The Pros and Cons of Being Famous

Prologue

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Princess Luna wandered aimlessly around the castle. She didn't really care where she ended up. All she wanted to do was to clear her mind. Normally, she would fly to do so, but dark gray clouds had shrouded the city and began a downpour of rain.

She drew herself from her thoughts as she neared the large, double doors of the Royal Library and Archives. Perhaps a good book will help, she thought to herself. Her horn glowed with a light blue aura, which surrounded the handles of the doors. They slowly creaked open (they are very heavy), and Luna walked in, her hoofs making a soft "clop, clop, clop" noise as they struck the floor.

The Library was very impressive, if it was your first time. But the Princess of the Night had gotten used to the towering bookcases, the many stairs, and the comfy couches on which one could settle in comfortably to read a book. She glanced around the signs. Reference books? Perhaps Mystery novels? Or maybe even romance novels...? No, she could not stand with some of the ridiculous plots some authors would come up with. History...

Luna hesitated. Most of the history books were up to date. If she read any of them, she would want to read the ones that... excluded the story of her banishment. While she had forgiven Celestia long ago, it was still a sore subject between the two sisters, and they both preferred to avoid it. She had also silenced the worried doubts of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. She had never been mad at them-rather, she had thanked them. It was a horrible feeling to be controlled by something you can hardly fight, especially when it plays on your fears and flaws.

Stop it, Luna thought. It's best not to dwell on the past. Luna glanced at the rows and rows of historical books. Maybe The Rise and Fall of the Romane Empire? Or maybe The Founding of Equestria would be interesting. As she walked farther between the shelves, she found herself in the Star Swirl the Beared Section. She smiled with nostalgia as memories of her old friend filled her head. She stopped to gaze on a thick book titled, The History of Magic.

Luna was about to pick up the book, when there was a sudden, yellow flash. A scroll, tied with red ribbon, fell to the ground. Her magical aura encased the paper just before it hit the ground. Curious, she carefully untied the ribbon, and read what was written on the scroll.

Dear Luna,

Please come to the throne room immediately. Something... strange has occurred, and I

would appreciate it if you could come.

Love,

Tia

Luna quickly teleported the scroll to her room, and then preceded to canter towards the Throne Room. It wasn't too far from the library. She anxiously wondered what had happened. Perhaps a magical experiment gone wrong at the school? No, Celestia would classify that as "urgent," not "strange." Quickening her pace, she soon arrived at another pair of double doors, which led into the Throne Room. She opened the doors, and quickly scanned the room to see if anypony besides Celestia and herself were there.

Strangely, the only ponies present in the room were Luna, Celestia, a few guards, and a strange filly with a tattered, rain-beaten, old cloak gathered around her. The strange little filly was a unicorn, Luna noticed. A side door opened, and a maid came in with a towel and a blanket, which she preceded to cover the filly in. The filly had a dark gray coat, and a silky white mane and tail which seemed to shimmer. She had beautiful turquoise eyes that seemed to stare into your soul, and though she was shivering, she had a weak smile on her face.

"Ah, Luna," Celestia said. "Thank you for coming. This filly was found outside the castle walls, with nothing but that threadbare cloak around her. Her name is..."

"Lily Note," the filly said, "your highness." Lily Note gave a little bow, but her legs were so weak that she fell down with a slight yelp. The maid quickly cast a spell that warmed up the little filly, and Lily thanked her with a gracious smile.

"Thank you for your help, Feather Duster," Celestia said to the maid. "You are dismissed." Feather Duster nodded, and bowed before leaving the room. Celestia turned back to Luna.

"There is something I want to show you." She faced Lily Note. "Lily, could you please take off your cloak?" Lily, looking puzzled, untied her cloak. Her aura, Luna noticed, was the same color of her eyes. Lily levitated the cloak off of her back, and what Luna saw shocked her.

Lily Note unfurled a pair of gray wings. They were unlike most fillies' wings, as they were bigger and with more feathers. Lily looked up, and looked confused for a moment. Luna suddenly realized that her jaw had dropped open, and she quickly closed it. She noticed that Lily still looked a little confused, but she seemed to shrug it off. Lily turned back towards Celestia, and Luna did the same, as the Solar Princess began to speak again.

"As you can see, Luna," Celestia began, "Lily here is an alicorn, and it seems that she was born one." Lily Note looked more confused by this statement.

"What do you mean? Is it bad to be born as an alicorn? Did I do something wrong?" Lily looked genuinely scared, afraid that she was going to be punished for something that was outside of her control.

Celestia smiled gently at the nervous filly. "Of course not, my little pony. It's just that it's very rare for a filly or colt to be born as an alicorn, unless their mother or both parents were alicorns too." Lily stopped looking nervous, and looked very relieved. Luna looked once more at the little alicorn filly. Suddenly, Luna found herself blurting out,

"How did you come to be found outside the castle walls, Lily Note? Was there something wrong at your home?" Everyone looked surprised by Luna's sudden question, even herself! Lily suddenly gained an expression that Luna had not expected: confusion.

"I... I don't know... I only remember a bright flash, and then suddenly, I was there. But I won't bother Your Highnesses again! I promised to be a good little filly..."

Suddenly, Lily Note was in tears. Luna awkwardly stood by, not knowing what to do. Her sister, however, leapt into action, cloaking the shaking filly with one of her large, angel-like wings. She comforted the sobbing Lily, murmuring words of comfort to the poor thing. At one point, she looked up at Luna in a questioning way, almost as if she were saying, "What is wrong, little sister?"

Eventually, Lily was calmed, and was wrapped back up into the blanket. Her face was stained with drying tears, which clung to her cheeks like raindrops on a leaf. However, she still looked immensely troubled, as if she would burt into tears again if she were upset again. Luna noticed that Celestia seemed a bit more tired than she had been earlier that day.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to prepare a room for you, Lily," Luna said politely, while really feeling awkward within. Lily suddenly lost the saddened look on her face and seemed to be filled with hope.

"Y-you, you mean it?! You're not going to take me to an orphanage??" Lily looked shocked, surprised, and happy all at once. Luna looked at Celestia, silently asking for permission. Celestia looked at Luna. She then turned to the filly, and smiled gently while nodding once.

Lily seemed to be frozen for a moment. Then, she rushed forward, and hugged Luna so tight, the Princess thought that she would suffocate. For a girl who looks like she hasn't eaten a good meal in a while, Luna thought, she sure can hug a pony pretty tight! Luna chuckled slightly, and gently pushed Lily away. "You may hug me, just don't suffocate me!"

Lily looked slightly embarrassed. "Yes your highness," she said in a bow. She then cantered over to Celestia, and gave her a slightly less suffocating hug.

When the hugging was complete, Celestia took Lily to go see where the filly would sleep during her time in the castle. Luna smiled as she watched the excited and eager filly go with her elder sister on a quest to find the perfect room.

A black crown floated through the air and onto a nightstand. A light blue aura encased it, looking like the sky as it slowly turns into night. A black neckpiece followed it, with a large, white, crescent moon in the front. Four light blue slippers were kicked off and neatly arranged next to a King-Sized bed with a black mattress, and a cozy blanket that was a deep blue with white stars dotted across it. A full moon was pictured in the very center of the blanket.

Princess Luna was getting ready for bed. As she did so, she played over the events of the day. She smiled as she thought of what must have been Lily's first real meal, with healthy and delicious foods for her to eat. They had told her the story of Nightmare Moon, and Luna was still thinking about her reaction. She also had to teach the inexperienced filly how to properly eat soup (Lily had tried to drink it from the bowl).

Luna was also worried for Lily as well. She would have to deal with ponies staring at her when she was in public, and with the many lessons on how to behave properly, such as sitting straight and using the correct fork for eating a salad. Lily would also someday learn proper magic, like advanced levitation and color-changing spells. She would---

Luna's thoughts were interrupted by a loud and quick series of knocking at her door. When she didn't reach it immediately, the knocking became even more frantic. She quickened her pace and opened the door.

"Oh!" Luna said. "It's just you, Lily. Is there something the matter? Was the mattress not comfortable?"

The alicorn filly was cleaner looking now. She had obviously taken a bath and brushed her mane and tail. Although her tail remained straight with a slight flip at the bottom, her mane had been put into a loose ponytail, similar to the farm pony Applejack's hair. The band was a sparkly blue, which looked nice against the silvery hair.

Lily looked slightly embarrassed as she said, "I'm a bit scared of the dark. May I sleep in your room tonight?"