Prologue

My Little PonyPrincess of DiscordPrologue

Animatia Erroria's hoof practically pounded against her controller, having her tongue poke out through her sly grin. It was the seventh time against this boss, and by Celestia it was going to be her last! No matter what Spike said, she was going to beat Nightmares and Goblins even if it killed her.

"Erroria! It's two in the morning, go to bed!" Twilight poked her head into the bedroom with a slight grimace.

Erroria's back straightened when she heard the librarian scold her, almost causing her to lose her last heart of health against the Zombie King, "But Twilight, I have to stop him before..."

The television let out an eight-bit scream as her character exploded into pixelated blood. She grumbled and tossed the controller to the ground in anger: That was EIGHT times she had lost to him. On the screen popped up the usual 'Continue?' followed by the number ten that counted down one second at a time.

She felt the unicorn flop down next to her, which shot a chill through the alicorn filly. Her wings stiffened and her eyes squeezed shut in fear of her ensuing punishment...

Any second now...

Erroria nervously opened her eyes to see Twilight hit the A button on the controller, starting the level over and using up a continue. She simply watched in awe as the purple unicorn almost effortlessly played through the level, killing the monsters quickly without so much as losing a heart of health. Where in Equestria did this come from? Not once had she seen Twilight play the console since she had bought it for her, let alone actually be good at it.

"You forgot to go through the crypt and grab the golden whip," Twilight said with a smile, her eyes locked in the television as she broke into what Erroria was sure was only part of the background.

The character briefly walked into the crypt before walking back out with the white text box appearing on screen 'You have found the GOLDEN WHIP'. Twilight then proceeded across the drawbridge into the boss fight sequence. Erroria's ears lowered to how Twilight was making her look like a complete foal at the game.

"Graaah!" The television shouted a cheap 8-bit scream as the boss was taken down in the record time of two minutes. The alicorn sitting next to Twilight was left with a dumbfounded expression towards the unicorn who wore nothing but an innocent smile.

"What? I was a filly once upon a time too."

"I... You..." Erroria stumbled over her own words. Twilight's eyes drooped as her face deadpanned.

"I helped you beat the level, so be a good girl and get ready for bed."

"Okay Twilight.." Erroria resigned to her fate, losing willpower after seeing her caretaker's superiority.

~~~

Now you may be wondering why Twilight was playing video games with an amnesiac alicorn, but there was of course a reasonable explanation. It was only about a week before that she had found said alicorn lost in the depths of the Everfree Forest. Needless to say, she initially had little intention on taking the filly home, but rather wanted to get her back to her family; however, being an filly that remembered hardly anything more than her name put a damper on that idea.

So there she sat with a child that she agreed to let live there indefinitely until she recovered her memories. Of course she had sent a rather hasty letter to Princess Celestia, but said princess admitted she was caught up with royal business in Canterlot and probably couldn't make it for a week or two. Thus Twilight in turn decided to let Erroria live with her, and inevitably becoming her caretaker:

A title she didn't realize would be so costly on her change purse.

Erroria was intrigued by video games the moment she learned about them, practically begging Twilight to buy her a television and gaming console. That unicorn always had her budget planned out for each month and even had her daily activities scheduled down to the minute she started and stopped each one. This orderly life had come to a halt from the needy alicorn though, causing Twilight to have to rethink her schedule. Her budget would easily take weeks to straighten out and her schedule would definitely have to include some time with the alicorn.

"Wait..." Twilight spoke to herself with a pause as she dropped her planner onto the table, "She's not going to be here next month... Celestia is coming here in a few days."

Her words were soft, almost sullen. Why was she so upset at the idea of her being taken away from her? Maybe it was nice to actually have another pony that she could talk to about books and science. That was another thing, Erroria was clever. Extraordinarily clever even. She actually reminded Twilight of how she used to act at one point.

"Maybe I.." She almost spoke her mind, but shook her head at the thought, "No, the Princess will decide what we should do with her. After all, she is an alicorn, so the best place for her to be would have to be with other alicorns."

Still though, the princess seemed so... vague in her unusually short letter:

My Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle,

Thank you for contacting me on this matter, but I am currently caught up in business here in Canterlot. I will come to Ponyville here in about two weeks, but until then I have a favor to ask of you; no, rather implore of you. Please make sure Erroria is okay and is eating well. I will explain everything when I arrive.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

It had a certain tone to it that Twilight just couldn't shake off. In fact, it flat out worried her. What if Erroria was some kind of criminal or fugitive? She was such a good girl though, there was no way that would be the case. It was something that only time could tell, but that idea did nothing to calm her nerves.

She tiptoed up the stairs and peeked in through the crack in her door, seeing the alicorn filly sleeping next to spike in the spare bed. They both looked so happy together, especially Spike, who had finally someone his age to connect with. He had taken on this protective stance with her soon after they were introduced. It wasn't like one of those child crushes either, but actually kind of reminded Twilight of how Shining Armor used to treat her.

This was definitely going to be a hard visit from the princess if she was going to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe Twilight was overreacting though? It was a nervous habit of hers that she desperately needed to break. Time and time again she tended to overreact to the slightest of things. In fact, it wasn't all too long ago that she was tardy on an assignment for the very first time. She couldn't let an overreaction like that happen again.

"No, I'm sure it'll be fine," She nodded unsure at the idea, trying to nip her fear in the bud, "Besides, I still have to... Oh Celestia! Nightmare Night is right around the corner!" Her voice almost came out in a shout that almost had woken the two sleeping peacefully in her room.

That was definitely going to be a night that Erroria would want to be in on. Maybe she should let Pinkie Pie help her out though? Last she heard, Pinkie was taking several fillies and colts out around the town for Nightmare Night candy hunting. Besides, her Cutie Mark Crusader friends were going to be in that group, so it definitely wouldn't be a problem.

She heaved a relieved sigh at the realization, feeling a slight ease before another thought slapped her. The next few days were still going to be busy as can be though, because not only did she have to work on her own costume now, but Erroria's and Spike's as well. It was definitely not going to be the most fun filled days.

~~~

"Thank you Rarity," Twilight said in relief to her friend, "I wasn't sure what costume to even make spike, let alone have time to even make it; especially with Erroria wanting to go."

"Oh Darling, think nothing of it," Rarity replied while looking through her various bolts of cloth, "Now just to decide what would look absolutely adorable on him."

Twilight smiled softly at her before nodding in thanks, "I'm sure he'll like whatever you make for him."

"That does remind me by the way," Rarity said with a certain 'knowing' tone while still shuffling through supplies, "You seem awfully close to Erroria for something so temporary."

"Well, I am her caretaker while she's here," Twilight defended. Her voice was wavering audibly though, showing her unease on the subject.

"I think it's something more than that, Darling. You seem to genuinely be getting attached."

"What are you saying? She... Well, she completely wrecks my schedule and my weekly budget! She loves to irritate me with stupid questions that she knows the answers to! Also, she tricks me to letting her stay up all ni-" Her voice was growing more and more energetic before being cut off by Rarity's gaze.

"Twilight, you're saying such bad things, but you're sounding so enthusiastic about them," The white unicorn gave a soft laugh before continuing, "I think if you recall anything I say about Sweetie Bell..."

"... I'll find it's the same..." Twilight finished thoughtfully, "Maybe I am a little attached to her. At the same time though, I shouldn't be. I mean, what if Princess Celestia decides to take her away from me when she arrives?"

"Oh Twilight, I sincerely don't think she would do that to you," Rarity laid her hoof on her friend's chin, forcing a look into her eyes, "You should know better than anypony that the princess wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, she's just a perfectly normal filly. She can't even fly or do magic like other pegasi or unicorns her age."

Twilight bit her lip and nodded, "You're right, I'm letting my own imagination get the better of me again..."

"Exactly, darling! Whether you like it or not, she's part of your little family now. Besides, I for one think you're actually having more fun than you let on," She stated matter-of-factly. Twilight could only nod in return, lost in thought from her words.

"... Yeah, I just might be."