Secret of the Stars

by Zeck

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Other, Lyra
Length: 11019

Lyra's always been suspecious of why there's a human constellation in Luna's sky. Especially since they're not suppose to exist.

Lyra Heartstrings has a knack for sniffing out mysteries, especially when they involve humans. The trouble is, everypony else thinks she's a bit crazy, silly, or just wasting her life. Unfortunately, when Bon Bon says the same thing, Lyra sets out to prove that her passion isn't a waste of time. For years, she's been gathering scraps of information, and now it's finally all come together.
There's a secret buried under the caves under Canterlot, and Lyra is going to uncover it, no matter the cost.

Written for EQD's 'The More Most Dangerous Game' and using the 'Anthropology' prompt.

Published 2015-01-24 18:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-24 18:30:01 UTC

The Forgotten Cavern

Bon Bon stood outside the door to the bedroom for several minutes. Finally, she raised her hoof and gently knocked. “Lyra?”

There was no answer. No doubt the Unicorn was upset. The argument had gotten rather heated, even though Bon Bon hadn’t meant for it to get to that point.

“Lyra, look…I’m sorry. I…I didn’t mean to say those things.” She almost started defending her words, but quickly thought better of it. Now wasn’t the time. Lyra had stormed off to the bedroom over an hour ago, and the last thing Bon Bon wanted to do was stir the pot again. “I actually enjoy your hobby, in a way. You put so much energy into it. And the way your eyes light up whenever your talking…it makes me smile. I don’t really want you to change, I promise…”

There was still no answer from the bedroom. Bon Bon hung her head. She had really crossed a line this time. She and Lyra had their differences and fought on occasion. It was all part of being married after all, but this time Bon Bon had said things that had cute deep, deeper than she meant to. It was just…she had been so frustrated and, and…

And I took it out on my Unicorn, she thought with a tear in her eye.

“Lyra, please open the door,” Bon Bon pleaded. “I’ll make your favorite for dinner, and I’ll even…” She pushed gently on the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. “Lyra?”

Bon Bon slowly pushed the door open just enough to poke her head into the room. She expected to see her Unicorn sulking on the bed, most likely with her back to the door.

Instead, Bon Bon saw no trace of Lyra. She opened the door all the way and looked around. Scattered across the floor were dozens of papers, with sketches and writings on them. Several books were open on the bed and many more were stacked haphazardly near it. The place looked like the library after Twilight had finished an intense study session.

“She’s…probably just gone out,” Bon Bon whispered, trying to drown the growing worry in her mind. “She probably just went to get a drink.” Yes, that was it. There were still a few places open this late in Ponyville.

Bon Bon’s hoof stepped on one of the sheets of paper on the floor. She bent down to look at it. She expected to see more of Lyra’s silly drawings or crazy theories, but she was surprised when the illustration wasn’t familiar.

“What?” She picked the paper up with her mouth and held it in her hoof. This made no sense. It was a map of Luna’s stars. Curious, she looked down at another piece of paper. It too dealt with the night sky, and Lyra had scribbled the words ‘Secret of the Stars’ on it.

“What was she doing?” Bon Bon asked as the worry began to grow in the back of her mind. Lyra always cleaned up her messes, even when she was angry, because her work was important to her. It wasn’t like her to leave everything scattered about.

The mare walked over to the bed and examined some of the books. They were mostly spell books, old ones by the looks of them, and Bon Bon didn’t recognize most of the text. She wasn’t an expert on magic spells she wasn’t a Unicorn, but she was familiar with the basics and even some of the more advanced theories, but these spells were unlike anything she had ever seen.

Finally, Bon Bon saw a book that she was familiar with. It was old and worn. The spine was cracked and nearly all of the pages had yellowed with age. It was Equestria Before Ponies: Ancient Legends, and it was Lyra’s favorite book. She had found it in a dusty old used bookshop and she treasured it. She had spent many long nights pouring over its contents, and every time she had found something that excited her, she had rushed to Bon Bon with the news and the twinkle in her eye.

For her to just leave it lying around was not a good sign.

The knot in Bon Bon’s stomach began to tighten.

Bon Bon carefully looked at the book. Just as she suspected, it was opened to Lyra’s favorite entry: humans. The Unicorn was borderline obsessed with the creatures, and any information she found on them was priceless to her. Sometimes she seemed to value them even more than she did Bon Bon…

“That’s still not an excuse,” Bon Bon told herself. She sat down on the bed and stared at the book. She hoped Lyra would be back soon, and that she wasn’t doing something crazy.

“Humans aren’t real,” she told herself. “What trouble could she possibly get into?”

* * *

“Lyra, this is stupid!”

Lyra Heartstrings bit her lower lip and dug her hind legs into the ground. She took all the anger she felt and channeled it into her horn.

“Yes it is! You need to stop this! You’re not a little filly anymore!”

Lyra’s bit down harder. She was vaguely aware that her teeth had cut into her lip, but she didn’t care. She’d show Bon Bon. She’d show her! She’d show everypony!

“Grow up already!”

Lyra closed her eyes and pictured the ward in front of her. She remembered the weak points she had learned about and made them blaze in her mind so clearly that she expected to see them if she opened her eyes.

“You’re wasting your life! You’re wasting our life together!”

Lyra felt the sweat break on her forehead as she fired all of her magic at the ward. She almost passed out the moment the energy left her body, but her rage kept her focused enough to stay on her hooves.

“You’re a laughing stock! Everypony thinks you’re nothing but a joke!”

Lyra’s legs began to give way and still the ward in front of her held fast. She felt the tears squeezing out of her eyes. It wasn’t going to work. All of her effort, her research, and her dream…it was all going to collapse because of this stupid magical ward.

“Yes! Yes, okay! I think you’re a joke too! Are you happy now?”

Lyra’s eyes snapped open in fury. “I’ll. Show. YOU!” The Unicorn poured all of her anger—at Bon Bon, at Ponyville, and at the world—into her magic. The energy shooting from her horn tripled in strength and size and her body felt like it was about to hollow out, but she kept going.

There was a sound like shattering glass and the Unicorn was flung backward through the air. She slammed into the cave wall with such force that her vision went black as she slid down the wall. She collapsed on the floor and stayed still. Pain erupted in every part of her body and her lungs refused to work. For one terrifying moment, she feared she was going to die deep beneath Canterlot with nopony knowing where she was.

“N…No…” She couldn’t do that to Bon Bon. The thought of her wife spending the rest of her life alone, wondering what had happened to her, overpowered the pain and forced her to stand.

The Unicorn took several deep breaths as she stared at the floor, trying to stop her head from exploding. Finally, she felt well enough to look around.

She was deep in the cave system beneath Canterlot; deeper than she and Bon Bon had ever gone, and probably deeper than anypony in known history had been.

But somepony had been here at some point. Somepony had built the door that stood before Lyra, and somepony had placed the sealing ward on it. The same sealing ward that Lyra had just destroyed, thus allowing her access to the door and the secrets beyond.

Despite her excitement, the Unicorn couldn’t help but feel a small amount of terror. That ward had been placed for a reason. It had been powerful, and it had used magic that Twilight Sparkle wasn’t even familiar with. Had it been to keep ponies out, or keep something in?

“Only one way to find out,” Lyra mumbled to herself, trying to brush her fears aside. She grabbed her torch with her magic—the vibrating crystals that usually lit the caves didn’t form this deep—and proceeded toward the door. She paused for just a moment when she reached it. She could still turn back. She could turn around, follow her route back to the surface, inform the Princesses that she had found and broken some sort of ancient seal, and everything would be fine.

“I think you’re a joke too!”

Lyra’s eyes narrowed and she put her hoof on the door. She’d show Bon Bon just how wrong she was. She shoved and was surprised with how easy it opened despite being made of solid stone.

On the other side of the door was a passage that slowly curved to the side until Lyra could see no further. A pastel green light flooded the passage, but as far as she could tell, there were still no vibrating crystals to provide the illumination. Curious, she took a tentative step through the door. When nothing happened, she began to walk down the passage at a careful pace, and kept her torch ahead of her.

When she reached the gentle bend in the passage, she had expected to find that the passage continued on. Instead, she found herself staring into a marvelous underground cave. The ceiling stretched high until she could no longer see it, and she suspected the length was even longer. A deep pool of water was sitting in the middle of it, with a narrow stone bridge leading from the far shore out to a small island of rock. A strange green mist was floating in the middle of the island, and she suspected that that was where the light was coming from.

Lyra shook off her sense of awe. She could explore the cave completely another time. Right now, she had to find something, anything, to prove that she wasn’t just a waste of a pony. She had spent years researching myths and legends, and a lot of her work had pointed her here. A rumor here, a scrap of paper there, and countless whispers in the dark; it had taken a while, but she had finally been able to piece together enough bits to tell her that something human-related was beneath Canterlot. Whatever this secret of the stars was, she was going to find it and bring it back as proof.

Then she wouldn’t be a joke to Bon Bon.

Lyra took a single step but she froze when a strong gust of wind tore through the cave. The air howled and pulled at her mane and tail. She had to lower herself to the ground and dig in with her hooves in order to not be blown back down the passageway.

“Where…in Equestria…is this…coming from?” the Unicorn asked as she struggled to hold on. She was Celestia knew how far underground. There was no way a wind like this could possibly exist.

“You speak?” a voice boomed through the cave. Lyra buried her face under her hooves and refused to move. She knew she shouldn’t have removed that ward! Now whatever was in here was going to kill her, or worse. Why had she stormed off like that? Now she was going to—

“Answer me!” the voice boomed again, seeming to come from the very walls of the cave.

“Y-Yes!” Lyra said in a meek voice. “I-I’m sorry. I-I-I didn’t mean to…”

“You did not mean to speak?” the voice asked. “Strange. Are you under the oath of some god to hold your silence?”

“What? No, I just—”

“Have you come to finish you kind’s work then?” the voice asked in a dark tone. “I warn you, it will not be easy. Especially if you come alone!” The voice seemed to grow in strength as it spoke, until it was so loud and forceful that Lyra feared it would smash her into paste on the cave floor.

“I haven’t come to finish anything!” the Unicorn cried, still terrified to lift her head. “I swear! I was just looking for some sign! Some sign of humans!”

“Humans?” The energy in the air dwindled until Lyra no longer felt its menacing presence. “How strange for a beast of the world to seek such a thing.”

Beast? Lyra thought, slightly offended. She wasn’t a beast. She was a pony.

“Well, perhaps I can offer assistance.” Lyra peeked out from under her hooves. The green mist on the outcropping swirled and condensed. It slowly began to take shape and Lyra couldn’t help but stand up and watch.

First the mist solidified into the torso and chest of minotaur. It took the form of rippling muscles, then two arms followed, each toned beyond reason. Lyra watched in wonder as the hands took shape, and she couldn’t help but feel excited as each digit took shape from the mist.

“Don’t be stupid,” she told herself. There was no way. Even her mind knew it wasn’t possible. She had instantly called the phantom a minotaur. No doubt that was what it was. She suspected that the ancient legends of humans actually had their origins from minotaurs and had just been changed over the many years. There was—

Lyra’s breath left her mouth as the legs formed. They weren’t cow legs. They didn’t bend backward. They were muscular, just like the arms, and bent forward. They bent forward!

She watched as feet—actual feet!—appeared at the end of the legs. She did a quick count to be sure. Yes, there were five toes on each foot!

Was it possible? Could this phantom really be…?

The green mist began to swirl around where the phantom’s head would be. Lyra held her breath as it slowly took shape. First she saw a strong jaw appear, but it didn’t jut out from the face like a pony’s. Next came the mouth and the two lips that were easy to identify on the familiar and yet strange face. The nose formed next, looking ridiculous and useless with its small size. Next were two eyes, spaced evenly apart just above where the nose ended. They gazed straight at Lyra like a predator, but she was too enthralled to look away. The ears followed almost immediately; two little nubs on the side of the head. They looked to be rooted to the face and unable to move like a pony’s, but they were almost covered as the curly, thick hair appeared on the head, followed by a beard that ran the length of the jaw and cheekbone.

“You’re a…” Lyra stammered. She felt tears in her eyes as she stared at the phantom before her. Celestia and Luna, if she was dreaming, she never wanted to wake up!

“I am, or rather, I was a human,” the phantom said as it stood on the stone island in the middle of the pool. He made a fist—that was what it was called, right?—as a sword appeared in his right hand. He raised his left arm to his chest and slammed it against his chest. He nodded slightly. “My name is Orion.”

Author's Note

So that's something I've always been wondering about. If humans don't exist in Equestria, why is there a constellation of the hunter Orion in their stars? We know it's him, because what other constellation named Orion has three stars in its belt? So that's where this story came from.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this. I have no idea if I'm following the prompt correctly, but I did my best.

The Constellation

The Constellation

Lyra’s cheeks were hurting, but she hardly noticed as she continued to smile relentlessly. She was certain her eyes wanted to burst from their sockets, but she refused to allow it because she didn’t want to miss a second.

“So you were a warrior?” the Unicorn asked as she sat next to the phantom. She was mimicking the way he was sitting, allowing her hind hooves to dangle over the edge of the stone island just as Orion’s feet were.

Feet! With actual toes! On legs! She tried to fight her sequel as the thought crossed through her mind for the millionth time.

“Of sorts,” Orion replied. He looked down at his body and tapped his chest with his hand, indicating the leather armor he was wearing. “I partook in many glorious battles.”

“Oooo,” Lyra cooed as she scooted closer to him. “We have warriors here too, but nothing like you. Equestria hasn’t seen a real war in…I don’t know how long.”

“Equestria?” Orion asked as he glanced down at the pony by his side.

“Yeah,” Lyra replied, looking up at the phantom face. The eyes were so small, but she could see the intellect that they held. She wished there was a way to make Orion take his real, solid form, but she was still grateful for even this small wonder. “Equestria is where you are.”

“That is the name of the land now,” Orion said, his voice traveling off into memories that Lyra desperately wanted to see. “How long have I been imprisoned here?”

Lyra wasn’t sure what to say to that. The way Orion talked, it sounded like he had been trapped beneath Canterlot for time beyond memory. Of course, what she had managed to piece together about this place and the stars’ secret, he had been here for a long time. The stuff she had read about was beyond ancient.

After all, she was talking with a literal fairy tail that was supposed to be nothing more than a constellation in Luna’s night sky.

“What was your world like?” Lyra asked. Perhaps talking about his home would put Orion at ease. And of course, she would be able to learn about him and humans.

Orion laughed. “My world? My world was dangerous. It was full of trials that destroyed the weak. Only the strong, like myself, survived.”

Lyra gulped. That…wasn’t what she had imagined human society would be like. “What types of dangers?”

“War was what most chose to prove themselves in,” Orion replied. “I served in battle for a while, but a life of combat was not what thrilled me. My thrill came from the hunt.”

“What was that?” Lyra asked, happy that Orion was moving away from the more violent aspect.

“Great beasts roamed our world,” Orion said. A smile came to his face and his eyes flashed. “There was the Hydra, manticore, chimeras—”

Lyra’s ears stood up. “We have those here!” she said. “A hydra actually lives in a bog close to my hometown.”

Orion paused and looked down at Lyra for a long moment. He seemed to be thinking about something, but Lyra couldn’t tell what. She wasn’t used to reading human faces.

“And these beasts…are allowed to roam free?” Orion asked after a long time.

Lyra nodded. “More or less. We leave them alone and they keep to themselves. It’s actually really rare for any of use to see them.”

“Us?” Orion asked. “There are more of your kind?”

“Unicorns?” Lyra asked. “Oh yeah. There are also Pegasi and Earth ponies too. There’s quite a lot of all of us, actually.”

“Beasts…are in charge now?” Orion asked. Lyra wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Ponies are,” she corrected. “Well, at least in Equestria, anyway. The Griffons have their own kingdom, and I’m pretty sure the dragons have some form of—”

“Dragons!” Orion yelled, and Lyra recognized the glint in his eye as he spoke. It was the same look she got whenever she spoke of humans. “The winged beasts are here?”

“Yeah,” Lyra replied. “There’s even a baby one living in my hometown. He’s…different from most dragons though. Most of them are fire breathing monsters that would sooner eat a pony than talk to one.”

“Tell me, Lyra Heartstrings,” Orion said as he turned to face Lyra on their little outcropping of rock, “it sounds as though you live in a world filled with ancient terrors. Do you not fear for you life daily?”

“Pssh, no,” Lyra said with a wave of her hoof. She had to be careful that she didn’t lose her balance as she made the motion. “We’re far from defenseless. We Unicorns have our magic and the Pegasi have their wings. They’re actually descended from a tribe of warriors.”

“Yes,” Orion whispered as he nodded his head. “The one I knew of did not fear to charge into battle either.”

“Even Earth ponies can take care of themselves in a fight. Their strength is pretty intense. Some of them can destroy boulders bigger than a house with a few strikes.” The glint returned to Orion’s eyes. “And we have the Princesses.”

“Princesses?” Orion asked, his face suddenly going stiff.

“Yeah,” Lyra replied as her eyes slowly drifted down from Orion’s face and began to study his chest and arms. “There are four of them. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess—”

“Your princesses take the names of the sun and the moon?” Orion asked. Lyra recognized the look on his face this time. It was shock. “And they are not struck down for their pride?”

“Struck down by what?” Lyra asked, confused. “Princess Celestia raises the sun and Princess Luna raises the moon and the stars. So of course they’re named after them. It’s…actually kind of a weird concept.”

“Who is their queen?”

“Queen?” Lyra asked. “I…I don’t know. I don’t think there ever was one.”

“Gods…” Orion whispered.

“Excuse me?”

“My pardon, Lyra Heartstrings,” Orion said with a bow. “I was simply thinking about my own time. We had beings such as your princesses. One controlled the sun, another the moon. My father’s domain was the sea itself.”

Lyra felt her tail wagging under her bottom. “I had no idea humans could do the same type of magic as Unicorns!”

Orion let out a deep laugh that echoed through the underground cave as he threw his head back. “By Zeus, no. Thankfully. No, only the gods could do such things.”

“What’s a god?” Lyra asked. She had seen the term in several old texts, but she had never been able to understand what it meant.

Orion tilted his head for a moment and thought. “A god…is a very powerful human, I suppose. At least, that is the simplest way I can explain it to you. We built temples to them, and carved their likenesses in stone. We worshiped them at times, and at others we cursed them. I even went hunting with one once.”

“Well, we don’t have anything like that,” Lyra said. “But Princess Celestia does like to create great stain-glass windows of important events in Equestria’s history. They’re really beautiful.”

“Are they?” Orion asked. “I wish I could gaze upon them myself.”

Lyra’s eyes nearly popped out of her face. How silly of her. She had been sitting here for Celestia knew how long talking with a human; the very thing that she had spent most of her life believing in and searching for. She had endured boundless mockery and contempt for years because of her passion, and now she had proof. Irrefutable proof that humans were real.

And she was just sitting here, chatting with him.

Her thoughts wandered as ideas flooded into her brain. She’d be famous. Ponies from all across Equestria would want to interview her. Even the Princesses would be impressed. She would probably get commissions and job offers for unimaginable amounts of money. No pony would dare mock her ever again.

And Bon Bon. She could finally prove to Bon Bon that she wasn’t a joke. Oh, the look on her face when she saw how right Lyra was after all these years.

“Well, why don’t I show them to you?” Lyra asked as she stood up on her hooves. “Come with me to Equestria!”

“I cannot,” Orion said quietly.

“But why?” Lyra pleaded. “Please. You have to come with me! I’ve spent years trying to find any real trace of your kind. No pony will dare make fun of me once I show you to them. Even my wife, Bon Bon, will be impressed. You have to come with me.”

“You misunderstand my meaning, Lyra Heartstrings,” Orion said. He stood up and gazed down at her, his eyes fierce. “I would love nothing more than to leave this wretched cavern. The world you describe does not sound much different from the one I knew. New glories and challenges would no doubt be waiting for a champion such as myself, and songs would no doubt be sung of my deeds for days unending if I go. But I cannot leave this place.”

“But why not?” Lyra demanded, stomping her hoof in frustration. “I removed the sealing wards. And I’m sure you magic can keep you solid until we reach Canterlot. If you’re bound to something here, I can carry out if I have to. You have to come.”

Orion stared down at her for a long moment and he blurred. For a brief moment Lyra began to panic, fearing that he was starting to vanish, but then she realized it was because she had tears in her eyes. She furiously wiped them away.

“You seem like a noble soul, Lyra Heartstrings.” Orion looked up at the ceiling of the cavern as he spoke and his green light intensified. “I would aid you if I could, but you must assist me in my task first.”

“Name it,” Lyra said without a second thought. She didn’t care what Orion needed of her. If it was possible for him to come with her, she would do whatever it took.

“You spoke of the magic that sealed this cavern. I fear that it was my failing that resulted in it.” Orion closed his eyes for a moment and bowed his head. “It must have been put in place by the gods after I was unable to complete my task. What shame.”

“I…I don’t understand,” Lyra said. “What task?”

“A beast lived in this cavern. A monster unlike anything the world had ever seen. It threatened everything, and my task was to slay it. I promised Artemis and the other gods that I would deal with the creature. They offered assistance, but in my pride, I refused them. When I came to the beast’s layer, I found that it was greater than I had anticipated. But still I fought. I gave it my all, but we were evenly matched. For every blow I landed, the beast matched me. In the end, we both fell.”

“Oh,” Lyra whispered. She had known she wasn’t talking with a real human, but actually hearing that she was talking with a ghost was still a little unnerving.

“But our battle did not end, for I would not let it,” Orion continued. His eyes shot open and a rage burned deep within them. “I swore on my honor that I would not let the beast’s spirit lose upon the world. And so I fought on, even in death. The creature cannot leave this prison, but neither can I. We are still evenly matched, and so we both remain here. Neither of us able to fully defeat the other.”

“Well, you have me now. I’ll be that beast has never faced a Unicorn’s magic before!” Lyra puffed out her chest as she spoke, but then the feeling of bluster left her. Orion wasn’t alone in this cave apparently. Somewhere there was some sort of vicious monster. Was it watching her, waiting to attack? Was it lurking somewhere in the shadows? She hadn’t seen it when she had entered the cave. Was it a phantom like Orion, and just hadn’t showed itself yet? If so, what could it possibly be waiting for?

“So will you aid me, noble Lyra?” Orion asked.

Noble Lyra. She liked the sound of that. “Yes.”

“Excellent!” Orion drew his sword and raised it above his head. “Come, Lyra. Glory awaits us both!” With that, he jumped from the outcropping of rock in the middle of the pool and landed on the bank closest to the exit.

“Yes!” Lyra shouted and she almost jumped too, but realized she didn’t have a chance of making it. Instead, she walked across the small stone pathway and around the bank like she had to get to Orion. It wasn’t nearly as glorious as the human’s jump, but she decided she could leave that part out of her biography.

“So what is this beast?” the Unicorn asked once she caught up to Orion.

“A scorpion of unparalleled strength,” Orion said. He clenched his left hand and a shield appeared on his forearm. He began to move toward the exit slowly, his eyes searching the ceiling above.

Lyra stifled a laugh. “A scorpion?” she asked. “They’re just little—”

The ground in front of Lyra exploded in a cloud of dust and rock. The earth shook beneath her hooves and she stumbled backward, shielding her eyes and coughing frantically. She summoned her magic and raised a shield around herself for protection. Her eyes stung from the debris and she furiously rubbed them. Slowly, her vision came back, and what she saw made her wish it hadn’t.

“It is also unparalleled in size,” Orion said darkly as he stood before Lyra, his shield and sword raised.

A giant scorpion stood before the human. It was made of the same green haze that Orion was made of, but it seemed to bristle with energy around its edges. Its eight legs clicked as it picked itself up and they moved in unnerving synchronization. Its body was massive and was covered in an exoskeleton that looked more like armor than body parts.

Its two pinchers were the size of a full-grown stallion, and Lyra had no doubt that either one could easily snap a pony in half without any effort. The tail was twice as long as Orion, and the stinger at the tip was curved and dripping with poison.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, Lyra thought as a lump formed in her throat.

“Steel your nerves, nobel Lyra!” Orion shouted. “This thing is just a beast. It is beneath a man such as myself. And with your assistance, I will finally end it. Now, to battle!”

Orion let out a yell and charged forward. The scorpion’s stinger struck toward him, but he leapt to the side. The tip slammed deep into the rock, shaking the cave and sending up another spray of dust.

Orion charged, swinging his blade at the tail, but the scorpion pulled its tail free and whipped it away from the sword just in time. It lunged forward with its pinchers, snapping them at the human with terrifying power. Orion managed to dodge both strikes and delivered one of his own, slamming his sword against one of the pinchers. The blow echoed through the cave, nearly deafening Lyra, but it seemed to have no effect.

“Today you fall, Scorpio!” Orion laughed as he swung again. The monster blocked his strikes repeatedly with its pinchers. “Today, I shall be free from this curse!”

Scorpio hissed and jumped backward, something Lyra didn’t think a beast of that size could do. It landed away from Orion and spun around. Its tail came around like a whip. Orion raised his shield a second before the trunk of the tail slammed into him. The impact was enough to send him flying backward. He hit the ground and rolled once so that he came back up on his feet.

“You have not lost your bite, beast!” Orion shouted. He spit once, and then risked a look over his shoulder at Lyra. “Come, Lyra. As much as it pains me, I admit that I cannot do this alone. I need you to aid me in this battle.”

“I…I…” Lyra’s knees were shaking as she hid inside her shield. She had never seen anything like this before. Just one strike from that monster and she would die. She wasn’t a warrior like Orion. She was just a Unicorn who had an unhealthy habit of studying humans.

“Do it for Bon Bon,” Orion whispered.

“Bon Bon…” Lyra said. The words sounded strange on her lips, but then their meaning came back to her. She pushed her fear aside and forced herself to calm down. She was still scared, but she could move now. She would help Orion defeat Scorpio, and then she would introduce him to Bon Bon and all of Equestria.

“Ha ha! That’s the spirit!” Orion said as Lyra lowered her magic shield. He clapped her on her shoulder—she shivered as she realized an actual human hand had just touched her—and glared at Scorpio. “You gaze upon your doom now, beast! Yield to your better!”

Orion charged again, and this time Lyra charged with him. Scorpio raised its tail and struck. Orion jumped to the left and Lyra rolled to the right. She felt several small pebbles pelt her coat as she tumbled across the ground, but she managed to get back on her hooves and resume her attack.

Orion jumped back toward the tail, bringing his sword down with as much force as he could muster. Scorpio pulled its tail back, but not before the tip of Orion’s blade caught the edge. The beast seemed to hiss with pain as it swung one of its pinchers around. The back of the claw slammed into Orion’s chest and sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, and Scorpio pressed the attack.

“Leave him alone!” Lyra shouted. She fired a magical blast from her horn and it impacted against one of the scorpion’s many legs. The leg came up and twitched for a moment, but then it went back down and Scorpio continued to attack Orion, who was now rolling on the ground, trying to avoid the massive stinger strikes.

“Lyra, my sword!” Orion shouted as he rolled yet again, barely dodging the massive stinger. Lyra looked to the side and saw that Orion’s blade had fallen away from him. She nodded and reached for it with her magic, not entirely sure if she would be able to hold it. Thankfully the magic worked. She felt the hilt in her mind as she picked it up. She swung her head and the sword swung with it toward Scorpio. The edge bit into the same leg Lyra had attacked moments before.

This time Lyra knew that Scorpio was in pain. It let out a squealing hiss that was unlike anything she had ever heard. It scurried away from Orion, limping in pain, and then spun around. Its strange insect eyes fixated on Lyra, and the Unicorn knew she was in trouble.

Scorpio snapped its pinchers several times and then rushed toward the pony. Lyra froze, too terrified to move, but at the last moment, Scorpio stopped, its pinchers just inches from Lyra’s head.

“Now, pony!” Orion shouted. He had jumped up and was holding Scorpio’s tail. The beast thrashed violently, and Lyra could tell that Orion would not be able to hold on much longer. Without thinking, she brought his sword around and plunged it deep between Scorpio’s eyes.

There was a blinding flash of light and then a force slammed into Lyra so hard that she went airborne. She crashed against the wall of the cavern, and for a moment she feared she was dead, but when the pain flooded her body, she realized she was still very much alive. Slowly, she opened her sunglow eyes, half expecting to see a pincher or stinger coming right for her face.

Scorpio’s massive body was lying on the cavern floor, unmoving. Orion stood before it, glaring down at its corpse. After a moment, he reached down and grabbed the hilt of his sword, and then yanked it out. Green liquid was flung through the air as he did. He took one last look the giant insect, kicked it once, and then turned to Lyra.

“Well done, noble Lyra,” Orion said as he sheathed his sword. “At long last, I am free. Free to continue the hunt.”

Lyra struggled to stand. Every inch of her hurt, but she couldn’t curb her excitement. “Yeah. Now…now you can come…see Equestria.” She couldn’t wait to introduce Orion to Bon Bon. She was going to be so shocked.

“Indeed,” Orion said. “There is much to see, from what you have told me. Come.” Without offering any assistance, he turned and made his way toward the exit.

“Wait for me!” Lyra shouted as she stumbled after him. The caves beneath Canterlot were a maze. She didn’t want her prized specimen getting lost. She tried to run, but the best she could manage was a fast hobble. Panic seized her as Orion disappeared around the corner. She rounded it after him and stopped instantly.

Orion was standing in front of her, his arms crossed and his head tilted up ever so slightly. And in front of him stood the last two ponies Lyra expected to see.

“We are not surprised to find this one here,” Princess Luna said as she gazed at Lyra. “She seems to have a knack for finding trouble.”

Princess Celestia blinked slowly, her eyes shifting between Lyra and Orion. Finally, they came to rest on the Unicorn. “Lyra, what have you done?”

Author's Note

Chapter two, where Lyra gets to be a total fan girl about meeting the creature that she's always dreamed of. Now the question becomes, what are the Princesses doing there?

The Legend

“Uh…hey, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia,” Lyra laughed as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Um…what brings you both down here?”

“Art thou attempting to make a jest?” Princess Luna asked, her voice on the verge of shouting. “Why else would we come here?”

Lyra wasn’t sure if Princess Luna meant just herself, or her and her sister. “Uh…because you two like to spend your free time going on adventures like I do?”

“Lyra Heartstrings,” Princess Celestia said in a voice that sent chills down the Unicorn’s spine. She wasn’t loud like her sister, but the stern tone was must worse. “We are here because we both sensed the disruption of powerful magic. Are you responsible?”

“Um…probably,” Lyra said. She flashed a guilty smile. “I…may have broken an ancient sealing ward on the door to this cavern.” Princess Celestia glared at her and Princess Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Lyra continued before the Alicorn had a chance. “But it’s okay! Orion and I just defeated the monster that was trapped in here. The danger is gone.”

Princess Luna’s eyes went wide and she looked to her sister. Princess Celestia’s eyes finally pulled away from Lyra and narrowed ever so slightly as they looked up at Orion. It was odd seeing her tilt her head up at anything.

“Is that so?” she asked.

“Scorpio is dead, yes,” Orion replied. He still had his head tilted back a little, so that he appeared to be looking down in contempt at the two sisters. “Lyra helped me best it.”

Lyra could see the tension building between Orion and the two Princesses, so she quickly put herself between them. “Where are my manners? Orion, this is Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They’re the two I was telling you about. They’re the leaders of Equestria.”

“I see,” Orion said, not taking his eyes off of them.

“Your Majesties, this is Orion. Or, at least part of him. I’m pretty sure he’s a ghost, but what’s important is that he’s a human ghost! Can you believe it? An actual human! I’m pretty sure he’s the one that your stars are named after, Princess Luna.”

“That he is, child,” Princess Luna said, her gazed fixed on Orion.

“I knew it!” Lyra shouted. She jumped with excitement despite the situation. “Bon Bon is going to be shocked.”

“Tell me, Orion,” Princess Celestia said slowly. “What are your plans now that Scorpio is defeated?”

“I owe Lyra a debt, and I will see it repaid,” Orion said. He shifted his weight a little on his feet.

“And after that?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Lyra has told me a great deal about this world. I will take in its splendor and relish the new hunts.”

Lyra noted that Orion’s hand was slowly drifting toward his sword hilt. “Um…Orion? Is everything okay?”

“Is there no way to convince you otherwise, Orion?” Princess Celestia asked darkly. “You are free, after all. You may do as you wish. You do not need to remain in Equestria, or even in this world.”

Orion’s hand came to rest on the hilt of his sword. “There is not. I will not be denied such a fertile land, filled with so many beasts to hunt and slay.”

“Wait, what?” Lyra asked, stunned. “Orion, you can’t slay anypony. Most of them are sentient beings! And a lot of them are citizens of Equestria!”

Orion turned his head and looked down at Lyra. The pony shivered under his gaze. “I know,” he said, a smile coming to his lips. “The beasts in my world were just that: beasts. They could not talk, could not plan. They ran and fought on simple instinct. Once I understood them, they posed no challenge. But here? You are intelligent. You say that the other beasts here are as well. My blood pumps at the thought of fighting such a creature. A creature that can attempt to outwit me.”

“You have not changed,” Princess Celestia said darkly as she lowered her head.

“Of course he has not changed!” Princess Luna shouted. “He is pride, nothing more. The real Orion died eons ago, before even Star Swirl’s time. But this…thing refused to—”

Orion lunged forward and slammed his shield into Princess Luna. The Alicorn flew backward and crashed into the passageway’s wall. “I am not a thing, beast! I am the greatest hunter to ever walk the earth, and I will not be mocked by a mere—”

Princess Celestia’s horn glow with more magic than Lyra thought possible. The beam that shot from it plowed into Orion’s chest, flinging him back down the passageway.

“STOP!” Lyra shouted as she jumped in front of Princess Celestia before she had a chance to run after Orion. “You…he…he doesn’t…!”

“I will not stand by while my citizens are threatened,” Princess Celestia said. With that, she opened her wings and flew over Lyra’s head and into the cavern that had been Orion’s prison for so many centuries.

“The scorpion was not the monster, Lyra Heartstrings. It was the guardian.”

Lyra turned around and saw Princess Luna picking herself up. She rushed over, but stopped just before offering her help. “What…what do you mean?”

“All my constellations have stories to them,” the night Princess said as she dusted herself off. She took a step forward but stumbled. Lyra jumped to her side and helped. “Do you know the story of Orion?”

“He was a human,” Lyra said. “He fought monsters. That’s what the legends say, anyway. But…but I didn’t think he was real.”

“Many of the stories behind my stars are ancient, from before my time. Some of them are just stories, but all the stars have magic tied to them.”

“They do?”

Princess Luna looked down at Lyra and smiled. “How do you think they helped me escape my thousand year prison? I did not make the stars, just as my sister did not make the sun. And they were named long before I took over their rule.”

Lyra thought on that for a long moment. Princess Luna had a point. “So…does that mean that humans are real?”

“I suspect they were once.” The sound of fighting echoed down the passage, along with several flashes of light and explosions. “But Orion is not human. Not anymore. He is nothing more than injured pride given shape.”

“He seemed real to me,” Lyra said, her ears drooping.

“The story behind Orion is a tragic one. He was once a hunter, which is what many humans were. But he grew too prideful. He threatened to slay every animal in existence, and so he was struck down.”

“He what?” Lyra asked, stunned. She knew that the legends about humans said they ate meat, but that was insanity. What purpose could Orion have in slaughtering so many helpless creatures?

“The legend says that the animals chose their greatest champion, Scorpio, to face Orion. They struck each other down after a fierce battle, but Orion’s pride would not rest. It lingered, still devoted to his goal. My sister and I are not sure how, but somepony, or something, sealed Orion deep under ground, and Scorpio served as his warden. We were not even aware of him until Star Swirl told us many years after we had taken our thrones.”

Lyra’s heart sank. That was it then. Orion had tricked her into releasing him, and now he was going to hunt down every creature in Equestria unless he was stopped. And it would be all her fault.

“So much for my dreams,” she whispered as she stared at the ground. Tears came to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Bon Bon was right about her. Everypony was right about her. She was nothing but—

The passageway trembled as a flash of light filled it. “Ponder your mistake later, Lyra,” Princess Luna shouted. “Now, we must aid my Sister!”

Princess Luna shot off down the passage, her mane whipping behind her head like flowing starlight. Lyra watched her go, but she couldn’t find the strength to follow. She sat on the floor and listened as the battle flooded the passage.

“Lies,” she whispered as a tear fell from her eye. “He lied to me.” She was familiar with the word ‘hunt’ and she knew what a hunter was. Ponies didn’t eat meat, but other creatures did. Especially Griffons. Of course Orion saying he enjoyed the hunt meant that he would no doubt kill animals. The glint in his eye when she had mentioned so many different races had been so familiar because it was the same joy from passion that drove Lyra. Equestria would be a paradise for someone like him.

“And I knew it,” she whispered. “But I chose to ignore it.” She had been so caught up in proving how right she was that she had ignored common sense.

Screams echoed down the passage and Lyra jumped. She had to do something. Maybe she could convince Orion to stop and give up his hunt. Then he could see the wonders of Equestria. Yes, once he saw how ponies lived in peace and how her homeland flourished, he would no doubt change his mind.

The Unicorn stood up and raced back down the passage. When she entered the cavern again, she skidded to a stop.

The place looked nothing like it had before. The water in the pool had gone down so much that it was now barely a shallow pond. The outcropping of rock had been reduced to rubble. Chunks were missing from sections of the walls and smoke was still rising from several impact sites.

Princess Luna stood by Princess Celestia’s side in the shallow water, both of them ragged and heaving for breath. Princess Luna’s mane hung down her back like a normal pony’s, its gentle flow gone. Princess Celestia’s didn’t look much better, as it was barely moving and her tail was still. Both of them were covered in cuts and dirt, and one of Princess Celestia’s eyes was swollen shut.

Orion stood on the far bank, breathing heavily but otherwise looking unharmed. He had a smile on his face that unnerved Lyra to the very core. He was enjoying this.

“Impressive,” he gasped as he held his shield in front of him. “You are both worthy of your godhood. But even a god can be slain. I only hope that the other beasts in this world prove to be as much of a challenge.”

“You…will never…get the chance,” Princess Celestia shouted, but Lyra could see her legs shaking.

Princess Luna remained silent, whether to conserve her energy or because she was on the verge of collapse, Lyra couldn’t tell.

“Scorpio was the only beast strong enough to match me,” Orion shouted. “What hope do two little magical horses have when I bested him?”

“Orion, stop!” Lyra shouted. She ran into the cavern and placed herself in front of the Princesses. “You can’t do this! Please. This is my home! Most of the animals in Equestria are friendly.”

To Lyra’s surprise, the grin on Orion’s face vanished and he lowered his shield a little. “Noble Lyra,” he said quietly.

“Please, Orion,” Lyra pleaded as she slowly walked toward him. “You’re everything I’ve been searching for my whole life. You’re proof that humans were real. You don’t need to get glory from hunting animals. All you have to do is come with me, and you’ll be famous. Everypony will talk about you. Your story will be passed on for generations.”

Orion closed his eyes for a long moment. Lyra hoped she had gotten through to him, but that hope vanished when he opened his eyes again. “My story will be sung by beasts, not by man. The very creatures I am meant to hunt, to kill, and to rule over, will tell my tale? There is no honor in that! If you wish me to stop, noble Lyra, you must do so the same way Scorpio did. By defeating me.”

“No!” Lyra shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears. Orion lunged forward, the tip of his sword aiming straight for her. The Unicorn closed her eyes and waited for the strike to sink into her neck, but at the last second she felt something yank her tail. She lost her balance, fell into the water, and then she was pulled through it. Her stomach and chest screamed in agony as they were dragged across the rocky surface.

“We must stop him, Lyra,” Princess Celestia said as she pulled the Unicorn out of the water by her tail. “He cannot be reasoned with.”

“We can barely match him, sister,” Princess Luna said as she fired a massive blast of energy. Orion raised his shield and blocked the impact, but it was strong enough to push him back. “And he is made from magic that is older than we are. Imagine what he will do if he escapes to Equestria.”

Lyra stood in the small pool of water, her body aching, but the pain was minimal compared to what was in her heart. She had to do was give up on everything she had spent years working toward in order to save her home. So many books, so many legends, so many long hours of working into the night, combined with all the ridicule, snide remarks, and all the back hoofed insults she had endured, and now she had to throw all of it away.

“You’re right,” she whispered. She raised her head and narrowed her eyes. Her horn began to glow as she summoned her magic. “We must stop him.”

It felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She fired her magic at Orion and a scream of despair left her mouth as she did. It didn’t matter what other ponies thought of her now. She had to stop Orion, or Bon Bon would be in danger. She could not allow that to happen.

Orion rolled to the side as Lyra’s attack shot past him. He came up in what Lyra assumed was a combat stance and charged into the pool. Princess Luna rushed at him, firing blast after blast, but Orion sidestepped them all until he closed the gap. He swung his sword at the Alicorn’s head but she ducked in time. The blade’s edge cut several strands from her mane, but otherwise the blow left her unharmed. She reared up on her hind legs and slammed one of her front hooves into Orion’s face, but the blow did little more than irritate him. He lashed out with a kick that caught Princes Luna in the stomach. She doubled over and Orion slammed his shield into her body, knocking her into the water.

“You will not harm my sister!” Princess Celestia shouted. She took to the air and dived straight at Orion. She grabbed several large pieces of debris with her magic and launched them at phantom again and again, driving him back from Princess Luna’s crumpled form. Some pieces he blocked with his shield, others he batted away with his blade, but some found their mark, slamming into his chest and legs.

Lyra saw her opening and she took it. As Princess Celestia attacked from the air, the Unicorn charged Orion on the ground. She waited until Orion raised his shield to block a large stone and then she fired. Her magic slammed into his knee with enough force to knock the wind out of even the toughest stallion, but Orion merely flinched. He turned his head toward Lyra and glowered at her, but she charged him anyway.

“Foolish beast,” he said. He swung his shield as hard as he could as Lyra closed on him. The Unicorn caught the strike full force. Pain crashed through her body as the blow lifted her off of the ground and sent her across the cavern. She hit the ground and felt something pop in her shoulder as she skidded across the floor.

Lyra stayed still for what seemed like a lifetime. She felt like she was drowning in pain as her body burned. She coughed once and felt something gush from her mouth and splatter on the ground.

This wasn’t good. Lyra had hit Orion with the strongest magic she could and he had barely flinched. Princess Celestia had blasted him down the passage with enough force to level a mountain and it hadn’t even slowed him down. How could he be defeated if the Royal Sisters couldn’t even hinder him?

“Ow…” Lyra opened her eyes. Dim green light filled her vision, the same shade as her coat, and for a moment she feared she was looking at her own body, but after she blinked a few times she realized she was staring at the corpse of Scorpio. Its face was just inches from hers. Its dead eyes gazed through her as she looked at the gaping wound in it. She had done that. She had freed Orion from his prison and killed his guard.

An idea sprang into Lyra’s head as she stared at the fatal wound. She had done all of that, but she had done it with Orion’s sword. Her magic had had almost no affect on Scorpio either, but Orion’s sword had bitten into Scorpio’s leg and killed it with no effort.

Lyra forced herself to stand through the pain. She looked at the dead scorpion’s phantom body and her eyes settled on its stinger. She wrapped the wicked tip of it in her magic, fighting against the pain as she did, and then took a deep breath.

“Please work,” she whispered.

Lyra pulled with every ounce of her being. She knew her magic didn’t do much against whatever magic created Orion and Scorpio, but it did have some small measure of affect on them. If she focused enough, then maybe she could—

The tip of Scorpio’s stinger tore off with a wet ripping sound and Lyra stumbled backward. She tried to stay on her hooves, but her body refused and she crashed onto the ground. She nearly blacked out, but she fought back the darkness as best she could.

There on the ground in front of her, pale green light still dripping from the torn end, was the tip of Scorpio’s stinger.

“I…I did it,” she stammered. She grabbed the severed body part with her magic and once again forced herself to stand on her hooves. Her stomach felt hollow and she nearly threw up, but there was nothing but dry air and pain. She coughed several times, but she made herself put one hoof in front of the other again and again until she managed to stumble back to the edge of what had been the pool.

“You fight bravely, even if you are beast gods!” Orion shouted. He ducked as Princess Celestia swung a broken stalagmite at his head and then he rushed forward, slashing with his sword. The Princess barely had time to bring her improvised weapon around to block. “But you tire, as all beasts do.”

Lyra’s hooves touched the water in the pool and she began to collapse. She did not have the energy left to make it all the way to where Orion was. Even holding the tip of the stinger with her magic was becoming too much for her.

“Hold on, little one,” Princess Luna whispered as caught Lyra on her back. “You are not spent yet.”

“Princess Luna,” Lyra whispered, the words tearing at her throat. “Get me…close to him. I just need…one chance. I’ll make up for all of this.”

“You have a plan?” Princess Luna asked.

“Magic…to beat magic,” Lyra said.

“Go with haste then,” Princess Luna replied.

Lyra felt the warm embrace of magic cover her body as the Princess lifted her into the air. A second later, Lyra was launched like an arrow. She struggled to hold the tip of Scorpio’s stinger in front of her with her magic, but it was too much. It slipped from her grip, and in a desperate move, she clenched it between her front hooves as she flew toward Orion.

“Orion!” Lyra shouted, forcing the name from her throat.

Orion whipped around to face Lyra. Their eyes met for a moment, and then shock flooded his face.

Lyra slammed into Orion. She felt the stinger press into his chest, piercing his armor and breaking his ghostly body. They tumbled to the ground and remained still for several seconds; Orion on his back and Lyra laying on top of his chest with her hooves holding the stinger.

“Noble…Lyra,” Orion whispered after a moment.

“I’m so sorry, Orion,” Lyra replied, afraid to open her eyes, but then she felt a hand stroke her cheek and her eyes snapped open.

“Do not cry for me,” he said. “To meet my end…at the hands of a noble beast like you. There are…worse fates. I am sorry…I could not aid you as you did me.”

Lyra reached out to touch the hand stroking her face, but she felt nothing but her fur. Stunned, she looked to where the hand should have been but saw only empty air. She looked down and saw that Orion’s arm was slowly fading away.

“Farewell, noble Lyra,” Orion said.

“Orion?” Lyra asked as her body sank to the cavern floor. The phantom flashed a warm smile and then faded from view.

“It is over,” Princess Luna said.

“You have done well, Lyra,” Princess Celestia added. Lyra felt a hoof on her shoulder, but all the Unicorn could do was stare at the ground beneath her. She was filled with so much emotion that she was afraid she would burst if she moved.

“Come, Lyra Heartstrings,” Princess Luna whispered as she lowered her face next to Lyra’s. “You have had a long night. I am certain Bon Bon has grown worried.”

Lyra was raised up and placed on Princess Celestia’s back. “It is a long walk back,” the Alicorn said in her gentle voice. “Would you like me to carry you?”

Lyra simply nodded.

* * *

The knock on the door startled Bon Bon so bad that she fell off of the couch. Her head smacked against the floor and she groaned as something soft fell on her face. It took her a moment to realize it was Lyra’s pillow. She gently put it aside and tried to pick herself up, but found that she was tangle in a blanket.

“I’m coming!” the Earth pony called in a sleepy voice as the knock came again. She untangled herself from the blanket and looked at the clock. She had been up practically all night, waiting for Lyra to come home. Apparently she had fallen asleep.

The knock at the door came again, a bit more forceful than the last two times. “I said I’m coming, Lyra!” Bon Bon called as she ran her hoof through her mane. “Honestly, you live here too. You have a key to the—oh.”

“Good evening, Bon Bon.”

“Er, uh…hello, Your Majesty,” Bon Bon said as gazed up at Princes Celestia. She had been expecting a mint green Unicorn at the door, not one of the co-rulers of Equestria. “Would you like to come in?”

Princess Celestia smiled and it was then that Bon Bon realized that she looked like an utter mess. Her mane was tattered and frizzled, her coat was covered in dirt, and her eye was bruised. “I’m afraid I must decline. It has been a…trying night, as you can no doubt tell.”

“Are…are you okay, Princess Celestia?” Bon Bon asked, and then a horrifying thought popped into her head. “Where’s Lyra? Is she okay?”

“She will require a few days of bed rest, which I am certain you will not object to,” Princess Celestia said with a wink. “Otherwise, she is fine. She and my sister are out front. We simply came to deliver her into your care.”

Princess Celestia turned and walked away and Bon Bon quickly followed. She immediately saw Lyra and Princess Luna sitting on the yard out front, gazing up into the night sky. She wanted to rush over and hug the Unicorn, but it looked like she and the Princess were having a deep conversation.

“Luna?” Princess Celestia called. “Bon Bon is here. You and I should best get back to Canterlot.”

“Agreed, sister,” Princess Luna said. She stood slowly and her legs wobbled for a moment, but she regained her balance. “Good night, Lyra Heartstrings. Good night, Bon Bon.”

“Your Majesties,” Bon Bon said as she bowed to each Princess. The Two Alicorns rose into the starry sky and flew away, leaving Bon Bon and Lyra alone in the night air.

“Hey, Sweetie Drops,” Lyra whispered without looking away from the sky.

“Um…hi, Lyra,” Bon Bon whispered. “Are…are you okay? Princess Celestia looked terrible and Princess Luna seemed to have trouble standing.”

Lyra let out a short laugh. “Yeah, it was a rough night. I’m going to be sore for a while probably.”

“What did you do?”

“Oh, you know me,” Lyra said with a shrug. She still hadn’t looked away from the sky or even turned to face Bon Bon. “Just…wasting time looking for humans.”

Bon Bon was about to ask how that simple hobby had ended up involving both of the Princesses looking like they had just crawled through Tartarus, but she saw that Lyra’s shoulders were trembling. Slowly, she walked up to the Unicorn and sat down next to her.

“Did you…find anything?” she asked as she too gazed up at the stars. She shot a quick glance at her wife’s face and saw that her eyes were gleaming. “You better have if the three of you came back looking like that.”

“Heh,” Lyra said. She wiped her eyes and fell back on the grass. “Ow! Okay, that probably wasn’t the smartest move.”

“Lyra, I’m sorry,” Bon Bon whispered as she turned and looked down at her Unicorn. “I…I didn’t mean those things. Forgive me?”

“Are you going to cuddle with me or be sappy?” the Unicorn asked with a grin.

“Cuddle,” Bon Bon said as she nuzzled down into the crook of Lyra’s foreleg. She pressed her body against Lyra’s and looked up at her, but once again she saw that the mare was gazing up at the stars. “Is that human constellation out tonight? What’s it called? Onion?”

“Orion,” Lyra said quietly.

“Yeah, that one,” Bon Bon said as she looked up at the night sky. There were so many stars that she had no idea where to begin looking for Orion. “What’s the legend behind it? You’ve never really told me.”

Lyra was silent for a long time. So long that Bon Bon thought she had said something wrong, but eventually Lyra spoke. “No, Orion’s not out tonight. It’s summer.”

“Oh,” Bon Bon said, feeling a bit foolish. She knew at least that much about the Orion constellation. “Right.”

“But, I can tell you about Scorpio,” Lyra said. She raised a hoof and pointed to a cluster of stars. “See that group of stars right there? That’s his tail.”

“Uh-huh,” Bon Bon whispered. She had no idea where to look, but she was happy just to hear some of the joy return to Lyra’s voice. “What’s his story?”

“Well, he’s actually part of Orion’s legend,” Lyra began. “You see, Orion was a great hunter. A human hunter…”

Author's Note

Of course someone like Orion would be a threat to Equestria. He hunts the types of animals that live there for sport and glory. Those of you familiar with his legend should have already suspected what happened to him.

Anyway, glad this is done. Not going to lie, this story was a pain. Not from writing it, but from getting it approved. Had to try three separate times. First the description was too vague, then I didn't have the right tags. Spent all day trying to fix it and then tried again before I went to bed. If it failed a third time, I was just going to give up.

Hope you all enjoyed reading. Going back to my stories now, namely 'Bloodlines'.