Series of Firstsby themouthofmushChaptersAt First Glance?First ThoughtsFirst Mistake of Many?Some Kind of First ImpressionCan We Go For a Second Chance?At First Glance?Chapter 1—At First Glance? It was a typically average day in Ponyville—the sky was clear with a hint of clouds coming in later on in the day, birds were flying about, doing their usual bird things, and the townsponies were going about their daily routines. Two such ponies, a steel blue coated pegasus stallion with slightly darker than blue mane and tail and an earth pony stallion with a grey coat and mane and tail that were black with streaks of grey, were walking aimlessly around town, the pegasus helping his friend catch up on recent events. “And that’s what happened while you were away Grey.” “Seriously? I just had to be out of town when all of the cool things happened, huh.” I said as I let out a sigh. “Hey, hey. That’s not entir....yeah, yeah you did.” I looked at my friend’s blue eyes. “Eh, oh well. Not like I can go back and be here when it happened, huh Icy. Well, at least not yet.” He let out a small chuckle and shook his head. “Still trying to figure that out, aren’t you. I keep telling you that it’s an impossible feat you got there.” “And I keep telling you that I’m sure I can find a spell that will allow me to do that.” “And I keep telling you that even if there was, you can’t do it. You don’t have the horn needed for it.” The two of us stared each other down, not once stopping or looking around for any possible obstacles that could get in our way. The stare down lasted for a minute before the both of us stopped and laughed our flanks off. I’m sure that any of the immediate surrounding ponies might have thought of us mad, but it didn’t bother us. “Oh, I needed that,” Icy said as he wiped away a tear with his wing, the laugh still present in his voice. “That’s why I’m here, buddy boy.” I told him with a grin, putting one of my hooves around his neck. “Forget about what I do to make sure I'm not homeless; I'm here for your daily dose of stupidity.” He rolled his eyes and removed my hoof. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say.” I was going to say something, but my stomach interrupted me. I looked at Icy and saw his smug little grin. “I swear, dude. If you even go there, I’m going to hit you.” His grin just seemed to get a little smugger. “Oh, I would never say anything about your rumbling tummy.” “I mean it. I don’t care if we are buds, I’ll hurt you.” “I’m not going to say anything about your stomach, scouts honor.” “You promise?” He nodded his head, a sigh of relieve escaping me. “Though, if I did have to say anything right now,” - he started, completely ignoring me staring him down - “it would have to be how much you look like a cheery, which is a pretty impressive thing for y-“ He dodged the punch I aimed for him and started to trot away, laughing as he went. “You’re dead!” I yelled as I raced after him. The race, as wonderfully intense as it was, didn’t last longer than what was probably two minutes before a loud “QUIET!” stopped him in his tracks and caused me to collide into him (for a guy who looks like mostly sticks, fur, and feathers, it felt like I ran into a rock). The both of us hit the ground hard and couldn’t get up for a bit, neither of us moving because of the pain. I slowly got to my shaky feet and shook my head. “Well, that hurt.” “Y-yeah,” Icy said as he tried to get up. “You need any-“ “No, I got it.” I looked at him for a bit then looked around us. “Who you think yelled that out? It didn’t sound like anypony that I kn-“ I couldn’t help but stare at her. Her light purple coat that seemed to brighten up the area; the way her dark indigo hair flowed with the wind; her purple eyes that were filled with knowledge, excitement, wonder, and love for the world. I wasn’t sure what she was saying to her friends-she probably had an incredibly cute voice-or for how long I was staring, but I did come out of it with a hard smack to the back of my head. I turned around and saw that Icy was the one who hit me. “Hey! What was tha-“ “Can you stop drooling and pick up your jaw already?” I was taken back a little bit by what he said, so much so that I actually checked if I was drooling. “I’m not drooling.” “You could have fooled me. You’re just lucky she didn’t notice you were ogling her like that.” “I w-wasn’t....” He rolled his eyes. “Really? Then how do you explain that your face is an apple now.” I went to say something but shut my mouth right away, kicking a bit at the dirt beneath me. Icy let out a sigh as he placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry for saying that okay. I didn’t mean anything against you when I said it.” He removed his hoof. “If I knew you were going to act like that, I wouldn’t have said anything.” After a slight awkward silence, I looked back to where she was, but she was long gone by now. “Icy...” “Yeah?” “Who...who was that?” “Huh? You mean you didn’t notice Pinkie?” “No, not Pinkie; or Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, or Rainbow. That unicorn mare that was with them.” “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met her yet. She’s the new mare in town. Moved here a little bit before the whole Nightmare Moon thing went down. Heard Pinkie say that she is from Canterlot. I think she said her name is Twilight...something.” Icy kept on talking for a while, but none of it registered as I kept looking at where she was. “Twilight........” That’s a pretty name. First ThoughtsChapter 2—First Thoughts “You know, for all its worth, this night view almost makes up for the party.” Thin clouds stretched across the late summer’s midnight blue sky while lights were being cast from the moon and the stars above, the flickering candles in the houses below, turning them into moving “living” swirls of blues and purples. Add to that the ability to look upon the horizon and the mighty rise of the sun and see all of the plains, the vibrant and alive forests, and majestic mountains that made up this nation. The ability to feel the breeze, both chilly and strong, really did end up to my claim. The sound of an over the top fake laugh made me turn around and see the party that was going on inside, the ponies inside dressed or groomed to what society thought of as perfect and the norm for the upper crust, their movements, the subtle and overt, all meant to draw attention to themselves, to show how much above the “riff raff” they were. I looked down at what I was wearing-a black tuxedo vest over a dark grey dress shirt with a small checkered dicky of shades of light blue-and just felt more out than I did a minute okay. A sigh escaped as I continued to watch the upper crust. “Why.....why was I invited to a party like this...to a party that I have no reason to be at in the first place?” I turned back around and leaned on the balcony’s railing, looking nowhere in particular. “If this was somepony’s version of a joke, I don’t like it.” I shook my head and rested it on the railing. “There is no reason somepony like me should be at this sort of thing unless I was working it, as a waiter or something.” The sound of the orchestra got loud then quieted down to what it was before. “Guess I should just end up going home.” “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I walk in on you talking with somepony?” a voice asked me from behind. I turned around and went to say something when my mind sort of fizzled out, my forehooves nearly giving out. I saw a beautiful unicorn, purple coat brushed to perfection. Her glittering lilac eyes, which brimmed with concern, were highlighted with just the hint of eyeliner. Her dark indigo mane, with its singular stripes of violet and rose, was pulled into a ponytail, held together by small polished pearls. A purple diamond adorned her ear, shining against the light of the party. A bow of sparkly sequins was tucked behind her left ear, a red heart in the middle. She wore a simple dress that hugged her flank just enough to make my heart pitter patter a bit faster. The dress itself was a dark pink, same as her mane. On top of it was another layer of that glossy sequins, another bit around her neck like a scarf. Her fore-hooves were encased in more seqins, a small click clack every time she walked. “Greyscale?” “T-t-t-twilight...” The two of us just looked at each other, time seeming to come to a halt and moving at the speed of sound, at the same time, before she coughed into her hoof. “Y-you look nice,” she told me as she made her way next to me. ‘Nice.’ What does she mean by that? “T-thanks...but I’m sure there are ponies out there that could pull off the look better.” “Maybe, but they aren’t here at the ball, are they?” She flashed me a smile that made my heart beat a little faster. I turned to look out onto the night sky, hoping that there wasn’t enough light to show off the warmness of my face. “I guess that’s true.” Silence hang between us as we just watched the night sky and the view laid out in front of us. “This is a pretty impressive view,” she said, possibly to no pony in particular even though I was the only other pony there. “Mhmm, you could almost see the edge of the Andromeda cluster from here. The clouds just get in the way.” “You know where the Andromeda cluster is?” she asked me, completely shocked that I knew. “Well, kind of. I’m not an astronomer, but I can vaguely guess where it should be right about now. It’s only just the middle of summer.” I thought I saw her inch closer to me in the corner of my eye, but it could have been me seeing shadows. “Where did you learn how to find it?” “Well, a lot of sources actually: a few star charts, some old astronomy scroll, went to a few lectures...I think I might have sent a few letters to a few astronomers to see if they could share some of their notes to see if what I found matched with what they found.” She giggled a little. “That’s some pretty thorough field work there.” I ran a hoof through my mane. “W-well, I want to a renowned researcher someday. Guess it helps to get those types of habits as soon as possible.” We kept looking at the stars, each of us lost in our minds. “Grey?” I looked at her—When did she get so close?—and gave her my attention. “Yeah?” “How come you are out here on the balcony instead of inside with the party?” “Oh...that...” “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think that-“ “Oh, no. I’m not out because of something that happened or because of somepony.” “You aren’t?” “No...” Guess I’m telling her this, huh. “I’m out here because...I don’t belong at a party like this as a guest. I’m grateful for being here and everything, but I’m not...one of them. I’m not a part of the upper crust. I’m a ‘commoner,’ a pony who works for a living. Even if I’d tried, really, really tried, I’d never fit in, no matter what.” I looked down at my hooves, not really sure why I did. “I got my ticket either through accident or for somepony’s joke.” “...what if I gave you the ticket?” I didn’t move, trying to process what she told me. Why would she give me a ticket? That had to be a lie, right? D-does she... “I gave you the ticket because I thought we could have an enjoyable time, just the two of us...I haven’t seen you in a while and I thought that by inviting you here...” “Twilight...” “But you’re out here, not enjoying the ball...I thought, I thought that we could...but other ponies kept pulling me aside, kept talking to me, when all I wanted was to...” I held her against me, trying to calm her down a little. “It’s okay Twilight. It’s not your fault.” She buried her face in my shoulder. “You didn’t know that any of those was going to happen. You couldn’t have known.” I nuzzled the top of her head a little. “So, please, don’t blame yourself okay.” We stayed like that, in each other’s embrace, until Twilight pulled away, having calmed down a little. “T-thank you.” I smiled at her. “I should be the one thanking you. You invited to this ball just so we could hang out a little bit. Never met a pony who’d do that for me,” I told her as I chuckled a little. “Besides, enjoying the view with you makes it all worthwhile.” She giggled a little, earning a smile from me. “Greyscale.” “Yeah?” “Snap out of it.” “What?” I asked her. Did I hear her wrong or something? “I said to snap out of it.” “Snap out of what?” She glared at me. “Snap out of it!” Whack! Author's Note Feel like I should explain this part. It's a daydream. He saw a cute looking mare with a star based cutie mark who was from Canterlot. Grey believes that she might be an astronomer. So, daydream around that thought. First Mistake of Many?Chapter 3—First Mistake of Many? Thump! “Ow, what was that for Tw...” The rest of my sentence never came as I looked at my surroundings. What was once a balcony overlooking Canterlot and beyond was an average kitchen: an oak table with four pillows around it, wooden counter tops and shelves, beige painted walls, windows letting you see outside to the backyard; just a really average kitchen. “What the...” “Good to see that he’s back.” “Shut up.” I shook my head, the voices not helping with the pain. Wasn’t I just with Twilight? “Grey?” I looked to my left, toward the voice, and saw a pair of concerned blue eyes. “You back?” Icy asked me. “Back...” I said as I looked down, a plate with bread crumbs on it. “...yeah, think so.” “That’s good to hear.” “No it isn’t,” another voice said. “I wanted to smack him again.” I looked to my right and felt my blood start to boil. There he was, a pink coated unicorn stallion, his long pink and black mane and tail looking more “fashionably” messy than the last time I’ve seen him. He swallowed what was in his mouth and gave me a look. “Yes?” “Was that my sandwich?” I asked him through grated teeth. “Not like you were going to eat it.” “I was hungry, you stupid Tart.” “No, you were spacing out. You have been for a while now.” “I hate to admit it, but he’s right Grey.” Icy moved closer and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “What’s going on?” “Nothing’s going on,” I told him as I shrugged off his hoof. “Come on, I know something’s go-“ “Who is it this time Grey?” I looked at the stupid silver eyes of Pop Tart. “No one.” “Oh, really,” he tilted his head and gave one of those smug looks he knows bug me. “Then why is it you gave me that kind of response?” “Shut it Pop.” “Oh, why should I?” “Guys, come on and s-“ “Because if you don’t, I’m going to punch you.” A faint pink glow surrounded his horn. “Why don’t we see you try.” “GUYS!” We looked over to Icy and gulped at the same time. He was giving us his ‘stop or I’ll stop you’ look (trust me when I tell you this, he could.) “Are you both done now?” Neither one of us could nod fast enough. “Good. Now Grey...” “I know what you are going to ask, but I’m not going to answer that question.” Icy sighed. “Grey, come on. You are with friends who won’t judge you-“ “Oh, I’ll judge you.” “-I won’t judge you. So, come on.” After what felt like hours in the quietness that followed, I mumbled something under my breath. “Grey, you know that doesn’t count.” “....T-twilight...” “Twilight?” “Wait, you are head over hooves for the new mare in town,” he said as he fell backwards laughing. “You could try laughing harder Pop Tart. I’m not sure the ponies in Manehattan heard you.” “Oh, this is rich. You are crushing hard on a pony that has lived her whole life with the upper crust.” He wiped away a tear. “Gotta say that I didn’t peg you as a ‘gold digger,’ but, hey, all to you if that’s-“ In a blink of an eye, Icy went from where he was sitting to being over Tart, wrapping his hind legs around Tart’s head and holding one of his forelegs with his own. “Now Pop Tart,” Icy said as he applied some pressure, a yelp coming from his captive, “why don’t we just stop with that whole line of thought you had there before I actually applied some real pressure.” “FINE! FINE! I GAVE! I GAVE!” “Good.” In one fluid motion, Icy went from holding Tart into submission to calmly sitting down at the table. It’s a scary, scary thought where he would be in the Guard if it wasn’t for his eye injury. Tart slowly got back up and joined us at the table. “Was that r-“ “Yes, yes it was.” Tart shook his head and looked at me. “Must be nice having your coltfriend fighting all your fights for you, Grey.” “Wouldn’t know. Don’t have one.” “Sure, sure.” Tart popped his back and sighed. “Even though that hurt, it did help get rid of that crick in my back. Thanks for that one-eye.” “Don’t call him that, you stupid tart.” “It’s okay Grey.” “Anyway Grey, if you ever need any help with the ladies, you know you could ask this stud muffin right here.” “Please Tart, he’d only ask you for advice if he wanted to have more than half of the townsfolk angry at him. Heck, there’s an unspoken rule in town now that no mare should even try to get near you.” “Yet, I keep getting tail, all the time.” “Does it please you, talking like a smug idiot all the time?” “You know it Icy.” Icy and Tart talked some more, going back and forth, but all of it turned to white noise. Should I take him up on his offer? Part of me knew that I shouldn’t, that his idea of a study relationship is having multiple strings of one night stands in a row, that he wasn’t liked much by most of the mares in town because of how he treats them before and after he does ‘the ultimate form of seduction,’ that his ideal version of a good date is picking up drunken mares in bars... But a part of me also knew that there was a chance, a completely slim chance, which any advice he could give could work. I mean, even though he knows all about the negative image he has with the mares and that his way of treating them isn’t really the norm, he still keeps hooking up with them. Something about his act just seems to strike some part of a mare’s mind that makes them want to actually be with him. I sighed and shook my head. I’m going to hate myself for this. “Tart?” “Yeah Grey?” “Were you being serious about that advice thing?” “Grey, you can’t be serious. This is Tart we are talking about here. This isn’t going to go well for you.” “Gee, that’s some form of friendship you have there for me, Icy. Yeah, I was being serious about that advice. Why you ask?” I sighed and looked him dead in the eyes. “I need your help.” Some Kind of First ImpressionChapter 4 – Some Kind of First Impression Darkness fell on Ponyville as Icy, Tart, and me went on our “mission”: finding Twilight Sparkle. I say “mission” because we’ve circled the whole of the town at least four times so far without there being any sign of us stopping anytime soon, something Tart didn’t like. “Stop being a chicken, Grey!” “Leave him alone Tart. We’ll get to her when he’s good and around.” “By the time that happens, there’ll be a new path going around the town because of us!” “Yelling about it won’t make a difference, you dunce. We said we’d help me and we are doing just that.” “How is us walking around in circles, actual flipping circles, helping him find his mare!?” “Stop saying that!” The two of them kept going on, back and forth, but I learned a long time ago how to tone them out whenever they get into what Bon Bon calls “their bromance moments.” Not like I had much to contribute anyway, with all of the questions that were running through my mind. What am I going to say? Would she even listen to me to begin with? Would she be okay with me just randomly finding her? What if she thinks I’m a stalker? What if her friends don’t like me? What if... “Grey!” I snapped my head forward. “What?” Icy shook his head and sighed. “Seriously, where’s your head at?” I looked down and kicked a bit at the floor. “S-sorry about that.” “Seriously Grey. You’ve asked for my advice and it looks like you aren’t going to use any of it. You’re just wasting my time at this point.” “I, I do! I do want to use it.” Tart gave me one of his ‘devilish grins.’ “Good, because one of her friends is over there.” I followed his line of sight and saw a stunning white coated unicorn mare with luscious purple locks-Ponyville’s fashionista supreme, Rarity. Icy ran a hoof against his face. “Rarity? Really? You think she’s not going to ask why we are looking for one of her friends Tart?” I didn’t even give Tart a chance to reply as I trotted over to her. “Hey Rarity!” She turned around and smiled as she saw me. “Why, hello there Grey darling. It’s good to see that you are back from your trip. When did you get back?” “Oh, earlier today; a few hours ago actually.” I ran a hoof through the back of my head and smiled, maybe a little sheepishly. “I’m an uncle now.” Rarity brightened up at that and hugged me. “Congratulations Grey.” “Thanks I guess,” I told her while chuckling. She let go of me and looked at my neck. “My, that’s a marvelous scarf. It matches with your hat. Where did you get it darling?” “Oh.” I looked down at my checker patterned scarf with the many gradual shades of light blue. “I got it at a shop while I was there. Manehattan never ceases to amaze me at times with what I can find.” “Of course darling! It isn’t the fashion capital of Equestria for no reason.” I smiled at her then shifted a bit. “Hey Rarity?” “Yes darling?” I looked down and gulped a little. “You are friends with Twilight Sparkle right?” “Twilight?” She blinked for a moment before a gentle smile appeared. “Why would you want to know about our new celebrity?” “W-well, I heard about what happened while I was gone. I w-wanted to get to know the mare w-who protected our town and my friends.” “Why are you stuttering, Grey dear?” “W-well, she’s a celebrity and a hero of Equestria. K-kind of an intimidating figure, don’t you think.” “Intimidating you say?” She giggled a bit. “I do suppose you’re right. I mean, she is Princess Celestia’s prize pupil after all. And she did save Princess Luna.” I gulped, maybe a little bit too loudly. She’s the Princess’s prize pupil!? She quickly put a hoof on my shoulder. “There’s nothing to be worried about darling. I was just teasing is all.” She grinned. “You’re just so cute when you blush, I couldn’t help it.” “I’m n-n-n-not cute, R-r-rarity.” She just giggled at my response. “I’m not!” “Not at all darling.” She removed her hoof. “Besides, if you are looking for Twilight, all you need to do is be patient. She and the girls should be leaving the restaurant right about now.” “I’m telling you, I’m not, right now?” Rarity nodded. “So, she’s r-right behind you?” “In a way, I suppose.” “I s-see.” I looked behind her and felt my legs slowly turn to jelly. It’s now or never Grey. You can do this. You can do this! You’ve talked to mares before. She isn’t any- Beautiful. That single word was all that came to mind as I saw her exit the building, currently talking to her friends about one thing or another. Rarity giggled a little. “Grey, I do believe you’re drooling slightly.” I couldn’t move fast enough to wipe that drool off. “W-what drool?” “Howdy Grey,” Applejack greeted me. “Good to see yah are back from that trip.” Pinkie bounced over to me. “Oh, oh. We could have a ‘Welcome back from your trip Greyscale’ party!” “Pinkie, please be patient. Grey here wanted to talk to one of you.” “Oh really?” Rainbow said. “Which one of us is it Rares?” Rarity turned to face me and I gave her a look that I hoped sent her how against I was with her doing what she was going to do. “Twilight, let me introduce you to Greyscale. Greyscale, let me introduce you to Twilight Sparkle.” As Rarity introduced us, my visual pleading to her not doing anything for me, Twilight moved closer to me. With each closing step, my heart started to race faster and my legs shook more. “Grey, are...are you a-alright?” Fluttershy asked me worriedly. “I, I, I, I, I...” “Yes Greyscale?” Twilight asked me. Go ahead. Go ahead! Don’t be a chicken! “I, I, I, I.....” “Yes?” “TEACH ME ABOUT HOW TO DO MAGIC!” I blurted out at her. What followed was an awkward silence that was only “broken” because of Tart and Rainbow laughing their flanks off. Every pony else just stood there, just letting that hang in the air. I slowly backed up then trotted away like a mad pony away, not caring for anything that would come about me doing that. Can We Go For a Second Chance?Chapter 5-Can We Go For a Second Chance? A few days have passed since I embarrassed myself in front of everypony and Twilight. I could have lived it down and became one with my bed if it wasn’t for Applejack and Rarity needing me to help them out with things. I shook my head as I followed the fenced path leading back into town. “It’s almost apple bucking season.” A shiver went down my spine as I remembered the past few. “I’m really not looking forward to that.” As I neared the only bridge separating Sweet Apple Acre from Ponyville proper, Carousel Boutique slowly started to get more and more into view. “And I have to look forward to Rarity going all ‘Summer Styles’ mode for the next two weeks too.” I sighed and looked into the air. “Why must the world make being a nice guy suck?” I stopped halfway through the bridge to let a speeding Applebloom through. “Be careful Applebloom! Watch where you’re going!” “Ah will Grey!” was all she said as she zoomed her way through the town. I chuckled a little bit at the sight. “She’s barely going to get to school on time.” I continued my course into the town market, looking at all of the ponies walking about, keeping an eye out for Tart. “Just you try, you dumb tart,” I whispered. “Just you try.” One second I was walking, looking around what most would probably call ‘a weirdo,’ and the next I was on my flanks. “Ow,” I said as I rubbed my snout a little. “Can you please watch w-“ the other voice started. “Huh, why’d yo-“ I saw who I bumped into and gulped a little. In front of me was a grayish blue pegasus mare, who’d you’d probably get confused with her sister if it wasn’t for the pink bow in her baby blue mane. “H-hey Flitter...” “Hey Grey...h-how you been?” “I’ve been good...you?” “Good too...” We just sat there, in silence, trying to look at one another by not looking at one another, and failing badly at that, for what felt like hours. “Flitter, why are you on the-Oh, hey Grey.” I looked towards the next voice and there was another grayish blue pegasus mare. “Hey CC.” “You know how I feel about that nickname dude.” I grinned at her. “I know. That’s why I use it.” She snorted a little bit, her sister giggling at the display. “Whatever. You two plan on standing up anytime soon?” I looked at Flitter then at the floor around me. “I’m not going to lie, it’s actually quite comfortable here.” “I have to agree with that sis,” Flitter chimed in. “It’s actually pretty comfortable once you got used to it.” “I know right.” Flitter and I shared a laugh while Cloudchaser rolled her eyes. “If you guys are going to sit there all day, so be it. Just thought we could see which books you’d be okay with donating to the library sis.” I turned to face Cloudchaser. “The library? Didn’t it close down years ago?” “Oh, it did, but it was reopened because of the new librarian.” All that was left in my wake was small dust cloud as I rushed to my new destination. What was once an old spruce tree that was left to grow into a “massive” tree in the middle of one of the town’s blocks was now a stocky hollowed-out tree that was home to hopefully a good collection of books for anypony to read-Golden Oak Library. Not much has changed of the old place besides the addition of a new balcony on top of the tree, a telescope on the side balcony, and a candlestick lantern hanging outside of one of the windows. I placed a hoof on the door, trying to see if it was open to the public or not, but the door opened before I ever got to it, revealing a small creature with purple scales and green spikes, some a bit lighter than the rest, and emerald eyes. He might have said something to me, but it didn’t really reach my mind as the fact of what he was not being processed yet. A slightly sharp pain on my leg snapped me out of my stupor. “Ow! What the...” “Sorry about that,” he told me, “but you wouldn’t say anything. Been trying to snap you out of it for a while now.” “A while?” I asked him. He nodded his head and a slight heat started to come to my face. “Sorry about that.” “Nah, it’s alright. So, what can I do for you?” “Oh, I just wanted to know whenever you might be open and see if you would be alright with me donating some books.” “Well, the library’s pretty much open each day from nine in the morning to just before seven in the afternoon. As for the books thing, you’d need to ask her. I’m kind of late.” He moved passed me. “See you later.” “Ask her?” “Hello?” a voice came from inside. I turned and was face to face with Twilight. “Oh, it’s you,” she told me, not knowing how much her tone hurt me. “H-hey...” She sighed and surrounded the doorknob in a purple aura. “I’m sorry, but I’m busy with organizing our books. Could you please come back at some other time?” “W-wait!” I said to her, barely stopping the door from closing. She turned around and glared at me. “L-look, I’m sorry for what I said a while back.” “Oh?” “Y-yeah...” I tried to look her in the eyes, but couldn’t seem to have the power to do so. “I know what I said was weird, really completely weird, since I’m an earth pony and can’t be taught magic like unicorns might-”she cleared her thought-“but I didn’t mean it as rude or anything. It was just me being completely stupid. “I heard from my friend that you were from Canterlot and Rarity told me that you were the Princess’ personal pupil. I mean, how would somepony react to that, meeting a mare who’s from the capital, who was taught personally by the Princess herself, along with any tutors she would have thought worthy, and one of the mares who saved Equestria from the return of Nightmare Moon?” I gulped a little. “Just all of that being taken in at once, it could be too much for a guy, you know.” I looked up to face her, ready for anything she might say, but she just looked away the moment I did. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you so far.” “It’s no big deal.” “No, it is. It was rude of me. There has to be something that I could do to make it up to you.” “You don’t have t-“ A grin appeared as a thought crossed my mind. “Well, there is something you could do.” “Really? What is it?” I stretched out my hoof and smiled at her. “Hello there, my name is Greyscale.” I might have confused her for a bit there, but she giggled into her hoof before taking my hoof. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Greyscale. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” “It’s nice to meet you Twilight.” We shook hooves and laughed a little bit. “So, Twilight.” “Yes?” “Do you need any help with organizing those books? I’ve got some free time right now and it seems like you might need some help.” “I’d love some help with organizing,” she said as she entered the building, “though it might take some time to understand my filing system.” I followed her in. “Eh, been told that I’m a quick study.”
At First Glance?Chapter 1—At First Glance? It was a typically average day in Ponyville—the sky was clear with a hint of clouds coming in later on in the day, birds were flying about, doing their usual bird things, and the townsponies were going about their daily routines. Two such ponies, a steel blue coated pegasus stallion with slightly darker than blue mane and tail and an earth pony stallion with a grey coat and mane and tail that were black with streaks of grey, were walking aimlessly around town, the pegasus helping his friend catch up on recent events. “And that’s what happened while you were away Grey.” “Seriously? I just had to be out of town when all of the cool things happened, huh.” I said as I let out a sigh. “Hey, hey. That’s not entir....yeah, yeah you did.” I looked at my friend’s blue eyes. “Eh, oh well. Not like I can go back and be here when it happened, huh Icy. Well, at least not yet.” He let out a small chuckle and shook his head. “Still trying to figure that out, aren’t you. I keep telling you that it’s an impossible feat you got there.” “And I keep telling you that I’m sure I can find a spell that will allow me to do that.” “And I keep telling you that even if there was, you can’t do it. You don’t have the horn needed for it.” The two of us stared each other down, not once stopping or looking around for any possible obstacles that could get in our way. The stare down lasted for a minute before the both of us stopped and laughed our flanks off. I’m sure that any of the immediate surrounding ponies might have thought of us mad, but it didn’t bother us. “Oh, I needed that,” Icy said as he wiped away a tear with his wing, the laugh still present in his voice. “That’s why I’m here, buddy boy.” I told him with a grin, putting one of my hooves around his neck. “Forget about what I do to make sure I'm not homeless; I'm here for your daily dose of stupidity.” He rolled his eyes and removed my hoof. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say.” I was going to say something, but my stomach interrupted me. I looked at Icy and saw his smug little grin. “I swear, dude. If you even go there, I’m going to hit you.” His grin just seemed to get a little smugger. “Oh, I would never say anything about your rumbling tummy.” “I mean it. I don’t care if we are buds, I’ll hurt you.” “I’m not going to say anything about your stomach, scouts honor.” “You promise?” He nodded his head, a sigh of relieve escaping me. “Though, if I did have to say anything right now,” - he started, completely ignoring me staring him down - “it would have to be how much you look like a cheery, which is a pretty impressive thing for y-“ He dodged the punch I aimed for him and started to trot away, laughing as he went. “You’re dead!” I yelled as I raced after him. The race, as wonderfully intense as it was, didn’t last longer than what was probably two minutes before a loud “QUIET!” stopped him in his tracks and caused me to collide into him (for a guy who looks like mostly sticks, fur, and feathers, it felt like I ran into a rock). The both of us hit the ground hard and couldn’t get up for a bit, neither of us moving because of the pain. I slowly got to my shaky feet and shook my head. “Well, that hurt.” “Y-yeah,” Icy said as he tried to get up. “You need any-“ “No, I got it.” I looked at him for a bit then looked around us. “Who you think yelled that out? It didn’t sound like anypony that I kn-“ I couldn’t help but stare at her. Her light purple coat that seemed to brighten up the area; the way her dark indigo hair flowed with the wind; her purple eyes that were filled with knowledge, excitement, wonder, and love for the world. I wasn’t sure what she was saying to her friends-she probably had an incredibly cute voice-or for how long I was staring, but I did come out of it with a hard smack to the back of my head. I turned around and saw that Icy was the one who hit me. “Hey! What was tha-“ “Can you stop drooling and pick up your jaw already?” I was taken back a little bit by what he said, so much so that I actually checked if I was drooling. “I’m not drooling.” “You could have fooled me. You’re just lucky she didn’t notice you were ogling her like that.” “I w-wasn’t....” He rolled his eyes. “Really? Then how do you explain that your face is an apple now.” I went to say something but shut my mouth right away, kicking a bit at the dirt beneath me. Icy let out a sigh as he placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry for saying that okay. I didn’t mean anything against you when I said it.” He removed his hoof. “If I knew you were going to act like that, I wouldn’t have said anything.” After a slight awkward silence, I looked back to where she was, but she was long gone by now. “Icy...” “Yeah?” “Who...who was that?” “Huh? You mean you didn’t notice Pinkie?” “No, not Pinkie; or Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, or Rainbow. That unicorn mare that was with them.” “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met her yet. She’s the new mare in town. Moved here a little bit before the whole Nightmare Moon thing went down. Heard Pinkie say that she is from Canterlot. I think she said her name is Twilight...something.” Icy kept on talking for a while, but none of it registered as I kept looking at where she was. “Twilight........” That’s a pretty name.
First ThoughtsChapter 2—First Thoughts “You know, for all its worth, this night view almost makes up for the party.” Thin clouds stretched across the late summer’s midnight blue sky while lights were being cast from the moon and the stars above, the flickering candles in the houses below, turning them into moving “living” swirls of blues and purples. Add to that the ability to look upon the horizon and the mighty rise of the sun and see all of the plains, the vibrant and alive forests, and majestic mountains that made up this nation. The ability to feel the breeze, both chilly and strong, really did end up to my claim. The sound of an over the top fake laugh made me turn around and see the party that was going on inside, the ponies inside dressed or groomed to what society thought of as perfect and the norm for the upper crust, their movements, the subtle and overt, all meant to draw attention to themselves, to show how much above the “riff raff” they were. I looked down at what I was wearing-a black tuxedo vest over a dark grey dress shirt with a small checkered dicky of shades of light blue-and just felt more out than I did a minute okay. A sigh escaped as I continued to watch the upper crust. “Why.....why was I invited to a party like this...to a party that I have no reason to be at in the first place?” I turned back around and leaned on the balcony’s railing, looking nowhere in particular. “If this was somepony’s version of a joke, I don’t like it.” I shook my head and rested it on the railing. “There is no reason somepony like me should be at this sort of thing unless I was working it, as a waiter or something.” The sound of the orchestra got loud then quieted down to what it was before. “Guess I should just end up going home.” “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I walk in on you talking with somepony?” a voice asked me from behind. I turned around and went to say something when my mind sort of fizzled out, my forehooves nearly giving out. I saw a beautiful unicorn, purple coat brushed to perfection. Her glittering lilac eyes, which brimmed with concern, were highlighted with just the hint of eyeliner. Her dark indigo mane, with its singular stripes of violet and rose, was pulled into a ponytail, held together by small polished pearls. A purple diamond adorned her ear, shining against the light of the party. A bow of sparkly sequins was tucked behind her left ear, a red heart in the middle. She wore a simple dress that hugged her flank just enough to make my heart pitter patter a bit faster. The dress itself was a dark pink, same as her mane. On top of it was another layer of that glossy sequins, another bit around her neck like a scarf. Her fore-hooves were encased in more seqins, a small click clack every time she walked. “Greyscale?” “T-t-t-twilight...” The two of us just looked at each other, time seeming to come to a halt and moving at the speed of sound, at the same time, before she coughed into her hoof. “Y-you look nice,” she told me as she made her way next to me. ‘Nice.’ What does she mean by that? “T-thanks...but I’m sure there are ponies out there that could pull off the look better.” “Maybe, but they aren’t here at the ball, are they?” She flashed me a smile that made my heart beat a little faster. I turned to look out onto the night sky, hoping that there wasn’t enough light to show off the warmness of my face. “I guess that’s true.” Silence hang between us as we just watched the night sky and the view laid out in front of us. “This is a pretty impressive view,” she said, possibly to no pony in particular even though I was the only other pony there. “Mhmm, you could almost see the edge of the Andromeda cluster from here. The clouds just get in the way.” “You know where the Andromeda cluster is?” she asked me, completely shocked that I knew. “Well, kind of. I’m not an astronomer, but I can vaguely guess where it should be right about now. It’s only just the middle of summer.” I thought I saw her inch closer to me in the corner of my eye, but it could have been me seeing shadows. “Where did you learn how to find it?” “Well, a lot of sources actually: a few star charts, some old astronomy scroll, went to a few lectures...I think I might have sent a few letters to a few astronomers to see if they could share some of their notes to see if what I found matched with what they found.” She giggled a little. “That’s some pretty thorough field work there.” I ran a hoof through my mane. “W-well, I want to a renowned researcher someday. Guess it helps to get those types of habits as soon as possible.” We kept looking at the stars, each of us lost in our minds. “Grey?” I looked at her—When did she get so close?—and gave her my attention. “Yeah?” “How come you are out here on the balcony instead of inside with the party?” “Oh...that...” “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think that-“ “Oh, no. I’m not out because of something that happened or because of somepony.” “You aren’t?” “No...” Guess I’m telling her this, huh. “I’m out here because...I don’t belong at a party like this as a guest. I’m grateful for being here and everything, but I’m not...one of them. I’m not a part of the upper crust. I’m a ‘commoner,’ a pony who works for a living. Even if I’d tried, really, really tried, I’d never fit in, no matter what.” I looked down at my hooves, not really sure why I did. “I got my ticket either through accident or for somepony’s joke.” “...what if I gave you the ticket?” I didn’t move, trying to process what she told me. Why would she give me a ticket? That had to be a lie, right? D-does she... “I gave you the ticket because I thought we could have an enjoyable time, just the two of us...I haven’t seen you in a while and I thought that by inviting you here...” “Twilight...” “But you’re out here, not enjoying the ball...I thought, I thought that we could...but other ponies kept pulling me aside, kept talking to me, when all I wanted was to...” I held her against me, trying to calm her down a little. “It’s okay Twilight. It’s not your fault.” She buried her face in my shoulder. “You didn’t know that any of those was going to happen. You couldn’t have known.” I nuzzled the top of her head a little. “So, please, don’t blame yourself okay.” We stayed like that, in each other’s embrace, until Twilight pulled away, having calmed down a little. “T-thank you.” I smiled at her. “I should be the one thanking you. You invited to this ball just so we could hang out a little bit. Never met a pony who’d do that for me,” I told her as I chuckled a little. “Besides, enjoying the view with you makes it all worthwhile.” She giggled a little, earning a smile from me. “Greyscale.” “Yeah?” “Snap out of it.” “What?” I asked her. Did I hear her wrong or something? “I said to snap out of it.” “Snap out of what?” She glared at me. “Snap out of it!” Whack! Author's Note Feel like I should explain this part. It's a daydream. He saw a cute looking mare with a star based cutie mark who was from Canterlot. Grey believes that she might be an astronomer. So, daydream around that thought.
First Mistake of Many?Chapter 3—First Mistake of Many? Thump! “Ow, what was that for Tw...” The rest of my sentence never came as I looked at my surroundings. What was once a balcony overlooking Canterlot and beyond was an average kitchen: an oak table with four pillows around it, wooden counter tops and shelves, beige painted walls, windows letting you see outside to the backyard; just a really average kitchen. “What the...” “Good to see that he’s back.” “Shut up.” I shook my head, the voices not helping with the pain. Wasn’t I just with Twilight? “Grey?” I looked to my left, toward the voice, and saw a pair of concerned blue eyes. “You back?” Icy asked me. “Back...” I said as I looked down, a plate with bread crumbs on it. “...yeah, think so.” “That’s good to hear.” “No it isn’t,” another voice said. “I wanted to smack him again.” I looked to my right and felt my blood start to boil. There he was, a pink coated unicorn stallion, his long pink and black mane and tail looking more “fashionably” messy than the last time I’ve seen him. He swallowed what was in his mouth and gave me a look. “Yes?” “Was that my sandwich?” I asked him through grated teeth. “Not like you were going to eat it.” “I was hungry, you stupid Tart.” “No, you were spacing out. You have been for a while now.” “I hate to admit it, but he’s right Grey.” Icy moved closer and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “What’s going on?” “Nothing’s going on,” I told him as I shrugged off his hoof. “Come on, I know something’s go-“ “Who is it this time Grey?” I looked at the stupid silver eyes of Pop Tart. “No one.” “Oh, really,” he tilted his head and gave one of those smug looks he knows bug me. “Then why is it you gave me that kind of response?” “Shut it Pop.” “Oh, why should I?” “Guys, come on and s-“ “Because if you don’t, I’m going to punch you.” A faint pink glow surrounded his horn. “Why don’t we see you try.” “GUYS!” We looked over to Icy and gulped at the same time. He was giving us his ‘stop or I’ll stop you’ look (trust me when I tell you this, he could.) “Are you both done now?” Neither one of us could nod fast enough. “Good. Now Grey...” “I know what you are going to ask, but I’m not going to answer that question.” Icy sighed. “Grey, come on. You are with friends who won’t judge you-“ “Oh, I’ll judge you.” “-I won’t judge you. So, come on.” After what felt like hours in the quietness that followed, I mumbled something under my breath. “Grey, you know that doesn’t count.” “....T-twilight...” “Twilight?” “Wait, you are head over hooves for the new mare in town,” he said as he fell backwards laughing. “You could try laughing harder Pop Tart. I’m not sure the ponies in Manehattan heard you.” “Oh, this is rich. You are crushing hard on a pony that has lived her whole life with the upper crust.” He wiped away a tear. “Gotta say that I didn’t peg you as a ‘gold digger,’ but, hey, all to you if that’s-“ In a blink of an eye, Icy went from where he was sitting to being over Tart, wrapping his hind legs around Tart’s head and holding one of his forelegs with his own. “Now Pop Tart,” Icy said as he applied some pressure, a yelp coming from his captive, “why don’t we just stop with that whole line of thought you had there before I actually applied some real pressure.” “FINE! FINE! I GAVE! I GAVE!” “Good.” In one fluid motion, Icy went from holding Tart into submission to calmly sitting down at the table. It’s a scary, scary thought where he would be in the Guard if it wasn’t for his eye injury. Tart slowly got back up and joined us at the table. “Was that r-“ “Yes, yes it was.” Tart shook his head and looked at me. “Must be nice having your coltfriend fighting all your fights for you, Grey.” “Wouldn’t know. Don’t have one.” “Sure, sure.” Tart popped his back and sighed. “Even though that hurt, it did help get rid of that crick in my back. Thanks for that one-eye.” “Don’t call him that, you stupid tart.” “It’s okay Grey.” “Anyway Grey, if you ever need any help with the ladies, you know you could ask this stud muffin right here.” “Please Tart, he’d only ask you for advice if he wanted to have more than half of the townsfolk angry at him. Heck, there’s an unspoken rule in town now that no mare should even try to get near you.” “Yet, I keep getting tail, all the time.” “Does it please you, talking like a smug idiot all the time?” “You know it Icy.” Icy and Tart talked some more, going back and forth, but all of it turned to white noise. Should I take him up on his offer? Part of me knew that I shouldn’t, that his idea of a study relationship is having multiple strings of one night stands in a row, that he wasn’t liked much by most of the mares in town because of how he treats them before and after he does ‘the ultimate form of seduction,’ that his ideal version of a good date is picking up drunken mares in bars... But a part of me also knew that there was a chance, a completely slim chance, which any advice he could give could work. I mean, even though he knows all about the negative image he has with the mares and that his way of treating them isn’t really the norm, he still keeps hooking up with them. Something about his act just seems to strike some part of a mare’s mind that makes them want to actually be with him. I sighed and shook my head. I’m going to hate myself for this. “Tart?” “Yeah Grey?” “Were you being serious about that advice thing?” “Grey, you can’t be serious. This is Tart we are talking about here. This isn’t going to go well for you.” “Gee, that’s some form of friendship you have there for me, Icy. Yeah, I was being serious about that advice. Why you ask?” I sighed and looked him dead in the eyes. “I need your help.”
Some Kind of First ImpressionChapter 4 – Some Kind of First Impression Darkness fell on Ponyville as Icy, Tart, and me went on our “mission”: finding Twilight Sparkle. I say “mission” because we’ve circled the whole of the town at least four times so far without there being any sign of us stopping anytime soon, something Tart didn’t like. “Stop being a chicken, Grey!” “Leave him alone Tart. We’ll get to her when he’s good and around.” “By the time that happens, there’ll be a new path going around the town because of us!” “Yelling about it won’t make a difference, you dunce. We said we’d help me and we are doing just that.” “How is us walking around in circles, actual flipping circles, helping him find his mare!?” “Stop saying that!” The two of them kept going on, back and forth, but I learned a long time ago how to tone them out whenever they get into what Bon Bon calls “their bromance moments.” Not like I had much to contribute anyway, with all of the questions that were running through my mind. What am I going to say? Would she even listen to me to begin with? Would she be okay with me just randomly finding her? What if she thinks I’m a stalker? What if her friends don’t like me? What if... “Grey!” I snapped my head forward. “What?” Icy shook his head and sighed. “Seriously, where’s your head at?” I looked down and kicked a bit at the floor. “S-sorry about that.” “Seriously Grey. You’ve asked for my advice and it looks like you aren’t going to use any of it. You’re just wasting my time at this point.” “I, I do! I do want to use it.” Tart gave me one of his ‘devilish grins.’ “Good, because one of her friends is over there.” I followed his line of sight and saw a stunning white coated unicorn mare with luscious purple locks-Ponyville’s fashionista supreme, Rarity. Icy ran a hoof against his face. “Rarity? Really? You think she’s not going to ask why we are looking for one of her friends Tart?” I didn’t even give Tart a chance to reply as I trotted over to her. “Hey Rarity!” She turned around and smiled as she saw me. “Why, hello there Grey darling. It’s good to see that you are back from your trip. When did you get back?” “Oh, earlier today; a few hours ago actually.” I ran a hoof through the back of my head and smiled, maybe a little sheepishly. “I’m an uncle now.” Rarity brightened up at that and hugged me. “Congratulations Grey.” “Thanks I guess,” I told her while chuckling. She let go of me and looked at my neck. “My, that’s a marvelous scarf. It matches with your hat. Where did you get it darling?” “Oh.” I looked down at my checker patterned scarf with the many gradual shades of light blue. “I got it at a shop while I was there. Manehattan never ceases to amaze me at times with what I can find.” “Of course darling! It isn’t the fashion capital of Equestria for no reason.” I smiled at her then shifted a bit. “Hey Rarity?” “Yes darling?” I looked down and gulped a little. “You are friends with Twilight Sparkle right?” “Twilight?” She blinked for a moment before a gentle smile appeared. “Why would you want to know about our new celebrity?” “W-well, I heard about what happened while I was gone. I w-wanted to get to know the mare w-who protected our town and my friends.” “Why are you stuttering, Grey dear?” “W-well, she’s a celebrity and a hero of Equestria. K-kind of an intimidating figure, don’t you think.” “Intimidating you say?” She giggled a bit. “I do suppose you’re right. I mean, she is Princess Celestia’s prize pupil after all. And she did save Princess Luna.” I gulped, maybe a little bit too loudly. She’s the Princess’s prize pupil!? She quickly put a hoof on my shoulder. “There’s nothing to be worried about darling. I was just teasing is all.” She grinned. “You’re just so cute when you blush, I couldn’t help it.” “I’m n-n-n-not cute, R-r-rarity.” She just giggled at my response. “I’m not!” “Not at all darling.” She removed her hoof. “Besides, if you are looking for Twilight, all you need to do is be patient. She and the girls should be leaving the restaurant right about now.” “I’m telling you, I’m not, right now?” Rarity nodded. “So, she’s r-right behind you?” “In a way, I suppose.” “I s-see.” I looked behind her and felt my legs slowly turn to jelly. It’s now or never Grey. You can do this. You can do this! You’ve talked to mares before. She isn’t any- Beautiful. That single word was all that came to mind as I saw her exit the building, currently talking to her friends about one thing or another. Rarity giggled a little. “Grey, I do believe you’re drooling slightly.” I couldn’t move fast enough to wipe that drool off. “W-what drool?” “Howdy Grey,” Applejack greeted me. “Good to see yah are back from that trip.” Pinkie bounced over to me. “Oh, oh. We could have a ‘Welcome back from your trip Greyscale’ party!” “Pinkie, please be patient. Grey here wanted to talk to one of you.” “Oh really?” Rainbow said. “Which one of us is it Rares?” Rarity turned to face me and I gave her a look that I hoped sent her how against I was with her doing what she was going to do. “Twilight, let me introduce you to Greyscale. Greyscale, let me introduce you to Twilight Sparkle.” As Rarity introduced us, my visual pleading to her not doing anything for me, Twilight moved closer to me. With each closing step, my heart started to race faster and my legs shook more. “Grey, are...are you a-alright?” Fluttershy asked me worriedly. “I, I, I, I, I...” “Yes Greyscale?” Twilight asked me. Go ahead. Go ahead! Don’t be a chicken! “I, I, I, I.....” “Yes?” “TEACH ME ABOUT HOW TO DO MAGIC!” I blurted out at her. What followed was an awkward silence that was only “broken” because of Tart and Rainbow laughing their flanks off. Every pony else just stood there, just letting that hang in the air. I slowly backed up then trotted away like a mad pony away, not caring for anything that would come about me doing that.
Can We Go For a Second Chance?Chapter 5-Can We Go For a Second Chance? A few days have passed since I embarrassed myself in front of everypony and Twilight. I could have lived it down and became one with my bed if it wasn’t for Applejack and Rarity needing me to help them out with things. I shook my head as I followed the fenced path leading back into town. “It’s almost apple bucking season.” A shiver went down my spine as I remembered the past few. “I’m really not looking forward to that.” As I neared the only bridge separating Sweet Apple Acre from Ponyville proper, Carousel Boutique slowly started to get more and more into view. “And I have to look forward to Rarity going all ‘Summer Styles’ mode for the next two weeks too.” I sighed and looked into the air. “Why must the world make being a nice guy suck?” I stopped halfway through the bridge to let a speeding Applebloom through. “Be careful Applebloom! Watch where you’re going!” “Ah will Grey!” was all she said as she zoomed her way through the town. I chuckled a little bit at the sight. “She’s barely going to get to school on time.” I continued my course into the town market, looking at all of the ponies walking about, keeping an eye out for Tart. “Just you try, you dumb tart,” I whispered. “Just you try.” One second I was walking, looking around what most would probably call ‘a weirdo,’ and the next I was on my flanks. “Ow,” I said as I rubbed my snout a little. “Can you please watch w-“ the other voice started. “Huh, why’d yo-“ I saw who I bumped into and gulped a little. In front of me was a grayish blue pegasus mare, who’d you’d probably get confused with her sister if it wasn’t for the pink bow in her baby blue mane. “H-hey Flitter...” “Hey Grey...h-how you been?” “I’ve been good...you?” “Good too...” We just sat there, in silence, trying to look at one another by not looking at one another, and failing badly at that, for what felt like hours. “Flitter, why are you on the-Oh, hey Grey.” I looked towards the next voice and there was another grayish blue pegasus mare. “Hey CC.” “You know how I feel about that nickname dude.” I grinned at her. “I know. That’s why I use it.” She snorted a little bit, her sister giggling at the display. “Whatever. You two plan on standing up anytime soon?” I looked at Flitter then at the floor around me. “I’m not going to lie, it’s actually quite comfortable here.” “I have to agree with that sis,” Flitter chimed in. “It’s actually pretty comfortable once you got used to it.” “I know right.” Flitter and I shared a laugh while Cloudchaser rolled her eyes. “If you guys are going to sit there all day, so be it. Just thought we could see which books you’d be okay with donating to the library sis.” I turned to face Cloudchaser. “The library? Didn’t it close down years ago?” “Oh, it did, but it was reopened because of the new librarian.” All that was left in my wake was small dust cloud as I rushed to my new destination. What was once an old spruce tree that was left to grow into a “massive” tree in the middle of one of the town’s blocks was now a stocky hollowed-out tree that was home to hopefully a good collection of books for anypony to read-Golden Oak Library. Not much has changed of the old place besides the addition of a new balcony on top of the tree, a telescope on the side balcony, and a candlestick lantern hanging outside of one of the windows. I placed a hoof on the door, trying to see if it was open to the public or not, but the door opened before I ever got to it, revealing a small creature with purple scales and green spikes, some a bit lighter than the rest, and emerald eyes. He might have said something to me, but it didn’t really reach my mind as the fact of what he was not being processed yet. A slightly sharp pain on my leg snapped me out of my stupor. “Ow! What the...” “Sorry about that,” he told me, “but you wouldn’t say anything. Been trying to snap you out of it for a while now.” “A while?” I asked him. He nodded his head and a slight heat started to come to my face. “Sorry about that.” “Nah, it’s alright. So, what can I do for you?” “Oh, I just wanted to know whenever you might be open and see if you would be alright with me donating some books.” “Well, the library’s pretty much open each day from nine in the morning to just before seven in the afternoon. As for the books thing, you’d need to ask her. I’m kind of late.” He moved passed me. “See you later.” “Ask her?” “Hello?” a voice came from inside. I turned and was face to face with Twilight. “Oh, it’s you,” she told me, not knowing how much her tone hurt me. “H-hey...” She sighed and surrounded the doorknob in a purple aura. “I’m sorry, but I’m busy with organizing our books. Could you please come back at some other time?” “W-wait!” I said to her, barely stopping the door from closing. She turned around and glared at me. “L-look, I’m sorry for what I said a while back.” “Oh?” “Y-yeah...” I tried to look her in the eyes, but couldn’t seem to have the power to do so. “I know what I said was weird, really completely weird, since I’m an earth pony and can’t be taught magic like unicorns might-”she cleared her thought-“but I didn’t mean it as rude or anything. It was just me being completely stupid. “I heard from my friend that you were from Canterlot and Rarity told me that you were the Princess’ personal pupil. I mean, how would somepony react to that, meeting a mare who’s from the capital, who was taught personally by the Princess herself, along with any tutors she would have thought worthy, and one of the mares who saved Equestria from the return of Nightmare Moon?” I gulped a little. “Just all of that being taken in at once, it could be too much for a guy, you know.” I looked up to face her, ready for anything she might say, but she just looked away the moment I did. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you so far.” “It’s no big deal.” “No, it is. It was rude of me. There has to be something that I could do to make it up to you.” “You don’t have t-“ A grin appeared as a thought crossed my mind. “Well, there is something you could do.” “Really? What is it?” I stretched out my hoof and smiled at her. “Hello there, my name is Greyscale.” I might have confused her for a bit there, but she giggled into her hoof before taking my hoof. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Greyscale. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” “It’s nice to meet you Twilight.” We shook hooves and laughed a little bit. “So, Twilight.” “Yes?” “Do you need any help with organizing those books? I’ve got some free time right now and it seems like you might need some help.” “I’d love some help with organizing,” she said as she entered the building, “though it might take some time to understand my filing system.” I followed her in. “Eh, been told that I’m a quick study.”
