The four ponies and the dragon gathered on Celestia's balcony and looked up at the sun in the sky. With the night approaching, the sun seemed to darken and cast an orange glow on the sky, mixing in with the usual blue. It was quite stunning.
"So you raise and lower the sun every day?" Fang asked Celestia.
The white alicorn nodded. "Yes, Fang. I've been raising and lowering the sun for over a millennia."
Fang looked up at the bright ball of gas floating through space. "How much magic does it take to move the sun and moon? Aren't they really really big?"
"The sun and moon are humongous," Luna confirmed, "but Celestia's magic is so great that she can do it with ease. Also, her talent is pretty much moving the sun so she's extremely good at it."
"Not as good as you were with the moon," Celestia commented, giving her sister a little nudge with her wing.
Luna absentmindedly brushed her mane. "Well, that was a long time ago."
"Don't worry so much about it, Luna," Spirit insisted gently. "You'll get your magic back someday. Then you'll be raising the moon as though you were a thousand years younger."
"I'm already that," Luna pointed out with a smile.
"Yes, you are," Celestia agreed. She returned her attention to her cosmic charge. "All right, everyone. Prepare yourselves, for this will be the first time most of you watch the sun setting from its source."
Fang pulled out a pair of black glasses and put them on. "Prepared."
"Ready," Silver declared.
"Whenever you're ready, Princess," Spirit said.
"Good luck, sis."
Celestia moved towards the edge of the balcony, putting a hoof on the railing. She raised her horn and a light gold aura appeared around it. Then, with a short twitch of her horn, the bright burning sun began to drop in the sky.
Spirit stared in amazement at the slowly falling orb. He reached out with his own magic and felt a tremendous amount of power flowing between Celestia and the sun, the likes of which he himself had once commanded. It was quite remarkable to see the sun drop steadily through the sky, giving 'sunset' a while new definition in Spirit's mind.
The sun ducked behind the horizon, letting the blackness of space take over the sky. Stars poked out of the empty gloom, filling the inky backdrop with twinkling points. Luna tapped Spirit's shoulder. "After the sun was down, I would step in to bring the moon into the picture. Nowadays though, Tia does it. Watch."
The two ponies returned their attention to the white alicorn, who shifted a bit on the balcony. Celestia took a deep breath and as she let the air escape her lungs, Spirit felt another rush of energy and a two-toned silvery orb rose up from behind the mountains: the moon, in all its reflecting glory, appearing as a crescent from partial denial of the sun's light. Celestia moved the moon up among the stars, putting it as high as the sun was.
"Oooh," Fang gasped, staring up at the white rock. "The moon is beautiful in Equestria."
"I'm glad someone thinks so," Luna said gratefully. "A long time ago, I got sour over the fact that ponies would sleep at night and miss out playing in the moonlight. Thankfully, I'm over that now."
Celestia gave the moon one final nudge and Spirit felt the immense amount of magic release the lunar body and return to her horn. The alicorn princess turned to face the prophet. "Well, what did you think?"
"Astounding," Spirit declared. "For a being of flesh and blood, that was impressive. Only in my own nation's history have there been individuals capable of controlling the sun and moon."
"When compared to your power, Princess, darkness really isn't as strong as the other manifestations made it seem," Silver concluded, grinning and shaking his head. "Too bad I didn't know that before."
"That's in the past, Silver," Luna said, turning the black pony around to face her. "From here on out, you can change the way you see things to the right way, just like I plan to do."
Fang leaned in towards Spirit and Celestia. "I think you're starting to rub off on her, mate," the dragon hissed.
"One would find that is my goal," Spirit replied smugly.
Celestia looked at everyone. "Now that my duties are completed, how do the rest of you feel about dinner?"
"Oooh, yes!" Luna squealed. She rushed into Celestia's bedroom and bounced by the door. "Come on, everyone. To the dining hall!"
Spirit stopped to grab his saddlebags, then he, Fang and Silver galloped after the blue alicorn, Celestia following at a slower long-legged stride. Luna led the motley crew back through the hallway, down the stairs and into the entrance hall. From there, they took a left-side corridor out of the entrance hall, lined with equine suits of armor. Fang just had to backtrack and ask about them.
"Do you ever use the armor or are these just decorative?"
Celestia eyed the old metal suits. "Yes, we did. Back when war was frequent and battles broke out, the guard would mobilize into a bigger military force to protect Equestria. Nowadays, the guard's armor is stronger and lighter, making them much more beneficial for combat."
The armor hallway ended in a set of large wooden double doors. Luna stopped in front of them and waited until everyone had caught up. "In here is the dining hall," she announced. "Sometimes we host dinners for nobles and other important ponies, but tonight it'll be just the five of us."
"Great," Fang said thankfully. "I can't stand snooty uppity nobles when I eat. They give me indigestion."
"Rest assured, it will be only us, Fang," Celestia guaranteed, stepping past the dragon towards her sister. She knocked once with her golden-shoed hoof and the doors swung open. "Come along."
Silver was quick to follow Luna in after Celestia. Spirit and Fang walked in slowly. The dining hall wasn't big but it was long, the center taken up by an equally long table with plates and cutlery set up in front of each chair. The walls were lined with banners and standards bearing Equestrian symbols. Just like a normal dining room, just bigger.
Celestia sat at the head of the table. Luna took the seat on her right and Spirit sat on Celestia's left. Silver seated himself beside Luna and Fang took the chair on Spirit's other side. Ponies in white uniforms then entered the hall through a side door, bearing silver dishes with a variety of foods.
"Thank you," Celestia said to cooks once they had laid down their platters.
They all bowed their heads respectively and returned from whence they came. "A pleasure to serve, Princess," one of the ponies answered politely before leaving.
Spirit eyed the food in front of him. There were salads, loaves of bread, soup tureens, sandwiches ranging from single spreads to far-too-many, pitchers of water and juice, assorted cakes and platters of fruit. After he gave everything the once-over, he decided to comment. "Why is it that no matter where you go, the royals always get served more than what they can eat?"
"Is that really so?" Luna asked in amazement, levitating a few sandwiches onto her plate. "You learn something new every day, I guess."
"The cooks probably think it's an honor to make as much food as possible for the monarchs," Silver mumbled. "Kind of a silly notion, if you ask me."
The alicorn sisters chuckled. "Well, maybe we should do our best, even if we can't finish it all," Celestia suggested.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Spirit commented, washing his hooves in a bowl of water and reciting two blessing before taking a bite of bread.
"Is washing your hooves before a meal one of your customs, Spirit?" Luna asked curiously. "You sure have a lot of them."
The blue unicorn looked at his hooves. "When you change form as much as I do, Luna, you begin to wonder whether you need to follow all the laws you'd been given when your current state doesn't quite meet the necessities. But I believe that no matter what shape you take, one should always stay true to his roots." Spirit suddenly realized that he hadn't heard Fang reply to his blessing, as was his friend's habit. He turned to see what the cause of this was.
Fang was up to his elbows in spaghetti and cheese, which dominated his plate and then some. Luna and Celestia looked over as well, inquisitive as ever towards their guests' mannerisms. "Does Fang normally descend into an eating frenzy?" Luna inquired, staring intensely at the dragon.
"Nah. He just really likes pasta, in any of its many shapes," Spirit replied.
Fang looked up from his meal and wiped his tomato-stained claws on a napkin. "That I do." He put his arms behind his head. "Why, is there something you'd like to say?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Celestia said. "As long as you're free to speak, I would like to discuss something rather important."
Spirit folded his legs in front of him. "What is it, Princess?"
Celestia took a sip from her goblet before speaking "As you remember from our brief meeting in Ponyville, Luna and I wished for you all to come to Canterlot, but I hadn't specified as to why."
"I'll admit, I was a bit concerned about the hidden reasons behind it," Silver put in.
"None of the reasons are something to fear," Celestia promised. The manifestation pony relaxed and the Princess continued. "I'm sure you have much to tell us, Spirit. More than can be explained in a single afternoon. You've shared much with me and my sister, but I would like you to remain in Canterlot for a few weeks."
Spirit leaned back in his chair, never taking his eyes off of the white alicorn as he considered the request. "Are there other reasons for your wanting us to stay?"
"Of course!" Luna cried out, leaping up from her seat. The young alicorn realized what she'd done and quickly sank back into her chair. "Sorry."
"It's all right, Luna," Celestia said calmly. "And yes, there is more to our request than merely exchanging information. While you are here, Spirit, I would like to take you into personal tuition, just as I had with Twilight Sparkle. From what I understood from the things I've heard about you, you're accustomed to using huge amount of energy to complete the tasks you set out to do. I intend to assist you in learning to further control your magic so that you will be more capable of containing the threat of the manifestations."
"That's a pretty tall order," Fang noted, twirling a fork in his spaghetti.
"I would be honored to learn from you, Princess," Spirit said gratefully. "After these last few encounters, I'm getting the idea that the manifestations are leeching off Equestria to strengthen themselves. That could explain how the last ones managed to turn themselves into parasprites."
Spirit looked at Luna. The blue alicorn looked hesitant, as though she was trying to say something but couldn't bring herself to do it. From the moment Celestia had made her proposal, Luna had been acting as though the whole idea bothered her, making small sudden jumps in Spirit's direction and glancing hurriedly between him and Celestia. "So you'll do it?" Luna asked slowly. "You'll stay?"
"I will."
Celestia nodded appreciatively, but Luna sighed and slumped back in her chair. Spirit couldn't understand why; Celestia's training would keep him in Canterlot for a while. Luna had previously expressed great excitement toward seeing him. Why did she seem both relived and disappointed now?
"Errrrrrm," Fang droned. "What does that mean for me and Silver? Did we come all this way just to part ways now?"
"Of course not, silly!" Luna giggled, flicking a cookie at the dragon. "You can stay too. Hang around the castle, maybe wander the streets of Canterlot. There are some really interesting things excluding all the prissy high-class ponies."
Fang caught the cookie and chomped it down. "Works for me. What about Silver?"
The manifestation pony looked up from his watermelon at the mention of his name. "Oh. I was actually hoping that... maybe there was a chance I could..." He was clearly having a hard time getting his words out. "The thing is, I became acquainted with the two bat ponies, Overcast and Echo Barrage, while we were on our way to your chambers, Princess. I found there presence reassuring and I feel at home with them. If Spirit and Fang are to stay here in Canterlot, could I maybe bunk with the bat ponies?"
Spirit felt like applauding Silver for speaking his mind. It was quite a step up for the manifestation, who was slowly getting used to interacting with others without fear. Princess Celestia glanced at Luna, who smiled in reply. "I approve of this, but it really is up to Luna and the night guard whether or not you could stay with them."
"Are you kidding?" Luna cried out emphatically. "I haven't seen the bat ponies ever get along with anypony so well before. Silver, what were you guys talking about on the way up?"
"Nothing much. Just told them a bit about myself, they shared some of their history with me, small talk mostly. Now that I think about it, the two of them were kind of normal while I was with them, not as stiff as the other guards."
"You put them at ease, make them feel at home," Fang guessed, folding his hands under his chin. "I can completely see you guys becoming roommates."
"We'll go see the bat ponies after dinner together," Luna said to the manifestation, barely able to contain her excitement. "You're all going to get along so well."
Spirit took another bite of bread. "That's all fine and dandy. Silver really needed a place with ponies like himself, and I really can't think of anypony who would better appeal to an ex-sin-being than nocturnal equines. But that still leaves us with the question of where Fang and I will be sleeping while we're here."
"Don't worry, Spirit Guide," Princess Celestia consoled. She activated her magic and pulled a scroll out of thin air. "This came to me as I was returning to Fillydelphia. It's from Twilight Sparkle."
"A letter from Twilight?" Spirit repeated, eyes growing wide.
"Indeed. Evidently, she had thought ahead." Celestia unrolled the parchment and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia. After Spirit and the others had left for Canterlot, I'd started wondering what you had planned for them. At the time, all I knew was that whatever was going to happen, they would need a place to sleep. I know Silver could manage just about anywhere with his innate ability to vaporize, but Spirit and Fang would need real beds.
That is why Spike and I wish for our friends to stay in our room at the School for Gifted Unicorns."
"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?!" Fang yelled out, flailing his arms and falling backwards onto the floor, still yammering. "Holy yes yes yes, oh man, I thought there were tests and stuff to get into that place, Twilight and Spike want us to stay in their room, Lord Almighty thank you, my mind is now at ease!"
Spirit contemplated the news while Fang continued to yak, remaining silent until an appropriate response came to him. "Now I owe them another thank-you hug. But really, I can't think of anything else to say; I'm just so grateful for this offer. Is that all?"
"I know how much Spirit likes to learn and my room at the school is pretty much the next best thing after the Golden Oak Library and the Canterlot Archives. I'm sure he and Fang will love it there, as they will everything they do in Canterlot.
Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle."
Princess Celestia rolled up the scroll and teleported it away. "That settles things. You and Fang will be allowed to sleep in Twilight's old room at the school."
"Twilight's room," Spirit mused, finishing the last of his sandwich. "When she told me of her studies here in the capital, I could completely see her sitting at a table in a spacious area, engrossed in learning, friendless besides Spike. I really am amazed she was sunk so deep in studying that she had no time for friends."
"She was sure at the time that learning was the key to understanding magic, although there was something more than just books that kept her busy when she lived in Canterlot," Celestia explained, taking a spoonful of soup.
Fang mashed a fist into his claw. "Ooooh, backstories."
The Princess smiled. "Not tonight, Fang. Now we are going to finish our meal, and then it's off to bed. We all have to get up early tomorrow."
The green dragon pouting comically. "You sound like my mom. Only Spirit's allowed to sound like my mom."
Everypony laughed at Fang's expression and statement. "Why do we have to get up early?" Silver wondered.
"You don't," Luna told him, taking a cake from the platter. "If you bunk with the bat ponies, you'll be following most of their schedule, which includes sleeping in."
"Oh."
"If that's the case, then it might be best to wrap up for the evening." Spirit turned to Celestia. "That is, if you decide we've done enough."
Celestia ruffled her majestic wings and spread her hooves out. "You've given us more than what I'd originally expected. So much to think about, so much more to learn. Perhaps it would be best if we end things for now and continue them tomorrow."
"I'm all for that," Fang declared. "Come on, Spirit. Let's bentch."
The two friends closed their eyes, lowered their heads and began to murmur fervently. Silver got up from his seat and walked to the space between Celestia and Luna to explain. "Another custom they have. In addition to thanking G-d for food before the meal, they also give praise after eating."
"That's kinda confusing," Luna admitted, rubbing her head.
Celestia watched the praying guests inquisitively. "I think I understand. The first blessing is asking permission from the Creator to eat the food, and the later blessing is thanking Him for causing and allowing it all to happen."
"Right on, Princess," Fang assured, having finished his Grace After Meals, "although bentching is more of a whole prayer than just a single blessing."
Spirit opened his eyes as he recited the final lines. "A short blessing of gratitude is just as special as a long prayer," he said sagely. "That and more was given to us centuries ago, and we've held onto them ever since. Through exile, poverty and war, our traditions and customs survived."
The alicorn sisters nodded at the unicorn's words. "Unreal," Luna breathed. "It's amazing how faithful some ponies can be."
Equestrian vernacular will be my downfall, Spirit thought to himself. Then he replied. "Anypony can be faithful, if only they try."
"I don't know about the rest of you, but the only thing I wanna try is to get to sleep," Fang declared, laying his claws on the table and pushing himself up.
"Perhaps we should get you all settled in," Celestia agreed, beginning to rise from her seat. The others followed suit, each having something to say.
"Yes let's, Princess."
"I'm kinda sleepy, Tia."
"Can't wait to see the bat ponies again."
Celestia led the group back through the corridor and into the entrance hall. It was here that Luna split from the group and stood opposite them. "This is where we part. I'll lead Silver to the bat-ponies quarters from here. Spirit, you and Fang will go with my sister to Twilight and Spike's room."
"Aw bummer," Fang groaned. "I wanted both of you with us."
Luna smiled and patted the green dragon on the head. "Don't think too much on it. We'll have plenty of time to be together during your stay."
That's what I thought, Spirit concluded in his head. That still doesn't explain her hesitance at Celestia's offer.
"We hope to see you both soon, whenever it shall be," Celestia said. "I hope you find the bat ponies quarters pleasant, Silver Shade."
"Hope so too, Princess."
"Come on, Silver!" Luna cried, tapping the black pony's shoulder and zipping across the hall. "We've got night guards to visit."
Silver glanced back at the unicorn who'd given him his second chance. "Goodnight, Spirit."
"Goodnight, Silver," Spirit replied.
Fang waved a claw. "Now get on out. Shoo, go make some FRIENDS!"
"Yes yes yes!" Silver looped-a-loop and flew off in Luna's direction, following the blue alicorn through another door, down a corridor and out of sight.
Spirit rubbed his leg self-consciously. "Silver's had a hard time, even in Ponyville. He barely left the library and when he did, he was always wary, watching for other ponies looking at him. I only hope the bat-ponies don't stare at him."
"From what I've seen, they'll give him more than he's ever dreamed off," Celestia replied, draping a comforting wing over the stallion's back. "No offense to the acceptance and hospitality you've shown him."
"It's a temporary thing, just like rearing children," Fang said. "You give them what you can, but it sometimes happens that others end up giving more."
"I'm confident Silver won't forget us," Spirit stated. "I've been the centerpiece of his existence from before his adjustment."
"Anything is possible. Especially when you take everything that has happened into account." Princess Celestia straightened up and walked in front of Spirit and Fang. "I intend to teleport the three of us to Twilight's room at the School for Gifted Unicorns. It would be better than walking through the streets at night as—"
"The public believes it's dishonorable for their Majesties to walk around like commoners," Fang finished for her, grabbing his face and gaping in mock horror. "We all know what's expected of you as a monarch. Who'd have thought ponies would expect high-level dignity from their rulers?"
"We can't expect everypony to understand that leaders and sovereigns, while being very powerful, are just like us on the inside," Spirit reminded. "Unless you think otherwise, Princess."
The white alicorn was silent as she looked about the grand entrance hall. "I've ruled Equestria for over one thousand years. I've always done what was best for its citizens, even if it meant becoming what they wanted me to become: a proud, regal figure. Many other monarchs may see this as an easy way to gain trust and power, but Luna and I were not so keen at first. We tried discreetly to make our subjects realize that, but they were stubborn. So we complied with their wishes and became typical rulers."
Fang whistled. "Harsh, Princess. You put yourself through so much."
"I can understand your willingness to give what ponies wanted at the price of your own comfort," Spirit said, "but you shouldn't surrender yourself entirely to the wishes of others; that would make you a machine. I'm certain there's something in your life other than governing Equestria that you care about."
Celestia glanced down the hallway her sister had disappeared into. "Luna." A smile stole across the alicorn's muzzle. "I sometimes feel as though I had wasted these last thousand years without Luna," she said with a hint of regret, "and although she still hides her true thoughts and fears, I'm sure she is just as eager as I to make up for the time we have missed together."
Spirit and Fang stood side-by-side, looking up at the white alicorn with admiration. "I hope the two of you spend plenty of much-needed time together," Spirit said wishfully.
"Me too. Now can we go check out Twilight and Spike's room?"
"Of course." Celestia straightened herself and looked up at a high window. Her horn began to glow. She gestured to the two friends with her wings, bringing them into a close triangle. "Spirit, would you mind contributing some of your magic?" she asked, her eyes still focused on the window. "It would be very helpful if I didn't have to focus so much on supplying energy for the spell."
"Sure thing, Princess." Spirit raised his head and started up his own magic, blue tendrils shooting out of his horn and mixing with Celestia's golden bands. The two forces twisted into a single shining strip of magic which looped around the ponies and the dragon, slowly growing into a dome.
Princes Celestia spread her majestic wings. "Here we go!"
Her horn released a blinding flash of light and Spirit felt displacement take place. All at once, he felt every single piece of himself being picked up and moved, but he wasn't in control. The only thing he could feel was the tugging on his horn as Celestia used his magic to fuel the teleportation spell.
Another flash, and then Spirit could see again. Noticing Celestia and Fang, he quickly did a 360 to see where they were. The architecture suggested they were still in Canterlot, which was confirmed when he saw the castle wall just a short way away. Further inspection revealed the tower at who's foot they were standing, not as tall as the castle turrets but still pretty high. White steps wound all the way around the tower, first hitting two round porches before climbing to higher floors.
"Nice place," Fang commented, his sharp reptilian eyes taking in as much as he could. "And within walking distance of the castle, too."
"If you think it's nice now, wait until you see it in daylight," Celestia told him. She turned around and mounted the steps of the tower. "Come. Twilight's room is at the top."
Spirit and Fang followed the Princess up the stairs and began to climb, Fang tracing the gold and purple patterns on the wall with his finger as they went. They passed the first two floors where the windows were dark, the occupants already asleep. At the top, they came to a pair of blue double doors.
"Are they locked?" Fang asked.
Princess Celestia smiled. "In a sense." She laid a hoof on the doors and gently pushed them open.
Fang darted on in and zipped about, looking at everything that was inside. Spirit followed more slowly. The room contained an assortment of everyday objects and furnishing, much like the Golden Oak Library, just without the books. He trotted over to a wide window, from which he could see the brightly lit streets of Canterlot and, in the distance, Ponyville. Even from the top of the mountain, Spirit could see the tiny specks of light from the houses.
"Everything has been prepared for your stay," Celestia explained. "When I had gotten the letter from Twilight, I made sure her apartment would be ready for when you arrived here."
Spirit walked toward Celestia. "Thank you, Princess."
"This is where Twilight spent much of her time during her studies," Celestia went on, she and Spirit beginning to walk around the room. "When she wasn't at the Canterlot Archives looking up historic events or learning magic with me, she was here, reading books and taking notes."
"She never made time for friends," Spirit recalled, thinking about what Twilight had told him back in Ponyville. "She just wanted to learn, to be the best student she could. It wasn't until you had her go to Ponyville and she discovered the Elements of Harmony that Twilight became social. She still spends a lot of time reading and writing, but now she's ready to drop everything to help a friend."
The sun princess smiled contentedly. "I'm glad she's doing so well. Twilight has grown a lot since she became my student."
"Yes, she has."
"Holy horse scholars!"
There was a scuffling, then a yelp, followed by a loud WHUMP. Spirit and Celestia turned suddenly at the sound, pinpointing it near the staircase in the room. Fang poked his head out from the second floor, beaming smile present.
"Spirit, you will not believe what there is up here," the green dragon said before retreating.
Princess Celestia lowered her head to Spirit's ear. "Prepare yourself for a surprise. Go on up."
Tentatively, Spirit stepped away from the Princess and walked towards the stairs. He turned his head and looked back at Celestia, but the white alicorn only stared back at him, her magical mane flowing beside her. With a shrug, Spirit began to climb the stairs. Twilight's apartment has a second floor? Wonder what's in it. He arrived at the topmost floor of the tower and looked about. What he found was mind-blowing, even for him.
Books. Books everywhere. Enough books for a small library, arranged on huge shelves and spread out across multiple levels. Heck, this place was a library. Spirit now understood how Twilight had spent so much time away from other ponies. All the reading material she could want was right above her. I myself could probably spend hours and hours in here. So much knowledge.
Fang rolled by on a ladder, despite it having no wheels. "Sweet place, huh?"
"Indeed, it is." Celestia had joined them on the top floor. "When Twilight began her studies with me, I issued for the top apartment of this school building to be for her and Spike. Twilight was very appreciative of it, but she requested that books be brought up for her to read. As time went by, a pile of books became a shelf, and a shelf became several shelves, until this—" She gestured around them, "—was formed."
"I would not use the word 'formed'," Fang declared. "'Assembled', maybe. Also 'organized' and 'created'."
"Choice of wording aside, this really is incredible. It explains what Twilight mentioned in her letter." Spirit walked over to a large hourglass situated beside a tall ceiling-to-floor window, from which he could see the castle. "I don't know many who would want their own private library in their dwelling."
"Except for Hermione, Annabeth, Cleo, Raven, Bridget..... a few other friends we haven't met yet."
Celestia walked towards a furnace sitting in the corner. "It was from here Twilight would send me questions and requests. She would come up with lists of topics we had covered and still more with subjects we had yet to learn. She was more prepared than I was," the Princess added with a giggle.
Spirit looked up at the kind and regal alicorn. "I hope you're prepared for tutoring us, Princess."
"I hope so too."
"Well," Fang announced, walking towards the ponies and stretching his arms out, "it really is late and I think we would all benefit from a good night's rest. We've all learned much today and it would be best to sleep on it."
"Yeah," Spirit said, stifling a yawn. "That's sounding really good now."
"Then I shall wish you both goodnight," Celestia said. She looked down at her two guests, both clearly exhausted from a long exciting day. "I look forward to tomorrow."
"Me too."
"Yeah."
Spirit and Fang walked with Celestia to the door of Twilight's tower apartment. Before she left, the Princess turned around and said, "I will send you a letter informing you when I'm ready for you to come to the castle. Do you think you'll be able to entertain yourselves from whenever you wake up until then?"
"As long as it's not five in the morning, I hate waking up then," Fang grumped, scrunching his nose at the very thought of getting up early.
"We'll manage," Spirit assured. "Thanks for everything, Princess."
"Thanks, Princess. Sleep well."
"Goodnight, Fang. Goodnight, Spirit."
Princes Celestia turned, her floating mane and tail curling around her. She raised her horn and it glowed, reaching into her immense store of magic. A bright flash of light encased the white alicorn and when it faded, Celestia was gone. Spirit and Fang quickly looked to the castle. Light trickled through the large windows of the entrance hall, the location Princess Celestia had teleported to.
Fang turned to go back inside and Spirit followed. "Well, that was fun," the dragon said merrily. "I say we do evening service and turn in. Sound good?"
"In a hurry to sleep, Fang?" Spirit asked curiously
"Yes."
"Okay. I'll just unpack my stuff." Spirit dropped his saddlebags on the bed and started emptying them out onto the sheets. His and Fang's prayer shawls and phylacteries found their place on the bedside table, while the Seals were laid out on the bed in a row. Spirit studied the four unique objects, each one a symbol representing of the Republic's connected worlds; the Poké Seal, holding the manifestation inside it like the capsule it was formed after; the Hogwarts Seal, the four animals on the coat-of-arms containing the dark being within; the Shikon Seal, forcing its prisoner down whenever it attempts to escape; the Digi Seal, using powerful input codes to restrain the swarm of evil inside it.
We've captured only a small amount of the manifestations now in Equestria, Spirit decided, sitting down on the bed. How many more are out there, hiding among ponies with no knowledge of them? These thoughts swirled around inside his head, the answers evading him, making the prophet uneasy.
Fang saw his friend's troubled expression and sidled up beside him. "Worrying about the manifestations?" he asked, picking up the Shikon Seal and dangling it from his fingers.
"Yep," Spirit said with a sigh.
"You always put the mission before your own well-being. While that is admirable, it's not desired by those around you. This is just like what we told Celestia. You may sometimes think you're a tool, a weapon existing only to protect, but you're not. You have as much right to live normally as anybody or anypony in the multiverse and I won't have you thinking only of what you're told to do."
Spirit smiled and threw a hoof around the dragon. "You are the best friend a prophet could ask for," he said warmly, pulling Fang in for a quick hug.
"Yeah, I do that," Fang replied casually.
"You're right, though: I can't give myself up like that. Like you mentioned, we said the same thing to Princess Celestia, though I still have a hard time telling myself that."
"Well, maybe living among peaceful colorful ponies will do just that."
"Maybe."
Knock knock knock.
Spirit and Fang spun around at the sound of somepony banging on the tower door. The two friends exchanged looks. "Who?" Fang wondered aloud, not even bothering to string together a proper sentence.
"Twily! You there?" a voice called from outside. "I saw the light in your room from the barracks and came as fast as I could. Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"
Fang's face contorted into his supreme-befuddlement expression, which looked unnaturally silly on his scaly visage. "Whoever that is thinks Twilight is in here," he muttered quietly to Spirit. "Should we keep him thinking that?"
"No," Spirit said, shaking his head. "Go open the door. I'm curious as to who this is. He speaks as though he knows Twilight well."
"Probably an ex-boyfriend or something." Rolling his shoulders, Fang walked to the door and opened it. Standing on the doorstep was a white unicorn stallion, a bit larger than the ones he'd seen in Ponyville, with a sleek shiny mane of cerulean and sapphire blue. He wore a set of armor like every other guard in Canterlot, but his was decorated with purple designs and the front bore a familiar pink star instead of the usual blue one.
When the stallion saw Fang, he looked confounded, which Fang had expected. "Is that you, Spike?" the unicorn asked, tilting his head a bit. "You've grown since I last saw you. Not to mention your scale color."
Fang stared at the pony in the doorway for a few seconds before replying. "Sorry to disappoint you, sir," he said in a calm, polite voice. "I'm not Spike the dragon and Twilight Sparkle isn't here."
"Eh, what?" A look of confusion crossed the unicorn's face. "Who are.... where is..... uh..... Sorry to have wasted your time," he apologized, making a quarter turn towards the stairs. "I was sure I had the right place."
"You probably do," Spirit confirmed, deciding to intervene. He got up from the bed and joined Fang at the door. "This is Twilight's school apartment, but she's still in Ponyville."
The white stallion stared at Spirit. "Then you must be..... friends of hers."
"Recent acquaintances," Fang said, holding his arms behind his head. "The Princesses invited us to Canterlot for a while and Twilight and Spike generously offered their rooms to us."
"It's nice to hear she's making friends," the unicorn guard disclosed, turning his head to look at Ponyville. "Her antisocial habits sometimes worried me."
"Well, why don't you come on in and we'll tell you what we know," Spirit suggested, gesturing to the interior. "I'm sure we'll be able to clear some things up together."
The taller unicorn glanced back at the castle. "I guess I could spend a minute or two here."
The dragon and the two ponies walked into the tower apartment and started towards the blue couch in the corner. The white stallion watched Spirit curiously as he removed his helmet and unstrapped his armor. "So, how did you come to meet Twily?" he asked.
"We came to Equestria in a meteorite, which crashed outside of Ponyville, Twilight and Spike came to investigate, found us lying stuck in the dirt, broken from the fall and unable to use our powers, Twilight helped Spirit weave a spell, turning us into pony and dragon respectively, fell unconscious from transformation fatigue, taken to hospital, woke up alone, escaped, rejoined Twilight and Spike, offer to stay at library, end of meeting."
Fang, who had draped himself over the armrest, whipped his head around and looked up awkwardly at the guard pony, who's eyes grew wider the more he stared back at the dragon. Spirit chose to step in and be more helpful. "That's how we met in a nutshell. Maybe we should try for some introductions to help things along." He put a hoof to his chest. "My name is Spirit Guide, I'm new to Equestria."
"By 'new', he means a few weeks," Fang clarified, "and by 'to Equestria', he means we're inter-dimensional travelers. I should know because I'm Fang, soul friend to Spirit."
"Cool." The white stallion didn't seem fazed by what he was just told. "I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot royal guard."
Spirit raised an eyebrow in surprise, but Fang somehow twisted himself around and fell backwards off the armrest. "So you're the pony in command," Spirit said, fascinated by this sudden reveal. "We were brought here by your lieutenant, Storm Runner."
"Yeah. He told me about his latest mission to Ponyville, where Princess Celestia had him bring back two ponies and a dragon who were new arrivals," Shining Armor admitted. "I'll admit I didn't understand Storm when he reported it to me and, to be honest, I'm still having a hard time believing you guys came from another world."
"Believe it, Captain," Fang advised. "Things will only become more outlandish from here on out. When you've see all that we've been through, nothing seems impossible. Except for some things."
Shining Armor laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Don't worry, I'm not always."
"Because that's my job," Spirit said. "But I do have a question, Captain."
"Please, just call me Shining. I'm not on duty right now, not until I get back anyway."
Friendly and welcoming. I hope he is indeed as charismatic as he seems. "When you were at the door, thinking Twilight was here, you kept calling out 'Twily'. I'm assuming that's a nickname and that you've used it for Twilight before, but with all due respect: who are you to use a nickname for Twilight Sparkle?"
Shining looked genuinely surprised. "Guess she didn't get around to that yet. I'm Twilight's older brother."
Most unexpected. Spirit did not see this coming and stiffened at the Captain's words. Twilight has a brother and she never told me? he speculated. Were we so focused on each other and our activities that simple things such as family were pushed aside?
This thought made him uneasy at first, but Spirit calmed himself by remembering everything that he and Twilight had been through; chaotic accumulations of darkness, after all, were very distracting. Also, it was far easier for him to speak of his family, he'd done it so many times in the past. Maybe Twilight didn't think discussing her own family was important at the time, rather than her forgetting.
Fang, however, was not surprised. "I've got a brother in military service too," he said, his reptilian eyes wandering, "but I don't bring him up much. He's a swell guy, but never really relevant to whatever situation or conversation I'm taking part in."
"Your family is okay with your inter-dimensional traveling?" Shining asked.
"To be honest, they know nothing about it whatsoever. They believe I'm on an educational and spiritual journey superior to my previous school program. Which is sort of true."
"Yeah, he's learned all the basic skills," Spirit said. "History, science, several fighting styles, simple quantum physics. Everything a normal student could ask for."
Fang and Shining grinned. Spirit found himself smiling right along with them. "Sounds like fun," Shining Armor said at last. "So you guys really do travel to different worlds?"
"I completely understand your disbelief, Shining Armor," Spirit assured. "Not all of us were fortunate as to see the Lord's miracles performed before their eyes and unlock true faith in His existence. Until such a time as He sees fit to return us to Him, we have no choice but to trust in His judgment and trot on."
The Captain of the guard listened intently to the prophet's words. "You've got quite an understanding there, Spirit," he remarked. "Pretty big for a younger colt."
"There's more where that came from, Shining," Fang promised, "but that'll have to wait for another time. It's really late and we have yet to wrap up the day."
"Okay." The white stallion got up and redonned his armor. Spirit and Fang then escorted Shining to the door. "This has been an interesting evening, boys," he said, facing them. "I hope you can lighten things up around Canterlot."
"Are you saying that the capital of Equestria is boring?" Fang asked, almost feigning shock.
"Let's just say it's a city of mismatched surprises."
"I look forward to meeting all of them head on," Spirit said.
"Then I'll wish you look with that. Goodnight, boys."
"Goodnight, Captain!"
Shining Armor started down the tower, picking up speed so that by the time he was at the bottom, he was almost flying over the ground on his way back to the castle. Spirit and Fang watched the white pony reach the gates and walk into the grounds before turning to reenter Twilight's apartment.
"That was unexpected," Fang said, breaking the silence.
"What, finding out the Captain of the Canterlot guard is also Twilight's brother?" Spirit asked.
"Maybe."
Spirit shook his head. Getting a straight answer out of Fang was like trying to get water from a rock. "We'd better finish up for today. Are you ready for ma'ariv?"
"Almost. Just wanna check out some more of the—" He jabbed a thumb towards the second floor, "—'inventory'."
"You really should do that after praying," Spirit reminded. "You know that, right?"
Fang shrugged. "Wanna see." And without another word, he ran upstairs.
No point arguing, the unicorn thought. Best get on with my own service. Spirit closed his eyes, locked his legs together and began shaking back and forth, reciting the evening prayer. He pushed away all thoughts of the events that had transpired these last few weeks to put all that he could into his prayer, but as he finished the chapters of Shema and slipped into the silence of the Amidah, his mind began to wander and bring up the many affairs that he and Fang had been through since arriving in Equestria.
"Well, that could have been more satisfying," Spirit said aloud, making another bow to conclude the service. He was never content with a prayer where he hadn't poured his soul into. It made him feel undeserving of his position and power. Maybe it's the strange and unfamiliar feel of this world. I don't usually have prayer problems when I travel to a new universe. Maybe I just need some time for everyday Equestrian affairs to become normal in my eyes. "Now, where did that dragon get to?"
Spirit mounted the stairs and entered the second floor, where he found Fang fervently scanning the bookshelves, sliding the ladder this way and that as he grabbed books and tossed them haphazardly over his shoulder into an ever-growing pile on one of the tables.
"No, no, no, interesting but no, no no, not really, no and no." The dragon slumped, fell off the ladder and caught himself with his wings before hitting the floor, gliding over and landing in front of Spirit. "Not a single Bible book in this whole library. How am I supposed to learn the weekly Torah portion without a Torah to learn from?"
Spirit slowly walked past Fang and over to the table. "I was pretty sure from the start that there's no library in Equestria with anything from Scripture," he said, looking up at the mountain of books. "I think I'll keep that assumption."
"Then what do we do?" Fang asked with a frown.
"We could always write them ourselves."
Fang burst out laughing. "PFFFFFFT, AHA HA HA HA HA HA, HEEEEEEEE....." He caught Spirit staring at him, then continued with sudden earnestness. "That could work."
"We already know most of Scripture by heart," Spirit went on, "and what you don't know, I have etched into my mind. We could easily write our own wing of books, start publishing the Bible here in Equestria."
"That sounds really appealing. Shall we get started on it tonight?"
"No, because I'm going to bed and you're going to pray."
The green dragon folded his arms and blew non-existent hair out of his eyes. "Fine."
The two friends went back downstairs. Spirit collected the Seals from the bed and scooped them back into his saddlebags. He washed up, clambered into the bed that Twilight once slept in and put his hooves behind his head. So ends another day in Equestria, Spirit thought. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Fang pushed a basket to the foot of the bed. "Looking forward to tomorrow?" he asked, noticing his friend's deep-thinking expression.
"I'm not going to expect anything. I'm going to wait for it to come."
"You do that. Goodnight, Spirit."
"Goodnight, Fang."
Fang turned and began to murmur under his breath, beginning his service. Spirit closed his eyes and rolled over, allowing his body to rest as his mind relived the memories of time spent with his new friends in Ponyville. The last image that came to him before falling asleep was looking down at Twilight and the others from the pegasus-drawn chariot, casting his wordy spell as he slowly rose from a ruined Ponyville, his friends waving and smiling up at him.