Life is an Unwritten Book

It was a quiet day at the library for Twilight Sparkle.  The unicorn mare wandered about sorting books and putting aside a few she would need for her current research projects.  Not many ponies would come by today; the scorching heat had returned and it was likely everypony would stay in the cool of their houses, fans running and the blinds drawn to keep it dark.

Twilight, for once since coming to Ponyville, was rather disappointed by this.  She used to enjoy the hot summers as an excuse to catch up on her studies.  On mild days, she enjoyed hanging out with friends, but whenever Ponyville had a heat wave, Twilight would be ecstatic to take a few books down to the basement and do as much research as she could.  Sometimes she would even sleep down in the basement, coming up to eat and check on the library every few hours before returning to the cool.  But today she wanted the attention, and she hadn’t gotten it.

The unicorn picked up her books and headed for the basement, closing the door to keep the cool air from escaping.  She took the books down to the desk and set them up, organizing them in the order that she wanted to work on them.  She pulled out an encyclopedia and opened it, taking a quill and a bottle of ink and began writing notes on a thick stack of paper.

Twilight’s study was broken by the sound of hooves tapping overhead, as well as muffled voices.  Twilight’s ears perked up as she listened further.  There were two voices, and the sound of books being shuffled around.  Twilight took a piece of paper and marked her place in the encyclopedia before walking up the stairs and peeking out the door.

Much to her relief, it wasn’t burglars unless Written Script had decided a change in profession.  She opened the door and started walking towards him, ignoring the other unicorn scanning through titles with her hoof.

“Written Script!” she said, throwing her hooves around him.  “It’s good to see you!”

“Good to see you, Twilight,” Written Script said.  “How are things going with your research?  What are you looking at now?”

“I was actually doing a short literary history, actually,” Twilight said, letting him go.  “I’m currently working on a survey of authors from the romantic period of Equestrian literature.  How about you?  What’s going on lately?  Started anything new?”

“Well, I did apply for a writer’s grant since I wanted to start a bigger project.  I should have the first check for that in a few days.  Oh, and I started a journal in that notebook you gave me.  I would feel uncomfortable tearing out pages from it like I sometimes do, so I decided to use it as a sort of journal to keep track of my thoughts.”

“Well, it’s good to know that it’s getting use.  I kind of feel honored by the fact you don’t want to tear pages out of the book.”  It means you actually cared about the gift I gave you…

“Yeah, I still have other notepads I can use for actual writing, so I figured I could keep that one in good condition while the rest of them I can tear pages out of or scratch up as much as I want or need.”

Twilight giggled.  She had no idea why.  “Hey, Written…” she started, but her voice trailed off.

Written Script looked at her, a smile on his face but a confused look in his eye.  “What’s up, Twilight?”

“I… I’m glad that you like the notebook I gave you.”  Damn it, why can’t you just up and say it already?

“Well, it’s not often you get something from the Crystal Empire,” Written said.  “Did you look at the patterns on it?”

“Yeah.  I got it because it reminded me of my older brother who lives there.  The fact that it came from there had a little sentimental value to it, and I almost kept it, but I thought it would be… nice if you used it.”  Yeah, yeah, you just wanted to have something that meant you in contact with him.  Stop skirting around the issue!

“Well, it’s a fantastic gift and I really like it.  Hey, I want you to meet someone I met a few days ago.”  Written Script turned away from Twilight and motioned to the mare, now holding three books in her light pink aura.

It was the first time that Twilight had taken a good look at the mare.  Twilight saw almost immediately she was beautiful; her coat was pure white and her mane was a shimmering gold and she had a cutie mark of two interconnected hearts.  She walked with the grace of a Canterlot fashion model, seeming to glide above the floor instead of actually walking.  But one of the things that struck her most was the eyes; they were the violet of sky before sunset, the way Twilight had once heard her eyes described as.

What…  “Who is that?” Twilight said as cheerfully as she could manage.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her around Ponyville before.”

“My name’s Lady Amalthea,” the mare said, her voice gentle and tender, “but you can just call me Amalthea.  I came here a few days ago and moved in with Written Script.”

“Oh… where did you come here from?”

“I wandered around Equestria for a while before settling down here,” Amalthea replied.  “Ponyville’s the first home I’ve decided to keep for more than just a month at most.”

“…job considerations?”

Amalthea stared at her pleasantly, but it was apparent she didn’t know what Twilight had just said.  “Come again?”

“Is that why you moved?  Being unable to hold or find a job?”

Amalthea shook her head, but seemed unoffended by the comment.  “No, that wasn’t it.  I either just couldn’t settle down or had a bunch of ponies who didn’t quite treat me right, so I went elsewhere hoping to find a place to stay.  I finally found it with Written Script.  He’s been such a gentleman ever since I came here.”

“Oh.”  Twilight said.  “Oh, well… welcome to Ponyville!  Hopefully you find this place to be better wherever else you came from initially.”

“It already is.”  Amalthea put a hoof around Written Script, who turned towards her and gave her a kiss.  On the lips.

Twilight felt like she could cry.

Written Script seemed not to notice.  Amalthea went and looked at more books while Written turned and looked back at Twilight.  “Isn’t she wonderful?  She came around a few days ago after the incident with Metal Quill and it’s been amazing.  Heck, I’ve almost forgotten about the incident because of it.”

“Wait… you mean after you came home from the library?”  The day I gave you that notebook?

“The very same day.”

Twilight’s horn sparkled weakly.  You still have one more chance!  Ask him!  “Well, that’s… nice.  Anyways, I had something I wanted to ask you.”

Written Script smiled at her.  “What is it?”

He’s interested!  “Do you want to go with me to that concert that will be on the hills outside Ponyville two days from now?”

Written’s smile faded and he looked sad.  “I’m sorry, Twilight.  I’ve already told Amalthea I’d take her to show her around.  But you could come with us if you like.”

See what happens?  This is what happens when you skirt around the issue!  “N-No, I think I’ll be okay.”

“You’re welcome to come.  Amalthea’s just a friend.  You could still come along with us.”

“No.  I… I don’t want to intrude on anything.”

“Alright.”  Written turned to the beautiful white mare.  “Amalthea, are you ready to check out?”

“Just a minute!”  Amalthea scanned the titles a little longer before pulling a fourth out.  “Alright, now I’m ready.”

Twilight went over to the counter, making sure her date stamp was set correctly and something of a smile still rested on her face.  Twilight pulled the first book forward.  ‘A Basic History of Equestria’.  Common textbook in schools, occasionally referenced in master’s theses.  Straightforward and reliable.  Twilight pressed the stamp on the card gently taped in the book and pushed it aside, pulling forward the second book.  ‘Equestrian History as Presented in Literature’.  Oh, how I used to love going through that while I was reading other books…  The other two were stamped with the date and Twilight put the numbers down to mark them checked out before Amalthea put them in her saddlebags.

“Thank you very much!” Amalthea said.  “It’s nice to know someone else here knows how to appreciate good literature.”

As much as she wanted to, Twilight could not bring herself to hate her.  She can’t be that bad if she appreciates good books and learning.

Twilight scanned Amalthea’s ID card and told them when the books were due.  Written Script and Amalthea waved goodbye and left the library.  Twilight watched them as they walked away, nuzzling each other as they headed down the mostly empty streets.  Twilight felt the heat from the window hit her and she walked off towards the basement, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

Stupid, stupid Twilight, not telling him you like him.  Stupid, stupid Written for not being able to see that.

Twilight paused.  Something was off.  She turned back around and double checked the list of books Amalthea had just checked out.

‘A Basic History of Equestria.’

‘Equestrian History as Presented in Literature.’

‘Modern Equestrian History and Culture.’

‘A Brief Survey of Equestrian Government.’

“It’s almost like she’s not just new to Ponyville,” Twilight talked quietly to herself.  “It’s almost like she wasn’t even born in Equestria.  Not that ponies from foreign countries or kingdoms are rare, but those four titles are a bit more related than one would think for someone who is old enough to already have been through school.”

Something told Twilight that Written Script and Amalthea weren’t telling her the whole truth.