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Magic in the Stars

by Australian Chaos

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: To Ponyville

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Author's Notes: Well, it looks like the writer's block was just a one-chapter affair, and this one's out and done relatively quickly! The story is finally moving along, and I'm sure many of you readers are going to enjoy what the next few chapters have in store! But I won't spoil anything, so before I get too tempted, it's on to answering reviews!

"Phaedrolous": I guess I can see where you're coming from...a lot of fics seem to focus on same-sex relationships to fulfil some kind of personal fantasy, rather than trying to promote equality and such things. MLP is a prime target simply for the fact that 98% of known characters are female. But like I said, I doubt I would be able to write a convincing story focusing on such things, so I don't attempt it.

"Roarin Thunder": Once again, a big thanks for the praise. I write slow-boil romances because they are so much more realistic...love-at-first-sight romances, while possible, only work through insane levels of good luck, which I find ruins the sense of realism, as very, very few people ever get so much luck in one quick go. Besides, slower romances have the suspense and tension that make a story interesting...plus they're much more fun to write!

"Kurtispj5": The Mane Six are coming soon, don't you worry! And no, this story is set after the events of "A Royal Wedding". I may reference the events of certain episodes, but that's all past events in this story, and the Mane 6 don't get a lot of focus here...it's all about Starfall and Luna!

"VirusChris": As always, you amaze me with the care and depth you put into your reviews...and the level of insight you have the subtle workings of the , Starfall's excitement is born of the curiosity he has for Ponyville, thanks to Twilight's letters. But his curiosity, and that of the readers, will be sated very soon!

"The J.A.M.": I'm writing this story under the impression that Princess Celestia keeps the fact that the Mane Six are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony a very big secret. The whole ceremony thing regarding Discord could be made without reveal the common pony just what these six did to stop him...they were just being awarded to standing up in the face of incredible danger. As such, Starfall, like most ponies, sees Ponyville as just another sleepy little town. I hope this cleared things up a bit.

And as per usual, a huge thank you to everyone else who took the time to review, and a thank you as well to all who faved, alerted, and even just took the time to read my work. This is now officially the most read, and most popular fan fiction I have EVER written, and I am deeply humbled by all the love and attention you are giving my work!

Before I let you all go, a little note/request. Chapter 24 is going to have a LOT of oppourtunity to give background characters from the show cameos. So if anyone wants to see a particular pony show up, now is the best time to let me know! I'm not sure how many I'll fit into the chapter, but the more requests I get, the more I'll try and squeeze in! I already have a couple of ponies lined up, but the rest will be entirely down to who you readers want to see!

And with that request out of the way, I'll leave you to read on!


Chapter 23

To Ponyville

"Art thou sure thy wings are fine, Starfall?" Princess Luna called over the sound of the wind rushing over and around her Gothic chariot, her primary mode of transport being pulled by four menacing-looking Royal Night Guards. The stocky pegasus stallions all wore midnight blue armour of similar ornate design to the gold armour the majority of the Royal Guards wore, the difference in colour signifying their duties were primarily to Princess Luna. Their truly distinguishing feature, though, was their wings. Rather than being feathered, like all other pegusi, these guards possessed leathery, bat-like wings. Starfall had been slightly intimidated and curious about this, until the Princess explained it was merely a disguise created by magic, as a way of easily distinguishing her true Guards from any imposters.

It was incredibly rare to see Night Guards around, as they tended to remain on guard at Princess Luna's private quarters. That rarity went double for the daytime, with Luna being the Princess of the Night, meaning she was rarely seen up and about during the daylight hours. But today was different, as the Princess was being driven through the late morning sky, the four Guards having seemingly no trouble pulling the angular, dark purple chariot through the air, even with Princess Luna, and some belongings she had brought for the trip, safely resting inside it.

Starfall, who was presently flying beside the chariot, wings flapping in a steady rhythm to keep his flight steady and stable, looked over at Luna's call. He was still getting used to seeing the Princess in a dark, charcoal coloured cloak, the hood lifted up. It was not really to conceal her identity, but rather to keep her warm in the fact of the windy conditions flight always caused. He admitted to himself that he had been impressed, and a little bit frightened, when the Princess of the Night had conjured a swarm of bats, which had swirled around her, before merging together and forming the cloak she was now wearing. It was an impressive display of magic, and a reminder of just how powerful the Princess was underneath that stoic demeanour she displayed. The fact that her chariot also seemed to have styling reminiscent of bats as well suggested that the Princess had a fascination for the nocturnal creatures, though he had yet to ask her about it.

Realising that he still had not answered the Princess' question, Starfall cleared his throat and called back over the rushing wind. "I'm fine, Princess, really! I've been meaning to stretch my wings for a while, now, and Ponyville's not much further ahead, I think!" Internally, Starfall admitted that the plush red interior of the chariot did look inviting, clearly meant to give the Princess some comfort during her journey, even leaving enough room for a passenger such as himself to accompany her, as she had just offered. Starfall knew that the offer of sitting with her was not he should brush off so lightly, as it was a huge sign of how much the Princess was starting to trust him again. But his wings needed the exercise, having been neglected for too long in his dedication to his astronomical studies, and since Ponyville was only a relatively short flight from Canterlot, just a couple of hours away, he had decided to stretch his wings and fly the distance.

Princess Luna paused for a few moments, seeming to wait for Starfall to change his mind. But when he kept up his steady flight beside the chariot, she gave him a nod. "Well, if thy wings need a rest, just let us know," she said, before settling back a little more comfortably in her chariot, stifling a yawn that Starfall spotted, making him feel a twinge of guilt.

Being a creature of the night, Princess Luna had a tendency to sleep through the morning hours, and often into the afternoon as well. But the Princess had suggested their journey be undertaken in the morning, and Starfall had not thought to argue the point, forgetting the Princess' nocturnal tendencies. It was only now, out here, that he had noticed how tired the Princess seemed to be. He had tried to apologise before they had left, but the Princess had waved it off, stating that it had been her idea in the first place, and that she would rest during the ride to Ponyville.

Still, it was obvious that the wind whistling around her as the chariot glided through the Equestrian skies was not allowing her to get any sleep, even if she was sitting back and taking it easy for the trip, and Starfall still felt guilty he had not spoken up about it. Even so, he realised there was nothing that could be done about it, now, and so just kept on flying beside the chariot, ignoring the cramps starting to develop in his wings, which had not been on such a marathon flight for quite some time, even it they were moving at a fairly casual pace. Starfall made a silent promise to himself that he had settled into the the accommodation set up for them at one of Ponyville's more luxurious motels, he would set aside some time to start working out.

When Starfall had heard about the place Princess Luna had set them up to stay in, Starfall had protested rather heavily. The moment Ponyville had gotten wind that the Princess of the Night was staying with them for an extended period of time, the town officials had naturally moved to provide the best the town had to offer for the younger Princess. This meant that rooms had been freed up at Ponyville's best motel. Starfall had tried to protest when arrangements had been made for him to stay in the same place, but Princess Luna had told him that, as a student of hers, he was going to be entitled to certain privileges that only royalty, and those directly associated with them, received.

Starfall had eventually relented and allowed the accommodation arrangements to proceed, but still felt like he was taking too much charity from common ponies over the simplest. He would have been glad to pay his own way...but the rooms they were being provided were well outside his budget range, and likely always would be. All he could do was make a silent promise to himself that this would be the last time he accepted charity offered because of his connection to Princess Luna, and put the sense of debt in the back of his mind.

Turning his mind back to the present, Starfall focused his gaze on the land spread out below him, and endless expanse of lush green fields and rolling hills, dotted with the odd tree, house, animal, or roadway. Behind them were the line of mountains, Canterlot still visible in the distance, nestled on the side of one such mountain, looking almost like a white and gold crown nestled on top of the world when viewed from this angle and distance.

Off to the yellow pegusi's left, again in the distance, he could see a vast forest...the infamous Everfree Forest, which despite it's peaceful, inviting name, was actually regarded as one of Equestria's more dangerous location. Some ponies believed there was a curse hovering over the forest, the source of which came from some ancient ruins hidden beneath the dark, foreboding canopy. Starfall personally though the rumour of a curse were ludicrous, but he did believe the forest was a dangerous place that should be avoided as much as conceivably possible.

Looking for something slightly less creepy to focus his attention on, Starfall instead turned his gaze to the right, his eyes finding that the river winding it's way through the field had turned, now flowing directly below him, while the fields to his right side had given way a large, expansive orchard of apple trees, the uniform way they had grown in neat rows telling him that these trees had been grown by pony hooves, rather than nature's care and nurture. Even from this moderate height, Starfall could see the trees were dotted with apples of a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, and that even from here, they looked very appetising.

But if they were flying near an apple orchard, and a large one at that, then Starfall realised that pony civilisation must he nearby, causing him to turn his gaze, looking directly ahead. Sure, enough, there in front of him, only a few more minutes flight away, was a large collection of buildings, in a variety of styles. The vast majority of them had simple thatched straw roofing, but some others seemed to have shingles instead. Starfall also saw what appeared to be a tree-house...possibly the library Twilight had described as her home in her letters to him...and even a house styled to look like a life-sized gingerbread house. The outskirts of town even had a large, snow-white cloud mansion, complete with rainbow waterfalls cascading off it, sitting relatively low to the ground.

Upon initial glance, Ponyville's layout seemed to be haphazard almost to the point of looking like buildings just sprung up wherever they wanted, but upon closer inspection, Starfall could see the town's layout seemed to use a central building, likely the town hall, as a central starting point, the rest of the town appearing to radiate out away from it.

The entire western fringe of the town was covered by expansive farmland, which included the southern edge of the apple orchard Starfall had noticed earlier. Starfall guessed that from the sheer size of the farmland, Ponyville likely made up a large portion of Equestria's food production. The idea was helped by the train tracks Starfall could see leading out of Ponyville, heading northward, back the way Starfall and Princess Luna had come from, towards Canterlot. Despite Ponyville's isolated location deep into Equestria's southern region, and it's relatively small size, looking like only a couple of thousand ponies lives there, it was obviously a location of some importance.

Beyond Ponyville, off to the south-east, Starfall could see the expanse of the Everfree Forest continued far into the background of his vision...possibly all the way beyond Equestria, and the borders of Princess Celestia's control. The river that flowed southward, the one Starfall had been following, wound it's way through the middle of the town, before disappearing into the darkness of the forest, likely continuing on beyond Equestria's borders as well.

As Starfall took in his first views and impressions of Ponyville, he got the distinct feeling that the outer image of a sleepy, simple country town the place presented hid a much more lively and exciting reality beneath the thatched roofs and pale walls. It was a town that tried to downplay the importance and significance it held to Equestria, and Starfall was not entirely sure whether to take it as a good thing or a bad thing.

Still, one way or another, this town was going to be his home for the next month or two, and as the Night Guards flew lower, coming in to approach the open, grassy square surrounding Ponyville's central town hall, Starfall followed them in, keeping his eyes open for anypony waiting for them. He had sent Twilight Sparkle a letter telling her that they were coming to Ponyville, explaining that, rather than overload Princess Luna's adjustment to the modern world and take the train, that they would be flying in. She had not sent a reply, likely because there was every chance that he would have left by the time it arrived.

But as he looked at the town square, he gave a soft smile as he saw a purple figure sitting up against the outer wall of the town hall, clearly waiting. Twilight had decided to meet them on arrival. Though he had technically only met her the once, their exchange of letters had lead him to consider her a friend, and he was glad she was there to meet them. Despite his observations about the subtle planning within the seemingly haphazard layout of the town, he had no doubt that, on his own, he would have very easily gotten lost. With Twilight there to help out, she would likely be able to keep him from making any wrong turns.

The purple pony looked up as the procession finally flew over the building s of the town itself, both Starfall and the Night Guards flying in low and angling in for the landing in the town square, Starfall giving his hooves a quick stretch to ready them for use once more. Catching sight of them, the purple pony waved happily, standing up and putting away a book she had clearly been reading while waiting for them. Starfall smiled, the pony's appearance from this closer distance, coupled with her behaviour, confirming it was indeed Twilight waiting for them, making him wave back as they approached the town square, Starfall slowing himself down to land while the Night Guards kept flying, needing to land at a gallop with the chariot they were pulling.

The moment Starfall hooves touches the grass, he folded them at his sides, panting heavily. The flight had taken a lot out of him, and he just felt like resting in the town square for a moment before doing anything else. Before he could even catch his breath, though, Twilight trotted right up to him, and without a word, wrapped him up in an enthusiastic hug, catching the pegasus by surprise. Having dealt with Princess Luna, and her tendency to avoid overt displays of affection, for an extended period of time, Twilight's exuberant greeting was a little awkward. He still managed to return to hug, though, before gently pulling away.

"I'm so happy you could convince the Princess to let you stay here, Starfall!" Twilight practically beamed as she spoke. "How have you been?" she asked, clearly excited to have him visiting.

Starfall shrugged, his breathing still rather laboured. "I'm alright, I guess...a little tired from the flight," he explained, making Twilight raise an eyebrow at him, the young unicorn quickly taking in his windswept mane and tail, and his ruffled wings, both of which had clearly been exposed to high winds for an extended period of time.

"You didn't ride in Princess Luna's chariot?" she asked, her eyebrows raising further when Starfall shook his head, still sporting a slightly guilty look at the way he had deprived the Princess of her morning sleep. "Is she still sore about what happened?" she asked quietly, making Starfall cringe at the memory of the incident that nearly cost the stallion everything.

"She's not as bad as before," Starfall replied softly. "Princess Luna did offer to let me ride with her. But when I realised she usually sleeps during the morning, I wanted to give her the room to rest for the flight. Besides, I haven't really stayed in shape the last couple of months...I need the exercise," he added, trying to brush the whole thing off.

Twilight frowned for a moment, before appearing to let the moment slide, smiling at him again. "It's great to see you again, Starfall," she said warmly, Starfall giving a smile and nod in return, before letting Twilight turn her attention to Princess Luna, whose chariot had landed safely, the Night Guards heading off the find a place to store it safely while the Princess approached Twilight and Starfall, Twilight bowing as she did. "Princess Luna, welcome back to Ponyville."

The Princess of the Night gave a hint of a smile, gesturing for Twilight to rise. "Rise, Twilight Sparkle. Thou need not bow before us," she said, surprising Starfall slightly. He had known that Twilight had been instrumental in Princess Luna leaving a good impression on Ponyville, but the Princess tended not to talk about it, and as such, the pegasus had been unaware that Luna saw Twilight as something of a friend, as well.

Twilight nodded, standing up straight again as she continued with the pleasantries. "I've been around and checked over everything for your arrival," she said, her voice carrying a touch of formality. "The Stables know the chariot they are caring for is yours, and will take utmost care with it. The Everfree Motel have their two best rooms available for you to check in whenever you're ready. And of course, my library and astronomy equipment are all available for you to use whenever you like."

"We thank thee, dear Twilight," Princess Luna returned, the gratitude in the way Twilight had arranged everything evident in the small smile she offered. She paused for a moment, glancing at Starfall, before turning back to Twilight, stifling yet another yawn. "I fear we must rest for today. We shall go and arrange things back at the room. Feel free to catch up with Starfall and show him the wonders of your town and home. Our lessons shall not resume until tomorrow evening."

Starfall nodded, agreeing with Luna's plan. He was curious about this town, and still guilty for making Luna stay up so much longer than she was used. "I'm sorry again for not realising..." he tried to apologise, but the Princess of the Night cut over him.

"It is of no matter, Starfall," she replied, a slightly sharp, irritated edge to her tone, likely annoyed at Starfall's constant attempts to apologise, which kept the pegasus quiet for now. "Go learn about Ponyville. We shall we fine."

Twilight nodded, bowing quickly as the Princess turned to leave. "I think I speak for all of Ponyville when I say that I hope you enjoy your stay here," she said, getting another nod of acknowledgement from the Princess, before the alicorn left, leaving Starfall and Twilight alone, the unicorn quickly turning to meet the pegusi's gaze. "I guess things are still a little tense, then?" she asked.

Starfall shrugged, still a little weary from the flight. "I guess...it's gotten better recently, though. Two weeks ago we weren't even speaking to each other," he added, hanging his head. If only he had kept better control of his feelings, maybe he would still be close friends with the Princess.

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, smiling sadly at him. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually, Starfall. The Princess can be a little stubborn and set in her ways. It takes time for her to accept change, as I'm sure you already know," she added, giggling when Starfall gave an emphatic nod. "Now, since this is your first time here, how would you like the grand tour of Ponyville?" she asked, an eagerness creeping into her voice, likely happy to teach somepony about the town she called home.

Starfall nodded. "Sounds good to me. All your letters have left me incredibly curious about this place," he added, looking around. Beyond the grassy town square, he could see an endless expanse of buildings, dotted with trees, parks, and other small landmarks. Dozens of ponies could be seen wandering around, breathing a casual sort of life into the town, reminding Starfall...rather painfully...of Stratos Crossing, his foalhood home...

"Well, let's go, then!" Twilight declared, snapping Starfall out of his thoughts, starting to trot off, before looking back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Starfall?" she called, waiting for the stallion to focus his attention on her, before giving him a big smile. "Welcome to Ponyville!"

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