Historians and Anthropologists argued over the exact age of Equestria for years. Some said that the nation is three thousand years old but others said that Equestria is over five thousand years old. Princess Celestia did nothing to put down those rumors that she founded Equestria. She did nothing to stop the pseudo religious movements that centered around her. That was why Twilight Sparkle went to the library; to end the debate once and for all.
Twilight was only ten years old and a bit on the tiny side; though she would cutely deny it. That was why her parents, Night Light; her father, and Twilight Velvet; her mother asked her not to go out of the house alone as she might get lost or even worse, fillynapped. But she knew the way to the library, she knew where to go and where not to go. That was why she quickly went out to get her books before her parents got back from their shopping.
The walk to the library was short and relatively boring. As it was supposed to be, but the wait was worth it to see the majesty that was the Canterlot Library. The building held a copy of nearly every document ever produced. So that would help with her quest to find the true founding of Equestria. The librarian and the staff knew Twilight well enough that they let the little filly go about her business without questions.
The search for answers didn’t take long at all. Pretty soon Twilight was sitting at a desk with a stack of books to her left, a ream of paper to her right but the focus of her attention was on a dusty old tome called, ‘Equestrian Figures Vol 3: Princess Luna’ while it was not too relevant to Equestria’s founding the third volume of Equestrian Figures was enticing because of the information written on the ancient parchment.
While only five-hundred and fifty years old the book held a wealth of legends and myths long since lost or forgotten. Which, given that the tome was buried deep in the stacks of the Canterlot Library, it was no surprise that it had not seen the light of day in centuries. However, due to the protection spells that were cast on it and all of the texts in the Library the condition was just about as perfect as one could hope for.
So, when it came time for her to leave, she checked out what books she could then returned those she couldn’t carry. Of course, the first thing she did upon exiting the library was to bury her muzzle in a new adventure novel by A.K. Yearling. Twilight was so immersed in Yearling’s story that she never noticed just how far she had wandered far from her usual route. By the time she did notice her mistake it was much too late. The sun was setting and storm clouds were being herded by the Pegasi ponies for the scheduled evening storm. There were no familiar landmarks, no guards, no friendly looking ponies… and Twilight panicked.
In all of the books she had read, from A.K. Yearling’s fantasy adventure novels to ancient historical texts there was always one constant, whenever the protagonist panicked bad stuff happened. Despite her best efforts and a judicious application of breathing exercises Twilight panicked and bad stuff did happen, specifically, she got turned around and lost.
The situation did not look good. Despite being smart, Twilight did not possess social skills, add a dash of panic and fear; hysteria was the result. Twilight was well and truly lost plus she was in the worst place, Lower Canterlot. It was a place that her parents told her to never go without her brother. But none of this would’ve happened if she had just waited for her parents to come home then take her to the Library. In despair, Twilight collapsed against a corrugated wooden fence and began to cry. Unfortunately, her sniffles and mewls drew the wrong sort of attention.
“Whadda we ‘ave ‘ere?” A hard, raspy voice mumbled from across the street. “Why, it’s a tiny lil’ filly as small as me hoof. Whatcha doin’ out ‘ere?”
The pony walked closer to Twilight’s trembling form. As he got to within two hoof steps of Twilight she smelled the alcohol and sweat pouring off him. That jarred her to action.
“Hey! Get away!” She shouted, hopping up and turning towards the drunk pony. The inebriated stallion looked down at her in confusion then advanced.
“Yer not Star.” He stated, walking closer to Twilight. “Who’re you?”
Twilight quickly backed away from the towering figure and repeated herself.
“Hey! I said, stay. Away!” Her last word was accompanied by flash of magic and a blinding light. When she finished blinking and rubbing the spots out of her eyes she could see the drunk lying against the corrugated fencing. Her instincts told her to run but her heart went out to the pony, maybe he was hurt. Maybe she had hurt him with her magic. Despite her cowardly desires Twilight nervously walked towards the pony. When she thought she was close enough she picked up a pebble in her magic and lightly tossed it at him. Nothing happened. She repeated her action again, and then once more with the same result. Now she was worried.
Two more steps and she would be able to poke him. That should do it-
“-Ahhhrg!” The pony screamed as he suddenly flung himself at Twilight. “Whatcha do ta me eyes! Ya blinded me!”
The drunkard’s reaction caught Twilight by surprise and she stood stock still in terror as the behemoth-like pony fell towards her. It was only at the last minute that her instincts kicked in that she took off running. She didn’t know where she would run, the only thing she knew was that she would have to get away from that scary, yelling pony. Her flight coincided with that night's scheduled deluge and pretty soon she was sprinting and slipping or sliding all over the place. Lower Canterlot’s cobbled roads were not nearly as kind as the roads in Upper Canterlot. All too soon she found herself in an alley, exhausted but determined to move on. Just a few. More. Steps… then she fainted.
‘Thump.’
The warm rain washed over the fallen filly’s body washing away the dirt and grime of her frenzied route. Very soon her still form was spotted by a traveling pony, one who saw her and helped her.
Warm. Warm and fluffy. She was surrounded by warm, fluffy, and dry things. They cradled her, rocked her back a forth, sang lilting songs in an unknown tongue. And yet she felt safe and secure. So the little purple filly sank back into her slumber.
Hours later the little filly came to; the signs were obvious, her breathing quickened; her eyes twitched then she awoke to an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar pony.
“W-Who are you?” She cried out as she fought to free herself from the cocoon of blankets.
The unfamiliar pony quickly backed away from the struggling purple unicorn and reassured her in a calm voice.
“Little Star, Little Star I seek not to scare, only to care. To find one such as you so near and dear took all I had to ward my fear.” He spoke as Twilight freed herself and rolled off of her bed.
Despite the soft lilting tones in which the stranger spoke, Twilight was still leery.
“Little Star?” She asked in confusion. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Her strange caregiver bobbed his head.
“Yes, yes ‘twas my guess for our fate shares your face.”
The little filly drew back in confusion,
“What are you talking about? I can’t really understand you.”
Her guardian’s left eyebrow shot up and his head tilted to the right as his ward’s words sunk in. A light of recognition soon shone in his eyes and a smile split his muzzle.
“Ah, yes. Canterlot ponies, I should’ve guessed.” He cleared his throat. “Little Star, having found a soft soul such as yours in so destitute a place I felt it only natural to ensure that no harm came to you. So, I took you in, I healed you, I bathed you, and I fed you. Your exposure to such harsh environs left you crippled with fever, thankfully I brought the temperature down and here we are. I promise, when the dawn comes I shall escort you to your home.”
Twilight didn’t know what to say, for a pony who seemed to live in Lower Canterlot this- this,
“What’s your name?” Twilight asked, having never heard her savior speak it.
He turned to her with a sly grin.
“You ask of me, a… name?”
“Yes…” Twilight trailed off in confusion.
The stranger huffed then stated, “I am not an important pony,” He bent down to look Twilight in the eyes and there was a glimmer in there that she couldn’t quite understand. “So, call me what you will Little Star.”
Twilight was taken aback by his statement,
“So… you mean that you don’t want a name?”
Her unnamed companion tiredly sighed, “In all my travels, never have I had a name to call my own. For a pony’s true name gives those who speak it great power over the named.”
Once again, Twilight was confused but her companion moved and with his next statement Twilight’s confusion was replaced with joy.
“Come Little Star, let us get you home.”
Twilight’s diminutive size made it easy for her to be transported. She fit snugly in a sling that ran across the broad chest of her companion. The gentle rocking and steady ‘thump’ of his strong heart quickly lulled Twilight to sleep. She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping for but when Twilight woke up it was to the feeling of somepony nudging her awake.
“Little Star, Little Star wake up, wake up.”
The familiar and comforting lilt of her companion’s voice reassured her that everything was alright. Twilight snuggled deeper into her protectors chest.
“Little Star, Little Star wake for we are at your home.”
That statement quickly banished any grogginess that might’ve plagued Twilight and she quickly tried to crawl out of her nest. Her antics quickly drew the attention of her guardian.
“Take care Little Star for we wish you to suffer no further injuries.”
Twilight's struggling slowed down a bit, enough so that her guardian could lower her blanket cradle to the ground. The little purple filly quickly tumbled out and rushed to the the front door of her house. She would’ve started pounding on it if the door hadn’t been thrown open by two streak of midnight colors. Within the blink of an eye Twilight was enveloped in the soft folds of her crying parents’ hooves. They were quickly joined by Shining Armor and her sitter, Princess Cadance.
There were no questions asked at that moment, only tears of joy. The questions would come after their happy reunion. Twilight would tell her parents everything that she went through. The library; getting lost; her altercation; her saviour. Despite what she told her parents they claimed to have never seen anyone carry Twilight to their porch steps but their daughter was so insistent that her experiences were real that eventually it was accepted as truth. A couple days later all the books that Twilight had lost during her frantic late night scramble were returned to the library, they were accompanied by a note.
‘My Little Star,
‘Someday you shall shine brighter than all of them.’
Author's Note
Seven out of Thirty-one. Only 24 more to go. Whoop! Whoopy!
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