//------------------------------//
// 26: Lost in Fillydelphia [Slice of Life] 
// Story: Thirty Days, Thirty Twilights 
// by Esle Ynopemos 
//------------------------------//

((Prompt: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”))

Twilight Sparkle was lost.

The magnitude of this feat did not escape her. Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had come to the city with a retinue of royal guardsponies, at least two of whom were experienced trackers from the frontier. Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had been greeted at the edge of town by a group of ponies who had been hired by the mayor because their special talents were for showing ponies around. Princess Twilight Sparkle, who would no doubt spark off a nationwide panic when she did not show up to give her guest lecture at the University of Fillydelphia, was lost.

It must have been at the park where she had accidentally given her guard detail the slip. Twilight knew that she hadn't seen any sparkling gold armor in well over two hours. “At ease,” she had told them when they had passed beneath the shady trees. “I just want a breath of fresh air.” She couldn't possibly get into too much trouble in the quiet little park, right?

Except she had somehow wandered out of the park, and she couldn't find her way back to it. At least, not back to the same park. She had passed at least three almost identical parks, but none of those contained her guides.

Twilight had picked her way through a hedge-maze run by Discord himself once, but that had nothing on the tangled mess of streets and alleys in Fillydelphia. The twists and narrow passages and loops and drives seemed to bear no resemblance to the small tourist map she had been given. Twilight had given up on asking passersby for directions, either to the park or to the university. They were all eager to help their princess, but the directions they gave involved things like, “Turn left when you see the fire hydrant that's a little bit less red on one side,” and “When you pass Hot Pot's coffee shop, go sorta-rightish-left.” It was like the directions Pinkie Pie would give.

Twilight glanced at the angle of the sun. Her lecture was due to begin at any minute now, and she had no idea where she was. She sat down on the pavement, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. She resolved to just stay put where she was; eventually word would spread that there was a princess sitting on the street corner and her guides would find her.

Her ear perked up as she heard a noise rise above the din of the passing traffic. Somepony was crying.

Twilight stood up and followed the sound to a space beneath an awning. A little blue pegasus filly sat alone on the sidewalk, bawling.

“Hey,” Twilight cooed, crouching low to look her in the eyes. “What's wrong, little filly?”

The filly looked up and gasped. “P-pwincess Twilight??” She sniffed and scrambled into a bow.

“That's me,” Twilight said. She lifted the filly's chin with a wingtip. “What's your name, sweetie? Why are you crying?”

“I-I'm Bluebell,” she said. Her face creased into a miserable frown. “An' I'm lost!” Bluebell began crying with renewed vigor.

“Hey, shhh, it's okay,” Twilight said, sitting down next to her. “You know what? I'm lost, too. So that's something we have in common, you and I.”

Bluebell blinked, staring up at the princess. “D-did you follow somepony with the same tail as your mommy an' then find out she's not your mommy, too?”

Twilight wrinkled her nose, giggling. “Something like that. Maybe we can at least get one of us found again, though. What's your mother's name, Bluebell?”

“S-Starling.”

Twilight raised her voice to address the gathering crowd of onlookers. “Can somepony please find Mrs. Starling, please? Mrs. Starling.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd. Several pegasi took to the air and filtered between the buildings. Within about thirty minutes, a pale blue pegasus mare with worried eyes finally emerged from the crowd.

“Bluebell!” Starling cried.

“Mommy!” Bluebell scrambled into her mother's hooves. “Mommy, Pwincess Twilight is lost. We gotta find her mommy!”

Starling held her daughter close and bowed her head toward Twilight. “Thank you, your highness. Thank you for finding her.”

Twilight smiled. “I'm happy somepony could be found today.” A glance at the sun told Twilight she had missed her lecture by now, but she felt glad she had come to Fillydelphia after all.