The Shooting Star Story
The Shooting Star Story Chapter 1
Equestria was always a gorgeous place to be, the sun shining bright on all of the happy ponies throughout the land. WIth Princess Celestia to raise the sun, and Princess Luna to watch the night and to raise the moon, all would be well lest any criminals try to ruin the lives of the inhabitants.
Any other day in Ponyville would have been fairly normal for Twilight Sparkle. She had plans to stop by the bookshop with Spike in tow, but he’d been stopped by Pinkie Pie who’d needed help planning a birthday party for somepony. So she was off on her own, passing through the marketplace and picking up a few sundry items that Rarity had asked for when they’d last conversed.
With her muzzle in a book from her library, She managed to dodge everyone oncoming ponies like a pro. like she has been doing this her whole life.
It wasn’t until she was in front of the Carousel Boutique that she was stopped in her canter by a furious looking Rarity who pushed the book down from Twilight’s view with her left hoof.
“Uh, hey Rarity. I brought the things you asked me for?” she greeted, with a pleasant, albeit confused smile.
“I cannot believe you, Twilight Sparkle! And after all the hard work and nagging I did get him to agree to a date with you!
” Rarity berated sharply, chest puffed out and muzzle in the air as she circled her friend with a sharp gaze. “Honestly, I realize you can take a mare to water, and you can’t make her drink and all of that, but really! The nerve!”
“What are you… talking about?” Twilight tried again, wincing at the sharp tone her friend took with her.
“Thunder Chaser is quite possibly one of the most eligible stallions in all of Equestria, and you blew him off to do, what exactly?” Rarity inquired, looking frightfully more enraged with her good friend than before.
Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth, then shut it again, and looked into the distance to ponder, what exactly
had taken her mind away from the date that her friend had carefully arranged for her without really asking her opinion. Oh, that’s right. She’d gotten her muzzle caught in a different book she’d found at the library on some ancient history of Equestria. But she couldn’t very easily tell Rarity that. The mare would likely yell even more than she already had done. Though, it wasn’t like her to lie to her friend...
“I’m really sorry, Rarity. I was looking through an old book back at the library, and I lost track of time. I know how much trouble you went to, but it’s really alright! I’ll apologize to him ask if he wants to do something another time,” she offered, sheepishly lowering her head and shuffling some dirt with her hoof.
Rarity waved her hoof in the air and sighed dramatically, carrying on for a moment, “I mean, a tall, dark red pegasus with a gorgeous orange mane doesn’t just flutter in every day, you know. Why, next thing I knew, he was off with that Scarlet Dusk down at the Joke Shop! It’s a wonder if I can find any stallion that isn’t already up to his mane in mares!”
“If there’s something I can do--”
“Why, yes exactly! I know just the one who will do!” Rarity interjected, not giving any further attention to Twilight Sparkle for a moment, “He’s exactly the sort that would stand quite well! Good background, great character! Ooooh! If I didn’t know any better, I could hear wedding bells already!”
The white unicorn practically danced her hooves for a moment, giggling as she thought to herself with glee exactly the perfect match for her dear friend, but then stopped in her tracks and lowered her eyelids as she looked at Twilight, “Now listen, your date will be at your door to pick you up no later than six this evening! I’ll be there to make sure you come out right on time. And Twilight, do try to be a little gentle with this one. He’s a bit… shy around the fairer pony.”
Sighing with a bit of relief that she was no longer being berated, but also an air of reluctance, Twilight nodded, and said, “I promise I will give this a chance because you are going to such an extra effort for me. But I want you to know that if this doesn’t work out, I would like to try to find someone on my own time in the future.”
“Oh, you say it like it’s as if you don’t like the poor stallion already! If you give him half the chance you’ve given the last one you went out with, I think you will be quite surprised! Honestly, I really should just set up a matchmaking service already. It would be quite the adventure, really,” Rarity beamed, nattering on about her ideas.
Twilight took the opportunity to slowly back off, and said her quick goodbyes, “Well, good luck with that, Rarity. I hope that it does go well. And I promise I will be on time for my date with this mysterious stranger.”
“You will be ready by six o'clock sharp, Twilight Sparkle! I’ll be there early to make sure you’re ready!” Rarity called after her friend who was making a fast getaway.
The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, with Spike in passing telling Twilight that he’d be staying at Pinkie Pie’s for the evening to help get ready for another party she was planning the next morning, apologetic that he’d made a Pinkie Swear to do so. It made Twilight a little more nervous, knowing how she couldn’t find an excuse to blow off this new date that Rarity had picked out for her.
Finally, she returned to the library at around five in the afternoon, hoping to at least get a little more reading done before she was Rarity’s dress-up doll for who knew how long.
Alas, it was not meant to be, as at exactly five-on-five, there was a delicate knock at the door.
“Come on in, Rarity!” Twilight called, a twinge of reluctance in her voice.
The door opened, and Rarity trotted in whilst using her magic to carry a large bag full of who-knew-what kinds of outfits she’d chosen for the occasion.
“Marvelous, Twilight! I’m so very excited to get you all dressed up for this! I know you’re going to love him!” the seamstress chimed with delight.
After a series of rather unfortunate fashion faux pas, according to Rarity, the winning combination was a lovely, royal blue dress, with a cornflower collar. She even had her mane styled simply in a french braid, her tail matching with actual cornflowers looped through the braid.
“I must say, simple suits you, Twilight. You look lovely! Oh! And just look at the time! We must get you out the door at once! It’s hardly becoming of a Lady to keep a Gentlecolt waiting,” Rarity grinned, ushering her friend quickly out the door.
As soon as they were outside, they nearly knocked the poor stallion over.
“Dear me! Terribly sorry to have made you wait,” Rarity apologized profusely, then stepped to the side of the gray colt and Twilight.
He was modest, but dapper, Twilight observed briefly. It was his cutie mark that caught her eye first, the star looking a little similar to her own, but she knew it wasn’t polite to stare so she turned her attention to his face. His black mane was simple with and combed around his horn, and a little longer than most stallions wore in the current fashion (she’d been spending a little bit too much time with Rarity), but it suited him as he shied his face away from her letting his bangs fall over his eyes a bit and looked and toward Rarity, saying in a sheepish voice, “It’s… alright, Rarity. I was standing a little closer to the door because I was anxious.”
“Twilight, this is Shooting Star,” Rarity introduced, unflipped by the mumblings of the other pony, “He’s just recently moved here from Canterlot, and I hope you’d be kind to show him around.” She gave her friend a wink, then turned, and as she began to leave she said, “I must be getting back home. I have a hundred other things I need to tend to. See you later!”
With that, Rarity seemed to hurry off much more quickly than she normally would have had it been anyone else before Twilight could get a word in edgewise.
The purple unicorn then turned her attention back to Shooting Star, who was nervously shuffling a hoof against the ground, but smiling politely at her, as if waiting for her to make the first move.
Well, Twilight resolved, she was here to make friends. For now, she’d treat it just like that.
“Rarity can be a bit abrupt sometimes, sorry about that. I’m Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight. I’m also pretty new to Ponyville still, but I’ve had a bit of time to get to know the place pretty well. Would you like to take a walk around with me?” she said with a warm smile.
“Oh, yes, that would be lovely. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle--er, sorry, Twilight,” Shooting Star stuttered, with a small grin, his head raising back up a little more strongly.
So they moved along at a good pace, with Twilight starting the conversation, “So, Rarity said you were from Canterlot… but I never really saw you around there. Granted, I guess I… didn’t really see much of anyone back then.”
“Yes, well, you see…I was too busy with my studies on enchanting it is my special talent, I hardly have much time for anyone other than a few close friends of mine…” he explained, then his eyes went a little wide and he quickly corrected, “Sorry! Sorry, that came out a little worse than it should have. You see, I do care quite deeply for my friends. They’ve been very kind to put up with my habits, and I’d do anything for them.”
Twilight giggle a little, putting the male unicorn at a bit more ease, “It’s quite alright! I used to be very much the same, but my friends also helped me to come out of my shell a lot more. I still mostly make time for reading though when I can.”
The two both shared a laugh, having a few heads turn in their direction and watch as they walked through the lit-up marketplace for the party Pinkie was throwing to celebrate some holiday of hers or another.
“Well, what brings you to Ponyville?” Twilight asked, her purple eyes looking over at his bright brown eyes that appeared to be entranced by the colorful antics and festivities that were going on.
Shooting Star smiled and shook his head for a moment, chuckling as he replied, “Well, I mentioned my friends earlier. You see, there was a pen pal program that started just a few months ago. I signed up because I thought it would be easier for me to make friends if I were to just write letters with someone who didn’t really know me that well. Sure enough, a good couple of them wrote back, asking me what my interests and hobbies were. They were really excited to meet me, so they came to visit a few times in Canterlot, then convinced me to make the trip down here to Ponyville. I actually came down during the Summer Sun Celebration… when all of that went pretty crazy. But the town had a real charm to it, so with a little nagging, they talked me into moving down here and I just got settled in about a week ago.”
“Wow, that sounds like quite a time you’ve had. I’m glad you seem to have made some good friends here in Ponyville. It really is a great place that seems to bring everypony together!” Twilight said jovially, “So what kind of books do you like? And how did that hobby bring you together with your friends?”
“I mostly read books about Enchantings some History and science to. Though I have been getting more interested lately in dabbling in some magic spells Mostly enchanting. I’ve never really had a knack for spells, but I know a lot of it has to do with practicing… I guess I mostly preferred the theory up until now, but if I had access to more of the theory of the craft, perhaps I’d develop an aptitude for casting some of my own magic,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I am pretty good at organizing my friends to help with a lot of the research though! Books really were a lot of what brought us together, so we help each other with our research and we’ve been kicking around the idea of forming a club called the ‘Resourceful Scholars’! I know it probably sounds really cheesy, having a group that just sits around and does a bunch of research--”
“Not at all!” Twilight interrupted with a shout, causing Shooting Star to nearly losing his footing as he jumped a bit. “Sorry!”
Twilight reached over and gently helped him gather his bearings, accidentally brushing her hoof along the back curve of his spine toward his croup. He shivered a little, then blushed and turned his face away again shyly. She pulled her hoof back quickly and blushed as well.
She took a deep breath again, smiling and still blushing as she continued, “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to startle you. What I meant was… That sounds like an amazing idea! One set of eyes on the same books is hard enough to get all of the research done. Having a group of people all working toward the same goal seems like it would be much more productive and intuitive. That’s really clever, and one of the best ideas I think I’ve heard in a long time. It must be nice to have a club like that!”
Shooting Star’s blush became more apparent, and he hid his eyes behind his bangs again, mumbling, “Well, if you’d like to… I’m sure you’d be more than welcome to come to one of our meetings sometime soon. We usually get together on Tuesday afternoons and have lunch at my house before either going through my collection of books or going to the market to look for more.”
“That sounds like it would be great! Oh, but also, I actually live at the Golden Oak Library. I’m sure that I could help you and your friends find all of the books that you could need! At least, for a little while,” Twilight said with a smile.
The gray unicorn’s face lit up, and he practically danced a small circle around her in delight. “That would be wonderful! Thank you so much, Twilight! I can’t wait to tell my friends all about it!” he laughed with delight, then returned, a little more close to her right flank. He then asked, “So what about you? Would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?”
“Oh, I thought pretty much everyone knew. Sorry about that,” she sighed, a small smile still on the edges of her mouth. “I’m Princess Celestia’s pupil. She sent me here to Ponyville to help with the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and after a whirlwind adventure of my own, I found that friendship really is the best magic in the world and Princess Celestia wants me to study it to the best of my ability and to report back to her my findings.”
“That sounds amazing!” Shooting Star exclaimed with a big grin, “I can’t imagine getting to work so closely with the Princess on such important work. It must be the opportunity of a lifetime! Oh.. Uhm, if you’d like to write a letter to her about this, I certainly wouldn’t mind being called your friend, if that’s alright.” He pawed sheepishly at some stones on the path after his outburst.
Twilight raised her chin up and nodded with a pleased look in her eye, “I’m always happy to make more friends. Especially someone like you. I can’t believe how many different things we have in common!”
They both shared a little laugh at that and slowly came to a stop in front of a small looking house with a round door and square windows.
“Oh, after all that walking, it seems like we’ve ended back up at my house. If you want, we could start walking back to your place. I couldn’t let a mare walk home alone at night. I know Ponyville is relatively safe, but all the same, it would be rather untoward of me to do so,” Shooting Star offered.
“I mean, I’m pretty sure I could certainly handle myself if I ran into any trouble or something. But really, I’m curious if there’s anything else you’d like to do before that?” Twilight asked, her purple eyes sparkling with delight at how much fun she’d had so far.
“Well, we could go inside my house for a bit. I do have quite a collection of books Most of them belong to the club But if you’d like to look through some of them. I think I have some tomes from places far away that I bought from a traveling merchant in Canterlot a year or two ago. And I could make us some tea,” the stallion suggested, shifting a little more nervously, though he still seemed much more at ease than he had been earlier.
Twilight thought it over for a moment. She would love to have an opportunity to see some different books from the ones she was used to scanning through on her own time at the library…
“Sounds good to me!” she finally decided, with a nod, and the pair headed for the door with Shooting Star leading the way.