//------------------------------// // One // Story: Stranger in a Strange Land // by Andrew Joshua Talon //------------------------------// The little thing would alternate between crying his eyes out, or sleeping fitfully. As he awakened, Celestia braced herself. Already, she was rocking the little one in her arms and preparing a gentle lullaby as Raven Quill began rattling off potential families to take the poor thing in. "The Bluebloods might take it as an honor, but too much of one... The Dusks are a bit odd but that might help..." The baby human opened his eyes, and stared up into hers. Such large blue eyes in such a puffy, red face. He was quiet, gazing up in wonder and need as her hummed lullaby flowed through him. Such an innocent expression, full of hope and potential. Just like any of the foals she had born, so long, long ago. "Fancy Pants just got married, but he might be at the stage he can accept a little one..." She felt his heartbeat through her arms, and against her chest as she drew the little pink thing nearer. She felt herself grow warm and gooey, deep in her soul. Even her ancient heart was moved by the tiny life, just begun, resting against her. Raven Quill had stopped talking when she lifted her head. Her aide saw the look on her sovereign's face. "Your Majesty?" She asked primly, quill ready to go. Celestia looked back at the infant human, and saw his tiny hand reach up. His chubby little fingers trying to grasp for something, anything. She bent her head down and nuzzled him, feeling his strange little fingers tug lightly on her fur. He cooed gently, like a sleepy dove. Her long dormant maternal instincts kicked into overdrive, melting her heart like the springtime thaw of snow capped mountains. Celestia was a master politician and wartime general. She knew how to play many games, and play them well. So she knew with utter certainty when she had been beaten. This was one such time. She lifted her eyes to her assistant, letting the baby continue to hold onto her. "That will not be necessary," she said softly. Raven Quill blinked a few times. The doctors nearby looked elsewhere, though Healing Heart was smiling. "Your Majesty," she said, "please tell me you are not thinking of-" Raven Quill began, but a look from her princess stopped her. "I'm not thinking. I've thought. And decided," Celestia said firmly. "Please draw up the papers for proper adoption, and have them processed in the usual way. You may as well prepare official notices to go out as well-Let's do this properly." Her aide sighed softly, but nodded. "... And the name we will use?" Raven Quill asked. Celestia glanced at the tiny armband that the doctor had cut away to examine the child's arm. She smiled. "He already received a name. Let us not disrespect his human parents by using another. He will be Prince. Prince... Ryan." Some years later... He had gotten used to the stares. His mother had taught him to maintain his inner peace, to keep himself above it all. He walked the streets of Canterlot like a normal pony would, his Royal Guard escorts Phantom Mist and Iron Wing keeping a respectful pace behind him. These streets were his home, this city was his capital. His black hair was tinged with a blue tint under the harsh sunlight. He wore white robes, with a purple vest with his mother's sigil. He wore brown shoes for his feet, plodding along the smooth tiled streets as his citizens watched him. The stares were of awe, and envy, and admiration... But always tinged with a bit of incredulity. Like he still didn't belong, despite literally being their prince. It was easy for his mother. It had always been easy for her. But him? He was untested. They didn't know him. Not really. Well... That was about to change. He walked into the main lobby at his mother's School for Gifted Unicorns: Ten minutes early, as he always was to everything. He caught sight of a unicorn, old and gray, who bore a scar on his left eye. He grinned in recognition, as the old unicorn looked over at him amongst the throngs of eager colts, fillies and their parents. "Professor Polymath!" "Haha, I see you have arrived, Prince Ryan," Polymath chuckled, alighting onto his hooves with a grace and swiftness that belied his age, "how are you feeling?" "I'm all right, Professor," Ryan said with a smile, "I've got this." He held up his hand. On his right index finger glowed a silver ring, blue runes shining out from the metal. Polymath chuckled. "Ah... Those old human myths? You forged one?" "Well... Stoker did most of it," Ryan admitted. He smiled at the memory of the castle blackmsith. "This ring won't explode like the last one, will it?" Polymath asked. "No!" Ryan said defensively. He grumbled. "And the last one didn't explode... It melted." "Ah yes," Polymath nodded wisely, a glint of amusement in his old eyes, "and set fire to your room, as I recall... Which caused an explosion." Ryan groaned as they walked to the auditorium. "Yeah well... This isn't going to happen this time," he said. "This is a real ring of power! A real magical focus! I tested it last night!" "Did you?" Polymath asked. Ryan nodded. "Of course..." The young prince held out his hand, and focused. The ring glowed... And a bright red fireball burst into life over Ryan's palm. Polymath nodded slowly, inspecting the magic. "Very nice, very nice," he said, "can you control it though?" "Ha! Watch me!" Ryan boasted. He focused, and the fireball grew larger, almost as large as his head... Before it slowly shrank back down to the size it was before, Ryan's eyes narrowed in intense focus. He grinned at his tutor. "See?" "Much better!" Polymath said proudly, "you've done quite well, young Prince!" Ryan nodded, and dismissed the fire entirely. He grinned and nodded. "I'm going to ace this!" He said brightly. "I'll earn the right to be my mother's apprentice!" "You have worked very hard, my Prince," Polymath said with an admiring smile, "perhaps a little too hard? I mean... Did you even sleep last night?" "Sleep isn't needed," Ryan insisted, "besides, I only just finished the magic ring last night and I still had to practice..." Polymath gave Ryan a wry look. "I see... Do take care though, my Prince. You're up against some stiff competition this year," he said. "Rumor has it that one of these unicorns was tutored by-" "Hello, Prince Ryan!" "Cadance?" Ryan asked, seeing a pink furred alicorn trotting up to them. She smiled warmly, and the young human straightened up. "Here to take the entrance exam, huh?" Cadance asked, her mane done up in a fetching ponytail. Ryan gulped a bit, and nodded. He leaned against the nearby wall, trying to look casual. "Oh! Uh, yeah. Totally," he said, his voice breaking, before he continued in a deeper tone, "totally prepared for it. Gonna ace it." He finished with a confident grin, and trying to nonchalantly run his fingers through his hair. He winced as his still warm magic ring brushed against his forehead, but kept up his strained grin despite the pain. The young princess beamed, and nodded. "Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine!" She said with a wink, before she trotted off. Ryan twisted his head to watch her go, staring after her. "My Prince? My Prince?" "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah," Ryan said quickly, pulled back from the wall, "I'm totally fine." Polymath chuckled in an annoying, knowing way. Ryan couldn't help his scowl at the older unicorn, his adolescent brain detecting some mockery. "What?!" "Nothing, my Prince, nothing," Polymath said. They headed to the waiting area. He got a lot of looks, but Ryan ignored them. He sat down at a lone table. A blue filly unicorn galloped up, beaming eagerly. "Can I sit with you?" She asked, "my parents would love to know that I got to meet the Prince!" "Uhhh..." Ryan tried. Her large eyes and pleading expression suddenly robbed him of any knowledge of court etiquette. That and the lack of sleep. "I'm afraid His Highness is focused on the exam," Polymath said smoothly, taking the chair next to Ryan, before Phantom Mist and Iron Wing took the other two chairs. Ryan gave an apologetic look to the disappointed filly. "Uh... I'll see you in class though?" He said. The filly squealed, loud enough to make Ryan's ears hurt, before she rushed away. "MOM! DAD! TRIXIE JUST MET THE PRINCE AND HE'LL SEE ME IN CLASS...!" Ryan rubbed his ears. Polymath chuckled again. The two guards were stoic as always, but Ryan knew them well: They were hiding smirks. Ryan sighed and held out his palm. He summoned another sphere, this one of ice, and made it bigger, then smaller. He summoned a ball of wind, then of fire again. He practiced, just as he'd been practicing over and over and over and over- "Calm yourself, My Prince," Polymath counseled, resting a hoof on the boy's forearm, "it won't do to exhaust yourself before the exam!" "I know, I know," Ryan muttered, "I'm just really, really... Uh..." "Nervous?" Polymath asked. "No!" Ryan said, far too quickly. The old unicorn's eyes smiled. The human prince sighed. "Okay maybe a little," he admitted, "just... I wanna make Mom proud. She was so overjoyed when I could do magic, and... And I want to impress her." "Yes, I recall," Polymath said wryly, "you set the curtains on fire in your nursery." "Not on purpose! ... That time," Ryan amended at Polymath's knowing look. "O-Or the other times!" "Hm, yes," Polymath said, "just stay calm. Go through your routine. You'll be fine." "I'm not even a unicorn," Ryan whined. "So? You can still use magic," Polymath said. "I know... But if I'm gonna be taken seriously, I need to be better than everypony else," Ryan insisted, "it's the only way I won't be seen as a..." He made a face. "Blueblood." "I thought you liked Blueblood?" Polymath asked. "Yeah, I do, but he's known as the layabout and jerk Prince with no talent," Ryan stated, "I don't wanna be that! I'm no good at lying!" "Your mother would regard that as a virtue." "Not in politics or being an actual ruler," Ryan said, "so if I'm no good at lying, I've got to be able to smash anything that threatens the kingdom!" "An... Interesting line of logic, My Prince," Polymath said wryly, "could you not simply learn how to lie properly?" "Nobody's going to believe me," Ryan said. There was a loud boom, and the building rumbled and shook. Multiple unicorns and their parents went for cover and cried out, as a powerful rainbow colored shockwave blasted through the air. The Royal Guards immediately tried to cover Ryan and Polymath, but the human boy was thrown out of his chair and the guards slammed into eachother. Ryan rolled, and got up onto his feet as the ground continued to shake. "What in the-?!" And then a gigantic purple and green dragon belly smashed through the walls of the school. The magical channels were broken, and a fire broke out. Polymath was already on his hooves, casting ice and water spells as fast as he could. Ryan staggered up, saw the flames, saw the screaming unicorns... He channeled his power. He held out his hand. He unleashed blasts of water and ice alongside his mentor, smothering the flames in concentrated blasts of cold and wet. The unicorns all fled, other teachers keeping the doors open as everypony evacuated. The ground shook, and the immense dragon belly and claws shrank back. "What the Tartarus was that?!" Polymath cried. His eyes widened in shock. "RYAN LOOK OUT-!" "Wha-?" Ryan looked up just in time to see a ceiling panel fall on him. He went down hard. Everything went black. He woke up with a groan. He blinked his eyes. A familiar face was standing over him, smiling warmly. "Mom...?" Ryan managed. "Shh... It's all right," his mother said softly, stroking his face with her wings. He leaned into her touch, and sighed. "What happened?" Ryan asked. He felt the warmth of his bed underneath him. The familiar walls of his room in the palace swam into view. "There was..." His mother trailed off, "an incident. One of the students showed off an incredible amount of magical talent. It caused some issues-No deaths though." She smiled proudly down at him. "Courtesy of you and your tutor," she said warmly, "well done." Ryan grinned back. "Oh... Um... Ya know," he said, "I... It was the right thing to do... Um... So... Are we going to be holding new openings for an apprentice since that student wrecked everything?" Celestia was silent for a moment. She then gave him as kind and understanding a smile as possible. "Your performance was good enough to enter the school," Celestia said carefully, "but... I've chosen my apprentice." Ryan blinked. He blinked again. He stared at his mother in utter disbelief. "What?" "The unicorn who pulled off that feat of magic... Well! She has great potential," Celestia explained. "What?!" Ryan demanded. He sat up, despite his headache. Celestia shook her head. "Polymath has agreed to continue to train you, and you've done so well in all of your other studies-" "Some unicorn wrecks the school, I help save ponies, and you-you pick her to be your apprentice?!" Ryan demanded. "How does that work?!" Celestia sighed heavily. She tried to pull Ryan in for a hug, but the boy turned away and glared at the wall. Celestia frowned deeply. "Ryan... I know you wanted to be my apprentice," she said gently, "but this filly... She's very talented. Very powerful. And very smart. I'm sorry, sweetie-" "Oh yeah, sure, pick some unicorn over your own son, that makes sense!" Ryan growled angrily. He fought back tears. Celestia rested a wing over him, even as he tried to wriggle away from her. "Ryan... I am so proud of all you have done," Celestia said gently, "but this filly needs guidance." "Yeah, so she won't have to wreck up anything else I guess," Ryan growled. "You will understand someday... And I hope you can forgive me," Celestia said sadly. "Dinner's on soon-" "I'm not hungry," Ryan grunted. Celestia nodded slowly. "If you change your mind, I will be in the dining room," she said. She trotted out, leaving the angry boy behind. The next day, Ryan ate his breakfast in silence. He just nodded when his mother talked about his school schedule, but didn't respond. She hugged him goodbye, but he didn't return it... Well, okay, he returned it a little. But he was still angry. He walked the whole way to school, wearing trousers, a white shirt, and a scowl the whole time. His guards kept up with him, but seemed a bit wary of the young prince's wrath. He got to the school, and was just about to find his classroom, when he nearly ran into a unicorn. He looked up, startled. Polymath chuckled. "My Prince... You must hold your head up," he said, "for if you can't see where you are going... You will forever be running into things." "Professor," Ryan began, but stopped. He grit his teeth. Polymath rested a hoof on Ryan's shoulder. "Ryan... I understand your anger," Polymath said gently, "not everypony gets what they want. Life is full of disappointments. One must get used to it." "But-" Ryan tried, but Polymath shook his head. "A prince must serve his people, not the other way around. Otherwise, he is a tyrant. And that's not what you want to be, is it?" "N-No!" Ryan said, shaking his head frantically. "No! Never that!" "I know," Polymath said, "but anger and resentment can lead to that outcome in one with power. I know it is difficult... But you are still a star student. You're not your mother's apprentice, but you can become a great wizard... And a great prince, too. Besides... There's a young filly in there who is now famous. You know how hard that can be, yes? Why not try to help her?" "I..." Ryan looked into the classroom. He scanned the rows. Polymath cleared his throat. "The little purple one," he murmured. Ryan locked his eyes onto the filly. She was small but lithe, purple in fur and darker purple in mane, with a pink streak. She had her nose buried in a book, and nopony else was sitting near her in the wooden rows of the classroom. Ryan worked his jaw. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle," Polymath said, "and I think you two could be friends... Will you try? For me, My Prince?" Ryan sighed heavily. He very slowly nodded. "All right... I'll try," he muttered. Polymath beamed. "Go on in," he said. Ryan walked in, ignoring the looks from the other students. That loud mouthed blue unicorn from before was staring at him in awe. He walked right past her, even as she waved her hooves at the empty seat next to her. He sat down next to the purple filly. Startled, she looked up. "Oh... Uh... H-Hi," she managed. "H-Hi," Ryan returned, "I'm-" "Prince Ryan, Crown Prince of Equestria, the Human Foundling," Twilight said quickly, "I-I know, I've read about you." "Uh, yeah," Ryan said, "and you're Twilight Sparkle... Nice to meet you?" "Yes! Yes, it is!" Twilight said, smiling nervously. "...R-Right?" "I guess so?" Ryan shrugged. Polymath, watching from the door to the classroom, chuckled softly as he worked his whiskers. "That's my colt..." One Year Later... Prince Ryan scanned the class rankings, displayed outside on boards at the end of every semester. He looked through the class numbers, hands in his pockets, as the fall leaves drifted through the cool autumn air. He spotted his number... And grinned. Yes... YES! "Oh wow! Amazing!" Ryan looked over at a young unicorn. He beamed at her. "Hey Trixie!" The blue unicorn laughed happily. "Wow! Number One student! You've done it twice in a row so far! You're so amazing!" Ryan smirked, trying to look modest and failing miserably. "Just lots of hard work and lots of sleepless nights," he said. "Still, you're the Prince," Trixie said, "why don't you just coast on by?" Ryan shook his head, eyes narrowing. "A prince should be somepony his people can look up to. If you're lazy, no one respects you," Ryan stated. Trixie giggled a bit, her pigtails bouncing. "Wow! You're so cool!" She laughed. "Thanks," Ryan said. He looked up, and was no longer able to stop his smirk as an unhappy Twilight Sparkle trotted by. He smirked and nodded to her. "Sparkle. Good work. You did well again..." Twilight scowled intently at Ryan. "Congratulations," she ground out, "on being the number one student. Again." Ryan smirked and nodded again. "Thank you. That's very gracious of you," he said. Twilight's scowled deepened, her face turning red. "But just you wait! I'll figure out how to go without sleep! You won't stand a chance next time!" "I'm totally sure," Ryan stated, "and I'll start losing sleep over that. Real soon. Promise." "HMPH!" Twilight stomped off to the chariot waiting outside. Ryan shook his head, while Trixie cheered and hugged his arm. "Wow! She's such a stuck up snob! Trixie thinks you're the best!" "Thanks," Ryan said gratefully, "now... If you'll excuse me... I'm gonna go celebrate." "Can I join you?" Trixie asked hopefully. Ryan smiled warmly at her, and patted her on the head. "Not... This time, Trixie. Next time though?" "You promise?" Trixie asked. "Absolutely!" Ryan promised, giving her a thumbs up. He headed off to the front of the school. He got up into the chariot, and beamed at his mother. She was waiting in the chariot, looking proud. "I'm very proud of you, Ryan," she said. Ryan grinned back. "Thank you Mom," he said. He sat down next to her... And leaned against her warm body. He soon fell asleep, snoring softly. Twilight leaned over and scowled angrily from the other side of the princess. "What?! Is he sleeping?!" "He worked very hard for his grades, Twilight, just as you did," Celestia said, "and I'm very proud of both of you." Twilight's scowl deepened. "Hmph!" "Though you both need to sleep more," Celestia said. "HMPH!"