Paper Thin

Paper Thin

dooms·day  [doomz-dey]

noun

1.The day of the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.

2.Any day of judgment or sentence.

3.Nuclear destruction of the world.

4.Any day when viewpoints or ideas are drastically changed.

~~~~~

What does 'Doomsday' look like to you? Stormy skies? Blood on the ground? Death, destruction, war?

What would you do if I told you that 'Doomsday' was just another day?

~~~~~

I was sitting on my balcony, reading a book on conspiracy theories and 'royal secrets.' It sounded pretty fake, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The breeze blew gently, ruffling my forelock which danced above my eyes. The sun warmed me, like I was sitting before a fire, and baked the top of my head.

It was all so peaceful, so relaxing, so--

CRASH!

I winced at the sound of a pony's body slamming into the supports of my balcony. The surface shook slightly, jostling me out of my reading.

Even from up here, I could hear the apologetic laugh of a certain blue pegasus, "Sorry, Twilight!" she called, rocketing up to eye-level. She put her front hooves on the rail, resting her chin between them.

She laughed again, but this time it sounded a little more mocking, "Sorry about that, Twi. I didn't mean to, honest. I was--"

"Practicing a new trick, and it didn't really work?" I suggested.

"Yeah! Exactly!" she interjected, throwing her hooves up in revelation. She quickly repented though, her figure drooping a bit, "I am sorry, though."

"It's fine, Rainbow," I sighed, closing my book, "You made me lose my place, though."

The mare hopped over the rail and landed heavily on the balcony, jostling me again. She looked remorseful for less than a second, then went back to jabbering, " So I was talking to AJ today, and..."

I was very good, after many years of reading in inopportune areas, at blocking out unwanted sounds. Rainbow's voice quickly faded into the background of rustling leaves and slightly creaky floorboards.

I trotted down the stairs at quick pace, Rainbow Dash following by my side, her words seemingly replaced by chirping birds. I saw her expression change from one of exuberance to one of frustration. She dropped down in front of me, shouting in my face and waving her hooves in the air.

"Huh?"

"Gimme that!" Rainbow snatched away the book I was holding, hoping that I would listen to her now. She flew over to the nearest bookshelf, trying to toss it into it's respective place.

"Careful!" I warned, running over to pry the book away from her.

Rainbow gave the book a shove, trying to get it to fit. The book bounced back, falling on the floor with a small thud. She tried this several more times before forgetting this method. She then grabbed a good hoof-full of books and pulled them to the floor, jamming the book she held into the empty space hap-hazardly.

"There, " she pronounced, " now, will you listen to me?"

I grimaced at her for a moment, waiting for her to do a better job of putting the books away.

She didn't pick up the hint, instead she just said, " What? We you rather me do... this?" she took another swipe at the books, this time dumping the whole shelf on the floor.

"Rainbow!" I yelled, horrified, " What is up with you today?"

"Nothing! Look, I'll put the books back--"

"What's that?" I wondered. When Rainbow had ducked down to pick up the books, I noticed something in the back of the shelf. I came forward slowly, ducking my head a bit to get a better look. I lit my horn, illuminating the dark place, and revealing a symbol of some kind. It looked rather like the moon, with the silhouette of a crown hovering over it.

I reached in, trying to feel around for a latch of some kind, but the shelf was too deep.

"What are you looking at?" Rainbow asked, bending down to look in at the odd symbol.

I stood up, wondering how we could get to it. Rainbow was still trying to get a look at it.

"Hey, Rainbow?" I asked. She straightened up quickly, smacking her head on the shelf above with her forehead.

"OW! Yeah?" She gingerly rubbed her head with her hoof.

"Do you think Scootaloo would be small enough to fit in there?"

Rainbow shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. Do you want me to go find her?"

I smiled as sweetly as I could, "Could you, please?"

She sighed, slumping toward the door, "I guess. But you know how hard it is to get her away from me! She practically worships me! I mean," she grinned obnoxiously, "not that I don't love it."

"Your point?" I prompted.

"You're going to be responsible for distracting her long enough for me to escape. Also, I will not be responsible for the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders destroying the library."

"Dully noted. SPIKE!" I called to the lazy dragon , who was still in bed at ten o'clock in the morning. I heard a sleepy sound, followed by a low moan form Spike.

He slumped down the stairs, bags under his eyes, "Yes?"

"I need you to find some books on ancient symbolism. Ones from probably over one thousand years ago, during the Twin Rule. Hurry up!" Spike was jolted out of what appeared to be an upright nap, and ran to the shelves.

"Okay, I guess I'll go find Scoots. Or rather, she'll stalk me until she thinks it's a good time to talk to me," Rainbow headed for the door, "Be right back."

"Uh..." I turned to see Spike in the fiction section, "What is it you wanted again?"