//------------------------------// // Prologue to Book Two- The True Meaning of Friendship // Story: Stereoheart // by FimFan14 //------------------------------// Author's Note: This part is an intermission between parts one and two. It covers the time in between the end of part one and the start of part two. Also, from this moment, I am accepting suggestions for story arcs through PM's. Please note, though, that I will not reply, as it would be a giveaway, but will credit you if I use your idea. Until then, just enjoy! Stereo trotted slowly through a large corridor, accompanied only by two others- his brother, Frisky; and Princess Luna, ruler of the night. He had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, a mild uneasiness. They approached a large door, the strange feeling getting stronger, and for obvious reasons. “This be the Royal Canterlot Throne Room,” Princess Luna said. “And this shall be thy final chance to defend thyself. They doth not deserve retribution.” “I-I understand, Princess,” Stereo said. “But I want to face them.” “Very well, we admire thy courage.” Luna said. “And thou shall have thy chance at vengeance.” “Princess, I don’t want revenge, just justice.” They all straightened as the doors opened before them, held by two unicorn guards. Stereo felt the pressure of everypony’s eyes on him. The eyes of Princess Celestia, the ruling monarch of the land, and the sun. Also the eyes of another princess, one that was pink, and the captain of the royal guard, and also several soldiers. But worst of all, the eyes of his parents. ’Why is everypony making such a big thing out of this?’ He thought. ’It’s a kidnapping case, not a royal murder!’ He vaguely noticed Luna move to a chair to the right of the large one that Celestia occupied, and so moved towards one of the prepared seats. “We begin the case of Stereoheart and Frisky versus Autumn Star and Spring Breeze,” Princess Celestia began, noting that everypony was in attendance. “We are here to try the Pegasi Autumn Star, and his Wife, Spring Breeze, for the unlawful abduction of the two Unicorn foals Stereoheart and Frisky. I call Stereoheart forward to testify.” Stereo gulped. He hated public speaking. He could barely talk to his par… Autumn Star and Spring Breeze, let alone a crowd of about twenty.  He trotted up to the stage, sweat visible on his face. He couldn’t screw up now. If he didn’t present enough evidence, then he would have to go back. To Cloudsdale. But Luna wasn’t going to let that happen. “Why don’t thou recount for us the memories that were revealed to thee?” She said. She knew that she would probably have to coach him along, and was prepared to do so. “Well, first, the royal doctor said that they were reliable memories,” Stereo began. “And I wouldn’t be offended if somepony were to use a lie detection spell for good measure.” At the comment, about five horns glowed from the detachment of guards. “At first, the memories didn’t make any sense, and some were even in the wrong order. They probably knew that I would remember everything that happened if we got back our magic, and so they hid it from us, and they beat me when I started using it.” Celestia glanced at the guards with the active lie detection spell, and they all nodded. She glared hatefully at the two defendants. “I could lock you up for a year or more for that accusation alone!” She said, before regaining her composure. “The thought that you would do something so evil as to harm one of my subjects, and a child no less, is enough to have you forbidden from seeing children forever!” “Sister,” Luna said, standing and placing a hoof on the throne arm. “Let the child finish his tale. He has much to tell.” “Very well. Proceed.” “What they didn’t want us to know, is that they tried to sell us!” The guards all nodded furiously, verifying everything that Stereo said. “We have fake doctor’s notes, for illegal surgeries; an illegal product to make my horn disappear; and a lifetime of memories of us being slaves, when they couldn’t sell us!” “These accusations are false!” Spring shouted. “I love them! They’re my only children!” Celestia looked over to the pink princess. “Princess Cadence, your verdict?” The Alicorn now identified as Cadence bowed her head, her horn glowing and wrapping a warm pink glow around Autumn Star and Spring Breeze. A shocked expression fell over her face, followed by a single tear. “Not a drop of love in them!” Celestia glowered at them, ready to call her judgment. “Does the plaintiff have any further accusations?” “Just one, your highness,” Stereo responded, ready to deliver the money shot. “They said, and I quote; ‘When we clear this up, we will rip that mark straight off of your flank.’” Celestia glanced at her makeshift ‘lie squad’, all of whom nodded solemnly. Celestia whipped her head around to look at the defendants, her mane practically aflame as her body sought ways to vent the rage that boiled inside her. ”YOU ARE HEREBY SENTENCED TO LONG-TERM IMPRISONMENT, UNTIL A TIME SEEN FIT!” Celestia would have cringed at using the Royal Canterlot voice, if she wasn’t so angry, that is. YOU ARE CHARGED WITH ABDUCTION, BODILY HARM, EVASION OF THE LAW, CONTRABAND, CHILD LABOUR AND CHILD ABUSE, AMONG OTHER CHARGES! TAKE THEM AWAY!” The two struggling ‘parents’ were dragged out of the royal throne room, presumably to the Canterlot dungeon. Princess Celestia cooled her temper a slight amount, merely grunting her next statement. “We find the defendant guilty. Court is adjourned.” *knock* *knock* *knock* Stereo woke to the steady rapping of the door in his temporary quarters, struggling to make his way out of the tangled mess of sheets that adorned the fabulous bed he had slept on. “Stereoheart, it is Princess Luna. We hope that thou art awake, and prepared for breakfast.” Stereo gave up, throwing the sheets off with telekinesis. He quickly placed them all neatly over the bed, before rushing to the door. “Thou hast just awoken, have thou not?” Luna smirked. “Umm… no, I’ve been up for… half an hour now,” Stereo replied, unsure what was amusing the princess. “Thou must take longer to prepare thy mane than we do,” Luna replied casually. Stereo’s mane glowed momentarily, as he quickly styled it with magic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, before changing the subject. “Where’s Frisky?” “I’m right here!” His brother’s reply came. “C’mon, I’m getting hungry!” The trio made their way down the long stairway that led from his suit, and to the ground level. “Thanks for saving us, Princess,” Stereo said after some time. “‘Twas not a trouble,” Princess Luna said. “It is us, who should thank thee for being so smart as to heed our warnings.” “Yes, Princess, bu…” “Luna.” “Excuse me?” Stereo replied. “Luna,” The Princess said. “Call us Luna.” “But you’re a princess!”  Stereo argued. “It wouldn’t be right!” “Please, save it.” Luna replied. “Thou could do us a great service by granting our request. We expect reverence, yes; but we wish more than anything to be looked upon as a friend by our subjects.” “Fine then… Luna.” They got to the bottom of the long staircase, and began navigating long hallways. “And besides,” Luna continued, “‘tis not important. We have more important matters to attend to.” “Such as?” “Such as what shall happen to thee once thou hast left the castle.” “Oh…” “Thou hast three options,” Luna said. “The first, thou get placed in a Canterlot orphanage.” “I think I’ll pass.” “The second,” Luna continued, “A foster home, also in Canterlot.” “That sounds better,” Stereo said, “but what about Frisky?” “Please, let us finish,” Luna said, only a hint of irritation in her voice. “One of the Elements of Harmony has volunteered to be thy temporary- or possibly permanent guardian.” “The elements of what now?” “The Elements of Harmony,” Luna began. “They art Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and Magic. They art embodied by six ponies, each of whom demonstrate their respective elements as key traits to their personas. They art based in Ponyville, and have saved Equestria from many a disaster.” “Ponyville?” Stereo said. “That name sounds familiar.” “It may do, as its fame has risen considerably due to the Elements of Harmony residing there,” Luna suggested.  “We’re sure that thou would enjoy life in Ponyville very much; everypony knows everypony, everypony is kind, and everypony is understanding.” “You sound like you want me to pick option three,” Stereo said. “That would be preferable,” Luna confirmed. “We could keep track of you, and your welfare.” “Well then, I choose three!” Stereo said. “What about you, Frisky?” “Three sounds good, I’m in!” Luna, Frisky and Stereo had eventually arrived at the royal dining room, the three of them sitting close to one another at one end of a long table. They all waited for their food, save for Luna, who wasn’t eating. “What’s that smell?” Frisky said. “That be the Royal Canterlot Morning Breath,” Luna said wryly. “We admit, being Princess of the Night means that we seldom stay up this late. It is way past our bedtime, and we shall leave after your food has arrived. Until then, I shall tell thee of thy next quest.” “There’s more?” Stereo said. “Nothing so urgent as last time, just something that thou might one day uncover. It shall, however, complete thy destiny. Probably.” “Probably?” “Well…” Luna thought, “We only know so much about thou. We can’t tell what thy might do once thou discover thy destiny.” “Why don’t you tell me what I’m supposed to discover now?” Stereo asked. “I’ve got my cutie mark, Equestrian will won’t hold you back. What’s stopping you?” “We are just evil in that way,” Luna said with a smirk. “And besides, it shall be much sweeter when thou discover it for yourself!” When she finished, the food arrived. “We shall take our leave, now,” Luna said. “Feel free to explore after breakfast, servants shall collect thou when Celestia is ready to talk with thee. “Why does Princess Celestia want to talk with us?” Stereo asked. “Formalities, and such,” Luna replied. “Goodbye, and we hope to hear from thee soon. The element of magic has quite a useful dragon, he can send letters to Celestia in an instant. We’re sure she wouldn’t mind letting you use him.” “Goodbye, Luna!” Stereo yelled, as she flew out of the nearest window, presumably headed for her chambers. Stereo and Frisky downed their food in no time, eager to explore. They wound through a myriad of hallways and corridors, looking for something interesting. The best thing they came across was the library. Stereo recalled his time in the Cloudsdale library, with some annoyance, when he couldn’t find a single spell book. “How about we look for some magic books?” Stereo suggested. “Reading!” Frisky protested. “Why do we have to read? Isn’t there another way to learn?” “No, Frisky,” Stereo said sternly. “You’ll be grateful in the end when you can do cool stuff with that horn of yours.” Stereo left the discussion at that, walking up to the nearest reception desk. “Hello, and welcome to the Royal Canterlot Archives!” A cheery mare said from behind the counter. “How can I help you?” “Can you show us some book on magic, something for beginners?” “Beginners?” The receptionist said. “You look a little old for that! Are you sure you don’t want anything more… advanced?” “No, I only learned that magic existed about a week ago. I need to catch up with my age group, and fast.” “That’s surprising.” She said. “But if you’re sure.” She led them down, through many shelves, until they reached a section entitled ‘Magic- Beginners Theory and Spellbooks’. “Thank you, Miss,” Stereo said, levitating a book entitled ‘Magic Theory for First Time Users’ and opening it to the section entitled ‘The basic uses of magic’. It seemed that he knew what was shown in ‘What is magic’ and ‘Accessing magic for the first time’. He began to read; Magic has many uses, but to be able to understand them, one must know some slightly more advanced theories. If an individual has studied even the most basic text delving into the field of the disapproved ‘Anthropology Theory’, then one would be familiar with ‘hands’. In short, hands are nimble appendages used for manipulating objects [see illustration]. The reason I am telling you this is because of the patented ‘manus procedure’. Using this procedure is highly inefficient, but can be mastered by anypony. One simply manipulates the world with magic, likening his magic to hands. Some examples are- Creating a shield by ‘blocking’ with your ‘hands’, or making yourself invisible by, bit by bit, ‘wiping your image away’ with your ‘hands’. Basic spells, such as levitation (‘grab’ the object with your ‘hand’) and shielding can still be used efficiently, and are even practiced often using the manus procedure, but spells become more inefficient as they become more complex. For example, the invisibility spell I mentioned earlier would take on average, about ten seconds to complete, as you would have to slowly ‘wipe’ in specific areas before you were fully invisible. The quickest time I myself could achieve this particular spell was just under three seconds, and… “Okay, I’ve read enough,” Stereo said. He resigned to the fact that he could only read so much before getting the urge to experiment, and this author could write and write and write… “Frisky!” He said. “Watch this!” He slowly repeated the invisibility spell, ‘wiping his image away’ with his ‘hands’, musing how similar it was to wiping a blackboard. In about eight seconds, he had completely faded. He noticed that he didn’t have to concentrate on the spell, but just supply the flow of magic to his horn. He cut off the magic, however, after about ten seconds. He faded back into existence. “Wow!” Frisky said. “You have to teach me that! It was so cool!” “Well, it was pretty easy,” Stereo replied. “First you imagine that…” “Stereoheart, Frisky, I presume?” Said another voice, who was soon identified as a royal guard. “Yes,” Stereo said. “That’s us” “Princess Celestia wishes to see you.” Stereo and Frisky approached Celestia on her throne, bowing briefly, before backing away. “You wished to see us, Princess?” Stereo said courteously. “Yes, I have asked you here to make sure that you are absolutely sure of your decision to move to Ponyville.” “Is there a reason that we should choose another option?” Stereo replied worriedly. “No, quite the opposite!” Celestia said. “It is probably the best available option for you. I just wanted to be sure of your decision. Since you are, you should also know that you are leaving immediately.” At her word, a single servant came around a corner, holding two bags in his magical grasp. Stereo took his bag, the glow around the suitcase turning from yellow to violet purple, and Frisky’s to a purple-blue. Stereo asked the servant to stay a moment, quickly taking out of his suitcase a quill and parchment. “I forgot just one thing,” Stereo said. He quickly scribbled, in his neat magic-writing; Dear Mr. Noteshine; This is your student, Stereoheart, and I am writing to let you know that I cannot continue learning music from you, as my parents have been exposed as foalnappers. The Princesses have agreed to let us stay with one of the elements of harmony, in Ponyville. I will continue to study music, and I will come and visit you when I can, if you would like. I hope to hear from you soon; Your former student, Stereoheart “Sorry, but can you send this letter, it’s for my old music teacher, Mr. Noteshine.” The servant nodded, and began trotting away with the parchment, before being stopped by Celestia. “Let me take care of it for you,” she said, reading the address, and then casting a spell on it. It disappeared. “It’s on its way. And before you go, I’d like to apologize for being so… tyrannical at the hearing. It was very much out of character for me.” “It’s no problem, Princess,” Stereo said. “You put away some bad ponies, and they probably deserved what they got.” “So did you,” The Princess said. “You deserve your new life.”