“Really?” Twilight asks with a cocked eyebrow, seemingly taken aback.

“We have to start somewhere,” you explain. “Where better than at the base, primal form of the field?”

Twilight’s eyes brighten. “You’re not just smart, you’re wise, too! Alright, let me finish showing you around the castle, and then we can work on creating a preliminary reading list!”

---

That evening, you bustle about in the castle library, picking out several books from various locations in the fiction section. The selections themselves vary from school-age gossip works targeted at tween fillies, to the standard trashy romance fics about mysterious stallions and lonely mares, and even some works with content that just barely meets the criteria to be read aloud in public.

Struggling under the weight of the stack of books you acquired, you plop them down on a broad crystal table where Twilight is already sitting.

“Wow,” she comments, her eyes wide as she takes in the majesty of the stack in front of her. “I only picked out a few recommendations...are these all of yours?”

“Most of the ones off the top of my head,” you answer. “I’ve been thinking about this research for a while now.”

Twilight uses her magic to nab several books off the top of the tower and examines their titles in turn. “The Gossip Club and the Second Kiss, The Midnight Captain, Flower Bed’s Betrayal, The No Good Dance...The Griffonian Maid…?” Twilight blinks a few times before covering her mouth with a hoof and giggling softly to herself. “What an interesting reading list! Are you ready to get started?”

Nodding, you sit down and pick up one of the lighter novellas, and flip to the first page.

By the time you have finished your second book, you let out a deep yawn and scratch your eyes.

A sharp whining noise startles you, and immediately you turn to face Twilight, who has her face buried in the crease of a book.

“Twilight?”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

There is no answer.

“Twilight!?”

Twilight jolts slightly and her ears perk up. “Um, yes?”

“You just made a strange noise. Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine!” she protests quickly, a thick and dark blush plastered across her face.

“Well alright,” you answer, still a bit concerned. “I’m tired so I think I’m going to head to bed for the night.”

“Okay, goodnight,” Twilight responds with a brief smile. “I’m going to continue researching,” she breathes, the last word coming out with yearning as she buries her face back into the pages and bites her lower lip.

Proceed to Chapter 12.

Next Chapter: Chapter 9 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 24 Minutes