The Timeless Historian

The sun was slowly setting into mid-afternoon when the 4 o'clock train pulled into Ponyville station. Staging a stop the beige cabs roofed in pastels squeaked as air-brakes whooshed stopping the train before the platform which was unusually busy for such a small village. At least when our protagonist had left it had been a small village of not much repute. Revealing his unicorn self by stepping off the train to the crowd drew a few stares from young foals and fillies for it was unusual to see such an unusual cutie mark in the shape of a Question mark. Normally it was as average as flowers or abstract as geometrics. Not many punctuation marks.

He was scarcely bothered by it. Random Fact, librarian of the Golden Oaks library, had been gone for a while; it seemed how long was lost to even him. He noticed many of the ponies were unfamiliar to his discerning malachite green eyes. “How long has it been?” his somber voice mused as he took two steps away from the train to study his surroundings. His coat matched the tan wall of the train, almost making him obscure as did his bright silver hair. Behind him the train’s colors temporarily camouflaged him from the watchers and allowed him to slip away, hopefully with very little attention following behind. He couldn’t help but notice the detail of the station with its straw roofed station and planked landing coincided with his original opinion of Ponyville.

Taking a slow walk the unicorn invested himself into locating a map of the town. He found one posted on a horse-shoe shaped board in a shaded portion of the train station wall after pacing the station a few times. Studying the map he pulled a brown leather bound book from a flank pouch with an owl quill pen. “Magic makes this so easy.” He chuckled while jotting down a portion of the map. Portions of the map had been labeled however he felt the landmarks were unneeded in his notes.

Departing the depot Random noted the smell of manure wafting in from the hills. “Perhaps Granny Smith is still tending to her zap apples.” he mused. No voice replied to his inquiry, which was for the best. The dirt road was well traveled and a sign declared “Ponyville” with an arrow pointing to the west. Speeding up from a fast gait to a trot, the change in how the buildings rose up was almost immediate. The buildings were draped in pastel roofed huts with colors of the owners choosing. The road became a sea of paving stones in colors matching the surrounding homes. As he got further away, the smell of the country was drowned out by the fragrance of fresh flowers. Then suddenly, a delicious smell permeated his senses filling them with the sweet essence of cakes, candies, and pastries. Temptation fell into the stallion's belly and cried out to be heard. The shop at the fork had a sign displaying the name of the cavity inducing hut which appeared to be pure gingerbread decorated in frosting. It was cleverly named, 'Sugar Cube Corner'.

Never one to pass up an idea as novel as going into a gingerbread house confectionery, he made his way up stairs. Examining the pillars they looked to be made of peppermint, he took one experimental sniff and was delighted they smelled good enough to eat. Whoever built this had far outdone themselves, he observed while scrawling a few more notes in his book.

The door jingled as it opened, revealing an amber interior accented by candy cane columns and gingerbread crossbeams. The same smells were stronger inside the parlor and he couldn’t help but notice the display cases holding many types of pastries including cinnamon rolls, napoleons, donuts, and the many others whose names currently escaped him. Cleanliness was obviously king in such a royal bakery as this for the surfaces were spotless and the cakes looked perfect.

A Pink pony behind the cash register waved frantically at Random, however he paid her no mind. Instead he looked towards a table occupied by two mares partaking of milkshakes. “Hmm…a shop of many facets.” The mint and cream mares ignored him as they were totally engrossed in each others' company. This talk suited no interest of his so he turned towards the counter and at the Pink Pony who looked twice as frantic as she did before. Unable to contain her excitement she finally burst when he stepped up to the counter.

"Oh my gosh a new face, did you just get into town, where are you staying, do you know anyone here, what’s your favorite food, I like cherrychangas, or are they chimmicherries, oh by the way I'm Pinkie Pie, welcome to Sugar Cube Corner, how can I help you, what’s your name?"

Random just stood there for a minute dumbfounded, wondering if the excessive presence of sugar was where she was getting all this energy. Feeling on the spot he looked for an escape, unfortunately neither of the other occupants obliged his gaze. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he spoke hoping to sound appropriately humble, “My name is Random Fact. I just arrived on the train less than half an hour ago.” Keeping calm the conversation floated on as it was Pinkie Pies turn to respond.

“Do you need directions? I know all the stables in town.”

“No, thank you. I will be staying at the Golden Oaks Library.”

Pinkie pie raised an eyebrow, “Library? Are you a friend of Twilight's?”

“I don't believe so, are they the current librarian?” His answer was vague as to avoid embarrassing himself, yet he was sure he already knew the answer.

“Oh, we’ve been friends ever since Twilight came to Ponyville. She came during the Summer Sun Celebration a few years back. Oh, she is also one of my bestest friends, I have six you know?” The pink earth pony cracked a wide grin.

The unicorn was slightly confused at this, “Seriously? She just shows up and you're friends?”

“Well, we did have this whole crazy Nightmare Moon adventure that ended up with us becoming the elements of harmony. Betcha can't guess what element I am.” Pinkie Pie lit up expectantly to see his response.

“Laughter.” Random didn't even wait a moment before giving a deadpan response. Another note for the book.

Pinkie let out another one of her soon to become infamous gasps. It seemed it would never end. “Wow, you're good. How'd ya guess, are you psychic, are you a spy, are you....an evil zombie?”

One face hoof later, Random decided it was time to get back on track. It was then he heard impatient voices talking behind him. Without realizing it he had backed up a line with his precocious manners while speaking with the pink on pink pony. “Well Pinkie Pie I don't wish to hold up the line any longer so I better be on my way.“ His mind toiled momentarily before deciding, “Before I go I'll have one strawberry cake, two cinnamon rolls, oh, and some peppermint patties.”

“Ookie dokie lokie.” The pink bundle of energy proceeded to zip between counters collecting the requested items. Placing them all in a candy can striped bag she returned to the main counter. “That will be 15 bits.”

Bright green imbued his magic as the bits rose from his haversack, placing the currency on the counter. “Well I'll see you around Pinkie Pie, it was nice to meet you.”

“See you later Mister Random.” Pinkie waved widely as he exited the candy shop, still sporting a goofy grin.

Having finally made it back outside, Random recollected himself by going over the conversation that had just occurred. “The elements found a new home...and one of them is the current librarian, I shouldn’t have left. The greatest events of the century took place and where was I?” These musings sparked a bigger smile on the unicorn’s face. His pace actively increased with the fascination and excitement of new knowledge for his ever growing collection.

Without realizing it Random was practically galloping down the path towards the next fork in the road, from which you could see the clock tower south of the path. A cinnamon roll hovered inches away from his mouth, the pastry smelling as heavenly as the shop of origin and it teased him for he hadn’t even taken a bite. An aversion had crept under his skin after the initial encounter with Pinkie Pie and this detesting thought was of unnecessary distractions that would take up the precious time he needed to assess the situation on the home front.

The houses lining the streets still retained their thatched roofs and elaborate gardens, unlike the modern designs he had found in cities like Canterlot that maximized locations with efficiency condos trying to fit the most ponies into the smallest space possible. Ponies didn't seem to fare well in cramped quarters. Random was just glad that the popularity he had received was wearing off and the other ponies perhaps were becoming accustomed to him. Suddenly it dawned on him perhaps he should have marked the land marks from the map because he realized he didn’t recognize any of the surrounding area. Ponyville had changed and his pretentious attitude had just gotten him lost.

Standing in front of the disoriented stallion was a cerulean-gray Pegasus. She seems to be muttering to herself in indecision. Approaching cautiously, Random avoided touching her before speaking, “Hello, there, I seemed to have lost my way. May I ask if you know which direction is the Golden Oaks library?”

Her bubbly cutie mark matched the attitude she was currently displaying, “Uh, south-east. North leads out of town.”

“Thank you. I’d be grateful for anything else you could tell me.”

“There will be another fork…I think you should go south from there.” She looked nervous and as she turned, Random stepped away taken aback by her two-tone yellowish green eyes. They didn’t seem to be connected in movement as one slid upward looking in another direction.

“Uh, I thank you. I must be going there is an appointment I must attend to.”

“Have a good day”, replied the Pegasus as Random passed by heading for the road she had pointed out.

Tired of waiting, the cinnamon bun entered his mouth, sparking a sudden squeal of delight. It was really quite marvelous; a treat of perfect consistency with a flavor that wasn’t overall too sweet. He would remember this place for later. The book was already full of notes, so he decided that he could retain this on his own since he kept most of Equestria’s history in his noggin. Quickly quieting himself he returned to the problem ahead.

The leaves visible in the distance proclaimed that the right path at the next fork was actually east. The young Pegasus had given one right direction and one wrong direction. This surprised him because he didn’t think her wrong directions were malicious, just surprising to him. Perhaps she didn’t live in the town and was just some visitor trying to be polite. These thoughts dawdled before clearing to the fact the library was so close yet he didn’t seem to be as hurried as he had originally considered himself.

The new traveling speed was a medium gait in which he could feel excited about seeing the tree again in all its glory. It felt like an eternity passed between the fork and the entrance to the plaza.

Coming to a stop, in front of the living library, he marveled the quality of the tree. He took in its fine bark, the lush green leaves that blanketed the tops of the branches, and the few scattered flowers lining the base of the tree. The sign looked by it however looked new, as the old one had probably worn out over time. More reminders of how long he had been gone.

Random made his way up to the front door, collecting himself as he got ready to meet his latest tenant. Reaching a hoof forward, he pushed the light magenta door open and stepped inside. Looking around the main lobby, he was pleased to see that whoever this Twilight was, they were certainly doing a good job with the upkeep. The shelves were dusted and polished, the windows were clean, and aside from the small stack on the table, all the books were neatly ordered on their shelves according to the Donkey Decimal System.

“Oh welcome, I didn’t see you come in.” Surprised he looked around to find the owner of the voice before settling his gaze upon a small purple dragon. “Can I help you find anything?”

Random gave a dumbfounded look, “There’s a dragon working in the library..... can't say I saw that one coming.”

The dragon gave a serious look to the stranger, “You must be new here. I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant. I can help you find anything you're looking for.”

“I was hoping to speak to Twilight.”

“You're not another suitor looking to ‘fulfill a dream of marrying a princess’ are you?” Spike asked this question paraphrasing a previous suitor.

He couldn't help but chuckle at this, “I assure you I've no such interest, is she in?”

“Twilight's upstairs in her study, if you're willing to wait, I'll go get her.” Spike said as he headed over to the stairs.

“That’s fine, I'll wait.” Random unloaded his bags and set the sweets on the table as he made his way over to the shelves. Sitting down with a history book, he consigned himself to waiting.

Twilight was up in her study getting some much needed catching up on her lessons. Her opportunities to do so had dwindled increasingly with her coronation only two weeks ago. There had been noble families to meet, politics to learn, not to mention having to practice looking stately before her subjects. Stately and regal were two words she would never get used to, especially when used to describe her. She really needed a break from it all. In fact it was only by Luna's suggestion that she escaped before nearly being driven to madness. Fortunately her friends had stayed to their old ways, deciding not to treat her much differently since her rapid evolution of wings that had added themselves to her problems. However there were still the residents of Ponyville. Some of them were hiding since she asked the town to treat her like they normally did, but she could tell that a lot of the townsfolk found trouble in just calling her Twilight Sparkle. The addition of being a princess was just as troubling as the 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza' business from her brother’s wedding.

That brought her to another dilemma. The suitors. Stallions of every tribe had been showing up at her door at least once a day since this whole mess started asking for her hoof in marriage. The most insulting manner was that they didn’t even know her. If she was going to get married it wouldn't be to someone who wanted her just because she's a princess. Even the most handsome suitors just wanted the title. Princess Celestia had to some degree warned Twilight about the changes. Not everything had been shared but whole heartedly the princess wanted to believe that the other Princesses had only good intentions with what they chose to keep concealed.

Advanced studies truly were the reasons she abstained from Princess and Library duties for the moment. Her alicorn attribute is magic and that meant she had to master it in all its forms. The two alicorn sisters had come to mind when she grazed past a portion regarding planetary magic. Luna promised to show and share how raising the moon was done once Twilight felt ready for it. Celestia just seemed pleased that her sister was taking an interest in something other than sleeping. However all this thinking was distracting her from the book before her.

The chapter labeled in cursive read “Chapter 8 – Leylines” and the page was full of spiral drawings and pretty writing. It was a thick tome from the Canterlot Royal Library on loan to Twilight. Tracing the lines on the raised lettering with her hoof it felt smooth, but she realized at the same time that she was dawdling.

Spike had been waiting patiently behind the pony princess. However she didn't notice him until he finally spoke up and snapped Twilight out of her reverie, “Another visitor wanting to meet you, he seems like a foreigner.”

“He better not be another suitor, I’ve had enough of that business.” She was really hoping to avoid one of these today, as her day had been going so well.

“I asked him about that, and all he did was laugh and said he's not interested.”

Twilight was quite taken aback, “Not interested? Well that’s new; we haven’t had any normal visitors aside from Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack since we returned from the coronation.”

“Well maybe that’s a good sign that ponies are starting to relax around you Twilight.” Spike said with a smile.

Twilight smiled weakly at the child dragon’s suggestion. Cute naivety interred itself into Spike’s features as he looked at her with the same eager to please smile showing he meant well.

“Maybe, I’ll see what he wants.“ The alicorn figure stood up stretching her whole body even the pesky wings that plagued her life. For once they sat demurely and not looking like a Nightmare Night prop. Even with the lack of flight, the effect would force respect out of any pony. It was then she remembered that she had a guest to attend to.