//------------------------------// // Ch.5 Welcome to Equestria - Part 1 // Story: Past Actions, Future Consequences // by Rill //------------------------------// Luna sighed. She could feel her annoyance for the self-important windbag in front of her slowly growing, but kept what she felt from showing on her face. One of the first lessons Celestia had taught her after her return had been the need to keep her expressions neutral when dealing with ponies making requests, no matter how absurd the requests were. While she found the need to do this irritating to no end, especially when it came to dealing with the nobility, she had to admit that the practice had made her nearly impossible to read when she played poker, or so numerous guards and her advisor had told her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the guard to her right roll her eyes as the pony before the lunar princess continued to talk. Holding up a silver shod hoof for silence, Luna allowed herself a small smile of pleasure as the room grew quiet. “My good sir, I would first like to thank you for bringing this issue before us, but I must decline your request for tax money to fund your project. While some would no doubt welcome a statue of you in their town,” especially the pigeons “we feel that our subjects’ hard earned tax bits would be better spent on roads and schools instead.” She held up her hoof again to forestall his inevitable protest. “We thank you for your time and hope you have a pleasant evening.” She could see the emotional conflict play out on his face, but after a moment he bowed and turned to leave. Luna waited until the door closed behind him before sagging down in her throne, a hoof gently massaging her forehead. Why ponies came to her with proposals that Celestia had already shot down was beyond her. Did they think that she was a pushover compared to her sister? Was it her supposed inexperience? Did they really think that a thousand years on the moon had relieved her memories of a trick that foals tried on their parents? Though she doubted it, perhaps they were hoping that she’d approve their requests just to spite Celestia, like she used to do before her banishment. She glanced over at the lone thestral to her right, who rolled her eyes again at the princess’ raised eyebrow. “How my sister put up with this kind of buffoonery for a thousand years without sending a few to keep me company is beyond me.” She muttered to nopony in particular as she stared at the room’s two main doors. “Perhaps you should ask her.” The younger diarch shrugged, logging her Court Advisor’s idea away for later. “What shall it be tonight?” She asked, turning to the young mare next to her. Honest Truth reached behind the princess’ throne, pulling out a drawer hidden in the base. “Cards or chess” the advisor said, pulling out a deck of cards and an ornate wooden chessboard. “You choose” The princess stated simply. She didn’t particularly care to play either, but it was either this, or sit on her throne and look at the doors on the far side of the throne room for two more hours. Mentally noting to toss a few books in the compartment, the princess’ head rose as the large doors ahead of her slowly opened. Trotting down the long carpet leading to her was a young pegasus clad in shining golden armor. As he approached, Luna could hear the soldier’s heavy breathing. Intrigued, the lunar diarch glanced at Honest Truth, who had stopped setting up the chessboard as soon as the doors had opened. Glancing up at the princess, the young earth pony simply shrugged. “Arise.” Luna said as the armor-clad guard reached the dais and bowed. “What brings you to us this evening…” “Lieutenant Storm Front, ma’am” The guard replied between breaths. Gulping, he continued, “I’ve just returned from a courier run from Manehattan with a dispatch marked ‘Royal Eyes Only’.” Approaching the younger princess the lieutenant turned, revealing the remarkably ordinary looking saddlebag hanging on his left side. Her interest piqued, Luna magically relieved the pegasus of his bag. As it floated to her, she could feel the standard magical seal on the bag burning strongly. Beneath that, she sensed the subtle, yet much more powerful seal placed on it by her sister. If the bag had been intercepted, whoever had it would neutralize the more obvious spell protecting it, but would almost certainly miss the second sealing spell. If anypony tried to open this bag or its many siblings without properly dealing with the second spell, Luna doubted that the Royal Guards would find much of the thief or the bag, except maybe a crater with bits and pieces of both scattered around. Knowing this, Luna regarded the bag with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. It was unusual for one of these bags to arrive in Canterlot and all but unheard of for it to be brought directly to her, instead of being locked up for Celestia to deal with. Thinking, Luna couldn’t recall having ever received one of the bags since her return. Taking the tan bag, Luna touched her horn to the lock. Feeling her sister’s spell react, she pulsed the magic in her horn in a pattern known only to her. As the latch clicked open, the lunar princess let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Glancing at her advisor, Luna levitated the small bundle of papers from the bag, before breaking the seal on the package with a simple wave of her horn. Honest Truth watched the princess read the top sheet of the message. The mare hadn’t reached the position of Court Advisor without learning a few things and as she watched the princess, the earth pony knew from the alicorn’s body language, like the subtle stiffening of her wings and how her eyes slowly grew in size as she read, that something was wrong. Silently glad that the game would have to wait, she quietly packed the chess pieces into the folding board and stowed it back in its hiding spot. Glancing at Luna as she heard the flip of a page, Honest Truth’s suspicions were confirmed with a quick glance at the princess’ slowly dropping jaw. Luna could barely keep her thoughts under control as she skimmed the report’s cover sheets. Reaching the end of the last sheet, she closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. Sighing as she opened her eyes, a single glance at her advisor told the mare everything she needed to know for the moment as the earth pony gestured to the guards who began to close the room down for the night. Watching them go for a moment, the princess turned to the lieutenant, who had been standing at attention in front of her since being relieved of his burden. “We thank you for getting this to us so quickly, Lieutenant.” Luna looked over at Honest Truth, who already had the sheet of paper ready. “Given the sensitive nature of the message, we would ask that you not tell anypony, including your commander or fellow guard, what you delivered.” “Of course, ma’am.” Luna slowly smiled at the soldier’s response. “As well, we would ask that that you take the rest of the night and tomorrow off to recover after such an arduous flight.” Grabbing the small slip of paper from her advisor, Luna signed the pass before giving it to the lieutenant. “Thank you, your majesty” The lieutenant said, saluting. Lowering his hoof at her nod, Storm Front turned around with the kind of precision that can only be beaten into a pony during basic training, the doors closing behind him a moment later as he trotted out of the room. “What’s scheduled for tonight?” Luna asked as the doors closed behind the lieutenant. “Just a meeting with some nobles in two hours.” “Good. Cancel it immediately and anything scheduled for tomorrow as well.” Luna rose from her seat, a few joints popping as she stretched, “If you need me, I will be in my room for the rest of the night. I am also not to be disturbed unless it is an emergency or somepony’s life depends on it.” “Yes ma’am.” “Any word from Cloudsdale about repairs to the weather factory?” The drought that had set in shortly after the factory had been crippled a month earlier was starting to have visible effects on the nation, despite the emergency restrictions and actions that she and Celestia had enacted. Already, reports of increasing food prices were starting to appear. Whether that was a genuine result of the drought or ponies using the situation as a reason to raise their prices remained to be seen. “Repairs to the building’s foundations should be completed by tomorrow morning” The mare said as she cleared the princess’s almost non-existent schedule. “At the earliest, the replacement equipment could arrive sometime this week, though Mr. Weather Vane says he isn’t holding his breath.” Luna nodded as she digested the news. It wasn’t as good as she would have liked, but was much better than it could have been, considering the extent of the damage caused by the explosion. “Have they determined the cause of the accident?” “No ma’am. The investigators’ latest report says that they’re still finding pieces from some of the missing workers.” The young mare shuddered at the mental image of burned, blood soaked feathers being scraped off the wreckage. Luna grimaced at her advisor’s reply. “Keep me informed, and please tell Mr. Vane to contact me or my sister if he needs anything.” “Of course, ma’am” Honest Truth said, bowing as the dark blue alicorn left the room. As the doors to her room opened for her, Luna smiled as candles around the room silently burst to life as she entered, lighting the room with their gentle, inviting glow. Celestia had made sure to keep the room up to date with the latest technologies while her younger sister was gone, going so far as to install electrical lights in the ceiling and along the walls. While the younger alicorn appreciated the thought and did use the lights on occasion, she had found fairly quickly that she much preferred candles to light bulbs. The lights did their job exceptionally well, but perhaps a bit too well in Luna’s opinion. While they lit the room, they also had a tendency to drain the room of any shadows and atmosphere, drowning out the subtleties of the room in favor of stark, naked light that exposed all. Smiling, the lunar diarch walked into her room, feeling at home among the darkened room and its shadows. Along the wall, a lone fireplace crackled as the logs inside slowly incinerated. The gentle glow from the fire made the room’s shadows jump and dance as if they were alive. Most ponies who had seen the room were struck by how different it was from how they had imagined it. The walls of the single room were almost completely lined with fine mahogany bookcases that were filled with scrolls, books and various documents ranging from brand new to items that Luna had grown up with. What bits of the walls that weren’t covered by the bookcases hosted paintings by a number of artists that Celestia had bought over the centuries. From the balcony, a pony could see for miles, with Canterlot gently glowing below and the bright lights of Manehattan a faint promise on the horizon on only the darkest and clearest of nights. Sighing that she wouldn’t get to use her telescope again that night, Luna settled down onto her bed, a plush and rather simple affair that occupied one corner of the room. Feeling the tension drain from her like it always did when she sat on the cloud bed; Luna allowed herself a moment to relax before she began reading the captain’s report. As she did, she paused to look at the photos that had been included, which gave stark witness to what the guard captain’s words could only describe. How this ship had managed to survive was beyond her. Setting the official report aside, Luna turned to what she had been anticipating since she had received the report. Along with the main report, the captain had included a copy of the crew’s memories of the attack. The spell the guards had used allowed a specific memory or sets of memories to be copied to a sheet of paper, allowing investigators to see events from the witness’s view point, yet allowing them to remain detached from any emotions involved. Flipping through the nearly two dozen sheets of paper, Luna removed the sheet marked with the name of the ship’s master. Closing her eyes, the princess channeled some magic into her horn before touching it to the sheet. Luna felt the hard wooden deck heave beneath her hooves as the ship bucked. Unable to stop herself, the princess was thrown into the air before the deck leapt into the air, slamming into her and sending her tumbling into the railing along the bow. Forcing herself to her hooves, Luna wiped her nose across her leg, the brown fur coming back bloody. Looking across the deck, she watched as chaos ruled. At the helm, the captain roared out to the crew, though whatever he said was drowned out by the screams and cries of the ponies below him. From her unique position, the lunar princess watched as a black, scale covered limb that reminded her of a dragon’s tail, shot out of the water and swept across the ship’s deck, sending the few that could fleeing while the rest were thrown over the side, their limp, broken bodies disappearing beneath the waves as soon as they hit. The limb slammed into the ship’s lone mast, wrapping around it before ripping the solid piece of wood straight from the deck. The mast fell like a tree beneath the woodsmare’s ax. The captain, who had been screaming orders the entire time, had enough time for one final, high pitched scream before the mast fell, crushing him and turning the deck and cabin below him into splinters. Luna felt herself go flying as the ship’s bow bucked from the mast crashing into the stern. Getting to her hooves, the sky above her suddenly darkened. Looking up, the grey, cloud filled sky was blotted out by the massive limb as it descended from above. Without thinking, Luna jumped, smashing bodily through the railing, watching the limb break the ship in half as her back slammed into the water below. Struggling to the surface, the princess had enough time read the name Harmony on the back of the ship, before the creature leapt out of the water and pounced on the sinking vessel like a fox on an unsuspecting mouse tunneling beneath a couple feet of snow. Opening her eyes, Luna found herself gasping for breath, her heart racing as she sat in her bed. As she got her breathing under control, the younger diarch grabbed the incident report, scanning it for the name of the ship. Finding the name, she found herself confused by what she had seen. If the Tranquility made it into port, then why had she found herself on an entirely different ship? Why had she gotten a crewmember’s perspective and not the ship’s masters’? Could the memory be fake? Could somepony have figured out a way to create a false memory and knowingly pass it off as the real thing? Popping her neck, Luna grabbed the next memory from the pile. The ship gently heaved under her hooves. Around Luna, ponies were enjoying themselves beneath the warm sun. Smiling, she slowly moved among the crew, nodding at the other ponies as the sound of a lone violin drifted from a group of ponies on the far side of the deck. Across the deck, a gust of wind played with her mane and tail, while sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine as the breeze warmed her fur. Letting herself go for a moment, Luna let herself enjoy the second-hoof sensation. It had been so long since she’d felt the wind in her mane, or the smell of the open ocean that she couldn’t help but enjoy it. Climbing up a flight of steps, Luna sidled up alongside the pony at the helm, kissing him before she knew it. “How’s she doing, Captain?” “Beautifully” the brown and black stallion replied, stealing another long kiss with her. “How’s the kid?” “I don’t know. I saw him storm off a little bit ago, and Zetani didn’t know why when I asked. I was about to hunt him down.” The stallion nodded. “Bring him back with you; he’s missing a good time.” Leaving the stallion, Luna was halfway down the steps when the ship jumped beneath her, sending her flying face first into the deck below. A string of colorful expletives exploded from the first mate as she got to her hooves. Above her, Luna could hear the stallion bellowing to the crew below him, who were picking themselves up. Hearing a shout from above, Luna raced for the port side of the ship. Glancing over the side, the water bubbled and writhed. Without warning, the water alongside the ship exploded, erupting in a column that drenched everypony on deck. Wiping her eyes, the princess looked up to find a black column rising out of the water that reminded her of one of the thinner towers on the old Everfree Castle. Looking up, Luna felt her stomach sink as she saw the massive head that looked down on the ship like it was a meal. Hearing a shout from behind her, the Lunar Princess turned, before throwing herself to the deck, the armored limb barely missing her horn as it whipped overhead. Whipping her head around at the sound of a scream, Luna watched as a young pony who couldn’t have been more than twenty was sent flying over the side, before the creature lunged. As the captain’s voice snapped her back to reality, Luna ran for the back of the ship, grabbing a spear from the air as it was tossed to her “First time holding a spear?” She asked a young colt, who came walking up behind her; a spear gently floating next to him. “Yeah” The colt’s accent caught her off guard. It felt like she had heard it before, but she couldn’t place where or when. One glance told the younger Princess that the colt was about ready to wet himself, not that she could blame him. “Don’t worry; just stab it into anything that has scales.” The ship rocked again. “Don’t hesitate to throw it if you get a shot at its eyes!” The mare hastily added as the water around the ship began to boil. Luna’s world became a blur as the first mate rolled out of the falling limb’s way before bringing her weapon down against the offending limb to no effect. Looking up, the creature roared at her loud enough to leave her ears ringing. Watching it pull its head back, Luna could see a bright glow grow in the creature’s throat as it inhaled. Ducking, Luna watched as the attacker sprayed fire at the ship, only for its attack to be blocked by a golden shield. As she watched from the mare’s perspective, Luna found herself impressed by how the crew reacted, no pony snapping as they worked to defend their ship. The world spun around the princess as she was sent rolling across the deck. She watched in horror as the colt who had thrown up the shield that had saved the ship disappeared in a burst of flames and light. The sound of his scream sent a chill down the princess’ spine as she watched him run blindly through the flames and over the ship’s side. The world around her disappeared as Luna raced for the ship’s side, pulling the colt from the water a heartbeat before the creature struck. As she raced for cover, the colt’s eyes snapped open, his eyes and horn glowing as he fell from her grasp and hit the deck, screaming. Without warning, the world around her disappeared. Moments later, Luna found herself looking at perfect copies of the Tranquility as they emerged from the magical cloud bank. Before she could think about it, the royal sister found herself racing down a staircase as the sound of an explosion tore through the air around her. While the first mate and the ship’s lone zebra talked, Luna ignored them for a moment. Where were those explosions coming from? Since this was a merchant ship, it didn’t carry any heavy cannons, at least, not from what she had seen, and if they did, wouldn’t they have been the first thing the crew went for? Returning to the situation at hoof, she pulsed her horn, pausing the memory as the doctor joined her. She stared at what she saw; momentarily unable to comprehend what lay before her. As she studied the scene, she found her mind racing, questions flooding her mind as she tried to comprehend what she saw. Silently, she resumed the memory. “Well… this is new…” Luna paused the memory again. “Doc, you have no idea…” Groaning, Luna slowly crawled off her bed, feeling the stiff muscles protest the move. She didn’t care; she found that the pain and discomfort helped wake her up. As she paced her room, Luna found that she had far more questions than she could possibly answer at the moment. What was that thing? Where did it come from and why did it attack the Tranquility? Had it attacked others, like the first memory suggested? Yet as she moved about the room, her mind turned to something just as confusing; the colt. Where was he from? Why hadn’t Celestia told her about him? She had full control over the Plane of Ascension, so she would have to know about him. Looking over at the simple digital clock next to her bed, Luna groaned again, seeing that there were still a hoof-full of hours left until sunrise. Grabbing the report as she opened the door, Luna ignored the pair of guards that fell into step beside her as she walked down the hall. She’d let her sister have the final few hours of sleep, knowing that she’d need them. While she couldn’t answer any of her many questions about the colt, she might be able to answer some of her other questions down in the archives. Shadow groaned. Slowly opening his eyes, the young colt’s ears twitched as a gentle breeze played with the leaves of a nearby tree. Yawning, he slowly rolled onto his stomach, wincing as his stiff wing ached from being slept on. Outside, the street lights still burned brightly. Muttering to himself, the lone alicorn slowly dragged himself out into the open. Around the park, the neighborhood was quiet. Taking a moment to stretch, Shadow ignited his horn, pulling on the zipper that kept his vest together. Smiling to himself as he flapped his wings, the alicorn looked up at the hoof-full of stars above him. It would be so easy. All he had to do was get his saddlebags and he could be out of the city well before the sun rose. Muttering to himself, Shadow flapped his wings a couple more times before putting his vest back on. Even if it was dark out and no pony was around to see him, he couldn’t risk it. This was Equestria. There was no telling how many spies Celestia had. If one of them spotted him... Shadow shook his head. He couldn’t risk it. Sighing, the lone colt ignited his horn again, the familiar weight of his bags settling on his back. If he couldn’t fly out of the city, he’d just have leave the other way. At least it wasn’t raining. Celestia stood on the balcony, looking out across the vast expanse before her that was only a fraction of her nation. Below her, Canterlot lay quiet, most of its citizens still sleeping. The street lamps still glowed gently, lighting the city so that it could be seen for miles from its mountain side perch. Closing her eyes, the solar princess sighed in pleasure as a light breeze blew across her back. She could hear her attendant quietly shift behind her, but she ignored the mare for the moment. Rare was the chance that the eldest Royal Sister got to just enjoy the moment, and centuries of experience had taught her to enjoy what she got when she could. Opening her eyes, Celestia could see her sister’s moon slowly sinking in the west, its bone white color starting to soften as it set. Channeling energy to her horn, Celestia could feel the tug of the sun as she coaxed it until it began to slowly rise in the east. Smiling as the sun’s light began to bathe the land before her in gold, the princess turned to leave, her attendant falling into place beside her. “So, what fires do I get to put out today?” “Hmm… the morning schedule looks relatively safe, your highness. Breakfast followed by a meeting with the Gryphon ambassador, then open court, and a school group from Manehattan before lunch. ” The mare winced as she reviewed the afternoon’s plan; “After lunch you got a meeting with the tax bureau, followed by a meeting with the nobility before a planning meeting for upgrades to Trottingham’s municipal water system.” Celestia quietly groaned to herself. She could handle the tax meeting and the planning meeting actually interested her but the thought of having to deal with the nobility, which had recently been more demanding and fussy than usual, did not particularly excite her. Looking up, she saw the doors that led to her private dining room slowly approaching. “Thank you for the heads up” She said as they reached the pair of simple oak doors. “I will see you at open court.” Nodding her head at the bowing attendant, Celestia let the lone guard open the door for her. Inside, she could see that the kitchen staff had set up a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, pancakes and toast, along with several pitchers of juice and water on a buffet table along the back wall. Few ponies knew about this room, and even fewer had stepped hoof inside. If they had, the first thing they would have seen would be a table that was notable only for its complete lack of remarkability. The table was not what most ponies would expect the solar diarch to eat at. It had no encrusted gems, no gold leaf or fancy exotic inlays. It was on the whole, completely ordinary and more typical of what one would likely find in a regular citizen’s dining room. That simple ordinariness was what had caught Celestia’s eye five hundred years earlier, and she had made sure to keep her favorite table in good condition since then. Already seated at the table was the other half of the diarchy. Luna looked up as her sister walked in, smiling as her older sister let out a very un-Princess like yawn. “Good morning, sister.” “Morning, Luna.” Celestia said as she levitated a plate and began to load it with pancakes and fruit. “How was Night Court?” “Livelier than normal” Luna replied, before swallowing a forkful of pineapple. “Lord Winterbloom petitioned me to help fund a statue of himself like you warned me he would.” Luna heard her sister snort at the noble’s attempt. “I take it you said no?” “Of course.” “Any word from our ‘friends’?” “None.” Celestia nodded as her fork speared a piece of diced watermelon. It had been several months since the ambassador’s sudden visit, and the fact that she and Luna had heard nothing – other than a quick update from the general that the pony responsible for the attempted breach had escaped – bothered her. Perhaps the pony was still alive, or maybe the Sprites had caught up with them. Either way, the lack of knowing gnawed at the older sister. She had expected some kind of an update by now. Pushing the line of thought aside for the moment, she looked up at her sister. “So how much did you win last night?” “Never got the chance to break out the cards; shortly after Lord Winterbloom left, a Pegasus messenger arrived from Manehattan carrying a dispatch from the guard unit there in a marked bag.” Celestia looked up at her sister. It was rather unusual for a Pegasus currier to deliver something directly to the princesses, rather than the Captain of the Royal Guard. The fact that it was in one of the high security bags intrigued the older alicorn even more. “What was the message?” Luna looked at her sister. “Yesterday morning, a ship that one would be hard pressed to call seaworthy at the best of times, barely managed to limp into port. It had somehow managed to survive being attacked at sea and while there were several casualties, by some miracle, they only lost two crew members during the attack.” “Who attacked it?” “It’s not so much a question of who as it is of what, and I have never seen a creature like this before.” Luna shuddered as she remembered the memories she had seen, silently glad that she had full control over the Realm of Dreams. “How did they survive?” Celestia asked, her breakfast completely forgotten. “One of the crew created a number of explosive illusionary copies of the ship. The creature quickly decided it had better things to do after attacking a couple fakes.” Luna looked down at her plate before shoving it to the side. “Also, I believe that this isn’t the first ship this monster has attacked.” “What makes you say that?” “I took a look at past reports for ships that have gone missing, and while some can be explained by accidents or storms, I found a fair number whose disappearance can’t be so easily explained. This attack, along with the disappearances, took place on the Great Ocean. I only had time to go over records for the last decade, but I’m sure I’ll find more when I look back even further.” Celestia looked out of one of the room’s many windows. A creature was attacking ships? Was it intelligent? Could it be reasoned with? Could it be convinced to stop its attacks? This information offered an explanation for a number of missing ship reports she had seen over the years. “What flags were the missing ships flying?” “Ours, though I doubt that thing is attacking just our ships.” Seeing her sister nod in agreement, Luna levitated a small folder to her sister. “I have prepared a number of letters to several other nations requesting information about any ships that have gone missing over the last fifteen years.” Celestia looked over one of the letters. She made a mental note to give the gryphon ambassador a copy when they met later. “There’s something else I discovered in this report last night.” Luna saw her sister look up. “There’s more?” Luna nodded. She could feel a slight flutter inside her as she prepared to ask her sister the one question that had been bothering her the whole night. “How many alicorns are there in the world?” Celestia paused, confused. What did this have to do with anything? Besides, Luna knew the answer to the question, “Just you, me, Cadence and Twilight.” “Are you certain?” “Positive. Why?” Luna met her sister’s gaze unflinchingly. “I found another.” Celestia felt her mind go blank with those three simple words; another alicorn? How was that possible? Before Cadence had ascended, she and Luna were the only ones of their kind. If there had been any others, she would have known. Alicorns weren’t exactly common, so if there were others, she would have heard. She shook her head. Luna was mistaken; she had to be. If they had reached the Plane of Ascension, she would have felt it like she had with Cadence, then Twilight. “Yes, I’m sure.” Luna said, as if reading her sister’s thoughts “Remember when I mentioned the explosive illusion ships?” She watched her sister slowly nod. “A ten year old alicorn colt created them after suffering injuries during the attack that no pony should have survived.” Slowly, Celestia could feel her mind start to work again. Assuming that Luna wasn’t mistaken or trying to play a joke, this news brought a wave of questions crashing down on her. How was this possible? How could she have missed his ascension? Where was he? As she slowly drowned in questions, the solar princess felt a lump of ice settle itself in her chest. “You said he was badly wounded?” Luna nodded; “Only ten?” “More or less.” A badly injured ten year old created a group of explosive illusionary ships? If that was true, it meant that he had to be extremely skilled or powerful. If that was the case… “Luna, where was this ship sailing from?” “A town outside Equestria.” Celestia felt an invisible something slowly squeeze her heart; a strong magic user from outside Equestria? On top of that, a pony his age might see that spell as a challenge and might attempt to cast it without considering the potential results. Not only that, General Cinder had yet to confirm that his people had dealt with the pony responsible for the attempted breach. Celestia slowly turned to face her sister. “Could this be the pony the Sprites are after?” Luna’s face slowly began to mirror her sister’s as she began to grasp what Celestia had said. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? The spell that bridged their world with the Fire Sprites’ required the caster to be incredibly strong magically to even attempt to cast it, let alone complete it. Even with her status as the Element of Magic, the lunar princess had serious doubts that even her sister’s former student could complete the spell. “All we know is that the General said that their failed attack occurred outside Equestria. For all we know, the pony they’re after could just be an extremely gifted unicorn, but if this young alicorn is their target…” Celestia didn’t want to think about what would happen if the Sprites found this colt before she and Luna did. If they attacked while he was surrounded by other ponies… Celestia shook her head, forcing the painful memories back down. The older sister knew that the Sprites preferred permanent solutions to their problems and would have no problem with killing the colt, along with anypony nearby. As she thought about the situation, a single terrifying thought sprang to life in her head, what if the attempt wasn’t an accident? Celestia was fairly confident that it had been an accident, but like an image hidden in a painting, once that thought had surfaced, she couldn’t ignore it. If it was just an attempt by a colt who didn’t know better, the eldest sister was confident that she could convince the Fire Sprite council to back off, though they would demand to know how the colt had gotten his hooves on the spell when doing so should have been impossible. Yet if the colt’s failed attempt had been on purpose… Celestia felt her stomach sink at that thought, her mind flashing back to the last time the Sprites had felt threatened. One way or another, they had to find this pony before the Fire Sprites did, not only for answers, but if this colt was as powerful as she suspected and he wasn’t careful… “Here.” Luna said, breaking her sister’s thoughts as a single photograph slowly floating over to land before Celestia. The image was of a young black and grey unicorn colt in a red vest. Celestia looked at the image. “Why does he have a vest on?” Luna shrugged. “Perhaps he does not wish to draw unwanted attention? Celestia nodded as she thought. If they wanted to get to him first, they would need to move as quickly and quietly as possible. A smile slowly began to grow on the elder sister’s face as she realized that she now had an excuse to avoid the nobles. Looking up, she groaned as she saw the time. She’d have to hurry if she didn’t want to keep the gryphon ambassador waiting. If she did, she knew that the old buzzard wouldn’t let her forget about it. Shoveling the rest of her breakfast in a fashion better suited to a small child in a rush than to the immortal head of a nation, Celestia bid her sister a good day as she left. A quick check with her attendant confirmed that lunch would be just her and Fancy Pants. She wanted the young lord’s opinion on the matter, though she wouldn’t mention that the colt was an alicorn. That would stay between her and Luna for the time being. By the time she was halfway down the hall, she was already composing the notice that would be sent to every City and Royal Guard outpost in Manehattan and the surrounding area. They had to move quickly, but they couldn’t afford to tip their hand to the Fire Sprites or the young colt. Celestia suppressed a shudder at the thought of what could happen. She had experienced that horror once, and had no desire to do so again.