The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

Chapters

Chapter 2 - Summoned
Chapter 3 - Stranger
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Awakening

Chapter 2 - Summoned

The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

Chapter 2 – Summoned

Just because Orion almost never fell asleep in class, never meant that she didn’t want to.

“If we have, a right triangle, which is to say, a triangle that has a right angle…”

As she almost dozed off for the tenth time that hour, the quill she was levitating in midair dropped to the table, the subtle clicking noise being just loud enough to catch her attention. It was an old trick, but for classes like this one, it was the only way she could stop herself from faceplanting and snoring through class every single day.

“If you take the length of the first side of the triangle next to the right angle and you square it. That is, you multiply it by itself…”

It wasn’t that Orion disliked math. It was far from her favorite subject in school, but it had its uses. It was just that Prof Annulus was the most boring teacher in the known universe.

“Now take, the length of the second side of the triangle next to the right angle. Not the first one that we already used, but the other one. Take that length and square it, that is, multiply it by itself…”

Imagine if you will a broken record, constantly repeating the same phrase over and over again, only occasionally skipping to another line. Now imagine that it was running at half speed making the voice extremely slow and drawn out. Almost as though each spoken work was about as painful to say as it was to listen to.

“Now adding the squares of these two values together gives us a new value, which when we take the square root of it, gives us the length of the third side, the hypotenuse. That is, the side opposite the right angle…”

Yeah. That about sums it up.

Orion gazed around the room to see how her classmates were faring. Not surprisingly, many of them were attempting similar methods to her for staying awake. Some were also levitating quills to stay awake, while others were precariously resting their head on their hooves. One or two looked as though they were already asleep, mouths agape and heavily breathing, but had somehow managed to keep their eyes open. Dawn, well, Dawn didn’t give a flying feather to consequence. She had her head firmly planted on her desk, a small puddle of drool escaping along with her light snoring.

Orion couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Had she not known any better, she'd have though that she'd just looked at an invading swarm of Zombies.

She stole a glace at the clock before re-levitating the quill over her desk. It was only 9:12. There was still 37 minutes and 23 seconds until class was over. 22... 21... She sighed, attempting to pay attention to the lecture but failing miserable. With every fiber of her being, she wished that she was somewhere else. Anywhere, except right here and now. If only…

*KNOCK KNOCK*

An unexpected knock came from the door, waking several ponies and startling the rest. None, though, more surprised than Prof Annulus. His intense hatred for interruptions was well known throughout the school, even among the other teachers. In fact, there was even a sort of an unwritten law not to bother him in the middle of one of his lectures, unless the building was burning down. (And even then, you'd be hard pressed to find somepony willing to tell him.)

In a huff, he threw his chalk done, muttering a barely audible pardon to the class before moving towards to the door. As he walked, he continued his inane mutterings, attempting to determine which insults and curses were suitable for such an inconsiderate intruder for ruining his “enthralling” lecture. By the time he had reached the door, and had his entire piercing retort planned out word for word.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to share his thoughts. After swinging the door open to reveal the culprit, he found himself unable to speak from the sight. He just sat there with one rebuking hoof suspended in midair, at a complete loss for words. He remained mute for so long that the guest decided to ignore the strange introduction and invite himself him.

As the tall grey pegasus entered the room, the entire atmosphere changed. It was quiet before, with only the professor’s endless droning and some heaving breathing from the class. Now, as the visitor trotted to the front, not only was everypony completely alert and awake, but it was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. After all, it was extremely uncommon to see a member of the Equestria Royal Guard interrupting a class.

Upon reaching the front and center of the room, he turned and faced the crowd, giving them their first good chance to look at him. He was extremely tall for a pegasus, possibly even matching the size of the royal sisters. His coat was a dark grey, neatly trimmed and groomed save for the various nicks and scars that could be seen all over his body. His golden armor gleaned in the sunlight, revealing a set of dents and scraps matching those in his fur, the tokens of a lifetime of service to Equestria.

But nopony saw any of these things. They were too focused on his breastplate, bearing the image of the rising sun, signaling the breaking dawn.

The symbol of one of Princess Celestia’s personal guards.

He spoke. “Pardon my interruption. I come bearing a message from Princess Celestia for one Orion Equinox.”

A sudden cracking sound of a quill being snapped in half broke the silence. Slowly every set of eyes turned to face the source. That is, every set of eyes except for the ones that belonged to the mare who had caused her levitated quill to break after hearing her name. Her eyes were wide and frozen on the strange visitor.

After much too long of a silence, she spoke. “Th… that’s me.”

The guard looked her over briefly before nodding in acknowledgement. “You’ve been summoned to appear before her highness, Princess Celestia, in the royal court. I am to escort you there immediately. Please gather your belongings and get ready to depart.”

Orion didn’t move. She just sat there stunned, her mind moving a mile a minute. The princess… wants to see me? She thought to herself. This was unheard of. Regular civilians were almost never summoned before to the Royal court. What could she possibly want with me?

Slowly she pack up her belongings before walking up to the front of the class. The guard took a moment and looked over the cowering pony in front of him. “Follow me,” he ordered before turning and walking towards the door.

Timidly, Orion followed behind. She could feel dozens of pairs of eyes staring at her from behind, but was unable to turn and look at them. She did however turn to meet the gaze of Prof Annulus who had all but been frozen in place during this entire encounter. His eyes, narrow and confused, told the whole story. Clearly he had never heard of anything like this before either. Orion flashed a weak smile at him before exiting the room. The door slammed behind her, leaving a very confused group of ponies to wonder what in Equestria had just occurred.

As long as Orion could remember, she had dreamed of visiting the Royal Court. She had always dreamed that once she was an astronomer, that she might have been invited to one of the Royal Equestrian Stargazer's Symposiums that were frequently held here. Or possibly, if she had become a higher up in Canterlot society, she might have be invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, or one of the high class ceremonies that took place in these halls. At the very least, she had hoped to someday be able get tickets to attend the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant held each year.

But she had never in her wildest dreams thought she’d be summoned by the Princess herself.

But yet here she was, sitting by herself in the royal court after a rather awkward walk from the school. Although nopony probably noticed or cared about the filly following the guard towards the castle, she had felt as though every set of eyes was focused intently on her. Her escort didn’t help the matter either, insisting on marching onward in silence. Every attempt to strike up a conversation had been promptly shot down. Eventually Orion had no choice but to sit and wonder what the princess could possibly want to speak with her about.

Even now as she sat alone, a million different ideas kept passing through her mind. Maybe the princess had heard about her falling asleep in class yesterday, and wanted to punish her for her insolence. What if she was going to kick her out of school? What if she banished her from Equestria? What if that wasn’t good enough and she was banished to the moon, or encased in stone or…

Ugh, what is taking so long. She thought to herself. It had been almost half an hour since the solider had left her in here, and being alone with her thoughts was doing nothing but tear her up inside. Eager to stop coming up with more ridiculous theories, curiosity finally got the best of her and she got up to look at the room more closely. Obviously, the room was exquisitely decorated, with the finest furnishings found in all of Equestria. The carpet felt as though it was made of pure silk underneath her feet, and the curtains shown like morning dew. The chandelier hanging from the center was made from pure white crystals, each one enchanted to let off an illuminating glow warming the entire court. Each piece of furniture was meticulously hoof carved, and featured some sort of intricate design.

But what immediately stole Orion’s attention was the massive stained glass windows. Each was a masterpiece, depicting some story from Equestrian history. From the earliest days when the three pony tribes came together under the banner of harmony, to the years of war and eventual peace with the griffons. From the reign of Discord to the reign of the royal sisters. From the learnings of Star Swirl the Bearded, to the opening of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Thousands of years of Equestria History was depicted on these walls.

Orion moved from window to window before finally stopping before one in particular. It was newer than the others. Near the top was a fearsome mare shrouded in darkness, Nightmare Moon. From her was billowing forth eternal night, blocking out the sun and its life giving substance. All around her ponies were shown trembling with fear. But all hope was not lost. Below her, was the silhouette of six ponies, radiating forth a magical power binding the mare where she stood, stripping her of her dark powers and returning both peace and light to the land.

“The Elements of Harmony. A personal favorite of mine.”

The voice caught Orion off guard. She spun around quickly to stare into the eyes of a bright shining white figure, with her pastel mane flowing as though there was an invisible breeze running through it.

Orion recognized her immediately, bowing down to her knees. “Princess Celestia. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. I should have stayed seated over there, but I… What I mean to say is that…”

A gentle hoof touched her on the shoulder, silencing the panicking Unicorn. She looked back up and into the kind eyes looking down at her. “There’s no need to apologize my dear. After all, I did keep you waiting for much longer than I had hoped. I should be the one apologizing to you if you think about it.”

Orion wasn’t sure what the proper etiquette was for dealing with a princess apologizing, so she did the smartest thing she could think of. She kept her mouth firmly shut.

The princess just smiled at her, before turning back to the window Orion had been admiring moments earlier. “It’s quite the story this one. Six ponies, each one representing a very different element of harmony. Despite their differences they came together to vanquish a great and terrible evil that threatened the land. Quite the inspirational story if you ask me.”

Orion walked up besides the Princess and admired the picture with her. “It really is. I wish I knew who those ponies were. I’d sure like to meet them someday.”

Celestia smiled and looked at the unicorn. “Perhaps, they do not represent actual ponies, but rather they represent the elements of harmony that reside within each of us instead.”

Orion laughed at the vague answer. Then stopped suddenly once she realized just who she was laughing at. She started stuttering looking for another apology, when she was again silenced by the Sun Goddess. “It’s quite alright my little pony. Maybe someday you’ll understand my meaning more fully, but in the meantime, I’m sure you’re curious as to why I’ve summoned you here today?”

“Oh yes!” Orion exclaimed, then immediately attempted to regain her composure, as Celestia smiled and trotted over to her throne. “Um… I mean. Yes, I am interested as to the purpose of this meeting today.”

Celestia chuckled at the flustered filly. “If you’re thinking that you’ve done something wrong, and are here to be punished you can relax. In actuality, it’s quite the opposite. I have a very important mission that I need you to complete for me, something vital to the well-being and security of Equestria.”

Orion couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that she wasn’t here to be punished. Then after hearing that she had been chosen to perform such an important task for Equestria, well, she found herself standing a little bit straighter at the prospect. “Thank you princess, “she said with a bow. “I will do everything I can to complete this mission.”

The Alicorn looked down at her and smiled. “I’m sure you will Orion, but I haven’t even told you what it is that I need to you to do for me.”

A slight twinge of embarrassment slinked down Orion’s back. Slightly less confident, she smiled back up at the Princess. “Um… yes of course. I guess that would be useful information, now that I think of it.”

Celestia stiffiled a laugh before continuing. “As I was saying. This mission is very important for the well being of Equestria. Failure to follow my commands exactly could be lead to catastrophic consequences. It’s imperative that you do exactly what I am about to tell you without any question. Do you accept these terms.”

Orion nodded barely able to contain her excitement as the princess proceeded.

“The quest that I have for you…”

She had never dreamed that she would ever do anything of great importance in her life.

“…for the safety of this great nation… “

And now, she was about to be given one of the most important callings ever.

“…and all the ponies within it is…”

And here it was...

“I need you to retrieve some books for me.”

For the second time that day, Orion sat stunned, unsure if she had heard correctly. “Books… your highness.”

“Yes. Three books in particular. ‘An Advanced Guide to Unicorn Magic’ by Joanna Colt, ‘Magical Balances’ by Burro Degan, and ‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.’”

Now Orion was completely speechless. For a moment there she had started to assume that perhaps she was being sent out to go find some rare mythical tomes hidden away for thousands of years. But these books were extremely common, and could be found in any public library. In fact, Orion had her personal copy of ‘An Advanced Guide to Unicorn Magic’ for one of her classes there with her at the moment. “I’m not sure I understand. You want me to go to the library and get these books for you.”

“Yes and no, I’m afraid. Yes I need you to get these books from a library, but not from the library in Cantorlot. I need you to travel to Ponyville and retrieve the books from the library there.”

This just confused the poor Unicorn even more. Ponyville was half a day’s journey away by train. It would take her all day just to get down there to complete this strange request. She started to protest again. “I’m sorry, but wouldn’t it be easier to send for the books, or send one of your servants. I mean, I’m sure there must be some other...”

“No. I’m afraid that is impossible. This mission must remain a secret to everypony, and sending a request or one of my servants would surely arouse suspicion. In fact, after you leave here, you cannot tell anypony about this mission or even your true identity. Your anonymity is of the utmost importance to this mission.

Orion’s head was spinning by this point. Nothing made sense anymore. “I have to lie to them? I’m sorry but could you please explain…”

“Orion.” The sternness in the goddess’ voice silenced the filly. “You gave your word that you would be able to complete whatever task was given to you without question. Do you mean to tell me that you gave your word in vain?”

Orion shuffled her hooves on the floor. She had agreed to those circumstances. “No your highness. I will do as you ask.”

Celestia nodded her approval. “Very good. Please prepare yourself to depart immediately.” Then turning to the door she called out. “Stonewall.”

Immediately the door opened and the stone grey Pegasus from earlier entered. “Yes your majesty.”

“Please escort Miss Orion to the train station and obtain a round trip ticket for the next train to Ponyville for her.”

He saluted. “Yes Ma’am.” Then turning to Orion, “At your ready Miss.”

For the umpteenth time that day, Orion had no idea what to say. Instead she silently made her way to the door. Celestia watched her trug along obviously weighed down by the strange task she had been given. She felt she had to do something more for the filly before she left. “Orion, wait, “ she called out from her throne. Orion stopped and turned to face the throne. “I’m sorry that I cannot be more specific about the task at hoof, but I assure you that it is very important.” She then smiled at her. “And I’m sure that you’ll do an excellent job.”

Orion smiled back, albeit weakly. “Thank you your highness. I’ll do my best.” With that, she bowed again, and turned back to her strange mission.

Chapter 3 - Stranger

The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

Chapter 3 – Stranger

Orion wasn’t one for the busy life. Large cities crowded from end to end with ponies frightened the poor girl half to death. In fact, had it not been for her studies, she likely would have hated every minute she spent living in Cantorlot. It was probably because she had spent her entire life in the small town of Fillydelphia. It was a quant place. Rarely crowded, it was also comfortable, one of those places where you were always likely to bump into a good friend while going trotting around town.

But compared to Ponyville, Fillydelphia was Manehatten.

When the conductor first announced that the train was approaching Ponyville, Orion had thought that he had made a mistake. Gazing out the window, she could just make out a few houses, and several orchards. When the train finally pulled into the station, she could barely believe that such a place even existed. The houses were small, and for the most part nearly identical. They also looked extremely fragile, almost as though you could pull them right off there foundation and drag it halfway across town with only the most minimal of effort.

But there was something else about the town that caught the student’s attention. It was the ponies themselves. Like Fillydelphia, most of the ponies in town were earth ponies, with only a handful of pegasi and unicorns mixed in. Each one was busily engaged, either working or shopping.

But that wasn’t what was so strange. It was how the ponies acted towards each other. An orange filly zipped past on a small scooter, leaving havoc in her wake, but everypony acted as though it was a common occurrence, merely stepping out of her way when she got too close. A cross-eyed pegasus was attempting to deliver mail, but seemed to have trouble fitting the mail into the small boxes slot. The owner, a white Unicorn with a very well kept violet mane however didn’t seem to mind. Instead she came out and took the mail, while exchanging pleasantries and giving the pegasus a muffin (which, Orion noted, she accepted with great enthusiasm.)

These weren’t strange occurrences. Every single pony in this town was extremely cheerful and friendly with one another. It was almost as though everypony in town knew every other pony and they were best friends. It was kind of disarming, being a stranger in a town where everyone felt so familial with each other. In fact, it was almost…

“Hi!”

Orion had been so enthralled with her own thoughts, that she hadn’t noticed the sudden pink fuzz ball with shining blue eyes and a massive smile in front of her until it spoke. In fact, she almost would have thought that it had appeared out of nowhere, except that was clearly impossible.

“Um… He…”

“I’ve never seen you before. Oh! That must mean that you’re new here, which would probably explain why you just got off the train. Ooh, where did you come from? What was it like there? Did you have a lot of friends there? Everypony should have a lot of friends! That’s why when I saw you, I said to myself ‘Pinkie, you need to go and be that pony’s new best friend.’ I mean, it’s no fun moving to a new town and not having any friends.”

Orion didn’t know what surprised her more: The sudden friend request from a pony she’d just met, or the fact the frizzy maned mare got the whole thing out in one breath. “Well, Miss Pinkie, I… “

“Oh my gosh! You already know my name?!? See. It’s destiny that we’re supposed to be friends! Or is it density? Diversity? Divinity?”

The pink pony started fumbling over words, and drew her attention away from Orion. This was her chance. Orion slowly started to back away, hoping to escape. However, the second she turned around, the strange mare was once again magically right in front of her face.

“Oh well, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the super duper totally awesomerific party that we should throw for you in honor of your moving to Ponyville.”

“Um… Pinkie…”

“We’ll have cake and cookies and sundaes and sassperilla!”

“Pinkie.”

“And we’ll have games and music and dancing!”

“Pinkie.”

“And we’ll invite every pony in Ponyville so that you can make lots and lots of new friends!”

“PINKIE!”

Orion didn’t want the attention that she would gather by raising her voice, but it was unfortunately the only way to get the hyperactive pony’s attention.

Pinkie stopped and flashed an innocent smile. “Yes?”

Orion sighed. “Sorry to burst your bubble Pinkie, but I’m not moving to Ponyville. I’m only stopping by to pick up some books.”

Pinkie laughed. “But of course you’re moving here silly. Why else would my back hooves be shaky?”

The unicorn was unsure how to respond. She just gave the grinning pony a blank stare. “Huh?”

“My back hooves were shaky. That means that somepony new is moving into town. Then when I saw you and I knew I had never seen you before since I know everypony in Ponyville. And then my hooves stopped shaking. That means you’re going to be moving to Ponyville!”

“But that doesn’t make any sense!”

“Yes it does silly,” the exhuberant pony exclaimed bursting into a fit of giggles. “It makes Pinkie Sense!”

Words escaped the unicorn. Not that it would have done any good. Whatever foolish reason this pony had for this crazy idea of hers, it was clear that nothing Orion could say would change her mind.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to come up with a response. A slightly rough voice from behind her took care of that for her. “Pinkie Pie! What in tarnations do you think you’re doing? Can’t you see you’re scaring the poor girl.”

Orion turned to match the southern accent with a face. Quickly approaching, was an orange earth pony with clearly visible freckles dotting her face. Her long blond hair was tied in a simple ponytail which was blowing along behind her. He head was adorned with a Stetson, which had clearly seen more than one day in the hot sun.

Actually, that was a pretty accurate description for the mare as well. She was well built and strong, the obvious results of years of hard labor. As she grew closer, Orion could see that her hair was slightly unkempt, clearly not a high priority for the pony. In fact, while the unicorn would not deem the earth pony as “dirty”, there was dried mud on her hooves, and a light layer of dust coating her fur.

Seeing her friend, Pinkie zoomed across the street to meet her. “Oh, Applejack, thank heavens you’re here! Now I can introduce you to my new best friend!” Instantly she was again by Orion’s side, with an arm around her. “We were just talking about the big party that we need to throw in honor of her arrival! Now you can help us plan it too. It’ll be the most awesomest of all parties ever if you help.”

The orange mare, now in front of the two, chuckled before speaking. “You know Pinkie, if you’re planning a party, don’t ya think you should go and ask Rarity for help with the decorations before it’s too late?”

The party pony’s face immediately changed as she let out a massive gasp. “Oh my gosh! I totally didn’t think about that! Sorry, gotta run!” And just like that, she was gone without another word.

As the party loving pony zoomed off, Orion finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for that,” she exclaimed to her savior. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t show up…”

She didn’t have a chance to ask her name. In an instant, the new mare grasped Orion’s hoof and furiously shook it. “Name’s Applejack ma’am. And it’s no problem at all. We here in Ponyville just love helping folks out and making new friends.”

Even though Applejack had released her hoof, Orion couldn’t stop herself from shaking. Good Grief, is everypony in this town this crazy? She thought to herself.

“So what brings you ta town Miss…”

“Orion”, the unicorn responded while rubbing her still throbbing hoof. She jerked as realization struck her. “What I meant was… I mean… I’m…”

The light orange mare just chuckled at Orion’s sudden flustering. “What’s the matter partner? Can’t remember your own name now?”

Orion cringed. She had been instructed to remain incognito while in town, and without thinking she’d already dropped her real name. Some spy I am, she thought to herself.

Her mind raced for a good explanation. “Ah… Of course not. It’s just that... this is a strange town and uh… we’ve never met before. Yeah! That’s it, my dad always told me not to talk to strangers, and I guess I just took it a little too much to heart.”

Flashing a bright smile, Orion could feel the beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. She hoped Applejack wouldn’t notice.

It seemed for a second as though the plan had already failed, as the orange pony tilted her head back and forth, peering over the unicorn. In the end though, it seemed to be for naught, as she returned the smile with a hearty grin of her own and a slap on the back. “Aw shucks. Ain’t nothing to be afraid of here. Why, I reckon you’d be hard pressed to find another group of ponies as nice as the ones you’ll find here.”

Or as mentally instable I think…

“But ya still haven’t answered my question. What brings ya round to Ponyville today?”

“Oh well, I’m just passing through, and I needed to grab some books from the library before I go.”

Applejack’s smile grew. “Well. Ain’t that just the craziest coincidence? I just so happen to be on my way to the library right now to have lunch with my friend Twilight. I’d be happy to show you the way. That way we can get to know all about each other. I’m just dying to learn more about ya.”

Out of all the worst things that could happen, this was the easily the worst possible thing. Technically, Orion had not lied to anypony yet, but now what could she do? She couldn’t exactly give an excuse and wait for Applejack to leave. She’d only draw more attention to herself by standing around suspiciously. Not to mention, that might mean bumping into Pinkie Pie again, and having to help plan a party in her honor. Not to mention, if Applejack was planning on spending lunch at the library, what would she say when Orion showed up later? She did have a train to catch, and didn’t have time to dawdle.

Feigning a smile, Orion nodded in agreement, and the two set off towards the center of town. Eager to keep the discussion off of herself, she decided to start up the conversation. “So, Applejack, have you lived in Ponyville long.”

“Sure have,” explained the cowpony filling with pride. “My family’s actually the ones who helped settle Ponyville. Just over that there hill, you’ll find Sweet Apple Acres, one of the prides and joys of this here town.”

“Oh. So you own an apple orchard?” the unicorn enquired.

Wrong question. The orange mare stopped in her tracks and turned to face her follower. “Now, don’t ya tell me ya ain’t never heard of Sweet Apple Acers famous apples before?”

The glare from the earth pony was extremely unnerving. “Um… no. Sorry, can’t say I have.”

“Our mouth-watering apple cider?”

“Nope, not that either.”

“Not even our Equestria famous Zap Apple Jam?”

Orion shook her head. “Afraid not. Never seen it where I’m from.”

“And where the hey exactly is this crazy place that ain’t got any apples?”

The question forced every muscle in the Unicorn to tense simultaneously. You walked right into that one, she cursed herself. Quickly, she tried to come up with a good cover story. Can’t tell her I’m from Philydelphia. She might be able to find out who I really am if I tell her that. Canterlot is out of the question. I’m sure they’ve heard of her apples there. Trottingham is in the wrong direction that I came from, plus it’s also to close. Oh why couldn’t I have come up with a good story on the train? Why can’t I come up with some place like…

“Well?”

“MANEHATTEN!” The unicorn suddenly blurted out. Shifting her eyes, almost surprised that she had spoken, she quickly following it up with another faux smile aimed at the orange mare.

Applejack was taken aback by the outburst, but only for a brief second. Again she looked the visitor over with a gaze that seemed to pierce Orion’s very soul. “Manehatten huh? No offence sugarcube, but you don’t look much like a Manehattenite to me.”

Cringing slightly, Orion wondered if she had made the wrong decision. Too late now, she had no choice but to run with it. “Well, and I suppose a pony like you would know exactly what a somepony from Manehatten would look like?” It sounded a lot harsher coming out than she had hoped, but what choice did the unicorn have?

Applejack stayed silent for a few moments, continuing her strange gaze that Orion was far too familiar with by now. Finally she relaxed and her cheerful deminor returned. “I suppose you’re right. What would a country pony like me know about you city folk.” She turned and continued trotting on.

Orion breathed a slight sigh of relief. So far, so good. Now if only she could keep the conversation away from herself, then just maybe…

“Course, that makes me wonder. What brings a high-falutin’ city pony to a little town like Ponyville?”

Ugh. So much for that plan. Now she had mere seconds to try and come up with a good reason for her to be all the way from “home”. Thankfully, she had given this a least the tiniest bit of thought.

“I’m an astronomer,” She stated matter of factly. “I’m heading towards the Royal Sister’s Observatory in Trottingham to conduct some advanced research.” This was, of course, another set of lies, but at least she was able to pull this one off without falling into a complete panic. It was her dream job after all.

“Ah, so you’re one of them star-gazin’ ponies. Makes sense why you’d come all the way out here then. Probably don’t get to see much out in Manehatten.”

Applejack’s assessment, seemed to be accurate since Manehatten was such a big city, but since Orion had never actually been to Manehatten, she didn’t know how to respond. Surely there had to be someplace out there where ponies could stargaze. No matter though. This gave her an opportunity to swing the conversation away from her again.

“Oh. Are you interested in stargazing also?”

For a brief second, Applejack flashed a sign of annoyance but quickly shrugged it off. “Nah. Can’t say I care for it all that much. Kinda borin if you ask me.”

Orion felt a little dejected from the farmer’s comment. Apparently she wasn’t good at hiding it, because after looking back Applejack immediately tried to rectify her previous statement. “Uh… what I meant was, it’s just not really my thing. But that’s just my opinion. If you really wanna talk stars with somepony, you should talk ta Twilight. She’s crazy about the things.”

“Twilight. You mentioned you were having lunch with her before. Is she the librarian?”

“Darn straight. Took over the job when she moved here two years ago. Been doing a right old job of it ever since.”

This caught Orion’s attention. Perhaps she could get some information before charging headfirst into a potentially awkward situation. “She sounds interesting. What’s she like?”

Apple turned back, flashing a wry smile. “You’ll have to find that out for yourself. We’re here.”

Prologue

The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

Prologue

It was dark.

Normally this would hardly be worth mentioning since it’s always dark in the middle of the night. Yet, there was something different about this darkness. It wasn’t so much a sight as it was a feeling. It was damp and thick, almost as though it was attempting to suffocate all signs of life in the library it enveloped. Nothing seemed able to fully penetrate it. Not the moonlight peeking through the window, or the stars gleaming above. Not even the small candle in the corner was able to illuminate any more than a few feet around it, just enough to reveal the area in front of the only sign of life within the library, a pony searching through a rather large stack of books.

Although you couldn’t clearly see her face in the darkness, it was obvious that the pony was frustrated. The way that she quickly fanned through book after book, tossing them aside after her search of their contents turned futile gave away her true feelings. Just as quickly as she got rid of one book she’d have levitated another into its place and began scanning its pages. This process continued, as book after book briefly graced the table in front of her before being thrown away. Over time, the books began to be tossed with more and more force, as books were speedily being moved from one pile to another. Finally with a grunt of exasperation, the pony hurled the last book at the others.

Frustration no longer accurately described the pony’s expression. Anger had replaced that emotion several books ago. Fool! She thought to herself. How could you have let yourself be beaten twice?

She had every reason to be angry with herself. It had been just over a year since she had set her devilish plan in motion. It had been an incredibly risky plan as well, releasing such great and powerful evils into the world, but it was the only way that she could obtain the power that they held. Through clenched teeth she scowled at herself. If only I’d had more time, she brooded. But no, Celestia and her little pets had to step in and foil everything!

In her fury, she kicked the pile of books she’d collected next to her, scattering the pile with several loud thuds. From the corner of the room, a small bundle snorted and stirred from the noise. Instantly, the pony tensed up and held her breath, eyeing the small creature carefully. Thankfully though, the baby dragon’s love for sleep overcame his interest in the ruckus, and he soon was softly snoring again.

Once she was certain the creature was sleeping again, she allowed herself to relax, even managing a small chuckle in the process. Relax, she consoled herself. Not everything is completely lost. After all, neither Celestia nor her precious Elements of Harmony have suspected me or my true intentions.

The thought of the Elements of Harmony turned her mood slightly sour again. Clearly they were the source of all of her troubles. She would have to figure out some way to deal with them, and soon, before they ruined everything again. An evil smile spread on her face as she imagined the sort of evils she would subject them to once she obtained the ultimate power. It was only a matter of time after all. Each day brought her one step closer to bringing forth eternal darkness and the power that came with it. And once she had it, there would be no pony in Equestria that could bring her down. Even the great and powerful Celestia would be forced to bow before her at that day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a distant rooster crowing, signifying the end of the night and the breaking dawn. The pony grimaced at the sound. Her time that evening was over. Quickly and quietly she gathered up the books scattered across the floor and returned them to their proper place on each shelf. Once satisfied, she returned to the desk and reorganized it, leaving no trace of her nights studies. As she did she attempted to rebuild her resolve. Patience, she told herself. You’ve waited almost 500 years for this day, another couple of months won’t kill you. Soon enough the very power of the devil will be in your hooves. She couldn’t help was laugh softly at the thought. Leaning in to the desk, her distinct purple mane with pink highlights glowed in the candlelight. She gave an evil grin, and uttered a single word before blowing out the candle.

“Soon.”

Orion awoke with a start.

Chapter 1 - Awakening

The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

Chapter 1 – Awakenings

“Shall I ask again Orion, or should I call on somepony else while you finish your little nap?”

Orion blinked, slowly becoming aware of her classmates attempting to stifle their laughter around her. Meanwhile, Miss Winter glared at her from the front of the class. She sat up instantly and attempted to muster a valid response, but all that came out was muddled nonsense. “I um… I mean… But… Um…”

Miss Winter smiled. “That’s what I thought. Dawn, perhaps you can help Orion.”

Orion slouched. Great, she thought to herself. Sleeping in class automatically earned her detention after class. Now, not only would she be forced to clap erasers, but that meant that she would miss going to Donut Joe’s with her friends. They had been planning this trip all week. Why out of all days, did she have to doze off today?

She let out a silent sigh. It wasn’t like her to fall asleep in class. In fact, this was the first time in years. She normally was so interested by the class material that sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. If only Sugarcube hadn’t given her that book on Star Swirl the Bearded yesterday. She had started reading it late last night, and found it so enthralling that she just couldn’t put it down. At least, she wasn’t able to until early that morning when the first signs of daylight peeked through her window.

She shook her head in frustration from her lack of foresight and self-control. Unfortunately there was only one thing she could do at this point, accept that she had made a mistake and forget it.

And forget it is exactly what she tried to do, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t get that dream out of her head. While most of her dreams faded after only a few moments, this one stuck, still just as vivid as when it began. To her, it had seemed, almost as though she had been actually been standing in the room of the library. Also, it was as though she was already completely familiar with her location, despite having never seen it before. It had been so dark that she could barely see anything, yet she knew without a doubt that she had been in a library. She knew the creature that stirred was a dragon, despite him being covered by a blanket and shrouded by the darkness. She also seemed to be able to hear the mysterious pony’s thoughts as though they had been spoken out loud.

She chuckled to herself. There’s no way that she could have possibly known all that unless it was a dream. Yes. Nothing more than a ridiculous dream… And yet…

“Very good Dawn.” Miss Winter’s voice drew Orion’s attention out of her thoughts and back into reality. This was not the time to try and analyze her subconscious. She had plenty of other things to worry about, most importantly at the moment, her school work. She did her best to push the dream to the back of her mind, and furiously began copying down the notes on the chalkboard.

“Conservation of energy is extremely important in regards to magic,” Miss Winter proceeded. “It is well known that all magic requires energy in order to be performed. How much energy is required entirely depends on the difficulty and complexity of the spell in question. For example when using a levitation spell, a larger or heavier object is more difficult to maneuver than a smaller, lighter object because it requires more energy. Now, who can tell me where a unicorn gets their energy from?”

It was a simple question, one that everypony knew the answer too. Had she not been furiously scribbling she might have raised her own hoof.

“The sun, the moon and the stars,” an orange colt in the back piped up.

“Correct,” Miss Winter responded. “Magical energy is flowing around us all the time, and it affects all ponies, not just unicorns. However, the horn of a unicorn acts like a lightning rod, drawing in the energy and storing it within the pony. Likewise the effect can be controlled in reverse, which with the proper training, allows all of you the ability to perform all different types of magic.

“The amount of energy a unicorn can keep contained varies from pony to pony. Most unicorns can only store a relatively small amount, which is why they only ever learn small spells, normally linked to their particular special talent. But some unicorns are gifted, with the ability to store and release massive amounts of magical energy. The royal sisters for example are able to raise the sun and the moon each day, a task that once required no less than ten unicorns working together to accomplish. However, much like how exercising your muscles increases your strength and stamina, the amount of energy a pony can keep contained can be increased through repeated effort and continually pushing yourself to do better.”

A bell rang in the distance, signifying the end of classes for the day. Miss Winter looked in its general direction rather annoyed, before turning back to the class. “Well, I guess that’s a good enough stopping point for today. We’ll continue this lecture tomorrow right where we left off. You’re dismissed.”

Since it was the last class of the day, everypony quickly started for the door. Everypony that is, except for Orion. A year ago, she might have tried to make a run for it, but that would have ultimately meant some worse punishment. Head drooped, she watched as Dawn and her other friends walked out the door, happily chatting about the adventure they had planned for today. Orion sighed. “Might as well get this over with,” she muttered to herself.

Slowly, she drug herself to the front of the room where Miss Winter was busy clearing the chalkboard. “Miss Orion,” her teacher said without looking back, “I have to admit, I’m impressed that you didn’t try to make a run for it. Many of your classmates probably would have tried.” Orion smiled to herself for having just had the same thought, but said nothing.

Miss Winter set down the eraser and examined her work. “Still, you have to understand that sleeping in class isn’t just detrimental for you, but it also draws attention from the class, which makes it harder for your classmates as well.”

Orion hung her head. She wanted to come up with a good excuse, but knew better. “I’m sorry. “ She said weakly, “It won’t happen again.”

Miss Winter turned to look at her. She smiled. “You’re a good student Orion, possibly one of the best in the class. Make sure for your sake that it doesn’t become a habit, alright?”

Orion looked up and nodded. She couldn’t help but smile at the compliment, despite knowing what was coming next.

“Still, the rules of this school are set and I’m forced to obey them just as you are. I’m afraid you will have to clean all of the classroom’s erasers before I can let you go.”

Orion’s head drooped again as the smile disappeared. She nodded weakly.

Miss Winter pulled the box of dirty erasers out from the closet. Orion looked it over for a moment. There had to be at least a hundred erasers within it. “Well, better get started,” she said to herself as she picked up the first set of erasers and clapped them together. This was going to take a while.

Orion shook the water out of her coat and breathed a sigh of relief. That shower was exactly what she needed. Not being accustomed to cleaning erasers, she had managed to get more than her fair share of chalk dust all over herself. So much in fact, that she managed to turn her coat almost completely white in some places. Had she been the more mischievous type, she might have kept it like that for a while and attempted to scare some of the younger fillies at the school. However, that likely would have just ended in more detention, which at this point Orion was eager to avoid. Still, the idea made her chuckle.

Orion magically picked up a brush next to her, and passed it through her mane. She wasn’t sure why she even bothered. No matter how hard she tried to keep her mane combed, it always ended up looking completely unkempt by the end of the day. She did what she could to keep it under control by keeping it relatively short, but it was always a losing battle in the end.

She set the comb down after a few futile strokes and glanced herself over. Her light purple coat was clean and shining, a nice, though stark contrast to her dark mane. Though her mane was mostly purple, there was the slightest hint of blue which helped give it its deep color. She looked herself in the eye for a brief second, admiring their almost hypnotic red color, before turning to examine her tail for any remaining chalk. Her tail was much like her mane. Dark, short and extremely difficult to keep managed. Her father had always told her not to worry about it. That it was a part of who she was and helped define her character.

She smiled at the thought of her father. It had only been a couple of months since she had left Fillydelphia to attend Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but it had felt like years. Her father had always wanted to provide the best education for Orion, but just never had the money to do so. At least, not until the Parasprite invasion a little under a year ago. With almost all of Fillydelphia's crops demolished by the swarm, the town had to rely on neighboring cities to provide food, until the farms could be regrown. All that extra shipping allowed her fathers small transporting company to flourish, and he was able to save up quite a bit of extra money.

Orion, however had no idea about this, At least, not until the day she came home and found her father with the biggest smile she’d ever seen . He explained that because of the increased income he had made, he finally had enough to pay the tuition for Orion to attend Princess Celestia's school. Not only that, but he had already sent in her transcript, and he was thrilled to tell her that she had been accepted.

Although it was the happiest moment of her life, she had no idea how sad she would be when it came time to say goodbye…

“There you are Orion! I was starting to think they had you cleaning every eraser in the city.”

Dawn’s voice snapped Orion back to reality. Quickly wiping the forming tears from her eyes, she retorted, “Nah, just trying to steal all the hot water so you won’t have any tonight.”

Dawn laughed at the joke, just as Orion knew she would. From the first moment that Orion had been assigned as Dawn’s roommate, the two had become fast friends. This was actually kind of surprising, since the two mares really weren’t that much alike. While Orion didn’t think that she was particularly bad looking, she also knew she wasn’t likely to win any beauty pageants. Dawn on the other hoof, could easily have won every single one without even trying. Not only was she extremely tall and slender, but her coat was a pure white which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Her long mane was a bright orange with red streaks, and had definitely caused more than one colt to turn and stare as she trotted past.

However, despite her looks, Dawn was anything except prissy. She had come to school entirely because of her parents. Being some of the most prestigious ponies in Canterlot, they felt that their daughter should follow in their hoofsteps and become a socialite as well. That meant that she needed a proper education to help make her a proper lady. Dawn however hated the entire social scene and would’ve much rather spend her time out experiencing the world first-hoof. She was extremely outgoing, frequently getting into trouble or jumping in head first without asking questions.

Orion, however was much more reserved. Although she enjoyed the company of others, she found it difficult to be around large groups, or with ponies that she had never before met. She also really enjoyed spending time by herself with her books. Reading and studying were definitely her forte, and it was highly unlike her to jump into any situation without first weighing all the potential dangers.

Dawn trotted over to and very ungracefully fell down on her bed. She opened her saddle bags and levitated a small paper sack out. “I brought you a donut since you were detained. Maybe if you didn’t spend all night with your head buried in those boring books, I wouldn’t have to be so generous.”

Orion shot her a dirty look. “These books are not boring. This one Sugarcube loaned me about Star Swirl the Bearded was particularly exciting. It explained all about how he started the field of research into where Unicorn magic comes from, and how when boiled down…”

Dawn rolled over and covered her face with her hooves. “Go ahead and keep talking, but all I’m going to hear is ‘Blah, blah, blah’.”

Orion turned her nose up in fake disgust. “Fine, then I’ll just keep all the secrets of unicorn magic to myself, and leave you to wallow in ignorance.”

“Please do.” Dawn responded mockingly. “It’s much too early for me to start my beauty sleep.”

The very mention of sleep reminded Orion of that afternoon, which brought the dream that she had back to the forefront of her memory. Despite her best efforts to forget it, it just kept creeping back into her mind. Something about it was just so real. “Speaking of which, have you ever had a dream that… you know… well it almost seemed…”

Dawn jumped up suddenly. “Hey! I’ve got a great idea! Since you missed out on Pony Joe’s, let’s go down to the market before they close for the evening. I’ve been dying to see what sorts of new oddities and trinkets have come in since last week.”

Orion sighed. It was just like Dawn to ignore her. Oh well, it was just a silly dream anyways.

“Come on Orion. What do you say?”

“Um… I don’t know. We should really get started on our homework and…”

“Oh please. We’ve got nothing due tomorrow, and you know I don’t care about it even if we did. Plus you’ll probably finish it in no time anyways, so there’s no problem.”

“But…”

“Don’t deny it. You know it’s true.”

Orion laughed. Dawn was right. It was true. “What the hay. Let’s do it.”

The two left, talking and laughing all the way through the halls and into the streets of Canterlot. They were indeed two very different ponies, but that just made their strange friendship all the more fun.

The two friends trotted on, blissfully unaware that they were being watched. High above them, from the balcony of her castle, Princess Celestia gazed down upon them. They both looked so happy and carefree. She couldn’t help but regret the decision she was forced to make.

Behind the princess stood Madam Aviary, the grandmaster of her beloved school. While Celestia was technically the head of the school, the affairs of the kingdom kept her from being able to keep an active hoof in the day to day events that happened there. As such, she had chosen Madam Aviary to take care of such matters, and report back to her each week.

The two sat together in silence as Celestia continued to watch the two mares below. Her gaze never faltered, until they turned a corner and were lost to her view. She continued to stare at the location where they had disappeared and broke the silence. “You’re certain that she’s the right pony for this task?”

Madam Aviary stood up straight at the request. “Yes your highness. She has met every qualification that you asked me to look for. However, if you disprove of my decision, I can continue my search and try and find somepony else.”

Princess Celestia turned towards her, a friendly smile forming across her face. “Aviary. You know that I hold your opinions at the highest value. If you say that she is the correct pony for the task, then I agree with you.”

Madam Aviary looked at the princess hesitantly. “But…?”

Celestia sighed. She returned her gaze to the street below. “I don’t know. There’s something about her. Something that just seems… off, but I’m not sure exactly what it is.”

“Your highness, if you feel this way, then I can find somepony else. Really. It’s no trouble at all.”

Celestia chuckled at the comment. “You and I both know that that is a lie. There is nopony else that meets the requirements for this task so perfectly. Besides that, I have delayed this long enough. No. She must be the one, regardless of my reservations.”

A sudden knocking at the door interrupted Madam Aviary's further protesting. “Enter.” The princess commanded and precisely on cue, a grey pegasus entered and saluted smartly. Princess Celestia smiled as he entered. “Stonewall, my friend. What can I help you with this evening?”

“Your majesty. I bring a message from Princess Luna. She has asked me to fetch you for your evening walk through the gardens.”

Celestia drooped her head at the request. The smile washed away from her face. Ever since the whole ordeal with Nightmare Moon, she had been trying so hard to make up for the lost time between her and her sister. These nightly walks were one of the simple ways of trying to reconnect with each other. But as much as she enjoyed them, the task at hoof needed to take top priority.

She sighed. “Please inform Luna, that I am discussing school affairs with Madam Aviary. I will be unable to share our walk with her this evening." Struggling with regret, she added, "And… please tell her that I’m very sorry.”

Stonewall saluted. “Understood, princess.” He turned and left as elegantly as he had entered. Aviary frowned. "Pardon my asking Princess, but shouldn’t we involve your sister in these affairs? I mean, after all she was…”

“No.” Celestia interrupted. “There is still a chance that I might be wrong, and even if I’m not, I don’t want my sister to be caught in the middle of all this… Not again…”

There was silence for a few seconds, though to Aviary it felt like hours. It was clear that the princess was going through a lot of turmoil from this decision. Finally, and hesitantly, she responded. “Very well princess, as you wish. What would you have me do next?”

Celestia snapped out of her trance. She raised her head high. “Proceed as we have planned. Tomorrow send a guard to fetch the unicorn, and have her report directly to me. I’ll personally brief her on the task at hoof.” She again moved to the window and looked out. Her gazed fixed upon the few lights of Ponyville just visible in the distance. “And then hope and pray for Equestria’s sake that this is all a misunderstanding.”