Chapters I love stargazing.
Many ponies like to stargaze. But I doubt they see what I do.
Many ponies like to lie on their backs, looking up at the stars lazily
Others like to look through telescopes, seeing the stars in greater detail.
I am not them.
I like to cruise just over the speed of sound while I look at them.
Crazy, you say.
Not really. You see, I am completely blind in both eyes.
Then how do I see the stars?
I see through magic.
Why the speed of sound, you say?
Because that's when things get interesting.
That is when the stars are the most beautiful.
It was the winter solstice, and although the sun should have been up by now, Celestia allowed Luna to have one extra-long night. Stargazers all over were looking at the night sky today, for there was a whole new set today. You see, these were the stars that only appeared during the daytime, and none of them had been seen since the return of Nightmare Moon.
Legend said that long ago, when large groups of unicorns still moved the sun and moon, the stars were created, and each unicorn made one star to call their own out of their own magic. The full tale was quite heartwarming. The stars were not necessary for survival, but a thing of beauty for all. Most thought it was just a legend.
But I knew better.
My magical sight was stronger and clearer when I was past the sound barrier.
I could see Luna's magic controlling the stars anytime. But it was only now that I could see the mark of each unicorn on each star. They were all unique, and they all had their own story.
That is why I needed to gaze at such high speed.
But I also found something a lot more unexpected.
There was an anomaly. One star, just one, had no magical signature. No unicorn had created it. Luna did not even attempt to control it. I only saw power.
No life magic. No pony magic. No chaos magic. No dark magic. No alicorn magic.
Just power.
What could it be? No magic? The only objects I knew that were completely devoid of magic were metal and stone. Maybe that new material, plastic. But a celestial body always had magic. That was certain.
So what was this?
Was Celestia hiding something?
I searched the sky more closely. What else was hiding up there?
Then I did see something. Just one other thing.
It was barely even magic. It was so far away.
It was so faint I barely noticed it.
It was emotion
It was Jealousy.
It was Anger.
It was Rage.
It was the Nightmare.
Chapter 1: A New Direction
My name is Starry Night.
I am a magical researcher by hobby.
I am legally 18 years old.
Physically, I'm more like 25.
My greatest achievement, in my opinion, would be figuring out how to go supersonic without the Rainboom.
But today, today was something different.
Today was the day I changed the way ponies thought about magic.
At least, I would try.
I formed the magic around me. For the past several years, I had researched magic. Earth pony magic, unicorn magic, and even pegasus magic when I could. Every bit of information was useful.
For you see, today I was attempting the impossible; the unthinkable. All respectable magical scholars would shudder if they knew what I was thinking.
I was attempting levitation.
I am not a unicorn.
I gathered the magic around me, mimicking the way I had seen Twilight do it on so many occasions before.
And I lifted the book in a faint blue glow.
I almost lost control for a moment in surprise.
But I still held on.
The magic, however, did not like being treated like this. It seemed to struggle with me, trying to break the form I had so carefully crafted.
I forced it back into place.
I'm doing it.
Of course, that was short-lived.
"Hi, Star!" It was Twilight.
The book exploded in my face.
It was a Daring Do book, so it probably enjoyed it. But I still wasn't particularly pleased.
"Oh, sorry. What were you doing?"
The thought of my success mollified my irritation.
"I did it, Twilight, I finally did it."
"I reproduced unicorn levitation."
Shock, worry, then determination.
"But that's impossible!"
This was a normal reaction from Twilight that I had expected.
The problem was, her tone did not match her emotions.
The problem was, I knew she was lying.
The problem was, I didn't particularly care.
She probably just already knew that it was possible, since she knew so much about magic.
She probably just didn't want to spoil my discovery.
But she did tell me not to try it again. It was quite unstable, and very dangerous. Unicorns did not accidentally explode the items they were trying to carry.
It was unusually difficult as well, so I was happy to refrain from trying again. I had proved my point, though.
Although each kind of magic was different, they could mimic each other given enough effort.
Onto my next project. I looked at my notebook of impossible tasks, flipping to a random page.
Find a way to fly without flapping any wings. At least, physical ones.
This was fun.
I walked back in from the balcony back into my room in Twilight's castle. Back to work again.
But something bothered me again. It wasn't really work , was it?
At breakfast the next day, I voiced my concerns to Twilight.
"I still kind of feel like I did when I was a colt, being taken care of by you. I just feel like I'm taking advantage of the fact that you're a princess now. I don't have to work, technically, but I feel like I need to do something to help out."
"You're doing magical research. That's helping. Think of it as working for me."
"No, not really. That's a hobby of mine, but does it really help you at all? I determine all of my projects, and none of them are for your benefit. I need a real job. I don't want to leave the castle, but I want to pay rent to live here. Pay for my own food. Something. I need a job."
Twilight got a funny gleam in her eyes. Magic works in strange ways.
"I think I might have an arrangement that will help us both."
"What?"
"Celestia has been pestering me for a while about something, but I've been trying to avoid it. This castle is almost as big as the one in Canterlot, even though it doesn't look like it from the outside."
"Yes, that's because most of it's underground. I already know that."
"Well, Celestia's been pressuring for me to get a staff."
"A wooden pole?"
"No, of course not. Ponies to run the place. But especially a guard."
"Oh."
"She was especially insistent on the guard. In fact, I got a letter about it today. I almost wish I could put a spam filter on Spike."
I chuckled, remembering how Celestia probably wished the same thing. There was this one particular instance where Spike got the hiccups too close to a pile of parchment.
"But the point is, I might be able to satisfy both you and her without changing much."
"Congratulations, Starry Night, you are now one of my personal guard."
"What?"
"Or rather, the entirety of my personal guard. Celestia didn't specify how many I had to hire."
I was still trying to wrap my head around the entire thing.
"Well, it's perfect. You don't have to move out, I can pay you officially, and Celestia can get off my case about the whole thing."
"But how am I qualified to be a guard?"
Twilight sighed. "You're actually perfect for the job."
"In what way?"
"You can fly faster than the speed of sound."
"Well, yes. But--"
"Silently."
"Okay. But--"
"You can see through walls. "
"You may have a point. But still--"
"And you can shoot lightning from your wings. "
I remembered that particular experiment. Rainbow Dash was still freaked out about that prank. It was too easy.
"All right. You win. As long as I don't have to do drills or something."
Twilight grinned. "You're the Captain. You decide whether you force yourself to go through drills."
"So nothing has changed?"
"Pretty much. The only thing I insist on is that you wear armor."
"But you said that I would come up with the rules."
"And I still outrank you. You're wearing armor."
I sighed. "All right."
"Don't look so glum. I already made special armor for you. I'm sure you'll like it."
"You already had it made? You had this planned, didn't you?"
"Actually, I planned to give this to you, anyway. It's a very interesting magical artifact."
She walked into her bedroom.
"Wait here."
I heard her rustling around in her closet. She came back out, holding something in her hoof.
It was a torc, similar to the ones that Celestia and Luna wore, and to my shock, I saw my cutie mark, made of three yellow gems, in the center.
It was clearly full of magical energy.
Then I noticed that she was very careful to hold it in her hoof, something she almost never did.
"Why are you---?"
"Holding it in my hoof? Because trying to levitate it causes a huge magical backlash."
"What is it?"
"Your armor."
"What?"
"This here is a bonded artifact. I actually have been making it for a while now. And recently, I've decided that I should finally give it to you. By the way, it's just one gem cut to look like three. I didn't actually find three gems of the same type."
I knew what a bonded artifact was. I knew that quite well.
"But gems of that quality are almost impossible to find! Why would you do this for me of all ponies?"
She struggled with that one for a bit. "Well, I thought that you would be the one that could put it to use the best. When I found this gem, I just couldn't think of another that could use it more. I already have something similar, although I don't wear it that often anymore."
"And another thing - how is this considered armor? It's just a torc."
"Well, put it on, then."
I lowered my head, and Twilight helped me put it on.
Immediately, the gem flashed with a bright light, and it started taking my magic. Rather forcefully.
But just when I was starting to get worried, it stopped.
Armor in the same color as the torc, spread out, covering almost my entire body, even the front edge of my wings.
Well, I didn't really know what color the torc was, but the magic was the color of silver, or maybe white gold.
I moved around experimentally. Surprisingly, it barely hindered my movement at all.
"Wow. That was strange."
"It looks pretty good on you, too."
"Couldn't you have at least warned me?"
"I told you it was armor."
"I mean, about the colossal magic drain?"
"Oh, right. I forgot about that. But as you can see, the armor is actually made from your magic. And no, it doesn't hurt you if you are hit. I got the idea when you first started using that air shield thing. But this armor right now, it's a lot stronger than the normal Royal Guard variety."
"How strong is it?"
"I could probably attack you right now with my full power, and you'd only get some light bruising."
"Wow."
"But it fails under prolonged attack of that sort. You aren't immune. But the armor is protected in other ways. As you already know, it has an enchantment on it preventing it from being levitated. That protects you from levitation as well. Although, most ponies can counter levitation just by concentrating a bit. But it could be crucial time. That enchantment is standard to Royal Guard armor. But this also has enchantments that prevent foreign teleportation, most varieties of mind manipulation, among others."
"How long did you spend on this exactly? I thought that bonded items had to be enchanted by the person they were bonded to anyway."
"That's why it took so long. I had to take some of your magic while you were asleep. It was replenished anyway by that sleep. But it took more than ten years."
"But why not just tell me about it?"
"It was a surprise. But anyway, you do have some work to do. I'm sure Celestia won't be satisfied with one guard, so I'm giving you the authority to hire and train new ones. But I want to make myself very clear: I don't want hundreds of ponies running around here. I don't want an army. The maximum is fifty, but I would prefer somewhere around twenty or twenty-five."
"Why the sudden change of plan?"
"I just realized something else. Of course, I can protect myself, the princesses know that. But I've started to realise something else. The other Princesses allowed be to be myself for a while, to let me get used to the position so not to be a shock. But now they're expecting a bit more. I now have to maintain a public image, unlike before. News is finally spreading about a new princess, although Celestia kept it a bit quiet at first. If ponies see me without a guard, it won't matter whether I need one or not. They'll think I'm being careless."
"So you're deciding to do what Celestia's been pestering you to do from the beginning?"
"Not quite. I am hiring a guard, but only a small one. I am hiring staff for the castle, but only to provide for the new guards that will be living here. I am doing what is necessary, but I am going to change as little as possible. I don't think Ponyville could take such a sudden change."
"But how am I supposed to train anypony? I have absolutely no experience."
Twilight tossed me a book.
"Then you'll just have to learn, won't you?"
I looked at the cover.
Royal Guard Training Guide
What was that doing in her library?
I studied that book, as well as many others on the way the Royal guard operated.
That made me realise how qualified I really was for the job. Between Rainbow Dash's training and my own personal studies in magic, I could train any guard, whether they be unicorn, earth pony, or pegasus. But still, I was unsure. Nothing beat experience, and I had little to none of that militarily.
But I had a starting point. Twilight wasn't asking me to lead thousands or even hundreds of ponies. She was asking me to organize a small group of ponies and train them. I could do that.
Above all, I was grateful that there was an already established Guard. It was a lot easier to get armor made that way. We didn't have to hire any blacksmiths. Or for that matter, artificers to place the necessary enchantments.
Celestia was happy to give Twilight twenty-four sets of extra Royal Guard armor.
Twilight merely had to modify the enchantments a bit. According to Twilight, she changed them to be the same color as my own armor: white gold. But they still looked purple to me.
The "uniform" enchantment was also changed. It changed the coat color of the pony to a shade of purple or dark blue.
I chose to hire twenty-four guards, because including me, that reached Twilight's recommended maximum. It was also easily divisible by 3. Eight guards of each kind of pony was sufficient.
I put advertisements in the places that advertised for the Solar and Lunar guards. I also made it quite clear that it was a lot more selective, as there were only a few slots.
And so the waiting began.
And Twilight, for the first time, started to put that humongous castle to good use.
She actually started hiring kitchen staff.
Mostly for ihe incoming guards, of course. Spike would still cook for her.
Spike was promoted from, well, himself, to royal advisor/personal assistant/head cook. Which he kind of was before, but this made it official.
The "barracks" for the guards weren't exactly barracks. They were more like personal living spaces. Like bedrooms.
This was great news to me.
I didn't want to live any different than the rest of the guard. I didn't really want this to be like the other Royal Guard, and neither did Twilight. Each soldier would live just like any other pony. The only difference would be in their training.
I would, of course, train them in basic Royal Guard practices. But it would go a lot farther than that. You see, Twilight could protect herself easily. Ponyville, however, could not.
I wanted them to be trained to my standards, and while not everypony could do a Sonic Rainboom, I would not let them train to the lowest standard.
They would learn my techniques. Techniques that, since they were not published yet, had not been seen before.
They would learn not to need armor.
I'm getting into this far too much, aren't I?
By the time I had started drawing up my lesson plans (and finally found out how to deactivate my armor), the first applicants had arrived.
There were actually quite a lot of them. Thank goodness I made sure that ponies could only apply either today or tomorrow. We would be getting applications every day for months.
But large numbers were not a problem. In my planning, I had come up with an initial weeding process.
With absolutely no disrespect to the ponies in question, I politely dismissed the ones with an average or below magical ability.
To the applicants in line, it looked like it was random. I didn't explain myself. In response to the complaints, I explained that I had every right to discriminate based on coat color if I wanted to. Pointing out that I was blind definitely did not improve their chance of being reconsidered.
I wanted to explain to them about my decisions, but I knew that was out of the question. I wanted to keep my abilities secret to the public. But even if I could explain myself, how could I tell a pony that he or she wasn't magical enough? Based on one look? I knew for a fact that such ponies were just as good as the ones I accepted, but they had different areas of expertise, ones that would be better suited to their special talent that they were so obviously ignoring.
The ones that passed my first test handed in their applications, and I set them aside to look them over later.
I told them that within the month, they would get their letter of acceptance if they made it. I of course had come up with this time frame, thinking that it was plenty of time, and I wouldn't have to rush with anything. I was quite wrong.
There would only be twenty-four letters of acceptance, so Spike could easily handle that.
But I didn't tell the applicants that. Receiving dragon-mail for the first time was a special event, and I didn't want to spoil it.
The next day, it was the same. There were, if possible, more ponies in line. They filled the front hall, the end of the line outdoors.
At least nopony could complain about the line moving slowly.
But ponies did complain about having to be there in person. Usually, applications could be mailed to the Royal Guard. But I pointed out to them that the Royal Guard was a lot less selective, which seemed to satisfy most of them.
I expected that.
I didn't expect my old friends to show up: the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Well, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Dinky showed up. Sweetie Belle was there, but not for the job. Her talents were elsewhere. She had merely come to see how I was doing.
They passed my initial test.
By the look of their applications, they actually were rather good for the job.
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. But I put it in the back of my mind for now. There were more ponies in line.
I got more complaints about the immediate rejection, especially one particular earth pony that was flabbergasted that his muscles would not guarantee him a position in the guard.
He was rather loud about it.
And he got up into my face.
And then he dared to mention my blindness.
He got a lightning bolt on his flank.
Not enough to actually harm him, of course. Just hurt a lot.
I didn't really have much trouble after that.
As the applicants left, I sighed. I didn't really like refusing any of them. Any of them could have been trained a Guards, and done quite well. But I had to get the best.
But I didn't just want the best, physically. I also wanted the best to be around. The ones with personality. So I made the effort.
Sure, I dismissed many immediately. But the few I considered, I talked with, as we discussed their application. And I made notes.
I wasn't just going to recruit those with the best statistics. Those notes held just as much weight, if not more, than those numbers. If Twilight taught me anything, it was that relationships matter. The new Guards wouldn't just be coworkers. They would be friends as well. Which reminded me of the Crusaders that applied. Well, it wasn't exactly a dangerous job per se. And the more I looked at it, their particular talents were rather useful to have in the guard. I just needed to be is unbiased as possible. Which brought my mind back to the gigantic pile of paperwork.
I had quite a lot of work ahead of me.
By the end of the month, I had finally picked out twenty-four applications.
Even without any bias, the CMC still made it through.
If I had any bias, they probably would have failed. I didn't like the idea of them leaving their jobs for this. But Twilight trusted them almost as much as me, and they passed all of my tests with flying colors.
I just had to get used to it.
At least we would be living close together.
I wrote out their letters of acceptance, placed Twilight's new seal on them, and Spike sent them out to each pony.
I didn't even have to tell them not to respond to the letter. It would be impossible without knowing the spell that currently, only four ponies knew about. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and I were the only ones that knew about it. Of course, I couldn't actually use that spell, but the theory was interesting.
When the appointed day came, everypony was (thankfully) all present.
I led them all into my newly established classroom, to explain how the Guard would function.
"As you may or may not know already, Princess Sparkle's personal guard is newly formed. As of right now, I am its only member."
A couple hooves immediately raised, but I knew what they were asking.
"Once you undergo the preliminary training, you are considered official Guards. As of right now, you are not. Questions will be answered at the end, however. Please refrain from asking them until then."
The hooves went back down.
This is actually easier than I thought.
"Since this Guard is so small, there are only two ranks, Guard and Captain. I am the Captain. However, if some of you show particular achievement or excellence, there is a third rank: Lieutenant."
"If you are wondering how these ranks translate to members of the Solar or Lunar Guard, well, they don't. We have no authority over any of them, and they have no authority over any of us."
"Pay is rather good. In addition to free food and lodging here in the castle, you will be given wages comparable to many civilian jobs. You could, if you wished, to live off of this money entirely, but I doubt you will want to. The food and living arrangements are quite good."
"Now, you may have some pretty good ideas of what to expect. Forget them. Don't get me wrong: your training will be hard. Very hard. But things work a little bit differently here. Except for official occasions, you will not call me sir. You will not call me Captain. You will call me by my name. It's Starry Night by the way, and Star among friends."
Several jaws dropped, then quickly closed again.
"In public, you will salute those that have a higher rank than yourself, which includes, me, the Princesses, and foreign ambassadors. In private, I want no such nonsense."
"I know that it is unconventional. But tell me, what is Princess Sparkle's title?"
About four hooves raised. I pointed to the first one I saw go up.
"The Princess of Friendship."
Somepony obviously did their homework. Not many ponies knew that.
"Very good. The Princess does not want an army. She wants ponies that represent who she is."
The confusion in the room lessened. But it didn't go away.
"Once you have completed your initial training, you will receive your armor. You will wear it at all times except for sleep. Don't worry, it's comfortable enough. Also, be advised that any weapons we may use are for show only. Once you have completed my training, you won't need to use any weapons."
"One last thing: I am your instructor. I did not hire instructors, because much of what I am teaching no instructor will be able to teach. Some of it, because it is to remain secret. Others, I just have not published yet. But I am your teacher. I will now take questions."
Almost all hooves were in the air.
I pointed randomly; there was no way to determine who raised their hoof first.
They seemed a little reluctant to speak. "What is it?"
"Well, I was just wondering, why did you dismiss some ponies just randomly? I know there were only a few positions, but it just seemed kind of unfair not to allow everypony a chance."
I smiled. "I think that the answer to that might resolve a few more questions. All of you must have noticed that I was blind."
Almost half the remaining hooves went down as as almost the whole class looked at me sheepishly.
"Now, this unfortunately has to remain a secret to the public, but you must know. I may be blind in both eyes, but I can see quite clearly. You see, before I went blind, I learned a technique called Magic Sight."
Another few hands went up.
"Unknown to most, this is not a unicorn-only spell. It is an actually rather simple skill that any average pony might learn. But it is difficult to master, unless of course, you have no other option."
"While this kind of sight has its limitations, it is quite useful in other ways. For example, I can see through walls if the object on the other side is magical enough. For example, I can see Princess Twilight right now."
Varying combinations of shock and interest went through the room.
"But to answer your original question, I did not dismiss those ponies randomly. I could not tell you this then, but the applications that I accepted were from ponies that had enough magic for the training that I intended for you to go through."
"So, you picked us, because we had enough magic?"
"No, I let the ones who had enough magic submit an application. I chose you based on other reasons."
"Like what?"
"Some of it was your statistics. Stuff you put on your application. But that was only half the story. You see, I talked with each applicant. Talked with each of you. That mattered far more than your application statistics."
"So, that was actually an interview?"
"In a way, yes. But I didn't want you to treat it as one. You see, I didn't just want ponies with skill, I wanted ponies with personality as well. The Princess deserves no less."
"If that answered your question, are there any more?"
Only a couple raised this time, and I pointed to the pony who raised their hoof first.
"You said we would wear our armor at all times. Where is yours?"
Oh. Right.
"Actually I am wearing it. It isn't standard-issue. I wanted you to see who I was before I activated it. You see..."
I released my will over the gem, my magic flowing into it.
My armor suddenly sprung from the torc, covering my body. Almost the whole class jumped in alarm, including my old friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
They hadn't seen me with it on, had they?
"...I actually do have it on."
Another ten or so hooves went up.
"No, unfortunately, you aren't going to have one of these. It is literally one-of-a-kind, and it is what the Princess based your armor off of."
They went back down again.
"However, your armor isn't going to be standard Royal Guard armor, either."
I brought out a set from behind my desk.
"Although it looks quite similar, and in fact is based heavily off of the Royal Guard design, it is quite a bit different. Traditional Royal Guard armor has an enchantment that changes your appearance, and an enchantment to prevent manipulation by telekinesis. This armor has the same enchantments, but has quite a bit more protection. It protects against foreign teleportation, and most forms of mind manipulation."
One hoof raised. It was Dinky.
"How are that many enchantments possible? The metal wouldn't be able to hold that many."
"A very good question."
I pointed to Twilight's emblem on the breastplate: a small, six-pointed amethyst.
"The enchantments are actually on this gem. The metal holds no enchantment. This central point of magic is actually very useful, but that is a lesson for another time."
"Anypony else have a question?"
One last pony raised their hoof tentatively.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but...how will you teach unicorns magic when you're a pegasus?"
"Actually, that's a very good question. I'm glad you asked it. Before Twilight asked be to become a guard, I was a magical researcher. I studied all kinds of magic. Unicorn magic, pegasus magic, and earth pony magic. Yes, earth ponies and pegasi are just as magical. Although pegasi cannot do unicorn magic, I assure you, I know more about unicorn magic than most unicorns do. But if you are so worried, I will give you a demonstration."
And with that, I levitated a pencil off of my desk.
One could almost taste the silence.
I set it back down carefully, being sure that it didn't explode.
"Now that, actually, is officially impossible. And quite difficult. But I believe it might alleviate some of your concerns."
"Any more questions?"
There was one more, from the same pony.
"If you were just a magical researcher, what prompted you to join Twilight's guard?"
I smiled. "I'm not exactly your normal magical researcher. I take a more...active approach."
"I'm pretty sure you recognize the name Rainbow Dash."
Lots of nods, as well as an "Of course." from Scootaloo.
"Well, she trained me. Taught me the Sonic Rainboom."
Several shocked stares.
"And then I found out how to improve it. And then I taught it back to her."
A pony raised his hoof.
"How exactly could you improve the Sonic Rainboom?"
"I made it easier to do. And then I found a way to silence it. How to cross the sound barrier without making any. The point is, I could probably ace any test on strength and dexterity. That is one reason that Twilight asked me to be her guard. Another reason is that she trusts me completely. And the last reason? Princess Celestia kept pestering her to get a guard already."
Several stifles chuckles went around the room.
"Oh, and another thing: Twilight does not like to be referred to as 'Princess Sparkle' or even 'Princess Twilight'. She usually prefers just 'Twilight'. While we are in the presence of the public, however, they expect something different, and we are going to give it to them. In the viewpoint of others, she is Princess Twilight Sparkle, or just Princess Sparkle, and that is how we are going to address her while anypony is around, excluding the castle staff and her personal friends. So, any last questions?"
There was one last pony with their hoof up.
"Yes?"
"When does training start?"
"Right now, actually."
Chapter 4: Basic Training
The basement of the Crystal Castle was large, spanning the entirety of its width. Quite a few floors were below ground, but this was the deepest complete floor, and so was designated the basement.
It was hardly ever used. It was enormous, almost half a mile across. It was perfect for training.
There were some floors below it that were no more than small rooms that made up the tree's roots, but ponies tended to get claustrophobic in those rooms, and Twilight only used them for her experiments that could blow up half of Ponyville.
But this floor was the largest in the castle. A run around the perimeter was a mile.
And so this is where I started Basic Training.
I'm sure if the residents of Ponyville knew, they'd thank me. Doing it outside would be unnecessarily disruptive.
Basic Training was uniform. Everypony was to perform the same regardless of race. Despite the still-present cultural differences between ponies, I knew that Earth Ponies did not have a specific physical advantage. Earth pony magic did not make you stronger, unless your special talent was athletic. Only the prevalent culture led to the tendency of unicorns being weak, and earth ponies being strong. There was no excuse.
And so I worked them hard. Very hard.
Almost as hard as Rainbow worked me.
But this time, I wasn't training to Rainboom potential. Or any other special goal. I was training them to a standard military potential. An easily achievable goal.
My group really did do well. They were rather good, physically, and within a week, all of them met my standards.
Normal Royal Guard Basic takes a month. I really had picked well. Or maybe it was just the Rainbow teaching method.
Hmm. Maybe I should call it that officially.
Anyway, they had all completed the training, and therefore, were now official Guards.
I brought out the armor sets from the "Armory", really just a glorified broom closet. Rarity lent me one of her outfit racks, and Twilight helped me reinforce it to hold the armor.
I passed them out, and helped them put their armor on. The unicorn of the group had the most trouble, as their telekinesis wouldn't work on them. It would just dissipate.
"As I said before, you will wear this armor at all times, except while sleeping. If you expect danger, wear them even while sleeping. I took the liberty of engraving each of your names on your sets of armor. They will adjust themselves to fit you---"
A couple of gasps as their armor did just that, either tightening or loosening, depending on the pony.
"---and I must say, is a vast improvement from the one-size-fits-all design. They should feel a lot more comfortable, now."
"And as you can tell, the cosmetic changes have taken effect."
Each of them was now a shade of blue or purple.
"But you still retain your individuality."
It really was quite an impressive feat of Twilight's. Most Royal Guard standard enchantments had two or three different forms per race of pony, but Twilight had managed to make sure that all twenty-four ponies could look different, if only slightly.
"What do you look like without your armor? I mean, we've only seen you with it on, before."
The question took me by surprise.
"What's your name?"
"Silver Star."
"Well, Silver, I actually look like this normally."
"Really? You just look so similar to the rest of us. Disguised, that is."
"I know. I keep thinking that maybe Twilight did that on purpose. But I am grateful for it. It would be strange for only one pony to look so much different than the rest."
"I am curious, what is different about your armor? I can see that it covers more of your body, but that makes sense. It's obviously custom made. But there has to be something more."
"Actually, there is a big difference. All the enchantments are the same as on your armor, but these are a lot stronger. Trust, me, Twilight fit as much protection as she could into those gems, but this is bonded armor."
I heard a familiar gasp as somepony came over. It was Dinky. She was, of course, disguised, but as I only saw her magic, she looked the same.
"Bonded armor? What is that?"
Dinky answered for me. "Only one of the most rare and valuable magical artifacts in Equestria. Why?"
"Apparently, that's what his armor is."
Dinky looked at me accusingly. "You could have told me something about this."
"Trust me, I didn't get this until Twilight made me a guard. Apparently she had been using some of my magic each night for years without me noticing."
"But what's the difference? You haven't told me yet."
"The difference is in the amount of power it can store. When you put on your armor, you can barely feel the pull. When I first put mine on, it took almost a quarter of my font."
"What does that mean?"
"Halfway to magical exhaustion. In other words, a lot. The torc part is the only part actually made of metal. The rest is solidified magical energy."
"Like a shield?"
"Yes, but most unicorns are quite limited in how strong they can make their shield. I don't have to expend the mental effort, and it's actually quite a lot stronger than a normal shield."
"How much stronger?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Okay, when she gave this to me, she told me that if she were to attack me with full force, I would only have light bruising."
"Okay, wow. That's strong."
"But she also said that it wouldn't last long that way. I would run out of my magic store in minutes, and be defenceless, anyway."
"But still--"
"Yes, I was surprised too. But she insisted that I have it for some reason. Anyway, now that everypony has their armor, I need to address them again."
"All right. Thanks for the chat."
I got everypony's attention.
"Okay, now, that you have your armor, you need to get used to it. Now everypony, let's go back downstairs. We're redoing Basic again. This time with armor."
Everypony groaned.
"Cheer up. Tomorrow you'll each have at least a third of the day to rest. We're going to start the interesting stuff."
Chapter 5: Things Get Moving
The next day, I decided to start eating with the guards in the newly established mess hall. It was a bit larger than it needed to be, but it had several round dining table that was perfect for small groups of ponies to talk to one another.
I needed to get to know my troops as my friends instead of just my students.
Specifically for today, however, I needed to talk with certain members without putting them on the spot. I gathered Swift Moonlight, a bat pony, Prismatic Ice, a crystal unicorn, Grizelda, a griffon, and Bright Eyes, who was currently pretending to be a unicorn, together.
"First of all," I said. "I don't want any secrets here. Drop the disguise, Bright Eyes."
The changeling reverted in a flash of green light.
There were several gasps. "Changeling!"
"It's just fine!' I shouted back to the offenders.
Bright Eyes was very confused.
I turned back to him. "Forgive the prejudice. Most ponies don't have very good memories of changelings, given recent history. Honestly, you shouldn't have made a disguise at all. All that did was make me more suspicious of you. I knew, of course that you were a changeling all along. I can see magic, remember?"
"You are among friends. I accept you for who you are, and I'm sure that when you get to know the others here, many of them will, too. You don't need to hide, anymore."
The reason I gathered you all here, is because today I planned to have separate classes, each specialized for each pony race. I just wanted to make sure you knew that while you will be assigned to the class that best suits you, I am not going to neglect each of your special abilities. But while you look different, remember that each of your classmates is just as different as you. Each of you have unique abilities and talents. None of you will be neglected."
"Also, notice that the armor enchantment either only partially worked, in the case of Prismatic here, or not at all. Bright Eyes, you can disguise yourself, anyway, but I would rather you not do that, except maybe in espionage missions."
"Why not?"
"Ponies need to get used to seeing changelings around. You are in a respected position, and a changeling that Princess Twilight reusts with her life is one of those things that could change ponies' minds."
"Swift, your colors are so similar to the rest of us, the lack of a change isn't really a problem, but if you want a change, I'm sure I can find a way to arrange that."
"No, I'm fine."
"Prismatic, you look just fine, but I am aware that as a crystal pony, others can see your emotions quite clearly. Your armor can be modified to change that if you so choose."
"I like it the way it is. There's no reason to change what I already had."
"Good. And finally, Grizelda, we modified the original armor to fit you. Is it comfortable enough?"
"It's great. A lot better than I expected, actually."
"Good. So Grizelda and Swift, you'll be in class with the pegasi, and Prismatic and Bright will be with the unicorns. I know that you can fly also, Bright, but I want you with the unicorns first. After that, you can transfer to the pegasi. I know that a changeling's wings are very strong, so that class would be too easy in the beginning. Training with your limited unicorn magic will be good exercise."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"And during class, feel free to practice your disguise ability."
"But I thought you said--"
"I want you to be undisguised for most of the day, yes. But during training, I expect you to practice your skills. I'm not telling you to stop being a changeling. I want you to practice your unique magic. But I don't want you to hide, either. I want ponies to know that being a changeling is just fine."
"Now we should finish eating. Breakfast is almost over."
I set the classes on a rotating schedule. I kept the first couple weeks simple, teaching one class at a time, and each pony got two-thirds of the day off, which they could spend either in the castle, or in Ponyville. This was my one exception to the armor rule. No matter how much I wanted to get my guards used to their armor, I didn't want to disrupt life in Ponyville, either. And it gave them a chance to walk around in their original colors again.
The classes had two parts. One was an academic section, in the classroom. The other was practical application. Physical training. In those beginning classes, the academic section was simple, teaching them how to act like real Guard members, immune to distraction, and exhibiting great professionalism. Things like how to hold a weapon. This was the same for all the guards, of course, and I could have taught it in a large class, but this allowed me to teach more individually, and I used these classes as filler until the academic section became really necessary.
The physical section was individualized training, specialized for each race. In the beginning this just meant more exercise, but specialized for race. Unicorns, in addition to their normal exercises, had magical exercise, strengthening their power and endurance. Pegasi, of course, exercised their wings. Earth ponies actually started their magical theory earlier than the others. They were taught how to use their connection with the earth to propel them along, reaching speeds exceeding an average pegasus in flight.
After those first couple weeks, guard duty started. Classes were the same length, but no pony had a class each day. Only four ponies attended each class, allowing me to work with each one individually, and for the first time, Crystal Castle had a guard detail.
I had finally succeeded.
Now, I wasn't finished yet. My Guards were up to basic Royal Guard standards, but I wasn't satisfied with that. There were fewer guards, and in my opinion, that meant they had to be just that much better.
There was still work to do.
Chapter 6: A Talk With the Princess
It was several months before I got a break.
I could, of course, had the authority to take a break at any time, but I wanted to make sure that my Guards were reasonably prepared.
You see, something was happening. Something big.
We needed to be ready.
And I needed to speak with Twilight about a few things.
And maybe Celestia as well.
You see, I had finally realised something that I should have known since the Winter Solstice. If the Nightmare was stripped of its magic, and banished to who-know-where-it-is that I saw, I shouldn't be able to see it. Period.
The Nightmare had regained its magic.
It was coming back.
That star bothered me too. Did it have some sort of connection?
Its existence made no sense. The creation of a star requires immense magic to create. It was only power, another form of energy separate from magic. I could see it, if only when I crossed the barrier. What was that barrier, anyway?
I mentally cursed myself for not allowing myself a break before now.
Maybe the Nightmare wouldn't come back for another hundred years. Maybe Equestria was safe.
Or maybe it was coming back tomorrow.
Twilight was reading in the castle library, as usual. It had expanded quite a bit in the past few years. Twilight was almost bouncing when Celestia told her that the old Everfree Castle library would be incorporated into hers.
It certainly helped with my own projects.
But right now, I was on a mission. Nothing would distract me.
Wait, is that really a book on pegasus magic?
...
Thirty minutes later, I remembered what I was doing.
"Twilight, I need to talk to you."
"What do you need?"
"I need to talk to you about last winter solstice."
"Wasn't that amazing? Thousands of totally new stars! I tried to catalog each one, of course, but there just wasn't enough time."
"Yes, it was amazing. And each one of them totally unique."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, each one of them was created by a different unicorn so long ago. It's a shame that those ones never got to be seen by anypony."
"So those old stories were really true."
My mind informed me that this conversation was getting off-track.
"Yes. But that wasn't what I was trying to say. I think I've told you before how I can see more when I'm past the sound barrier."
"Something of the sort, yes. Why?"
"Well, I was flying that night. The stars look so much better that way. Anyway, I noticed two...anomalies when I was searching the sky. If you know about either of them, I need to know."
"Anomalies?"
"One of them was a star not created by any mage. There was no magic present, only raw power."
"That...that doesn't make any sense."
"Exactly my thoughts. But there was another that made more sense, but the meaning is far more urgent. I can't believe that I missed it until now. I saw, further than the stars, even the moon, the magical signature of the Nightmare."
"But I thought it was destroyed!"
"Remember what Celestia said, all those years ago? Destruction is against the Elements' nature. They will contain, they will banish. But they will never kill. The Nightmare is alive, Twilight. And it is increasing in power."
"No..."
"I was hoping that you might be able to tell me what these objects were. But we'll have to talk to someone who was alive near the birth of the stars."
Twilight gasped with understanding.
"We need to talk with Celestia."
It was strange, being in Canterlot again.
This time, I was escorting Twilight as her guard.
Only for official purposes, of course.
I needed to be here just as much as Twilight did.
I liked Canterlot just as much as last time.
I still couldn't see anything.
Still, this time we were flying in. We could go directly go to the castle, without having to set foot in that accursed city.
Guards saluted as we walked past.
I felt almost as if we were foreign dignitaries.
Celestia met us in the same room as before.
I sat down with a lot more success than last time.
"You don't have to tone yourself down anymore, Princess. I've been around Twilight enough to get used to it."
"Thank you." Celestia reverted to her normal form. It was still quite bright, brighter than Twilight, but not by much anymore.
"I believe you wanted to speak to me about something. You said it was quite important."
"There are two things, actually. One of them is of pressing concern, the other, less so, but I believe it may be connected in some way."
"Last winter solstice, during the extra-long night, almost all of Equestria was stargazing, including me."
"I am very glad I allowed Luna that little treat. I doubt Equestria would thank me if I made the day that long, as well."
"But I saw things there. Two things that didn't belong. One of them baffled me. It was a star that contained no magic. IT was only raw power. The other alarmed me, but I believed Equestria safe at the time. I realised my mistake just recently. You see, I saw the magic of the Nightmare."
"Oh. I see. That is quite alarming."
"At first, I dismissed it. The signal was very weak, and very far away. I assumed that that was where it was banished."
"In which you are correct."
"But now I realise that the Elements stripped away the Nightmare's magic. She has somehow regained it. Soon, but I don't know when, the Nightmare intends to return."
"Yes, that much is certain."
"But I am very curious about two things."
"One, what is that star? Do you know anything about it? But that is not as important as the second thing. I saw the Nightmare. But if not the moon, where has she been banished to ?"
Celestia sighed. "I'm afraid it's time for a story. A story on how the stars were made. Why they were made. A tale of how the sun and moon came to be."
Chapter 7: Celestia's Tale
Celestia continued. "You see, before Discord reigned, there was no need for control. Weather controlled itself. The sun and the moon moved on their own. You see, the whole system worked on gravity. This planet, called Equus then, orbited around the sun. The moon, likewise, orbited around Equus. Everything was in balance. In Harmony."
Twilight stared open-mouthed at Celestia. This went against all known facts.
But it made sense to me. It made all too much sense now.
"Then Discord came to power. He didn't deliberately destroy anything, but he was irresponsible. The moon, the original Moon, was flung into a high orbit around the Sun, now collapsed into a white dwarf star."
"With no heat to sustain them, the ponies were dying. Discord saved them, of course; after all, what fun are dead ponies?"
Celestia shuddered.
"After we defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony, the world turned dark. Everything turned cold and desolate. Luna and I created the sun and moon you now see today out of our own magic. We took a portion of our already considerable power, and kept our ponies safe. But we were weakened, and ponies were not happy with us."
"Why not?" Twilight said, confused. "Didn't you save them?"
"Yes, we did. But we hadn't realised the extent of Discord's destruction, and in so doing, almost doomed them all. They were angry, Twilight. And in a way, they were right."
"We were too weak to be of any help, so we left. We left to live in peace. The ponies created the stars to cover up Discord's damage. Never again would a pony see the real stars, the distant stars. Never again would they find the urge to explore. They isolated themselves in their fear. And fear brings hatred."
"Everypony feared what they did not know, what was strange, what was different. They started fearing each other as well. They separated into tribes, and constantly fought. And so the Windigos came. The three tribes came together, and as you know very well, Equestria was founded. And we returned."
"Long ago we were made into legends, stories for ponies to tell their children. But now that we were real, ponies adored us. Forgetting our mistakes and remembering our heroism, they insisted that we be their rulers. You see, there was a grand debate going on. Who would be the ruler of this new nation of Equestria. Seeing our alicorn forms, it was a perfect compromise. Every race was represented. And they were. And we resumed control of the sun and moon."
"Why did you keep this a secret? Why not tell anypony else?"
"Because, Starry Night, I was frightened."
"Frightened?"
"If ponies knew the truth, if they knew what we had done so long ago, would they reject us again? Perhaps not now, but I was just so used to suppressing that truth that I had forgotten it. I'm sorry."
"So that star that I saw?"
"It is the original sun, now less than a hundredth of its original brightness."
"And the Nightmare?"
"Has been banished to the original Moon."
"But if there is no magic on that Moon, how did she regain it?"
"I...don't know. That is troubling. But we do have one assurance."
"And what is that?"
"The Elements of Harmony."
This time it was me who let out a sigh. "Somehow I don't think she'll allow herself to be beaten by the same trick."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Elements take about three full seconds to activate and fire. Suppose she moves out of the way."
"I understand what you're saying, but I don't think the Elements can miss."
"But even if that's true, just one Element missing, and the whole thing doesn't work."
"Plus, we have to think of the future."
"What do you mean by that?"
"As you said before, it is against the nature of the Elements to destroy. Even at their fullest power, they could only banish it to the moon. It is quite far away, but is by no means a permanent prison."
"Discord eventually broke free. Nightmare Moon eventually escaped. The Elements are a temporary solution at best."
Celestia thought for a moment. "What do you suppose we should do?"
"We need to strike first. We can't wait until the Nightmare becomes powerful enough to return. We need to ensure the future safety of Equestria."
"We need to go to space."
"How do you suppose we do that?"
"I have no idea! But I will find a way."
Celestia stood. "You have given me quite a lot to think about. You may go on with your plan. But forgive me if I make plans of my own. Thank both of you for bringing this to my attention. You may leave if there is nothing more you wish to discuss."
"Thank you."
Twilight and I started to leave the room when she motioned for me to stay outside.
"Just a moment. Princess, could I talk to you for a moment in private?"
I sat down on the stone floor of the corridor outside, my armor making soft clinking sounds against the stone. I suppose Inwas a bit curious about what they were talking about. But right now, the more pressing matter was my own.
How was I going to get to space?
Pegasi had a height limit, I knew that intimately. I had tested it quite thouroughly. In fact, my race with Rainbow Dash started at that limit.
I will always remember that day. In that moment, I thought anything was possible.
And it very nearly was. I remember the ease of how I retained that phenomenal speed, the way I could do impossible maneuvers, the way the air seemed to support that which was clearly impossible.
Wait. That was it.
The ambient magic may stop at that height, but does that magic, the other field past the barrier, do the same?
This was not impossible.
There was a chance.
Epilogue: On Top of the World
Twilight finished talking with Celestia, and we flew home.
If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed that she was acting a bit odd.
But I, for once, was not distracted by my new mission. It might actually work .
However, it would take an unimaginably long time . I studied old forms of orbital mechanics, and while they were long ago "disproven", they applied now. I knew what "high orbit" meant. I also knew what sort of distances needed to be traveled. It would take several months at least. Plans would need to be made to bring along supplies, like food, water, and air.
And what to do if we actually got there? Succeeded?
First, though, I would need to test my theory. No need to get ahead of myself.
So as soon as we arrived at the castle, and Twilight was inside, I took off again.
Twilight may have objected, but I was too excited to notice or care.
I sped up, and went straight up in the air, passing the sound barrier with a small boom .
I probably would have done a silent one, but honestly, I hadn't expected it to be so easy. I wasn't actually planning to do it yet.
It was quite a lot easier than last time. My magic abilities really had grown quite a lot.
I rocketed upwards, and I was right, in a way. This new magical field did reach a lot farther out than normal.
I contained some of the air into my "air shield", as I liked to call it, and went farther.
It did go into space. But unfortunately, it did have a limit.
It ended at a certain radius, probably somewhere around what some called the magnetosphere.
Maybe it should be called the magisphere as well.
Anyway, my air supply was running out, so I sped back towards the ground. Or maybe I should start calling it Equus now.
I am in space now, after all.
But the sound barrier wasn't quite enough.
Maybe. Maybe there was another way.
Another barrier to cross.
Sound wasn't the impossible barrier everypony thought it was.
Maybe the same could be said of light.
As it turns out, Twilight was angry with me. Something about taking off suddenly without telling her where I was going.
It's sometimes hard to remember that she can't hear my inner dialogue. I honestly forgot that I hadn't told her of my idea.
I told her my findings, although I left out the faster-than-light idea. Twilight tended to frown on crazy ideas that weren't hers.
She was quite interested in that separate magical field, and what it could mean.
But she didn't dwell on that long. There was something that she needed to tell me, and based on her emotions, she was reluctant to do so.
"You remember that discussion I had with Celestia?"
"The private one?"
"Yes, that one. It was about something that I probably should have told you ages ago. I just didn't know how."
"What do you mean?"
"I really should have told you when I first found out. The day I gave you that armor. The day you decided to dabble in the magics of the other races. And the day you succeeded with that task. You started the process."
"What are you talking about."
"You may have noticed a sharp increase in you magic. Maybe even a closer understanding of the magic of the other races. Perhaps a change in you own magical signature."
It had been a while since I had really looked at myself. My magic looked...different. In a way I couldn't quite identify. It just didn't look...didn't look quite like pegasus magic anymore.
"Starry Night, you are changing. It started the day you meddled with unicorn magic and survived. You are Ascending. You are, in essence, an Alicorn."
What.
