Twilight hummed softly as she moved around the kitchen, perusing the cupboards. Opening one of the cabinets, she frown when she found it nearly empty. She closed the cabinet door gently, a thoughtful look on her face. Her ear twitched once before she called back over her shoulder, “Spike, do you want anything from the market? I need to go shopping.”

A cry of affirmation came from upstairs, followed by the muffled sound of the patter of feet. Twilight smiled, shaking her head as she laughed softly to herself. Levitating a pad of paper and a quill over to herself, she began to scratch out a grocery list, muttering softly to herself as she did so.

“Eggs, apples, probably could use some more milk…” Trailing off, she glanced around the kitchen, trying to see if there was anything she might be missing.

The sound of footsteps behind her announced another presence, and, turning, she gave her assistant a warm smile.

“Good morning, Spike. Do you have something for the list?” she asked, holding up the pad of paper.

Spike nodded his head, slightly out of breath.

“Yes! Can you get some sapphires from Rarity?” he asked, giving her a hopeful look.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, eyeing him. “You’ve been eating a lot of junk food since we moved here.” It was true, his diet had become increasingly unhealthy in the two weeks since they moved to Ponyville. Most ponies in the small town, having never seen a baby dragon before, were more than happy to give him any extra treats they had lying around. There was something they found fascinating about watching him eat that Twilight just couldn’t see.

This meant that Spike had gained a couple of pounds around the middle, and Twilight was forced to try and get him eating right again. In order to keep him from getting worse, she had removed most of the snack food from the library, and Spike was no longer allowed to ride on her back around town. He had to walk beside her and work of the extra calories.

Twilight couldn’t blame him though. There was something about the food in Ponyville that made it taste better than the food in Canterlot. It was fresher, and left her feeling more satisfied for longer. The fact that the majority of the residents in Ponyville were earth ponies probably had something to do with it.

It would be an interesting topic of study, Twilight thought, her brow furrowing. Food prepared by earth ponies compared to food prepared by unicorns and pegasi. I wonder if there are any health benefits? Pinkie and Applejack are the best cooks out of our friends, while Rainbow, Rarity, and I can’t cook to save our lives… but, Fluttershy is able to prepare food for her animals. Could it be part of her special talent though? Applejack and Pinkie’s cutie marks are food related, so… is it just earth ponies are more likely to get food-related cutie marks? I might need a wider sample size. I could get a hold of the local census and take a look, maybe even the national one as well. I wonder if Princess Celestia will allow me to—

She was brought out of her musing by Spike tugging on her leg. Shaking her head, she blinked before glancing down at the dragon and giving him a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry, Spike, I was miles away,” she apologized. “What did you say?”

“I could tell,” Spike said, crossing his arms. “You were getting that look on your face again. Anyways, I was offer to clean the library in exchange if you would get some sapphires.”

“Aren’t you already supposed to clean the library?” Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes playfully. “Why should I reward you for something that you should be doing regardless?” She had to bite her lip in order to stop herself giggling at the look of dismay that crossed Spike’s face.

“Please, Twilight,” he pleaded, clasping his claws together and dropping onto his knees in a dramatic fashion. “I haven’t had any gems in over a day. I can hardly remember what they taste like!”

“You’ve been hanging out around Rarity too much,” Twilight said, the corners of her lips twitching upwards as she tried to hold back her smile. “I’ll think about it, okay?” she added, already making a mental note to see if Rarity had any spare gems lying around. When Spike’s eyes lit up, she finally broke down and chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t get your hopes up. I said I’d think about it.”

“Thanks, Twilight,” he said, hugging her foreleg. “You’re the best!”

Still smiling, Twilight leaned down and nuzzled the top of Spike’s head. His scales tugged at her fur, and she winced as they pulled some hair out. That didn’t stop her, though. Having lived with Spike for most of her life, she had grown accustomed to the feeling. She would gladly bear a little discomfort in order to show him that she loved him.

After a few seconds, he released her leg and scampered off. Twilight watched him go, the smile remaining on her face even as he disappeared through the doorway. When she was sure he was gone, she turned back to the pad of paper, and, with a quick flick of the quill, jotted down ‘sapphires’ at the bottom of her list.

“I spoil you too much, Spike,” she said, laughing softly as she shook her head. Glancing around, she double checked to see if she was forgetting anything. Not seeing anything overly important, she tore the list out of the pad, placing the paper and quill back on the table. Rolling up the list, she trotted into the main room of the library.

Mentally mapping out her route and what stall she would hit first, Twilight grabbed her saddlebags out from behind the receptionist’s desk. Checking to make sure her bits were still inside, she then buckled the bags across her back. She paused to readjust the straps to a snugger fit before slipping the list into the right bag.

As she put a hoof on the door, she took a moment to glance at the weather schedule posted on the wall beside it. Clear skies were planned till this evening, with a thunderstorm planned for overnight.

I won’t have to worry about that, Twilight mused. I’ll be back home long before the storm arrives.

“Spike, I’ll be back in a bit,” she called up the stairs, receiving a muffled shout down as a response. Humming happily to herself, she pushed the front door open and stepped out into the sun.

Sitting silently in the entrance to the alleyway, Selena listened closely to the world around her. Laughter and the chatter of ponies filled the air as the residents of Ponyville went about their day. Tucked back in the shadow of the buildings, she kept her head lowered, but her ears perked. Every so often, they would twitch as she focused on the sounds of the marketplace, trying to take in as much information as possible.

The faint smell of baked goods caused her nostrils to flare as she inhaled the pleasant aroma. Blueberry muffins fresh from the oven, banana bread with chocolate chips, honey glazed donuts. The mouth-watering scents were enough to make her stomach growl loudly, and Selena whined in annoyance.

Several days had passed since she had last managed to find any real food to eat, and she was starting to get desperate. Last night, as hunger clawed at her belly, she had broken down and nibbled on some grass she had found in a nearby park. The bitter substance did nothing to sate her hunger. Instead, it had just given her terrible stomach pains, horrible gas, and she had awoken in the morning with a horrid aftertaste in her mouth that still refused to dissipate.

She grimaced, shivering as she absentmindedly ran her tongue over her teeth. Hopefully she’d be able to get something decent to eat today, if not to get the taste of grass out of her mouth, then to get something into her stomach. The last thing she had had to eat was a soggy dandelion sandwich that had been left out on one of the patio tables of a restaurant. She had nabbed it quickly while the whole town had been in an uproar over something to do with a “Gala”.

Despite being thoroughly soaked, it had still helped ease her hunger a little. It hadn’t been pleasant, though. Nothing like some of the cupcakes she would occasionally pilfer from around Sugarcube Corner, or—Maker forbid—an apple from the apple stand. A rare, delicious treat whenever she could get her hooves on one or two.

At the memory of the appley goodness, her stomach growled again, louder than before. Selena huffed softly, gritting her teeth in frustration. Why was food so hard to come by? It hadn’t been like this back at the orphanage...

No! Selena snorted, quickly stomping down that particular line of thought before it could grow too much. She had put that behind her. It didn’t matter what it had been like back at the orphanage; she was better off by herself than back there. She didn’t even know if the orphanage was still standing, having not wandered towards that part of town in years. Instead, she preferred to stay near the marketplace and her source of food.

Speaking of which…

Selena’s ears twitched and perked up as she suddenly caught some snippets of a far off conversation.

“...to say, those carrots look amazing, Carrot Top,” a mare said, her voice nearly swallowed up by the ambient noise of the marketplace.

“Thanks!” came the giggly reply. “I put a lot of love into them. They’re some of the best I’ve ever grown!”

“And it shows. It really does. But if they are high quality, why are you selling them for so low?”

“I’ve got to get rid of them, so I’m selling them in bulk for cheap,” came the reply from the mare now identified as Carrot Top. “Need to clear out some space in storage for the corn and wheat. Gotta get ready for when Applejack starts to make her cider and whiskey. Hopefully I’ll have some left over so Mrs. Cake can make some of her delicious carrot cake.

“Anyways, you want to buy some...”

Letting the conversation fade from her attention, Selena smiled to herself. Whenever somepony sold anything in bulk, it usually meant that they had a surplus of said product. A surplus mean that it would be easier to steal some without anypony noticing.

“Looks like it’s carrots today,” she muttered under her breath, an ear flicking against her head. It wasn’t as good as apples, but it would do to fill her aching stomach. “If I can get some, that is,” she added with a grunt as she stood.

Immediately, the feeling of pins and needles rushed up her legs, and she winced, giving them a quick shake to get the blood flowing again. Once she had recovered the feeling in her limbs, she pulled the hood of her tattered cloak over her head, hiding her face from view.

Moving slowly, she approached the opening of the alleyway, listening intently to see if anypony was nearby. Upon hearing nothing within her immediate vicinity, she pulled her cloak tighter around herself and, with a heavy sigh, stepped out from the shadows and into the sun. Moving as silently as possible, she crept through the crowded marketplace like a shadow.

Twilight hummed softly to herself as she made her way through the packed marketplace. Or, as packed as it could be for a small town like Ponyville. Having grown up in Canterlot, she could easily say that, compared to Canterlot’s central market, Ponyville’s wasn’t that bad. There were times in Canterlot that you were shoulder-to-shoulder, trying to push your way towards the shop you needed to visit.

In Ponyville, the worst they had was having to wait behind four or five ponies before you could be served. It was actually a nice change of pace; it didn’t take her all day to get her shopping done.

Stopping next to the fountain in the middle of the marketplace, Twilight decided to take a quick breather. She had so far managed to get most of the items on her list. As she rested, she pulled said list out of her saddlebag and consulted it, all the while muttering to herself.

“Let’s see. I’ve got the eggs, apples─too bad Applejack wasn’t feeling to well, I would’ve liked to talk to her─milk, some candied cherries as a treat for later.” Running an eye down the list, she hummed as she reached the item at the bottom. “Sapphires for Spike,” she muttered, a small smile touching her muzzle. “Hopefully Rarity isn’t too busy today. I would hate to disturb her.”

Double-checking the list one last time to make sure she had gotten everything else, Twilight slipped it back into her bag before turning to head towards the Carousel Boutique.

She had only taken a couple of steps when she paused suddenly, something strange catching her eye. She frowned as she watched the cloaked pony creep out from a nearby alleyway, keeping low to the ground. The cloak was old and tattered, cover the pony’s entire body, with only their hooves and the tip of their tail visible. The hood was pulled up over the pony’s head, hiding their face from view.

As the cloaked pony crept along, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that they moved with a slight limp, favoring their back right leg.

She wasn’t sure what it was about this pony that caught her eye, but something just felt… off about them. And it wasn’t the fact that she was wearing a cloak on a beautiful summer day.

Moving around the fountain to try and get a better look at this mysterious pony, Twilight blinked in surprise. They had disappeared! She had only taken her eyes off of them for a brief second, and now they were gone. Just like that.

Alarmed, Twilight whipped her head back and forth, searching for any sign of the cloaked pony. How could she lose a cloaked pony in this crowd? They should be standing out like a sore hoof!

Casting a quick detection spell, Twilight’s bewilderment grew. No teleportation spells had been used within her vicinity, nor any disguise spells either. It was like the pony had just disappeared into thin air.

I’m not going crazy, am I? Twilight thought, frantically scanning the crowd. I mean, I’ve had trouble with hallucinations in the past, but I was very stressed at the time! I feel perfectly fine and rested. What’s going on?! Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she continued to look for the pony.

After nearly a minute with no sight of them, Twilight was just about to give up searching when the cloaked pony suddenly materialized from within the shadow of a nearby stand, causing her to leap backwards in surprise. She barely suppressed a shriek of surprise What the—!?

She watched in astonishment as the pony moved slowly through the marketplace, slinking from shadow to shadow. Now that she was able to get a closer look, she could see that the pony didn’t so much vanish, but rather blend in almost perfectly with the shadows. In fact, if Twilight wasn’t looking right at them, it would have looked like the pony had just disappeared into nothing.

Glancing around at the crowd, Twilight’s ears splayed sideways in confusion. Nopony else seemed to notice the cloaked pony, or if they did, they didn’t spare them a second glance. It was almost like the pony didn’t exist.

Twilight frowned, her brow furrowing as she watched the pony, keeping a close eye on them. There was no way what she was seeing was possible. The pony’s cloak was brown, yet it was blending in with the shadows as if it was the purest black. There were several spells that would allow temporary invisibility, but they were very, very advanced. So advanced that even she couldn’t use them without help from Princess Celestia. And none of them worked in a manner similar to what she was seeing. She had never heard of any form of spell that would allow a pony to simply disappear into shadow.

Starting to build a mental list of possible answers for what she was seeing, Twilight watched curiously as the pony slowly crept up to the carrot stand...

Having reached her destination, Selena leaned against the side of the stand, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. She had managed to make it to the carrot stall without any major issues, having only tripped over a large pebble once. Feeling comfortable that nopony had spotted her yet, she perked her ears and began to listen closely to the noise around her.

She could hear the owner of the stall talking from somewhere in front of the stand. Most ponies liked to interact with their customers and would come out from behind the stall to talk to them. This was occasionally an advantage, as they would be too distracted to notice some of their product go missing, especially if the customer was a good friend of theirs.

However, unfortunately for Selena, this wasn’t going to be one of those times.

As she reached up to grab a couple of carrots, she heard the voice of Carrot Top cry out loudly, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” At the shout, Selena’s body tensed and she gave an involuntary whimper. Oh shit, not again!

Dropping her hoof back to the ground, she prepared to run, already trying to map out her current position in her mental map of Ponyville. Before she could do anything though, a new voice spoke up from right beside her, causing her to jump in shock. She hadn’t even heard anypony approaching from that side!

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you,” the voice said. It was oddly familiar, but Selena couldn’t put a name with it. It was a new voice, one that she had been hearing more often. Probably somepony who just recently moved to Ponyville. It was clearly female, and had a bit of an accent that she couldn’t place, almost sounding stuffy or stuck-up, like the mare in question didn’t know how to talk to strangers.

Suddenly, Selena felt somepony throw a foreleg over her shoulders and wrap around her neck. She flinched, expecting a blow which never came. Instead the new pony just tightened their grip on her slightly, preventing her from breaking free. A warm body pressed against hers as the voice continued, “I’m glad I caught you just in time. I’ve decided that I don’t need any carrots today, so just leave those. I’ve gotten everything else, though, so we should be good to go.”

Beneath her hood, Selena’s ear flicked in confusion. Had this new pony mistaken her for somepony else?

“W-what?” she muttered out loud as she tried to pull herself free. This earned her another squeeze, as well as a swat on the rump by the pony’s tail.

“Play along,” the pony hissed in her ear through gritted teeth.

It appeared that Carrot Top shared in Selena’s confusion. “Um, Twilight? Do you know this mare?”

“Of course I know her,” the new pony said, and Selena could hear the eye roll in the tone of her voice. “She’s helping me with my shopping. Spike was feeling under the weather so I got her to help me instead! Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but we’re on a bit of a tight schedule, so if you’d excuse me, Carrot Top.” With that, the new pony, Twilight, tugged on Selena, pulling her along.

Not expecting the sudden movement, Selena nearly face-planted. Only the mare’s grip around her neck stopped her from tipping over.

“Come on,” Twilight chirped, oblivious to Selena nearly falling over. “I have your bits back at the library. Thank you so much for the help.” Still confused as to what was going on, Selena followed blindly, allowing the new mare to drag her along. She could feel the eyes of the entire marketplace upon her, and she wanted nothing more to slink away into a nearby alley and hide. However, the mare’s next words stopped her cold.

“You’re going to follow me, or I’ll take you straight to the guards, no questions asked,” she hissed in Selena’s ear. The blood in Selena’s veins nearly froze, and she swallowed loudly. She had had a couple of run-ins with the local guards in the past, and it wasn’t something she wanted to experience again. She had luckily managed to escape them every single time, but if this mare took her directly to the guardhouse, that wouldn’t be an option.

The thought of being handed over to the guards was enough incentive for Selena, and she fell in step behind the mare, her ears pointed forward as she tried to keep track of the mare’s hoofsteps.

She hadn’t been following the mare long when she suddenly came to a stop, Selena nearly crashing into her backside. The sound of a door being unlocked reached Selena’s ears before the mare said in a firm tone, “Come on in.” Hooves on wood told her that the mare had already entered the home.

Sliding her hoof along the ground slowly, Selena searched for the doorstep. Upon finding it, she hesitated, but at the sound of the mare clearing her throat, Selena steeled herself and stepped carefully over the threshold and inside the building. The door promptly slammed shut behind her, causing her to jump and her ears to press against her head in pain. Despite not being able to see her surrounding, she was feeling a little claustrophobic. She hadn’t been in a building since she lived in the orphanage, and she didn’t like the fact that she didn’t know the layout of the house. If worse came to worse, she had no escape route.

“I need to put my groceries away,” the mare spoke up, snapping Selena back to the present. Her hoofsteps grew softer as she walked away from the door and deeper into the house. “You stay right there, and don’t try and leave yet. We have stuff to discuss.”

Hearing the mare leave the room, Selena swallowed before tentatively sitting down where she was. Beneath her cloak, her tail flicked once before wrapping around her body. She found some comfort from the act, but her body was still tense, her heart practically beating in her throat. There was a brief moment of silence before the sound of cupboards being open came from the next room. She half considered making a break for it, but decided against it. In all the excitement, she hadn’t been able to keep up her mental map of the area. She had no clue where she was at the moment, thus had no idea of where to go for safety.

Perking her ears, she listened intently for any indications of where she was exactly. She could just barely make out the muffled sound of the marketplace, so she was somewhere nearby. That calmed her just a little. The smell of parchment and wood filled her nostrils as she sniffed tentatively. There was also a musty scent in the air as well.

After about a minute, the sound of approaching hoofsteps reached her ears and Selena tensed as the mare walked back into the room.

“There, now that’s done,” she said. “Now to deal with…” The mare stopped walking, her voice trailing off. Confused, Selena lifted her head slightly, ears perked. There was a brief second of silence before the mare spoke again, the confusion clear in her voice, “Why are you sitting by the door?”

Blinking her blind eyes, Selena scrunched up her muzzle. “You said to stay here.”

The mare huffed at that.

“I meant stay in the room,” she said, and her tone caused Selena to lower her head in shame. “I didn’t mean don’t move at all. You’re allowed to come in and get comfortable.”

“R-right, sorry,” Selena murmured, getting to her hooves. She took a step forward, before pausing. “Um, where are we?” she asked. “That is, if you don’t mind me asking.” She winced, silently kicking herself. This mare had caught her stealing. For all she knew, she was now inside of the guard house, getting ready to be arrested. Although, why would a guard be out grocery shopping while on duty? she mused silently to herself. And I didn’t hear any armor for that matter.

“We’re in the library, of course,” the mare scoffed, almost laughing. “I would have thought all of the books would have been a clear indication.”

“Y-yeah, books,” Selena said, laughing weakly. The library…

There were many times within the past years that she had wanted to be inside of this building, perusing through the braille section. But now that she finally was inside, she wanted out. Badly.

“Please, have a seat on the couch,” the mare said as she moved across the room. Assuming that she was heading to the couch as well, Selena made to follow the mare, only to run straight into a low table. She tripped, nearly falling over, but managed to save herself at the last second. Immediately she blushed as she felt the mare’s stare upon her. Damn it.

“How could you not see that there?” the mare asked incredulously. “I realize that it’s sitting a little low, but still.”

“S-sorry,” Selena whimpered, her cheeks growing hotter with shame. “I’m just… nervous.” Add in unfamiliar territory, she added mentally.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” the mare said. “I’m not going to call the guards. Yet,” she added under her breath, but Selena’s hearing was still able to pick it up. That just caused her tense even more.

Somehow managing to find her way to the couch without further incident, Selena sat down upon it gingerly, sitting on the edge of the cushion. She mentally noted in which direction the door was located, just in case she need to make a mad dash for freedom. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Selena bit her bottom lip, her heart suddenly aching as she thought back to her last encounter with Care back at the orphanage. However, before she could get further distracted by the memory, the mare cleared her throat before speaking.

“I guess first things first. I’m Twilight Sparkle. I run the Golden Oak Library.” The mare paused, and it took Selena a second to realize that she was waiting for her to speak.

“Oh! I’m, um… m-my name is Selena,” she said, stuttering slightly, playing with the hem of her cloak.

“Would you like some tea, Selena?” Twilight asked. Selena’s ears picked up the quiet chime of a unicorn using magic, and she sagged. If this mare was a unicorn, there was way that she would be able to get to the door before being caught again; her magic was too weak to successful fight back.

Resigned to her fate, Selena leaned back on the couch and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

“No, thank you,” she sighed.

“You know, you can take the cloak off, if you’d like,” the mare, Twilight, said as she prepared her own tea, the spoon ‘clink’ing softly against the cup.

“Actually, I’d feel better with it on, thanks” Selena muttered, lowering her head. She heard the mare─Twilight, she reminded herself─shift slightly in her seat.

“Suit yourself,” she said before taking a sip of tea. Selena heard her shift again before she continued, “Do you want to tell me what was going on back there in the marketplace?”

“I… I was looking to buy some carrots,” Selena lied quickly, her right ear twitching beneath her hood.

“Really?” Twilight deadpanned. There was a loud ‘clink’ as she set her teacup down. “It didn’t look like you were going to buy them.”

Selena fidgeted, feeling Twilight’s eyes boring into her. She bit her lip, but stayed silent.

Twilight sighed loudly.

“Look, you can either talk to me, or you can talk to the guards,” she huffed, before her tone became softer. “I’m not trying to get you in trouble, Selena. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on and offer any help that I can.”

In the pause that followed, Selena remained silent.

“You weren’t really going to buy them, were you, Selena?” Twilight said quietly.

Selena whimpered pitifully.

“Why?” Twilight asked, not unkindly. It sounded like she was generally curious and concerned.

Truthfully, Selena was confused. This was the first time somepony wasn’t shouting at her for trying to steal something. She was so befuddled by this that she answered before she could stop herself. “I was hungry.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she winced, mentally kicking herself for the slip. Remember, you don’t know her so don’t give her anything to use against you!

“So why not just buy the carrots, then?” Twilight asked, the confusion clear in her voice. “They aren’t that many bits. In fact, they were on sale as well, if I remember correctly. Surely you could have spared the bits?”

Selena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I don’t exactly have that many bits to be spending on stuff.” She paused, before adding under her breath, “More like no bits at all.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, sounding suspicious. “What do you do for a living?”

“I don’t really have a job,” Selena muttered, ears pressing against her head. She heard Twilight tsk softly.

“Well, why not?”

“It’s… complicated,” Selena said softly, tapping her hooves together anxiously. “I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

Twilight was silent after that, and Selena fidgeted nervously. She didn’t like the silence, as it was difficult to tell what the mare was thinking.

Eventually, just as Selena was about to try and break the silence, Twilight spoke again.

“I’m sorry I brought it up, Selena,” she said, and Selena was surprised to hear genuine concern in her voice. “I won’t press the issue, but if you’re having troubles, please don’t be afraid to tell me. I’d be more than happy to help in anyway I can.”

Selena blinked in surprise at that before her brow furrowed.

“Why?” she snapped, suddenly wary. “What would you want in return?”

“N-nothing,” Twilight stuttered, clearly caught off guard. “Why would you think I wanted something?”

“Nopony is willing to give something for nothing,” Selena growled, her sightless eyes narrowing as she turned her head in Twilight’s general direction.

“But I don’t want anything from you,” Twilight assured quickly, trying to calm her down. “I just want to help, honest!”

Selena continued to glare in her direction for a few more seconds before sighing, her expression softening.

“I don’t need your help,” she muttered, lowering her head again.

“Okay,” Twilight said softly, “but just so you know, the offer still stands. The library is always open to you.”

Silence descended upon the room as both mares just sat there. Unsure of how to continue the conversation, Twilight opted to take a sip of tea instead, her slurp sounding unnaturally loud in the stillness.

After several more tense minutes of silence, Twilight awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Do… do you mind if I ask a few more questions?”

For the next few hours Twilight continued to ask the cloaked mare questions, trying to find out as much about her as possible. She was dying to find out how the mare was able to practically vanish into the shadows, but with how tense Selena looked, Twilight felt it best to not asking her about it just yet.

Instead, she started out by asking simple questions. “Where do you live?”, “How long have you been in Ponyville?”, “What do you do for fun?”. With each new question, however, Selena continued to give vague answers, or just refused to answer altogether. As frustrated as she was by the lack of answers, Twilight didn’t want to push the mare too much. It was clear that she had fallen upon some hard times recently, and the last thing Twilight wanted to do was add undue stress.

As they talked, Twilight took the time to study the mare. She couldn’t make out much beneath the cloak, and Selena kept her hood up, hiding her face from view. Only the tip of her muzzle was visible, or her hooves whenever she played with the hem of her cloak. She was a unicorn though, of that Twilight was sure. Whenever she lowered her head, there was a slight bulge in the hood where a horn would be.

As questions kept coming, Selena appeared to slowly become more and more tense. Everything came to a head when Twilight asked, “So, Selena. What’s your cutie mark?”

The question caused Selena to inhale sharply, her sightless eyes widening beneath the hood.

“I-I think it’s time for me to get going,” she stammered, standing up quickly.

Twilight blinked in surprise at the suddenness of the statement. Glancing at the cloak on the mantle above the fireplace, her eyes widened in shock. Oh goodness. Is it really that time already? She needs to get home before the storm hits.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” Twilight said, standing up as well. “It seems that time got away from me!”

“It’s fine,” Selena said, giving a half-hearted smile. She inched closer to the door, her tail tucked firmly between her legs. “I’ll… I’ll just be going now.”

Twilight watched with a frown as Selena slunk to the door. Despite the fact that she had been unable to learn much about the mare, she still felt bad for her. It was clear, to Twilight at least, that she was going through a rough time in her life and─even though she had a feeling that Selena would never admit it─she needed a friend.

Truthfully, she kind of reminded Twilight of herself back before she came to Ponyville: reclusive and withdrawn. She may have been new to this whole social thing, but Twilight could clearly see that Selena hadn’t been comfortable around her. She wouldn’t even look at Twilight at all during their conversation; she just glanced in her general direction.

Twilight was pulled out of her thoughts by the clock on the mantle beginning to chime out the hour. The noise caused Selena to flinch. Upon realizing what had startled her, she sighed heavily before continuing towards the door.

She’s worse than Fluttershy, Twilight mused, rubbing her chin with a hoof. If only there was something that I could do to… help...

Twilight froze, her ears perking up as an idea slowly began to form in her head; an idea of how to help Selena. A large smile spread across her face and she cried out loudly, “That’s it!”

Her sudden outburst caused Selena to jump into the air with a yelp. Upon landing, she let out a low whimper.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized, covering her mouth with a hoof. Her cheeks heated up with embarrassment. “I just remembered. My friends and I are planning a picnic in a couple of days. How would you like to join us?”

This caused Selena to pause, her hoof already on the door handle. She glanced back at Twilight, and, although most of her face was still hidden, Twilight could just barely make out a confused frown on her muzzle. “W-what?”

“Would you like to join me and my friends for a picnic?” Twilight repeated, giving her a warm smile. “It’s suppose to be a nice day and we figured we’d do something fun together.”

“And you want me to come along?” Selena asked, sounding like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Beneath the hood, unseen by Twilight, her sightless eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Twilight blinked at the question. “Well, I figured it would give us another chance to hangout and get to know one another better,” she answered truthfully.

Selena was silent for several seconds before asking, “What about your other friends? Surely they wouldn’t like you bringing along a complete stranger.”

“Oh, they won’t mind,” Twilight said, waving a hoof airily. “In fact, if you’d like, I can introduce you to them. Besides, I’m positive they’d like to meet my new friend.”

At the word ‘friend’, Selena inhaled sharply, her heart skipping a beat. Her body locked up, and her useless pupils shrunk to mere pinpricks. She momentarily forgot to breathe.

“F-friend?” she whispered, swallowing thickly. Her ears pressed against her head as her mind started to race. Friend? She called me her friend!? But… but we just met today. She knows nothing about me! For Maker’s sake, she caught me trying to steal food. Nopony wants to be associated with a thief. Why does she want to be my friend? What’s she playing at? She’s… she’s just trying to get me to lower my guard. That has to be it. And then, when I’m not expecting it, she’ll call the Guard on me.

...but what if she’s telling the truth and she really wants to be friends? I know nothing about being friends with anypony! At the orphanage, all the foals avoided me, and living on the streets doesn’t give you many opportunities to make friends. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to act!?

Unaware of the turmoil going on inside of Selena’s mind, Twilight just gave her another smile and nodded.

“Yes, friend,” she said, snapping Selena out of her panicked daze. “I’d like to be friends, if that’s okay with you.”

Selena just stood there, hoof on the door and her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Her mind was in chaos, and her heart was pounding away in her chest. Swallowing again, she became aware of the fact that her throat was suddenly very dry.

She opened her mouth to say something─anything─but all that came out was a stammered, “I… I… I…”

A frown touched Twilight’s lips and she gave Selena a concerned look.

“You don’t have to answer right now,” she said quickly, trying to calm down the clearly overwhelmed mare, “but if you’re up for it, just come to the library this Friday around noon. We’re all meeting here before heading to the park.”

Barely hearing what was being said and with the world slowly falling apart around her, Selena just nodded her head dumbly. With her mind in a turmoil and her paranoia running rampant, she had to get out of the library soon, or she was going to lose it.

“I’ll… I’ll do that,” she wheezed, her voice cracking slightly. Not giving Twilight any time to respond, Selena quickly pulled the door to the library open and stepped outside. A large part of her half-expected a bunch of guards to be waiting for her outside. There weren't any, however. In fact, from the sounds of it, there were barely anypony left in the marketplace either.

Too agitated to really make anything of that little bit of information, Selena quickly hurried off in the general direction of Sugarcube Corner. She needed comfort and a place to hide. Her head was beginning to pound, and she could feel a migraine coming on.

A whisper, so soft that she couldn’t make out what it said, echoed through the deep recesses of her mind.

“Prithee, why wouldst thou want to be friends with us? Doest we not frighten thee?”

Gritting her teeth, Selena scampered off down the road blindly, nearly tripping several times as she raced towards her only sanctuary in the world: her rundown cardboard box.

Standing in the doorway, Twilight watched Selena hurry off down the road. Far above, dark storm clouds rolled and rumbled, the promised storm raring to go. Lightning forked across the sky, followed swiftly by a loud crack of thunder.

Twilight winced, her ears pressing against her head. She felt awful that she had kept Selena to the point where she had to race home, but she had lost track of time. Despite the fact she had learned very little about the mare, it was still nice to talk with her, even if it was overall a one-sided conversation.

She had been a little wary of Selena at first, unsure what to think about the cloaked mare she had witnessed trying to steal food in the marketplace. She wasn’t sure what had stopped her from taking her straight to the guards, but in the end she was glad she didn’t.

As the cloaked form of Selena disappeared in the distance, Twilight rubbed her chin thoughtfully. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind, causing her to frown. What if Selena’s timid behavior was all an act, something to make Twilight pity her instead of turn her in. She could have just let a criminal run free without so much as a warning.

No, Twilight thought, shaking her head. Nopony’s that good of an actor. If she wasn’t sure before, she was now. Selena wasn’t a criminal; she was a lone, tired mare who just needed a shoulder to lean on. A friend to help her and support her. And Twilight was more than happy to be her friend, if Selena would allow it.

“Besides,” she added as she closed the door with a ‘click’. Outside, rain slowly started to fall, the deluge slowly increasing until it pounded away on the windows. “If worse comes to worse, I’ll just go to the guards. It shouldn’t be too hard to track her down again.”

Moving deeper into the library, Twilight listened to the sound of the storm outside.

“I do hope that Selena made it home safely,” she said as she moved towards the stairs. Spike was probably upstairs, either napping or reading one of his comic books. From the looks of it, he had managed to finish his chores for the day, and Twilight winced as she realized she had never gotten around to stopping by Rarity’s to get his sapphires.

“I’ll just have to pick them up tomorrow after the storm lets up,” Twilight muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs. “I’m sure he’ll understand. After all, it was for a good reason.” Her mind drifted back to Selena, and a large smile slowly spread across her face.

“Eeeee, I can’t wait for Friday,” she squealed quietly, nearly bouncing with joy and falling down the stairs. She was going to be able to introduce Selena to her friends, and hopefully find some friends for Selena in return. Oh, she couldn’t wait.

After all, if she could help Selena make a friend or two, that would make a great friendship report for Princess Celestia.

The storm slammed into Ponyville like a freight train. The residents huddled inside, sleeping out the storm. Foals, too scared to sleep by themselves, huddled beneath the sheets of their parents’ bed. The skies were dark, and lightning illuminated the town in flashes of brilliant light and ear-shattering crashes. Rain rushed down in sheets, reducing the visibility to barely a few feet and thoroughly soaking everything. Water pooled in low areas, slowly flooding the waterlogged town.

Luckily, Sugarcube Corner had been built on high ground.

Curled up in a tight ball, the sleeping form of Selena huddled in the far corner of her box. She slumbered uneasily, her dreams filled with demonic guards and laughing mares. Several tattered, moth-eaten blankets covered her body, trying and failing to keep her warm. The rain continued to pound against the roof of the box. The soaked material was beginning to sag, water starting to seep through and dripping upon the semi-dry floor below. A puddle was gradually beginning to creep its way towards the sleeping mare.

Lightning flashed across the sky again, followed swiftly by a crash of thunder that seemed to shake the very ground. Selena shifted restlessly, whimpering in her sleep.

As the echoing rumbles ceased, the side door of Sugarcube Corner suddenly cracked open and a pink head poked itself outside. Mane instantly plastered to her face, Pinkie glanced around, squinting to try and see through the torrent of water.

Upon seeing the soaked box sitting next the dumpster, she pulled her head back inside before pushing the door open fully. She stepped outside, instantly becoming drenched by the torrential downpour. The cold water beat upon her pelt, stealing the warmth from her body. She shivered, but steeled herself. Comfort would come later; right now there was work to be done.

Pushing aside her discomfort, Pinkie stepped further outside into the rain, a determined glint in her eyes and a rolled-up umbrella clenched firmly between her teeth. She approached the cardboard box, her hooves sinking into the mud with each step. Reaching the box with some difficulty, she leaned down and peeked inside, one bright blue eye glancing curiously around the interior.

Upon seeing the prone form of Selena, she withdrew her head. Keeping the umbrella clenched in her teeth, Pinkie proceeded to clamber up on top of the dumpster, her hooves slipping and sliding on the slick metal. It took her a few seconds to find her footing, but once she did, she stood up on her hind legs and, taking the umbrella from her mouth, slipped the handle into a custom-made holder that was bolted into the brick wall. Double-checking to make sure the umbrella was secure, she then opened it with a flick of her hoof. Immediately, the rain falling down upon the cardboard box ceased, blocked by the umbrella above it.

Leaning forward quickly to catch the dry towel that tumbled out of the now-opened umbrella, Pinkie got down off of the dumpster. She made sure that the towel stayed under the cover of the umbrella at all times, keeping it dry against the rain. Peeking into the box again, she watched Selena sleep for a few seconds before, as gently and deftly as she could, she reached inside and began to use the towel to dry up as much excess water as possible.

As she worked, she kept a close eye on Selena. When she suddenly shifted, Pinkie froze. Selena rolled over in her sleep, a soft snort coming from her as she snuggled deeper beneath her worn out blankets.

Pinkie was still for a few more seconds before continuing her work.

Once she was finished drying as much as the cardboard box’s floor as possible, Pinkie wrapped the rag around her hoof. Reaching a hoof into her sopping mane, she pulled out a plastic container which had a cupcake inside. It was a regular chocolate cupcake with dark frosting and red sprinkles. Three cherries rested on top of the frosting.

Cracking open the lid, Pinkie carefully placed the cupcake beside Selena’s sleeping form; not close enough that she’d roll over it in her sleep, yet near enough that she should notice it in the morning.

Placing the now-empty container back into her mane, Pinkie withdrew her head. She glanced upwards towards the umbrella, double-checking again to make sure that it wasn’t going anywhere. Rain pounded down upon the umbrella’s fabric, running off the sides in miniature rivers. However, no water reached the cardboard box that contained the sleeping Selena.

Pinkie smiled, pleased with her work. With that, she turned and quickly made her way back to the side door from which she had emerged before. Getting out of the rain, she glanced back over her shoulder at the box beside the dumpster, and the umbrella above. She made a mental note to grab the umbrella tomorrow once the rain stopped before closing the door.

The storm continued to rage, rain beating down upon the fabric of the umbrella. Lightning ripped across the sky once more, thunder roaring after it. Within her box, Selena shifted beneath the blankets, her sleep becoming more restful as the nightmares ceased. Her breathing become steady and her muscles relaxed. She continued to slumber on, unaware of what had transpired around her.