As the party started to die down, the ponies of Ponyville started to scatter about back to their homes. In the midst of the town's center clearing, Platinum and Princess Celestia stood apart as a cassion descended behind the Princess.

"You want me to stay here?" Platinum asked.

"Yes, I do," Celestia said. "The Elements of Harmony shouldn't be separated from the Bearers by too great a distance, lest we risk something happening that leaves us either away from the Elements themselves or Twilight and her friends. And if they're to stay here-"

"You need somepony to make sure they're well guarded," Platinum finished. "And the Ordos Vigilos?"

"If you need to send a message to me, I'll leave a bundle of Philomena's feathers for you."

"And where should I stay?"

"With Twilight, of course."

"Oh come on, Mom!" Platinum said. "Can't I just get my own place?"

"Well, if you can find a steady job to pay your own bills, by all means," she said with a smirk.

Platinum narrowed his eyes at his mother.

"Oh yeah? I think you forget how many brownie points I earned in the one month you set that system up."

Celestia giggled as she nuzzled against Platinum's neck. He wrapped his arms around her head and buried his head into her mane.

"I love you, Mom."

"I know, it's just... I want to see you succeed. I want to know for certain that you'll be alright, but I just can't help but worry for you three. A whole town away, you'll all be on your own."

"Hey, it's alright, Mom. We'll have each other and our new friends."

Celestia smiled as she reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Goodbye, Platinum."

"Goodbye Mom."

Celestia got onto the cassion and waved a hoof to her son as the pegasi pulled her into the air. As Platinum waved back, a group of ponies watched on from a distance.

\\\\\\//////

"So he's really Princess Celestia's son?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, she adopted him about eleven years ago," Twilight said. "Quite the weird circumstances involved as well."

"I would say so," Rarity added. "After all, there aren't many of... whatever he is, to be honest. Not from what I've seen, at least."

"It's not just what he is, though," Twilight said. "It's more of how we, quote unquote, 'found him', so to say."

"What the hay does that mean?" Rainbow asked.

"Okay, what happened was that one night when I was up late studying a theory I had on Arctic White and the Seven Dwarven Ponies, I heard something outside and decided to see what it was. When I got up to check it out, Platinum sort of... appeared out of nowhere and screamed in my face."

The five other ponies gasped at this.

"Wait, he just screamed at your face?" Rainbow asked. "The heck?"

"Princess Celestia said it was because he was startled by me getting up as opposed to outright trying to terrify me, but I ended up running to her all the same."

"Hold on a second," Applejack said, "ya said that he just appeared? As in, out of thin air?"

"Yes, actually."

Silence met the group for a good few seconds.

"Oh, do you mean like he was super-duper fast and you didn't notice him until he was right in front of you like I sometimes do?" Pinkie asked.

"Sometimes?" Applejack said.

"No, I meant as in he wasn't there one second, and then he's right in front of me the very next."

"So he can teleport?" Rarity asked. "I don't think I saw a horn or runic markings on him."

"He says that it's not magic," Twilight said.

"That's because it's not."

The girls turned around to see Spike walking up to them.

"It's that ghost thing that's always floating around him! He uses that to-"

"Spike, please, don't start with that conspiracy theory stuff!" Twilight said, stomping a hoof. "I don't want ponies to think you're a gullible kid that believes everything!"

"But it's true, Twilight!" Spike said. "It's almost always right next to him! And he said that he can teach me to-"

"And that is why I don't let you near him!" Twilight said, picking Spike up with her magic and placing him on her back. "He keeps filling your head with all of that [Stand] nonsense and follows it up with, 'It Just Works'. I hate it when he does that! There's clearly a scientific or magical explanation and the fact that it's completely invisible to most ponies is infuriating."

"But what about Sunset Shimmer and Gray-mane?" Spike asked.

"They probably just channel their magic through alternate conduits in their bodies to produce other effects that can be studied and replicated. I'm convinced that Platinum's magic is tied to his species, and the fact that he doesn't want to tell me what the magic actually is just makes me-"

"Tantrum in the most adorable way."

All of the ponies plus one dragon jumped when they saw Platinum literally blink into existence in the middle of their circle. A bolt flew from Twilight's horn before it was destroyed in the air, Platinum's smirk unmoved as he clicked his tongue.

"Tsk tsk tsk, careful Twilight," he said. "You might hurt somepony like that."

"Just tell me how you do that already!" she said.

"I told you, it's called a [Stand]. Why don't you get Gray-mane to help you if you're so interested in it? He'd love to have you poke and prod him for information."

Twilight growled in frustration as Platinum chuckled.

"Well, I'll see you girls some other time, I've got to go house hunting."

With that, he disappeared once more without a trace.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said.

"I hate it when he does that," Twilight said.

Author's Notes:

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