I was greeted with more strange looks today. Everypony looked either afraid of me or just plain curious. Perhaps it’s the cloak, maybe it looks too suspicious… Oh well… I’ll only be in this town until tomorrow morning, then I’m off. It seems that the only way forward is to traverse the Everfree Forest… I wonder if there will be another town on the other side… I’ve heard stories and rumors here and there about what’s inside the forest, but I haven’t heard if anything is on the other side… I think I might have heard somepony mention that there’s a train that follows the path of the forest and leads to another little town, but I’m still not sure. I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow… Good night~
*****
The book was locked shut, with the quill resting atop its lock. A slight yawned slipped through the air as a tired unicorn mare tucked her diary into her cloak. Turning over to her side, she took a final glance around her before trying to sleep. Nopony seemed to be around, and with how late it was it wasn’t likely that anyone would show up in while she slept. Uncomfortably, the mare shifted back to laying on her belly, letting out a low groan. She lay on a hard wooden bench which, while it wasn’t the worst place she’s had to sleep, wasn’t very comfortable. Rolling her eyes, she changed position again, now laying on her back. Cautiously, the unicorn kicked her cloak up her hind legs as to cover her now exposed marehood, despite no one being around, and let out a sigh. This was certainly better than those back alleys she’d have to sleep in when she traveled through Manehattan, but it didn’t compare to the bed of leaves she’d learned to construct when moving through a forest. Her travels had led her all across Equestria, and everywhere she went, she’d elicited silent murmurs and puzzled stares from the townsponies. Nopony knew who she was and didn’t dare approach her, their fear merely a result of confusion and intimidation. None had even seen her true appearance, as she’d always wear her tattered cloak to keep hidden. Only the night had known the pony beneath the robe; the black fur that lay nestled against the cracked wood, the crimson eyes that surveyed the area once more, the silver mane and tail, casting a similar glow to that of the moon. Casting aside the troubling thoughts of the day prior, the nameless mare shut her eyes and drifted off.
Morning arrived just as quickly as the night had. Feeling the sun’s warmth spread across her body, the mare had awoken, slowly rising to her haunches. She’d tilted her downward, her horn emitting a deep green glow, as she began to engulf her cloak in an aura of the same color. Taking a quick moment to ensure nopony was around yet, she lifted her robe into the air before wrapping it tightly around her body. Noting that the coast was clear—at least, at the moment—she hopped off the bench, shaking a few splinters out of her fur. She proceeded to head onward, walking at a brisk pace toward the Everfree Forest, noticing the usual stares and whispers of everypony around her. Perhaps there will come a town where no one would do that, though she found that idea very unlikely. However, luckily for her, she isn’t interested in the other ponies and their whispers, her goal is to get from point a to point b. It’s been that way since she was a young foal, though she never truly had an idea of where her point b was. Her short-lived walk had come to a halt as she approached the edge of the Everfree Forest, mustering up a quick sigh. Allowing her head to emerge from the cloak, she trotted silently into the shrouded woods.
*****
The light of Celestia’s sun peeked through the shades of Twilight Sparkle’s window. Opening her eyes to the glow, she rolled off of her bed with a groan, landing gracefully on her hooves. It had been quite a while since she’d started her morning this way. For the past several weeks, she’d been staying at Sweet Apple Acres while her home was being rebuilt. Looking around, the young alicorn thought back to the event of the library’s destruction at the hands of Lord Tirek, shuddering as the memory had approached her mind. She recalled much of Ponyville being destroyed as well, a frown slowly etched itself across her face as the images set in. Shaking her head, she pushed such thoughts away, focusing only on the positive. Twilight was back home now, and that was all that mattered. The lavender mare walked toward the foot of her bed, nudging at a small basket, where Spike had still been sleeping.
“Its morning,” She whispered gently, nudging at the basket once more. “Get up Spike.”
“Mmm…” A deep groan escaped the sleeping dragon as he began to stir. His eyes opened slowly, catching a glimpse of the sunrise. Shuffling beneath his blanket, he gave a low growl as he turned away from Twilight.
Having no patience for Spike’s lack of cooperation, she shut her eyes, surrounding the dragon in a small field of her magic, and lifted him off the bed. “Get up Spike.” She’d repeated in a more demanding tone, hanging him upside down as she lifted him higher.
“Whoa!” Spike’s eyes widened as he watched himself move further and further away from the ground. Shooting a panicked look at Twilight, he quickly obliged. “Okay! Okay, I’ll get up!”
“Much better.” Her frown quickly changed into a devious grin. She placed Spike gently onto the floor and started to walk out of the room. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
The dragon simply nodded, though Twilight didn’t see it. Following her out the door, Spike made his way downstairs to make breakfast, muttering grumpily to himself with each step. Making it to the bottom floor, he noticed a faint glimmer that caught his attention. Spike’s eyes shifted toward Twilight’s desk, seeing her crown perched atop the freshly varnished wood. Somehow, he seemed to keep forgetting that she was a princess. She seldom wore her crown and, despite now having one, she never stayed in her castle. Not that the latter had bothered him much, he enjoyed the familiar environment of the library as much as she… however… Spike remained slightly perturbed at the fact that Twilight didn’t really embrace her title as a princess. Alas, it truly was none of his concern how she had chosen to handle her situation. Having come to that realization, he shrugged, finally making his way toward the kitchen to pursue the task at hand. All that thinking had made him hungry.
*****
Journeying through the Everfree Forest had taken less time than originally anticipated. The black furred unicorn found herself on the other side of the forest within a couple of hours. She continued down a narrow path, noticing a small town beginning to fade into view. It appeared her suspicions were correct, much to her satisfaction. As she approached the town’s entrance however, her upbeat trots began to die down. Thoughts from earlier that morning began to swarm her, all of the puzzled looks and quiet mumbles of bystanders. She glanced over to her cloak, her gaze shifting between that and the town. Usually, the mare cared less about the other ponies’ stares, but for some reason, she felt that suddenly begin to change. Having given some thought, she removed the cloak with her magic, ensuring she had taken her diary before tossing the robe aside. Carefully, the unicorn marched into the town, her diary in tow. This place seemed quite different than previous towns she’d traveled through. Everypony carried on about their business with a smile on their face. They all seemed to get along nicely, which was completely out of the ordinary for the mare. She’d grown accustomed to seeing large gatherings of townsponies, locked in heated disagreements that only escalated as the seconds passed. Shuddering at the thought, she found a small patio table under some shade and decided to take a quick rest. Her diary levitated by her, bringing the reminder that she needed to find a saddlebag to carry it in. She decided to worry about that later. For now, she needed to catch her breath.
“HI THERE!” A slightly high pitched voice squeaked.
The mare jumped at the sound, now even more out of breath than when she sat. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to locate the source of the voice, but to no avail. As she returned her gaze to the table, she noticed a pink earth pony sitting across from her, a huge grin spread across her face. She jumped once more from shock as the other mare spoke.
“You seem fun!” The pony giggled. She carried a bubbly persona about her. She tilted her head, her curly pink mane bouncing a little from the movement. “I haven’t seen you around here, are you new?”
“W-well…” The unicorn stuttered, quite unsure how to respond. Nopony had ever addressed her before, so she certainly was no good at conversation. No better time than the present, she encouraged herself. “Y-yes… I just arrived, actually.”
Her response was met with a shrill gasp from the other pony, followed by a very firm hoofshake. “Well, welcome to Ponyville!” She shouted with glee. “My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?”
“Ah…” The unicorn felt the wind knocked out of her from that question. She’d been traveling Equestria alone for so long, she never felt the need to have a name. Clearly whomever her parents were didn’t find a name necessary either, given the circumstances. But she had to say something, nameless or not, she’d already initiated conversation with Pinkie. “I actually… don’t have a name…”
Another shrill gasp escaped Pinkie’s lips. “You don’t have a name!? That’s soooooo sad!!” A small frown traced her muzzle as she thought for a moment. Instantly, she perked back up, an idea striking her. “Oh! Oh! Oh! I know!! I can give you one! Then we can be friends!! Isn’t that just the greatest idea!?”
Saying nothing, the unicorn wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. She clearly didn’t want to offend the girl, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about the current situation. Realizing her very little options, the black mare reluctantly nodded and was yanked off the table. “C’mon!” Pinkie called to her, leading the way. “I know someone who can help! Maybe she has a book about names!”
With a shrug, the mare simply allowed herself to be dragged across the town’s square, listening to the other pony carry on and suggest different names before ultimately deciding the suggestions were no good. Flicking her neck upward, she motioned her diary in front of her, recording every detail of her journey through the forest as Pinkie led her to what resembled a large tree.
*****
Twilight’s hoofsteps softly resonated through the library, eventually reaching Spike’s ears. As if on cue, he’d already begun to set the table when she arrived. “Have a good shower?” He asked as he presented a plate of sandwiches from the kitchen. The lavender mare responded with a light nod as she grasped a sandwich with her magic. “Well good.” Spike gave the alicorn a grin, grabbing a sandwich as well and taking his seat at the table. The two ate in an unusual silence, which Twilight expected with this being their first morning back at the library. While the rebuilt library maintained the original’s appearance, it held an entirely different atmosphere. An atmosphere of distinctive unease. They ate for what seemed like hours, but in reality was mere minutes, before hearing a frantic knock at the door. Exchanging a brief glance with Spike, Twilight raised an eyebrow, curious as to who could be visiting at this hour. Whoever it was had clearly been growing impatient, as the knocking increased in volume and frequency. Giving a bit of a shrug, Spike leapt down from his chair and started towards the door.
The knocking continued to intensify as Spike drew closer to the door, with Twilight not too far behind. With a swift pull of the handle, the dragon answered the door, finding an excited looking Pinkie Pie staring right at him. A bit startled at first, he took a step back, letting Twilight come forward and greet their unexpected guests.
“Hi Pinkie,” Twilight stepped forward, a skeptic look lining her muzzle as she looked to who was standing behind her. The pony certainly didn’t look familiar. Perhaps she had just come into town. Rolling her eyes, Twilight briefly recalled when Cranky Doodle Donkey had moved to Ponyville and how much Pinkie harassed him. “And who’s this?” The alicorn passed an apologetic look toward Pinkie’s guest, hoping that she hadn’t been bothered too much by her friend’s hyperactivity.
“This is…” Pinkie fell silent. “Um… well…” The pink pony brought her forehooves to her head, racking her brain for the end of that sentence. After moments of stuttering, she finally perked up and answered. “Well, I saw her sitting outside Sugarcube Corner and I went to introduce myself and when I asked her for her name, she said she didn’t have one and I thought that was so sad and then I told her that I’d give her one, and then I brought her here!”
Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion. In part, because Pinkie’s explanation was so broad, but also, because she spoke with such speed. Inviting them in, she brought a hoof to the back of her head, trying to sort through the earth pony’s story and make sense of it, which turned out to be a fruitless effort. There was simply no sense about it… Why didn’t she have a name? Was she a traveler, perhaps? Twilight’s mind began to flood with questions about the strange mare. Regaining a bit of mental stability, she looked to Pinkie, who had been hopping along the room, looking through all the bookshelves and peeking at random books. “Sooo…” She directed her gaze toward the unicorn. “Tell us a bit about yourself, it seems that Pinkie has warmed up to you.”
The mare in question held a nervous gaze on the floor, her growing anxiety causing her to shuffle around as she pondered her response. Her inexperience with other ponies was showing, and a wave of embarrassment crashed over her as the silence continued. Bringing herself eye to eye with Twilight, the unicorn finally decided to dismiss any conversation concerning herself. "Not really much to tell," she'd lied, a small pang of guilt moving through her for doing so.
