Yay! New Chapter! Enjoy!

"Twilight, why are you reorganising the blarg!" Spike was interrupted as he coughed up Princess Celestia's letter. He caught it as the wisps of dragon fire faded into the fine parchment the princess was so fond of using. "She always manages to do that when I'm in the middle of saying something," he muttered, walking down the steps from his bed to the library.

Twilight Sparkle lay in the middle of a pile of books, looking slightly frantic.

"Spike!" She said. "I can't remember which system of organisation I used last!" She explained, shaking her head. "I just know that numerically by date of publishing was horribly inefficient."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Twilight, why can't you be like a normal pony and just make everything alphabetical by author?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, you got a letter from the Princess."

Twilight had started to levitate all of the books in an attempt to organise them, but they fell to the floor with a resounding crash as Spike mentioned the letter.

"Oh! The Princess! It must be important! She so rarely writes these days!" She exclaimed, summoning the letter to her.

"Maybe you should just leave them on the floor," Spike muttered under his breath as Twilight read the letter. "I'd find stuff better, at any rate."

Twilight's eyes widened as she scanned the note. "Oh my. I have to go get the others!" She said, frantically rushing up the stairs. "Where did I put my bag?"

"On your bed!" Spike called, shaking his head at the mess around him.

Twilight grabbed a scarf to beat off the autumn chill. "Ok, I know Fluttershy and Rarity are at the spa, so they'll be easy to find." She said to herself. "Applejack is probably at the farm, and Pinkie's at work, so the only one who'll be hard to find will be Rainbow Dash." She raced down the stairs and toward the door. "Sorry about the mess, Spike. Can you clean it up for me? Thanks!" She finished as she bolted out the door.

Spike sighed. "Oh well. At least I get to organise it the way that makes sense to me."

After spending the afternoon gathering her friends and looking for Rainbow Dash, Twilight and company met in her study.

"Alright, alright," Rainbow Dash said impatiently. "You got us all here, what's going on?"

"I've received a letter from the princess," Twilight explained. "She has a task for us."

"I-I hope there isn't another d-dragon around..." Fluttershy said anxiously.

Applejack put a hoof around the pink haired filly's neck. "Now, Sugarcube, don't you fret about that. I'm certain that you can be just as strong as you were with the last dragon."

Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, Fluttershy, it isn't a dragon this time."

"Well, then what is it?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"She wants us to do some research on her people," Twilight explained. "Then she wants us to come to Canterlot to explain our findings."

Rarity's eyes lit up at 'Canterlot.' "Canterlot? Oh, well, that's enough motivation for me!"

Rainbow Dash looked less than enthused. "Research. Like... books and stuff? Boring!"

Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a sour look. "Rainbow, a little hard work never killed anyone."

"Yeah, but why try? Plus, research involves books and sitting and ulg!"

Twilight held up a hoof. "Wait a minute, Rainbow, it's not all books."

"It's not?" Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No. Um, let me explain. The princess wants us to learn as much as we can about the Princess' people."

"The princess' people?" Rarity asked. "The winged unicorns?"

"The princess has wings?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

The other five ponies and Spike gave their frizzy haired friend a confused look, then went back to their discussion.

"There really isn't much written in pony lore about Alicorns," Twilight explained. "I think there are a few things that were written by Starswirl the Bearded about them, but other than that, there isn't much."

"Oh! I know! I can ask Mrs. Cake about them!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I bet she'd know!"

"That's a good idea, Pinkie!" Twilight praised. "I was thinking about asking Zecora if she knew anything."

"Then what should we do?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking impatient again.

Rarity stepped in. "Why don't you and Fluttershy go to Cloudsdale and see if there's anyone who can tell us about the Alicorns."

"Cloudsdale?"

"Oh, I know." Fluttershy started. She trailed off when she realised everyone was looking at her. "Um... what I mean is... if we wanted to... we could go talk to the Oracle. She knows all the stories from a long time ago."

"Granny Smith might know something, too." Applejack added. "I could go ask her."

"It can be an asking story-telling party!" Pinkie said, skipping. "I'll go right now!" She said, darting out the door.

Rarity looked a bit concerned. "I better go with her, just to make sure she's asking the right questions."

Twilight smiled. "Thanks, Rarity."

Rarity smiled brightly and trotted toward the door. "Coming, Spiky-wiky?" She called over her shoulders.

Spike's eyes lit up. "Coming, Rarity." He said, half-floating across the floor after her.

The remaining four ponies smiled knowingly at each other.

"Well, it's settled then," Twilight said with some finality. "Fluttershy and Rainbow will go to Cloudsdale and see the Oracle. Applejack and I will go talk to Granny Smith and Zecora. How about we all meet back here tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me," Fluttershy said.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Fluttershy's shoulders. "Well, it's you and me, kid. Off to home!"

Fluttershy smiled back. "Well, I'm glad you're coming with me. You can do all the talking." She said quietly as the pair of pegasi strode out of Twilight's tree home.

Applejack glanced over at Twilight and shrugged. "So... Big Apple Acres or Zecora's first?" She asked.

Twilight was about to answer, but was interrupted by her stomach growling.

"Landsakes," Applejack exclaimed. "Granny Smith should be makin' lunch soon. How's that sound?"

"Wonderful." Twilight replied sheepishly. "I think I forgot to eat breakfast."

Pinkie Pie's Quest

Pinkie Pie skipped her way down the street toward Sugarcube Corner.

"I'm going to learn something new and go and eat some cupcakes!" she sang happily, drawing puzzled looks from other ponies on the street.

Skipping into the shop, her eyes widened with delight as she gazed upon the variety of cakes and sweets that lay before her.

"Mmm! Cupcakes!" She cried, racing toward the cupcake counter. She then stopped herself. "No! I'm on an important mission. I must ask Mrs. Cake something."

"Ask me what, Dearie?" Mrs. Cake asked, rounding the corner from the bakery's kitchen with a plate of cookies.

Pinkie's eyes widened a moment at the sweets, then she shook her head. "Princess Celestia wants us to learn as much as we can about... about..." She trailed off, trying to remember what she was supposed to be learning about.

Mrs. Cake smiled gently at her young helper. "What did it start with?"

Pinkie pursed her lips and looked thoughtful. "Um... A! A something. I think it ended in corn."

Mrs. Cake looked puzzled. "The princess wants you to learn all you can about acorns?"

"Acorns!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I knew it was something edible!" She rushed over to Mrs. Cake and dramatically fell to the floor in front of her. "Please, teach me all you know of acorns, Mrs. Cake!"

Mrs. Cake tried her best not to chuckle at Pinkie Pie's antics. "Well, I'm more than willing to help the princess in whatever she needs."

Spike and Rarity's Quest: 5 minutes later

"I'm so excited that we'll be able to go back to Canterlot! Oh, how I do so belong there!" Rarity exclaimed, sighing.

Spike smiled at the white unicorn. "Well, Rarity, I'm happy so long as you're happy. But it would be nice to be home for a while." He admitted. "At least there I can find restaurants that serve gems!"

Rarity laughed brightly. "I am sorry, Spike, that you don't get to eat your favourite foods very often here in Ponyville," she patted his head gently with her hoof. "I know that the leftovers I give you from my shop probably only whet your appetite."

Spike blushed. "Oh, it's alright. They come from you, and that's all that matters to me."

Now it was Rarity's turn to blush. "Really, now, Spike. It's nothing. Come on, let's see what Pinkie's up to. Hopefully she remembers what she's supposed to be doing."

The pair wandered through the fairly busy streets of Ponyville toward Sugarcube Corner. The town was less a bustle of activity now that autumn was settling in, and the slight chill in the air made the entire place smell crisp. They had nearly reached their destination when a blur of pink rocketed out of the front doors.

"Pinkie Pie, slow down!" Rarity called after her friend.

Pinkie slowed and turned, twitching all the while. "Oh, hi Rarity, Spike. I can't stop now! I'm on a secret mission."

Rarity and Spike exchanged glances. "Um, Pinkie, darling, what did you learn from Mrs. Cake?"

Pinkie gasped. "How did you know I was talking to her? Who sent you? Are you a counter spy?" She demanded.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Pinkie, we just wanted to know what you learned so we have something to say when we meet with Twilight tomorrow," he explained. There were days his pink friend's antics drove him just the slightest bit crazy.

Rarity made her best pouty face and snuggled up to Pinkie. "Pinkie, dear, please tell us? We're just dying to know!"

Pinkie shook her head. "No, it's a secret for Twilight's eyes only. Or is it ears? Nose? Agh! I've said too much!" She cried, leaping into a nearby barrel.

Spike snorted softly. "Well, I don't think we're going to get much done here. Let's head back to Twilight's library. Maybe we can put the books back and find some things in there. Twilight never did end up looking in her books for answers." His face fell slightly. "Then again, they are all over the floor..."

Rarity shrugged. "No matter, my dear Spikey. We'll just have to reorganise it for her." She said, giving Pinkie's barrel one last puzzled look.

"I would think that someone, somewhere would have to have written something about the alicorns. I mean, there used to be more, weren't there?" Spike asked.

Rarity shrugged. "I don't know, Spike. I always thought that the Princess' mother was a unicorn and her father was a pegasus. That would make the most sense to me."

"Well, considering they aren't alive for us to ask them, maybe you're right. But I think checking the books might be helpful."

"Might be helpful for what?" A familiar voice asked.

Spike and Rarity looked up from their conversation and smiled at Cheerilee. The maroon earth pony looked intrigued.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two," she said. "But it sounded like you two were looking for something."

Rarity nodded. "It's alright, Cheerilee. The princess wrote us a letter, asking us to learn about her people, the alicorns."

"The alicorns?" Cheerilee asked. "I wonder why she did that?"

Spike shrugged. "Cause it's been a while since she's seen her people?" he offered.

Cheerilee smiled. "Maybe, Spike, maybe." She looked thoughtful a moment. "If you wanted to look for more information about the different pony tribes, maybe you should start with some of the old legends?"

"Thank you for the suggestion, Cheerilee," Rarity said, nodding her head. "Come on Spike, now we have something to look for!"

"In the middle of a mess," Spike grumbled.

"Oh, Rarity, wait a moment, please," Cheerilee said, stopping the pair from heading home once again. "I just remembered, there's a gem covered tapestry in Canterlot depicting the pony tribes. Maybe you can look for it the next time you're there."

"That was very kind of you, Cheerilee. Thank you so much!" Rarity replied.

"No problem, you two. Good luck on your search!"

Spike and Rarity ambled their way back toward the Library, hoping to find more information there. As they walked, Spike took the opportunity to admire his filly friend. While he'd told her that he had the deepest crush on her, he hadn't quite gotten around to telling her that he'd liked her since he first saw her.

He'd always thought her white as snow colour and flowing purple mane made her the loveliest pony he'd ever seen. It was love at first sight, and oh, how he was stricken! Which, he supposed, made him all the prouder that she seemed to be spending more time with him as of late, and that it was rare for her to be without the fire ruby necklace she'd made from his gift. Spike was so lost in thought that he nearly walked into the tree house's door.

"Oh, careful Spike," Rarity chided, opening the door for him. "Now, let's see about those books," she started, following him into Twilight's main room. "Oh my..."

Despite the meeting of their friends, Twilight somehow managed to avoid picking up her books.

"Well, this simply won't do," Rarity said, shaking her head. "Spike, let's pick these up first. Where should we start?"

Spike looked around and placed his hands on his hips. "Hmm... Well, Twilight did mention that she was planning on reorganising her shelves... again." He said with an air of annoyance. "Oh! I know!" He said, dashing over to a small bureau with several drawers in it. "This should help!"

Opening one of the narrow drawers, he began to rifle through the papers. Rarity gracefully followed him over to the bureau, and glanced over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Spike smiled wryly. "Well, this is a library. This is the original way it was organised before we moved in," he explained. "For some reason, Twilight had trouble using that system."

"Which system was that?" Rarity asked. "I would think that it must have been very strange indeed for Twilight to not understand it."

Spike laughed. "Oh, you know Twilight," he said, chuckling. "It was originally organised in alphabetical order." He explained. "This drawer tells you what book goes where."

Rarity looked puzzled a moment. "Wait... it was in alphabetical order? Then why was it such a trial for her to find the book on the Elements of Harmony?"

Spike shrugged helplessly. "Who knows. If I read off the titles, can you put them back?" He asked. "I can tell you which ones might be helpful as we go."

Rarity nodded. "No problem. Nothing a little tidying up magic can't fix. Where do we start?"

Spike pulled out the first card, and then fell over laughing.

"What's so funny?"

Spike gasped, then showed her the card. It read: 'Book 1: Alicornia Mythos by Starswirl the Bearded.

Rarity giggled. "Well, shall I put it in the research pile?" She asked before falling over and joining Spike in a gigglefest.

I know, I know, it's short. It's also 1:30am. As always, hope you enjoyed it!

-Wraith