Morning broke over the city of Canterlot again. The streets were filled with ponies all scrambling to begin their day, as usual. The market street ran through the entire city, with higher class shops being closer to the palace. As such, this whole road is known as Main Street. And is one of the largest centers of activity in all the whole city.
But on this particular morning, not everypony was scrambling. Instead of going to a normal job with the early rush, some ponies preferred to spend their mornings in a more leisurely manner. In one café along the upper class stretch of Main Street, ponies like to gather for conversation and gossip, especially mares. In front of this classic looking coffee shop at this hour was a group of three mares, sitting at one of the patio tables.
Speaking of gossip, the first mare said "So have you heard the latest on the prince's suitor matter? They say that Duchess Lightning Dust has already left the palace".
The second mare said"Yes, I heard. Word is spreading fast. And she left after only one day to. That must be a new record".
The third mare then said "This has to by at least the eighth mare the prince has turned away. Just what is the king going to do now?".
While these mares continued with their gossip, they didn't notice who passed by. A tall figure passed by walking down Main Street toward the lower class sections. This pony was taller than the average stallion and wore a dull grey robe with a hood over his head. Under the robe, this stallion had a white coat, red mane & tail, and a horn on his head, making him look like a unicorn. The stallion peered out from under his hood to take in the sights of the city. As he looked around, one could get a good look at his face to see the fine red beard he sported. The was no ordinary unicorn, it was Prince Solaris. And he had disguised himself as a commoner to blend in.
As Solaris walked along, he thought to himself "So this is what Canterlot looks like on a daily basis. It's all so busy and lively. I can't waint to see more of the city".
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Meanwhile, in the middle class stretch of Main Street, shop owners were already starting to open their doors. And food stores were selling freshly made edibles. One in particular was a bakery located among the food shops. The owner, a brown coated, blond haired earth pony stallion, was putting fresh loafs of bread on table in front of his shop. But somepony was watching him from around the corner of an alley a few buildings down the street.
Celestia was eyeing the lay of the area around the bakery, making a plan. It was time for breakfast, but first came the challenge of getting it. Despite how good her had gotten at it, Celestia didn't enjoy steeling. But money was something she almost never had. So it came to this.
On her back was Philomena, eyeing the target like the bird she was. After a few minutes the two figured they were ready and Celestia started to whisper something into Philomena's ear.
After she was done whispering Celestia said "So do you get the plan?".
Philomena nodded head and replied "Yeah, I distract, you grab. Got it!".
With that, Philomena flapped her wings and took flight. She flew up over the bakery and eyed the stand with bread. Knowing what she had to do, she spread her wings and descended into a glide. After a few moments, Philomena landed on the stand. The shop owner looked surprised to see the bird. Philomena started to stick her tongue out at the stallion and blow raspberries at him. Not liking this, the shop owner started yelling at the bird.
Scowling, he said "Hey you bird!".
While the stallion continued to yell at Philomena, he didn't notice two loafs of bread on the stand become enveloped in a golden glow. Both loafs flew off the stand and around the corner to the alley. See this, Philomena took it as her queue to leave. Flapping her wings again, she shot up skyward and took off over the building, leaving the baker confused.
Philomena flew over the buildings and up the street until she was over a four-way intersection. On one of the corners of this intersection, Philomena saw Celestia sitting on a bench. The phoenix instantly dived down and land on the bench right next to her pony friend.
Seeing her partner in crime had arrived, Celestia said "Good timing! And as usual, a fine performance".
Philomena responded "Thank you very much. Now let's eat".
With that, Celestia lit her horn and levitated two loafs of bread out her the saddlebags of her back. Philomena grasped one in her talons and started pecking into it. Celestia stated to eat her loaf from one end, enjoying every bite as it came. But as she was eating, something caught the corner of her eye. Celestia looked up and at the corner across intersection. There she saw the figure of a tall stallion wearing a robe walking down the street. Curious, she started to stare. After few moments, Celestia could see the face under hood of the robe, and he was handsome. Captivated, she continued to watch.
Solaris was continuing to walk down Main Street, having entered the middle class stretch. He was still taking in all the sights of Canterlot. Now that he had come the section with so many food shops, he was also taking in all smells to be had. As Solaris walked, he noticed that he was upon an intersection. Looking to of one the street corners at the intersection, something caught his attention. Solaris looked at a fruit stand full of apples with a small brown-coated colt in front of it. As the colt stared at the apples, Solaris could tell what he wanted.
Solaris walked up to the colt and said "Are you hungry, young one?".
The colt knotted a "yes".
With that, Solaris lit his horn and levitated one of the apples. He said "Here, take this."
Solaris levitated the apple in front of the colt. The colt's face lit up with joy and he get grabbed the apple in his mouth before running off. As the young foal ran off, Solaris felt good about what he did.
But, as the colt ran off, a gray-coated stallion, with a black mane and tail, standing behind the fruit stand saw this and turned to Solaris with a scowl. This was the fruit merchant who owned the stand.
The fruit merchant said "Hey you! You better be able to pay for that apple".
Turning to the merchant in confusion, Solaris replied "Excuse me, what?".
The merchant said "I don't usually give away my fruit for free. You need to pay for that apple!".
Solaris realized that he hadn't brought any money with him. Looking nervous, he said "I'm sorry, sir. I don't have any money. Maybe we can think of something else".
The merchant's expression turned from a scowl to anger. He yelled "WHAT! You know that's called stealing, right? I could call the guards on you right now, if I want".
Celestia was watching all this happening from across the intersection. Wanting to help, she levitated her bread into saddlebag and jetted off the bench. Philomena noticed this with a look of confusion. Having finished her bread, Philomena took flight after Celestia. Celestia ran across the intersection and stopped right in front of the fruit stand, right next to Solaris.
Thinking fast, Celestia said to Solaris "There you are brother. I've been looking all over for you".
Looking more confused, Solaris whispered to her "Um, what you doing?".
Celestia whispered back to him "Just play along".
Not knowing what else to do, Solaris decided to trust what this mare was doing and go with it.
Looking puzzled, the merchant said "You know this stallion, miss?".
Celestia replied "Yes, he's my brother. But he had a bit of a social disorder. He's a compulsive giver. He gives away anything to anyone he thinks it'll help. He's even been known to give to random animals".
As Celestia said this, Philomena landed on her back. Trying to act, Solaris lit his horn with a crimson glow and levitated his saddlebags off. He floated them over to the bird.
Solaris plodded the bags onto Philomena and said " Here birdy, take my bags!".
Celestia levitated the bags off of Philomena and back onto Solaris. Awkwardly grinning, she said " See what I mean? It's a problem. Unfortunately, he sometimes also give away thing \s that aren't even his. In fact we were just on our way to a therapist this morning when we got separated."
Still scowling, the merchant said "Alright, fine. But don't let him try this again."
Celestia replied "Thank you, sir. Sorry for the disturbance."
With that, Celestia started to walk down the street, waving her head for Solaris to follow her. Taking the hint, Solaris started to follow the mare. Soon enough, they were out of sight of the merchant, and Solaris was breathing a sigh of relief. The two continued to walk down the coble stone road for a while. Eventually, they came to a street corner with a statue surrounded by benches. Taking a much needed rest, They sat down on one of the benches.
Solaris removed his hood and said "Thank you very much, kind mare. I don't usually got into trouble like that."
Celestia could now see the stallion's full face, and he was better looking than she had thought. She removed her hood and said "Your welcome. I just couldn't let somepony so kind get in trouble with the guards like that. What you did for that foal was very nice."
Now Solaris could see the full face of the mare, and she was a rare beauty. "Thank you, again. I just saw he was hungry and helped him."
Celestia could tell this stallion was very kindhearted. But he wasn't of the typical Cabterlot variety.
Celestia asked "Your not from around here, are you? What did was nice, of course. But most ponies are aware of what their doing."
Solaris replied "Yes. I'm sort of new to Canterlot. I barely even know where I am."
Upno hearing this, Celestia got an idea. "um-uh... If you want I could show you around. Help you see the sights."
Philomena, still on Celestia's back, heard this and pecked her on the head. She squawked "Why would you offer to do that. We have better things to do."
Hearing what the bird said, Solaris said "If you do have other things you need to do, then I don't want to impose. Your bird seems serious."
Celestia simply replied "Oh, it's nothing, really. She's just being... Wait! You could understand her, what she's saying?" Then her and Philomena's looks turned to surprise.
Seeing their expressions, Solaris stated "Yes, I can understand her. I can sort of understand animal speech."
Still looking surprised, Celestia said "So can I! I didn't know anypony else could do that."
Philomena said "You can hear what I say? In that case, you might be interesting to hang around."
Solaris chuckled, then replied "Thank you. If it's ok with both of you, I would like a tour of the city. Thank you very much."
Celestia smiled and said "Of course it's ok. Oh, I should introduce us first. I'm Celestia, the unicorn. And this is my best friend, Philomena the ... uh, firebird..." Philomena stood up straight. She knew it was best if no one knew she was a phoenix.
Solaris smiled and said "And I'm... Helios. Nice to meet you."
With that, Celestia and "Helios" got off their bench and started to walk down Main Street again. They headed off to see the many splendors of the capital.
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Meanwhile...
In Canterlot Palace, There was a large room secretly built into the castle walls. In this room, bookshelves, filled with spell books and dark magic tomes, line opposite sides. On the far side was a table lined with lab equipment and magic potions. But in the middle of the room was far more impressive. A large circular fire place rose from the floor, with a large slab of metal on the top. Out of this metal slab rose four black crystals, all positioned in the points of a square. This entire room was the secret lair of Sombra and Garble.
At this time, garble was breathing flames into a door on the side of the magic furnace, and looked to exhausted. Meanwhile, Sombra was over at the lab table, casting his black glowing magic into a blue crystal. This was the very same crystal he had stolen the day before. After a few moments, the crystal flashed, showing it was ready.
Garble stopped breathing flames fore a minute to catch his breath for a moment. He turn to Sombra and asked "Hey, old timer! Why do I have to be breathing my flames into this stupid furnace, anyway. Can't we just use a normal fire?"
Sombra turned to face garble, levitating the crystal in his magic. He said "No! Must I remind you that is a MAGIC furnace. As such, it needs magical flames to be used for spells. And there is no better such thing than Dragon Fire. Which we both know you have much to boast about."
Looking smug, Garble said "Yeah, that true! I am pretty hot. But how does this spell work any ways?"
Sombra replied "I am about to show you. Just keep breathing flames."
Having caught his second wind, Garble resumed his fire breathing. Sombra walked over to the furnace. He levitated the crystal into the center of the four black ones. He then closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, open them to reveal a green glow. This was sombra's dark magic. He fired a green and purple bolt into the center crystal, causing it to flash. A moment later, all five crystals stated to crackle with black lightning. After a few moments, the lightning subsided and the crystals took on an eerie purple glow. The spell was ready.
Sombra crack an evil smile and said "Now, with this spell of insight, I command it be revealed to me : who is the "Gem in the Sunlight"?"
The glow of the crystals started to shift. A moment later, they started to form an image. The looked like the form of a mare with a white coat, pink mane & tail, and bearing a sun cutie mark. But what more, it was an alicorn.
Confused, Sombra said "An alicorn. But I have never seen this one. There is none such as her among the nobles. What is her name?"
Letters started to appear in the light that formed a message. It read "Celestia, the street peasant. She is thought to be a unicorn".
Garble stopped breathing flames and said "That's it! We go to all this trouble just to find some bum peasant? Alicorn or not, what a rip-off!"
Looking calmer, Sombra said "Calm yourself! As we already suspect, there is more to this mare than meets the eye. I think we have the guards give her a "Special" invitation to the palace, one she can't refuse."
With that, Sombra started into an evil laugh. Shortly followed by Garble.
After a moment, Garble asked "Uh, why are we laughing again?"
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Later that evening, in Canterlot...
In the lower class section of the city, there was an old coble stone fountain sitting in the intersection of a walkway. It was surround by a circle of street lights, all of which were lit up at this hour. On the side of the fountain, sat two ponies in robes with their hoods over their heads. It none other than Celestia and Solaris, still going by "Helios". They were taking a rest after having been around the city all day.
"Helios" sat next to Celestia on the fountain, who had Philomena sitting next to her. He said "Thank you, again, for giving me a full tour of the city."
Celestia replied " Your very welcome. It's been a while since the last time I've hung out with anypony. So I appreciate the company."
"What do you mean, don't you send any time with your family?" asked the now curious Solaris.
Celestia's face turned glum. She replied "Well, no. I live alone in this part of town. Philomena is my only real friend."
Solaris again asked "You live around here? For how long? What about your family, if it's ok for me to ask?".
Celestia gave a small smile. "It's ok. You see, I've lived on the streets for as long as I can remember. The only family I ever had was my mother. We never knew the rest of our family. But we made the best of things, just me, my mother, and Philomena."
Giving her the same smile, Solaris said "Your mother sounds like a fine mare. What happen to her?".
Celestia replied "Honestly, I'm not sure. One day, we just got separated in a large crowd. I could never find her after that, no matter how much I searched. Eventually, Me and Philomena just started to live on our own. And we have been ever since. The only thing I have to remember my mother by is this amulet." Celestia pulled back her robe to reveal the half-sun necklace around her neck. "My mother gave it to me when I was a filly. She told me it was our only physical connection to our family. And that if I hold onto it, it might lead me to them someday."
Feeling for her, Solaris said "I'm sorry to hear that. I do hope you can find her some day."
Celestia said "Thank you. I'm sure I will. And what about you? Where are you from?".
Solaris developed an unpleasant look on his face. He said "Let's just say I come from a place where they value tradition too much."
Celestia got a confused look on her face. She said "What do you mean, Helios?".
Solaris replied "Well, my family is too stuck on customs and tradition. They want me to get married before I'm even ready to settle down."
Celestia became surprised to hear this. She said "That's terrible! How can they do that?".
Solaris chuckled and replied "He-He, it's easy when it's what they've been doing for a long time. Unfortunately, because of that, they expect every generation of youths to follow those same ways. That's why I'm here in Canterlot, to see some of Equestria before I actually have to get married."
After hearing all this, Celestia felt sorry for "Helios". Wishing to help his feel better, she said "Well, then I hope I was able to help make this day special for you."
Solaris looked into Celestia's eyes and said "Believe me, this whole day has been a breath of fresh air for me. I'm especially glad I got to meet a mare as kind as you."
The two of them started to stare into each other's eyes. It was as if they were both making a genuine connection. In the silence of the night, everything seemed at ease. But, that silence was suddenly broken by the sound of hoof steps getting closer. A figure stepped out of the shadows around the fountain. Both ponies and the bird took a closer look at him. Celestia recognized the familiar form of Commander Silver Sword.
With a scowl on his face, he shouted "HALT! Don't even think about running! We have you surrounded!"
The three of them took a look around and noticed multiple other figures in the shadows step forward, all of them royal guards. They were completely cut off from any escape route. Solaris started to think that they might have been sent by his father to take his back to the palace. But he couldn't figure out why there so many of them. All he did know was that this had both himself and Celestia concerned.
Silver Sword shouted "Your coming with us!"
Seeing no other choice, Celestia grabbed Solaris by the hoof and asked "Quick, do you trust me?"
Not hesitating, he answered "Yes, I do!"
With that, Celestia lit her horn and it shined a golden light as bright as the sun. All the guards were blinded by the light and covered their eyes. Taking the opportunity, Celestia and Solaris ran past the dazed guards and down one the streets. Philomena took to the air to follow them.
As they ran, Celestia began to think they making some distance. All of a sudden, a lasso rope swooped from the sky and landed around her neck, pulling itself tight. Celestia got stopped in her tracks. Solaris stopped and turned to her with a look of surprise. The two of them looked up to see pegasus guards in the air above them, both holding ropes. Celestia lit her horn and tried to magically burn through the rope, but it did nothing.
One of the air born guards shouted "Don't even bother! Those are anti-magic ropes! You can't even teleport out!"
Then the other pegasus threw his lasso around Celestia and pulled it tight. Both pegasi swooped to the ground and tugged their ropes, restricting the mare's movement. A moment later, Silver Sword and his guards came running down the street and surrounded Celestia. A loud "caw" was heard from above, as every pony looked up to see a flame-colored bird diving toward them. Silver Sword flared his wings and flapped them hard. This created a powerful gust of wind that sent Philomena flying into the window of an abandoned building on the street. He then turned his sight to Celestia.
Looking straight at her, he said "No more running! Your coming with us this time!"
Solaris sees everything happening in front of him. Not wanting to stand by, he run over to Silver Sword and says "Let her go, at once! There is no reason for this treatment!"
Silver Sword pushes Solaris away and replies "Stay out of this! It doesn't concern you!"
Solaris can see that the guards won't be listening to him for once. They see only his disguise as a commoner. Knowing he has no other choice, Solaris takes off his hood, revealing his face. He then flares wings out from under his robe. As the guards take notice of this, they all gasp.
Speaking in the canterlot voice, Solaris says"I SAID, RELEASE HER AT ONCE! SO SAYS THE PRINCE!"
The guards all bow before Solaris, making Celestia bow as well. A moment later, they rose, still shocked
In shock and awe, Silver Sword asks "Prince Solaris?! No pony has seen you all day! Your father had to set the sun for you! What are you doing out here at this hour? And with this street nag?"
With a look of anger on his face, Solaris replied "That is none of your business, Commander. Now follow my order and release that mare at once!"
Silver Swords expression fell. He said "Normally, I would comply, your highness. But my orders came from the advisor, Sombra, today. You will have to take this matter up with him. Until then, I must take this mare into custody."
Still in anger, Solaris says "Believe me, I will!"
With that, the guards all start to walk away, heading for palace. They pulled Celestia along with them. Celestia knew her next stop would be the dungeon. But, still more, she couldn't believe what happened. She had been the Prince, the whole day.
Solaris stated to walk in the other direction, taking a different route back to the palace. He was more than determined get this straightened out.
Meanwhile, in the abandoned building. Philomena had just recovered from her blow. She saw as Celestia, her best friend, was being led away in ropes. Philomena took to the air and rose to a hunting height. She would follow Celestia from a distance. And wait for the right chance to help her friend.