//------------------------------// // Silver Star meets the Princess // Story: Luna's Apprentice // by ScientistTrixie //------------------------------// Silver sprinted through the streets of Canterlot, her wings pushing her faster and faster through the crowd of ponies. Sweat beaded at her brow as she galloped toward the gleaming bastion that was Canterlot, home of two of Equestria’s princesses. The tall pristine towers of the castle reminded many of Princess Celestia, while the shadows that blossomed forth reminded others of Princess Luna. Vendors yelled over one another, each competing to draw attention to their various wares. Ponies bustled to and fro, bags and wares clutched in magical grips, and between teeth. Small groups of pegasi flew overhead, with the occasional pegasus taking to the sky at random. Silver stared at the pegasi overhead enviously, a jealous gleam to her eyes as she stared at the way their wings flapped in the wind. Silver’s eyes went wide as a massive stallion stepped into her path, his large form towering over her. She dug her heels into the dirt, trying and failing to slow herself. “Hey!” The stallion yelled out in shock, leaping to the side as Silver darted underneath him, her mane just grazing his underbelly. “Sorry!” She called back over her shoulder, her head swiveling toward the shocked stallion. She tripped as her hoof caught on an uprooted stone, her momentum sending her rolling forward like a furry ball. She grunted as she slammed into a sturdy foreleg, her head ringing as she slowly lifted her eyes. She gasped at the guard looking down at her, a single eyebrow cocked as he smirked at her meanly. He pushed her off his foreleg, chuckling to himself as she tumbled to the floor roughly. Silver Star shook her head as she stood, giving the stallion a light glare. “I-ah... I need to see Princess Luna!” Silver panted as she pleaded with the gleaming unicorn stallion. “Her friend Trixie is very sick!” “Bah!” The stallion snorted, pushing his helmet up with a single broad hoof. “Princess Luna is much too busy to worry about some sniveling filly. Just turn around, and head on home.” “Bu-but!” Silver protested, stomping her hoof as she raised her voice. “Trixie was mumbling the princess’s name and she’s very sick! Please just- Just go get her!” “I said get out of here!” The stallion yelled, irritation evident in his voice. "No! Just g-go get the princess!" Silver insisted, screaming at the unicorn stallion. He glared at her, eyes narrow and jaw set as his horn flared to life. He shot a bolt of yellow light at her hooves, sending the filly dancing backwards. She yelped in surprise, fear flashing across her face as he leveled his horn at her once more, a bright yellow gathering at the tip. “Hey! That’ll be just ‘bout enough of that!” A voice called out from behind the stallion, drawing a quick salute from the stallion that had just been picking on her. Silver gasped as a bat stallion stepped out of the shadows, his deep purple armor shimmering and shifting as the fading sunlight ran across its metallic facets. His lips were pulled back in a horrible snarl as he glared at the guard, trying in vain to catch the flushed stallions eyes. “This filly is obviously tryin’ to tell you somethin’ and your damn head is so far up your own plot, you shove her! An’ you two didn’t even think to stop him!” He said, shooting a glare to the two guards standing nearby, only looking away once the two lowered their heads in shame. The night guard turned back to the guard and stepped forward, shoving his broad chest against the stallions breastplate. “I’m gonna pretend I did’n even see you light that thing…” He said, flicking a hoof toward the unicorns horn. “Cause if ah did… It’s gonna be mine.” He said, slapping the guards horn with a snap of his foreleg. The guard winced, flinching as he stumbled away from the irate bat pony. “Now get out of here. You migh’ as well head back to the barracks and wait… Ah’m sure princess Celestia will want to have a word with you.” The unicorn swallowed loudly, panic evident in his eyes as he stammered a response. “N- But I- I mean, You we- You can’t just-” “You gave me the right to do anythin’ I please the moment you picked on a filly a fourth of your size. You two will watch the gate until a replacement is sent.” Without another glance the bat stallion turned toward Silver, an obvious dismissal to the guard. He knelt down on his foreleg as he smiled at the filly before him. “Hello there little one. My name’s Quickshot. Are you okay?” Silver nodded wearily, studying the night stallions smiling face. Behind him, the guard moment ago stomped off, grumbling under his breath. “I’m fine.” “Ah wasn’t quite able to make out what you needed, but Ah’m sure I can help ya out better than that… that… ugh..” He trailed off, chuckling weakly as he scratched at his mane. He popped his neck, groaning to himself as he rolled his head in a circle. “Oh!” Silver said, wings buzzing as she remember her entire reason for making the trip to Canterlot. “Miss Trixie is very sick and she was mumbling about Princess Luna! The princess will know what to do right?” She asked, fidgeting in place with her ears pressed back against her head. “You know where Blue is!” Quickshot yelled, jumping to his hooves as he peered at the filly. Silver hesitated for a moment before nodding, flinching ever so slightly as Quickshot extended a single leathery wing. “Climb on.” He said, rolling his broad shoulders as he crouched down beside her to help her climb onto his back. She sucked in a deep breath, glancing at his cat like yellow eyes, sharp fangs and strange wings before letting the breath slip through her lips slowly. She straightened herself and stepped forward, tentatively placing a single tiny hoof in the crease of his wing. She pressed down, smiling to herself as he glanced at her reassuringly. She pressed forward, hooking her rear legs just behind his wings as she clenched at his fur with her forelegs. He extended his wings and shot into the air like a rocket with a quick pump of his leathery appendages. “Whoaaaa!” Silver yelled, a gleeful smile on her face as she dug her forelegs into his side, tightening her grip on the stallions body. He glanced back at her with a wolfish grin, his wings twitching as he spun the duo in a tight spiral. Atop his back Silver squealed with happiness, cheering and yelling as they spun. He rolled to a stop, directing the pair toward the tallest of the castles many towers. Within moments the pair had flown through a window open at the top and skidded to a halt, his metallic hoof braces sliding across the polished marble floor. Silver looked around as she slid off Quickshot’s back, her hoof reaching up to push her bangs out of her sight. She stood in a vast circular room, with a large glass roof above her head. The room was sparsely decorated, with a single massive telescope in the middle of the room. The metallic viewer had dust clinging to many of its surfaces, and Silver could just feel that the room had only recently begun being used again. To the edge of the window they had just flown through sat a much smaller telescope, not pointed to the heavens above like one would expect, but out into the city. It was the single new item in the room, still sparkling with the faint scent of oil hanging off it. Star charts, constellations, and many charts full of notes and drawings of astronomic figures filled the walls of the room. Some were intricately drawn, with perfect measurements drawn in a curling looping script, while others were hastily drawn and scribbled upon. She could see one entire side of the wall seemed to be dedicated to a single star arrangement, with streaks that she could only guess were meant to be meteors dottings its surface. She looked back to Quickshot, a broad smile on her face as she danced in place, her mane bobbing up and down as she did. “Ohhh that was aw-awesome! I can’t wait until I can… I can… fly…” She trailed off as a dark blue alicorn stepped forward, peering at her through a single large cyan pupil. “Night Mother.” Quickshot said, bowing low to the ground with a rattle of his armor. He stayed still as Luna studied Silver, his bangs brushing the floor as he waited. Luna slowly dragged her eyes from Silver’s peach tinted mane, down to her bare flank, where she knew her cutie mark would appear one day. She finally turned her gaze from Silver to Quickshot, a questioning smile on her face as she rested her eyes on her ever loyal guard. “Rise Quickshot.” Quickshot stood, glancing at Silver with an eager grin as he faced the Princess of the Night. “Princess. This filly tells me she knows where Blue is!” “Blue..?” Luna trailed off, cocking her head quizzically for a moment before her eyes snapped wide. “Trixie! You know where Trixie is!” She said, lowering herself to Silver’s level, her belly flat against the floor. She hesitated as Silver took a step back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Can you please show me where she… is? I.. I recognize you…” Luna said slowly, a hoof to her lip as she searched her memories to figure out where she could have met the young mare before. “Princess?” Silver said, waving a hoof in front of Luna’s distant gaze. “Please… Trixie is… is so sick.” She whispered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she struggled to get Luna to focus. “Trixie is sick?” Luna inquired, her voice cracking with stress as she stood abruptly, her eyes snapping to Quickshot. “Quickshot! Go fetch the royal doctors and have them waiting in my bed chambers before I return. Tell them they are to bring everything they could possibly need to treat a sickly mare.” She thundered, her voice ringing through the room loudly. Quickshot sprinted out of the room, his leathery wings unfurling from his back as he vanished from sight out the nearby door. “What is your name?” Luna studied Silver for a moment, before trotting to her side. “Si-Silver Star.” She stuttered, fidgeting as Luna towered over her. “Can you take me to Trixie?” She asked, a gentle smile gracing her muzzle. Silver hesitated, before nodding jerkingly. “Good. Climb on.” She commanded, lowering herself to the floor much like Quickshot had moments before. Silver stepped forward, quickly climbing onto Luna’s back. Once Silver was situated, Luna ran forward, throwing the pair out of the tower with her wings flat against her side. They plummeted toward the ground below as Luna savored the wind roaring past the pair. Silver tightened her grip, her eyes wide as the wind ripped a startled scream from her mouth. She tugged on Luna’s fur, begging the princess to pull up before they slammed into the ground. As the ground rushed to meet them, Luna snapped her wings out, the pair slowing instantly as her wings caught the wind under her feathers. They soared away from the palace, off toward the middle of Canterlot’s vendor district. Luna shot an apologetic glance back at the filly upon her back, grinning sheepishly at her. Silver sucked in a deep breath, trembling slightly as she looked out over the darkened city of Canterlot. She released Luna’s fur, nervously smoothing out the lush midnight blue coat. Luna flapped her wings, effortlessly propelling the pair higher and higher until all of Canterlot lay below them. Luna spun slowly, twisting her head around until she could just make out the young pegasus filly upon her back. “Which way is it to Trixie?” “Um…” Silver stammered, glancing around at the city below them for a moment. “I’m not… I’ve never seen it from above like this… Oh! There’s my house!” She said, pointing toward the outskirts of Canterlot at a small jumble of buildings. Luna immediately turned, dipping her wings until they were descending in a slow dive toward Silver’s home. “You’ve never seen the city from above? Surely one of your parents is a pegasus?” Luna inquired, glancing back once before refocusing on her flight. “Both of my parents are, but my mom works constantly and my dad.. he left a long time ago.” Silver explained, tightening her hold on Luna’s neck as the alicorn dipped suddenly, her hooves clattering loudly against the cobblestone streets of Canterlot. “Hmmm..” Luna hummed to herself, her eyes roaming over the messy road. Unlike the main Canterlot road, the stone here was loose in many places, and outright missing in others. Weeds sprouted between the stones, and dirt made up most of the road in this section of the city. Even without seeing the ponies here, Luna could feel the downtrodden air that hung over the area. “She’s inside!” Silver said, trotting toward a small building across the street. Luna followed close behind her, her long neck twisting and turning as she gazed around the decrepit street. Her ear twitched as the muffled cries of a filly reached her ears.She turned a concerned eye on Silver, her mind drifting for the fleetest of moments before Silver pushed her door open, releasing the suddenly clear cry of Luna’s student. “Trixie!” She yelled, darting forward, careful to avoid stepping on Silver and what seemed to be two of her surprised siblings that had appeared in the doorway. “I’m coming!”