It was another crisp summer’s morning down in the valley where Ponyville resided. The bright sun began to peer over the mountains, giving way to the glistening grass moist with morning dew and the melody of the song birds chirping in delight of the arrival of the fresh morning. The squirrels and rabbits in the park began to stir, and even the paper-colt had begun his morning routes early, delivering the Ponyville papers in stacks, leaving them upon the door steps of all the shops. The crow of the roosters could be heard off in the distance, the farm animals back at Sweet Apple Acres beginning to rise with the sun.
It was all peaceful and quiet back at the library, where Twilight was stirring in her bed, still tucked in beneath the warm star decorated sheets. Her ears began twitching, picking up the song of the birds perched on a tree branch just outside her window where the sun shone in brightly. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times as she inhaled deeply, sitting up in bed and stretching out, reaching for the ceiling.
Among the song of the birds, she could also hear the quiet snoring of a small dragon at the foot of her bed. She crawled over to the side of her bed, spotting Spike curled up in his small cradle like bed, gripping the sheets tightly as he snored away. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh seeing Spike so wrapped up in his bed, reaching down and patting him lightly on the head, getting a groan out of him.
Just out the window, the sun climbed ever so slowly into the sky, Princess Celestia working her powerful magic to raise the sun on one of the finer mornings Ponyville had seen this summer. The town lit up beautifully, everything shining in the warm basking rays of the life giving sun. The mountains seemed to glow, shining bright like large beacons. Twilight sat on her bed, staring out the window and taking it all in. It was all very beautiful indeed…
Down the hall, in the dimly lit storage room on the shady side of the library, Wildfire tossed in his bed, turning over uncomfortably, over and over again, seeming to struggle. He caught himself up in his sheets, kicking and wailing his legs around as if he were running, trying to escape from something. He groaned, whining like a trapped animal, continuing to toss over and over, wrapping himself up even more in his sheets, soaked in cold sweat.
His eyes popped open, and he sat up in bed, yelping as his head shot off of his pillow. His wide eyes fixed forward in a ghastly expression. His heart and mind raced, labored breathing and sweaty body revealing an exhausted Wildfire. He hung his head and wiped the sweat from his brow, pulling his mashed up mane out of his face and up into a messy looking mohawk.
His breathing slowly calmed as he gasped for breath, clearing his dry throat as he turned his attention to the orange lit town just out his bedside window. The sun shown over the town, reflecting light back into his window as it cast the library’s shadow over the ground, projecting a soft glow into the interior of Wildfire’s room. The song birds chirped happily, and the neighbors had woken up and come outside to water their flowers, the tin watering can they used occasionally bouncing an extra sunbeam or two through the window.
“Just another day…” sighed Wildfire, wanting nothing more but to just fall back to the pillow, optimistic that his fall just might bind him to the bed for good.
Later that day, about noon, Twilight had gotten into reorganizing her supply cabinet on the second floor of the library. The extra scrolls and quills that she had been stockpiling had begun piling up uncontrollably, and forced her to put aside some time to make it tidy again. It only took her about a few minutes to return the shelves to a state that she could actually close the doors of the rustic green cabinet, no longer making itself an eye sore next to the stairs as ponies would come in.
Her time freed up, she began wondering what Wildfire had been doing the entire time. He’d been held up in his room all day, and hadn’t even come out for breakfast. Looking down that hall, she could see just a sliver of light where Wildfire’s door was cracked open. She could hardly hear anything from his room though, even with the library silent as ever. She made her way down the hall, coming to Wildfire’s door and knocking on it a few times, nudging the creaky wooden door slightly more open in the process.
“Wildfire?” spoke Twilight. “Are you still in there?”
“Yeah. Come in!” said Wildfire, voice slightly muffled by the door.
Twilight opened the door and walked in, immediately hit with the woody smell the room emitted. Even after cleaning it so much, she still couldn’t get used to the smell. She studied the room some, looking at what Wildfire had done with it. Twilight didn’t see much difference though. The shelves of the room were all empty, as were the dressers and closet, which hung wide open. She stepped into the room some more, looking over to the side. Most of his things lay piled by the door, still contained within the bags he arrived with. Other things that he was using either littered his desk or the floor around it. Though, the room did appear well kept otherwise; clean and dusted, although it looked like it could use another cleaning soon.
Twilight felt saddened by it. Seemed that he hadn’t quite settled in yet, and yet, he sit there on the floor at his desk, the shades pulled over the windows and a candle lighting his desk, letting in very little sunshine as he sat and read his book. Since the end of his and Rainbow Dash’s conflict, Twilight had rarely seen him, or talked to him. He hadn’t been quite as social since then either, saying very little, or nothing at all.
Wildfire had confined himself to exercising at the farm, as well as working at the farm some for a few extra bits, and studying in his room constantly, only coming out to eat, use the bathroom, or to leave and adventure around town by himself. He even sometimes flew out to the Everfree forest, a treacherous forest that was home to many beasts that no pony dared to face. He’d sometimes bring back a souvenir or some sort of trinket; crystals, plants, fruit, which were also littering the room, his desk, and the window sill where a few of the plants sat up in the sun.
Wildfire had remained entirely detached from everyone since everything settled, being able to finally settle in (for what it was worth), and then seeming to forget about everything else.
“Hey. You haven’t come out of your room yet.” said Twilight, still eyeballing the pile of things by the door.
“Yeah. I got caught up in this reading. I’ve been studying and restudying it… but I think I almost got it down.” said Wildfire, back turned to Twilight as his eyes remained glued to the pages of a rather thick book.
“Is this what you do every morning?” asked Twilight.
“Mostly.” said Wildfire, followed by a few seconds of silence.
Spike walked in, eyes wandering the room as he stood by Twilight. The sight of Wildfire stuck at his desk and all of his strewn about possessions seemed to confuse him more than concern him.
“Um, aren’t you worried that you might be spending a little too much time on the books?” asked Twilight, shrugging some.
“Yesh, look who’s talking…” said Spike half under his breath. Twilight scowled at him, earning back a silly false smile from the small dragon.
“I know you have a lot to study up on, but don’t you think you should take a break?” asked Twilight again, showing sincere concern for the orange pegasus. “It’s been almost three weeks since you even really got out.”
“Well… I don’t know. I really have to know this stuff like the back of my hoof. And besides, I’ve got a whole lot of other projects to get done anyway.” said Wildfire, finally breaking his stare with his book to look over his shoulder.
“Well if Princess Celestia is as lenient with you as she is with Spike and I, then you have all the time in the world to get everything done that you need to do.” said Twilight, smiling at Wildfire.
Wildfire lifted his head and stood up from sitting on the floor at his desk. He turned around, Twilight catching eye of Wildfire, her smile fading away slowly as Wildfire’s appearance brought up more concern for him. His thick, long, snow white mane was sloppily pulled away from his face, and his eyes looked a little buggy with a pair of dark circles residing under them.
“You think so?” said Wildfire, his tired expression a hard one to read.
Twilight was a little terrified by Wildfire’s faded appearance, but she didn’t want to worry Wildfire, or offend him for being in such a state. With confidence, she replaced her kind smile, looking him square in the eye.
“Absolutely. Besides, making new friends here in Ponyville was put at the top of your priorities, right? That sounds like getting things done to me!” said Twilight.
“Well…” Wildfire looked to the floor, seeming somewhat ashamed.
“Come on. Take a break from this stuff, clear your mind, and get outside for a while. You look like you could use it.” said Twilight to the haggard looking Wildfire.
“Alright. After half a night of study I guess it couldn’t hurt.” said Wildfire with a sigh, seeming relieved.
“I’m gonna get cleaned up…”
“Ok!” said Twilight, promptly exiting Wildfire’s room, Spike lagging slightly behind her as they made their way back out into the library.
“What’s he been studying so hard for anyway?” asked Spike.
“I don’t know…” said Twilight, eyes to the floor in thought. “I remember one of his books was titled, “Basic Knight Code.””
“Wow.” said Spike. “Sounds pretty cool. He must be training to become one of Celestia’s knights or something!”
“Probably.” Twilight nodded. “Whatever it is though, it’s been causing him a lot of stress lately. And he said he needs to know his studies like the back of his hoof. Sounds like it is pretty... important...” said Twilight as she turned her head back down the hall, putting a curious emphasis on the word ‘important.’
