Sky Weaver's Day in Ponyville

Chapter 1: Twilight Sparkle

Sky Weaver silently sulked as she followed the purple Alicorn to the Library. She was not looking forward to how this day was unfolding. A huge, sprawling, infinite world of possibilities presented to her, and she was going to spend the next few hours cooped up in a library? That wasn’t what she had in mind at all. Royal Blue would disagree too, probably. She was always preferred to explore the unknown firsthoof, and he knew that. There was so much of this town to see, and so many ponies to meet. Sky didn’t want to go straight back into some closed off place away from it all. Where was the adventure in that? Besides, reading anything from a book would be nowhere near as interesting as jumping straight into a far more immersive tale from her imagination.

Sky looked up with some surprise at the appearance of the library as it came into view. She was expecting something meticulous and concrete, like she would see in her hometown of Manehatten. But the library blended in very much with the quaint atmosphere that Ponyville gave off. It even looked kind of cool. Some of Sky’s stories had involved houses built into trees, homes to mighty warriors, with keen attunement to the forces of Nature. Though it wasn’t how she’d imagine a treehouse to look like, it was nice to see one for real. Inspiring, even. Still, that wasn’t going to change the fact that it was just a boring old library inside, full of boring old books that she knew wouldn’t interest her in the slightest.

Twilight’s horn glowed, and a purple aura encircled the entire door. It obediently swung open, and the mares entered. “Spike! We have a visitor!” Twilight called out.

The little dragon came down the stairs. “Oh hey, Twilight! Is it the new mare in Ponyville you mentioned earlier today?” Spike asked.

Suddenly a huge gasp of excitement came from Sky, which for some reason reminded Twilight of Pinkie Pie. Spike froze in his tracks and his pupils shrank in shock as the Pegasus arched her back and pointed her whole body directly at him, leaning on the tips of her front hooves and fluttering her wings to balance, eyes wide and twinkling.

“WHAT. IS. THAT?!” she squeaked in awe.

“Um... that’s my assistant. Spike. He’s a baby dragon,” Twilight said blankly.

“I’ve never seen a baby dragon before...” Sky burbled, her voice distant, like she was in a trance. She slowly walked across the library towards the reptile, her awestruck gaze and huge open smile unfaltering.

“T-Twilight...” Spike shuddered. “W-What’s happening?”

Twilight struggled to find the words. “I’m... pretty sure she’s just being friendly. In her own way.”

“You don’t sound too sure...” Spike gulped. Then Sky leapt into the air, picking up the baby dragon in her hooves and nuzzling him affectionately as she stayed in midair.

“AWWWWW!!! HE’S SOOO ADOWABLE!!!” she gushed. Spike was still in shock – it had certainly been a while since a mare had given him so much attention, but it was really too much, too soon.

Twilight giggled a little. “Okay, Sky. Settle down. At least introduce yourself first,” she instructed.

Sky Weaver paused, then obediently lowered herself down, carefully setting Spike down.

“Aww, I’m sowwy, widdle guy,” she soothed, patting him on the head, just a little too hard. “My name is Sky Weaver! I’m new here and you’re the first dragon I’ve met EVER! Aren’t you a pwecious widdle thingy, huh?!”

“Y-yeah! Okay!” Spike said a little impatiently, grabbing Sky’s hoof and taking her by surprise. “I’m not little, though,” he stressed, taking a step back from the Pegasus, who was now slightly saddened.

“I guess he’s not so much a baby anymore,” Twilight in Spike's defense. “Spike, why don’t you go back to your afternoon chores?”

“Alright, Twilight. Uh, it was nice to meet you too, Sky,” he said, plodding back upstairs. “Ugh! Gee, that was awkward!” Sky heard him say, and her expression sank further.

“I know you meant well, but you do need to respect other ponies’ personal space,” Twilight explained.

“There’s nothing wrong with hugs,” Sky grumbled, almost to herself. “If I had a little dragon, I wouldn’t make him do chores. I would get him a little kennel, and cuddle him everyday, take him for walks and feed him... whatever it is dragons eat.”

“I’m sure you would – you seem a kind and loving pony. Anyway, welcome to the Golden Oaks! I’ll give you a guided tour if you like!” The alicorn smiled and trotted along the shelves with an eager spring in her step, failing to let Sky raise her hoof to object. “The non-fiction section is right here,” Twilight said, walking over to the shelves closest to the door. “All you ever need to know about Ponyville – or indeed, any other part of Equestria – is right here! So tell me – what would you like to know more about?” She grinned at Sky Weaver.

The pegasus was quiet for a moment. “...I don’t really wanna read,” she said plainly.

Twilight scratched an ear. “Come again?” she smiled politely, masking her confusion.

“I dunno. Like, if I wanted to know more about Ponyville, why don’t I go and see it for myself?”

“...I guess,” Twilight admitted, with great difficulty. “But it’s all here, specially collected, arranged and compiled for your convenience... does the idea of all this information being here in one spot just not captivate you?” Twilight questioned.

Sky put a hoof to her chin in thought for a beat. “Nope,” she eventually replied matter-of-factly.

Twilight’s bafflement did not abate. “...But why not?!” she whined, almost offended.

“I’m bored, now,” Sky said, ignoring the question. “What’s your little dragon doing now?” she asked, making her way upstairs, not allowing Twilight the time to reply.

“Sky! You can’t go up there!” Twilight remonstrated, causing Sky to halt.

“I thought you wanted to show me around,” Sky replied, indignantly.

“Yes, I did,” Twilight stated firmly. “Down here, where the books are? Please don’t wander off like that. Especially into another pony’s room.”

“But...” Sky began, but she didn’t want to cross the purple alicorn. “Alright, I’m sorry.” She bowed her head apologetically, morosely coming back down the stairs. “Royal Blue says I have a short attention span.”

Twilight let out a little sigh. “It’s alright, not to worry. Now, I’m sure there’s something here that’ll catch your eye. You’d like something more… adventurous, right?” Sky’s ears perked up, and she nodded, albeit hesitantly.

“Well, I’ve got something here that might suit you.” She used her magic to effortlessly levitate a large encyclopaedia from the top shelf and bringing it in front of Sky, who recoiled at the sheer size of it. “Completely factual accounts of the flora and fauna from all around Equestria, from real biologists, travellers, and legend seekers, all one hundred percent scientifically confirmed! Isn’t that wonderful?” Twilight beamed, eyes glimmering.

Sky merely stood with an awkward frown, eyes dancing between the book and Twilight.

“Oh, come on, I have to be getting warmer here,” Twilight sighed. “It’s all to do with the weird and wonderful.”

“Yeah… I guess,” Sky conceded. “You just didn’t make it sound very interesting.”

“So, you’d prefer something fictional and fantastical?” Twilight asked, with some exasperation in her voice.

“Yeah, that’s more what I like,” Sky smiled innocently.

Twilight took a moment to regain her composure. “Great! Well, I suppose you can still learn something from a fictional tale. The characters and events aren’t real, but underneath all that, very real ideas, emotions, and worldviews are conveyed.” She walked over to yet another bookshelf. “You know, one particular friend of mine wasn’t interested in books at all. She called me an egghead for the longest time. But this book really changed her way of thinking. Maybe you should give this one a chance, too.”

Sky looked at the book. It had a colorful cover for starters, and an action-packed scene with a very heroic-looking yellow mare as the centerpiece. Sky read out the title in big bold lettering. “’Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?’ Eh, doesn’t look too bad...” she sighed, without even opening it.

“Oh, I highly recommend it!” Twilight grinned. “Go ahead, you can take that one out right now! If you like it, there’s plenty more where that came from. I own every book in the series.”

Sky Weaver took another look at the book, giving a frown. “That sounds like a lot of reading to get through.” She offered the book back to Twilight. “Nah. Not interested. I like my stories better.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. She wasn’t getting anywhere with this mare. She inhaled deeply, containing her frustration. “Alright, Sky Weaver. What books do you have? I can get you more – I’ve got books of every genre, romance, mystery, horror–”

“No! Not books! I mean my stories!” Sky repeated. “That... that I make.”

Twilight paused. “Ohhhhh! You’re a writer! I’m so very sorry about that, I... didn’t take you for one. Why didn’t you say sooner? Of course you don’t have time to read other ponies’ stories all day. How many do you have so far?”

“Oh, hundreds,” Sky said plainly.

Twilight’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “Really?! I’d love to read them!” she said enthusiastically.

“Oh, I don’t write them down. That’d take too long,” Sky dismissed.

Twilight stammered. “W...what? How do... how do you remember them all, then? And don’t you want to share them with somepony else at some point? Or keep a record of your best works to look back on?” Twilight asked with some concern.

“I can remember all my favourite stories just fine. And other ponies...” Sky fumbled. “...they wouldn’t be interested.”

“Nonsense,” Twilight reassured. “I bet there’s something you can share with me.”

Sky thought for a while. “Okay, okay,” she started excitedly. “I came up with this character, and it was the funniest thing ever. He was a goblin named Spindletrick, and he talked like the dumbest thing ever! Instead of saying hello, he’d be like ‘OH HAI, HOW YOU DO?’” She began laughing. “And one time... he started really annoying the main character, so she kicked him, and he went ‘OH NOES, JOU KEEKED MEH IN DA FACE!!!’” She burst out laughing. Her laughter awkwardly petered out when she looked back at Twilight, who was eyeing her with confusion.

“That’s not very funny. You’ve created a character that gets mocked for his lack of education? That’s kind of tragic.” Twilight stated.

“But... but it’s supposed to be funny...” Sky replied, disheartened.

“I just don’t think it is. Think about it. How are you supposed to convey his broken speech patterns in written prose? That would read HORRIBLY to anypony.” Twilight continued.

“But, I--”

“You’re basically deconstructing our beautiful spoken language into a gutteral, phonetic mess. That’s not fun for ANYpony.”

“I don’t even understand what you’re saying, but stop it!” Sky whined, stamping a hoof.

“Look, I’m just saying, there are things you have to consider...” Twilight was determined to make her point, but momentarily lapsed out of her lecture to notice that Sky Weaver had left the room.

Twilight let out an audible groan. This mare was unbelievable. Did she just wander off, again, and in the middle of her speaking? Who DOES that? Her behaviour was inconsiderate, confusing, and contradictory. If she had such a creative mind, why wasn’t it receptive? Why would she turn away so many sources of inspiration that the library had to offer? It angered Twilight. The least she could do is stay still for long enough to receive some honest criticism on the way she conducted herself. Was she just not interested in that? Was she living in her own little bubble where the thoughts and opinions of others meant nothing to her? Twilight sighed and tried to calm down – she was getting ahead of herself. Surely it couldn’t get much worse. All she needed was to give Sky one more chance to prove that she was a sensible, or at the very least, a reasonable pony, and a compromise could be reached.

Twilight looked in the kitchen, where she found Sky, admiring a toaster.

“Toaster.” Sky seemed to be conversing with it. “Toaster!” She repeated joyously, then started giggling. “Hehe, it’s such a funny word! It’s just one of those words that sounds funny.” She glanced around the kitchen, far more excitedly than she had been in the main room. “Ooh! Cupboard!” she squealed, pointing to one. “There’s another word!” She giggled gleefully while Twilight stood in the doorway looking completely bumfuzzled. “Wow. It’s WAY more interesting in here than it is back out there, with all those silly books!” She said to herself, completely unaware of Twilight’s presence.

At this point, Twilight had had enough. She glared at Sky Weaver, a fiery flash of frustration in her eyes, and she let it all out, her voice virtually reaching a scream. “WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” she reprimanded. “YOU ARE ABSURD! Does hundreds of years of the combined knowledge of Equestria’s greatest minds mean so little to you? Do you think we got anywhere as a species by doing whatever the heck we wanted, living in our own little worlds separate from reality, and making up stories?! No! We sat, and we learned! We documented everything that we learned! Every idea, invention and innovation we had over the course of our history was preserved for future generations, and it’s what got us where we are today! You owe more to the knowledge of the past than you could ever imagine! So don’t come into my library with such flagrant disregard for the very foundation of our existence!!”

Twilight’s rage smouldered as she blew hot gusts of air from her nostrils. As the red began to subside, she suddenly took notice of Sky’s expression. Her eyes were wide and empty like black holes, void of all but a deep regret. Twilight could already see that tears were forming as Sky looked back at her, looking as though she felt she had committed the most heinous sin in Equestria. She started to give out a piercing, sorrowful whine that devolved into a bout of helpless sobbing.

“Oh. Oh, dear...” Twilight mumbled. A few moments passed as she desperately searched for a way to reassure the young mare in her kitchen who was now crying uncontrollably. Twilight thought she’d never find herself in this kind of situation – to have hurt another pony so deeply, and she suddenly felt horrible.

“Spike!” she called out urgently. “Please bring some tissues... and put on some tea... No! I’ll make the tea.” She looked to the emotionally distraught Pegasus, and her ears flopped back with guilt. “Hey... hey now, I-I’m sorry... just... come here. Please.”

Sky Weaver continued to bawl as she sat on one of Twilight’s kitchen chairs, holding Spike tightly as though he were a squeezy plush toy, no small amount of tears splashing onto his head and snaking down in-between his scales.

“Twilight!” he wheezed, as he was being constricted by the upset pegasus. “What did you do?!”

“I don’t need reminding, Spike,” Twilight muttered shamefully. “And neither does she. Just stay with her, okay?”

“I don’t know how much longer I can last!” he spluttered.

Twilight, ignoring him, placed two cups of herbal tea on the kitchen table, and took a seat. “Sky, I am so very, deeply sorry for what I said,” she apologised. “It was wrong for me to criticize you so harshly. Look, here’s some tea. Let’s talk this over like responsible ponies.”

Sky glanced towards the table. She caught a waft of soothing cinnamon, and it cast her mind back to the delicious baked goods that Royal Blue would bring home every so often. She felt herself easing through the reminiscence, and as a result, loosened her grip on Spike, who gasped for breath. She took a deep breath, and pulled her chair a little closer to the table, keeping her head down, but her eyes flashed up to nearly meet with Twilight’s. They were stained a harsh red from all the crying. Twilight smiled sympathetically to her, glad to finally see her face.

Sky’s expression still wore a measure of pain. “I’m really sorry, too...” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight consoled her. “It’s my fault for overreacting. Look, Sky, it’s very clear that we have our differences.”

“Yeah. You’re smart, and I’m just a nuisance. You said it – I do live in my own little world. That’s the whole reason Royal Blue sent me here. I guess I’m not welcome here either...” she sobbed.

“Don’t be silly,” Twilight said. “Royal Blue cares deeply about you, that’s obvious. It was a great idea of his to send you here to meet us. I mean, I know we didn’t kick things off in the best way... but, you’ve still got the whole day ahead of you. I don’t want to have spoilt it for you.”

“So...” Sky sniffed. “Do you forgive me?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course I do.” She went to take a sip of tea.

Sky Weaver smiled. “I forgive you, too.” Twilight was jolted by Sky giving her a joyous hug, which caused her mug of tea to spill. “Thank you, Twilight!” the Pegasus squeaked, nuzzling her. She then noticed Twilight’s drink, and her expression sank back into one of deep apology, but Twilight calmly patted her on the shoulder.

“Never mind...” she sighed.

“You know, you really don’t have to,” Twilight said as they came back into the library.

“No, I have to repay you somehow for the way I acted,” Sky insisted, her cheerfulness returned. “I’m gonna read one of these books if it takes me a year!”

“Not a fast reader, then?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah... I can never stay focused long enough to get through a whole book. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like books, but... it’s so difficult for me,” Sky explained with a little shame.

“Ohh. Well, it’s never too late to start. Pick something easy,” Twilight soothed.

“What’s this?” Sky Weaver said suddenly, having picked out a book from a lower shelf. It had an amusing comic book-like cover. “AquaPony! Saving the world with his mighty command over fish?” She laughed heartily from the title of the book. “Fish! Now that is a really funny sounding word! That sounds like a blast! Ooh! Here’s another one! The 5000-Year Eternal War of the Frigid Realm of Terror? Best. Title. EVER!!!”

Twilight saw that Sky had found her way to the Young Readers section, and thought not to comment.

“Ooh, they have PICTURES! And not even that much to read!” Sky exclaimed excitedly.

“They’re comic books!” the Alicorn explained.

“Oh, wow! This one looks really cool!” she giggled. She looked back at Twilight with a frown. “This isn’t a grown-up’s book, though. I guess you hoped I’d like something more mature.”

“Oh, Sky, don’t worry,” Twilight said. “You don’t have to like grown-up books. Hey... you don’t even have to like books at all – but it’s good that you’re giving them a chance. Just do what makes you happy.”

“R...r-really?!” Sky’s expression lit up. Before Twilight could respond, she was caught in a surprisingly powerful hug.

“Yay! We CAN be friends!” Sky cried in delight. Twilight was caught offguard, but didn’t resist the cuddle.

“Of course,” Twilight sighed, placing a hoof on Sky Weaver’s shoulder to gently return the gesture. “Well, Sky, if there’s anything you need to ask about in future, I’ll be here. So drop by again soon, okay?”

“I will!” Sky beamed. “Thank you again!”

“Also, I bet Spike will be happy to help you if you ever want one of your stories written out. He writes all my letters for me, and he’s always eager to make himself useful.”

“Aww, that’d be sho shweet of him!” Sky blushed. “I mean... sure. And I’ll treat him nice next time.”

“So, we’re good?” Twilight smiled.

“We’re great! Thanks, Twilight!” Sky Weaver called as she made her way towards the door.

She stepped out into the big outside world – the center of Ponyville. She noted how it was far from what she had expected, and was very different from all of her fantasy worlds. All the thousands of characters that she had created in her mind all talked and interacted with one another, but actually talking and interacting with other real ponies was honestly a stranger experience than any kind of bizarre thing she could invent. She wasn’t worried, however. She had laughed, she had cried – today had already shown itself to be just the beginning of a truly fantastic adventure.