//------------------------------// // 1 An Unexpected Visitor // Story: The Return of the King // by Bronyxy //------------------------------// A pink trail zig-zagged in short, jagged straight lines across the sky, betraying its owner’s erratic course that looked like it had been bounced between the buffers of a massive pinball machine. Then, as if it had suddenly developed a purpose that had eluded it up to that point, the trail set off in a straight line southwards at a speed rarely seen in the skies above Equestria. One pony watched the melting trail dissipate into the pale azure sky and growled in frustration. This was not over. *** Five fillies, resplendent in their gold lined maroon capes trotted happily out of their clubhouse, laughing and playing with each other as they headed for the Castle of Friendship and the prospect of a tasty snack. Amongst the five friends, one could be seen standing out clearly, even from a distance, for among the pastel coloured coats; orange, yellow, peach and white, the fifth was as black as night. Closer inspection showed her to be unique in another way too; she was an alicorn, just like the Royal Princesses, but this one was just happy to be a regular filly with her friends. It wasn’t that long ago that she had experienced the responsibility of command from the perspective of a resurrected Nightmare Moon and been manipulated at the hooves of the former Head of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Spell Nexus. Although she had been forgiven by her friends, there were still some ponies who carried a grudge for what had happened, even though she had saved the town of Ponyville from a massed attack by the monsters that dwelt within the deepest recesses of the Everfree. As they neared the castle that was home to Nyx, her adoptive mother Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends Spike and Owlowiscious, they suddenly stopped talking and stared at a pink trail that flashed across the sky and descended towards the castle ahead of them. Clearly, somepony needed the Princess of Friendship even more than they did, so set off at a gallop to see who and why; perhaps it could be a friendship problem that they as the Cutie Mark Crusaders could help with? Capes flowing over their backs flapping maroon, blue and gold flashes in a turbulent jumble of vivid colours, the fillies thundered along the wide road to the steps leading up to the castle’s main door, only then slowing out of reverence for what the imposing building stood for and the fact that it was their friend’s home. Nyx stepped forward to open the familiar door and led her friends up to the Library, where Twilight was most likely to be. She recognised that her Mom was one of the four ruling Princesses of Equestria and frequently had important visitors, so knew to always be courteous and respectful, especially within the castle. Not that Twilight treated any guest as being less than important; be they a visiting Head of State or somepony with a friendship problem, she was the Princess of Friendship and that meant treating everypony with the same kindness and respect. “Oh, hey Nyx!” greeted Spike from the top of a ladder as he saw the familiar black alicorn filly enter followed by her four best friends “Hi guys! Can I help you find a book?” “No, thank you Spike, she answered “We saw a pink trail dive out of the sky and end up in the castle, so we thought we would come along and see if Twilight needed any help.” “Haven’t seen her in a while” said Spike “How ‘bout you Owlowiscious?” The owl turned his head round in that eerie way that owls do without appearing to move any other part of his body and replied “Hooo.” “Yeah, thought so” said Spike “He hasn’t seen her either.” “Tell you what” he continued “Owlowiscious has pretty much got the library covered, so I’ll come along too. Pink trail you say? Could be you may need a dragon to help you out!” He was clearly in need of some rescue following what looked like another one of Twilight’s attempts to reorganise the library. Nyx giggled gently and looked up at the owl who said “Hooo” in a tone that seemed to suggest he could indeed take command of the situation while Spike took a break; or at least that’s how the baby dragon was prepared to interpret it. Next thing, he found himself levitated and drawn through the air to be placed gently onto Nyx’s back where he sat happily at the same eye level as all the fillies. “Where do you suggest we go next?” asked Nyx, knowing full well what the answer would be, but giving her friend the privilege of being seen to make the decision. “The Throne Room” he replied, “It’s where she conducts all the important Princess business.” They all trotted along the corridor, beginning to voice their speculations as to what the pink flash could have been, possibilities ranging from a pink chariot to Rainbow Dash being off colour. Nyx knocked respectfully at the door and upon not hearing a response, nudged it open with her muzzle and stuck her head round the door to see that the room was indeed empty. The Cutie Map wasn’t active and just gave off a blank stare like any other table, offering no explanation as to where its mistress could be. The fillies had felt certain that Twilight would have been in one of the two rooms and composed their thoughts before agreeing to split up into two groups; the three original Cutie Mark Crusaders in one group whilst Nyx with Spike and Twist formed the other. Both groups of friends set off in different directions, each winding their way through the labyrinthine stone corridors that criss-crossed and zig-zagged through the castle. While the CMCs moved forward line abreast, none wanting to miss out on whatever they found, Twist was a lot more reticent and tucked in behind Nyx who led their way through what were to her well-established tracks through her home, taking in the biggest rooms first as far as the route allowed. She knew Twilight would be home; that much had been agreed earlier in the day, so she considered it unlikely that she had been called away on Princess business without leaving a note in some prominent place, so reasoned she must still be in the castle. Eventually her sensitive ears picked up on something that sounded almost like a foal crying, and followed it to its source behind the door of the nursery. What in Equestria was going on? She would have thought that Twilight would have at least said something if they were expecting visitors, especially visitors with a foal. She approached the solid wooden door and tapped gently, hearing a whispered “come in” from the other side. Nyx lifted the latch in her magic and pushed the door open just enough to let herself squeeze through. She peered around the door and saw Twilight cradling a pale lilac foal tenderly in her forelegs and recognised the small form immediately, not just any foal but Princess Flurry Heart. All three friends gasped as they bundled in and saw who the visitor was. “Husssssh now” lilted Twilight rocking the infant gently to and fro in her forelegs and humming a soothing melody. The friends stood open-mouthed to see the smallest alicorn in Twilight’s tender embrace. Sure, she had been at the Castle of Friendship before and Twilight was her favourite foalsitter, but could it be that the pink trail in the sky had been her arriving?If so where were her parents or guards or anypony to look after her? Without pausing in pacifying her little guest, Twilight motioned to Nyx as the only other winged pony in the room to move closer and then in the faintest whisper said “Go find Rainbow Dash would you please? And when you bring her back, please make sure she’s quiet.” Nyx nodded and tiptoed out of the room leaving Spike and Twist to mind the baby with Twilight, and made her way to the nearest balcony. She trotted out, feeling the warm afternoon sunshine on her body and fluttered her wings in anticipation. Her unusual vertically slit pupils contracted in the unaccustomed brightness following the relative gloom of the castle as she focused on a cloud in the near distance. She squatted down on her haunches, coiling herself like a spring that held its tension for the merest fraction before releasing and catapulting the black alicorn skywards. Even now she was returned to the body of a filly, her sleek black silhouette still commanded regal respect, striking awe and admiration into most, whilst in a few others it created resentment; but few could say honestly that they didn’t feel at least some hint of fear. Her development had been unique compared with that of any other pony and left her with significantly better developed flight skills than any pegasus of her age even after Princess Luna had stripped her of the dark magic that was not hers to keep. This was an attribute that she desperately tried not to flaunt in front of her schoolmates, and especially not in front of Scootaloo, whose frustration and impatience to fly were growing daily. She darted nimbly between clouds, trying to find the one that Rainbow Dash would be napping on this afternoon, for she knew this was exactly what the cyan pegasus would be doing, but the question was where? There weren’t that many clouds around on that afternoon, so it didn’t take too long to find her, in fact she was rather pleased not to have found her straightaway as it had given her the chance to fly and stretch her wings in a display of aerial competence that far exceeded her tender years. After having searched fruitlessly on a few clouds, she saw a multicoloured tail flicking lazily over the edge of a small soft fluffy white cloud and knew she had found what she was looking for. As she knew Rainbow Dash was always one for a prank, Nyx flew beneath the tantalisingly waving tail and gave it a gentle tug, her victim spluttering in response and quickly pulling her tail up before a pair of rose coloured eyes peered down over the cloud. “What did you do that for, Nyx?” she chided angrily, looking just like she did when her best friends had told her that Tank needed to hibernate. The black filly looked into the usually happy rose eyes and sensing her prank had backfired started to cry and flew away as fast as she could. Rainbow suddenly appreciated that she had completely over-reacted to a harmless joke, and as the arch-prankster herself knew she could not allow herself to be seen as a grouch, so had to catch up and show she was a good sport. Quickly, she tipped off the cloud and chased after the retreating black filly, whom she could hear crying even from this distance. As she closed the gap between them, she suddenly remembered what Twilight had told her about how highly-strung Nyx was, and began to feel very guilty indeed. She caught up quickly enough and started spouting a string of apologies. Initially Nyx had sped up to get away, but then started to slow as she heard the remorse in Rainbow’s voice and put down in a corner of a park below them where there were pretty bushes with brightly coloured flowers and no other ponies around. Rainbow landed beside her and looked into her frightened turquoise eyes, summoning her most friendly voice “Hey, you got me pretty good there kid. Look I’m sorry I scared you; I was just a bit grouchy being woken up was all.I like your style though.” “You’re not mad at me, are you?” “Nah – course not kid. Tell you what; you’ve clearly got a flair for practical joking, what say you and me pull off a prank together some time, huh? “Really?” asked the reticent filly. “Yeah why not? I’ve got some truly epic ideas!” Having made peace, Rainbow put a friendly wing over Nyx, who drew near for comfort and reassurance, a smile starting to form on her face. Rainbow meanwhile just felt a wave of relief surge through her, and a smile broke out across her face too. Rainbow felt the insecure warm body snuggle up close to her and tried to cast her mind back to a time not long ago when that same filly had been the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon, and the fight they had undertaken together against the invasion of Ponyville by the monsters from the Everfree. Poor Nyx had gone through more than anypony knew, and was still having to live with the legacy of awful memories. Feeling genuine remorse for her actions, Rainbow hugged the filly closer, desperately wishing she hadn’t reacted as badly as she had. When Nyx had finally regained her confidence, she told Rainbow that Twilight was waiting for her in the Castle of Friendship. As an afterthought she added that her Mom couldn’t come herself because she was currently looking after Flurry Heart. “What, you mean Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have been here today?” “I don’t think so” replied Nyx “I don’t remember Twilight telling me anything about any Royal visit.” “OK kid” said Rainbow, trying to make sense of what could have happened “You lead the way.” Nyx sprang into the air and Rainbow gave her as second or two to get clear before drawing alongside. “Your flying is really good for a pegasus of your age” she said conversationally “Do you still remember how you used to fly as a fully grown alicorn?” “Yes, I remember everything I did when I was Nightmare Moon” she said sadly “And that includes the flying. It was a bit of a surprise when Princess Luna turned me back into a filly, because as soon as I went to fly again, I tried as a grown up, but my wings weren’t ready – you know?” “I guess it must be really strange suddenly being grown up and then going straight back to where you started again.” “Yes, but it must be the same for injured pegasi when they have to learn to fly again after an accident. I guess I’ve been lucky that way; at least I know I will grow into flying again.” “Hey, wait a minute. I remember how brave you were taking on all those monsters and how badly injured you were afterwards; some ponies didn’t think you would pull through.” Then she added “But I’m glad you did though. You were awesome!” Nyx turned to face Rainbow and gave her the widest and most genuine smile she had seen in a long time. They arrived at the castle and landed on the same balcony that Nyx had taken off from earlier and trotted along to the nursery where she nudged the door open to see that Twilight was still cradling Flurry Heart. Twist was still there as were the other CMCs who had eventually found them and now waited, eager to find out more about what was going on and offer their services in whatever way was needed. Twilight’s focus remained on the infant Princess whilst her peripheral vision concurrently noted the arrival of two ponies; the first black and the second cyan, and knew that Nyx had been successful in her mission. She looked up and made eye contact, showing grateful thanks to both of the new arrivals. Just then, Flurry Heart started to cry and broke herself free from Twilight’s protective grasp, clearly highly agitated. Hovering just in front of Twilight’s face, she babbled incoherently and spilled out her pent-up tension as the others looked on in astonishment. “OK, Flurry Heart” said Twilight, not letting the concern she felt either cross her face or permeate into her soft voice “You’re fine. You’re safe. Husssssh now.” Just then, Flurry Heart landed in front of Twilight and made sudden piercing eye contact with her, stretched her wings wide and contorting her face into a menacing growl that made everypony present recoil in shock. “Flurry Heart” prompted Twilight gently “Can you tell me what happened?” The foal did her best to roar and made clawing actions with her forefeet before collapsing onto the floor sobbing. Twilight leaned down and picked up the delicate foal, staring at Rainbow. “I think somepony’s going to have to pay a visit to the Crystal Empire” she whispered gravely. “Do you mean she flew all that way on her own?” asked Rainbow incredulous “She’s only a foal …” “Yes” added Twilight “But an alicorn foal, and a very determined one at that. I don’t know what’s happened, but if she’s felt it necessary to make that long journey by herself it must be pretty serious.” “Spike” she asked, “Take a message please.” The baby dragon quickly picked up a quill and parchment and prepared for dictation, staring up at Twilight expectantly once he was ready: “Dear Princess Celestia, Flurry Heart has arrived at the Castle of Friendship on her own. I don’t know what’s happened to Cadence and my brother or for that matter what’s going on in the Crystal Empire, but when I ask her she pulls faces and growls – she’s very upset. I think somepony’s going to have to investigate. If I don’t hear back from you, I will go take a look myself. Spike, put on the usual ending and then send please.” In full organising mode, Twilight turned to the cyan mare: “Rainbow, you are the best and bravest flier I know …” “Oh Yeah!” she butted in. “… If we don’t hear back, would you be prepared to accompany me to the Crystal Empire?” “Awesome! Awesome!” chanted Rainbow Dash. “Right then, I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. But first, I want you to go find Fluttershy and see if she can come over to look after Flurry Heart if we’ve got to go away.” Rainbow saluted smartly and exited quickly to undertake her mission. Next, she turned to her daughter: “Nyx, I want you to go to the train station and see whether the train service from the Crystal Empire is running normally. Don’t let on that something may be wrong, but tell me anything that is out of the ordinary.” Subconsciously copying Rainbow Dash, Nyx too saluted smartly before realising what she was doing and disappeared out of the door more quickly than she had intended so as to avoid her friends seeing how embarrassed she looked.