Dusty Books and Cozy Nooks
Dusty Books and Cozy Nooks
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The crisp, crackling sounds of the gentle fire that burned in the fireplace filled the air with a sense of warmth and coziness. The heat from its flames radiated outwards, enveloping the immediate area with a blanket of comfort. Twilight lay comfortably in her favorite chair, and at just the perfect distance from the flames such that the heat kept her warm but not uncomfortably so. After a contented sigh, she stretched out her legs and took a moment to bask in the heat from the fireplace before settling down to read the book she had selected...
...It'd been a particularly long day, but she had thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Every once and a while, Twilight would schedule an entire day devoted only to reorganizing, and today was one of them. She'd begun the day early with a steaming cup of tea, before the sun had even risen above the horizon. It was a cold winter day, and the snow had covered literally every inch of the ground in Ponyville and the surrounding landscape. Icicles had formed above the window and partially obstructed her view, and the air was cold and dry. From the warmth and comfort of her study, the skies seemed bright and without a cloud in sight, but she knew it was frigidly cold. She watched the sun rise slowly as she sipped from her tea, taking those few minutes to appreciate all of what the princesses had done for her as time had gone by. She felt incredibly thankful for the life she had, especially when she looked back to the time before she had arrived in Ponyville. A lot had happened since then.
After finishing her tea, and an impromptu reorganization of her expansive tea collection, Twilight lit a fire in the fireplace. The cold from outside had begun to seep in through the cracks and crevices of the castle, and she simply had to be comfortable for the sacred routine of reorganization. She first began the chore of dusting the entire library, with the help of Spike of course. It was astounding how quickly books could gather dust, despite how frequently they were reorganized. As much as she hated to admit it, there were also plenty of books she owned that didn't receive as much love as others. For some, she had simply read them and reread them so many times that she could almost recite them by memory. But for others, they either were simply rather lackluster or downright boring. Twilight knew she had the reputation of being one of the most book-loving eggheads in existence, but even she had her limits.
As she dusted the books in the early morning, she began to think about how she would organize them this time. Would she organize alphabetically? And if so, would it be by first or last name? She pondered the organizational scheme for a few moments before realizing that some ponies had only one name, and quickly dismissed the idea upon the realization that it would completely throw off her entire collection. Would she do it based on year of publication? That idea seemed more interesting to her. Thoughts of reading through the books in chronological order, as if they were all part of one enormous series, tantalized her inner egghead.
That was what she had decided. By this time, it was already the beginning of the afternoon. Outside, the snow was softly falling down and accumulating on the ground, creating a fluffy layer on top of what was already there. Ice was beginning to frost the windows to the castle, but the heat from the fireplace kept everything warm and toasty indoors. Time was flying by as she spent the morning dusting books, reading covers and enjoying the feel and texture of each and every one. That was one thing she tended to miss on occasion. Being a unicorn, she had no real need to physically turn and feel the pages of the books as she read them, but she often did anyways just to complete the experience. It also made her appreciate magic that much more.
The countless shelves and bookcases that lined the walls in her library needed cleaning as well, which she did herself. Cleaning all of them, especially the ones high above, would take ages for somepony without wings. Again, she found herself immensely thankful for what she had. On the inside, she felt just like the studious and perhaps slightly introverted unicorn she had always been, but as time had gone by she had somehow become an alicorn princess, saved the kingdom countless times, and found an amazing group of friends that she simply couldn't imagine being without.
As soon as the dusting was complete, the reorganization began. She got comfortable on the floor in the middle of the library and began the process. Surrounded by mounds of books from countless different topics, she began to categorize them by date of publication, topic and author. Every so often, she came across a book that didn't quite fit her organization scheme, like a photo album or a cookbook that had somehow found its way onto the library shelves. She was in no hurry whatsoever, so for many books she had skimmed through a page or two before placing it in its appropriate pile, indulging briefly on whatever interesting topic it was about, some longer than others. Every so often she even came across one of Spike's comic books, finding herself reading much more than she thought she would. They may not have been accurate depictions of reality, but she could certainly appreciate them for the art form that they were.
The hours blazed by, and she soon found herself looking out into the nighttime sky from a nearby window. The moon was already high in the sky, its cool glow shimmering over the layer of sleet and snow as the stars sparkled high above. The organizing was nearly done, and as the final book was in place and her concentration was broken, an immense feeling of relaxation and tiredness immediately overcame her. The fire crackled and roared in a cozy nook on one side of the library, just asking to be enjoyed. She quickly selected one of the books that had intrigued her most and brought it towards her favorite chair to read by the fire...
The crisp, crackling sounds of the gentle fire that burned in the fireplace filled the air with a sense of warmth and coziness. The heat from its flames radiated outwards, enveloping the immediate area with a blanket of comfort. Twilight lay comfortably in her favorite chair, and at just the perfect distance from the flames such that the heat kept her warm but not uncomfortably so. After a contented sigh, she stretched out her legs and took a moment to bask in the heat from the fireplace before settling down to read the book she had selected.
Spike meandered into the room, the echos of his claws against the crystal floors heard from long before his entrance. He had a cup of piping hot cocoa for himself and Twilight, and she smiled in response as the baby dragon sat down next to her. Sheltered from the frigid cold outside and sitting together beside the cozy fireplace, Twilight opened the photo album of all her friends she'd selected to enjoy.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading 
