Lightning flashed, and the thunder soon followed, rattling all the windows in Ponyville. In her cottage on the outskirts of town, Fluttershy whimpered, clenching her teeth so hard around the pen in her mouth that it nearly broke.

Normally when it was time for a storm like this, she would be wrapped up in blankets under her bed, shaking and shivering until it all passed. But this was too important. She was so close.

“This is…” she muttered, staring at the prose filled page before her. “Do you really think something like this will work? I’m worried it’s just not going to make any sense…”

The only response she received was the continued howling of the storm. Fluttershy pressed on, furiously scribbling word after word.

“Twilight…”

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of the library, admiring her handiwork and looking pleased with herself.

Today was a rare day for her. Spike was gone, off helping Rarity with some project or another. Nothing princessly required her attention. And what’s more, none of her friends seemed to be having any friendship related catastrophes at the moment, so after a few minor chores, she finally had a chance to relax.

Smiling, Twilight levitated a book down from the shelves and curled up on a nearby cushion. It was going to be a good day.

There was a soft knocking on her door, and she groaned loudly. It was always something, wasn’t it? If it wasn’t some horrible beast escaped from Tartarus, it was probably Applejack and Rainbow Dash in another silly competition. Or maybe Rarity was freaking out over something trivial again.

Oh well. As she made her way to the door, she made sure to put on a sincere smile. Relaxing days were nice and all, but it wasn’t like she would ever turn away somepony in need.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight said as she opened the door to find the nervous looking pegasus standing on her doorstep. “What brings you here? I haven’t seen you in awhile.”

Fluttershy immediately jumped back when Twilight opened the door, crouching slightly and looking from side to side. “Oh, um, h-hey Twilight. Is now a bad time? I kind of have a favor to ask you, if that’s okay, but if you’re busy or anything I don’t want to be a bother."

Twilight smirked slightly, noting the satchel draped across Fluttershy’s flanks. She looked like she was ready to bolt at the slightest hint of negativity. “Not at all, Fluttershy. My day is totally open, and I’d be glad to help you with whatever you need. Come on in!”

“If you insist,” Fluttershy mumbled, following Twilight inside as she closed the door behind them.

“Would you like some tea or a snack?” Twilight asked. “Spike made some wonderful cookies the other day, and I’d be happy to share.”

“That would be lovely, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, watching Twilight as she made her way to the kitchen. She was left to stand alone, glancing around at the books on the shelves and awkwardly pawing at the ground until Twilight returned and the two sat down at the table.

“Do you like it?” asked Twilight as she sipped at her tea. “This a fancy brand I picked up in Canterlot the last time I was there. The shopkeeper tried to give it to me for free on account of, well, you know,” she said, stretching her wings for emphasis. “In the end I had to practically order him to let me pay.”

“I see,” Fluttershy said, glancing at her own wings and then Twilight’s. “That must be difficult to get used to. Oh, and, um, the tea is very nice. Thank you.”

Twilight grinned, glad that the small talk and refreshments seemed to be doing their job of getting Fluttershy to relax. “So, what sort of favor were you looking for?”

Fluttershy’s face fell, and she looked away, glancing at the satchel she had set next to the table. “Well, um, it’s, you see…” she stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before starting again. “Do you remember that mystery novel you lent me a while back?”

Twilight blinked, thinking back. “That was the first volume of ‘The Hardly Colts’, right? Did you enjoy it?”

Fluttershy nodded emphatically. “Oh yes. In fact, I read the entire series. I mean, in comparison it’s really more of a beginner series for foals, but it was still a lot of fun, and then I branched out into some similar series, and then I read a bunch of the great classics by Crystal and Knocks, and I really really liked the genre, and then I eventually got an idea, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but then I had an inspirational dream, and I was certain I could pull it off, so I’ve been working really really hard and um, well…”

Twilight stared at Fluttershy with her mouth hanging open. Fluttershy took a deep breath before reaching down into her satchel and pulling out a small book. She placed it on the table and pushed it towards Twilight.

“Could you, um, read this and tell me what you think?”

“Fluttershy…” Twilight mumbled, her brain still trying to process that stream of information. “Wait, are you saying that you wrote this!?”

Fluttershy nodded, whimpering slightly as she ducked behind her mane.

“That’s incredible!” Twilight said, beaming. “I’ll absolutely help you out, especially for something like this. I assume you want me to go through and proofread everything?”

Fluttershy pawed at the ground, keeping her eyes downcast. “Well, I mean, that stuff is nice too, but I was mostly kind of hoping that you would read it and try and solve the mystery…”

Twilight frowned, raising an eyebrow. This certainly was not the kind of visit she was expecting, but any of her friends showing an increased interest in literature was always a win in her book. “I guess I can give it a shot, if that’s how you want me to approach this. I’ll warn you though, I’m pretty good at solving mysteries!”

“Oh, I hope so,” Fluttershy said, smiling. “And, um, thank you, Twilight. You’re a good friend.”

“No problem! I’m glad to help out.”

The two sat there in silence for a long moment before Twilight realized that Fluttershy seemed to be expecting more. “Oh, did you want me to read this now?”

Fluttershy nodded, and Twilight glanced over to her previously abandoned reading cushion, smirking. “If that’s what you want, then sure! I suppose I can set some time aside for reading today.”

As Twilight moved over to her cushion and began to get comfortable, a thought occurred to her, and she used her magic to pull over another cushion for Fluttershy. “How about I read it out loud? Hearing something read back to you can be a useful tool for evaluating your own writing."

“I guess, if it’s not too much of a bother,” Fluttershy said as she lay down.

Grinning, Twilight opened the book to the first page, cleared her throat, and began. “Princess Twilight Sparkle…”

She immediately did a double-take, checking to make sure she had read the first sentence right, then skimmed the rest of the page to confirm her fears. “Um, Fluttershy? Am I the protagonist of your novel?”

Fluttershy winced, flinching back. “Um, well, yes. I mean, sort of. It’s you, but its not you. I mean, she looks like you and has the same name as you, and I tried to make her act like you, but you’re you, and that Twilight is just fictional.” Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy shrunk back even further as she mumbled, “They say you’re supposed to write what you know…”

Twilight shook her head, her eyes wide as she skimmed through the rest of the book, seeing familiar names jump out at her. “And... the rest of our friends are characters in here too?”

“I’m sorry, it’s weird. It’s definitely weird. This was a silly idea, I’m sorry for wasting your time, Twilight, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll just be going now.” Fluttershy leapt forward, trying to snatch the book away from Twilight and run away, but Twilight floated it out of her reach, holding the pegasus back with a hoof.

“Ah-ah. You’re not going anywhere, Fluttershy. I mean, yes, you’re right. It is weird. But that doesn’t mean I won’t read it anyway. I’ve certainly never read a book starring me before. This could be fun!”

Fluttershy backed off and began to pace back and forth, biting her lip and looking like she still wanted to grab the book and run away. After a few moments, she finally settled down and climbed back onto her cushion. “If you say so, Twilight. As long as you’re sure it’s not a problem…”

Letting herself get comfortable again, Twilight opened back to the first page. A thought occurred to her, and she turned the novel around, checking both the front and the back. “Fluttershy, does this story have a title?”

Fluttershy gasped, looking ashamed. "Wow, I can't believe I missed something so obvious. I'm sorry, Twilight." She leaned in, Twilight letting her take the book back this time, and pulled a pen from her satchel to begin carefully writing on the cover of the book. After she was finished, she pushed the book back to Twilight, the title clearly visible.

“The Legend of Dragon-Mare Manor”

Author's Notes:

Thanks to JeffCvt, Sereg, and Kalan for editing.

Rewritten prologue uploaded on 05/05/2014