He Who Lets Light Fade

It was late afternoon in Ponyville, and the residents of the small town were going about their routines. The marketplace was brimming with activity, the colts and fillies were playing around in the park celebrating the end of the school day, and many adults were just sitting on benches enjoying the relaxation. However, in the Friendship Castle, things were much less than relaxing.

Twilight Sparkle was in the middle of a task she was desperate to complete. Hours of checking as many books in the library as she could, and she still had more than half to look at. She had already finished the Sci-fi section, and was, at the moment, reading through a rather large encyclopedia. Normally, his behavior would not be surprising at all, but the reason why she was doing this certainly was. After all, few things are as surprising as Leonard.

Leonard Knox, one of the 12 ponies she came to know as "The Heroes of Skaia", was visiting Twilight today. He took interest in the library within the castle, but while Twilight would love for somepony to lose themselves within the glory of reading, she was terrified. Leo was the Bard of Light, and Twilight knew that that meant knowledge and luck were destroyed around him. On his first day in Equestria, he told her that he didn't really affect knowledge with his power, but the thought of losing so many books was too much for Twilight to bear. Thankfully, he went to talk to Spike hours ago, something about helping him win over Rarity. She didn't want him to see what she was doing, as it would make it look like she didn't trust his word. She did, of course, but the mounting paranoia was eating away at her. Doing this helped with it, but now the sensation she felt was guilt.

Leo was a nice stallion, one who respected Twilight's wishes to not be treated like royalty by her friends. Plus, she couldn't deny he was handsome, though she had no attraction to him. The many mares of Ponyville certainly did, though, and pretty soon he was garnering attention from several of the attracted females, some of said attention bordering on the line of harassment. The last thing he needed was a friend who so openly welcomed him doubting him.

As she was about to open another tome, she heard voices coming closer. They were done, and would surely recognize the alicorn's frazzled appearance as something wrong, even if she put away all of the books with magic. Idea after idea flew through her head, but she couldn't think of a way to hide what she was doing. All she could do was sigh and face the music. The voices were clear enough for her to understand their conversation.

"...and THEN I give her the gem bouquet, right?"

"Yup. Trust me, kid, you do that and Rarity'll swoon faster than you can say-"

He didn't get to finish, as he opened the door and took note of the state of the library...and the librarian. Spike raised an eyebrow at the sight while Leo rubbed his eyes. Before either of them could speak, Twilight said "Spike, I need you to go to another part of the castle. I need to speak with Leonard."

Spike shrugged and left, while Leo raised one of HIS eyebrows. Twilight hadn't called him Leonard at all since the Heroes arrived, and if the movies were right, then using someone's proper name when they prefer a nickname meant something was wrong. Twilight gestured to a chair, which he sat down on. There was an awkward silence before he spoke. "...Twi, everything okay?"

"...no. No, I'm not."

Tears started forming in her eyes. "I TRIED, Leonard, but I just couldn't shake away the worry in the back of my mind. You gave me your word, and I STILL doubted you! I just...I had to check the books. I had to know that the knowledge in them didn't get destroyed. You have so much on your plate with the mares in town, and here I am-"

"Stop right there, Twi."

Leo's expression was one of concern. "Twilight, what made you think I had problems with any lady in Ponyville?"

Twilight was struck with disbelief. "Leonard, I practically betrayed you, and you care more about-"

"Twilight. Listen to me right now. I understand what you were afraid of, all right? Bards are Sburb's wild cards. The target of our abilities could change instantly. I could be so lucky monsters just die on their own without me I me doing squat one minute, but the next minute people around me could go straight stupid. I don't blame you for being cautious, but just know that I'll do everything I can to make sure that these pages are inked 'till they degrade away. Now, back to what I asked, please.”

Twilight was confused, but more relieved than anything else. Though, her confusion soon turned to his question. "They're crazy about you. I've seen some of them tailing you through the marketplace! How could you not have a problem?"

Leo chuckled and tapped his fedora. "Twi, I tip this thingy constantly. Back home, the girls went crazy over that. I wasn't really trying to flirt, but I guess I just liked their reactions. Before long, I was literally called the Sultan of Suave. I got used to the girls at school following me around and taking pictures of me. Some of them even tried to break into my locker room and take my clothes. Compared to that, what the ladies here are doing is nothing."

Twilight smiled for the first time in what seemed like hours to her. "I'm so glad you're comfortable here. And thanks for not getting mad at me, Leo."

Leo chuckled again. "There's the nickname. Looks like the movies were right. Who'da thunk it?"

"...wait, what? Sorry, can you repeat that last part?"

"'Who'da thunk it'? What's weird about that?"

"I think I'm losing brain cells trying to understand that."

"Woops. Might be the wild card factor. My bad."

The two just stared at each other before laughing, with Spike listening in from behind the door all the while, smiling at the whole situation before heading off to practice Leo's teachings.