//------------------------------// // II // Story: The Problem with Moonstone // by CrypticMetaphor //------------------------------// Two days passed by after the arrival of Moonstone, in that short amount of time he had already set up his study space in the observatory and was already hard at work. But a good ways down from Canterlot in the scenic town of Ponyville, various preparations were being planned out by one certain princess. Twilight Sparkle was going over small checklists narrowing her eyes as she scribbled on them and made the occasional correction. Her friends were currently watching the young princess with raised eyebrows as she continued to toil, Rarity being the only one absent. Rainbow Dash sighed in mild exasperation, “C'mon Twilight, are you sure that you need all these lists?” she dodged a crumpled up piece of parchment. Twilight stopped her scribbling for a moment and looked up at Rainbow, “Of course I do Rainbow Dash,” she tapped a daily planner beside her, “In about a week, Sunset Shimmer will be going on a holiday her world calls ‘Spring Break’ and she’ll be here for only a week out of the two she has. This is her first time back in Equestria and I want it to be a memorable one.” Applejack trotted over to her friend with a chuckle, “Take it from me sugarcube, ya shouldn’t plan out the fun, ya just gotta let it happen. Or else it’ll end in…well…a disaster.” Twilight looked at the orange cowpony and sighed, “Your right,” she shook her head and laughed to herself, “last thing we need is a disaster happening during her visit.” Immediately afterwards, the throne room doors were thrown open as Rarity bounded inside. The girls stared at the mare in surprise as she panted for a few moments before regaining her composure. Twilight teleported to Rarity’s side, “Rarity, you look like you just ran a marathon, where’s the fire?” Rarity inhaled, “I might as well have ran a marathon darling, I was halfway across town when I heard the news,” she panted and spoke with a dry voice, “I need a glass of water.” Pinkie appeared beside her with a glass filled with ice cubes and crystal clear water, “Here ya go,” she then produced a hanky and started to dab away the sweat on Rarity’s coat. Rarity nodded her appreciation and drank the contents in a single gulp, minus the ice cubes. Twilight blinked in surprise as Rarity daintily wiped some water from her lip, “What news could possibly be so important that you had to gallop here from across Ponyville?” Rarity blinked in shock, “You mean you don’t know?” “Rarity I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Twilight stated with a now bemused expression. Rainbow groaned in annoyance, “Quit beating around the bush Rares and just spill it.” Rarity harrumphed at the pegasus before she began her explanation, “Well you see girls, while I was out getting our snacks for tomorrow’s meeting,” she levitated the snacks in question to the table, “Which reminds me, I’m sorry to say Rainbow Dash, but Sugarcube Corner was out of the Coffee Cake you wanted. So I got you those pudding cups you like.” Rainbow Dash nodded her thanks and gestured for her to continue. “Well as I was saying, when I was out getting our snacks, I couldn’t help but listen to some gossip going on nearby,” she waved a hoof, “of course I would never purposely listen in of course.” Applejack smirked, “Of course not.” Rarity gave Applejack an even stare before continuing, “So as I was listening, I picked up a piece of some interesting information. Our dear friend Carrot Top had just got back from Canterlot after meeting with Princess Celestia over permitting her to expand her carrot patch, when she discovered something quite interesting;” she paused for a moment, “on her way out of the palace, she noticed Princess Celestia was sharing tea with a unicorn stallion whom she addressed in a very familiar fashion. I do believe our dear Princess has found a suitor!” Twilight gawked, “A suitor!? B..but Princess Celestia hasn’t taken a suitor in….YEARS! There has to be more to it,” she quickly turned around and bolted for the door, “I’ll be back as soon as I can girls; I have to figure this out!” * Twilight galloped and teleported all around town until after an hour, she found Carrot Top. “Carrot Top,” she yelled out before she came to a rest in front of the mare. “Oh, hey Twilight,” the mare spoke kindly but she then became lightly confused at her state of being, “Is something the matter?” “Is it true?! Does Princess Celestia have a suitor now?!” Twilight spoke frantically. Carrot Top blinked in confusion, “What?” “Rarity said she overheard you saying that Princess Celestia was sharing tea with a unicorn stallion,” she stated with a bit of mild distress, “Is this true?” Carrot Top then laughed slightly and smiled knowingly, “Rarity told you? That mare…,” she looked at the panicked Princess, “Relax Twilight, knowing Rarity she probably ran off before I could finish my explanation. I did hear something before I left the area,” she leaned in and whispered to Twilight, “Celestia called this stallion her student.” Twilight’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and then she vanished in a burst of her magic. “Um…your welcome?” * A mere fifteen minutes later, Twilight was pacing in place on the Ponyville train platform as the girls watched her with mild worry. Pinkie Pie matched pace with her pacing friend, “Isn’t this exciting Twilight? I know right now you’re not SUPER excited but you are SUPER nervous.” She looked at her friends, “I’m not just nervous, I’m also a little hurt. Why didn’t Celestia tell me that she took on a student before me and Sunset? Didn’t she trust me enough?” Fluttershy placed a comforting wing on her friend, “I’m sure she had her reasons for not telling you about this other student.” Rainbow Dash nodded, “Yeah, plus this is Princess Celestia we’re talking about. She’d practically trust the six of us with watching a giant magic water balloon loaded with sticky wet glue that could destroy all of Equestria.” Twilight smiled as the train pulled into the station, “Thanks girls.” Spike raised a claw, “Plus, he’s a student of Princess Celestia like you were, maybe you two have a lot in common.” Twilight rubbed Spike’s head, “Thanks Spike, I’ll keep that in mind.” The alicorn soon boarded the train and was off. * The trip didn’t take long, in about an hour; Twilight was disembarking the train and rushing to the palace. She greeted as many ponies as she could as she passed them by, eventually she reached Canterlot Castle and after a bit of searching, found Princess Celestia in the gardens reading a novel and sipping some water. “Princess Celestia,” Twilight spoke a tad winded. Celestia glanced up and smiled, “Oh Twilight, good afternoon, what brings you here?” Twilight sat down on the ground and stared at her fellow princess, “Princess Celestia, a friend of mine told me that….there was a unicorn stallion here who you called a student. Is this true? And if so, why didn’t you ever tell me about him?” Celestia lowered her water and shut her book slowly, taking a breath, “Twilight, you must know that I have lived for a long time. In that time, I have taken on many personal students like you and Sunset Shimmer. But before I took Sunset on….It’s true that I did indeed take on one other. Like you and her, he was exceptionally talented and quite studious,” she looked at Twilight, “He only returned recently after years of studying out in Equestria. I was….debating the best method to introduce you to him.” Twilight tilted her head slightly, “But why didn’t you tell me about him when he got back?” “Well you see Twilight,” she chose her next words wisely; “He’s…not a very social pony. In a few ways, he’s like how you used to be before I sent you to Ponyville to learn the magic of friendship.” Twilight blinked a few times, “You mean….he doesn’t have any friends?” Celestia nodded sadly, “Yes, unfortunately.” Twilight thought for a moment, “Can I meet him now?” Princess Celestia nodded for a moment then gave a smile, “If there’s anypony I would trust with him, it would be you Twilight.” Twilight stood and paused, “Where is he?” Celestia gestured with a tilt of her head, “He’s located in the Castle Observatory. And just so we don’t cause any confusion by calling him ‘he’, his name is Moonstone.” Twilight nodded, “Moonstone….alright. Princess,” she looked at Celestia, “doesn’t he realize that nopony should be alone?” Celestia looked to the side, “Some ponies learn that lesson differently,” she smiled at her Twilight, “I trust you to do the right thing.” Twilight nodded and teleported away. * A few moments later she appeared in front of the Observatory doors, a bit winded from the teleport. “Oookay, never doing that again for a while,” she then looked at the doors, her hoof hovering just inches from the door. She steadied her breathing and put on her best smile as she knocked on the door. There was no indication that her knock was heard. But then the door opened fully to reveal the one known as Moonstone, judging by his stature and appearance, he looked about five years older than her. He currently had a mug of coco levitating beside him. Moonstone raised an eyebrow, “Yes? Can I help you?” Twilight smiled and extended a hoof toward Moonstone, “Hello Moonstone, I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s so great to finally meet you!” Moonstone’s eyes widened at the name, and then his expression hardened, “Charmed.” Twilight chuckled nervously as he sipped his coco, “Well….I can see you’re busy.” “Very busy, is this important? Or did you just come here to waste my time,” he stated coldly. Twilight shook her head, “Oh no, not at all, I just wanted to meet Celestia’s first protégé of this age face to face. To be honest, she never told me about you.” Moonstone’s eyes narrowed, “I see. Well you met me, are you satisfied?” Twilight steadied herself, “Actually I wanted to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me while I’m here.” Moonstone rolled his eyes, “As riveting as that sounds, I’ll have to decline, I’m very busy with my work and notes,” he leaned forward slightly with a forced smile, “something you obviously don’t have to worry about. So good day Twilight Sparkle,” he then curtly slammed the door shut. Twilight was taken by surprise from the reaction to her presence and she was a tad hurt, “Was it something I said?”