Author's Notes: I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited and alerted this story in the few days since it's been up! While I'm not the author to reply to reviews often, be rest assured that I do read all of them, and really appreciate them!

I know a reviewer or two had questions regarding Princess Luna's inclusion in the story...or lack thereof. Don't worry, i'm sure you'll get your answer really soon...

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Chapter 2

The Cosmic Exam

As Starfall entered the observatory, he marvelled at the sheer size and intricacy of this place. Naturally, Canterlot would most likely be the place to hold Equestria's biggest and most advanced stargazing technology, but Starfall had not expect this much. A bookshelf was lined with books on astronomy and the cosmos in general, with a bunch of star charts and similar scrolls rolled up at the end of one shelf. Telescopes of all kinds, shapes and sizes were mounted over by a large viewing balcony, although space had been left for those who liked stargazing with the naked eye as well. Up on a second floor, Starfall could see an absolutely gigantic, high-tech telescope pointing up through the roof, clearly designed to make out even the faintest stars and other distant cosmic landmarks.

But what really stopped Starfall in his tracks were the two ponies in the room, clearly there to handle and oversee his testing. The unicorn from before was one, and Starfall guessed he was most likely the astronomer who was looking for his new apprentice. Now able to see his full body, Starfall could see the unicorn's flank was emblazoned with a cutie mark in the form of a cluster of gold stars, forming the Crux constellation, a cross-shaped pattern of stars not visible in Canterlot's skies, but viewable in the lands far to Equestria's south.

But the other figure, Starfall had to look at several times before he could convince himself he was really seeing her. This pony was taller than either himself, or the master astronomer, but maintained a slim physique that suggested she was naturally this big. Since she was a winged unicorn, commonly known as an alicorn, Starfall was actually pretty sure they were larger than the average pony. The alicorn's coat was a greyed-out shade of blue, actually resembling the nighttime sky to certain extent...a comparison that was only helped by her long, flowing mane and tail, which were coloured a deep blue, and seemed to be partially translucent, particularly toward the edges, and glittering with some form of magic. Her teal eyes, showing a certain edginess, as if she did not really want to be here, added to the night-time theme.

But what really sealed it was her cutie mark, and the simple accessories she was wearing. The alicorn's cutie mark was a dark, blackish-blue splotch across her flank, emblazoned with a white crescent moon. Resting against the alicorn's chest was a simple collar of sorts, the same colour as her cutie mark, and with the same crescent moon symbol. Topping it all off was a small, unassuming crown atop her head, just behind her horn, in the same dark colour as her collar.

Starfall was staggered. This test was being overseen by the Princess of the Night herself: Princess Luna. In the end, though, Starfall saw the logic of her presence. As the Princess of the Night, she would have knowledge of the stars that was second-to-none, almost certainly knowing more than even the master astronomer overseeing the exam. It also explained the presence of the Royal Guard outside, keeping any intruders out and constantly alert for any sign of trouble.

Fighting back a new bout of nervous...he was in the presence of royalty now, after all...Starfall moved forward, the master astronomer smiling at him. "Okay, Starfall, this is Princess Luna, as you're probably aware," he said, Starfall remembering his manners, offering the young Princess a slight bow, the alicorn nodding respectfully back, acknowledging his greeting. "She'll be overseeing the exam as a second judge, to make sure I'm judging all of you potential students properly. Before we begin, though, do you have any questions?"

Starfall paused for a moment, thinking about any questions relating to the exam he might have, before shaking his head. "No questions, sir," he finally answered.

The unicorn grinned. "Excellent! And please, just call me Astro. I'm not a fan of the whole 'sir' stuff." Starfall nodded in response to this. "Now, to start with, I'd like you to take a simple quiz..." Astro produced a scroll, levitating it in front of Starfall with his magic. Though Astro had labelled it a 'simple' quiz, Starfall immediately thought otherwise. It was obvious the scroll was long, with the quiz divided into several sections. This was clearly going to test his knowledge. Shaking off his doubts and nerves, he took the scroll from Astro's magical grip, heading over to a bench that had clearly been laid out for him.

For the next ninety minutes, Starfall's general knowledge of the stars and night sky was put to the test as he took the test, which ranged from the very fundamentals of astronomy to some of the most obscure pieces of knowledge. For all his near-instinctive abilities regarding the night sky, several questions still left Starfall stumped, though he answered everything as best he could, trying to ignore the fact that he had one of Equestria's ruling Princesses watching his progress over his shoulder.

By the time he was done, Starfall felt mentally drained, along with a few small cramps from sitting and writing for such an extended period of time. His nervousness over possible mistakes he might have made, along with the questions he had been unable to answer was threatening to consume him as, with his time limit up, he handed the scroll back to Astro, who nodded, before outlining the next part of the exam.

The next two hours after that saw Starfall spending his time at a telescope, identifying as many stars and planets as he could. Astro had provided him with an incomplete star chart, and given him two hours to complete it to the best of his ability. Starfall knew that Astro had not provided him with anywhere near enough time, and that the unicorn was testing how thorough his knowledge was, and how quickly he could recall and use it to complete this star chart as much as possible.

So Starfall simple hunkered down and got to work, and as Astro called out that he had five minutes remaining, Starfall chose to revise and check what he had done of his star chart to ensure it was accurate, rather than look for more to fill it with...he guessed, and laid his hopes on, the idea that Astro would probably value accuracy over raw completion level. Sure enough, his double-check paid off, Starfall finding several errors he was quick to correct, before Astro called that his time was up.

After that, Starfall was given the third and final part of the exam, which was essentially a mix of the previous two parts, only even more intricate and difficult, covering the most obscure and advanced aspects of astronomy. Surprisingly, Starfall found this last segment relatively easy in several places. After initially worrying he might be getting caught out by trick questions, Starfall double-checked, and after confirmed his answers seemed correct, guessed it must be just his ability shining through. While Starfall did have to study the stars extensively to learn things about them. Some of the more intricate things, namely related to the meaning and significance of certain stars and constellations, just seemed to come to the pegasus naturally by merely looking at the star or constellation in question.

Starfall did have a big moment of worry when he heard Princess Luna, who had been silent all night, actually gasp during one of her looks over his shoulder to check on his progress. He tried to figure out what had caught her attention so thoroughly, what answer had shocked her so immensely. In the end though, there was little he could do, without knowing the exact question Luna had focused on, and as such, kept on with the test, although a little more nervously now, particularly when he noticed Luna glancing at him with a stunned, suspicious and surprisingly, wary look.

In the end, Starfall managed to complete the final test with barely any time to spare, leaving him with no chance to go over his work and try and find what had surprised Luna like that, figuring he'd done something wrong. In the end, all he could do was nervously pass the last scroll over to Astro, and simply hope for the best.

Astro smiled as he took the scroll from him. "Thank you for your time, Starfall...and I hope to contact you very soon about your results, whether you make the cut or not. I just..." he paused for a moment as Princess Luna leaned over and whispered something in the astronomer's ear for a few moments, the unicorn looking surprised for a moment, before pressing on. "Sorry, Starfall. Anyway, as I was saying, if you could stay in Canterlot for a few days, that will make getting the results to you that much easier."

Starfall paused, looking at Astro curiously. He had not been told of any need to stay in Canterlot until the results were communicated, and he felt like this was something he should have known beforehand. "Excuse me if I sound a bit rude," he replied, "but shouldn't I have been advised of this before coming here?"

Astro chuckled. "Sorry, Starfall. There's no requirement for you to stay, of course, but it would make things a lot easier if you were to do so, I just thought I'd point it out." There seemed to be a slight strain to the unicorn's voice, as if there was a reason he was trying to convince Starfall to remain in Canterlot.

Feeling slightly nervous, Starfall replied as politely as he could. "Uhh...I'm sorry, sir – Astro," he quickly corrected, "but I'm afriad I didn't plan on staying in Canterlot after the exam, just an overnight spell and then I would return home to await your message on how I performed." What Starfall neglected to say, more out of personal pride than a real desire to keep secrets, was that he had barely scrounged up the money to afford even a single night's stay in Canterlot. He had almost had to cancel this meeting because he simply could not afford the journey, but at the last minute had saved up enough money to stay overnight in one of Canterlot's cheapest bed and breakfasts.

Astro glanced at Princess Luna, before sighing in mild disappointment. "I understand, Starfall. Just leave us your current details, and we'll send your results out as soon as we can, okay?" he compromised, Starfall nodding in agreement, quickly giving him some basic personal details so Astro could contact him when he needed.

With that out of the way, Starfall glanced at the clock, noticing it was after midnight, and decided it was time to leave. "Thank you for giving me this oppourtunity, Astro, and it was nice meeting you," he said, getting a smile from the unicorn, before turning to Princess Luna, having to bite back his nervousness. "I-it was an honour to meet you, as well, Your Majesty," he said, bowing once more.

"The same applies to thee, Starfall," the Princess replied, surprising Starfall in both her rather archaic language usage, and the fact that she had finally spoken for the first time.

With the formalities over, Starfall finally took his leave, gathering his things and leaving the observatory. At the doorway, though, he looked back over his shoulder, nervously noting that Astro was looking at Luna curiously, while the Princess herself was looking over one of the scrolls from the exam, a deep frown spread across her features.