Prologue: The past's effects on the present
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: Yes, this is based on The Odyssey. So, prepare yourselves for my attempts of writing an adventurous tale. Enjoy!

Twilight: Hello! Welcome! What can I do for you?

You're so polite. You may rise. I am a princess. But for now, let's pretend I'm just a humble librarian. I'm selling this place soon, so I enjoy this while I still can.

What kind of books do we have? Historical. Romance. Thriller. Adventure. Steampunk. All kinds. What piques your interest?

Mythology? I LOVE myths!... Oh, sorry! Heh, I got carried away there. Well anyway, fiction's right over there. So, what kinds of myths are you looking for?

That's an ancient one. One of my personal favorites, actually. SPIKE! Please get the story Thousands of Nights!...Thank you, Spike. Here you go.

What? That's not the right one? Let me see... Sir, I think you're -

Pinkie: HIYA, TWILIGHT!

Twilight: Hey, Pinkie... I'm sorry, but this is our only copy.

Spike: No, it isn't!

Twilight: What do you mean, Spike?

Spike: Here's this one!

Twilight: But it's exactly the... Written by Pinkamena Diane Pie?! You wrote a book without telling me?!

Pinkie: Well, it's more like a fanfic.

Twilight: A what now?

Pinkie: Just read it, Twilight. There are some surprises!

Twilight: Pinkie... Why is my name in here?... All our names are in here... And I'm married to Sunset?! And we have a daughter named -

Pinkie: Chill, Twi! Keep reading. You'll love it!

Twilight: (looks at visitor) You like this story, too, huh?... "A story that will be passed on generation after generation" - Princess Celestia... How could she review a story and not tell me?..."Chaotic and stupid, I love it." - Discord. Well, that's a surprise... Fine. I'll read it. Would you like me to read it to you, young one?... Very well. Spike! Do you want to hear the story?

Spike: Sure! Why not?

Pinkie: Count me in, too!

Twilight: Many centuries ago, gods ruled the world, enchanting, immortal alicorns. Three alicorn gods, all siblings, all children of the earth and sky, were the most powerful of them all: Celestia, the goddess of the sun, marriage, family, and earth; Sombra, the god of war, fire, and fear; and Luna, the goddess of the moon, tides, and seas.

Spike: That all fits.

Twilight: Spike! Don't interrupt! Anyway... Although the gods were the mightiest of all beings, they respected the mortal ponies who sacrificed for them. One of those blessed and prudent ponies was the famous wizard Starswirl the Bearded...


... He was very old and frail, but he was also incredibly wise and powerful. He was so revered that the late King of the Crystal Empire allowed him to marry his daughter, Princess Iris. Nevertheless, even he sometimes beseeched his closest ally, Celestia herself, for her assistance.

On one dark, stormy night, Starswirl hovered over a bubbling cauldron, carefully reciting the summoning spells and chants his late mentor, the blind zebra Zecora, had taught him in his youth.

Closing his eyes, Starswirl pictured Celestia's lovely face. "Goddess of Sun, Mistress of Light, show me my descendent, the brave Twilight!" The cauldron's pitch black contents evaporated. The elderly wizard saw a flash of sunlight in the rising gray mist. Then, he saw his granddaughter, Princess Twilight Sparkle of the Crystal Empire, sulking miserably on the moon.

Luna imprisoned the child, he observed sadly. "Goddess of Heat, Mistress of Day, help my granddaughter - Show me the way!"

The mist swirled and changed colors until the face of the radiant goddess stared back at him coldly. "I have done much for you, Starswirl the Bearded." He nodded. She truly had. "You try my patience. And yet..." Her violet eyes softened ever so slightly. "I cannot thank you enough for saving my sister from my brother and for saving my children's lives."

"I would do anything for your friendship and generous blessings, oh lovely goddess." He used his magic to doff his pointy hat to her and bow.

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "Would you bring Twilight Sparkle home? That pony has captured my daughter's heart, and her absence ails my granddaughter."

Starswirl knew this daughter and granddaughter. His granddaughter fell in love with and married another mare, Princess Sunset Shimmer. She was the daughter of the kind King Comet Swirl of the Equestrian Kingdom and Celestia. Together, they had created a daughter of their image, Starlight Glimmer.

"That is precisely why I have summoned you, your greatness."

Celestia quirked an eyebrow at him. "You cannot find and assist your own granddaughter?"

He fought the urge to sigh tiredly. Bringing kin into any conversation with the gods was always a gamble. "Your sister, the beautiful Luna, has imprisoned her on the moon. She is smitten."

Fortunately for Starswirl, Celestia did not threaten to burn him to a crisp. She chuckled and smiled at the wizard, unintentionally putting Starswirl at ease.

"Lulu was always a stubborn one," the alicorn mused. "She has been hiding a mortal mare. This I knew. Very well. I will help you. What must I do?"

Starswirl's hazel eyes lit up as he bowed before her. "Thank you, goddess! If you could just send the swift messenger goddess after Princess Twilight, I can handle the rest."

Celestia's shook her head amusedly at Starswirl. "Must you always be so mysterious, my friend?"

"Well..." Starswirl blushed. "Here's what I plan to do. It may not be the best plan, but it just might work..."


"You look beautiful tonight, Princess Sunset."

"Absolutely."

"Positively!"

Princess Starlight Glimmer rolled her indigo eyes. She did not know how mother ate while the hundreds of coddling suitors oggled and bothered her. Averting her eyes to avoid any unwanted attention on her, the young mare's eyes shifted to her plate. She began poking a stray piece of hay from her salad with her fork.

"Thank you." Sunset glanced at her daughter and frowned. "Starlight, dear, sit up straight."

"YEAH!" A bulky, white pegasis with huge biceps cheered before covering his mouth. "Oop! I mean, uh, yes, young princess. Sit up straight so you can grow up to be as lovely as your mother."

Starlight sadly remembered him. He was Duke Bulk Biceps of the Cloudsdale Kingdom.

"Divine," a female griffon purred. She held her head up high. "Not just lovely, if you ask me." That was Lady Gilda of the Griffon Kingdom.

Starlight knew her mother was considered a rare beauty throughout all of Equestria, with her ruby and golden tresses, emerald eyes, and slender figure. Nevertheless, she knew why so many suitors came clomping at their door; the Equestrian Kingdom was one of the most powerful and superior kingdoms known to any creature. Sunset's heart belonged to her other mother, this Starlight knew. However, she still invited suitors ever since they heard Twilight Sparkle died.

Her other mother... This Twilight Sparkle was a mystery to Starlight. She vividly remembered her long, violet mane and warm, royal purple eyes. She remembered her mother had to go to war and lead troops to fight the Changeling army. She also remembered her promise...

"Starlight, don't cry. I will come home, little princess, to you and your mother. I promise."

She would not have deserted them, would she? But she could not be dead either. No body that even resembled the lost princess had been found anywhere near the Changeling battlefields.

While Starlight was lost in thought, one of the many servants, Granny, went around the table and picked up the silverware and dishes. She was active for her age and had served the Equestrian royals even before King Comet Swirl was born.

"A griffon? Really?" The elderly earth pony whispered to Sunset, who flushed a little and frowned at Granny.

"Granny," she whispered back. "Don't be rude."

As soon as dinner was over and Sunset asked for the kingdom's musicians to play for their guests, Starlight's thoughts returned to her lost mother. Please come home, Momma... She begged, even though she knew Twilight was out of reach in this world and quite possibly dwelled in the next. You were the perfect spouse for my mom. That I can remember. Come home so you can prove everypony wrong and make Mom smile like she used to...

Several years ago...

Princess Twilight Sparkle beamed at her daughter, Starlight. She was such a small filly, but Twilight knew this was fine. She had a late growth spurt when she was a filly.

She and Sunset, with their powers combined, made Starlight. She resembled Twilight the most, but Twilight saw some of Sunset's personality in their filly almost immediately. And the young parents could not be any prouder of their little princess. They purposely made her with a gamble, knowing she would have imperfections like everypony else, but also knowing those random imperfections would make her stronger. They wanted a daughter, not a perfect clone. It sometimes seemed like Twilight gave birth to Starlight herself!

"At this point, her magic will rival even mine!" Being Starswirl's granddaughter had its magical perks, but Twilight was a famous exception in the family tree. She was so impressively gifted that King Comet Swirl accepted her as his daughter-in-law before she could stutter out a proposal.

Sunset giggled and sipped her tea. They were watching Starlight play with Twilight's adopted little brother, a sweet dragon named Spike.

"Mine, too." Sunset's powers were nothing to scoff at either. She was a demigod, after all, part alicorn and part unicorn.

"She looks like you," Sunset added.

Twilight almost rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, she acts like you a lot, princess."

Sunset coyly batted her eyes at Twilight. "Sweet and innocent?"

"FIRE!" The filly cried, startling everypony else. "DWAGON CHASE!" She headed straight for Spike, who quickly ran away with terror in his reptilian green eyes. He learned from being Starlight's playmate that anything to do with dragons led to spells, obnoxious, sometimes even painful spells.

"TWILIGHT!" He screamed as Starlight chased him.

"Headstrong and fiery," Twilight responded. The tension quickly ended after the princesses erupted in giggles, and their daughter joined in the giggling fit. Even Spike had to laugh a bit. He always loved seeing his big sister relax.

"Starlight? Starlight. Woo hoo! Starlight!"

"Huh? What?" Starlight's daydreaming was brought to a halt again. She was now in her bedroom with one of her servants and best friend, Sunburst. They had escaped after the dinner party. She would not have cared about her daydreams so much if they did not involve her lost mother...

"I was wondering if you were okay," Sunburst told her. "Those suitors can be idiots. Well, some of them aren't so bad."

Starlight sighed and plopped on to her bed. "Yeah, but they're not my mother. Mom misses her, too. She can't hide it from me." She turned over to glare at her friend. "And don't give me that look!"

"What look?"

"That condescending, annoyed look!"

Suburst rolled his eyes. "Well, c'mon, Star! It's been ten years! You still think she's alive?"

"The war lasted for five."

"Then what's been keeping her for the other five?!" Sunburst exclaimed. They had had this argument so many times, and it wore Sunburst out to no end.

Fresh tears shimmered from Starlight's eyes, silencing Sunburst for a moment. He hated hurting her like this.

"Star, I - "

"Get out," she snapped coldly. "Now." Sunburst sighed and reluctantly trotted out of the room.

Somepony else knocked on her door shortly after Sunburst left. The knocker opened the door and revealed himself: Flash Sentry, Captain of the Royal Guard of the Crystal Empire. He was given some time off and used it to visit and court Sunset. But unlike most of the other suitors, he did not bother Starlight. He was a sweet and gentle stallion.

"May I come in?" Starlight nodded. "I'm sorry about some of the others. How are you?" Only silence followed his question. The nervous captain cleared this throat. He had no experience with children, much less teenagers. This would be definitely tough.

"I'm sorry about your mother." Starlight looked up at that comment and glared a little at him.

"She's not dead." More silence ensued. Nopony else believed Twilight Sparkle was alive, other than some inhabitants of the Equestrian Kingdom.

Flash Sentry could not suppress his grin as he looked at Starlight. "You look like her, Twilight Sparkle. I knew her, you know. We, well, I was actually planning to propose to her long before Sunset came."

This piqued the young mare's interest. "Really?"

"Yes, but she loved another at the end of the day." He smiled fondly at her and bowed. "Goodnight, princess." And with that, he left her room.

Soon, another pony tapped on her door. Starlight held back a groan as she told the pony to come in. Another servant, Maud Pie, entered the room with a plate of food.

"You didn't eat any supper, your majesty. Here." She smiled and gave the plate to the young princess, who smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you. Sorry, Maud Pie. I just wasn't hungry and -" She paused and looked incredulously at the usually dull, emotionless servant. "Did - Did you just smile at me?"

Then, before the young mare's eyes, the servant was enveloped in a glowing sheet of silvery magic. Glitter sprinkled the room. Wind knocked down her books. A bright flash blinded Starlight. When the flash died finally down, she opened her eyes. In the servant's place stood a feeble but confident and imposing unicorn in starry clothing.

"A wizard..." Starlight whispered in awe. The wizard smiled at her.

"Do not be afraid, child. I bring - " She fainted on the spot, irritating the elder. "I'm way too old for this job." He lifted her with his magic and shook her until she woke up.

"Huh? What?" He gently set her down, and she grabbed her sword near her bedside and unsheathed it. She aimed the blade at his neck. "Who are you?" She pouted as he chuckled a little. Why was he chuckling? She was aiming a sword at his throat!

"My, how things have changed since I married Princess Iris." Starlight stared at him skeptically. "I refused to be king. My wife ruled the Crystal Empire, and my daughter and her husband after her." He bowed. "Princess Starlight Glimmer, my name is Starswirl the Bearded. I am your great-grandfather."

"What?"

"I am here to inform you that your mother, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is very much alive."

"What?"

"But she needs our help. You need to travel to the peasant village of Ponyville."

"What?!"


Twilight: My daughter is Starlight Glimmer.

Pinkie: Well, Twi, with the name scheme, it fits!

Twilight: Well, it was flattering of you to make me Starswirl's granddaughter. But why would Luna want to imprison me?

Pinkie: Read more, and find out! Duh!