Chapter Fifteen: What's Today's Mail?

Dear Prince Rising,

I’m glad to hear how the Day Court is being handled between you and my sister. Especially with Luna having received ample amounts of sleep. Ever since she had become the Princess of the Night, sleep has been a difficult task for her to find in between her duties over the dreams of ponies as well as the Nightly Courts. It’s turned her into a night owl with the unfortunate results of having very little personal time together whenever we cross paths in the mornings and evenings. Though with the changes that have happened even before you arrived, I suppose I should be grateful for having more chances of seeing my sister.

I can tell you’d roll your eyes reading that sentence.

Regardless, I am still happy that everything is fine within Canterlot and that the Courts are well in hoof. I will still be remaining here to ensure and cement some of the cooperation between Appleloosa and the local Buffalo herds, as well as making certain the three Diamond Dogs were acting alone and not under the admission of any tribes they belong to.

In the meantime, I do believe this is the time of year a dear friend of mine should be making her way towards Canterlot. While I’ll sadly miss out on welcoming her here from her worldly travels, I’m certain Luna will be able to fill her in on my absence as well as your presence while she awaits my return.

She’ll know her way around the castle and everypony knows her presence and are able to tend to her as well as any other welcomed guest, though I think it is best that I do warn you. She has a knack for tricks and pranks, though she doesn’t go too far with them ... most of the time. I’d rather not hear about her doing something and you chose to use any unequinely powers to either undo or “fix” her prank. Though I do suspect she’ll have the surprise of her life should that ever happen.

Despite that, I’m certain that the two of you may get along with each other quite well.

Your Friend,
~Princess Celestia

Prince Rising could only give a noncommittal huff as he set it aside and began finishing his daily hoof-writing practices atop a few couch cushions and in front of an open window, the sun outside shining and warming his body. Nearby the letter from Celestia were a few other letters from Twilight, three of them detailing “Lessons in Friendship” that had happened in an nonsensical adventure around Ponyville.

Rising set aside the aforementioned letter before picking up the next piece of correspondence. With a bit of using his hooves to unfurl the scroll, Rising began to read the rather scrunched up letter that came from Celestia’s growing pile labeled as “Letters of Friendship.”

Dear Princess Celestia,

Within Ponyville are three young fillies who have yet to earn their cutie mark. Apple Bloom, Applejack's younger sister exhibits a talent toward construction. Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister, has a melodious singing voice. Scootaloo, a pegasus filly, loves zooming around on her beloved scooter, going fast and performing tricks and stunts while riding it. Despite their obvious talents, they band together and engage in all manner of crafts and activities in their search of obtaining their cutie marks. Even when I have attempted to steer them to their strengths, in order to sooner obtain that which they desire, they have chosen to ignore sound advice and race around doing many things in order that they might get their cutie marks. Tonight, the three fillies participated in a school talent show. It was clear that Apple Bloom wasn't involved in the construction of their props or backdrops, due to their haphazard appearance and unstable construction. Scootaloo obviously wasn't involved in the choreography as their act consisted simply just a bunch of leaping, jumping and racing around the stage. Sweetie Belle despite her involvement in creating their lyrics and costumes, didn't stand out using her amazing singing ability. The costumes were confusing, looking like splatter paint art, but with fabric instead of paint. For their efforts, they earned the laughter of the audience, instead of the adulation and ovation they were likely aiming for. However, in spite of the dangerous props and backdrops, the uncoordinated dancing, if it could even be called that, and the confusing and crazy-looking costumes, they did win the talent show in the best comedic act. And yet, instead of pursuing their strength they now appear to be pursuing ... being comedians? And yet, I myself have learned that true friends will stay by your side, regardless of how many times I, or anypony may fail at something. A true friend will always be supportive and encouraging, celebrating our successes and being the friend in deed whenever we fail. I, for one, look forward to seeing how their friendship develops as they continue to crusade for their cutie marks.

~Your Student,
Twilight Sparkle

Rising and the Legion could only give an amused shake of heads. It seems that children will always pursue the silliest of things. Though how exactly could that ever be a terrible thing? Children will always be children until they mature and grow past their fantasies and daydreams.

Placing down the letter, Rising’s attention moved over to six smaller letters addressed specifically for him. It’d be an understatement to say how easy it was to guess who had written and sent these letters, especially since Rising could still recall the conversations between the six mares about writing back and forth.

Speaking of … .

Salutations, Prince Rising! I hope this letter finds you well as I have no doubt that you will be, if you already aren’t, inundated with lessons in various fields and getting your hooves wet learning and executing Equestrian law. My friends and I desire to show you our little slice of Equestria and our lives. Contained herein you will find the letters my friends and I wrote as well as some photographs that we took to show you around. In friendship, Twilight Sparkle.

Having already separated the letters out, Rising extracted the first letter and began reading what was written, the first coming from the farm mare, Applejack.

Howdy, Prince Rising! My name's Applejack! Hope you’re as comfy as a squirrel in a nest of acorns!

My family, the Applejack family, had the humble start as seed collectors, uptill Granny’s Pa met Princess Celestia, who offered them a bit a wild land in exchange for taming and cultivating the land given them. Figured you would need a photo to see how things look out here. This barn that Granny, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and I are standing in front of is the original barn that Granny and her family first built when they were just starting to farm what would eventually be known as Sweet Apple Acres.

The old green mare is my Granny, she has a lot of wisdom and knowledge. She taught me everything about being a farming mare, and that it’s important that the produce we sell be of proper quality. It’d look bad on us as farmponies if we’re selling bad or low quality products to our customers and clients and we don’t settle for that, no sireery!

The big red stallion is my big brother Macintosh. He’s the muscle and forepony on our farm. He works at all aspects of the farm, from planting to harvesting. I can count on him whenever and wherever! He’s not much a talker, but he knows how to get the word across.

The young filly with the pink bow tie in her mane is Apple Bloom. When she isn’t at school or helping with chores on the farm, you can often find her with her two friends as they do all kinds of things in their search for a cutie mark making its way onto their flanks.

Here’s a photo of our apple orchard. It's so big that we let some parts of our orchard go as wild as a dog with a bone tied to her tail. Every day, it’s just Mac and I working our hooves off out on Sweet Apple Acres, so letting some of the orchard go is a little necessary. One word of advice, you gotta run the farm, otherwise it’ll run you and you won’t be at your best or be able to make the quality products that you would otherwise.

Working in friendship, Applejack.

Already, Rising could tell that the mares were going to start spilling their life stories in their next letters. Though, the farm mare hadn’t completely explained every single little detail of her life here, so small blessings at that.

Really, what’s wrong with spacing your life out over multiple letters? It’s not like the receiver needs to know everything as soon as possible, and Rising was due to give Ponyville a visit later on in the future.

Having felt a little vindicated from the thought, Rising moved the letter and began reading the next letter.

Hello, Prince Rising. It was a pleasure getting to meet you. You can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that an alicorn stallion had entered the world stage. If you haven’t deduced by now, I am Rarity. To understand who I am, we shall go to the beginning.

Despite how I may sound and act like a noble or a filly belonging to high and upstanding cities such as Canterlot, I was born in Ponyville. A shocking revelation to be certain, but alas I was not to be born luxuriously in the great city atop Canterhorn Mountain.

As a filly in school, our class was putting on a play about the various food groups and the foods each group contains. I loved looking at fashion magazines and seeing how varied and dynamic the different styles of clothing could improve not only other’s perceptions of a pony, but the pony herself and the boost it could give to their self-image. My mother taught me how to measure fabric and how to use patterns to make a particular garment. So I would practice making clothing for dolls and by the time the play had arrived, I could make the costumes not only fit, but comfortable as well. But looking at those school play costumes, they just didn’t have that dynamos, that impact, that I’d seen in the fashion model magazines I read and treasured. Then my horn just lit up and pulled me away until it stopped once I’d hit a massive geode. Then an explosion of light and color cracked open this massive geode, wherein contained a rainbow of crystals. I cut and polished each gemstone and added the gemstone to the costumes, where the stage lights refracted off the gems, casting spots of rainbow colors everywhere. That was when my cutie mark manifested and I realized that my talent was bringing out beauty at whatever I put my hoof and mind to.

You can see the display room of my shop, the Carousel Boutique, where I display my finished works, both on ponyquinn and upon hangars. In the next picture, you can see my work room where I both plan and craft the garments that I create.

Here is a picture of my younger sister, Sweetie Belle, caught red hoofed getting into my amethyst gemstone dust, even though I have explicitly prohibited her from getting into my work supplies. Here is a picture of mother and father, Cookie Crumbles and Magnum dropping by to leave Sweetie Belle in my care, while they go on yet another trip to someplace exotic. Plotting Richeau, if memory serves. And here is Opalescence, my pet cat. While she’s aloof and very independent, she has quite a temper, expressing her displeasure through her claws.

Rising, when you get discouraged, remember that it is never a bad thing to pursue excellence, but you should know that you likely won’t get there alone. That is why the princesses have their Cabinets, relying on the experts of their particular field to guide and advise them regarding the matter as touching their expertise. I shall eagerly await to see what you will do, now that you are part of Equestrian Royalty.

Ciao for now!
~Rarity

Hence Rising's question about spacing one’s life through multiple letters rather than one was exemplified and well founded, as he placed the letter down feeling slightly put out. After taking a few seconds to pause from reading and refresh his eyes, Rising moved on to the next letter. Blessedly, this one was much shorter.

Although, what was going on with the mares reintroducing themselves by name rather than just putting them on the front folded half? Nervousness, mayhaps? The attempt of surprise, despite how that’s not really how you’d want to surprise someone in a letter? Or just didn’t know how else to start their letters and when one decided to just reintroduce themselves, the rest followed like lemmings?

‘Pfft.’

‘S’up Prince Rising? Name’s Rainbow Dash. Fastest mare to fly the skies, friendly or otherwise. I bring the kaboom with my Sonic Rainboom! I’m aiming to be a member of the Wonderbolts, an aerial acrobatics military team. When you’re counted among the Wonderbolts, you’re counted with the best!

But I didn’t begin as a pony who won at whatever she put her hoof to. No, believe it or not, I used to be a pony who wouldn’t even win third place, let alone first. But I had parents who loved and encouraged me. So I trained, to get just a little bit stronger than last contest, to be a little bit faster than I used to be. And, by the effort I put in, it began to show in my race results, as I began to win third place and then second place. I trained until I was winning first place in whatever contest I entered.

Here’s a look at the outside of my cloud mansion. Pretty awesome, right? I’m really happy with how the rainbows came out looking. It’s part of my passion, making awesome looking rainbows. Here’s the inside. There’s a lot of Wonderbolt memorabilia. I’ll be a Wonderbolt, once I can prove to them how awesome I am.

Here’s my weather crew for Ponyville. Don’t mind the silly looking charcoal stallion, he thinks he’s all that, but he’s still have yet to be as awesome as I am.

Here’s a picture of me with Scootaloo. She’s my biggest fan. At least somebody recognises how great Rainbow Dash is before she becomes a Wonderbolt, am I right? Anyways, I gotta jet. See ya, Rising!

Rainbow Dash

Again, with the reintroductions and signing their letters at the same time ... .

Getting past the grumbling, Rising took a look at the Wonderbolt insignia stamped on Rainbow Dash’s letter just to the right of her name. It wasn’t as flashy as he or the Legion had come to expect, given how the mare’s letter and photos clearly displayed how much of a fangirl she was for the Equestrian Air Force. But with it being a circle containing the words “Wonderbolts - Royal Equestrian Air Force” surrounding a lightning bolt with wings, and a motto underneath that Rising couldn’t tell what it meant other than being similar to Greek, he and the Legion supposed it was about as good as many of the other emblems and insignia that many human militaries used.

At least it wasn’t as bad as New Zealand’s Air Force’s logo. As much as their respect for the Kiwi can be given, having the flightless bird as the logo for your Air Force wasn’t recommendable.

On to the next letter, which promptly let out a bit of confetti and the sound of a noise maker, causing Rising to move his head back.

Hiya, Prince Rising! My name is Pinkie Pie and I love parties and friends. You ever need a party thrown, I’m your pony! Parties are serious business. Especially as a professional party planner, I have to be responsible and make sure that my parties are in compliance with the health and safety codes of the city and nation the parties I plan occur in!

Oh! Before I start, I want to let you know that I already consider you a friend, but I’d love it if you’d want to be my friend. And spread a little happiness and joy to someone else! You might be surprised at how good you, yourself, feel when you do!

But to understand me as a pony, I gotta take you back to a very important paradigm shifting event that happened to me as a young filly! So see, I grew up on a rock farm and let me tell you that rock farming is one of those activities that won’t strain your brain!

I was about to follow Father to rotate the rocks in the South field, when an explosion of light and color blasted away the clouds which usually blotted out the sky over the farm. It was so brief, so fleeting, yet so intense, that rainbow of light that raced through the sky. I felt something that was so utter alien and strange to Pinkie Pie the rock farmer! Happiness! Joy! I wanted to spread it, to share it with others, like a gift, to help make another pony’s day just a little bit better, and if they smiled, then that was a reward of itself! But how could I make that happen, how could I share this feeling with others?

And then I remembered an event that my Granny Pie had called a party. I had felt these same feelings before when enjoying her party! I zipped off to get the supplies I needed.—

Rising elected to fold the letter closed and moved it to a separate location from the other letters he had already gone through. Reading through the letter was like listening to an increasingly verbose skit and it didn’t take much for the Legion to quickly see that the party mare was one for long one-sided conversations. Though judging from the indication of how she planted her advice right before going into her life’s story, she seemed to have an awareness of it. He wouldn’t disrespect the mare by not reading the rest of it because of that. However, it was a letter meant to read in a far more leisurely moment, especially since Princess Celestia’s friend was due to arrive and her sister likely needed to be notified.

Looking at the remaining pile and seeing only two letters left and knowing which of the two Rising hadn’t read through yet, the stallion reached out with a hoof and began reading again. Recognizing Twilight’s hoofwriting from the Friendship Report, Rising settled down a little, assuming that she wouldn’t get as excitable as Pinkie would be.

Salutations, Prince Rising! It would please me quite well if my letter finds you well. You’ve met me before, but I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s protege. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at me and thought that there’s a pony that doesn’t have any problems! Because that assumption would be completely and utterly wrong! I went to see a Summer Sun Celebration as a filly. Seeing how majestic and powerful Princess Celestia was, I aspired to be like her. So I began practicing my unicorn magic with the hope of attending Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. To enter, I had to pass an entrance exam! You can imagine my crushing disappointment when I failed to perform the task assigned for my entrance exam. A sonic boom of light and magic startled me, causing my magic to run wild. Princess Celestia saved me and then not only informed me that my heart's desire would be fulfilled and that I would have the opportunity to attend Princess Celestia’s school, but that I would become her protege. Plus, I had earned my cutie mark as a consequence of that event. I was so happy, I leaped around her like a jumping gazelle!

This is the Golden Oak’s Library, where I work as the town’s Librarian and I live in a part of it which is roped off from public access. The little dragon is my son, Spike, who I hatched from the egg which was presented as my entrance exam about a decade and a half ago. Princess Celestia has tasked me with discovering friendship and reporting my findings to Princess Celestia. Rising, if you’re ever unsure about something, look to the books, for therein shall you find wisdom and knowledge.

In friendship,
— Twilight Sparkle —

... One would’ve learned after four thousand years to know better than to put assumptions like this.

Electing to ignore the snickering from the Legion, Rising placed the letter in a pile with the other previous letters and began to read the last letter, knowing full well who it was from out of the five he had already read. Surprisingly, Fluttershy’s letter was longer than the rest.

Dear Prince Rising,
I hope you’re having a good day, because I’d feel terrible if your day isn’t going well. I don’t know if you know, but as a Pegasus, I’m a weak flier, easily half to a quarter of the wind speed the other pegasus ponies get when measuring their wingspeed. As a foal, I was often seen as slow and clumsy because of how slow I flew and my penchant for tripping over things with my long, ungainly legs. Unfortunately, this led me to be a bully magnet, and my shyness around other ponies wasn’t helping. My friend Rainbow Dash can not only fly fast, but also pull off tricks which ordinary pegasi would either pass out from the blood going to places it shouldn’t be going, or they often tend to crash into something as they lose control from attempting maneuvers they just weren’t skilled enough to handle yet.

I was the starter for the race between my bullies and Rainbow Dash. I flagged the start of the race, but fell off the cloud I’d been on. It was very scary. Fortunately, a bunch of Herculoid Pinkwings and Bluewing butterflies had been passing below me, so that my fall wasn’t as fatal as it otherwise could have been.

It was so magical, seeing the flora and fauna of the forest. The squirrels with their cute cheeks puffed out with nuts filling them, or the deer, tall and stately observers of forest life. Then suddenly there was a loud explosion of sound and light and the animals got scared and went into hiding.

Being a shy pony and easily startled, I had empathy for the scared animals. So, I began to go around and let them know that it was safe to come out. I discovered that I could understand many animals and earned my cutie mark as a result.

Here is my cottage, where I live and where a lot of my animal husbandry activities take place. I take care of any wild creature in need of medical care. I also take care of both usual and unusual pets who would love to be a companion for a pony. Here’s me with Angel Bunny while I’m fluffing his tail. Here I am with Harry as I perform a massage to help with his back pain. Here I am, performing grooming services for Rarity’s pet cat Opalescence.

Here’s a picture of my mother and father, Posey and Gentle Breeze. They’re even shyer than I am, if you can believe it! Here’s Zephyr, my younger brother, who only does something that catches his interest for however long it catches his interest before moving on to whatever else catches his interest. Mom and Dad have really spoiled him, as he acts like an alpha lion and does whatever he pleases without concern or consideration for Dad and Mom, or their possessions. Dad has lost more than one of his special clouds from his time at the weather because of Zeph breaking Dad’s collection bottles. I just really wish that Dad and Mom would stand up for themselves and give Zeph the discipline and guidance he needs for living on his own.

Rising, fear will rob you of wonders and experiences, if you let it. Oftentimes, fear is due to a lack of information or understanding. If you understand what it is that you fear, then you can make progress to conquer the fear that makes you afraid.

Oh, and while it is important to show kindness to others, it is equally important to be kind to yourself as well.

— Fluttershy —

Many of the Legion could not help but elicited their surprise, seeing how Fluttershy was capable of taming and befriending wild animals within a day or so. Even to the point they were all willing to pose for a “family” picture, as Rising took a look at the given photograph depicting a large variety of animals, with every one of them recognizable.

Rising’s pale green eyes blinked before a memory resurfaced to the front of his and the Legion’s minds. Said particular memory was of his first sighting of Fluttershy with a doe during the first daylight hours of their awakening, as well as how the moment Fluttershy had left the doe alone after Rising had been startled by how the mare was able to speak in an understandable language to him, he had silently shot the animal and prepped its body for dinner... .

Oh dear. That may be best to not let the mare know... .

Listening to the uncomfortable muttering resounding from the Eternal Plains, Rising returned his attention to look at one particular letter that lay atop of a pile of its siblings, unfolded and filled almost top to bottom with a detailed report, if a little pseudo-militistaric. Its contents were still able to receive a curling frown and a hard gaze from the stallion and removed the awkward feeling from his little revelation.

Situational Report: Operation Stonehenge

From: Equestrian Division of Dangerous Magicks
To: Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia
Precedence: Priority Alpha
Incident Status: Complete

First sighting of a Basilisk was reported by a local apothecary zebra. Forced to flee, the zebra reported sighting to Princess Celestia’s Protege; Twilight Sparkle. A dragonfired emergency summons to the E.D.D.M was made in response. After appropriate preparations the E.D.D.M moved out, requisitioning Equestrian Air Force’s Pegasus Transport Division in order to arrive at their base of operations which would be located in Ponyville and operated out of the town’s Town Hall.

Basilisk: Class S magical beast. Recognized for its bipedal stance and the blend of reptile and chicken features. Is classified as such due to the capability of petrifying anypony who directly meets its gaze. Its teeth and claws also emit petrification magic. Unlike Cockatrices, which only petrify potential victims in a stone shell, victims which fall to the petrification effects of a Basilisk are unfortunately deceased, even when the petrification is removed.

Personal student of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and local animal rehabilitationist, Fluttershy ventured into the Everfree Forest, unwilling to await the arrival of E.D.D.M. due to reports of three local foals venturing into the main entryway into the Everfree Forest. Twilight was then separated from Fluttershy and fell victim to a Cockatrice. She remained in a petrified shell until Fluttershy had the culprit Cockatrice remove the petrification. Fluttershy successfully extracted both Twilight Sparkle and the three local fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

E.D.D.M. upon arrival, Twilight and Fluttershy were temporarily recruited to assist E.D.D.M. Twilight for spell knowledge, arcane prowess, and mana reservoir. Fluttershy due to the ability to communicate with a vast majority of animals.

Because of the S-class danger, E.D.D.M. agents made preparations, both lethal and non-lethal. Standard procedures of non-lethal methods were employed, with E.D.D.M. preparing to execute lethal methods, should the former fail.

Once preparations were made, E.D.D.M. agents moved out at approximately 10:45 early morning to their first navigation waypoint, the home of the aforementioned apothecary. The task was to sight the Basilisk in the area it was last sighted, or to discover its tracks or its scent and begin pathfinding our way to the primary objective.

Upon arrival at the first waypoint, E.D.D.M agents split into groups of three and began searching the area. Fluttershy had brought along a Bloodhound named Mr. Whuffles to aid in the search. Mr. Whuffles scented the Primary Objective and led the team in following its trail.

The E.D.D.M team encountered the Primary Objective at around 15:00. The team deployed camouflage canvas tarp to break the line of sight between the E.D.D.M. and the Primary Objective.

Temporary Civilian Agent Yellow Quiet was deployed as the E.D.D.M’s negotiator, while Temporary Civilian Agent Protege was deployed to protect Agent Yellow Quiet and subdue the Primary Objective.
Despite obvious reticence toward the negotiations proposed, Agent Yellow Quiet eventually prevailed and secured an agreement between Equestria and the Primary Objective.

Addendum: A strong strength temporary paralysis potion as well as a medium strength sedative had been employed to assist Agent Yellow Quiet. See the attached Form F13D3R41 for non-lethal tools employed to protect E.D.D.M. Agents from the Primary Objective. See also Form 3QU3S7R14 for a certified agreement between the Sovereign Nation of Equestria and the Primary Objective.

Report Submitted by E.D.D.M. Agent Aegis
Day 27, Month Sunflower, Year 0 L.R.
Completed at 17:45.

Rising placed the report down and took another moment to breathe, calming his nerves. A verified encounter of a Basilisk within the familiar, but quite alien Everfree Forest, the very same forest he and the Legion had awoken in. A wild fauna straight out of humanity’s folklore mythology; a bipedal and reptile-tailed lizard-chicken capable of petrifying any who met its gaze to stone.

How close had the creature been? How close had the two passed each other or nearly intercepted one another? How long had this Basilisk lived in the forest and not encountered them? Out of sheer luck? Or had it arrived as they left aboard the Princess’ carriage?

The Basilisk’s abilities didn’t frighten Rising, and he was in the firmest belief that he wouldn’t have died in the encounter. Afterall, having spent four thousand years working with beings that flatout defied reality and substitute it with their own in what others could sum as “Cthulhu Mythos”? At best it would’ve inconvenienced him, the worst with an unknown fauna however was the collateral aftermath, especially since Fluttershy had been in the forest at that time.

A fight between multiple powers of any sorts tended to rarely, if ever guarantee a clean fight.

Even worse was the alarming report that Twilight Sparkle had fallen prey to its cousin, a Cockatrice, and Fluttershy had raced into the Everfree to find three rambunctious fillies. The same fillies that were detailed in the previous letters.

’Remain calm, Rising. Given that the mares whom you have been introduced to are fine, it is obvious that the danger is passed. Do not behave as the young and foolhardy do, for they are quick to take action without either sufficient information, or lacking wise counsel.’

Rising’s wings twitched as he mutely acknowledged the Legionnaire speaking to him. Biting a retort, Rising continued to breathe in order to restore his calmness. It was after reading through the report several times that his apprehension was subdued regarding the safety of the mares whom he considered ... could he say it yet, his friends? He still hadn’t known them long enough, not even as long as Rising had been around the Princesses.

’But still. Fluttershy?’ Rising commented, baffled and confused, reading the operational report just to make sure he hadn’t misread it. The shy pony whom he first saw in Equestria? The one, easy to frighten and quick to jump at shadows? In spite of his incredulousness at the pony that he had been introduced to behaving in such a manner, the operational report contained verification of Fluttershy’s actions and accomplishments regarding the dealing with the Basilisk’s danger towards the citizens of the town in which she lived.

Questions upon questions plagued the Legion like a bacteria with the ability to multiply, many hours were spent as they debated within the Eternal Plains. What was this ability that caused a Basilisk to retract its behavior with unusual sapience and guilt? How did it function? How did this shy mare come across such an ability? This was certainly no ability from the Kingdom, for one.

Beneath the Operation report lay another report, this one titled ‘Fluttershy and the Stare Ability.’ One paragraph in particular held more significance rather than the whole.

It is important to note that visual eye contact is necessary for the Stare ability to work. Therefore, should something break the necessitative eye to eye contact the ability will lose whatever power over the target(s) upon whom the ability is activated. In the interest of scientific inquiry …

Rising had given it his best to understand the report, but with biological science and what limited knowledge he had with magic and whatever studies were done around magic, it was becoming increasingly clear that Rising was going to need someone to help explain this strange and, for him, previously unencountered ability of Fluttershy’s. It was looking like a trip to Ponyville for a powwow with Twilight and Fluttershy was becoming more and more necessary, if Rising was to have any hope of understanding the contents of Twilight’s report.

In due time, of course. There was no need to rush to solve this conundrum at this very instant, and there was no point in dropping everything that he was doing. Solving mysteries were best taken at a leisurely pace, otherwise one would find themselves going mad with demanding answers for everything. With that in mind, Rising returned to spend some of his time on the more immediate necessities, such as finishing writing another few lines of almost legible Equestrian.

After finishing his fifteenth line and finally, finally having achieved one clean sentence, Rising’s writing utensil hesitated, its motion temporarily arrested as Rising’s thoughts wandered to the gossip and rumor mongering the castle staff had been engaged in.

“Have you heard? Philomena is returning to the castle!” A maid excitedly exclaimed to her co-worker, as Rising at the time had been passing by with both letters and writing exercises held underneath his wings.

“No way! Does Princess Celestia know?”

“Have you seen her practically prancing lately? Of course she knows! She’s practically been beaming smiles ever since she heard that Philomena was coming back to the castle! Real smiles and not those fake political smiling masks that she usually wears!”

One of the Head Maids overheard and replied, “While I am sure that Philomena’s return is very exciting, let’s not prove ourselves unprofessional to Her Royal Highness and shame her by neglecting to execute our assigned tasks with the decorum and professionalism expected of Her Royal Highness’s Royal Maid Corps!”

Rising’s focus turned inward as the Legion began to discourse about this friend of Celestia’s, to which many expressed surprise that Celestia even had anyone she considered a friend. Usually she was seen with nobles, guards and sycophants, the former and latter having their own motivations and machinations for whatever time they spent in the presence of their Princess.

The Legion’s surprise was so great that Rising had to reread Celestia’s letter to confirm what they’ve heard twice, and even then some had to view the memory to ensure their sanity was clear and stable. Given such reverence that had been placed both on Celestia, it was hard to believe there was a mortal pony still alive that the alicorn could call a friend. Even her own student was guilty of referring to her mentor as a higher being, almost a goddess amongst mortals.

Rising’s eye twitched as he remembered just how much time Princess Celestia spent either within the Throne Room, her office and within the Canterlot castle in general. And a small flame of annoyance sparked within Rising as the half-hearted consideration to chide Celestia on allowing herself to be deified took root. It is one thing to be hailed as a ruler, but to let your name even be used in vain in a similar manner to how humanity took his Lord’s name in vain? And has done nothing about it?

Rising’s head straightened out, his eyes closing as several long breaths came and left his nose and mouth. The breeze from the window flowed through his body, lightly ruffling his fur as the stallion remained still. His actions were mirrored by the Legion as peace and patience swept away their roiled emotions. Frustration and anger at Celestia’s stubbornness faded as Rising’s eyes gently blinked.

A knock on the door interrupted Rising’s ponderings as he turned his head to answer, “Enter.”

The door swung open as Princess Luna trotted in, “Good afternoon, Rising. Still thou slave away at thine work?”

He merely shook his head as Luna came to stand close, “There’s always work, Princess. Though we happened to have received a letter from your sister. She mentioned a friend was coming to visit, if you happen to know anything about it?”

Luna gave a curious look and picked up the letter with a midnight blue glow from her horn and quickly read through the letter before giving a smile, “Tis Philomena our sister speaks of, and we know of her. Though t’was wise she warned thee of Philomena’s tricks and jokes.”

“Language, Princess.” Rising reminded, getting an eye rolling scoff from Luna before he asked, “You speak as if this Philomena has been around even before your absence, and implying further that she is of the same ageless state as you and your sister are.”

“She was and in a way, she is.” Princess Luna replied succinctly as she brought over a pillow for herself from the nearby and nearly barren couch to lounge on, “If thou art to correct me upon speaking then in the least do away with the formalities, Rising. Thou art a Prince, and an Alicorn at that. And disregarding thine status in the same manner as our niece Cadance, thou art our friend.”

Now it was Rising’s turn to roll his eyes before a thought occurred and his amusement fell as he turned to accuse the Alicorn, “Why do we have the feeling you’re intentionally not informing us more about this Philomena?”

Luna gave an amused smile towards him, “She was part of the reason why I had once possessed the Element of Laughter. You will see soon enough, and with luck I will warn her of not getting too out of hoof.”

The two fell silent before Luna shook her head lightly and spoke up again, "Philomena aside, I came here to talk to you about your magic.”

Rising turned to give a raised eyebrow at her as she clarified, “I meant with the magic within you as an Alicorn. Tis’ been many a month since, and you have not found time to be given lessons upon it.”

Luna awaited for Rising’s answer as he fell into a contemplative silence, his eyes swirling in color. At first, she believed he was considering the amount of time that had passed since his awakening as well as his current state. However upon seeing his eyebrows furrow and a worrying frown creeping upon his face, Luna began to reconsider.

She blinked in confusion and began to frown slightly in return as he stayed silent for quite some time. Surely, after having to lose his dexterous and nimble hands for hooves, having to learn to balance on four hooves and having to relearn how to steady himself, Rising would’ve at least been happier knowing that with telekinesis he wouldn’t need to use his mouth or rely upon other ponies to accomplish something for him. It had taken weeks for him to trot and canter without aid from either her or some of the Guards, and he was still struggling to hoof-write.

Even if he felt comfortable or patient with these challenges, he likely ought to have had some curiosity about his horn and his newfound link to pony magic. Not even to mention that he still did not receive a Cutie Mark, which has been an inconvenience to keep hidden from Equestria regardless of how Rising was able to make excuses to dodge the inquisitive ponies.

Rising snapped his head up, making Luna give a start before he said, “We figured it was better to be fully used to our body before we started any attempt on magic casting. Only those without wisdom attempt to use a tool before understanding its designated purpose and how to properly use it safely.”

Luna’s frown deepened at his vague answer, still uncertain as to what is troubling the stallion, “Regardless, I spoke with my sister and we deemed it agreeable to at the very least give you a tutor on magic.”

Rising gave an amused huff as he listed off everything that’s been handed to him, “History lessons, language tutoring, law reviewing, writing practices, Day Court attendances and now magical lessons? You ponies certainly know how to be slave-drivers.”

“Ha!” She barked in laughter, “Thou complain now, yet thou hath not been given any share of the bureaucratic Tartarus which both mine sister and I handle upon a daily basis! Thou art lucky thine hoof writing is terrible enough to let thee escape legislature!”

“We’ll be sure to procrastinate as much as possible. Also language again, Princess.” Rising teased as he moved his head down to finish another line, leaving the mare to glare at him.

Luna stuck her tongue out at him before silently watching the stallion continue practicing and working away at trying to write with his mouth before she asked, “Why do you seem so worried about practicing magic?”

His expression faded away as Rising began to try and guard his reaction to her statement, the Legion already rumbling and muttering again about the concept of him wielding magic. Some of whom had entered dream-worlds that held their own types and concepts of magic in some form or another, and some of those had access to said concepts.

And with every dream-world that they did, regardless of method and restrictions, the results quickly escalated to these few becoming unironically and unsurprisingly demigod-like, almost to a disturbing degree. Because with every sense, make and concept of magic, all it takes is one to experiment or have creativity to achieve a numerous of things that the denizens had never thought of.

One in particular dream that one of the Legion had contained magic following the concept of a human’s very soul being used as a weapon, and with each soul being unique in at least possessing one or two abilities or rather as they were called “semblances” used to fight off creatures made of darkness and lured by fear.

It wasn’t long until the dreamer rapidly “awoke” every single soul in the Legion. The sheer thrills of power, surging through their body and soul like electricity that gave the promise of total invincibility and the subtle belief of ascending to godhood with the thought of every foe that dared to stand and challenge them would fall like tall, rotten and broken trees succumbing to gravity.

The dreamer was driven into a state of giddy madness from the sheer magnitude of power that surged through their body and soul. The dreamer quickly and joyfully attacked everything in sight until their power-craze finally dwindled and left them to realize the trail of destruction they left behind.

That dream alone gave Rising and the Legion a significant concern. Even after waking up and living with Equestria for several months, the giddiness still thrilled down some of the Legion’s spines. And after perusing through the library and learning more about the magic that Equestria uses on a daily basis and in methods that defied math and physics and them being a part of the Equestrian population, and they were linked to this same magic, who knew what would happen?

On top of it all, a few of the Legion mused, how much magic would they be required to know? Telekinesis would certainly solve a great deal of his issues and perhaps even make up for the loss of hands, it could even give him an easier time re-handling weapons. But what else would they be told to know and cast?

With how Princess Luna was able to bend the light of the stars into whatever pattern she wished, what was going to be expected of him? Paint both dawn and dusk as he so pleased? Rising gave a silent and slow huff as recalled a few painting lessons, but that was from the life of someone else in the Legion and much to their begrudgement they were far from good with not a great deal of practice or bitter work made in it either.

Already, Rising’s attention began to drift. Memories of the past met his attention like wind being caught by gliding wings. The days in which several of the Legion were given the task of hunting and killing off those who practiced witchcraft, these beings who ignored, rejected and even mocked the warnings that their Lord had issued.

Oh, how such warnings were given grounds and proved why they were issued, as ancient memories, like kitchen servants, served dishes filled with the sights of bloodied altars littered with desecrated bodies and organs belonging to both human and animal. The disturbing feeling of blood and viscera soaking through leather or rubber shoes and staining armored boots. The smells of sacrificial essences that would ring the tables of stone or gold as the leading priest would verbosely vomit lies into the ears of the misled.

The sights still rankled them, sights of sculpted idols of gold, wood, iron or bronze sitting atop such altars, some holding hands out in false promises. All having been struck down whether through rope pulled by either the Legion or those they could sway from such lethal paths, the Legion’s maces or axes as their worshipers met similar fates as they cried to their false gods for salvation that would never come.

Satisfaction rose from Rising’s chest as the memories continued to drift through some of the Legion and gave a curl to one side of Rising’s mouth. Those were one of several tasks that the Legion was all too happy to oblige, even when great light and fire would arrive from the Kingdom as sudden as restless sleep and chide the Legion’s well-founded enthusiasm.

Rising felt multiple mental hands on his shoulders, bringing him out of his musings. He flicked his left ear to acknowledge the Legion before speaking up, slowly turning his eyes toward Luna, “It’s a matter of personal concern. Especially in regards to how powerful we’ve seen magic at work.”

The mare leaned her head to the side as she asked to clarify, “You speak of both Captain Armor’s abilities and the movement of both the sun and moon?”

“In a way, yes.” Rising blinked, his eyes flickering between colors of pale-green and amber, “Understand that we have our own power, one that towers over much of what we’ve seen magic do. With great power, comes great responsibility, and we prefer using our own physical abilities and cognizance rather than rely upon supernatural powers, even if it would save more lives from undergoing strife or conflict, or even if it would ease everyone’s pains in life. Whenever one or some of us feel we should, it leads to discussions that vary from a short second to almost weeks, becoming unresponsive to the world much like you’ve seen us do so in the throne room. This magic however, doesn’t seem to rely on rules or restrictions that can act immediately or preemptively upon any time someone decides to abuse it.”

Luna blinked a few times, her mouth hanging open just slightly so as she mulled over Rising’s answer.

Though it appears Rising wasn’t done, as his eyes began to change colors a few times before he said, “Additionally, there are our own grievances with magic and witchcraft. We can understand if you’re quick to defend against this, however if you were to see how magic and witchcraft was practiced during our species’ reign, you would understand our reticince.”

“... Dare I ask what was done?” Luna’s worry began to swell within her gut, her face already reflecting what she feared would’ve made the mare reluctant in discussing magic any further with Rising.

“Much of what is done in terms of calling upon unholy powers revolves around sacrifice and temptation. And by sacrifice we don’t mean losing a bit of wealth, donations or giving a bit of one’s day to protest or some sort of physical labor. No, we speak of sacrifice in extreme forms. Flesh, blood, livestock, family members, the mere action of murder or even incest. There was once a woman who used her developed, but aborted fetus as a sacrificial offering, hoping to prolong her lifespan beyond the age of ninety for mere vanity. Those who went down such a path usually have done so for only one goal: Pleasure.” Rising began to list off what he knew, “The mortal pleasures of currency, power, concubines, honor, the pleasure of an easy ride in life; sanctity and morality didn’t matter. Whatever attracted or seemed appealing to mortal life, it was wrapped in words, decorated with a pretty bow, and priced at the cost of their morals, their sanity, loyalty and sooner or later their lives and souls.”

With that, Luna felt her fear being realized as she listened to Rising before asking, “Surely there was effort to confront and prevent such darkness?”

“Indeed there was.” Rising gave a feral grin at the Princess, making her ears fall flat, “Us. And we will not deny we became eager in accomplishing such tasks.” His grin fell as he added with some embarrassment, “Though, such eagerness was quickly met with the occasional angel to chide us, reminding us of our duty and tell us off for indulging in our satisfaction and pleasure.”

Luna’s worry began to gnaw greatly within her stomach, giving her reason that it was better to not ask of the stallion’s involvement. Rising’s eyes were gleaming in satisfied memory, akin to the days her and Celestia would recall the happier days of their youth. Whatever Rising and the Legion had done during such times against such practitioners, it was clear they had been happily brutal and merciless. Luna feared she would need to leave and find solitude for a day and night away from him were she to ask or allow him to explain any further.

In an attempt to not go down such a path, Luna asked tentatively, “Were there no witch hunts performed by many of your race?”

Rising’s ears went backwards as a scornful noise erupted from his mouth and looked away from the Princess.

Curiosity and surprise replaced worry as Luna tilted her head, her ears perking towards the stallion and catching his voice uttering what she could easily guess were curses in an unfamiliar language.

It would be a while until Rising gave a grumble and turned back towards Luna and said, his voice taking a harsh tone, “There were witch hunts, however when you have dumb, emotionally led and easy to panic civillians all led like sheep by “priests” who thought themselves far too highly, and one malicious idiot, it quickly led to massacres that spread across the planet.”

’It didn’t help because of that evil and wicked idiot of a man, angry about how he could not hold the company of a courtisan, elected to write fantasy fiction about torturing women, in His name!’ Rising’s barely stifled anger was but a physical reflection to the responding rage of the unfortunate man of Denmark as his words rippled throughout the Legion, like a rock thrown into a pond and the wave of derisive agreement rebounding back to Rising.

Never in the entire length of four thousand years of history and memory, had anything else enraged the entire Legion. The spiteful action of a single man who had sworn service to their Lord and fueled such a spiteful revenge by utilizing His name to make it a “holy cause.” The Corruption of the Churches, the Jewish Oppressions, the Klux, not even the Crusades could give the same level of anger, even if they were related in abusing the Lord’s name for their causes.

Oh, how dearly any and all of them would have given to fly like lightning, Death in hand as they appeared above the masses like the fire above Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, obliterating the Germanic Inquisitor both in body and soul, and those who would foolishly defend him.

Alas, such a task was not theirs, and neither would their hands find their way to the man as he was allowed to live till old age.

Luna wilted under his darkening expression, surprised and unnerved by seeing the more thoughtful and observant stallion react increasingly vexed. She lowered her head closer to the ground and away from the stallion, ears nearly flat against her head, to which Rising noticed and began to breathe deeply with his eyes closed, calming the helpless rage of those infuriating years.

This silence would smolder over Rising’s resentments for some time before the stallion and the Legion began to quietly converse with each other. Expressing their distaste over witchcraft and admitting their hesitance upon having access to Equestria’s magic had given some relief to Rising. The tension and stress upon his metaphorical back suddenly felt lighter and not as pressing as it had before. While having company with those who knew you thoroughly and knew what pressures lingered on your mind was a boon in many circumstances and situations, it wasn’t the same as confiding with someone who didn’t, but was willing to listen to you.

Though judging by the Princess’ reaction and current demeanor, she may end up misinterpreting and misjudging him and the Legion when it came to Equestria’s magic. Only question in how to clear that up was how.

And then a stray idea appeared. As it passed by like a rabbit electing to cross an open field, a few of the Legion’s attention upon the idea made them become silent and ponder over it, similar to how a feline would take notice of something moving but show no interest in chasing after it.

‘However ... .’ Rising considered as he took notice of the idea. It would aid the Princess in understanding their hesitation by example, though how exactly would the others consider the action? Especially how would the Legion as a whole consider the idea of letting Luna within their Tower of Eternity?

Let alone allowing the Princess to witness that particular event?

Rising could only mentally look upon one of his many predecessors in the Eternal Fields, uncertain how to pose such a question.

The middle-aged Spaniard didn’t meet his eyes with Rising, but gave a low mutter in an old dialect of Spanish. Despite how Rising and the rest of the Legion could hear and know what the man said, no one spoke up for or against either of the men.

After a long while, several seconds of curses, grumblings and laments, the man shook his head before giving a flick with a hand, ‘It is a black mark from my history and I have nothing but shame and derision for what happened during that time, but if you feel it is wise, so be it.’

And still, none of the Legion spoke up and voiced their own opinions over the matter. This was in Rising’s hands and his alone ... .

Rising gave a long sigh, catching Luna’s attention as he began, “We apologize over our outburst, the Witch Trials during our time had been ... agonizingly frustrating. It still antagonizes us over what had happened and how little we could be involved. A lot of lives were lost over the publication of one fool’s religious maliciousness and an accomplice that aided him.”

Luna’s worried expression hadn’t dimmed, especially hearing how it had happened over religious fervor as memory served to remind her of the same religious hunting over her Thestrals. Though the tension in her body did lessen and give her some comfort of safety, knowing that she hadn’t pushed Rising too far.

The stallion remained silent for a minute longer, his eyes flicking left and right, indecision still plaguing him.

Finally, Rising sighed again as he asked, “Do you remember our warning when you intruded in our sleep? After our first night’s sleep in Canterlot Castle?”

Luna’s grimace was enough of an answer, as such an experience was significantly hard to forget … .

«««✧✦✧»»»

The Lunar Princess wandered whimsically through the dream realms, delving far and wide in her special pocket of the aether. It had been a week after her return from exile and from her corrupted self, but even after all that had happened and all she learned about Celestia’s plight, the Dream Realm was among the few things that couldn’t keep her sad or angry forever.

Luna flitted to and fro to each dream planet, aiding, guiding or simply observing until she found one particular planet that was colored completely different in contrast to the thousands of others she saw. What was most interesting was the clouds upon it, it almost covered the entire planet in a raging hurricane except for one ‘eye’ of the raging storm. The colors that were glowing were similar and it puzzled Luna as to what she was looking at.

She landed upon it and looked down on the ‘eye’, puzzled at how she still couldn’t discern what was happening below. All she could see was a spire of sorts and a land of green.

Confused and irritated at being confused, Luna decided to descend into the planet.

And was promptly met with a world of vibrant green and something holding her head down harshly.

Immediately, Luna squirmed and struggled, trying to see what was fighting her and holding her prisoner in the dream-like planet. After several seconds, she was angered enough to light her horn with magic and forced her hostage-taker and threw them off of her. Quickly, she staggered up and tried to see what was around her.

Instead, her sight was dominated with what seemed like hollowed tubes pointing at her, alongside a rapier and an axe.

Luna froze, not daring enough to try and fight back as she looked around. All around her, she saw weapons of various designs and of various types pointing at her, edges or hollowed tubes first.

Then she saw what, or rather who, were holding the weapons.

And she quickly realized whose mind she had delved in.

There were bipedal beings, all of them of different sizes, seemingly different genders if any observations from below their necks could be made, and of differing colors ranging from light pigmy pink to deep dark brown to the barest hint of yellow-tan.

“How foolish of you, Your Highness.” A familiar voice rang out from the encompassing wall of weaponry and staring bipedals.

“H-human?” She asked tentatively.

She was answered with one section of the wall parting to reveal the same human who she met and saw in the physical world, his expression no longer amused nor grinning.

No, this time he looked quite unhappy.

“The next time you wish to see in my head, ask.” The human stated, his expression not changing.

The wall of weaponry seemed to converge on her before she immediately blurted, “I’m sorry!”

The wall paused, just shy of impaling her and just shy of hiding the human from her sight. Luna slowly turned and faced the human before repeating, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your mind.”

“Unintentional or not, you are not welcome here.” He merely replied, his eyes shining against the metal sheen of several bladed weaponry, “Regardless, apology accepted.”

The human was quick to cut any question or thought Luna might have considered, “We do advise you not to be so willing to share this little experience, Princess. And please, do not return here unless in dire emergencies.”

A sudden lurch was felt from Luna, almost as if she was being yanked from above and the rest of her body was too slow to respond. The resulting throw made her feel ill as air escaped from her lungs as she suddenly was thrown out and away from the planet.

The experience was so sudden, Luna immediately awoke from the dream realm and lunged forwards from her bed, almost eliciting a short scream.

«««✧✦✧»»»

“Tis difficult not to, Rising.” Luna answered, the unpleasant and rude feeling of whatever the Human-turned-Stallion did to throw her out of the Dream Realm resurfacing. Her eyes narrowed as the mare looked at him with scathing resentment, “Thou may hast right in thy displeasure of my intrusion, howe’er thy stallion-handling still felt unnecessary.”

Rising’s own expression darkened slightly as he defended, “Princess, you were the first to enter our mindscape. Dreams and their eccentrics aside, we’ve never had anyone do so.”

The stallion’s expression switched on a dime as he shook his head and said uncomfortably, “Let’s not get off track. The reason we asked is because as much as I could sing day and night in explicit detail about our grievances and hesitation over Equestrian magic being ours to use, it's harder to understand someone telling you about our issues than it is to show you.”

Princess Luna blinked at Rising, her face becoming blank, “Rising, you’re allowing us entry?”

Rising’s uncomfortability and hesitation grew as his hooves shuffled underneath him, “As it so stands, yes. I am. Specifically, I’ll be guiding you to one memory.”

““I”?” One of Luna’s eyebrows quickly raised, “Am I to assume the ... others, aren’t as accepting?”

“I don’t know.” Her eyes widened slightly as Rising squirmed, “No one has argued to or for it. Our decision is unanimously mine ...”

A contemplative silence settled between the two as Luna's thoughts began to mull.

However, the Princess hadn’t gotten a chance to mull for very long, as three knocks on the door acquired both of the Alicorns’ attention. Luna’s memories were quick to take advantage of the distraction and reminded her of both the Day Court as well as awaiting Philomena.

Reluctantly, as she had hoped to prod Rising more about his latest decision, Luna got up and raised her voice, “Enter.”

A few seconds passed before the door opened to reveal Reginald Glass, regaling Rising once again with his enormous mustache as the stallion stepped forward and gave a bow, “Your Majesties.”

Luna returned with a nod, “Thank you, Reginald.” She turned her attention to Rising and said, “The Day Court awaits us both, and there is still some attention to be done before you meet our dear friend, as she most certainly will have heard of your presence and will want to see you. Are you finished with your mail, or shall we need to wait for you a little longer?”

Rising nodded gently, allowing Luna to levitate the piles of letters and reports on the desk nearby, “Yes, we are done.”

Author's Note

Been bashing my head a few times (figuratively) over this chapter, though before I knew it, we went past 10k and remembered about me trying to shorten chapters.
Again, I do apologize over both lack of update and how long this took, despite better late than never. Not gonna bore you with the details, just an accumulation of different things occurring at once and having divided attention.

Anyways, chapter down. Hope you've enjoyed it and can give feedback.
Aaaaaaaaaaad onto the next chapter!

no ive no idea what's going on with the "operation stonehenge" quoting format, and even better the ending decided it wanted to start right at the next paragraph. I figured it was better how it is now rather than leave the start and ending as quoted. My best guess is, quoting format does not like 5 or more paragraphs.