Of Unicorns and Magic

A small child sat on the library floor. She had sea-foam colored hair with a single ivory stripe, which tapered until it reached her shoulders. She wore casual clothing: some blue jeans and a white T-shirt, accompanied by a pair of red and white sneakers. Her goldenrod eyes were fixated on a large leather-covered book in her hands. It was titled The Incomplete Biography of Star Swirl the Bearded. The author's name was spelled in fine print on the bottom of the cover. "By T. Sparkle," she murmured. Her face filled with curiosity. "What's a biography doing in the mythology section?" she asked to nobody in particular. Opening the tome to the first page, she began to read. "Star Swirled the Bearded was undoubtedly one of the most influential unicorns of the pre-classical era. He invented many spells and was greatly involved in several significant events in Equestrian history," she paused, "Equestrian history? Pre-classical era? Spells? What the heck?". She kept reading, eagerly seeking for answers to her questions.

The child's father worked at a library, and she would stay there after school until her father was finished with his work. She often found herself in the mythology section; she was fascinated by all of the creatures and stories the subject had to offer. This was the first time she had been so engrossed in a book, however. When she looked up to check the time, she had already finished one fourth of the book and the clock on the library wall read 7:00 PM. She noticed her father approaching her and buried her sight back into a page of the book.

The girl's father sat down next to her, smiling. "What'cha reading this time, Lyra?" he asked. He knew Lyra liked reading, especially about mythology. But he never saw her get this far in a book in one day. Actually, he never saw her get this far in a book ever.

Lyra looked up at her father again and spoke with enthusiasm. "It's a book about Star Swirl the Bearded. It says he was a unicorn who lived in a land called 'Equestria'. He wrote lots of spells and was dubbed the 'most magically inclined unicorn of the pre-classical era'," she said. She waited for a response.

Her father's face turned from a smile to a look of concern. He sighed, "You aren't actually taking that book seriously, are you?" He hoped not. The last thing he wanted was a loony six year old daughter. He had never heard of Star Swirl the Bearded in his entire life.

"N-No, not at all!" Lyra stuttered and looked away. She was lying. She believed every word of that book. She was not sure why, but the way it was written just made it feel it was true. She knew she couldn’t prove the book was right. She wanted to go home and never talk about this with her father again. She decided to change the topic. "Are we going home now?" Lyra asked.

Her father simply nodded.

Lyra returned the book to its spot on the shelves and followed after her father. Even after she put the book down, though, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She was sad she had to put it down. How did magic work? She wondered. She wondered how life was like for a pony in Equestria, especially for unicorns. Questions stuck to her mind and the desire to read more about the strange world and its inhabitants flourished.

Together with her father, Lyra walked out of the library and into the autumn air. She was excited for tomorrow evening.