//------------------------------// // An Early Meeting // Story: The Ties that Bind // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// Twilight's nightmares ran unchecked through her subconsciousness that night. She envisioned her father locked in a horrified scream, cascading rivers of a deep dark red, disembodied grins of the cruelest kind, her mother's tear-streaked face mouthing words she couldn't hear, her brother repeatedly falling to the floor over and over again like a puppet with it's strings cut. And then there was the laughter. It rang throughout her mind constantly. It was as cold, cruel, and twisted as it was musical. Twilight would've given anything to make it- Twilight's eyes snapped open. For a moment she panicked, scrambling to her hooves and backing away from... something she couldn't remember just then. Eventually the sudden panic started to ebb - her heartbeat slowing to normal levels as she remembered where she was and what had happened last night. Fear turned to relief... which then turned to sadness as reality set in. She wasn't home. Far from it. She was in some cottage in the middle of nowhere with two fillies she only just met. And it was cold. Twilight shivered and retrieved the wool blanket that she had tossed aside at some point. It took her a second to remember how she had even gotten the thing, but then she realized Sunset must've brought it while she was sleeping. She tried lifting it with her magic but a sharp pain stopped her from getting too far - though it wasn't as bad as before. Whatever I did really messed up my horn, she thought bitterly as she glared at the offending appendage. She trotted over and grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around herself as she took in her surroundings. It was quiet. The fire had died down to mere embers in the fireplace and, looking around, Twilight could see that it was still dark outside - though she could barely make out the tell-tale gray of an overcast morning approaching. I guess that explains why it's so cold... Resigned to the fact that she wasn't getting anymore sleep, she opted to explore the cottage. A quick glance revealed three doors that led out of the living room. She remembered one door leading to a bedroom and assumed another door to lead to the bathroom. She could only guess as to where the last door led. The walk-in kitchen to the left of the front door was fairly small - smaller than the living room which itself wasn't all that big. Twilight stood near the darkened fireplace wondering where to go first, when her bladder made the decision for her. She trotted to a door to the far right of the back wall, opposite the front entrance. Quietly as she could, she pulled open the door and peeked inside. The door did indeed lead to the bathroom. Setting aside the blanket, she stepped inside and took care of her business. After that was finished and she had the blanket snugly wrapped around her again, she decided to check on the other two fillies. She trotted over to the door to the right of the entrance and gently pushed it open. She heard the two before she saw them. Her amethyst eyes fell upon the bed where the two fillies lay and she had to stifle a small giggle at what she saw. Sunset was curled up on the bed which would have been adorable, if not for the obnoxious snoring coming from her muzzle. For some reason that Twilight couldn't fathom, Trixie had decided to drape herself across Sunset's back and was snoring just as loudly if not more so. How did I manage to sleep through all that? the lavender filly wondered as she stepped out and closed the door. With those two tasks accomplished, Twilight turned her gaze to the last remaining door to the left of the bathroom near the kitchen. Her curiosity got the better of her and she made her way across the living room and stopped in front of the mysterious door. After a moment's hesitation, she tentatively reached out with a hoof and pulled the door open. She let out a small gasp of excitement at what she saw. She had opened the door to what appeared to be some kind of mix between a small library and a personal study. The room wasn't too big, but the walls were completely covered by numerous bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. Even from where Twilight was standing, she could see that each and every shelf was jam packed with books. Near the back of the room was a desk and chair lit by a single desk lamp. The desk was several hoof-lengths wide and covered in all manner of scrolls, books, maps and quills. All other thoughts were swept aside as the lavender filly stood there in the doorway, simply marveling at the wealth of knowledge held within the relatively small room. Twilight was so enraptured she didn't even hear the creak of the front door as it opened. The old beige coated unicorn stallion who had stepped into the cottage froze as he spotted the little lavender filly standing in the open doorway of his study. He stood there in the front entrance working his jaw silently as he pondered the events that could've possibly led to this situation. After a moment, he deduced that Sunset and Trixie had something to do with it. He couldn't see the filly all that well in the relative darkness of the cottage, but he was able to make a few observations based on what he did see. He couldn't see her face from where he was standing, but judging by the way the filly stood rigid in the doorway, she was shocked by something she saw in the study, though he couldn't imagine what. He noted she had his old wool blanket wrapped around her which she had either taken from the bedroom closet or - more likely - Sunset or Trixie had given her. She also hadn't noticed him enter the cottage which meant she was either an inattentive little filly, or was extrememly distracted by what she saw. Or both. After another minute of observation he sighed and stepped fully into the cottage, silently closing the door behind him. He set his saddlebags on top of a nearby table and quietly trotted over to the curious lavender filly. As he got closer, he was able to make a few more observations. He raised an eyebrow at the blackened horn atop the filly's head and also took note of her disheveled appearance. From here, he could also see the awestruck expression on the filly's face and looked from her to the study itself. After a moment he put two and two together. He gave a small chuckle, finally catching the filly's attention as she yelped and stumbled back from the doorway. His chuckle turned into actual laughter as she tripped over the blanket and fell flat on her back. As she desperately tried to untangle herself from the blanket, the old stallion lit up his horn and with two small pops the blanket disappeared and reappeared next to the lavender filly. Once she realized she was no longer trapped, Twilight stopped her flailing and quickly rose to her hooves, backing away from the older stallion in fear. "I-I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to intrude," she squeaked. She briefly glanced at the open doorway to the study, swallowing nervously as she returned her terrified gaze back to the stallion, "it's just that - I mean I was... all the books - and Sunset said I could stay here and... um..." She backed further and further away as she babbled, much to the old stallion's amusement. He raised his eyebrows slightly at the mention of Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset, eh?" Twilight stopped in her tracks, waiting for him to make a move. The only thing he did however, was thoughtfully stroke his gray beard and stare at her with a raised eyebrow as he spoke. "Now that's odd," he mused in a raspy voice, "I told her not to let anypony in while I was away, and she's usually very good about obeying rules." Twilight shifted uncomfortably, unsure of whether or not to say anything. Looking up at the stallion, she could see that he was clearly waiting for an explanation. So she spoke. "W-well actually, it was Trixie who invited me in, a-and Sunset gave me some food and something to drink..." "Really now?" the stallion replied, his features stoic as he continued to eye the filly. "Really," Twilight repeated, her voice a bit stronger than before, "they were both really nice to me... and I asked Sunset if I could stay," she took a step forward, her eyes pleading, "I was cold and hungry and didn't know where I was - I still don't know where I am." She trotted right up to the stallion and looked into his bright green eyes as she continued. "Please don't be mad at them, I just wanted a place to stay because it was cold outside and this was the only place I could find." The stallion stared down at the filly for a long moment without reply, making Twilight regret her decision to speak out. "What's your name, girl?" Twilight blinked in surprise, but quickly hurried to answer the question. "Twilight Sparkle," she answered meekly. When the stallion didn't say anything, she continued, "I'm from Canterlot... but I don't know where I am now, or how I got here." "And by the look of your horn, I'd say you suffered some magical burnout recently." Twilight nodded silently and elaborated no further. The stallion nodded to himself slowly before focusing his attention back on the filly before him. It looked to Twilight like he had come to some kind of decision. "Alright, little filly, I got two questions for ya," he said with a serious frown. Twilight gulped and nodded. "How do you feel about magic?" Twilight's ears perked up at the mention of her favorite subject and she replied eagerly. "I love magic! I've been studying it since I could read!" she cried happily, "my mom and dad said I had a knack... for..." The stallion frowned as he saw Twilight's enthusiasm suddenly wither and die in a matter of seconds, leaving her with a somber expression and a slumped posture. He quickly put a few more pieces together and sighed before giving the filly a soft smile. "Well, you managed to answer both my questions in one go, little filly," he said trying to inject some reassurance into his voice, "I'm not too sure why or how you ended up all the way out here from Canterlot, but you can stay as long as you need to." Twilight brightened a bit at that. "Now that we got that settled," the stallion said, cracking his neck, "I'm feeling a bit peckish so I'm gonna get something to eat," he took a few steps towards the kitchen before he stopped and turned to look at Twilight questioningly, "you hungry, little filly?" Twilight nodded enthusiastically and followed after him. "Hey, mister?" "The name's Ancient Scroll, little filly," he replied giving Twilight a side glance, "but you can call me Uncle Scroll. Trixie and Sunset always do at any rate." "Why do they call you Uncle Scroll? You're not really their uncle are you?" Ancient Scroll shook his head and gave her a wry smile, "That I'm not, little filly. To be honest, I'm not sure why they call me Uncle Scroll, but it grew on me, ya know?" Twilight nodded, satisfied with the explanation. She then asked the question that had been bugging her. "So um... Uncle Scroll?" "Hmm?" "Why did you ask me how I felt about magic?" Twilight asked furrowing her brow in confusion. "Ah," Ancient Scroll said with a small smile, "that's a good question," he looked down at Twilight and winked, "one I'll gladly answer over a nice hot plate of pancakes."