July 19th, 1003 ANM
The Canterlot Royal University was not a particularly notable site, in all the brilliant spires and sprawling, soaring architecture of the cliff-city. A series of modest, bleached-white buildings near ground level, it was in the literal and metaphorical shadow of much loftier Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
While not specifically created to cater to those who were less than "Gifted Unicorns", ninety-six percent of its student body were unicorns, and none of them particularly skilled in magic. The University instead focused on less flashy forms of education; if one saw an archaeological dig, Everfree expedition, or literature collection, it was a sure bet that the University's hoof was behind whatever was going on. Never taking the spotlight, the University was, on average, responsible for half in the content in the annual Equestrian Science Pavilion in the Summer Sun Festival.
Of course, that was only what the pamphlet said. The earth pony glanced up from the piece of paper uneasily, uncomfortably conspicuous in the ocean of well-groomed manes and horns. What was the speaker saying again? She's lost count of many times her mind had drifted off in this community lecturing and announcement event already.
"...and, as this graph shows, temperature in excess of ninety-degrees causes the caulking of the lifeboat to fail. Now, this phenomena has never actually been recorded on an Equestrian ocean-going vessel, but we believe a petition should be created-"
Never mind, she'd heard more engaging talks on the feasibility of saddlebag insurance. She hoped this worked out; it was her first lucky break in months.
~
"A wonderful piece, Vine. Next we have, uh, guest speaker Distant Shores!"
The lone earth pony in the audience tucked the pamphlet away in her saddlebag, before getting to her hooves and walking to the stage. The smiling Chancellor of the University greeted her with a gentle nod, and turned to the waiting crowd.
"Miss Shores here has been contracted to create a new map of the University grounds, after the unfortunate incident that deprived us of our historic original," she said, pausing to glare at a rowdy group of students in the back, "and being the first pony I've seen to have her special talent involve cartography and mapmaking, I'm sure she did a wonderful job."
Distant Shores scowled slightly at the speech. "Actually, my cutie mark is for surveying, but cartography is close enough, I guess."
Noticing the looks she was getting from the crowd, she hastily added "And I'm glad to been able to help this, uh, fine institution of learning."
She quickly nodded to a student volunteer, who levitated in a large, cloth-covered portrait from backstage. With a flourish, the earth pony threw the covering off.
A lackluster reaction ensued. Many heads were scratched, and several not-so-hushed whispers passed between friends.
A hoof shot up, and Shores wearily pointed at the stallion by way of acknowledgement. "Excuse me, Miss Shores . . . where is the color?" he asked, and most of the audience nodded in agreement.
"It's a map. I made it accurate to the hoof." she replied, sparing a withering glance at the offending unicorn.
"Where's the color, though?" he asked again.
Shores frowned. "You're only going to glance at it for a few seconds to get somewhere, don't you want it to be accurate?" she said.
"Well, it'll clash with the decor of the lobby." one of the teachers observed, drawing a chorus of affirmations from the crowd.
Your lobby's so ugly, I don't think sewage smeared on the walls would make it look any worse.
"I'm sure visitors would appreciate the ability to quickly and easily navigate to their destination, and anyways, I don't think that they'd be staring at the offending picture for more than a few seconds." Shores replied carefully.
"Well . . ." he began.
The stallion was interrupted by the Chancellor. "I hate to say this, Miss Shores, but your, uh, creation, is not what the contract specified."
"I- what?"
"We wanted a replacement, not . . ." the unicorn trailed off, "your own work of art."
"I was just doing my best." Shores muttered, heedless of the crowd.
"Well, it wasn't what we were looking for." one of the nearby Board members stated flatly.
Shores nodded glumly. "I know a losing fight when I see one." she sighed, then; "But, am I still getting partly paid?"
Hushed comments were passed between many of the crowd, and the Chancellor raised an eyebrow. "Typically, Miss Shores, one get paid when they complete a job."
"I did."
"According to our specifications." the Chancellor corrected.
"I . . . half?" Shores asked, and if they looked hard enough, they'd see the quiet desperation in her eyes. The hall was quiet now, save for a soft cluck of disapproval from somepony in the crowd.
The Chancellor glanced around at the other Board members, who stayed silent. Sighing, she turned to Shores. "Again, you didn't fulfill the contract."
One of the Board members, a greying unicorn, spoke up. "I recall that greed is not of the virtues in the University motto, now is it?"
A ripple of approval went through the crowd, many of whom were giving Shores scornful looks. She shrank back, then felt something stir inside her; who were they to judge her?
"Fine, then." she growled, wincing as one of the rowdier students in the back hurled a bottle at her, hooting for her to get off the stage.
"Do you want your map back-" the Chancellor began, angrily motioning for the audience to quiet down.
Shores waved her off, scowling. "Burn it, for all I care."
"Quiet!" the Chancellor snapped to a Board member nearby, silencing the booing pony.
"Now how am I getting out of this stupid city?" Shores muttered as she stalked off the stage, a little too loudly.
"Excuse me?" the Chancellor called.
Shores stopped and turned. "What?"
The hall was silent again. "What do you mean, 'how am I getting out'.?" the Chancellor asked, concern evident.
"I- none of your business." Shores said, her anger fading. "I'll find a way. I always do."
"Can't you just take a train or something?" the Board member unicorn from earlier interjected, visibly irritated.
"Yeah, sorry, a train ticket costs four bits. I want to eat tonight." Shores shot back, immediately wincing and covering her mouth. "I'll just go now . . ."
"No, no. Come here." the Chancellor ordered, the authority from leading a school for a decade evident in her voice. "Open up your saddlebag."
"I'd rather not." Shores whispered, yet obeyed her command.
"Is there something illegal in there?" the Chancellor asked as Shores reluctantly slung the saddlebag off of her back.
"Well, no." Shores admitted.
"Then please, show me what you have in there."
Shores sighed and opened up the saddlebag, then dumped out its contents on the ground. A small, blank-cover book, a water bottle, a knife; a roll of parchment, a case of pencils, a package of half-eaten hayfries. Other assorted junk, none of high-quality.. However, the glittering of bits stuck out like a flower in a garbage heap; five bits, to be exact.
The Chancellor frowned, one of the only ponies close enough to see the exact number of bits. A few other Board members seated close by could, and they exchanged glances. "Is . . . that all?" the Chancellor asked.
"Of what? My life's possessions?" Shores snapped, again grimacing at her own words a second later. "Look, can I just leave-"
"You only have five bits? Old hayfries is your diet?" the Chancellor continued, her voice slightly incredulous.
"Hey," Shores said, "those hayfries can last a long time if you eat 'em right, and they're dirt cheap."
"Five bits." the Chancellor repeated.
"Yeah, and I'd have two hundred more if you liked accuracy over frills." Shores said. "Again, can I leave now?"
"And you . . . you just travel around Equestria this poor? Do you have a home?" the Board unicorn stallion from earlier asked bluntly, earning a glare from the Chancellor and a tired sigh from Shores.
"No. I bounce from job from job, if I can find them at all. There's a finite number of maps needing to be made in Equestria."
"Dear Celestia, where do you stay?" the Chancellor asked.
"I think Celestia lives in a perfectly splendid castle, don't you?" Shores said wryly, "As for me, I get to the cheapest inn I can find."
"There aren't any motels in Canterlot . . ." a Board member muttered.
"That's why I don't like coming to Canterlot. Too expensive to live here, and the citizens aren't a fan of accurate mapmaking."
"My goodness, only five bits. And you're pursuing your cutie mark? Your special talent?" the Chancellor asked again..
Shores glanced down, her gaze settling on the stylized drafting compass that adorned her flank. A mathematical tool meant to draw perfect circles, and one she carried around with her in physical form to help with her mapmaking.
"Well, yes." Shores said., albeit reluctantly. "I sometimes work as dumb labor to make ends meet on the odd a country farm, but never for long."
"My goodness," the Chancellor repeated. As Shores started picking up the contents of her saddlebag, the Chancellor interrupted her. "When you do leave, where are you going?"
Shores sighed. "I dunno, maybe Las Pegasus? A good three-dimensional map might score with them, although pegasi are usually creatures of memory. I've gotten a couple of tourist brochure jobs in Cloudsdale before, though, so . . ."
"How are you going to get there with five bits?" the Chancellor pressed.
Shores glared at her. "Look, I'm not here to tell my life's story. I'll probably just get some mindless porting job around here, or something. If your cutie mark isn't about the job, they usually won't even consider you . . ."
As Shores slung her saddlebags back onto her and turned for the door, she was stopped by a hoof to the shoulder. Shores huffed and faced the Chancellor, whose attention was on the crowd before her.
"Students and faculty of the Canterlot Royal University!" she called, sweeping her hoof dramatically. "Greed may not be one of the virtues in our motto, but charity is! How can we let this poor mare here go around pursuing her destiny with scarcely the means to buy a meal?"
"No!" somepony in the crowd shouted back, followed by a wave of agreement from the crowd, and curt nods from the Board members.
The Chancellor turned back to Shores, catching a money purse tossed by the Treasurer nearby. She handed the earthy pony the purse with a beaming smile. "Let it never be said that the University shirks from charity to all!"
"Even dirt ponies." one of the more affluent members of the crowd whispered to a friend, causing everypony around him to shush him.
Shores swallowed as she took the purse, dimly aware of the burning in her cheeks. She cracked it open, and to her dismay, found her pay for the map she'd made. The bits clinked as the bag shifted, and the crowd murmured its approval to their school's kindness - but the room seemed suffocating to Shores.
Somepony in the crowd began to clap, and soon the whole hall was filled with the ruckus, all muffled to Shores. She continued to stare at the little purse, dismay etched on her features.
With a sinking feeling, the Chancellor recognized something in Shores' eyes. A proud mare humiliated. She opened her moth to speak, when Shores beat her to it.
"I just- thank you." she said quietly, then, heedless of the stares of the crowd, trotted out off the stage and behind the curtains. When she was out of the crowd's sight, she broke into a gallop and vanished in the service entryway.
"Oh, dear." the Chancellor breathed, as silence descended on the hall. She glanced down at the scroll strapped to her foreleg. "And, uh, next, we have second guest speaker Rainbowshine with a speech on weather control!"
As the pegasus stepped up to start, the Chancellor excused herself and rushed out the exit after Distant Shores. She didn't have to go far, as she found Shores sitting in the hallway. The earth pony was staring intently at a small picture, pegasus stallion's image.
The Chancellor sighed audibly, causing Shores to jump slightly and hurriedly pack the picture back into her saddlebag.
"That's my father." Shores said, causing the question in the Chancellor's mouth to die away.
Instead, the unicorn began, "Look, Shores, I'm sorry if we- no, I-"
Shores raised a hoof. "Nah. I'm just an ungrateful wretch, that's all. Kindest thing that's happened to me a long time, in Canterlot no less." She frowned. "But still . . ."
"It's just, well,"
"I looks good, I know." Shores sighed. "Really, thank you. Although my father would've never accepted charity like that."
"Oh. Trying to follow in his hoofsteps?" the Chancellor asked, inwardly sighing in relief and being able to take the mare's mind off of her humiliation.
"Trying. He was an explorer, and there aren't many of those around anymore." Shores said. "Compass Rose, his name was. I think my name was a bit of wishful thinking."
"Oh, you want to be an explorer?" the Chancellor asked, perking up. "Just where, exactly?"
Shores laughed bitterly, pointing her hoof out a nearby window. "Out there. Beyond Equestria. Out East - that that'd really be in my father's footsteps."
She paused, looking at the Chancellor oddly. "Stay here," the Chancellor ordered, starting off down the hallway, "there's somepony in the audience I'd like you to meet."
The unicorn was gone before Shores could open her mouth. She sighed, and stayed put.
~
A few minutes later, she heard the voice of the Chancellor before she rounded the corner. "Now, this is just the pony we've been looking for! Daughter of Compass Rose, no less."
The unicorn trotted up to Shores, followed by a pony that made her freeze up at the sight.
Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Wings, horn, lavender coat-
Shores quickly bowed. "Princess." she said quietly, remembering all the nights her father had talked to her about respecting Princesses. Granted, only Celestia had been a leader at the time, but Compass Rose had been most explicit in his words - No matter what they do, they mean the best for all of us. That's a lot to say in this world.
"Distant Shores, a pleasure to meet you." Twilight said, extending a hoof as Shores straightened up. She seemed rather glad Shores' bow had been temporary.
"Well met." Shores replied, taking the hoof.
"So," Twilight continued without preamble, "I heard you want to travel East?"
Shores instantly brightened up. "I want to explore the East. Travelling implies we know anything about it."
Twilight smiled. "I like your thinking. The gap in our knowledge of the East is incredible - not even Princess Celestia could say much when I asked her!"
"Well," Shores began.
"How'd you like to mount a funded, official expedition to the East?" Twilight asked bluntly. Apparently, she wasn't much of a pony for subtlety.
"Yeah, It'd be a dream come t- what?" Shores' eyes widened, as she stared at Twilight was a gaping mouth. "Wait, what?
"You're the first pony I've found whose special talent is mapmaking." Twilight said, "And that's an incredibly useful skill for an explorer. I don't just want an expedition that tells tales of the East - I want one that brings back maps of it! Hard information! You'd be surprsed how little most ponies care about the East. Just vague tales, if at that."
"Woah," Shores breathed, taking it all in. "This- this is serious, right? You actually want me to do this? Just like that?"
"Well, I'm a princess now, aren't I?" Twilight observed. "Besides, the Chancellor over here and I have been planning this for some time now. The University will provide the funds and a representative, and publish your findings when you get back."
A pause followed, a concerned look growing on Twilight's face. "So, what do you think? I realize this is very sudden, but with how the Chancellor describes your current lifestyle, I didn't think you'd have many affairs to clean up before going."
"Yes. Yes!" Shores exclaimed in glee, pumping the air with a hoof. "This is a dream!"
Watching with a gladdened expression as Shores celebrated, the Chancellor coughed softly. "Well, Princess will have all the details for you. The lecture hall's probably wondering where I rushed off to. They don't know Twilight was in the back, though." With that, she shook hooves with Shores and trotted off down the hallway, back to the lecture.
"Thank you." Shores repeated to Twilight, shaking her hoof as well. "This is a dream come true."
If only Dad could see me now . . . Shores thought with a hint of sadness in the midst of the silent euphoria she was experiencing.
. . . I probably won't get the chance to see him before I go, from the looks of it.
