Gargoyles In The Garden

Chapter 1:

"Okay. Now we really should clean up." Twilight's voice called from the main room in the library.

Spike walked in, and sighed upon seeing the large pile of books that awaited him.

"Are you ever gonna read these one at a time?" He asked Twilight sarcastically.

"You know I won't have time to do all of my reading if I keep constantly putting books away. Now help me with this mess." Twilight said impatiently.

Spike walked over and began to stack books. Twilight was using her horn to levitate them back onto the shelves.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Twilight said suddenly, and Spike jumped.

"What now?" Spike rolled his eyes and put down the books he was carrying.

Twilight picked up a book and began to flip through it's pages. When she found the one she had been looking for, she closed her eyes in concentration and her horn began to glow.

"Twilight...?"

"Not now, Spike. Give me a minute..."

"Twilight? You'd better see this."

Twilight paused what she was doing to look up.

All the books in the library were glowing. Each book then began to shake. And one by one, each grew a pair of legs and stood up.

"It's working!" Twilight went back to the book, and her horn glowed brighter.

All of the books began to walk around. Instead of going back to the shelves where they belonged, they did other things. Like knock over furniture, or get into the fire, or jump out of the windows.

"STOP!" Twilight yelled at them, and they paused to stare at her.

"Spike, help me with these pests, will you?"

"No problem." Spike began attempting to catch the books in cloths baskets and other cage-like objects. Nothing Spike or Twilight did could stop them.

"Twilight? Can't you just turn them back to normal?" Spike said, with a book trying to gnaw on his tail. Spike swatted it off.

"Yes! Why didn't I think of that?" Twilight located the book she had been reading, and they both began to chase it around the room. After about 5 minutes, Spike caught it for her with a laundry basket.

"Now, turn these things back to normal. Quickly." Spike pried the book open and held it up to Twilight.

Twilight's horn glowed, and all of the books lost their legs and flopped onto the ground in a cloud of dust.

"I'm glad that's over with." Twilight said "Now help me with these. It's late." Twilight glanced at the clock hanging on her wall. It was 2:45 AM.

After cleaning for half an hour, Twilight decided they would have to resume in the morning. Twilight tucked Spike in, and then went over to her bed to sleep. Twilight was out as soon as her head hit the pillow...

***

The next morning was sunny and bright. After putting away the remaining books, Twilight decided to go outside for some fresh air.

The sky was cloudless, and the air was warm. Twilight walked down the road greeting the other ponies as they passed her, then she had a sudden urge.

"Hey Spike? Want to go to the park?" She asked Spike, who was lounging on her back.

"Yeah, sure." He responded casually.

Twilight began to walk toward the park, smiling at fillies as they walked with their parents.

A faint noise was drifting from the park. As Twilight and Spike got closer, it got louder. After a minute, Spike had his hands over his ears.

"Spike," Twilight said " It's just..."

"Is NOT!" Interrupted the voice of a filly.

"Is TOO!" Another yelled angrily.

"Is NOT!"

"Is TOO!"

Twilight walked over to a trio of fillies and sat down next to them.

"What's going on?" She asked them.

The three fillies were Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were arguing about something.

Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and Sweetie Belle shoved her hoof in Apple Bloom's mouth.

"They're arguing about arguing being a special talent... again." She took her hoof out of Apple Bloom's mouth.

"... Yeah. What she said." Apple Bloom then glared at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo glared back. "Arguing is NOT a special talent."

"Is TOO"

"Is NOT"

"Okay, I think I get the idea." Twilight was grinning at them. "Apple Bloom, arguing isn't a special talent. Sorry."

Apple Bloom frowned.

"Don't feel bad. There's plenty of other things you may be good at..."

"Like ice skating?" Scootaloo asked, and Twilight nodded.

"Or tightrope walking?" Sweetie Belle chimed in.

"I guess it could..." Twilight started to say.

"Or volcano exploring?" Said Apple Bloom.

"Or how about teaching or caring for animals?" Twilight suggested, looking at their faces eagerly for a reaction.

The three fillies sat in thought for a couple of seconds, then proceeded to stick their tongues out in disagreement.

"Nah! Those things are boring." Apple Bloom told Twilight, who sighed.

"Like you..."

"I KNEW YOU'D SAY THAT!" Apple Bloom yelled at Scootaloo. "HOW did I know you were going to say that?"

"Mind reader." Was all Scootaloo said in response.

"Anything?" Apple Bloom turned sideways exposing her flank, which was still cutie mark-less.

"Nope. Blank."

Apple Bloom sat down with a sad expression on her face.

"Okay, look." Twilight said "Getting your cutie mark takes time and patience. You each have to find out what your special talent is, then you can discover that something that makes you genuine and unique. Maybe doing what you like best will lead you to your cutie mark. But either way your cutie mark will not come before it's time, and trying to rush it won't help, understand?" Twilight finished.

The fillies nodded their heads.

"Good. Now go and try to find something that you're really good at... but nothing dangerous, okay?" Twilight said to them before they could walk away.

"Will do, Twilight." Sweetie Belle said to her and waved as she followed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Twilight waved to them.

Twilight sighed. "What would Ponyville be like without them?"

"Better off?"

"Quiet, Spike." Twilight laughed and continued to walk through the park.

***

Twilight strolled around the park, watching fillies play their games and enjoying the fine weather. After some time, she was getting overheated.

"This day is nice, but the heat is getting to me. What do you say we rest under that tree over there?" Twilight asked Spike, pointing her hoof at an oak tree about twenty feet away.

Spike nodded, and Twilight walked over to it.

But before she could get into the shade, a voice yelled in her direction.

"WAIT!"

Twilight stopped at the edge of the shade with her hoof in the air. Twilight turned her head with one eyebrow raised.

Fluttershy flew over and landed next to Twilight.

"Oh. Umm..." Fluttershy spoke quietly "I'm sorry, Twilight... But you almost stepped on that toad..." Fluttershy pointed at a toad under Twilight's hoof, which was still raised.

Twilight jumped backward, knocking Spike off of her back.

"Hey! Watch it, Twilight!" Spike said, brushing himself off.

"Oops, sorry Spike." Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "I didn't see the toad, Fluttershy. How could I miss it?"

"Well... um... were you... distracted?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah. It was hot, and I was trying to get into the shade. I'm glad you stopped me." Twilight grinned.

Fluttershy grinned back awkwardly.

"Can we just go back to the library?" Spike interrupted.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Yes, Spike. I hope you left the A.C. on." Twilight turned back to Fluttershy. "Well, we'd better get going." Twilight waved goodbye to Fluttershy, who waved back shyly.

As they walked, Spike said "Is there some kind of thing between you and..."

"No, Spike. She's just very shy. And when she's shy, I get shy. So lets leave it at that."

Spike rolled his eyes, and Twilight chuckled softly.

***

"Hey, Spike. Is it just me, or do you feel like we're being..."

"Followed?" Spike finished, glancing behind him.

"...Yeah, I've had that feeling since we left the park. Did you feel it, too?"

"Uh huh. I've had the feeling since we walked out the door..." Spike glanced behind him again.

Twilight and Spike had almost returned to the library. They walked through town, greeting other ponies as they passed.

As they entered the town square, they heard a giggling noise. Twilight's ears twitched slightly, and a pink blur appeared suddenly in front of her. Spike jumped, and Twilight said "Hello, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie giggled some more and bounced up and down. "Did I scare you?"

Twilight glanced behind her at Spike, who had a hand clenched over his heart and was breathing heavily.

"I think you gave Spike a jolt." Twilight smiled at Pinkie.

"So what's new, Twilight? Whatchya been reading?" Pinkie stopped bouncing to ask.

"Well I read a few books on Astronomy, and some on Archeology. Oh and did you know ponies didn't used to--"

Spike placed his hand over Twilight’s mouth. “Twilight, don’t monologue.” He said, removing his hand.

Twilight gave Spike an angry glare. "I wasn't going to monologue. Anyway, we're going back to the library. It's just a bit too hot out." Twilight said to Pinkie, who nodded her head up and down almost to the point of breaking her neck.

"Uh, Pinkie? Please stop that, will you? It freaks me out." Twilight was following Pinkie's movement with her eyes.

"Sure thing, Twilight!" Pinkie stopped suddenly, and gave Twilight her signature grin.

"Well. Later, Pinkie." Twilight said, waving goodbye. Pinkie waved back, and pulled a balloon out of her mane. She then began to blow it up.

"What's she doing now?" Spike watched Pinkie finish the balloon, and pull out another.

"Probably throwing another party. It's always somepony's birthday."

Spike shook his head. Twilight walked into the library, closing the door behind her.

***

Night fell across Equestria. Stars covered the sky like a thick blanket, and crickets chirped outside the library window.

Everyone in Ponyville was asleep except Twilight and Spike. Twilight was studying her books, now reading up on Dinosaurs.

"Hey Twilight?" Spike said nervously "Do Dinosaurs exist?"

"Yes, they did. But that was a long time ago, before Ponyville, even before Equestria. They died out when a large meteor hit Earth traveling at thousands of miles per second. I'm just reading about the different types right now. Would you like to hear a few?"

Spike shook his head. "No, I don't want to get nightmares again."

Twilight went back to her book. Other than the occasional page flip, all was quiet and still...

Suddenly, a rock smashed through the window and the light went out.

Twilight jumped up, knocking books everywhere.

"Twilight?! What's going on?" Spike called from the darkness.

Twilight's horn glowed, and the room lit up. "I don't know, Spike." Twilight looked out through the hole that had been left by the rock. Outside, Twilight saw dark figures among the shadows. "...Spike," Twilight said slowly, not taking her eyes off of them "Lock the door." Spike ran to the door.

But before he could lock it, the figures smashed the door open. All Twilight saw was grey blurs before they ran at her and Spike.

"SPIKE! Get over here!"

Spike ran next to Twilight. Twilight's horn glowed, and they both disapeared.

They reappeared upstairs.

"Why isn't it working?!" Twilight tried to vanish again, but her horn stopped glowing.

The grey figures tore up the stairs to Twilight and Spike.

Twilight took a few steps back, and her hoof reached the edge of the window.

She glanced behind her to the darkness below, and then glanced back into the library.

"Twilight..?" Spike started to say.

The figures had almost reached the top of the steps. All Twilight saw was blurred shapes before she turned around jumped out of the window, with Spike screaming all the way.

All of life froze, and time slowed down to a crawl.
Twilight looked around, glancing at leaves flowing past her, and admiring nature as it drifted by. Nothing else mattered. She was here, and that's all that was important. Twilight was... happy. Nothing else could describe how she felt now. She was calm, all was quiet, and there was a sense of peace in her mind. Twilight smiled and closed her eyes, deciding that she would rest for a bit. An unknown darkness entered her mind like a cloud. Everything got fuzzy, and her mind slowly shrank away from reality. As the darkness took hold, she thought she heard a grinding noise before passing out and landing in a pool of water...

End of chapter one.