The Sun beamed gently down through the ornate windows of the Crystal Palace, as Princess Twilight and her friends made ready for Celestia’s visit. The news had preceded the Sun Princess’ arrival that she was bringing an honored guest, somepony they’d never met before. Pinkie Pie was the first to gush in her excitement.
“Just think! A new kind of pony for us all to meet! I wonder if they want cake! Oh, I should have brought all kinds of pastries!”
“Calm down, Pinks,” said Applejack. “We don’t even know if they want anything.” She turned to Twilight. “What do we know about this new pony?”
“All Celestia said was we’d be pleasantly surprised, that’s all.”
Applejack huffed. “She coulda told us more.”
“I’m sure if Her Highness wanted us to know more, she would have told us,” said Rarity.
“I hope they’re not scary…” said a quiet voice.
Rainbow turned to Fluttershy. “What was that?”
“Nothing…” said Fluttershy.
Twilight was just about to add her own encouragement when there was a movement at the doors, and Spike rushed over to open them. “They’re here!” he exclaimed and threw the doors open wide.
The first one they saw was Princess Celestia herself, followed by her sister. Then, as Twilight and the others held their breath, the new pony was revealed to them, flanked by two grim-looking Earth ponies. At first, Twilight and her friends couldn’t register what they were seeing. He, for they could see the new pony was a stallion, was almost as tall as Celestia. He had the oddest coloring: a deep, copper red coat set off by a flowing, ethereal black mane. As they stared, they noticed his horn, a shiny black one with silver highlights that glinted as he moved. Then, as they took in the horn, they gasped as they saw…wings? This was…an Alicorn?!? And a male? Celestia smiled as she broke the silence.
“Greetings, my little ponies. May I present to you…Prince Astra.”
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” squeaked Pinkie. “A Prince!” She bounced on her hooves as she ran up to him. “Where did you come from? How did you get here? Where have you been?!?” Twilight cleared her throat.
“Pinkie, please calm down!” She addressed the Prince. “Pleased to meet you, Your Highness.”
When he spoke, it was a deep rumble, “Thank you. I’m pleased to meet you as well. Celestia has told me quite a lot about you all.” He looked at them in turn, but his gaze lingered on the yellow pegasus that was currently trying to hide behind the rainbow-maned pony. He shook himself and said, “You must be Princess Twilight.”
“Yes, I am. May I introduce you to my friends. This is Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Spike and…” here she used to magic to gently draw her out from behind Dash, “…Fluttershy,” who “eeped” and went back behind Dash as soon as Twilight released her. Astra smiled.
“Charmed. May I present my associates: Captain Swain of the Reliance, and my Head of Security, Counselor Covert.” The two dark red Earth ponies nodded but remained silent.
Rarity fluttered her lashes at him and said, “So…where did you come from? And are you married?”
“Rarity!” cried Twilight. “I apologize, Your Highness. It’s just that we’ve never seen a male Alicorn before.”
He waved a hoof. “It’s quite alright. And please, call me Astra.” He smiled down at Rarity. “No, I’m not married. My mate passed away some years ago, and I have not taken another…yet.” He glanced at Fluttershy once more as he spoke.
“Ohhhh my…” Rarity breathed as she fanned herself.
“To answer your other question, I come from a separate continent to the far West, beyond your borders. Our tribe had not known of Equestria until now, isolated as we were. It was a pleasant surprise to learn of you.”
“Wait: so there’s more Alicorns there?” said Rainbow Dash. He laughed.
“No, no…I’m the only one. Until I met their Highnesses, I thought there were no others like myself.”
“How long will you be staying?” asked Applejack. (Rarity paid close attention.)
“A few weeks at most. Your Princesses have graciously offered me a tour of Equestria, then I must return to my own lands.”
“Well then, you gotta try the best apples in Equestria afore you leave,” said Applejack.
“And the best cakes!” cried Pinkie Pie.
“And you simply must come to my boutique,” said Rarity. “I’m sure I have something there that can…fit you.” She turned bright red as she spoke, and Twilight glared at her.
“In the meantime,” said she, “Allow me to show you my castle.”
Astra bowed. “After you.”
*********
After the tour, Astra turned to Twilight and her friends and said, “Thank you very much. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”
“Come back anytime,” said Twilight.
As he turned to go, Astra hesitated a moment, then turned back. Looking at the yellow pegasus, he said, “I’m sorry. What was your name again?”
“Fluttershy,” she mumbled.
He smiled. “A lovely name for a lovely pony.” She blushed bright red and hid behind her mane.
He sighed and looked up at Twilight. “Thank you again.” Then Celestia, Luna, he and his associates left.
After the door had closed, Rarity whirled upon Fluttershy and demanded, “How do you do it?!?”
“Do what?”
“Catch the eye of every stallion for miles around?!?”
Fluttershy trembled. “I don’t mean to! It just happens!”
Rarity threw up her hooves while the rest just shook their heads. “Rarity, you’re overreacting. Fluttershy didn’t do anything wrong; go easy on her,” said Twilight.
“I know, I know…it’s just…it’s just I wanted to catch his attention!” She looked reluctantly at Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, dear. Twilight’s right: you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just so frustrating!”
Pinkie spoke up. “You’ll get the chance to see him again at the party I’m throwing for him and his ponies. Maybe you’ll catch his eye then?”
Rarity gave a ghost of a smile. “If Fluttershy is there, then what’s the point?”
“I won’t go if that will make you happy.”
Rarity turned to her and gave her a hug. “Nonsense, dear. I’ll be alright, and I wish you the best!”
**********
Later that day, once they’d returned to their ship, Captain Swain and Counselor Covert had a private meeting of their own.
“Did you see the way he looked at that pegasus? I think our Prince is smitten with her.”
Covert nodded. “I did see. This could work to our advantage. Our kingdom needs an heir, and even though she’s not our kind she could prove useful.”
“She didn’t look to be very accepting of his advances. What can we do about it?”
Covert looked down in thought. “We don’t know enough about these ponies. I suggest we do find out all we need to know about her before we leave. With a bit of luck, and some old-fashioned intelligence gathering, we might just pull this off.”
“What if she doesn’t like him?”
Covert smiled. “He’s a Prince. She’d be crazy not to accept him.” He gave Swain a grim look. “But just in case, we need to find a way to make sure she accepts him. By any means necessary.”
