Prolouge
The world had turned on its top and land masses seemed to melt like warm butter on toast as the confused citizens of the once peaceful Ponyville scattered, searching for some familiarity. Clouds of fluffy pink cotton candy stretched across the sky as they delivered their payload of chocolate rain to the masses below, the most visible symbols of how nothing had made sense for the last day. Or days, as it seemed the sun and moon would rise and fall at random, even appearing at the same time. The ponies raced about only to slam into invisible walls and sought shelter in flat cardboard homes. Not many had known that the mass chaos was the cause of the deranged ancient spirit, Discord, that had found freedom from his stone prison. The land had turned to rolling hills of multi-colored grass and twisted horrors that were once trees. A sinister laugh could be heard for miles as it echoed in its glorious triumph. The ponies all searched for an answer to their distress, they pleaded for salvation from their plight. They needed a hero.
"Your time is at an end, Discord." A brave voice stood against the powerful spirit. Only laughter met her feeble attempt to stop him. The lavender heroine stood fast against his chaotic assaults of power that seemed to bend the very world around her. translucent rays of magic streaked across the sky seeking out their target. She readied her magic.
"You will not torment my people or my friends any longer." The purple unicorn stamped a hoof to the rippling ground, shattering the chaos and returning it to its natural state. Her golden tiara shimmered with her power as it tore away at the Spirit's might. From behind her approached five other ponies, each bearing a magical amulet.
"Come now, girls. We've been through this already," the spirit taunted. He sat upon his throne and basked in his opponents' attempts to usurp him again. He twirled his paw, summoning a pink cloud for refreshment. "You know as well as I that your silly trinkets didn't work on me the first time, nor will they work a second." He held out his clawed hand and pulled one of them to him, the orange earth pony struggling helplessly against his power. He smiled at her plight."You see I'm much more powerful than any one of you." He flicked his wrist and the pony was hurled to the ground.
"Maybe your power rivals one of us, but not all of us." With that, the leader’s horn lit up as her tremendous power erupted in a blinding light, Discord looked on in horror as the six ponies floated into the air. Their artifacts joined as one and hurled their magic encasing him once again in his stony prison.
Twilight Sparkle and her companions had finally defeated the greatest threat to all of Equestria and brought peace to the land and its Ponies.
"Mommy, Twilight Sparkle is a real hero, isn't she?" the young foal, tucked safely in her bed asked her mother, her big sapphire eyes full of questions.
Her mother closed the book and looked at her foal. "Yes dear, she is, and you need to go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow." The foal's mother put away the thick storybook, titled The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle and Friends, alongside many others, their worn bindings having seen many bedtimes.
"Mommy? Can I become a real hero too?" Her tired body yawned as the question came out.
As she drifted off, her mother smiled. "Yes, of course you can, Pearl. Goodnight, my little hero."
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1.
"Good morning, Father. How go the junk sales?" The excited earth filly trotted out past the kitchen and toward the door, the fragrance of breakfast was heavy in the morning air as the silvery white filly raced through the door. She could hear her father yell "THEY'RE NOT JUNK, THEY'RE ANTIQUES!" She only laughed as the door shut behind her.
Pearl entered the store and into shelves of the oldest collection of odds and ends anypony had ever seen. She retrieved her saddlebags and pushed her gray mane aside with its lone white stripe running through the center, offsetting it, giving her mane a defining look."Good morning, Mother." She smiled and stopped short of the front counter to see another pony. "And to you too, Ms. Goldscale." The well aged old mare, a regular in their store, had a brown coat that showed its nobility with a golden weighing scale on its flank. Her silvered white mane brushed into a straight style down her side. Pearl bowed her head as part of her greeting.
As she greeted the two older ponies, her mother was wrapping up a fine tea set for Ms. Goldscale. They greeted her back with a smile. "You know," she put a hoof to her lips in thought. "Ms. Goldscale, your new tea set would look great with a scone tray." Before she could say anything, Pearl disappeared around a corner and reappeared with an old fancy, three-tiered, metal rack embossed with gold and silver.
Ms. Goldscale focused her aged eyes on the piece. "It's a bit tarnished, don't you think, Dearie?"
Pearl looked into the mare's wrinkled face; she could see her give a little. "Twenty bits and we'll have Daddy polish it up and deliver within the hour." Pearl smiled with a devious grin.
"Seventeen, and it had better sparkle." Goldscale had known Pearl since she was a little foal and if Pearl recommended it, it was a keeper. She turned to Pearl's mother and opened her purse, giving her a warm smile. She heard Pearl open the front store doors as she was leaving.
"Like Twilight."
"She certainly is something else isn't she, Tea Kettle?" Pearl's mother nodded. Ms. Goldscale took her tea set and began to leave. "It's too bad she's leaving for the country soon." Pearl's mother looked a little sad from the reminder.
Pearl raced out into the busy Manehattan streets. The city bustled with ponies of all colors as though a pastel rainbow had exploded amongst the common folk. She sped along her usual route through the side streets, street vendors yelling out congratulations to her as she passed, breaking their otherwise unceasing patter. Brilliant jewelry, lacey saddles and all sorts of knick knacks flooded the vendor's alley as she passed. How many years had she come this way? How many vendors had she seen peddle their wares? She knew them all by name and by what they were selling. Mister Shoe would claim to have the finest ironwork shoe this side of Equestria and Pearl had bought one or two sets over the years. Another trot and she would find the lady Pogonia, a dressmaker whose styles never really seemed to catch Pearls fancy, but she had at least one of her dresses stowed away for a special event. and many many more.
She would take in the fragrant breeze of bakeries and open air restaurants, each one stirring a beautiful memory that she would cherish forever; lunches with her friends, a party for her sister. Over the worn Manehattan Bridge, she would stop and look out over the Hoofson River, tranquil and serene the vast river a deep blue with white spots of sail boats going across Equestria or coming from an adventure that Pearl had only dreamt of.
Through the massive park that she had played with her friends and sister for many summers, and of course the Grand Celestia Arch. It was a famous landmark for the local residents, it had been built in the beginning of Manehatten to thank Princess Celestia for her guidance in choosing the land for the founders.
Finally the school had appeared as if a gleaming bastion to Pearl, Manehatten Finishing School. Its hallowed doorways crowded with colts and fillies awaiting their final day of schooling before venturing out into the wide world to take their place among the other ponies as equals. But Pearl had only one plan and it only took her whole life to convince her father to make it a reality.
Pearl greeted her friends . They embraced her as if it were the last time they were ever going to see her. The magenta and gray fillies insisted she come visit them when she got to their hometown. The teachers all greeted her with hopes that her dreams would be fulfilled.
She entered the schoolhouse and walked the halls with her friends. Their last day, it was so exciting. One last day to be a child, one last day to be what everypony expected you to be. School had a way of bringing bad memories to Pearl, bad grades and the constant scolding for her daydreaming. But she glossed them over with what was to lie ahead. The fillies and colts all gathered with their respective classes and put on their graduation caps and gowns as they entered the massive auditorium. A great platform stood in the back of the room as they piled into position. The wait seemed to stretch for hours before the ceremony began. Pearl looked out to the crowds to see her mother and sister in among the other families. She giggled to herself when she spotted Ms. Goldscale among the onlookers.
The lights dimmed and a tall stallion with a pair of crossed rulers adoring his flank stepped up to the podium. "To the graduating class, I, Principal Straight Rule, congratulate you all on a job well done. To you, the students of Manehattan Finishing School. Four years may seem a trudge through the slowest moments in life. But to an educator, it is but a drop in a vast pool of time that we hold very dear. May your lives be as plentiful as you have made mine and your teachers." The tall stallion tipped his hat as he had for all the years Pearl had known him, a special greeting and courtesy that he was well known for.
All the students cheered as they exited the school for the final time. They had done it. They were no longer fillies and colts, but mares and stallions. They had their whole lives ahead of them, their own dreams to accomplish and live out. Pearl stood out in the courtyard with the other families and found her mother, sister and Ms. Goldscale.
"Where's the junkman, Mom?" she giggled, but she then caught a cold gleam from her sister. "Okay, okay, I get it. Where's Dad?" She smiled at Ms. Goldscale, sharing the joke they both thought was very funny at Mister Potts expense.
"The 'Junk Man' is getting your trip ready, young lady," answered her mother. "Remember, you may be a grownup to the whole world but to me, you'll always be my little pony." The two embraced as sweet tears ran down Tea Kettle's cheeks and Ms. Goldscale's.
Pearl wandered the Manehattan streets as her own pony for the first time. Celestia's sun had shone brightly in the sky as it illuminated the vast city in front of her. 'My own pony, huh?' she thought to herself. She reaching into her saddle bags and pulled out her favorite keepsake. A well worn leather bound book from her childhood. 'Is my dream silly? Am I making the wrong decision? What if this all turns out to be wrong and I'm meant to stay here?' Self doubt filled her head as she sat and read a passage from her book, slowly drowning out the irrational thoughts as they appeared. She was so lost in thought she hadn't noticed she had found her way to her favorite tree in the park. She sat alone and skimmed the aged pages looking for answers.
"Thar's a book ah ain't seen in years." Pearl's concentration and wanderlust was broken by an unusual voice. She looked up to see an orange mare with blonde mane tied into a ponytail. "Ah'd reckon anypony still reading that thang to be a lot younger." Her accent was funny, not at all like the locals nor like anything she had heard before. The mare's green eyes met hers and Pearl put away her book to greet the stranger.
"Oh, it's my favorite book. I sometimes read it to take my mind off my worries." Pearl inspected the new pony. She had a brown cowboy hat atop her head and three red apples adorned her flank. She was also very well built, muscular the stranger seemed to be a labor. It struck Pearl as very familiar. She held out a hoof. "I’m Pearl, pleased to meet you."
"Well Pearl, Ah didn't mean ta interrupt ya there, but ya wouldn't happen t'know where Ah can find tha local Bank of Equestria, would ya?" Pearl smiled and pointed her in the direction she asked for. As the orange pony went to leave, she turned and tipped her hat to Pearl, it reminded her of Principal Straight Rule. And as she left and was nearly out of earshot the stranger with the cowboy hat stopped and called out to her, "Don't go lookin too hard in that thar book, it'll only lead ta heartache." Her words made Pearl freeze in her tracks. What did she mean? How can a book do that to a pony? Did she know something about the book? Her head started to hurt with all the questions buzzing around after that bizarre encounter.
The sun had sunk into the tall buildings, leaving a hazy silhouette that told her she needed to return home. Her parents would be worried. And she had packing to do.
The storefront light was on, but the store was closed. She knew she was in for it now. The unusual encounter had left her in a stupor and made her later than she intended. She opened the front door to the store and found it dark and the antiques cast frightening shadows. Pearl shook her head, she had just graduated and she was a mare now, not the little foal that was afraid of every little shadow as if it was going to eat her. She giggled to herself as she passed through the store. 'Just like Twilight would have done.' She could smell sweet sent of cake as she approached the house door. 'A party, huh?' A combination going away congratulation party, she suspected.
She burst through the door in a counter surprise tacit only to find her parents, sister, and her two friends sitting on the living room couch eating a brightly decorated cake.
"Hey, no surprise?" she whined.
"Surprise... Miss Tardy Pants, like we were going to wait forever." Her grey friend from school leaned against a wall with her cake and stuck out her tongue at Pearl. "And this cake is so good too." She went back to her cake.
"Ah, Silver—" Pearl protested but was cut off by her father.
"One day as an adult and you’re out gallivanting Manehattan making us wait," he joked at her. "Tisk tisk." He took another bite of his cake.
"I didn't mean to be out this late, honest." She walked to the kitchen to find a single piece of cake left for her. "But I ran into the strangest pony at the park," Pearl explained as she dug into her cake. "She only needed directions but she was strangely familiar. Like we had met somewhere before."
"Maybe she's a character out of one of those books you’re always reading," Pearl looked to her magenta friend with a sneer. "I swear you’re just like that one pony from home, always with a book." She laughed as she brushed a stray piece of cake away from her face. Pearl knew they were from Ponyville, where her hero resided, but was never brave enough to ask them about her as they tended to stray away from the topic. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were her best friends, but they had told her once that something terrible had happened in their hometown and their parents decided to move to Manehattan.
After sharing a few laughs and stories of school days of old, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon departed when their family coach arrived to escort them home. Strange how two of the most well-off heiresses she had ever met would be her friends; they'd seemed so different from the others when she found them all those years ago. But as Father always told her, everything is like his antiques, you never really know what you've got until you look past the surface. After the goodbyes and the tears, Pearl's father told her how her new adventure was going to start.
He had only agreed to letting her chase her silly dream of moving to Ponyville if she agreed to open a store in its borders. He had spent the last year arranging a building and supplies to be delivered to his new store. It was ready for Pearl as soon as she got to her destination. It wasn't how she pictured her new life, a junk shop owner. She was too far lost in the pony tales that she grew up in: adventure, mystery, and danger. But Mr. Potts insisted that you can have all that and a stable fallback plan. So she agreed to it after much poutting and pleading.
It was a little after noon when Pearl arrived at the train station, she set down her bags to greet a few of her friends. They had all came to bid her goodbye. It was a sweet, sorrowful farewell. Her mother and father had arrived to wish her off on her journey.
The train was all loaded and her bags packed. She looked out to the city that she knew better than anything else outside a book. The smoke and steam of the train made for a misty goodbye as if out of a story itself. Her sister was absent from the departure, probably at home crying into her pillow, too embarrassed to come say goodbye herself.
"You will write as soon as you arrive, right sweetie?" her mother called. Pearl blew her a kiss and assured her she would.
"All aboard," the station manager called. "ALL ABOARD FOR PONYVILLE, ALL ABOARD!"
Pearl reached into her carry-on to find her book only to find something she didn’t expect, a photo of her family. Her sister smiling as she rarely did, and a note attached: "Big sister Pearl, through the darkest nights and the hottest days, may your dreams never let you forget that home is where the heart lies." Pearl shed a tear. It was beautiful and scribbled in crayon. Her sister had a special way with words even if she never spoke.
"This was it," she giggled to herself after the note was securely tucked away in her saddlebag. "I'm finally going to meet her." She rummaged again for her target. "My hero." She pulled a book from her bag and ran her hoof over the gold inlaid cover that read The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle.