Misty looked unusually excited, almost vibrating in place as she shuffled through papers with a smile on her lips. Despite her fevered pace, her attention seemed to be somewhere else entirely.

Amber looked up from her book. "Uh, are you alright?"

"Shh! This is the moment I've been waiting for!" Misty continued flipping through pages, squinting at them intently before tossing them aside with a look of excitement on her face that she rarely wore.

Amber stood up and circled the desks to get closer to Misty. "What are you doing?"

"Matching them!" Misty said excitedly before finally tossing aside another page with an annoyed groan at what was on it before holding up one more to examine it closely. "I thought I had it."

Amber sat next to her magic buddy. "Calm down. Tell me what you're doing exactly. I can't help if I don't know what you're doing. Does it involve magic, or the library?"

Misty turned the paper so Amber could see it. "Take a look at that, and then tell me what you think!"

Amber lifted the paper up to get a better look at it. At first, she saw nothing, but turning it about revealed a shimmering shine just under the words. "What?" She leaned in closer. "Did you cast a spell on the page?"

"Not the spells, exactly." She tapped her hooves together. "I cast a spell on the copy machine."

Amber started at that. "You made the copy machine print magic?! That's, well, amazing! And dangerous." She peered at the paper again before tracing the shimmer with a hoof. "What does it do?"

"It makes a connection!" Misty grinned, quite pleased with herself. "A permanent connection that just needs a little boost from somepony like me to actually use it." She burst into renewed excited giggles. "The trick is that I'm not actually sure what it will do. From what I can gather, it depends on what's on the page, besides the magic, but I've been afraid to just go and try activating one to see what happens."

Amber lifted an eyebrow. "So, what are you thinking of doing exactly?"

"I was thinking that we could test these out, but maybe keep a safe distance?" Misty tapped a hoof to her chin. "In case we trigger a rocket ship or something?"

"Not every creature is as weird as you are." Amber hopped to her hooves with a laugh. "But I'm getting excited. First, is the copy machine done making magic papers? We don't want any random ponies ending up with these."

Misty shook her head. "You have to put in a secret code first."

Amber blinked in amazement. "You thought ahead." She threw an arm over Misty, hugging her. "Smart. Okay. Let's grab these enchanted papers and go try something. Could be fun, or nothing. Only one way to find out!"

Misty gathered up the pile of papers before floating them away into a bag with her magic. She slipped on the bag with a delighted giggle. "Come on! We're gonna test one!" She zipped off towards the roof of the library with an eager bounce in her step.

Amber rushed after her, catching up quickly thanks to her larger stride and bounding hoofsteps. "How are we going to pick one to test? Is there something you're leaning towards? Maybe we should look them over first, just to be sure?"

Misty curled on herself, grabbing the first paper at the top of the stack. She floated it free to rest on the roof. "It was on top, so it gets to be first. Simple, right?"

Amber snickered before getting serious as she peered down at the page that lay at their hooves. "Now, activate it?"

Misty threw an arm up in the air dramatically with a flourish before beginning to weave magic over the page, stirring the sparkles into motion until a shimmering circle formed in the air over the page even as words scrawled out across its surface that read "Things distant and things lost. They can be found if you know where to look."

Amber tilted her head to the side at that. "Is it a spell? Are we supposed to say something?"

Misty spread her hooves. "Um..." She stepped back and ducked behind Amber in fear of what might happen. "I'm not sure. Sounds exciting, but also maybe terrifying? What do we do?"

Amber glanced back at Misty. "Well, as the head librarian." She coughed into a hoof. "We've come this far, we have to finish it." She locked her horn in the direction of the page, feeding it more magic. A spiral formed in the air above it. Amber flared her magic into a pillar that rose higher than the two of them before swooping down like a claw, clutching the page and lifting it into the air.

The paper began to burn away, but as it did, a vision of strange creatures was visible in the magic. They head the front parts of birds and the back ends of cats. Then, they were gone, fading along with the magic. All that remained was a blue butterfly fluttering down to land on Amber's hoof before taking off again.

Misty stared at where the page had been with wide eyes. "It's gone! Was that...?" She threw her hooves up in the air as she squealed happily. "That was cool!"

"Yeah!" Amber swung an arm over Misty. "I don't know what you did, but that was interesting." She peered at the bag that held all the other papers. "We'll be stuck gaping all day if we keep asking for peeks at 'things far' and 'things lost.'"

Misty cantered in place excitedly. "But we can do it. This is amazing." She bumped against the bag. "Keep those around if we want to try again."

"Absolutely!" Amber leaped onto the library wall and stared out over the city with an eager smile on her lips. "They may come in handy sometime." She considered things for a moment. "I'm not sure if I want to hunt for 'things lost'. Well, besides magic. That's already one! I think we're doing a good job with that."

Misty trotted up next to her with a hoof to her chin as she wondered what else might be hiding out there for them to find before casting her gaze over towards Amber. "So, when do we, um, think about sharing magic?"

Amber hummed at that as she glanced down at her hooves. "I'm not sure yet. Soon! We still have lots to learn about each other's magic, and ourselves too. Once we can do it without even thinking, that's when we should share our knowledge." She nudged against Misty, leading her back down into the library proper.

Toots felt something light land on his upturned belly. "Comfs?" It was light, even for her, but she could be however heavy, or light, as she felt like being. "That you?"

"Yes and no." Comforting snickered gently. "I brought a new friend."

Toots cracked open an eye and looked up to see Twitch sitting on his belly. He blinked as he took in the scene. The rabbit wasn't trying to eat him, or even hurt him. That was nice! "Uh, hi." He shifted in place under Twitch to get more comfortable. "Why're you here?"

Twitch spoke in his exciting gibbering, waving his arms about wildly. His teeth showed all the while.

Comforting sighed gently. "He was chased out of his home by a very rude kitty. She left him out in the cold all alone, but not us."

Twitch turned to Comforting. She could understand him with the goggles she wore. "Actually, it's hot. Do you have a way to cool down?"

Toots did not. "Uh, are they happy, or about to eat me?"

Comforting laughed as she scooped up Twitch. "He's a harmless bunny, but he's also a hot bunny." She looked around for something to address that with. "Want something cool to drink?

Hearing an excited cheer, Comforting took Twitch to the fridge to grab a drink. There were few hoof-friendly containers available in the building. She settled for a cooler bottle with a twist-off cap before setting it down before Twitch and giving it a rub-twist, just enough for a crack, before letting him do the rest.

Twitch was quite happy to guzzle down some of the cool fluid with a sigh of relief that required no translation.

Toots slid to his hooves with a rolling over. "He seems, uh, nice? So why is he here?"

"I was hoping." Comforting twirled around to Toots' back, rubbing his shoulders gently. "I was hoping he could stay here. He needs a home, and a library really isn't where a bunny should be."

Toots twisted about and picked up Comforting's hands in his own hooves. "He doesn't have anywhere to go?"

"I was hoping he could live with you?" Comforting resumed massaging Toots with a happy hum. "I know this is a sudden request, but where else could I go with the poor little guy?"

Toots fidgeted under her ministrations. "So, if he's gonna live here, does that mean I need to make space for him? Is he gonna live in my bed?"

"No!" Comforting giggled at the mental image of that. "We can get him a little bed that's more his size. I bet he'll bounce out of here most days, but he needs a safe place to come back to, where he knows that bed's waiting for him, and he'll always be welcome."

"Huh." Toots could hear Twitch hopping about in his home. It wasn't a very big home. But, it had been enough for one tiny pony. Could a bunny fit in here? He waved Comforting around to his front to kiss either of her cheeks. "This will take some getting used to. But if he plays nice, I can too. I'll give it a try."

Twitch clambered into view on Toots' back before sliding down and landing on the floor with a hoppy bounce before pulling out a notepad and beginning to scribble something on it eagerly as he bounced in place as he nodded eagerly before showing it to Toots as he waited expectantly.

Toots tilted his head at the picture. "Aw, cute." He took the pad gently and showed it to Comforting. It had Twitch and Toots meeting, hoof to paw, with a carrot between them. A little heart was drawn over the carrot. "I think he wants to be friends. Or he wants a carrot." He glanced around his home and checked the shelves for a snack he could offer Twitch. "You're a lot slimmer than most bunnycorns I ever saw before. Um, and less horn." He found a bushel of carrots and pulled one free. "Here you go."

Twitch squeaked happily as he rushed forward to claim the carrot for himself as he began gnawing on it voraciously before easing off slightly as he sat there contentedly with it in his paws as he began chewing on it slowly and thoughtfully as he savored every morsel.

Comforting sank beside Toots. "I'm no bunny expert, but that's a happy rabbit, I think." She nuzzled his cheek. "You're already an expert at this."

Toots wiggled in place as he rubbed his face against Comforting's affectionately. "I just want to make you happy."

"Mission accomplished." She looked between Toots and Twitch fondly. "But, to be clear, this is your house! I'm not calling dibs on it. If he gets to be a pain, you tell me. Don't hold back just because 'oh no, she asked me to do this!' I care about you, okay?"

Toots pushed back into Comforting. "Okay." He sighed contentedly at having Comforting close by as he gazed down at Twitch who had polished off the carrot before hopping off in search of more goodies to munch on happily as he found and claimed some bread from Toots' fridge and munched on that happily. "How long has it been since he last ate?"

Comforting frowned with thought. "To be honest, I never saw him eat before now, so, poor thing. He must have been starving." She dug out a card and offered it to Toots. "Use this to get him a bed, something small and cute that fits him."

Toots put a hoof on the card before backing away from it slowly as he gazed at it from afar for a long moment before finally shaking himself off and yanking the card out of Comforting's grasp with a sheepish smile. "You're trusting me with a lot. I know you're kinda, um, rich."

Comforting patted his head. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I was throwing money at you. That was never my intention." She brought her hands together thoughtfully. "I trust you. Just one bunny bed, and some food for him if you want so you have a stash to get out when he needs something."

Toots stood there as he shuffled from hoof to hoof. "This is very strange." He studied Twitch's actions carefully. "I never had somecritter depend on me before. Can I do it?"

Comforting rubbed along Toots' side. "If it helps, he's very smart, and independent. You're just an easier way for him to get what he needs. And, maybe, eventually, a friend. He's a more of a roommate than a 'pet', if you think about it. I bet he'd get annoyed if he heard we were calling him one."

Toots smiled gently at that assurance. "Thanks for explaining it like that. I guess I'll get this stuff for him then."

Twitch came rushing up to deliver a sharp little rabbit kick to Comforting's side. "I am not a pet!"

Comforting cleared her throat at that before giving Twitch a gentle pat on his head as she drew him closer to Toots. "Now you listen to me, young bunny. This is Toots, and this is his home. You two will play nicely, okay? He'll make sure you have a comfy bed to come home to, and there'll be food. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Twitch scoffed with an annoyed huff as he grumbled and rolled his eyes at her insinuation even as he relented under her touch and eventually settled down against her touch even as he scowled unhappily at being called a pet.

Author's Note

New spells and new roomies. What a productive day!

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