Morningstar

by hockeygoalie1992

Chapters

• The Colt from Afar
• You're Grounded
• The Wrath of Pie

The Colt from Afar

Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria, Monarch of the Sun, the immortal alicorn who ushered in a golden age for all of Equestria and its allies, and holder of far too many titles and honors which still failed to adequately describe the dedication, honor and fairness with which she ruled and guided her little ponies, sighed heavily.

Trotting through the Canterlot Royal Gardens, taking in the atmosphere of the immaculately trimmed hedges, the patches of rare and beautiful flowers, and wonderful creatures, who shyly poked their little heads out of the trees to observe their visitor, Celestia had known full well that it wouldn’t take away the pain. She had known that nothing would distract her from the constant reminder that hung over her head, literally, every night; a reminder of the mistakes she had made nearly one thousand years ago and the consequences that she endured in their wake.

But she had dared to hope that it might dull some of that pain; that something might serve to soothe her aching heart.

“Luna,” she whispered as a tear ran down her white-coated cheek. Her hopes had been in vain, just as they had been every night since she had been forced to do the one thing that she regretted, the one thing that she loathed herself for, the one thing that broke her heart more than anything in a millennium sitting on the throne, the singular ruler of Equestria.

Singular. Single. Solo. Undisputed. Each word and many others had been used to describe her reign, but none better than the one she had chosen:

Alone.

Hard to believe that a mare such as Princess Celestia could ever think herself alone, right? With so many ardent supporters, both domestic and abroad, with the unanimous love of her little ponies, one might think that, whenever Princess Celestia cantered, she was hardly alone.

But wasn’t she? After all, nothing can compare to the bonds of one’s own family. Without her sister, Celestia was without that constant companionship that she had cherished for so long. Lords, Ladies, farmers, ponies from all walks of life journeyed to stand before her… But none were the same as Luna.

Without Luna… was there even a point to Celestia? What was the radiance of the Sun without the splendor of the Moon? What was the bright joy of day without the sweet caress of night?

What was Celestia without Luna?

She came to a stop in front of the small pond, just as she always did, and fell back on her haunches, letting her wings droop slightly as the full weight of her crown seemed to drive her into the ground.

Alone. No matter how hard she tried to fight the feeling, no matter how much the legion of advisors and dignitaries assured her that the exact opposite was true, no matter how many smiling faces she looked out upon with every day she raised her Sun over the land, Princess Celestia felt alone.

For a time after banishing her sister, the Solar Princess had seemingly distanced herself from relationships; she still loved her ponies, but, as stated, their lives were simply far too short. Without somepony at her side to stay with her and comfort her, Celestia had seen no point in taking a lover.

What was the point of having a special somepony when she knew that she would end up burying that pony and walking on without them, unchanging with each passing day, grieving the memory of yet another dear to her lost? It was a thought that she simply couldn’t bear. A thought that created a rather paradoxical problem for her:

Without a special somepony, without a husband, she could never have foals of her own. Again, she truly dreaded the thought of having to bury one of her own offspring, but in private, within her own thoughts, Princess Celestia was jealous of her ponies.

They could hold their loved ones in their hooves for their entire lives, they could live, love and die with the pony they loved, they could watch their foals grow up into wonderful mares and stallions alike, but she couldn’t. Ponies could love and adore her for their entire lives.

But she would never be able to hold onto them for her entire life. She wanted so much to have somepony to hold, a foal of her own to raise and love, and yet she was afraid.

In their younger days, Luna referred to it as “The Alicorn Paradox.” The Lunar and Solar Princesses had a great capacity for love, but they were so afraid to let their ponies get too close lest they be hurt when that pony’s time finally came. They wanted foals of their own more than anything in the world, but they were terrified by the mere thought that someday, inevitably, they would be forced to preside over their funerals.

For centuries, the sisters leaned on one another, each a constant source of love and support as they battled their own inner demons. But, without Luna, without her family, without somepony close to her for a millennium, Princess Celestia felt empty.

She wanted her sister. She wanted a family. She wanted… to be whole again.

Inhaling shakily, Princess Celestia spoke in a barely audible whisper. “I don’t want to be alone.” Her Royal Guards, always lingering out of sight, just out of earshot, didn’t hear her sniffles, nor could they see the tears dripping down her muzzle and onto the grass. “I don’t want to be alone anymore!”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and reign in her emotions. It will all be okay, she assured herself. It will pass.

After all, she did still have the testing for prospective students to her school for gifted unicorns coming up for the month or so. Yes. That was always quite lovely to see. Hundreds of happy foals, each eager to prove that they were ready to take a more advanced path in learning magic.

Perhaps she would find another foal with the skill to become her personal student. While it was true, Sunset Shimmer’s fall from grace had been painful – quite possibly the most painful thing since being forced to banish Luna – it was almost like she had a foal of her own.

Yes. She dared to imagine, she dared to treasure that time she spent with the young filly, holding it in the same light that a mother would spending time with her foal.

Celestia still held cherished those moments, just as she cherished those she spent with her sister, despite all that had happened since then. They were precious, too precious to let go…

Maybe the fates would smile upon her again and reward her patience with another student, another bright eyed young foal with a mind eager to learn and practice magic. And maybe, at long last, she would feel whole once more.

“Please,” she whispered, closing her eyes and focusing with all her heart, wishing just as she used to when she was a filly. “Please.”

Lightning arced down from the sky, hitting the ground just a short distance away from the grieving princess, followed shortly by a booming crack of thunder. Blinking rapidly to rid her vision of those pesky light spots, the ageless princess beheld a figure, sitting exactly where the bolt had touched down.

Startled, Princess Celestia leapt to her hooves, wings fanned out and head lowered into a more readied stance; whatever had invaded the Royal Gardens on this night would find that the Princess of the Sun was just as formidable as told in the stories of old.

She was met with a sight that nearly melted her ancient heart.

A foal, a tiny little foal with a chestnut coat, a long, scruffy black tail and mane, with a tiny horn poking out at the center of its head. Its fetlocks were wrapped around its hind legs, its muzzle buried in its knees as it cried and shivered, mumbling something in between sobs.

Princess Celestia lowered her wings, leaning forward and straining her ears to listen.

“Please help me,” it whimpered in the voice of a frightened colt. “Please help me!”

Several millennia worth of instincts acquired from reigning over and loving her subjects kicked in, this little foal wasn’t a threat. It was nothing more than a young foal crying for help, a young foal who was lost and alone.

Just as she was.

The Solar Princess stepped forward; the soft thuds of her hooves on the ground alerted the little foal to her presence, causing him to look up, revealing a pair of emerald eyes hidden behind black-rimmed glasses gazing up fearfully at her. He froze, seemingly terrified and confused, unsure of what to do until he realized that her focus was entirely directed upon him. Once that realization set in, along with the fact that her towering figure was approaching him, the colt finally moved.

He gave a startled squeak and unclasped his fetlocks, pushing himself back and away from the approaching princess, backing up against the trunk of an old, strong oak tree.

Noting his fear, Celestia ceased her approach and tried a different route. Fixing a kind smile on her face and assuming her most soothing, motherly voice, she leaned forward and lowered her head to look him in the eyes and speak to him on his level. “Don’t be afraid, little one,” she cooed softly.

In all her years, in her wildest dreams, Celestia never would’ve anticipated the response her attempts to sooth the colt’s nerves garnered. Who could blame her, though? For who could possibly anticipate those emerald eyes, widen in horror, a feat that would’ve amazed the Solar Princess in any other circumstances, and increased efforts to seemingly meld into the tree trunk and escape the much larger pony. Suddenly, the colt’s gaze shifted downward, staring at his own legs in shock and horror.

Celestia didn’t understand this; she didn’t quite understand why he was now holding his hooves up, jaw working uselessly as he seemed unable to comprehend his own appearance. He went into a full-blown panic! Frantically checking himself over, crying out in growing horror at the sight of his barrel, his hindlegs, his tail! His hooves shot to his head and felt around his elongated equine head, his jaw seemed to drop lower and lower with each detail he took in, finally hitting the ground when his hooves brushed against his horn.

Meanwhile, Celestia’s eyes widened in horror and fury at something entirely different, a feature that definitely didn’t belong on the body of a foal.

Black and blue, ugly blemishes, of varying shapes and sizes along his forelegs, the edges of additional bruising peeking out from beneath his oversized shirt.

Injuries. Pain. A foal in need of help.

“Guards!” The Princess called sharply, a summons that was answered almost instantaneously, a credit to the unparalleled discipline of the Royal Guard.

“Yes, my Princess!” Two stallions, a unicorn and an earth pony, both with traditional illusions in place, making their coats white and manes royal blue, answered, bending at the knee in reverence of their ruler.

“Alert the Royal Family Physician. This colt has injuries that must be attended to immediately.”

“At once, Princess!” Without question, without a backwards glance, the guards galloped off at a brisk pace to see her orders met. Despite the situation, Celestia couldn’t help but smile inwardly at their dedication.

Hmm, Shining Armor and Steel Hoof, I believe. She thought idly. Both new recruits, fresh out of the Academy. If I recall, Private Armor has a younger sister enrolling in my school. I wonder… One thing at a time, old girl.

Returning to current matters, Celestia noticed that the colt trying to stand, but falling flat on his face each time, growing more and more upset each time he tried He whimpered incomprehensibly, repeatedly switching his frightened gaze from his own hooves to herself. Finally giving up on standing, he seemed resolved to try and simply edge himself out of sight, pushing himself along the ground with his hindlegs and dragging himself forward with his forelegs. Oh, dear.

Unused to being regarded with such fear, she frowned. She was just trying to help; typically, speaking soothingly and lowering her wings, clear signs that she wasn’t threatening, worked. Instead, this little one was still looking at her as if she were Tirek incarnate.

Well, that just wouldn’t do.

Celestia sighed and began channeling magic, her horn light up gold. It might startle him a bit, but she had to prove that she meant him no harm. In her experience, there was really only one thing left to do…

The colt yelped and struggled as his body was enveloped in a golden light and gently lifted into the air, his struggles grew more frantic as he was drawn towards the Princess of the Day.

“Nonononononononono!” Celestia winced at his panicked whimpers. By her mother’s wings, what did this fear stem from?

She drew him in close, wrapping her hooves around his small body in a warm, gentle hug. Her wings encircled his small body, tickling him with her soft, downy feathers. He tensed up, clearly expecting some sort of attack.

Celestia made note to find the root of this fear and his injuries so that she might have… words with those responsible.

The colt, still regarding her with apprehension, recoiled as she leaned towards him to nuzzle his cheek tenderly. “Don’t be afraid, little one.” She whispered gently. “I don’t want to hurt you, I want to help.”

Even as a young filly, hugs always seemed to help.

He was still so tense, still leaning away from her, not fully accepting her embrace, but one thing had changed: he wasn’t fighting. He wasn’t whimpering in terror or flailing his limbs. He was frightened, but he was listening. He understood her.

Celestia pulled back to meet his gaze, fixing him with a look of obvious concern. “You are hurt,” she began. “You are lost and you are afraid, aren’t you?”

It was a seemingly simple question with an equally simple answer, but there was an underlying motive: Celestia hoped that she could get him to admit his need for help, rather than hide from her and in fear that she might use it against him.

She was trying to show him that she was the big pony that he could come to when he couldn’t find his parents. She was the big pony that he could trust.

Looking up at her shyly with those big green eyes, rimmed by those black-framed glasses, the colt hesitated, considering his options. To Celestia’s immense relief, he nodded once.

It was a simple answer to a simple question, but it was a start.

Engulfing the little one in her magic again, she placed him on her back, legs straddling her spine and using her magic to gently nudge his hooves into place around her neck to steady himself. “Hold on tight,” she advised. “I don’t think a fall on top of your other injuries is something either of us want, little one.”

He didn’t reply verbally, but Celestia felt him tighten his grip, heeding her word. Good. They were connecting.

If not for quiet of night, save for the soft thuds of her hooves on the soft ground, if not for the Solar Princess’ ears being bent towards the youngling, listening intently in case he slipped or his wounds were aggravated by her cantering, she would have missed the near whisper that came from his mouth.

“Harry.”

Celestia stopped abruptly, turning her head to regard the little one with a curious eye. What was he trying to say? Hairy what?

“My name,” he mumbled shyly, eyes fixed on her ethereal, flowing mane, avoiding her gaze. “My name is Harry Potter.”

---    

To his credit, Doctor Tender Care didn’t balk or stutter that this colt was not a member of the Royal Famiy, and, therefore, shouldn’t be his problem, as his predecessor might have done. He simply nodded and took a look at his patient. He could clearly see the injuries that his Princess was referring to, the bruises on his forelegs and a rather nasty scar on his forehead – which had only peaked out when little Harry had flinched away, causing his mane to shift just enough to reveal the old, lightning bolt shaped wound.

The scar was an old injury, so that wasn’t pressing at the moment. The bruises and cuts, on the other hand…

Based on body of the colt and the fact that its legs were firmly locked around Princess Celestia’s neck, seemingly trying to press itself into her coat so that it wouldn’t be noticed, he was utterly terrified. Which matched the Guards’ account of the events in the Royal Gardens; a foal, which had come from nowhere, descending in a bolt of lightning, and shrunk from the Princess’ initial attempts to sooth him.

Princess Celestia’s current expression as she gazed upon her passenger, that familiar expression of love and concern that he’d seen so often during his tenure told Tender Care all he needed to know.

Right now, she wanted an immediate assessment of his injuries. Based on their extent, they could decide what course of action to take.

Doctor Tender Care simply shrugged and stepped around the Solar Princess so that he was face-to-face with the colt, who shrunk away as soon as he realized that he wasn’t quite as hidden as he thought.

If not for the bruises, the good Doctor might have thought this one of the most adorable sights ever; hay, it was almost like a foal hiding behind its mother’s leg.

When he asked for the colt’s name, he shyly glanced around the Princess, but remained silent. The ageless mare laughed lightly and lifted the little one into the air in her magic field again, placing him on the examination bed and sidling up next to him when he began to panic at the loss of contact. She nuzzled his messy mane and spoke in his stead. “Harry Potter,” she said softly. “His name is Harry Potter.”

Ah.

The good doctor gave his friendliest smile and stepped forward, inwardly noting how Harry tried to push himself back, as if he were hoping to either blend in with the Princess’ immaculate white coat or somehow meld into her body to escape the approaching stranger.

He’d be discussing that little detail with his Princess at a later time. Right now, there was a young colt with a problem. “Harry,” he spoke softly as he continued forward, though at a slower pace in hopes that it might help young Harry if he had the chance to see that his intentions weren’t harmful. “My name is Tender Care, I’m one of the Royal Physicians – a doctor. The guards told me that you were hurt when Princess Celestia found you, is that right?”

The reaction that followed was, quite possibly, a mix of the most adorable and striking sights he’d ever seen: Harry didn’t directly answer him at first, instead, he chose to look to the Princess for reassurance, silently asking her if it were okay to converse with him.

As if he were asking his own mother if it were safe to talk to somepony she let in the house.

Princess Celestia simply laughed and nodded, pausing to nuzzle his head again and whisper some comforting words to the frightened young colt. After a rather awkward moment, Harry answered his question with a silent nod, still not fully giving his trust.

Fair enough, Tender Care hadn’t exactly made it through Canterlot University’s Medical Program by sitting on his plot and hoping for miracles. With Harry’s trust issues in mind, it would probably be a good idea to explain to him what was about to happen before casting a spell. For all he knew, the sight of his horn glowing might spook the poor colt.

And judging by how skittish he already was…

Well, the last thing they needed was a game of hide and seek with a lost, frightened foal.

“Harry, I need to cast a spell so I can see what’s hurting you,” he began, taking extra care that he used simple words, just as he might explain this spell to a classroom of foals. “My horn will light up and you’ll feel a bit of a tingle, but that’s just the magic touching you and searching for what’s wrong. Is that alright with you?”

It would be a bold-faced lie for Tender Care to claim that he didn’t feel a sense of relief when his patient nodded, albeit very shyly and hesitantly. With tentative permission granted, Doctor Care’s horn lit with a forest green glow, the same as the aura that surrounded his young charge.

This spell, the Injury Callback Spell, was specifically designed for the medical field: the spell served to pick up on broken bones; torn, damaged or poorly functioning organs; broken bones; and even scarred tissue.

It was invasive, certainly, but in this situation, when a foal had visible injuries from an unknown source, it was best to be safe through than sorry.

As the information was relayed, Tender Care was relieved to find that Harry’s organs were functioning well. That was a relief. The good doctor nodded, quite happy that his spell didn’t show anything that required immediate surgery, no signs of damaged or malfunctioning organs.

Fortunately, the scan was going relatively well. Harry didn’t seem to have any scar tissue or broken bones, though that didn’t do much to ease his feelings on the surface bruises and signs of malnourishment exhibited in the foal.

The bruises along his fetlocks all had a rather similar pattern and were roughly the same size, suggesting that repeated impacts of similar force had played a part in these injuries. Somepony had regularly struck Harry, resulting in multiple bruises.

It took just about every ounce of professionalism for the good Doctor not to let his temper loose and begin demanding to know what heartless monster would do such a thing to a colt as young and innocent as his patient.

Only a sharp exhale through his snout, drawing a raised brow from his Princess, gave any indication that Tender Care was quite irritated.

Foal abuse was considered utterly barbaric by Equestrian standards.

Tender Care fixed his Princess with a look, one that she had grown familiar with from his examinations of her family over the years; it was one that she immediately associated with news of an unpleasant nature.

Spectacular.

Just as a look was all that was needed to tell Princess Celestia that his diagnosis would be unpleasant, a simple nod and glance were enough to tell him that it could wait until after she took care of her charge.

Given that he was quite far from home and alone, Harry really didn’t need to hear two ponies discussing the specifics of his injuries. With all the stress and anxiety he’d endured since his arrival, he could do without that.

For now, he needed to know that, despite the unfamiliarity of his surroundings and situation, he wasn’t going through it alone.

Celestia giggled at the surprised squeak that Harry let out when he was, once again, lifted into the air and onto her back by her magical field, feeling him wrap his hooves around her neck to steady himself just as he’d done earlier. She stood, trotting lightly toward the door. “Walk with us,” she ordered. Tender Care fell into step almost immediately, rather interested to see where exactly his ruler was taking his patient and, well, still waiting to verbally give the summary of his diagnosis.

That being said…

“Ah, Your Majesty? Where–“

“Am I taking him?” Celestia supplied, a teasing smirk playing about her lips. “Well, little Harry has certainly been through, I think he deserves a break from all this seriousness and negativity, wouldn’t you agree?”

Well aware of Her Majesty’s penchant for mischief and games, Tender Care barely restrained a whinny of protest and nodded. He knew exactly how this would play out: she would do something completely off the wall and somehow, somehow, manage to make everything go exactly how she wanted it.

That being said, he still had to ask. “What exactly did you have in mind, Your Majesty?”

His only answer was the widening of her smirk into a full-blown grin.

---  

Tender Care’s eye twitched as he took in the utter absurdity of the sight before him.

Just as he thought, the grin his Princess had sported hinted at the sheer silliness of her plan, her method of easing Harry’s mind and, well, taking care of something that he really should’ve considered.

Fine! So she had one over him tonight! That still didn’t mean this was any less ridiculous!

To be fair, he probably should have seen this coming, given the Princess’ penchant for snacks. And, well, it did, in a way, serve the purpose of giving Harry something a bit more positive to focus on.

Still. Did she really have to send for Pony Joe to bring a selection to the Royal Palace?

The middle-aged stallion had been a friend of the Royal Family since the day he first opened his business, just within trotting distance. Their relationship had started when the Princess had, in a rare instance in which her patience had run out, teleported just outside of his diner and stormed in, plopping herself down rather ungraciously in one of the counter top chairs and telling him “I hope you had your coffee this morning, my little pony, because I’m going to be here a while.”

Sometime around three in the morning, Joe, in a rare moment of stupidity brought on by exhaustion, finally snapped and informed his Princess that she needed to leave so he could close shop or she could “figure out how to work the fryer and make whatever horseapples” for herself.

It took all of two seconds for that haze of exhaustion to lift and for Joe to have the sudden realization that – yes – he had in fact just told the Princess of the Sun to go take a long trot off a short pier and that it just might possibly, maybe, probably, definitely be openly disrespectful to the most powerful magic user on the planet.

Bar. None.

Pony Joe’s panicked, racing thoughts had been cut off by a snort from the typically straight faced Celestia, just before she completely broke down and laughed her flank off in the middle of his diner. It had been his bluntness, his momentary lapse in which he’d forgotten who she was and just treated her like an ordinary pony, for just an instant, which led to Pony Joe’s Doughnut Shop becoming a regular hangout for Her Majesty.

Which brings us back to the present. Pony Joe raised his brow at the sight of the little foal. There hadn’t been any foals born in the Royal Family in several years, this one was certainly too young. That, in combination with the sight of the bruises on the colt’s fetlocks made for an even more confused doughnut shop owner. However, he did exchange glances with both Princess Celestia and Doctor Tender Care, silently demanding an explanation as soon as possible.

But there was one thing about the young newcomer that nopony present could maintain a straight face at: not the Princess, nor Tender Care, not even the young Royal Guard recruits could resist at least a snicker at Harry’s initial reaction to seeing the admittedly impressive spread that the baker had brought with him and subsequently hearing Princess Celestia’s gentle command that he eat.

If not for their sharp hearing, they likely would’ve missed his mumbled reply. “C-Can I really eat?” Naturally, this question was met with rather perturbed grimaces from the guards and doctor, something else that Pony Joe would have to ask about. Celestia, however, seemed to hide her sentiments on that question a bit better, instead lowering him to the floor, quickly catching him with a hoof when he stumbled, and nodding to him.

The follow up “But there’s no way I can eat all that” nearly reduced Private Shining Armor and Private Steel Hoof to a pair of giggling foals before they realized that they’d just broken protocol and hastily fixed the traditional stone-faced expression of the Royal Guards on their faces.

The Princess’ sly grin at their antics hinted that those poor recruits would endure plenty of teasing for that little misstep.

Upon returning her gaze to her young charge, Princess Celestia was forced to bite the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t let out a rather embarrassing “D’aww” at his reaction to the selection laid before him. Harry, meanwhile, was completely awestruck, looking as though he’d never seen so many doughnut varieties in his young life. To him, the plethora of colors, different icings, and sprinkles, even ones that were filled with jams, were, for the most part, completely alien to him.

Leaning closer to the gaping colt’s ear, she gave him a bit of whispered advice. “My favorites are the ones with white frosting and sprinkles,” she inwardly giggled at the way his head whipped around to stare at her, as if he wondered if he’d heard correctly that the ginormous magical pony princess liked doughnuts with sprinkles.

His reaction was, essentially, the exact one she would’ve expected from any of her subjects who might discover her penchant for sneaking out of her lavish Palace for a late night snack, never mind that it was a “commoner’s venue.”

Naturally, as she had become his de facto guardian, he took her word and tentatively reached for the recommended treat with a hoof rather than use telekinesis. Celestia shrugged it off as a possible lack of experience in magic, which could be remedied with practice.

However, that didn’t explain why he was unable to pick up his selection with his hoof. Harry brought the aforementioned limb back to give it a rather perturbed look before trying again and getting the same results. He growled irritably and tried using both hooves in a pincer like fashion, trying to squeeze the doughnut between his hooves enough so that he could pick it up, but light enough so he wouldn’t smash it together. He let out a small “Ha!” when he was finally able to pick it up, sitting back on his haunches and claiming victory over his sugary nemesis, much to the amusement of everypony present.

Harry brought the doughnut closer to his muzzle, pausing to examine it curiously. For a moment, it seemed as though he might reject the offered food, which would put Celestia in a rather tough spot:

A rejection was contrary to her goal of trying to make him more comfortable, showing him through action that he could trust her enough to give a peace offering of food, so that she might be able to convince him to sleep off his stress.

Poor foal looked like he could use a good nap after all that he’d gone through during his brief stay in the Palace

She was brought out of what can only be described as ‘maternal strategizing’ as Harry, seemingly satisfied by his examination, brought the doughnut to his mouth and took a small, hesitant bite…

His eyes suddenly lit up and he would proceed to – as Celestia would later swear – nearly inhale his food. As soon as he’d polished off the last of his snack, Harry once again directed his emerald eyes on her, trying some form of silent communication.

Approval? Permission for seconds? Wondering why she wasn’t eating with him? Again, Celestia wasn’t a mind reader – well, not without use of one of a variety of rather invasive spells, which she felt decidedly uncomfortable using on a foal without consent – she could only speculate until he gave some sort of –

Before she could finish the thought, Harry had taken a second doughnut, the same icing and sprinkled kind as the first, and held it out to her.

Ah. Well, that answers that question.

Rather than simply take it and indulge him, Celestia made a show of pretending to look around, eyes darting left and right. “Oh, I’m afraid I can’t dear,” she said with faux sadness, which was received with a look of confusion from her young charge, who glanced at the doughnut in his hooves as if wondering if he’d grabbed the wrong one. Years of practice prevented her from losing her poker face as she kept the act up. “If I eat too many doughnuts, I get in trouble with the Royal Cook. He says if I eat too many, they’ll all go right to my flanks!”

After a moment’s pause, Celestia quickly looked over her shoulder before making a show of leaning down to stage whisper to Harry. “But what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!” she declared, taking the offered snack in her telekinesis and munching on it happily.

The sensation of cloth brushing against her fetlocks drew her attention downward again, where she noticed that Harry had resumed his previous location at her side, laying down on his stomach and snuggling against her fetlock and closing his eyes with a contented sigh, finally comfortable, finally letting his guard down.

Celestia smiled and knelt down beside him, causing him to open his eyes and look up in confusion as she disturbed his rather comfortable position. She responded by wrapping her fetlock around him and pulling him against her side in a hug, going a bit further by wrapping her wing around him in a gesture that spoke of love and protection.

Harry seemed to accept this, closing his eyes again and breathing easy as he drifted off to sleep in her warm embrace, knowing that he was safe at her side.

His steady breathing and nuzzling against her came as a relief, easing at least some of the tension that had formed in Celestia’s chest throughout the course of his arrival. From the signs of injury to his inexplicable panic over his own body, to how he shied from contact to his apparent need for permission to even consider eating in front of other ponies, Harry had been a source of great stress for the Princess of the Day, albeit unintentionally.

Letting out a deep sigh, her attention turned to the two stallions; Tender Care, still waiting to give his diagnosis, and Pony Joe, who was looking quite perturbed at being kept out of the loop.

Funny, she noted with an internal chuckle, how a friendship with a doughnut shop owner seemed to grant that pony some privileges that most would give their tails for.

A nod was all that Tender Care needed. He stepped forward, pausing only to roll his eyes and beckon the Royal Guards and Princess’ guest closer so that his patient might continue sleeping. In hushed tones, he gave a very short account. “His internals are, mercifully, in healthy condition, my Princess. However, there are some signs of malnutrition – not so much that he is in immediate danger, but enough for me to advise that he be placed on a strict diet so that his body receives the nutrients and vitamins needed to heal the damage.”

The sight of the ever-serene Princess of the Day closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath, before exhaling sharply made her trusted physician nervous. Princess Celestia wasn’t pleased.

It had been years since the last time Tender Care had seen the typically calm and collected ruler of Equestria drop her façade, and it had been quite the sight to behold.

If memory served, that griffon ambassador vacated the Palace so quickly, he would’ve sworn some form of magic had been involved had he not seen the ambassador blur past him with an expression of sheer terror on his face.

This next part would, no doubt, put his Princess in a similar state of mind. Though her anger just might be quelled only due to the presence of the slumbering colt, clutched tightly in her embrace.

“As for the bruising on his fetlocks,” there was no way to sugar coat this part. Steeling his nerves, Tender Care proceeded. “The sizes vary slightly, but they suggest repeated strikes with blunt objects, whether they be weapons or hooves, we would have to ask him. At this point, the only assumption that I can make is that he was the victim of some form of bullying, attack or abuse.”

A sharp intake of breath, along with her unoccupied hoof grinding heavily against the tile floor told all that needed to be said about Celestia’s sentiments on the matter. Tender Care noticed her immaculate white wing squeeze tighter around the young colt’s sleeping form – a sign of the pegasus heritage in the ancient alicorn.

Under her wing, under her protection. Agitating a pegasus when they were in this state was ill advised.

Of course, that didn’t stop one of their party, who was still quite out of the loop, from speaking up. “I’m sorry for speaking out of turn, Princess,” Joe began. “But for those of us who weren’t here when Harry showed up, would somepony mind filling in some blanks? What exactly is going on?”

Celestia, eyes still shut as she reassumed her usual Zen-like aura, answered softly. “I’m not entirely sure of the specifics, Joe.” She admitted. “Harry appeared next to me, literally out of nowhere, in a bolt of lightning and was in a state of duress from the moment he arrived. He was utterly terrified of me, of his own body, of his surroundings, everything. And with his injuries…” She trailed off, uneasy to continue along that train of thought. That a pony, a foal, had to endure such pain and duress was greatly troubling.

That Harry had endured such pain and now, after finally succumbing to sleep, was alone in the world. Alone…

Just like she was.

“Not anymore.” She whispered, looking down at the sleeping colt fondly. “Neither of us are alone anymore.”

“E-Excuse me, Princess?”

Celestia turned her gaze to the surrounding ponies and made a choice; one that would forever change Equestria. “I’ll look after him.”

“But Princess –“

“No,” she cut in. “No orphanages, no foster parents, he was utterly terrified when he arrived, he only just started to trust me. I will take care of him. From this day forth, he is my son, my little colt.”

Celestia returned her attention to the foal in question and smiled, feeling whole again for the first time in centuries. “My little Morningstar.”

You're Grounded

Princess Celestia’s quick hoofsteps echoed and reverberated off the high arching walls and ceilings of Canterlot Palace as she made her way to her dear son’s room. She should’ve known he would take the news poorly; hay, based on what one of the Palace Staff said when the frazzled mare had interrupted the Day Court, he was in a full-blown argument with Luna.

Again.

Make no mistake, she loved her family, she was absolutely overjoyed to have her sister and son together under the same roof, as it rightfully should have been for all these years. But their arguments could grate on her nerves.

It was funny, really, when she thought back on their first meeting. Celestia had to coax two overly shy ponies out of their shells and practically force interaction.

Luna was afraid that Harry would reject her due to her actions as Nightmare Moon, while Harry still had those pesky trust issues; which had plagued his social interactions throughout his life. Evident in the way he held his classmates at her School for Gifted Unicorns at a hoof’s length, Harry just didn’t know how to let other ponies into his life that easily.

She loved her son dearly, but there were times when his awkwardness around new ponies made her want to pull her mane out!

The combined social awkwardness and guilt of both parties made for a rather awkward first meeting with the Lunar Princess. As many times as Celestia had run through possible scenarios as she marked off the days until her sister’s return, she’d at least hoped that one of them would take the first step.

Even if that step was a demand for explanation, really, anything was better than Luna alternating between hanging her head in shame before her family and trying to reach out to embrace her nephew while Harry feebly assured her that he held no grudge, despite the fact that he kept flinching away and rubbing his fetlocks whilst wearing a sheepish, nervous grin.

It was a classic case of Harry’s mouth saying one thing while his body language said something entirely different.

Which – predictably – didn’t help Luna’s confidence.

The two went several weeks before they were mercifully able to hold their first actual conversation together.

Well.

It was actually a shouting match, a rather impressive one, in fact. Oh, Celestia remembered that day quite well.

In hopes of performing an act of kindness, Luna had dropped by Harry’s laboratory to invite him to dine with the family as she was still trying to get caught up on what had happened in the time she’d missed during her banishment; it was to be a nice, quiet lunch where the main focus for the younger alicorn could could break the ice with the youngest members of her family and discuss their relationship moving forward. A move that Celestia had endorsed wholeheartedly.

Naturally, it blew up in their faces.

The actual laboratory itself was pristinely clean and organized, a requirement for anypony in the field, not even considering the fact that Harry’s specified area of interest was looked upon by other academics in the same light that the original theory of teleportation was received.

Basically, a room full of blank stares and a resounding “Huh.”

Hours later, a rather perturbed Celestia, along with Cadence and Blueblood, came looking for the two, wondering where in the hay they were when they were all supposed to be dining together during one of the few breaks the Solar Princess was able to take, stopped by his laboratory and were met with the sight of several lab assistants and researchers cowering outside while Luna and Harry argued over a topic so mundane, so outrageously silly, that even Celestia’s patented poker face gave way as she brought her immaculate hoof to her face:

His desk was a mess.

No, you didn’t misread that. Luna took one look at the state of his private office and launched into a lecture on proper decorum and organization for a pony of his stature and proceeded to organize it for him.

Needless to say, Harry – like most ponies – had his own way of organizing his affairs and reacted badly when another pony came and threw it into disarray. Thus, the Royal Canterlot Academy of Science was treated to a lengthy debate that would go down as Lunar Princess v. Mad Scientist Prince.

The jury was still out on which of the two won, all that was certain was that everypony within immediate earshot lost.

Oddly enough, it was that argument which had helped them air out some of their issues with one another. An argument over something so trivial as Harry’s ‘organized clutter’ – his words – seemed to lift some of the tension between the two.

From then on, they were at least civil to one another. Harry still took a bit longer to accept Luna enough that he would hug her in the same manner that he did his mother, but they put in the effort. And Luna, having discussed Harry’s earlier years with her elder sister, was patient. She allowed him to make the first move in that regard.

Their relationship had improved, but they did still have a tendency to argue on a wide variety of subjects – serious, silly and everything in between.

“CEASE THY STUBBORNNESS AND HEAR REASON, NEPHEW, OR WE SHALL HOLD YOU OVER THE EDGE OF OUR OBSERVATION TOWER BY THINE HOOVES!”

“I might be inclined to listen if you would stop shouting and kindly explain WHERE IN TARTARUS MY STUFF IS!”

Oh, dear, they were really going at it this time.

Perhaps a quiet reminder to Luna that breaking news ‘gently’ to Harry meant sitting him down and explaining the situation before he discovered it himself and began spitting fire – err, figuratively speaking, that is.

Though, to be fair, he did know a few fire spells that could grant him a similar ability… Yeah, now would be a good time to intervene.

Lighting her horn with magic, Celestia opened the door to Harry’s bedroom, and beheld a rather familiar sight:

Her son, her beloved little Morningstar, had grown into a fine young stallion. Harry was average height for a unicorn of his age; he wasn’t overly muscular, but he was certainly fit, or so Celestia heard. Young mares still gossiped about handsome stallions, and Harry was no exception, even if he kept himself locked in a lab instead of posing in front of a camera.

He kept his black mane medium length and combed back out of his face – more for safety during his experiments than any preference of style. All it took was accidentally lighting his nice, long mane on fire once as a foal before he decided that the punk rock look just didn’t work for science. His chestnut coat, formerly scruffy and blemished with bruises during his arrival, was meticulously brushed and clean, giving him a sleek appearance, which accentuated his physique.

But sticking out on his body, like a firework display in the night sky, was his Cutie Mark, the sign of his special talent.

Most ponies, Celestia included, at least glanced at one another’s Marks now and then, but her reasons were a bit different than others’.

Starting opposite one another, twin parallel emerald lines travelled straight along the top and bottom of his flank before swirling together and forming the image of what some might call a wormhole.

Scientifically, it was referred to as a dimensional rift – the focal point of Harry’s studies.

Celestia knew exactly what his Mark meant, from the moment it appeared on her son’s body; she had seen it. She had seen the rift through which her son had travelled, thanks to the aid of the Memory Recall Spell.

Swirling particles, flickering lights, all too fast for the mind to properly process as your entire being was pulled through with a force of a super tornado.

Upon viewing that memory, it was little wonder why Harry was so terrified of his surroundings when he had arrived nearly ten years ago. The bruises indicated that he had endured physical abuse, but his memory of that swirling catechism suggested that he had endured something else entirely…

That he survived with his sanity intact was nothing short of a miracle.

But that swirling rift, a tear in reality, was his special talent, the focal point of his research. It was a credit both to his intelligence and his magical capabilities.

Celestia couldn’t help but have mixed feelings on the matter; her little foal had grown up, smart and successful, but he was driven to examine something that should’ve terrified him.

Hay, it was something that made Luna and her, the two most powerful magic users on the planet, uneasy. But it fascinated him enough to decide that he would devote his life to researching it and trying to find a way to travel through it again.

Which directly contributed to the family’s understandably averse reaction to the news that he’d managed to blow up his own lab.

Though they couldn’t hold a candle to the fury of the Royal Sisters, Cadence and Blublood certainly made their case for the title, with the sibling tag team of Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle coming in at a close third place, if only because Harry’s ears were still ringing from two previous lectures. Little Spike hadn’t exactly gone into lecturing his older friend, but he did puff smoke through his nostrils whenever Harry tried to provide justification for his actions, which served as a reminder that Spike, despite his upbringing, was very much a dragon and didn’t particularly like seeing somepony close to him hurt. Even if said pony had done it to himself.

If anything, that just made it worse for everypony. Harry had been lucky to survive and the first thing he tried to do after waking up from his brief coma and managing to rid himself of the muddled haze that clouded his thoughts was to try to justify it as an experiment and brush it off as a simple miscalculation.

Celestia took a breath at that memory, still feeling her hackles rise whenever the vision of her foal shrugging off his injuries and asking to go back to work on the very thing that had nearly killed him. If not for his quick reflexes and a remarkable barrier casting speed, which had been drilled into him by Captain Shining Armor and herself, Harry very well would have been incinerated by his own experiment.

Desperation and instinct were all that saved her little colt, her little Morningstar. He had been fortunate to survive, let alone wake up several months later in a hospital bed.

Oh, Harry’s barrier had done exactly what it was meant to: it protected him from the fire and shrapnel, not the intense heat and kinetic force behind the explosion. Barriers protected the caster from physical objects or magic bolts, but they didn’t negate the intangible forces that followed high impacts.

The outward propulsive forces of the explosion had broken most of the bones in his body, the heat had left him with burns on one side of his body – Harry was fortunate that the doctors were able to treat his marred skin and heal his burns enough that his coat was able to grow back properly. His internal injuries, on the other hoof, took much longer to heal and left him immobile for the majority of his stay.

He’d missed quite a lot during his stay in Royal Canterlot Hospital; the return of Discord, his cousin’s wedding and the failed Changeling invasion, the return of the Crystal Empire, the second return of Discord and subsequent reformation at the hands of a certain shy, animal caretaker in Ponyville. His life had literally been spent waiting for the doctors to clear him to begin rehabilitation and then enduring an exercise regiment prescribed to help him regain motor functions after being bedridden for the better part of a year.

Watching Harry’s six-month struggle to meet his physician’s goals so that he might resume his normal lifestyle had been painful, both as a mother and as a teacher. One of her prized students had injured himself with the tools and knowledge she had given him. Add in the fact that the student in question was her son…

The very same son who was currently muzzle-to-muzzle with her sister, both looking as though they were about to start casting spells.

Both of their Cutie Marks should’ve been for their unparalleled antagonism. Sighing and shaking her head, Celestia channeled magic into her horn and caught the dynamic duo in her telekinesis. “I think that’s quite enough, you two.”

While Luna rolled her eyes and simply channeled magic, cancelling out her sister’s spell, Harry yelped in protest, shooting his mother a look as he was forcibly dragged a short distance against his will. He considered, for just a second, the possibility of trying his hoof at canceling out his mother’s magic, before giving an inward scoff.

Yeah, that wasn’t happening. He’d tried that once before when he was younger, when she had caught him sneaking into the kitchens to ‘liberate’ a rather lonely looking slice of cake and had been instead lifted up telekinetically and given a light scolding. When his mother noticed that he was trying to force her magic to dissipate, she chuckled in amusement and tickled him senseless for his troubles.

Trying to overpower Princess Celestia’s magic was like trying to evaporate the waters of Equuis with a blow dryer. He later found that the same was true for his Aunt Luna and a certain nuisance who popped in and out whenever he pleased.

So, he waited until his mother cancelled he own spell like a good little foal, still seething at the state of his room. What state is that, you ask?

Empty. His dresser, his desk, his various clothes, pictures of his family and longtime friend, his bookshelf, his papers, his research notes, everything. Gone.

It was no secret that he’d landed himself in serious trouble when he blew up his lab. In his opinion, everypony was overreacting quite a bit; really, he was trying to open up a rift in spacetime, what did they expect? It wasn’t exactly a safe field of study.

Three lectures and a ticked off baby dragon suggested that most ponies objected to his opinion.

The year of taking up residency in the bloody hospital and going through rehab hadn’t exactly been fun either, but he couldn’t really debate that too much when he couldn’t even walk properly when he first awoke from his lengthy nap. As much as he hated it, as much as he wanted to get back to work and buck the consequences, he’d been good. He endured it all and followed Doctor Tender Care’s orders – not like he had much of a choice – like a good, little colt.

So, why in the name of his mother’s crown did his family see fit to have his lab access rescinded, his office locked, and room cleared out?

Something was amiss, and Harry was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

He briefly met his Aunt’s eyes again, noting that she too was still looking put out, and gritted his teeth. He loved Luna, it took a bit for him to warm up to her, but he loved her all the same. She was understandably out of touch and still retained her habit of slipping into old Equish when she was angered, but she was just as loving and compassionate as his mother.

However, she was just as stubborn as mother’s bedtime stories; if Luna firmly believed in something, she held onto it and would face down Cerberus with her wings bound and her horn cracked. Additionally, she’d not quite learned the finer points of tact.

Why should she filter herself? She thought it was right, so she spoke her mind. In that vein, she clearly believed that their was justification for his room being cleared out and his belongings taken out of the palace, so why should she break the news gently and explain it to him so that he could discuss, debate or come to terms with it himself?

Hearing his mother clear her throat, Harry abruptly ceased glaring at his Aunt – who stuck her tongue out at him in a manner that would have most nobles mortified, as soon as his eyes left her – and forced himself to give his mother a rather strained smile. “Yes, mum?”

“Would you mind explaining why a Palace Guardspony had to come and tell me that you and Luna were at each other’s throats again, Harry?” Celestia asked in her traditional gentle tone.

Harry gave his mother a flat look, his brows forming a nearly straight line across his forehead. Seriously? She was going to play the ‘pretend not to know so Harry has to explain himself rationally’ game? Again?

The fact that his mother wasn’t omnipotent was irrelevant; she knew quite well why he was angry! Gesturing wildly around the room with his hoof, Harry, straining not to be snippy, gave his answer. “This!” He ground out through gritted teeth. “I was good! I stayed in the hospital, I rehabbed, I stayed away from my lab, obeying you and Aunt Luna,” Harry couldn’t resist a sidelong glare at his Aunt, who simply rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath as she stepped past him to stand beside her sister. “I did everything you told me to do, and, when I’m finally released, I find that I’m barred from my lab and office and everything in my room has been cleared out!”

“If thou would have listened when we spoke, nephew –“

“If you can call it ‘speaking.’”

His comment garnered stern looks from both Princesses, and a huff from the very Aunt he had interrupted. “We told thee previously: We – err, rather – your mother and I conversed and felt that a change was necessary to prevent a repeat of your accident as well as alter thy – confound it! – your outlook.”

Harry groaned and massaged his forehead with a hoof. “This again?” He asked irritably. “I get it! You already told me that risking my own health was –“

“Unacceptable and that I would tan your flank if you ever suggested such nonsense again.” His mother finished with a tired smile. “Yes, this again, dear; you forget just how well I know you, lecturing as you lay in bed with no choice but to agree with me has hardly ever proven successful, my little Morningstar.”

He felt his cheeks coloring at the mention of that nickname, the very one she’d given him nearly a decade ago. To this day, she still called him by that name.

“Mum!”

“Oh, hush, Harry! No matter how big or how old you may be you’ll always be my little Morningstar!” She teased, grinning at the way he sheepishly rubbed his hoof against his fetlock, that old nervous habit of his.

Everypony close to him, even a couple Guards when they were off duty, just loved to remind him of it. ‘Harry, the little Morningstar’, ‘Harry the Morningstar’, ‘Our Morningstar’, the list went on. He’d pretty much heard them all. He wasn’t really bothered that she came up with the name, he wasn’t even bothered by the fact that she, and the rest of his family, still called him by the name from time to time.

He just wished it hadn’t somehow slipped out to the public! It was just supposed to be between his mother, a few friends, family and him!

Well, frankly, it brought him back to that time; the first time Celestia held him in her wings and kept him safe. It was special, in that way. It made him feel like a colt again. And that was all he really wanted it to be, not spread around by the gossip crowd until it got tacked on at the end of his name by everypony and their grandmother!

Hay, it had become a part of his title, most had tacked it onto his name as if it were his second name, referring to him as ‘Prince Morningstar’ – because, evidently, it sounded more regal than ‘Prince Harry’. It had gotten to the point where most ponies were surprised to find that his name wasn’t Morningstar!

Naturally, his family thought this was utterly hilarious, while Harry just flushed and grumbled whenever it came up, especially when mother used it on him when he was angry.

Luna’s snickers at the way his cheeks colored didn’t exactly help matters.

Huffing, Harry abruptly changed the subject before she kept going, otherwise, he’d be forced to endure a trip down memory lane. “Muuuum!” He groaned – Definitely not whining, not one bit. “Can we please get back to the topic at hoof? Where in – Why – What –“ His frustrations with his long rehab, recent discoveries and his mother’s constant teasing finally came to a head, bringing him to the point where calm and rational discussion went out the window. “Just what?” He blurted, giving up any notion of downplaying his irritation.

His mother sighed heavily, putting him on edge. That was never a good sign. Sighing meant she was getting ready to deliver bad news, sighing meant that she knew he would argue.

Sighing meant that he only knew part of what was making him angry and that the bad news hadn’t yet been delivered.

Oh, bloody ponyfeathers.

“You, young stallion, despite what you may believe, haven’t learned what I’d hoped your rehabilitation would show you.” Sure enough, Celestia began in that tone that he loathed hearing with every fiber of his being; that tone she used whenever she was upset with him, a voice of disappointment. Gritting his teeth, Harry prepared to cut her off and voice his denial, but her stern gaze silenced him. “No. You have not taken your injuries or your accident with the gravity and seriousness that you should have, I can see it plainly on your face. I could see it each and every time I spoke with you on the matter. Even Doctor Tender Care noted that, despite your physical recovery and cooperation, you continually show that you will resume the same high-risk pattern with your studies. I have tolerated them, as part of the nature of your field, long enough. I draw the line at blowing up your lab, I draw the line at nearly killing yourself, but, above all else, I draw the line at scoffing and suggesting that it was simply ‘a fluke!’”

Harry winced. Okay, not just disappointment. “Mum,” he began shakily, feeling like smaller than an ant on the receiving end of his mother’s gaze. “I-I didn’t – It wasn’t – I –“

“It was an accident. Yes. I understand. Accidents can and, unfortunately, do happen, especially in an experimental field such as yours.” She sighed, conceding the point that danger was a part of his job, no matter how much she despised it. But this was a point that needed to be made. Her son had to understand. “But that does not excuse your disregard for your own safety or how your loss would impact those around you!”

He wanted to refute the point, he wanted to vehemently deny that he was putting himself in danger due to some lack of proper safety and that he didn’t seem to care that the few close to him would be hurt if anything happened to him – but he couldn’t. He couldn’t make those claims; he couldn’t deny them because his family and friends were hurt.

Far be it from Harry to believe that he was an expert on reading other ponies, but it didn’t take a genius to see the outright indignation and stress his accident had caused, along with the underlying relief that he’d miraculously avoided doing himself permanent injury.

The image of Twilight Sparkle, his fellow student under his mother, screaming at him through hot, angry tears as her older brother tried to multitask soothing her and lecturing the young Prince as if he were a new recruit who showed up to basic in his street clothes, came to mind.

There were very few ponies that Harry considered close enough to call his friends; in all honesty, he could probably count them with his hooves. Twilight, Shining Armor, Spike, and, well, just his family after them.

But such a small inner circle didn’t ease his guilt on the matter. Harry shuffled a hoof against the carpeted floor, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and maintain a hold on his emotions.

He opened his mouth, trying to find the words to respond to his mother’s tirade, but all that came out was a choked breath, squeaking in the back of his throat.

Mercifully, his mother took the cue; he’d been browbeaten with variations of this lecture for the better part of the year, but only now, upon returning to find his world turned on its end, was the weight of his own actions falling upon his back.

Harry wasn’t spoiled in the conventional sense. Yes, he lived in a rather lavish palace and, admittedly, enjoyed it, but it wasn’t so much the notion that he would have to live like a normal pony that bothered him – he didn’t much act like a traditional Prince, anyway.

Rather, it was the feeling that he was being kicked out. Here, Celestia had erred in asking her ever-obstinate sister to explain things to her equally stubborn son. They loved one another dearly, but clashed over the silliest of things.

Leaning over to her sister, Celestia murmured a request to speak with her son alone, which was readily accepted by the Princess of the Night, who replied by giving her sister a nod of acquiesce.

However, before leaving, Luna approached her nephew with an uneasy look, further evidence that a level of awkwardness between the pair still remained, and nuzzled his cheek. “Be at ease, nephew,” she whispered. “Our actions are taken out of love, not out of anger, despite what you may believe.” Her piece said, Luna left the mother and son pair to discuss his immediate future in private, giving a curt nod to the Royal Guards standing at post just outside as she trotted past.

Celestia crossed the room to stand with her son, lifting his chin with a hoof, forcing him to look into her magenta eyes. The look of worry in those ancient eyes, added to the disappointment and anger at his dismissal of the dangers he inflicted upon himself, made Harry’s own burn with the sting of tears; of all the ponies to hurt, she was the last that he’d ever want to.

And why wouldn’t she be? She was his mother, his protector, the pony who gave him a home.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, burying his face in her chest. “I just – I –“

“I know, Harry.” She interrupted as she repositioned him into a one hoofed hug, wrapping a wing around him as well as an extra show of comfort. “I know you don’t mean it, my son, but I worry for you. I worry that you lock yourself into that lab of yours, in your own little world, for so long that you forget the world around you. I worry that you forget just how much you as a pony, not just as a scientist, mean to those around you.”

“I do not lock myself away!” He huffed into her coat, making his mother roll her eyes at his petulance.

No matter how brilliant he may be, Harry could still be immature in some ways. “Is that so?” she asked, despite already knowing the answer to her next question. “Then, tell me, when was the last time you left your lab to have fun with your friends? Other than when I’ve had to drag you out, kicking and cursing?” His muffled grumbling, no doubt denying her question’s veracity, only served to make her chuckle. She could always tell when he’d conceded an argument; he grumbled rather than make clear statements.

Giving a nudge with her wing, she once again was able to bring her son’s head up, though he seemed to be glancing sidelong away from her out of embarrassment. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You keep to yourself so much, Cadence and I had to force you to meet Twilight all those years ago, even with Shining Armor swearing upon his family name that she was a nice little filly. But, even since then, you still keep yourself tucked away, holding everypony else at hoof’s length – and I firmly believe that’s part of your problem,” That got Harry’s attention, as his gaze snapped back to her and he made to object, but she simply raised a hoof to silence him. “The more you isolate yourself, the less you see how caring other ponies can be, Harry; for that reason, Luna and I have decided on something that we hope will help you in the long run.”

Now he was very intrigued. “So, this issue you’ve pointed out is connected with… well, everything today?”

“To put it simply, yes. Everything we’ve discussed has factored into what you, unfortunately, stumbled across before I could explain myself and give you the rundown, so to speak.”

“That would’ve been nice,” Harry admitted bitterly. “Aunt Luna still slips into that Royal Canterlot Voice. Not really helpful in an argument.”

“And thus why I discarded its use in the Day Court centuries ago.” Celestia noted absentmindedly. “But, that’s a tale for another day. You’ve asked for me to explain my actions, and I shall.” With an internal sigh, she began. “I’ve spoken with the rest of the family – including our in laws from your cousin’s marriage – about an idea that might help you down the road. A bit of mental rehabilitation, if you will.”

The young stallion groaned, pushing out of her embrace and covering his eyes with his hoof. “You’ve got to be joking! I just finished a full year of that load of ponyfeathers – just as I promised I would! – and now you’re adding more on top of it?!”

“You went through a year of physical rehabilitation, Harry,” she reminded him. “You’ve not set hoof in a lab setting since your accident and the discussions between you and various members of our family or psychiatrists has cast some negative light on the notion of your immediate return to work!”

“Well, if you’d let me in my lab and watched, maybe you’d see that I’m just fine!”

This time, it was Celestia’s turn to give a flat look at her son, who quickly looked away from her time-tested ‘who do you think you’re kidding’ look. She wasn’t going to even dignify his outburst with a response; because, frankly, even he knew it was embarrassingly stupid.

Good thing Twilight wasn’t present to hear that little intellectual nugget, or she’d have him strapped down while she did brain scans on him.

Or she’d just stare at him until he gave in and admitted that he was wrong, much like his mother was doing right this moment – she’d picked up way too much of their mutual teacher’s mannerisms. Either way, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Bringing his hoof to his face, something he’d done far too often today, Harry grumbled. “Just… go on. You were saying?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Celestia did her very best not to berate her son and pressed on. “I feel that you need to interact with others, to get away from work and the political snake nest of Canterlot’s nobility so you can feel free to be yourself without worrying that you’re being exploited because of your influence. Even if you don’t use it often.” She added the last part, seeing him ready to mention that he very rarely played the Royal Family card, preferring to devote his time to studying rather than influence Equestrian politics.

That was Blueblood’s ‘shtick,’ as Harry liked to say.

Of course, that still didn’t solve the problem of other ponies trying to cozy up to Harry in an attempt to get an inside track to his mother’s good side, a fact that the young Prince was well aware of. It wasn’t like she could have him stay in Manehattan, Baltimare, Neigh Orleans or Las Pegasus. And Maker forbid that she send him to Cloudsdale, as she had for summer vacation a few years back.

The Wonderbolts had been way too eager to serve the more military purpose of their team, hovering about and watching over him like he was a foal of their flock, especially then Lieutenant and current team Captain, Spitfire.

Definitely not Cloudsdale, he thought with a shudder, recalling the way she’d grilled him for slipping his ‘security detail’ one afternoon. Still, it had been worth it – he did get to see the sudden appearance of the most amazing rainbow burst over the cloud city, more than making up for having to sit in the office with either Spitfire or Soarin while they filed paperwork.

Returning to the point, as far as he knew, there weren’t many cities that fit the rather tall order his mother was setting – each of them had their social climbers and wealthy business ponies who would all too happily use any friendship with him to have a couple laws passed in their favor.

Not something he was looking forward to.

“Where?” Harry asked, resigning himself to trying to force a smile through the ordeal. If he could do that, he just might be able to get her to make one or two concessions in his favor.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already,” his mother teased, as she was so fond of doing. “She’s the only pony you know well enough for me to trust her with your things.”

“You did what?!” He nearly screamed, horrified that somepony else was touching his stuff!

“Well, how else do you expect her to have it all moved into your house?” She asked in that faux innocent tone of hers.

“I don’t have a house!”

“You didn’t.” She corrected, bopping him lightly on the snout. “You forget that I can still have a home built and put under your ownership. Power of the Royal Family, and all that rot.”

“A recurring theme, I’ve noticed.” He sniped, gritting his teeth. Seriously, she was dropping several rather big pieces of news on him all at once. “And who, pray tell, will I be yelling at should I find my things damaged?”

Here, Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Harry, do you really think so little of my plans? Would I give your belongings to anypony you didn’t trust fully?”

Thinking for a moment, he conceded that she did have a point, confirming it with a shrug and a nod.

“Thank you. Besides, I’d advise against yelling at Twilight about anything, given your – ahem – recent track record, dear.”

Twilight? Twilight Sparkle? Well, that was welcome news!

Despite her less than enthusiastic response to his accident – which, in hindsight, he understood entirely – he did miss his old friend and ‘study buddy,’ as she proudly declared him one day. He’d not been by to visit her since her move to Ponyville, which was that small town on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, if he remembered correctly. Yes, Ponyville was the town, the one started by the Apple family.

Heh. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. He could catch up with Twilight and Spike and actually enjoy some quality time with them, rather than pasting a grin on his face and pretending to like some random pony that his mother stuck him with.

Plus, Twilight was a notorious bibliophile. Oh, he was just as much a bookworm as her, but think of this from his perspective: he could, with a bit of finessing, continue his studies! Even better, he could do it with Twilight Sparkle!

Two students of Celestia studying dimensional rifts? Bring on the mysteries of the universe.

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your view – his mother was quite a few steps ahead of him, as she so often was. Reaching out quickly, she bopped his snout again. “Stop those machinations,” she chided. “You’re not going to convince Twilight to study rifts with you.”

“Oh, come on,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Who better than to keep me in line?”

“I’d normally agree, but you’re not bringing work with you – something that Twilight and I agree on.”

That gave Harry pause. Twilight not wanting to study something? Something wasn’t right here. “What?”

“It falls along a couple of the conditions of your little ‘rehabilitation,’” she continued. “Which fits nicely with the reason that you couldn’t access your lab or office: simply put, you’re not allowed to.”

“What?” He repeated, his voice betraying his disbelief. What in the hay was going on?

“You heard correctly. You will be staying in Ponyville, you will make an attempt to have a life, but you will be barred from continuing your research – “

“What?”

“ – Until I am satisfied that you have learned your lesson.” She carried on, ignoring his interruption. “Quite frankly, dear, I am thrilled beyond belief that you’ve recovered physically, but I’m still very disappointed in your carelessness. When originally discussing this, Cadence felt that we should present it to you as further rehabilitation, in hopes that you might be more willing to take part. I, however, have no issue with calling it exactly as it is.”

Harry couldn’t believe it. Barred from his work ‘until he learned his lesson’? This was sounding a lot less like rehabilitation and a lot more like… no way. He was an adult, for Maker’s sake!

“You, young stallion, are grounded.”

“… What?!”

---  

In a small town on the edge of the Everfree Forest, just a short train ride from the capitol city, Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and Doctor of Magic and Thaumatology, was carefully putting the finishing touches on what would soon be the avenue of the demise of her longtime friend, Harry.

She knew all of his weaknesses, everything that could be used against him to bring him to his knees in despair and force him to repent for his actions, rendering him –

“Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie chirped, bouncing up to the librarian as she checked off another box on her list. “Do you think Prince Morningstar likes punch? I mean, I don’t know anypony who doesn’t like punch, but he’s a Prince so I can’t have punch at his party if he doesn’t like punch! Because if there’s punch at the party and he doesn’t like it, then he might drink the punch that he doesn’t like by accident and get really mad and –“

Quickly covering her rather hyperactive friend’s mouth with a hoof, Twilight smiled at her antics, having accustomed herself to Pinkie’s patented brand of silliness over the years. “I’m sure he likes punch, Pinkie. Just put it on the table with the rest of the drinks.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” The pink party planner replied, cartwheeling off to Celestia-knows-where to spread her silliness in her wake.

With a shake of her head, Twilight checked off another box as she surveyed the decorations in Ponyville’s Town Hall. Everything was coming together quite nicely!

When Princess Celestia sent notice that her son would be coming to town, Twilight had been unceremoniously dragged from Golden Oaks Library and placed in charge of preparations for his welcoming party.

Initially, she had some reservations; Harry wasn’t exactly a fan of big parties, after all. It wasn’t the celebration or the noise, he was just more comfortable with smaller groups – which wasn’t helped much by his station.

Her ever-faithful, number one assistant, Spike had helpfully reminded her that the whole purpose of bringing Harry to Ponyville was to force him out of his lab and make some friends, much as Princess Celestia had done for her three years ago. Therefore, they should just go ahead and let everypony welcome him in their traditional manner and get it over with, like pulling off a bandaid.

As she took in the scene before her, Twilight had to admit that Ponyville had really gone all out for this party, just as they had when Princess Celestia made an official visit with Philomena.

The Apple and Cake families had gone into a baking frenzy, tag teaming to produce incredible fritters, pies, cakes and the like, nothing short of the best possible work for the visiting Royal; Fluttershy had, at first, gone into a nervous panic that she had to train her birds, only to relax (in her terms) when she was informed that all that was required of her was to help hang the banner and streamers; Pinkie had, naturally, become what could only be described as a party planning cyclone as she whirred, bounced and skipped from place to place, setting tables here and there, laying everything out in ‘perfect party position’; Rainbow had the Weather Patrol pulling out all the stops to ensure that there would be nothing but sunshine for their rather important visitor; as for Rarity, well…

She reacted about as everypony expected: going into a tizzy, wondering what to wear, what outfits to design, and generally making quite the fuss about the whole ordeal until Pinkie and Rainbow dumped a cloud of rainwater on her.

Twilight took no pleasure in seeing her friend soaked to the core, mane dripping wet and looking quite put out, but it had to be done in order to get her point across: formal dress was unnecessary, just as it had been for the Princess’ visit. It was just a welcoming party, albeit one of considerably larger and grander scale than others.

And it was all for Harry – her S.B.B.F.F. Harry!

She was still quite unhappy with the way he’d acted about his injuries, but the didn’t change their friendship. It was a stupid thing to say, incredibly so, but, to his credit, he shut up and listened readily as soon as he realized just how much his words bothered her.

It might have taken him a while, but he had apologized for causing everypony such distress and – quite unnecessarily, and having the no doubt unintended effect of showing just how much their relationship mattered in this, his most vulnerable time – ending the letter with an awkward “Friends?” as the final line.

That silly pony had been worried that she was so angry that he’d be replaced by her Ponyville friends.

Naturally, she immediately sent a reply, stating that yes she was still his friend, which was exactly why she had been so furious. It was exactly why the mere thought of his all too casual dismissal of his wellbeing still made her see red.

Prince Harry Morningstar, she thought wryly. Equestria’s most brilliant idiot.

A truly fitting title, in her opinion.

Of course, if Harry were here, he’d no doubt be happy to remind her that she wasn’t without those moments herself, but she didn’t have them nearly as frequently as him! No matter what he said!

Stop looking at her like that.

“Twilight, dear!” Rarity called, cutting through her inner monologue. Turning her attention to the alabaster coated unicorn, whose purple mane and tail were, as per usual, immaculately combed and seemed to shine as the light hit it. “You drifted off, darling. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine!” She replied with a reassuring smile. “Just got lost in thought.”

Pink coat and ocean blue irises suddenly filled her vision, causing Twilight to rear back and yelp in shock as Pinkie Pie bucked the concept of boundaries in the face, for the millionth time. “Oh, I hate when that happens! I get lost inside my own head, and then I have to go find myself in there and it can take forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and – MMF!”

Mercifully, Rainbow Dash had come flying through a window at just that moment and, seeing Pinkie ready to go into one of her convoluted ramblings, swooped by the snack table to pick up a cupcake, and quickly banked around to stuff it in the party pony’s mouth, effectively silencing her for a moment.

“Pinks, I’ve only been in the room for two seconds and you’re already making me want to pluck out my feathers!” The prismatic maned mare said with a quirked brow and mildly amused smirk. “Mind toning down the crazy a few notches?”

Swallowing the cupcake in one big gulp, Pinkie shook her head back and forth so fast it became nothing more than a puffy pink blur. “Nopey-dopey, Dashie!” She refuted with a merry giggle. “Today is way too hap-hap-happy and exciting to be all boring and not fun!”

Rarity interjected with a light ‘ahem,’ lifting a delicate hoof and bringing it to her chest. “While her antics may seem a bit over the top, Rainbow Dash, I quite agree with Pinkie – this day is simply much to important for one to sit back on their flanks and let pass by, darling!”

“Whatever,” Rainbow replied with a dismissive wave. “I’d just like for this party to end without either having to clean half a cake off myself” here, she paused to aim a glare at the giggling pink-coated mare. “Or have to clean tree sap off a certain trio of fillies!”

The air was suddenly driven from her lungs as a heavy hoof thumped her on the back. Rainbow winced, rubbing the sore spot with a hoof and glancing back at the chuckling farmpony, her old friend, Applejack.

“Ah second that motion, y’all!” She nodded while keeping a watchful eye on the little fillies as they tried their hooves at becoming ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders, Prince Party Planners’ by hanging streamers from a low-hanging railing. To nopony’s shock, Pinkie Pie had thrown her full support behind that particular notion, loudly proclaiming that four party ponies would make for four times the fun!

Every inhabitant of the formerly quiet town shuddered at the mere thought of four Pinkie Pies roaming the streets. They’d already dealt with a wave of clones, they didn’t need a repeat!

Applejack, however, was focused on the upcoming festivities. “Ah’m just as excited as anypony that we got another visit from royalty an’ all, but Ah think Ah’ll settle for a nice, relaxin’ party fer a change. An’ that means no shenanigans Pinkie!”

“Hey!” Pinkie snapped, dropping her grin and leveling her friend with a look of righteous indignation. Within an instant, she was muzzle-to-muzzle with Applejack, looking into her jade green eyes as if trying to look into her soul. “I’m the premier party planning pony around these parts, partner!” She scolded, poking the orange-coated farmpony in the chest with the last word. For a brief moment, silence reigned as Applejack sweated slightly under the heated gaze of the typically happy-go-lucky mare, worried that she may have unintentionally set her hoof in one of her friend’s pressure points.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Applejack took a step back and smiled uneasily. “A-Ah was only playin’, Sugarcube! Just… Really, Ah was just hopin’ we could – ya know – keep that stuff to a minimum, with important company, an’ all…”

“Well, duh!” She blinked as Pinkie rolled her eyes and booped her nose. “Of course I know that stuff, silly-billy AJ! I can’t shoot my party cannon off at Prince Morningstar before we’re friends! I’m waiting for our ‘YAY! You’ve made friends with everypony in Ponyville’ party for that!”

Nopony bothered questioning her on that matter; there was little doubt that such a party could very well be in the works when Pinkie Pie was involved.

“Oh, um, Twilight,” five sets of eyes turned their attention to the meek, butter yellow-coated mare with light pink mane, who looked as though she were trying in vain to blend into the colorful pile of balloons streamers and balloons behind her. “I – um – I don’t mean to bother you, I just – oh, if it’s not too much to ask…”

With a patient smile, Twilight sidled up to her stammering friend and placed a supporting hoof on her shoulder. “What is it, Fluttershy? Do you need help putting up the banner?”

“No – oh, well, yes, actually. It’s rather awkward for one pony to carry, and I’m really not that strong a flyer…”

“Say no more!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, holding up a hoof as she zipped over to her fellow pegasus’ side. “Get those wings flapping, Flutters! You and me will have that banner up in no time!”

“’You and I,’” Twilight corrected automatically.

The stunt flying Weather Team captain scoffed as she took hold of one end of the banner. “Yeah, yeah, Egghead! If I wanted Equish lessons, I’d go talk to Cheerilee!”

Drawing in a deep breath, Princess Celestia’s student just let that one slide. It wasn’t worth the hassle to get into a petty argument over something as silly as a grammatical error today. Harry was coming to stay; today was a good day.

“Um, Twilight, I still had something to – well, you don’t really have to answer if you don’t mind – but I had a question about your, um, friend.”

“About Harry?” She asked, perking right up.

Her friends knew just how excited she was, Twilight had literally bounced around them in circles chanting ‘Yesyesyesyesyes’ in a manner they would’ve expected from Pinkie Pie.

Over the past year or so, they had become at least familiar with Twilight’s relationship with her old friend and fellow student, if only the general points of the history they shared. That the two had graduated from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together, that he had gone into a rather obscure, innovative branch of research which combined both magical and scientific theories while she chose to focus her further studies on the mysteries and progression of magic itself. He was clearly smart, that much was certain.

Rainbow Dash had jokingly noted that Ponyville’s egghead position had already been filled, so he’d have to apply elsewhere. Twilight just rolled her eyes, wacked her over the head with a rolled up copy of the Foal Free Press and pointedly ignored her snickers.

But, much like when she’d sprung the news that she had an older brother on them, all the girls really had was her stories about him – not the genuine article. He sounded… interesting. At least, it seemed like he would be interesting, if Twilight or Spike could make it more than halfway through a story about one of his various antics without bursting into uncontrollable laughter, rendering them unable to finish as they surrendered to fits of giggling and incoherently babbled fragments of dialogue.

Nonetheless, Twilight wanted them to meet Harry, her hope that she could tie her Ponyville friends and her only real Canterlot friend into one big, happy group plainly obvious for everypony to see.

The girls resolved to give him a chance, quietly hoping that he didn’t turn out like Rainbow’s former friend, Gilda.

Flluttershy, in particular, was worried about that more than anything. Though she hadn’t said it vocally, her body language and stammers had given her friends several big hints.

Despite hearing Spike and Twilight talk about him, Harry was still a new pony. Fluttershy didn’t do very well with new ponies. Thus, for the umpteenth time, she was going to ask her question, needing the reassurance that would come from the Canterlot duo. “I was – um – just wondering… if you don’t mind my asking –“

“Oh, for the love of – just spit it out, Fluttershy!” Rainbow groaned as she hung her end of the banner.

Unfortunately, her demand startled her easily spooked friend, causing her to squeak and release her hold on the banner’s opposite end. Rainbow sighed, swooping down to catch the falling signage as it unfurled, showing the message written in emerald green lettering and white background:

Welcome to Ponyville, Prince Morningstar!

The girls didn’t quite understand why Twilight hid a smile behind her hoof; it was his title, what was so funny about that?

That question was stalled as Fluttershy blushed and stammered apologies to her fellow pegasus. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry, Rainbow!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Came the reply, along with a dismissive wave as she finished hanging the banner herself. “Just tell us what’s got your feathers so ruffled, filly.”

“Oh, well, um, yes. You see, I was just wondering if Harry was, well, nice – oh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! I know you’ve told us stories but I just get so nervous and… well…”

“It’s fine, Fluttershy, really.” Twilight replied soothingly. “I know meeting new ponies isn’t easy for you, but trust me, Harry is one of the nicest ponies you’ll ever meet, if a bit eccentric at times.”

Applejack raised a brow at that answer. “If he’s so nice, do ya mind explainin’ why you ‘n Spike came back from visitin’ him, madder than a pair o’ wet hens?”

“We had an argument,” she said, her smile fading into a tight grimace at the memory, as it had whenever the subject came up. “Some things were said, but we’ve made up.”

“Darling, I would hardly say that your attitude suggests you’ve ‘made up’ entirely,” Rarity interjected. “The issue is clearly still a sore spot, if I might be so bold.”

“But you already were so bold!” Pinkie noted happily.

“Yes, dear, thank you. Now, Twilight, I believe you’ve kept the details of your little spat with Harry to yourself, for your own reasons, I’m sure. But –“

Twilight raised a hoof to silence her before turning to catch Spike’s attention and waving him over to help. It was probably best if they both explained that Harry was… well… Harry was Harry.

True to form, Spike came running like the good pseudo little brother/number one assistant that he was. “What is it Twilight? Did we forget something? We’re not off schedule are we? Please, tell me we’re not off schedule!” As he spoke in slightly panicked tones, the little drake poked his claws together and frantically searched the room for anything out of place.

Nothing seemed wrong. The streamers were up, even the ones the Crusaders had been wrestling with a moment ago; all the balloons were inflated and carefully placed in their positions; snacks and drinks were in full supply; hay, Derpy, her coltfriend and Dinkie had taken extra care not to have any mishaps that might cause trouble!

“No, Spike!” Twilight stopped his near frantic inspection, rubbing his head fins with a hoof. “The girls just want to know a bit more about Harry before they meet him.”

The drake’s brows flat lined. “Would it kill ya to say it before I freak out? You’re gonna give me a heart attack someday!”

“Awww, don’t be mad Spikey-wikey!” Pinkie cooed as she snatched him up into an impromptu hug and nuzzled his cheeks, which colored as he tried to slip from her grasp. “We just wanna know about Harry-berry, ‘cause Flutters is getting all nervous that he might be Gilda-two-point-oh and we wanna make sure that he’s really nice so we can all be friends!”

“Riiight,” he slowly replied. “Well, he really is nice, so no worries about another Gilda – uh, no offense, Dash.”

“None taken, dude. She turned out to be a pain in the flank in the end.” Rainbow said with a shrug. As far as she was concerned, Gilda wasn’t really worth it if she couldn’t make an effort to be nice to her newer friends, no matter how ‘lame’ she thought they might be.

“That still don’t answer mah question,” Applejack threw in, ready to repeat for Spike’s benefit. “Y’all were ready ta beat ‘im senseless a while back, so what in the hay was that about?”

“Oh, that,” the girls noted that, like Twilight, he seemed to grimace at the mention of that event. “Look, Harry’s one of the nicest, smartest, and most magically gifted ponies you’ll ever meet – he’s up there with Twilight in those terms.”

The mare in question blushed slightly and pinned back her ears at the praise. “Spike, really, I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not a measuring stick for magical power.” Her comment garnered a round of raised brows from everypony in earshot, causing her blush to deepen.

Spike just shook his head, smiled and kept going. “Anyways, he’s also one of the most stubborn and… well, prone to some moments when he does what we’ve come to refer to as ‘holding the Idiot Ball.’”

“Spike!” Rarity gasped, bringing a hoof to her mouth at the drake’s crassness. “That is incredibly rude!”

“Rarity, Harry knows about it,” Twilight stepped up to assist her charge. “He’s the one who came up with the name, actually.”

“Yeah, that’s right! After he added an ingredient out of order to an invisibility potion and turned his mane and coat bright orange, right?”

“That’s the one! I still have the picture – oh, his face was so priceless; you just have to see it, girls!”

Applejack tilted her head, focusing more on the ‘Idiot Ball’ than the half-story. “Sooo, he’s really smart –“

“- But prone to mistakes?” Rarity finished, rubbing her chin in thought.

“Kinda!” The library inhabitants giggled simultaneously.

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Sounds like a regular barrel of laughs, Twi! Can’t wait to see this goofball friend of yours in action!”

“Yeah, totally!” Pinkie bounced in agreement. “We’re gonna have such a super-duper-alley-ooper-funnerific time! We’re gonna be the best! Friends! Ever!” As she finished, Pinkie bounced high enough to reach up and touch the ceiling before gravity kicked in and brought her back down, where she landed nimbly on all fours, her expression falling slightly as a thought occurred to her. “Wow. I actually feel really bad about not being able to throw him a party – if it weren’t for Prince Morningstar, we could celebrate Harry’s visit tonight!”

Twilight waved off her worries, the error in Pinkie’s statement going right over her head. “Pinkie Pie, relax! I’m sure Harry will appreciate the party just fine – we’ve all put in a lot of effort to make it special for him!”

Sadness gave way to confusion in Pinkie, a state mirrored by four other mares, who looked at Twilight as if she’d grown a second head.

“Uh, Twi,” Applejack began slowly. “What’re ya talkin’ ‘bout, Sugarcube?”

“What? I just said that he’d appreciate it! What do you think, Spike?”

“There’s no way he won’t! He’ll get over the shock and have fun like that!” He affirmed, snapping his claws for emphasis.

Rainbow zipped over, placing a hoof on their foreheads to check for fever. “Are you two sick or something?” She asked, worried that the pair might be coming down with some sort of flu. Definitely not the way anypony would want to start of a visit from their friend.

“No! We’re fine, Rainbow!” Twilight brushed the offending limb away, shooting the pegasus a quizzical look. She drew back slightly as she noticed that the others seemed to mirror Rainbow’s concern. “What?”

“Darling, I think you may have misspoken,” Rarity carefully supplied, knowing how frazzled her bookish friend could become when things went wrong. “You implied that this party is for Harry rather than Prince Morningstar. Are you certain that you’re not overtired?”

“Ah gotta agree with Rainbow and Rarity, Sugarcube. You ‘n Spike have been rushin’ about ever since y’all got that letter from Princess Celestia ‘bout Harry comin’ to stay for a while. Maybe the two of ya should lay down while we finish up here.”

“Oh, dear! I’m sorry! I should’ve noticed that you two were exhausted! If you want, I can make some tea – that should help you relax!”

“Sorry, Twily-wily and Spikey-wikey, but nopony’s gonna sleep through a super-special-Prince-visit-party on my watch! You two are officially on nap time – just like the twins!”

“’Fraid they’re right, guys. Being tired during a big party and a friend’s visit is in the top ten on the ‘uncool’ list.”

Spike and Twilight turned to one another, silently wondering what in the hay had gotten into the girls, when something caught their eye: the banner.

Welcome to Ponyville, Prince Morningstar!

Prince Morningstar.

Morningstar.

Not ‘Prince Harry Morningstar’ or ‘Prince Harry the Morningstar,’ just ‘Prince Morningstar.’

Twilight racked her brains, trying to recall the moment that she or Spike had told them that Harry was Princess Celestia’s son, that Harry was a Prince, that Morningstar was just a silly nickname that somehow stuck!

She couldn’t. As far back as she could remember, everypony in town referred to him as ‘Prince Morningstar.’ Mayor Mare in the official announcement, excited schoolfoals as they chattered about the visiting Prince, the girls, everypony called him by that nickname!

She couldn’t recall such a time because neither she nor Spike had. The look shared between the two said it all:

We just held the Idiot Ball!

“Harry never finds out about this!” She hissed through the corner of her mouth.

“Not in a million years!” Spike agreed wholeheartedly. “Or we’ll never hear the end of it!”

Rarity cleared her throat, quite perturbed at suddenly being dropped out of the conversation. “Really! What has gotten into you two? You’re making less sense than Pinkie on a sugar rush!”

“Foul!” Pinkie claimed, pointing an accusatory hoof at the alabaster unicorn. “Over exaggeration and blatant lie! Five yard penalty, repeat third down!”

“Oh, hush! My point stands! You two start explaining! Now!”

Twilight and Spike gulped, taking a step back from the irritated unicorn. A glance from Spike, coupled with his claws being held up in front of him as if in surrender and shaking his head sealed it: he wasn’t going to be the messenger on this one.

Little traitor!

She took a deep breath, readying herself for the fallout. It was already embarrassing enough, but she knew exactly how her friends would react to this piece of news.

It wasn’t going to be pretty…

“Girls,” she began hesitantly, trying to think of a way to break it to them that would minimalize their reaction. “There’s something I may have, completely, definitely forgotten to tell you…”

Five mares gave her looks of confusion or, in the case of Rarity, mild irritation that she was dragging out the revelation for so long.

Better get it over with. “’Morningstar’ is just a nickname that caught on, h –“

“Just a – WHAT?!” Rarity shrieked, looking from Twilight to the banner and back again. “Why didn’t you say anything? It’s all wrong! Everypony thinks that –“

“I know, Rarity! I know!” She interrupted through gritted teeth, her friend’s shrieking not helping her mood in the least bit. “I know it’s not his name, but it’s fine. He’ll be embarrassed for a minute and then just go right along with it. Believe me, I’ve known Harry long enough.”

“Well, if ya say so – wait a sec!” Applejack did a double take at the name. What the hay? “Sugarcube, Ah must have somethin’ in mah ears, ‘cause Ah thought ya said ya knew Harry long ‘nough for it ta be alright with ‘im… The hay’s Harry gotta do with Prince Morningstar – err, the Prince?”

Twilight groaned and facehoofed, this was just going around in circles. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you! Harry doesn’t know Prince Morningstar, he is Prince Morningstar!”

Everything stopped as Twilight’s outburst seemed to reverberate throughout Ponyville’s Town Hall, everypony turned, in almost perfect synchronization, to gape at the frazzled student of Princess Celestia.

She could feel the eyes on her, but that wasn’t what made her fur stand on edge. Rather, it was the looks of panic shared by four mares…

And a look of shock that seemed to gradually give way to a stern, serious glare, something that certainly didn’t belong on the face of the whimsical, free wheeling, happy-go-lucky party pony herself.

Twilight whimpered as Pinkie took a step forward.

The Wrath of Pie

Harry sighed, letting his head rest against the window, absentmindedly watching the Equestrian countryside fly by as the train sped towards his destination.

Ponyville, the small town on the edge of the Everfree Forest, set in the shadow of the capitol city. A town where Zebrecan shamanesses shopped for herbs, a minotaur set up an assertiveness seminar, an animal caretaker stared a cockatrice and a fully grown dragon, the Apple family’s ancestral farm proudly stood, a budding fashion designer set up shop, a candy making party planner repeatedly bucked the laws of physics in the face and a self-proclaimed ‘future Wonderbolt’ practiced and captained the local Weather Team.

He could practically recite the names, professions and various claims to fame of Twilight’s newest friends; her P.B.F.F.s, as she referred to them in one letter.

A smile spread across his face, that mare certainly loved her acronyms. What was it she called him, again? S.B.B.F.F.? Yes, that was it.

His Study Buddy Best Friend Forever, a name which came complete with memories of late night studying, snuggling up against his mother at the end of a long day of learning, book forts, teaching baby Spike how to talk and use his magical dragon fire, and hiding from Shining Armor and Cadence whenever they declared that it was ‘bed time’ for little foals.

As much as it bothered him that he couldn’t continue his work, seeing Twilight was a welcome change of pace. Harry truly did miss her, and little Spike, too. Even if his meticulously organized clutter drove both of them – Spike was as much a neat freak as she was, no matter how much he protested – to beating him over the head with a daily planner.

Seriously. Twilight had done that once. It wasn’t fun nor did it help him get organized. It was the first and only time he’d ever seen her go zero-for-two.

Of course, when he pointed that last little tidbit out, Harry had been on the receiving end of one of her patented annoyed glares, which shut him up rather quickly.

Yes, thinking positively like that would help with the transition. Who knows? Maybe his mother had a point. Maybe seeing Twilight and Spike again would help him unwind a bit, so to speak, and improve his outlook on life.

If her stories were anything to go by, her little herd of friends were quite the lively bunch, so he’d hardly be short any entertainment during his stay. From the prospective Wonderbolt to the wacky party pony, they did seem like a barrel of laughs.

Come to think of it, he didn’t have to deal with any of those whiny nobles complaining that his research was ‘disturbing the peace’ – he was opening a bloody dimensional rift, for Maker’s sake! Of course there was going to be some noise!

Bucking idiots.

And, along the same lines, he didn’t have to show up at any overly formal parties or get dragged to one of Blueblood’s ‘social networking events.’ Social networking his cutie mark, Blueblood just wanted somepony to sit next to and make snide comments to. Granted, they had some fun taking the piss out of Jet Set and Upper Crust, but still… not exactly Harry’s idea of a good time.

Now, if they wanted to start up a discussion on the properties of anti-matter, that was an entirely different story.

Yes, he could definitely do without the constant griping of nobles, and, as a matter of fact, a few others as well. He didn’t have to watch what he did or said, lest some media pony be lurking; he didn’t have to worry about offending some foreign dignitary; hay, he wouldn’t even have to keep making excuses to duck out of some noble’s stupid party!

But above all else, there was one thing he was simply ecstatic that he could now avoid: the presence of that irritating, smug, little troll who just popped in and out of the palace as he pleased.

Harry snorted. “No more of that old nuisance!” He closed his eyes, smiling contently as he tried to get a bit of rest in before his arrival.

“Au contraire, mon capitain!” Harry’s eyes snapped open, his head turned sharply to the source of the voice – and was greeted by a most unwelcome sight.

Body comprised seemingly of animal parts selected at random, clad in a mariachi uniform, holding a pair of maraca, was the Lord of Chaos, Disorder and Disharmony himself.

Discord.

Banging his head against the glass and closing his eyes, as if hoping he could pretend this was all a bad dream, Harry grumbled under his breath. “Buck my life.”

This was going to be a long two hours.

- - -    

If she didn’t know better, Twilight would’ve sworn that her brain was bouncing around inside her skull.

Why’s that? Well, funny you should ask…

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL MEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!” Pinkie wailed, roughly shaking her friend by her shoulders.

“PInkIE! I’m SOrRY! I ThoUGHT I HAD!” Came the librarian’s reply, her voice distorted as she was jostled back and forth. Pinkie released her, letting her stumble over and fall to the floor, eyes swirling comically as they tried to reorient themselves to their surroundings.

“Twi-LIIIIGHT!” Pinkie Pie whined, stomping a hoof in frustration. “I would’ve made this party twice – no – a gazillion times better if I’d known Harry was Prince Morningstar and Prince Morningstar was Harry and he was your friend! Now I’ve lost all that time I could’ve been planning a really-extra-special-Prince-slash-best-friend-welcome-to-Ponyville-hope-we-can-be-bestest-friends-too-party!”

A low, gibberish filled moan was all the response that greeted her, causing the party mare to frown. This was not good; this was completely and totally, one hundred percent not good!

Rounding on a certain drake, who was trying to edge out of sight, Pinkie jabbed a hoof in his direction. “What time is Prince Harry-berry Morningstar gonna be here?”

“Oh – uh – two hours – uh – ma’am!” Spike replied, snapping to attention and throwing up a salute as though he were a cadet in Shining Armor’s Guard.

“Not a lot of time, but we can work with it! Alright! Ponies: assemble!”

Everypony in the immediate vicinity dropped whatever it was they were doing and shot over, standing in front of the party guru in a straight line, faces grim and ready to receive orders.

Pinkie took parties very seriously, so when she said ‘jump’ to anypony aiding her, they didn’t even bother asking ‘how high.’

They jumped and jumped and jumped until she said ‘okie-dokie-loki, we’re good!’

That’s just how these things go. Welcome to Ponyville.

“Alright, ponies! Turns out that somepony,” she aimed an accusatory glare at Twilight, who was still struggling to right herself after being thoroughly shaken. “Forgot to tell us that Prince Morningstar is really Prince Harry-berry, her best friend before she came to Ponyville! We’ve only got a couple of hours, so we’re gonna have to work super-extra-hard to pull this off and make this the most amazing party ever! Any questions?”

In unison, her makeshift troops shook their heads, awaiting whatever orders she gave.

“Good! Now, you ponies on the right! I want more balloons, bigger, brighter and balloonier than before! Ponies on the left, we’re gonna need even more snacks from Sugarcube Corner, so help Mr. and Mrs. Cake move them over! Tell them to put it on my tab and I’ll explain later! Applejack!”

“Whatcha need, Sugarcube?”

“Do you still have some cider in storage, the stuff that Twilight put a stasis spell on?”

“Sure do! We been savin’ it fer somethin’ special! An’ Ah’d say this fits the bill!”

“Perfect! You and Macky grab a barrel or two and bring it back, double pronto! Fluttershy!”

The butter-yellow pegasus gave a startled squeak at her friend’s volume and sudden attention. “Y-Yes?” She whimpered, nearly inaudible.

For an instant, Pinkie considered asking about her singing birds, but dashed the thought; there just wasn’t enough time! Plus, Fluttershy would get all frowny and teary and squeaky if she was put under that much pressure without fair notice!

So much to do, so many ponies to direct, so very little time!

With that in mind, Pinkie knew exactly what to do to prevent any nervous breakdowns on the part of her ever-shy friend. “You can help me! I’ve got a bunch of party stuff stashed all over Ponyville! We can make this the most stupendous party ever!”

“Oh-Oh, okay,” Fluttershy replied softly, smiling in relief that she wouldn’t have to do anything too stressful. Decorations were fun and easy; she wouldn’t be put on the spot or in danger of being embarrassed in front of royalty!

Thank Celestia!

“Great! Now, Rarity…” Pinkie trailed off, noticing that there was somepony missing from formation. “Rarity? Rarity! This is no time to play hide-and-seek! We have emergency party protocol to discuss!”

“I’m not hiding, I’m trying to fix everything!” Came a dismayed reply from Ponyville’s fashionista. Turning toward the source of her panicked voice, one found Rarity, horn alight with magic, frantically trying to correct the name displayed in those bold green letters.

A few ponies took a step back; Derpy scooped Dinky up into her wing for protection as they beheld the near manic expression on the typically prim and proper unicorn’s face.

The lack of formalities involved in the party planning had been difficult enough for her to wrap her head around, she’d argued vehemently in favor of more of an upper class feel to this event, but had been shot down rather quickly by Spike and Twilight. But add in the Canterlotian duo’s little faux pas and the fact that said Prince of Equestria was their oldest and closest friend…

It was a rare moment in which Rarity and Pinkie were of similar mind: this party should have been planned out to be bigger and far more special! Not that they hadn’t given their full effort initially, but it was the principle of the matter that made it feel as though it should have been more.

The Prince was Twilight’s friend; by right, they should have made it as extravagant an affair as the times when Princess Celestia had graced them with her presence. But a certain student librarian had put her hoof down and convinced them to ‘tone it down’ a bit, for his benefit.

Her knowledge of exactly what he would and wouldn’t enjoy should have been a big hint that her relationship with him wasn’t mere happenstance, but that was hindsight for you.

All those hints dropped, the opportunity wasted, and the sudden discovery that –

“Uh, Rarity,” Spike called nervously from his position beside Twilight. “You can leave the banner the way it is. Really. He’ll just grumble a bit and blush. He always does.”

He flinched at the stern look his longtime crush aimed in his direction. “I’m surprised at you, Spike! I’d think that you, as Prince Harry’s friend, would want this mistake corrected and for us to give our guest the best possible welcome to our beloved town!”

“But –“

“No buts!” Pinkie threw in, popping up beside the young drake and very nearly scaring him out of his scales. She glared down at Spike, leaning in close enough “Silly looks on Harry-berry’s face or not, this party is going to be amazing or my name isn’t Pinkamena Diane Pie! Got it?”

“Got it!” He squeaked. Internally, that was Spike’s cue to take a step back and keep his mouth shut until it got a bit less Pinkie in Town Hall.

Actually, Spike felt it would be best to wait until it got a lot less Pinkie in here!

Pinkie nodded to herself, satisfied that she’d gotten her point across, and turned to the last remaining pony. “Dashie, I think you know what a super-special-awesome party calls for!”

“Aye, aye, Captain Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash replied, throwing up a salute. “One Sonic Rainboom charged, primed and ready to fire!”

“Alrighty-tighty! Well, you all know what to do! Ready? BREAK!”

It was at that point that Twilight’s world stopped spinning and her brain managed to make sense of what was going on. “Okay, no!” She snapped, channeling magic into her horn and engulfing everypony in her telekinetic field. “This has gone on long enough! You’re all going to sit down and listen to me, right now!”

Being forced into sitting positions and locked in place by the magical field of Princess Celestia’s personal student, the very same mare who’d tamed an Ursa Minor and wielded forbidden time travel magic, effectively silenced any and all protests before they could even be voiced.

And if that wasn’t the root cause, the look of irritation and utter seriousness on Twilight’s face was a rather big hint that her limit for craziness had been reached – and Pinkie hadn’t even pulled out her suction cups yet.

All eyes were on the local librarian as she paced back and forth, her gaze locking on each pony in turn. “I know that Spike and I messed up, me especially, but it was an honest mistake. However, even so, I wouldn’t change a thing about this party. Normally, Pinkie, I would gladly follow your plan – but this is probably the one time that I can say that one of your big, extravagant parties wouldn’t work out.”

Pinkie raised a hoof and made to object, but Twilight covered her mouth before she could start in on the importance of big parties, or something of the like. “Listen, Pinkie. I’ve known him ten years, I know what he likes; I know what makes him uneasy, grin like a little colt, laugh in that silly way he does, makes him angry, scared or deathly serious. I know the stallion, not just ‘Prince Harry Morningstar,’ or whatever ponies like to call him. That being said, when I tell you that he doesn’t like big parties like – well – most ponies in town, I really mean it. Got it?”

Twilight eased her hold on the group just enough to allow them to nod slowly in unison. She did make a good point. Well…

A good point to everypony not named Pinkie. “B-But…” She whimpered, her eyes widening to the size of plates and shimmering with tears as she employed her most lethal weapon. “Party, Twilight!”

“You can have a few more balloons and one extra kind of cupcakes, but that’s all!” Twilight groaned, messaging her forehead with a hoof.

Pinkie squealed and shot off out the door, leaving everypony present wondering just how in the hay she’d managed to do so when Twilight still had them in her telekinesis.

Any glances towards the flustered librarian were met only with grumblings of ‘darn it, Pinkie’ just before she released the rest of the group so they might return to their regularly scheduled duties. Well, the rest of the group minus four.

“Sooo, we’re not gonna make this some fancy-shmancy thing?” Applejack asked in summary. “Works fer me, Ah guess.”

“It would be nice to make him comfortable,” Fluttershy agreed, meekly lowing her head. “Meeting new ponies is always (eep!) scary!”

Though Fluttershy’s meek and timid nature could be somewhat grating, Twilight jumped to affirm her statement. “That’s just it, Fluttershy!”

Her sudden exclamation caused the butter-yellow mare to flinch at the volume, but she slowly raised her head, returning her gaze to meet her friends’ eyes, and gave a small smile of gratitude. “O-Oh, um, thank you… but… Twilight, won’t Prince Harry -“

“Just Harry.” Both Twilight and Spike corrected in unison, rolling their eyes as if this was part of old dialogue.

“Ah… okay, uh, if I’m right, then won’t Harry get frightened by this?”

The library inhabitants shared an uneasy smile. “Well, a bit,” Twilight admitted. “But, not exactly frightened in the sense that you are, Fluttershy. Uh, no offense.”

Fluttershy just gave a sheepish grin, she couldn’t exactly object to that point; she did admit that even she considered herself to be weak and helpless to Discord.

“Yeah, he doesn’t quite go hiding – well, not anymore – he just gets really, really nervous around big crowds of ponies.” Spike added. “It depends on what’s going on really – he can lecture and teach science and math, but he gets fidgety and twitchy, especially at stuff like the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“The Grand – Spike, I don’t mean to take away from your point, but we didn’t see him at the Gala!” Rarity objected. “Perhaps he might be a bit anti-social, but wouldn’t he have been at Princess Celestia’s side with Twilight to greet entrants? Or, at the very least, come by to say hello?”

“He couldn’t go,” Twilight replied, her ears pinning back as the memory came forth in full force. All those little emotions from that day were still very real, from the moment Princess Celestia’s letter arrived to the sight of her old friend laying, bloodied and broken, in a hospital bed. “That was right after his accident. He still hadn’t woken up yet…”

Acting quickly, Spike moved beside his de facto sister and boss, placing a comforting claw on her foreleg. It bothered him almost as much as it did her, but the pair had been helping one another deal with their mutual feelings. “C’mon Twilight, he’s okay now! He cleared physical rehab!” Seeing violet ears perk up a bit, he continued. “Besides, Harry’s here for fun, not work!”

“Heh. You’re right, Spike.” That reassurance did make her feel a bit better; as much as she supported his work, it was comforting to know that he wouldn’t be putting himself in any danger trying to open up dimensional rifts in his basement. “I suppose our only real problem will be making sure he sticks to his ‘no work’ stipulation.”

Rarity cleared her throat to get their attention before they managed to transition into another anecdote about the young Prince. She knew better, by now, than to bother too much about the specifics of his accident and hospital stay. Anytime somepony tried, the two either launched into an angry rant about how much of an utter idiot he could be or got quiet and depressed at the memory of their first visit to his room.

Neither of which were any fun to deal with.

“Well, that explains his absence at the Gala, but it doesn’t quite explain his aversion to big affairs!” She noted, with a delicate brow raised in questioning. “Surely, having lived in the palace with Princess Celestia, being raised in the high society of Canterlot, going to such a prestigious school and being invited to all sorts of high social events is the norm for him, yes?”

Her question was met with pair of cringes. “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong,” Twilight began. “Harry’s always been… well, he just finds a lot of the high society life incredibly dull. Hay, the only time he ever used to really smile at those was if Princess Celestia, his cousins, Shiny, Spike or I were with him. Otherwise, he did his best to avoid it unless he absolutely had to – like at a grant function for his research.”

“Heh, so he prefers work to fancy-shmancy parties?” Applejack cut in, rubbing her chin in consideration. “Seems like mah kind o’ stallion, let alone mah kind o’ Prince!”

“Hay yeah!” Rainbow hooted, pumping a hoof. “If he can take a joke and doesn’t have a massive stick up his plot like some of those snobs from the Gala, I can deal with the additional egghead!”

“Gee, thanks Rainbow!” Twilight drawled. “You really now how to make a mare feel good.”

Her response earned her a light whack from one of the cyan mare’s wings. “Aw, c’mon, Twilight! You know what I mean! You’re cool in your own eggheady, smart, awesomely magical way! I just think it’s totally rad that your friend isn’t finicky and stuffy. Like somepony can be!”

“I am not!” Came the inevitable reply. “Just because I have an appreciation for fashion and decorum doesn’t mean that I’m a snob!”

“It’s a joke, Rares, sheesh!”

“Oh, sheesh yourself! Back to the topic at hoof,” Rarity returned her gaze to Twilight and Spike. “I’m sorry, dears, maybe it’s just me, but I just can’t seem to wrap my head around this – you speak so highly of Prince Harry –“

“Just Harry.”

“- Until he says otherwise, I will address him with his proper title! Now, as I was saying, you speak so highly of him, but you make him seem like he would rather ignore his status and pretend he’s just an ordinary pony!”

“Exactly,” Spike answered with a shrug. “Well, an ordinary pony who’s just as smart and nearly as powerful as Twilight, with doctorates in magic and physics, a research lab, and whose guest lectures usually end up having ponies turned away at the door because the auditoriums are so full, but yeah, that’s pretty much him.”

Rainbow gave a low whistle. “Okay, wow. That’s actually pretty awesome. Sounds like he’s draws a crowd whenever he talks about that egghead stuff, huh?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Twilight chuckled. “He told me that he has to look past them so he doesn’t see just how many ponies he’s talking to or he gets really nervous!”

“O-Oh, dear! I know the feeling!” Fluttershy squeaked. “B-But Twilight, i-if Harry can do all that, why don’t you ever lecture to crowds?”

“Well, I’m doing in depth studies into the theories of magic,” she replied. “I managed to get my own doctorates in magical theory, application and history of the magical arts, but, right now, I’m working on my own dissertation on the magic of friendship. Once we have more information on how our everyday relationships affect magic itself, I’ll probably do a few lectures on the subject before I find another project.”

“Heh, two big shots like you ‘n Harry in little, ol’ Ponyville,” Applejack drawled. “Ah can hardly believe it. Still, yer pal seems so much like ya, but pretty different too. Ah’d go as far as sayin’ that he’s pretty much as far away from a fairytale prince as he can get!”

“He’s as far away from what most of Canterlot society can get!” Rarity all but whimpered. “I’m sorry, dear, but I just have to say it: from the way you describe him, he has no interest in high society and would rather study than to establish a social network! He doesn’t even sound like he appreciates the culture!”

Twilight frowned slightly. “He appreciates our culture quite a bit, actually. We both used to go to Canterlot Museum to visit the exhibits on the Classical Equestrian era or the works of Starswirl the Bearded or…”

She was cut off by an alabaster hoof being placed against her mouth. “It’s exactly as Rainbow Dash thought.” Rarity noted, her brows almost perfectly horizontal. “There are now two highly educated, Canterlotians with no appreciation for elite society. This… I don’t even know what to call this, other than the absolute worst. Possible. Th – MMPH!”

Sometimes, even Twilight had to admit that Pinkie had a point – cupcakes could be very effective in ending a conversation.

---  

The idea of shattering the window and throwing himself out of a moving train, leaving everything to chance. Harry ran through some calculations, idly musing on whether or not he’d survive such an impact, given the speed at which the train was going and the terrain that he’d be falling onto.

Yeah. There was a chance that he’d survive, albeit with more than half of the bones in his body broken, but he’d be alive enough for his mother to tear him a new one.

Not exactly on my list of things to do, Harry concluded. It probably wasn’t worth doing, no matter how better than the alternative it was.

Frankly, he wasn’t sure what drove Discord to do whatever he did, but he was somewhat torn as to which part of this little matter was worse:

The fact that he’d made a full band appear or the fact that the music was catchy.

Clearly, he desperately needed to have his head examined.