Chapter 2: Right from the book

"Would that be all sir?" I said trying hard to mask my irritation. I have been trying to take the order of this guy forever. He just couldn't make up his mind. Every time I told him I could just come back later he told me to stay because he had almost made up his mind.

"Don't worry dood. I can handle this." Isaac whispered to me as he passed by. With one hand holding a tray of food he pulled out a small menu and pointed towards the bottom of the paper.

"May I suggest the Rigatoni del Pastore? I think you would enjoy the spices and white wine we use in it."

The man just nodded in approval and ordered the rigatoni.

"What kind of drink would you like?"

"Uhm... How about... No..."

'Ah crap...'

"I'll just put you down for a water, okay?" I said as I wrote down the order and started walking towards the doors to the kitchen. As I walked through the doors and placed my notepad down Katherine walked up to me and laughed a bit to herself.

"I saw that you were stuck there for ages so I sent Sticks over to help you out. What did the guy want?" She asked me.

"He wants Rigatoni del Pastore." I said pointing to my nearly eligible handwriting.

"Dam it Aaron. If you didn't tell me what that order was then I would of made this guy a pizza. Just look at that!"

I could feel my face lit up as I looked down at my notepad. My penmanship was never the best, especially if I was rushing. To any untrained eye my notepad would look like I was one of the only people on earth who has remembered such an ancient writing style.

"Whatever, just cook the dang Rigatoni Kathrine..." I grumbled.

Kathrine just looked at me and smiled as she walked back into the kitchen to start on the meal. Just then Isaac came bursting through the doors. He had a bead of sweat rolling of his face as he spoke. The poor guy sounded like he was about to pass out.

"Aaron..! Come quickly, your table just got some new costumers."

"Don't tell me its that table..."

"Same one dood!" Isaac said with a snicker.

"Craaap... someone bu-" My sentence was cut short as I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Here you go Aaron, Rigatoni del Pastore! Now take it out there and make it quick before you do anything stupid." Kathrine said with a wink.

I froze, I didn't know what to make of the gesture. Its been a while... Isaac just sighed as he pushed me out the kitchen doors.

"Let's go Romeo!"

I sighed to myself as I made my way over to the table.

'This is going to be a long day...'

~~~~~

"Wow Athanix, that took forever! But hey, your book is now out for all the ponies to enjoy."

I looked over to my friend who was walking down with me through the streets of Canterlot.

"Yeah. They might of accepted it right away, but actually publishing that book took forever..." I said. Truth be told I had pitched my idea to one of the major publishers in Canterlot and it only took them seconds to accept. I was actually quite flattered. I expected my pitch to be rejected just like a lot of my books I have pitched before...

"I think I just got lucky Parsley."

"Nonsense Athanix! That story was good." He said putting a hoof on my shoulder.

"That's just it Parsley. It's just good. Even if they like it, what will other critics think? They will rip my story to shreds, I  know I left some details. Maybe my story isn't structured right, the characters might be a little underdeveloped." I cringed at the thought. "How could I pitch this story to them! Oh God..."

Parsley just gave me a quizzical look.

"Who?"

I snapped back as I realized who I was talking to.

'Oh yeah. I haven't told anyone yet...'

"Nothing, I think I'm just a little burnt out. I spent all night looking over that work."

I felt Parsley take his hoof off my shoulder as he punched me hard in my side.

"Your thinking too hard again. Let's just go grab a bite to eat." He said as a smile creeped onto his face. "Race you."

I frowned as I heard this.

"Oh come on Parsley you know I-"

"Coffee shop on the corner as usual?"

"Parsley..."

"You chicken?" He said giving me a competitive stare. Parsley was a normally a level headed pony, but his competitive side shoved that personality off the seat and took its place most of the time. I just facehooved, he would never let it go if I said no again.

"Ugh, okay I'll race you. Countdown please?"

"Three." He said, his eyes firmly locked onto the coffee shop just down the street.

"Two." I said as I heard the soft shimmer of magic being conjured. I didn't even hear him say 'one' before there was a bright flash of light. In the blink of an eye Parsley was all the way over on the other side of the street, opening the front door to the cafe.

"One!" He shouted before he walked into the shop.

I just sighed as I stretched my wings as I flew over towards the coffee shop. I landed in front of the door and used my hoof to push it open and felt the warm air rush past me as I walked through the door. I was greeted by a rich deep voice coming from inside.

"Hey Athanix! Close that door faster! It takes a lot of bits to heat this place up!" The clerk shouted from behind the counter.

I just smiled as I closed the door behind me and walked towards the counter.

"Hey Maple Leaf, same as usual."

The earth pony just smiled as he pulled out a mug and poured some coffee into it.

"Honestly Athanix, I don't know how you can drink decaf with all the work you do. I really think you would benefit from drinking some real coffee."

Parsley came up holding the most absurd looking latte in the world. The thing looked like it had more whip and cocoa powder than it had actual coffee.

"Nah Athanix doesn't have the stomach for the stuff. He couldn't drink it even if he wanted to."

"Don't think I don't know what your doing Parsley..." I said with a bit of edge.

He just laughed to himself as he handed Maple some bits for the coffee.

"Don't worry bro. I have some bits."

I looked at the bits set on the table.

"Parsley, this is not even enough to pay for your own coffee! Let alone mine!"

"I didn't say have enough bits to pay for both of us! I said I had some bits!" He said with a dangerous smile on his face.

"Someone get me away from him before I kill this unicorn." I said glaring at Parsley. He just shrugged the gesture aside as if it was nothing.

"You don't have the guts Athanix." He said as he glared back at me.

"Hey Athanix."

I turned to face Maple. He was holding a piping hot mug of freshly made coffee.

"This ones on the house." He said with a equally mischievous on his face.

Parleys dark green coat suddenly paled.

"You wouldn't..."

"At least no one will see you in your new camo." I said.

~~~~~

"Alright see you later Athanix! I need to get this coffee off of me. I also need to get ready for work tomorrow, those dishes aren't going to cook themselves." He said.

I extended my wings and took to the sky. Stopping in mid air I turned to Parsley.

"Alright Parsley, try not to get lost! We might not be able to find you again!" I said with a laugh.

"I'm not the one who should be worried about getting lost Athanix! If I could grow a pair of wings right now I would come up there and knock some sense into you!" He said shaking his hoof menacingly at me.

"As if Parsley! Okay then see you later!" I took off through the sky and towards my home. I always flew low near the ground because up in the sky my glasses could be blown off my face. Then Celestia help me I couldn't even read the watch on my wrist even if it was right in front of me.

As I landed in my front yard and folded my wings against me, Rustic and Hope ran up to me and gave me a big hug. They hung on my neck as they tried to bring me down to the ground.

"Hey there's my boy! Just got your book mailed!"

I strained myself to look up. Eventually I looked up towards the front door to see my mother and father standing in the doorway. My dad was basically beaming with pride as he held the hardcover book as if it was his newborn foal.

"Looks like your gonna be a writer like your old man! Told you that his cutie mark was for writing." My dad said as he shot my mom a egotistical look.

"You know he is a fine artist too! His cutie mark mark can still mean that he is an artist. A pencil giving off an orange and blue mark as well as the normal black is a sign of his artistic talents!

My dad just snorted as he begun his side of the argument.

"Show's what you know about literature! His cutie mark obviously shows that his work is unique and has its own style! It is deep and beautiful! He get's it from me."

My mom just laughed a bit to herself.

"For his sake I hope he didn't get it from you."

I cleared my throat to gain their attention again.

"Mom, Dad. You guys are great at what you both do. If it makes you feel better I think that my cutie mark resembles both art forms. I don't think my writing is the best, it can defiantly use some work. Some characters are underdeveloped in my story. My artwork isn't to great either, my understanding of artistical elements can use some work.

They just both nodded and ushered me into my home. My siblings have finally decided that breaking my neck would be bad for my future so they hopped onto my back.

"Come on AJ!" Hope said. "You're no fun!"

"Yeah Athanix! Let's see how fast you can fly!"

My mom just came up on picked up my little sister up off my back with her teeth as my father did the same with my brother.

"Now you know there is no flying in the house. You remember the last time you flew inside?" My mom said eyeballing them both. My younger siblings basically shrunk back into the floor as they usually did when my mother spoke to them harshly. My dad just blinked in surprise. Whenever he tried, Hope and Silver just giggled as if it were some kind of joke.

"Wow honey, you need to teach me how to do that."

"As if Athanix, the kids aren't afraid of you." She said as she turned to face me. "Except AJ, he gets the chills every time I tell him that you need him for something."

"Oh is that so?" My dad said looking over at me with a smile on his face.

I just facehooved.

"Not when your like this dad. You're not fooling anyone." I said as I headed up the stairs to my room. But halfway up the stairs I realized what I just said. I looked back to see my dad just nodding in approval

"I see that your tired! You are speaking like the humans my boy. Are you starving yourself or something?" My dad said to me. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I hung out with Parsley again and we ate. I'm not to hungry. Just a little tired that's all."

My father was about to say something if my mother didn't jab her hoof into her sides.

"No that is fine Athanix. If your feeling tired just go up and sleep."

I just nodded as I head of to my room. With the laughter of my siblings and the bickering my parents coming from below I slowly closed the door to my room and crawled into bed. I lay face first in my pillow and let my wings stretch and spread out before slipping into a deep sleep...

~~~~~

The cool winter winds made there way down the path as Twilight walked through the streets of Ponyville. She was on her way to the Carousel Boutique with an important delivery for Rarity. She has been waiting for it for quite some time now.

Coming up to the Boutique Twilight knocked lightly on the door.

"Rarity? It's Twilight, are you home right now?"

There was a slight commotion coming from inside the shop as unicorn finally answered the door. Her hair was a little frayed at the edges and a slightly tired look was on her face.

"Twilight! This is really a bad time, I am very busy at the moment. What is that you need?" Rarity said.

"Well I just wanted to-"

"Come in Twilight! I need to get back to work soon. I don't want to work late again this time." Rarity said looking back into the boutique.

"Well if you would let me finish..." Twilight just said flatly. "The books you wanted just came in I have them here in my saddlebag."

Rarity's look just snapped back into its normal well kept self as she dived into Twilight's saddlebag almost toppling them both over.

"Oh my! When did you get these?" She said pulling out the books with a hoof and then hugging them tightly.

"They just came in this morning." Twilight said.

"And you didn't come in sooner? Twilight dear, it is past noon already! Where are those glasses! I just set them down here only a moment ago!" Rarity said running back into her home turning everything upside down. She was looking under fabric and pulling out drawers looking for her glasses.

"Twilight, would you be a dear and help me look for my glasses?"

"Sure thing Rarity. I know exactly how to find your glasses." Twilight said taking care to step over toppled manikins.

Rarity's eyes lit up as she ran over to Twilight.

"You do! You have to tell me!" She said shaking Twilight's face with both her hoofs. Twilight just forced herself out of Rarity's grip as she stepped back and shook her head to re-orientate herself.

"Well you can use a teleportation spell that I use with lost books. All you have to do is think about the book, or you glasses, visualize it, and use a teleportation spell to teleport it to you."

Without hesitation Rarity's horn lit up with magic and a pair of red glasses appeared in front of her with a small flash of light and an audible pop.

"Thank you Twilight! I don't know how I was going to read without these!" She said as she adjusted them on her face. "If you will excuse me though I need to finish read- I mean working!" Rarity said and she slowly pushed Twilight outside.

"I'm terribly sorry but I am very busy right now!"

"No need to worry Rarity I'm sure you-"

The door was already closed. With a sigh and a laugh Twilight turned back down the streets of Ponyville back to her tree house.

~~~~~

"Oh my..." Rarity said closing the book with her magic.

"Oh my... Oh my..." She looked looked at the closed book again, observing it carefully. This particular novel was the second book in a series that Rarity had recently discovered. She had been sitting downstairs since Twilight left just reading. The sun was about to set behind the horizon and beautiful reds and oranges lined every cloud in the sky.

"I need to know what happens next..." She said to herself. "I didn't read all this time to just be left like this!"

"Why would the author just leave me on such a cliffhanger! Surely there must be another book!" Although she wished it was true, she knew that the new addition had only been added today and the next book couldn't possibly out.

She looked outside and again.

"It's not that late. I'm sure he wouldn't mind some company." Rarity said as she started to conjure up magic.

"Oh wait, I better tidy up first! Don't want to have guests over with such a messy home!" And with that she dispelled her magic and started to rearrange the mess in her home.

"I will need some help doing this though..." Rarity said as she lifted her manikins up and set them into the corner of the room. She took a good look around as the boutique looked like it's normal self again.

"I know just the pony to help me too!" She said as she walked out of the Carousel Boutique and started off towards the library.

~~~~~

"Dang Kathrine! If I knew we would be up so early just to go shopping then I would a brought my nikes!" Isaac said. "I don't know why we have to be up so early! Who in the right mind would have a department store open so early!?"

Kathrine just sighed as she turned to Isaac.

"We are up so early because we need to get Aaron his birthday gift! I want to surprise him! You still have the keys to his apartment Sticks?"

"Yeah I do- Wait! I told you to stop calling me that dood!"

"Ugh fine..." Kathrine said as she walked over to a striped hoodie. "Hows this Isaac?"

Isaac just gave a satisfied smile as he walked over to examine the soft fabric that lined the inside of the sweater.

"That's more like it Kathy."

Kathrine just shot Isaac a dirty look.

"I swear to God Isaac, if you call me that again and I will-"

"No need Kathy, you won't hear it from me agAIIAAAAAHHH!! WHAT THE HELL?!" Isaac screamed out. "Girl you got some serious anger issues!"

"It's a gift." She said.

~~~~~

I woke up to the sound of a noisy car alarm. Nothing I should be worried about anyway. I don't even own a car. Looking at the clock I say that it was about 4 a.m.

'Oops, I must of slept a little to early...' I though to myself. 'Note to self; Do not sleep early anymore. I tried to close my eyes and fall asleep, but I knew it was pointless. I have tried swapping back and forth when ever I pleased, but to no avail. I had to wait until I was really, really tired for me to switch over.

As I stepped out of bed I heard the doorknob move.

I froze as I wondered who might be outside.

'Couldn't be Kathrine, she doesn't even know where I live...'

'Couldn't be Isaac, he doesn't get up this early on Saturdays...'

I grinned, Isaac was usually still up at this time, probably passed out at some party.

The grin vanished from my face as I heard the deadbolt slowly slide open. I remembered one of my neighbors got robbed a couple nights ago.

"Oh no you won't!" I said as I wildly kicked at the open door. My foot connected as the intruder his the ground writhing in pain.

I Isaac almost blew my eardrums out with the volume he screamed at.

"DANG IT AARON! WHAT THE HELL! THAT'S THE SECOND TIME!! IT'S NOT LIKE I WANTED TO START A FAMILY OR ANYTHING!"

This was accompanied by Kathrine who laughed uncontrollably as she bent over to help Isaac up.

"Oh my God! Told you! You gotta knock first geni-" She stopped mid sentence as I turned on the lights.

She dropped a small box and when it hit the floor, out popped a black and white sweater.

"Holy crap you guys! How did you know this is what I wanted for my birthday..!" I said as I looked at them. They just stood there, speechless.

"Oh come on I know that you wanted this to be a surprise, but I still love it either way!" I said as I gave them both a big hug.

"Hey, uh, dood?"

"Yeah Isaac?"

"Uh, don't know how to tell you this but-"

"Isaac don't tell me that you stole this! We talked about this already!"

"Aaron your glowing purple and white." Kathrine said.

I opened my eyes and lone behold my arms were glowing a bright purple and white. I knew what was going on because I have seen it many times before.

Before I could take my arms off my friends I felt myself being sucked out of my own body. I whizzed through a bright multicolor tunnel traveling at amazing speeds.

"Aaron! What's going ooooooon...!"

"AW YEAH! LETS GO FASTER!"

The lights got brighter as I felt myself moving faster and faster. Suddenly though I just stopped as I fell face first onto a hard wooden floor.

"Woo! Let's go aga-" Isaac stopped.

It wasn't normal for Isaac to just stop in the middle of a sentence. Nothing surprises that guy.

I looked up to see a unicorn sitting on her haunches taking in the scene while another purple unicorn was sleeping soundly in the corner of the room.

Wait that must mean we are in... I looked over to my sides, only to find two ponies.

To my right was a scrawny orange earth pony with a long light blue mane. His eyes the same color of orange to complement his coat. He was standing up on all fours and his mouth was agape.

"Isaac...?" I said.

I saw a small smile creep up onto his face and  I swear I he looked like he was about to explode with pure joy.

"Aaron. You are seeing this too right..? I am not dead... Right...?"

"Of course your not dead Sticks." I looked over to my left to see a slender unicorn with a light green coat and a sleek black mane with a soft yellow highlight. She opened her eyes to reveal her dark green eyes.

"But where are we?" I said.

"Y-You..." Said a shaky voice. All of us turned to see a now trembling white unicorn. "Y-You're i-in P-P-Ponyville..."

I heard an ear splitting squeal of glee coming from Isaac's direction.

"Oh my Celestia! I knew it was true! My life is complete!" He burst out as he fainted.

I looked over to my left.

"I'm guessing that's you Kathrine?"

"Yep you guessed right. Sticks looks like a total fanboy right now." She said with a small smirk on her face.

"But what are you...?" The white unicorn said.

I was puzzled at first, giving the unicorn a quizzical look. She just reached over and grabbed a hand mirror. I took it from her to examine myself. I saw a dark brown color and my trade mark pencil was etched into it.

But it wasn't on my flanks or anything. I was just wearing my favorite sweater. I dropped the mirror causing it to shatter on the floor.

"Oh my dear princesses, where have I landed myself this time..."

~~~~~

Author's Notes: Comments, suggestions and opinions are all welcome! I am waiting for some critique! I want to know what you guys think about this! It would mean a lot to me if you would just take your time to comment on the story!

~Athanix,

   Peace.