"You know, even with all she reads, I think she doesn't even acknowledge that the word 'break' even exists," Spike mumbled to himself. And as he looked to Twilight, his oldest friend, she certainly looked as involved and devoted as a pony could under the circumstances. Her nose was buried in, what else, a book, and her eyes never left its pages. Gone were all the other students, leaving just her and her draconic companion in this classroom. Turning, Spike could see the other young mares and stallions leave, no doubt heading home now that the vacation had been called. But here they were, still in the school, still in this room, not leaving because, of course, Twilight was still studying. Knowing that she was too engrossed to hear him, the tiny dragon let out a deep sigh. "It's a mental block, that's it. She read the dictionary once, saw the word 'break', and then just phased it out of her mind from that day onwards. That's the only explanation I can think of right now."
Here, at last, Twilight glanced up, but only for a fraction of a second. "Could you keep it down, Spike? I'm trying to study here."
Looking back to her, Spike arched an eyebrow. "I know you're studying, Twilight. That's all you do. It's what you did yesterday. It's what you did last night. It's all you've been doing all semester. And you know, I'll bet you'll be studying in your sleep if you keep going on like this!"
Twilight, with her eyes once more on her pages, spoke up a second time. "It's my responsibility to learn as much about magic as I can, Spike. If I've got a free second, I'll use it."
Spike shook his head. "Look, I'm all for devoting yourself to your work, but there are limits! I mean...the vacation's been called, Twilight! You can't keep yourself cooped up here in this classroom for the next few weeks with your head stuck in a book!"
Twilight chuckled. "Watch me! Others can walk away and relax or fritter away the day, or whatever it is they want to do. But me? I know my path in life, and I'm going to stick to it!" A quick giggle escaped her. "Besides, can you imagine how impressed my classmates will be when they come back and find out how much further ahead I'll be? They'll be so impressed that they too will be inspired to devote their time to the pursuit of magical knowledge!"
Folding his arms, Spike looked to her with increasing incredulity. "Somehow I doubt they'll be as obsessed with it as you are, Twilight. They might not even notice."
Twilight frowned. "I am not 'obsessed', Spike."
Spike smirked. "Oh yeah? When was the last time you ate anything? I seem to recall making you a nice breakfast this morning, only to come back to it and find it uneaten."
Twilight waved him off. "I appreciate you making it, Spike. But I was getting really involved with this particular chapter about some of Starswirl's magical theories. Did you know he once postulated that it would be within the purview of an advanced user of magic to achieve mana reserves that exceed what even Haycartes theorised was possible?"
Spike, as was often the case when she described the things she'd learned, rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did know, because that's what you said when you first read about it...after ignoring my breakfast. Which, by the way, brings me neatly back to the point that you need to eat something! You're gonna pass out if you don't get something in you!"
But Twilight seemed unconcerned, as usual. "Oh Spike, you worry too much. Besides, I'm not that hungry!" As expected, her words were punctuated by the sound of her belly unleashing a massive grumble. Spike, understandably, looked rather smug about that, but Twilight herself simply narrowed her eyes. "That...proves...nothing."
Spike hung his head, shaking it slightly. "You know, if nothing else, will you at least promise me you're gonna attend Moondancer's party later? She's been looking forward to it for ages now and it would be really good for her if you were there."
"Uh-huh," Twilight remarked, clearly not listening.
Spike, who was very much aware of the fact that she hadn't been listening, looked to her with some irritation. "Was that an 'uh'huh' that meant you heard me clearly? Or did it just means you're too engrossed with your book to know what's being said to you right now?"
"...Uh-huh," Twilight repeated.
Spike, after a while, took in a deep breath, as was typical of one trying to keep themselves calm around somepony difficult, before exhaling just as deeply. "Okay...this needs the big guns."
Twilight didn't even notice her assistant rushing out of the classroom, as she was too focused on her book to really notice anything around her. She stared at page after page after page, even as the very staff of the school had also begun to trickle out, leaving her almost the only one in the entire building. Then, after a very long time, Spike re-entered the room, but he was not alone. Hoofsteps could be heard, but again, Twilight paid them no heed. That was, until a very familiar voice spoke softly to her. "So...enjoying the book?"
Her eyes snapping wide, Twilight immediately looked up from her book, and right towards the smiling face of her mentor, Princess Celestia. For her and her alone, Twilight stopped what she was doing, getting out of her chair and giving a deep bow to her monarch. "Princess! I'm honored you'd come and visit me here!" Then, when she stood up again, she smiled gleefully. "Have you come to see how far along in my learning I've come?"
Celestia considered the question carefully, before giving an answer in a calm and measured tone. "Oh, I've certainly come to check on you, though not necessarily on your studies."
Twilight tilted her head slightly, showing her unspoken confusion, but it wasn't long before she noticed Spike standing behind the towering alicorn. As her assistant blushed and stayed where he was, nervously poking his fingers together, Twilight quickly put two and two together. She knew now why her teacher was here, and after giving Spike an annoyed glance, she again looked to Celestia. "With the greatest respect, Princess, I promise you that I'm perfectly fine right now. I may be working a bit more than others, but rest assured, I can cope."
A single nod from the Princess. "I have no doubt of that. In fact, I'm so confident of your ability to continue your work, that I've come to offer you some further text to study."
Both youths looked to her. "What?!" they declared simultaneously, with Twilight more happy and Spike rather disheartened.
Celestia laughed a little. "Indeed. This book right here in fact." Her horn lit up, and from nowhere emerged an old tome, which Twilight had never seen before. The young unicorn took it, examining the cover closely, before again looking to her mentor, with the latter beginning to explain herself shortly afterwards. "It's a record of all the oldest myths and tales of Equestria's past. Magic is all well and good, but it's important to broaden our horizons sometimes and look at the deeper stories that have shaped our nation. I feel you will take to this rather well."
With that encouragement given, Twilight again looked to the book, smiling as she did so. "In that case, I'll get to it."
But before she got back to her chair, Celestia raised a hoof, addressing her. "You know, I often found, whenever I had to do some studying of my own, that some fresh air often helped. I was more focused, more at ease, and far better at absorbing the knowledge I was seeing."
Twilight looked to her, intrigued." Really?"
Celestia nodded. "Really. In fact, there's a particular tree, not far from the palace, that I like to sit beneath when reading. I recommend it to you as well, if you're interested."
Twilight smiled to her, levitating the book into a nearby saddle-bag before giving one more bow to the Princess. "Princess, I'd be honored. I'll head there straight away!"
Celestia gave a slight bow of her head in response, then watched as her student bolted out of the classroom. When she was far enough away, and Celestia and Spike could see her outside through the window, the latter gave the alicorn a sly look. "Did...did you just convince her to relax under a tree with a storybook without her realising it?"
Celestia looked down to him, smiling, and gave him a quick pat on the head. "Let this be a lesson, young dragon. When in doubt, never underestimate the power of subtlety."
