The Moon's Precious Little Star

Laying upon her bed, Luna looked over the myriad of reports strewn around her that Blueblood, the ninth, gave her to look over. Only a few days had passed since she and her sister stormed the headquarters of what she now knew as the stallion/mare colt/filly lovers organization, and yet there was still more for the princess of the night to do. Now that she knew her son could use magic, Luna had to find out how it worked so she could teach him to control it; she also needed to find a suitable therapist as the prince fell into a depression shortly after returning to the castle. Then there was the fallout from revealing her son to the general public that they were still dealing with, and on top of all that, the leader of those colt cuddlers somehow survived being slammed into the wall and disappeared without a trace. Thankfully for the princess's sanity, Blueblood came riding in like one of the heroes from her adventure books. Thanks to the noble's efforts, he managed to convince many of the common ponies, who believed the Equestria gazette's lies, that Orion wasn't a threat and that he was no different from any of their foals. That was what all the papers scattered around the princess were about; most of them were reports that he wort on his own time to chronicle all of his efforts for the official record, while the others were letters of forgiveness.

"As you can see, princess Luna, I've made sure to categorize all of the ponies that are no longer opposed to you or the prince by their type and where they are from; is that to your liking?" Blueblood asked with a pleased smile. Looking up from the mess of papers scattered around her bed, Luna let out a tired yawn and looked the noble in the eye.

"Yes, this is very helpful, Blueblood, but did you really feel it was necessary to write a nearly thirty-page report? The lunar monarch asked the noble, who let out an indignant scoff at her question.

"Of course, it was necessary! How else will future generations know how useful I was to the royal family!?" Sighing, Luna shook her head and looked away from the noble to organize the reports and letters into an organized pile. "By the way, how is the young prince faring?" Blueblood asked, and immediately, Luna stopped stacking the papers and blankly stared at them for a few seconds before starting again.

"He's not doing so well. It seems that the event has impacted him more than we initially thought." Luna said without looking at the stallion in front of her. "Orion hasn't said anything about what happened, but I believe that it wasn't so much what he went through."

"Then what is it that's bothering him?" Blueblood asked, upon which the princess stopped her stacking and stared at the wall. Lost in her thoughts, Luna continued to stare at the wall as her mind filled with images of all those young colts and fillies locked in their cages. The princess allowed herself to get caught up in her memories of that night and was only brought back to reality when Blueblood coughed into his hoof. Shaking her head, the lunar princess did her best to push those images to the back of her mind before continuing.

"I think it was all the suffering the other colts and fillies went through. Orion's a sweet innocent boy who's confided I'm me many times about wanting to help the ponies when he's older. So I'm assuming that seeing so much suffering and not being able to do anything about it is what's bothering him so much," Luna explained with a strained tone. After the princess' explanation, a sombre silence descended upon the room as neither pony could think of what to say that might lift the mood. Then, almost as if the universe itself finally decided to take pity on the lunar monarch, the door to her room opened, and Celestia stepped inside with a bright smile. Immediately sensing the less than pleasant atmosphere in the room, the solar monarch's smile faded, and she let out a tired sigh while shaking her head.

"Lulu, why do you insist on doing this to yourself? Celestia asked as she made her way across the room and towards her sister's bed. "You insist on doing everything by yourself, and then you end up depressed and seep derived; why won't you allow me to help you?" No matter how many times Celestia asked her sister this question, it seemed that Luna was adamant that she needed to deal with the aftermath of her son's rescue herself. There wasn't anything that the solar princess wouldn't do for her family, and it wasn't as if Luna didn't know that, so it hurt Celestia that she wasn't asked for help.

"I've already told you many times why I don't ask you for help, Tia. You need to be up at the right time to raise the sun, and while I won't complain about a few more hours of the night, it isn't fair to make the ponies of the kingdom wait and panic because you stayed up to help me!" Of course, what Luna just said wasn't wrong, and on most occasions, Celestia would have agreed with her: but not this time.

"Yes, you are correct that I have a responsibility to all our little ponies, but let's not forget that you also have that responsibility, and don't think that I haven't noticed you also sleeping in a little longer than usual," Celestia said with a slightly reprimanding tone. "Besides, Orion's my family too, and there is nothing I won't do to help, so if the common pony needs to wait a little longer for the sun to rise, then they are going to wait!" As soon as her mind processed that last bit, Luna looked up at her sister and stared at her in disbelief; even Blueblood was shocked and let out a startled gasp before rushing to her side.

"Princess Celestia, you can't possibly mean that, can you?" He asked the monarch, who glared at him from out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, I can mean that, Blueblood! I nearly lost my sister by getting too wrapped up in my duties as a ruler and letting them dictate how I act. So the last thing that I'm going to do is allow my nephew to suffer because of those duties!" Completely stunned by what she was hearing, Luna stared at her sister in dumbfounded disbelief. For many years Celestia would spend every waking hour obsessing over her duties to the common pony, even going so far as to lecture her sister on her's, even though the lunar monarch knew full well what her duties were. So the fact that she was now telling her sister and Blueblood that she didn't care if others thought she was shirking her responsibilities meant that it was something serious. "No matter what it is I have to do to keep my family safe, I will, and on that note, I've found the perfect teacher for Orion," Celestia said, turning her attention to her sister. " He's the best I know when it comes to teaching colts and fillies, who have magical... 'disabilities."

"He doesn't have a disability, Tia!" Luna snapped.

"Calm down, Lulu, I know he doesn't have a disability, but we don't have any idea how his magic works. My friend is probably the only pony that can help us at the moment," Celestia explained. Taking in what her sister said, Luna looked up at the ceiling, thinking over her option, but even though it made sense for her to agree, the lunar monarch's stubborn pride caused her to hesitate. "I feel that I should also mention that my friend is a licensed psychologist and can help Orion with his depression." Letting out a long and tired sigh, Luna looked back at her sister and nodded her head, telling her to go ahead and send a letter to her friend.

Sitting in the prince's room, Prion's friends kept a close eye on the sleeping royal while quietly conversing amongst themselves. Ever since the princesses found Orion and brought him back to the castle, he wasn't his usual upbeat self. The young royal had barely come out of his room since his return, and no matter how hard the others tried to cheer him up: nothing seemed to work, at least not for long. What made it even worse was that Orion wouldn't even talk to them about what happened to him, hampering their attempts to console him. He was so tight-lipped that he barely said a word to any pony, preferring to keep himself locked in his room. The only pony he would talk to was his mother and aunt, and even then, it took a lot of prodding and poking from them to get him to open up even a little, and no matter how many times they asked, she refused to tell her son's friends anything they discussed.

"So, do any of us have any ideas on how we can help Orion?" Blueblood, the tenth, asked the other two, who didn't say anything, and Galatea shook her head.

"Not a clue," the griffoness stated with an annoyed sigh. Looking to her left, Galatea wanted to hear what Dusk Walker's reply to the question was, but instead, she noticed the thestral had her head down and was intensely staring at the floor. "Yo, Equus to Dusk, Dusk Walker, you in there?" Galatea asked while waving her claw in the bat pony's face. Letting out a squeak of surprise, Dusk reeled back and looked up at the griffoness, who had a look of annoyance plastered on her face. "Do you think that you could participate in this conversation? What's so interesting about the floor?" Feeling embarrassed, Dusk apologized to her friends and began to relay her answer to Blueblood's question.

"While I don't know what I can do for him at right at this moment, but I do know what I can do when I'm a little older," Dusk cryptically stated. Both Blueblood and Galatea looked at their friend, expecting her to explain a little more, and when she didn't, the griffoness let out another annoyed sigh and flicked the thestral filly on the side of her head. "What was that for?" She asked, and Galatea rolled her eyes.

"Can you please elaborate and that statement you just made?" The griffoness asked her friend. Smacking the side of her head and laughing at her own absentmindedness, Dusk then began to explain further.

"Ok, please don't laugh when I tell you this, but I'm thinking about becoming a doctor," Dusk Walker explained. The thestral filly paused to allow the other two to laugh, knowing full well that Galatea would laugh to spite her. When neither of them so much as snickered, Dusk took the opportunity and continued. " Your uncle is the only being that knows or is willing to treat Orion when he's sick or hurt, so I thought that I would learn from him and take over when he gets too old to do his job." While Galatea didn't like the reminder of her uncle's mortality and let out an annoyed growl in response to her friend, she couldn't help but nod her head in agreement with the filly's decision.

"I have to say, Dusk, the is rather admirable of you," Blueblood stated with a smile on his face. "Your plan for the future made me realize a way that I can help Orion and that I need to ask my father to speed up my lessons on court politics. I hope that once Orion is old enough and starts getting involved with the court, he will allow me to be his political advisor." For a few minutes, the noble and thestral talked amongst themselves, going over every little thing that they could do for their friend when they were older. After the two of them finished their discussion, they turned their heads towards Galatea and asked her if she had any plans and if she did what it was.

"If you must know, I'm planning on joining the night guard!" The griffoness almost yelled as she puffed out her chest. Blueblood and Dusk sagely nodded their heads with smiles on their faces while commenting on how much sense her decision made, given her personality and disposition. Yet, as the two of them complimented their friend on her aspirations for the future, the smile fell from Galatea's face, and her bravado deflated as a deep frown formed on her beak. "It's the least I can do for him since it was my fault he got taken in the first place." Immediately, the mood in the room dropped to the floor, and the smiles that were on the faces of the noble and thestral faded.

"How can you say that?" Dusk asked with a quivering, worry-laced voice. "It was those horrible ponies that took him, not you!"

"Yeah, but if I hadn't chased him around the caste, they wouldn't have had the chance to take him!" The griffoness yelled before breaking down and crying. Utterly shocked at seeing the stoic and near perpetually angry griffon break down like this caused the rebuttal that Blueblood was about to say die in his throat. As her friend continued to cry, Dusk did the absolute best she could to try and console her, but no matter what she seemed to say: it only managed to make it worse. For a few minutes, the griffoness continued to cry without any sign that she was going to stop anytime soon, that was until she felt herself being pulled back into a tight embrace. Thinking that it was one of the princesses, Galatea pulled away and was about to start acting tough when she saw that Orion was the one who hugged her. While the three were discussing what they could do for the prince, said prince could hear them clear as night. So when he heard Galatea break down and blame herself for his foalnapping, Orion decided that he could no longer just lay in bed and sulk about how terrible the world could be when he was causing harm to the ones he cared about.

"Please don't blame yourself, Galatea; I was the one that antagonized the two of you. If I weren't trying to be such a butt and make you two feel embarrassed, you wouldn't have chased me in the first place," Orion somberly explained. While the prince intended to make his friend feel better, it has the complete opposite effect and only served to make the griffoness feel worse. Again, Galatea broke down and cried her heart out.

"Ho-how can you forgive me so fast? I was the one who chassed you! I forced you to hide, which got you captured by a cult of messed up foalcons!?" Galatea asked through her sobs.

"I can forgive you because you're one of my only friends, and I consider each one of you like family," Orion stated with a smile. Feeling a swell of happiness in her heart, Dusk Walker rushed forward and wrapped her front legs around her friend's neck, pulling him into a hug while burying her head in his chest and crying. Following the thestral's lead, Blueblood walked up to the prince, and while he didn't hug him, he did give Orion a friendly pat on the shoulder. Left somewhat dumbfounded at the statement Orion just made, Galatea stared blankly at her three friends for a few moments as they happily talked amongst themselves. Then, when the griffoness managed to break herself out of her stupor, she stood up and pushed the other two away from the prince and did something none of them thought they would see no matter how long they lived: Galatea bowing before the prince.

"Orion, I swear to you, I will become a member of the night guard, and I will make sure nothing bad happens to you ever again, giving up my life if I have to!" Not knowing what to do or say, Orion stood there awkwardly and stared at the griffoness with wide eyes until the door to his room opened, saving him from this unusual situation. Stepping into the room, Luna, Celestia, and the older Blueblood stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Galatea bowing before Orion. Left utterly confused, the princesses and noble looked between themselves and seemed to have a silent conversation for a few moments before nodding and smiling.

"So, are you feeling a little better, Orion? Luna asked as she broke away from her sister and the noble to cross the room and lay before her son so she could look him in the eye.

"I feel a little better thanks to every pony trying to cheer me up, but I still find it hard to fall asleep," Orion stated with a tired sigh. "The nightmares just won't stop, and while I know you've tried your hardest to chase them away, they just keep coming back!" Upon hearing her son's revelation that her efforts to soothe his sleep were ineffective, Luna sat up and pulled her son into a hug, all the while telling him that she was sorry that she couldn't help him. After a few moments of Orion telling his mother that she had nothing to be sorry for and that there must be a few things that even Alicorn magic couldn't fix, the two broke away with Orion telling Luna that he would be fine.

"Yes, well, hopefully, your aunt has something to tell you that will manage to cheer you up a little more," Luna said, which immediately caught the prince's attention, and he looked past his mother to Celestia with wide, expectant eyes.

"You remember that you've displayed the ability to use magic, right?" Celestia asked, and the prince slowly nodded his head. "Well, I've gotten in contact with an acquaintance, and I believe he would be the best teacher for you. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll send him a letter straight away, summoning him to the castle." For as long as he could remember, Orion wanted nothing more than be able to study magic. Yet because he wasn't a unicorn, there wasn't really a need for him: and yet, now that he had the opportunity, the prince found himself hesitating. The thing causing the prince to drag his feet was his own imagination; no matter how hard he tried, Orion couldn't help but imagine him losing control and hurting his friends and family. Sensing her son's growing unease, Luna pulled him into another hug and squeezed him tight until her managed to calm down. "Don't worry, Orion; I'm positive that you'll get a hold on you're magic and that the fears holding your heart captive will no longer trouble you," Celestia said with her usual calm, soothing voice. Between his mother's loving embrace and his aunt's confidence in him, Orion felt his confidence swell, which in turn brought forth a renewed desire for the prince to learn magic. Breaking away from his mother, the prince looked his aunt in the eye and told her to summon her acquaintance, and promised her that he wouldn't let her confidence in him go to waste; that he would learn to control his magic and use it for the benefit of the kingdom and all of its inhabitants.

...

A few days passed since Celestia sent the message to her acquaintance, and tonight was the night he was scheduled to arrive at the castle. However, as the night went on, Orion found himself unable to calm his nerves and could not sit still for too long, so he paced around the room to keep himself from losing his mind. Form Orion's bed, Luna watched her son pace back and forth in front of her; letting out a tired sigh, the princess decided that enough was enough, and ignited her horn. Then, taking hold of her son with her magic, the princess of the night lifted him into the air before bringing her son over to the best and placing him between her front legs. Orion struggled against his mother's magical grip to no avail, and as soon as he was placed on the bed, she crossed her front legs to hold him in place. The prince tried to get back up several times, but each time he tried, his mother tightened her grip, keeping him in place.

"Will you just sit still, please. Pacing around the room and working yourself into a panic isn't going to help you! All it's going to do is make you feel worse, plus your pacing is even starting to make me nervous," Luna explained to her son, who, after a few more seconds of struggling, let out an annoyed huff and crossed his arms.

"Fine!" Orion grumpily said. The princess rolled her eyes at her son's pouting face and let out a tired sigh. Though she just chastised her son for his inability to keep calm, Luna couldn't deny to herself that she, too, was finding it hard to sit still herself. The cause of her restlessness was how little she knew of her sister's associate; Celestia failed to provide her with any information of what this stallion's personality was like, what his teaching methods were, or if he would react negatively to her son upon meeting him. While Luna had the utmost confidence In her sister's ability to judge a pony's character, she couldn't help her natural-born paranoia get the better of her just a little bit.

A sudden knock on the door broke Luna's chain of thought; looking towards the door, she told the pony on the other side who knocked to enter, and in stepped one of her nightguards, who relayed that the teacher had arrived. Thanking the thestral, she told him to let the stallion in and rearrange herself and Orion to make themselves look more presentable. Shortly after the thestral stepped out of the room, an old stallion that looked like he was well into his twilight years entered. Looking at the ageing unicorn, Luna was immediately reminded of her and Celestia's old mentor Starswirl the bearded. The stallion had a coat colour almost identical to her teacher and a set of old but intense eyes that the legendary unicorn had; the only thing he was missing was the long white beard that gave him his namesake.

Upon entering the room, the unicorn stallion stopped just as he entered and stared at the mother and son pair. Much to the princess's surprise, he didn't react to Orion in any manner whatsoever and just continued to stare at him for several minutes. With an almost dismissive snort, the unicorn turned his gaze away from the prince to rummage through the saddlebags on his back; after a few seconds, he pulled out what looked like a stethoscope. Given her nature as an Alicorn, Luna never got sick, so she rarely has the opportunity to see a stethoscope up close, but even she could tell that this wasn't a normal one and rather than having earbuds that allowed one to listen to a heartbeat; it instead looked as if it connected to a horn. With his tool gripped in his magic, the unicorn stallion walked up to the prince and began to look him over.

"Where is your magic source?" The old stallion asked in a gruff, deep voice. Confused, Orion looked up at his mother, and Luna let out a sigh and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but we have no idea where his magical center is. We only recently discovered his talent for magic and haven't had the time to look for it," Luna explained to the unicorn, who let out another dismissive grunt before beginning to look over the prince once again. This time, he pressed the other end of his "stethoscope" all over Orion's body to find the epicentre of his magical strength and yet based on his face, it seemed like he was unable to find it. "Is there a problem?" Luna asked through a worry ladened voice. The unicorn pulled away from the prince and put his stethoscope back into his saddlebag with another grunt.

"It's not so much of a problem than it is that I'm surprised," he explained before once gain going quiet as he stared at Orion with a crunched-up brow. The staring contest between the prince and unicorn went on for a little while as neither one wanted to look away, and after some time, it started to get a little awkward for the princess. Coughing into her hoof, Luna managed to get the stallion's attention and asked him if he would go into further detail. The old unicorn nodded and bowed to the monarch with a grunt of annoyance before beginning his explanation. "Well, the thing that has me stumped is that he doesn't seem to have a magical core. Indeed, it appears that his entire body can channel magic, and on top of that, it feels like that magic is alive and moving through his body." Shocked, Luna looked back and forth between her son and the old unicorn several times, unsure what to think of that revelation. On the other hand, Orion just continued to stare blankly at the elder stallion, only having a small amount of knowledge about magic.

"So, what does that mean? Is that something we need to worry about?" Luna asked after managing to break out of her shocked stupor. At first, the unicorn didn't answer her; instead, he turned his back to the monarch to rummage through his saddlebags, much to the princess's annoyance. Suddenly the unicorn threw something over his shoulder towards the prince, who grabbed it out of the air. Turning it over, he saw that it was a name tag with the name Arcane Ward on it.

"What it means, princess Luna is that I've got my work cut out for me, and only time will tell if we have anything to worry about," Arcan Ward said with a satisfied smile.