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“…and here, this is the library!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice preceded her, the lavender alicorn using her magic to gently push aside the heavy wooden door. The small silver filly accompanying her walked inside slowly, her eyes growing wide. Her expression was filled with wonder as she tried to absorb the sight before her. Ophelia Moon had never seen so many books in her life! Row upon row, shelf over shelf, sparkles dancing along their spines from the crystal chandelier above. The shining branches of the castle itself crept up between the cases, almost as if they were protecting the titles within. Twilight’s smile grew as she allowed the door to close behind her.
 
 
“Isn’t it beautiful? Of course, the school’s collection is much larger, but these see a little less love.” The princess said, almost with a reverence as she looked upon the books before her. Quickly snapping out of her trance, however, she turned back towards the teenager standing in the middle of he room, the small pegasus still captured by the sight. “Now, Ophelia, did you bring that list I asked you to?”
 
 
“Oh! Uh, y-yeah…I mean, yes ma’am,” She stuttered as she rifled through her saddlebag, pulling out a slightly-wrinkled paper. She gently extended her tiny wing towards the alicorn, who took it with her beautiful magenta magic. Twilight held it closer to give the titles on it a glance, then turned towards the bookcases. Trotting closer, she began to flip through a small catalog and pull down books from different parts of the library.
 
 
“Have a look around! There’s plenty of textbooks over to the left, and I know I’ve got some ones focused on ornithology there.” Twilight said over her shoulder, giving a flap of her large wings and taking a closer look at some higher shelves. Ophelia followed her suggestion, looking at the thick textbooks with titles emboldened on the spines. She studied a few of them, pulling out a particularly large one and flipping through a few pages. She read through some rather good paragraphs about local songbirds, but found it hard to concentrate.
 
 
Twilight glanced down out of the corner of her eye, continuing to pull different books from the shelves, copying down the titles on another piece of parchment. Her brow furrowed as she noticed the pegasus’ slumped figure and flattened ears. The poor girl had been through quite a lot in a short amount of time. Taking a small breath, Twilight spoke cheerfully, but gently. “So, tell me Ophelia - how are you settling in? Have you had some time to take a look around town yet?”
 
 
“Yes ma’am, I’ve taken a few walks and gotten my bearings,” she chuckled weakly, gently placing the textbook back into his home. “its a really nice place. A lot more color than I’m used to, but its been really cool to get to see some other creatures. I never knew hippogriffs were as tall as they are!”
 
 
The alicorn gave a light laugh. “I was surprised the first time too! But you’re right. Its really cool to finally be able to see everycreature sharing peace and harmony. H-how are you settling into your new home? I know its not exactly like it used to be, but…”
 
 
“Oh, your Majesty, its wonderful. I know my parents already said, but we really can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. Hearing about how the others are doing too, that they’re okay and happy and excited about their new homes…its nice.” Ophelia finished weakly. She tried as hard as she could to possibly muster some more enthusiasm for the incredibly generous princess, but her mental energy simply didn’t allow for it. Twilight Sparkle certainly did not fail to take notice. Fighting the frown on her muzzle, she instead stacked the books she’d pulled from the shelves neatly and landed gracefully beside the pegasus.
 
 
“Here we go! A few books to fill those new shelves! I don’t have every one you wrote down, but I know almost every bookseller in Equestria at this point, so I shall see what I can do! They’ll appreciate a few sales as well.” She said cheerfully, levitating the stack beside them. Ophelia looked at it up and down, her ice blue eyes as wide as dinner plates.
 
 
“I…those are mine? Ma’am, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you…” she trailed off as Twilight waved a dismissive hoof.
 
 
“A princess helps her subjects in need, and I couldn’t leave a fellow book-lover without anything good to read. Plus, you have great taste.” She said, pulling a book off the top of the stack and placing it into the teen’s hooves. Ophelia stared down at the cover, blinking rapidly. Clover and the Pillars: The Thunder Bandit. Twilight noticed her eyes misting over, and she leaned forward in concern. “Is there something wrong with it? Does it have a stain? Spike and I try to keep up on top of what comes in and out, but sometimes they slip through the cracks - “
 
 
“Oh, no, no!” Ophelia quickly said, her silver cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, no, its wonderful. I don’t know how to thank you…I just…my copy back…back at Our Town was signed by the author. I actually got to meet him while he was on tour, and it was really cool. Life may have been quiet there, but there were…a lot of memories.” Her lower lip began to tremble and she trailed off, struggling not to beak down like an infant - in front of a princess, no less. Twilight’s expression was soft as she lifted a hoof, gently putting over the young pony’s shoulders.
 
 
“I know how you feel, Ophelia. I know its hard when something as simple as a book holds so many memories, and then, its in ashes around you, and…you still try to hold on to those memories.” She said, almost in a wistful tone. The pegasus looked up, seeing the alicorn beside her wearing a rather sad smile.
 
 
“I know that they teach you guys about some stuff my friends and I have done. But, only a little while after I got my wings, I fought one of the worst villains I’ve come across yet. I will admit, he and I were pretty well-matched. And despite my efforts to keep him away from town, he ended up destroying my home. Golden Oak Library was where I lived when I first moved to Ponyville, and it was home.
 
 
“I still remember the smell of the wood, the warm feeling of opening the door and coming in after a long day, and the memories my friends and I made there. Heck, the last few moments I was a unicorn on the physical plane, I stood in the center of that library.” Twilight’s tone turned softer towards the end of her statement, a few memories that she hadn’t touched upon in awhile rushing back.
 
 
“That was Tirek, that ruined your home, wasn’t it?” Ophelia inquired quietly. Twilight nodded.
 
 
“Yes. There was no salvaging it. Everything but the roots were in ashes. Every book, every journal and report, gone. I was lucky to get myself and Owlicious out. True, after we defeated him, I did move into this rather lovely castle, but…at first? It was really hard. It felt really cold, unfeeling, and empty at first. Nothing was familiar. I would wake up in the middle of the night, try to go the the kitchen for a glass of water, and find myself in the basement. There would be times, before I filled up the library, that I would go in there, look at the empty shelves, and cry. I felt so homesick, that even with my friends’ help, it took awhile to get the castle to feel like home.
 
 
But now, its where my family lives. And when I see just a little something that reminds me of one of them, or my friends, then it reminds me that this is home and it will never feel empty as long as we don’t let it.” Twilight gave Ophelia’s shoulder a gentle pat. “I know its going to take awhile for you to settle in, and you don’t need to rush yourself. Taking it one day at a time is the best thing to do, and you don’t have to do it alone.”
 
 
Ophelia looked up at the princess again, feeling that familiar, chilly rush of anxiety flow through her nerves. How do you admit to the Princess of Friendship that you don’t have any friends?
 
 
“I…y-yeah, my dad loves to decorate. He’s already hung up his collectible fishing poles…”
 
 
“Ophi, that’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Twilight interrupted gently. “I’ve talked with your parents. You didn’t have the easiest time in Our Town, did you?”
 
 
Why was her tone so knowing? Ophelia shifted uncomfortably, clutching the book closer to her feathered chest.
 
 
“‘s hard being different. Just wasn’t easy to make friends, is all. Read about birds instead.” She mumbled, keeping her eyes lowered towards the cool crystal floor.
 
 
“Sometimes, its not easy, is it? And I know your parents are awesome, but them and other adults? Its not the same. Trying to process something as awful as losing your entire town, and nearly losing your life during such, without feeling like you have somepony to talk to is incredibly hard.” Twilight stated gently. Ophelia Moon closed her eyes in an attempt to keep back the tears.
 
 
“Mom and Dad listen, but its hard to talk to them. They had to go through it too, and making them go through it again when I…that’s not fair. I just…I’m not the greatest ‘friend’ material right now.” She admitted, her small wings drooping and her ears falling against her head. The princess nearly wanted to laugh out of empathy, but knew it was the wrong time to do so. Instead, she decided to introduce an idea she’d been working on since Ophelia had arrived.
 
 
“I know quite a few creatures who have felt like that, and proven not only themselves, but Equestria, wrong. And I know a few in this very town that would be really excited to have the chance to be your friend.” Twilight said, pulling a picture off the wall and through the air until it hovered before Ophi. A lovely quartz frame surrounded several smiling faces - Twilight herself at the center, holding three small children in her forelegs. Ophelia recognized two of them, the unicorn princess and draconequus, as younger versions of the creatures that visited her at the hospital, waving shyly from the doorway. The pale unicorn colt, she hadn’t met yet.
 
 
“If you never give yourself a chance, then you’ll never have the opportunity. I know it feels better, sometimes, to just keep to yourself. Its harder to hurt you then, right? But then you close yourself off to so many memories you can make, so many days to make special. You close yourself off to showing other creatures how amazing you are. And, believe me, I’ve known others who thought it would be better to just study, and go through life by yourself. You don’t need to throw open the door entirely, but…” Twilight lifted another picture from a table nearby, levitating it beside the other. An old, worn picture stood inside, depicting the younger head members of the Court of Friendship, with the wingless Twilight at the center of them all.
 
 
“If you crack it open just a little, you might be surprised who would want to take their own chance. I won’t speak to my daughter or her friends about our conversation, or ask her to do anything. I’m just going to encourage you to keep an eye open, and maybe be willing to have a conversation or two. Athena can actually crack one mean joke.” She finished, gently setting the pictures back into their rightful places. Ophelia sat quietly, working the princess’s words around in her head and finding herself not quite sure what to say. Twilight then picked up the rather large stack of books again, glancing between them and Ophelia’s small saddle bag, before teleporting them away instead. “There! Ready to be sorted and alphabetized. I left that part for you…even though its my favorite.” she finished with a wink. The filly couldn’t help but smile, her eyes still slightly damp.
 
 
“Thank you ma’am. I…it might not be so bad to, y’know, grab a milkshake with somepony or something. I bet Sugarcube Corner has the best ones in Equestria, if the cupcakes Mrs. Pie brought me were anything to go by!” She said with a bit of gusto in her voice, clearly recalling the delectable red velvet treat she’d enjoyed while her wing was healing. It was certainly a bright point during a very bleak hospital stay. Twilight smiled even wider, though raised a cautious hoof.
 
 
“Well, do prepare yourself. You are certainly going to make a friend or two if you walk into that place. The Pies are known for their…enthusiasm, when it comes to friendship.” Twilight said with a bit of nostalgia, clearly recalling coming across the cheerful, frizzy-maned pink pony on her very first day in Ponyville, hearing her delighted gasp echo clearly in her memories.