Applejack was outside bucking apples, as per usual, when she heard her little sister's voice. Applejack stopped her chore just in time to see Apple Bloom running up the path just about as fast as she could, her school bags bouncing on her back.
"Applejack, Applejack!" Apple Bloom said, stopping in front of her big sister's hooves. "Guess what?"
"What?" Applejack asked, blandly. This was probably just going to be another way that Apple Bloom had discovered to find her talent and get her cutie mark, like track or hockey.
"Princess Twilight is startin' a book club!"
Applejack looked at her little sister curiously. "Ah didn't know you were that inta books."
Apple Bloom considered that for a moment while Applejack reared up on her front legs to buck a tree. "That's true, ah guess. But lookit this!" Apple Bloom pulled a flyer from her saddle bag and set it on the ground. "Ms. Cheerilee gave this ta all the fillies and colts at school today."
Applejack trotted over to the bright pink paper.
"Do you love to read and write?" Applejack read aloud. "Then come ta Twilight Sparkle's book club! It will be once a week, and during the hour period, ya kin read yer own writings, either fictional or non-fictional, ta other colts an' fillies! First meeting'll be this Saturday, from one to two o' clock."
Applejack shook her head. "But ah still don't-"
Apple Bloom rolled her orange eyes. "Not that stuff! Read tha interestin' part." Apple Bloom moved the paper so that it was facing her. "All of the foals who contribute will be eligible ta go ta the Young Author's Convention!" Apple Bloom looked up at her sister, positively beaming from head to toe. "See, that's why!"
"Ah still don't git it."
Apple Bloom sighed loudly. "Ya know that book series me an' mah friends an' every other foal at school likes?" She spoke slowly, as though Applejack was a baby.
"Yeah, and?"
Apple Bloom took a deep breath. "They're written by a mare named Night Owl (1) an' she's mah favorate author evar an' she's gonna be at the Convention an' ah wanna meet 'er sooooo bad!" Apple Bloom breathed heavily.
Applejack shrugged. "You'd best git to writin', then."
"Wat do ya mean?"
Applejack looked at the poster again, searching for a particular line. "Ahh. Here it is. 'ya kin read yer own writin's ta other fillies an' colts'" Applejack looked to her younger sis. "That means that ya gotta write yer own stories. After all, it is the Young Author's Convention, not the Young Reader's Convention."
Apple Bloom stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "But ah can't write! Ah've never written anythin' worth readin'!"
"Maybe you could talk ta yer fellow crusaders. After all, ah bet y'all could do just about anythin' you set yer little minds to."
Apple Bloom's eyes widened. "That's a great idea!" Apple Bloom started back down the path to the barn at a gentle trot, mumbling to herself. "I'll need ta call an emergency Crusaders meetin'. Sweetie Belle is...huh. Ah don't know where Sweetie is. Oh, well. Ah bet Scootaloo'll know where she is. And Scoots is...where, exactly?"
Applejack chuckled to herself. "Yer welcome!" she called out to the slowly shrinking form that was her sister. "Now, ta talk ta Twi an' see what's up with this 'book club'"
Princess Twilight Sparkle was just settling down at her desk for a long, peaceful evening of studying when somepony knocked at the front door.
"I'll get it!" Twilight's baby dragon assistant called out from downstairs, running on his tiny legs to the door.
"Oh, hi Applejack!" Spike said. "Do you need Twilight? She's right upstairs. I can get her for you."
Applejack smiled. "That's mighty sweet of ya, Spike, but ah can walk up the stairs an' git her mahself. Ah wouldn't wanna trouble ya."
Spike shrugged. "Suit yourself." He went back to shelving the large pile of books that had been strewn carelessly about by Twilight earlier that morning.
Her smile melting from her face, Applejack clopped up the stairs to see her friend. When she nosed open the door, Twilight spun around.
"Nice to see you, Applejack! Can I help you with something?" Twilight gestured to some chairs set around a coffee table, with the remnants of a daffodil and daisy sandwich on a plate set amongst many different books. Applejack picked up a few at random.
"'Critiquing Young Writers'? 'How ta Manage Children'? Whoa Nelly, Twilight, you've sure been studyin' up fer this book club thing of yers."
"How'd you know about that?"
"Apple Bloom came home from school t'day with a flyer from Cheerilee. She was in a tizzy 'cause she had the chance ta meet her favorite author."
Twilight rested her chin on her hoof. "Jeez, is it already Friday? I gave the flyers to Cheerilee on Monday..." Twilight trailed off, staring into the distance.
"Uh, Twi? Ya in there?" Applejack said after a moment, waving her hoof in front of her friend's face. Twilight shook her head to clear her mind. She smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, AJ. It's just, I feel as though time has been passing so quickly lately, and when I though about it last night, I realized that I was disappointed that I hadn't done anything of major importance in my life."
Applejack stared at her. After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke. "Twilight, sugarcube, you've done more in a year than most ponies could even hope ta do in a lifetime. You found the Elements of Harmony, vanquished an Ursa Minor, defeated Discord, Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, and Queen Chrysalis, and have traveled to an alternate demension. Sweet Celestia, you're an Alicorn princess! Wat more do ya want ta do?"
Twilight nodded. "That's true. But none of that, not even my becoming a princess, really has a long term affect on ponies. It's like cold medicine. Sure, it relieves the ailment temporarily, but there it no cure for the common cold. It's the same with me. There will always be annoying, stuck up, rude, or even downright evil ponies in Equestria. Even if I save an entire town, I'm only just stopping it temporarily. Even villains who are expelled to the farthest regions of Equestria can come back."
"But why have you decided that helpin' foals read an' write is more important than savin' towns?"
"I never said that." Twilight said calmly. "Of course I'll still fight evil. You don't stop taking medicine when you're ill just because you realize how useless it is. I am helping fillies and colts learn to write because, well, that's what I'm good at. I actually got the idea after Cheerilee wanted me to help her grade papers one day. All of the foals, every single one, answered the questions in short, choppy sentences. And as for the essay question- well, let's just say that only one little pony answered in more than the required ten sentences, and that's just because she put 'The End' on there."
"But if they hate writing, what'll make them wanna come ta yer club?"
Twilight smiled, proud of her well thought out idea. "Most of the foals at the school read the 'Fly By Storm' series, and most enjoy it a lot."
"That's the one by Night Owl, right?" Applejack asked. "What's the big hoot about it?."
Twilight smiled "It's actually pretty good, for a series meant for foals. I have all of her books in the library, and if you want I can loan you the first couple. But, anyway," Twilight went in with her story "Nighty and I have been pen pals for about three months now. I applied for a pen pal to this cool service that matches you up to ponies with similar interests, and it turns out that we like almost all of the same things! She had been invited to the Convention but didn't want to go, until I 'happened' to mention all of the fans she had here in Ponyville who might be coming. And, as luck would have it, the next day I saw her name on the list of authors who were coming, right along with Hunger Game (2) and Half Blood (3)."
"Wow. You are one manipulative mare." Applejack said.
Twilight nodded. "Yes. I am. Now, what did you come here for?"
"Oh, yeah! Ah jus' wanted to know if the crusaders could work together on one writin' piece."
"Yes, it is absolutely fine for Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo to work together. It's just that if they win a prize at the Convention, they'll have to share it."
"They can win prizes?"
"Of course! I'm entering all the stories in the competition. There are lots of rewards, for best science fiction, realistic fiction, non-fiction, the list goes on and on!"
"Well, thanks a bunch, Twi, fer tellin' me all that. I'd best be headin' home, though. It's gettin' dark."
Twilight looked out the window. Indeed, Celestia's sun was sinking lower in the sky, leaving behind a dark blue dusk.
"Mah favorite time a day. Not too hot, not too cold. Twilight."
"Yes?"
"Oh, no." AJ giggled. "Ah was sayin' that it was twilight."
"Oh." Twi giggled as well. "I suppose I'll be seeing Apple Bloom at one?"
"She'll be there. I might come too, ta take ya up on the offer of those Night Owl books."
"'Til tomorrow?"
"'Til tomorrow! And get some sleep, Twi. Ya can't watch kids when yer delirious."
Twilight sat back down at her desk when she heard the front door shut. She had a long night in front of her if she was going to be at all ready for the book club.