An Interesting Introduction
Author's Note
If anypony who reads this has any comments on what bits are choppy and what I should change to make it flow better, I'd love some advice. Being new to the medium of FIMfiction, I'm still a little rough when it comes to making the finer points of the world, like talking about unicorn magic.
This is a sort of teaser for a full-length novel I'll begin posting in November so if you're interested, it'll be about an AUniverse where Nightmare Moon defeated Princess Celestia.
Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
An Interesting Introduction
Knock Knock Knock. Feather Fable starts at the sound, and accidentally drops the quill she was writing with.
"I wasn't expecting any visitors." She mutters, as she stands up, she heads over and opens the door to her cottage, and looks up. This pony is tall and- whoa. Wings and a horn?!
“Art thou the writer so named Feather Fable?” She asks, her voice abnormally loud.
“Uh-um. Yes. And you might be?” She frowns, examining the alicorn carefully.
The tall, dark blue pony presents Feather with her hoof. “We present your princess-”
The little red pony starts bouncing up and down excitedly as she interrupts; “Oh my gosh! You’re Luna, aren't you? You’re Celestia’s sister who turned into Nightmare Moon and, oh my gosh, you’re here! Wait, what are doing here?” The words pour out of Feather Fable’s mouth with barely a pause for breath. They’re rushed and strung together so that they barely make sentences.
“Um-” Luna takes a small step back with a start at the over enthusiasm. This is the pony who wrote stories about her tyranny. “It was brought to our attention that thou hast written- erm, novels about our past.” Luna looks suspiciously down at the excited pony before her.
“Whoa. You’re kidding. You read my books?” Feather fable blinks a couple times, then continues with her usual over enthusiasm. “Well, what did you think? Did you like them? I mean I know they’re probably out of character when it comes to you, especially when you’re the one talking, but there really aren't that many history books that present you an a balanced light, so I just did my best to make your attitude and position believable.” Feather smiles awkwardly up at the pony. “You kind of always fascinated me as a historical figure. I mean, a good person driven to bad things because of their own fears of inadequacy and desire to be loved and adored. I can kind of relate. Besides, I love the nighttime so it was a fun situation to write about.”
Luna glances down, embarrassed. “We have not had the chance to actually read it yet. The Royal Library doesn't have copies of very many storybooks and, we have been quite busy trying to adjust to being home again.”
Feather grins. “Actually, that makes total sense. I’m a history buff, so I have some idea of how much has changed in the past thousand years, but that’s probably nothing compared to actually experiencing that change. Heck, if you ever have any questions, you can always ask me. I read up on history so much that I probably have a better idea of what’d make sense to you. Though, I’m sure Princess Celestia is even better at that than me. As for not having the book, if you’re really interested in reading it, I could lend it to you. It’s a little complicated and you’re not actually the main character, but I’d love to hear your opinion on how I portrayed Equestria as under your rule.”
Luna, cocks her head. “You offer your help so freely to somepony who you’ve never met, who until recently wasn’t known to be more than an old pony’s tale of evil?”
Feather grins at the confused princess. “Well, why not? ‘Bad guys’ are kind of one of the things I’ve always focused on in my studies, because I wanted to understand their reasons for acting how they do. After all, it gives me a better idea of how to write the antagonists in my stories. Besides that, like I said, I can kind of understand where you came from in your anger. My brother tended to outshine me when I was a filly. I was quieter than he was, and my parents tended to put more time into raising him than me. Plus, I really, really love the nighttime, and it always seemed cool to me that there was a time when there was a princess of the night. Now that you’re back again- I mean, nighttime is your specialty; your cutie mark. I’ve already begun to notice the slight differences between Celestia’s attempt at night and your own.”
“I suppose you’re right, and I thank you for your belief in me. We haven’t been getting much of it lately. As for you book, we would love to borrow a copy, so that we may experience it for our self!”
“Okay, come on in for a moment while I go grab it!” Feather opens her door again, and ushers Luna inside. “I probably should have invited you in sooner, but I’m not the most socially smooth pony.” Feather smiles sheepishly, and slips off into another room to retrieve the book. “I’m gonna give you the first copy printed. After all, you were my inspiration. Oh, and you can keep it. I have a few copies. I will warn you, though; as the first copy there are more typos in that than the later prints. It’s been out for almost four years now.” Feather Fable offers the book to the princess, who accepts it with her own magic.
“We thank you. This visit has been ever so enlightening and we would enjoy correspondence with you on the topic of both your tale and what we have missed in our absence.” Luna steps back to the door. Feather Fable smiles and opens it with her magic, waving her new friend off as she heads back to her guardpony entourage, who is waiting outside.
Feather Fable lets out a breath as her cottage falls back into comfortable silence. "Okay. Cool, awesome, maybe a new friend; but for now, it's back to writing." Her magic carefully picks up the dropped quill and, with a deep breath, the pony settles on the floor to continue her latest project with the usual fervor and determination.
A few days later, the first letter arrives for Feather. She opens and reads it with a squeal, as she discovers that she just earned herself the coolest fan she's ever had. And so begins her most interesting project; answering whatever obscure questions Princess Luna can come up with about the past thousand years- and let me tell you, it is the project of a lifetime!
