The Book Celestia Doesn't Know About

Twilight frees us of her magic's grip causing us to drop to the floor in front of her. Then she starts shouting as she begins her scolding to end all scoldings. “What the buck where you three thinking!? Why would you run from the royal guard, especially while in a library! Do you have any idea the trouble you caused these poor trainees?"

No longer speaking in her normal voice Twilight is somehow managing to scold us while using the Royal Canterlot Voice. Strange, I’ve never heard her use it before. "Pinkie I told you to take care of Neredia, not to engage in these ridiculous shenanigans! Neredia what would Zecora say if she were here! And Rainbow, you assisted them as a getaway pony I can't believe...! - ” Her eyes trail to the bundle of mint green fur curled up at Rainbow's hooves "- You took Lyra Heartstrings hostage!?"

Steeling my nerves I shuffle forward. "Twilight we didn't mean to - ” I pause trying to figure out how to say what I want to without incriminating myself, “ - Pinkie sneezed and it all happened so fast, then Lyra was with us and we just wanted to get the book we came for."

"This is not about the books. This isn’t even about the library. This is about you three being unable to prevent each other from behaving irrationally. Did you know the guards sent to the library are trainees, this is their first assignment? All they were supposed to do was stand around the library and make all the visitors feel like the situation was under control. Then you three had to go and do something stupid! The poor trainees had to fumble about and try not to make things worse because they were unsure of whether or not they were supposed to apprehend you, or if they were even allowed to.” - Twilight motions to the guards she had been speaking with before we arrived, - “These gentlecolts were just asking me if they needed to call their superiors and explain that they had failed to watch a library! Uuugh, this shouldn’t have happened. - ”Twilight pauses and seems to be collecting herself as she eyes our small group tears now forming at the edges of her eyes.“ - When the embodiments of the Elements of Harmony cause trouble we all look bad. When you girls cause trouble you make those who trusted you look like fools. You Pinkie Promised..."

Rainbow doesn’t seem able to tear her gaze from the floor before Twilight's hooves, she is visibly shaking and her breathing is uneven coming in rough and short bursts. Pinkie moves closer to Rainbow and attempts to comfort her, "Dashie we just need to explain to Twilight what happened. We didn't break a promise to anypony..."

Twilight returns to using the Royal Canterlot Voice, "What!?!” Then as though finally noticing how loud she’s been Twilight’s volume returns to something closer to bearable while indoors, “Fine do tell what exactly drove you all to behave the way you did?"

"We needed a book. The library had been reluctant to let us in, and gave us a more than thorough pat down, even assuring us that if something were to happen the royal guard would be here to detain us. Once we passed the front desk I felt the urge to sneeze. While I had initially attempted to suppress the sneeze it managed to escape me and caused the destruction you see here. The guards then began to head toward us, upon noticing them Nery insisted we get out of here, she was scared Twilight. But I knew how important the book we were here for was to Nery I pressed that we should go get it first. While heading toward the eighth floor for the book Lyra joined us and we made our way to acquire the book. Lyra helped us open a few doors granting us entry to the room where the book was kept. Upon having used too much magic Lyra was exhausted and fainted, so Rainbow carried her up the stairs while I carried Nery." - sighing Pinkie waves a hoof motioning to the mayhem surrounding us - "It was simply the culmination of the shock, various stresses, and other unfriendly run ins with the guards that drove us to behave as we did. There was no deleterious intent behind our shenanigans as you put it."

I take a step back, what the hell is going on with Pinkie Pie today. I mean wow, that was quite the vocabulary, and she was coherent the whole time. My mind is racing unsure of what to think about the course of events that were so elegantly depicted by Pinkie's silver tongue and flowed from her lips like ambrosia and I was there.

However, Twilight seems to process what Pinkie said quickly and efficiently because she groans and exhales loudly before saying, "So it was like that Pinkie?" - Pinkie slowly nods her head in response. - "I see then, if you meant no harm, and seeing how you girls have only proven yourselves to be stupid, given the circumstances I see no reason to press the matter further. However, do not think you shall go without punishment. Pinkie I trust you and Neredia will be able to clean up this mess you made. I will take Lyra to a hospital to see how she's doing." - Then there is a short pause before Twilight turns to Rainbow Dash and speaks in a soft and apologetic tone as though she means to soothe a distressed filly - "And Rainbow you're coming with me too."

I voice my protests, "Wait what?We have to clean up all of this?”

"That's only the beginning, Zecora will be hearing about this too." Twilight retorts, her voice filling with frustration and annoyance again as she walks toward the exit of the library with cradled Lyra in her magic and Rainbow trailing behind her.

Groaning I curse Twilight under my breath, "The damn princess gets to play favorites and I'm gonna be a test subject for a month. What kind of fucking bull shit is that."

Placing a hoof on my chest Pinkie Pie gives me a weak smile before speaking softly, "You know we got off easy right?"

Letting out a sigh I nod my head. I am well aware that being part of the clean-up crew is in no way an adequate punishment for destroying one of Princess Twilight's favorite places, but those are the perks of...

My brain derails its’ own thoughts. Why are we being let off so easy? All that had happened was Pinkie gave a quick summary of most of the events that had transpired and we were given the all clear.

I turn planning on asking Pinkie why it is that we are being let off so easy, but I see she is already walking toward a few fallen shelves in the mess we now have to clean up. It looks like she’s going to start cleaning up with the guards and some library staff at the other end of the floor. I guess I’ll have to ask her later.

We are in the library up until about midnight before most of the books are back on their shelves and all of the bookcases are standing again. Wiping sweat from my brow I notice how desperately in need of a bath I am, there is dust practically caking on my forehead and palms. Leaning back I smile at the popping sounds my spine makes as I do so. Feeling some of the stiffness leave my body I turn to walk toward Pinkie. While she is not visibly deflated, she does seem to be less “Pinkie” than usual. Thinking that she at least deserves to look herself again I run my hand along her back giving it a deep push as I do so. Pinkie audibly moans before she places a hoof over her muzzle. Removing the hoof a light blush begins spreading across her face as she speaks, "Uhm, that was nice, thanks Nery."

Smiling at the mare I pull her close and wave goodbye to the library's night staff who grunt in acknowledgement while placing pictures of Lyra, Pinkie, Rainbow and me behind the front desk with big red X's over them. Well, I guess we won't be making any trips to the library for a while.

Feeling a light pressure against my thigh my attention shifts to my side, "Pinkie are you okay?" I ask unsure of what to think or of how to behave around her after her various shifts in personality today.

"Yeah, today’s just been a little crazy is all." She responds with a shrug.

I decide I should try to get some answers to my questions from earlier, "Well, if you don't mind me asking, why did Twilight let us go so easy after you talked to her?"

Taken aback Pinkie stops walking and literally takes a step back. She then begins, "I can’t tell you exactly why, because I’m not Twilight, although…” - Pinkie plops onto the floor and eyes her own limbs expectantly - “Nah, but I guess she saw what I meant. We didn't mean to do anything wrong, and well we just reacted poorly."

I think back to when Pinkie did mention something about stress. This steels my resolve to try to pry further, "So what was the stress that you mentioned earlier."

Her eyes dart back up to mine and a deep blush threatens to encompass her face, "Well, I mean, you know. The stress of being up so early and..." Her voice trails off. Eventually she starts up again, "Hey how about we go see if Vinyl is around in Canterlot and sleep at her place, and there aren't any trains at this hour anyway."

The thought of seeing Vinyl Scratch again excites me and I nod vigorously to show my approval of the suggestion. Besides it is clear that Pinkie doesn’t want to talk about this any further so I might as well let it go, at least for now.

Pinkie looks up at the night sky as she continues walking in the direction of Canterlot's nightlife a large smile once again adorning her face. The she speaks up out of the blue, "Twilight understands the situation."

Turning my head in surprise toward Pinkie I give the mare confused look before asking, "What do you mean?"

"Twilight gets why we did what we did, she knows that Rainbow only wanted to help out, she knows that I only wanted to help you, and she knows that you had acted out of fear not out of malice. Twilight knows that when friends are thrust into a crazy situation we do crazy things that in hindsight might not have been right, but that at the time they are mistakes that we had to make." She says this as though it is the easiest thing to understand.

Pinkie is being really deep again, and again it catches me off guard. My mind starts racing in a futile attempt to grasp what it is that she means. Sighing in defeat I press myself closer to Pinkie and run my hand along her withers. She coos at my touch pressing herself closer to me as we continue our walk to Vinyl's place.

The rest of the walk is relatively uneventful. Pinkie walks alongside me, close enough for me to feel her press up against me every now and then, but not too close such that I'm tripping over her. Smiling to myself I think aloud, "This is nice Pinks, you really helped me out today and even though I don't get everything that happened, I just wanted to say thank you."

The now giggling mare responds while snickering, "Nery, you don't have to get everything to enjoy it, just relax and put on a smile to let everypony know how you feel."

On cue a smile escapes my lips. This is the Pinkie that welcomed me to Ponyville, this is the Pinkie I have grown accustomed to and love to spend time with.

As my mind relaxes I soon notice the aches all across my body. I guess I am more exhausted after having cleaned up the library than I initially thought. Feeling the exhaustion wash over me I notice Vinyl's large Canterlot home come into view. The house is small by Canterlot standards, it stands two stories tall, has a large kitchen, a large dining room, a large living room, four large bedrooms each with their own bathroom, a small front yard, and a large backyard that houses a large circular pool about eight meters across. Although the Vinyl isn't much of a swimmer the house came with it and she sees no reason to go through the effort of removing it.

My aches only grow greater as though the knowledge that my body could soon rest reminds it of all the lifting, kneeling, and standing it had done. This causes me to turn toward Pinkie and wonder if she too is tired and sore. She did carry me on her back for most of the day, then when we had to clean up the mess in the library she did most of the heavy lifting and cleaned almost half of the floor on her own.

I ask the pink mare, miserably failing at hiding the concern in my voice, "Pinkie are you okay?"

Turning my way Pinkie raises an eyebrow while her mouth forms a small "o" shape, before she replies with a question of her own, "I'm doing great, why?"

I start, "Well, you cleaned up most of the library and had me on your back for most of the day, I thought maybe you'd be sore or tired..."

Interrupting me with a chuckle Pinkie begins talking cheerily, "Of course I'm fine silly.There is no way I would get tired of carrying you around, I love it. And the cleaning that we did today,it was nothing really, Twilight’s made me clean up way bigger messes. - " she pauses to turn to me causing me to give her a look of uncertainty while studying her body language, then she blushes lightly as she starts to speak again " - Well, I mean I would love to be able to cuddle into a lovely bed and snuggle in the covers but who wouldn’t."

Smiling while shaking her head Pinkie effortlessly shifts back to reality and stretches a hoof in front of me. Stopping I turn to look forward to see why she had stopped me before my eyes go wide. I stumble back startled by the door only a few centimeters from my face. We are standing in front of Vinyl's small mansion and I am about to crash into the front door.

Raising a hand to the door I make a fist and proceed to knock hard three times. After the knocks there comes a quick reply from the other side of the door, "Will you stop your incessant knocking I was upstairs." The annoyed tone behind the voice is unmistakably Octavia’s, Vinyl's roommate.

Unable to contain the excitement in my voice I say giddily, "She's home too."

Upon hearing me Pinkie gives me a warm smile before shifting her attention toward the grey mare who is opening the door and greets her with a smile. Pinkie chirps happily, "Hey Tavia, is Vinyl home."

"Oh, it's just you two again..." Octavia begins before Vinyl comes down the stairs asking who is at the door as she does so. After hearing Vinyl’s question Octavia changes topics mid-sentence, "It's your friends Vinyl, Pinkie Pie and the weird alien one." Octavia turns to me and gives me a smirk when she refers to me as the "alien one".

At first me and Octavia didn't get along very well to say the least. She had always been reluctant to let me into her home even after Vinyl swore I was "cool" and wouldn't cause any trouble. She had insisted that something like me was in no way "cool", especially considering that I was living with Zecora somewhere in the Everfree doing Celestia knows what. Honestly always hearing ponies assume that Zecora was up to no good simply because of where she lived and how different she was upset me. Then one day when Octavia locked me out in the backyard in an attempt to keep me out of the house for the umpteenth time I snapped. I rapped at the door until she came down to shout at me to stop or she'd call my witch of an owner to come over and take me home. When she had called Zecora a witch I shouted back delivering a lengthy speech about how even though she always had a stick up her ass she shouldn't be so rude to Zecora. I emphasized how Zecora has so much shit to put up with without ponies assuming she was some voodoo bitch hell-bent on causing chaos and mayhem with her strange magic and potions.

Octavia had gone silent after my outburst. There had been a long pause before I heard the door unlock and saw Octavia sitting at the entrance with her forehooves pressed against her temples. She quickly apologized for what she had done and explained how she had to do the same for Vinyl when she heard ponies speak ill of the less than responsible DJ at just about every Canterlot social gathering she would attend. Appearing defeated the grey mare spoke to me in a weak and rattled manner that assured me that she was sincerely sorry. Octavia went on to explain she had never given any thought to the rumors about Zecora, whether or not they were true, how feasible they were, or even how they may be negatively impacting Zecora.

Once Octavia was done I no longer hated her, although I wasn't sure how long it would take before I would forgive her for having constantly locked me out, shooed me away from Vinyl's home when the Unicorn wasn't there, and the times she dragged me out when I would fall asleep on the couch, in the guest room, or in one of their chairs. Expensive furniture is very comfortable, I can’t help but doze off if I relax on it for too long. Even so I assumed eventually we would get along, I mean she was Vinyl's friend after all, she had to be cool one way or another.

Now about our current situation. Before she would use the word “alien” in an attempt to insult me, but now it serves as a reminder of how our previous behavior is just something to laugh about.

I give Octavia a toothy grin before jumping in front of her and pulling her in for a hug. Although Octavia and I are friends she isn't very fond of hugs and squirms in my embrace as she tries to push me away. Laughing I loosen my grip and allow her to pry herself free. After falling out of my arms Octavia attempts to give me a deadpanned expression, she may not like hugs but they always cause her to make the cutest angry faces. Pouting at me Octavia hits my shoulder softly, before motioning for Pinkie and me to enter.

While we make our way into the house Vinyl greets us with a cheery grin. She appears to have exited the shower recently, her mane still wrapped in a towel while a soft looking pair of fuzzy slippers are under her hooves.

"Hey guys, what brings you here this late at night?"Vinyl asks Pinkie and me as we enter her home.

Pinkie answers while bouncing in place, "Nery and I were in the Canterlot Library all day, by the time we left it had gotten so late that there were no more trains returning to Ponyville. So with us being in Canterlot and all we were hoping you would be able to give us a room to spend the night."

Vinyl lets out a small chuckle before responding, "So you guys just wanna mooch off of us again?" She attempts to give Pinkie and me a look of annoyance that is instantly betrayed by the smile growing on her face.

"When you put it that way I guess we should add dinner to our list of demands?" I tell Vinyl as my eyes wander over the empty bowl that usually had fruit sitting on the table in the center of the living room. Without realizing it not only had I grown exhausted, I was hungry too. Deciding Vinyl and Octavia may have taken my question as a joke, seeing as they have yet to respond, I ask again, "Seriously, can I please have something small to eat before bed I'm starving?"

Vinyl shakes her head in amusement as Octavia responds, "Only something small. Last time we humored your insatiable appetite you cleaned all of our cupboards of everything edible."

I respond dryly, "Pinkie and Vinyl ate way more food that day than I did..."

Vinyl interrupts me before I can continue to defend myself, “Nairs, it's alright, Tavi makes more than enough bits to pay for some extra food every now and again." - Vinyl turns to Octavia and gives her a shit eating grin - "Make it quick though Tavi’s been stressed out recently and wanted to hit the hay early tonight if you feel my beat."

As Vinyl finishes her sentence a rose colored Octavia slaps her across the muzzle before huffing, "As a friend I will let that disgusting joke slide. However Vinyl if you think that as a mare of good social standing I will allow you to insult my purity I..." - It is at this moment Octavia's neck begins to have a red tinge spread across it as well - "Oh b-buck all of you." Octavia stammers as she storms out of the room.

Vinyl laughs triumphantly, "She's great, even though I can't have this kind of fun when it's just the two of us you guys are here now so yeah." - shifting her gaze away from the fleeing mare Vinyl fixes her attention onto me and Pinkie - "Hey, have I ever mention how much I love you guys’ company? But seriously, all we have for eating right now though are a couple of apples and some strange juice that Tavi’s been making, - " a small chill visibly spread across Vinyl’s body causing her to pause " - I wouldn't drink it if I were you, it tastes awful. But like I said we don't have much in the way of food at the moment, you guys kinda stopped by the night before we head out to Ponyville Market."

"You girls go to Ponyville just for food?" Pinkie inquires confused not about their activity, but instead about the fact that this is something she doesn’t know about her friends.

"Yeah. You can't find fresh food in Canterlot to save your life. Besides Tavi and I just finished some big gigs and decided we should take a break at her old home in Ponyville." Vinyl responds in her typical casual manner completely disregarding the excitement visibly threatening to cause the pink mare to explode as she shakes violently in place. How she manages to have so much energy after a day like the one we had I do not know.

Suddenly Pinkie bursts, shouting while making no attempt to contain her excitement she exclaims, "I - can't - believeit,Ifoundanewreasontothrowyougirlsaparty!..."

Placing a hand over Pinkie's muzzle I attempt to silence her, but all I manage to do is muffle her unceasing speech causing Vinyl to laugh and give Pinkie an amused look.

Octavia steps into the living room and comments on Pinkie's harmless antics, "We'll somepony sure is lively considering it's half past midnight."

Just by hearing mention of the time I feel myself fall over and melt into the chair behind me. I yawn, and then sleepily say, "While we’re on the subject of how late it is, how about that food and a bed, please." Octavia rolls her eyes and tosses me a small sandwich from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Whoa, hey Tavi why don't I get one of those when I ask for one? I mean she didn't even ask and you made her a sandwich, doesn’t that break some kind of rule or something..." There is a short pause as Vinyl’s face becomes expressionless before she gasps, "Wait, where did you get the stuff to make a sandwich, you told me all we had were apples and that gross thing you drink?"

Octavia rolls her eyes at Vinyl Scratch. "It was going to be for breakfast, but Neredia looked so tired and hungry that I thought she should have it. We can just eat out for breakfast anyway."

As I start eating the delicious sandwich I smile at Octavia silently thanking her for the food. Then I smile at the small meal while immersing myself in eating what has to be the best daisy and clover sandwich I’ve ever had.

Octavia smiles back before speaking up again, "Now about your sleeping arrangements. The guest room is empty, and if all of your previous nights over are any indication, the two of you have no reserves about sharing a bed no?"

I am still happily chewing away at my sandwich oblivious to whatever it is that they’re talking about now.

Pinkie speaks up to answer Octavia while a blush creeps across her cheeks, but her voice maintains it’s bubbliness, "Sharing a bed is fine."

Octavia feigns a gasp of surprise, "Oh how scandalous." - Octavia pauses to look around the room with a goofy grin on her muzzle which starts to shift into a small frown when she realizes no one is laughing. -"Come on Vinyl makes a bedroom joke and you all laugh, I make a joke and nopony thinks me funny?"

Having finished the sandwich I thank Octavia for the small meal before heading upstairs. I already know that the guest room is open, Octavia would have mentioned visitors earlier considering she usually hates having most anypony over to spend the night and loves to complain about it. Letting out another yawn I turn to look down from the top of stairs, "Goodnight, see you all when Celestia's stupid sun ruins my sleep."

The now dumbfounded Octavia runs a hoof over her face in defeat, "Goodnight Neredia."

Vinyl laughs in amusement, "Night Nairs, and congrats on breaking Octavia again."

Pinkie hops up the stairs skipping three steps at a time. When she makes it to the tops she nuzzles into my side before yawning. It is adorable, honestly every time she yawns my heart melts. I think it has to do with the way her cute tongue curls out of her mouth and her nose scrunches up, it's unbearable.

Even so, she doesn't usually yawn that often. Running my hand through Pinkies mane I ask her, "The day’s activities finally catching up to you?"

My question is only met with silence. Looking down I notice that the small pink mare's eyes are half-lidded and she is smacking her lips. Suppressing a laugh I walk beside her as we walk to the guest bedroom. Opening the door I usher Pinkie in and close the door behind us before helping her get into bed.

Vinyl's home is truly luxurious compared to every other place I have slept. The guest room has a private bathroom, a giant king sized bed, a pair of drawers for their guests' belongings, a closet in the corner beside the door that leads into the room, and a medium sized couch at the other end of the same wall.

I speak softly trying to not disturb Pinkie's relaxed state, "I'm gonna take a quick shower. You go ahead and sprawl out on the bed, I'll just settle in after I'm done."

Pinkie responds with a soft "uh-huh" before crawling underneath the covers an curling up on one side of the large mattress.

After I finish taking a quick bath, my initial idea of taking a shower wasn’t going to happen considering how tired I am, I step out of the restroom. Slamming my second knuckles together to mimic the clap of hooves causes the enchanted candles in the restroom and bedroom flicker before their flames are magically extinguished. Then I hobble over to the bed where by now Pinkie is probably already sleeping.

A strange smell assaults my sense; it was like an overwhelming cinnamon smell. I guess that is probably from the candles and is meant to help guests relax, but it is definitely too strong for my taste. Feeling my way around being cautious to avoid kicking anything in the dark I come up to the edge opposite of where Pinkie had initially laid down. Leaning forward I pass my hands over the mattress feeling for Pinkie. I don’t feel her anywhere in my arms reach, so I lay down content with the fact that I should be able to do so without crushing her. Gently lifting the covers I slide into their warm embrace enjoying the feeling of their softness pressing against me. After completely covering myself and getting comfortable it is only a matter of minutes before I fall asleep.

"See Tavi, you just aren't funny. Beside's Ponk likes being around Nery while you act all uppity around me, so your joke had little to no merit while mine was the epitome of humor." Vinyl finishes her comment by blowing a raspberry at Octavia.

Octavia sighs as she responds with another sad attempt at humor, "Goodnight Vinyl, I hope you sleep poorly."

"Never do when you won’t let me spend the night with you Tavi." Vinyl laughs loudly as she starts up the stairs already knowing how Octavia is going to respond. Octavia is once again turning a deep shade of red, but this time she lets out a defeated shout and dashes up the stairs toppling Vinyl over in the process. Octavia runs into her room and slams the door behind her annoyed at Vinyl’s insistence to tease her for being a mare of morals and decency, who at times only appears to be a prude for the sake of decency.

Vinyl is getting to her hooves as one of the doors upstairs slams shut. She assumes Octavia has decided to call it a day and concludes that she should do the same considering how late it is getting. Picking up the towel that is now resting on the floor after having fallen off of her head when Octavia knocked her down she rests it across her shoulders. Now that she is standing she runs a hoof through her mane in an attempt to straighten out the still damp hair. Then she makes her way up the stairs to her own room smiling content at tonight’s turn of events, not only was Pinkie and Nairs here, but they probably had a story to tell judging by the way they looked.

Vinyl speaks to herself as she rubs her eyes with a hoof, "At least this should make tomorrow morning easier a bit more interesting, I guess."