Soul's Poison: Into the Dark World

It wasn't the end of the world, but it's still something she had to endure.

Now, she was on the way to Rarity's place. Fluttershy accepted the package without a word. The question about package's content was left unanswered, but that was obvious.

On her way back, she noticed that Fluttershy's words about guards were truthful. Here and there, pairs of guards have been patrolling, and in general, guards were everywhere.

When she was at Fluttershy's place, she asked Dusk if everything's fine in a boutique. She asked the same question, when she was going back to Rarity. Both times, he answered that's everything's fine, and that's she doesn't need to worry. But her gut feelings tell her otherwise.

She was confused with it and failed to understand it, but when she got back to Rarity, she understood why her inner feeling have taken its place.

Spike was there... with no cloak to cover him, and no hood so his head was bare.

"I'm not sure, with whom a pony needs to sleep so her kid would be a dragon, but I still sure that Spike's probably the cutest little thing, I've seen in my life. Except, my little sister, of course." Rarity said, getting everything out of Twilight. She didn't notice her, when she got into the building, so Rarity's words from somewhere to her side was unexpected. "Also, that's... Uh, familiar of yours is really a gentlepony or, maybe, a gentlebird."

"And she is a good pony, Twilight. I feel it in her." Twilight heard Dusk's words in her head.

"As if I believe you," She mentally answered. "What the hay, Dusk. You supposed to tell me every time if something is about to happen."

"My inner self tells me, that it's fine to believe her," He replied.

"Screw you with your inner self, feathered butthole," She sent a mental note, before she got into real world. She instantly turned around, teleporting behind the back of Spike, and grab him with hands.

"Come on, Spike, we'd better go," she said before teleporting them to the door. Spike immediately started to straggle.

"Oh, you are leaving yet?" Rarity said, while moving in to the depths of her boutique as if looking for something.

"No, we are not, Rarity!" Spike screamed.

"Yes, we are," Twilight said, starting a little quarrel with a Spike, while pulling him in the direction of the door.

"Hey, darlings, it's quite interesting to hear that you both have the same relationship as me and my sister, but..." She said, while starting to look through some designs at the back of a boutique. Then, she turned to them and shouted, "WOULD YOU BE SO KIND TO ANSWER MY QUESTION!.. Please."

Her shouting immediately stopped them from their little verbal skirmish. "Um... Uh, p-probably." Spike said. Twilight stay silenced.

"Good... Now, can you tell me, where you two are heading to?" She asked, while remembering something and walking to the market's stall.

"Oh, yeah, we can. We are heading to..." He started to speak, only to come to that that he doesn't know where they are going to. "Uh, where are we heading to, Twilight?"

Twilight only stayed silenced, watching Rarity precisely, but she just moved to her stall and started to get through the things in the drawer under her stall, obviously looking for something. "It's just... If you're heading to the mayor... Urgh, where in the hay, that thing is?.. Aha, here it is. Well, if you're heading to the mayor, then can you take this to her?" She said, rising a sealed letter up to her muzzle.

They stay in an awkward silence for some time. Then Rarity decided to break it. "There'll be no guards in there. Trust me." She said, trying to reassure Twilight and having some success in it, since Twilight didn't just pick up Spike and go away.

Twilight have been silent for some time, but then she opened her mouth, "What's about the letter?"

"It's about a deal I had few days ago. Her piece of a cake is ready to be picked up," she answered.

"Her... piece?" She said in confusion, but take the letter nevertheless.

"Yes, her piece," Rarity said. "Me and Ivory Scroll, our mayor, have a deal. She doesn't mess up with my deals and I give her a piece of a money I got from those deals... Not an info to share, I know, but I can believe you I guess."

"Oh, I... That's unexpected, but... Thank you. Didn't believe that I would hear that from anyone." Twilight said.

"Well, that's what friends are for, darling," Rarity said, giving a hug to Twilight getting her by surprise, then kissing a Spike after she quickly departed from Twilight. "Well, goodbye sweeties. It was pleasure to meet you two."

Both of them said their goodbye and then they departed.

"Now, isn't Rarity a lovely mare?" Spike said, when they got to the city hall.

"Only after eleven years, Spike," Twilight answered. "I don't want to worsen up our relationship with her just because someone got her in a love session with immature dragon."

"Hey, Twilight, I'm quite mature," Spike complained.

"Even for a pony standard of eighteen years, you are not of age," Twilight said. "And that if not saying that a dragon standard is twenty five... Still, I can't keep you away from her. I'm not against the love between you and her, but... Just don't get into any close relationship. It'll cause a lot of troubles if someone catch you both... Heck, even to keep your relationship hidden would be little troublesome."

"Twilight, I believe we are not the ones to complain about the troubles of life and how hard life is," Spike said.

"Yeah," Twilight replied, before getting a close look onto the city hall. Quite a big building it was. Rarity was a honest in her words. There wasn't guards on the entry, and when they got into the building there wasn't any guards too. Only workers and some tough looking ponies.

They found the mayor's cabinet pretty quickly. In there, they found an old mare, with dark-cream colored coat and grey mane. There is something odd about her. I wonder what.

"Why, hello there! What can I do for you?" Mayor said, being quite welcoming.

After taking a seat, Twilight replied, "Oh, there is two issues. The first one is... Here, take this," She give a letter to mayor.

"Oh, Is that from Rarity?" Mayor asked, but answered the question herself, "Yes, it is. This handwriting is hers. And what's your second issue?"

"We would like to get a house and a job, if that's possible," Twilight said.

"Oh, that's it," mayor said, then she replied "Well, then answer my question. Do you like books?"

"Books? Why, of course,"Twilight replied, being quite confused with unexpected question. "But how is this question connected to our issue?"

"And are you calm in nature?" Mayor asked, ignoring her question completely.

"Yes, but I still don't understand why you asking these questions," Twilight replied, having no clue why she is asking such questions. Then, a realization hit like a train.

"A librarian? You need... A librarian," Twilight told the mayor her guess.

"Yes, you're right," mayor replied.

"But, where we would..." Twilight said, but she was interrupted by the mayor.

"In the same place you'll be working," mayor said in reply. "Our librarian, the one that was before you, got married and as you understand, she'd gone with her husband to another city. Trottingham, if you want to know."

"Wow, impressive, I... I believe that I can work as a local librarian, but how much money we'll be receiving?" Twilight said.

"Fifteen bits every week," mayor said, but before Twilight can say her decision, she continued. "You may be receiving more if you would take a participation in the town's events."

"Um, well, that's... That's fine, so..." Twilight agreed, now thinking about something that she forgot.

"Documents?.." Mayor said, getting Twilight on the right track of thoughts. "Coming right now with the keys... Now, what's your names?"

"Dusk Shine, that's my name and down here is my son, Humdrum," Twilight said, getting a smirk from mayor.

"Humdrum?.. Huh, if that's the name you give him... Then, he will be a good librarian," mayor chuckled at her little joke. "Now the rent for the next month. Forty bits."

After those word, Twilight opened her dimensional pocket right over the mayor's table, letting the bits fall on the table. That spook mayor a little bit, but she calmed down herself pretty fast.

When forty bits fall onto the table, dimensional pocket disappeared. Mayor quickly counted all the coins and took them. "Well, then I must greet a new residents of Ponyville. Here's the keys from library and your new house," mayor said, before giving a handshake to Twilight. Pretty energetic for a pony of her age.

When Twilight and Spike were ready to go, the mayor called for them, "before you go, I must tell you that our library was staying closed for two weeks, so when you get there, the place probably should be cleaned completely."

"Fine, we will take that into account," Twilight answered and she exit the room with Spike.

When they got to the place, they understood why the place should have a proper cleaning. The door leads into the dusty inners of hollowed oak tree, but all the inners looked untouched. That got her confused but she started cleaning nevertheless.

"Spike, how do you think, why things here were left untouched? Why nopony ever tried to steal something from here?" Twilight asked Spike about what she didn't understand, checking if he have something on his mind.

"I dunno." Spike answered. "But, you know, if they have guards all over the place some of them may be here watching the library."

"There is no o..." In that moment, someone knocked on the door. Twilight stood there for a moment, but when someone knocked in the second time, Twilight rushed to the door.

"Who is there?" She said.

"Royal guards. Ponyville's department. Please, open the door," the voice behind the door banged, reminding Twilight of the time when she lived in Canterlot. Of the time when Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, was a cadet in royal's guard academy.

"What do you want?.. Privates," Twilight said, when she opened the door, and got a look on the signs on the guard's breastplates.

"Miss, what are you doing in here. This is the town's property," one of the guards said.

"Not anymore... At least, some part of this building belongs to me now. The other part, that is a public library, will start working as it was working before. Is that clear?" Twilight said, with a confident and loud voice, that she heard from a brother and other guards, she had met before.

"Oh, that's it... Hmm, we believe you've already done all the paperwork in the city hall?" The other guard said.

"Maybe. We was there for five minutes and only gave our names. By the way, about this place: why the things here were left untouched?" Twilight replied and asked a question in return.

"Oh, if so then, you will be called in the city hall sometime in the future. As for your question... Well, when no one lived in here... There were several cases of thievery. Five time to be sure. Every time thieves were stopped and punished, while guards were getting promotions," the guard said with a strange expression on his face. It was a mix of pride and envy, as some of those guards were his pals.

"Wow, that's interesting... Wait, you said... Oh, sweet Goddess, this place is such a sweet spot for you... Well, since now, it wouldn't be so," Twilight said with a sly smirk.

"Well, I believe that's every tale have its ending... Well, we will go then. We wish you a good day," the guard said, before they two went away.

"Wish you the same," she shouted them in the backs and got back into the library. After several hours, someone knocked again. After going through the same stuff, she opened the door, though the voice was high-pitched and somewhat familiar. When she opened the door, she immediately understood who it was.

"Hello, what can I... Wait, that's you!" Twilight said, when she saw the pony who was standing behind the door.

"Yes, my dear friend, that's me your auntie Pinkie," pink pony said.

"Urgh, what do you need, Pinkie?" Twilight grunted.

"What do I need? No, the question is what do you need?" Pinkie rephrazed Twilight and before Twilight was able to answer, she continued. "You need a good party!"

"I need nothing," Twilight answered and tried to close the door.

"Oh, but you need a party," Pinkie said, putting her hoof into a gap, making Twilight unable to close it completely. "Twilight, please... I-I have something for ya."

"What's that?" Twilight said, opening the door and letting Pinkie Pie in.

"Oh, here you are," she said, getting a glass from somewhere .

Wait, what? Twilight thought.

Twilight accepted glass, and looked precisely at it. Then she threw a glance at Pinkie. Then... She spilled the stuff from the glass onto the ground.

"What are you doing, Twilight?" Spike exclaimed from the behind.

"Dream Givers. This punch contains an extract from the Dream Givers. Drugs, if you want," Twilight answered.

"Don't worry about it. I have a plenty of this stuff. This also says that I need to be more cautious with you, Twilight." Pinkie said as she entered the library. "Now, we are going to have a proper party. AJ, Flutter, Dashie and Rars will come in the next minutes."

"Wait, who?!" Twilight shouted, then they heard a knock on the door.

"Oh, that's must be them," Pinkie said, ignoring Twilight. She quickly ran to the door and opened it, "Hello guys, you got everything we need?"

"Yeah, we've got everything covered," a familiar voice with a southern accent could be heard from the library's entrance. Then, Twilight and Spike saw familiar ponies.

"Then let's make this party started," Pinkie shouted.

A lot of ponies have entered the library. Rarity and Fluttershy were familiar to Twilight and Spike, but the other two mares were... Still familiar to Twilight and Spike.

Wait, are those the ponies from the forest?! Twilight thought.