One-Horse Town: A My Little Pony Story

Prose awoke to the sunlight pouring through her window, illuminating her entire room. She climbed out of bed and walked up to one of her bookshelves to pick a book to read for the day. She scanned every shelf lining her wall, but no book particularly piqued her interest. This meant she would have to venture out into town in order to find a book for the day. She couldn’t just skip reading. Her cutie mark was a book, after all. She prepared to go out into town. She stood in front of her mirror and attempted to brush her poofy coral mane, but it remained in the exact same state as it was. She shrugged, put on her saddle bag, and headed for the door.

She decided to visit Twilight Sparkle’s castle in search of a book. If anyone had an interesting book to read, it was Twilight Sparkle. Prose didn’t know her all that well, but their shared interest in reading had caused them to cross paths from time to time. She knew Twilight would be open to sharing her collection with a fellow bookworm. Prose hoped one day to become friends with her, but she figured that her princess status might make her too busy to spend time together. She didn’t need many friends anyway, her books kept her company.

Prose trotted through Ponyville, admiring the beautiful weather. The sun warmed her dark purple fur. She heard somepony singing a song, but she couldn’t see who. The sky and the ambience combined made this environment perfect for lying under a tree to read. She smiled at that thought as she arrived at Twilight’s abode. She knocked on the door and awaited Twilight’s arrival.

“Coming!” Twilight called from inside.

Twilight swung open the door.

“Prose! What brings you here?” Twilight inquired.

“Hi, Twilight. Could I possibly borrow one of your books to read?” Prose asked.

“Of course! I would never deny anypony the gift of knowledge. Feel free to browse my collection.”

Twilight stepped aside, allowing Prose to enter her home. Prose stepped into the doorway and began to browse Twilight’s vast stock of books. She searched for a couple of minutes before she landed on Transmutation and Disguise for Beginners, which sounded like an interesting read.

“Transmutation and Disguise for Beginners! An interesting read,” Twilight commented. “It’s also one of only two copies in existence! There are a lot of rare books in my library if you ever need to come back for more.”

“That’s so nice of you Twilight, thank you. I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer,” Prose thanked. She tossed the book into her saddle bag and turned to leave, but something strange caught her eye. On a different shelf, there was an empty space. Every other shelf was perfectly organized and properly filled. An empty space looked wrong.

“Hey, why is there an empty space on that shelf over there?” Prose pointed a hoof towards the shelf.

Twilight looked at the empty space. “Oh, that book went missing a couple weeks ago. I don’t know where it went. If you find it, though, I would appreciate it if it was returned.”

“What book was it?” Prose asked.

“The Legend of the Mirror Pool. It came in handy that one time Pinkie Pie made all those clones of herself, but I don’t think it should be in the hooves of just anypony,” Twilight explained.

“Hm. Well, I’ll let you know if I see it anywhere,” Prose said. “Thank you again for the book!”

Prose turned towards the door to leave.

“No problem! Enjoy your reading!” Twilight bid farewell to Prose.

Prose walked out of the door and searched Ponyville for a perfect tree to read under. She picked a nice and shady one, and sat down underneath it. She read for hours, learning about magic she could never cast herself. It wasn’t necessarily about practical application for her. She just loved to learn. Whether it would be useful or not in the future, she prided herself on her pursuit of knowledge.

The sun began to set, which was dimming her crucial reading light. She decided to take that as a sign to pack it up for the day. She tucked the book into her saddle bag, thankful for Twilight’s generosity. She felt a little bit guilty for not offering Twilight anything in return, but what could she possibly offer Princess Twilight Sparkle? There was one thing she knew she could do for her. She was going to find her missing book.

Why would somepony steal a book about the Mirror Pool? Didn’t Twilight close the entrance to that after the whole Pinkie Pie incident? Well, one thing’s for sure. Nopony is stealing a book about the Mirror Pool without intent to use that knowledge in some way. So, maybe she would find some sort of evidence at the cursed pond.

She charted her course to the home of all things cursed: the Everfree Forest. She didn’t know the exact location of the pond, but she was determined to find it. The sun had set, so navigation was already difficult in the forest. It didn’t help that there were so many natural obstacles in her way.

She wandered around, searching behind every rock and tree, completely unsuccessful in her search. As she was searching, she felt something wrap around her hoof. A stray vine had caught her in its trap. She tugged and pulled at it, but she was stuck. As she struggled, she found herself tangled more and more in the vines. She became trapped amidst a mess of brambles and vines. She fought back against the vines to no avail, until suddenly she popped out on the other side of them.

She struggled to find her footing, but when she gained stability, she was able to see the deep hole in front of her. This had to be the entrance to the Mirror Pool. But, it wasn’t covered like it used to be. Not only that, but there was another pony standing a few feet away from it. She turned to speak to her.

“Who-” Prose was interrupted by the sound of another pony crashing through the vines.

A pink pony fell out of the vines and stumbled to the ground. Prose looked back and forth between the two ponies. What could other ponies possibly be doing at the entrance to the Mirror Pool?