Chapter 3

Ignorance's Curse

That night proved to be one of Starfall's most restless in living memory, and it had little to do with the rough, itchy bedding he had been provided with for the night. He couldn't get the image of Princess Luna frowning at his exam scroll out of his mind. What had the Princess, of all ponies, so troubled? Why would see care that he, and insignificant pegasus, had botched a few answers on an astronomy exam?

That question had troubled him all night, and was still on his mind even as he gathered his worn saddlebags, filled with his possessions he needed for his overnight stay, and checked out of the cheap bed and breakfast he had stayed at. He just could not make sense of Luna's behaviour, no matter how he looked at it.

In the end, he was forced to admit to himself that he would probably never know the reasons for his confusion, and that it would be just another mystery in his life he'd have to shrug off and move on from.

But even as he made his way back towards Canterlot's main gates, he could not help but worry about it. What if the situation was even more serious than he currently thought? For him to have gotten the attention of a Princess of Equestria like that was rarely a good sign.

Growling at himself, his shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, and forced himself to focus on what he'd do when he got back home. He was trying to curb his pessimistic tendencies, and did not want to let this strange incident undo all the work he had done so far.

However, Starfall's attempt at optimism was rapidly cut short as he reached the gates, freezing as one of the Royal Guards at the entrance stopped him with a wing. "Halt! Sir, are you the pegasus named Starfall?" the guard asked, his serious tone instantly putting Starfall on edge. Why was the guard looking for him? Did it have anything to do with last night?

Knowing that lying would only cause even more trouble than he was already in, his looks and cutie mark making a pretty distinctive ID, anyway, he nodded shakily, not trusting himself to speak.

The guard frowned slightly, before nodding to two other guard, who proceeded to take over whatever mess Starfall had unintentionally gotten himself into. "Come with us, Starfall. And for your own sake, come quietly," they commanded harshly.

Their commanding attitude and subtle warning that they would take him by force if he tried to resist or escape left Starfall going from nervous to frightened, quivering slightly as the guards led him away, one in front, one behind. Their attitude only confirmed his fears; somehow, somewhere in Canterlot, he'd make some kind of mistake and broken some kind of law.

But as he was led back through the streets of Canterlot, with no idea where he was being taken, Starfall could not figure out what he had done wrong. He had arrived, gone straight to the Astronomy Apprentice Exam, and immediately after gone to his pre-booked room for the night, rested until the morning, then immediately made to leave and head home. He was not a social pony, and as such had not interacted with anyone outside the Exam. He had simply kept his head down and gone about his business without fuss. So what could he have done wrong? Was there some law specific to Canterlot he had overlooked, one he had inadvertently broken?

But as Starfall was led even deeper and higher into Canterlot, passing several, heavily-guarded checkpoints, he had to admit that, whatever it was that he had done, it must have been really bad. If his meagre knowledge about Canterlot was correct, then he was being brought to the private chambers of the Princesses themselves. And if Princess Celestia wanted to see him personally over this, then it must be very bad.

But as the guards led Starfall through yet another heavily-guarded door, finally entering what appeared to be a luxurious lounge crossed with a meeting area, Starfall paused when he was not faced with Princess Celestia. Instead he saw her younger sister, the same Princess who had overseen his exam last night, staring out the window, her back to him and the guards. What would Princess Luna want with him?

A jab in the flank from one of the guard's wings prompted Starfall to keep moving, being led to the centre of the room, before the guards took a single step back. "Your Highness," one of them called in his usual, serious tone, although there was a note of deference to his words now, clearly a subordinate of the Princesses. "We brought the pegasus Starfall, as you requested."

For several seconds, the Princess was silent, making Starfall shift his hooves nervously, freezing when the small movement made the guards glare at him. Finally, the Princess of the Night answered, without turning around. "We thank thee for thy assistance. Thou may return to thy previous duties." her voice was level, and highly formal, her archaic word use still a little confusing and unsettling to Starfall.

The guards simply bowed in response and left, the thud of the ornate door shutting letting Starfall know he was in the private chambers of the Princesses, alone, with the Princess of the Night. Normally, Starfall would have been honoured beyond comprehension...but right now, he knew he was not here for any good reasons, and so just waited for Princess Luna to explain the situation to him.

For a long time, though, there was silence. Luna never moved from her vigil at the window, and Starfall was too frightened to say or do anything, worried about what was in store for him. As such, Starfall jumped in frightened surprise when Luna finally moved, the night-time Princess turning around to face him, her eyes scrutinising him closely for several moment, seeming to give a half-smile at what she saw...though the smile never reached her eyes.

"We must say, we are somewhat impressed, Starfall," the Princess finally spoke, Starfall looking up to tentatively meet her gaze, still lightly shaking. Her voice gave off no impression of ever being impressed. "For years, thou has left no clue behind as to the knowledge thou possessed. But for thee to then go and expose thy knowledge in front of the Princess of the Night? We can only wonder what made thee think thou could do such a thing without us knowing."

Starfall was baffled, a state that had nothing to do with Luna's strange speaking ways. He simply had no idea what she was talking about. What knowledge was she referring to? He was just a simple pegasus pony. But before he could say anything, the Princess continued on, seeming to get into her stride now that she had started.

"Surely thou knew escape would be impossible, yet thou did it anyway. Still, despite this baffling behaviour, the fact remains that thou, little pegasus, are in grave trouble." At those last words, she gazed hard at Starfall...a harsh, dark glare that gave Starfall images of her evil alter-ego and the symbol of Nightmare Night, Nightmare Moon, causing him to back off a couple of steps fearfully.

Somehow, through this, he managed to find his voice from somewhere deep within him. "I-I don't unders-stand," he stammered softly, unable to meet Princess Luna's eyes. "W-what have I d-done?"

The pegasus flinched back as the Princess of the Night started laughing at his question. It was a dark laugh, though, one that suggested her continuing displeasure...Starfall's attempt to sort out what he had done seemed to have made things worse. "You are a fool, Starfall. Feigning ignorance will not help thou in any way. We know thou possesses knowledge that thou should not have, and to have gained such knowledge, thou must have been aware of what thou were doing."

The Princess suddenly stepped forward, successfully intimidating Starfall, who backed off, trying to keep the clearly annoyed, and possibly angry Princess, at a distant. "What our sister and I want to know, foolish Starfall, is simple; how did thou come across this knowledge?"

Starfall didn't know what to do, what to say. Princess Luna was clearly convinced he had committed some horrible wrong by possessing knowledge he clearly should not...but Starfall had no idea what knowledge she was referring to. "Your H-Highness," he piped up shakily, trying to make her understand his confusion. "I-I don't understand...what knowledge is this?"

The Princess, for her part, sighed heavily, clearly growing impatient as she closed her eyes, clearly fighting the urge to do something rash. "Very well, Starfall. Thy continued attempts to feign ignorance leave us with little choice, foolish pegasus. Thy refusal to cooperate, and explain yourself, leaves me with little option."

Now Starfall was truly fearful. The Princess clearly had simply assumed he was guilty of possessing whatever information she though he held, and was not going to give him much chance. Whatever information she thought he possessed must be a serious royal secret for her to be this serious and angry. For Starfall though, he could do nothing but stand there in horrified terror, and wait for the Princess to decree his punishment.

But before Luna could declare what punishment she would place upon him, the door to the lounge burst open, causing both Luna and Starfall to whirl around, wondering who would interrupt at this time, and more to the point, who the guards would let through? The sight that greeted left Starfall wondering if his eyes had failed him.

But a shake of of his head and a few blinks later, the towering alicorn was still there in all her glory. The gleaming white coat, rippling mane in layered shades of cyan, turquoise, azure and purple, and sparkling magenta eyes showed a majestic figure on their own. But the ornate, golden collar and crown, along with the cutie mark of a blazing sun on her flank, identified her clearly. Starfall's impromptu criminal trial had just been joined by Princess Luna's older sister and co-ruler of Equestria...Princess Celestia.

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Author's Notes: I apologise for the delay of sorts, and for the cliffhanger ending, but it was the best place to end this chapter. Chapter 4 should hopefully make up for it by explaining a lot of what's going on.

Princess Luna is proving a surprisingly difficult character to write, thanks to her...unique personality. I hope I'm doing a moderately good job of her, and I hope to get better as the fic continues.

Once again, a huge thank you to all my reviewers. In direct answer to SilentPony's review, I must admit I don't read too much other MLP fan fiction, so don't know how other fics portray her. I'm just running with what I took away about her character in "Luna Eclipsed", and filling in the blanks as I go, which hopefully presents a more canon-accurate Luna. And it's sir, just so everyone knows, though I hate formalities :)

And don't worry, Angel of Eternity, I have no intention of letting this story fall into an unfinished, discontinued stated. I never intended ANY of my stories to turn out that way, and really hope this one can finally break the trend.

And lastly, I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers and fellow Bronies! I'll see you all in 2012!