Landing on the platform above, Arin gladly stepped his wobbly legs to the floor below. Clutching the crutch as if it would stabilize the world. Flying isn’t something he believes he could get used to. Maybe if he had his own wings, like an Ascended, he’d deal with it better.

Celestia yawned, thin bags forming under her eyes already as she approached the door. “I have much left on the agenda for the evening, my friend. I would escort you to your room, but I have little time to dawdle if I wish to sleep before Luna’s moon crests the sky’s peak.”

She fluffed her wings, her magic gently sliding the massive oak doors open. Arin was just happy to be on solid ground.

“Good luck with that, Celestia. I have to catch a nap myself – Luna is going to be quite busy tonight trying to teach me magic. Though I don’t think it’ll go so well.”

“I believe in you, my friend. Trust in yourself, you would be surprised at what you can accomplish.” She flicked her tail, disappearing into the corridor as two of the pegasi took up her rear. The other two guards approached from Arin’s side, ready to escort their guest.

He began to hobble his way down the corridor, down the flight of stairs and towards the west wing. “You know, you two look like twins. In fact, all of you look the same. Is that common?”

“Our Armor is enchanted to mask our identity, for the security of the Castle and those within. It only functions when the designated owner dons the armor.” The Pegasi on the left said, not breaking his line of sight with the end of the corridor.

“Hey, were you guarding me in the library earlier?” Arin smiled. The Guard, however, did not – he instead blushed.

“I uh… I have no idea what you’re talking about. My post was nowhere-”

“It was you! You crashed when chasing me and Honey towards the garden! Ha! That was hilarious!”

The other guard’s stony face broke into a soft chuckle, while the left sided escort hung his head in shame.

“Please don’t tell the Princess, she’ll tell Luna, then Luna will tell Shining, and Shining will make me run the obstacle course. I don’t want to do any more agility training.”

“I’ll think about it, if you tell me your name.” Arin teased the stallion, who sighed. He looked to his partner for help, who rolled his eyes.

“Fizzle Wing.” The shy guard said.

“I am Vapor Cloud.” The other followed.

“Awesome! Arin, I’m Arin. It’s nice to finally get some emotion from two of you that isn’t mild agitation.”

“Very well, Arin. Just do not mention it to others. Reprimandations for sharing private information is usually strict, long, and a hoof full to clean up.” They rounded the corner to Arin’s wing, their voice barely breaking a whisper as they spoke.

“Oh? What kind of punishment are we talking about?” Arin stumbled around until he was limping backwards, looking the two guards in the eye.

“Red Ribbon on morning shift once got caught with his helmet off in public. He had to mop up rain for two and a half hours.” Vapor chuckled quietly. “Poor bastard, they didn’t notice he was piss drunk though, otherwise he would have been out of a job.”

“Wasn’t drunk after mopping. That rain was the cold shower he needed to sober up.” Fizzle’s cheeks turned up into a grin, lamenting on his military experience. “If you didn’t know, most of our training is just drill sergeants screaming in your ear, telling you to do anything and everything in the book to get under your skin. Boot camp was just a massive list of funny shit you can’t laugh at. We had one guy – this stallion was as dumb as a bag of bricks. Sergeant hated him. Made him carry a plant around everywhere to replace the oxygen he spent breathing.”

“Ha, what about the guy who accidentally stomped a flower during morning march? Sergeant made us all stop so that colt could dig a massive six hoof hole of a grave. It took him two hours. Then the Sergeant made him give a speech for the lost flower, before making him cover it all up.”

“Oh I completely forgot about that! That was the best one, for sure, ‘cause we all had to sit there and watch, and anyone who fidgeted had to fake cry on the spot for their lost comrade.”

Arin began to laugh, imaging a bunch of burly stallions surrounding one guy as he dug a grave for a flower. Just crying any time they made a movement, while the drill sergeant screamed them down.

“Heck, I’d love to try something like that one day. I am an Equestrian Citizen, think I could apply?”

The mood paced down, as Fizzle spoke up. “I don’t think so, Arin. The requirements for joining the Equestrian Military are very strict, and even as a citizen, you don’t meet the requirements.”

“What am I lacking?”

Vapor took the lead, pointing to Arin’s leg. “No recent injures that prevent movement or broken bones within the last year. Since you’re not a Pegasi or a Unicorn, you have to take an Earth Pony Strength test, too. An endurance test as well, which is grueling for even veterans. You must finish five leagues in under two hours – which is a hard pace to maintain, with little chance for a break. Keep in mind that at a canter, the average Earth Stallion can make about one league before growing tired.”

Fizzle nodded, “Out of my few Earth Pony friends who tried, only one made it. And even then, just barely. You basically can’t stop at all, you have to at least trot the entire way. And they put you in heavy armor, too – not what we’ve got, Earth Ponies are the heavy geared front line.”

Finding his door, Arin sighed. “Well, maybe next year then?”

“You know, I could probably give you a few lessons in combat. I’m sure I could put forward a letter to Sir Armor, and we’ll see about commissioning you some gear. Would be cool to fight a minotaur… thing, whatever you are. You’re not like that Anon guy from Ponyville, he was crazy, and impossible to deal with.”

“I’m an Inert. But, you can just refer to me as a Seraph. And that would be awesome, I’ve never handled a weapon before, except a hunting bow.” Arin scratched the back of his head. What was he getting into? More importantly – from all the head scratching, he felt like he was developing a scab. Maybe he needs a shower.

“Ah, an Archer type? I kinda thought you’d fit that build. We can definitely get you a bow and a stack of arrows – only problem is getting clearance. Of course, it would be odd if y’know… me or Vapor Cloud asked for you. You might wanna take that up with Princess Luna, she’s used to handling issues like that.” Fizzle polished his hoof on his armor, giving a stretch before resuming his statue pose by the door.

The Seraph nodded, smiling. “It was nice meeting you two. Tell me next time you’re posted under my watch – I honestly can’t tell the difference, and I don’t want to get you two in trouble for asking for you by name.”

“Haha, no problem Sir. It’s nice to drop the whole ‘quiet and angry look’ at work, and be casual for a change. Our shift ends in a bit, and we’ve all heard of Luna’s change in duties. Get some rest, me and Vapor will be here all week. You’ve got to deal with uh… y’know. Princess Angryglare.”

Arin couldn’t help but chuckle, nodding. “Alright you two. Thanks again.” He continued to laugh quietly to himself, the door clinking shut behind him.

First bath, then bed. Hopefully this time, with a patched up arm, he’ll be able to get out of the tub on his own.

~

The night rolled around much quicker than expected, Arin’s door shooting open as Luna stepped inside.

“Good evening, my loyal subject!” Luna said, giving a salute to the once-sleeping Seraph. Arin groaned, rolling over in the sheets.

“Just five more minutes…”

“Aha, but of course! Unfortunately, We have forgotten Our pocket clock. So the rest may wait! Up, begone from the sheets foul loaf! It’s time to rid yourself of your slumber and be up for the night!”

Luna’s magic slid to the blanket, tossing it free of the mattress with ease. It then instantly went back on, upon realizing that Arin wasn’t completely… well, dressed for the occasion.

“Arin, has the Maid stolen your sleepwear, or are thou afflicted by excess heat? Where are thy clothes! We see that you require them, from the lack of a sheathe!” She challenged, shielding her eyes behind a wing. “Thou are stark bare, exposed! And we dare say, it’s not a sight we wished to be blessed with at this moment!”

“Your fault for not knocking. And didn’t I lock that door?…” Arin grumbled, stretching as he slid up from the sheets, laying up in his bed. Luna’s wing withdrew, her face full of mirth dropping to worry as she looked upon his bare chest.

“Are the injured? You have a rather massive bruise…” She stepped forward, running a hoof along his bare chest. He growled in pain at the touch, flinching. “Oh! We apologize.”

“No no, it’s fine. One of those stupid paparazzi ponies tossed a rock at me to get me to turn to the cameras or something. Bounced off of my vest. Speaking of vest, is my clothes on the chair over there? I asked the maids to run it through the wash.”

Luna nodded, her magic levitating a pile of clothes over to him. The vest remained in her magic, almost faltering to grasp it.

“Strange. Where did you come upon your clothing?” She said, placing it on the bed. Pressing a hoof against the hard surface of the jerkin, feeling the green cloth beneath.

“Well, my first day here, the maids brought in some abandoned clothing that might fit me. So it was probably left behind by another guest or something.” He slid his white shirt on, buttoning it up along the middle. His pants soon joined it, sliding his legs over the side of the bed.

“Ah, well. This appears to be resistant to magic, and sturdy as a tree. This must have belonged to a visiting dignitary from the Griffin kingdom, as it’s quite sound in design. But, waste not want not. It’s yours now – treat it well.”

Arin buttoned up the brass buttons on the front, giving the vest a hard knock with his hand. Like hooves on wood.

“Huh… my foot feels better, too. Mustn’t have been that bad if it patched up that fast.” He rolled his ankle, slipping his fresh socks on before the boots followed suit.

“Indeed! That means you may no longer attack Nobles with your fearsome healing implements, or so I’m told.” Luna gave a wide smile, happy for the company. Arin couldn’t help but join that smile, standing up to give a stretch.

“Alright. Where to first?”

“Supper with Our sister, than to my quarters! We have much to discuss, and a well of information I need to share about all things magic.”

Luna led the way, popping out the door with an excited bounce. Her wings fluttered, her mane gleaming and bright, like a wonderful cloudless night.

“You’re awfully excited to teach me, huh?”

“We are excited to have a friend to teach! Now, onward! We must taunt Our sister over her diet again!”

“Don’t you mean my sister?”

“New edict! You are not allowed to correct my pronunciation!” She blew a raspberry, swishing her tail as she spun around. “We have so much to show you; the constellations, the distant stars, ancient tomes filled with relics of magic past – it shall be most exciting!”

“Hey now, if I don’t correct you – who will? And will learning the stars help me learn more about magic?” Arin picked up the pace to keep up with the excited mare, who spun between steps, elegant and unbound.

“Well, We – er… I wish to teach you about the stars, as they are beautiful, and I find them soothing for the mind and soul. You shall find no other pony wiser in the ways of the Arcane than I!” She nearly bounced up and clapped her hooves together, acting much like a filly would after learning that their birthday is coming up soon. “Additionally, we have time to enjoy other activities that I can not experience alone!”

“Oh? That sounds… interesting. As long as it helps me learn magic, I’m ready.” They turned right down the main hall, towards the dining room. The heavy oak doors swung open, as Luna led the way in a bubbly trot.

“Good evening Sister! How was thy duties today?” Luna asked cheerily, sitting on the right side of the table once again. The Sun Princess’s eyes had somewhat heavy bags, her usual mirth toned down, though still present.

“As exciting as ever, Lulu. Did you know that I wrote a law regarding the proper disposal of non-biodegradable wastes six centuries ago? And that I had to rewrite this law – by hoof – to make several new exceptions for a new type of rubber recently developed? And not only did I have to rewrite this law – I had to reorganize several new laws around the use of said product in a consumer environment. If I hear the word ‘bottle’ again, I may just snap and choke a guard.”

“Oh, be wary of some of the night guards then. We do believe they would enjoy it.” Luna winked, giggling. Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes. Okay, Arin laughed too – but he restrained himself for Celestia’s sake.

“It’s not that bad, Celestia. At the very least, you knew what you were doing, right? So you didn’t have to throw open a thousand books and shuffle through a hundred forms to understand the problem?”

“While I feel very honored that you think so highly of my memory, Arin, I would have you know that the only thing I remember of my average week is limited to the brief happy moments I get when I have a treat, or the time I spend with those I cherish. So I did have to dig through tomes and scrolls, thankfully organized by Miss Candlelight – to find the original documentations. But yes, I suppose you could say it was easier than the first law I wrote. Which I keep locked inside of a box. Buried under the stones of the original Castle. In the Everfree Forest. So no one can see my signature in crayon.”

Luna’s eyes lit up, remembering that law vividly. Specifically when she signed it by stealing one of her Sister’s feathers and dipping it into the spilled ink vial the law was written with. It was the Non-Aggression Act, as Starswirl called it, or the ‘No Stabbing Your Friends’ rule, as the two Sisters dubbed.

Food arrived before they knew it – another depressing salad for Celestia (who looked on the edge of tears), a lovely quiche for Luna, and a more traditional dinner of salted fish over a bed of mixed greens for Arin.

It wasn’t a long affair for Arin, who quickly devoured his meal without restraint, only to have a slice of glazed cinnamon pound cake placed before him. The Night Princess taunting Celestia with every slow bite of her meal, giving delighted groans of satisfaction.

“Lulu, please, spare me… only a piece, a nibble… Arin, I beg of you…” The Hungry Princess whimpered, those magenta eyes… they were as large as dinner plates, and were impossible to resist for the Seraph.

He sighed, giving her a healthy chunk of cake.

“Thy think thou are sparing her, but We will enjoy her diet longer the more treats you feed her.” Luna said between bites.

“Celestia, translate please.”

“Mmrf mmf-” She mumbled, savoring the pound cake. Crumbs spilling down her chin between grunts. She spoke after gulping it down; “She said that the more you give me, the longer my diet lasts, and the more she can bully me. Well Luna? Guess what? I ate a piece of cake! What are you going to do, Sister? Give me more dreams about cake?”

“Why, Us? Give thy… sorry, Why, me? Give you dreams about all of that luscious cake you could be consuming? Thou are mad to believe such heresy.” Luna turned her blue muzzle up, being delivered her slice of cake by the same waiter who quickly carted the spent plates away.

Dinner soon ended, and Celestia was left staring dejectedly at the table. “Can I at least have a cheat day?” She whispered to herself, going through the five stages of grief quickly. Luna, on the other hand, was more than pleased with her meal, and her sibling torture for the evening.

“I’m sorry Celestia. Who’s making you go through this diet, anyway?” Arin said as he stood up, stretching his leg. Sturdy, thankfully.

“That would be my Advisor, Swift Feather. My last routine checkup showed a bit of… well, worrying weight gain, in his opinion. So he ordered the kitchen staff to cut my meals down to size. I guess you can say it all started with the second Chrysalis incident, though the first definitely made me more sugar happy… but the recent stress of the kingdom has been taking quite the toll on me.” She pulled herself away from the table, standing up as well.

“Thank you for sharing your cake, Arin. But I need to rest. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.” She rubbed her eyes with her wings, yawning as she made her way to the door. In several long seconds, she finally crossed the overly large dining hall and vanished.

“I hope she rests well – hmmf!” A heavy blue weight lunged over the table, Luna’s hooves grabbing onto Arin tightly before his world flashed. With a disorienting pulse of light, he flopped on to the floor.

“What! Huh! Who! Where?!” Arin looked around the room, finding himself in Luna’s bed chamber. She bounced on her hooves, giddy.

“You’re going to watch the moon rise with me! I hope you’re as excited as I am!” She said, her magic righting him onto his feet. Stumbling a bit from the disorienting abuse of power, he followed behind the overly excited mare. He felt more like a toy tugged by a toddler than a pupil.

“What’s gotten into you lately, Luna?” Arin said, confusion creeping in. “You’ve been acting like a child on their twelfth sweet roll.”

“Does thou not feel it?! She said, turning to the horizon beyond her balcony. Her horn glowed a brilliant blue, hefting the moon as Celestia’s golden sun dipped below the mountains. Night fell swiftly, the calm winds of the eve soothing him once more. Cold, even.

“Well, I can feel the chilly night air, but otherwise, I don’t know what you mean.”

“Aha – you must not have felt it when I woke you, then. I cast my magic over you – and inside, I felt it. A tiny flicker of magic, right in your core. It’s exciting – your power is awakening, and We – er… I will be the one to help draw it out!”

She clopped her front hooves together happily, turning back into her room. She lit several candles in her magic aura, lighting up the blue walls and plentiful bookshelves in flickering light. Her horn glowed, scanning over the titles of the hundreds of books around – before withdrawing one from the shelf.

“This tome is older than I; a rare liber from before even Starswirl the Bearded! This details the awakening of Magic within a Unicorn’s very being; I’m sure this is what Celestia meant when she said that I knew of the spark! The spark of magic to fully delve into your magic power!” She brought the massive, leather bound book to the table – turning the heavy, rune coated cover over to reveal the delicate hoofwriting within.

Arin frowned. He couldn’t read this at all, even after today’s singular reading lesson. Though he did make headway, this font was written in some kind of… pony cursive, perhaps.

And the words seemed to stretch as far as half the page at times. Even with his above average literary knowledge for his kind, he was going to have trouble understanding this.

“Let’s begin! Ahem… ‘The Ritual of Channeling Magic is an ancient rite that has surpassed the marks of history, since the pre-dawn of the Three Tribes and into the Age of Dragons itself. One could imagine the essence of one’s magical ability as an ember; a char of flame that can grow bright when manipulated. Though many speculations persist that the Ember does not exist, it can be proven with the insight of a detection spell.’

Luna began to read deeper into the book, her eyes scanning over the page.

“We – I see many methods and rituals to awaken a foal’s magic, though barbaric as it seems, it appears to be Our first choice. I will need to draw a magic circle, give me just a mere moment.” Her magic scoured a nearby drawer, producing a white piece of chalk. Stepping over to her tile floor, she held the book aloft – scanning it over as she copied the mark to the floor.

Several swishes of the white stone, a few flicks in the center, and an ornate circle soon took shape.

“Now, please, stand in the circle. I will need to channel magic into the spell, that will attempt to connect to your Ember and blaze it to life.”

“Wait, connect to my ember? Is this going to hurt?”

Luna looked into the book, scanning the page over several times. She tossed the chalk onto the desk behind her, giving a flap of her wings as the book landed on the nearby table.

“If a foal can stand the ritual, than I believe thy shall persist as well. Spread your legs apart like this – there we go, and put your front hooves… claws? Together, just like – there we go.”

Arin followed her orders, feeling entirely unsure as the mad science Luna walked around the small ring, placing candles along the edge.

“Now, We need… I need you to close your eyes, and clear your mind. Instead, focus on your… well, center. Around here.” She pressed her hoof to his chest, right in the center of his ribs, over his sternum. “Focus on the sensation there, and if you feel something stir, reach inwards with your thoughts and grasp it.”

“Stir? Like… like a snake, or…?”

“More like a burning ball of flame erupting from your chest.”

If Arin had any hope of this operation being a fun experiment, that thought was eviscerated.

Well, it was worth a shot.

Closing his eyes, he held the position as Luna’s horn began to glow. A thin white light emanating from the chalk, wispy light floating up.

The tendrils of magic wrapped around the candles, the flames glowing white hot – illuminating the room as the flame twirled upwards like growing ivy. Flecks of flame escaped, searing the air in crackles of heat.

Arin’s palms began to sweat, as the white vines reached their apex – before darting forward and piercing his chest.

The last thing he remembered was screaming in pain, a boiling heat torching his heart in agony as he fell to the floor.