Chapters "We're really sorry Miss Cherilee," Applebloom said, hanging her head in embarrassment. "We promise to pay more attention in class." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood next to her, both in similar states of apology. The school morning was over, and the classroom was empty, but for the three girls and their teacher. Everypony else was outside eating lunch or playing on the playground, their laughter coming through an open window at the back of the classroom. Cherilee sat behind her desk looking down at her students and sighing.
"I'm sure your very sorry, but this is the third time you have fallen asleep in the middle of class. What's your excuse this time?" Cherilee asked, more than a little annoyed. "Wait, let me guess, you were trying to get your cutie marks?"
Sweetie Belle looked up. "Umm...yeah, we were out late last night, guess we didn't get enough sleep..." She cut herself off midsentence, realizing her mistake. Applebloom and Scootaloo purposefully avoided looking at her. "So not only are you falling asleep in class, your sneaking out at night without you parents knowledge." Cherilee couldn't help feeling dissapointed. While she couldn't have favorite students, she had always had a soft spot for these three. Lately though, they had been coming to class unprepared, distracted, or just plain tired.
Applebloom and Scootaloo looked up with fear, and Sweetie Belle teared up a little. "Please don't tell mah sister Miss Cherilee, we swear we won't sneak out anymore." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
Cherilee sighed again."I know how important getting your cutie marks is to you, but that does not mean you can shirk your school work. You three did very poorly on yesterdays test, and you're all in danger of falling behind the rest of the class. Now I have to come up with some way for you to make up your work." Cherilee stood up and waved the girls towards the door. "You three hurry up and eat your lunch, and for ponies sake stay awake during class or I will have to tell your parents."
Relief spread over the girls faces, and Scootaloo let out the breath she had been holding. "Thank you so much Miss Cherilee, we really appreciate it" she said. They turned and ran out of the room, rushing out into the schoolyard. Cherilee sighed once again and rested her head on her desk. She loved teaching and wanted her students to succeed, but she was unsure how to help those silly fillies. She could have them retake the history test but that would only solve part of the problem. As long as they had trouble paying attention in class, they would continue to do poorly.
As she contemplated the problem, there was a knock on the classroom door. "Come on in," Cherilee called out. The door cracked open and Cherilee's good friend Twilight Sparkle poked her head into the classroom. "Hi Cherilee, " she said. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Cherilee gave her friend a welcoming smile, beconing her to come inside. "Hi Twilight, good to see you. Of course I can help, but I'm about to have lunch so..."
"Oh, don't worry, I just want to borrow a blackboard again." Twilight walked over to Cherilee's desk, looking with interest at some of the students artwork on the walls. "Tonight I'm having my history group meeting at the library again, I have some interesting topics to talk about tonight and I want to make sure that everyone can follow along. Speaking of which, will you be attending tonight?" Twilight tilted her head questioningly, giving Cherilee a hopeful look that caused Cherilee to inwardly cringe. She had gone to the first meeting Twilight had held, just to give her friend some support. She had even brought a few of her friends along. It did not go well; Twilight had droned on with dates and names of famous unicorns of the classical era for two hours, thouroughly boring everyone in attendance. Cherilee had been able to talk her way out of attending the last two meetings, but she was running out of excuses.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Twilight but I have a bunch of papers to grade tonight, important test yesterday." Barely made it out of that one, she thought to herself. Twilight's face fell and her ears drooped. "Oh," she said,"then nevermind I guess. Everyone else I asked has said they were too busy as well." She turned, head down and slowly walked toward the door. Cherilee was torn; she could not stand to see her friend so depressed, but she really could not bring herself to sit through another one of those lectures.
That's when she had a devious idea.
* * * * *
"Wait, what do you mean we have to attend a special course tonight," Scootaloo asked with a confused look on her face. "I thought we weren't going to be punished!" School had been ended for the day, and the clasroom was once again empty. The sun was just starting to go down and the sunlight creeped across the blackboard with the evening light. "Exactly what I told you girls, I'm having you attend Twilight's History group this evening. I already had Twilight ask your parent's permission and they agreed." Cherilee gave them the 'eye' as her students called it. Scootaloo shut her mouth and sat down in frustration. Nopony argued with Cherilee after they got the 'eye'. "This is make-up for the test you failed; go to the meeting and I'll give you a passing grade. Don't go, and not only will you fail the test, I will tell your parents about your lack of concentration."
Scootaloo frowned and grunted, "Fine." Applebloom sighed, "Yes Miss Cherilee, we'll be there." Sweetie Belle only nodded unhappily. Cherilee smiled. "Glad to hear it girls. You had better get moving though, Twilight moved up the time to make sure you could attend, it starts in half an hour." Cherilee was quite happy with herself. Not only had she been able to make Twilight happy, she had also been able to find a suitable punishment for her wayward students.
After enduring the horror of that meeting, they would make sure to pay closer attention during class. Satisfied with her descision, Cherilee pushed the girls out the door and locked up for the day.
Author's Note
Ok, so this is not only my first fanfic ever, it's my first attempt at writing any kind of narrative, so comments and criticism is appreciated. (Don't worry about being critical, I'm a big boy, I can take it)
Update: Made some minor revisions to the story, I really did rush through the first three chapters. I'll make sure to take a proper amount of time from now on.
The afternoon breeze blew gently through the trees as the three friends walked down the road to Ponyville Library. The three girls walked quietly through town, each one absorbed with their own thoughts. They quickly came to the town center, where ponies were doing some afternoon shopping at the stores surrounding a large fountain. They could see a few of their classmates fooling around before heading home for dinner. They walked up to a bench next to the fountain and stopped for a few moments.
Sweetie Belle spoke first. "Do we really have to go to this thing? I mean, I'm sure we could find some way out of it." Scootaloo stopped and jumped up on the fountain rim, balancing herself carefully."Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "There's got to be something we could do." Applebloom looked at them skeptically. "I'm not so sure of that. Mah big sis went to one of these here presentations that Twilight gives, and I can't see her agreeing to me going to one."
"Why not?" Scootaloo asked, starting to get worried.
"Well, when she got home that night after goin' to Twilight's thing, she wouldn't say anything, just went upstairs and went to sleep. When I asked her what happened the next morning, she didn't look at me, just went outside with a distracted look in her eyes." Applebloom turned and looked towards her family's apple stand, but, sadly, her sister was nowhere to be seen. "She must have been thinkin' real hard about something, I saw her buckin' the same tree for a half hour."
"Oh, come on," Sweetie Belle exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "It couldn't have been all that bad." Scootaloo jumped gracefully off the side of the fountain, landing gently next to her friends. "Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "I don't see how it could possibly be as bad as that. And even if it is, that would only make it easier to get out of, right?" The Crusaders sat thinking for moment. Sweetie Belle finally broke the silence, "Well, I know Rarity has been to one of those meetings, how about we ask her what it was like, she's on the way after all." Scootaloo and Applebloom exchanged looks. "Well, it's an idea, lets see what she has to say." Applebloom replied. Scootaloo noded in agreement. "We'd better hurry though, I don't want Miss Cherilee to hear that we were late."
They hurried down the street until Rarity's store came into view a few minutes later. Strangely, the door was locked, and there was a closed sign in the window. Sweetie Belle looked at the sign, confused. "That's strange," she said, "Rarity should still be open for a few more hours." She leads the way to the back of the store, where she stoops down to dig at some rocks. Scootaloo looks at her bewildered and Applebloom asks what she's doing. "Rarity has a spare key to the back door hidden here somewhere...ah, here it is!" Sweetie Belle holds up the small key and walks to the rear entrance to the store, unlocking the door.
They go inside to find the downstairs empty and the lights out. There were clothes littered around, something Rarity would never allow. There was also a strange smell lingering in the air. Sweetie Belle looks around for a minute then calls out for her sister. "I'm upstairs!" they hear Rarity shout in reply. Going upstairs they find her bathroom door locked. Sweetie Belle knocked on it softly. "It's me sis, we need to ask you for some help."
"Oh, Sweetie Belle, it's you," Rarity answers through the door. There is an odd note to her voice, as though she is speaking with forced calm. " I'm dreadfully sorry dear, but I'm afraid i'm not in the best of states right now. Can it please wait until tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid not sis. I wouldn't ask if it weren't really important." There was an ominous silence, followed by the click of the door unlocking. Slowly, the door cracked open, revealing the not unsizable disaster. All three girls gasped in suprise and worry.
Sweetie Belle jumps forward in surprise and worry. "Rarity! Oh my gosh, are you okay? Your mane... your coat.. they're-"
"Absolutely hideous, I know! Oh, I must look completely dreadful." Rarity's finely styled mane and luxourious coat had clearly been burned. There were patches of blackend fur on her coat; some parts had burned off completely, leaving bright red burns behind. Not only that, but what looked like half her mane had been burned off as well. Here eyes were puffy from crying and there were lines on her face where her makeup had blended with her tears. 'Dreadful' was definately putting it mildly.
Which of course Scootaloo, being the kind and sensitive soul that she is was quick to point out, causing Rarity to start crying again. After giving her friend a dirty look, Sweetie turned back to her sister "Rarity, what happened to you? Are you hurt? Those burns look terrible" Rarity calmed herself, sniffing a few times before answering.
"Oh Sweetie, I'm not hurt - well, not badly anyways, but to answer your question I was at Twilight's this morning looking for a book to read, and Twilight was having a hard time locating it. Spike, being the gentleman that he is quickly found the missing book for us, and as I was tweaking the spines on his head, he loves it when you do that by the way, Twilight asked me if I was going to attend her meeting tonight. I admit I was caught off guard by her question, and, well, my hoof... slipped." Memories of this tragic event brought more tears to her eyes, but through an obvious act of will went unshed. "Oh, it was all an accident, I didn't mean to hurt him, who knew startling Spike would have such a fiery effect!"
"Anyway after Twilight and Spike apologized over and over once I woke up, I was the disaster that you see before you. Don't worry to much girls, the burns aren't too bad. I would go see a doctor, but I couldn't stand to have anypony see me like this. Twilight said that she had experienced a similar experience once, and knew just the spell to fix my problems. Unfortunately it will have to wait until tomorrow, she said the spell was quite draining, and asked if I could wait until then. I agreed, and as odd as it might sound this may be a blessing in disguise. It does mean I can't attend Twilight's meeting tonight." Rarity gave a much enduring sigh, making the face of one who endures great suffering for a worthy cause. " Now Sweetie, what is it that you need help with?"
"Oh, right," Sweetie Belle replied, "Its kind of funny actually, the three of us were wondering about the time you went to Twilight's history group. We wanted to know what it was like."
Rarity gave her sister and her friends an arch look. "That is what was so important it couldn't wait until tomorrow," she said, her voice full of restrained anger. Sweetie Belle froze, unsure what she could safely say. Fortunately Scootaloo took over. "Well, yeah, I mean we wanted to learn what the deal was with these meetings, so we thought that if anypony would know it would be the greatest socialite in Ponyville."
"Yes, I'm sure you were," Rarity replied, deadpan. Clearly, Scootaloo transparent attempt at flattery had missed it's mark. "Well, to put it simply, it was... boring. It started out alright, but she just kept droning on and on. I have had to excuse myself from her other meeting, though I hear I'm not the only one. Aparently, no one has been to one of her meetings since. As a matter of fact, it's funny you bring it up, she's having another meeting tonight apparently. Why do you ask?"
Sweetie Belle quickly perked back up. "Oh, well, we are supposed to go to tonights meeting, but we were hoping you could maybe get us out of it?" The three girls turned their most adorible faces on, hoping to overwhelm Rarity with a wave of cuteness.
"Well, of course my dears I'll do anything to hel - wait... who exactly is forcing you to go to Twilight's meeting?" Rarity loomed over her sister and her friends, a curious look on her face. Applebloom shook her head sighing while Scootaloo facehoofed quietly.
"Oh, well, uh its Miss Cherilee, sis."
"And why, exactly, is Miss Cherilee forcing you to go?"
"Oh, uh, well, um, you know what sis, we had, uh, better be going. We're going to be late if we don't hurry."
The crusaders darted out of the store as fast as they could before Rarity could stop them. Once the store was out of sight, the three friends slowed down, stopping just in view of the library. "Well I guess we don't have any choice now," Scootaloo said. "Oh, this is all your fault Scoots," Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"MY fault! How is this my fault?!" Scootaloo turned on Sweetie Belle.
"You're the one who came up with the bright idea to try and get cutie marks in bat herding! Seriously, I've never even heard of a pony who herds bats for a living."
"Well, we're running out of things to try. And I didn't hear you complaining before! And besides, Rainbow Dash likes bats, I thought I could impress her if-"
"If what? You walked up to Rainbow Dash with a bag full of-"
"Girls!" Applebloom yelled. "It's all of our faults. Fighting isn't going to get us out of this, so lets just go ahead and get this over with." Scootaloo and Sweetie Bele both sighed in agreement, and apologized to each other. Together, they walked the remining distance to the library. "I guess we're doing this," Scootaloo mumbled to herself.
The sun was just starting to dip below the branches of the great tree, and with incredible trepidation, Applebloom reached up and knocked on the door of the library.
Author's Note
Comment are appreciated. Also the format of the next part is going to be different as the story gets to the actual lesson.
Update: Major revision to this chapter. I need to apologize for releasing it in the state it was in, I rushed through this and the story suffered for it. Hopefully this is much better.
"I'm so glad you three were able to make it!" Twilight certainly looked happy, she was practically bouncing as she led the crusaders into one of the library's side rooms. The room had been set up with several chairs, all placed in a semi-circle around a blackboard. There were already a handful of names and dates neatly written upon the board.
"We didn't really have much of a choice," said Scootaloo, as the three fillies each chose a chair and sat down, Scootaloo on the right, closest to the door, with Applebloom on her left and Sweetie Belle next to her. Scootaloo checked the clock on the wall, noting the time was 3:30 in the afternoon. I sure hope this doesn't take too long, she thought to herself.
"Oh, Cherilee told me all about your trouble paying attention in class, but rest assured I will do my best to make this as entertaining as possible," Twilight said confidently as she moved to stand in front of the board. "Are you ready to begin? Good. *Ahem* Let's start with the rise of common currency in Equestria, when all three races started using the bit, around 687 AFE when..."
* * * * *
About twenty minutes had passed with Twilight happily scrawling more names and dates on the blackboard when the slight banging noise she had barely registered finally grew in volume enough to break her concentration. Right in the middle of her pun too. "Now with these new developments, the Equestrian bankers began to suspect they had 'bit' off more than they could chew, heh, when... what is that noise?" Twilight turned to find Scootaloo softly banging the back of her head against the wall while Applebloom was staring vacantly at nothing, and Sweetie Belle was actually falling asleep.
"Are you three okay?" Twilight asked. Scootaloo stopped giving herself brain damage, while Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both shook themselves out of their stupor, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry Twilight," Applebloom apologized, "its just- I mean-"
"She means that this is the most boring lecture we have ever had!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "I'm sorry Twilight, but this is not going to help us pay more attention in class."
Twilight felt her heart drop for a second then realized her mistake, turning a little red herself. "Sorry girls, I guess I wasn't thinking too much about my audience. Hmm..." Twilight thought desperatly for a minute. Cherilee was counting on her to reach these kids and teach them how interesting history could be. She needed to think of something... of course!
"I have an idea girls, how about a story instead?" Twilight turned to walk back into the main library, where she grabbed a book off the shelf with her magic and walked back into the room. "A story?" asked Sweetie Belle. "What kind of story?" Twilight gave a small smile.
"The oldest story, more of a legend, one that has affected all our lives in countless was."
Twilight moved one of the other chairs from the semicircle in front of the girls and showed them the book. It was an regular looking book, brown with gold on the binding. A gold unicorn with saphire eyes was embossed on the front, and gold letterings on the side read The Book of Harmony .
"The Book of Harmony ?" Applebloom asked. Scootaloo read the binding unimpressed. "Doesn't look that interesting to me." she quiped.
"This book is very important. It was where I first heard of the Elements of Harmony and how they were connected to Nightmare Moon. If I had never read this book, I would have never learned of the Elements, and my friends and I would have never saved Equestria and both of the Princesses."
The three girls looked at the book with a new appreciation. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to hear just a little of it," Sweetie Belle said, and the others nodded in agreement.
Twilight gave a little smile, then slowly turned the cover, and began to read.
* * * * *
Before Harmony, there was Chaos. And not the kind of chaos that you or I have seen with our own eyes. Discord's powers were great, but even his chaos was nothing but petty tricks and pranks compared to the Chaos that came first.
In this Chaos there wandered tortured souls, lost and afraid. And it is with one of these souls that our story begins. This soul had wondered for as long as he could remember, but he could never try and remember, for the Chaos was too much for him to think. As he floated over the surface of the world, every moment was different. One second it would be a freezing snowstorm, chiling him to the core and slowing his endless journey to a crawl. The next he would be in a great ocean, sinking quickly beneath a tumultuous wave, to fall to the sea floor that then turned into a scorching desert that seared his thoughts beneath blinding darkness.
For in this Chaos, there was no light, and he had lived his entire existence in the darkness of Chaos. Not even his mind was his own, as the Chaos forced upon him every emotion he had ever known, happiness, sadness, boredom, grief, joy, constantly changing moment to moment.
It was then that he found hope.
As he wondered aimlessly, searching constantly for something, something he could not place, he felt something new. He recoiled from the strange sensation, but just as quickly, he lunged after it, grabbing it and pulling it close. It was a sensation that he could never explain, but imagine if you have never felt anything in your entire life that was not forced upon you. Then you discover that there is something out there that can make you feel for yourself, it is something that we can never truly understand.
So he grabbed onto this new sensation fiercely, not slacking his grip, even when she (for of course it was another soul) cried out in surprise and fear. 'Please,' she said, do not let go!' 'I won't' he replied, as they held each other tightly in the Chaos. They were swept along by the wave of chaos, battered by the constant change.
'Are you real?' she asked. 'Or is this some new torment to torture me with.'
'Trust me, I am just as real as you are,' he replied.
The storm of Chaos became great, tossing the two souls around and bashing them on the sides of montains, drowning them in lakes of lava, gusting them through between snowy peaks. As he held tightly to his new friend, he could hear and feel the pain she was enduring. So he wrapped himself around her completely, shielding her with his own essence, giving her the first moment of peace she had ever know. She floated for an eternity in a moment, relishing the freedom she felt until she realized the pain her friend was in.
'Why do you do this for me? I can feel the pain you are in, why risk yourself for me?' she asked.
'Because you are my friend,' he replied, 'and I will give anything to make my friends happy.
The Chaos seemed to hear them, and redoubled its efforts against them, assailing them with horrible feelings and emotions, pushing harder at their tumbling souls. He began to shake from fear and rage and sadness, when he heard a strange new sound, the sound of laughter.
'Why do you laugh in the face of such adversity?' he asked her.
'Because you are with me, and as long as you are with me, all I feel is joy' she laughingly replied.
The great storm seemed to subside slightly at these words, then picked up stronger than ever. He began to feel weak and helpless to protect his new friend. He turned to whisper to her,
'Can you promise that even when I weaken, you will not leave me?'
'That's an easy promise,' she replied, 'for I know you will never let me go.' .
Suddenly the storm stopped, and all they could feel was each other. They looked at each other surprised by the silence. Wonderingly he asked her,
'Why would you show such kindness to me, a stranger?'
'Because you showed it to me first,' she replied without hesitating.
This was the birth of true harmony in the world. Suddenly, the Chaos began to retreat from them, as the harmony the shared with each other gave shape to themselves and the world around them, and a pale light filled the air as they saw each other for the first time. The stood upon a grassy hill under a dark sky and-
*BANG* The door to the library burst open scaring all four ponies inside. "Applebloom! Applebloom where are you?" Applejacks voice came from the entrance.
"I'm right here sis, you just about scared me to death!" Everyone else relaxed except for Applejack who came rushing in and grabbing her sister by the shoulder. Applejack turned to Twilight with a determined look in her eye that caused Twilight to rear back a bit.
"Twilight I'm really sorry to have to tell ya this but I can't have my sister suffering. You history lessons are awful Twi, I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away, but I didn't wan't to hurt your feelings 's all." She whipped around to face Applebloom. "And Applebloom, I am so sorry I wasn't there when Twilight came by, Grannie Smith was the one who said you could go and by the time I heard about it I-"
"Applebloom gently pushed her big sister away. "It's all right sis, Twilight was just telling us a story, a good one too." Scootaloo and Swietie Belle were snickering behind their hooves.
Applejack could only stand there with a confused look on her face. "Wait a minute," she said, "Y'all aren't suffering through a horrible lecture?"
"Wow Twilight, that must have been a horrible lesson you gave." Scootaloo smirked at her. Twilight's whole face had turned beet red, and her ears were drooping with embarrassment.
"I guess it really was. You could have told me though Applejack, that's what these young girls did, and they had a nice story time instead of a boring lecture." Now it was Applejack's turn to change colors as she dipped her head in an apology. "You're right Twilight, I shoulda known you could handle the truth, I just didn't want to hurt a friend's feelings."
Twilight smiled at her friend graciously. Turning to look outside, she saw that it had already become dark outside, and the pegasus were already putting the fireflies in the lampposts outside. Closing the book she stood up and stretched herself before turning back to her class.
"Well girls," she said, "looks like thats it for today, but we can continue the story later if you want."
"Oh, alright Twilight, I guess it is pretty late," said Sweetie Belle. "Just so long as we will finish the story."
Twilight turned to start cleaning up when Spike came through the front door. "Hey Twilight, I brought the medicine to Rarity that you made for her, those burns were clearing right up when I left." He walked past Twilight on his way to start dinner. "So, how'd it go?" he asked over his shoulder.
"It went very well, thanks for asking, though I think this might be the last one I do, at least for a while. I just don't think that anyone is interested in coming anymore." The sound of pots and pans banging from the kitchen sounded throughout the library for a moment, then Spike's voice came floating down from the kitchen.
"That's too bad Twilight, but at least your last one went well, right?"
Twilight gave a slightly sad smile. "Right Spike. Don't worry I'm not too upset, I can't force people to be interested after all."
Later as they were cleaning up from dinner, there was a knock at the door. Twilight left Spike to finish up and went to answer it. To Twilight's suprise it was Cherilee.
"Hi Twilight, I just came to check on how things went."
"Oh, things went very well, all things considering. At least they didn't fall asleep." Cherilee gave Twilight a suprised look, than quickly tried to cover it up. "Really? Oh, uh, well that doesn't surprise me at all Twilight, I knew you could get the job done." Twilight gave her friend a grateful smile. "Thanks, Cherilee," she said, "and I hope they pay closer attention in class from now on."
Cherilee returned the smile. "Oh, if this works out, I should be the one thanking you Twilight. Have a pleasent evening." Cherilee turned and walked away, leaving Twilight to watch the last rays of the sun dwindle. "Today wasn't such a disaster after all," she said softly, closing the door gently and heading back upstairs.
Author's Note
Comments and criticism welcome as always. Also, I will be taking a Hiatus from posting this story at least until the end of season three. (After all todays episode could make this whole story meaningless!) I just want to keep this backstory as true to the canon as possible. thanks for reading
Update:Revised the ending, hope it's better. I should really stop writing at 2:00 in the morning.
Chrushed dream's and a broken nose
The school bell rang loudly signaling the end of class, and the students of Cherilee's class jumped out of their desks, quickly reaching for their school bags. The voice of their teacher froze them in their tracks however. "Ah, now hold on a minute students, come to the front of the class and collect your quizes, then you can go." Cherilee smiled as her students rushed to gather their quizes and leave the classroom. The bustle slowly died down as most of the students left the room, with only a few stragglers remaining.
To her suprise, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were among the last to arrive at her desk. They were usually the first ones out the door, off on some new adventure of self discovery. Smiling at her students, she pulled their quizzes out of the pile and handed them out. "I have to admit girls, you have been impressing me with your grades lately, and are paying closer attention in class. I suppose I won't have to threaten you with another history lesson from Twilight, will I?" she said with a little grin.
Sweetie Belle took her paper and gave a satisfied smile at the A+ written neatly on the top. "Actually, Miss Cherilee, we're going by the library today so she can continue the story she started telling us last time." Scootaloo fluttered her wings a little in happiness over her B+, glad that that extra hour of studying had paid off. Applebloom folded her A paper and put it in her saddlebag.
Cherilee looked at the girls in surprise. "Wait, you mean your going back for more? But-"
"Yeah, she did start off terribly," Scootaloo said, pulling her saddlebag's straps tightly, "but after we told her how bored we were, she told us some old story about the Elements of Harmony. About how the world was covered in Chaos and how-"
Cherilee raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Wait, wait, she told you that old legend? That's suprising, she was supposed to be teaching you history, not some old story nopony takes seriously anymore." Applebloom looked up in surprise, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged looks.
"You mean the story ain't real?" Applebloom asked, disappointment obvious in her voice.
Cherilee gave them a sad smile in return. "I'm afraid not dears, it's just an old story. A good one for sure, but just a story. I know how you feel, though, I used to love that story when I was your age, but eventually I realized that it was just that; an old tale for young children yearning for a story of adventure."
The three girls stood, disappointment obvious, until Cherilee spoke up, regret in her voice. "Oh, please don't be this way girls, it's just a story. I didn't mean to ruin it for you, it will still be just as good, I promise. I really shouldn't have said anything."
Her students just stood still for a moment, then Applebloom looked up, a little less upset. "It's okay Miss Cherilee, but we had better get going if we're gonna make it to Twilight's on time." The girls turned and walked towards the classroom door. "Alright girls, I'll see you tomorrow then," Cherilee called after them, then banged her forhead softly on the edge of her desk. "Put my hoof right in my mouth there," she muttered to herself, then went about cleaning the classroom for the next day.
* * * * * * *
The sun shone brightly down on the three girls as they walked towards the library, the clear skies and warm weather doing much to improve their mood. They quickly picked up the pace, eager to reach the library and ask Twilight about what Cherilee said.
"So what do you think?" Scootaloo asked her friends as they trotted down the paved road through the middle of town. Applebloom looked back over her shoulder. "About what, the story?"
"Of course about the story," Scootaloo answered, rolling her eyes. "Do you think it's really just some old kid's story?"
"I'm not really sure, but I don't think Miss Cherilee would lie to us, do you?" Applebloom replied, turning her attention back to the road. Scootaloo thought for a moment before answering. "Well, no I don't think she's lying to us, but..."
"It just doesn't make sense," Sweetie Belle spoke up, "If Twilight found some valuable information in the book, then how could part of the book be true, and the rest fake? It doesn't add up."
"Exactly," Scootaloo agreed, "What do you think Applebloom?"
"I already said I wasn't sure. Let's just wait and see what Twilight says, we're almost there anyways." Sure enough they could see the top of the library tree peeking over the roofs of the houses ahead of them.
* * * * * * *
"For the last time Rainbow, no!"
"C'mon Twilight, do it for your best buddy, I'd do it for you." Rainbow Dash was lying flat on the ground, pitifully hugging her friend's front legs. Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbows theatrics, trying to wiggle out from Dash's strong hold. "I said no, and I meant no."
"C'mon Twilight, do you know how long I've been waiting for the new Daring Do book to come out?" Raindow Dash tightened her grip further, not one to give up so easily. Twilight began to get annoyed with her friend; sometimes Rainbow didn't know her own strength.
"Yes, Rainbow, I do know how long you have been waiting for this book. I told you a month ago to make sure you reserved the book early so you could be the first to read it, but you didn't. Now you are going to have to wait your turn." Twilight gave up trying to wiggle and just used her magic to pry Rainbow Dash off her legs, dumping her non too gently on the floor.
Rainbow pushed herself to her feet, determined to give it one last attempt. "Please Twilight, I'm desperate. I'll do any favor you ask."
"No Rainbow, Rumble was the first to reserve the book, so he's the first one to get it." Twilight picked up the book with her magic and floated it over to Rumble who had been patiently sitting and waiting, content to let Twilight fight this battle for him. Giving a huge grin he grabbed the book and tucked it under his wing. "Thanks Miss Twilight, I'm getting my brother to read it to me, this is going to be great!"
Twilight gave a happy smile to young colt. "I'm sure it will, now run along."
"Okay, thanks again!" Rumble turned and raced out of the library, eager to enjoy his newest treasure. Twilight watched him run down the street from the window, glad to see another excited young reader.
Which brought her back to her other problem for the day. "Ugh, this is so unfair Twilight, how come you only bought one copy, you know how popular the Daring Do series is."
Twilight had finally had enough. "Look Rainbow, the library has a budget, and one copy is all we could afford. If you want the story so badly, why not just go buy it yourself?" This of course made Rainbow rather uncomfortable. "C'mon Twilight," she said running her hoof through her mane in nervousness, "you know how expensive hardcover books are, I can't really afford that-"
"And neither can the library, so you will just have to wait your turn. It is only a week after all."
Rainbow Dash slumped down from her inevitable defeat. "Oh fine," she muttered to herself. "I'll see ya later Twi." Rainbow turned and walked towards the door, reaching for the handle when *BANG* the door burst open violently, banging Rainbow hard on the nose, causing her to yelp in pain, raising her hooves to her face.
"Hey Twilight, it us we're... Oh my gosh, Rainbow Dash are you alright?!" Scootaloo jumped towards her idol, scared that she might have hurt her. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked on with worried and angry faces. "Jeez Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, "why'd you have to kick the door open like that?"
"I don't know," Scootaloo answered, while Rainbow Dash groaned in pain and Twilight rushed over to check on her friend. "I just thought it would look cool is all... oh please don't hate me Rainbow Dash, it was an accident I promise."
Rainbow smiled and reached out a hoof to pat Scootaloo's head, but stopped when she noticed blood on the end of her hoof. This of course caused Scootaloo to panic even further. Rainbow groaned quietly once more. "Today is just not my day." she muttered to herself as she tilted her head back, trying to stop the blood from her nose.
Twilight pushed Rainbows hooves away from her face and checked Rainbow's nose. "It looks just fine," she said, turning to go get some ice from the fridge. "I don't think its broken, it should stop bleeding in a few minutes." This announcement caused everyone but Scootaloo to relax. "Are you sure?" she asked, "cause I can go get a doctor if you want."
Twilight gave Scootaloo a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Scootaloo, everything is going to be fine, but you can help Rainbow dash by calming down a bit." Scootaloo blushed slightly and sat down, taking a deep breath.
Rainbow smiled at Sootaloo from behind a hoof. "Don't worry kid, it doesn't hurt at all." Scootaloo relaxed even further, but Twilight's head shot up from behind the freezer door. "Really?" she asked, a note of alarm in her voice. "Because that would be very bad." All three of the girls stiffined and Scootaloo became paler. "I mean it could mean the nose is badly broken or something... " Scootaloo really started to panic, getting up to run and get help.
Rainbow quickly held up her hoof signaling Scootaloo to wait. "No wait, the nose actually hurts alot, I was just trying to cheer the kid up Twilight, jeez." Twilight looked slightly embarrased but turned away quickly again. "Oh," she said, "that's just fine then." Rainbow rolled her eyes in mild amusment, then turned her attention to the younger girls.
"So, what brings you three here?" she asked. "Trying to get the new Daring Do book? Your too late, I've got first dibs on it, you'll just have to wait."
The girls shook their heads and Applebloom spoke up. "No, we're here for Twilight to tell us a story actually." Twilight poked her head up again looking at a clock on the wall. She finished with the ice and walked it back over to Rainbow, giving it to her. "Well girls your twenty minutes early, so your going to have to wait until the library closes. Why don't you help take care of Rainbow Dash while waiting."
Twilight turned and went back to the front of the library, putting returned books back on their respective shelves. Rainbow, giving a sigh of relief as the ice numbed the pain turned to the girls, asking "What story are you guys talking about?" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom waited for Scootaloo to speak up, knowing that she never passed up a chance to talk to Rainbow Dash, but Scootaloo was still too embarrased and the silence stretched a little too long. Rainbow gave them a slightly confused look.
"Well you don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." she said quietly. Sweetie Belle quickly spoke up, "Sorry Rainbow Dash, we were going to hear a story Twilight started telling us last week, about the Elements of Harmony and how they were made."
Rainbow raised a curious eyebrow. "Huh," she said, "that does sound interesting. So how were the Elements made?"
"We don't know," Applebloom responded, "Twilight hadn't gotten to that part yet."
"Oh," Rainbow Dash replied, feeling much better now that the pain was fully numbed. "Well, I've got nothing better planned for this afternoon, mind if I join you?"
"Of course we don't mind! Your always welcome to join us." Scootaloo was finally recovered enough to speak again, though she did sit as far from Rainbow as she could and made sure not to make eye contact. "Thanks," Rainbow responded, checking her nose to see if the bleeding had stopped. "I'll make sure not to get in your guy's way."
The four ponies sat quietly, waiting for Twilight to finish working and close up the library.
Author's Note
I know I said no more chapters till the season finale, but I couldn't help myself. This is it though no more til then.
If you liked the story, please give it a like, it encourages me to write more and do a better job.
Also, I did revise the first three chapters, particularly the second so that the story flows better and doesn't feel so rushed. Promise to take my time from now on.
