//------------------------------//
// 2 Meeting Royalty 
// Story: The Legends of Star Swirl: The Dust of the Grand Phoenix 
// by The Parliament of Flies 
//------------------------------//

     It had taken hours and hours of flight for them to arrive at Canterlot, and Star Swirl had been wiped out from throwing up several times along the ride. The sickness didn't spoil his first view of the royal city however. His smile returned as he laid his eyes upon the city. It seemed to have a iridescent look about it, which just added to the warm feeling Star Swirl had when he saw it. 

They landed before the palace and Star Swirl was immediately greeted by one of Luna's elite guards. Star Swirl climbed out of the carriage and smiled. "Oh, hello! Um, you're here to meet me, right? You're one of those people who would do anything to protect Luna, right? That must be a pretty cool job!"

The elite guard waited until Star Swirl stopped rambling before beginning to talk. "If you could follow me sir, I will lead you to the princesses. Do not worry about your belongings, they will be taken to your room." 

Star Swirl followed the elite guard through the halls, muttering several comments about the architect of the building and the demeanour of the ponies living there. It took about five minutes before they finally arrived at Celestia's bedroom. The guard waited at the door and Star Swirl walked inside.

The room was dark and the curtains were drawn. Celestia was lay in her bed, seemingly asleep. Luna was sat beside her bed, but she stood and walked over to Star Swirl when she saw him enter. "Thank you for coming, Star Swirl, I really need your help. I fear my sister will die if we do not find a way to cure her. I feel that you are our only hope; without you, the cycle of day and night will not continue."

"That would be less than satisfactory. With the blazing sun up in the sky constantly, however are we going to be able to sleep? I really hate it when I'm so tired that I get really groggy. I love nothing more than being able to sleep under a nice blanket of stars. I would probably say the night is preferable to the day, I suppose that's up to debate, I suppose." 

"Um, if we could please get back on track..."

"Oh, but of course! I'm going to need a base of operations. A lab."

"We have the finest lab in all of Equestria, filled with state of the art appliances."

"Excellent. Um, where is it?"

"Follow me." Luna led him through more corridors for about half a minute before they arrived at the lab. Star Swirl's jaw dropped once again at the marvellous sights. Every piece of equipment purposed for the pursuit of magical research he had ever seen was present, in pristine condition.

"This is amazing! Truly marvellous! With this equipment I'll be sure to find a way to cure the princess in no time!" 

"Excellent; there is one more thing, however. I have an assistant for you, a mare named Crystal Velvet. She has shown quite the magical talent and a great understanding of the magical arts. It seems to run in her family. Crystal! Come on in!" Crystal enters from another door, a shy smile on her face.

"H-hello Mr Star Swirl sir. I'm here to help you cure the princess." 

Star Swirl trotted up to her and pulled her close, staring into her eyes. "Excellent! Fantastic! Stupendous! I'm so glad you're here! I've always loved having an assistant! Not to mention the fact that I always enjoy having company!"

"Well it's good to know you approve. I have to go and attend to some issues that have arisen since Celestia was stricken with this illness, be sure to keep me posted on your progress."

Luna left the room and Star Swirl backed away from Crystal, his smile still wide. "Well, I guess it's time to get to work! First we need a sample of Celestia's blood, as well as the pony who came from Everfree."

Crystal smiled slightly, beginning to like the stallion's attitude. "There are samples already prepared over here."

And so, the two unicorns got to work, determined to save Celestia and restore the cycles of day and night.