One Page at a Time

>Years ago, you stumbled down a rocky embankment outside of your home town.
>When you awoke, you were lying on a forest floor, surrounded by tiny woodland creatures.
>Your first thoughts were of kidnapping, but why would they leave you in an unknown forest?
>You began to walk until you saw a trail of some sort.
>Hoping it would lead to civilization, you walked in a random direction along it.
>You were hoping to find another person, but the first thing you came across was a small purple horse with a horn sticking from its head.
>Of course you were a man about it, though there was some girlish screaming involved.
>Fast forward a few years.  After making friends with the purple unicorn you first met, Twilight Sparkle, she sent word to the rulers.
>They were…accepting of your presence in their lands, making you promise not to cause troubles for their “little p0nies”.
>It was safe to say you weren’t on earth anymore, and that meant you couldn’t get the junk food or the vidya you needed to survive.
>But you were focused on a new start, which meant you had to be healthier. It wasn’t difficult really, just eating the right foods and exercising here and there.
>Hell, having Rainbow Dash there for you made things easier. She was always there to spur you on for that final sprint.
>Not to say that life has been a walk in the park. A week after meeting the town’s p0nies, and getting settled in, SHE came knocking at your door.
>Oh sure, you thought she was just as nice as the others, being an Element of Harmony…whatever the fuck that is. But you were wrong, so very wrong.

>Okay, maybe you were over reacting, but seriously… who was she to tell you your colour choice was wrong?
>I mean, yeah… she made you clothes, for free mind you, but there was nothing wrong with neutral colours. And gym shorts should not be bedazzled.
>You shake away your thoughts as you finish tying your shoes. You look at the clock hanging on the wall, only to realise you needed to hurry if you were going to catch her.
>You grab your satchel, and out the door you go. There was no need to lock the door, everyp0ny knew each other in town. That and you had nothing worth stealing from your tiny one bedroom house.
>As you begin to jog down the dirt path, past Sweet Apple Acres, you give Big Mac and Applejack a wave.
>Applebloom came scuttling out of the farmhouse, her saddlebag overflowing with freshly made food from Granny Smith. She rushed over to you, and you slowed your pace.
>’Mornin’ Anon.’
‘Morning Applekumquat.’
>Applebloom giggled and tried to look angry at you. ‘Mah name is Applebloom.’
‘Really? I’m sorry Appleberry, I must have forgotten.’
>’Fine, Ah guess you don’ want one a Granny’s apple turnovers.’
>Oh that sneaky bitch had you over a barrel.
>She had even reached into her saddlebag to grab one, waving it at you while still miraculously running on three legs.
>Dammit, they smelled so good. You needed that turnover. Your stomach demanded it.
‘Fine… you win Applebloom.’
>She smiles victoriously and throws you the apple treat. You snatch it, and quickly slide it into your bag.
>’ Whah don' you ever eat it when ah give it to you, Anon?'
‘Those are sometimes foods. I save them for after-dinner treats. Now hurry up! You need to get to school, little filly.’

>As you hit the centre of town, you part ways with the little ball of energy, making sure to remind her to tell the other crusaders you wished them the best.
>You speed up your jog to a run, catching sight of your target destination.
>When you had nothing to do between exercise and sleep, you wandered the town, hoping to help out the p0nies that helped you.
>Heavy lifting or simple marketing was all they needed, but they gladly allowed you to repay their kindness. It was the easiest way to make friends.
>On one particular day, Twilight asked you to help her reach the hard to clean areas.
>’Seeing as how you are monkey-like,’ she said ‘you should be able to climb up to the harder areas.’
>That was the day of the Great Book War, one of the greatest days in P0nyville.
>Afterwards, while cleaning up the mess you made, you started to read the blurbs of some books. Skimming at first, but that turned into reading them fully, until all you could do was stop and start reading the novel.
>Twilight found you an hour later, hiding in a proverbial book fort, nose deep in a Daring Do adventure.
>She only smiled, and continued to clean as you delved into the world of literature.
>From that day on, you spent your free time reading different books, following the adventures of different creatures, and hoping one day you could have an adventure like them.
>BANG
>CRASH
>You were so lost in thought that you didn’t notice the library door fast approaching, slamming through the top half of the door, rolling along the floor and bashing into the far wall of books.
‘Ow…that kinda sucked.’
>’Who…Who’s there?’
‘It’s just me, Sparkle. I came by to return the books I borrowed.’

>Standing up, you quickly dust yourself off and re-shelve the books you knocked over.
>The sound of soft hooves on the wooden floor slowly approaches you from behind, and you spin to say hello to Twilight.
>Except this wasn’t Twilight.
>She was a unicorn, had a magenta coat with a violet and light purple mane.  You recognise the p0ny standing there, but her name escapes you.  You remember she liked to hang out with Twilight while you sat around reading.
>And she was mad. Oh dear Celestia, was she angry.
>’WHAT THE BUCK?!’
‘Shh shh shh shh shh… Let’s take a deep breath, and not kill the human. I’m an endangered species here.’
>’OH, YOU BETTER BELIEVE YOU ARE IN DANGER!’ She stomped forwards as she spoke. ‘WHAT THE BUCK WERE YOU THINKING, BASHING THROUGH THE BUCKING DOOR LIKE A MAD P0NY?!’
‘I’m really, seriously sorry, Miss…’ You start to click your fingers. ‘Miss…miss-‘
>’YOU DON’T EVEN REMEMBER MY NAME?!’
‘Well, I’m trying to reme-‘
>’TWO AND A HALF YEARS?! AND YOU DON’T REMEMBER MY NAME?!’
‘No, I just need a second. Head traumas and such, Miss Ama… Ame… AMETHYST!’
>She stopped, and looked at you.
‘Amethyst Star, I’m sorry for crashing into the door… and the bookshelf. I was just looking for Twilight.’
>Her head droops, and she takes a deep breath.
>’She’s on holiday. I assumed she told you.’
‘She did, hence I rushed over here before she locked up the library. Now where is she?’
>Amethyst grabbed your hair with her magic, and brought your head down to her level.
>’She’s already gone, you idiot.’
‘Then why, pray tell, are you in here?’
>’Wow, you finally ask a good question. Still not observant.’
‘I am observant. I observe you are holding my face mere inches from your face.’
>Her face erupts in a blush, before throwing you back.

>Your head hits the shelves behind you, and you wince in pain.
‘God fucking DAMMIT!’ You look at Amethyst. ‘What the hell, Amethyst?’
>’I...you said… are you okay?’
>You reach a hand up and feel the back of your head. Immediately, you feel something wet and you take a deep breath.
>You bring your hand back, and see the red liquid, as does Amethyst.
'Well...that smarts.  I should get to the hospital before I bleed all over these books,' you say with a chuckle.
>You try to stand, but stumble, falling back to your hands and knees.
>’Wait, Anon. You are in no shape to get to the hospital, and I can’t take you anyway.’
‘Why not?’
>Amethyst blushes a little and kicks imaginary dirt at her hooves.
>’I promised Twilight I wouldn’t screw this up. She trusts me, and I don’t want to let her down.’
‘So, what? You gunna let me bleed to death and get rid of my body?’
>’NO! I mean… I don’t know if my healing spell will work on you, but I can clean the wound and bandage it.’
>You weigh up the choices in your mind, before nodding your head.
>You feel her magic surround you, and you were gently lifted off of the ground, before settling on a small wooden stool.
>’Stay here while I go grab the first aid kit.’
‘Sure thing…’
>You close your eyes and listen to her walk away.

>You take some deep breaths and try to push the pain out of your mind, as you hear Amethyst approach again.
>’Can you please lean forward?’
>You lean your head forward, and you feel her breath spread over your head.
>’This might sting a bit.’
‘Go right ahead.’
>As she pours the cold liquid onto your wound, a burning sensation flares up, drawing a pained wince form you.
‘So…why did Sparkle choose you to run the library?’
>’I’ve been helping her out since she has a lot more to do for the princesses, just reorganising the books. I usually saw you sitting in the corner, nose deep in a book. Why don’t you take them home?’
‘It’s lonely there. I have many friends, but I’ve been in solitude for too long. I’ve been weening myself to be near others, and I just feel safe here.’
>Amethyst giggled and you could feel your cheeks become flushed.
‘Glad you can find that funny. You wouldn’t have liked me when I first arrived here. It wasn’t the most pleasant time of my life.’
>’Actually…’
>You lift your head, only for it to be pushed back down, but you swear you see Amethyst with a red face.
>’I met you in your first week of moving to P0nyville.’
‘Oh god…please tell me I didn’t do something embarrassing.’
>’Not really…though something bad did happen. You could say somep0ny overreacted. You could even go as far as to say…it was me.’
‘I don’t really remember you from back then-‘
>’Monster, monster. Everyp0ny run from the hideous creature.’
‘Oh…so that means you were the one who…’
>’Yeah, sorry about that too.’

>You remember your first week in P0nyville, and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.
>Twilight and her friends had already met you, and they accepted you without a huge fuss.
>The town, on the other hand, was terrified of your presence. But you don’t blame them, you were less than gracious of their hospitality.
>One day, you were walking through town, hoping to find a twinkie tree, when something ran into your legs.
>You look down to see a light violet filly unicorn, rubbing her head, before seeing what she ran in to. Immediately she started to cower in fear at your sight, tears forming in her eyes.
>This sent a wave of different emotions through you. On the one hand, you didn’t really enjoy being in p0ny land. But you didn’t hate them, especially not the children.
>You crouch down, holding your hands up in a non-threatening manner.
‘Hey hey hey little one.’ You say in a soft voice. ‘Are you alright? I didn’t mean to scare you.’
>’P-p-please d-don’t eat me…’
‘I won’t eat you. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I was just lost in thought.’
>She looked up at you, wiping away her tears.
>’It’s okay… I wasn’t watching too.’
‘Are you here with your family?’
>’Mommy’s at work, so I came with my foalsitter.’
>You open your mouth to ask what that is, when somep0ny let out a high pitch scream.
>’MONSTER! MONSTER! RUN FROM THE HIDEOUS CREATURE!’
>You spin to see who was screaming, only to be hit in the face with a large force of magic.
>When you awoke, you were lying in the spare bed Sparkle had for you, being looked over by her. When you asked, she refused to say who attacked you.

>You feel Amethyst wrap the bandage around your head with her magic, and you wince a bit more.
‘Well, on the plus side, if I didn’t meet Dinky that day and get attacked, I wouldn’t have turned my life around for the better.’
>’Still, it was no excuse for attacking you. Mass hysteria is a powerful force. In any sense, at least you are patched up now.’
‘Thanks.’
>You lift your head to see Amethyst already walking away, the first aid kit floating next to her. As you stand, you stumble a little before finding your balance.
‘So, since you are the substitute Sparkle, I can return the books to you?’
>’Uhh…yeah.’ You hear her call from the back room. ‘Why do you refer to her as “Sparkle”?’
>You grab your satchel and retrieve the few books you needed to return, placing them on the small table next to you.
‘Dunno. Always have. Just nicknames for friends. Sparkle, Dash, AJ, Pinks, Flutters and Rarity.’
>’Rarity? Not good friends with her?’
‘Oh, you know.’ You crack your neck. ‘She’d kill me if I called her anything else again.’
>’What did you call her before?’
‘The White Bitch.’
>From the back room, you hear a stifled snicker and Amethyst walked back out, before levitating the books from the table.
>’You read all these in just a few days?’
‘Between the morning exercise, and doing odd jobs, I don’t have a lot to do.’
>’Don’t you spend time with friends or loved ones?’
‘Sometimes with friends, but the last special somep0ny I had was… well, let’s say she left me because I was no longer exotic to her. Books don’t leave you, nor do they judge you.’

>Amethyst froze mid-stride and tilted her head to the left.
>’Anon, did you have any idea on which book you want to read next?’
‘Not really. Maybe something adventurous, but I don’t know.
>’Stay right here. I might have an idea.’
>Before you could ask what she meant, Amethyst had already run up the stairs and out of sight.
>A few minutes later, she came speeding down the stairs with a book floating next to her. As she hit the bottom step, the book flew into your arms and you could finally get a good look at it.
>It looked fairly plain and simple in design. No title, no blurb but felt fairly new. On the front cover sat a gold emblem that looked like it was missing a piece from the centre.
>’This is a new novel that came in.’ Amethyst said, rifling through the random wooden boxes on the shelves. ‘It’s a revolutionary enchanted book that lets you live your adventure.’
‘What?’
>Amethyst didn’t bother answering your question, still looking for something in the boxes.
>’FOUND IT!’
>She levitated a small black amulet in front of her face, and spun to look at you.
‘Amethyst, can you please just hold on a second?’ She nodded her head slowly. ‘What is this?’
>’A book.’
‘Kay, and you said it was enchanted?’
>’Yes. It helps you live the adventure.’
‘But…how?’
>’I can’t really explain it well. It’s easier to show you.’

>Amethyst passes you the amulet, and you become more confused.
>’Place the stone into the cover before opening the book.’
>You hesitate to do as she says, but the look in her eyes pleads with you to try.
‘Okay…’
>You gently position the gem into the hole, fitting it snuggly with an audible click.
>’Now you can open the book and begin.’
>You slowly open the front cover of the book, noticing the inside cover had a title.
‘A Scarce Novelity?’
>’Yeah. It sounds silly, but it’s really good.’
>Amethyst looks real anxious for you to begin reading, so you quickly flick through the pages until you find the first chapter.
>As you read the words on the page, your heart rate quickens and you seem to lose your breath. Your vision fades quickly, and in a moment of panic, you drop the book to the ground.
>Immediately, your heart slows down and you suck in as much air as you can.
>Amethyst was looking at you with worry, and opens her mouth to speak, only to stop.
‘WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!’
>’The book… The enchantment on it allows you to live the adventure…’ she bows her head, ‘literally.’
‘I ALMOST-‘ You stop and take a few deep breaths to calm your anger. ‘I felt like I was going to die, Amethyst.’
>’Sorry, I should have warned you. Your mind will enter the book as long as you are reading it. The spell lets you be a character in the story.’
‘Really? Like, I will be able to interact with the other characters?’
>’Within reason, yes.’

>You look from the book to Amethyst, and back.
>’This was going to be a “I’m sorry for how I treated you” present. You seem so excited by stories that I had this one shipped in from Canterlot.’
‘Well…thank you Amethyst. I guess I was just scared.’
>’There is nothing you need to be afraid of. Nothing in the book can kill you, and you can stop at any time.’
‘Promise?’
>’Of course.’
‘Do you mind if I stay here for a bit, and try again?’
>’That’s why the library is here. Take a seat and give me a yell if you need anything.’
>You nod your head, and take your stuff over to your usual corner, complete with lamp and beanbag chair.
>As you sit yourself down, you take a deep breath and open the book again.
‘Deep, calming breaths. Don’t freak out.’
>You begin to read the first few lines, your chest tightening and your vision clouding over. After a few seconds, your mind and vision go blank, and you feel your body falling into nothingness.
>As quickly as it started, it was over. You feel your body lie on the ground somewhere, sun shining in your eyes.
>From out of nowhere, as your senses catch up to you, you hear a voice.
>??? ‘Hey! What are you doing, lying in the street like that?!’