Hey! It looks like you're new here. You might want to check out the introduction.
Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Wrong Book Rose
“Spike!” yelled Twilight from the basement of the library. “Did you give Rose the book she asked for? She was very, er, adamant that the book be in her possession by noon today!”
The little dragon yawned from his place on the couch and cracked open an eye. “I told you yesterday, Twilight; she said not to worry about it!” Groaning, Spike stretched and cracked his back. “Somepony she met in the market had an extra copy!”
With a hiss and several puffs of white steam, the basement door opened to reveal a still-yet-to-be-comforted Twilight Sparkle, clad in a sooty lab coat. “Did Rose say who it was?”
Spike scratched his head. “She didn’t remember, but she knew the title was right. Honestly, what’s to be afraid of?”
“What’s to be afraid of,” Twilight stressed, “is that Roses and their Uses in Potions isn’t that common of a book. It took me weeks to get a copy from the archives in Canterlot! Did she mention what color the book was?”
“Really? The color? You’re worried about the color of the book?”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed. “Well, you never know! One of the most common effects of magical residue is—”
“—a change in color, I know. Sheesh,” Spike grumbled. “Anyway, I think she said it was a pale blue, so—”
Whatever words he was about to say were lost as Twilight bolted out the front door, leaving a whirlwind of papers in her wake. One particularly hefty manilla folder smacked Spike straight in the face and knocked him over. Sighing, he slowly got up and began to stack the loose documents.
“I don’t get paid nearly enough for this.”
Vendors and patrons alike stared as a purple blur shot past them. One unlucky pegasus was covered by an errant lab coat at precisely the same time as he let out a low moan, badly scaring the ponies around him. Reacting to the shouts, the pegasus instinctively jumped into the air and remained there, bewildered by the growing screams of terror.
Twilight paid no mind to the increasingly chaotic panic behind her. She simply had to get the book back from Rose before it was too late. Arriving at the gardener’s residence, she rapped sharply three times and rang the bell twice for good measure.
“Go away!” shouted a voice from within. Twilight gasped.
“Rose…?”
“Go away!” the voice repeated, accentuated by a loud crash and a barely stifled curse.
“Rose, it’s Twilight Sparkle,” said the alicorn gently. “Can I come in?”
Silence, then the front door opened a crack. “T-twilight…?”
Smiling gently, Twilight pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, the earth pony making no attempt to stop her, choosing instead to cower in the shadows.
“Now,” said Twilight in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, “why don’t you tell me what’s wr—” A large flower bounced forward in its pot and chomped her ankle. “—ooooouch!” Gritting her teeth, Twilight kicked the offending flower across the room, where its pot smashed against the wall. She spun around and glared at the trembling gardener. “Rose!”
“I’m s-sorry!” Rose whimpered. “It w-was the b-b-book! I was t-trying to f-find a recipe for a growth p-p-potion, and it… it…” She collapsed into sobs, her green mane lying limp around her shuddering body.
Twilight’s expression softened. “There, there, Rose. How many plants are there?”
“A f-few dozen…”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll have no problem rounding them up—”
“...dozen.”
“For once, I really hope that number is wrong.”
“...And that’s the last of them!” proclaimed Twilight as she wrapped a bedsheet around the final carnivorous rose. Grinning at Rose the pony and the rest of the crowd in the marketplace, she tossed the snapping plant into a pile the size of a ball of parasprites. A team of earth ponies pulled a strong rope taut around the writhing sphere before leading it deep into the Everfree.
Rose positively beamed at Twilight. “Thank you so much! Thank you thank you—”
“All in the duties of a princess,” chuckled Twilight. Cupping her hooves to her mouth, Twilight shouted: “Thank you for your cooperation and concern! The plants have been disposed of, and you all can return to your selling and buying!”
“Hey!” exclaimed Rumble. “Where’d my brother go? Where’s—”
“—Thunderlane, can anypony help me? Ouch, cut it out, you stupid plants!” The pegasus aimed a buck at one of the squirming roses and strained against the ropes. He shouted again: “My name is Thunderlane, can anypony get me out…?”
The little dragon yawned from his place on the couch and cracked open an eye. “I told you yesterday, Twilight; she said not to worry about it!” Groaning, Spike stretched and cracked his back. “Somepony she met in the market had an extra copy!”
With a hiss and several puffs of white steam, the basement door opened to reveal a still-yet-to-be-comforted Twilight Sparkle, clad in a sooty lab coat. “Did Rose say who it was?”
Spike scratched his head. “She didn’t remember, but she knew the title was right. Honestly, what’s to be afraid of?”
“What’s to be afraid of,” Twilight stressed, “is that Roses and their Uses in Potions isn’t that common of a book. It took me weeks to get a copy from the archives in Canterlot! Did she mention what color the book was?”
“Really? The color? You’re worried about the color of the book?”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed. “Well, you never know! One of the most common effects of magical residue is—”
“—a change in color, I know. Sheesh,” Spike grumbled. “Anyway, I think she said it was a pale blue, so—”
Whatever words he was about to say were lost as Twilight bolted out the front door, leaving a whirlwind of papers in her wake. One particularly hefty manilla folder smacked Spike straight in the face and knocked him over. Sighing, he slowly got up and began to stack the loose documents.
“I don’t get paid nearly enough for this.”
Vendors and patrons alike stared as a purple blur shot past them. One unlucky pegasus was covered by an errant lab coat at precisely the same time as he let out a low moan, badly scaring the ponies around him. Reacting to the shouts, the pegasus instinctively jumped into the air and remained there, bewildered by the growing screams of terror.
Twilight paid no mind to the increasingly chaotic panic behind her. She simply had to get the book back from Rose before it was too late. Arriving at the gardener’s residence, she rapped sharply three times and rang the bell twice for good measure.
“Go away!” shouted a voice from within. Twilight gasped.
“Rose…?”
“Go away!” the voice repeated, accentuated by a loud crash and a barely stifled curse.
“Rose, it’s Twilight Sparkle,” said the alicorn gently. “Can I come in?”
Silence, then the front door opened a crack. “T-twilight…?”
Smiling gently, Twilight pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, the earth pony making no attempt to stop her, choosing instead to cower in the shadows.
“Now,” said Twilight in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, “why don’t you tell me what’s wr—” A large flower bounced forward in its pot and chomped her ankle. “—ooooouch!” Gritting her teeth, Twilight kicked the offending flower across the room, where its pot smashed against the wall. She spun around and glared at the trembling gardener. “Rose!”
“I’m s-sorry!” Rose whimpered. “It w-was the b-b-book! I was t-trying to f-find a recipe for a growth p-p-potion, and it… it…” She collapsed into sobs, her green mane lying limp around her shuddering body.
Twilight’s expression softened. “There, there, Rose. How many plants are there?”
“A f-few dozen…”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll have no problem rounding them up—”
“...dozen.”
“For once, I really hope that number is wrong.”
“...And that’s the last of them!” proclaimed Twilight as she wrapped a bedsheet around the final carnivorous rose. Grinning at Rose the pony and the rest of the crowd in the marketplace, she tossed the snapping plant into a pile the size of a ball of parasprites. A team of earth ponies pulled a strong rope taut around the writhing sphere before leading it deep into the Everfree.
Rose positively beamed at Twilight. “Thank you so much! Thank you thank you—”
“All in the duties of a princess,” chuckled Twilight. Cupping her hooves to her mouth, Twilight shouted: “Thank you for your cooperation and concern! The plants have been disposed of, and you all can return to your selling and buying!”
“Hey!” exclaimed Rumble. “Where’d my brother go? Where’s—”
“—Thunderlane, can anypony help me? Ouch, cut it out, you stupid plants!” The pegasus aimed a buck at one of the squirming roses and strained against the ropes. He shouted again: “My name is Thunderlane, can anypony get me out…?”