Parallel's Path

After taking a short break from her quest back at home, Parallel had finally found herself back on track to Canterlot. She still couldn't shake the feeling that the stallion she bumped into on her way home was somepony she needed to see. She had her doubts, since she didn't get a very good look at him, and spacing out the way she did wasn't much help either. The train took until nighttime to finally reach her destination, but she was so excited, she couldn't even think about sleep. Midnight, who was also headed to Canterlot, was just ac occupied with herself, imagining what she'd do in Canterlot. She hadn't visited her birthplace since she moved to Ponyville, after all.

The train finally arrived, and the moon was already up. Midnight had already arranged to stay with an old friend of hers, but Parallel was on her own. She took a walk through the regal town, and the ponies she saw were even more classy than she expected. Everypony was dressed formally, they spoke in enriched vocabulary, and they were all so polite. Parallel knew that here vest and hat were quite rustic compared to everypony else, but she had nothing else to wear, so she just kept them on. As she was walking, she overheard a stallion speaking from a distance. Her sense of hearing had improved since she started traveling, so she was able to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. She walked closer to the voice, until she could make out what the voice was saying. It was coming from the inside of a home, and she recognized the accent.

"I simply do not understand where she came from. I was walking on a trail, trying to find the train station, and I bumped into the filly. She also seemed somewhat entranced. I cannot be sure as to why, but I have this feeling that we will meet again." The stallion, who was apparently talking to himself, walked out his front door, and saw Parallel standing outside. She marveled at the golden-coated, silver-maned, copper-eyed unicorn as he spoke,

"Well, this is interesting. As soon as I mention you, I find you in my presence once again. You're the same filly that I encountered back in Ponyville. Now that we've had the chance to meet again, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Heraldic Gilded Ancestry, but you may address me as Heraldry, if you wish." The filly recognized this stallion, now that she had a good look at him. He was one of the unicorns from the park. She replied,

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Heraldry. My name is Parallel. I've been traveling across Equestria, hoping to discover what my purpose in life is, as well as recover some of my lost memories from my past."

"You're from Ponyville? Interesting that you should mention that. You see, I lived in Ponyville for a few years. I wouldn't want to bore you with my story about how I ended up there--"

"Actually, I am rather interested, sir." Heraldry, who had been wanting to tell his life story to somepony, did not hesitate to start his story.

"I was born here in Canterlot. I was a rare example of an alicorn foal. Most alicorns are not born, rather their title is earned. However, my father was a unicorn, and my mother a pegasus. I was the result of a genetic mutation. Growing up was, in a sense, different for me. Everypony assumed I was some sort of royalty, given my horn and wings, which typically only accompany members of the Equestria royal family. I always explained that I was simply born that way. But I digress, anyway, my family was quite rich. My mother was a tycoon in the corn industry, and my father was the heir to a massive fortune. Unfortunately, they both passed when I was still a student. Their last words to me were that I was destined for greatness; my heritage assured that. This would explain why my cutie mark is a silver crown."

"That's quite fascinating. What I'm curious about is, if you were born an alicorn, what happened to your wings?"

"That's the one part of my story that I'm not particularly proud of. You see, after my parents passed away, I became rather, how do I put this, arrogant. I assumed that my heritage meant that I was guaranteed to succeed in life. I displeased my peers in school, I started many a petty argument, and I even caused some ponies to lose their own drive in life, telling them how much better I am than them. It came to a point where I was personally visited by Princess Celestia, who had not arrived on good terms. She stated that my hubris had caused me to make a mockery of the alicorn race, and she used her magic to take away my wings. I was saddened that I had lost what made me unique, but she stated that if I can learn to be more humble, and treat myself as an equal to my peers and other ponies, she may return my wings."

"Oh my goodness. That's quite a circumstance. By the way, when I was at Ponyville Park one day, when I was little, I saw five stallions in the distance. I saw an earth pony, two unicorns, and two pegasi."

"That's interesting. I visited Ponyville Park one day, shortly before I had moved back to Canterlot, and I met up with four other stallions. One earth pony was selling some of his chopped wood, which I must say was quite marvelously made, and another went on about how he was trying to get away from the stress in his life. As for the other two, I cannot remember what their purpose was."

"The wood salespony, and the stressed one, were they green-coated, and sky-blue-coated, respectively?"

"Now that you mention it, I believe they were."

"Heraldry, you must have been one of the stallions I saw that day."

"Oh, fascinating. If that is the case, then how come you didn't make your presence known at the time?"

"I tried to run toward you, as well as the others, but you had all left before I could get the chance."

"I see, I must have teleported away, as I was practicing my magic. I had just been demoted to unicorn status back then, and I wanted to at least make the best of what skills remained."

"That reminds me, did you ever accomplish what Princess Celestia told you to do?"

"Actually, yes I did. She told me that if I wanted to reacquire my wings, I had to learn to be humble, and treat myself as an equal to other ponies, as I had previously stated. One day, she came to my home saying that I had satisfied her with my progress, and that I may have my wings returned, if I so wished." Parallel was confused, almost not even believing the stallion. She was going to ask about him still being a unicorn, when he continued, "However, in learning to be humble, the realization that a true cannot be born, but earned, finally sank into my heart. I told her that I did not want my wings back, because receiving them again would only mean I'd be a superior again, and it would defeat the purpose of my mission. Plus, I never was much of a professional at flying, so I had no particular use for my wings. She told me that I had made the right decision, and said that if I ever wanted my wings back in the future, that I could always message her."

After hearing his words, Parallel again began to space out. However, she quickly came to when Heraldry asked her, "Say, if you are from another town, do you need a place to stay for the night? I could always allow you to stay here in my home. After all, I only confess my tale to ponies I consider trustworthy, and you look like you have nowhere to go, anyway." Heraldry was right. She didn't have anywhere to sleep that night, and it was getting really late.

"Yes, I would like to stay here tonight. Thank you for offering, Heraldry."

"The pleasure is mine, Parallel. If you don't mind, I can also make you something for dinner."

"That would be well-appreciated, sir." As the two walked into his home, she was impressed by how beautiful the decor was. The pearl flooring, the crystal chandelier, the marble walls, and the minimalist furniture, all appealed to her. The decor could easily rival what she had seen in the hotel she stayed at back in Las Pegasus.

"I take it you are impressed by my home decor?"

"Absolutely, Heraldry. How did you afford such costly arrangements?"

"Well, remember how I said my father was an heir to a massive fortune? Well, when he passed, that inheritance was passed down to me. I decided that if I couldn't have my wings to be proud of, I could at least live in a beautiful home. Ironically, until now, I've never had guests."

"Incredible. You really are an amazing stallion, Heraldry."

"Oh come on, now, I'm trying to stay humble." The stallion replied with a chuckle. "Anyway, what would you like to eat?"

"Well, I've been having apples a lot lately, so I don;t really want that. If you can cook up something without using apples, I guess I'll take anything."

"Oh, well then, I'll see what I can make. In the meantime, you can find a bedroom for yourself up those stairs to your left. Take a right as soon as you reach the top, and you'll find the guest room there." The filly did just that. She walked up the stairs, found the guest room, and saw a very comfortable-looking bed inside, as well as a desk and a dresser. She decided it would only be polite to remove the rustic clothing she was wearing before having a meal with such a high-class pony, so she took off her hat and vest, and left them on the dresser, before she walked back down to the kitchen.

"Say, Heraldry, what do you do for a living? I know you inherited a massive fortune, but I imagine this decor must have really taken a lot from it."

"Funny you should mention that, I work in the Canterlot Observatory. I'm one of the ponies who record the findings on our star chart. It's not exactly a high-paying job, but it does grant me enough income for me to feed myself, and I still have a portion of my inheritance to spend in the event that I need it."

"You work in an observatory? That's interesting. My father told me a story of how he found a star in the sky when he was young, and even his mother, who was an astronomer, couldn't even figure out which star it was. He decided to name it after a filly that he loved, named Geneva. He would come to the same hill where he discovered it every year, until he met her again. Interestingly enough, it would only shine in the sky once a year."

"That's, quite frankly, something unheard of to me. You know, after you get some sleep tonight, maybe I can take you to the observatory myself, and we could see if that star does have a proper name."

"Actually, that would be great. Maybe if it doesn't have one, we can give it the name 'Geneva' officially."

"Fair enough to me. Anyway, here's what I've made for you. It's a casserole of hay, daisies, and some cream cheese." The filly had never tasted anything like this, but as soon as she took a bite, she smiled ecstatically. Whether it was from finally having a non-apple meal for once, or if it was just that good, nopony would ever know, but she devoured it as if she had never eaten before.

"That was so delicious, Heraldry. I thank you for the wonderful meal." The stallion blushed, and responded,

"I'm just flattered that you like my cooking, so I should be thanking you." Parallel, grateful for the meal, offered to help wash the dishes as a token of appreciation, but Heraldry noticed that she was getting sleepy, and he said he could handle it. She knew she had to go to bed, so she walked up the stairs, found her room, and quickly got herself into bed. She fell asleep within minutes, and by the time Heraldry was finished doing the dishes, he heard her snoring quietly. He said to himself,

"If I may say so, that filly certainly has some significance."

The next morning, Parallel woke up, feeling excited to be able to go to the observatory. After putting on her vest and hat, she found a message on the door from Heraldry.

"I forgot to tell you, I leave for work before sunrise. I already made a sandwich with leftover hay and cream cheese from last night, so you can have that for breakfast. Visiting hours at the observatory start at midday, and by the time you read this, I will have already notified the other workers here to expect your arrival. If you need directions to the observatory, I have used my magic to leave a trail that can only be seen by me or you (this ability was passed down from my father). Also, a letter arrived for you. You should be able to find it next to your breakfast.

--Heraldry"

As the message said, there was a letter next to the breakfast Heraldry had prepared, so she sat at the table, at the sandwich, and opened the letter. It was from Midnight.

"Dear Parallel,

I received a letter from your father saying how he heard that I was to be on the train with you. Of course, being as worried about you as he was, he asked me if I could take care of you. I told him that I cannot do that, as it is your path to follow, and if anypony was going to take care of you, it would be your job to find them. I was able to track down where you were staying, and sent this letter to you, wishing you the best on the rest of your journey, as I have decided to stay here for a while. Your father also sends his warmest regards, and we both offer our best wishes to you. It was great seeing you, and maybe we'll meet up again someday. Maybe you'll find somepony else on the train who can send your letters, if you're lucky. Again, best wishes!

Sincerely,

Midnight"

The filly was feeling disappointed that she won't be able to see Midnight again, at least not for a while, but she was still feeling excitement about being able to visit the observatory. However, she knew that midday would not be for a few more hours, so she decided to take a walk around town. Along the way she saw two pegasi flying through the sky. She couldn't make out exactly what they looked like, because they were flying pretty fast, but she felt a faint, yet familiar essence coming from them. It was about an hour after she left when she bumped into another stallion. He recognized her, and said,

"Hey, I remember you. You were the filly riding on the bus back in Las Pegasus."

"Oh, well, I did ride on a bus, on the way to the Equestria Surf Classic, but how do you remember me?"

"Actually, I'm the one who drove the bus. I never game you my name. I'm Rusty Sprocket." The rusty-red mane, and beige coat were enough for her to remember this stallion. He was in fact, the stallion from the bus.

"Of course, how could I forget you. Hey, I remember you already knew my name when I was riding, yet I never told you my name myself. How did you know? You said it was a hunch."

"Well, I was just messing with you. In reality," the stallion took off the hat he was wearing and continued, "I used my unicorn magic to read your mind. It's how I knew exactly where to take you."

"Oh, well that's... uh... creepy. Anyway, if you were driving the bus back then, what are you doing here in Canterlot?"

"That's easy. It was a temporary job for me. I had wanted to see the Equestria Surf Classic, but couldn't afford a ticket. So I took up a job as a bus driver, hoping to see some of the action. I was able to see some performances, but I couldn't see the big finish from Island Breeze."

"Well, that explains what you were doing there, but how come you're here in Canterlot?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm visiting a sick aunt. I've been a natural at making remedies for illnesses with my magic, so I thought she could use my help. In fact, I gotta get to her now. It was nice catching up and everything, but I have to hurry. See ya, Parallel." The stallion dashed off. She never got to ask him about a pony she saw back at the Ponyville train station, who looked quite similar to him, after she thought about it.

Enough time had passed before the observatory visiting hours had begun, and the trail to it had finally become visible to Parallel. She followed it, taking about 20 minutes to get there on hoof. When she arrived, a scientist was standing outside. When she saw Parallel, she said,

"Excuse me, only authorized personnel are allowed inside the observatory until midday."

"But, miss, it's midday now." Realizing how much time had just gone by, the scientist said,

"Oh, you're right. Sorry, my mistake. Wait, are you the filly that's here with Heraldry?"

"That would be me, miss."

"Please come inside. Our astronomy team wishes to see you." Parallel followed the scientist inside, and, after walking upstairs about three stories, she was greeted with the stares of everypony inside, except Heraldry, who said,

"Everypony, this is the filly I told you about, Parallel. She claims that her father found an undocumented star in the sky, and I want to see if it's true." All the scientist ponies in the room started conversing about this matter, until a stallion came up to the filly, and asked her,

"Miss Parallel, would you happen to know where this star would be located?" She felt nervous, never having to face such an important situation as this before, but she calmed herself down, as Island Breeze had taught her to, and replied,

"I don't know the exact coordinates, but if you can give me access to a telescope, I may be able to find it." The scientists again started conversing. One mare stood up, and said,

"Come with me. I can show you where our telescope is."

The two walked out of the room, through a long hallway, and made it to the main observation room. When they arrived, the mare showed Parallel how to work the telescope, and asked her, "Now, tell me, do you remember the direction in which the star was located when it was discovered?"

"Well, from what I remember, I was told that it's about 355 degrees north, and from an altitude of about 30 meters, it was at a 60 degree angle." The mare looked into the telescope, and, even with the technology the telescope had to block out sunlight, couldn't find a strong resonance. However, after looking carefully, she picked up a faint image from about 3 degrees away. She quickly pulled out a chart from her lab coat, and cross-examined what she saw. Indeed, there was an unrecognized figure in the telescope. The mare, now interested, said,

"I believe I was told that you said the star would become very bright during one night out of the year, every year, am I correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I can use our telescope's time-scale feature to monitor how the star patterns have reacted in the past year. If something comes up on that, then you may have just enlightened us to an undocumented star."

"That sounds amazing. Let's do it."

"Very well, allow me." The mare walked to an electronic console, and pressed one of the red buttons. It showed a radar of all the star activity captured within the last year. After about 2 minutes, one part of the radar shined brightly in one spot. The mare pressed another button, bringing it back 5 seconds, then slowing it down. Again, the light shined, where she pressed another button to pause it. The star Equality and his mother had discovered had, in fact, been undocumented. The mare, smiling in discovery, said to Parallel, "Congratulations, Miss Parallel, you have shown us the location of a new star. If you will allow me, I will send the coordinates of this star to three other observatories in Equestria, and if they haven't recorded it, you will get to name it. You will also be paid greatly for your discovery."

The filly, now feeling ecstatic, couldn't help but grin, and nod in acceptance. The mare then wrote down the coordinates of the star, and used her unicorn magic to send them elsewhere. After about 5 minutes, they received a reply from three other observatories, also saying it was new to them. "Well, it's official. Your star has now been recorded into our databases. What would you like to name it, Parallel?"

"Well, I guess I'll go with what my father called it, and name it 'Geneva'."

"Very well. Your star shall be named 'Geneva'. As for your payment, how would you like it transferred to you?"

"About that, I have to give credit where credit is due. If it wasn't for meeting one of your workers, Heraldry, I wouldn't have gotten around to telling him about the star, so I think he deserves some credit. For that, I'd appreciate it if he gets 10% of the pay. As for the rest, just transfer it to my home in Ponyville, as it was my father that originally discovered it." The mare agreed to this, and asked for her address, which Parallel responded with. As the two walked back to the main room, Parallel broke the ice to everypony else.

"Looks like we have a new star." Everypony in the room stood up, and applauded the filly. She took a bow in acceptance, and asked,

"Well, I think my work here is done. Thank you all for allowing me to visit, and it's an honor to be the pony who discovered a star for you. I must take my leave, however, because I have to be on the train to another town soon. Heraldry, thank you for letting me stay in your home for the night. It was great seeing you again after so many years." The stallion, feeling happy for her, replied,

"It was my pleasure having you stay with me. You reminded me that nopony is invincible, but everypony can be significant. I'll never forget you, Parallel, my friend." Parallel spaced out again (no pun intended), when Heraldry continued, "By the way, that star you discovered, I wonder how we didn't see it before. Maybe it's from another world, or something of the sort." The filly froze up, and her eyes gave off a rainbow glow, while her cutie mark shined a silver light. She had remembered another part of her past.

"Thank you, Heraldry, for what you just said. Now I must go. Thank you all for this opportunity, and farewell." The filly found her way back outside, as the scientists all waved goodbye to her from out the window. She found another pen, piece of paper, and envelope at the entrance, so she tucked them into her vest. She then ran toward the train station, which was visible from on top of the observatory hill.

Finding her way back to the city, and unsure if she would be able to mail off her next letter to her father, she took a break at the Canterlot library, where she walked inside, found a table to write at, and began her letter.

"Dear Dad,

At this point, I'm sure you're expecting me to give you another story about something incredible that happened to me. Well, you won't be disappointed this time. In fact, probably quite the opposite. You remember that story you told me about that star in the sky you discovered back when you were a colt? Well, here in Canterlot, I met up with one of the workers at the observatory, who turned out to actually be one of the stallions from back at the park, named Heraldry. He let me stay in his home the night I arrived, and after he told me his life story, I mentioned the star you found to him. He said he hadn't heard anything of the sort before, and he invited me to the observatory to discuss it. I ended up going with a mare into the main observation room, where it turned out that the star you found actually hadn't been documented. That star you found all those years ago is now recorded in their database, thanks to me. I decided to name it 'Geneva', as you had back then, and you should be receiving some money for it. Also, I learned a little something from Heraldry's life story. Humility is what really makes you significant. You can boat about being great, but remember to limit yourself, or you may lose what makes you unique. Finally, I remembered something about my past as well. If my vision was right, I come from another world, similar to this one in composition, but from an alternate dimension or something like that. I've learned a lot from my stay in Canterlot, but I'm off to the next town. I love you, Dad, and I hope to see you again soon.

--Parallel"

After finishing her letter, and sealing it in the envelope, Parallel walked out of the library, and ran toward the train station. She looked up into the sky on her way, and once again saw the same two pegsi flying above. Again, she couldn't describe what they looked like, but they gave off the same faint essence as before, so she knew it was them. She finally made it to the train station, and was shocked to see nopony there when she arrived. She waited for about an hour, entertaining herself by singing, which she had just then discovered she had a talent for. A stallion then appeared, telling her that the train would arrive in about ten minutes.

"Do you know where the next train is headed to?"

"Well, from what I've heard, it's going to make a stop by Neighagra Falls before reaching its destination in Manehattan."

"Hmm, the name Manehattan doesn't seem interesting to me. I guess I can stop in Neighagra Falls."

"Alright then. Do you have a ticket?"

"I sure do, it's right--" the filly couldn't find the ticket in her vest, where she had kept it. "OH NO! WHERE IS IT?!" Suddenly, an envelope with a note on it appeared, as if by magic. The note read,

"I think this is yours. It fell out of your vest when you were writing your letter. --Canterlot librarian" Inside the envelope was her ticket, with three of her rides used up.

"Phew, that's a relief."

"Lucky for you. Hey, I hear the train coming now." After about two minutes, the train had arrived.

Parallel boarded the train, and found her way into the luxury cabin. She saw a familiar stallion waiting for her in there. It was Rusty Sprocket. She said to him,

"Hey, it's you. How's your aunt doing now?"

"Oh, hey, Parallel. She's all better now. That remedy I made for her worked perfectly. I was just on my way home to Manehattan, so I thought I could take this train. I heard you might be staying in this cabin, so I thought I'd meet up with you here."

"Oh, so you live in Manehattan, huh? I see. Well, I'm taking my leave when we reach Neighagra falls. I have a feeling that somepony I need to meet will be there."

"Is that right? Well, I hope you enjoy yourself there. By the way, is that a letter you have sticking out of your vest?" She just then remembered that she still had to send her letter off.

"Oh, yeah. Say, you're a unicorn, right? You think you can send this to a particular address for me?"

"Well, my long-distance magic is a little out-of-practice, but I can try. What's the address?" She told him where her father lives. "Oh it's in Ponyville. Yeah, no problem." He waved his horn, and his magic sent the letter off.

"Thanks, Rusty Sprocket."

"Anytime, kid, anytime." The train started to leave the station. Parallel remembered the question she had been meaning to ask Rusty Sprocket.

"Hey, Rusty, you know how we met back in Las Pegasus?"

"Oh yeah, I remember."

"Well, back when I was first at the Ponyville train station, there was a stallion at the ticket booth who, now that I think about it, looked a lot like you."

"That must be my twin brother. He lives in the outskirts of Ponyville. He's an earth pony. I think that might be why I was able to read your mind and discover your name. He did message me about seeing a black earth filly who looked surprisingly ambitious."

"Oh, yeah, I think that was me. Anyway, it's cool that we met up again like this."

"It sure is." As the two ponies smiled at each other, Rusty Sprocket exited the cabin, to avoid being escorted out for undeserved VIP rides. Parallel then looked out the window, trying to envision what Neighagra Falls would look like. She felt like this next part would be exhilarating, but she didn't know just how conflicting it would be.