The Lost Prince

The muttering crowd had been waiting for a long time in the town hall for the arrival of Celestia, but so far, no-one had even seen the glint of a golden chariot in the lightening sky. Day was beginning to dispel the night, but the Princess of the Sun was not present to raise the celestial body she stood for.

Octavia groaned and slumped her head on her cello. This wait was possibly the longest the grey mare had had in her career, and it was for none other than a princess. Lyra was also quite anxious beside her, nervously plucking her strings one by one with her magic to make sure they were in tune. Ponyville’s resident DJ, though, was calmer than most in the room. She’d had late guests before, so it wasn’t much to her. Octavia, however, being a pony of punctuality, was not too pleased.

“I had no idea that a princess could be this late,” Octavia remarked, glancing hopefully at the sky to see if the princess was arriving yet.

“It is quite out of the ordinary,” Lyra agreed, putting down her lyre for a moment. “She’s never been late to a celebration before.”

“She’s a princess, so she does what she likes,” the DJ pointed out, leaning back on her equipment. “Although she’d better have a good explanation for this.”

“Vinyl, I honestly doubt Celestia would simply give up on the Summer Sun Celebration,” Octavia said. “It’s too important for the citizens of Equestria.”

“Well, maybe,” Vinyl said. “I didn’t see Celestia anywhere around Canterlot when I visited a few days ago. Maybe she’s caught up in something more important than having a massive ceremony for her raising the sun.”

“It is tradition!” Lyra gasped. “The ponies here rely on tradition as a part of them. Without ceremonies, festivals, galas, and so on, life for Equestria would be dull and depressing.”

“You have a point there,” Octavia agreed. “I just hope Celestia arrives soon.”

“Well, the mayor’s coming on stage.” Vinyl pointed to a brown mare wearing glasses approaching the podium. “Maybe she got here before we could see her arrival.”

“The look on the mayor’s face doesn’t look too good,” Lyra said, noting the pony’s expression of disbelief and unhappiness.

Octavia squinted her eyes and saw the face Lyra saw. “I think we are about to receive some bad news,” she said.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” The mayor’s powerful voice filled the town with sound. “I am sorry to announce that the Summer Sun Celebration will not take place today. I am told that Princess Celestia has more important matters to attend to, and so she will not be able to come. She apologises for this and wishes that you all still have a great longest day of the year!”

The rest of the mayor’s words were drowned out by cries of outrage from the crowd.

“We travelled all the way from Fillydelphia to see the celebrations!” one couple at the front complained.

“Explain why our ruler would do such a thing!” a group of young colts shouted.

The whole hall was a mess of chaotic noises, and although some tried to keep the unruly crowd down, that just made them angrier.

“Vinyl Scratch!” Octavia yelled over the hubbub.

“Yeah, Tavi?!” Vinyl replied.

“Play your loudest piece of music!”

“But I thought you hated that!” Vinyl protested.

“Play it, Vinyl!” Lyra pleaded, covering her ears. “Just make the shouting stop!”

Vinyl sighed and pulled out a record from under her turntables, putting it into the slot and pressing the ‘play’ button.

From the massive speakers towering either side of the DJ there exploded the most deafening sound one could survive without their eardrums bursting. The dubstep mix blasted through the crowd like an icy wave – one moment they were roaring with anger, the next they were roaring with pain.

Octavia timidly opened her eyes while holding her ears to find everybody except Vinyl cowering like a frightened dog on the floor. The DJ was living the music, rocking back and forth to its shuddering beat, rumbling through the floor like an earthquake.

“VINYL, STOP THE MUSIC!!!” Octavia shrieked, trying to make her voice heard over Vinyl’s favourite song. Vinyl, as was expected, couldn’t hear her.

Lyra used her lyre to tap Vinyl on the shoulder. Whirling around, startled, Vinyl saw the floating lyre and decoded the message. She stopped the record, and the world was silent once more.

From all over the town hall every citizen of Ponyville slowly picked themselves back up, their legs shaking like jelly because of Vinyl’s music. The mayor brushed a few specks of dirt off her uniform. “A-as I said before,” she stuttered, “the Summer Sun Celebration is cancelled. Thank you, and… good day.” And so she left the stage. Grumbling to themselves, the congregation shuffled out of the town hall, leaving the three musicians alone.

Octavia sighed with relief and adjusted her bow tie. “I’m glad to see the last of that,” she commented, playing a few notes on her cello.

“Tell me about it,” Vinyl agreed, heading over to a table crammed with food and taking a cupcake. “That was crazy!”

“Girls?” Lyra said. “I think I need to tell you something.”

“Huh?” the two other musicians chorused.

“There’s a new alicorn in town. And I think he has something to do with Princess Celestia not being present.”

“Huh?!”

“His name is Nova, and he’s the brother of Celestia and Luna.”

“HUH?!!!”

“I know it’s a lot to take in – “ Lyra began.

“Celestia has a brother?!” Octavia stammered. “B-but… why would she not tell us? Surely this sort of knowledge is exceedingly important! You cannot simply hide away royalty like that from the public!”

“It’s been done before,” Vinyl interrupted, wiping away the crumbs as she finished the treats that Derpy would have otherwise taken all for herself. “You know, with Luna and Nightmare Moon.”

“You have a point…” Octavia fell back into silence. She fiddled with the strings on her cello, plucking a few notes and then returning with another exclamation. “But it still feels wrong!”

“Don’t worry about it, Tavi,” Vinyl said, reassuring her friend. “There’s no need to.”

Octavia nodded wordlessly and proceeded to pack up her cello. Vinyl also began to unplug her equipment and wrap it all up in a tight bag. She then tossed all of these extremely heavy items into the back of a cart. “So, who pulls this time?” she challenged, winking at Octavia. “I seem to remember a particular DJ trawled through many streets with this on her back to reach her friend’s house the previous night.”

Octavia sighed and put her own small bundle on top of Vinyl’s bulging pile. “I’ll keep to my word,” she said. “But I still think you cheated with those cupcakes.”

Lyra giggled as the two ponies began another argument over their regular bets. “Girls, there’s no need to shout over cupcakes,” she said, plucking a few strings on her lyre with her magic and then putting her own instrument away. “Octavia pulls this time.”

Grumbling about the unfairness of it all, Octavia attached herself to the harness and tugged with all of her strength. The cart stubbornly refused to move. Trying again, Octavia dug her hooves into the ground. Still there was no movement.

“What did you bring with you tonight?” Octavia asked Vinyl, panting.

“It’s a special occasion,” Vinyl replied with an innocent face. “You gotta bring your best subwoofers to something like this.”

“I suppose…” Octavia sighed again and pulled once more, but the cart still wouldn’t budge. Annoyed, she looked over her shoulder and saw one of the wheels had splintered from all of the weight.

“DAMN THESE ANTIQUE METHODS OF TRANSPORT!” Octavia wailed, sitting huffily down on the ground. “Don’t you two unicorns have some magic to help out?!”

“My magic’s only powerful enough to play the lyre,” Lyra admitted.

“And I never learned levitation spells,” Vinyl said proudly.

“Of course,” Octavia muttered under breath. “Vinyl learnt nothing but how to move sliders.”

“What?” Vinyl asked, hearing Octavia’s voice.

“Nothing,” Octavia said. “Nothing at all. Excepting the fact that this means everything we have is now GROUNDED!”

“Yeah…” Vinyl’s voice trailed off. “That could be a problem.”

“Ah, Lyra. I may have come slightly earlier than expected…”

Lyra whirled around and saw Nova standing there in front of her. The white alicorn, wings only just returning to his side, had obviously just landed. He gave a small smile to the three ponies. Octavia simply fainted on the ground, and even Vinyl’s jaw dropped. “That’s…” she started.

“I suppose Lyra told you about me,” Nova said, addressing the DJ. “And yes – I am Nova. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Vinyl quickly shut her mouth and smiled back. “The feeling’s mutual,” she replied, hiding a girlish grin. “I’m Vinyl Scratch.” She held out a hoof to the alicorn, shivering with anticipation. When Nova took it and shook, Vinyl felt she was almost about to explode. Shaking hands with royalty? She couldn’t believe it! Even if she was to ignore the fact that he was a stallion, it would still be the most memorable point in her life so far. Before she had time to stop herself, she asked, “Can I have a photo with you?”

Nova’s face became a mixture of confusion and surprise. “A what?” he said.

“He’s from one million years in the past,” Lyra told Vinyl. “I don’t think he knows what cameras are.”

“Oh, right!” Vinyl chuckled. “Oops. Uh… well, a photo is something that comes out of a camera. When you use a camera, it’s like you’re taking an image and then printing it out like a picture – a still of the world, if you would call it that.”

Nova nodded knowingly. “I have a lot to learn about this new place, but not enough time, it seems,” he said sadly. “I’m heading to Canterlot for an emergency concerning Princess Celestia. I assume the mayor has already told you.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda why we’re the only ones here,” Vinyl said. “Everyone else left. And what sort of emergency?”

“Vinyl!” Lyra hissed. “That’s confidential.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nova answered, covering up the truth. “We just got a letter from Princess Luna telling us to come right away.”

“Oh…” Vinyl sounded disappointed. “Well, sorry for asking.”

“That’s fine,” Nova said. Then he noticed the cart and the splintered wheel. “I see you have a transportation problem,” he noted, motioning towards the unmoving form of Octavia.

“Tavi?!” Vinyl spluttered, having not noticed when her friend had fainted. “Oh Celestia, what happened?!” She rushed over and tried to shake Octavia awake. She remained motionless.

“She’s breathing,” Nova pointed out, showing the frantic Vinyl the steady rise and fall of Octavia’s chest. “So she’s not dead. I think she fainted.”

Vinyl took some deep breaths and calmed her nerves. “Thank Celestia,” she gasped. “I really thought…”

“Don’t worry about her,” Nova reassured Vinyl, lifting Octavia onto the cart along with her and Vinyl’s belongings. “She’ll be fine. Meanwhile, I’ll take this cart wherever you need it to go.”

“Gee, thanks!” Vinyl smiled gratefully towards Nova. “But… I thought you were a prince?”

“Well, yes,” Nova said. “but I often worked in the villages, helping out with everyday tasks. The more a ruler knows his people, the better he or she can rule.”

“The only times Celestia integrates with us even slightly is when she’s making a speech or she’s present at a national celebration,” Vinyl muttered under her breath. Nova pretended not to have heard and picked up the cart with his magic.

“Let’s get this back home then,” he said. “Which way, Vinyl?”

“I’ll walk ahead,” Vinyl suggested. “So you can follow me without having to turn around and ask me which way to go.”

“Agreed.” Nova nodded. “Lead the way.”

* * * * *

As soon as the train pulled up to the station, one of the coach doors burst open and six fillies all rushed through the exit, making their way to the castle in a most admired panic. Confused citizens leapt out of the way as the band of ponies, led by Twilight, hurried through the maze of swivelling roads. Eventually, they reached the castle gates and saw a rather large amount of guards patrolling the area.

Twilight walked up to one and asked him why there was so much security. “We had a bit of trouble last night, Your Highness,” the guard explained. “Apparently one of those changelings managed to get in to the palace.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed. “But why would they show themselves now?”

“Eyewitnesses doubt he wanted to be seen, but the changeling never made any attempts to conceal itself,” the guard said. “Honestly, I don’t believe any of this, but considering the absence of Princess Celestia and the cancellation of the Summer Sun celebration, I think Equestria’s in for a tough ride.”

“You may be right,” Twilight murmured. “Well if you see anything else, do not hesitate to come to me and tell me of what you saw.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” the guard said, bowing before continuing on his circuit of the grounds.

Twilight signalled to the gatekeepers to let the six ponies through, and they obeyed without question. Being a princess really did have its advantages sometimes. As the gates closed behind them, the group reached the foot of the stairs that led up to the palace’s entrance hall.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

Startled, Twilight whipped her head around and spotted Luna waving regally to her from her watch tower she shared with Celestia. “Approach Celestia’s bedroom, and with caution. Make sure nopony sees you. I will meet you there. Do you have the required items?”

Twilight pointed with her hoof to a chest she had levitated all the way up from the station.

Luna nodded, satisfied. “Let us hope this works!” she said, turning back into the castle and proceeding to walk down stairs that most likely led to the princesses’ chambers.

“Come on, girls!” Twilight encouraged. “Let’s go help Celestia!”

“Agreed!” Rarity said confidently, as the band of ponies had the doors heaved open by guards and they galloped to Celestia’s bedroom. After five minutes of wandering the endless corridors, they found Luna waiting outside a set of double doors.

“Good afternoon, Twilight,” Luna said formally, greeting Twilight with a small bow. Twilight did the same. “We have much to do, and much to discuss, but that can be dealt with at a later date.” She looked to the left and right, checking to see if anyone was there. Content that there wasn’t, she opened the double doors to Celestia’s bedroom. “Enter, please,” she said, going inside. The Mane Six followed.

The bedroom at that moment did not seem to suit the owner’s title of ‘Princess of the Sun’ very well. The curtains were drawn and no lights were switched on, the room being almost pitch black. Luna, with her eyes accustomed to darkness, found a match and a lighter, and lit a candle, casting scary shadows on the white walls. The ponies saw an image of destruction. The rug was crumpled in many places, and the bed sheets lay teetering on the edge of the broken bed, the pillars holding it up having been gnawed at, as if a wolf had thrown itself at it thinking it an enemy.

“… How could this have happened?” Fluttershy asked, shocked, expressing the feelings of everyone present.

“I have no idea…” Luna muttered. “This goes far beyond anything I’ve seen her do.” Then her eyes grew wide in fear. “She didn’t…!” Luna gasped, suddenly rushing towards the wardrobe and shoving it away from the wall. “She couldn’t…”

The plaster behind the wardrobe was dirty and peeling off the wall. It obviously had not seen a cleaner in decades – perhaps centuries. Luna stood herself in front of this dilapidated part of Celestia’s bedroom, and began to cast a spell.

The six other ponies watched in awe as the wall started to fold in on itself. Behind it there lay a dark passage leading downwards into the depths of the castle. The stones were mossy, and the ceiling slick with moisture from somewhere nopony dared to think about. Luna took a torch from the old passage wall that had burnt out a long time ago and relit it with her magic. Not even telling the other ponies to follow, she took off down the tunnel. The sound of her echoing hoofsteps slowly receded until they could be heard no more.

The Mane Six remained motionless, mouths wide open in disbelief. “…What just happened?” Rainbow finally asked.

“I think we may have gone crazy,” Rarity remarked, before fainting unprofessionally on the floor.

“Well, we can’t hang around,” Applejack said, ignoring the white pony. “I suggest we go after Luna and ask her what’s going on.”

“I guess that’s the only choice we have,” Twilight sighed. “Come on, girls. Let’s follow. Oh, and someone wake Rarity up.”

Pinkie Pie immediately reached behind her ear and pulled out a party popper, placing it next to Rarity’s ear and pulling the string. The incredibly loud noise that followed woke Rarity up and set the unicorn’s ears buzzing for several seconds afterwards.

“Let’s go,” Twilight said determinedly, taking another torch, lighting it, and hurrying after Luna, her friends hot on her hooves. “I, for one, want to know what’s going on.”

* * * * *

“And that’s the last one,” Nova said, placing Vinyl Scratch’s treasured turntables next to the massive pile of the electronic musician’s things laid outside her house.

“Gee, thanks,” Vinyl said, blushing slightly. “It would’ve taken me the whole night to pack these babies away.” She tapped one of the turntables affectionately.

“It’s no problem,” Nova smiled. “I’m always happy to help. If you ever need me again, I’ll most likely be at Lyra’s or somewhere round town.”

“Well, I may head over for a quick chat or something, but until then…” Slowly but surely, Vinyl reached up to her tinted glasses and pulled them off, revealing her startling red eyes. She looked up to Nova and smiled faintly. “I guess I’ll see you.” Turning away, to hide her blush,, she began to make her way back to her front door.

“Wait a second. Let me see those eyes again.”

Her heart beating passionately fast in her chest, Vinyl turned back around. The look on Nova’s face, however, was not one of bliss, but more curiosity. He leaned in closer to her features, staring deep into her eyes.

Vinyl didn’t care if he only seemed curious. He was so close to her now, she could feel his breath on her nose. She gazed back, into his ice blue eyes, trying to savour this fleeting moment between them. Vinyl’s heart sped up with its beating, reacting to the emotions running through Vinyl’s head.

Unfortunately, at this point Octavia, the only other pony present as Lyra had rushed home halfway through the journey, came to and peered out of the cart she had been in to find the two ponies in this position. Almost screaming with outrage, she tried to clamber out of the cart and fell flat on her face.

Startled, Vinyl leapt back from Nova and grinned sheepishly. “Uhh… sorry,” she apologised. “Octavia frightened me…”

“There’s no need to apologise,” Nova said, to which Vinyl breathed an inward sigh of relief. “It’s just… red eyes were usually a bad sign back from where I came from.”

Back from where he came from? Vinyl wondered. “Why was that?” she asked.

“Well, it was a symptom of a disease, let’s say,” Nova said. “I hope the disease died out when I left.”

“Left from where?” Vinyl questioned. “… Sorry if I’m going too far with this.”

“No, it’s fine,” Nova said. “I’m from Marelon, a land which is probably quite ancient considering nopony here has heard of it.”

“Well, I certainly haven’t,” Vinyl admitted.

Octavia pulled her head out of the dust and muttered something.

“Pardon?” Nova said.

“Zecora might know something about Marelon,” Octavia spluttered again, coughing up dirt.

“Of course!” Vinyl agreed, pointing Nova in the direction of the Everfree Forest. “If you ever want to see Zecora, she’s in there…” Vinyl shivered and lowered her hoof. “She’ll probably be free, as nopony usually dares to enter that place.”

“I heard the same from Rainbow Dash,” Nova sighed. “I don’t get why everypony is afraid of it.”

“It’s just a gut feeling everypony goes upon,” Vinyl said. “It feels different to the rest of Equestria, as if… everything in it is too alive…”

Silence passed as the three ponies present tried to decide what to say next.

“Well… I’d better be going,” Nova finally said. “They’ll be expecting me back up at the castle.”

“Sure.” Vinyl brushed a few rogue strands of hair out from in front of her eyes and smiled. “Thanks for helping.”

“My pleasure.” Nova returned the smile – and then started to glow.

“Uh, Nova?” Vinyl’s voice became increasingly panicked. “What’s happening to you?!”

Nova’s face turned from smiling to downright livid. “It seems somepony just went somewhere they weren’t meant to go,” he growled. And then, with a blinding flash, he disappeared, leaving both Vinyl and Octavia with very perplexed looks.