Odd dove into her clover salad as Dusk ate his daffodil and daisy sandwich. Odd had finished her salad before Dusk had managed to take more than two bites. She patted her mouth with a napkin and took a long swig of water before speaking again.

“So Dusk, what brings you to Ponyville?” Odd questioned. “I know that it managed to make it on the map because of the Elements of Harmony but there are much bigger and better places to visit.”

Duck finished chewing his sandwich before answering. “I’m here to study. The library here rivals the one in Canterlot. The Princess believed it was the best place for me to go once I turned 18.”

“So you know the Princess. Which one?”

“Both of them… Well I guess that I’m better acquainted with Princess Celestia. I was her student for a number of years. She told me I had learned all I could from her and sent me here.”

“I didn’t know the Princess had taken on another student. Everypony knows she was heartbroken when Twilight Sparkle passed on.”

“Miss Sparkle was truly the only pony the Princess ever loved. I’m just a filler for the void she left when she died.” Dusk huffed spitefully.

“You know what Dusk; you look a lot like the drawings I’ve seen of Twilight. Are you related to her in anyway?”

“In a way, I suppose.” Dusk shrugged. “You had your reason for not telling me your name and I have my reason for not explaining it any further. Now if you want to tell me why your name sounds so familiar I’ll then be obligated to tell you why I look like Miss Sparkle.”

Odd weighed the options in her head. Coming to a conclusion, she shrugged her shoulders. She placed the correct amount of bits onto the table and trotted off toward the library. Dusk hastily shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and trotted after her.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Dusk caught up to Odd as she reached the library. The large tree building had a number of windows and other platforms built into it. The library was a strange but effective. It stood out enough that most ponies would be able to find it.

Even so, Dusk still relied heavily on Odd to find his way there. Once they made it to the library Dusk’s jaw hit the floor. He had never seen such a mismatched yet beautiful building. He couldn’t wait to get inside and study the library from there.

Dusk walked up to the door and rapped on it gently. Odd shook her head. She shouldered her way passed him and shoved the door open.

“No pony locks their door here. It takes a little getting used to it.” Odd informed Dusk. She held the door for him to walk through. “In fact, a lot of things here take some getting used to.”

Dusk tried his best not to feel embarrassed but the color that flooded to his cheeks gave him away. He walked through the door into the dark room beyond. Odd followed him and slammed the door behind them.

Some of the books on the higher shelves tumbled to the ground. The bangs each of them made echoed and bounced off the walls. Odd cringed. This was not going to end well.

“Who slammed the door?!” A booming voice asked. Because of the acoustics of the library, it was impossible to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. “How many times do I have to tell everypony that it destroys the bindings when those books hit the floor?”

Dusk cowered behind Odd who just rolled her eyes and went to pick up the books that had fallen. She gave each book to Dusk and he stacked them on one of the many tables. His movements were sharp and carefully coordinated. The fact that Odd was acting so nonchalant did nothing to quash his fear.

“There, they’re all picked up.” Odd huffed. “Now if you’d be so kind as to come and introduce yourself. I’m kind of getting tired of Dusk hiding behind me.”

Color once again flooded Dusk’s cheeks. He was bumbling around like a foal that hadn’t gotten their footing yet. It was embarrassing; it was beyond embarrassing. It was more along the lines of mortifying.

Hoofsteps echoed around the room as somepony walked up from the basement. A smallish tan earth pony mare stuck her head around the corner. She attempted to blow the thick locks of neon green hair out of her face to no avail. Realizing she couldn’t win, the mare gave up and smiled.

Once she came further into the room, Dusk was able to see her cutiemark. The image of an open book with a pair of reading glasses lying across it adorned her flank. Dusk looked at his own flank. His cutiemark was of a large pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars. It was completely and totally not unique.

“Sorry for the scare. Odd and all her little friends always end up knocking the same books over. I thought you were one of them.” The mare said, picking up the books Odd and Dusk had piled. “I’m Ancient Tombs by the way. I’m the current librarian of Ponyville.”

“It’s… It’s nice to meet you Tombs. I’m Dusk Shine. The Princess said she sent you a letter informing you that I was coming. I hope you got it.” Dusk said shyly. He was still on edge from before.

“Um… I think it’s around here somewhere. Nevertheless, I remember the gist of what it said. You’re from Canterlot and you’re here to study.” Tombs said, climbing one of the latters with the books still in hoof. She began to shelve them in the proper place. “One thing I don’t remember is where you’ll be staying.”

“The Princess said I’d be staying here,” Dusk said, glancing around. “in the library.”

The books almost went tumbling to the floor as Tombs burst into laughter. She wobbled on the ladder but managed to keep a hold of it and the books. “There’s no way you could stay here. There’s no place that isn’t covered in stacks of books. I suppose you’ll have to stay with me for now. At a later date, we’ll find you your own place.”

“But there’s an apartment right up those stairs! I… Twilight used to live there!” Dusk blubbered. “She lived there for years.”

“Sweetie, that was years ago. Once she moved back to Canterlot the upstairs became part of the library. All that’s up there is books, books, and more books.” Tombs said sympathetically. She climbed back down the ladder and threw a hoof over Dusk’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine. My house isn’t very far from here and it has enough room for the both of us.”

“Why don’t you go show him where your house is?” Odd butted in. “I’ve got some things I’ve got to go do and I don’t want to leave Dusk alone. He doesn’t know anything about getting around town yet and needs a guide. Therefore I leave him in your capable hooves.”

“Odd, wait! I don’t think you should leave!” Dusk yelled. He was too late though. Odd was out the door and halfway down the street before he had finished speaking. “That mare is fast when she wants to be.”