Idle Hooves Are the Mind's Play Thing
Twilight Sparkle paced in the library, but instead of the usual pile of books that accompanied her study sessions, Twilight was levitating one book in front of her. She scanned its pages up and down, giving it one last look before closing it and giving the title one last glance.
"The Magic of Dating for Fillies and Colts," she read aloud. It didn't answer all the questions that had been stirring in her mind since that morning, but it was the best book she could find in the library on the subject, and she needed whatever study material she could muster on this. She went to put it back on its shelf, wondering to herself what kind of book would restrict the locations one could read its contents. The book, however, clearly stated that she should not take it on the date with her, and Twilight had found in the past that books' advice could rarely not be trusted. Twilight placed it on the self-help shelf, exactly in the spot that was a small gap just seconds ago. Twilight then checked the front door for the sixth time before turning to glance at the clock.
"6:30. When did Rarity say he would be here?" Twilight thought aloud. She approached a small business-sized card that lay on the table.
"7:00?" Twilight frowned; this would cut into her study time of advanced teleportation spells, but Rarity had insisted that Twilight get out more, and as a good friend Twilight at least took her suggestion into consideration. As Twilight finished cleaning up the last of the library she attempted to think of how to burn away half an hour. She mused simply grabbing the dating book again to review everything over again; studying never hurt any filly, especially not her. She eventually turned the idea down, but only because she calculated she wouldn’t have enough time to review all she needed in time. Twilight just sat on the couch and let thoughts play in her head.
Twilight couldn’t figure out what exactly was bothering her. She was feeling the same way she did the infamous day she…overreacted? That seem to be the best word she could apply to that day, but she was the princess’s trusted pupil and multi-time hero of Equestria, what was making her feel so anxious? She had bested Nightmare Moon and even Discord with the power of her and her friends. In each of those situations, she kept her calm; at least most of the time. Why now, then was she feeling as if she was about to enter magic kindergarten for the second time? The realization finally came to her: It wasn’t the situation she was anxious about, it was not knowing what she was doing. In the case of Nightmare Moon, she knew exactly what she needed to do, even though at first she didn’t understand the princess’s motives behind sending her to Ponyville. Against Discord, the crafty draconequus practically led her and her friends to how to defeat him, though the pathway between was far from straight. But unlike fighting those two, Twilight couldn’t depend on her friends to be here for this, and furthermore Twilight only got the information she desperately needed from one book which was woefully inadequate. Twilight had found out what the cause behind her anxieties was, but that didn’t make her feel any less anxious. She tried to think of how to calm her nerves and her thoughts meandered to this morning.
Rarity had been the mastermind behind this date. She had reasoned that if Twilight had a reason to go out, something stronger that simply her friends, then maybe Twilight would spend the adequate amount of time she needed in the sun to get a healthy-looking coat. Rarity had stressed that before. Twilight had never seen a problem with her coat. As long as it was cleaned and brushed regularly, then it looked perfectly fine to her. Rarity, however, was of a differing opinion. Rarity stated to the lavender mare that the lack of sun made her lavender coat turn a sickly shade of pale.
Twilight caught her mind’s wandering. Rarity’s opinion of her lavender coat didn’t matter much at this moment, she needed to focus on what she needed to do tonight. The only obstacle to her planning attempts was the stallion himself. What would he be like? Was he a Pegasus, Unicorn, Alicorn? Twilight mused a little at the last thought. She hadn’t seen a male alicorn, much less an alicorn that wasn’t in some way related to the royal family. Her mind focused on more important things. How would he act? Would he be like Rarity or other Canterlot ponies? Was that the kind of pony she wanted in this special friendship? She didn’t doubt Rarity’s expertise when it came to getting around social situations or finding a particular pony in a crowded city, but Twilight couldn’t help but think about the Blueblood incident. Rarity had obsessed over him, and yet he turned out to be just like most Canterlot nobles, if not worse. Twilight began to question what exactly Rarity was looking for in the date Twilight was meeting later tonight. She was a great friend, but some times she seemed to get caught up in the affluence and wealth of Canterlot, and of the ponies who populated that city.
If Twilight ended up not able to trust her current matchmaker, who could she turn to? Well, that was provided she even wanted to continue this whole dating thing. Twilight settled for a hypothetical. If she did want to continue, who would she turn to? The best pony she could think of was Pinkie Pie. The pink pony had proven on multiple occasions that she knew every pony in Ponyville, even on one occasion reciting the Ponyville Census, as well as each pony’s birthday. Somepony who knew that many people must be a perfect pony to play the matchmaker role. Though, how would Pinkie Pie’s chaotic nature affect her ability to make matches? Twilight cut the thought short. There was no need to get wrapped up in that hypothetical. Twilight took another look at the clock. Somehow, her musings had passed twenty minutes.
Much to her surprise, a knock came to the door. Twilight fumbled to get off the couch and walked over. She gulped and then responded,
“Who is it?” Twilight waited for a few seconds before the awaited response came.
“It’s me, Soothing Tones. Rarity told me to meet you here?” Twilight attempted to banish the last of her anxieties about the date. Whatever happened tonight, it couldn’t be the end of the world, right? She slowly let the door open and did her best to cast all her worries away.
