At the end of the third age of Equestria, long before the time of the sky above the sky, when royalty still ruled over the small and peaceful populations of the earth and the clouds, there was a time of great prosperity. The two mighty alicorn sisters reigned: Princess Celestia of the Sun, and Princess Luna of the Moon. Barring the time Luna had spent in exile, together they had maintained the peace for hundreds of generations.
At this time, the threat of Sombra's Crystal Empire had finally been eliminated, and there was an uneasy peace with the Minotaur and Griffon raiders that once plagued the eastern borders. In place of King Sombra, the Crystal Empire had been installed with a new ruler: The Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, whose gentle rule and flawless diplomatic relations cemented an alliance between the sisters and the lands of the Crystal Empire that would endure for generations to come, even past the end of The Calamity that would mark the beginning of the fourth age.
Shortly thereafter, Equestria's final princess would ascend: Twilight Sparkle. Despite being born to the aristocracy, the circumstances of her birth were unremarkable; nobility was common among most strata of unicorn society at the time. It was only by chance she quickly endeared herself to Princess Celestia and became her latest in a line of personal proteges. Shortly after he eighteenth birthday, she was thrust into a series of legendary trials and became known for being able to turn even the most hostile situations toward a peaceful resolution. It was in so doing that she was named Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.
It has been said in later years that it was this quality of peace and friendship that led the Lost Keeper of the Stone to choose to visit her. It is less well known why she chose to visit her bedroom in the middle of the night.
Twilight opened her eyes slowly, drifting partially back into consciousness after an unusually vivid dream about a library full of books. Awareness slowly coalesced around a figure who seemed to be standing a few feet from her bed staring at her. She was unaccustomed to late-night visitors, especially silent ones who were covered from snout to hoof in dark black cloaks, so she loosed a shriek and fell back between her bed and wall, sending her blanket drifting down gradually to cover her flailing hooves.
Wedged against the bed, she struggled to right herself until she felt the bed's feet whining against the crystal floor of her palace bedchamber, scooching out of the way and allowing her to climb free.
"Thanks," said the princess, "But you shouldn't be sneaking into somepony's room late at night. I could have mistaken you for a thief, or a cockatrice, or something."
The hooded figure stared silently.
"Uhhh." Twilight Sparkle's expression pinched. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. You can call me Twilight, though."
The other creature didn't move a muscle.
Twilight huffed softly, and mustered her most patient smile. She was starting to wonder if Spike had deposited a ponnequin in her room and is now having a good laugh in her hallway. "What's your name?" She reached out to push back the hood.
She only caught the edge of the hood before the pony inside, with bright golden fur, whimpered sharply and stepped back. "Nnn!" She groaned out nasally, shying away from the gentle hoof. Her hood dell back to reveal her bright amber eyes. She looked a few years younger than the princess, barely out of school.
Twilight froze, and turned her hoof upward. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to see what you look like."
Still not getting an answer, Twilight kept one hoof aloft and offered, though she did withdraw it for one moment to wipe a grain of sleep from her eyes.
The golden pony sat down on her rump and dug around in her cloak. Twilight was only noticing then just how ratty the thing was. It looked like it was made of very scratchy burlap, and it was worn down with multiple coin-sized holes pocking its surface. It bore a few simple pockets that looked like they had been the subject of a half dozen repair jobs each. From one of those pockets emerged three small rubber objects.
"Deflated balloons?" said Twilight.
The figure perked up and smiled, nodding rapidly, then starting to blow in one. Listening to the sounds of heavy gasps and sharp breaths, Twilight stared with some confusion as the balloons grew to full size one by one.
"Nnh! Nn," said the filly. She pointed at the balloons insistently.
It took a moment of confused staring before Twilight nodded. The clock on her nightstand said it was almost dawn. "Alright. It's pretty early, but it should be okay."
Pinkie Pie gasped so hard the clouds changed positions. An irritated pegasus glared downward and put everything back where it belongs.
"You stole a Stone Keeper? Wow! Nopony has ever ever done that before in a billion gazillion years!"
The backdrop of the sunrise silhouetted Twilight Sparkle and her new hooded friend as they stood in the doorway of the local sweet shop, Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie, one of Twilight's best friends worked there and was already up and about preheating the ovens and preparing the stock for the morning muffin rush. She was a pink colored earth pony with precocious curly hair and a cutie mark of the pastel-colored balloons, and was by far the most energetic pony Twilight had ever met.
"Stone Keeper?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah! How did you get her here without touching her?" Much to the Stone Keeper's discomfort, Pinkie zipped around to inspect her from every angle.
"Pinkie..." Pinkie's flurried investigations would not stop so Twilight held her shoulders. "Pinkie! I didn't steal anypony. She was just--in my room. I don't know why, and she's not saying anything."
Pinkie rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Well yuh! Keepers of the Choosing Stone aren't allowed to say any words, or touch anypony or leave the cave of the Choosing Stone!" She got in close to Twiligh's face. "Everrrrrr."
"So..." Twilight said, mulling it over. "Stone Keepers never speak, never leave some cave with some stone, and never touch anypony. Well--" Twilight pauses to pull her head high with confidence. "This pony obviously isn't in a cave right now, so we must conclude she is not a Stone Keeper."
"No way, " said Pinkie, "That's totally the uniform!"
Twilight looked over. The ratty outfit looked even worse in the sun.
"Cookies! Cookies will solve this!" screamed Pinkie.
"Pinkie, I don't think--"
Twilight felt something running into her hindquarters. She looked back to see Pinkie headbutting her rear end, sliding her inside the store by the flats of her hooves.
