• Published 1st Jun 2023
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Their Time - GrangeDisplay



Autumn Blaze and Moondancer spend quality time together.

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Dear Moondancer,

I hope this letter finds you well and that your research continues to prove fruitful and engaging. I am doing well, and I am quite happy with the progress that the School of Friendship has been making. I have come to find that my students have just as much to teach me than I have to teach them.

To think, after years of being influenced by the studies and writing of great magical theorists we might serve to be the inspiration for an entirely new generation of thinkers and researchers. And by we, I really mean you, Moondancer.

I appreciate that you trust and value my opinion enough to request that I proofread your academic papers (and I insist, once again, that it is not an inconvenience whatsoever). I am confident that your dissertation, no matter what topic you choose, will be a resounding success. But, I also hope that you are taking time to focus on the other aspects of life.

Through my travels I have had the pleasure of meeting a variety of ponies and creatures, which has broadened and enriched my view and understanding of our wonderful world. I could only hope that as time passes, more Equestrians are able to experience and learn the merits of embracing those around us.

Now enough of my rambling and lecturing (sorry, I have found myself doing it more often these days) and onto my real intention for writing this letter.

In a few weeks, a good friend of mine will be traveling to Canterlot and staying in Canterlot Castle. Her name is Autumn Blaze, and she is a kirin from Peaks Peril. I trust that you understand how exciting these few facts about our guest are, but that is only a small part of her. Autumn is kind, vibrant, and enthusiastic. In the nature of exploring new places and perspectives, I desire that she is well taken care of.

I hope it would not be too much to ask, but could you act as a sort of ‘ambassador’ to Canterlot for Autumn? We both know how hard it can be for anypony to navigate the city, and I can only assume that it may be even more daunting for somepony who comes from so far away. I think that having a native at her side will help her get the most out of the experience. And who knows, perhaps you will find her companionship just as rewarding.

As always, it is a pleasure being in correspondence with you. Please, give Autumn my regards if you two ever do cross paths.

Your Friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight Sparkle
Element of Magic
Princess of Friendship


“You are truly extraordinary.”

Autumn Blaze was unsure if it was the simplicity or suddenness of Moondancer’s words that struck her, but it was apparent that she wasn’t going to forget them anytime soon. The kirin grew silent, while Moondancer furiously scribbled notes at her desk.

Moondancer had spoken sparingly in the few hours that the pair had spent together, with Autumn maintaining a consistent stream of one-sided conversation. She pulled at the colorful electrical wires that were attached to her temples, listening to the soft pops they emitted as they released her fur, and turned to look at Moondancer.

“You really think so?”

“Of course,” Moondancer answered without hesitation, “Kirins and ponies have much in common. Which makes our differences and distinctions all the more fascinating. I now understand why Twilight insisted that we become acquainted.”

Autumn let the wires unceremoniously fall to the floor as she hopped off the stool she was sitting on. She knew that Moondancer wasn't interested in her as an individual, but she smiled at the unicorn anyway. It wasn't every day that somepony devoted so much thought to understanding what you were.

She agreed with a nod. “I think I understand too.”

Autumn Blaze smiled to herself, overjoyed by how quickly she was getting to know Moondancer. The unicorn was certainly astute and reserved, but Autumn could tell that there was much more to learn. Autumn’s initial impression of Moondancer wasn’t exactly glowing. The unicorn was supposed to greet her at the train station and guide her to Canterlot Castle, but she never showed up. Autumn waited for about an hour, before choosing to navigate the bustling city on her own and find her way to Canterlot Castle.

She settled herself into her new room and became acquainted with a few of the guards; they directed her to one of the highest towers in the Castle court where Moondancer was regularly seen working. Autumn had made the short walk over to Moondancer’s lab and found the aforementioned unicorn completely absorbed in her work.

Their first meeting was awkward as Moondancer was unaware of how much time had passed, leaving her unprepared to meet Autumn formally. Their conversation was chock full of run-on sentences and terse responses, but neither of them seemed to be bothered by it. They each contributed to the strangeness in their own unique ways.

As they spoke, Moondancer’s mind seemed to be elsewhere, until Autumn used her magic to show off a brochure of a few locations she hoped to visit. Then Moondancer’s attention was fully on her. It was a simple levitation spell, the exact one that foals often use unintentionally, but Moondancer was struck by it.

She trained an intense gaze on the kirin and asked, “You can levitate objects?”

“Of course,” Autumn answered nonchalantly, playing with her mane.

Moondancer teleported several fresh sheets of parchment onto her desk and refilled her ink jar. She fidgeted in her seat as she asked, “What other spells do you know?”

And so, that simple question devolved into an hours-long exploration into the magical capabilities of kirin, which unofficially ended when Moondancer informed Autumn that she was ‘truly extraordinary.’

The kirin firmly planted her hooves and stretched like a cat, soaking up the last few stray beams of light that flowed in from a nearby window. A majority of her first day in Canterlot had been spent cooped up in Moondancer’s lab being studied, analyzed, and researched.

Despite this, Autumn didn’t consider it a bad day. A bad day was when a particularly nasty argument burned your village down or when everypony around you decided that ridding of their voices and emotions was the right decision. A terrible day was a day spent in total isolation after already spending many days in isolation and knowing that many more days would be spent that way too.

The sound of Moondancer’s quill flying across a scroll echoed throughout the room as the unicorn lost herself in her writing. Autumn rocked her head from side to side and observed the intensity of Moondancer’s process. The unicorn seemed to put her entire body into her work. She was hunched over, writing at a feverish pace. Her eyes followed the words as they were written, and she mumbled each word as she thought them. In a strange way, it was almost admirable. Autumn recognized a passion in Moondancer, something that compelled the unicorn to devote every part of herself to understanding this world.

In an unusual change of pace, Moondancer broke the silence between them and spoke, “I firmly believe that I could learn a great deal from you, much more than what can be gathered in one day. Would you be opposed to me studying you further?”

“You… want to study me?” Autumn Blaze asked, searching for the slightest bit of insincerity in the lemon-yellow unicorn.

Moondancer nodded solemnly and awaited a reply. Autumn’s attention was drawn to the unicorn’s purple eyes as she pushed up her glasses, they were piercing and serious, seemingly unphased by the unusual request. The silence between them returned while Autumn puffed out her cheeks and teetered on her hooves.

“This was…pretty weird and not what I expected when coming to Canterlot,” Autumn began, rubbing the back of her head, “but it was kinda fun. Let’s make a deal. We can split our days up. I’ll help with your study things if you accompany me on my tourist things.”

Moondancer blinked a few times and placed a thoughtful hoof on her chin. “Interesting. Are you suggesting we split our time in half? One half will be mine, the other will be yours?”

“Exactly! Your ‘Moondancer time’ will be for sciency stuff, and my ‘Autumn time’ will be for fun and exciting stuff!”

“Okay, I guess I can follow those terms,” Moondancer agreed, jotting down a few notes on a sheet of parchment before adding, “But science can be quite fun and exciting too, you know.”

“Sure, sure,” Autumn assured with a dismissive wave of the hoof, “Now let me think about what we’re doing tonight.”