Beginning

Part 5, Beginning
By TAB

Twilight trotted into the library’s relatively small kitchen, the pleasant smell of coffee and pancakes wafting through the air. As she came in, a small dragon wearing a yellow apron manned the stove, years of experience with cooking coming into play as he finished preparing their breakfast. Laying on the cabinet beside him was Twilight’s usual breakfast, consisting of a huge stack of pancakes, grilled hay, and three mugs of daffodil coffee.

“Good morning Spike, the breakfast smells delicious.” The lavender unicorn greeted as she trotted into the room, a warm smile crossing her face as she sniffed at the appetizing aroma.

“Aw thanks Twilight,“ The purple dragon beamed with pride, flipping the last pancake onto the stack sitting beside the stove. Twilight levitated the plate of flapjacks and hay. Spike grabbed the two mugs as he ambled back to the table where Twilight was now sitting.

The sound of clattering silverware quickly filled the small room, the two digging into the pile of food. They continued eating for a bit before Spike decided to strike up a conversation.

“So Twilight,” He began, grabbing Twilight’s attention, “how was the meteor shower last night?”

“Oh, it was fine.” She replied in her best nonchalant tone.

“Just fine? You were excited about it for weeks!” The young dragon reminded her, recalling how giddy the mare was about Luna’s big meteor shower. Twilight knew that Spike was right about her acting like a little schoolfilly in anticipation. Heck, even she would have a hard time forgetting her previous actions if she was Spike.

“Oh, I thought it was nothing big. Honestly, I thought it would be better.” Twilight quickly lied, trying to dissuade the dragon from asking further questions. In reality, she had completely forgotten about the shower on account of the letter she had received the other day. Evidenced by the frown on his face, however, Spike appeared to remain skeptical about her claim.

“Well, that’s definitely what I was not expecting to hear...” Spike half-grumbled.

"I know Spike, I was definitely expecting better." Twilight continued, putting on her best fake smile to complement her lie.

Spike seemed to believe her ploy and they continued eating in an uncharacteristic silence. Twilight began eating a bit more quickly, trying her best to get out of the kitchen quickly. She actually began to think she was in the clear until Spike decided to try and strike up a conversation again.

"Anything else interesting happen last night? I heard you come in late last night."

"Oh, I just stayed out a bit longer than I planned to last night." She replied, trying her best to dispel whatever uncertainty might be lingering in her voice.

"Oh, okay then." Spike seemed to take the bait and dropped any further questions. The pair finished their breakfast in silence, ending with them cleaning up the leftovers from their breakfast.

While Twilight was glad breakfast was over, she still felt bad that she had to lie to her assistant. A little part of the nerd in her also berated her for missing the meteor shower. However, the letter still held Twilight's mind, and she’d have time to worry about the shower later.

Trotting out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee in her magical grip, Twilgiht contemplated her problem. Obviously, this was going to take a lot more than just running up to the stallions she selected and asking them if they had written the letter or not. The librarian knew rumors would spread like wildfire if she did that, and she certainly didn’t need gossipers breathing down her neck for the morbid details.

Making her way back into her study, she sat down in her chair. She took a moment to sip at her coffee as she pondered over what she would do next.

Write an anonymous letter back? No, too risky...

How about spying on them? No, you know that’s wrong, Twilight... Her mind debated back and forth with ideas, each one being shot down with a thorough application of logic.

How about a test? Twilight put a hoof on her chin in consideration. It was quick and discreet, perfect for what the mare had in mind. She could easily mask it as a survey of some sort and very few ponies would question it. She certainly had very few other options.

In a sudden whirlwind of magic, Twilight brought the letter, a stack of paper, and several quills in front of her. This was simple task of rewording the letter to show she had gotten it. Whoever had written it would instantly get what she was implying.

Or at least she hoped. Honestly, Twilight had no idea how this was going to work. She had no idea how love worked, or how she could work in a relationship. Sure she had friends, but they were totally different from having a special somepony. Twilight buried her head in her hooves. She was full of conflicting emotions. Happy, sad, frustrated, relaxed, embarrassed and most surprisingly, confident. She didn’t know why, but something in her felt like this was it.

She sat up again, a strange mix confidence and adrenaline flowing as she grabbed her writing materials with magic. She began writing. It was barebones three questions but they could easily buffeted by more mundane questions befitting of a survey. She began writing again. Twilight was pleased with the results. It was a quick and easy six questions and could easily pass it off as a quick survey. Twilight let a deep breath; she felt nervous but great.

Twilight stepped into the fresh air of Ponyville, taking a brief moment to take a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day and she knew it. Her saddlebags glowed with magic as she quadruple checked for her test. Ensuring it was still in its comfortable resting place, she set out for her quest.

The park across from Twilight’s home was bustling with activity, full of ponies enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Some seemed to be enjoying picnics, while others opted for a leisurely walk in the warm sunlight. Twilight still felt a slight gnawing in her gut as she walked, but the combination of her newfound bravado and the warm rays of the sun helped her put it off. She continued a bit on further into town before pulling her list out of her saddlebags.

The first stallion on her list was Northern Lights, a relatively well-known inventor. She knew him for his simplistic but efficient designs in all aspects of life. He had also come to the library more than a few times to check out research materials for his projects.

Lucky for Twilight, Northern’s workshop, which doubled as his home, wasn't far from where she was now. Twilight quickly returned the list to where its place back in her saddlebags and set out with her new destination in mind.

The trip to his shop was short and uneventful and Twilight soon found herself in front of the chosen building. The workshop was quite aways larger than the average Ponyvillian home, and decorated the usual bright pink and vanilla of the buildings around it. An overhang jutted out precariously on the right side of the structure, covered in a seemingly random arrangement of items; ranging from telescopes to artistic utensils and even a strange object with a canvas draped over it.

Twilight looked at the building one more time. Her earlier rush of adrenaline was already wearing off and a malicious second thought kicked into her head. She would choke, obviously. Make a foolish move and embarrass herself in front of the whole town. She zoned out on the spot, as increasingly ridiculous and warped scenarios passing through her mind as she wandered her own thoughts.

A clapping hoof brought her back to attention.

“Twilgiht, are you alright?” Twilight refocused her vision, bringing the new pony into view in front of her. The front of his hazelnut brown coat was stained black with ash, topped a barely tossed together red and blue mane led Twilight to wonder what had happened to the unfortunate stallion.

“What happened to...” Twilight tapered off her sentence, motioning with a hoof at the mess on Northern.

“Oh this?” He started, taking a glance at his ruined coat, “It turns out one of my new assistants apparently has a knack for blowing things apart that would rather like to remain whole.” He took a moment to glare back into his shop.

“Oh. Well, if it’s not too much of a bother, would you mind taking a survey? I could always come back if this is a bad time." Twilight backed away slightly, indicating her intentions.

"Considering my latest project just became a fireworks display, I figure I have some free time. Come inside." Northern turned around, holding open the door for Twilight to enter. She stepped inside, with Northern following close behind.

The room Twilight stepped into was surprisingly not unlike a regular shop. Various objects lined the walls, filling up nearly every inch of space on the shelves lining the walls. In the back, a simple counter lay, with a myriad of other tools and a register lying atop it. Behind the counter, a door leading to some unseen part of the building lay. Northern’s voice picked up from behind Twilight as she overlooked the shop.

“Would you prefer if we talked in the front or the back?”

Twilight’s mind went racing at the possible responses to his question. Yes. No. Do you love me? Another five thousand responses ran through her head as she contemplated her options. Giving herself seemingly the thousandth mental slap that day, she reigned in her thoughts into something coherent.

“The front.”

“Alright then, hit me.”

Without another delay, Twilight began her spiel of questions.

How do you feel about writing?

What are your favorite hobbies?

Where do spend most of your time?

Who would you consider to be a good friend?

A few more questions fleshed out the conversation between the two, although Twilight had already written him off as a possibility. As the conversation continued, Twilight let her mind wander again. What if she didn’t find anyone who wrote the letter? In all honesty, she didn’t know what she would do.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be something she’d regret.

Twilight stepped out of Northern’s shop, scratching the stallion’s name off of her list as she walked. Only nine more to go, today is going to be a long day...

Author's Note

I knew I was going to finish this sometime soon. Onward to the next chapter!