Trouble is starting to stir. A problem with the elements has started. The only one who sees the wind of change starting to blow is a forgotten prince, a ex-guard turned assassin to a princess, and a wondering ex-pegasus.
Prince Astro was the ruler of the stars, younger brother to the Sun and older brother to the Moon. After Luna's banishment, he decided to trade the royal life he had always despised for a more simple one and started anew by leaving Equestria behind.
Now time has passed and the winds of change have brought danger to Equestria. The ex-prince must gather friends and allies to combat the enemies Equestria faces.
The Lost Prince of the Stars Chapter one The elder brother of a nightmareThe night seemed to stretch on to eternity. It had already been dark for eighteen hours straight. The sun just didn't seem to want to rise over the horizon.
If a pony was to look at a certain spot on the night sky at the right time, he could have seen a shadow-like being cross over the twinkling stars. The shadow moved at a speed most pegasi could only dream of towards a dark forest. That shadow was actually an alicorn. And a fairly unknown alicorn too. The alicorn had a coat black as night, and his mane and tail were like silvery wisps of energy, gathered from the nightly stars and magically attached to his body. Around his neck hung a thick necklace emblazoned with a star and adorning his head was a simple black metal band with a silver gem.
That alicorn was me. And I am Prince Astro of Equestria.
My mind raced while I sped along the night sky. What is Luna thinking? The Moon should have set long ago, I wondered. I have been too busy to come and check on what has been happening. Well, not too busy, I've been too far away and couldn't just drop everything and leave.
I have never been able to master teleportation spells and that slows me down more than I would like. I sighed as my mind wondered to a new method of travel I've been designing, one that only I would be able to master. But alas, I have not been able to finish it. So for now I must trust in my wings to carry me across the dark skies as fast as I could.
It was then my mind decided to dig up a memory. A memory of myself showing my little sister how I positioned the stars every night. She had kept asking and pleading that I let her try it. And I finally gave in that night. She only managed to move one star back then, but that hadn't surprised me. After all, my cutie mark depicted two stars and a shooting star while hers was the Moon. They represented both of ours responsibilities, hers for raising and setting the Moon, mine for decorating the rest of the night sky with stars. Although, there was a way for her to master my art too...
I shook my head to clear it of thoughts. I had to keep my mind clear and concentrate on getting to the castle as fast as possible. I had to return home.
I soon could see the castle rise over the canopy of the Everfree Forest. The dark towers grew taller as I approached the castle with trepidation. I could almost sense the feeling of importance and power that resonated from the brick building.
That was when I was suddenly attacked by a plethora of bright light and colors from the castle. When my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness I saw a rainbow-colored beam burst through the windows of the throne room situated at the top of the main tower and zip across the sky towards the Moon. A flash of light got me to protect my eyes again and when I finally lowered my arm, a figure was imprinted into the Moon. The figure was that of a pony. And what's worse, it had a horn. So it was either a unicorn or a...
“LUNA!” The cry was pulled out of my mouth as I looked up at the suddenly unfamiliar white orb. I hovered there for what felt like an hour, staring at the new resting place of my little sister. I had no doubt it was her. To perform the gravest banishment, the one being banished would have to have a connection to the place they were being banished to. And Luna's connection to the Moon was unquestionable.
Anger began to fill my mind and I angled my wings to push myself towards the window the beam had come from. As I neared the window, another cry was released from my lips.
“CELESTIA!”
I landed on my hooves and straightened my legs. My eyes locked onto the alicorn sitting on her throne. My anger filtered out the grieved look on her when I asked: “What hast thou done, my sister?!”
The tall and slender alicorn looked up to me. “Astro, wilt thou ever forgive me?” Her soft voice was filled with sadness but again my anger dissipated it before my mind could process it.
“What has happened?!”
She took a few deep breaths before answering. “Our sister was overcome by a nightmare. I... I... There was nothing else I could do.” As the words left her lips, tears began to stream down her face, dripping to the floor.
After a few seconds, she looked up with a slight anger in her eyes. “There was nothing else I could do! Even if thou were here we couldn't have used the Elements to stop her from this despair! Thou may carry the Elements of Magic and Loyalty, and I have Honesty and Generosity, but she hath Kindness and Laughter. We cannot use the Elements to the fullest unless we all work together!”
The anger in my eyes slowly died and let room for the sadness that remained to fully make effect. “I know. It is my fault. I was given the power to withhold the Elements of Harmony. It was I that thought it would be best if the Elements stayed in the power of the royal family. It seems that I was mistaken.”
Celestia walked forward and stood by my shoulder as I looked out of a window. The silence endured for a minute and was broken as she spoke. “What do we do now?”
I looked over to Celestia, matching her in height despite my younger age. “The question is what wilt thou do now? I know what I shall do; I shall take a leave from the royal life. I have never been known that well and nopony will notice if I suddenly disappear. I should be completely forgotten in three generations, four at the most.”
My sister's eyes widened in surprise. “What?! Thou art going to leave too? Why would thou dost so after I already lost my other sibling?”
“I am the Element of Loyalty. I swore that loyalty to serve this land, to serve you, and to serve Luna. This is the best way to fulfill all three during these hard times. I shall relinquish the power I have over the Elements of Harmony so new bearers may be found. Bearers who art not of the royal family. I shall also give thee this warning. After a thousand years have passed from tonight, the stars and the Elements of Magic and Loyalty shall aid Luna escape her prison. Thou hast until then to find the new bearers.”
“What art thou doing? What are thy plans, my brother?” Celestia asked with a voice filled with sadness but with a twinge of hope.
“I want to be loyal to thee, so I shall wait. I want to be loyal to Luna, so I shall aid her in her escapement. I want to be loyal to myself, so... I shall leave.” My words brought nothing but silence with them. After a while, Celestia again broke the silence.
“Thou art... leaving?” Yet again her voice dripped of sadness and grieve.
I had to look away from her to try and block out the quake in her voice. I turned and began to walk to the double doors leading to the balcony. As I walk, I spoke over my shoulder. “Do not blame thyself, sister, I am not leaving because of thee. I have been planning on leaving for quite some time now. I have only been known by a selected few in Equestria so not many will mourn my disappearance. Thou hast often scolded me for not taking my duties as the Prince of Equestria seriously so it will be better if I am no longer in such a position. Besides, I have always yearned to explore the lands outside of our peaceful country.”
Her voice rose and the quaking in her voice became more prominent. “Th-thou cannot! Th-thou cannot j-just run away! Thou hast thy job, thy duty here! Thou arrangest the stars every night! What will be done if thou art not here? W-with Luna gone, this is the worst time for thee to leave!”
I stopped right in front of the doors. “Neigh, on the contrary. It is the perfect time. The dawning of a new era. A chance to sever my connection to the Elements of Harmony. A chance to bring forth new bearers of the Harmony who may aid Luna with her ailment. As for the stars, that is another power I shall surrender. I have already taught Luna how to move them. I think she would enjoy having complete control over the night. The stars can stay where they are for a thousand years up till the day she returns.”
I let go a sigh before turning my head to face my older sister and gave her a smile. “I may never see thee again... Give Luna a hug for me when she returns.” I spread my wings and turned my gaze back to the sky.
“In what way art thou leaving?!”
Her works stopped me and I turned yet again. “What dost thou mean?”
“Dost thou leave this castle and Equestria or dost thou leave this family?” Her words stabbed me in my heart.
Thou hast cast out our... sister. Thou hast cast out Luna from the family. Thou may still see her as a sister but not at this time. In her present state she needs family. Yes, I must no longer see thee as my elder sister or Luna as my younger. But it is this new shape of Luna that needs an elder brother. From this time on, I am not Prince Astro of Equestria. For I am the brother of the Nightmare of the Moon.”
With that I spread my wings and disappeared into the night.
An old marestale, that is what the Sonic Rainboom was known as to about everypony in Equestria. To me it has always been a lot more than that.
Every marestale is based on something. At least nopony just made up a story about the Sonic Rainboom and it just happened to be true. A pony had once done the Rainboom and all the tales are rooted to that exact happening. It just so happens to be that the pony who did it was named Color Flier, and he was my very own dad.
A lot has changed since my dad did the first ever Sonic Rainboom. It's been about a thousand years, give or take a few years, and I haven't seen him at all for the last five years. I still can't believe he would have done that. I was in the hospital, for crying out loud! Why would he choose to leave me and just walk out of my life at a time like that?!
I looked up to him, admired him, wanted to be just like him. I have happy memories all throughout my foalhood. The day he told me the story behind his cutie mark, also known as the story of the Sonic Rainboom. The day he decided to teach me how to do the Sonic Rainboom. The feel of the wind in my mane as my rainbow colored wings left a streak of color behind me, leading to the blast of rainbow's colors spreading over the land. I also remember how proud my dad was when I kept working on the Rainboom, up to the day when I could pass the sound barrier with a single flap of my wings on takeoff.
Life was great. I had everything I wanted, that I'd ever want. Right up till the day I did the... experiment. I was so STUPID! I had idolized my father and the Sonic Rainboom adorning his flank. I wanted to know anything and everything about the Rainboom. Over time I had decided to examine it closer than I had ever before. I've seen it more times than I can count, but all of them I've seen from distance. I figured if I were to add a spin and severely decrease my speed, I might find out something new about the Rainboom.
I was a fool. I didn't even think about the power released by the blast. If I had been any closer to the center of the blast... I wouldn't be here today. In all truth, I should have died right there. But if my dad was anything, he was fast.
We lived far from any city, any village, any place ponies resided in. With all the Sonic Rainbooms we did, well... we just thought it would be best to keep to the down low. Still, my dad got my limp body to a hospital before I died from blood loss.
He visited three times in the duration of my stay in the hospital. After that... I haven't seen him again.
It was a time I needed him! He was always there to comfort me in the past. But was he there during the many days, many weeks I lied on that bed, wondering what would happen next? No. Was he there when I was learning to walk with the new mechanical legs replacing my right side legs? No! Was he there to dry my tears when I realized, that I was never going to fly again, WITHOUT MY WINGS?! NO!!
He had always told me to keep loyal to the ones I care about. But what did he do? Was he loyal to his one and only son?
Five years have gone by since I was released from the hospital. I still feel the betrayal burning inside my heart. I'm not even sure if I want him back or just forever hate him for what he did. That's the reason I have devoted the past two years to finding him and discovering how I feel about him. And to find out why he left me at the worst time possible.
I hadn't lost my thirst for knowledge about the Sonic Rainboom after the accident and the time in hospital was excellent for reading. The few weeks in hospital were followed by three years of learning. I wanted to know exactly how it is possible something like the Rainboom can even exist. Over my research I came to the conclusion, that it's impossible that, even by breaking the sound barrier, a pony could create such a blast.
So I turned to another source, magic. I studied magic to the point that I knew more about it than the average unicorn, even though I couldn't even use the abilities I learned. Over time I created theories, based on the idea that all ponies have magic. In the theory, all ponies, regardless of race, contain an inner source of magic. Earth ponies use it to enhance their ability to work with the land and grow plants, while pegasi use it to enhance their wing power and control the weather. Without magic, the pegasi wouldn't have the power to fly as the wings are just too small to create the required lift. The unicorns, of course, channel the magic through their horns to use it.
It is this inner magic that creates the Sonic Rainboom. If a pegasus was to exercise their inner magic and develop it stronger, they could use it, mixed with the breaking of the sound barrier, to create the Sonic Rainboom. The rainbow part is just an addition to the sonic boom. With me, the colors came from my wings. And with my dad, the colors extended from his wings to his mane and tail. I believe if a pony did not have a rainbow coloration anywhere on his or her body, the sonic boom would not be a Sonic Rainboom, but one with different colors, taken from the brightest parts of his or her body.
You might think this is crazy... but I don't care. It is because of this theory brought into practice, that I am once again able to fly high in the sky.
I manage this by using the magic source inside me, channeling the magic onto my back. Even though I have no wings, I can 'form' wings from magic itself, giving me the ability to fly.
But I can't have the wings all day long. I don't have the strength for that. I use them when I need them, that's all. So for the ignorant passerby who sees me walking down the road, I might go for an earth pony with velvet mane and tail, hiding his light black coat behind a white shirt, a leather cloak and a set of boots. I always wear clothes to cover my metal legs and the bumps on my back that are the remainder of my wings.
“CAN YOU HEAR ME, RED PAGE?!”
The shout of the pony working beside me finally reached me, snapping me off the memory lane. I turned my head to look at her.
”Yea, Apple Crumb? What is it?”
Apple Crumb rolled her eyes and gave a small sigh.
“You've been standing there, staring out into the space for some time now. We Apples don't pay many bits to ponies that just stand still.”
I smiled sheepishly and walked over to the nearest tree, just three hooves away. Planting my fore hooves firmly onto the ground, I brought my hind legs up and bucked the tree trunk with them. To my surprise, the only reaction I got was some leaves falling off the branches.
Hearing a large sigh coming from Apple Crumb, I looked up to see her shaking her head.
“What?” was all I could think of saying.
She looked up with a level gaze.
“Repeat my actions”, she said, then lifted her right fore hoof.
Confused, I repeated the action. She then proceeded to put her hoof to her head, right between her ears, and I, again, repeated the action. That was when I noticed a small bump right on that spot.
“How did I get that?”
Once again, she rolled her eyes before speaking.
“You got that when an apple fell on your head after I bucked that tree you were trying to get apples out of. You didn't notice because of how busy you were having a staring contest with nothing.”
I gave another sheepish smile and headed for a tree that still had apples on it. Apple Crumb trotted up next to me and matched my pace.
“My sis told me you're heading off in a few days.”
“That is correct. As soon as I get paid for this month's work, I was going to take a ship to Equestria.”
“Equestria, huh? It's a great place. I have family in about any city they have on a map. That is, if there is room for an apple orchard. Which city are you planning to go to first?”
“Ponyville”, I answered simply.
Apple Crumb gave a small smile and said.
“If you need to pick up some bits, I could write a letter to my cousin that's living there. Her name is Applejack.”
Elsewhere, outside of Equestria, after the sun had set and Luna's moon rose.
I swept over the fields of Zebrica, the Zebran homeland. My dark wings were alight with a silvery gleam, speeding my flight to an even greater speed.'
The magic faded from my wings as I neared my home. It was but a small hut, about an hour's walk from the closest zebra settlement. I kept decreasing the speed of my descent till I was standing on firm ground outside the door. Wrapping my magic around the knob, I turned it and entered.
A bed was set against one wall and a small window decorated the wall opposite of it. In the middle of the room was a table. I tossed my saddle bag on top of it and began to empty it. I retrieved a small bit pouch, a map of the area, a book on zebra magic and a black dagger, all items common to the explorers of far lands. I proceeded to put each of the items to their respective places in the hut.
As the last item, I pulled out a black metal band with a silver gem imbedded into it. It was once a symbol of power and authority of an Equestrian ruler, doubling as the resting place of the Element of Magic. Now, it was just a fancy piece of metal.
I placed this last item on the table as I paced around it to look out of the window. I looked up to the sky, where the moon shone in its peaceful spot among the stars. It seemd much more peaceful and kind, now that my sister's face was not darkening half of it anymore.
It had been three years since I had used the power of the stars to help free Nightmare Moon from her lunar prison. Three years since the Element of Magic left the black circlet now residing on the table. Three years since peace was restored, for I could not see Equestria as a place of true peace without Luna. Three years since...
A light beginning to shine out of the corner of my eye ceased my mind's musings. I started as I turned around to see the silver gem on the table shining bright. What was this?! It was impossible for the Element of Magic to return to its last source. Not unless the present home of the Element was destroyed, possessed or chased out, none of which could be done on accident and all of which were a sure sign of trouble for, and in, Equestria.
Something was happening to my homeland. The Elements of Harmony would be worthless without the Element of Magic and that endangered my home, my past... my family... 'No! Not family!' I thought to myself. 'You left that behind many years ago. But I am still needed.'
As I watched the sun go down, I began to prepare for my nightly duties. I carefully lifted my dark coated armor up with my magic and set it on my back, using the straps to secure it tautly against myself. Then, I lifted my helmet of the same dark metal with a dark blue plume on the top. Finally, I used another strap to attach a sheath with a plain, black handled sword inside it to the main body of the armor.
It was not common for a member of the Guard to use a sword, even if he was a unicorn and able to use magic to move it with appropriate speed and strength. Guards were more often armed with spears, such as the one I grab while on my way out the door. I had some skill with the sword before I entered the service of the guard, so they let me continue practice with it. That and the small fact of me not being an average Canterlot guard. I am the personal guard for Princess Luna herself.
My one and only purpose was to protect the princess! The idea was given by Princess Celestia when there was an assassination attempt on Princess Luna's life. That was the time we found information concerning a small organization that believed the Princess of the Night had never returned to her normal self and she was still Nightmare Moon.
That was fine at first, they were only worried about the welfare of Equestria and they never put those feelings into action. But as time went by they became more scared and their worry turned to hatred. Their group grew and they began to plan and then, they acted.
The attempted assassination failed and afterwards Princess Celestia insisted Princess Luna to take up a personal guard for protection. Princess Luna objected to the idea but in the end was convinced to have just one guard, and that guard just happened to be me.
I was chosen for several reasons, most of which were somehow connected to the fact that I fit the part. My black coat and dark gray mane and tail in addition to my cutie mark of a silver star made a nice touch to my new position.
There was another reason that nopony else knew, I was a great admirer of the night sky. I mastered a number of spells that were connected to the stars, gifting me my cutie mark. The darkness and the stars of the night sky have become weaved into my very self.
But that was all in the past, I’ve been the personal guard of Princess Luna for four months now and I have liked the time I’ve spent on duty, which was all night every night. During the day Princess Luna has a pair of the castle guards standing on guard in front of the entrance to her bed chamber as she slept. And once the sun sets, I hurry to her chamber and follow her all night till the sun is raised and I depart to get some food and sleep. That is till the sun begins to descend again and I find myself repeating the process all over again. It may sound plain and boring but sometimes it’s entertaining.
This brings me to my current state, hurrying down the hall to where the two guards were waiting outside a door. As I approached, they nodded their heads towards me, then departed down the hall. I stopped at the door, raised my hoof and knocked three times.
“Come in, Star Spell”, came the answer.
At the sound of my name, I opened the door and walked in, scanning the room for anything that, as a guard, I should see. The last thing I needed was for harm to come upon the Princess at the very beginning of my shift. There was nothing, just as it should have been.
The princess herself stood on the balcony attached to her room. It was the spot she stood on as she decorated the night sky with stars. Which happened to be the very reason she was standing on that spot right then. I walked to the balcony and stood off to the side and behind her and looked up. I once thought that I loved the night sky before I was a Night Guard, but I grew to love it even more once I began to see it during its creation. I loved everything about it, the number of the stars, how bright they shone, how they seemed to stretch on forever, and I even liked its decora-
“No!” I interrupted my own thoughts. “As Princess Luna's guard I have to keep my head straight! It’s not my place to think like that!”
I dragged my eyes away from the sky and began to scan the landscape. Like with my last scan, I looked for anything that would cause danger to the Princess. I kept this up till she finished and then allowed myself a quick glance at the newly finished sky. After that, I turned and followed Princess Luna out of the bed chamber.
Her first stop was the throne room, where she briefly spoke to her sister about the tasks that needed to be done for the day.
Finishing all the items on the list was the dullest and most boring part of any night I’ve spent following the princess. After we finished, Princess Luna would do basically anything she felt like. She would take a walk in the castle garden, watch a shower of falling stars, and often she would do something just to have fun. Like, joining a guard in a game of checkers or solitaire.
She always claimed that she did it because they offered, but I could see the difference in her when she played. It was something she enjoyed. Besides, I fail to see why they would mind if she didn’t play solitaire. It was a single player game, for crying out loud! But I didn’t say anything as I feared that if I did, she might stop playing and I didn’t want her to stop doing something she liked.
Off and on throughout the night we would exchange words, not enough to learn much about each other, although I learned a lot about her by her acts and deeds. From how she spoke to me, it seemed like she didn’t like me being there. What were I thinking, I knew she didn’t like me hanging around. She didn’t want any guards in the first place. That and the fact I was a unicorn, not a pegasus. Because I had to follow her everywhere, she could not take flight. It was because of me, she was stuck on the ground.
We were approaching the end of the list as we stopped to speak with Shining Armor, the Captain of the Guard. All the talk was about was the night time security in the castle grounds. Some new recruits were joining the Guard and their placement was just getting set. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the new recruits, the first couple of days, or in this case nights, are the hardest. I usually did all I could to help them out, but with my present post I could not.
Once we were finished, Shining Armor started to head home until he had to return to duty. I turned to the princess and asked.
“What would your highness want to do now?”
She took a glance my way before looking back and answered.
“I thought I would take a walk out in the landscape.”
“I don’t think Princess Cel-” I started before she cut my sentence short.
“Is it a problem if my sister doesn’t approve of everything I do?”
I sighed before returning a smile, “No, your highness, it’s not. I shall follow and protect you where ever you go and whatever you do.” I finished by bowing my head.
“Very well then”, she said as she started walking away. I followed behind her and kept my eyes on the move, just in case.
We walked through the door to the large garden. It was more like a small forest rather than a garden. The trees were always kept in a tidy manner, but it was large enough that a pony could be walking in it for a good half an hour while staying out of sight from the edge of the trees.
Princess Luna began to walk through the trees, but before she got too far in, she turned to me with a request. “I’d like to spend some time alone, Sergeant Star Spell.”
I sighed. I did expect this. She did prefer to go and rest in the garden, under a birch tree that marked the center of the trees. I nearly argued, that when there were ponies seeking to bring harm to her, there was no option of leaving her.
I would have said this, if I hadn't known I’d never win that argument. Take experiences from the past, mix them with the present situation, and you get the future. Besides, she was one of the Royal Sisters. There was no way to kill either of them, except maybe by extreme old age. On the other hoof, if that was true, why was Princess Celestia so insistent on her sister having a guard? I swallowed a lump in my throat as I watched Luna walk into the trees.
An owl hooted from a branch over my head as I walked through the trees. Luna would be resting in the center of the garden by now. All I was doing was patrolling the area, walking in a large counter-clockwise circle.
I could tell why Luna liked the garden so much. You can’t see the night sky, but the garden had its own beauty. I stopped for a moment to look at a plant.
Even this flower had its own wonders. It was a rose, but it didn’t grow in a rose bush. Instead, it grew straight from the ground. Its golden peddles seemed to stick out of the green and brown background of the ground. …brown? I stepped closer and looked over the flower to the grass… and dirt.
The dirt wasn’t just a spot where no grass grew, it was a light sprinkle of dirt on top of the grass.
This wasn’t too strange. The garden was full of animals digging holes in the ground. I lifted my head to glance around. Yes, over behind a tree I could see a small mound of dirt peeking over the roots. The last question was what animal dug it.
As I stepped forward, I began to get worried. The tree and its roots blocked much of the hole from view while I was further away. I estimated this hole to be about three hooves wide as I neared it.
This was not good…
I closed the distance to the hole and lowered my head to study the dirt. What I found was a trail of hoof prints leading out of the tunnel. I turned and ran straight for the center of the garden as fast as I could.
The longest run of my life, that was what it felt like. What did I find at the end of that run? I found Princess Luna lying under a birch tree, screaming in pain and growing weaker by the second.
Through the garden, across the castle ground, down a hall, up stairs and down another hall. The next thing I knew, I was using my magic to blow a hole into the door of the secret archives.
If there was a way one of the sisters could be killed, it would be inside this door. If I found out how they could be killed, I might be able to reverse it.
The door blasted inward with a bone rattling blast.
I rushed in as soon as the doorway was cleared. I’ve always been limited with spells that weren’t connected with the stars, but at that moment, I sent out every searching, locating, and revealing spells I knew.
Using a range of spells, I filtered out many books, magically scanning the books for key words, then casting out the ones that didn’t fit the requirements. Using this tactic I was left with one book, entitled as Immortal Life.
My mind seemed to zoom out as I opened the book and searched. Table of Contains, Alicorns, chapter five, page 53.
“Alicorns and dragons are the two oldest living intelligent life in Equestrian history. There are two types of Alicorns; one has the same life span as a pony, while with the other it is unknown if they will ever suffer the fate of age. There are only a few ways known that can kill an immortal Alicorn. A unicorn, or another Alicorn, with great power can summon a blade formed of magic in its purest form. This blade is one of the few ways that can stop the life of an immortal. Alicorns often have great magical strength in a certain area, often connected to their cutie mark, and if they were to be injected with a pure essence of the opposite of that power, it would painfully corrupt the Alicorn, taking away their energy, and ultimately it would completely undo the effects of immortality.”
After reading the first verse, I once again began to run. Out the door and down the hall. I think I might have nearly collided with Captain Shining Armor as I sped to the stairway. There was no time to stop. If I thought there was time then I’d have got him earlier, or I would have even got Princess Celestia. But to do that, I’d have had to explain the situation to a number of guards that would have been lined up outside her door, plus other tasks to get to that sector of the castle. It was just faster this way.
Shining Armor's POV
I finally located the source of the sound that echoed though half of the castle and what did I find? The guard that was trusted with the protection of Princess Luna, running from the scene.
After a moment of thought, I decided to check the archives. The door was blown inward and splinters lay everywhere. Books were thrown everywhere. It looked close to how Twilight's room looked most the time before she moved to Ponyville.
There was one book left open on a table. I stepped forward and glanced down to the pages. “...There are only a few ways known that can kill an immortal Alicorn...”
The question now was, why would the guard of Princess Luna be breaking down doors to read this, then run off, when he was supposed to be with the princess. The answer was all too clear.
“GUARDS!”
Star Spell's POV
It felt like an eternity, but yet only a single instant, till I was back at Princess Luna's side.
I was able to find a small light throbbing just below her coat, right over the heart. The hard part was getting a grip on it with an abstraction spell. Pulling at it seemed to cause even more pain, but I didn’t have another plan.
Sweat trickled down my face as I began to see a small orb, no, more of a crystal of pure light, start to stick part way out of her chest.
I leaned forward, putting more power into the spell as I sensed the end near.
I held my breath as the last of the crystal was slowly pulled out, but then the crystal suddenly changed the direction it was pulled to. Instead of trying to pull away from my spell it clanged onto it and shot straight for my horn, and in an instant it had seeped into my skull.
Luna's cries died as mine began to ring the air. “In the name of everything in Equestria, that HURTS!” was all I could manage in-between shouts.
The pain spread all over my body as my mind raced. What was happening? It seemed that the crystal of light had a mind of its own and that was strange, but what I didn’t get was why did it have this effect on me? I’m not an Alicorn, besides it was made to counter the power of Luna's night sky not… oh, horseapples!
My magic! I had sown the night sky into my very being. That was how I got my cutie mark. I mastered every spell I could find that had anything to do with the night sky. I even created a few new spells. If I were weary I could always step out into the night and I’d gain energy back from the light of the sky faster than if I were to just sit down. So the crystal was a perfect poison for me too! I wondered what would happen to me.
That’s when I felt something slam to my side, sending me toppling to the ground. I looked up to see Shining Armor and mentally thanked the skies for my luck. But then I saw his face and barely made out his words through my pain.
The Lost Prince of the Stars Chapter 4 The Silver Star Assassin
Captain's Log: Friday, November 18th It has been two months since Princess Luna was placed in a coma by the unexpected turn of events that was the attempt on her life. The ex-Sergeant Star Spell is now being held in the castle's detention center. He will stay there until we are able to put him to trial. The actions of the prisoner have been very strange. For the last two months he has been screaming constantly. He has also been keeping himself hidden under a blanket, and we just don’t know what to do with him. We still need to discover the fate of Luna before we pass judgment. There has also been a mysterious figure roaming the landscape. He dresses himself in a heavy, silver colored cloak and hood, as well as a large scarf wrapped around the hood so all you could see of his face was his eyes. We can't seem to find anything about him. The reason for this is there is only one group of people that seem to be able to get close to him… his targets. So far, he has been targeting high officials, or wealthy merchants, or anypony who has some sort of power or is close to the princesses. He somehow learns who these ponies are, takes their life and leaves behind a silver coin engraved with a star. It is from this, and all the silver colored fabric he wears, he has been given the title, The Silver Star Assassin.
====================
Astro's POV
The night was at its peak. The moon was high and bright, but with all the lights in the streets, you could only see a hand full of stars. The city of Canterlot seemed to be busy all night, every night. Ponies were walking around, going for a midnight stroll, a late bite to eat... and drug dealing.
None of these activities interested me. I was hunting down a pony called Time Peace. He was a wealthy citizen of Canterlot that ran the clock tower.
I rose into a crouch on the rooftop that I was lying on and made a graceful leap to the next roof, then the next, and another. I kept this up, working my way across the city.
It was an exhilarating experience. Not flying, but jumping from building to building, letting my silver cloak trail behind me as I let myself be led by gravity.
There were guards patrolling the streets. No. Not just patrolling the streets, they were running around the streets. The activity of the guard had grown greatly. At least I think it has grown. I try my hardest to avoid walking in, around, near, or at anyplace that might contain a guard, soldier, police officer, or anypony with a lawful good attitude and any form of a sharp stick. I just don’t get out and about to know about the activity of the law enforcement.
I finished making my way to the rooftop of the building just east of the clock tower. From there I scanned the outside for possible entrances and exits, the most profitable of which was a second story window level with my position.
The horn under my hood began to glow a soft silver as I stretched forth with my magic to let the window swing open. 'What is with me and silver?' I pondered. 'My magical energy, my outfit, my braided hair, all is the same color. Now I’m even known as the Silver Star Assassin.' I let myself smile for a moment. 'The life of a celebrity is a hard one.'
With that trail of thought, I jumped through the opened window.
The halls were dark in the clock tower. That was a good sign as it meant that there would be very few ponies wondering about. The only trouble I came across was a janitor. I just needed to duck behind a wall for a moment and wait for him to leave before I continued my path upwards.
It only took me some five minutes to reach my goal. I opened a door to a study and there, sitting in an armchair with his back turned towards me, was Time Peace.
I let the door slam behind me with a great bang. Time Peace's reaction was the same I’ve grown to suspect from my opponents. Jump up, knock down whatever they were working on, and turn to me with a face that said “I’m in trouble.” I spoke with a smile in my voice, but my eyes didn't share the smile, “Hello there, Time Peace. Nice to meet you for the first and final time.”
“Y… you’re the assassin”, he stuttered.
The only reply I bothered with was to pull out my black dagger I carried on my belt, gripping it with my magic. “Please, listen to what I have to say!” he begged. “I can help you! I’m a member of an organization that is working on freeing the kingdom from the reign of the rulers. If you help us, we can succeed with much more ease and speed! It will also let you take out the royal family yourself!”
He spoke fast, but that was because of how nervous he seemed to be. 'I wonder what is making him so jittery? Could it have something to do with what I’m doing?' I wondered with a sarcastic bite.
“You would let me join, just like that? You don’t even know my reasons for going after high officials, or in your case, somepony with a bird's-eye view of the whole city.”
“It’s not hard to peace that together. Your first target was Wind Sail, the pony in charge of shipping cargo into Equestria. With him gone you’ve thrown the system of transporting goods off balance. Although you didn’t actually need to kill him as Wind Sail was a member in my organization. Now that I think about it, the same goes for Gold Key. He was the one in charge of the castle treasury. In fact almost, no, all the ponies you’ve taken out were members of…” Time Peace suddenly stopped as understanding gripped his mind.
'Don’t you just love it when that spark of knowledge goes off in their head and their eyes double in size to the point where you can use them as small mirrors...'
==========================================
Once my deed was done, I headed out the same way I came in.
As I continued my way over the city, a pair of guards caught my eye as they were chatting at the entrance of an alley. One was a light brown stallion with gold plated armor. The other was a stallion, white as snow, and wore purple armor of the same type.
Time Peace was more resistant than the others I dealt with. He did not reveal any information about any of the other, living, ponies in the organization. I don’t torture ponies. Torture is an evil deed and one I will not take a part in. These guards might be saying something that might send me on the trail for more members of the organization. Or even better, they could be sharing information about the Elements. No matter what they're up to, they don’t have and will never have the power to harm the Elements of Harmony.
I worked my way across the roofs again, but this time I moved about a hundred hooves farther down the alley. Then it was a simple matter of stretching out my wings and silently gliding down to the cobblestone street.
I took a step forward only to stop at the small clop of my hoof hitting the stone pavement. I looked up to the guards and luckily for me, they were still speaking amongst themselves. I let out my breath in a small exhale. 'The older the wiser, my hoof! That is just some peace of gibberish made by somepony trying to get their foals to agree with them. I’m older than all of the civilians in this city put together and even I am prone to mistakes', I reprimanded myself.
I walked forward again, this time keeping my attention on where, and how, I put my hooves down. This took some effort, especially with my hind hooves, but I worked my way to where the guards stood.
“Captain”, asked the brown stallion, turning his head towards his superior, “who is guarding the prisoner on the 9th shift tomorrow?”
The white stallion kept his gaze straight forward as he answered. “That information is classified and only for officers to view and know. Why are you interested in it, Private?”
The Private in turn looked away and gave a small cough. “Well… I was going to request permission to switch guard duty with them.”
The Captain turned his head and looked at the back of the Private’s head. “There had better be a good reason for a switch, that one prisoner could have brought the downfall of all of Equestria. Care to let me know why a switch would be necessary?”
The Private fidgeted a lot at this point, shifting his weight from one hoof to another. “Well… You see…” He took a deep inhale before almost bursting the words out of his mouth. “My fillyfriend wants to go to the Wonder Bolts' air show, and I had to basically bust my flank to get a pair of tickets, only to end up with guard duty on that same hour. So I was hoping I could switch out to the later shift so I could attend to the air show with my fillyfriend and then come back for guard duty.”
“When you enlist to the guard, you are supposed to put aside all personal activities for your duties to Equestria”, the Captain reminded.
The Private’s ears folded and he couldn't bring his gaze to match the Captain’s. His time of shame was cut short when his commanding officer spoke again.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
The Private looked up and met the Captain's eyes with puzzlement. Only for the Captain to sigh. “If my wife caught word that I kept a couple from going out on a date, Wonder Bolts' air show or no, it would be my flank that gets busted.”
The conversation was getting rather dull. I have lived for thousands of years and just don’t see the excitement of listening into others’ lives. So I slowly and quietly retraced my steps back down the alley, this time without repeating my earlier mistake.
It was about then I saw something on the wall of the alley. It was a poster of a hooded pony with a great big word above it, ‘CAUTION’. Under the picture of the hooded face it gave details on how you should avoid this pony at all cost and give any clues on his whereabouts to the Guard. Finally, at the bottom of the poster, was a price paid for such information.
“That is a lot of bits.” I wonder if they’d pay me for turning myself in? … Wait. Did I say that first part out loud? I turned to my right to see the guards looking back at me down the alley.
“Horseapples!”
=======================================
Red Page's POV
“I’m going to be sick.”
Right after I said these words, I gave yet another dry heave over the bow of the ship.
“Come on Red Page, you’ve been sayin' that for the last two days”, Tide Sailor, the captain of the ship said from behind me. “Say, do you get this motion sick on wagons or just ships?”
Another dry heave later, I turned to reply, but before I could, another wave hit the ship and I almost fell overboard in my attempt to remove everything, and anything, from my already empty stomach.
Tide Sailor, on the other hoof, busted out in laughter. “I was wondering how you’d take the waves, ever since you said that you've never sailed before.”
I let out a small groan as I said, “And I’ll never do it again either.”
“LAND HO!”
The cry came from the pony in the crow’s nest. Over the crashing waves and the tilting ship I was barely able to turn around to see the outline of Fillydelphia, before I once again was heaving over the side.
Tide Sailor walked over to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. “I guess I should apologize. I was being rude. It’s not that often we get somepony that has such a hard time on the water as you.”
I gave a small shrug with my shoulders to show it was alright with me.
“I’m glad you feel that way. By the way, there is a bottle of medication for sea sickness in the pantry...”
=================================
“PONY OVERBOARD!”
I could barely hear the call from on deck and frankly, I didn’t even care.
I may not know how to swim, but if I drowned, I was going to take this no-good, wicked excuse of a sea captain down with me.
Was it wrong that I felt disappointed when I felt a magical aura surround me and Tide Sailor before I could drown him?
====================================
It took me some fifteen minutes to purchase my train ticket to Ponyville. The line at the ticked booth was long, but what really bothered me was the hour and twenty minutes it took me to recover from the rocky sea voyage.
Once I got my ticket, I walked over and got a seat on the train. My mind went back to Tide Sailor's question about if I only got sea sick or had motion sickness. The answer had to be sea sickness. I was once a great flyer and flying never got me motion sick. The only reason I got sea sick was the motion of the deck under my hooves. You don’t get that when flying. I may have never been on a train before, but I’ve seen how straight they go without any bumping or jolting.
I just had the time to reassure myself before the train started to move.
There was a small clunk under the train as it was moving. I looked to the mare beside me watching the scenery roll past the window. She seemed unworried by the sound so I didn’t let it bother me. That is until it happened again and again a few seconds later.
I turned to the mare and asked, “What is that sound?”
She gave a small giggle before answering, “It’s just the train going from one piece of railing to the other. Nothing to be concerned about.”
I smiled and let my head fall against the cushion of the seat. I let myself completely relax... that is until… *CLUNK* I felt my stomach tighten at the sound.
*CLUNK*
Once more my stomach tightened, even more than last time.
With the next clunk, I not so nicely gave a small shove to the mare as I opened the window and plopped my head out for the dry heaves that began.
The Lost Prince of the Stars Chapter 5 Generosity & Honesty
‘One day, one day I’ll be able to do a job the way I planned it without the pain and trouble of making a simple and stupid mistake.’’ I panted as I ran down a new street.
The streets here were just about impossible to navigate. They seemed to go absolutely nowhere. ‘I’m about a hundred percent positive that I’m running in circles.’’
This proved to be true when I rounded another corner to see the two guards start running down an alley I was sure I went down earlier. At the sight of this, I quietly turned around and carefully trotted down the street away from where the guards went. ‘On the other hoof, that was easier than I thought.’
‘Now what were those guards talking about? It was about some guard who almost brought down Equestria? Time to find more info.’
One hoof at a time, that's how I worked my way through the castle's detention center.
In the end, I checked every single newspaper I could find. Most of them talked about an incident that happened to Luna. And that was plenty of information. Now I just needed to find where they kept the documents on prisoners and the crimes they have committed.
Then, I will end him.
‘This is just too easy. I’ve been busting into buildings for weeks now. The only difference here is the place. I could do this with my eyes closed…’
“HOLD!”
The cry came from behind me, so I did the natural thing and turned around. Standing about ten feet away was the snow white stallion who wore the purple armor of the current Captain of the Guard.
The first though to cross my mind was, ‘You got to feel sorry for that guy's dignity when he wears that armor.’ The second was more like, ‘STUPID! STUPID! How could I have been so stupid! This is a prison, not a clock tower! Of course it would actually have security, and a good one at that.’
Once you get into one of these situations there is always one thing you can do.
I lifted my front right hoof in a salute to the figure. Then putting my voice in a gruff tone, “As you were Captain. You may go and resume your duties.”
The Captain did a double take as he leaned back with a face of confusion showing under his helmet. That gave me the chance I needed to turn and run. ‘Forget Kung-Fu. When going up against a guard, I believe that Flee-Fu is the way to go.’
(Red Page POV)
I let another grown escape as I lay in the pile of luggage on the platform of the train station in Ponyville.
‘This has got to be one of the worst days of my life. This day officially marks the spot right under the day that my dad…’
‘Alright, SOPPY STORY TIME IS OVER! I've got to get up and find Apple Crumbs’ relative. What was her name again,…Applejack, yes that was it, Applejack.’
I worked my way to a standing position and then began to tread forward, out of the train station and down the street. Where was I going? The answer to that was quite simple…I had no idea, and in my state of sick, I can’t really say I cared.
I don’t know what was stranger, my odd problem with motion sickness, or the fact that about five minutes after I walked out of the station, some random pink earth pony trotted right up beside me and started to talk very fast to me in the tone of voice that suggested we were long friends.
“Hi there! My name is Pinkie Pie! I haven’t seen you around here. What’s your name? Why do you look like that? Where are you from? Why do you look as if you just fell out of Cloudsdale? What brings you to Ponyville? Is it usual for your eyes to drift around, glazed over, like that?”
She kept asking many questions but didn’t give me time to respond. In truth, I don’t even know what she said after that eye remark. I just didn’t feel like talking about my disheveled appearance, which covered about fifty percent of the questions she asked.
When I say I didn’t know what she said, it's somewhat of a stretch. I do remember the very last thing she said, “…do you?”
The worst part about the last thing she said was… it was the last. She stopped talking so I could answer the question. The question I didn’t even know what it was about.
‘Alright, this shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. About half the questions I remember were about my present appearance, so the question probably has something to do with that. I don’t want her to think I’m always like this, so my answer would be something along the lines of…’
“No. Definitely not. I’m like this just because it happens.”
I expected a nod of understanding, or a giggle of amusement. What I was not expecting was what I can only explain as a complete change of personalities.
Her pink fluffy mane flattened into a smooth flow as if she had just stepped out of a pool of water. Then her eyes welled up and tears began to fall at a rapid pace.
“Y-you d-don’t like p-p-parties!? How can y-y-you just be like that?!”
‘Parties? How did she go from talking about my appearance to parties? And in the same breath no less.’
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for what I said. We may have been complete strangers, but I don’t like seeing ponies cry. I often find myself in a situation in which I’m pounding a few muzzles in but that is because they attack first. “Please excuse what I just said. My mind blanked out on me and…”
It was then I noticed that she was no longer besides me, and instead the only proof that she was ever there was a path of salt water that went off into a bakery.
‘Next time this happens I think I’ll pretend to be a mute. Now where is Applejack?’
(Astro POV)
‘This seems a little too familiar. Running down twists and turns in an unknown area, with a purple plated unicorn on my tail.’
We kept running and running. My luck had held this long and I hadn't come across another guard, but I can’t count on it staying that way.
I rounded yet another corner, but this one was different, it was a dead end.
I ran for another few strides and brought myself to a stop. I closed my eyes and listened to my follower's hooves coming down the hall. I heard them round the corner as I tensed. The sound of them trying to stop quickly reached my ears. ‘Sorry comrade.’’ I thought before releasing as big of a buck as I could manage.
‘Note to self, don’t buck somepony when they’re wearing armor.’
All in all, I managed to take down the Captain of the guard. But now my back hooves were utterly killing me! Why do I have to be so foolish? Armor has the tendency to be sturdier than an uncovered hoof.
It took ten painful minutes of walking to find the list of prisoners. But when I did find it, it seemed well worth the time and pain. The list had names, cell numbers, info on the prisoner, and the crimes they were in for.
There were only five names on the list. One black mailer, two thieves that attempted to break into a jewelry store, and one pony that was caught forging the royal seal. The last pony on the list was named Star Spell. Once a Sergeant in the Royal Guard, being held in cell number nine for the crime of…’the attempted murder of Princess Luna?!’
‘That crosses a line. Looks like I’ll be leaving a silver coin in cell number nine.’
I just about forgot the pain I was in from the impact with the guard. When somepony is a problem to Luna, then they’re a problem to me.
I walked past cell one, ‘Should I speak to this Star Spell before doing my duty?’
Cell two, ‘What purpose would that be for?’
Cell three, ‘He might not know of the crime he committed.’
Cell four, ‘Fat chance of that, how do you not know about nearly killing royalty?’
Cell five, ‘The fact that he nearly did it proves that he had to have a good amount of preparation.’
Cell six, ‘Does somepony with those crimes really deserve a chance to try to explain his actions?’
Cell seven, ‘I don’t think so.’
Cell eight, ‘I guess that settles it, no explanations from him are necessary.’
I stopped outside cell nine and turned to face the pony inside.
At first I didn’t see anypony. The cell was dark and it took me a second to see the figure under a blanket in a corner.
“There you are.”
At the sound of my voice his head came out from beneath the cover and tuned in my direction.
At this I could see several things. One, they put a metal band around their horn, probably a horn lock to prevent them from casting spells. Two, he had an expression on his face, as if he had suffered a great deal of pain in a recent amount of time. The third thing I noticed was also the one I was most shocked by.
There was a faint aura coming from his eyes.
I’ve seen this aura many times. I've seen it every time I looked at either of the princesses as well as many times on my travels across the world. It was from my connection with the Elements of Harmony that I’ve been able to tell what ponies were able to use them. In the darkness of the cell the aura seemed to shine, not with one but two colors. Purple and orange, two elements, generosity and honesty.
‘What kind of an assassin holds the power to use those elements?’
(Red Page POV)
‘I’ll say one good thing about my encounter with the pink pony, it seemed to help clear up my sickness.’
About five minutes after that uncomfortable scene, I found myself in a market place buzzing with activity.
There were stalls that seemed to sell any food item you could possibly imagine. If it grew, there seemed to be a stall that had it. Celery, carrots, oranges, pomegranates, they were all there. And yes there was an apple stand as well.
And who do you think was the pony behind the stall…I have no idea because there was nopony behind the piles of apples.
‘Apples but no Applejack, or any Apple. If they’re not here where would they be? Apple Crumb always keeps to her apple stand like a fruit bat to a fruit.’ This just didn’t seem to make sense. Unless…
I turned to a green maned pony at a carrot booth. “Excuse me, I was wondering if that apple cart is the property of the Apple family. Or better yet, if you knew where I could find the Apple family?” She looked up at me with a friendly expression, one I paid no heed.
'Personal rule number two, be kind to all around you, but don't let them get close to your heart unless you want it to be broken.'
"Yes." She said.
"Yes what?"
She seemed a little put out from the little emotion I put out but she pointed at two different directions as she answered.
"Yes, that is the Apple family stand and yes, I know where you can find them. Applejack, the one that runs the booth had to leave early to comfort a depressed friend named Pinkie Pie, so if you want to talk to them, you might want to try Sweet Apple Acres."
"Thank you."
I turn and begin to walk to the farm when a great blast came from over head. I looked up and about fell to the ground as I saw the one thing I've learned to fear in my many years of travel. A shock wave of rainbow colors, with a streak of color fading towards a large gingerbread house bakery.
We stood there for what felt like one and a half minutes, but in reality was closer to thirty point seven seconds. I was busy trying to put the dots together, but he seemed to be content with keeping a face hardened from his experiences, which looked strange with all the creases he seemed to have got as the result of great pain.
‘Yet another mystery. A thousand years ago, I would often go on patrol with the guard and they greatly looked down on causing unnecessary pain to anypony. I also can’t see Celestia letting them get away with such actions.’
It was about that time the thirty point seventh second was up and the prisoner, Star Spell, looked up and spoke in a voice that sounded dry from overuse. “So, is the dissection made? It gets a bit boring in here once you stop screaming. What is the judgment anyway? Hanging? Death by a spell? Beheading?...”
I let yet another moment pass before asking, “What do you think I’m here for? To take you off to meet The End?” ‘Do I really look like an executioner in this outfit?’ His face of puzzlement answered that question. “The End?”
‘Or maybe that is what threw him off.’ I sighed. “Doesn’t matter. It's a peace of Ancient Equestrianology. What I want to know is what really happened with Luna?”
That was when he weaved together an impossible story of ‘the duty of a Royal Guard’ and what it takes to be a member of them. This was nothing I didn’t already know, since I set half the rules and requirements. But the story also included him trying to accomplish his assignment, and what he gave for it as well. What really caught my interest was the whole part of ‘the pure light’ being shot into him and the pain it caused. It was the most bizarre story I heard that century. Yet, that light of honesty shone through every word. The whole thing got the gears in my head start turning. ‘This might turn out for the best. For both of us.’
By the end of the tale, he pulled the dirty blanket tighter around himself and asked, “What can you tell me of the recovery of the Princess? If you are under orders not to tell me, I can accept that.”
I fought to keep my voice level as I answered with, “I am under no orders of that or any kind.” ‘This is frustrating at times! When dressed as a blood thirsty assassin, I have to act as serious as a blood thirsty assassin. IT’S BORING!’ “Luna is being treated. If what you have told me is true, then she should still be out like a light.”
“'Out?!' I don’t know how long I’ve been down here, but I would have thought she’d have recovered by now!”
I rolled my eyes at his outburst.
‘Reason to have a hood number one. Nopony gets angry when you roll your eyes.’
“When an Alicorn is ejected with an element, that is the opposite of their own, and it gets removed, it can take up to five years for them to wake up. Although most wake up within three months to two years. But they also need time within their own element to give them strength. With the night being shorter than the day, it will take time for Luna to recover.”
I expected his face to change to one of understanding, but instead it changed to criticizing. Which was strange when he was the one in the cell.
“How would you know something like that?” ‘Oh horse apples.’
“…I well read…?”
He gave me a long, blank, stare. ‘This guy has no idea how to act like a prisoner. I feel like I’m the one being interrogated. Time to turn the subject.’
“How would you like to go onto a ‘parole’ of sorts?” I asked. ‘That got his interest.’
“What do you mean by ‘of sorts’?”
“I am a…” It took me a moment to find a way of saying this that didn’t make me look like an evil murderer. “…self-hired defender of Equestria. I’m not a guard but I do my best.” ‘There! That made me sound like an honorable hero.’
“What does the guard and the royal family think about what you do?” ‘Horse apples. Time to be more direct.’
I put on the most authority that I could. “Do you want me to set you free, or dost thou wish us to let thy life end in this cell!”
The look of shock on his face was the first thing that tipped me off that something I said was a mistake. I could still hear the fainting echos of the Royal Equestrian voice as it traveled down the hall… ‘I hate it when I do that.’
********
(Later during the day at Ponyville) (Red Page/Rai POV)
‘Not good! I don’t like this! Why must there be somepony who is able to do something like that!’
I wiggled a little deeper into the pile of apples that were stored under the vacant stand. Not much of a barricade, but you gotta do with what you've got.
I felt a hoof touch my shoulder and I gave a small yelp. In response I heard the voice of Carrot Top.
“You okay? That there was Rainbow Dash. She seemed to have been in some big hurry if she pulled of the Sonic Rainboom. Did you know she’s the only pony there is that can do it?”
“More like the only pony with the correct level of stupidity to do it.” I quietly muttered as Carrot helped me out from under the stand.
“What now?” She asked.
“Nothing. Thanks.” And with that I set out yet again towards Sweet Apple Acres.
After walking for a while, I saw a red farmhouse sitting by a red barn, both of which were surrounded by apple trees. ‘Yep. I’m pretty sure this is the place.’ With that thought, I started my slow trot down to the red painted portrait that stretched out before me. Upon reaching the door to the house, I stretched out my hoof and knocked on the white paint that framed the door.
After the third smack against the wood, I heard a voice call out in a fillies’ tone, “I’m a-comin'!” A five second pause later and the door opened just enough for her to stick her heard out. ‘To stick their heads out’, I mentally corrected as three heads stuck out of the crack, one on top of another. One was yellow with a red mane that matched the color of the bow placed on it. Another one was a white unicorn with a mixture of purple and pink in her main of curls. The last filly had an orange coat and a shorter mane that was some kind of cross between red and purple. I don’t really know the name of the color.
The yellow filly was the first to speak up. “Howdy stranger! My name’s Apple Bloom! What can I do ya for?”
Her upbeat tone caught me off guard. It just didn’t match the picture. There she was talking like we were old friends, but she still cowered behind the door. Something was just off about that. “Hi. My name’s Red Page. I was looking for somepony named Applejack. Is she home?”
The yellow filly, ‘Apple Bloom was it?’ shook her head. She’s gone to market at the moment, but she’ll be back to get her dog Winona for a get together with her friends.”
“Okay. In that case, how long will it take for her to get back?” I asked.
Apple Bloom ducked her head back in the house to check something, followed by the sound of her slipping on some kind of slick surface and crashing into some more unknown things. Her two friends stayed where they were however, looking at me.
“Hi. I’m Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo!” The unicorn reported, pointing up at the other filly who just sighed in response. ‘Apparently her mind is somewhere else.’
“So…” Started Sweetie Belle, as we waited for Apple Bloom to return. “Why do you wear so many clothes?” I looked down at my clash of white shirt, black boots, and traveling cloak. ‘It’s not that much, is it?’ Luckily, I didn’t need to respond because Apple Bloom stuck her head out a moment later. I couldn’t help but notice she looked a little worried.
“It turns out you don’t need to wait that long. She should be back in about fifteen minutes.” As she said this Sweetie Belle let out a small gasp and she disappeared behind the door with Scootaloo. The sound of items being quickly moved around could be heard a second later.
A thought came to my mind, so I ask, “Can I come in and wait?”
Apple Bloom looked around for a moment on the inside of the building before poking her head back out. “Maybe ya should come back later. When she’s here. I gotta go.” And with that she pulled her head in and closed the door.
Deciding I wasn’t going to come back later, I went over to one of the apple trees and grabbed a sample before I sat down and pulled a book out of my saddle bag. ‘So, miss Daring Do, what trouble are you in this time?’
********
(Earlier during the night, Back at Canterlot)
Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, was running down the hallways of the cells. His ears were still ringing from the buck he took in the head a little while before. But that didn’t stop him from hearing the shout that echoed down the hall. The call was confusing to say the least. And being that it grew in volume, the first of it was not heard. He led a group of five ponies to the source of the sound. His mind was set on what had happened. This was the hall that Star Spell was placed in. Was he working with the assassin?
As Shining Armor got there, however, he found the cell was still locked. Blood was splattered all over the cell and resting on top of the scarlet liquid was a silver coin, emblazoned with a star.
‘What kind of weirdo is this guy?’ I thought, not for the first time as we ran down the halls of the detention center. ‘First he shows up claiming to be a guardian of Equestria, only to help a prisoner escape from the 'actual' Cantorlot guards, just a minute later. Plus there was that whole part where he dared to use the royal Cantorlot voice. Even if it’s no longer custom, it’s a breach in respect to the royal family!’
“There’s a turn coming up. Just follow me and we’ll be out of here in a jiffy.” Said the strange pony.
That was another thing about him. All I really knew about him was that he was a unicorn. Beyond that I knew nothing else about his appearance, due to the silver cloak he wore, that covered every bit of him except his face and for that he used a similarly colored scarf to cover all but his ice blue eyes. Really I’ve not even seen his horn. But the fact that he was able to use magic to unlock, and re-lock the cell door, with the added blood that he transfigured from hay, showed that he had ether a horn or one big imagination that couldn’t fit inside his head. Either way we was good at his craft. In the harsh whispers we exchanged, he also explained that he was able to put a filter over the eyes and ears of the other prisoners to full them that my ‘death’ was quite real.
I looked bake to see if the guards had seen me. The sound of them running through the hall seemed to pound my ears, but there was no sign of them in the hall. In fact I’ve not even seen them at all throughout this entire escape.
Turning to look forward, I noticed that the figure I was following had turned the corner he briefly spoke of.
In a hurry, I turn after him to find that he was out of sight. There were two staircases, one that led up and one that led down. ‘If this is like any dungeon, the cells would be on the lower levels. So it would only make since…’ I took the staircase up.
*********
‘HORSE APPLES!!!’ I could feel my mind slow down as I ran down the hall. Ahead of me was a simple hall way, and when I say a hall way I mean ONLY a hall way. No door out. Just cell doors and a window that, by the look of it, was up at least one story. That was when I realized that I was in the holding cells, not the dungeon.
‘…but… how hard could flying be? I mean all there is to it is moving pushing up on the air. It’s just that simple. …Right?’
********
(Astro POV)
The sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Their was a calm peace that seemed to stretch throwout all of Equestria. That was unless you were at the Canterlot Detention Center. Then you'd find yourself in alittle bit of a more wild setting.
I finished galloping down the stairs and I headed for the door. That was only about ten yards away. All the guards had left their posts in order to track the 'great and dangerous' Silver Stared Assassin. My mind said that this was a good thing and how great it is to have nothing go wrong for once.
I shall never make the mistake of thinking that again.
It wasn't even two seconds after I had left the door of the building behind when their was the sound of a breaking window and the weight of another pony slammed down onto my back with the force to cause me to fall the ground. From my new point of view, I looked up at my attacker who was as sprawled out and as venerable as I was. My first thought was, 'How did he get onto the second floor?' My second thought was, 'Why does he have wings? They don't even match his cote color!'
Their wasn't much time for thought after that as we heard the sounds of ponies coming down the stairs inside the building. Quickly, we got ourselves untangled and ran. 'The time for a more detailed story would follow.'
********
(Rai/Red Page POV)
It was getting on into the after noon when I first cot sight of the farmer, a full hour later then Apple Bloom had said.
At the sound of a cart I looked up from my book, and my fifth apple, to see a tired looking Mare pooling along a cart. She had and orange cote and a blond mane and tail, with a battered up hat on top of her head. The big give away of how this was was the trio of apples that she had as a cutie mark.
I slid the book back into my bag and started over to meet her.
At the sight of me she lifted her face into a smile. "Howdy stranger! What brings you the Sweet Apple Acors?" She had a friendly voice that came with a twang that you'd expect from a farmer. At least one from the Apple family.
"Hello. My name is Red Page." I said with a nod.
"O. So you must be the farm helper my cousin told me about in that there letter she sent." I nodded my head yet again, this time in confirmation. At that she carried on. "I'm right glad you've shown up. I've gone behind schedule and things have been gettin mighty crazy with my friends and It's been gettin right down hard to keep up."
I opened up my mouth to say something. I don't know what I would have said and never will know as she continued on word as she turn off to the barn to put away the cart. "I'll be expectin ya by dawn tomorrow... On second thought make that an hour before. I hope you like apple cinnamon pancakes." With that she was gone.
'Well... an hour of waiting under a tree to talk to a pony for fifteen seconds. But that's my life, rotten. ...Where am I going to sleep?' I looked around to find a place to set up camp. All I could find was trees. Alot of trees. So I hiked in.
********
Night had fallen. Luna's moon shone above the group of trees and I had just started to set up camp. I had already started a camp fire and had flattened out my bedding for the night. After walking for the day I had managed to get quit tired and was quite ready to just drop, and that was what I was what I was going to do. So I closing my eyes laid down but then my ears twitched as I closed my eyes laid down. herd the sound of movement in the branches of the Everfree Forest.
I lifted my head and gave I sigh as three ponies started to stalk towards the spot I lay. All of them had a hostile grin on their faces and they moved with an attitude that shouted the fact that they were up to no good. I was still tired, but now I was also angry. 'Couldn't they have just tried to rob me earlier? I just don't feel like dealing with them now.' But non the less, I pushed my self up and looked at them.
"If you guys want to do us all a favor, can you do just one small thing?" I leaned in and they picked up their pace to a trot.
"Run!" The word came forth with as much venom as I could give it when I was tired, and they did exactly as I said. Right towards me.
********
(Star Spell POV) (Just a few minuets before)
We walked in silence. The strange introduced himself as Astro. But apart from that we didn't say much. We had been walking for nearly twenty-four hours and he keep on giving quick glances to my wings. I had already explained to him that they weren't technically mine. They had grown from my back, not a pleasant experience, during my time in the cell.
He gave me only one theory of what had happened. Sadly it was the same theory I had already thought, but it was the only thing that maid sense.
When I had removed the pure light from the princess, it also had darkness within it's depths. Fragments of an alicorn inside of a non-alicorn would have some side effects. It would also explain how my cote was when my cote was black and the wings were a midnight blue... And apparently I needed work to improve that skill.
That was when the yelps of pain could be heard from beyond the trees.
Astro's ears perked and he started to make a line to the source of the sound. 'Maybe this guy truly is a wondering guardian of Equestria!'
We reached a bush and peeked over to see four ponies. One was grey and brown, another had a mixture of green and black, the fourth was blue and white. The final one had a grey cote and a red mane and tail with a streak going down. Plus he was wearing a cloak and boots. He was also whipping the other three in hoof to hoof.
Astro started forward but I managed to stop him before he continued. "Those are the Everfree Brothers. They've been giving problems to travelers for three years. They also know the forest to the point where nopony can find them."
Astro glanced at me for a moment before looking back. "I just felt sorry to those three."
"Yep."
"Maybe we should try to avoid fighting him in the future."
"Yep.... Where where we heading again?"
"My old home. It's somewhat run down. Is that alright with you?"
