Clear Skies, Clouded Hearts

As I opened my eyes I saw the same sight that greets me every day. Nothing. Just the plain white walls of my small bedroom.

The small clock on the nightstand next to my bed informed me that it was a quarter past seven in the evening, a full fifteen minutes before my alarm was set to go off. The single window on the western wall of my room allowed me a decent view of the sun setting over the horizon, painting the evening sky in various shades of orange and pink.

I slowly eased myself out of my warm bed, every movement elicited shouts of protest from my tired limbs. As much as I would have loved to stay in bed and drift back into my dreamland, I had to get to work clearing the skies over Ponyville.

This was how my day normally started. When other ponies were closing up shop and winding down for the day, I would be only just beginning my routine. It's how life works for ponies like me who work the 9 P.M. to 2 A.M. shift maintaining the skies over Ponyville.

After a few more seconds of silently staring at the setting sun I turned towards the doorway leading out of my bedroom, and into the bathroom. Once inside the small tiled room I headed over to look into the mirror above the sink.

Gazing into the mirror I saw myself reflected back. My coat is a dark grey color, and though my mane appears black at first, it is in fact a very deep shade of purple. 'Mane' was a generous term for the patch of hair on my head, seeing as how it looked more like a rat's nest at that moment. This was easily fixed with a few quick strokes of a brush, and after I checked over my wings and pulled a few broken feathers I was ready for the night ahead. At least I thought so. Just as I was about to leave the bathroom, something in the mirror caught my attention. My flank.

Now, normally seeing your own flank isn't exactly that big of a deal, for me however seeing that patch of fur was always one of the worst parts of my day. For on my flank there was a big ol' patch of nothing right where my cutiemark ought to be. 19 years old, and no cutiemark, doesn't get much more humiliating than that.

After that rather painful reminder, I exited back into my room and headed strait for my closet. Inside of my closet there wasn't much, just a few sweaters, a suit and tie that I hadn't worn since Hearths Warming, and an old Nightmare Night costume from a few years back. I grabbed a simple green hoody from the rack. Slipping it over me, I carefully maneuvered my wings through the holes in the sides, and pulled the zipper up so it was about half way closed. Lastly, I took a quick glance in the mirror to confirm that my attire had successfully covered the blank spots on my flank.

Finally satisfied with my appearance, I exited my room, and walked down the small corridor to the area of my home which housed the kitchen and living room.

The living room was the largest room in my house. It contained one three pony sofa, a small book shelf, and two large armchairs situated around a small coffee table. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a low wall. Inside was a refrigerator, ample counter space, and a stove as well as a small dining table with four chairs sitting near the back wall.

I've never really had an appetite when first waking up, so I decided to skip breakfast. Instead I opted for a bit of relaxation before I had to go to work for the night. Seeing as how there weren't many other options, I made my way across the living room to the small bookshelf.

Most of the books on the shelf lay within the Fantasy/Adventure genres. After a quick glance over the titles, one in particular caught my eye, and not in a good way. The small label on the spine identified the tome as a library book. The label also pointed out that said book was due back at the library on Tuesday, it was Wednesday.

“Oh that's just great” I mumbled through an exasperated sigh. “The last thing I wanted today was to get a lecture from her.”

Checking the clock on the wall informed me that it was now roughly seven thirty. I didn't have to clock in at work until eight forty-five, and the library was only a few minutes away by air.

I could just fly there, it's obviously faster, but then I'll still have almost an hour before I have to go to work. I guess I could just walk to kill some time, the book's already late, another thirty minutes won't make a difference, and the library is open late anyways.

Having made up my mind, I tucked the book under my wing and headed across the room and out the front door.

After exiting my home I was greeted with a cool breeze, a reminder that summer was making way for autumn. I turned to lock my door, and was soon trotting steadily down the dirt road towards Ponyville proper.

The road into town normally wasn't very scenic, but during this time of year it was another story. On the left side of the road was a large apple orchard called Sweet Apple Acres. With autumn setting in, the leaves of the trees were all changing from there usual green, to various shades of orange, yellow, and red. With the beautiful scenery I was quite pleased with my decision to walk to the library.

The beautiful scene soon came to an end, unfortunately, as the dirt of the road transitioned into cobblestone. Ponyville was a pretty small town, only about one or two hundred ponies lived here. This suited me just fine, as I've said before, I don't do well in crowds. When first entering Ponyville from my road the street lead strait to the market place. Normally bustling with the activity of ponies going about making various purchases, the market had wound down for the day, only a few venders were still open.

Deciding that I had enough time, I made a quick stop at the apple cart set up near the opposite end of the market.

“ Well howdy there Nightingale, ah was jus' about to close up shop fer the day, but ah have a few apples left, maybe even some cider.” The shopper keeper said by way of greeting, an orange earth pony mare by the name of Applejack. Her family owned Sweet Apple Acres.

“Cider sounds good” I responded, tossing three bits to the mare, who caught them in her stetson hat.

“Sure thing sugarcube” Applejack hoofed a glass bottle of cider over to me. Gripping the bottle with a hoof, I started back down the street towards the library. Leaving the market behind and heading strait down the street I entered the town square, which housed Town Hall and a large clock tower.

Passing town hall, I stole a glance at the clock tower near the center of town. The time was roughly eight o'clock, I still had forty-five minutes to kill. After making a right turn out of the town square the library soon came into view.

The Golden Oaks Library was unique due to the fact that it was housed within a living oak tree, not to mention that the librarian was Princess Celestia's personal student. Trotting up to the front door, I braced my self for the ordeal ahead. I raised my hoof, and knocked three times, after a few moments the door was enveloped in a magenta aura, and slowly eased open.

“Come in, I'm just finishing up a study report for the princess, I'll be with you in a minute” A voice called from inside.

I quickly entered the building, closing the door behind me. Inside the library it was well lit with candles lining the walls, illuminating numerous shelves filled with books. Many of the shelves were carved into the tree itself which allowed room for reading tables throughout the main floor.

“Open flames inside of a tree filled with books, it's a miracle this place hasn't burned down yet” I mumbled to myself, while making my way to the opposite end of the room.

“Don't worry this entire building, and all of the books, are protected by a flame retardant spell” A voice piped up from behind where I was standing.

I started at the sudden voice behind me, nearly dropping my cider, and the library book in the process. Turning around, I came face to face with Twilight Sparkle, the resident librarian. Twilight was a violet unicorn, her mane and tail were a dark shade of purple with a pink streak running through them. Her cutiemark was a six pointed star with several smaller stars surrounding it.

Only when I noticed Twilight looking confused, did I realize that I had been silent for almost an entire minute.

“Um... I came... to return this... book” I stuttered out awkwardly, extending my wing, and presenting the book to Twilight. Enveloping the book in her magic, Twilight began to look it over, likely to see if it had been damaged in my care. She stopped her examination to give me a withering look after noticing the due date on the spine.

“This book is whole day late” She grumbled, “ you really should try, and be more punctual, tardiness is a bad habit” Twilight trotted over to the desk near the front of the library with me quickly following behind.

“I know, I'm sorry. I just, kind of forgot about it” I stated meekly. The look I received from Twilight certainly did not convince me of her forgiveness. Twilight was normally a pretty nice pony, but if there is one thing she could never stand, it was tardiness, and excuses.

“Just try to remember in the future alright” Twilight huffed. Using her magic Twilight removed the time card from the spine of the book. After she stamped the card she replaced it on the spine, and levitated the book to it's proper place on one of the shelves.

Figuring that I was lucky not to have received a lecture, I decided now was a good time to make my escape. I made my way quickly across the main floor of the library, towards the exit. I was almost home free when I was stopped in my tracks by another visitor entering the library. A certain rainbow maned visitor.