Twilight looked up at the storefront sign.

Knick Knack's Gifts and Antiques

She turned her head up and down the street, unsurprised to see nopony around. It was rather late, after all, and even Canterlot found time to get some sleep.

But despite the hour, lights were still on inside the modest little shop before her. Twilight reached over her shoulder to her saddlebags to confirm they were still there, just as she had a dozen times before in the previous hour. After a moment of consideration, she carefully pushed on door, and it politely let her in.

Twilight's eyes roamed the shelves that greeted her inside with an unfamiliar feeling of wonder. Among the shelves were little novelties and ornaments of all sorts of fanciful colors and design, almost none of which had any functional or practical value. And yet Twilight couldn't help the sense of spontaneous giddiness rising inside her. A warmth spread within her and a smile graced her lips as she thought back to her days as a young little filly.

Perhaps this was the kind of world Pinkie Pie lived in.

As she continued down aisle, a subtle shift in the contents of the shelves began to take hold. Soon Twilight was inspired into a new sense of awe as she passed by the beautifully crafted antiques. Every surfaced was polished to a shine, every facet of every jewel catching the light perfectly to radiate a glow beyond compare. Twilight could barely bring herself to turn away as she took in all of the breathtaking pieces around her.

Rarity would certainly feel at home here.

Twilight continued to progress through the aisle until she came to the back of the shop. Tucked into the corner was a small counter, behind which stood a bespectacled grey stallion. The wrinkles next to his eyes became more pronounced as he offered her a friendly smile.

"Good evening, miss," he said.

"Hello, sir," Twilight said as she stepped up to the counter. "I'm sorry to intrude at such a late hour."

The old stallion simply shook his head. "No need to apologize. It's worth staying open to see a friendly face. There is little in this world more precious than a smile."

Twilight offered him a small, bashful one.

"Now, how can I help you?" he asked. "Are you finding everything alright?"

"Actually, I need to speak to the owner of this shop," Twilight said. "Are you Knick Knack?"

The stallion chuckled slightly, adjusting his glasses. "I do own this shop, but if you were hoping to meet Knick, I'm afraid you're a bit too late." He gave her a slight bow. "I'm his son, Bauble."

"Oh. Oh..." Twilight's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright, miss." His smile never faltered. "It happened quite some time ago."

"The Princess never mentioned..."

"I understand. She has so many subjects, after all." He made a vague gesture with his hoof. "We can't expect her to keep track of all of us, now can we?"

His reassurances slowly managed to set Twilight at ease. What struck her the most about this stallion was his brilliant eyes. They mimicked the color of polished gold, the color of so many of the antiques she passed on the way here. The light that danced in his eyes had not faded in his old age.

They were eyes that never forgot how to laugh.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he offered again. "Are you looking for something specific?"

"Well, Mister Bauble--"

"Please," he said, "call me 'Baub'."

"Okay... Baub." Twilight's face scrunched at the odd name, but continued. "Maybe you could look at something for me."

"Ahh, are you looking to trade?" He seemed to brighten at the prospect. "Or perhaps you're in need of an appraisal?"

"It-It's not that." With a flare from her horn, she levitated a small object out of her saddlebag. Between the two ponies floated an ornate white key decorated with blue accents. The bow of the key was shaped like the wings of a pegasus, while the tip of the key was etched with a spiral groove, imitating a unicorn's horn.

"I was told to bring this to Knick Knack," Twilight explained.

Bauble leaned in close to the key and adjusted his glasses. "My word..." He straightened up again and looked to the back room. "Excuse me for a moment."

Before Twilight could respond, he disappeared into the other room. In his absence, Twilight set the key down on the counter and let her eyes wander. On the nearby wall hung a collection picture frames, catching Twilight's attention. Some appeared to be pictures of families, while others contained portraits of individual ponies. Several appeared to be candid, spontaneously capturing a random moment.

But in all of the pictures, the ponies had similar polished eyes, and all of them were smiling. Ponies were laughing, cheering, and smiling not for the camera, but with the camera. It was a wall filled to the brim with joy.

Twilight thought back to her first encounter with Applejack's family and couldn't help but smile.

Her eyes drifted over the photographs until one caused her to stop.

Kept in a simple wooden frame was a beautiful young mare with a cream-colored coat and soft features. Her magenta mane seemed to glimmer like the light in her eyes, and her smile was equal parts heartwarming and dazzling. Twilight leaned in closer to photograph, awestruck by the sight before her. It wasn't merely a picture of a pony.

This picture managed to capture a moment of true happiness.

"That there's my granddaughter, Trinket."

Twilight quickly turned to voice. She had been so absorbed by the picture, she hadn't noticed Bauble's return.

"About your age, I imagine," he continued. "Has herself a nice little shop in the northern district."

"She's very pretty." Twilight shook her head, reminding herself how late it was already and that she had come here with a purpose. "I'm sorry, Baub. I don't mean to waste your time."

Bauble simply smiled with a shake of his head. "Has anypony ever said you apologize too much?"

Twilight tried to formulate some sort of response.

"Take it from an old pony like me: the world is far more patient than you'd expect."

Bauble turned to look at his wall of photographs and saw generations of joyful eyes and captivating smiles. Twilight's own gaze wandered over the pictures once more until she noticed a small cardboard box that had been placed on the counter.

"What's this?" Twilight asked.

A golden glow enveloped Bauble's horn and opened up the box. "This, my dear, is a little mystery that's been in my family for generations." From out of the cardboard floated a small white box, covered in shining gemstones and blue trim. Bauble lowered it onto the counter with the same care one would give a sleeping foal.

Twilight readied her magic to lift the key, but stopped when she noticed Bauble's expression.

He was gazing down at the box, the wrinkles near his eyes becoming more distinct as he gave it a tender smile. He bore the look of proud father, or perhaps, a long-time friend.

Twilight left the key alone.

"You see, miss," Bauble continued, "my grandfather-- that is, Knick's father-- Doodad, came to possess this curious little box many years ago. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn't figure out what it was. No amount of creative magic or lock-picking spells could get it open. He tried just about everything he could without threatening its structural integrity." He let out a soft chuckle. "Probably wouldn't hurt it, anyway. It's certainly magic in nature. The silly thing doesn't even gather dust!"

Twilight stared at the simple little box. Even in the faint light around them, it seemed to glitter and shine as if it had just been polished.

"So what's a pony with a mystery to do?" Bauble asked. "Why, see the Princess, of course!

That's when Knick and the Old Dood went to have an audience with her. Knick was little more than a colt at the time. It's amazing the Princess even remembers him after all these years." He chuckled and finally broke his gaze away from the box. "I'm sorry. This must all sound like ancient history to you. Things that happened in your great-great-grandparents' time."

"N-No, I want to hear more," Twilight said quickly. "Please continue."

He smiled to himself as he adjusted his glasses. "'The world is far more patient than you'd expect'." Bauble cleared his throat and continued. "Well, when the Old Dood presented the box to the Princess, she looked it over and said that somepony else would be the one to open it. She simply told him that the answers we seek most have a habit of finding their way to us, often when we least expect it." A smile of amusement spread across his lips. "Well, the Old Dood was disappointed, to say the least, but he was never one to question the wisdom of the Princess, so he held onto the little box, always hoping he'd see what's inside.

I must've heard the story a thousand times from the Old Dood before his time came. And then my father Knick inherited the box.

He and I spent a lot of time together with this box, trying to figure out its secrets." He let out a laugh. "We got really creative. We tried to use invisibility spells on it to look inside, but it continued to resist every spell we threw at it. We spent countless hours trying to fabricate a key that would fit, but it always seemed to know. We even tried picking it up and shaking it!"

Twilight joined in his laughter until they both settled down.

"Yes, well," Bauble said with a sigh, "eventually, Knick's time came and went, and he left the box and this shop to me." He looked out at his little shop fondly. "You could almost say I was raised in these aisles, with this little box here to keep me company."

Twilight turned to follow his misty gaze. She tried to imagine Bauble as a young colt, running up and down those aisles, surrounded by all the lights and colors the shop had to offer. As she returned her attention to the box, she considered how long Bauble's family had been watching over it, all because of the words of the Princess.

If Rainbow Dash were here, she'd probably applaud their commitment.

"Now, the Old Dood, Knick, and I all had different theories on what's inside this box," he said, giving it a gentle tap. "It might be the enchanted jewelry box of an ancient wizard, or maybe it's somepony's personal treasures they wanted to keep safe."

"Like a time capsule?"

"Perhaps," he mused. "I've even considered the thought that it might be empty."

Bauble gave it another curious look, one that Twilight was able to recognize. It was the look one dons when considering a puzzle, trying to match up the pieces before even touching them. But his smile never faltered, and the light in his eyes never diminished. It was a puzzle he'd approached many times before, and yet never lost his enjoyment of it.

"I had the thought of passing it on to Trinket, now that the years are catching up to me," Bauble said distantly.

Twilight looked between the box and the key. "I-- Baub, I--"

"I think it's about time to open it," Baub said, blinking the mist out of his eyes. "Don't you?"

Twilight, unable to speak, simply nodded. Her horn began to shine with a soft purple light, enveloping and lifting the key.

"I only wish Knick and the Old Dood were here to see this," Bauble said softly.

Twilight directed the key into the keyhole, sliding it in smoothly after they'd been apart for so long. With one last flare from her horn, Twilight turned the key.

The lid clicked fully open, and a gentle melody began flowing into the air. In the center of the box, on a circular mirror platform, was a small silver sun and crescent moon, spinning on their own stands while the platform danced them around in circles. On the inside of the lid was a depiction of two young fillies-- one a sheer, brilliant white with a flowing pink mane; the other a rich, deep blue with a bouncing azure mane. They were chasing each other in circles just like the sun and moon below them, smiling and laughing as only two fillies could.

"It's a music box," Twilight said in awe.

"It's beautiful." Bauble drew a shuddering breath. "Absolutely beautiful."

Twilight nodded and as she watched the sun and moon in their dance, she let the soft music of the box fill her and warm her heart. It was soothing and comforting, like a lullaby she may or may not have heard when she was young. It held her close and whispered serenity into her ears.

It was the kind of song Fluttershy would want to sing to her friends.

The music slowed to a stop, and the sun and moon ended their dance. The magic that operated the box would be ready to start the dance again the next time it was opened, offering its joys and comforts to anypony around to accept them.

"I'd like you to have this," Bauble said.

Twilight looked up at him in shock. "But, Baub! It's been in your family for generations! I-I couldn't possibly..." She stopped when she saw his eyes. Those eyes like polished gold that never stopped smiling.

Bauble held his hoof up, indicating his beloved little shop. "This is a place of gifts," he said with a smile. "A place of sharing the joy that fills a pony with another. A place where you find the perfect gift for just the right pony.

And I can think of no gift more perfect for you than this music box."

"I-I don't know what to say," Twilight said softly.

"There's no need to say anything."

She offered him a smile. A friendly smile, more precious to the old stallion than any treasure or word of thanks.

Twilight looked back at the music box, still shining and glittering with a light that would never fade with age. It was beauty and elegance, comfort and happiness-- all inside a modest little box. And it was hers.

Yet the song was over, and the dance was finished, if only until next time.

For now, it was time to close the box.