Princess Celestia has given Twilight Sparkle five books to report on. Little does she know these books have a powerful history. Hopefully Twilight can handle an ancient magic and make her mentor proud.
Twilight inspected the open tome before her. Princess Celestia had given her a few books to investigate recently, their common feature was the titles being written in some unknown language, but the text within was completely understandable.The Princess hadn't offered any insight on the nature of the books, or the report Twilight was supposed to write, but simply gave the instruction to research and report.
Twilight had begun by opening one of the books at random, and with quill and parchment at the ready, she began to read, ready to take notes as needed. However, she recognized rather quickly that the book was a work of fiction, just like the Daring-Do novels she'd collected. She tried to take notes as she read, but every time she took her attention off of the novel, she felt oddly out of place, almost guilty for pausing her reading.
"Spike!" Twilight called her faithful assistant. "I'm going to need a hand with these."
"What do you need?" Spike asked as he descended the stairs.
Twilight looked toward the neat set of books."I need you to take a couple of these books and read through the very beginning of each of them, see if we can't find some order we should handle them in."
Spike picked up the book closest to him and opened it to the first page. "Um...en-thrall.. Oh, ponyfeathers, I can hardly read it, Twi. The script is impossible and I've hardly heard half these words."
Twilight was surprised to see Spike giving up so quickly, he was usually adamant to finish a job even if it took him hours to complete. "Let me see that, Spike."
Twilight took the book from him using her magic and brought it to her. 'fascinated by the flashy display, Violet stood still.' These are all words Spike knows, and they're written perfectly clearly, what was spike complaining about?
Spike pointed to the page. "What does Ost-ost...En...ta-tion mean anyway?"
Twilight inspected the page carefully while responding. "Ostentation is some pretentious display of wealth..." Twilight couldn't find the word anywhere on the page, but perhaps- "Spike, read aloud the next words."
"V...iolet...Um, Filter? No,wait...Falt...tered?" Spike was obviously having trouble reading it, but Twilight could tell he was really giving it his very best.
Twilight rushed to take notes as Spike struggled through sentences. For whatever reason, the text changed according to the reader, but the contents seemed to stay about the same. Twilight knew there was some magic soaked into the pages, but for it to perform some kind of illusion, and over some work of teen drama? Twilight had originally thought the assignment to be oddly average, but excitement welled inside her as a mystery was revealed.
Although Spike couldn't help Twilight organize an order, his efforts had given her incredible insight into the nature of the books. There were five leather bound novels, Twilight confirmed that each of them were works of fiction, and after some study, determined each story was self-contained,they weren't a series like Daring-Do. Twilight briefly considered them all to have the same author, but the only evidence to suggest it was that they all behaved the same way magically.
"Well, I suppose there's only one thing left to do." Twilight had written every observable trait of the books, but was still left with too many questions. Taking the book she first inspected, she began to read, stopping every so often to take notes. Again, the feeling of taking notes bothered her in a way she had never felt before. Every time she took a note some feeling bubbled up from her gut, she noted this sensation down, but otherwise did her best to ignore it.
An hour passed before Twilight Sparkle actually stopped to see what notes she had written thus far. Looking through them was... frustrating, every note was just a sloppy rehashing of the book itself, offering no valuable insight to anyone. With all the trouble notetaking had been giving her, the results weren't giving her any sense of accomplishment.
Twilight decided to simply sit down and read the book. Notetaking simply wasn't going to get her anywhere this time around, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she just wanted to read it more than work on it.
"Once I can separate the book's story from the writing, I'll be able to study it better, I'll read it so the plot won't get in the way of my assignment." Twilight said aloud, with nopony around to hear her.
Sitting quietly in the corner of the library, Twilight began to read.
Riverbell had galloped across half the field before hearing it. The festivities were in full swing, and everypony was already there.
"Clover, please, oh please just wait" She muttered to herself as she ran as hard as she could.
Every building was dressed in stripes, seemingly leading the sweet perfumes of desserts throughout the town. The chatter of a thousand ponies filled the streets, feelings of enjoyment and excitement overflowing from every smile. Confetti seemed to float through the warm air, filling every direction with bright color.
The large stage in the center of town was covered in large draping cloth and beautiful flowers. Although the streets shone with every color imaginable, the majority of the decorations on this stage were a brilliant white. Two ponies took the center of the stage, one olive stallion, dressed in a white tuxedo, and a misty rose-colored mare, in a layered white dress.
Riverbell's sweat dripped from her nose as she ran harder than her legs could handle. Every muscle fiber within her screamed and ached, but she couldn't slow down, not now. Ponies in the streets gave her odd looks as they jumped out of her way, while she simply ran.
"CLOVER!" The shout had silenced the entire audience surrounding the stage. Mild noises from other streets could be heard, but the silence in town square was deafening.
The crowd parted, revealing a sole pale turquoise mare, panting for breath. Her breathing was the most prominent noise for several blocks.
The two ponies in the center of the stage looked on Riverbell, but remained silent.
Riverbell tried her hardest to hold back tears and arrange her words. She had come this far, but now she actually had to tell him...
"Clover..." Was the only word she could say before the tears flowed freely from her eyes. crumbling down to the ground, she wept. Every color and shape had blurred away as tears filled her eyes, every scent dominated by her running nose, every sensation replaced by the burning of her muscles, every sound drowned out by her desperately trying to breathe. "I love you!" Those words that slipped from her mouth like honey felt so sweet to her. Every sense was torn away, leaving her alone, but she could taste those words.
"I love you" those words tasted so good as they fell out, to be heard by everyone, but it didn't matter. She didn't care. "I love you" She repeated herself again and again. "I love you" she couldn't tell whether her sobbing was getting better or worse, but she felt warm. "I love you, I love you, I love you"
"I love you too." Riverbell finally noticed the embrace surrounding her when she heard those words, and fell silent, unable to even cry.
Clover had descended from the stage and held his very special somepony tight, as though he was afraid if he loosened his grip she might slip away. Fighting the urge to only squeeze tighter, he brought his head far enough back to lean his forehead on Riverbells'. "And I always will." Clover assured her. Placing his hooves on her neck and cheek, he pulled her close, and met his lips carefully to Riv -
"Twilight! Are we going to eat dinner or what?" Spike practically shouted.
"Wha-!" Twilight Sparkle lowered the book in her hooves and looked around, as though she had just woken up in a stranger's house. "What?"
"I know it's your assignment and everything, and you really seemed to be enjoying it, but you haven't moved anything but those pages in hours, and more than just hungry, I'm a little worried." Spike explained as he dropped a bookmark into the book in Twilight's hooves.
Once Twilight got a hold of reality she looked down at the pages, and then frantically for a quill. "I have to write that down. I have to."
Spike didn't do much to stop her, but felt it was a little hasty to be taking notes like this. "Write what down?" He asked.
Twilight explained as she wrote. "I remember distinct details of that story that were not written on those pages. It's like I was there, I swear. This is more than engagement in a good story..." She paused before looking towards Spike and the books with a big smile on her face.
Five novels of unknown origin, titles unreadable. The content of each book was fixed, but the words on each page would differ between observers. There was magic instilled into the books, giving the reader some unnatural awareness of the events described. Princess Celestia was aware of these books and gave her prized student the instruction to research them.
This same prized student let out a long, drawn out sigh.
"Ponyfeathers... There's hardly anything I can actually know about these things!" Twilight wasn't one to complain when she was assigned to read, but these books had just a few too many variables for her liking.
"Reading them got you this far, why not just keep doing that?" Spike asked, truly wondering how his bookworm friend was able to keep her hooves off of them.
Twilight wanted to read them. Each time she glanced in their direction, she felt them beckon to her, like they wanted to be read as much as she wanted to read them. Twilight kept her composure, however.
"There's some kind of ancient magic in those pages, Spike. The words themselves can alter somehow, and I felt absorbed by that story as though I was really there. There's no telling what repeated prolonged exposure could do, and I haven't learned anything for sure yet, it's all subject to change because of the magic. Spike, I have no sure basis to work from, and I need to find one." Twilight explained her frustrations to her assistant.
"Why don't you let somepony else read them for a while?" Spike suggested."You'll be able to observe their reactions and stop them if any magic gets too strong, and you'd be able to take notes on whatever you see without being pulled into something like last time."
Twilight tried to find a retort for it, but the more she thought about Spike's suggestion, the more reasonable it sounded. Perhaps instead of refining the perspective on the pages, she should expand them, getting a second opinion could give her the foundation she needed to really crack this thing open.
"Spike, that's actually a really good idea." Twilight said with a surprise in her voice that was not unnoticed by her assistant.
Spike turned away from Twilight and kicked the floor. "I come up with good ideas plenty often." He muttered to himself.
A light blue mare with multicolored mane walked into the library, slightly uneasy from being summoned with no real explanation.
"You wanted to see me, Twi?"
"Rainbow Dash! Thank you for dropping in, I need your help with something." Twilight talked and walked with her friend to where she was keeping the books. "Princess Celestia had given me these books and asked me to research them-" Twilight explained the situation and led rainbow to a room in the back.
Rainbow Dash was settled into a soft chair and handed a thin, wide book. She inspected the book and somewhat begrudgingly opened it up. "I'll help you out, but it's to help the princess, not 'cause I'm excited or anything."
Twilight looked over her friend's shoulder, reading the first few sentences. "Tell me what it says." She asked excitedly, quill at the ready.
Rainbow felt a bit like a child, with her mom testing how well she was learning to read. She understood why Twilight was asking, but it still felt stupid.
"Fog rolled across the hills as the morning sky lit up in dim blues. The sun hadn't risen yet, but light spread throughout the sleepy land." Rainbow dutifully read out the first couple of sentences.
"Interesting..." Twilight took quick notes. She had read that 'fog cascaded through the hills' and that 'The sun's ascent lit the sleepy land.' The text was probably meeting Rainbow's language comprehension, but then...
"Spike, what does it look like to you?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow turned the book to Spike, and he squinted at the pages. "Um..Mi..Mia-" Spike's eyes shifted quickly to the two ponies waiting on him. "Er- Fog rolled across-"
"Spike!" Twilight stopped him.
"I'm sorry alright? It looks like the ink ran out or something, it hardly looks like anything!" Spike tried his hardest to defend himself for not being able to read, something he felt ashamed for, despite knowing magic was involved.
Twilight took a couple notes before leading Spike out of the room. "Well, it's probably not comprehension..." Twilight muttered. She then turned back to Rainbow with a smile.
"Okay, read at your own pace and relax, I'll be here the whole time." Twilight sat down across the room and held her quill and parchment ready.
"Okay then..." Rainbow said as she sat the book open and began to read.
The mountains were going to keep the sun hidden for a few more hours, letting the fog linger longer than it had any right to. Amber Dawn was happy to see it though, it made sneaking past the walls of the village easier, and kept him hidden from the lookouts as he ran through the thick forests.
Stretching his wings, he took off under the cover of the trees. Most pegasi would have looked for a clearing, but Amber was not most pegasi, and he was in a rush. He ascended as though there was nothing in his way, weaving through each branch until he broke through the tops of the trees.
The land was dim, but not dark. The sky was mostly cloudless, but Amber felt it would probably become overcast before noon. Even with the winds brushing past his silver mane and red-orange coat, the quietest thing for miles was the village itself. Given the silver moon still dominated the sky, the villagers were certainly silently waiting for the sun to overcome the moon's presence.
Warm air filled Amber's wings, nesting between each feather it pushed him ever so gently up into the sky. With a beat his wings pushed it back, denying the earth below him, distancing himself as he stretched his wings, allowing more air to find purchase in his feathers. Drifting across the rays of light that danced across the sky, he felt something following him. Looking everywhere, he couldn't spot anything above the trees, and it was impossible to follow the colt on foot, the terrain below was simply too intricate to keep up.
But he felt it. It was on his tail, and he couldn't shake it.
The only option was to fly higher, if whatever was on his tail was earth-bound, he could keep his distance vertically. Amber Dawn beat his wings, pressing the tips of each feather against the air, he pushed himself up and away. The air warmed as he crested the shadow of the mountains. Feeling the sunlight warm him only made it more apparent how cold it was outside.
Something was wrong. Now that he had climbed higher, the presence felt closer than ever before. Was it flying too? Amber was certain there wasn't any bird or pegasus nearby, there wasn't any sound.
There wasn't any sound. The animals, the wind, everything fell silent.
Amber slowly turned to look upward, terrified of whatever he was going to find. What he found however shouldn't have surprised him. The moon was there the entire time, but he hadn't considered it. Everypony in the village warned him of the moon, telling stories of monsters, powers and blood that came when the moon turned itself toward them.The young colt was certain they were all stories to keep him in bed at night, but now, the moon encompassed the sky, and it's light fell squarely on him.
The air no longer touched his feathers. His body tightened as though he had fallen in the snow. He dropped from the sky, falling as though the moon itself had thrown him to the earth.
The ground was coming toward him quickly, but as Amber's body refused to move, his mind felt a call, a whisper tha-
"RAINBOW!" Twilight shouted as she used her magic to hold her friend to the chair.
Rainbow Dash felt an uncomfortable pressure, and realized her wings were extended, and being pressed into the chair was urging them to bend a direction they were not meant to go.
"I'm okay, I'm okay." Rainbow called quickly, as she adjusted herself and settled back into the chair, breathing a little harder than she should be for having just read a book.
Twilight recognized Rainbow had come out of whatever trance she was in, and backed up. "I'm so sorry,your wings started buzzing as your nose pressed further into the pages, I should've stopped it then, but I let it go too long, you practically took off without letting go of the book."
"It's okay, Twi." Rainbow reassured her friend with a strange calm. "That was just... so cool." Rainbow's eyes rested on the ceiling, looking a lot more thoughtful than she usually does.
Twilight set her notes aside as she saw the huge grin on Rainbow's face. "Rainbow?"
"It felt just like my first flight all over again, like I was there. Don't even get me started on the story, I-"Rainbow Dash looked Twilight square in the eye."When can I keep reading?"
"Twilight! What in tarnation did ya do to Rainbow?" She shouted to the entire library, since she couldn't see anyone from the front door.
Twilight leaned out from the back room and saw Applejack standing at the entrance wearing a concerned frown. Twilight was certain Rainbow Dash was in perfect health before she left the library, she had checked four times before letting her go. Now, not twenty minutes later, Applejack's asking what happened.
"Uhhh, what do you mean?" Twilight asked, failing spectacularly to hide her nervousness.
Applejack focused her glare at Twilight. "Ah just saw Rainbow flyin' through the skies happier than a barn owl at a hootenanny- no offense, Owlicious."
The owl hooted in an understanding tone.
Applejack slowly started closing in on Twilight."She'd usually be takin' a nap about now, and instead Ah find her twirlin' through the clouds all excited-like, as though she just got those wings.Now that 'aint wrong or nothin', but when Ah asked her why she was bein' all bubbly, she said 'You won't believe this, but I just read the most awesome book.' And she was right, Ah don't believe it. Now this whole mess' got yer dirty little hoofprints all over it, so start explainin'."
While Twilight was relieved to hear that Rainbow was in good spirits after what had just happened, she was mostly frightened to be at the receiving end of the knives beaming from Applejack's eyes.
Backed into a corner, Twilight stammered out a hasty explanation of the books, Celestia's assignment, and the experiment Rainbow had performed earlier.
Applejack had eased up on her friend after being assured there wasn't any brain surgery happening in Twilight's basement."So yer tellin' me there's a magic in these books, and it made Rainbow happier to fly?"
"It would seem so." Twilight hated being so unsure, but the reading experience was far too subjective to establish solid cause and effect. She continued to explain as she got out of the corner she was in. "Rainbow told me she could feel the winds in a way she hasn't felt since she was a filly. Like it was her first flight allover again. If I had to guess, I'd say she got a renewed appreciation for flight."
Applejack had wandered toward the books arranged in the back of the room, and picked one up, it was square, and the binding and cover had a series of strange symbols on it. Even Applejack could tell the symbols were some kind of alphabet, but had seen nothing like them before.
"Well Ah'll tell ya what, ya've peaked mah interest, Twi. How can Ah help?"
Twilight Sparkle and Applejack had arranged for Applejack to come into the library early the next morning to read. Neither pony really had the time to push other responsibilities aside.
Twilight was surprised to find Spike in the corner with one of the books.He was obviously trying his hardest to read. Squinting as hard as he was, he couldn't see Twilight approach him.
"Ahem." Twilight tried to pull Spike's attention.
Spike easily lifted his head at the small sound. Making eye contact with Twilight caused his cheeks to blush, and he tried to hide behind the book's cover. "Ah, 'the blustery night had...' Um..." Spike paused long enough for Twilight interject easily.
Twilight pulled the book away from him with her magic. "Don't force yourself, Spike. These books are magic, it's not like I doubt your ability to read."
"But why can't I?" Asked Spike."There's something fantastic in those books, and I can't experience it? That's a load of horse apples."
"SPIKE!"This wasn't the first time he tried swearing, but to hear it over reading a book surprised Twilight. "I will not have that kind of language, besides, it's a book, not the fruit of life."
"Are you sure about that?" Spike fought back. This was really unusual for him. "Do you even know anything about those books? Who's to say they aren't some portal for you to all leave me behind with?"
"Spike. First, you need to calm down. Second, none of us are leaving you." Twilight fought to keep her emotions in check. Not knowing anything about the books was really bothering Twilight. Spike knew it, and he was obviously trying to get her to fight back.
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Spike shouted as hard as he could, fighting to keep tears from betraying his angry performance.
Twilight's face turned to stone."Spike. Room. Now."
Spike obeyed as angrily as possible, storming out of the room. He was thankful he had an excuse to leave so Twilight couldn't see him crying.
Applejack felt something off about the library when she entered. She could usually hear Spike dropping something somewhere, but it was eerily quiet today.
"Where'd that little dragon run off to today, don't he usually answer the door?" Applejack asked.
Twilight didn't meet Applejack's eyes."He's taking care of chores outside the house today." She answered flatly as she brought her friend into the back room.
Applejack could sense Twilight wasn't sharing something important, but couldn't bring herself to pry any further. Twilight sat her down into the soft chair and handed her the square book she looked at yesterday. Twilight simply sat on the other end of the room and prepared herself for notetaking.
"Well, if ya say so, Twi. Uh... here goes then." Applejack said as she began to read.
Silence.
The only thing Clearwater could hear was her own heartbeat. She wailed, screamed and kicked as much as possible, but she couldn't hear anything. Even the doctors holding her down to the bed made motions, she could watch their lips move, but she couldn't hear anything.
Doctors had written to her to explain the situation, last night something went wrong with the fireworks display. Thankfully nopony else was injured or burnt, but being as close to the explosion as she was, Clearwater's eardrums had burst.
She adapted to her new disability surprisingly quickly. Once she knew why things were as they were, she simply accepted it as a new, normal fact of life. Rather than grief over the loss of her ears, she felt something else, much stronger than anything else. Boredom.
Most patients understood the feeling, but being unable to hear the beeping of the monitors, unable to guess how many ponies were in the hall by the sounds of their hoofsteps, unable to hear a doctor's magic at work, Clearwater was uniquely, incredibly bored.
Once she had counted and named every speckle in the ceiling tiles, a new patient had arrived in the room. A bright cobalt mare was wheeled in and set into the bed on the other side of the room. Obviously pregnant.
Clearwater didn't think much of the new arrival, but she was apparently interested in Clearwater. Her mouth kept moving. The doctors had all left, but she was talking. A lot. Watching this new mare was literally the only thing she had to do, so she did. For the rest of the day, she simply watched this mare talk. She wasn't terribly bothered that she couldn't hear her, there was a happy glow about her, one that doesn't appear often in hospital beds.
In the morning, Clearwater woke up to see the bed on the other end of the room was much closer to hers. The cobalt mare smiled and handed her a notepad.
"Howdy there, the doctors informed me this morning that you were deaf. Whoopsie." She had drawn a little irritated face next to the sentence. "And after talking to you all night yesterday I just thought you were quiet. My name is Bluebell, they told me yours was Clearwater? It's nice to meet you!"
Clearwater looked at Bluebell, who had a huge smile on her face, and an outstretched hoof with a pencil in it. Clearwater was oddly nervous. She had been a normally outgoing pony before, but since losing her hearing she felt cut off, and the invitation to friendship seemed so odd.
Clearwater took the pencil and wrote back. "Yeah, Clearwater. I was in an accident with fireworks, they're just monitoring me for now, making sure that the burn treatments are effective. I can guess why you're here though." She gave the paper and pencil back to Bluebell.
Bluebell read the paper and giggled. "Yes, fairly routine I suppose. Since I've got no interesting story, Tell me more about the fireworks, if you would." She wrote.
Bluebell and Clearwater became fast friends. Bluebell was expecting a baby colt, and was planning on naming him Bobby so she always had an excuse to call him 'baby'. They would joke together that Bluebell was jealous Clearwater wouldn't have to listen to a crying baby for the next several months.
Clearwater enjoyed her time beside Bluebell at the hospital. She felt better in a hospital bed than she could remember feeling ever. Nopony was as kind or heartwarming as her new best friend.
"Going in today then?" Clearwater wrote.
"That's right! It's finally time for this colt to start eating for himself for a change." Bluebell punctuated the sentence by drawing another face, in contrast to her own beaming like the sun.
Hours pass.
Clearwater was allowed to walk the hospital hallways, and waited impatiently as close to the operating room as possible.
A doctor came out walking toward Clearwater's room, but stopped when he saw her in the hall. He looked toward Clearwater with an unreadable expression and handed her a familiar notepad. Written on it was the very familiar writing of Bluebell: "He's beautiful." It read. Beyond that however, were words Clearwater never wanted to read.
Twilight woke up bleary and tired. Looking down she saw half a page of notes about Applejack reading a book. What book was she- The realization struck Twilight and she immediately snapped to attention looking around the room for Applejack.
Applejack was staring wistfully out the window of the room into the late afternoon sky. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she didn't look particularly upset, but rather... thoughtful.
Applejack was the first to speak. "Ah was livin' in that there book, everything seemed so real, so important... But-" She closed the book and raised herself off the chair. "Ah found mahself unable to read through all them tears wellin' up, and so Ah was pulled back here not too long ago."
Twilight wasn't in any haste to write any of it down as she tried to apologize for leaving Applejack unsupervised through the experiment. "Applejack, I-" But her apology was cut short as Applejack raised her hoof.
"Ah don't mighty care, Twilight. Ah'm goin' to go find Rarity, and we're goin' straight to the spa, an' then I'm gonna go give mah granny a big hug n' kiss." Applejack talked as she walked toward the library's front door.
Applejack looking for Rarity was rare. Applejack initiating spa time was completely unheard of.Twilight had to take time to register what she had heard as her friend stopped at the door.
"And you're not invited until you and Spike make up. Ah'm not gonna handle this... quiet no longer, Twi. No excuses, an' no dillydallyin', The next words Ah hear from you had better be 'We're better now.' Or so help me-." Applejack sighed and walked out the door, leaving Twilight Sparkle completely alone.
The library was silent. Twilight never considered how large and open it was, and wondered how she ever complained about there not being enough room. She left her notes and walked up to her room. She had walked up these stairs every day at least, but today the stretch of stairs seemed twice as long, and she could hear them creak under her hooves. Falling on her bed, she was left to her thoughts.
Twilight knew she hadn't slept hardly at all last night since her fight with Spike had weighed so heavily on her, but felt truly ashamed she'd left her friend unsupervised with unknown magical artifacts by picking then to take a stupid nap. At least Applejack seemed... okay? There was something different about her as she spoke today, aside from choosing to go to the spa, there was some kind of aura of a motherly reprimand toward Twilight when she mentioned Spike. Applejack was right, but that didn't make it easier for her to face the music.
Twilight grumbled in her bed as she slowly dozed off.
Lotus' hooves worked like magic on Applejack's shoulders as she let the mud bath soak into her coat. Applejack felt the cool cucumbers over her eyes, and had never appreciated vegetables on her face as much as she did now.
"Darling, you must have been terrified. I do so appreciate you trusting me to help at a time like this." Rarity spoke to her friend from the next tub over.
"Frankly Rarity, Ah couldn't imagine a better place to be, or a better friend to share it with."Applejack confessed."You know, being in that book wasn't actually all so bad, though. What hurt most was comin' back to seein' Spike an' Twi as broke up as they are. Ah really think this book business is workin' their nerves somethin' fierce."
Rarity worried for her friends. There had been bumpy patches for everyone, but this seemed serious. "You know, I saw Spikey earlier today, and he did appear a lot less gleeful than he usually does. He said something about feeling left out, so of course I offered to have him fit for a new apron, but he said he had other things to attend to. Oh, I do hope things will turn out okay."
Applejack's eyebrows lifted beneath their cucumber covers. "Ya do know not all life's problems can be solved with clothes, right?"
"Oh, poppycock darling, if a problem is not fixed with one layer, simply add another until it is." Rarity declared the solution to all the world's problems as though it were common knowledge.
Applejack couldn't hold back the giggles blooming in her chest and openly laughed. "Well shoot." She said between giggles. "Why didn't ya say so earlier! That would'a made that whole Discord business a walk in the park!"
Rarity smiled and relaxed into her mud bath, keeping her eyes on Applejack. "What else is a friend for?"
Spike walked to the front door of the library, nervous to see Twilight again. The sun was already setting, and Spike hadn't thought of any way to apologize or explain himself. He kind of painted himself into a corner with his performances the other night, so any explanation would feel a bit like admitting defeat.
Surprisingly he entered into a silent library. Upon inspection, Spike found Twilight sleeping heavily on her bed. Relief washed over him knowing that he wouldn't have to maneuver a conversation tonight, but he also felt guilt for getting away with what he did without confronting it all day.
Spike's thoughts were interrupted by a bright, rhythmic tapping on the door. Answering it, he found Rarity on the other side.
"Oh, hey Rarity."Spike's eyes widened all at once as he remembered."Wait, you're not here to get my measurements, are you? I like my apron already, I don't need a new one."
Rarity giggled at the flustering baby dragon. "No Spike, I was actually hoping to get a hold of Twilight, is she available?"
Spike looked over his shoulder in thought. "Em... no...she just fell asleep actually, it was a long day for her. Yeah." Spike said.
Spike was an awful liar, and Rarity knew it, but she also didn't want to disturb any emotional wounds right now. Applejack had given her a pretty good idea of the situation, but she was here for a purpose.
"Well I've got a day off of work tomorrow, and I was hoping Twilight could recommend a good book, so I came here to see if we could meet up." Rarity put on a nervous smile as she tried to dance around the topic.
Spike's eyelids dropped. He was a bad liar, but Rarity's poker face was awful. Spike let out a long sigh. "You want to read the books Applejack read today. Fine, I'll let Twilight know to expect you tomorrow."
Spike was turning around to shut the door and go back inside, but Rarity jumped down on him before he could separate them.
She gave Spike the tightest and most genuine hug she could muster. "We all love you, Spike. I don't know what's happened, but don't take our Spikey-Wikey away, please."
After a minute to relax, the two let go and had trouble looking each other in the eye.
"So,you'll let Twilight know then?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, we'll be expecting you tomorrow morning." Spike answered.
"Okay then, thank you Spike." Rarity, turned to leave rather quickly.
"Yeah, and Rarity?" Spike called to her, turning her eyes to meet his before she got too far. "Thanks."
Awkwardness still hung in the air of the library.Twilight and Spike hadn't made up, or even acknowledged the problem, but the sunlight falling through the windows broke up some of that tension.
"Applejack told me all about these books and their magic. Although I don't look it, I do know a thing or two about magic, being a unicorn as I am. I think I could help make sense of these matters, Twilight." Rarity spoke balancing along the line of honest and self-indulgent, as she had practiced so often.
Twilight had started to feel more relaxed giving the books to her friends, given Applejack had gone in and out of the trance-state without help. Having a full night's sleep had also reinforced her confidence.
"Well, I didn't get very good notes yesterday, so even if all that happens is seeing how long you go in and what it's like, it will all be quite helpful." Twilight led Rarity to the same soft chair and handed her one of the books, this one had an unusually thick binding.
"Oh, I'm certain this will be quite informative." Rarity predicted as she opened her book and began to read.
Violet Lantern had heard this story ten times now, trying to pick out the pieces that changed with every re-telling. The night rain was not making her job any easier as she tried to approach the scene.
"Harry, I can do without the redundant details." Violet felt like a broken record, perhaps one of these days Harry will understand how to make a report.
"I keep tellin' ya, I saw the red jacket, but once he turned into the alleyway, he right disappeared!" Harry had strained to keep from biting his hooves as they got closer to the alleyway in question.
"The alley's a dead end, if you really did see the red jacket, then the only way he could've gone..." Violet paused as she ran her hooves across the brick walls. One brick pressed in like a button, revealing a hidden doorway. "Is through."
"Sweet bees' knees, boss! Now we can follow 'im!" Harry tried to enter before Violet blocked his path with an outstretched hoof. "What the hay? Why not?" Harry asked.
"This needs to be reported, what would we do if we couldn't find our way out?" Violet closed the secret passage and turned back to the streets. "We're dealing with a professional, we need to be just as good."
Violet's office had enough loose papers to constitute four separate fire code violations, but out of all the cases she was in charge of, at least half of her papers were dedicated to the elusive 'red jacket' killer. Two and a half years of chasing, and the list of suspects had only just been whittled down to two dozen ponies.
"Boss, we got a new scene!" Harry called to Violet from the hall, a scroll of paper in his hooves.
"Now Harry, I want bullet points. Give me the details." Violet asked her assistant as nicely as she could manage.
Harry read over the scroll and then looked to Violet. "Two ponies down, looks like there's at least five part-"
"Why can't you just read it and talk at the same time? I told you to give me bullet points Harry. Stay away from 'looks likes' just facts for us, remember?" Violet took the scroll from Harry and glanced it over. Her eyes widened. "Suspect apprehended? Why didn't you tell me!?" Violet grabbed her coat and threw herself out the doors.
"I don't know what happened, I said I was sorry, why are you all so scary?" A golden-brown colt cried in the interrogation room. He was old enough to be tried as an adult, but young enough to be under another pony's roof.
Violet looked deep into this colt's eyes. Fear commanded his every action, his every word. "I'm just asking, why were you at the corner of Carousel and Fetlock?"
The colt couldn't speak, as though the sweat dripping down his forehead had taken control of his vocal cords.
"Why were you wearing a red jacket!?" Harry threw his question at the colt like he was hurling a spear.
Violet rested her head between her hooves. Harry wasn't being useful, but at least he was trying, somewhat.
"Somepony gave it to me! I didn't know it was bad!" The colt exclaimed trying not to cry.
Violet's ears perked up as she threw her hoof over Harry's mouth to make sure he didn't screw up this lead. "Who? Listen, we're here to help you, but you've got to help us, okay? Who gave you that jacket?" Violet wasn't known for being especially delicate, but she tried her hardest to calm the colt who had their lead.
Her hardest wasn't quite enough. The colt burst into tears as the pressure of questioning broke him. "I don't know!" Was all anypony could hear between sobs.
Violet headed back to her office feeling defeated and fighting off a headache. Harry's voice was not helping either problem.
"Can you believe that colt? We ask some simple questions to help him, and he gives us nothin'. What are we supposed to do with that?"
Violet responded. "Shut up." As rude as it might've sounded, she had more reason than annoyance to get him to stop. A large knife was implanted on Violet's desk, pinning a weathered piece of paper to it.
Picking up the knife to get to the paper beneath it, Violet could see it was written in large splotchy letters, making it impossible to identify the writer. Worst of all were the words themselves.
"Quit Looking."
Violet planted the knife back onto the table as a chilling smile crept across her lips.
"Challenge accepted." She announced decisively.
"-Rarity!"
Rarity was pulled back into the real world by the sound of Spike's voice.
"Oh, oh my, why, how long have I been sitting here?" Rarity asked as she tried to get her grip on the world.
Spike smiled with relief. Not that there was anything to worry over, but a part of him was glad to see that Rarity would pick Spike's voice over whatever world the book offered her.
"It's late afternoon,Twilight wanted to make sure you didn't stay in there for too long, we can't be sure what it would do yet." Spike explained.
Rarity looked around to find that it was just Spike in the room with her. "Where is Twilight, anyway?" She asked, trying not to seem to happy that Twilight and Spike must have spoken.
"She went to go see Fluttershy. I think she really needed to get out of the house, so she left me to keep an eye on you." Spike was also fairly certain Twilight didn't want to talk to him much yet, and that had some influence on the decision.
Rarity grabbed Spike and pulled him into another big hug. This time she didn't treat it as something embarrassing, but held him comfortably.
"Twilight has the most excellent assistant, and I don't think it will take her very long to realize it." Rarity practically whispered as she held Spike.
Spike wanted to act like this was embarrassing, like this was extremely strange, but instead he just felt comfortable in the mare's embrace.So,he just let it be, and enjoyed Rarity's company.
Twilight headed toward Fluttershy's cottage with one of the books and notes in her saddlebag. Perhaps a walk would help clear her head. Twilight left Rarity's reading experience to Spike, hoping that showing her trust in him would do something to mend their relationship, but she was still nervous.
Twilight found Fluttershy on the edge of town, casually watching Lyra and BonBon rhythmically waving their hooves at each other.
"Rock paper scissors, shoot!" They said in unison.
"Another tie! This makes ten games in a row, I swear this was supposed to be more fun." Lyra sounded defeated, although it seemed neither pony had won a round yet.
"I'm having a great time." BonBon said, with a genuine smile.
"You always have a good time, BonBon. Come on, let's give it another go!" Lyra said with determination
"Rock paper scissors, shoot!"
Twilight approached Fluttershy carefully, as to not surprise her while she watched Lyra dance about in frustration.
"Hey Fluttershy, how are you?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, hello Twilight, I'm doing quite well. Thank you."Fluttershy responded quietly. "I was just on my way home from the market, Oh, I suppose you expected to find me at home, I'm sorry..."Fluttershy started on the path leading to her cottage, hiding ever so slightly away from Twilight Sparkle.
"It's perfectly fine Fluttershy." Twilight reassured her friend as she started walking beside her. "I've just been working on an assignment from Princess Celestia for the last few days, and was hoping I could ask for your help."
"Oh, I don't know how well I could help, Twilight, I'm not sure..."Fluttershy protested weakly.
Twilight was used to Fluttershy's meek behavior, and simply pressed on knowing she would be happy to help, despite her words. "Come on, I haven't even told you what it is yet. I've got a book with me I'd like you to read is all."
Twilight explained the situation as the two mares approached Fluttershy's home. Fluttershy was quick to catch on to some details that Twilight was hoping to let slide though.
Fluttershy's voice became uncharacteristically stern as she set her things down and walked with Twilight into the living room."Why is Spike alone with Rarity right now? What happened between you two?"
Twilight could feel tears pressing to escape her eyes by the time she had laid her problems to her friend. Fluttershy simply listened quietly, digesting every point of the conflict carefully.
"The worst part is that I understand." Twilight confessed. "Spike's been feeling left behind in every one of our adventures and parties. Now being unable to do anything with these books, that feeling is calcifying into this anger... but I just don't know what to do..."
Fluttershy rubbed her hoof between her friend's shoulders. "I'm sorry I don't know what to do either, Spike's a good friend to all of us. Thinking about it now..."Fluttershy trailed off and left to another room.
She came back with a camera and a picture. "I found this camera a few days ago, and I realized the picture of our friends..." She handed the picture to Twilight, it was a copy of all six of them together. Twilight made sure everypony received one.
"I mean, it's a good picture, but... Maybe sometime, we could... perhaps...mmphmh..." Fluttershy's voice became quieter and quieter until it was simply an indistinguishable mumble
Strangely enough, Twilight understood every word Fluttershy said. The picture of their friends was a nice picture of six ponies, but there was someone noticeably absent.
"Fluttershy, that's a wonderful Idea." Twilight said as she gave her friend a hug. "We should absolutely make that picture once this whole book business is out of our manes."
Fluttershy blushed and carefully exchanged the camera in her hooves for the book Twilight had brought. "I guess I should try to get that moving along then." She said with a smile.
Twilight pulled together her notes and watched as Fluttershy got comfortable. She opened the book and with excitement, she began to read.
"I shall not be bested, young one. Accept your fate!" The pale unicorn cackled as magic energy bubbled through his horn, sending ripples through the hood of his dark cloak.
Feather Mason found himself unable to move. He lay on his back, his wings locked to his sides as though they were glued in place, and he silently watched in fear as the magic before him grew stronger. It was the middle of the night in some unmarked spot in the woods. The moonlight barely filtered through the trees enough for Feather to even see his assailant's face. Perhaps this was the end.
"No you don't!" Sounded a voice from behind Feather, as a bright flash of light appeared between himself and the pale unicorn, causing said unicorn to dissolve the spell and cover his eyes with his hooves.
Feather turned to see the horn of his protector, Dilly, glowing like hot metal. Feather's other friend, Mink Longtail was scrambling hurriedly to lift Feather off the ground, urging them all to run.
Another flash appeared, Dilly's magic was creating loud pops and crackles in an attempt to buy time for their escape.
They had reached the edge of the forest, and rested gasping for breath, hoping they had given that unicorn the slip.
Mink was the first to speak between breaths "What the hay was that all about?" The bright orange Earth pony asked his close friend. "To think I've got to remind you how to run!"
"I- Sorry, Mink..." Said Feather, keeping his eye's fixed on the dark forest. "It was... strange..."
Dilly, the light brown unicorn of their group issued a firm declaration. "We are not going back in there. In fact, we are going to pretend that those forests don't even exist now, yeah?"
Feather nodded, but couldn't take his eyes off the forest. What was that?
As exciting as that night had been, it left the next week of magical studies exceedingly dull. Dilly was already finished as usual, but had her hooves full helping Mink and Feather keep up, as usual.
"What's an Earth pony like me got to learn casting times for anyhow?" Mink complained.
A jolt of electricity arced from Dilly's horn to Mink's ear, causing him to jump.
"You could've prevented that, Earth pony or not, if you were up with your studies!" Dilly admonished.
Feather stretched his wings and curved his back, releasing a loud 'pop'.
"Aeeeaggh!" Cried Dilly. "That's so gross, don't do that!"
Mink started giggling at Dilly's reaction, earning him another zap to the ear.
Feather couldn't bring himself to pay attention, not to his studies or even his friends as a 'fight' started breaking out between them. Everything seemed to fade into the background as thoughts took hold of his mind.
"Fate, huh?" Feather spoke aloud unknowingly, putting a sudden halt to his friends' roughhousing beside him, they just stared at him.
Feather turned his head to look at his friends, worried over the looks that had just developed on their faces. "Um, guys? What's-?" He tried to ask before it all broke loose.
The yelling and horseplay turned to make Feather its center. Mink was trying to squeeze out some admission of a hidden romance, while Dilly instructed him to focus on his studies, rather than kill time daydreaming.
Study sessions usually devolved into playtime, much to Dilly's displeasure, but Feather and Mink's scores were slowly improving. Even Dilly found herself able to concentrate better after their sessions, despite not studying as hard as she usually did.
Now however, Dilly's essay was proceeding slow as snails. "Friendship has... extraordinary properties? No, there's got to be some better explanation... how my friends have helped my magic... why was I assigned something so hard!?"
"Fluttershy? Fluttershy!" Twilight tried getting her friend's attention as carefully as possible. Not only would it be a good way to measure how attached Fluttershy was to the pages in front of her, but she really didn't want to startle her most timid friend.
"Eep!" Fluttershy was startled anyway.
"How are you feeling, Shy?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, oh my, Twilight. I'm, I'm okay."Fluttershy practically stuttered as she started to recognize her home.
"Listen, it's been a few hours, and I'm gonna be taking that book back now. Okay?" Twilight wanted to let the experiment go on longer, but had filled out all the papers she had brought for notes.
"Oh, certainly, thank you for letting me experience this book."Fluttershy had a little trouble letting go of the book as Twilight's magic pulled on it, but relented.
Twilight started packing up her saddlebags. "Thank you Fluttershy, simply being in your home has helped me a lot."
Fluttershy stared out the window, thinking of her close friends, and thinking of Spike. Mumbling, barely above a whisper.
Twilight Sparkle sat alone in one of the booths of Sugarcube Corner, staring into the chocolate milkshake in front of her as though it was a crystal ball. Her saddlebags containing the book Fluttershy had read and all of the notes Twilight had made laid on the floor beside her. She never intended to stop at Sugarcube Corner, she only intended to not head straight home. The Cake's sweetshop had released a powerful aroma, cinnamons and caramels leading Twilight by the nose until she found herself inside.
Pinkie Pie was on the other end of the booth with no warning.
"Hi Twilight how are you today? Did you not get enough sleep again because I'm pretty sure you're supposed to drink milkshakes not hold staring contests with them I have won a staring contest against a cupcake but I think your blinky eyes won't be able to keep up even with an amateur like this chocolate speaking of chocolate I heard something happened to Spike is that true? I worry about him ooh! maybe I could throw him a P-"
Twilight pressed her hoof against Pinkie's mouth. She not only wanted to try to actually speak with the overly hyper mare, but the Cake's had only just installed new windows, and Twilight wanted them to celebrate month old windows at least once this year.
"Hi Pinkie, I'm fine, I got a full night's sleep, I'm not having a staring contest, and what does Spike have to do with chocolate?" Twilight released Pinkie's mouth, sure to leave her with a question so she wouldn't have the ability to jabber on much longer.
Pinkie's smile practically covered her face. "Why because he's so sweet of course!"
Twilight looked back to her milkshake. "Don't I know it?"
Pinkie gasped dramatically. "What? You mean you didn't know? Oh, I have so much to tell you about Spike! He-"
Pinkie caught herself as she saw Twilight preparing to press her hoof to her once again.
"Sorry." Pinkie relented with a guilty grin.
Twilight's eyes narrowed as she retracted her hoof slowly. "I know Spike is the sweetest dragon in all the world, but I don't know how to get him to know I know..." Twilight sighed as her shoulders dropped. "And with all this book business, I can't find the time anyway." Twilight motioned to her saddlebags.
Pinkie's head dove into the bags before Twilight could even finish her sentence. Pinkie reached her hooves into the bag and dove deeper, and dove even deeper, until only her tail barely poked out of the bag's flaps.
"Pinkie?" Twilight's voice was spiced with worry as she closely watched her friend fall into her bags.
"What?" Pinkie was sitting again on the other end of the booth, with Twilight's book and notes on the table in front of her.
Twilight's mind reeled at Pinkie's uncanny ability to ignore sense and trying to hold the pieces of her brain together, she simply accepted it.
"That book business." Twilight decided to just continue where she left off before explaining the scenario to Pinkie Pie.
"And that's how Equestria was made." Twilight dryly finished her explanations as well as her milkshake. She expected for Pinkie Pie to respond at least from the last sentence, but during the entire explanation, Pinkie was glued to Twilight's notes, inspecting and even what looked like cross-referencing.
Pinkie's eyes were serious, she gave an affirmative nod and mumbled.
"The Empty Bouquet, Eyes of the Moon, A Mother's Memoirs, Streets Stained Lavender, and Vitriol Rosaries..." Pinkie released her serious look and her usual smile was back in place. "Okay, you've got five books written in a form of D'ni and you're trying to make a report on it. That sounds like a lot of fun! How can I help?"
Twilight's brain would have experienced a critical failure had she not gone through rigorous personal training to let faith take control around Pinkie Pie. Being blindsided by revelation however left Twilight silent for a minute as she tried to regain her composure.
An agonizing minute as far as Pinkie was concerned.
"Twilight? You're okay right? I know it took me a while to figure out the titles but I promise I'll do better to help you on your report unless you don't want me to help in which case I could help by staying out of the way like I do with the Cakes I'm really good at helping like that but I do wan-"
Pinkie stopped as Twilight's hoof landed on her shoulder.Twilight Sparkle's eyes lost focus, and left practically blind she had waved her hoof toward the talking until it found it's mark.
"Tell. Me." Twilight said eerily calmly. Her eyes snapped to focus on Pinkie's. "Everything."
Twilight hurried to find each of her friends. New information had always excited her, but today she had practical information and a plan, and could not wait to put both to use. First, she would have to find Rainbow Dash. Twilight rushed through the streets of Ponyville with her head aimed upwards. While not being the safest way to travel, Rainbow wasn't going to be spotted at ground level, especially after her recent reading experience.
Luckily, Rainbow was predictably spinning and looping between the clouds, and Twilight called out to talk to her.
- "D'ni is an ancient, magical language that when performed properly, could take anypony to another world." Pinkie explained. "The art was passed along through families but between those who had no interest in it and those who couldn't handle the responsibility, it became scarcer each generation until it was practically a dead language and a lost art.
"Another world? Like these ones?" Twilight asked, pointing toward the book.
"Oh no, silly. The real D'ni language would actually take you to another actual world." Pinkie said with a smile. -
"Got it, Twi. You can count on me, I'll be ready in ten seconds flat." Rainbow gave a quick salute before bolting into the sky.
One down, three to go. Twilight needed to get Applejack next.
Apple Bloom practically announced where to find Applejack as the mare had her little sister in a tight hug, and the filly wasn't nearly as excited about it.
"Let go o' me AJ! Ah gots crusadin' to do!"Apple Bloom protested. Twilight thought she would call for help, but after seeing her, a devious smile crept along Bloom's face. "Twilight's here to see ya sis!"
Applejack loosened her grip just long enough for Bloom to make a quick escape.
"Ah told ya what the next words Ah hear had better be. Don't disappoint me, Twi." Applejack said.
"I've got even better words, Applejack. If you'll help me." Twilight responded confidently.
- "I'm pretty sure the language in here is a refined form of D'ni." Pinkie postulated as she perused the pages. "When just starting to learn how to write, you won't want to put too much power in a student's hooves. Only hardcore creationists would still study it later. It makes sense that the safest way to practice would be to transfer only the perspective of the pony into the world rather than the whole pony. That makes it kind of exclusive though."
"What do you mean?" Asked Twilight.
"Since it was written to transport a perspective, any pony's writing wouldn't be readable by anything other than a pony with a similar perspective, or a pony at least. Griffons wouldn't be able to make out a single word." Pinkie explained.
"That must be why Spike can't read it. He's a dragon!" Twilight realized.
Pinkie smiled softly as she looked through the book. "I'm surprised he can see any words at all, there's more pony in him than we give him credit for." -
"Well Ah'll say. That does sound like a mighty fine idea, Twi." Applejack turned toward her home.
"So, you'll help?" Twilight asked.
Applejack turned to look at Twilight over her shoulder. She gave a tip of her hat and answered. "That's what friends do, after all."
Rarity wasn't going to be hard to find, she was supposed to be at the library right now. The problem was going to come from getting her help without crossing Spike's path.
Twilight figured a teleportation spell would have to be employed so she wouldn't disturb the door, but as she was readying herself to infiltrate her own home, she saw Rarity leaving the library.
Twilight deflated a little, realizing she was genuinely excited to try and be sneaky. She wondered if she should blame Pinkie pie for the nonsense of it or Rainbow Dash for making it seem like an unanswered challenge.
- "How do you even know about this Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"My Nana Pinkie was a writer. Remember she told me about the Mirror Pool? I'm pretty sure she knew every secret of Equestria and its history. She tried to teach me, but I simply didn't have the patience for it, I only learned some basics of how to read and maintain the books. I remember some of the adventures we'd have in her books." Pinkie sighed. "good times."
"You mean you've been in the magical books?" Twilight's jaw almost hit the floor.
"Well of course silly filly, that's what books are for!" Pinkie felt confused that the town librarian wouldn't understand the value of books. -
"Challenge accepted." Rarity said with a determined look on her face. Twilight wondered if this was even Rarity.
"Um, okay?"
"Oh darling, I am so very excited, just let me run to my boutique to get ready!" Rarity practically squealed as she rushed off to her boutique.That felt more like the Rarity Twilight knew.
Fluttershy was the last one to get in on Twilight's plan. Moving slower than usual, Fluttershy answered the nervous tapping at her door.
"Oh! Twilight, did you forget something?" Fluttershy asked.
"You bet I did." Twilight pointed her hoof at Fluttershy. "You."
- "Pinkie, do you still have your Nana's books?" Twilight asked.
"Of course, did you think I stored all my balloons and streamers in my studio apartment? Geez Twilight, I might be special but I'm not magic. Though since I'm an Element of Harmony, maybe I am?"
Pinkie's train of thought was derailing, though Twilight wondered if she ever placed rails to begin with.
"I have an idea. Pinkie? Would you help me set up a... party?" Twilight almost whispered the last word as she prepared herself.
"WOULD I!" Pinkie yelled. Twilight could see that the gears turning in Pinkie's head were causing her to start vibrating while she thought of every facet of the party that needed to be arranged.
Twilight smiled. "I'm just going to need it in a certain location." -
"T-today?" Fluttershy stuttered as she received her invitation.
"It would be a great help, Fluttershy. If you need to, we could postpone until-" Twilight was cut off by Fluttershy.
"we should have done this days ago. "Fluttershy said as she prepared herself. "Maybe we still could?" Fluttershy's hoof caught her mouth in a cute giggle. "Magic."
Spike had just finished arranging the books in the 'K' shelves when he heard the door to the library open and shut.
"Please don't be Twilight." Spike mumbled. "Just not-"
"Spike!" A familiar unicorn's voice called. "Where are you?"
"Now..." Spike finished as he fought up the courage to answer his call.
Spike walked into the main room of the library to find Twilight coldly dropping a book at his feet.
"What is this?" Spike asked as he picked it up, not wanting to discuss much with Twilight at the present time. He had just had some personal time with Rarity and was getting back into the groove of his chores. Dealing with the emotional rift that had appeared between him and Twilight was just not something he could handle right now.
"It's a book. Somepony returned it to me on the street today so I need you to put it back in its place." Twilight basically commanded Spike. She wasn't normally this cold about anything, but then again, Spike had never normally made an outburst at her either.
The book had no title on its cover or binding, but before Spike could think to ask, Twilight was already gone.
"I suppose the only way to find out is to open it up." Spike opened the book and began to read.
The sky was dark, illuminated by countless stars arranged in beautiful waves, mirroring the waves of the ocean in every direction. Short grass covered the small island, making a soft pillow to pair with the sheets of salty foam rolling over the seas as far as the eye can see.
Spike was confused. He could see the stars, touch the grass, smell the sea. Was this what his friends had experienced when reading those books? Perhaps he was just dreaming. All his confusion peaked once he felt a hoof on his shoulder though.
Spike wheeled around and saw the hoof on his shoulder was attached to Twilight Sparkle. Spike had to be dreaming.
"Spike. I wanted to say I'm sorry for not treating you like the close friend you are to me." Twilight said somberly.
Definitely dreaming. Spike looked past Twilight to see Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Pinkie Pie looking toward him.
"Us too." They all said in unison.
"Okay, what the hay is going on?" Spike demanded.
After receiving a rather hard to swallow explanation from Twilight about D'ni and what she had learned (interspersed with harder to swallow details from Pinkie Pie.) he looked to the grassy island and back to Twilight.
Spike gave her a big hug.
"I'm sorry too, Twilight. I know you all care, I just get scared." Spike said as he tried to hide his tears. This time not out of anger, but out of happiness.
"I know Spike, that's why to make it up to you, we set up a party just for you." Twilight announced as she showed Spike what they had prepared.
Rainbow had set up fireworks in the distance, Rarity had made a beautiful purple picnic blanket which held Applejack's best apple fritters and cider, and nearby was a fancy looking camera with butterfly stickers on it, obviously Fluttershy's.
"Pinkie provided the island, and I'm afraid all I could do was provide them." Twilight admitted sheepishly, motioning to the other ponies.
Spike hugged Twilight again. "Thank you, all of you. I couldn't ask for anything more."
Twilight turned to Applejack over Spike's head and mouthed out the words: "We're better now."
Dear Princess Celestia:
I've learned an important lesson these last few days. Friendship is powerful, but all power has to be handled with care. You can't expect your friends to never make mistakes, just like you can't avoid mistakes yourself. Forgiveness is an essential tool to bring friends together, and grudges will only bring you apart.
I've also learned that writing holds power too. I've watched my close friends grow from seeing the world through another pony's eyes. Empathy, appreciation, love, dedication, and alliance increased through the power of ink and quill. Forgetting to never step outside your own eyes makes it easy to feel cheated.
I love all my friends, and I know they love me. I think you'll find the book report you assigned Twilight is going to be fantastic. That is, as soon as everypony actually finishes reading the things.
Your faithful servant:
-Spike-
Attached to the letter, a picture of seven best friends smiling as brightly as the fireworks behind them.
