white stallion freaking out and shouting, “WHEAT GRASS! WHEAT GRASS!” over and over again. The music however cut off most of his shouting and nopony really cared anyways. The purple unicorn glared at Applejack who smiled sheepishly initially, then took a defensive stance. “Well… How was I suppose ta know they would do that?!” Rarity, who had seen the end of the affair, shook her head sullenly. “Honestly Applejack, that’s no way to get a stallion to like you, you know…” Applejack’s face blushed a bit and she stomped once with her forehoof. “H-hey! It was an accident! And I’m not hittin’ on the poor feller!” Twilight mentally exhaled at Applejack’s words, but some unease rested in her mind… Was that how she really felt, or something else? Before she could say anything though, Rarity spoke up, smiling slightly. “Honestly, I think he is a rather well-behaved stallion, that Scripture! I cannot wait for him to spend time with this regal flower of a pony!” Applejack softly dug a bit into the ground, thoroughly at conflict in her mind. “Well, ya, he did get me and Rainbow out of a jiffy with that apple bin…” She chuckled a bit. “I heard Rainbow a few times rantin’ ‘bout him ‘cause of him bein’ the co-author of Daring Do and all that stuff!” Twilight’s eyes blinked a bit in surprise. “R-really? So… You girls like him, huh?” Rarity drank a bit of the punch she had with her and nodded her head, although laughed a bit. “Honestly Twilight, everyone does! He’s such a sweet guy, holding doors open and helping out here and there… it’s simply gentlecoltly!” The white mare looked back into the crowd, where Scripture’s head and waving arms could be seen bobbing in and out of the seat of ponies. “WHEAT…” One bob into the crowd… Another bob and he is back up, arms a-flailing. “GRASS!” The mare’s all chuckled nervously, wondering truly now if the stallion was going to be okay. “Uhm… Well, he needs to work on his social piece a bit obviously, but that we can patch up! Also,” She leaned inwards more towards Twilight, cocking an eyebrow. “For the past three days when I have seen him around town, he seems dead tired, bags under his eyes and all that horror… What does he DO all night? It certainly doesn’t help his mane at all…” Twilight, shrugging her shoulders, couldn’t answer that truthfully. She had given the stallion the respect of privacy for his quarters, being a gracious host, and never bothered to ask him about it. “Honestly, I’m not sure what he does… The only thing I would think of him doing would be working on his Book of Ponies…” “…GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASS!” “…and maybe I should look into it a bit more now that I think about it…” Twilight added, wincing as about 15 ponies decided it would be fun to make a pony pile… right on top of Scripture. With some unnatural strength however, Scripture was able to lift the pile of ponies off of him just enough to let himself crawl from underneath them and escape the torrent of ponies around. Applejack stared admiringly at the receding pony, wondering whether he was desperate in his strength or if it was all natural. She honestly hoped for the second one. Twilight huffed a bit at Applejack’s gaze and she started to go after the white stallion. “Uhm, sorry girls but I got to make sure he is all right… I am taking care of him after all… I think…” Without waiting for an answer, Twilight teleported across the crowd and went after Scripture. Rarity and Applejack watched the two recede as the party went on, Rarity eventually turning back to the rest of the party. Both of them watched as a certain pink pony was mimicking Scripture’s earlier antics, shouting out each time she burst herself out of the crowed, “PINKIE… PIE… JUMPING… OVER... CUCUMBER… BEETLES… IS… AWESOME!” Applejack snickered a bit and Rarity facehoofed, smiling to herself. “I can see why our first impressions are horrible now…” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Author's Note: Hiya! I finally got around to editing this hunk of junk and made it better for you all~ I decided that I think a comedic twist would be great to have... and great for Scripture's usually nice nature! I listened to Crepuscularity by AcousticBrony 180 times so far while typing and editing this... THERE GOES 540 MINUTES OF MY LIFE, NYA-HA! XD Anyways, like always, please comment, critique, etc~ i will try to belt out the next chapter as soon as possible! :) > Chapter 5: Ink Blot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 6 The few days that elapsed from the party were filled with a worried Twilight, a snickering Spike, and a tired but otherwise happy Scripture. Twilight, after teleporting over the crowd, eventually caught up to Scripture who, in all respects, was incredibly exhausted from his earlier mosh pit experience. She found him collapsed in the middle of a field some ways off from the party, panting heavily. It took Twilight awhile to catch up with him and had to use her magic to lift him back to the library, the escapade sending him into a deep sleep. When the white unicorn awoke in his now-green sheeted bed, he couldn’t help but smile a bit at the purple mare’s worry. She wants everything just right, huh? His smile curled downwards though as he looked over at the obnoxiously large pile of papers on his desk. With a sigh, he rolled himself out of the comfy bed and over to his rather plain desk. The rest of the night went on with mutterings, quill scratching, and the occasional sound of a piece of paper crunching in on itself. Twilight didn’t speak of what she saw in there. She simply ignored it for now, although incredibly baffled by it initially. The mare assumed that when the right time came, she would ask him all about it. ******************************* The two days after the party just flew on by without much care for the strict laws of time. Twilight had gotten behind on her studies and needed help catching up, Scripture gladly agreeing to help her. It was the very least he could do for her after all. To Twilight’s surprise, Scripture had a fair knowledge of many subjects, many of which Twilight had never heard of. However she soon learned that his knowledge was limited and spacey at times. Simply put, he was broad, not deep in his wisdom. Scripture certainly DID help the purple mare in the end however and was able to help her breeze through a good portion of her studying. Scripture even went so far as to help Twilight throughout the second night. The thought warmed Twilight’s heart and she motivated herself to work even harder than before. Spike wasn’t exactly favoring this ‘extra’ assistant however… This night, the night of the sixth day being with Twilight, had seemed to reach a peak of interest between the two ponies. Scripture, once again, had helped Twilight out instead of his own duties, telling her that “My book can wait a little longer than your work!” Twilight smiled and didn’t object. Spike was by the stair railing now, watching keenly as the two book-loving ponies glided across the library, seeking out novels and textbooks about this and that, most of which Spike never really cared for. Not that he would care for anything right now; it was really late! “A young dragon like me needs his rest…” He muttered, fully aware of the nap he had had earlier that day. Yawning tiredly, he slowly brought himself up the staircase with heavy steps. A couple creaks and groans escaped the boards underneath him, telling him it would be something else for him to fix. Reaching the upstairs window, he opened it up to let Owlowicious in for his nighttime duties. This time though, they would be a little different… A soft fluttering of wings eventually could be heard in the library as a brown owl made its way inside, grasping a nearby perch for him to stand on. Spike cocked a tired eyebrow up and pointed a claw at the owl. “Now, I know I didn’t like you before, but this new… bub, has taken over that dislike… Keep an eye on them, ok?” “Who?” “Them! Twilight and Scripture!” “…Whoooooo?” Spike was about to say it again when he almost faceclawed himself for his idiocy. “Ugh… I really do hate when you do that… Anyways, good night!” Without another word, Spike went over to his small bed and curled up in it, peacefully drifting off to sleep. The owl blinked once and hooted once more. “Who.” *************************** Scripture hadn’t been this happy in… Well, in such a long time! There definitely is something special to this Twilight Sparkle… After all, she likes books, she’s very smart and her, ah, plot is outstandingly- “Perfect!” Twilight shouted out in glee, pulling out yet another book in their fervid search. Snapping back to reality, Scripture trotted over to her, curious as to what book she had found. Peeking over the mare’s shoulder, he instantly knew the novel and chuckled a bit, taking it with his own magic, a white glow to match his coat. Bringing it to his face, he read the title out loud. “ ‘Scripture: His Life Story’…” A picture of his younger self was on the cover and he chuckled. “Pretty good looking stallion if I do say so myself…” Twilight chuckled and pushed him a bit with her forehoof. “Nah… I think I have seen a better version in real life…” Oh my Celestia did I just say that to him? Oh my Luna did she just say that to me? Scripture chuckled nervously and place his biography on the wooden table in the middle of the room. His face scrunched up as he pondered about something, his hoof tapping out a steady rhythm. Twilight cocked an eyebrow, curiosity starting to swell within her. What is he thinking about? She thought, casually staring at the author. Scripture nodded once, then shuffled about, shook his head one, and began to murmur lowly, as if talking to someone. After a few minutes of this exercise, he nodded firmly, as if to confirm something. Looking straight at a rather confused Twilight, he smiled, his grin warm and relaxing. “So… Twilight. It’s been nearly a week since I started to research you and your everyday activities, but I must know… Well… actually, how about this… We play the question game for a bit!” Twilight had no idea what he was talking about and verbalized that to him. Scripture chuckled and explained it to her, his hooves articulating as he spoke. “Simply, we ask each other questions and answer them truthfully in turns. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!” The purple unicorn chuckled and nodded. “Alright, simple enough… so… uhm…” It was particularly hard for her to come up with an adequate question due to her already having read Scripture’s biography. Her face up when she thought of something rather curious a few days ago. “Oh! So what was up with the whole ‘wheat grass’ thing at the party?” Scripture nodded, as if he anticipated the question. “Ah, yes, THAT…” He shuffled a bit and sighed, his eyes looking down as if reviewing a memory. “Wheat grass… it’s what my mother smelled like when I was young. Honestly, I wasn’t the most courageous of colts. I used to curl up next to my mother when frightened or worried. Even just meeting new people I would shy away, seeking shelter from my mom and her unique smell…” The stallion’s gaze didn’t leave the floor as he continued on. “I never could get rid of the smell out of my system, just like some people love to smell vanilla or lavender and always try to have it around them.” He shrugged absently. “I don’t know though, I suppose I came to the conclusion that, like me growing up without my mother, I needed to move on with the smell too…” Scripture chuckled a bit. “Eventually, it just kind of became a comfort smell, something that I always looked forward too and could be calm with... I suppose when I panicked back then, the first thing to come to mind was my mom for shelter.” The stallion looked at her, a small smile on his face. “Silly, right?” The two ponies were silent, the slow chirrups of the crickets singing to the stars with their musical noise. Twilight merely was just soaking up the new and personal knowledge Scripture had shared with her. She hadn’t expected the author to be so deep, but she liked this different side to him… It showed her that he indeed was more than meets the eye. She almost wondered what else could be hidden behind those deep brown eyes… Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat and cleared her throat, nodding her head towards Scripture. He had been staring at her awkwardly and the new attention had started to make her face grown warm. “Uhm… It’s your turn.” The white pony shook himself a bit, as if transferred out of a dream, and nodded slowly. After a few moments of thinking, Scripture finally came up with a question, a mischievous smile playing across his face. “Alright… what was your first kiss like?” Scripture nearly died laughing from the shocked expression Twilight gave him. “Whaaaaat?!” Her face quickly got very red, her head shying down. “I… I didn’t know questions like THAT would be asked!” Scripture, finally regaining his senses, smiled at the mare and chuckled a few times. “It’s any question Twilight, no boundaries!” He settled back a bit onto the hard wooden floor and smirked. “Sooooo...? Who was it? Where was it?” Twilight, still thoroughly red, grumbled out an answer, but it was barely audible for Scripture. “Uhm… Little louder Twilight, can’t hear ya…” She spoke a little louder, enough to hear her, but the words tumbled out in a mess. Scripture smiled again and leaned in closer. “Sorry, once more?” The purple mare exhaled explosively. “I never kissed anypony yet, alright?” The white stallion was certainly caught off guard by this statement and his eyes widened. “Wait, really? A mare like you has never even had her first kiss?” Twilight’s face flushed again and she nodded, embarrassed. An awkward pause ensued between them for a few moments until a soft cough from Scripture broke the silence. “So, uh, I think it’s your-“ “Why is your room like that?” She asked suddenly, her blush gone. She looked at him curiously and his usual smile returned. With a nod of his head over to the door, he pushed it open to let them both inside. Twilight’s eyes were assailed once more with everything that was in the room as she entered the threshold. Books stacked up high were in one corner, books and novels the library didn’t but were able to create a tower taller than even Scripture. A near-literal ton of pencils, pens, quills and inkwells littered an entire table, a table she didn’t own at all. A few maps of Equestria were slightly unrolled by the desk along with a fairly large pile of hand-drawn concepts ranging from simple faces to complex monstrosities Twilight couldn’t name herself. What baffled her the most however was what used to be the walls. Nearly every foot of wall space was covered in white papers, small leaflets, and strings attached to the various sheets in a web-like design that would have made any spider cross-eyed. Twilight, mouth slightly ajar, looked at Scripture, who was beaming as though this was his heaven. “Scripture… what is all of this? And how did you even get it here?” The purple mare finally asked. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing but it was there, in only the six short days that he had been with her. How in Equestria…? Grinning broadly, Scripture trotted over into the middle of the room and extended his hooves out wide as if showcasing a spectacular piece of art. In Twilight’s eyes, it just seemed like mayhem. “May I present to you… my work!” He looked around a bit and chuckled. “Or… what there IS to show at least!” While he let her gaze, he walked over to his cluttered desk and fiddled around with some loose papers. Twilight, wide-eyed, noticed that a good bit of his papers contained little snippets of information, some of them with only one or two words on them. Are these just notes? Or maybe references? She thought, looking at one that had the words, “Disaster: how? Who? Magic based? Other wordly?” The mare felt like it had something to do with her but she brought her attention back to Scripture, truly curious as to how he got everything in here. The white stallion seemed to be flipping through some pages, mumbling a bit to himself. Grabbing a pen suddenly, he scribbled and crossed out a few lines on the paper. After a few minutes of this repeated process, he sighed loudly and turned around to Twilight. “Uh, sorry… just saw something I needed to correct…” Shaking her head, Twilight simply let her watchful eyes follow over to the desk, noticing a large leather hardcover on one end of it. Excited, she flipped it over eagerly with her magic. Disappointment played across her face however as she found out that the cover was bare, devoid of artwork or letters. Scripture chuckled and took the book back with a soft white glow around it, placing it delicately back on the desk. “Sorry Twi, but the cover isn’t ready yet… I mean, come on! I’ve only been here about 6 days after all!” Twilight smiled sheepishly but the writer only chuckled, bringing out his saddlebags. Placing it between the two of them, he opened up one side and smiled. “This is how I get everything here…” he zapped a piece of paper he had and it immediately shrunk in size, becoming smaller than even a spit wad. Shooting it again, it returned to its normal size, astounding Twilight. “Essentially, I just shrink everything! It’s a spell my mother knew and it came quite in handy with all the ‘small’ problems!” Scripture laughed jokingly at the corny joke. Twilight giggled herself and watched as Scripture climbed onto his now-green bed, patting a hoof next to him. “C’mon Twilight, it’s my turn now!” Without a second thought, she walked over to the bed and made herself cozy on the covers, although she was a bit nervous at being so close to the stallion. That nervousness dissolved immediately however, the next few hours bringing them deep into the night. They casually exchanged questions, usually laughing at each other’s answers and saying the occasional joke. The air resounded with good-natured chatter and hearty laughs, and the overall cheerfulness was almost like a new presence in Scripture’s room. The ponies were goofily grinning at each other, Twilight draped across Scripture’s back out of sheer playfulness, them both laughing at a comment Scripture blurted out. For some reason, around him, Twilight felt particularly… free. Like everything just dissolved away and the only things she cared for at the moment were him and his words. This wasn’t just her being a fan, she knew that. This was more than being a friend though. That, she didn’t know. A yawn finally interrupted the ponies cheerful onslaught of conversation. The mare was the one to issue it and she slipped herself off of Scripture laying next to him instead. Being the closest thing around, she let her head softly place itself on his neck, his body acting like a giant warm pillow. It felt cozy, at home, and smelled of parchment and Mintylock Muffins… She giggled a bit, wondering just how many of those things he ate! Scripture didn’t do anything about the pony on his neck, simply letting her lay there with half-lidded eyes. He himself was feeling the effects of sleep falling upon his mind but was determined to belt out a few more questions. “Alright Twi… it’s-“ he yawned loudly. “Whose turn…?” Twilight absently snuggled closer into the stallion’s body and mane, making him blush slightly, and she muttered, “Yours… Scripty…” Butterflies dances on Scripture’s inside, doing the Pony Polka. Scripture could feel he was losing the smaller pony so he came up with the first idea that popped into his head, barely believing he said it initially. “Would you like your first kiss?” The purple mare seemed to wake up a bit more at this and looked quizzically up at the white stallion. “…Huh?” She yawned, although her eyes perked up a bit. A soft cough came from the stallion’s mouth as he repeated the question, a bit red in the face. “Do you want your first kiss?” The lights were starting to dim in the room, the candles beginning to burn out on themselves. One by one, they started to flicker out of existence. Dying embers in the crawling darkness, they let the haze of sleep take over the two ponies. However, as the final flames snuffed themselves out, two heads could be seen moving towards each other, letting their senses guide them towards their desires. Truly, Scripture’s first kiss was something he would remember forever. ********************************** Day 7 The night passed by so slowly, as if wanting to milk out every drop of happiness for the pair. Neither of them expected to be sleeping in Scripture’s bed, but neither truly cared. They were sleeping peacefully and soundly for the first time in nights and it felt great to be together…That is, until Spike walked in, awkwardly trying to wake the pair up. After a few proddings, he finally rowsed them awake, althought they weren’t particularly happy morning had arrived. Scripture was uncharacteristically first up and he yawned loudly, his eyes droopy from the short night’s rest. Spike was hoping that the stallion would at least flinch a little when he spotted Twilight next to him, hoping it was some kind of mistake. Instead, he felt like upchucking at the whole lovey-dovey morning snuggle fest that the stallion let loose with Twilight. The mare’s eyes fluttered open as she accepted the snuggling and absently returned it back. Clutching his stomach and sticking his tongue out, Spike stared at the two ponies and shook his head. “Jeez… I knew you two were getting close but c’mon… not while I’M in the room please!” The still sleepy Twilight blushed a little and yawned at the young dragon. “I’m sorry… he‘s just so warm and cozy… I can’t help but just…” Still groggy, she found herself nuzzling Scripture on his side, eliciting a pair of warm smiles. Spike huffed a bit and turned his back to the gushy mushy stuff, hightailing it out of there. If Twilight wanted to be with her new ‘coltfriend’, so be it. He was a bit sore at Owlowicious for not keeping a better eye on them, but hey, he was an owl, right? The only time he wanted to be around a scene like that would be with him and Rarity, dancing a flamenco on some hill far away… the sun a vibrant scene for a backdrop... Twirling her white body around, Spike would dip her low, a rose clutched in his spiked teeth, his eyes staring deep into hers… …and me with an elegant moustache… yeah… I like that… he thought dreamily, absently laying against a wall while he daydreamed on. He had a feeling it would take the two a bit longer to get out of bed… ********************* Day 9 On the ninth day living with Twilight, Scripture had been out and about all through the day, trying to get together some food from the market. Particularly proud at finding an incredible deal on hay and lettuce, he happily returned to the library, quite content with his purchases. Giving the door a quick flick of magic to open it up, he accidently let it slam against the wall with a loud BANG! “GAHHHHHHHH!” came the shouted response of the panicky mare in front of him. Her back was to the wall but her hooves clutched them as if for dear life, her breathing ragged, her mane in shambles. Whatever happened to her, it looked like she went through Tartarus and back again! Scripture, jaw agape, stared at the wide-eyed pony, eyes gazing wildly at him. Putting down his bags, he made his way towards the lavender colored unicorn, cautiously, a nervousness in his voice. “T-wilight?! What in the name of Celestia happened to you?!” Twilight jumped again, wildly looking about. “THE PRINCESS? NO! I’M NOT READY! I HAVEN’T WRITTEN ANYTHING YET!” The mare scrambled about, like a frenzied animal looking for a way out of its cage. Eventually, she hid herself underneath the center table, holding her hooves over her head, shaking worse than a hyperactive Parasprite’s wing. The white stallion honestly didn’t know what to do. I mean, what CAN I do? I’ve never seen anything like this… but… its just like what happens with him… He shook his head and resided in trying to find Spike first. “Spike! Spike, where are you?!” Hopefully the small dragon would know something about all of this… A purple and green head finally poked out from downstairs and he sighed, noticing the state Twilight was in. “Ugh… I leave you for five minutes and it happens again…” Scripture cocked an eyebrow at the young dragon. “Again?” This is a recurring thing too? Spike nodded solemnly. “Yep. This happens whenever she doesn’t send a letter to Princess Celestia about the magic of friendship for a long time… Come to think of it, its been over a week since she last sent a message…” His eyes narrowed and his voice went flat as he took a look at Scripture. “I wonder why…” The white unicorn didn’t catch the snide comment though, his attention focused on the panicked pony in front of him. Just like me… He softly patted her back with a hoof as he sat by her, still not totally sure what to do. Hopefully being there would be enough for her. “Hey… Twi… come on out… there is nothing to be worried about!” After a few minutes of coaxing, Twilight finally extracted herself from under the table, looking considerably less stressed out than before, with the exception of her messed up mane. Scripture chuckled a little and helped pat down some of it down, his hooves cupping her cheeks as he locked eyes with her.. “Alright Twi, let’s just figure out what you could write instead of freaking out on me, ok?” Twilight blushed a little bit and smiled, nodding. Unconsciously, both Ponies moved slowly towards each other, their eyes closed, mouths slightly open, and head slowly bringing their lips together to- Spike gagged once again at the ensuing love-fest and bolted upstairs. “Seriously guys, not around me!” Rarity thoughts Spike, think Rarity thoughts… ************************************ It was later in the day now, dinner being quite pleasent and the golden sun setting in the distance the last rays of light entering the library. Twilight, being the diligent one in the house, had spruced everything up a bit from her earlier escapade that day. She gave a soft chuckle as she recalled how she acted, thinking it was very foolish now. I mean, come on! I freaked out over a letter to the Princess… She knows they come sporadically now, so I shouldn’t be worrying so much… A soft thud resounded from the other room but she ignored it, a brilliant idea suddenly popping into her head. Oh that’s a great idea! Why don’t I ask him to write letters to the Princess? He is as much of a friend to me as everyone else after all! The mare fidgeted a bit in happiness. Although much more with me… Nodding in approval of the idea, she picked up a quill from beside her, deciding that now would be a good time to start a letter herself. Well, I’ll suggest it after this letter… She thought, gathering a piece of parchment as well. Immediately, she began to scratch out her letter to the Princess. Dear Princess Celestia, First off, I am very sorry for not getting back to you sooner! This past week has been very hectic for me and my friends, mostly due to my newest friend! His name is Scripture, a famous author that, at first, I only liked for his fame. I truly didn’t realize how sweet a guy he can be and how helpful he also is. Though he has some… quirks about him, nopony is perfect, right? I know this may seem odd Princess but I have been wondering something recently… Is there something stronger than the Magic of Friendship? I’m just not quite sure anymore… The thought keeps popping up into my head as I’m with Scripture and it’s been stronger for the past few days with him… Half the time I feel like a complete fool around him while the other time he lifts me higher than I have ever felt… Is this what happens when a stallion’s your first- Twilight paused, wondering why she had gotten so personal all of a sudden. Yes, these were her feelings, but did she really need to get into this much detail with the Princess? The mare sighed, about to toss out the paper when it happened again. She’d heard it a few times while she was writing out her letter, but ignored it until now. Sighing, she went to go see what all the commotion was about, trotting over into the other room. What she saw in there made her skin crawl, mind blank out, and eyes widen in shock. Scripture had a book floating halfway in the air, nearly about to be put in it’s placed, but his head wasn’t looking at it. In fact, it was looking in the opposite direction, at the floor. On the floor was a familiar book, ends ticking out in odd place, and its pages looking like they had been worn down for years on end… Twilight couldn’t react. She didn’t budge. All she could do was simply stare at the white stallion, watching him read one of the most precious things in her lifetime. After a bit of jaw dropping silence, Scripture whistled low, eyes wide. “Wow… this is… something…” He flipped over to the next page. Suddenly the book caught with a purple glow and rocketed over towards Twilight’s chest, her eyes welling up with tears. “Why… what…” Her eyes, still at the verge of tearing, slanted with an angry scowl. “How could you read my Diary, even after I told you not to?!” She stomped a hoof in defiance. “You even saw what it looked like! So why did you read it?!” Scripture looked thoroughly offended by the statement however and recoiled, dropping the book he was about to place on the shelf in mid-levitation. “H-hey! I didn’t know it was your Diary! It just plopped onto the floor as I was cleaning up! I started reading it a bit and… The way it was written…it was… So unlike one!” He shifted his eyes ever so slightly. The hurt could be seen in Twilight’s face as she clutched her book. She couldn’t believe him. How could he do it? She wasn’t even upset as much about reading the small bit of her Diary, but of the part about him, the part she could tell with his body language, the part that stood out to her like a sore thumb… Why would he lie? The mare knew it had been too perfect, too romantic, too great and coincidental for them to ‘fall’ for each other like that. She had played it off, letting her mind live in her fantasies for as long as she could milk it… But why? Scripture, noticing the hard silent look she gave him, sighed deeply and suddenly seemed to loosen up a lot more, as if every bit of stress and nervousness was gone from his body, replaced by regret instead. He looked down and pawed the ground in front of him a few times. “I should have known you would have found out, sooner or later…” His normally strong sounding and confident voice seemed more tired now, as if he had been holding his breath for a very long time. He sat on his rump and his body seemed much more slack than before. It was as if he was changing in front of her eyes and she felt sickened by it. Her mind however still couldn’t comprehend it. Why…? Scripture eyed her and exhaled slowly, looking quite sad. “I’m sorry you had to catch me in the act but I’m a writer after all. I need information. I need stuff that people wouldn’t normally get from another, or hear about, or think about…” “Even if it meant hurting others a little bit.” Twilight was mentally gawking at the words that came out of Scripture’s mouth. What… what is he saying? They were Scripture’s, the Scripture that she knew alright, but now they seemed foreign, like they were being recited by another stallion… A stallion with a much colder mindset than she had originally known. The author got up and paced around the room, letting his gaze wander across all the books. “There is one thing that every writer has, Twilight, that makes them much more…” He paused, thinking of the word. “crafty than the average pony…” He suddenly grinned slightly, as if this topic was something he enjoyed very much. “We are probably the greatest liars you could ever know.” A slow whistle of wind crept through the library, bringing about its chill along the ground. Even the cold of winter seemed warmer for the iciness that settled in the building, ruffling the pages of a few books that settled across the floor. However the mare didn’t notice it, barely flinching as the breeze curled over her hooves. Her focus was on the white stallion, his grin slowly becoming something stronger, something more… menacing. “Why Twilight… you look hurt. Deeply hurt. Why is that? Haven’t you ever lied to someone, ever been lied to before?” Scripture murmured, his soft voice laced with the thin taste of bitterness. He moved forward on her, taking a single step. The other unicorn flinched at the clopping sound it made, as if she was nearly hit. Scripture’s eyes widened a bit and his grin broadened some more, as if the reaction he got was exactly what he wanted. “Ahhh… I never did tell you this part about me, hm?” Another step, another flinch. A gleefully chuckle escaping tight lips “You see… there is a part of me that I can say is vastly different from my normal attitude. No, it’s not multi-personality disorder. I’m still Scripture after all…” He smiled genuinely now, his menacing features melting away for a second, letting the Scripture Twilight knew back to surface. Another second though and he reverted back, unnerving the purple pony immensely. “Just in a different attitude…” Scripture stood tall and grinned down at the bewildered Twilight. “I like to call that part of me Ink Blot. Me and Ink Blot… well, we have had a very interesting life together. We have created some very fine books also; some even by his own design… Do you remember The Bellowing?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly. Twilight gave a stiff nod, barely able to project her voice after listening to him so long. “Y-yes… It was a very grim and dark story, involving a few ponies getting slaughtered and tortured by-” She was cut off by a white hoof, the owner’s smile now in a slight frown, as if displeased. “Yes yes, let’s not give away the ending now…” His smiled raised across his face again. He casually leaned against the middle table, as if nothing was wrong, and flicked his tail at a book, letting it flip loudly to the ground, making the already jumpy Twilight spasm in response. The white unicorn chuckled a bit, shaking his head. “Oh Twilight… I know you have it, that inner nightmare inside of you. I’ve seen you through it. The panic, the anxiety, the paranoia… It was fresh, a new side to you, a side barely seen by other ponies…” A slight twitch in the head and his eyes grew even larger, as if prey was in his sights and he was a hungry animal. “Scripture didn’t like it, but Ink Blot loved it.” The third person usage caught Twilight off-guard and she now started to fear for her life. She didn’t know what Scripture was capable of and she had to be ready. All he did was chuckle though, but it was deeper, along with his voice, which continued on. “We can see it in your eyes right now. You want to run, don’t you? You don’t know what I will do, do you?” He suddenly stopped, straightening himself and putting on a plain face. “You honestly think that I will hurt you?” Shaking his head, Scripture dipped it down, saddened by the news. “Oh my oh my oh my oh my… Scripture should have warned you more about Ink Blot… We are two of the same after all.” His head raised up a bit, his crueler smile back on. “Hopefully Ink Blot has shown you enough to truly understand what Scripture’s hell of a mind is every day. It’s every day you know… Every single damn day…” The writer’s body began to relax now, similar to a serpent uncoiling its body out to glide across the ground. His breathing came out a bit more rushed now, and a hoof reached his skull. I let ‘it’ slip through again… and in front of her too… Scripture thought to himself, but only briefly. He snapped. Stress, thinking, and time had finally caused him to fold under and let out his other side, the side he hated but admired at the same time. Celestia, why me… Oh… you know perfectly why… An awkward pause settled between the two ponies, both submerged in their own brains about what just happened. Scripture was the first to recover, this not being the first time the Ink Blot side of him had emerged. Coughing a bit to clear his voice, he stepped around awkwardly and looked downcast. “Uh… I’m… I’m sorry you had to experience that…” Twilight seemed about to say something but Scripture turned his back on her and started to head towards his room. Looking over his shoulder slightly, he muttered at her apologetically, “Goodnight Twilight…” Silently the door shut, the sound echoing throughout the library. The resulting silence was thick, thicker than even the nights Twilight would stay up laboriously researching about some matter or another. She stood there, awkwardly trying to gather up the painful experience in her mind. His eyes, that grin… that awfully sadistic grin that told her he could have mutilated her right there and thought nothing of it. The demon inside, her own personal nightmare… was it true what he said? She thought about the time Discord had poisoned her mind and the few times she had flipped out on everypony from anxiety… They were times she wasn’t herself. She was there still, like Scripture had said about himself, but she didn’t feel as if she was truly there. It was as if she were made into someone else physically and mentally… It dawned upon her that Scripture and Ink Blot truly seemed like two sides of the same bit. Sighing, her exhausted self made its way towards her bed, her Diary eventually floating down to tuck in underneath her pillow. All she felt like doing was crying, her frustration and sadness taking over her soul, but no tears trickled out. She couldn’t understand why but for all the pity she had on Scripture, she sickeningly thought the situation informative, her morbid curiosity being aroused by the situation. Sleep eventually slunk itself into the mare’s mind, her eyes starting to close shut. It felt so nice, being able to rip herself away from this night, to have no thoughts about it for awhile, and simply let go of the world. Looking at Scripture’s door however, she couldn’t help but slip out a soft murmur. “Goodnight… Ink Blot…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: I first wrote this chapter, printed it out, edited the hardcopy, THEN reedited it, and posted on her... This so far had been the most enjoyable and most STUPIDLY ANNOYING chapter to write thus far... Yeah, thus far... XD Anyways, enjoy like always and my Crepuscularity count (my muse music by AcousticBrony) is at 482... ONE MORE CHAPTER FOR TWILIGHT, YAY~