Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn student of Princess Celestia, sits comfortably on a cushion in the Golden Oak Library located near the center of Ponyville. With her are her good friends Fluttershy and Applejack. They each take turns swapping stories of how their weeks went, simply enjoying the company as the sun slowly sets outside.
"Well, I don't think anything will top the whole cider debacle from last week."
"Hehe, I hear ya. Those no-good swindlers better not come anywhere near my farm ever again."
The girls share a laugh as they continue to reflect on recent events. While their lives can be turbulent at times, it's nice to just sit back at home sometimes and enjoy the peace and quiet.
However, said peace doesn't last long. Twilight suddenly perks up and glances at a nearby wall.
"Twilight? What's wrong?" Fluttershy tilts her head in curiosity.
"I thought I just felt a really strong source of magic outside. Did something hap-"
Twilight is interrupted by a loud boom coming from outside, causing all three mares to jump in their seats.
"What was that?!"
"I don't know, but we should probably go look!"
Without hesitation, the three are quickly on their hooves and rush out the door into the evening air. A breeze blows over them as Applejack and Fluttershy follow Twilight's lead. Soon, the three see a cloud of dust rising into the air from the outskirts of town.
"Do you think everypony is okay?"
"Only one way to find out!"
They quickly make it into the dust cloud, waving their hooves in front of them to try to clear the air a little bit. After a few moments, visibility in the area begins to return, revealing the source of the disruption.
Beneath the hill the three mares are standing on, a large crater going nearly six feet into the ground has been formed in the dirt. Due to the darkness, it's hard to make out what is inside the crater, but the fact that there is indeed something there at all is obvious to the three. They share a nervous glance before quickly making their way down the hill and onto the lip of the crater.
Looking down, what they see catches them off guard. A figure lies face-down in the dirt, breathing, but seemingly unconscious. Although the ponies don't know it yet, this creature is a human, barely eight years old. He wears ragged clothing that covers his pale skin, and a moppy head of unkempt hair hides many of his facial features. Despite the weird location they've found him in, he doesn't seem to be injured beyond a few minor scrapes and bruises.
"Now what in tarnation is that thing?!"
"Fluttershy, have you ever seen anything like it?"
"N-no, I haven't!" Fluttershy immediately flies into the crater and lifts the boy into her hooves, rolling him over in the process. He does not wake up, but it's easier to tell that he is indeed breathing. "Oh, you poor thing." Fluttershy glances up at her friends. "I think it's just a child. H-he might be injured, too, but I can't really tell for sure out here!"
"Let's take him back to the library, then. Whatever it was that landed him here, it was some powerful magic."
With that, the three gently carry the boy back to the library, carefully placing him on a sofa when they get inside. Fluttershy gets to work trying to examine him, but has a lot of difficulty carrying out said examination.
"I just don't know what he is! He's somewhat similar to an ape, but he's obviously not an ape! Plus, I've barely worked with apes to begin with. I-I don't know how much I can really do here!"
As if on queue, the boy begins to stir. Fluttershy takes a step back as her two friends look on. Applejack seems very apprehensive about the boy, but Twilight seems excited and curious. After a few seconds, the boy finally opens his eyes and begins to rub his head.
"Ow," he mumbles.
The boy tries to roll over, but promptly falls off of the sofa, landing squarely on his back on the wooden floor. He looks up in surprise, only to be met with Fluttershy's visage.
"Hello, there."
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The boy immediately begins to panic, his eyes wide as he shoots to his feet.
"W-wait! We aren't going to hurt you!"
The boy looks around in terror, briefly locking eyes with Twilight and Applejack before backing away from them. His back hits a wall and he begins to hyperventilate, his eyes darting back and forth across the room. Twilight, realizing that he is about to make a break for it, begins to cast a spell. Her horn glows a gentle purple color, and the boy is surrounded by that very same color. Seeing the nearby door, he tries to run, but finds that he cannot move his body.
"Sorry about this whatever you are, but I can't let you run away. Please, just listen to us."
The boy continues to freak out and he begins screaming, his young, high-pitched voice easily making his fear known just as much as his body language.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, simply walks up to the boy and sits in front of him. She gives him a warm smile, but she says nothing.
"Uh, Fluttershy? What are ya doin'?"
"I'm trying to show him that I'm not a threat. We want him to be comfortable." Fluttershy turns back to the boy. "I know you must be scared, but I promise, we aren't going to hurt you. We want to help you." The boy doesn't respond, and although his eyes are still rapidly darting across the room, he finds his gaze landing on Fluttershy more and more frequently. "Just breathe. It's okay." It takes a few moments, but the boy slowly begins to stop struggling. Although he is very clearly still fearful, his breathing begins to steady, and he directs his full attention towards Fluttershy. "Good boy. Now, why don't we start with our names? My name is Fluttershy. What's yours?"
The boy glances at the other two mares before looking back at Fluttershy. He finally opens his mouth to speak properly, and when he does, his voice is full of apprehension and fear.
"M... my name is Anon."
"It's nice to meet you, Anon. Do you know where you are?" Anon shakes his head as if to say "no." "Are you lost?"
"I... I don't know."
"Can you tell me the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"
"..." Anon's expression darkens as he tries to remember, but he eventually speaks up again, his voice a mumble. "My mom said goodnight and sent me to bed."
"You don't remember how you got here?" Anon shakes his head again. "I see. Well, right now you are safe. You're in the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville." Fluttershy motions to Twilight. "It's run by my good friend Twilight, and she's Princess Celestia's student. That's how you know you're in good hooves. Where are you from?"
"I... I'm from Springfield."
"Oh? I don't believe I've ever heard of Springfield. Where is it?"
"The United States."
"The... United States?"
"Wh-what are you?"
The boy looks at Fluttershy, his eyes still filled with terror and confusion. Fluttershy gives him a warm smile, doing her best to comfort him. Meanwhile, Twilight finally drops her spell, and Anon makes no effort to run away.
"I'm a pegasus. Twilight here is a unicorn, and Applejack is an earth pony. What are you?"
"A... a human, I guess."
"I don't believe I've ever heard of a human." Fluttershy turns to Twilight. "Have you?"
"No, never."
Fluttershy looks back towards Anon.
"Well, don't you worry Anon. We're going to figure out where the United States is and get you back home, alright?"
Anon fidgets with the hem of his shirt and stares at the ground.
"Okay," he mumbles.
"Twilight, do you think we can do some research on 'humans,' 'Springfield,' and 'the United States?'"
Twilight grins, and Fluttershy realizes that she and Applejack have already taken several books from nearby shelves.
"I thought you'd never ask!"
A couple of hours later, the moon hangs high in the night sky as the three mares sigh in defeat. They haven't found a darn thing about what this kid is or where he is from. Meanwhile, he has been sitting at a nearby desk and kicking his legs absentmindedly. While they dug through countless books, the mares tried to fill the kid in on how they found him and where he is. They were shocked to discover that he had never heard of Equestria, causing Twilight to excitedly ponder if he might be an alien. This notion freaked Anon out, and she quickly apologized. To help him calm down, Fluttershy tried to converse with him about his hobbies and his life. Being the incredible caretaker that she is, she quickly found that talking to him about his parents calmed him down a great deal, and he spoke about them at length. Over time, he grew a bit more comfortable, though he never lost his scared and confused demeanor.
Twilight calls for her dragon assistant, Spike, who was sleeping through the whole ordeal. He slowly descends the nearby staircase, making his presence known with a yawn.
"What's up, Twilight? Did something happen?" Spike finally notices Anon, causing his eyes to go wide. "Woah. What the heck is that thing?"
"Spike, be nice! This is Anon. He's a human."
"What's a human?"
"We... don't really know. A-anyway, I need you to take a letter for me."
"You've got it."
No matter how tired he is, Spike is always willing to lend Twilight a helping claw whenever he can. He produces a quill and some parchment from seemingly nowhere and waits for Twilight to begin speaking.
"Dear Princess Celestia, I'm afraid I'm not writing to you about a friendship lesson this time. As much as I hate to take up your precious time, I need your help, or at least your advice. My friends and I have discovered a 'human' child who claims to be from a place called 'Springfield' in 'the United States.' We've gone through the entire library, but we can't find any information about what 'humans' are or where this 'Springfield, United States' place is. On top of that, the stories he is telling us don't seem to line up with any place I know of in Equestria. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother you with something like this, but I think it's imperative that we get this boy back to his parents as soon as possible. If you know anything at all or have any sort of help you can provide, please let us know. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
"Is that all?"
"Yup, go ahead and send it."
"Even though she's probably asleep right now?"
"This is important, Spike. If I get in trouble for it..." Twilight lets out a nervous sigh. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, I suppose."
"Alright, then."
With a quick breath of green fire, the letter vanishes through a nearby window. The three mares look at each other before glancing over at Anon, who has fallen asleep on the desk with his head in his arms.
"What are we gonna do with him in the meantime?" Applejack, the voice of reason among the group, voices her concern for the boy's well-being.
"Fluttershy, do you think you could take care of him until we figure out what's going on? You ARE the best with kids, after all."
Fluttershy nods.
"I'll do my best."
To the surprise of everyone present, Spike lets out a burp, and another letter appears in his claws.
"Wow, that was fast," he remarks.
Twilight quickly uses her magic to grab the letter from him, unfurling it and reading it aloud.
Twilight takes a moment to stare at the letter in shock. The library is filled with an uncomfortable silence until Applejack finally speaks up.
"Uh, is it just me, or does Princess Celestia sound... unusually afraid in that letter?"
"It's not just you," Twilight mumbles. She looks at Anon with apprehension, her brow furrowing as she does so. He sleeps peacefully on the table, the tiniest of snores escaping his nose. "Who are you, Anon?"
Luna watches as Celestia quickly wraps up the necessary preparations to depart for Ponyville, a look of unease on both of their faces in the meantime.
"Sister, are you sure about this?"
"I am. Twilight has no idea what she's dealing with right now."
"But to expose yourself to him..."
"We are the only ponies who can do something about this, Luna. And we cannot fail." Celestia looks at her sister with a fierce determination in her voice. "We'd better hope that Twilight is right about him just being a child. With any luck, that will minimize the danger they are in."
"That's the problem, sister. Shouldn't it already have happened?"
"I do not know. This is unprecedented in the first place."
Celestia opens the door to her bedroom and begins to walk out of it, turning around to look at Luna one final time before departing.
"Hold down the fort while I am gone. Should the worst come to pass, you have my permission to do whatever is necessary for Equestria."
Luna looks at her older sister with concern, hesitating for just a moment before giving her a nod.
"Just promise me you'll try to come home safe."
"I promise."
With that, Princess Celestia departs from Canterlot Castle, steeling herself for a confrontation with the human who has suddenly arrived in Equestria.