The sun was high within the city of Canterlot and very few people tried to pay attention to the unsteady unicorn mare that had left the castle. Those who did, didn't bother to try to help. They were busy with the tasks of the day and assumed that she was just some newcomer who had gotten in trouble and talked to the princess. The mare stumbled into an alleyway and sat down to hide from everyone to get her bearings. She was in an unfamiliar world, she knew no one here, she was now a pony and she couldn't make the hand gestures to cast magic. Her target and worst enemy was here now, but he could use magic.

She slammed her hoof down, creating an echoing sound that got someone's attention. A kirin slowly walked into the alley, wondering what that sound was, "Hello, is anyone here?" he called out.

Moonlight tried to move, but the Kirin was able to see her, "It's alright, miss. There's no need to be afraid. I know that a big place like this can be intimidating at first when you come from a town like ponyville, but everything is going to be alright," the red maned kirin said with a smile.

The mare looked at the Kirin stallion and frowned, "I wish to be left alone."

"Miss, I believe it would be better if I got you something to eat. A hay burger perhaps?"

"I said I want to be left alone."

"But you must be hungry and lost and confu—"

"I SAID BEAT IT!", Moonlight snapped, glaring daggers at the Kirin who merely reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a pouch with his mouth, placing it on the ground.

"Some money for you, Miss. If you need it," the stallion replied.

The Kirin left the alley and the mare crawled over to the pouch and tried to pick it up with a hoof, but to no avail. She became frustrated with this and punched the pouch, sending the coins scattering out of it. She tried to pick up one of the coins, but it was to no avail. If she still had her fingers, it'd be an easy feat for her to pick up the money that was scattered about. She stomped her hoof and sighed, annoyed at what was going on.

A pink hoof entered her vision and she looked up, "What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

Luster was surprised at this, no one had ever treated her this poorly before, no one had ever been this rude before. Sure there were some whispers that she had been treated better than others because she was Princess Twilight's best student, but there was a real feeling of hostility from this pony.

"I want to be left alone, kid. I have a duty to fulfill, and I will see it through to the very end," the dark blue mare stated.

"I do too, and I promised my teacher that I'd complete the task she gave me," the pink mare replied.

"What duty is that?" the dark blue mare asked. She was curious, someone here with a sense of duty as strong as her own.

"Princess Twilight told me to share with you the magic of friendship and to help you get adjusted in this world. You're not from here and I've heard stories about a world beyond the mirror in the castle, but I've never been. But you being here proves that they are true," Luster replied, oddly cheerful about this.

Moonlight didn't respond, she just slowly walked towards the mare and pushed her aside, "Trust me, kid. It'd be better for you if you didn't follow me. You don't know who I am and just how dangerous the creature I came here to chase is. Go home and tell your princess that I'm not interested in her little games or her helper," she said as she walked past.

She wandered into the town and a familiar sensation hit her. She was hungry. The aberration had been spotted before she could have her dinner and now that she was in an unfamiliar world, she didn't know what they served and she didn't have any money. She silently chided herself for leaving the money behind, but she walked into a shop anyhow.

"Welcome to the Hayburger Emporium, the home of the best hayburgers in canterlot," an employee said cheerfully.

The mare walked up to the counter, the idea of eating a hay in general was foul, but as a burger was even worse. She however had no choice, she didn't know what else she could eat. "I'd like a hayburger and an order of horseshoe fries, please," she ordered.

"That'll be five bits," the employee said in the usual cheerful tone.

"I... don't have any bits and I don't know what those are," the mare replied back.

"Then I'm sorry, we can't make you any food."

"I'm not from wherever this is and I'm hungry, can you make an exception?"

"I'm sorry, rules are rules. I can help the next person in line."

Moonlight was defeated, she could now add hungry onto her list of problems. The thought of stealing some food crossed her mind, but she decided against it. Being a special investigator didn't grant her the right to break the law in her world and she was certain that it wouldn't grant her that right in this one. She slowly slinked towards the door, but tripped on another pony's hoof. She tried to catch her balance and right herself before hitting the ground, but couldn't. Fortunately for her though, a magical field prevented impact.

She looked up to see the mare from before standing there with a Kirin, this one having a green mane and gray fur. She had a rounder snout than the one she had met before. This Kirin's horn was lit up and the special investigator found herself being gently placed on her hooves. Luster stepped forward and frowned, "You were in such a hurry that you had forgotten your money. My friend, Floral Blossom noticed you were still very unsteady and told me that you had come here. She's a little shy at the moment, but she'll warm up to you in time," the student of Twilight said.

It was a moment of confusion for Moonlight, she couldn't remember the last time someone had showed kindness like this to her. She froze up and sat down, unsure of what to do unsure of how to process this. None of this felt real, she felt like she was in a terrible dream and that when she woke up, she was going to be back in her bed with the aberration still on the loose in her world. She stood up and walked over to a table and raised her head. She swiftly attempted to hit the table with her face to see if she was dreaming or not, but a magical field caught her head and stopped it.

"Don't hurt yourself!" the Kirin exclaimed worriedly.

The student of Twilight slowly walked over to the counter, "Can we please get three hay burgers and three orders of horseshoe fries?" she asked.

"That'll be fifteen bits."

"Here you go!" Luster used a telekinesis spell to lift the bits from the pouch and onto the counter. She walked back to the table and helped Floral Blossom to get the shocked mare onto a chair. The two friends sat down and there was silence between the three of them. The dark blue mare sat there, her faded yellow mane looking like a complete mess. Her eyes were wide, but she had pupils the size of pinpricks. She was obviously extremely shocked about the other two near her being kind to her.

The food was delivered to the table and Luster picked up her hayburger, she was about to bite it until her Kirin friend pointed towards the third at the table. "Luster, look," she quietly said.

Moonlight's eyes had shut finally and though she didn't trust either of these two, she couldn't help but feel like she had been shown genuine kindness for the first time in a while. Tears started to leak down her cheeks and off of her face and onto the table. Memories of her family, who she hadn't been able to see for years flooded through her mind. She thought about how she wanted to see them again and this only increased the aching in her heart. How long had she been this lonely, she wondered. But she couldn't let either of these two into her heart or mind, as far as she knew, they could hurt her further.

Floral Blossom put a hoof on the shoulder of the dark blue mare and the pink mare smiled a little. "It's okay to feel sad or upset, but there's no reason to deny us. We just want to be your friends and we just want to help you," Twilight's Student said calmly and gently.

Those words were enough to snap Moonlight out of her emotional outburst. "I don't need your help, I got by on my own and I'll keep going on my own," she stated as she tried to climb out of the chair, only to fall out and be suspended in the magic field of the Kirin next to her.

"Do you have a place to stay?" the gray furred Kirin asked.

"No, and I don't need one, I'll be fine living on the streets!"

Moonlight stormed out of the place and found a good alleyway to take residence in. She was still hungry as she hadn't eaten anything. She ignored the feeling in her stomach and stretched out on a box that was left out. She closed her eyes to make sense of what had been going on and to try to relax her mind a bit, but she drifted off to sleep.

A frigid breeze woke her with a sneeze. She was shivering strongly and she looked for anything to wrap around herself. Night had fallen and the moon was high in the sky. If it wasn't a full moon, she might have had trouble seeing her way around. Unfortunately, nothing that had been thrown out would be suitable to keep her warm. She wandered out of the alleyway and a royal guard patrol spotted her immediately. They moved towards her and she considered running, but she was unsteady in this new form when she wasn't shivering.

She chose to stay where she was and lowered her head, expecting to find herself being arrested and locked up. But one of the guards wrapped a blanket around her. "Poor mare, you're freezing. Let's get you inside of the castle. Valiant Glaive, send a flare up. The Princess' student will find us," the guard ordered.

The mare didn't care, she just wanted to be warm and she knew that she wouldn't be able to flee anyhow. The sky suddenly lit up from a magical flare and the pink unicorn from before came running around the corner. "There you are, Floral Blossom and I have been looking all over for you! We were so worried when you stormed out!" she cried out, concerned for the pony that her teacher had told her to teach.

"F-f-food. W-w-warmth," was all the investigator could sputter out as she shivered.

"Please, you both have to get her into a chariot! Floral Blossom's parents agreed to allow this mare to stay with them for the time being," Luster said worriedly.

The guards nodded and lifted the freezing cold mare into a chariot. The pink mare climbed in and they rode off to Ponyville. On the way there, Moonlight felt herself warm up a little, but she saw a hayburger contained within the magical field of the unicorn in front of her. "You left without eating this earlier," she said.

The dark blue mare reached out and bit some of the burger. She didn't know what it was, but despite the fact that it sounded terrible, it was rather good. She continued to eat the burger with Luster's help and then gave a weak but knowing smile. "I don't normally say this... but thanks," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," the other unicorn said with a smile.

The chariot landed and the two royal guard ponies helped Twilight's student with carrying the weakened and still cold unicorn to Floral Blossom's house. A knock at the door was met with an opening of it and a Kirin smiled, "We've already got a bed prepared for her," the Kirin mare said, pointing down the hall.

Moonlight was carried into what would become her room for the time being and placed into the bed. Extra blankets were placed over her to try to keep her warm and to help her warm up. The guards left once their duty was done, they were going to head back to Canterlot. Luster stayed for a moment longer and then turned to leave, only to be interrupted by a hoof touching her. She turned her head to look at the unicorn that she had brought in with the help of the guards who was now sitting in the bed. "Thanks for saving me from the cold," the investigator said with a confident smile.

"You're welcome, that's what friends are for," the pink unicorn replied.

She left the room to go to her place in order to work on a report for Princess Twilight, leaving the dark blue unicorn alone. The warmth provided by the blankets along with having food in her belly made her relax and she soon drifted off to sleep to have pleasant dreams for the first time in several years.

Author's Note

Floral Blossom is the name that I gave to the Kirin at the end of S9E26 - The Last Problem. She doesn't have an official name, but here's hoping it'll catch on.