Prologue
It was a remarkably average day in Ponyville. The time would be around one month after Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn, and ultimately a princess. Everything seemed disorganized for the surprisingly unprepared pony. Even Spike and Owlowiscious had trouble and occasionally spent entire days trying to work something out- it just wasn't working. Naturally they were all very stressed and couldn't get much done. Their eating and sleeping habits went wild, and all the other downsides to constant stress affected everything they did. Focusing was difficult. Regal duties neglected, often, and occasionally altogether forgotten. Everything was amiss for the brand new Princess Twilight Sparkle.
In a hidden house inside the Everfree Forest sat a stallion that knew exactly what he was doing. All of his preparations seemed in order, all of his scenarios played out inside his head. Nothing could go wrong. This would be the second time he had ever spoken to that intimidating and awesome mare. He had an amazing respect for her, growing up surrounded by stories and legends. It was his time to join the legends himself.
Chapter One- A Dream Fulfilled [Through Shenanigans among Other Things]
Setting- Golden Oak Library, Friday, 1:00 p.m.
Chaos, as had become usual in the large tree-library, was rampant. Spike was reading off of a calendar and many other scattered papers, with Owlowiscious writing down each and every insignificant and significant detail down on to a schedule. Twilight herself was attempting to organise her library from scratch, only taking out every book related to princesses and history that the library held. Her collection had grown due to the various gifts and purchases she had gained over the past month, which were quite a few, knowing her new status.
She had no time for friends, and sometimes even meals. Sleep was rare, and not very useful. Anything besides organization was alien to her. Suddenly, a knock at the door was heard. It sounded almost hesitant; afraid, even. Twilight straightened out her mane best she could, expecting some sort of royal visitor, or message. What she found behind the door was nothing of the sort.
A somewhat taller than average stallion stood before her. He had light brown skin, similar to a dusty leather book cover. He wore spectacles, that she assumed were to make up for poor vision, but she couldn't assume. He had a very messy, curly dark brown mane and tail, and surprisingly long eyelashes, especially for a stallion. He was very skinny, but did not seem unfit. In fact, he seemed fitter than the average pony, especially for looking somewhat bookish. He had a dual saddlebag that was incredibly neat and organized, filled to the brim with various papers and folders. His cutie mark was that of a quill and a tome, indicating that he was some sort of writer. It was very hard to tell, but Twilight could make out a small bump in his rugged mane that indicated the writer pony to be a unicorn. His surprising appearance did not match his tone of voice at all. It sounded deep, and also somewhat nervous.
He spoke after bowing low; "Excuse me, are you Ms. Sparkle? Or should I say, Ms. Princess Sparkle? No, that sounds bad... sorry." He started out confident and incredibly respectful, but quickly changed to shy and embarrassed. She didn't know if she could speak to anypony anymore, her lack of use of vocal cord made her voice sound... slightly hoarse.
"why ye- *cough cough*" she cleared her throat "Why yes, I am. And just Twilight is fine, thank you. Not to be rude, but what do you want? I'm a little bit busy." He regained his composure quickly.
"Well, Ms. Twilight, I have come to- please, hear me out- apply for a job. I wish to serve our newest Princess as her scribe and advisor. I desire no pay, and would be willing to work any day, anytime, at anyplace. I can do anything related to books, paper, or magic. If you need a resumé of any sort, I am a world famous author. I go under an alias so any recognition is purely coincidental, I assure you. So, what do you say, Ms. Twilight?"
She was shocked. The unicorn expected this. "Also, I can help you with organization, if you wish it." He added with a swift, artful wink. The Princess finally regained her faux-calm and responded: "Give me some time to think about it." and shut the door on him.
About a half an hour later, by Swiftpen Escrib's incredibly accurate watch that he wore at all times, the door to the library was reopened by Spike, and given a motion to come in. An impromptu interview room had been set up inside the basement of the library. It was simply a desk with a chair on both sides with a small path cleared amid the chaos to it. One of the chairs was filled by Twilight, who seemed semi-prepared for the "interview". Swiftpen went ahead and sat down in the chair opposite the Princess, expecting something this orderly from her.
"Now, shall we begin? What is your age, race, name, and date of birth?" He responded with surprising swiftness;
"20. Unicorn. Swiftpen Escrib. April 27th. My author alias is CJ, I have written 25 bestselling novels and theories, and I am in no relationships with anypony. Anything else?" Twilight was shocked. She did not like being shocked so often by one pony.
"THE CJ? You wrote that one romance novel that I and my friends loved so much. What was it... Aha! The Letter From a Million Years Ago! What a thrilling tale." It was Swiftpen's turn to be surprised.
"Wow, Ms. Twilight, I had no idea you were into such novels. I expected more of a love for my theories, especially the ones on magic... I'm so pleased that you liked it!" His voice quickly changed from the chivalrous tone that he expressed earlier to an almost exhilarated schoolpony. His voice raised pitch a slight amount, making it almost somewhat not deep and slightly humorous. He completely kept his respectful way of speaking, though. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the strange pony's giddiness.
He then startlingly went back into serious-mode and stated; "Please, do not tell anyone of my identity that is not a trustworthy close friend of yours. If word got out I would be swamped. Simply swamped, I tell you!" He got a little frustrated towards the end. Speaking from experience, she assumed.
"Well, Mr. Escrib," (His respectful way of using titles had strangely caught on) "I can assure you that you are fully qualified and wanted as my assistant and scribe. But, we have other things to work out; such as- where do you reside? Being close by would be a great help to me, and I could probably accommodate you if need be. Also, you would be practically dedicating your life to me, as I am in great need of help such as yours. I could use you for advertisement, dealing with the media, helping stomp out rumors, and other political annoyances. This may take up almost all of your time. Are you really willing to do this?"
The authorpony held a proud smile across his face. "Trust me, I do not need time. My family is content, I am practically rich, I can still write in my spare time, for it is my passion, and I would love to help you, the greatest Princess of our time. I currently reside in a small hidden house in the outskirts of the Everfree, and timing should never be an issue. I pride myself on being a punctual pony. And trust me, all of those things should be a cinch for me. I have written entire novels, I can organize record-breakingly fast, and I have dealt with many media and popularity issues in the past. Also, this may sound very selfish, and I am quite sorry, but perhaps I could make a few friends along the way. I've never really had any friends, you see, I am quite shy." He again went into his submissive and meek voice near the end; apart from that, he was generally confident, proud, and above all respectful.
He managed to look good without seeming to brag. Twilight was sure that he would be a real help to her, and that she could even help him out with some of his issues. Helping him make friends should be no problem for her considering her past studies and experience.
Suddenly gaining a regal tone, she spoke, "Mr. Swiftpen Escrib, better known as the author pony CJ, you are officially hired as my, Princess Twilight Sparkle's, scribe, organizer, media pony, and assistant." He suddenly bowed very low and uttered the words "Thank you." in a tone unheard to Twilight before this instant. It was both incredibly reverent of the princess and also eternally grateful. When Swiftpen rose, he had a grand smile across his face.
Suddenly, he exclaimed- "Let me get my tools!" and galloped out, almost tripping around 4 times, but still managing to do some impressive hoofwork. Twilight thought to
herself; Thank Celestia, someone to help with this mess! And he isn't a complete weirdo!... that I know of. She expectantly awaited her new assistant's arrival.
