Prism walked through the crowded halls of Miracle Station’s market quarter, clad as ever in her heavy armor. The pounding of the smiths and the harsh smell of their smoke brought her a peace of mind, and reminded her of home. Among the clamor, though, the knight heard another soft sound. Maneuvering through the crowd toward the noise, Prism found its source in an alleyway, a crying little filly who’d found herself lost. The filly had a mint green coat with a turquoise mane curled tightly, but her eyes were red from sobbing. Not loud enough to be heard from the busy street, Prism was happy that she’d caught the soft sound as she approached.
“Are you lost?” Prism asked, approaching softly. Startled by the armored stranger, the filly jerked back, eyes wide with curiosity at the shiny steel pony. Trying to settle the frightened filly down, Prism took off her helmet slowly, giving a warm smile. Seeing the filly calm, Prism repeated herself, “Are you lost?” The filly nodded silently, and ran toward Prism. She leaned down toward the lost filly, putting her helmet away. “Let’s get you home.”
Stifling how vulnerable she felt without a helmet, Prism kept the filly by her side in the crowd as they moved to a map kiosk, looking out for any ponies on the way. As they approached, a tap on her armor got Prism’s attention, “Why do you have that armor?” The filly asked curiously, her wonder overcoming the fear of the situation.
Prism smiled at the little filly’s sincerity, “That’s because I’m a knight of Equestria!”
Stars filled the fillies’ eyes as her jaw dropped. “You’re a knight?!”
A light laugh came to Prism as she introduced herself to the filly. “That’s right. I’m Prism Ward, Knight of Equestria.”
The filly gave a small salute, “I’m Wintergreen, I can’t believe I get to meet a knight!”
Having reached the map, Prism asked Wintergreen to point where her parents lived, only to receive a shameful look down in response. Understanding that face, Prism gave the filly a soft pat on the shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Just show me where you live.” Wintergreen pointed at a building on the map nearly on the other side of the station. “Well,” Prism started, “Looks like we’ll need one of those shuttles.”
In practically no time the pair had walked to the shuttle station and boarded toward Wintergreen’s home district in the poor quarter. Once aboard, the shuttle lifted off showing a picturesque view of the sprawling Miracle Station. Prism noticed a reluctance in Wintergreen as the shuttle lifted off. “Are you afraid of flying Wintergreen?” Prism asked softly.
“N-no, I’m just cold is all.” Wintergreen lied, a bad bluff. Prism pulled off her warm cloak and draped it over the filly’s shoulders.
“We should take care of that then.” Prism smiled at Wintergreen, one which was soon returned as the filly settled into the oversized cloak. “Of course,” Prism continued, “It’s okay if you are scared, I know I am.” Wintergreen had a look of bewilderment on her face, utter disbelief. “Even a knight can get scared. We’re brave because we keep going.”
Wintergreen nodded, taking on the advice as a warm smile clung on her face. The shuttle soon reached its destination, and the two ponies walked side by side to their destination. After a moment of silence, Wintergreen spoke up shamefully, “Ms. Prism, I didn’t just get lost today, I ran away.”
Feigning ignorance, Prism listened sagely to the filly’s confession. “Why did you do that?”
“I wanted to go on an adventure,” answered Wintergreen, voice cracking, “I wanted to go do something with myself, but they wouldn’t let me, so I started coming back and got lost.” Tears started to form in the young pony’s eyes again, “Some adventurer I turned out to be-” She was interrupted by a firm hug from the armored knight.
“I appreciate that you’re telling me this, I appreciate seeing your honesty.” Prism comforted the filly, releasing the hug and looking her in the eye. “You have to understand, adventuring is dangerous. If you aren’t trained right, you’ll get yourself hurt or worse.” Noticing an acknowledging nod from the filly, Prism continued. “But, if you have a good heart and are ready to put in the practice, Equestria will need more knights. And maybe someday I’ll need a squire, if you would be interested.”
Wintergreen was overjoyed at the thought and literally jumped with joy repeating her affirmation. Prism hardly managed to settle her down long enough to get back to the jerry-built orphanage that Wintergreen called home. Settling a few terms, Wintergreen agreed to stay on best behavior, and be a good example. For her part, Prism set aside a part of her week to visit Wintergreen, and would start reviewing the most basic elements of training.
Leaving the orphanage, Prism felt a warmth in her heart. The idea of passing on what she knew, even if it depended on the filly passing snuff, excited her. Even still, she couldn’t help but feel a heavy weight on her shoulders. Years of tradition risked ending with her, but this could be a chance to carry them on. No matter how slim, Prism had to take it.