• Published 21st Nov 2012
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The Prince of the Night - keaton-furman-prower



After attempting a new spell, Princess Luna becomes a stallion, and moves to Ponyville under the guidance of Twilight Sparkle.

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A New Dawn (Edited 3/5/16)

Lucian groaned as he felt the rays of his sister’s sun hitting his eyes. He had not found it easy to fall asleep, as he was accustomed to guarding the moon and the stars, and sleep during the day. Nevertheless, he managed to summon the strength to lift himself out of the bed, one hoof at a time. He then began to move his hooves, moving past the beds of Twilight and Spike, both of whom were still asleep.

As he trotted towards the bathroom, his thoughts went back to his sister. How had she managed to control both the sun and the moon for a thousand years? Did she ever feel tired? Did she ever need help from another pony? Did she ever wish for her sister to be there to help her?

Lucian shook his head, trying futilely to rid his head of those thoughts, and then looked into the mirror. His mane was somewhat less wavy than it usually was, and his eyes seemed slightly baggy. Yawning, he turned on the tap, allowing water to flow into the sink. He then concentrated on it, allowing his magic to lift a stream of water up to his face. He then lifted a bar of soap, moving it along his face. He then put it down and lifted the stream of water back up to his face.

“Ah, that's refreshing.”

Feeling somewhat better, he used his magic to move a tube of toothpaste towards a toothbrush that he had brought with himself when he came to Ponyville. It was the same royal blue as him, and it was adorned with a picture of his cutie mark. He had always wondered why his servants had been so insistent on pleasing him. They would constantly fuss over everything he would do, be it eating, bathing, or even trying to study modern Equestrian dialect. It was just one of many reasons why he wished to live a simpler life, even if it was just for a few months.

He lifted the brush to his mouth and began to brush. As he did, a thousand questions filled his mind. In a single instant, his entire world had been flipped upside-down, and even with Twilight’s help, he still wasn’t sure how he was going react. In a way, this dawn was a symbol of his own life; a new identity, a new life, a new dawn.

“Oh, hey Lucian. I didn't expect you to be up so soon.”

Lucian looked down towards a little purple dragon who was currently walking into the bathroom. He spat out the foamy mixture that had formed in his mouth, and then rinsed out whatever was left.

“Good morning, Spike. What are you doing?”

“Mostly just waiting for you to finish,” said Spike.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

Lucian walked out of the bathroom, leaving Spike to freshen himself up. He then looked back towards Twilight's bed. She was sleeping peacefully, seemingly unaware that Spike and Lucian were awake now. Lucian thought of how he had struggled to fall asleep, and contrasted it with how easily she seemed to sleep now.

For a brief moment, it crossed his mind that she looked quite beautiful when she was asleep.

“Hey, I'm gonna go make some breakfast, want to help me?”

Lucian shook his head vigorously and looked towards Spike.

“What? Oh! That would be nice,” he said awkwardly

“You know, you don't have to if you don't want to,” said Spike.

“Oh, no, I just was a bit confused, that's all.”

The young dragon shrugged as he moved downstairs, Lucian trailing him closely. He was relieved to have a reason to move away from Twilight, even if it meant he would have to share Spike's work.

“So, Twilight doesn’t enjoy being called mom, does she?”

“Not at all,” said Spike.

“And what about you? Do you ever wish you could call her mom?”

“Not really,” said Spike. “It’s just kind of natural for me to call her by her name now.”

“I see,” said Lucian. “It seems a bit unusual to me, though.”

“And the fact that she’s raising a dragon doesn’t?”

Lucian laughed at this.

“Okay, so you have a very unconventional family. Is there anypony or dragon who I should know about?”

“Hoo?”

Lucian jumped in shock. The voice had not belonged to anypony, or dragon for that matter, who lived at the library. He energized his horn, ready to attack the intruder. However, before he could do anything, Spike grabbed him by the hoof.

“Calm down, there's nothing to worry about. It's just Owlowiscious.”

“Who?”

“Hoo?”

Before Lucian could identify the sound, a brown owl landed on his back. Lucian turned his head, staring at it incredulously.

“Who the heck is that?”

“That's Twilight's pet owl, Owlowiscious,” said Spike.

“Hoo?” hooted the mischievous owl.

“Duh, you!”

“Hoo?”

“I’m not even going to try to dignify that with a response,” Spike said angrily, while the other two shared a chuckle.

“Sorry for freaking out there, Owlowiscious. You just sort of, well, freaked me out.”

“Hoo?”

“Yeah,” said Spike. “Like you just said, ours is a very unconventional family.”

“Well, it seems like you’re all pretty happy together” said Lucian.

“Most of the time,” said Spike. “Owlowiscious can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, though. And Twilight often nags me about all sorts of stupid little things that only she cares about.”

“So, basically, you’re a family,” said Lucian.

“Well, I guess so,” said Spike. “I bet your family isn’t this bad, though.”

“My sister sent me on a 1000-year vacation to the moon.”

“...Yeah, I’m pretty lucky.”


Lucian couldn't help but feel that the breakfast table had quite an interesting community; two ponies, one a wielder of the element of magic, another a prince who could move the moon with a simple thought, were joined by a baby dragon, an owl, and, surprisingly enough, a phoenix hatchling. The birds were eating a special mix Twilight had made for them to eat, while Lucian, Twilight, and Spike were feasting on a pile of pancakes.

“Wow! You made these, Lucian?” Twilight asked, impressed by how great the pancakes tasted.

“Sure did!” Lucian said, grinning happily. “You like them?”

“They're amazing! Where did you learn how to cook?”

“Well,” Lucian admitted, “I may have read a cookbook or two when I was searching through books at the Canterlot library. I didn't have anything better to do, except maybe go out and meet ponies.”

“Oh.”

Twilight found this last bit sad, but not all that surprising. She had never wished to make friends with anypony before Ponyville, save her older brother and foalsitter. Clearly Lucian had a similar problem, although, given that he was at least a couple thousand years older, it might even be worse. In fact, she was beginning to think that the reason why Celestia had told her brother to go to Ponyville was in order for him to learn from the example of her faithful student.

“Well, that's okay, I suppose.”

“Yeah, except that I'm not all that strong on socializing,” said Lucian as he sighed sadly.

“Well, I wasn't either, before I came to Ponyville,” said Twilight.

“She still isn't.”

“Spike!”

Lucian couldn't help but laugh at Spike's joke. Twilight rolled her eyes at this, but eventually she too gave a small chuckle.

“So, what do you think we should do today?” she asked.

“I don't know,” said Lucian. “You know Ponyville better than me.”

“That's true,” said Twilight. “I guess that means that for now I'll be the princess while you shall be my loyal subject.”

Lucian groaned at Twilight's joke, while Spike giggled.

“All right then, Princess. Where shall we go today?”


“Here we are!”

Lucian carefully observed his surroundings. Twilight had brought him to a farm of some sort, with an apple orchard stretching out far into the distance. There were a few other crops as well, such as corn, lettuce, carrots, and other things. Apples, however, were by far the most abundant crop of all.

“This is Sweet Apple Acres,” said Twilight. “It was one of the first things I saw when I came to Ponyville, and the place where I met my good friend Applejack. It's also one of the main reasons the town exists at all.”

“Really?” said Lucian, intrigued by this newly revealed piece of information. “How?”

“Ah believe ah can tell ya all about that!”

Lucian turned his head. He knew that voice, as he had met the pony who made it at the Nightmare Night festival the year before; the wielder of the element of honesty, Applejack. Even so, he knew that said pony would not recognize him now, due to the enchanted blue hoodie his sister had given him. Thus, he would have to act as if he was meeting her for the first time.

“Hello there, miss...”

“Howdy! The name's Applejack!” the pony greeted enthusiastically. “And who might you be?”

“Well, you can call me Lucian.”

“Howdy Lucian! It's nice to meet a new pony!”

“Applejack's family has been working on this farm since before Ponyville even existed,” said Twilight. “I think you would probably enjoy hearing about that.”

“Actually, I would,” said Lucian with a smile. “Especially since you said that Ponyville actually exists because of this farm.”

“It sure does!” Applejack said proudly. “While we're at it, how would you like to receive some Apple family hospitality?”

“Oh, you don't have to bother,” Lucian said politely. “I wouldn't wish to impose.”

“Nah, it ain't no problem!” said Applejack. “We wish for everypony to have a pleasant visit to our little orchard.”

Lucian sighed. Even here, far away from Canterlot, ponies were always determined to assist him in any way possible. He felt that he should politely refuse Applejack's offer, then go on to whatever activities they would participate in.

And yet, Applejack was giving him a modest smile which practically begged for him to allow her to show off her hospitality. How was he supposed to refuse?

“Well,” Lucian said at last, “I guess a little hospitality wouldn't hurt.”

Applejack's face immediately lit up, and she gave him a big wide grin.

“All right then! Follow me!”


The three ponies sat around a table drinking apple juice and eating apple pie, apple fritters, cinnamon apple muffins, and even plain apples. Lucian had to admit, the food was quite delicious, even if it was maybe a bit more than he could eat. He was also enjoying Applejack's story of the founding of Ponyville, which managed to offset any discomfort he had over being served by another pony.

“And thus, the little community got bigger and bigger, until it turned into the Ponyville we all know and love today!” Applejack concluded.

“Well, that was very interesting,” said Lucian. “Although I am quite curious about those 'zap apples' you mentioned. I've never heard of them before.”

“You've never heard of zap apples?!” Applejack asked incredulously. “Our zap apple jam is popular all across Equestria, and you've never heard of it? Yer really missin' out on some really good stuff, Lucian!”

The surprised stallion sighed sadly. He regretted not being interested enough to ever leave Canterlot castle and figure out what was popular among common ponies, instead burying himself (herself?) in his studies. Then again, perhaps Applejack would enjoy telling him about the 'zap apples' as much as she had enjoyed telling him about the history of her family's farm and town.

“Well,” he said sheepishly, “I guess I've been a bit too busy to ever go see what ponies like to do.”

“Busy with what?” asked Applejack.

“Well, studies, I guess.”

Applejack turned her head. Studying sounded like the kind of thing that somepony like Twilight Sparkle would obsess over.

“What d'you mean studyin'? Were you like a student of Celestia or somethin'?”

“Actually, yes,” said Lucian.

Applejack blinked.

“Well, Celestia sure likes her bookworms.”

“I... guess you could say that,” Twilight said awkwardly. “Celestia sent Lucian here so he could learn to make friends, with my help.”

“Ah see,” muttered Applejack. “Well, I think you'll do a pretty good job, Lucian.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” said Lucian appreciatively. He was starting to feel that getting to know other ponies wasn't such a bad thing.

“Well then,” said Twilight. “Weren't you going to show us those zap apples, Applejack?”


Lucian had never seen such colorful apples; they looked as if someone had dropped them into a vat of liquid rainbow and let them absorb all the color. He quickly asked all sorts of questions, ranging from how they grew, how they gained their color, and what they tasted like.

“Whoa there, partner,” said Applejack. “Ah can’t answer all your questions if you just ask ‘em all at once.”

“Sorry,” said Lucian, a hint of embarrassment in his face. “I’m just really curious about them.”

“Ah bet everypony would be, seein' as these don't look like any other sort of apple anypony's ever seen,” said Applejack. “You’re a lot more enthusiastic than most, though. Ah bet you’d enjoy working here, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know,” said Lucian. “I’m not sure if farm work would work out for me. I suppose it would be an interesting experience, though.”

“Eeyup,” said a voice behind them.

Lucian turned his head. A large red stallion had just entered the apple cellar, and was observing him intently, as if trying to discern whether he could be trusted.

“Big Mac!” greeted Applejack. “I'd like you to meet Lucian. Lucian, this is my brother Big Macintosh.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Lucian said as he extended his hoof.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said simply as he shook the hoof he had been offered.

“You're Applejack's brother?”

“Eeyup.”

“And you work here on the farm?”

“Eeyup.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow. He was intrigued by how little Big Mac said.

“You... don't talk a lot, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Don't worry,” Applejack said. “He's a stallion of few words. It's got nothing to do with you personally.”

“That's all right,” said Lucian. “I don't mind quiet, especially since some of the ponies around here can be so loud.”

“Eeyup.”


Lucian and Twilight had had a rather enjoyable time at Sweet Apple Acres; after meeting Big Macintosh, Lucian had been introduced to the rest of the apple family. Granny Smith had been quite happy to tell Lucian all about zap apples, while Apple Bloom had asked him a large number of questions, at least half of which had to do with cutie marks. For a moment, he had been worried that said questions would attract unwanted attention to his flank, and by extension, the fact that it was the same as Princess Luna's, which may have disrupted the effectiveness of his disguise. Fortunately, Granny Smith was very interested in telling her story, and had hushed the young filly enough to prevent anypony from taking note of her questions.

Then, Applejack had taken him on a tour of Sweet Apple Acres, showing him the various apple varieties that were grown on the farm. Afterwards, Lucian and Twilight had been offered some toast with zap apple jam. Lucian had enjoyed it so much that he'd asked for a dozen more slices, and so Big Mac, perhaps to make up for his lack of words, had given him an entire jar to take home. Said jar was now being carried in an apple-shaped saddlebag which Applejack had loaned him, as he had neglected to bring his own.

“Well, I'd say that Sweet Apple Acres was pretty nice,” said Lucian. “Where do we go next?”

“I was thinking maybe we'd get some lunch,” said Twilight. “And then maybe we could visit-”

“LOOK OUT!!!”

The two ponies barely had time to jump out of the way before something crashed into the ground, creating a huge cloud of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet smoke. As it cleared, they were shocked to see a light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane staring at them.

“...Rainbow Dash,” Twilight sighed.

“Hey Twilight!” Rainbow Dash greeted. “I hope I didn't freak you out.”

“Freak out?!” yelled Lucian. “You could've killed somepony!”

As Lucian held the saddlebag containing his precious zap apple jam, Rainbow turned to look at him. She then looked at Twilight, then back to Lucian.

“Pinkie Pie told me of a student of Celestia who was coming to visit,” she said.

“She did?” Lucian asked in surprise.

“Yeah. Although I thought you'd be cooler.”

“Well, I- wait, what?”

“I dunno, she was really excited about you, so since she was freaking out, I figured you'd be really cool or something.”

“Rainbow, Pinkie Pie is always excited when she meets somepony new,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Fair enough,” said Rainbow Dash.

As Rainbow Dash spoke, Lucian watched her, trying to remember anything about her. If his memory served, she was the one whose dream was to join the Wonderbolts, which he, as Nightmare Moon, had taken advantage of by inviting her to join the “Shadowbolts”. However, her desire to help her friends had ultimately overcome her desire to become famous across Equestria, thus proving the strength of her loyalty.

Lucian also recalled hearing the rainbow pony's name before a few times; apparently, she had been the champion of the Best Young Flier's Competition a year back. In addition, he recalled seeing her briefly during the Nightmare Night festival, dressed in a Shadowbolt costume (quite ironic, really,) and pulling various pranks on everypony. He also remembered pulling a prank of his own on the blue pegasus.

“So, Lucian, have you ever met the Wonderbolts?”

“What?” said Lucian in surprise. “Oh, well I haven't met them. I'm usually busy reading and stuff.”

“Oh, I see,” said Rainbow Dash as she rolled her eyes. “Typical Canterlot egghead.”

“Says the avid Daring Do reader,” said Twilight.

“Hey!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “Those books are awesome!”

“Totally!” Lucian said in agreement. “They're some of my favorites!”

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.

“You love Daring Do too?” she asked, the Wonderbolts long forgotten.

“Sure do! They're really well written and full of adventure!”

“And Daring Do herself is totally radical! Especially with all the stuff she does and the things she finds, and how she defeats all the bad guys and everything!”

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle as the two Daring Do fans began to squeal in delight. She had half expected their first meeting to be awkward at best, a repeat of Pinkie Pie at worst, given the fact that their personalities weren't exactly perfect matches. Fortunately, she had just happened to mention Daring Do, and thus, they had almost immediately had something in common to talk about.

“So, what brings you to Ponyville, Lucian?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Well, my si- my mentor, Princess Celestia” Lucian said quickly, hoping Rainbow hadn't noticed his little slip-up, “sent me here so I could learn how to make friends.”

“Ah, just like Twilight,” said Rainbow, seemingly oblivious. “I often wondered whether you students of Celestia were all lonely or if it was just Twilight.”

Upon hearing this, Twilight turned a bright red. Lucian turned away nervously, not quite sure of how to answer. Fortunately, before he had to, Twilight answered for him.

“Well, I guess we just tend to get lost in our studies and not realize what we're missing out on.”

“Uh, yes, actually,” said Lucian. “It does happen a lot.”

“Yeah. Well, I hope you enjoy our humble little Ponyville, Lucian,” said Rainbow Dash. “Well, I say ‘our,’ but technically I live in Cloudsdale, but that's close enough, right?”

“I guess so,” said Lucian. “So, what are you doing right now?”

“I’m practicing some of my super-awesome flying skills! I'll bet when the Wonderbolts see these sweet tricks, they'll be begging for me to join them!”

“You think?” asked Lucian. “Prove it.”

Rainbow chuckled at Lucian's challenge. He certainly was a lot like Twilight.

It was time to show him what she could do.

Author's Note:

So, I hope you're enjoying these chapters, regardless of whether you're an older viewer trying to find all the things I've changed on the second pass, or a newer viewer wondering what this season-2-headcanons story is all about.