//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: The Secret Apprentice 
// by The Grimm Reaper 
//------------------------------//

	“It was a pleasure to have met the public student of Princess Celestia.” I didn’t understand why he’d said it the way he did. Then again, it didn’t seem to matter to me. I was only a small filly who had just been labelled Princess Celestia’s new student. On my first day, I ran into this colt. He was a nice enough looking boy, with an ocean blue pelt and a misty sky blue mane and tail. His eyes were clearer than the purest water, but held an olive green colour with a hint of gold in them. Overall, he was, as I mentioned before, a nice looking boy.
I was gathering some things I thought I would need to begin my lessons with Princess Celestia when I accidentally bumped into him. He’d said he was sorry and had offered to help me gather the bits and pieces of my assortment that had scattered in the collision. He noticed me right away; I guessed I wasn’t beyond popularity amongst the other foals. To even things out, he said that his name was Orion Starlight. I liked that name. It coincided with my favourite subject, astronomy. If the night were upon us at the time, I believe I would have shown him the constellation of Orion (Regardless of his knowledge of the star cluster or not).
He spent the day with me, helping me gather my things and setting them in my room. Normally, I wouldn’t let even a guard in my new room, but he was different. I knew he was kind, and I could just feel some sort of connection with him. It wasn’t until I tried to introduce him to the princess that he seemed shaken. His personality had done a 180 and he seemed distant. Ever curious I did some tests and found that only when discussing Princess Celestia did he shirk from his default personality.
Looking back, I should have enquired about him with the Princess when we parted ways, but I was happy to have made a new friend. Unfortunately, I never saw him again. In my free time, I’d asked the other ponies about Orion, but they knew even less than nothing about him; they didn’t even know he existed. I could understand some ponies paying no attention to a single young colt of average colours, no matter how sharp and clear they were, but for nopony to know who he was troubled me. I’d hoped Princess Celestia would have been able to alleviate some of the mystery, but when I asked her about him, she seemed to dodge the question and sent me to study.
Over the course of time, I forgot about Orion and my studies improved. When I faced Nightmare Moon and gained five new friends, I was immediately reminded of Orion and his mysterious lack of a background. I told neither my friends nor my family about Orion, but when I met Trixie for the first time, I saw a familiar clarity in her eyes. Though a different colour to his, she shared his sharp and crystal clear gaze. Given her attitude, I shrugged it off as mere coincidence, but the memory still emerged once more. I’d long lost interest in finding the truth behind that colt, but I never forgot him.
As my friendship with the others grew over time, I found myself thinking less and less about that strange colt to the point I’d forgotten his name. Things no longer reminded me of him, even when they should have. Bonds became stronger and memories faded away. But now, after my brother’s wedding to Princess Cadence, I found myself wandering the path I took with him, and that alone brought everything back. I confronted Princess Celestia and Luna both about him once again, and their joint discomfort regarding the subject had increased over time. I thought it might have been because of the wedding and the fact that I’d caught the bouquet. Regardless, they both diverted from the subject, promising the answer some other time, as business called for their immediate attention. I did not like their response, but I had no choice but to obey. They had never led me astray before, why would they now?...