Chapter 1: An Ancient Visitor
The Qirin moved swiftly and silently through the halls of Canterlot Castle. Despite the large number of guards and servants, she had gone undetected. Her dainty cloven hooves made almost no sound on the soft rugs that adorned the palace floors.
One servant glanced in her direction, before doing a double take. The servant opened her mouth to scream, but the Qirin got there first.
"I am a figment of your imagination. The narwhal shall bacon at midnight," she said to the servant, holding back laughter.
The confused servant opened her mouth, thought better of it, closed it and continued sweeping the hall, with a bewildered expression on her face, occasionally glancing at the Qirin.
For the rest of her journey, the Qirin sprung traps at every opportunity. She set off alarms, stole a guard's spear, replaced a Phoenix in a cage with a parrot and generally caused mischief.
The laughter came in bursts by the time she reached her destination. To her dismay, the throne room was filled with petitioners and politicians, all of whom she had to sneak past to reach her target, Princess Celestia.
Oh well,she thought. I'll just have to see what happens.
She pressed on, opening the doors quietly. Why did Tia have to go and have such an awkwardly designed court? There weren't even any benches- one Earth pony lawyer was holding his files in his mouth.
Honestly, the Qirin thought, as she wove her way through the crowd, hoping that her bright colours would help her blend in with the technicolor, You'd think she'd have invested in a proper courtroom by now.
She continued to pick her way through the crowd, doing surprisingly well, when things went a tad wrong.
One of her antlers caught on somepony's mane. The prissy white unicorn in question was not happy in the slightest.
"Oh, my, please don't mess up my mane! I just had it styled!" he shrieked, causing all heads within a five mile radius to turn in their direction. The Qirin was trying to untangle her antlers, and the stallion wasn't helping, screaming his head off and jerking violently this way and that.
Eventually the Qirin freed her antlers. She looked around her and pricked her ears. She could hear panicked whispering all around her, things like 'Is it a servant of Discord?' and 'It looks like a dragon!'
The Qirin rolled her eyes. A century or two and still ponies couldn't wrap their heads around the concept of a Qirin.
Ponies began to shuffle, clearly preparing to bolt, when Celestia's gentle and reassuring voice called out, "Split the crowd, my little ponies. I will protect you from any threat."
Guards helped clear the crowd from the Qirin, while two more surrounded her with spears.
The Qirin laughed inwardly at the display. She could beat them with all four hooves and both wings tied behind her back. Her tail alone could knock the wind out of a pony with a powerful enough strike.
Celestia glided down from the throne's stage and landed in front of the Qirin. Once she landed, her hard glare melted into a warm smile of recognition.
"Ryuu! How long has it been since I saw you last!" she beamed.
"Far too long, my dear," said Ryuu with a smile.
"I apologise that you were treated so harshly by my ponies," said Celestia, gesturing for the guards to back away.
"Now I am sad," said Ryuu.
"Why?"
"Because I didn't get to use this!" said Ryuu, conjuring a rubber spider. The mere sight of it made Celestia flinch.
"You were going to put that on my throne, weren't you?" Celestia deadpanned.
"Yep! Oh how I've missed the opportunities for jokes."
"I've missed you too," said a disembodied voice. "Your pranks almost rival mine."
"Almost? I creamed you in our last contest!" laughed Ryuu. Celestia, however, was searching for the source of the voice.
The crowd of spectators was staring at the scene in shock. The majestic ruler of Equestria, conversing with a lithe, green creature, apparently named Ryuu.
Her head and tail were those of a dragon, but she had the wings of a Pegasus, the antlers and body of a deer, and the stripes of a tiger. Her body was mint green, her stripes were a darker green, her spinal spikes were dark blue, and so was the crest on her long snout. Two yellow whiskers hung from either side of her nose, sprouting from just behind the nostril. Her hooves and tail tuft were bright red. Her entire body was coated in fine scales. The scales were not rough like a dragon's, rather they were smooth and leathery, like a snake's. Her amber eyes glinted with ancient secrets, secrets no mortal could hope to know.
And now a disembodied voice had joined the party.
But the voice was not to be disembodied for much longer. A pair of mismatched eyes materialised, and soon the rest of Discord flickered into view.
Celestia's gaze turned scolding. "Discord! I told you not to spy on my court anymore! You know it scares my ponies!"
Ryuu merely laughed. "Oh let him be, Tia. Would it kill you to have a little fun every once in a while?"
"Yes," muttered Celestia.
"Though, in all seriousness," Ryuu said, suddenly insightful, "Weren't you trapped in stone last time I saw you?"
"I was, but now I have changed, and strive for the greater good," said Discord dramatically, conjuring a halo as he spoke.
Ryuu laughed once more. "If Discord is back, then what of your sister?" she asked Celestia. "I have not been to this kingdom in a while. I am a bit behind the times."
"I am here," said Princess Luna, yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. Her unkempt mane was tangled and dim. At her appearance, Celestia activated her magic and set the sun on its course below the horizon. Luna activated her magic in tandem, and started the moon's course in the opposite direction.
"My, how you've grown," commented Ryuu. "You were only a filly when I saw you last."
"I need a coffee," Luna groaned, ignoring Ryuu and trotting off to find that source of energy.
For a while, Discord, Celestia and Ryuu chatted to one another, catching up on recent events and reminiscing about the past, as ponies realised that their princess was not going to return to court any time soon, until Discord grew bored and left, and it was just the mare and the Qirin.
"I see. So you have chosen a new faithful student?" said Ryuu.
"Yes. She has ascended into alicorn status already. I'm so proud of her," said Celestia.
Ryuu gave a slow whistle. "Impressive. I assume that you have left her in the tutelage of one of my brethren to instruct her in ancient history that only an alicorn need know?" said Ryuu.
"Actually, Qirin are quite hard to come by. You're the only one I know of, in fact. I was going to teach her myself, but I can't find the time..."
Celestia had a pleading look in her eye, one Ryuu could recognise easily.
"I can see where this is going from a mile away."
"Was it that obvious?"
"Very."
Celestia sighed. "Ryuu," she said with formality, "Will you pass your worldly knowledge onto my student? Will you show her the truth when she is surrounded by lies? They say you are the wisest of all Qirin, and who better to teach my student than you?"
"If you truly want me to, yes, I will instruct her myself. What kind of alicorn would she be if she didn't know which legends were true and which were myths?" said Ryuu.
"Really? I assure you, you will be paid well for your services," said Celestia.
"No need. There is no greater payment than knowing that you have helped a fellow immortal."
"Are you sure? I could always have gems or books sent to you," offered Celestia.
"Where does she live?" asked Ryuu, ignoring the white alicorn's offer.
"She lives in the town of Ponyville," said Celestia, summoning a map and marking it, before rolling it up and passing it to Ryuu, whose antlers glowed and took the map.
"Send word to her of my arrival. I will be there by tomorrow," said Ryuu, spreading her wings and flying out of an open window.
Chapter 2: Let the Lessons Begin
Ryuu bounded along gracefully, her red hooves leaving small, elegant marks on the dirt roads of Ponyville. In hindsight, she should have been more specific when she asked for directions. She was in Ponyville, but where was she meant to go from here?
She followed a thin trail leading to the outskirts of town, thinking that someone so scholarly as to be a student of Princess Celestia would be introverted, and live away from other ponies.
She soon found herself in an apple orchard, rows of trees spaced perfectly apart filling her vision, and the scent of ripe fruit flooding her sensitive draconic nostrils. Her whiskers twitching in anticipation and wings spread for balance, she stood up on her hind legs and reached up to pluck an apple. The luscious smell was making her hungry, and she was so close to the perfectly ripe fruit. She could practically taste its sweetness. She opened her mouth and prepared to bite into the fresh, naturally shiny apple...
"Ah wouldn't do that if ah were you," said a gruff, male voice.
Ryuu gave a squeak and snapped her wings closed. This action knocked her off balance. She swung her tail in an attempt to avoid falling, but overcorrected and fell sideways. By the end of the process she was hanging upside-down from a tree branch by her tail, which was knotted around the branch in question.
With a snap, the branch broke, and the Qirin fell flat on her face. Shaking the dizziness off, she smiled sheepishly at the red stallion.
He glared at her and spoke, "Who are ya?"-he took in her features-"...For that matter, what are ya?"
Ryuu took the opportunity to try and find her way to her student. "My name is Ryuu, I'm a Qirin, don't question it. Would you happen to know where a mare named-”
"Twilight Sparkle?" suggested the stallion.
Ryuu blinked. "Yes. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," the stallion shrugged. "Mah name is Big Macintosh. Mah family owns this here farm, and we'll be wantin' ya ta pay for the damage ya caused. We need to treat this tree ta stop it dyin' and dispose of the branch. Ah'll give ya the bill later. As for Twilight Sparkle, she lives in the library in town. It's a big tree, ya can't miss it."
"I'll be leaving now, Big Macintosh, thank you, and I apologise for attempting to steal your produce and breaking your tree," said Ryuu hastily.
"Ya still have to pay us," Big Mac said flatly.
Ryuu's antlers drooped a little. "Right."
~~~
Ryuu approached the door to the Gold Leaf Library, and knocked on the door. A call of 'Spike, will you get the door please?', followed by the sound of books being dropped, angry scoldings and eventually the door handle being turned could be heard.
A small, pudgy dragon opened the door.
"Hi! Welcome to the Gold Leaf Library! Twilight's a little busy, but you can come back later and she'll..." he trailed off as he caught sight of his guest. Ryuu smiled awkwardly.
"Umm...so you must be Ryuu, right? I thought you were a pony, not a...dragon-deer thing," he commented.
"Spike! Don't be so rude!" said a light purple alicorn, glaring at her assistant. Spike grumbled and walked back into the library.
"I assume you are Twilight Sparkle, yes?" said the Qirin.
"I am, and you're Ryuu, right? Pleased to meet you!" replied Twilight, shaking Ryuu's hoof. "Please, come in!"
Ryuu did just that, wiping her hooves on the mat as she entered. Twilight had Spike make them some tea, and in a few minutes they were sitting down with steaming mugs.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you teaching me?" asked Twilight.
"My job is to teach you valuable history lessons. As an alicorn, painful as it may be, you are now immortal. That means that it is important for you to know which stories are true and which are false. You never know when an ancient threat assumed to be a myth could strike. Discord and Nightmare Moon proved that well enough. The chances are higher than you think, and the more you know, the safer you are.
"We Qirin are regarded as the keepers of secrets. Even Celestia didn't know the facts until a Qirin taught her. I'm proud to say that I am known as the wisest of all Qirin, though some of the others in my herd are older than me. My task here is to pass these secrets onto you, so that you know what to do in case of emergency. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," explained Ryuu.
"Fascinating," said Twilight, sipping from her mug.
"Very," agreed Ryuu.
"Well, I think for today, you should just get to know your way around here, and we can start tomorrow!" said Twilight eagerly.
"Sounds like a plan," said Ryuu, extending her hoof. Twilight hesitated, but with a prompt from Spike, she bumped it.
As Ryuu walked put the door, Spike couldn't resist the opportunity to be snarky.
"That awkward moment when a millennium old creature knows more about social interaction than you."
