The moon was shining in the night as everypony slept; Everypony except for Twilight Sparkle, of course. The purple unicorn was sitting up in bed reading a book about old legends and mythical creatures.

"Hmm...let's see..."

Just as she was about to carry on, she heard someone knocking on her door, which was odd considering how late it was.

"Ugh. Who could want to talk to me at this time of night?" Reluctantly, she dragged herself out of her cozy bed and trotted down the stairs, trying not to wake her dragon assistant, Spike, in the process. She eventually got down to the door quietly and when she opened it, her jaw fell to the floor.

There, in the doorway, stood Princess Celestia with a strange looking creature she had never seen before. It was black all over, except for its glowing white eyes. It looked at her and tilted its head. Twilight looked back up at the princess who was staring at her with a worried expression.

"Twilight? Are you okay? Have I come at a bad time?"

Twilight shook her head and smiled. Or at least, attempted to smile, considering she was nearly half dead from tiredness. "Oh! Princess Celestia! No, it's not a bad time at all! Just got up is all. Can I ask, what is that creature standing beside you?"

Celestia sighed and looked at her. "I do not know what species this creature is. All I know is that he's had a very bad time."

She thought to herself. "I can't tell if it's a female or a male, but I will ask it later. I should just call him a "he" for now."

"Alright princess. Thank you for the information. So, do you want to come in or…?" Celestia shook her head.

"I am afraid I will have to decline the offer, Twilight. I am needed back in Canterlot. I only came here to ask you of a favor."

"A favor?" Twilight thought. The princess never asked if she could have a favor done for her. But, being the best student as always, she nodded her head and waited for the favor that Celestia had asked for.

"Thank you, Twilight. I want you to take care of this poor creature, for now at least; just until I can find him a better home. I would take him to Canterlot and let him stay in the castle, but Canterlot is not somewhere that would be suitable for him. Will you look after him until I can sort something out?"

Wow. That was a big favor to ask her. Not only did she already look after Spike, but she also had to run the library and do other stuff. She couldn't decline as this was straight from the princess herself, but she was having doubtful thoughts about it.

"Are you sure…"he"...would prefer here rather than Canterlot princess?" Celestia nodded.

"Yes, I do. Canterlot is full of rich, snobby ponies who do nothing but ridicule the poor. I wish I could change that, but it will always be the same. Here, however, in Ponyville, are ponies that should be more...welcoming...of him."

Twilight had to agree. It WAS the princess after all. And anyway...how bad could one little, silent creature be?

She didn't want to think of that right now.

"Okay princess. I will look after him for the time being."

Celestia smiled. "Thank you, Twilight. It means a great deal to me. Also, he does not seem to be able to speak. Or he simply wishes not to."

She turned towards the being and he looked at her in response.

"Can I ask you something dear?"

He nodded. Celestia smiled, knowing that at least he understood her.

"Are you a male or a female?"

The creature just looked at her and then pointed towards something in Twilight's house. They weren't able to see much of the house through the doorway, but they could see some. And something that the creature saw obviously sparked its interest. Celestia, thinking that he might be trying to tell her something, went over to where he was pointing and saw a notebook. There was also a quill next to it. She was confused at first, but she eventually pieced together what he was trying to say.

"Twilight. Could he use this notebook and quill for communication? I believe he wants to say something to us."

"Ermm...sure princess. Go right ahead."

Celestia smiled and went up to the creature. "Twilight will let you use the notebook and quill if you wish to use it to communicate."

The creature nodded and went over to the notebook and quill. He picked up the quill and looked at it strangely. He went up to Celestia and pointed at it.

"You don't know what this is dear? It's a quill. I thought you would have known considering you were pointing to it. Actually....were you pointing JUST at the paper?"

He nodded.

"I see. Well, a quill is something you use to write with. So, if you want to write on that notebook, use the quill. There is also an ink jar over there to make sure that it doesn't run out of ink."

Celestia pointed to the ink jar and the creature nodded. He turned around, grabbed the quill and began writing in the notebook. When he had done, Celestia and Twilight looked at the notebook and noticed that he had written something. It wasn't great, but they could make out what it said. Barely.

It read "I'm a boy."

Celestia and Twilight smiled, now knowing that the creature was a boy. "Ah, I see little one. So, you are a male. A very young one at that, judging by your size. Now, can you tell us what happened in that forest that I found you in?"

The boy nodded. He started writing again. Celestia and Twilight looked at the notebook again and it read "I don't know."

Celestia put a hoof up to her chin. "Hmm...I will ask you again the next time I come here my dear. If you are ready to tell me then, of course."

The boy nodded his head.

Twilight suddenly thought of something that she felt stupid for forgetting. "Princess, what's his name?"

Celestia mentally facehoofed, as she had never got his name. "What is your name, dear?"

He scribbled down into the notebook and showed it them. "I don't remember."

Twilight and Celestia were now at a loss. If he didn't even remember his name, what could they call him? Celestia walked up to him and smiled. "What should we call you then dear? It is completely up to you. After all, it will be your unique name what nobody else will have."

He put his hand to his head and thought. Celestia and Twilight didn't know what the appendages he had were called, as they clearly weren't hooves. They decided not to ask and save that for later.

Eventually, he started writing down on the notebook again and showed it to Twilight and Celestia. "I can't think of one."

Celestia and Twilight sighed. This was going to be hard. "Well, deary, how about we leave it until another time, okay? I'm sure no one will need to shout your name in the upcoming days so you should be fine."

He nodded. Celestia smiled in response, bid her goodbyes, promised that she would come back again soon to monitor his progress personally, and then flew off back to Canterlot.

After she had gone, Twilight turned to him and smiled. "Well, shall I show you around the house?"

He nodded.

"Alright then. Follow me."