Chapter two
The library where Twilight lived came into Scootaloo's view just as Rainbow Dash took off, flying up into the air and leaving a faint rainbow trailing behind her. She hit her scooter handle in an annoyed manner. If she had been a bit quicker off the mark she might have arrived at Twilight's house when Rainbow Dash was still there. She sighed to herself as she unhooked her safety helmet strap.
No use crying over a missed opportunity she thought to herself as she climbed off of the scooter. She pushed it towards the door and rested her helmet down on the scooter. She brushed her hair back with her hoof, took a deep breath and tapped on the door. After a few seconds she heard the echoing of hoofsteps and the door opened. Twilight Sparkle peered out of the doorway, her eyes looking slightly darkened, bags underneath. She looked like she hadn't slept for some time. Twilight paused for a moment, looking straight ahead at adult pony height. A few seconds passed and then she looked down, noticing Scootaloo.
"Oh, hello there Scootaloo," said Twilight.
"Hi Twilight," said Scootaloo. For a moment she forgot about Rainbow Dash, more concerned about Twilight: "You look sick Twilight, is something wrong?" she asked.
Twilight shook her head: "Oh no, there's nothing wrong Scootaloo. I've just been reading and studying…for the last fifteen hours…," she added with a nervous laugh.
"What, are you studying for something?" asked Scootaloo. "Do ponies your age have to do tests too?"
"Oh no," said Twilight shaking her head. "It's not a test, but I stumbled upon the most wonderful set of books. It was so interesting I couldn't stop reading them. You know how it is when you can't stop turning the page."
"Yeah…," lied Scootaloo, her tail flicking out slightly. "I'm always reading things…"
"Oh you too?" asked Twilight, sounding a little uncertain that Scootaloo was telling the truth. "Well that's great; you can never know what excitement you might find in a book! Or knowledge. Well knowledge can be exciting too, learning something new is always great."
"I see," said Scootaloo.
"So what brings you here anyway Scootaloo?" asked Twilight.
"Oh that's right," said Scootaloo who had almost forgotten why she had visited Twilight. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Oh really?" asked Twilight. "What's that?"
"I wanted to ask what a Daring Do is," said Scootaloo.
Twilight grinned- a second pony to introduce Daring Do to in such a short time! Scootaloo worried for a moment- the last time she had seen Twilight smile almost that much, some very odd things had happened involving a childhood doll.
"Daring Do?" asked Twilight. "I own all of the books in her series."
"Books? Series?" asked Scootaloo. "Daring Do is a book?"
"No, no she's a character in a series of books," said Twilight. "I own all of them," she said proudly.
"Oh, a book character," said Scootaloo. That was odd- a book character didn't sound like somepony Rainbow Dash would be interested in. "Is she a good book character…erm book series…is it a good set of books?"
Twilight nodded her head: "I've read all of them, they're excellent. Even Rainbow Dash started reading them when she was at the hospital. She appeared to like them…a bit too much."
Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment as she recalled what had happened after Rainbow Dash left the hospital. Slippers indeed!
"Wow so they must be really great huh?" asked Scootaloo. "If Rainbow Dash liked them…"
"I think she went beyond just liking the books," said Twilight. "And she's been reading them other since."
"Oh so a book set huh?" said Scootaloo. She sounded a little crestfallen. "I bet that would be expensive to buy…if I could even find them."
She guessed she would have to find another way to have a shared interest with Rainbow Dash.
"Oh no, I have the whole collection," said Twilight. "One of the books was even signed by the author…I don't think I'd want to lend that one out to Rainbow Dash actually," she mused to herself.
"Twilight, would somepony else be allowed to borrow one of the books?" asked Scootaloo, treading the ground with one hoof nervously. "I think Apple Bloom said she was interested in reading one…"
"Scootaloo, are you lying?" asked Twilight smiling.
"Maybe," said Scootaloo turning her head away.
"There's no reason to be embarrassed about reading for fun," said Twilight. "It can be very enjoyable if you let it."
"I guess Twilight, but I just don't wanna be an-,"
"Egghead?" asked Twilight with a smile. "Rainbow Dash was the same way when I suggested she read a book."
"Really?" squeaked Scootaloo. She quickly tried to regain her composure. "I mean, I guess I could try one of the books…if you're happy to lend me one I guess…"
"Come in Scootaloo, I'll go and get the first volume," said Twilight.
Twilight nudged the door further open and Scootaloo followed the older pony deeper into the library, surprised at just how many books surrounded her.
"Wow have you read all of these?" asked Scootaloo in disbelief.
Twilight shook her head: "No I haven't read all of them yet, but I'm slowly getting there. I'd probably be going a bit faster if I didn't keep adding more books, but some ponies seem to have a new book out every other couple of months."
"Oh…really?" asked Scootaloo who was only interested in this Daring Do book.
"Here we are," said Twilight reaching a shelf that stood far higher than Scootaloo.
"So which book is the Daring Do one?" asked Scootaloo.
"Oh, all of these ones are part of the set," said Twilight. "It's a very popular series."
"All of them?" asked Scootaloo. "How could a story need that many books?"
"Oh Scootaloo there are many series out there far longer than this set," said Twilight as her horn glowed purple and she pulled the first book from the shelf and dropped it into Scootaloo's hooves. "And the books themselves are quite short. I've been slowly making my way through an older book that's over a thousand pages long."
"Woah, is that some kind of history book?" asked Scootaloo. A thousand pages?
"Oh no it's…a fantasy book," said Twilight. "That's also the first of a set."
"How do you get through so many books Twilight?" asked Scootaloo. She'd need a good technique- she'd have to get through this book and learn all of the important things before the day was out, and before her window of time to meet with Rainbow Dash came to an end.
"Oh I'm just a fast reader," said Twilight with a shrug. "Some fillies liked to run and play, others tried to fly really fast…and I stayed at home and read books," she said, adding the last part quietly.
"Fast reader?" asked Scootaloo. "I can flap my wings really fast, so if I can move my eyes fast too could I read fast like you?"
"I'm not quite sure that's how it works," said Twilight. "And you shouldn't just read fast for the sake of reading fast, you should take time and appreciate a story. I just happen to read faster than other ponies as I've had a lot of practice and that became my normal reading speed."
"…yeah," said Scootaloo who was becoming more and more aware of the amount of time passing. "Could I stay here and read this?" she asked. Twilight might be able to help her out if some of the words were difficult. And more importantly she doubted she would be able to scoot her way back home without ending up damaging or dirtying the book.
She suspected Twilight wouldn't be too pleased if that happened.
"Sure!" said Twilight who suddenly looked brighter. "This is a place for reading after all! And if you have any troubles I can help you. And the book won't be in any danger of getting damaged," added Twilight, saying the last part without thinking.
"I'll go and sit on the cushion then," said Scootaloo gripping the book in her mouth.
"And don't bend the spine too much…please," said Twilight as the filly marched away from her.
Scootaloo sat down and placed the book in front of her. She guessed there was no harm in trying, but she suspected soon she'd give up. Reading sounded boring; it was just something for smarter ponies like Twilight to do…
"Here you go Scootaloo," said Spike handing over the fourth volume.
"Thanks Spike!" said Scootaloo as she pushed the third Daring Do book closed. Spike nodded and walked off, holding a duster in one hand.
"So are you enjoying the books too?" asked Twilight Sparkle, allowing herself to feel a little smug about introducing the series to two new ponies.
"Yeah!" said Scootaloo nodding her head furiously. "She's a Pegasus pony like me, and she's cool like Rainbow Dash and she goes around beating up the bad guys too!"
"Outsmarting," said Twilight. "She uses her brains too…"
"Yeah and she keeps winning, even if she does seem to destroy the places she visits all the time- which is cool too!"
"I guess collateral damage can be interesting as long as it's fictional…," mused Twilight to herself.
"She even reminds me of me too a bit," said Scootaloo, "Like in the first book when…when she couldn't really fly all that well."
"It's amusing, Rainbow Dash was just like you," said Twilight. "At first she thought the idea of reading was silly and for eggheads, and then she discovered that if you find the right book it can be a great experience."
"Just like Rainbow Dash…," said Scootaloo to herself. "Wait, Rainbow Dash!" she suddenly exclaimed standing up.
"What is it?"
"I have to go…do something," said Scootaloo.
"Have fun then?" said Twilight, slightly confused by how sudden it all was.
"Thanks, I'm hoping I will," said Scootaloo as she rushed for the door. She slowed and then came to a halt, before turning her head gingerly to face Twilight.
"Say Twilight, if somepony wanted to come back another day to read another Daring Do book…"
"Feel free to come back whenever you like," said Twilight. "Well not really late at night or really early in the morning, but you know what I mean."
"Thanks Twilight!" said Scootaloo as she rushed out the door.
Twilight smiled, and then picked up the collection of books the younger pony had left on the floor.
"I wonder if I could get Pinkie to read these…"