The Student of Luna, Princess of the Night

The Student of Luna, Princess of the Night

The Royal Canterlot Cap Locks

As Twilight and Trixie fell asleep waiting, Trixie’s mind wandered to the far off distant past of early days. Back then, when she was a mere filly, she read the old tales of Nightmare Moon and her chaotic ways. "Could Luna be anything like her old self, or a kind and gentler pony that may prove to be enjoyable to learn from?" she asked herself while being half awake. In time, her questions would be answered.

Sounds of galloping and metallic objects clanking and banging on the hard soil could be heard coming from outside, waking Trixie and Twilight. As the two mares exited the premises of the library, they saw Luna’s dark carriage with two bat pony guards waiting to take Trixie to Canterlot. The two stared at Twilight, and then at Trixie. The one to the left of the mares asked in a very deep and hollow voice, “Which one of you is Trixie?”

The way the stallion asked this made things seem like she was in trouble for some heinous crime. Twilight smiled and said, “This is her.” She gestured to Trixie with her hoof. “She will be staying at Canterlot for… how long now?”

The guard claimed, “For as long as it takes her to learn everything her highness has to offer.”

Trixie gulped and said, “I don’t think Trixie's Ready for…”

Twilight turned and explained, “We talked about this. Luna will take good care of you, trust me. She’ll teach you lots of things and help you with your magic, I promise.”

As Trixie climbed onto the carriage, she said, “I don’t know how you get me into these things… First you persuade me to return to Ponyville, and now you’re making me be Princess Luna’s student… oh, well. Trixie guesses you and her can argue about it over letters. You will write me… Right?”

Twilight smiled. “Of course, just be polite to Luna, and you’ll be just fine. Trust me.”

As the carriage took off, Trixie could be heard screaming due to the high velocity and height. About an hour or two went by before they arrived in Canterlot. After they landed, Trixie was so shaken by the ride, she had to make sure she was on solid ground by feeling it with her hooves before exiting. When Trixie asked about her luggage, the two guards just stood there, as though they didn't hear her at first.

The guard who spoke at Twilight's house said “We will return to Ponyville to retrieve your belongings shortly. Luna is in her study. It’s down the hall just over there.”

The stallion pointed toward a door to the left. Trixie was resilient to enter, but when she did, she found long, circular stairs illuminated by candles mounted on the walls. She ventured down, every step slowly making her sweat despite the corridor being just as cold as it was hot. The walls seemed to be coated in dust, and the end seemed to never come. Trixie could feel her heart beat. All she really wanted to do was turn around and have those stallions take her back to the warm library where she might be able to learn from Twilight. At least the show mare still had her cape and hat to give her some warmth, though it wasn’t very much.

She finally reached a wooden door. Opening it, Trixie found a round room with old, decaying pillars, ivy growing all around them, peeling from the walls and rooting out from cement. The moon light shined through the roof which had been broken into. Some old rocks from the structure could be seen lying around, and in the middle stood a shadow of what appeared to be a mare.

“H-hello? Is that you, Luna?” Trixie asked in a scared voice.

As the being stepped into the crescent light, Trixie felt her entire back shiver with both fear and delight. Not only was Princess Luna intimidating, but to the show mare, she was also attractive.

“WE ARE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!” Luna said in the usual Canterlot voice, nearly blowing Trixie away. “THOU MUST BE THE ONE KNOWN AS TRIXIE, RECOMMENDED BY THY APPRENTICE OF OUR SISTER, CELESTIA; ART THOU NOT?

Trixie gulped and mumbled as she spoke, which the princess could barely hear her.

“SPEAK LOUDER! WE CAN BARELY TELL IF THOU IS SPEAKING!”

Trixie blurted out, “Yes, I’m Trixie! But, why do you need to yell?! It’s piercing Trixie's ear drums!”

Luna cleared her throat, and said in a calmer, but still powerful voice, “We are using the traditional Canterlot voice for our subject. It is common for us to use the traditional we and our. Twilight Sparkle said not to use it, but we found it necessary to use for this special occasion.”

Trixie, rubbing her sore ears. “Well, I’m right here you know! It’s not required in my opinion.”

Luna shook her head and observed the mare’s attire.

“What exactly are you wearing?” she asked while circling the show mare.

“Oh, this? It’s just some performing clothes, nothing more.”

“Then… you’re a common show mare?” Luna asked in a mellow tone.

“Well… I want to perfect my magic.” Trixie claimed nervously.

“I see… So you’re not familiar with the current basics?”

“Oh, but I am, and I can prove it to you,” Trixie said admirably.

The princess stopped her from trying to prove herself and claimed she would simply scan her being. Luna’s horn shined, a ray of light encircling Trixie’s body from head to tail for a moment. Once done, Luna stared at the show mare with anger.

“Twilight Sparkle sent me… this?! A local street performer who barely knows the foundations of magic? Thou must be kidding me.”

Her hoof planted itself on her head as she complained. Trixie argued, “But, I’m dedicated. I know I can become as good as Twilight!”

Luna rolled her eyes and said, “In order for me to train you, I would need to place you at the starting position. You would learn from scratch, and be put through multiple tests. Not only that, but the fact still remains that you skipped most of your training as a filly. You might as well go home! I shouldn’t even consider taking you under my wing; for what? So you can just drop out later on in the future?”

Trixie felt very offended at this, and she made clear how she felt. “If you think that way, not even give me a chance, then fine! Send me home, see if I care.”

Luna then stated, “The best magic spell you can perform for me is a silly fire dance, and that’s just your finality for your show!”

Trixie lowered her head knowing this to be true. “Alright, I understand. Send me home then.”

Unfortunately, with that, the two returned to the chariot room to wait for Trixie's ride back to Ponyville. As they sat there, Trixie mumbled, “Didn’t even give me a chance.”

“What was that?” Luna asked irrelatively.

Trixie worked up some courage to say, “You heard me! If you gave me a chance, I could prove myself to you!”

Luna rolled her eyes once more. “Fine… If you really wish to waste my time, then so be it… Follow me.”

Trixie was a little surprised to be walking down the stares headed for the royal Canterlot library instead of going home.

“You will be staying up all night tonight,” Luna explained after hearing her new student give a rather powerful yawn. “We must get you into the normal sleeping routine if you’re going to be my pupil.”

Trixie followed close behind, and for some odd reason caught herself staring at her highness’s royal flank. She wasn’t the only one to discover this. Luna stopped dead in her tracks almost causing Trixie to bump into her. She stood there looking very annoyed, saying, “As a princess, I have powers you couldn’t possibly comprehend. If I catch you starring at my flank again, I will be sure to make you regret it!”

She continued walking, and Trixie gulped, feeling highly embarrassed.

Trotting through the chilling and poorly illuminated halls, Luna said in a sarcastic voice, “Great… Not only did Twilight send me a meager show mare, but a perverted one at that.”

Trixie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, figuring this experience probably wouldn't be as pleasant as Twilight's training. In actual reality, it would turn out to be very different.