The Ponyville Critic

"I can help her with her homework, I've always wanted to be a teacher, maybe some day I might." Star said, as she sat down next to Blossom. "Although, let me know if you do need any help with dinner tonight, it's not every day we have royalty dining with us." Star smiled.

"Alright, well I won't keep you too long, I'll see you later then." Twilight said.

"Thanks for coming by, there's a lot of books here..." Star said, looking up at the bookshelf.

As Twilight walked away, Star Gazer dropped by where the little filly and Arcania were

practicing magic.

"Absolutely, i'll see you tonight, okay?" She said as she walked away in Star's direction.

Star turned around to see Twilight.
"Oh, Princess. I saw you were talking to mum, but I didn't want to interrupt, how are you?" Star asked.

"I'm, doing fine... are you keeping up with this place? The library is really big, but I guess you know that, huh?" Twilight joked.

"Yes, yes I do..." She laughed.

"It's your decision to tell her, Arcania, but I'm just warning you that your actions may have long-term consequences. Reminding of her of one of the most traumatic incidents of her life may not be what she needs right now. But as I said, your decision, you're her mother."

"I don't know if we should tell her, I mean look at her she's happy, she's got this job, she's still got you, and that's what really matters. How well will she take the news?" Twilight said.

Star smiled as the little filly hugged her. Helping little ponies find their way is what made this job worthwhile for her. She looked over and saw Arcania and Twilight in a bit of a heated discussion. But she had books to re-order so she went back to that.

"Aww, thank you very much." Star smiled. "If you follow me, I can show you. This is a really big library, and trust me, I've gotten lost in these halls a lot more than I care to mention." Star put the books into a pile in front of the bookcase. "Well, they're as organised as they were before." She whispered to herself.

Star got the book from the shelf for the little filly with her magic.

"Here you go, all the spells in this book are fairly simple. But if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I've spent a long time reading up on magic, so if you're having trouble let me know."

"I should really talk to Mum about this system. Star Swirl's Magical Compendium does not belong next to a children's book about the princesses..." She complained, readjusting her glasses. She then felt a tug on her tail. "Oh, I'm sorry, uh, can I help you with anything?"

Star just snuggled into Arcania. "That sounds nice, I can't wait to stay with you."

-10 years later-

Star Gazer  was walking down an aisle of books in the Canterlot library. She was supposed to put all the returned books back onto the shelves, but the organisational system still confused her.

"Magical books, magical non-magic books... story books, how original..." Star said, placing a few books back.

Do you mind if I skip to a later point in time when Star Gazer is a bit older?

"I don't know, but I know I don't care..." Star Gazer said, she reached up and put a hoof on Star's chest. "...they're gone now, but you're still here. And when you say you will never leave me, I trust you. And so does Ted, he belonged to my mum, who gave it to me." Star giggled and put the small teddy bear on Arcania's head with her magic.

"We had a good time, she's just such a sweet little filly. I can't imagine anyone leaving her behind, unless there was no other option." Fluttershy said. "I'll leave you two to talk, I have to get back to my animals." Fluttershy trotted off.

"What's wrong?" Star asked Arcania. "I heard big ponies only cry when they're sad."

"You look so shiny, like me!" Star snuggled into her. "This is my old teddy bear, I kind of left him under the bridge..."

"When I mentioned it, she just ran off..." Fluttershy said.

"Sorry, I just couldn't leave him behind... he's my favorite." Star said, taking the little teddy bear and hugging it.

"I'll speak to you later, okay? Don't hesitate to drop by, and we can talk more about this." Twilight was done, she smiled before walking off.

A small while after, Star returned alongside Fluttershy with a slightly tattered looking teddy bear. She was snuggling into it, it was adorable.

"I know, it's nice to see you this happy..." Twilight smiled. "Now, after my meeting is done, I'll get the paperwork started and we'll start looking for Star Gazer's parents, if they are not found then you get to keep full custody of her. Though, if we do find her parents... well, we'll cross that bridge if it comes to it."

"Good, because that pony even in the short amount of time she's known you seems to hang on every word that you say." Twilight said. "She's looking for a beacon of hope in this world and that's you. No pressure or anything, but in her eyes, you really are her mother now. Legally, well that's another case altogether."

"I'm sure she would love that, she has a mother's instinct in her, same way you do." Twilight said, putting a hoof on Arcania's shoulder. "I know you've wanted a little foal for a while now, so I'm really happy for you. I hope all of this works out for you." Twilight sat down on the chair. "A hooficure, if you will... there's diplomats meeting in the castle today and I need to look my best."

Was it the controversy about Tracer's pose? I don't see it as too big of an immediate issue, but it does set a dangerous precedent.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to Overwatch a little more.

"Hold up, Arcania. I'll do the same." Twilight said, following after her. "Are you absolutely sure you know what you're doing with this? With your job as head of the Canterlot library, I don't think you'll be able to spend as much time as you would think with her."

"Okay, Miss Fluttershy." Star turned and smiled at Arcania before trotting off with Fluttershy.

She felt a little odd with this pony, though there was something oddly relatable about her.

"Are you a friend of my... mum's?" Star asked. "She's nice, I like her." Star had a skip in her step.

"...I love you too." Star said, snuggling into her with a few tears in her eyes. But they were tears of happiness.

Her life would be completely different from here on out, no more sleeping under bridges and no more stealing to get by.

She had a mother now. A real one.

"Absolutely, I understand... just let me know if you need any help with anything, okay?" Twilight said before looking to Star then back to Arcania and smiling. "Anything at all." Twilight walked back to the group.

"Arcania! Arcania!" Star ran up to her. "Look at me, I look so shiny." She exclaimed, grinning.

"Why do you say that? With my role as princess I can handle the missing ponies search." Twilight said, a little curious.

Star was humming a little tune as her mane was being dried, her mane had grown a bit since last she had it cut, about 2 months ago, it would be.

"Yes, I understand that, of course..." Twilight led her away. "...but Equestrian law dictates that we have to search for her biological parents before any kind of adoption can take place. I know it's not what you want to hear right now. However, in the absence of any parental guardian, you can be granted temporary guardianship over her. Which is sort of like being a mother, in a... weird sort of way." Twilight looked at Star. "I was fortunate enough to grow up with my own parents... so I can't imagine what she's going through, but I can tell you this... you need to show her, that there are people who love her, prove to her that you won't leave her like her own parents did."

A thought came to her mind, it was the last thing she remembered of her parents before they left.

"Now now, little one. Go to sleep. Mummy will be here in the morning."

"She told me she'd be right back..." She sniffed, how could she even begin to trust anyone after that?

"Arcania?" Twilight whispered. "Could we have a word, uh, in private?"