The Fate of Orionby Rhino_ManChaptersChapter 0: PrologueChapter 1: Luna's StudentChapter 2: Of Bows and CannonsChapter 0: PrologueIn the examination room in the Canterlot hospital, Glitter Star, the local Pegasus mail-mare was getting examined by the doctor once again for her pregnancy. She’d been there twice before; once when she started to have morning sickness, the second as the foal started to develop inside her and now, deep in the last stages of carrying her child. Her unicorn husband, Bronze Dust, was fidgeting nearby. "Well, you look to be in perfect health.” Started doctor Helpinghooves while examining Glitter Star, “your pregnancy shouldn't have any complications, just come to us if you need anything at all or if anything feels out of the ordinary." "Er, doctor... there is one thing...". Bronze Dust trailed off, as if unsure that it meant anything. The doctor paused, looking him in the eye. "Go ahead. I'm here to help." "Well, er, doc... it's sort of weird really." Bronze Dust paused again, clearly nervous. “it’s just... well my darling Glitter is feeling weaker lately. Some days, she can barely stand up and I'm sort of worried about her health. I know you said she's perfectly healthy but I can't help but feel concerned." He shrugged again, shaking an unwelcome thought from his head. "Oh, is that all?" the Doctor smiled, looked away and levitated Glitter’s chart up in front of his face. "Yes, well I had noted that your natural magic was a bit low currently, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Have you heard of Fetal Magic Drain? At this point in the pregnancy, a unicorn foal will subconsciously create his or her magical font from the natural magic found in the mother's body. For most unicorn mothers this means a slight dip in their usual magical font. In the case of non-unicorn mothers, this leads to general weakness in physical abilities. “This is a normal response and you should be fine if you continue to rest and eat nutritious food. Your appetite might be slightly elevated from the norm for childbearing but it's nothing to be too concerned about. It's just your body making up for the magic being given to your foal." Helpinghooves sighed at the blank looks. "Look it's pretty simple really. You would know how your magical font works as a unicorn." Bronze Dust nodded and Glitter Star merely shrugged. "Well, it's simple enough. Pegasi and Earth Ponies have their own natural magical font as well; one that is for the most part unconscious. It allows them to do the things that they do. For pegasi it grants them the powers of flight and the ability to walk on clouds. For earth ponies it grants them remarkable strength and wonderful endurance. In your case, your foal is taking a part of your magical essence and using it to create his or her own magical font. It's natural and I would encourage this sort of growth anyways." The young couple breathed a sigh of relief. Helpinghooves nodded, "I can teach you to help if it gets out of hand. I know some non-unicorn mothers experience severe weakness and dizziness if the foal's font ends up being larger than expected. All it will do is transfer a little of your magic into your wife so that there will be more magic to go around. Of course, you should be careful with the spell because you can force yourself into magic exhaustion if you overdo it." Some time later, the happy couple left, walking slowly down the street to their home after waving goodbye to the doctor. Luna's moon was starting to rise already and the stars shined brightly as if they were smiling down on them all. Helpinghooves walked back inside the hospital and found one of the nurses assigned to help his patients. "Nurse, have I got any other appointments today?" He asked politely, completely forgetting her name yet again. "No doctor, that's all for today. You get to go home now, but don't forget, you're on call tonight.” The doctor sighed tiredly. “I guess that means going to the bar for a quick one is out of the question then. Oh well, I guess I’d better get home.” ……………. *bang**bang* *bang* The knocking of the door woke Helpinghooves from his sleep. “What?!” He shook his head free of the clinging drowsiness of the night and stood up as the banging at his door came once more. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” he shouted back at the person outside and he snagged his medical bag from where it sat beside the door purely out of habit. He opened the door with a half-yawn and glared at the young orderly standing outside looking aggravated. “What do you want n-“ “No time doc! Lets GO!” the orderly shouted and grabbed both the doctor and the medical bag before bodily heaving him down the street towards the hospital as fast as he could. They were already halfway up the street by the time the doctor got his hooves under him and started running alongside the orderly. “What’s the emergency?!” he shouted, between pants for breath. “Who is it…?” What the orderly said next shocked the doctor so much that he broke into a dead sprint and made as much as a full street’s distance on the orderly in a heartbeat. “Glitter Star.” ………….. The doctor burst into the room and didn’t even need ask what had happened. A simple glance at the nurses trying to restrain Bronze Dust, who had a severe nosebleed, was enough. He rushed to Glitter Dust’s side, who looked up at the doctor through fear-filled eyes. With a wrench, Helpinghooves turned away and started barking orders for medical supplies he didn’t carry in his bag. At his order, the nurses dropped what they were doing and went running. The Doctor immediately realised his mistake. Bronze Dust had seen his chance. Rushing to his wife’s side he began to channel more magic into her weakened body, causing his nosebleed to gush again. The doctor grimaced at the sight of the stallion causing himself so much distress over his wife. “Stop it! You’re only going to cause yourself to go into magical arrest at this rate. I’m surprised you’re still conscious in the state you are in! You can’t help her if you’re dead!” he said, pushing his way in front of the spell and forcing Bronze Dust to stop. The unicorn woozily glared back at the doctor. “Doc, look at her! She’s dying from lack of magic. What I’m doing is keeping her alive. Either you tell me you have an idea to save her, or you shut the hell up and get out of my way!” The Doctor grimaced again under the verbal barrage. “I can’t…. I just can’t let you kill yourself, not even for this.” Bronze Dust, still dizzy, stamped a hoof and readied his horn. “Get out of my way before I make you.” Helpinghooves glared back at Bronze Dust for a moment before the nurses came back at a run with everything he had demanded and allowed him a spare moment to take command of the situation. “Get her on the IV drip now! You! Start checking the foal’s vitals. If she’s in this much distress, he can’t be far behind! And you!” He turned and glared at the father. “You will get out of my way and let me do my job.” “Doctor!” It was one of the nurses. That’s not good. He thought. Helpinghooves looked back at the patient and stared in shock. “Not… good… at… all..” he muttered as he watched her wings. “Doctor…” the Nurse had her hoof over her mouth, half in shock, half in terror. “Are her wings…” Helpinghooves shuddered as the wings shriveled and dried out before their very eyes. “They’re being drained of their magic.” He said somberly. The doctor looked up and closed his eyes with a sad thought in his mind. “Send for the princesses. I don’t know how long I will be able to do this.” He said as he lowered his horn and began to focus his magic. “Go! Hurry!” He yelled as his horn lit with intensity rarely seen by medical staff. With a jerk he began to channel his magic into the patient much like the father had. Sweet Celestia! Whatever is eating all this magic is intense! He felt the torrent of magic being sucked into what felt like a vast endless void as he channeled more and more of his magic into the mother and her foal. The shriveling of her wings slowed but did not stop. “NO! I will NOT lose a patient!” he yelled, increasing the intensity and flow of his magic. Nearby he heard a grunt as Bronze Dust forced himself to continue to channel his already empty magical font into his wife. Through sheer force of will, Bronze Dust red-zoned and began to drain his own life essence in a desperate attempt to save them. Helpinghooves barely noticed, and didn’t spare more than a glance as he struggled to continue his efforts. …………… Night Court was in session and Luna was already bored out of her wits. Why did they always come to her with the boring cases? She shook herself slightly as two somewhat elderly unicorns (lawyers, of course) in drab grey suits argued with each other over a sack of beans while Luna was supposed to listen and make her decision. With a yawn, Luna’s thoughts idly turned to prattle such as how this could not get worse should these lawyers try. She was wrong of course. A soldier of the night guard rushed up to the princess and interrupted the two lawyers “Princess, it’s an emergency at the hospital, you are needed there immediately. The messenger said it was a matter of life and death!” Luna grinned inwardly, thinking it a great way to escape having to listen to two lawyers drone on for hours on end. Especially since it sounded like all she needed to do was show a poor doctor how to do his job. This would be easy. She rose regally and smiled a winning smile. “Gentlestallions. It would seem that We are needed elsewhere. Thou mayst continue this debate with our sister during the Day Court, time allowing.” She said. Yes keep them off balance. That should sort them out for bothering me all night with petty complaints. She turned to face the guard “Thou sayest that We are needed at the hospital? Where is the messenger? We shall depart immediately.” The nurse looked up as the Princess walked out into the hall and immediately dropped into a deep bow. Oh dear, they always bow. thought Luna “Rise, loyal subject. We shall head to the source of the emergency at once.” Stepping smartly forward she encircled both the very frightened nurse herself in her magic and immediately teleported the two of them all the way to the front entry of the hospital. Everything was quiet. The nurse scampered off as quickly as her legs would carry her. Probably to go be sick somewhere it wouldn’t show. Teleporting does that the first time for most ponies. Luna thought. Ignoring the nurse, she felt out life essences and headed towards the ones in most distress. Two of them recently ended, a third, very weak and a fourth one that was abnormally large. Luna entered the room where she sensed these life forces and stared at the scene before her. It was bizarre. In the middle of the floor lay a Unicorn stallion, his fur and mane plastered to his body by his own blood. His muzzle was completely covered in a mixture of sweat and fluids best left undescribed. He was clearly dead from overuse of magic. On the table lay a Pegasus mare. She too, seemed to be dead, but not by natural means. Dead by what appeared to be… draining? How could that be possible? Her body was shriveled and ruined and her wings had already begun to crumble to dust where she lay. Next to the two dead lay a panting unicorn doctor, blood also streaming from his nose as the early onset of magical exhaustion took place. His horn was still glowing. “Doctor, what has happened here?” She asked as she leaned close to him to hear his voice. “Saved… the… foal…?” Luna blinked and looked quickly around the room. On a nearby table was a bundle of towels, wrapped firmly around, on closer inspection, a foal. It cried fitfully as Luna wrapped it in her telekinesis and examined the newborn closely. “H-heh… that’s… one for the record books… princess…” the Doctor panted from the floor as his magic finally gave out. “Had to… had to do a c-section while channeling magic into the mother to feed the foal’s magical font…” He coughed, spewing a bit of blood onto the floor next to where he lay. Luna was staring at the foal and didn’t say a word. She looked up and smiled at the ceiling. So much for getting out of trouble tonight. “Is… is the foal alright? I…“ he coughed and spat more blood into the floor, “I did everything I could to save the foal…” Luna laughed. It sounded harsh through the migraine punishing the doctor. “Oh doctor, thou hast saved this life on this night. Thou shalt be famous for this.” The doctor smiled. “As long as he’s safe. I… I’m glad…” There was a rustling of cloth as Luna re-adjusted the towels around the foal, revealing its silver coat and blond mane, streaked with red. “The foal lives. He is an Alicorn.” Chapter 1: Luna's StudentIt was early morning in Ponyville. The sun had barely risen and Twilight Sparkle, Librarian of Ponyville library was still trying to wake up Spike. “Oh c'mon already Spike and wake up. It's already eight!” The baby dragon merely rolled over in his sleep and mumbled something about rubies. Twilight sighed and gently facehoofed. “Darn it Spike, wake up already,” she said as she used her magic to take his blanket away from him. In response, Spike only curled into a little ball and started snoring again. It would be quite cute really, if he didn't sound like a power sander on a rotten oak tree. Twilight sighed again and dropped the blanket on the bed and went downstairs to open the library for any new readers. Okay, so maybe expecting someone to be waiting outside the library for me to open up is a bit of wishful thinking, but hey! It could still happen one day! She thought to herself as she happily trotted over to the front door to unlock it. Peering through the window and looking outside, her eyes bulged in shock. What looked like two Pegasi from the Night Guard were standing on the front lawn. They appeared to be scanning the area as if checking for possible problems to whatever mission they were on. Trying to regain her composure quickly, Twilight ducked back into the library proper and started muttering to herself. “No problem, not a problem. I haven't done anything wrong. They're just here to deliver a message, that's all! A message. It's no problem!” Her mane had begun to frizz up. Spike came down the stairs yawning. “Why do we always have to get up this early Twilight... I need more sle-” There was knocking on the door. It was still polite knocking but this knock had a slight edge to it. Almost like the owner of the knock was going to stop being polite if it didn't get answered. Spike glanced at Twilight and sighed. “I'll get the door and see what they want if you're just gonna have fits about it,” he said and promptly opened the door. “Can I help you?” He asked the Unicorn stallion now standing on the other side. He had a pale brown coat and blond mane, Might want to call it a mane. streaked with red and didn't look at all surprised that a baby dragon had answered the door. He coughed once before speaking “Yes, I suppose you can help. You would be Spike right? Miss Twilight Sparkle's assistant?” He didn't even let Spike answer. “Good. My name is Bronze Star. I have a message to deliver for Miss Twilight Sparkle from Princess Luna.“ Spike turned to look at twilight who was hurriedly patting down her mane in order to not look like she had just freaked out. “Twilight? You heard right?” Twilight coughed and stepped forward. “Of course I heard what he said.” She blinked at the Unicorn in front of her and then glanced out the open door, spotting the two Pegasi attaching themselves to a sleek black and silver chariot that rested on the side of the road outside. “Your ride? If Princess Luna wants to send me a message she could always get Princess Celestia to send it via dragonmail. I wonder why she sent you in person.” The stallion chuckled and levitated out a letter with Luna's seal on it. “You'd better read the letter.” Twilight shrugged and took the letter from Bronze. Examining the seal, she noted that unlike the seal that Celestia used, a bright gold clasp and red insignia, this one was a glistening silver clasp around a navy blue insignia. Appropriate for the Princess of the Night. Spike closed the door as soon as Bronze had stepped inside. Twilight, taking this as a cue to begin, snapped open the seal and unrolled the scroll. The words written on it were extremely ornate and written with considerable flourish. She cleared her throat and began to read out loud for the benefit of her number one assistant: “To our dear subject, Twilight Sparkle, I wish joyous tidings upon thee and hope this letter finds thee well. At the time of this missive's delivery thou should be in the presence of one Bronze Star. A Unicorn of considerable talent, We have adopted him as our personal student. There is much to be learned about magic in many forms. We have convinced our beloved sister to allow her student and ours to work together in this endeavour. We would have thee tutor our student in the magic of friendship and in turn, We hope that the two of you shall work together to bring about new orders of magic that Equestria has yet to see. We bid thee well, Luna, Princess of the Night, Sovereign of the Shadows, Keeper of Dreams” The stallion turned and smiled at Twilight. “Good morning Miss Twilight Sparkle. My name is Bronze Star.” He bowed with a slightly theatrical flourish. “I am in your care.” Twilight rolled up the letter. “Princess Luna has a student as well.” Bronze stood up from the bow and gave Twilight a funny look. “Uh, yes. That would be the ca-” The stallion was interrupted by Twilight grabbing his forehooves in hers and filling the air with a barrage of words. It sounded very much like somepony saying very quickly: “oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-this-is-going-to-be-awesome-I-get-someone-to-research-with-and-take-notes-and-work-together-with-and...” Spike sighed and pushed his way in between the two Unicorns. “Twilight. Let him breathe would ya? Heck, I think you might need to stop for a second to breathe too.” Twilight stopped and stood back a little, still hyperventilating. “But Spike! Didn't you hear the letter? The Princesses want us to invent new magic! That's something that hasn't happened since the days of Starswirl the Bearded! New magic! I can hardly believe it!” Spike sighed. “I'll go get some coffee started.” He looked nervously at the newcomer. “I guess you're gonna be staying here for a bit aren't you? Well... if that's the case I guess I better go set up the guest bed for you. Oh, and how do you like your coffee?” Bronze Star chuckled again, “I've never actually had coffee before. All the Princesses have at the palace is tea. I must admit, it's a tad bland for my tastes. I think I will give coffee a try today. One must always be willing to experiment with new things.” Bronze turned to look at Twilight, “I read most of the reports you sent the Princess and I think I have the gist of your research so far. Friendship is such an interesting subject. It makes me wish I could have spent more time with it myself.” Twilight blinked. “Wait... you uh... don't have any friends?” Bronze sighed and shook his head. “I think I would like to consider Princess Luna to be a friend but well... she can be distant. It's hard to know for sure.” With a smile, Twilight gestured for Bronze to sit down. “You seem like such a wonderful pony. If you're Princess Luna's student, then why would you not be her friend? She only seems to take the time for those she cares about even after all that time she spent acclimatizing to modern times.” The stallion smiled ruefully. “Oh yes, acclimatizing indeed. She still writes like it's a thousand years ago. Not to mention the fact that she still uses all of her titles whenever she can. Oh dear, and let's not forget about her habit of using her 'Royal Canterlot Voice' when you're standing right in front of her.” Twilight giggled as Spike came out of the kitchen with a tray loaded down with breakfast goodies and coffee. “I guess you had a rough time with her then. What's it like learning under the Princess of the Night anyways?” She asked as she took the first sip of her coffee. Bronze Star shuddered. “She snores.” He said as he took a sip of his coffee. “Hmmm... I think I like this.” Twilight gave Bronze a blank stare. “... What?” The stallion sighed and put down his cup. “The coffee? Oh, the snoring. Don't ask, it's not really important. Oh! That reminds me. I need to send a letter to Princess Luna to let her know that I've arrived safely. She said she'd stay awake until she got my letter. Er, may I ask if you could write the letter for me Spike? It might make it easier since my writing is not up to the Princess' standard.” Spike pulled out a parchment and a quill. “Sure thing. I guess you need me to send it too huh? It'll go through Princess Celestia first, but it's faster then regular mail.” Bronze Star smiled gently and shook his head. “No I shouldn't need help sending it to my mentor. She taught me an interesting spell before I left Canterlot. It should let me send messages without too much fuss or bother on Princess Celestia's part. In fact, the spell even has a sort of delay on it. The messages should wait until she is awake to deliver them. In this case it should arrive immediately, but for all of my future letters it should wait until she wakens for her nightly duties.” He cleared his throat and started to dictate: “Dear Princess Luna, I have arrived safely at the Ponyville library and have met with Miss Twilight Sparkle. I have made arrangements with her and we should get along just fine. Thank you for staying awake until you heard back from me, and I wish you a good night. Your student, Bronze Star.” Spike finished the last period and blew warmed air on it until it was dry; a trick he picked up from years of doing it for Twilight. He rolled up the scroll and held it out for Bronze Star to deal with. “So what's this trick you learned from the Princess? It sounds like something that Twilight might want to learn.” Twilight was leaning close, hoping to discover some new form of magic she hadn't learned yet. With a laugh, Bronze levitated the scroll and opened it, scanning the words to make sure nothing was incorrect in his correspondence. Happy with the result he re-rolled the scroll and grinned. “It took me a few tries to get this right, Miss Sparkle. You might have as much trouble as I did with it.” His horn's glow suddenly increased in intensity as the scroll itself lit on fire with Princess Luna's signature blue flames and vanished in a small cloud of slightly acrid smoke. Twilight blinked. “Artificial dragonmail? Wow, that sort of magic is horribly complicated! I haven't been able to replicate Spike's fire even after years of trying. Princess Luna wasn't kidding when she said you were talented. Oooh, you're gonna have to show me how you did that! I really can't wait to impress Princess Celestia with that spell!” The stallion smiled at Twilight. “I would be delighted to show you the spell, but I am a little tired from the journey and from being awake so late in the day. Would it be possible for me to rest for a bit first?” Twilight hesitated with an odd expression on her face. “Er... late in the day... oh! I see, you studied with Princess Luna, so you must spend most of your days asleep like she does. Yes, of course you can rest. By the way, I should let you know that if you'll be living here, you'll probably have to get used to a less nocturnal schedule.” Bronze nodded, while stifling a yawn. “Of course, Miss Sparkle. It may take me a few days to get used to sleeping at night though.” The mare sighed. “You'll also have to get used to just calling me Twilight. I'm not very formal around my friends you know. Anyways. Our guest room is in the basement I'm afraid. Not very bright but very comfortable and it has good privacy. That's no trouble is it?” The stallion nodded. “ That would be fine, thank you. I think I can handle sleeping in a basement Miss.... er, Twilight. And thank you for everything.” Twilight inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Not many ponies liked sleeping in the basement for some reason or another. “Spike, would you please go and show him where he'll be staying for now? You might have to move a few things too while you're at it.” Spike gave a mock salute and lead the way. Bronze Star followed, looking around the library as he did. Twilight sighed and finished her coffee. “I guess we're in for some interesting times around here. New magic... I can hardly believe it.” Chapter 2: Of Bows and CannonsSwish Thump Twilight awoke to the familiar surroundings of her room. At first she wasn't sure why she was awake. Then, she realised it was because it was time to wake up and open the library for the morning. Swish Thump After briefly running a brush through her mane to get the bed-head out she yawned and headed down to the front door again. She peeked outside out of habit and this time, not seeing any Pegasus night guards on her lawn, she unlocked the door. Swish Thump She walked outside and checked the mailbox. Technically it was too early for regular mail but sometimes urgent messages showed up early. No mail. Alright, time for a rousing breakfast. “Spike!” Twilight called out, wondering where the baby dragon was hiding this morning. Swish Thump “Spike! Where are you! It's time for breakfast!” Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor thoughtfully and glanced around the room. She spotted a suitcase neatly tucked into a corner. “Oh... right...” Swish Thump Twilight sighed and headed for the basement. Tapping on the door she listened for a response. “Bronze Dust? Are you awake?” she paused, continuing to listen hard. “Bronze? Oh well, I guess he's still trying to get on a normal schedule.” Spike chose that moment to appear at Twilight's elbow with a cup of coffee for her. “Uh actually I don't think he's asleep right now. Coffee?” Swish Thump Twilight jumped slightly in surprise. “Huh? Oh coffee...” she grabbed the cup with her telekinesis and greedily drank the dark liquid inside. “Phew that feels better. What do you mean he's not asleep right now? And what's the thumping noise anyways?” Spike grinned mischievously. “This, you gotta see.” ... A perfect arc. That was the only way you could describe it. A perfect arc. Swish Thump The arrow traveled from the bow in Bronze Star's hooves with perfect accuracy to the wooden target more then 100 paces away and landed dead onto the bulls-eye. There was no magic here. Simple physics by the looks of it but the stallion hadn't noticed Twilight or Spike watching just yet. He used his telekinesis to lift the bow up to his hooves again and nocked another arrow before dropping his magic and taking aim once again. Swish Thump Another perfect shot, this time the arrow struck the target less then an inch away from the one just before it without even ruffling the fletching on the first. “That's amazing!” Twilight burst out before she could stop herself. Bronze Star lay down his bow on the grass and turned to face Twilight with a smile. “It's just a hobby of mine. It certainly helps the Night Guard with their training though,” he said. “Good morning, by the way.” Twilight blushed slightly as she walked out onto the grass of her back lawn. “How? Training the Night Guard?” The stallion hesitated before answering. “Well I suppose it's not too hard to understand. It's certainly not a secret but it's nothing that just anypony likes to think about honestly. While Princess Celestia's Dawn Guard mostly parade around to gather up wrongdoers and protect the castle, the Night Guard is special ops for the most part. That ranges from anything involving spy work and intelligence gathering in foreign nations to er... more unsavoury work.” Twilight's eyes widened. “Uhm... you don't mean...” Bronze nodded. “Yes. Assassination work. There hasn't been call for it in centuries. Or at least, so I'm told by Princess Celestia.” Spike picked up the bow and tested the string. It gave a high pitched twang when he plucked at it. “How do you use this to train with the Night Guard?” he asked. Bronze chuckled as he levitated an arrow out of a nearby quiver over to where the three of them were standing. “With this.” Spike looked at the arrow and then grinned. “Suction cup arrows huh.” Twilight still had a puzzled look on her face. “I don't see how that helps with stealth training...” she said. The stallion smiled and said simply, “like this,” before lifting his the suction cup arrow to his bow and firing it into a small bush near where they were standing. It disappeared into the leaves with a loud 'thwop' followed almost immediately by something large, pink and squealing leaping out of the bushes and landing on her back in front of the two of them. The arrow was stuck firmly on her forehead. “Pinkie! What were you doing hiding in the bushes?!” Twilight exclaimed as the party pony looked up with a loopy expression on her face. Pinkie jumped up, righted herself and put her face ridiculously close to Twilight's before starting to talk at an extremely fast pace. “I heard there was a new guy in town so I went looking for him and then I found out he had a bow and it was so awesome and I thought I should watch and see how good he was and then it was like amazing and I couldn't get out of hiding and then you showed up and he totally is awesome and where's he from and how come you didn't tell us that he's here and -” This continued for several seconds before Twilight managed to catch up and shove a hoof in her mouth to silence the pony for a moment. It worked, sort of. Pinkie continued to speak, though her words could not be heard intelligibly since there was a hoof muffling them. “Slow down Pinkie! We can't keep up,” she said, still keeping her hoof in place, despite the fact that it was getting covered in Pinkie slobber. “Pinkie, this is Bronze Star, he's Princess Luna's student and he's staying here to help me with my research on the magic of friendship.” Twilight said, finally removing her hoof and wiping it on the grass. “I haven't had a chance to bring him around to introduce him to everypony because he needed time to get used to being awake in the day time...” Twilight paused and looked over her shoulder at Bronze Star as he returned from the target with his arrows. “You must be still getting used to being awake so early in the morning, it's only been a day.” The stallion shrugged. “I think I'm good enough to go about meeting all of your friends. That is what you had planned for when I'd sorted out the nocturnal thing right?” he asked with a smirk. At this, Pinkie Pie jumped up into the air with a huge gasp. She grinned ear to ear and grabbed Twilight's face with her hooves planted her forehead against the unicorn's. She managed to narrowly avoid spearing her temporary horn on Twilight's very real one. “You know what this means?!?! I need to go get cakes, streamers and invitations! STAT!” she yelled before dashing off out of sight in a flash. Bronze Star blinked and looked over in the direction he saw Pinkie leave. “Uh... that was your friend Pinkamena right?” he asked scratching the side of his head with a hoof. “What was that all abou-” Pinkie re-appeared directly behind the unicorn stallion and pulled the cord attached to the back end of a large, light blue cannon which immediately belched confetti and streamers everywhere. Spike took cover in the small bush as some of the streamers draped themselves across the horns of the two unicorns and the suction cup horn still stuck to Pinkie's forehead. “It's time for a PARTYYYYY!!!” she yelled before vanishing again, shedding confetti, glitter and various other party supplies in her wake. Twilight shook the bits of fabric out of her mane and off her horn. “I am never going to get used to that,” she muttered as she turned to see how Luna's student was taking meeting the most rambunctious resident of Ponyville. Much to Twilight's surprise, he was taking it quite well. He hadn't fallen over yet and he hadn't gone completely catatonic. He looked like he was only wondering how she'd snuck up on him like that. Bronze shook his head, shaking loose a bunch of the party cannon's payload. “That's... quite impressive,” he mused. “She'd probably give the Night Guard quite the run for its money if she wanted to.” Twilight grinned. “That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. I have yet to meet anypony who could spot her when she wants to throw a surprise welcome their way,” she said as she pulled Spike out from under the bush and gave him a slight shake to let him know to pull his claws out of his ears. “It's normal. I expect that most of the town will be at her party to welcome you to Ponyville so it's probably the best way to go make friends. It worked for me after all and I'm a total shut-in.” Bronze Star smiled a little solemnly. “I... great... I guess... she's much more energetic than the letters you two have been sending to the Princess led me to believe.” Twilight walked over to the library door and hesitated. With a sigh she looked back over her shoulder “Welcome to Ponyville. It's mostly quiet... mostly.”
Chapter 0: PrologueIn the examination room in the Canterlot hospital, Glitter Star, the local Pegasus mail-mare was getting examined by the doctor once again for her pregnancy. She’d been there twice before; once when she started to have morning sickness, the second as the foal started to develop inside her and now, deep in the last stages of carrying her child. Her unicorn husband, Bronze Dust, was fidgeting nearby. "Well, you look to be in perfect health.” Started doctor Helpinghooves while examining Glitter Star, “your pregnancy shouldn't have any complications, just come to us if you need anything at all or if anything feels out of the ordinary." "Er, doctor... there is one thing...". Bronze Dust trailed off, as if unsure that it meant anything. The doctor paused, looking him in the eye. "Go ahead. I'm here to help." "Well, er, doc... it's sort of weird really." Bronze Dust paused again, clearly nervous. “it’s just... well my darling Glitter is feeling weaker lately. Some days, she can barely stand up and I'm sort of worried about her health. I know you said she's perfectly healthy but I can't help but feel concerned." He shrugged again, shaking an unwelcome thought from his head. "Oh, is that all?" the Doctor smiled, looked away and levitated Glitter’s chart up in front of his face. "Yes, well I had noted that your natural magic was a bit low currently, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Have you heard of Fetal Magic Drain? At this point in the pregnancy, a unicorn foal will subconsciously create his or her magical font from the natural magic found in the mother's body. For most unicorn mothers this means a slight dip in their usual magical font. In the case of non-unicorn mothers, this leads to general weakness in physical abilities. “This is a normal response and you should be fine if you continue to rest and eat nutritious food. Your appetite might be slightly elevated from the norm for childbearing but it's nothing to be too concerned about. It's just your body making up for the magic being given to your foal." Helpinghooves sighed at the blank looks. "Look it's pretty simple really. You would know how your magical font works as a unicorn." Bronze Dust nodded and Glitter Star merely shrugged. "Well, it's simple enough. Pegasi and Earth Ponies have their own natural magical font as well; one that is for the most part unconscious. It allows them to do the things that they do. For pegasi it grants them the powers of flight and the ability to walk on clouds. For earth ponies it grants them remarkable strength and wonderful endurance. In your case, your foal is taking a part of your magical essence and using it to create his or her own magical font. It's natural and I would encourage this sort of growth anyways." The young couple breathed a sigh of relief. Helpinghooves nodded, "I can teach you to help if it gets out of hand. I know some non-unicorn mothers experience severe weakness and dizziness if the foal's font ends up being larger than expected. All it will do is transfer a little of your magic into your wife so that there will be more magic to go around. Of course, you should be careful with the spell because you can force yourself into magic exhaustion if you overdo it." Some time later, the happy couple left, walking slowly down the street to their home after waving goodbye to the doctor. Luna's moon was starting to rise already and the stars shined brightly as if they were smiling down on them all. Helpinghooves walked back inside the hospital and found one of the nurses assigned to help his patients. "Nurse, have I got any other appointments today?" He asked politely, completely forgetting her name yet again. "No doctor, that's all for today. You get to go home now, but don't forget, you're on call tonight.” The doctor sighed tiredly. “I guess that means going to the bar for a quick one is out of the question then. Oh well, I guess I’d better get home.” ……………. *bang**bang* *bang* The knocking of the door woke Helpinghooves from his sleep. “What?!” He shook his head free of the clinging drowsiness of the night and stood up as the banging at his door came once more. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” he shouted back at the person outside and he snagged his medical bag from where it sat beside the door purely out of habit. He opened the door with a half-yawn and glared at the young orderly standing outside looking aggravated. “What do you want n-“ “No time doc! Lets GO!” the orderly shouted and grabbed both the doctor and the medical bag before bodily heaving him down the street towards the hospital as fast as he could. They were already halfway up the street by the time the doctor got his hooves under him and started running alongside the orderly. “What’s the emergency?!” he shouted, between pants for breath. “Who is it…?” What the orderly said next shocked the doctor so much that he broke into a dead sprint and made as much as a full street’s distance on the orderly in a heartbeat. “Glitter Star.” ………….. The doctor burst into the room and didn’t even need ask what had happened. A simple glance at the nurses trying to restrain Bronze Dust, who had a severe nosebleed, was enough. He rushed to Glitter Dust’s side, who looked up at the doctor through fear-filled eyes. With a wrench, Helpinghooves turned away and started barking orders for medical supplies he didn’t carry in his bag. At his order, the nurses dropped what they were doing and went running. The Doctor immediately realised his mistake. Bronze Dust had seen his chance. Rushing to his wife’s side he began to channel more magic into her weakened body, causing his nosebleed to gush again. The doctor grimaced at the sight of the stallion causing himself so much distress over his wife. “Stop it! You’re only going to cause yourself to go into magical arrest at this rate. I’m surprised you’re still conscious in the state you are in! You can’t help her if you’re dead!” he said, pushing his way in front of the spell and forcing Bronze Dust to stop. The unicorn woozily glared back at the doctor. “Doc, look at her! She’s dying from lack of magic. What I’m doing is keeping her alive. Either you tell me you have an idea to save her, or you shut the hell up and get out of my way!” The Doctor grimaced again under the verbal barrage. “I can’t…. I just can’t let you kill yourself, not even for this.” Bronze Dust, still dizzy, stamped a hoof and readied his horn. “Get out of my way before I make you.” Helpinghooves glared back at Bronze Dust for a moment before the nurses came back at a run with everything he had demanded and allowed him a spare moment to take command of the situation. “Get her on the IV drip now! You! Start checking the foal’s vitals. If she’s in this much distress, he can’t be far behind! And you!” He turned and glared at the father. “You will get out of my way and let me do my job.” “Doctor!” It was one of the nurses. That’s not good. He thought. Helpinghooves looked back at the patient and stared in shock. “Not… good… at… all..” he muttered as he watched her wings. “Doctor…” the Nurse had her hoof over her mouth, half in shock, half in terror. “Are her wings…” Helpinghooves shuddered as the wings shriveled and dried out before their very eyes. “They’re being drained of their magic.” He said somberly. The doctor looked up and closed his eyes with a sad thought in his mind. “Send for the princesses. I don’t know how long I will be able to do this.” He said as he lowered his horn and began to focus his magic. “Go! Hurry!” He yelled as his horn lit with intensity rarely seen by medical staff. With a jerk he began to channel his magic into the patient much like the father had. Sweet Celestia! Whatever is eating all this magic is intense! He felt the torrent of magic being sucked into what felt like a vast endless void as he channeled more and more of his magic into the mother and her foal. The shriveling of her wings slowed but did not stop. “NO! I will NOT lose a patient!” he yelled, increasing the intensity and flow of his magic. Nearby he heard a grunt as Bronze Dust forced himself to continue to channel his already empty magical font into his wife. Through sheer force of will, Bronze Dust red-zoned and began to drain his own life essence in a desperate attempt to save them. Helpinghooves barely noticed, and didn’t spare more than a glance as he struggled to continue his efforts. …………… Night Court was in session and Luna was already bored out of her wits. Why did they always come to her with the boring cases? She shook herself slightly as two somewhat elderly unicorns (lawyers, of course) in drab grey suits argued with each other over a sack of beans while Luna was supposed to listen and make her decision. With a yawn, Luna’s thoughts idly turned to prattle such as how this could not get worse should these lawyers try. She was wrong of course. A soldier of the night guard rushed up to the princess and interrupted the two lawyers “Princess, it’s an emergency at the hospital, you are needed there immediately. The messenger said it was a matter of life and death!” Luna grinned inwardly, thinking it a great way to escape having to listen to two lawyers drone on for hours on end. Especially since it sounded like all she needed to do was show a poor doctor how to do his job. This would be easy. She rose regally and smiled a winning smile. “Gentlestallions. It would seem that We are needed elsewhere. Thou mayst continue this debate with our sister during the Day Court, time allowing.” She said. Yes keep them off balance. That should sort them out for bothering me all night with petty complaints. She turned to face the guard “Thou sayest that We are needed at the hospital? Where is the messenger? We shall depart immediately.” The nurse looked up as the Princess walked out into the hall and immediately dropped into a deep bow. Oh dear, they always bow. thought Luna “Rise, loyal subject. We shall head to the source of the emergency at once.” Stepping smartly forward she encircled both the very frightened nurse herself in her magic and immediately teleported the two of them all the way to the front entry of the hospital. Everything was quiet. The nurse scampered off as quickly as her legs would carry her. Probably to go be sick somewhere it wouldn’t show. Teleporting does that the first time for most ponies. Luna thought. Ignoring the nurse, she felt out life essences and headed towards the ones in most distress. Two of them recently ended, a third, very weak and a fourth one that was abnormally large. Luna entered the room where she sensed these life forces and stared at the scene before her. It was bizarre. In the middle of the floor lay a Unicorn stallion, his fur and mane plastered to his body by his own blood. His muzzle was completely covered in a mixture of sweat and fluids best left undescribed. He was clearly dead from overuse of magic. On the table lay a Pegasus mare. She too, seemed to be dead, but not by natural means. Dead by what appeared to be… draining? How could that be possible? Her body was shriveled and ruined and her wings had already begun to crumble to dust where she lay. Next to the two dead lay a panting unicorn doctor, blood also streaming from his nose as the early onset of magical exhaustion took place. His horn was still glowing. “Doctor, what has happened here?” She asked as she leaned close to him to hear his voice. “Saved… the… foal…?” Luna blinked and looked quickly around the room. On a nearby table was a bundle of towels, wrapped firmly around, on closer inspection, a foal. It cried fitfully as Luna wrapped it in her telekinesis and examined the newborn closely. “H-heh… that’s… one for the record books… princess…” the Doctor panted from the floor as his magic finally gave out. “Had to… had to do a c-section while channeling magic into the mother to feed the foal’s magical font…” He coughed, spewing a bit of blood onto the floor next to where he lay. Luna was staring at the foal and didn’t say a word. She looked up and smiled at the ceiling. So much for getting out of trouble tonight. “Is… is the foal alright? I…“ he coughed and spat more blood into the floor, “I did everything I could to save the foal…” Luna laughed. It sounded harsh through the migraine punishing the doctor. “Oh doctor, thou hast saved this life on this night. Thou shalt be famous for this.” The doctor smiled. “As long as he’s safe. I… I’m glad…” There was a rustling of cloth as Luna re-adjusted the towels around the foal, revealing its silver coat and blond mane, streaked with red. “The foal lives. He is an Alicorn.”
Chapter 1: Luna's StudentIt was early morning in Ponyville. The sun had barely risen and Twilight Sparkle, Librarian of Ponyville library was still trying to wake up Spike. “Oh c'mon already Spike and wake up. It's already eight!” The baby dragon merely rolled over in his sleep and mumbled something about rubies. Twilight sighed and gently facehoofed. “Darn it Spike, wake up already,” she said as she used her magic to take his blanket away from him. In response, Spike only curled into a little ball and started snoring again. It would be quite cute really, if he didn't sound like a power sander on a rotten oak tree. Twilight sighed again and dropped the blanket on the bed and went downstairs to open the library for any new readers. Okay, so maybe expecting someone to be waiting outside the library for me to open up is a bit of wishful thinking, but hey! It could still happen one day! She thought to herself as she happily trotted over to the front door to unlock it. Peering through the window and looking outside, her eyes bulged in shock. What looked like two Pegasi from the Night Guard were standing on the front lawn. They appeared to be scanning the area as if checking for possible problems to whatever mission they were on. Trying to regain her composure quickly, Twilight ducked back into the library proper and started muttering to herself. “No problem, not a problem. I haven't done anything wrong. They're just here to deliver a message, that's all! A message. It's no problem!” Her mane had begun to frizz up. Spike came down the stairs yawning. “Why do we always have to get up this early Twilight... I need more sle-” There was knocking on the door. It was still polite knocking but this knock had a slight edge to it. Almost like the owner of the knock was going to stop being polite if it didn't get answered. Spike glanced at Twilight and sighed. “I'll get the door and see what they want if you're just gonna have fits about it,” he said and promptly opened the door. “Can I help you?” He asked the Unicorn stallion now standing on the other side. He had a pale brown coat and blond mane, Might want to call it a mane. streaked with red and didn't look at all surprised that a baby dragon had answered the door. He coughed once before speaking “Yes, I suppose you can help. You would be Spike right? Miss Twilight Sparkle's assistant?” He didn't even let Spike answer. “Good. My name is Bronze Star. I have a message to deliver for Miss Twilight Sparkle from Princess Luna.“ Spike turned to look at twilight who was hurriedly patting down her mane in order to not look like she had just freaked out. “Twilight? You heard right?” Twilight coughed and stepped forward. “Of course I heard what he said.” She blinked at the Unicorn in front of her and then glanced out the open door, spotting the two Pegasi attaching themselves to a sleek black and silver chariot that rested on the side of the road outside. “Your ride? If Princess Luna wants to send me a message she could always get Princess Celestia to send it via dragonmail. I wonder why she sent you in person.” The stallion chuckled and levitated out a letter with Luna's seal on it. “You'd better read the letter.” Twilight shrugged and took the letter from Bronze. Examining the seal, she noted that unlike the seal that Celestia used, a bright gold clasp and red insignia, this one was a glistening silver clasp around a navy blue insignia. Appropriate for the Princess of the Night. Spike closed the door as soon as Bronze had stepped inside. Twilight, taking this as a cue to begin, snapped open the seal and unrolled the scroll. The words written on it were extremely ornate and written with considerable flourish. She cleared her throat and began to read out loud for the benefit of her number one assistant: “To our dear subject, Twilight Sparkle, I wish joyous tidings upon thee and hope this letter finds thee well. At the time of this missive's delivery thou should be in the presence of one Bronze Star. A Unicorn of considerable talent, We have adopted him as our personal student. There is much to be learned about magic in many forms. We have convinced our beloved sister to allow her student and ours to work together in this endeavour. We would have thee tutor our student in the magic of friendship and in turn, We hope that the two of you shall work together to bring about new orders of magic that Equestria has yet to see. We bid thee well, Luna, Princess of the Night, Sovereign of the Shadows, Keeper of Dreams” The stallion turned and smiled at Twilight. “Good morning Miss Twilight Sparkle. My name is Bronze Star.” He bowed with a slightly theatrical flourish. “I am in your care.” Twilight rolled up the letter. “Princess Luna has a student as well.” Bronze stood up from the bow and gave Twilight a funny look. “Uh, yes. That would be the ca-” The stallion was interrupted by Twilight grabbing his forehooves in hers and filling the air with a barrage of words. It sounded very much like somepony saying very quickly: “oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-this-is-going-to-be-awesome-I-get-someone-to-research-with-and-take-notes-and-work-together-with-and...” Spike sighed and pushed his way in between the two Unicorns. “Twilight. Let him breathe would ya? Heck, I think you might need to stop for a second to breathe too.” Twilight stopped and stood back a little, still hyperventilating. “But Spike! Didn't you hear the letter? The Princesses want us to invent new magic! That's something that hasn't happened since the days of Starswirl the Bearded! New magic! I can hardly believe it!” Spike sighed. “I'll go get some coffee started.” He looked nervously at the newcomer. “I guess you're gonna be staying here for a bit aren't you? Well... if that's the case I guess I better go set up the guest bed for you. Oh, and how do you like your coffee?” Bronze Star chuckled again, “I've never actually had coffee before. All the Princesses have at the palace is tea. I must admit, it's a tad bland for my tastes. I think I will give coffee a try today. One must always be willing to experiment with new things.” Bronze turned to look at Twilight, “I read most of the reports you sent the Princess and I think I have the gist of your research so far. Friendship is such an interesting subject. It makes me wish I could have spent more time with it myself.” Twilight blinked. “Wait... you uh... don't have any friends?” Bronze sighed and shook his head. “I think I would like to consider Princess Luna to be a friend but well... she can be distant. It's hard to know for sure.” With a smile, Twilight gestured for Bronze to sit down. “You seem like such a wonderful pony. If you're Princess Luna's student, then why would you not be her friend? She only seems to take the time for those she cares about even after all that time she spent acclimatizing to modern times.” The stallion smiled ruefully. “Oh yes, acclimatizing indeed. She still writes like it's a thousand years ago. Not to mention the fact that she still uses all of her titles whenever she can. Oh dear, and let's not forget about her habit of using her 'Royal Canterlot Voice' when you're standing right in front of her.” Twilight giggled as Spike came out of the kitchen with a tray loaded down with breakfast goodies and coffee. “I guess you had a rough time with her then. What's it like learning under the Princess of the Night anyways?” She asked as she took the first sip of her coffee. Bronze Star shuddered. “She snores.” He said as he took a sip of his coffee. “Hmmm... I think I like this.” Twilight gave Bronze a blank stare. “... What?” The stallion sighed and put down his cup. “The coffee? Oh, the snoring. Don't ask, it's not really important. Oh! That reminds me. I need to send a letter to Princess Luna to let her know that I've arrived safely. She said she'd stay awake until she got my letter. Er, may I ask if you could write the letter for me Spike? It might make it easier since my writing is not up to the Princess' standard.” Spike pulled out a parchment and a quill. “Sure thing. I guess you need me to send it too huh? It'll go through Princess Celestia first, but it's faster then regular mail.” Bronze Star smiled gently and shook his head. “No I shouldn't need help sending it to my mentor. She taught me an interesting spell before I left Canterlot. It should let me send messages without too much fuss or bother on Princess Celestia's part. In fact, the spell even has a sort of delay on it. The messages should wait until she is awake to deliver them. In this case it should arrive immediately, but for all of my future letters it should wait until she wakens for her nightly duties.” He cleared his throat and started to dictate: “Dear Princess Luna, I have arrived safely at the Ponyville library and have met with Miss Twilight Sparkle. I have made arrangements with her and we should get along just fine. Thank you for staying awake until you heard back from me, and I wish you a good night. Your student, Bronze Star.” Spike finished the last period and blew warmed air on it until it was dry; a trick he picked up from years of doing it for Twilight. He rolled up the scroll and held it out for Bronze Star to deal with. “So what's this trick you learned from the Princess? It sounds like something that Twilight might want to learn.” Twilight was leaning close, hoping to discover some new form of magic she hadn't learned yet. With a laugh, Bronze levitated the scroll and opened it, scanning the words to make sure nothing was incorrect in his correspondence. Happy with the result he re-rolled the scroll and grinned. “It took me a few tries to get this right, Miss Sparkle. You might have as much trouble as I did with it.” His horn's glow suddenly increased in intensity as the scroll itself lit on fire with Princess Luna's signature blue flames and vanished in a small cloud of slightly acrid smoke. Twilight blinked. “Artificial dragonmail? Wow, that sort of magic is horribly complicated! I haven't been able to replicate Spike's fire even after years of trying. Princess Luna wasn't kidding when she said you were talented. Oooh, you're gonna have to show me how you did that! I really can't wait to impress Princess Celestia with that spell!” The stallion smiled at Twilight. “I would be delighted to show you the spell, but I am a little tired from the journey and from being awake so late in the day. Would it be possible for me to rest for a bit first?” Twilight hesitated with an odd expression on her face. “Er... late in the day... oh! I see, you studied with Princess Luna, so you must spend most of your days asleep like she does. Yes, of course you can rest. By the way, I should let you know that if you'll be living here, you'll probably have to get used to a less nocturnal schedule.” Bronze nodded, while stifling a yawn. “Of course, Miss Sparkle. It may take me a few days to get used to sleeping at night though.” The mare sighed. “You'll also have to get used to just calling me Twilight. I'm not very formal around my friends you know. Anyways. Our guest room is in the basement I'm afraid. Not very bright but very comfortable and it has good privacy. That's no trouble is it?” The stallion nodded. “ That would be fine, thank you. I think I can handle sleeping in a basement Miss.... er, Twilight. And thank you for everything.” Twilight inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Not many ponies liked sleeping in the basement for some reason or another. “Spike, would you please go and show him where he'll be staying for now? You might have to move a few things too while you're at it.” Spike gave a mock salute and lead the way. Bronze Star followed, looking around the library as he did. Twilight sighed and finished her coffee. “I guess we're in for some interesting times around here. New magic... I can hardly believe it.”
Chapter 2: Of Bows and CannonsSwish Thump Twilight awoke to the familiar surroundings of her room. At first she wasn't sure why she was awake. Then, she realised it was because it was time to wake up and open the library for the morning. Swish Thump After briefly running a brush through her mane to get the bed-head out she yawned and headed down to the front door again. She peeked outside out of habit and this time, not seeing any Pegasus night guards on her lawn, she unlocked the door. Swish Thump She walked outside and checked the mailbox. Technically it was too early for regular mail but sometimes urgent messages showed up early. No mail. Alright, time for a rousing breakfast. “Spike!” Twilight called out, wondering where the baby dragon was hiding this morning. Swish Thump “Spike! Where are you! It's time for breakfast!” Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor thoughtfully and glanced around the room. She spotted a suitcase neatly tucked into a corner. “Oh... right...” Swish Thump Twilight sighed and headed for the basement. Tapping on the door she listened for a response. “Bronze Dust? Are you awake?” she paused, continuing to listen hard. “Bronze? Oh well, I guess he's still trying to get on a normal schedule.” Spike chose that moment to appear at Twilight's elbow with a cup of coffee for her. “Uh actually I don't think he's asleep right now. Coffee?” Swish Thump Twilight jumped slightly in surprise. “Huh? Oh coffee...” she grabbed the cup with her telekinesis and greedily drank the dark liquid inside. “Phew that feels better. What do you mean he's not asleep right now? And what's the thumping noise anyways?” Spike grinned mischievously. “This, you gotta see.” ... A perfect arc. That was the only way you could describe it. A perfect arc. Swish Thump The arrow traveled from the bow in Bronze Star's hooves with perfect accuracy to the wooden target more then 100 paces away and landed dead onto the bulls-eye. There was no magic here. Simple physics by the looks of it but the stallion hadn't noticed Twilight or Spike watching just yet. He used his telekinesis to lift the bow up to his hooves again and nocked another arrow before dropping his magic and taking aim once again. Swish Thump Another perfect shot, this time the arrow struck the target less then an inch away from the one just before it without even ruffling the fletching on the first. “That's amazing!” Twilight burst out before she could stop herself. Bronze Star lay down his bow on the grass and turned to face Twilight with a smile. “It's just a hobby of mine. It certainly helps the Night Guard with their training though,” he said. “Good morning, by the way.” Twilight blushed slightly as she walked out onto the grass of her back lawn. “How? Training the Night Guard?” The stallion hesitated before answering. “Well I suppose it's not too hard to understand. It's certainly not a secret but it's nothing that just anypony likes to think about honestly. While Princess Celestia's Dawn Guard mostly parade around to gather up wrongdoers and protect the castle, the Night Guard is special ops for the most part. That ranges from anything involving spy work and intelligence gathering in foreign nations to er... more unsavoury work.” Twilight's eyes widened. “Uhm... you don't mean...” Bronze nodded. “Yes. Assassination work. There hasn't been call for it in centuries. Or at least, so I'm told by Princess Celestia.” Spike picked up the bow and tested the string. It gave a high pitched twang when he plucked at it. “How do you use this to train with the Night Guard?” he asked. Bronze chuckled as he levitated an arrow out of a nearby quiver over to where the three of them were standing. “With this.” Spike looked at the arrow and then grinned. “Suction cup arrows huh.” Twilight still had a puzzled look on her face. “I don't see how that helps with stealth training...” she said. The stallion smiled and said simply, “like this,” before lifting his the suction cup arrow to his bow and firing it into a small bush near where they were standing. It disappeared into the leaves with a loud 'thwop' followed almost immediately by something large, pink and squealing leaping out of the bushes and landing on her back in front of the two of them. The arrow was stuck firmly on her forehead. “Pinkie! What were you doing hiding in the bushes?!” Twilight exclaimed as the party pony looked up with a loopy expression on her face. Pinkie jumped up, righted herself and put her face ridiculously close to Twilight's before starting to talk at an extremely fast pace. “I heard there was a new guy in town so I went looking for him and then I found out he had a bow and it was so awesome and I thought I should watch and see how good he was and then it was like amazing and I couldn't get out of hiding and then you showed up and he totally is awesome and where's he from and how come you didn't tell us that he's here and -” This continued for several seconds before Twilight managed to catch up and shove a hoof in her mouth to silence the pony for a moment. It worked, sort of. Pinkie continued to speak, though her words could not be heard intelligibly since there was a hoof muffling them. “Slow down Pinkie! We can't keep up,” she said, still keeping her hoof in place, despite the fact that it was getting covered in Pinkie slobber. “Pinkie, this is Bronze Star, he's Princess Luna's student and he's staying here to help me with my research on the magic of friendship.” Twilight said, finally removing her hoof and wiping it on the grass. “I haven't had a chance to bring him around to introduce him to everypony because he needed time to get used to being awake in the day time...” Twilight paused and looked over her shoulder at Bronze Star as he returned from the target with his arrows. “You must be still getting used to being awake so early in the morning, it's only been a day.” The stallion shrugged. “I think I'm good enough to go about meeting all of your friends. That is what you had planned for when I'd sorted out the nocturnal thing right?” he asked with a smirk. At this, Pinkie Pie jumped up into the air with a huge gasp. She grinned ear to ear and grabbed Twilight's face with her hooves planted her forehead against the unicorn's. She managed to narrowly avoid spearing her temporary horn on Twilight's very real one. “You know what this means?!?! I need to go get cakes, streamers and invitations! STAT!” she yelled before dashing off out of sight in a flash. Bronze Star blinked and looked over in the direction he saw Pinkie leave. “Uh... that was your friend Pinkamena right?” he asked scratching the side of his head with a hoof. “What was that all abou-” Pinkie re-appeared directly behind the unicorn stallion and pulled the cord attached to the back end of a large, light blue cannon which immediately belched confetti and streamers everywhere. Spike took cover in the small bush as some of the streamers draped themselves across the horns of the two unicorns and the suction cup horn still stuck to Pinkie's forehead. “It's time for a PARTYYYYY!!!” she yelled before vanishing again, shedding confetti, glitter and various other party supplies in her wake. Twilight shook the bits of fabric out of her mane and off her horn. “I am never going to get used to that,” she muttered as she turned to see how Luna's student was taking meeting the most rambunctious resident of Ponyville. Much to Twilight's surprise, he was taking it quite well. He hadn't fallen over yet and he hadn't gone completely catatonic. He looked like he was only wondering how she'd snuck up on him like that. Bronze shook his head, shaking loose a bunch of the party cannon's payload. “That's... quite impressive,” he mused. “She'd probably give the Night Guard quite the run for its money if she wanted to.” Twilight grinned. “That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. I have yet to meet anypony who could spot her when she wants to throw a surprise welcome their way,” she said as she pulled Spike out from under the bush and gave him a slight shake to let him know to pull his claws out of his ears. “It's normal. I expect that most of the town will be at her party to welcome you to Ponyville so it's probably the best way to go make friends. It worked for me after all and I'm a total shut-in.” Bronze Star smiled a little solemnly. “I... great... I guess... she's much more energetic than the letters you two have been sending to the Princess led me to believe.” Twilight walked over to the library door and hesitated. With a sigh she looked back over her shoulder “Welcome to Ponyville. It's mostly quiet... mostly.”
