Twilight nudged the door open and poked her head through. She looked around the room and spotted a bench, upon which were several pairs of shoes of different types. With a glance, she was again able to see that they were the same two sizes. Well, that makes it obvious that there are only two bipedal beings living here. An adult and their child. She slowly and quietly shut the door behind her, as her hooves clip-clopped over the clean tile floor. Every few steps she paused to listen, holding her breath as her ears twitched, straining to hear any sound.
Finally, she reached the edge of the strange room and came into a dining room. sSe took a few steps in and gazed around. It looks...just like the dining room Sunset and Twilight have. Simple, clean… Her eyes caught a bit of color as she looked towards the fridge. Several colored drawings hung from the door. Obviously, the older being had put the juvenile’s work on the fridge. Huh, such a pony-like thing to do…
Paying too much attention to the artwork on the fridge, Twilight didn’t notice the scritching sound of a crayon on paper until it was almost too late. She stopped herself a few steps from the dining table, where a child was sitting at the table and coloring. They were up on their knees, tongue poking out all of their attention on the project that was in front of them. A colt. Young, maybe six at most… Obviously the juvenile of this house. He looks human. What’s going on here..
Twilight took a few step back, hoping to escape out the back door before he noticed her. There is enough magic here for me to at least transform into a human. Just stay quiet. Don’t startle the colt. “Oomph!”
Twilight's hoof flew out from under her, knocking her to the ground with a loud thump. The sound startled the colt. He quickly looked up, revealing forest-green eyes that were almost hidden behind long brown hair, including bangs that really needed to be trimmed. Twilight snorted as the thought passed through her mind. It really wasn’t the time to worry about whether or not a foal she had never met needed a haircut.
Twilight tried to scramble to all fours before wincing. Yep. That’s going to cause some problems. Her back right fetlock was already starting to swell. The colt was staring at her until his eyes saw what she had slipped on. e winced hopping down from his chair.
“I’m sorry, Miss Pony. Mommy always says to put away my toys ‘cause someone might slip on ‘em, but I got started colorin an I forgot. Does your ankle hurt bad?” He walked over towards her, clearly expecting a response from Twilight. She kept her muzzle shut, however, hoping to learn more from this child.
He crouched next to her, careful to not touch her wings. He frowned at the swelling in her fetlock. “I’m gonna get you my boo-boo buddy, Miss Pony. He’s got an ice pack for when you hurts yourself!”
Twilight watched as he scampered over to the freezer in just his sock-covered feet. He rustled within the freezer for a few moments, then pulled out what looked like a teddy bear. He seemed to consider before opening the fridge and pulling out an apple and a bottle of water. Once he took a step back, the door closed on its own, and he grabbed a cloth from the table. A placemat?
He crouched in front of Twilight and set down the apple and bottle of water on the mat before carefully placing his boo-boo buddy on Twilight’s swollen fetlock, just like Mommy would when he got a owie and needed boo-boo buddy. “Here you go, Miss Pony. I didn’t know if you was hungry or not, but Mommy and me, we grow really nummy apples. Um, can you get the lid off the bottle? Or is your horn not working right?”
Twilight blinked a few times before she finally lifted her fore hoof to touch her horn, causing the colt to give her a beaming smile. Adorable dimples and a missing baby tooth. He’s so cute I feel like I might keel over…
“Oh, good! I was getting worried you wasn’t able to understand me. Miss Pony? Can you talk or did ja lose your voice? It’s okay if you did. Mommy and me’ll help you find it.” He seemed to think of something and gave a little face-hoof, giggling. “Mommy would be so dis-pointed with me! I didn’t even introduce myself! No wonder you aren’t talking, Miss Pony! My name is Hunter. I’m five years old and I live here with my Mommy!”
Twilight licked her lips. She looked up into his eager dark green eyes and smiled. He’s a very kind child who obviously knows quite a bit about ponies. Five years. Didn’t Cadance mention feeling a great sorrow followed by an even greater joy five years ago? She carefully used a touch of magic to open the water bottle and took a swig of it, before clearing her throat. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I had a bit of dust in my throat from my trip here. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Before she could get anything else out, Hunter’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. He clapped his hands together in utter joy “Yes! I knew it! I knew you had ta be Twilight! You have her pretty coat and I-I can see your cutie mark! It’s just like… Hang on a second. I’ll be right back!” Hunter raced from the room as Twilight blinked a few times. She took a bite of the apple. She had skipped breakfast, and Hunter was right. It really was very tasty.
Hunter came back few moments later, a stuffed toy in his arms. His gaze darted between it and Twilight. He poked his tongue out, obviously comparing the two. “Well… It isn’t the best, Miss Twilight. But Mommy did say no one should know you became a princess yet.” He set the toy down for Twilight to examine. And Twilight was thankful she had already had swallowed, or she’d have likely choked.
Standing in front of her was her. Well, in plush form. And I’m still a unicorn. But whoever made this even knew how many spirals my horn has...ho...Celestia? “Where… where did this toy come from, Hunter?”
The little boy hummed before shrugging. “Some company? Mommy got sent all of the main six to a-prove before they, um, are mass-released?” He looked to Twilight, who gave a nod that he got the wording right. “Mommy let me keep one of every pony, but yours is my favorite! Mommy uses her to tell me my bedtime stories!”
Twilight licked her lips. So many things were starting to fit, but… “What type of stories does your Mommy tell you, Hunter?”
“About Equestria! About ponies and gryphons! About adventures and friendship!” He smiled. “A Lot of ‘em are about you, Miss Twilight.” He smiled nervously, as if he had just realized his hero was in front of him. “I love Mommy’s stories about you… Like how you stopped Discord… And went through the portal mirror…” He picked his toy back up, wrapping his arms firmly around her as Twilight stared open mouthed. No way. It can’t be, but… there isn’t any other answer..
“Hunter? Is your Mommy named Cel-”
Hunter turned as the front door opened, revealing a tall woman with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was yelling out the front door. “Don’t worry, Ray. I’ll check my email as soon as Hunter is in bed! The scripts will be read over by next week. Now stop panicking. That’s my job!”
Twilight’s heart stopped as the familiar half-forgotten laugh filled her ears. She watched the woman turn around to reveal a stunningly beautiful caucasian woman with sun-tanned skin. She wore jeans and a flannel shirt. She had Sky-blue eyes which took in the scene, and a joyous smile which made her even more beautiful. But before Twilight could even open her mouth to speak, the woman was on the floor, her arms wrapped around Twilight’s neck.
Twilight’s eyes widened from the sudden embrace, but she placed her head on the woman’s shoulder. She both felt the tears and heard the sobs escaping the woman. Tears began to fill her own eyes as she heard Celestia’s voice in her ear.
“Tw-twilight… I knew… I knew you’d find me.”