Chapters Canterlot was as pristine as ever. To be anything less would be an affront to the city's status as the political center of Equestria and the land's foremost unicorn city. The streets were clean, the sky was being cleared after a refreshing rain shower had finished its work, and the sun shone down on a perfectly arranged gathering of upper-crust ponies waiting on the castles' upper viewing platform for the chariot bearing Princess Celestia on her return from a week's vacation. In the midst of this glamorous company, dressed in their finest gowns and suits, stood an ash-grey unicorn who had refused to do more than comb out his red-and-orange mane that ordinarily looked strikingly similar to real flames and wear the gemstone necklace he always had with him. Ashen Blaze was not a happy pony.
If there was one thing Ash hated (and there were actually quite a few things, most of them reasonable), it was pomp. He'd be the first to admit he had a flair for the dramatic and a tendency to dominate the scene, but he tried to avoid "fancy" and "eye-catching" like the plague. The problem was that the few months he'd been in Equestria had been punctuated by disasters that not only required him to take action to preserve his own life, but had resulted in him and his associates saving the Royal Sisters and Canterlot as a whole at least twice. One does not rescue royalty without rewards and admission to high society, and although Ash wouldn't turn down a reward, he could do without the society. He didn't have much choice this time though; Celestia wasn't the only pony about to arrive.
A few gasps and muted cries brought him out of his brooding and directed his attention to the sky as the orchestra situated on the edge of the platform began to play. Off in the distance he saw light glinting off shining gold armor as two ranks of pegasus guards flew into sight preceding a chariot bearing the great white alicorn princess and two other guards – one of them a golden-yellow, brown-maned unicorn – and pulled by yet another pair of armored pegasi. The guards landed and trotted off to either side as the chariot approached and settled softly onto the platform amidst a crescendo of music and cheers. Ash's stoic expression softened as he caught the eye of the golden unicorn guard, but he didn't join in the noise. Celestia stood up as the chariot came to a stop and raised a hoof, gaining instant silence from the crowd. Now, that I can respect, Ash thought.
"My beloved subjects," the princess said, "It is good to see you all again. My time off was most rejuvenating and I look forward to resuming my duties, assuming my dear sister is willing to relinquish them." The quiet cheers that greeted her first sentence died away, except for a few nervous, short-lived giggles.
A genuine, lady-like laugh turned everypony's attention to the platform entrance, from which Princess Luna emerged and walked toward her sister. "I will gladly give you back the day," she said, stopping in front of Celestia, "In fact, I'll give you the night, since it is my turn for a week off." Celestia laughed, inspiring some affected chuckles from the crowd, and leaned down to hug her younger sister with her neck.
"I'd wait a day or two before you leave," she said, "just to make sure the transfer of power goes smoothly." Luna nodded and the two separated. Celestia regarded her subjects again and said, "I will begin court in one hour, after I've had a chance to freshen up from my ride." She strode regally from the platform with Luna at her side, surrounded by her guards. Ash caught the golden one's eye again and the two exchanged a nod before the procession passed. Ash slipped out of the crowd and followed them at a respectable distance, and then turned aside as he entered the castle and sat down to wait near the staircase. A few minutes later, the golden unicorn trotted over to him, looking relieved.
"Oh man," he said, removing his helmet, "That was certainly an experience. How was your week Ash?"
"Probably boring compared to yours Soul," Ash said, "Just continuing the research." He reached up a hoof and nonchalantly fiddled with the gemstone necklace he was wearing.
"Figures," Soul Mage said, and then did a double-take, "Hold on. You updated that thing. It actually looks like a Rarity product now."
"She'd probably smack you for saying that," a voice said from behind them. They turned to see a female pegasus guard who, besides the obvious differences, was an exact match for Soul. She came over and sat next to Soul and heaved a sigh. "I'm not pulling the chariot for Luna if I can get out of it."
"I'd gladly take your place Heart," Soul said, "but…" Gold Heart rolled her eyes smacked him upside the head with a wing as he grinned at her.
"That new necklace does suit you better Ash," the pegasus said, "But does it measure up?"
"Marginally," Ash said, "I think Gale and I have hit the cap on how much these gems can enhance my magic."
"Where is Gale anyway?" Heart asked.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Ash said, looking slightly cross, "It hardly seems fair that I get roped into attending the homecoming and she somehow slips away from it… She's probably holed up in a workshop working on a new invention. Now, what say we go get lunch? I've finally found a place that can make decent fries."
"Sounds good," Soul said, "just give us a few minutes to get out of this armor." Ash nodded and the two guards trotted back down the hall. He turned toward the stairs and began climbing down. He'd have to find Gale before heading to lunch- the four former mercenaries of order only had a couple days before they had to go their separate ways again.
It was nearing sunset in the big city of Manehatten, the city of skyscrapers, high fashion, and home to earth pony sophisticates who preferred to develop their own culture separate from the ponies of Canterlot. Unlike most population centers, Manehatten did not concern itself much with the work of sustaining itself; there was no farming area, no mines, and few factories. The city's lifeblood came from the deep pockets of high-seated business ponies who preferred to live away from the places that made them money, and from the cultural centers that tried to cater to said business ponies and the tourists. At least, that's the impression Heart and Soul had got when they'd escorted Princess Celestia through the city. Right now, the only thing on Soul's mind was that he deeply regretted going with Heart to investigate the sounds coming from Luna's penthouse suite ten minutes ago when she was supposed to be napping. Now he was well above most of the buildings, front legs wrapped loosely around the Night Princess's neck for stability as she flew through the darkening sky, making her escape from the majority of her honor guard. The only consolation was that Heart was flying right beside Luna, and she seemed as divided as he was over the wisdom of this flight.
"Why did you bring us along?" he asked the princess, "We are part of your staff after all. Kinda defeats the purpose of running away, doesn't it?"
"Unlike the rest of the guards," Luna said, "You have not had years of training and duty drilled into you, so you are capable of lightening up and having fun. Besides, I need somepony to show me around to all the good sights."
"We've only been here once before ourselves," Heart said, "And that was with your sister last week. It was a one day, whirlwind tour of spas, parks, and the history museum that involved a lot of standing outside doorways watching for trouble that never came."
"And it was all done at ground level," Soul added. Luna took the hint and angled into a downward glide, alighting on a street corner near what looked to be the theater district. Soul rolled off Luna's back as Heart landed, and the two ponies stood next to each other as they looked up at the purple alicorn. "Thank you," Soul said, "now, any ideas of what you'd like to do?"
Luna looked around, and then shrugged. "All I know is I'm on vacation, and to me that means doing something I don't normally get to do," she said.
"So," Soul said slowly, "No meetings, no answering petitions, no fancy, drawn-out meals with high-class, cultured ponies…"
"And what, pray tell, is wrong with cultured ponies?" a cultured, vaguely familiar voice said from off to Soul's left.
"Uh, my apologies, miss…" Soul trailed off as he turned to face the speaker, only to have his jaw drop as he saw a freckled, orange earth pony with a tied-back blonde mane and tail and a Stetson hat on her head. "A-applejack?" he stammered, "Wha…"
"What am I doing here?" Applejack asked in a clear Manehatten accent, "Why, I am visiting some relatives of mine who happen to reside in this fair city." She laughed at Heart and Soul's dumbfounded expressions and switched back to her normal drawl. "Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom are here with me. We just got finished with one of those fancy, drawn-out meals y'all were talkin' 'bout and let me tell you, those two almost blew poor Aunt 'n Uncle Orange's guest's minds with their way of talkin', 'specially since I can fake the Manehattenite voice so well. What brings the two of you here?"
"There are three of us actually," Luna said, stepping around the corner into AJ's field of vision.
"Whoa nelly!" Applejack exclaimed, dipping quickly into a bow, "Princess Luna! G-good evenin'. Sorry fer babblin' so much. If I'd a known you wa- were there, I'd-"
"Calm yourself," Luna said, "And please stand up." Applejack complied, reaching up to straighten her hat as she did so. "You said your brother and sister were with you," the Princess continued, "Where are they right now?"
"Well," AJ said, "Bloom kinda wore herself out at the dinner, so Mac's takin' her to the Orange's place. Myself, I was thinkin' of checkin' out the theaters to see if there's any shows they'd like ta go see tomorra before we head back home."
"That seems like a good idea," Luna said, "We will join you on your search."
"Oh, well if you insist," Applejack said, "it'd be an honor Princess. Follow me y'all, if you please." Heart, Soul, and Luna moved aside to let AJ take the lead as they walked toward the theaters.
"Say AJ," Soul asked as they walked, "who's tending the farm if you're all out here?"
"Granny Smith stayed behind," Applejack said, "She's a mite old for travelin' these days. We hired a couple stallions ta mind the place for a few days, and Rainbow Dash promised to keep the orchards well watered. Although knowin' her, she'll spend most of her time nappin' in mah trees and eatin' mah apples… Still, she does keep her promises, one way or another." As they walked along the street, the sun sank below the horizon and the lights of the theater marquees and street lamps took over the job of making visibility possible. Heart and Soul exchanged glances and the occasional muttered quip of surprise as they looked at the plays and other shows being advertised by the theater signs. From what Luna and AJ could catch, they seemed to be comparing those shows to ones they were familiar with from their old home. As the group reached the end of the first street and turned onto a less well-lit cross-street to reach the next line of theaters, Heart's gaze went up to the sky, and she slowed to a stop as a look of confusion crossed her face.
"What's up sis?" Soul asked.
"I'm not sure but…" Heart said, "Princess Luna, do the stars look right to you?"
Luna looked up and swept her gaze across the sky. The street lights washed out a lot of her stars, but those she could see… "No," she said, "They are all out of position." She looked back down and resumed walking, looking very unconcerned.
"Princess?" Heart asked as the three ponies ran to catch up with her.
"I'm on vacation," Luna declared, "Celestia's in charge of the night this week. She'll have to fix it." She continued on her way, rounding the corner into a crowd gathered around the front of a theater.
"Hold on," Applejack said, catching up thanks to the crowd parting around the Princess, "Ain't you the least bit concerned that…" she trailed off as her eyes landed on the theater's marquee. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open slightly as she read the words. Heart and Soul glanced at her, looked up, and also froze in surprise. Luna paused in her march, looked at the stunned ponies, and then up at the marquee, which read: The Great and Powerful Trixie: Live at the Silver Halter.
She glanced at her escort, back up to the marquee, and then back to the ponies. "I don't get it," she said.
"Spike, do you know where my astronomy notes are?"
"You stuck a few into Skies of Equestria ."
"Those are about the mistakes they made regarding the south-western winter sky."
"Then I guess they're under your notes on herbs and potions."
"Which are where?"
Spike sighed and went over to the proper desk and started digging through the stacks of paper. He pulled out what felt like half a book's worth and carried them up to Twilight Sparkle, who was making some adjustments to her telescope. "Here," he said, holding up the papers, "Do you want all of them?" Twilight looked over from her work, scanned the top sheet, and then pulled it and four others off with telekinesis.
"Thank you Spike," she said, "Sorry to make you work so hard, but this thing's being so stubborn right now…" She gave the telescope stand a light kick and then caught it as it started to tip over.
"No problem," Spike said, taking the rest of the notes back downstairs, "I'll just put these somewhere less difficult to get to."
"Thank you," Twilight said again, and then gave a brief laugh of triumph as she managed to force the telescope into the right angle. She lifted it gingerly with her magic and carried it toward the stairs leading to the observation platform on top of the library.
"What are you looking for tonight?" Spike asked, coming back upstairs.
"I'm going to look at the Small Griffon," Twilight said, climbing the stairs, "I think the star on it's right leg might be changing into a white dwarf and I want to see if I can observe the change." She reached the platform, settled the telescope into place, and then looked up. She blinked several times, rubbed her eyes, and then rushed back inside, almost running into the baby dragon. "Spike," she said in a panic, "take a letter!" Spike started to reach for a piece of paper and pen, but then stopped as his stomach rumbled and he let out a burp of green fire that transformed into a scroll sealed with Celestia's seal.
"Uh, let's see here," he said, grabbing the scroll and opening it. He cleared his throat and read, "Dear Twilight, I'm sure you've noticed by now that the stars are not where they belong in the sky. I hope this letter reaches you before you have Spike send one to me, because there is no reason to panic. My sister has started her week of vacation today, and it seems I may be more out of practice with organizing the night than I thought. I apologize if I've spoiled any astronomic studies you were planning for tonight, but I'm already in the process of fixing my little hiccup. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."
"Out of practice?" Twilight asked, incredulous, "She ran the night for a thousand years; how can she be out of practice?"
"Well, she hasn't done it for over a year," Spike said, setting the letter aside, "You're always telling me you can lose skills pretty quickly if you don't use them regularly."
"I guess you're right," Twilight said, and then brightened up. "Hey, this is a once-in-a lifetime chance!" she declared, running back up to the platform, "When else will I get a chance to see the stars rearrange themselves at a visible speed?" Spike smiled as he joined the very excited lavender unicorn on the viewing platform. Twilight looked like she was either going to burst or break out into a Pinkie Pie bounce as she watched the night sky intently. They sat there for several minutes, but nothing happened. Twilight's excitement started to drain and Spike gave a huge yawn before standing up to leave. Suddenly, Twilight grabbed him and pointed a hoof toward a red star, which looked like it was wobbling. With a jerk, it moved out of position, followed by one, and then two, and finally all of the stars, which began whirling and zipping around the sky seemingly at random. Both Twilight's and Spike's eyes shone with amazement at the unprecedented display. The stars stopped moving suddenly, but the arrangement was still unfamiliar to Twilight. A couple seconds later the stars went into motion again, stopping in another incorrect layout. This repeated four more times, and finally several minutes passed without any stellar movement. Twilight wasn't sure, but she was willing to bet that some of the stars were in the right place now… A couple minutes later Spike burped out another letter from the Princess.
The two of them went inside to read the letter. Spike unrolled the scroll, cleared his throat, and began, "Dear Twilight, my most faithful and capable student." Uh oh , Twilight thought, a feeling of dread settling into her gut. "I don't wish to alarm you," Spike continued, "but I fear there may be something wrong. I cannot get the stars to fall into their proper alignments, no matter how I try. I have even attempted Fluttershy's approach of asking politely and begging. In order to accertain the source of this problem and resolve it as quickly as possible, I need you and Spike to come to Canterlot at your earliest convenience to assist me and others I can trust in our research into this issue. Trustingly yours, Princess Celestia." Spike looked up from the letter to see Twilight rushing about stuffing books into her saddlebags. "I take it we're leaving now?" he asked.
"We have to!" Twilight said, "This is a disaster!"
"Ah'm seein' it, but I don't believe it," Applejack said, "It can't be her ."
"You know any other ponies calling themselves 'The Great and Powerful Trixie?'" Soul Mage asked with a raised eyebrow, "But still, she's got herself a main-stage production? I'd never have guessed."
"A-hem," Princess Luna said, "I would be pleased to know what has the three of you so shocked."
"Oh, sorry Princess," AJ said with a quick bow, "Y'see, several months ago this unicorn callin' herself The Great and Powerful Trixie showed up in Ponyville, claimin' to be the greatest magician in Equestria. Most of it was an act, but her attitude and the way she humiliated anypony that tried to outperform her kinda rubbed us the wrong way. Her biggest boast was defeatin' an Ursa Major, and so when we kept questionin' her story a couple of foolish colts that were caught up in her act decided to lure an Ursa into town for her to defeat. Twilight had ta step in and calm the thing down, and Trixie ran out of town totally humiliated."
"Ah yes," Luna said, "I recall Celestia mentioning an Ursa Minor had attacked Ponyville."
AJ nodded and continued, "That's not the end of it though. A few days after these fellers," she pointed to Heart and Soul, "dropped into town, Trixie found one of their old magic Gems and came rolling back into town with a new act built around the thing."
"She was actually pretty good with it," Soul cut in, "But we had to get it back. Heart and I challenged her to a contest and won the Gem from her fair and square. When she left that time, I think she was vowing never to return to Ponyville again."
"Ash gave her some friendly advice before she went," Heart said, "From the looks of things, she might have actually listened to him."
"Hmm," Luna said, looking up at the marquee, "I think I would like to see this Trixie perform. What do you say?"
"You're the Princess," Soul said, "and it's your vacation; we're just along for the ride."
"What about you Applejack?" Luna asked the earth pony.
"Eehh," Applejack said, looking off to the side, "I dunno. I've had my fill of her magic, even if she has cleaned up her act. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Macintosh and Apple Bloom if they didn't get to attend as well. Thank you for the invite though."
Luna nodded and then walked over to the box office. The attendant, a slate grey earth pony with a blue mane and glasses, stood riveted with shrinking irises as Luna gave her a warm smile and asked, "How much for three tickets?"
The attendant stammered for a few seconds before getting her voice under control enough to say, "I'm sorry your highness, but tonight's show is completely sold out. However I'm sure we could find somepony who'd be willing to give up their seat to you." There was an instant clamor as several of the ponies in the crowd volunteered. Luna silenced them with a snap of her spreading wings.
"That. Will not be necessary," she said, looking around, "All of you have paid to attend already, and I wouldn't dream of denying anypony their seat tonight." She turned back to the box office and asked, "Are there seats open for tomorrow?"
"Well," the earth pony said, sweating as she shuffled through the papers in front of her, "aside from the reserved seats, those tickets won't go on sale until tomorrow, but I can make an exception for you."
"Wonderful," Luna said, smiling.
"Uh, Princess Luna," Soul said cautiously, "You're, uh… supposed to be heading to Fillydelphia tomorrow…" He snapped his mouth shut as Luna leveled a glare at him.
Luna noticed that Applejack was still nearby, watching, and called her over. "If I were to pay for you and your family, would you reconsider attending?" she asked.
"I… I'd have ta ask them," AJ said, "And then Aunt and Uncle Orange may want ta come as well, although I'm not sure."
"So, that will be three for sure, and up to five additional tickets later," Luna told the attendant.
"I'll set five aside for you then," the earth pony said, "The rules say I have to put them back up for sale if you don't claim them by thirty minutes to show time."
"That will be fine,' Luna said before the attendant could continue.
"Ah, then… that'll be 75 bits for three tickets then, Princess Luna." Luna nodded, produced the money, and then took the tickets the attendant held out and moved them over to Soul. The golden-yellow unicorn blinked a few times, and then stashed the tickets into the pouch attached to his breastplate straps.
"All right then," Luna said, turning to walk away, "This has been a productive outing, but it is time I returned and put an end to my guards's worrying." She walked out to a clear spot, plucked Soul off the ground and placed him on her back, and then spread her wings and took off, with Heart struggling to catch up with her.
"Shoot," Applejack said, watching them fly off, "Now I'm all curious. I just hope this don't turn into another fiasco…"
"Slow down Twilight!" Spike shouted as he tried to keep his balance on top of the galloping unicorn. He'd barely had time to give Owloiscious a list of things that needed to be organized before Twilight had plunked him onto her back and shot out of the library, and he was amazed at how quickly Twilight was approaching the town square. "I don't think the pega-shuttle even runs this late," he said, "so how are we going to get to Canterlot anyway?"
"Uh…" Twilight said, finally slowing down, "That's a good point Spike. Maybe I could teleport us there?"
"No thank you," Spike said, "That'd take more jumps than I'm willing to endure."
"Well, if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Twilight said, "We've got to help the Princess!"
"I know, I know," Spike said with a sigh. The pair fell silent as they pondered until they reached the town square and were brought back to reality by the sight of Pinkie Pie, who was up on her hind legs spinning around in circles as she moved randomly around the area. Rarity and the mayor were standing near the pavilion watching the scene in bemusement. "Pinkie, what are you doing?" Spike asked as the pink earth pony twirled past him and Twilight.
"Well, I was dancing with the stars," Pinkie said, still spinning, "but then they stopped and so I thought about stopping too but then decided, you know what? This is too much fun, so I'm gonna keep on doing it! Wheee!" She spun away as Twilight and Spike exchanged a glance. Pinkie started moving towards Rarity and the mayor, and then tripped and fell on her back. Everypony ran over as she looked up with her rapidly spinning eyes and said, "Hey! The stars are dancing again! How awesomely awesome!"
"Pinkie darling," Rarity said, "I think you're just dizzy."
"Really?" Pinkie said, "Ok." She stumbled back to her feet and began to spin in the opposite direction.
"Now what are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"Well," Pinkie said, "I'm all dizzy left-to-right, so if I make myself dizzy right-to-left, the two dizzies will cancel out and I won't be dizzy anymore!"
"Does that actually work?" Spike asked.
Pinkie stumbled to a stop, very unsteady on her hooves, and then her face turned green and she squeaked out, "no," before her cheeks bulged out and she ran off to find a bush to hide behind. Rarity watched her go with a faintly disgusted expression and then turned to Twilight.
"You don't happen to know what's going on do you?" she asked, "I was on my way home from a late spa session when I noticed the stars were all wrong. And then I saw Pinkie Pie…"
"Princess Celestia's having… problems with the stars," Twilight said, trying not to sound too worried, "She asked me to go help her figure out what the problem is, but I'm not sure how I can get to Canterlot at this hour."
"I'd offer you the use of the hot air balloon," the mayor said, "but it's not safe to fly it at night."
"You could have those guys take you," Pinkie said, appearing as if from nowhere next to Twilight and pointing back toward the library. Twilight turned around to see a royal pegasus-drawn chariot coming in for a landing next to her.
"Miss Sparkle," one of the pegasi said, nodding to her, "The Princess sent us to pick you up. We went to your house, but when we saw that the door was open, we figured you'd rushed out…" Twilight laughed nervously and blushed as she climbed onto the chariot.
"We should probably go back so I can lock up properly," she said, "My second assistant is there, but he just uses the windows to get in and out." The chauffeurs nodded and began to turn the chariot around.
"Um, wait a moment," Rarity said. The chariot came to a stop and everyone turned to look at the white unicorn. "Since you're going to Canterlot," she said, unusually hesitant, "I… Hoity Toity's been asking for me to come and give my input on next season's line and…"
"You just want to visit Ashen Blaze, don't you?" Spike asked flatly, looking cross as he thought about the ash-grey unicorn. He ignored the look Twilight shot him.
"Well, it would certainly be nice if I were to run into him," Rarity said, feigning innocence. Spike didn't seem convinced, but he didn't want to act mad toward the white unicorn either, so he simply pouted.
"We can probably carry one more pony," the lead pegasus said, "but we need to return as quickly as possible."
"Thank you," Rarity said, leaping daintily up onto the chariot and sitting down next to Twilight. "We can go now," she declared.
"You don't need to pick anything up from your place?" Twilight asked, knowing how reluctant Rarity was to go anywhere without at least two full saddlebags of hygiene and beauty products and basic sewing equipment.
"No, Ash-, er, Hoity Toity will be quite understanding if I show up with only the ideas in my head." Twilight hid a smile as the chariot began moving and took off into the air, while legions of sarcastic thoughts ran through Spike's head.
The chariot dropped Twilight, Rarity, and Spike off in front of the castle. "Thank you ever so much," Rarity said to the pegasi, "I really do appreciate your generosity in allowing me to ride with you."
"Think nothing of it," the lead pegasus said, blushing slightly, "we'll be taking our leave now, if you don't mind." The chariot took off and flew away toward the guard barracks in another part of the castle.
"Well," Rarity said, motioning toward the castle doors, "shall we?"
"Shouldn't you be heading into the city to see Hoity Toity?" Spike asked.
"At this hour?" Rarity asked, appalled, "Oh, certainly not! This is hardly a good time to drop in. No, I'm afraid I'll have to accompany you for the time being."
"Hmph," Spike said, hopping off Twilight's back as they entered the building, "If you say so. Excuse me ladies, but I've just thought of something I must attend to." He ran off deeper into the castle. Twilight cast a glance at Rarity, and then lead the way toward the castle library on the assumption that Princess Celestia would meet them there.
"Spike is jealous, isn't he?" Rarity asked.
"Huh?" Twilight asked, looking back at her friend.
"Jealous of Ash," Rarity clarified, "It was cruel of me to insist on coming, and using such a piebald lie to justify it."
"It was," Twilight said bluntly, "but Spike will grow out of it eventually. I think he likes you only because you're so pretty, and for the gems you give him."
"Well, at least he's a good judge of beauty," Rarity said with a dignified air. Twilight smiled as she turned her head back toward where she was walking.
The royal library was one of the jewels of the Princess's castle, having held at least one copy of every truly worthwhile book ever written at some point throughout its history. The precise definition of "worthwhile" was hard to pin down; it of course contained both first editions and more modern, and thus publically available, copies of the works of every classic author, poetic genius, and scientific researcher to live under Celestia's sun, but it also had a section devoted to romance novels of… less than timeless quality, student theses on a variety of topics, and picture books aimed at little foals. Although never as busy as the city library or the one at the unicorn school, the royal library still saw small crowds of ponies browsing about at various points during the day and night. This was not one of those times. The only ponies present were Ashen Blaze, who had been dragged out of bed shortly after settling into it, and a brown earth pony mare who was moving up and down the aisles of books just slowly enough to read the titles. Ash watched this mare from a soft, but not actually comfortable, couch situated along the southern wall. "How on earth are you still so energetic Gale?" he griped.
"I thought you liked the night," Gale responded.
"Whatever gave you that impression?" Ash asked, "Just because I get along a little easier with Luna than Celestia, and my more powerful spells tend to have shadowy undertones does not make me nocturnal. Why are we in here anyways?"
"I don't know," Gale said, "my escort told me everything would be explained once the other researchers showed up."
Ash snorted. "Well then," he said grumpily, "wake me up when they get here." He lay his head down and closed his eyes. Just a few seconds later, his head jolted back up in response to the sound of the door opening and a voice calling his name in a sing-song manner. A myriad of expressions crossed his face as he turned to look, settling on a pleasant smile as he saw a white, purple-maned unicorn trotting over to him with a big smile on her face. "Rarity," he said, surprise mixed with a little apprehension in his voice, "what a surprise. And Twilight Sparkle," he added, tilting his head to look around Rarity at the lavender unicorn.
"Hello Ash, Gale," Twilight said, nodding to the unicorn and earth pony in turn, "What are you two up to?"
"I am seriously debating whether it is worth losing sleep to learn why I'm here, in this room, at this decidedly sleep-inducing hour," Ash said.
"Same here, but without the sleepiness," Gale said, "or the desire to leave."
"Which is not the same at all," Ash said, rolling his eyes.
"You're not here about the stars?" Twilight asked, confused.
"What about them?" Gale asked.
"The Princess is having trouble with them," Twilight explained.
"Did they not all come out?" Ash asked, "I haven't looked outside since lunchtime."
"Oh, they're all there," Twilight said, pointing toward the library window, "They're just not in the right places."
"Say wha?" The ash-grey unicorn got up from the couch and went over to the window, "But, they're stars," he said, "suns in their own right, for the most part, just very, very far away. Surely their positions are more or less fixed?"
"No, actually they aren't," Twilight said as Ash looked through the window and his jaw dropped.
"Well," he said, staring at the night sky, "there goes my entire concept of life, the universe, and everything." He turned away from the window to look at Gale, who had joined him at the window. "Gale," he said, "After I've mastered the intricacies of Equestrian magic, we're starting a space program. I must make sense of this."
"Aye aye Galileo," the earth pony said with a wry grin. Ash just gave her a weird look and went back to Twilight.
"So," he said, "the goddess of the day is having issues with the heavenly bodies of the night. No offense, but that doesn't seem all that strange to me."
"For a thousand years I controlled both the day and the night," said a voice from the library door. Everypony turned and bowed as Princess Celestia strode into the room, with Spike close on her heels. "This is the first time I have ever had trouble arranging the stars into their proper alignment," she continued, "even that first night after I was forced to seal Luna to the moon went by more or less perfectly. I need this mystery solved as quickly as possible, and the four… oh, five of you. Hello Rarity."
"Hello your Highness."
"Well, on more set of eyes can only help," Celestia said with a smile, "Anyway, I believe you have what it will take to not only find the source of the problem, but fix it."
"Question," Ash said, raising a hoof, "I'm not much of a book researcher, so am I really qualified for this?"
"You have a talent for creating spells," Celestia said, "We might just need you to modify a spell or invent an entirely new one to fix me."
"Tall order," Ash muttered, but then nodded with a determined smile, "but I welcome the challenge Princess Celestia."
The head of Luna's honor guard found himself in a pickle: the Princess had fled and absconded with the two newbies for a couple hours, breaking all sorts of protocols and simple common sense, but one did not lecture royalty. She had been very determined that the guards she'd taken with her, the so-called Impossible Twins, were not to be blamed or reprimanded for anything. Furthermore, the entire week's schedule was tossed out the window, quite literally, and the Guard was told to go off and entertain itself until the Princess felt like going to another city because tonight she was going to a magic show (put on by a no-name filly…) and was only to be accompanied by Heart and Soul.
Really, the whole idea that the Princesses could take time off from ruling Equestria and moving the sun and moon blew the guard captain's mind. Sure, a lot of unprecedented events had occurred in the year or so since Princess Luna had returned and the guard had to adapt to working for two princesses, but still… What was he going to do with himself? He'd been expressly forbidden from attending that magic show, and so avoiding the theaters altogether was probably a smart idea. One of his fellow guards had recommended a couple dance clubs, but he wasn't much of a dancer…
The guard's plight was the last thing on Luna's mind as she walked toward the theater district with her two escorts-turned-friends. They were walking because Soul Mage had humbly suggested that sitting on the Princess's back while she flew was awkward on many levels, and Luna decided that the night would be better if she tried to reduce how awkward ponies felt around her. Gold Heart had flown for a short time, but eventually came down to the ground, feeling it was unfair to fly when Luna was restricting herself to walking. The atmosphere around the group was rather light despite the concerns each held about appearances.
"You're quite sure the patrons won't be expecting some… adornments?" Luna asked.
"Beyond what you usually wear?" Soul asked, indicating the hoof shoes and neckpiece Luna was wearing. Heart and Soul had left their armor behind, considering it to be mostly ornamental anyway. "Honestly, you're probably over-dressed. The Silver Halter didn't look like one of the highest-class theaters in town, so we'll probably be fine."
"Besides," Heart said, "you're Princess Luna. No pony in their right mind would turn you away from anything for any good reason." Luna's smile took on a smug undertone.
As they neared the theater district, Heart spotted Applejack approaching from another street, accompanied by a large red stallion and a small red-headed yellow filly. "AJ!" the golden-yellow pegasus called out, waving the group over. The two trios met up and the Apples bowed, except for Bloom who simply stared at Luna until Applejack nudged her into a bowing posture.
"Good evening Princess," Applejack said.
"It is, isn't it?" Luna asked, looking up. A frown briefly crossed her face. "Except that Celestia's messed up the stars again… No matter. I take it these are Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom?"
"Eeyup," Mac said with a sedate nod, "Mighty pleased ta meet ya yer Highness."
"Wow, are you really Princess Luna?" Apple Bloom exclaimed, "That is so cool! Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo are going to be so jealous when I tell them I've met you! Oh, and maybe I'll tell Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara too, just ta humble 'em a little."
"All right," Applejack said, smiling, "Keep goin' on like that and we'll miss our show."
"Ok Applejack," Apple Bloom said, still staring at Luna, "I'm just so excited. Come on!" She ran off down the street, forcing AJ to pursue her so she wouldn't get lost.
"She's quite the ball of energy," Luna said, hiding a smile.
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said, "I reckon we better follow them." He gave another quick bow and led the group toward the theater. They quickly caught up to Applejack and Bloom and arrived at the Silver Halter a few minutes later. Once again there was a small crowd gathered outside, and a short line for the box office. Murmurs and gasps rose up as Luna approached, and the ponies in the line tried to move aside, but the Princess waved them back and took her place at the end.
"Say," AJ said to Heart and Soul, "Y'all were with Celestia on her vacation week, right?"
"Yeah," Soul said.
"Was she as… considerate as Luna here?"
"I couldn't say," Soul replied, "with her, everything was set up ahead of time, organized, and frankly boring from our perspective. Luna's determined to be spontaneous, and probably wants to prove something."
"She wants to show everypony that she's not Nightmare Moon," Heart said with certainty, "Maybe that's why she's acting so unconcerned about the stars- Nightmare was apparently obsessed with the night, so Luna's trying to be casual about it."
"I'm not concerned about the stars because I'm on vacation," Luna insisted, rejoining the group and passing three tickets to Macintosh, who took them in his mouth, "Celestia will straighten out the problem. Now come on; they insisted on letting the six of us in early to claim out seats and take care of other matters." Soul fished out the tickets for Luna, Heart, and himself as the group walked into the theater. There were two ponies inside the door- one green-on-orange earth pony who checked and marked their tickets, and a tuxedo-clad mahogany unicorn with an half-open stage curtain for a cutie mark who grinned spectacularly at Princess Luna.
"Dear Princess Luna," he said with a courtly bow, "it is truly an honor to welcome your patronage of the Silver Halter this evening. My name is Proscenium Arch, owner and executive manager of this establishment of the arts." Heart and Soul exchanged a look over the pony's name but managed to keep their expressions blank.
"Thank you Mr. Arch," Luna said, "may I say, your theater looks very nice." It really did. The lobby they were standing in was carpeted in a lush red fabric that was gentle on the hooves and complemented the wood paneling and gilded trim of the walls and ceiling, the door into the theater itself were of solid oak carved with an artful pattern over which was hung a framed poster of the show depicting a pale blue unicorn with even paler blue hair wearing a conical purple hat decorated with silver stars and a matching cape that happened to cover her cutie mark. It was obviously Trixie; her somewhat arrogant expression and dramatic pose amid stylized smoke and sparks gave her away. Applejack had to shush Apple Bloom before the little filly blurted out a critical comment, feeling a bit hypocritical as she did so.
"You are too kind," Mr. Arch said, "This is merely a humble venue for up-and-coming performers like the one you will be seeing tonight. Speaking of which, I must inform you we are planning to announce your presence in the audience before the show begins, and of course you may have any seat you wish, although I'm sad to say we have no private boxes to offer you."
"Think nothing of it," Luna said, "and please, I would rather you not draw any extra attention to me. That may detract from the show and the star's attention to her act."
Proscenium looked disappointed, but he bowed and said, "As you wish Your Highness; enjoy your evening." He turned and walked off into the backstage area of the theater.
"Nice guy for an executive," Soul said.
"Eeyup."
After much discussion of factors like Luna and Mac's large sizes, the Princess's desire for a low profile, and the theater's shape and acoustics, the group settled into seats a few rows behind the center of the seating area, with the Apple family situated in front of the Princess and "guards." As the other attendees filed in several minutes later, Macintosh talked Apple Bloom into giving Trixie a fair chance and Luna briefly considered casting an illusion spell to hide her identity but discarded it upon realizing everypony coming in had already seen her outside. Once the theater was mostly filled up and the sounds of conversation began among the theater-goers, Soul leaned toward Heart and asked, "So, when does this start again?"
"Eight o'clock," Heart answered, "Why?"
"Just curious," Soul said cryptically, looking around for a clock. He frowned in disappointment when he couldn't see one, and then shrugged and settled into a more comfortable position.
Twenty minutes later the lights dimmed and Proscenium Arch stepped through the curtains up on the stage as the crowd fell silent. "Fillies and gentlecolts," he said, "Welcome to the Silver Halter for tonight's presentation by the Great and Powerful Trixie." A round of applause rose up in response and Mr. Arch smiled as he waited for it to settle back down. "To insure the safety of our performer and so as not to ruin anypony's experience," he said, "we ask that you do not take pictures- an especially not with flash cameras. Thank you. And now, it is my pleasure to introduce The Great and Powerful Trixie!" He galloped off to stage-right amid applause, and then the curtains rose upon the darkened stage. A mist rolled in from both sides of the stage, and after a few tense moments, a spotlight flared on as a whistling firecracker went off, sparking a spinning wheel of light that framed The Great and Powerful Trixie as she grinned out at the audience. The applause rose up again, more enthusiastically.
"Thank you," Trixie declared over the noise, "Prepare yourselves, Manehatten, to be amazed by the Grreat and Power Trrrixie, the greatest unicorn magician in all of Equestria."
"She ain't changed a bit," Applejack muttered.
Trixie began with a series of illusions, creating images of dragons, a manticore, and an Ursa, each more impressive and life-like than the last, out of nothing but smoke and light. With each figure went a story that Trixie would act out, and even Luna and AJ found themselves impressed when an illusory dragon seemed to pick her up off the ground before she could vanquish it with a lightning bolt from her horn. The orange earth pony had to bite her lip when Trixie conjured up the Ursa image, especially since Trixie had set the scene in Ponyville.
"Trixie is ashamed to admit this was not her greatest hour," the pale blue unicorn said, looking up and covering her eyes with a front leg as the image reared up and began smashing smoke buildings, "After all, she knew that although Ponyville lies so close to the dreaded Everfree Forest, the monsters inside it almost never come out. The Great and Powerful Trixie had expected to simply spend a day or two regaling the ponies there with tricks and tales of her adventures, and she was well-received." AJ and Bloom both snorted. "However, that very night an Ursa Minor came rampaging out of the forest, probably scared by some nightmare or another."
"Eh, close enough," Applejack muttered.
"Oi," Soul hissed, "Save the commentary for later please. I'm enjoying this." Applejack looked back and gave Soul a bemused look.
"Trixie was shaken out of bed by the rampage," Trixie was saying, unaware of the commentary, "And being so tired meant she was not at her full potential." She turned toward the smoke-and-light Ursa and affected a sleepy wobble as she sent two weak-looking bolts of magic at the thing. The Ursa turned toward her and swung a paw at her, and Trixie jumped back and rolled across the stage as if she'd been sent flying by a powerful blow. Regaining her feet, Trixie's horn took on a purplish glow and the image of a purple unicorn trotted onstage from behind her. "Luckily for her," she said, resuming her narration, "there was a unicorn in Ponyville who, although not as Great and Powerful as Trixie, knew how to tame an Ursa Minor. By working together we calmed the beast and sent it home to its cave." The purple unicorn image raised its head and a flute appeared above it playing a soft melody as Trixie "lifted" the Ursa off the ground and rocked it gently before moving it off stage. The audience applauded as the illusions vanished and Trixie took a bow.
"What a load of cow patties," Apple Bloom said, just a little too loudly. The applause came to an abrupt halt as Trixie looked up from her bow, looking briefly annoyed before putting a smile back on her face.
"It would seem there is a neigh-sayer in the house," she said, and a second spotlight came on and swung out into the audience. It centered on Applejack, and Trixie's smile faltered again briefly before she regained her composure. "You question the truth of my story, do you?" she asked.
"Yeah," AJ said, "On account of me being there when it happened. Yer still all talk."
"I see," Trixie said, "Well, as luck would have it, we have reached the next part of the show, where The Great and Powerful Trixie welcomes any pony in the audience to try their hooves at outperforming her. Do you accept the challenge?"
"I'd rather not," AJ said with a wry smile, "Besides, I didn't bring mah rope this time."
"A pity," Trixie said, "Anypony else? How about… you?" She pointed and the spotlight shifted to focus on Princess Luna. To her credit, Trixie handled this third and easily biggest surprise of the night very well; her face barely twitched. "Yes," she said, her voice no longer sounding as confident, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is even willing to match spells with one of our fair leaders, Princess Luna."
"Do you think I should?" Luna asked, turning toward Heart and Soul, "I wouldn't want to embarrass her."
"She's willing to risk it," Soul noted.
"Go easy on her though," Heart advised, "All she's really got is illusions and bravado."
"Go show her what real magic's like!" Apple Bloom insisted.
"You're sure you want me?" Luna asked the magician.
"Come, come," Trixie said, "no challenger will be turned away."
"Very well then," Luna said. She vanished into a mist of stardust and reappeared on the stage to the right of Trixie. "You don't need to try and match that," she told the unicorn.
Trixie just looked up into Luna's eyes, activated her horn, and then teleported to the left end of the stage. "Easy," she said, "What else do you have?"
"Let's see," Luna said, thinking, "How about this?" Her horn glowed as several tiny balls of light materialized around her and began flying about the theater in various patterns, ending as a crown encircling her head. Trixie responded by snatching control of the lights and doing her own routine with them before extinguishing them disdainfully.
"Pathetic," she said, "You insult both yourself and the Great and Powerful Trixie with such simple parlor tricks. Come on, show us what you're capable of."
"I don't wish to upstage you," Luna said, "Besides, some other pony may wish to take your challenge." She turned to leave, but Trixie teleported in front of her with a hard glare.
"Prove yourself," she demanded, "Are you Princess Luna or not?" Luna stepped back, insulted.
"You disrespectful little… Fine. You want a display of my power? How about this?" The light of her horn was blinding as magic energy began to swirl around her. Trixie stood her ground even as the energy began creating a real whirlwind and Luna's coat started to become gradually darker.
"Uh oh," Soul said, "This is not good. Come on Heart!" He leapt out of his seat and ran for the stage with Heart flying close behind him. The wind from Luna's spell began shaking the room, and as Soul jumped up onto the stage, the energy exploded outward and knocked him out of the air. As he lost consciousness, he thought he heard Big Macintosh's calm voice over the screams of the evacuating ponies.
"Poor filly can't seem ta catch a break, can she?"
The ponies researching Celestia's problem with the stars hadn't caught a break either. Like the Princess had said, the problem was unprecedented, so looking for instances even remotely related to scrambled stars was next to impossible. Twilight, Spike, and Gale had turned the library upside-down and come up with no leads, not even from the fiction section. Ashen Blaze had lost the fight with sleep after an hour and half of tracing out spells that would allow him to look Celestia over and detect abnormalities. The only thing he'd found before his vision became too blurry from fatigue was a variety of pollens and powders in her coat, which he figured were simply the results of moving about through a perfectly normal atmosphere on any given day. After that he'd curled up on a couch and slipped into unconsciousness. The others kept working until the Princess insisted that they stop and get some rest at midnight.
The next morning, Ash awoke with a number of cramps and decided to go for a walk to work them out before breakfast. Rarity went with him, declaring a need for some fresh morning air after spending all night in a dusty library. They ended up getting breakfast out in the city and spending fifteen minutes at a salon fixing Rarity's bed-head. As they returned to the library, Spike noted with displeasure that Rarity was laughing at Ash's satirical commentary. "I mean really," he was saying in an affected snooty voice, "how could you even think of leaving your home with less than your entire make-up kit and a set of hairbrushes?" He caught Spike's eye and grew more serious. "Excuse me a second," he said. Rarity nodded and trotted over to talk to Twilight and Princess Celestia. Ash walked up to the purple dragon and simply said, "Finish your breakfast, then let's take a walk." He walked away without waiting for a response, and Spike began eating his food a little more slowly.
There was a tense silence between the two males as they walked through the halls of the castle. "Doesn't this seem just a little silly to you?" Ash asked at last.
"What?" Spike responded, glaring up at the unicorn.
"Here I am," Ash said, "a battle-hardened, blunt, subtly disrespectful, and downright aggravating mule of a pony, and yet somehow I catch the eye of the jewel of Ponyville. Hardly seems logical, does it?"
"No, it doesn't," Spike said simply.
"I don't understand it either," Ash said, "I'm not trying to lead her on, and I don't see our relationship as anything more than a friendship." He stopped and looked Spike square in the eye. "Therefore," he said, "I'd appreciate it ever so much if you'd quit giving me the evil eye. I can't help what anybody feels about me, but I'll nurture whatever relationship they insist on, even if it's antagonistic. You don't want to be my enemy." Spike simply stood where he was, speechless. Ash smiled and patted him on the head. "Well," he said cheerfully, "now that we've cleared that up, let's get back to work, shall we? The Princess is counting on us."
"R-right…"
Gale slammed the book she was reading shut with a growl of frustration. "I am about ready to give up," she said, "The histories are useless, the astronomy books even more so, and I am having a very hard time believing nopony ever imagined this was possible, let alone cooked up a fanciful solution to it."
"Well, what other places do we have left to look?" Twilight asked, pulling another novel off the shelf and reading the synopsis.
"I dunno," Gale said, "Maybe… maybe the Princess is just sick or something?"
"Sick?" Rarity asked, poking her head out from around the end of the aisle, "Do you honestly think the Princess is the sort of being who could get sick?"
"Well, she's not perfect," Gale said, "After all, if Luna could become Nightmare Moon, why couldn't they catch a simple illness?"
"There's a big difference between illness and a rage-induced rampage of darkness," Ash said, looking up from his latest spell, "Believe me, I know. Besides, I haven't found any infections or malignant microbes in the Princess's system. At least… none that I recognize. Which is a rather small number… We need PC."
"That's a good idea," Gale said, "but, he's down in my apartment in the city. It would take while to fetch him."
"Well, we're not getting anywhere with this," Ash said, waving a hoof at a bookshelf.
"I would prefer if you did not use that thing on me," Celestia said, "The evil it houses got into my head once already and I do not wish to repeat that experience."
"Nor would I Princess," Ash said, "but I assure you-"
"No," Celestia said, giving the grey unicorn a rare hard look. Ash returned it, and the two stared at each other for several seconds before Ash turned away with a frustrated sigh.
"Royalty…" he muttered.
"Ash!" Gale and Rarity both exclaimed.
"I'm not needed here," Ash said, heading for the door, "Adieu, ladies." There was silence in the library after he left and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Oh dear," Rarity said, concerned.
"I'll follow him," Gale said, "He's up to something; I can feel it."
When Soul Mage came to, the first thing he saw was Gold Heart's face looking down at him with a look of relief in the process of replacing concern. The second thing he saw was that he was no longer in the Silver Halter's theater. He took a guess that he was in a backstage room, and from the pointed hat on the vanity and the posters on the wall, he narrowed that guess down to Trixie's dressing room. He moved slowly, knowing from experience that revival from unconsciousness usually came with a side order of nausea. He wasn't disappointed in that regard- his head spun and his stomach protested as he moved from his side onto his belly. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths until the world stopped moving, and then took a look around. He was definitely in Trixie's dressing room, but the only pony in the room besides him was Heart.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The Princess almost let her emotions get the better of her," Heart said, sliding a bowl of water over to him, "She pulled it back at the last second, but you and Trixie both took the brunt of her magical discharge. Trixie woke up a little while ago, and she's in Mr. Arch's office with Luna right now. They're probably talking about insurance and Trixie's future."
Soul took a few sips of water before asking his next question, "The audience?"
"Everyone got out all right," Heart answered, "AJ and Mac helped to move you and Trixie in here and then left for home, rather reluctantly, but they do have responsibilities."
"I understand," Soul said. He picked himself up, trying to move his head a little as possible until he was sure of his footing. He looked up and gave Heart a weak grin. "And here I was thinking a ticked-off Ashen Blaze had the strongest magic punch." The sound of the door opening made him swing his head around and then put a hoof to his forehead as his vision began swimming again. "Agh, bad Soul, no fast movement," he muttered.
"Are you ok?" he heard Luna ask.
"I'll live," the golden-yellow unicorn said, "What about you Princess?"
"I'm very sorry," Luna said, wrapping Soul's head in a spell that calmed his disorientation, "I've arranged to cover the costs of any damage I may have done, and Proscenium Arch assured me that Trixie's contract with him is still valid, so she can keep performing."
"No, Trixie can not go on again," the pale-blue unicorn said crossly as she entered the dressing room and walked around Luna to face her. "I've just taken a look at the stage, and my smoke machines are completely shot, a spotlight is broken, and one of the curtains is torn nearly in half. On top of that, I think you've done something to me- Trying to lift anything bigger than an apple gives me a splitting headache."
"That's probably just a temporary symptom of head trauma," Luna said, "It'll pass."
"Well, until it does, and everything gets fixed or replaced, I have no show! Thanks a lot, your highness!" Trixie snapped, seething.
"Hey!" Heart snapped back, "Show some respect, you! You're the one that goaded her into it!"
"No," Luna said, "It is partially my fault for letting her get to me." He looked down at Trixie, who struggled to maintain her angry expression. "I've already paid for the damage to the equipment," she said, "Perhaps there is something I can do for your lack of magic."
"They should be able to replace the drape and spotlight by the next show," Trixie said, looking thoughtful, "but it will be a day or two before the smoke machines can be fixed or replaced, and that means two shows will have to be canceled. And just how long will I…" she trailed off as a mist began filling the room. Everypony looked up to see that Luna's horn was glowing.
"I am the Princess of the Night," Luna said, "darkness, starlight, moonlight, mist, and the illusions they can create in the minds of ponies are all under my control." Trixie's eyes went wide as she realized what Luna was implying.
"I… I…" she stuttered, and then fell into a half-bow as she stared up at the Princess with shining eyes, "You would truly work the spells in Trixie's place? I… don't know what to say!" Luna just smiled and nodded. "Oh, thank you!" Trixie exclaimed, hugging Luna's legs.
"I think I know what the other guards will say when they hear about this,' Soul muttered.
"I wonder what Celestia would say," Heart replied quietly.
"Come back here tomorrow morning," Trixie said, releasing Luna and switching back to her stage persona, "We must work quickly if the Great and Powerful Trixie is to teach you her amazing tricks."
"I look forward to it," Luna said, "Come Soul Mage, Gold Heart, I think that's our invitation to leave." She walked out of the dressing room with Heart on her heels, but Soul stopped as he walked by Trixie and fixed her with a hard look.
"I'd be careful with that 'Great and Powerful' stuff if I were you," he said, "don't you dare forget who she is." He snapped his head back to the front and strode purposefully after the Princess.
Gale's income from the adding machines she'd adapted from Ash's research rejects had fallen considerably after the Z'nai attack, but she still made enough to afford the one-room apartment she rented on the south side of Canterlot. The entire industry of magically-enhanced items had taken a similar nose-dive, but was starting to recover as ponies began trusting the claims that the Z'nai were well and truly gone. Not that that interested Ash as he crouched on the roof of Gale's building, trying to locate her apartment and contrive a spell to gain access to it. The difficulty was increased by the fact that Gale lived on the third of the four residential levels with a fifth one dedicated to extra storage space. Getting inside wouldn't be a problem if he could see through the window, a simple teleport would do, but he'd have to see it with his own eyes. Personal levitation spells had never been easy for him, and even with his false Element necklace enhancing his available power they were outright impossible now. He could do a wall adhesion spell on his hooves, but he wasn't used to moving on vertical surfaces and he'd have a heck of time explaining himself if he was caught. Of course, the same would be true if he could levitate himself… Invisibility would remove that issue, and he could maintain two spells at once if he moved fast. With a confident smirk, he sketched out the spell patterns and activated them. After testing the strength of the adhesion spell, he took a breath and stepped over the edge of the building. He descended rapidly to the third floor and checked the first window, blessing his luck when he saw the unmistakable sign of Gale's occupancy- crystals, metal, and half-finished contraptions littered a designated work area and crumpled notes lay around an overflowing trash bin. Releasing the invisibility spell to run its rapid course to dissolution, Ash focused his energy on teleporting inside.
He landed next to the bed and dispelled his magic before beginning his search. He knew a bit about Gale's organization habits, which did exist despite the apparent chaos of the work area, but he wasn't sure where'd she'd keep such a valuable, and opinionated, piece of equipment. On a hunch, he started with the work area, discovering a desk underneath the largest collection of items. His target wasn't visible on the top of the desk, and Ash knew Gale would never bury it under anything, so he began opening the drawers. In the second drawer down he found it- a metal device that looked like a cross between half of a thick skullcap and a telephone headset, with a transparent green eyepiece thrown on for good measure. "Hello PC," he said, starting to pick it up with his magic. He was distracted by a tap on his flank, and he mentally slapped himself even before he finished turning around to catch a glob of yellow goo with his face. "Aiiiigh!" he screamed, falling to the floor as he scraped the offending substance out of his eyes. The goo seemed to travel up his face and congealed around his horn, and he hissed as he felt his magic energy being sucked out into the stuff. He rolled onto his back as he cleared his eyes and looked up to see a very disapproving Gale glaring down at him. Ash opened his mouth to yell at her, but all that came out was an inarticulate growl of frustration.
"Serves you right," Gale said, "You're lucky we're friends, or I'd have you arrested for breaking and entering."
Ash wanted to argue that he hadn't actually broken anything, but by the time he could speak again, a more important question sprang to mind. "Where'd you get magebane?" he demanded.
"There's a plant in the Everfree that's used to help young unicorns deal with magic-overload illnesses," Gale said, holding up a jar full of the goo, "Turns out the active agent in that plant is a dead-ringer for magebane, once concentrated. Now, I know what you're planning. Don't do it."
"Can't we talk about this after this stuff's done with me?" Ash asked.
"No," Gale said, dabbing some fresh magebane onto Ash's horn, "You'll just overpower me, grab PC, and run for it." She ignored Ash's glare as she wiped her hoof off on his chest and then fixed him with a stare of her own. "I know you've got a serious problem with authority," she said, "But you must have realized that Princess Celestia is not the kind of leader you should mess with. For one thing, she's powerful enough to move the stinking sun and moon! Even at your peak you couldn't match that, and you're nowhere close to that right now."
"You've never really seen my peak," Ash muttered.
"Item two," Gale said sharply, "She's a genuinely good person who deserves respect. You yourself have pointed how nice she's been after all the crap that's happened in connection to our being here. Heart and Soul are part of the royal guard for heaven's sake; she trusts us."
"Not enough," Ash pointed out, "Your points are valid Gale, and believe me when I say Princess Celestia's one of the few leaders I've met that I actually like, but she doesn't trust us enough to let PC do a simple, harmless scan on her. I'm trying to cover our bases here; the books are useless, I'm probably missing the source because I can't interpret half of what my spells have shown me, and there's a small possibility this is the forerunner of a much bigger issue."
"Can't you just tell PC what you saw?" Gale asked.
"Sure," Ash said, rolling his eyes, "I'd be able to give him maybe a tenth of what there is to examine, and a lot of that will be colored by my perceptions. He needs unfiltered input if he's going to be at all useful."
"If you're so sure of that," Gale said, "Then talk to Celestia about it. It won't be easy, I'm sure, but maybe she'll see reason if we talk to her about it together." She turned away and put the magebane jar back on the shelf she'd grabbed it from. "Well," she asked, turning back, "Are you going to get up? It's all worn off now." Ash looked up at his horn, which was now clean of any yellow goo.
"Actually," he said, his sarcastic humor returning, "I'm quite comfy down here. I think I'll take a nap."
The captain of the honor guard was dumbfounded. He'd heard rumors about the magic show the Princess had attended, and how it had ended in disaster, but to hear from Luna herself that she'd caused that disaster… And she was going to work for the showmare for the next few days? Throwing protocol to the wind - after all, those two new recruits were getting away with being casual – he decided to voice his objections. "Princess Luna, you simply can't do this," he said.
The dark purple alicorn gave him a measured, unamused look. "Why ever not?" she asked icily, "The poor mare is recovering from a magical blow to the head that has temporarily crippled her ability, and I am responsible."
"But," the captain stammered, "Couldn't you just… give her some money to cover for the nights she'll have to miss? We should have been in Fillydelphia by now."
"There will be other opportunities to visit Fillydelphia," Luna said, "I am obligated to relieve any suffering I may have caused to the best of my ability. Besides, the idea of running a magic show sounds like fun, and this is my vacation, right?"
"Y-yes you highness," the captain said, shrinking slightly under Luna's gaze.
"Good, I'm glad you understand" Luna said sweetly. She turned to leave, but the captain built up his courage for one last question.
"And just what do you expect me to do with myself?" he asked.
"I hear that many of the productions in the theater district are quite good," Luna said, "And you may attend my performance tonight, if you wish. Of course, that's assuming I'll be prepared for it. Good-bye." After the Princess left the suite, the captain threw his helmet to the ground and flopped down next to it, rubbing his eyes with a groan. He was never going to volunteer for the night shift after this; Celestia had never given him a head-ache.
"Have you considered just sending the rest of the guards home?" Gold Heart asked as she and Soul Mage walked with Luna.
"Briefly," Luna said, "But then I realized at least one of them would tell Celestia what I'm up to and I'd miss out on seeing her reaction." She smiled mischeviously.
"You don't think she'd approve?" Soul asked.
"Oh, she'd probably enjoy hearing about it," Luna said, "but she'll be quite surprised at first. I haven't been this spontaneous since I was released."
"By the way," Heart asked, "How are you going to help Trixie out without revealing your presence?"
"Good question," Luna said with a thoughtful look, "She'll most likely have an idea. This is her area of expertise after all." Heart nodded and the three ponies continued their walk in relative silence. They arrived at the theater district and walked into the alley behind the Silver Halter. Luna reached out and rapped on the back door three times. The door opened a moment later and Trixie stuck her head out.
"Well timed," she said, "Trixie is pleased with your punctuality. Come in, we have a lot of ground to cover. She moved aside as Luna walked in, and then moved to block Heart and Soul from following. "You two are not part of the show," she said, "Be off with you."
"We're her guards," Soul said, annoyed, "Where she goes, we go."
"You will only get in the way," Trixie said, staring down her nose at the upset unicorn, "But Trixie is not a petty pony. She will make sure you have free tickets to each show that includes the Princess." She slammed the door before Soul could respond.
"I don't like her anymore," Soul muttered. He extended his magic to try and force the door open, but stopped when Heart nudged him in the side.
"If Luna wants us to go in with her," she said, "she'll make Trixie let us in. Be patient." Soul snorted and pulled his magic tendril back into his horn. The two ponies waited for several minutes, but the door remained closed. "I guess not," Heart said, "Looks like we're on our own for the day."
"Pardon the Ash-ism," Soul said, "but, skvetch ."
It took all of Ashen Blaze's willpower not to let any expletives escape his mouth. Princess Celestia was in a bad enough mood as it was, and venting his frustration in any manner would only make things worse. He and Gale had arranged a private audience with the Princess in her study to argue their case for scanning her with PC. Ash had given up early on and let Gale handle the discussion, but even now Celestia refused to budge. "It does not matter how long it served you without releasing the Z'nai," she said, "The fact that it did so once, and that those creatures proved capable of taking over my will, makes it far too risky to trust it not to do so again. This audience is over." She turned away and walked out of the room before Gale could form a protest.
"Sorry Ash," the earth pony said, "At least we tried."
"She's making a judgment based on fear," Ash muttered darkly, "What's worse is that there's a bit of rationality to that fear. I'd just need twenty seconds…"
"Just forget about it Ash," Gale said, "We'll find the answer some other way. It'll take a lot longer, but I'm sure it's there." Ash looked at her for a second, and then sighed.
"Fine," he said, "Let's get back to work then."
The ponies and Spike had been through nearly all of the books and were starting to get into the ancient scrolls stored in a back room of the library and only loaned out for brief periods under close scrutiny. Ash spent a few minutes reading, but then seemed to grow bored and went to stand by a bookshelf, idly scratching at the ground as he thought. Rarity, who was having a difficult time staying focused herself, went over to keep him company. "Is everything all right?" she asked.
"Things could be better," the grey unicorn muttered distractedly. He looked up as a thought occurred to him. "Twilight," he said, "This library doesn't have every book ever written, does it?"
"No," Twilight said, "But if the answer isn't in any of the astronomy or history books here, I doubt any other, less comprehensive books will."
"I was thinking more of fiction," Ash said, "Gale made a good point yesterday; it's ridiculous to think that there hasn't been a single pony who felt the urge to put pen to paper who thought about what would happen if the stars wouldn't line up right. I think I'll go peruse one of the other libraries around here; maybe they'll have the right story."
"Good idea," Gale said, "But you're not going alone. I can still see that defiant glint in your eye Ashen Blaze. You're up to something and you shouldn't be left alone to pull whatever stunt you're planning." Ash gave Gale a hard look but didn't deny her accusation.
"I'll go with you Ash," Rarity said, "I'd much rather spend my time reading a good story than these dusty old scrolls. No offense Twilight."
"No, I'll go with him," Spike said, "I know this city inside and out, so I can get us there in no time."
"Thank you Spike," Ash said with a knowing smile. The baby dragon gave Ash a measured look in return as he walked over and jumped onto his back.
"Plus," he said as Ash adjusted to the added weight, "from up here I can make sure you don't run off." Ash cast an unreadable glance over his shoulder and then walked out of the library.
Soul's mood remained bad as he and Heart wandered the streets of Manehatten. Their first stop had been to buy a map of the city to prevent them from getting lost as they sought out famous landmarks and places of recreation. Heart had tried to talk her brother into visiting the history museum, but Soul rejected the idea, saying that getting to work in close proximity to the God-princesses was enough historical exposure for him. At the moment they were wandering around downtown, munching on roasted carrots slathered in mustard and wrapped in sesame seed buns as they window-shopped. "How'd they come up with this?" Soul wondered, looking at his food, "It can't possibly be a substitute for hot dogs, but it might as well be. It's uncanny." He blinked and looked up when Heart didn't respond and spotted her standing behind him at a newsstand. "What'cha find?" he asked.
"Hold on a sec," she said, picking up a newspaper and dropping some bits on the counter. "Keep the change," she said to the pony minding the stand. She tucked the paper under a wing and walked over to Soul. "Hold this up for me please," she said, passing the paper to her brother. Soul wrapped his magic around it and unfolded it so he and Heart could see the front page.
"What am I looking… oh," Soul said as his eyes fell upon a small headline in a column to the left of the main article. "Misplaced Stars- Royal Prank or Terrible Omen," he read, "That's not a good title." He fell silent as he and Heart read the article, which continued on the fourth page.
Misplaced Stars- Royal Prank or Terrible Omen?
As most of our readers are by now aware, the night sky has been in a state of confusion and turmoil for the past couple of nights. Our astrologers confirm that none of the stars that accompany Princess Luna's moon in lighting our skies at night are situated in their proper locations. Experts are at a loss to explain the cause, and no report or response to our letters has reached us from Canterlot regarding this mystery. (cont. pg 4)
(cont. from pg. 1) While some ponies have not expressed concern, most are divided into two camps of opinion. One camp believes the scrambling of stars is the result of a prank or domestic squabble between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They believe the stars will right themselves eventually once our beloved leaders have had their fun or settle their differences- hopefully without either being banished to the moon. The other common opinion is less optimistic. These ponies, including many of this paper's astrology staff, believe the stars are out of alignment because something has happened to the Princesses which is interfering with their powers and may grow steadily worse. A small portion of this camp subscribes to the theory that the evil shadows that were rumored to have taken over Canterlot a short time ago have returned, but since the original attack has not been confirmed to have actually occurred, this theory is regarded as crack-pot.
"Wow," Soul said, deadpan, "The Z'nai have become an urban legend. Guess we can add 'created the next Bigfoot' to our list of accomplishments."
"Goof," Heart said, smirking as she gave Soul a cuff with her wing, "This could be serious. If the stars don't get fixed soon, there's going to be a panic."
"What can we do about it?" Soul asked, "Luna's made it pretty clear she's not going to do a thing about the night until her vacation's over, and she's got three days after today. Plus, if Trixie's not ready to go on by herself again by then, she might put off fixing things until she gets back to Canterlot."
"We'll show her this,' Heart said, grabbing the paper and folding it up, "Maybe if she realizes what the average pony's thinking, she'll act."
"It's a long shot," Soul said, "But, I guess it's worth a try. We'll tell her after tonight's show."
"Hey Spike, could you do me favor and grab that book down there? The one with the blue dust jacket."
Spike looked at the book in question, and then down at Ash with a distrustful look. The grey unicorn was focusing on properly replacing the books he'd just finished looking over. "Not without getting off your back," Spike said.
"Oh come on," Ash said, "I promise I'll stay put."
"I don't think I can trust you," Spike said.
"This isn't about Rarity is it?" Ash replied, "I already told you, I don't have any intentions of getting involved with her."
"No," the dragon said, "This is because Gale thinks you're up to something, and if your own friend can't trust you, why should I?"
"Because I always keep my word," Ash said, settling the last book into place. His horn didn't stop glowing though, and Spike suddenly felt himself being lifted off the unicorn's back. "The thing is," Ash said nonchalantly, "I never promised anypony, or any dragon, that I'd go right back to the royal library when I was done here. Thank you so much for volunteering to come with me Spike; this would be harder for me if I'd had to do it to Rarity." Spike tried to open his mouth to call for help, but the force of Ash's magic forced it closed and then spread out until the baby dragon was completely immobilized. Ash levitated him up and placed him on top of the bookcase, just barely out of sight. "Don't worry," he said, "That spell will wear off in about twelve to fourteen hours. I should have completed my mission by that time. Ta-ta, Spike!" He trotted out of the library with a smug look on his face, headed for his next destination: Gale's apartment.
As the sun set over Manehatten and the stars came out in an all-new, wholly incorrect configuration, Soul Mage and Gold Heart made their way to the Silver Harness. They encountered the honor guard captain and another of the guards outside the theater, but kept their distance after their friendly greetings were met with a cold glare from the captain. "Sourpuss," Soul muttered as he went up to the box office to claim their free tickets.
"Yeah," Heart agreed, "I hope they don't try anything."
"You think they'd be that stupid?" Soul asked with a raised eyebrow. Heart shook her head. "Got the paper?" Soul asked.
"Do you want to hold it?" Heart asked testily as she raised a wing slightly to display the folded newspaper underneath it.
"No, no," Soul said, "Just checking. Come on, let's go find our seats." Heart rolled her eyes and smiled as she followed her brother inside.
The very fact that there was a show that night was a good sign, and the golden-yellow ponies waited eagerly to see how Trixie had modified her show to incorporate Luna. When Proscenium Arch stepped out to welcome the audience, he made no mention of any major changes other than to thank an "anonymous patron" for paying to repair the main curtain and broken lights from the previous night's accident. He bowed and moved aside as the lights dimmed and the curtain opened. The mist that flowed across the stage prior to Trixie's entrance had a slight but noticeable sparkle to it which added to the overall effect when the spotlight landed on Trixie and the pyrotechnics went off. As the blue unicorn went into her opening speech, Soul cast glances toward the sides of the stage, trying to catch a glimpse of somepony standing just out of sight, but couldn't see a thing.
"She's off to a good start," Heart whispered as Trixie transitioned into her first story, the vanquishing of a dragon that terrorized a small town. The dragon appeared on cue, and looked just as good as it had the previous night, although the illusory scenery looked a little wobbly and there were only two pony images running about at any one moment, whereas Trixie had managed four the last time. When it came time for the "dragon" to pick Trixie up, the aura of magic was visible around her, and the lightning bolt that vanquished the creature came from above rather than Trixie's horn, a fact that Trixie worked into her narrative without a hitch. The manticore story went smoother, since it required fewer special effects overall.
"Luna's a quick study, huh?" Soul whispered with a smile. Heart just nodded. Trixie finished chasing the manticore illusion off the stage and the scenery shifted to the Ponyville set. "Ursa time," Soul muttered.
"No comments this time," Heart said, giving him a sideways glance.
"That was Apple Bloom's fault," Soul hissed back.
"Still." The story proceeded as they recalled, with Trixie bemoaning her poor luck, blaming the attack on a bad dream, and admitting that she was unable to calm the beast by herself. However, when she mentioned the second unicorn, instead of an illusion, a tall lavender unicorn mare with black hair and a gibbous moon cutie-mark stepped out onto the stage, horn aglow as a pair of illusory flutes floated along behind her playing the lullaby. Trixie brought her story to its conclusion, pretending to concentrate as the Ursa floated into the sky, rocked gently until it fell asleep, and floated away. As the audience applauded, the illusions faded and the two unicorns took a bow.
"Thank you,' Trixie said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to introduce her special guest, Stella Moon, who has provided tonight's effects." The tall unicorn took another bow to more applause. "Now," Trixie said, "Ordinarily the Great and Powerful Trixie would take this time to invite you to test your mettle against her amazing powers, but sadly she is unable to do so tonight. Instead, Stella has offered to display more of her talent for your entertainment. So sit back and enjoy." She bowed and walked off stage.
"Wow," Soul said impressed, "That was… big of her."
"Changing your opinion again?" Heart asked with a chuckle. Soul just glanced at her and turned his attention back to the stage.
"Stella Moon" wowed the audience for a solid twenty minutes with her illusions. She produced bunnies out of thin air that transformed into doves as they hopped away. She created doppelgangers of herself and challenged the audience to pick out the real pony, and then transformed herself into various famous ponies, including a slightly imperfect Princess Luna for a few seconds to Heart and Soul's secret amusement. She crowned the performance by filling the theater with a panorama of stars and summoning an illusion of the full moon to fill the stage and throw herself into silhouette. When this illusion vanished, so did Stella. She emerged from off stage with Trixie by her side and the two ponies took one final bow before bidding the crowd good night. Heart and Soul cheered as loudly as the rest of the audience before making their way out into the lobby. They were met by a theater employee who escorted them into the backstage area.
"I feel I must apologize for Trixie," he said to them, "She's so determined to make her shows just the way she likes, she's very picky about who's allowed backstage. Princess Luna managed to talk her into letting you back here once the show was over."
"Thanks," Heart said.
"It's no problem," the employee said, leading the pair to a dressing room. He nodded to them and left. After sharing a glance with Heart, Soul knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice said from within, and the two ponies did so. They found themselves in the presence of the dark-haired lavender unicorn. "Hello Soul and Heart," she said, "Did you enjoy the show."
"Oh yes," Heart said.
"You were quite impressive, Ms. Moon," Soul said with a wry smile.
The unicorn laughed as her form faded away to be replaced by that of Princess Luna. "Thank you," she said, "but I know there are still some areas where I need to improve."
"You could start by not being quite so impressive," Trixie's voice said from the door. Heart and Soul made way as she walked up to the alicorn. "While it was awe-inspiring," she said, "That final act threatens to undermine Trixie's image as the Greatest and most Powerful."
"My apologies," Luna said, "I got rather caught up in the act. I'll come up with something less spectacular for tomorrow."
"No, you can keep it," Trixie said, "Just… tone it down a little; not so many stars, a smaller moon, and put a little hesitancy into it. Just as a suggestion of course," she added, shooting a glance at Soul, who kept his face impassive.
"How's your head?" Heart asked.
"My head feels fine," Trixie said, "My magic is coming back, but slowly. I plan to have myself checked out tomorrow to get a professional guess on how long I must work with a partner."
"That's good," Heart said, and then turned to Luna with a serious look on her face. "Princess," she said, "we have something you should see." She pulled the newspaper out from under her wing and handed it to Luna with a gesture toward the article about the stars. Luna read through the first part, and then opened the paper to read the continuation, and then folded the paper back up and gave it back to Heart.
"Thank you for letting me know," she said. Heart and Soul looked at her expectantly, so she shook her head and added, "It's only rumors so far, and I trust Celestia to find a solution without my help. I won't act until my vacation is over or my sister sends me a letter asking for help. I'm sure she'd expect the same from me." The two golden-yellow ponies sighed, each wishing they had Luna's confidence.
Gale started to get suspicious when Ash and Spike didn't return after several hours, and Twilight grew worried when they weren't back in time for dinner.
"Spike never misses a meal," she said, eyeing the bowl of rubies on the food cart, "Especially when there are gemstones on the menu."
"Perhaps they're just wrapped up in their reading," Rarity suggested, "I know that sometimes I get so wrapped up in a book the hours just slip by unnoticed."
"Ash doesn't read that much," Gale said around a bite of daisy sandwich, "I bet he's up to something, the little troll."
"If he is," Twilight said, "He'd have to have taken Spike along with him."
"Not necessarily," Gale said, "He can be very slippery when he wants to be. Dang it!" She pounded the cart with a hoof, rattling the dishes. "More of us should have gone with him!" She dropped the rest of her sandwich and marched toward the doors.
"Where are you going?" Rarity asked.
"My place," Gale said, "I suggest one of you go check the library he went to, and somepony should warn Celestia that Ash may have gone rogue." She flung the door open and ran out into the hall.
"I'll take the library," Twilight said to Rarity, "you go find the Princess."
"Right," Rarity said as her friend teleported away. As she ran out of the library, the white unicorn found herself caught in a dilemma. On the one hoof, she had her duty as a loyal Equestrian to warn the Princess of any threat she knew of, but on the other she felt he knew Ashen Blaze well enough to trust him not to do anything he knew would put anypony in danger and all he wanted to do was use PC to get another opinion on Celestia's problems with the stars. However, PC did hold a dangerous creature inside of him… The debate raged on in Rarity's mind as she sought out Princess Celestia.
Twilight searched the city library high and low and quickly found Spike lying immobilized on top of a shelf in the fiction section. After carefully bringing him down to the floor, she began to examine him. He was being held by a spell that froze his voluntary movements but allowed him to breathe and blink occasionally. Twilight knew the basic formula for the spell, but it had been cast using Ashen Blaze's method of weaving energy instead of the traditional style of focusing it through a horn while visualizing the desired effect. "Sorry Spike," she said to the baby dragon, "I'm not sure I can undo what he's done to you, but I'm going to try my best."
Gale arrived at her apartment to discover she was far too late. Nothing was broken or missing at first glance, but Ash wasn't one to be stopped by physical barriers. Cursing under her breath and wishing she'd had enough magebane to seal her apartment against teleportation spells – even though it would've taken her months to prepare that amount – Gale went straight to her desk and pulled open the top left drawer. Reaching inside, she pressed the button that opened a secret compartment on the underside of the desk. She looked inside and cursed again. The compartment was empty; the head-mounted computer she'd hidden there after Ash's first break-in was gone. "Darn it Ashen Blaze," she muttered, "You're going to get yourself banished to the moon, and that's if you're lucky!"
Ashen Blaze normally came across as impatient, preferring action to sitting around, but when it came to stealth he could wait for hours. It probably helped that Celestia ordered a city-wide search for him after his plan had been discovered. He hadn't counted on Gale realizing the mistake of letting him leave her sight with only a featherweight of a dragon for company as quickly as she had, but he'd still had more than enough time to grab PC and begin planning his next move. After the guards were sent out, he split his time between muffling his mirth as they fell victim to his subtle misdirection spells that kept them from looking at his hiding spots, changing said hiding spots when the guards had gone, and investigating the security measures being placed around Princess Celestia. Gale had donated her meager supply of magebane to line the door into the Princess's study and the balcony outside her bedroom on the thought that Ash would wait until Celestia went to sleep before making his move. They weren't wrong about that, but they hadn't counted on the Princess's own magical aura being slowly absorbed by the magebane until it broke down around 2:30 in the morning, at which point Ash slipped into the bedroom and aimed PC's scanner at the sleeping alicorn.
Another thing Ash hadn't counted on was that Celestia was a very light sleeper. The moment he stopped moving, Celestia's eyes flew open and she raised her head to regard the intruder and his fire-like mane. Ash kept his face neutral as Celestia's eyes narrowed at him. "Evening," he said, "Don't mind me, I'll be gone in a moment."
"Leave this instant," Celestia said, "And take that thing with you."
"Sorry your highness," Ash said, "but no." Celestia's horn began to glow with magic and Ash began to feel a pressure shoving him in the direction of the door. He responded by teleporting to the other side of the room and saying, "PC, widen the scope. I'll need to be on the move."
"Do you really think you can defy me?" Celestia asked, standing up and facing the unicorn.
"In my life, I have only met three people I cannot stand against," Ash said. He teleported as Celestia flung a magic restraint in his direction. "The first is Soul Mage," Ash said as he rematerialized to the Princess's left, "Because his power has always been able to strike me right to the core of my tainted soul." He teleported again as Celestia whirled to face him. "The second is Gold Heart, because she is Soul's sister and you can't have one without the other." Teleport. "The last is Gale because of that awful magebane she always seems to be able to find the ingredients for, no matter where we've wound up."
"What makes you think you could defeat my power?" Celestia said, growing more annoyed as Ash teleported away from her spells again.
"I never said I could defeat you," Ash said from his new position, "If we were to go at each other with all our strength, I'm sure you'd overpower me. Oh." He teleported again and reappeared next to a vase of flowers. "Need to borrow these for a sec," he said, "See you in the library" He grabbed the vase and blinked away again before Celestia could react.
Ashen Blaze made sure his arrival in the royal library was particularly noisy by creating a simulated thunderclap after materializing; he needed witnesses for his next move, and was glad to see that Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Gale, and Spike were all present and had been awakened. "Answer might be in here," he said, placing the vase of flowers next to Twilight as he ran past her, skidding to a stop by a bookcase as Celestia teleported in, her eyes aglow with fury. Ash saluted the princess and said, "Princess, I am honored you chose to grant me the funds I required for my studies into magic, but I must now inform you I am no longer in need of your grants, so I humbly request you remove my name from future considerations. Adieu." He stamped the pattern he'd scratched into the floor earlier that day, which began to glow along with his horn and gemstone necklace. With a cry of "Destulf juri cosh , transport!" he vanished in a flash of orange light. The ponies and Spike watched the scene in confused silence, and then turned as one to look at Celestia.
"Where did he go?" Celestia demanded, turning her gaze on Gale.
"I… don't know," Gale admitted, "Soul has a better knowledge of Ash's magic words. I think that was a way-point transport though. Somewhere there's a spot that he set up as a way-point he can teleport to from anywhere. I didn't know he even had one set up, so I can't guess where he went."
Celestia snorted in frustration. "He can't have gotten far," she said, "He's hardly left Canterlot since starting his studies. Did he say anything to you before I got here?"
"He just gave me this," Twilight said, looking at the vase. She took a closer look at it and began sorting through the blooms with a hoof. Suddenly, she gasped and backed away from the vase.
"What?" Gale, Celestia, and Rarity all asked, worried.
"Poison Joak," Twilight said, using her magic to lift a blue flower out of the arrangement, "Princess Celestia, somepony slipped Poison Joak into your flowers!"
Trixie's full power came back two days later, but she allowed Luna to spend her last night in Manehatten helping with her magic show anyway. Soul kept away from the backstage area for the rest of the week, and was surprised to find a letter from Trixie in his pack as he prepared to leave for Canterlot. The letter was written in Trixie's flamboyant stage persona and the meaning was hard to decipher, but Soul managed to unearth an admission of forgiveness from the midst of it. "Aw, she likes you," Heart teased him when he showed it to her. Soul just rolled his eyes and packed the letter away.
Luna arrived home to slightly less fanfare than her sister had, but she didn't mind. She and Celestia spent several hours in private telling each other of their weeks and finding much to laugh about. By the end, they agreed it had been for the best that Luna hadn't intervened with the stars, since that had allowed Celestia to learn of her Poison Joak infection. The flower was eventually traced young florist who had unwittingly picked it while ghatering inventory and added it to the bouquet Ash had swiped. Luna also talked Celestia into holding a talent night for the castle staff, to be headlined by a Stella Moon and her amazing illusions.
Ashen Blaze was allowed to return to Canterlot, although he kept himself scarce for several days out of a feeling of self-preservation. Celestia had not made any statement, official or otherwise, regarding his standing in her eyes beyond an acknowledgement that his idea to scan the Princess with PC had been right. After a while, he began to relax and go about his usual business, although he decided out of the blue to get himself an apartment in the city proper rather than continue to stay in the castle's school wing. He moved in next to Gale, whom he gave PC back to with the solemn promise to ask before borrowing it again.
One morning, a week or so after Luna's vacation, Gale emerged from her apartment to find Princess Celestia lurking by Ash's door. Swallowing her surprise, she executed a quick bow. "Stand," Celestia said off-handedly, her attention devoted to the door in front of her.
"What are you doing here Princess?" Gale asked.
Celestia shushed her and stifled a giggle. "Just wait," she whispered. Curious, Gale sat down and watched. A short time later there was a solid thud from within Ash's apartment, followed by sounds of confusion and frustration. Gale could hear something dragging on the floor and thumping occasionally in time to muffled "Ows" as Ash's hoof-steps neared the door. There was a sound of scrabbling as Ash struggled to open his door. Gale's confusion grew; why wasn't he using his magic? She got her answer as Celestia took pity on Ash and magiced the door open. Gale gasped as she saw Ash half-lying on the ground due to an enlarged head that looked quite heavy and uncomfortable. Ash's eyes rolled up and shrank as he saw Celestia, who was sitting very regally, her amusement almost totally hidden.
Ash gaped at her for several seconds before finding his voice. "You," he said, "This… Poison Joak?"
"Poison Joak," Celestia said with a sedate nod, a wicked smile crossing her face.
"Why?" Gale and Ash both asked, the former through giggles.
"Consider it payback for going against my wishes," Celestia said, "While you were right in your approach to my problem, you still went against my wishes and direct orders. I can't really punish you for being right, but I can't let you get away with defying me either. I think this is happy medium."
"You put Poison Joak pollen on my bed to teach me a lesson?" Ash looked like he was going to burst. Celestia just smiled. "Gale!" Ash pleaded, "Help."
"I'll send a letter to Zecora," Gale said, stifling her laughter.
"Thanks," Ash said grumpily, dragging himself back into his apartment and slamming the door.
"Well, that was fun," Celestia said, standing up, "I'll have some of the cure sent over right away- Zecora made more than enough for me." She walked to the window at the end of the hall and flew off toward the castle, back to her royal duties. All was right with the world.
"Poison Joak?" Rarity asked, incredulous, "That couldn't be the culprit. Could it?"
"What's Poison Joak?" Gale asked.
"It's this blue plant that grows in the Everfree," Spike explained, starting to fight down laughter, "It… heh, sorry. When it gets on you, it does something inconvenient and funny to you." He chuckled for a while as Twilight and Rarity both rolled their eyes.
"It's only funny if it doesn't happen to you," Twilight said, "My friends and I all got it the first time we met Zecora, and it did something different to each of us. It made my horn limp and useless for magic, turned Rainbow Dash's wings upside down, gave Rarity a very… interesting coat..." The white unicorn shivered at the memory as Spike's laughter increased. Twilight glared at the dragon and then looked back up at the others. "Anyway," she said, "as I looked back afterward, I realized each of us had been affected in a way that poked fun at what we held to be important, but wasn't particularly dangerous. Except to Rainbow because she insisted on trying to fly anyway, and it made AJ tiny…"
"But, could it really make Princess Celestia unable to set the stars right?" Rarity asked.
"It makes sense to me," Gale said, "I mean, when you get right down to it, the exact positions of the stars aren't vital to the well-being of Equestria, right?" Celestia nodded slowly. "And of course making the sky look right is very important to both Celestia and Luna," Gale continued, "So, if she did wind up getting some Poison Joak on her, what better way to poke some harmless fun than to mess up the stars?" Everypony thought this over and seemed to agree.
"If that's true," Celestia said, "How do I fix it? Will it just wear off?"
"Let's see," Twilight said, walking to the books. She looked for a few minutes, and then said, "Ah ha, here it is! Super Naturals ." She pulled the book out and brought it back to the group. "The cure's in here," she said, flipping through the pages, "Zecora showed it to me after showing us how wrong the rumors about her were." She blushed for a second as she found the right page and showed it to Celestia. "The cure is an herbal bath using certain herbs from the Everfree Forest. Zecora should have what we need, and if she doesn't she can find it."
"Well," Celestia said, looking at the book, "It won't hurt to try. Twilight, go see Zecora and get the herbs." Twilight nodded and trotted off with Spike on her heels. "Now," Celestia said, "Somepony needs to find Ashen Blaze. I… may owe him an apology."
Zecora regarded her guest, who'd arrived rather suddenly a short time ago, with some trepidation as she poured tea for the both of them. She set down the kettle and said, "Although your face is always a pleasure to see, what brings you the Everfree?"
Ashen Blaze smiled as he picked up the cup and sipped the tea. "I needed to get away," he said, "and the only teleport way-point I established outside of Canterlot is way out here."
"You're not fleeing, are you?" Zecora asked, "That is not something you're known to do."
"I don't usually tick off a physical goddess," Ash retorted. Zecora stared at him speechlessly, trying to determine if he was serious.
"Surely you jest," she said at last, "If the Princess is angry with you, to run now would be best."
"You're quite right," Ash said, and then gulped down his tea, "Even though I can't really hide anywhere, I'm sure, I'll leave now to keep Celestia from your door." He smirked at Zecora's critical reaction to his rhyming. A knock at the door stole the smile away and he leapt into the empty cauldron in the middle of the hut.
"I hear you at my door," Zecora said as another serious of knocks sounded from the door, "You do not need to strike it anymore." She opened the door and smiled as she saw Twilight and Spike standing outside. "My dear friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike," she said, "what can I do for you this late at night?"
"Sorry if we woke you Zecora," Twilight said, "but Princess Celestia is in need of your Poison Joak remedy."
"Ah ha!" Ash said, popping up from the cauldron and scaring the daylights out of Twilight, Spike, and even Zecora, "You figured that out from the clue I gave you, didn't you?" he asked in a triumphant voice.
"Ashen Blaze?" Twilight exclaimed, "How in Celestia's name?"
"Answer the question," Ash demanded, pointing a hoof at the lavender unicorn.
"Y-yes," Twilight said, still reeling from the shock.
"Ha! Justified!" Ash shouted in triumph, throwing both front hooves in the air. His back hooves slipped on the interior of the cauldron and he fell inside, banging his head against the side. "I'm ok," he announced, his voice echoing inside the cauldron, "nothing broken."
Zecora stared at the cauldron for a moment before turning back to Twilight. "I can get you the cure within a day," she said, "I hope the Princess will excuse the delay."
"Thanks Zecora," Twilight said with a smile. She turned to leave, but then stopped and glanced at Ash, who had poked his head out of the cauldron again. "Do you have any paper?" she asked the zebra, "I should probably let Celestia know we found the renegade Ashen Blaze."
"Feh," Ash muttered.
Soul Mage and Gold Heart once again found themselves barred from the theater while Luna and Trixie worked out that night's performance, so they went back to wandering the city for a while before returning to the suite, finding the honor guard captain lying on his back, bored out of his skull. "Ok Cap'n," Soul said, "you need to get some air."
"Don't talk to me," the captain said, "This entire week has been a disaster for me, and you two are part of the problem."
"In our defense," Soul said, "Luna kidnapped us that first night. We've just been tagging along with her because she wanted us. And now she's dumped us for the Great and Powerful Trixie."
"I see that," the captain said, not moving from his spot, "That Stella Moon from the performance, that was the Princess, wasn't it?"
"Yep," Soul said.
"She was having such a great time up there," the captain moaned, "She'll never want to go back to Canterlot now! I'm going to be stuck here in this stupid suite for the rest of my life because I can't go back home without Princess Luna! I'm doomed!" The poor guy was on the verge of tears.
"Ok," Heart said, walking over and pushing the captain onto his side, "You're hysterical; probably suffering from cabin fever or something." She dug her head under the captain's side and tried to lift him. Soul went over to help and the two of the managed to get the captain on his feet, although he was quite unsteady. "You are coming with us sir," Heart said, fixing the pegasus with a stare, "we are going for a walk so you can clear your head and loosen up a little."
"But…" the captain protested weakly.
"Luna's only helping Trixie until her magic comes back," Soul said, moving to stand on the captain's left side, "just keep that in mind." Heart moved to the captain's right and the two of them guided the wobbling pegasus out onto the street.
After walking for a few blocks and listening to the Impossible Twins chat amiably, the captain started to calm down and think rationally. They were right, he realized, this was only temporary. Luna was having fun, but she'd go back to her duties at the end of the week. Unless that Trixie filly wasn't done with her by then… the captain shook that thought away and focused on his plans for the future. He probably wouldn't ask for time off when he got back, but he did have some vacation time coming up soon. Sadly, his reverie was broken as they passed a newsstand and Soul noticed the headlines.
"Oh… that doesn't look good," the golden-yellow unicorn said, taking a closer look. The stand owner cleared his throat and Soul tossed him some bits before grabbing the paper. The three ponies moved out of the way of the other pedestrians as Soul held the paper up for them to read. "Panic reported due to mis-aligned stars," he read aloud and then continued down the page in silence. The article reported on an outbreak of rioting in Trottingham as a result of an outspoken advocate of the "terrible omen" theory ranting about his fears loudly in the middle of a crowded park. The reporter seemed to be of the opinion that this was only the first of what would be a series of panics if the stars were not restored to their rightful places.
"The Princess has to act soon," Heart said, worried, "She can't possibly ignore this."
"Yes," the captain agreed, "we must tell her at once!" He ran off before the others could stop him.
"What do you think his chances are?" Soul asked.
"You have the paper," Heart pointed out, "So, not good. We should probably go after him." Soul nodded and the two ponies galloped after the captain.
They found him banging on the front door of the Silver Halter, demanding entrance in the name of the Princesses. The door opened and he went in, only to walk out several minutes later with a hopeless look on his face. "She didn't believe me," he said as Heart and Soul joined him, "She told me to go bother somepony else."
"We'll talk to her tonight," Soul said, "for now, let's go get you something to drink." The captain nodded, or was that just hanging his head in defeat? Either way, he allowed himself to be lead away to the nearest restaurant, where he spent the rest of the day hovering over a series of malts.
Gold Heart and Soul Mage debated for a while over whether or not to watch that night's performance and ultimately decided to go for it since they had nothing else to do and most of the other shows they considered let out much later than Trixie's. Plus, the show was still free for them. The performance went much like it had the previous night, although Luna's skill with the illusions during Trixie's act had improved considerably. For her part, Luna put on a smaller-scale version of her premier performance, including a reduced version of her starlight and moon finale. The whole thing was still amazing, but Heart and Soul weren't as impressed. As Trixie and "Stella" took their final bows, it took every ounce of Soul's will to stop himself from bolting up onto the stage to shove the newspaper into the taller pony's face. Once the house lights went up, the two ponies didn't even bother to wait for an escort to take them backstage. They ran straight to the Princess's dressing room and met her coming from the stage.
"What's the matter?" Luna asked, seeing their expressions. Soul simply held out the paper. Luna read the article and then, to their horror, tossed it away and laughed. They stood slack-jawed as she went into her dressing room and stayed there until Trixie showed up.
"Move aside," the blue unicorn said impatiently, "I must give Luna her notes for the night." She walked into the room and closed the door.
"What," Soul said weakly, staring at the door, "what is wrong with her? She doesn't care. How could she not care?" Eye twitching in suppressed rage, he walked to the dressing room door, stared at it like he expected it to run away from him, and then kicked it open and ran inside.
"You've done something to her!" he shouted at Trixie, who stared nonplussed at the crazed unicorn, "I don't know what, but you have! Hypnotism, mind control spell, something to make her care more about your stupid show than the fact the stars are out of position and it's making ponies go crazy with worry!"
"How dare you!" Trixie shot back, "The Great and Powerful Trixie can barely lift a stack of books right now, and you accuse her of using mind control on Princess Luna, of all ponies?"
"How do I know you're not lying about not having your magic?" Soul asked, "You're an actress, a… an illusionist! You could make any claim you want and make it hold water for a short time! Well, that time is up Trixie! Your time is up!"
Trixie opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again when Luna stepped between the two ponies, her Stella disguise gone and her mane billowing out with the appearance of a starry sky. "That's quite enough you two," she said gently, "There's no need to argue. I am quite in control of myself."
"But, the stars," Soul protested, "There's panic in the streets of Trottingham."
"There was panic," Luna said, chuckling, "but not anymore. The stars are back where they belong."
"Huh?" Soul said, not comprehending.
"Come," Luna said, walking out of the dressing room, "I'll show you. You too Gold Heart. And you can come as well Trixie, if you want."
"I will stay here," Trixie said huffily, "I have had quite enough of that stallion for one night." She shot Soul a glare, causing him to hang his head in shame.
"Sorry," he muttered, turning to follow Luna. The Princess and her two golden-yellow escorts went outside, and Luna lifted Soul onto her back.
"Hold on," she said. Soul threw his front legs around Luna's neck as she spread her wings and took off. Heart followed, flapping hard to keep up as they ascended above the level of the buildings, above the haze of light cast by the street lights and theater marquees. "Look," Luna said, pointing with her horn. Heart and Soul looked up. Neither was very familiar with the night sky, but as they looked at the stars spread across the sky, something told them what they were looking at was the ways things should be. The sky was perfect.
"Well, I feel like a jerk," Soul said glumly.
"Don't worry," Luna said, "you were concerned about me and the peace of Equestria. I can't guarantee Trixie will forgive you, but I do."
"Trixie's a drama queen," Soul said, "So long as she doesn't try to get back at me, that's forgiveness enough. Can we go down now please? I'm getting queasy." Luna and Heart laughed as they spiraled down to the street.
