“Ironwing, you get down from there right now!”

Cursed foals, always getting on my nerves, but doing it in the most adorable way.  There are times when I wonder just how a four-year-old foal can get stuck on top of a ceiling fan without the ability to fly.  I mean, honestly!  This is the third time he’s done it!  

“No!”  He yells back in protest.

“You can’t fly yet!  Do you know how dangerous that is?!”  Eventually I will be able to reason with small children.  One day...

He sticks his tongue out at me, challenging my authority.  Ohhhhh, child, you have messed with the wrong mare.

I smirk evilly and slowly begin to back away from the fan.  “Alright then, Ironwing, I guess you win.  There’s no way I can possibly get you down from here.  I’ll just be going… over here… to this wall… with the switch to turn the fan on.”

I can almost taste the fear emanating from him.

“No!  No, don’t!  Stop!  I give up!”  He shouts.

It’s already too late, the fan blades are in motion as it slowly cycles from slow, to fast.  Screams from the little foal soon turned to laughter as he grips for dear life onto the blade.  After a minute, I cut power to the fan, letting physics do its duty and slow the fan to a stop.

“WooOOAAAaahahOOAHAHAoaahaHA.”  Ironwing mumbles in a dizzy slur.  His balance betrays him, and he falls from the fan only to land in my outstretched forelegs.  Victory is mine!  “Again!”  He cheers with glee.

“Sorry, Ironwing, but If I let you do that again I’d probably have another heart attack.”

“Awwwwwwwwww!”

After three months of knowing me, Ironwing finally broke his silence and started talking full sentences to me.  Apparently his silence is a show of his shyness, and that he doesn’t talk to ‘strangers’.  Vinyl told me it took a while for the foal to speak to her when she first moved here, but after a while of spending time with the foal, he lightened up to her.

With the new addition to the wing family, Ironwing has been spending more and more time here, complaining that his house is too ‘noisy’.  I wouldn’t blame him.  In all honesty, I don’t like babies.  They’re loud, obnoxious, and you have to tend to them so much.  After children turn three is when I like them more.  

“Let’s play hide and seek!”  Ironwing exclaims.  “You’re it!”  

I chuckle, cover my eyes, and count to ten.  “Alright Ironwing, I’m gonna get you!”  I might be cheery on the outside, but on the inside, I’m dreadful.  You literally can not win a game of hide and seek with this foal.  He makes ninjas look like amateurs.  I can spend hours scouring this house with x-ray goggles and still have no luck.  I won’t be surprised if he grows up to be a spy for Princess Luna, or even a master assassin… I probably should make sure the stay on his good side, then.

Ten minutes of searching later, and guess what?  Nothing, as per usual.  I don’t even know why I try.  Is it just to see the little one smile?  Just to know he’s having fun?  Yes, I do believe that’s why I put myself through this torture.

Suddenly, I see the chair in the corner of the room shift slightly, and a wicked grin forms over my face. Oh, I got you now!

I trot over to the chair nonchelantly, making it seem like I’m oblivious.  Once the chair is within my reach, I push it aside.  “Ah, ha! I found… you?”

Where I expected to see the sneaky child I, instead, see a pink mare.  She seems to be searching for something.  She turns to face me.

“Hey! Have you seen the child who has been using my hammerspace without paying the usage fees?  That kid needs to pay...”  Pinkie says, pulling out a feather from out of… nowhere?

I blink three times.  “Pinkie?  What are you doing here?”  

“There’s been a disturbance in the void.  I’m here to make it right.”  She pulls out a piece of paper, “There have been reports of a small pony-like object entering in and out of the Hammerspace without possessing the correct paperwork.  As an active follower of the Hammerspace community, it is my duty to make sure this violation is corrected!”

I… I don’t understand… “Wait.  What is this ‘hammerspace?’”

She sighs.  “Tavi Tavi Tavi… where do you think I get all of this stuff from?  Cupcake?”  She pulls out a cupcake from behind her.  “Do you really think I just make it from thin air?”

“Uhhhh… yes?  I think?  I’m not sure anymore, actually.”

Pinkie opens her mouth to say something, but stops.  She starts to shudder, followed by her tail twitching and her ears flopping.  She gasps dramatically.  “Oh no!  Shudder, twitchy tail, floppy ears!  Do you know what this means?!”

I look at her, baffled.  “No?”

She grabs my shoulders and shakes me.  “That means there’s a friendship problem!  I need to get back to Ponyville!  Don’t worry, these things usually last just under thirty minutes, but it’s still a big deal!  Bye, Octavia!”  With that final note, she rushes towards the door, but before she opens it, her tail twitches again. “Oh by the way, you may want to move to your left.”  

Move to my left?  What for-- “Ooof!”

“Gotchya!”

It seems Ironwing is practicing his drop assassinations on me... I should probably start playing that Assassin’s Creed game Vinyl is always playing to hone my own skills and counter him.

I look at the colt, then to the door. What the bloody hell just happened?!

Speaking of the door, there’s someone at it by the indication of a knocking sound.  I place Ironwing on the ground and carefully trot towards the door. After what had just happened, I should be cautious.  Less there be a confetti cannon awaiting me on the other side.

Surprisingly, it is not a confetti cannon, but instead my father is the one behind the door.  He raises an eyebrow at the lamp I have in my grasp.  I chuckle and place it on a nearby table.  “Pinkie.”

He raises a hoof, “Say no more.  Anyway, how are you my darling daughter?”

I outstretch my forelegs to hug him.  “I’m fine as always, father.  I was just looking after Ironwing for a bit.”

“Oh is that so?  Where is the little guy?”  He says while looking around the living room.  I swear he was just besides me… oh no.

“Father you might want to--”

“Figlio di puttana!”  He yells as a small pony lands on his back.

“Father!  Language!”

He gasps and rubs his back after Ironwing jumps down.  “Celestia almighty.  Ironwing, I’m an old man, you have to warn me next time you’re gonna do that.”

The small pegasus dons a hoodie and covers his face.  “Assassins give no warning.  Woahhahah!”  Without any pretense, father swoops up Ironwing and places him on his back.

“Well then, initiate, you better be ready to fight back!”  He gently tosses him from his back onto the couch, Ironwing laughing the whole trip.

“So, father, what brings you here?”  I ask after our laughter dies down.

He groans and stretches to ease the kinks he received from Ironwings assault.  “Ah yes.  I wanted to ask you a favor.”

“Of course.”

“So, as you know, I also teach a music class at Celestia’s School as well as a history class, yes?”

I nod.

“If you have the time, could you come in a give a speech to my students about the trials and hardships in the music industry?  My students are all in the clouds, thinking that once they graduate it’s all smooth sailing; that they’re talented enough to do whatever they want.  They need to know the facts about what’s waiting for them out there; that it’s not that easy to make it as a musician.”

An invitation to speak to father’s class about the music industry?  Hmm… sounds interesting.  It could be good for them, seeing as what happened to me could possibly happen to any of them.  These students need to graduate with knowledge on what’s waiting for them so that they don’t crash and burn early on.

Also, I could use this to my advantage.  I can use this as a way to get into the school and learn more about Moondancer.  I want to see what she’s like while she’s in school.  This is perfect.

“Sure, father, I can do that.  When is your class?”

He digs into his coat pocket for a fob watch.  “In about two hours.”

“Great, I’ll be there.  I just need to get Ironwing home and I’ll be good to go… If only I can find him now…”  Somewhere in the shadows, Master Assassin Ironwing awaits for his next target…

There is a small thump, and the mentioned colt appears between my father and I.  “Double air assassination!”

Ahhhh, foals.

(\/);,,;(\/)

Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns truly is a sight to behold.  Mighty ivory spires jut out from the ground and mountain ledge, capturing the raw arcane energies from the Ley Lines that entangle this world.  A single citadel stands tall in the center, housing and teaching scholars both old and new magical arts.

It is the pinnacle of magical research in Equestria.  After Discord was defeated, nearly all magical tomes and research had been altered, turned into origami, outright destroyed, or, quite literally, ran away.  Celestia took it upon herself to build a school to regain all the knowledge that was lost, which lead to the Equestrian Renaissance. An entire age dedicated towards regaining and expanding magical beliefs. Though many great creations and spells came from that era, an overwhelmingly large amount of dark magic also came with it.

That is why Celestia formed the Ley Keepers.  They are an organization of skilled Magi tasked with keeping the Kingdom safe from magical threats, as well as setting rules and boundaries for the use of spells.  

My father and I pass under the large archway that serves as an entrance to the citadel.  The whole place is bustling with robed ponies, some of them working their magics, and others just passing to and from classes.  

I look around through the hallways and into classrooms that have their doors open trying to see if I can find Moondancer.  This school is incredibly large, so my hopes aren’t too high, but there’s no folly in just scanning around is there?  

After a few minutes of passing through the enchanted hallways with no luck of finding her, father’s classroom is just up ahead.

“Are you ready for this, ‘Tavia?”  He asks.

I nod at him.  “It’s not like the first day of school, nor is it even my school.  I’ll just simply tell them what happened to me, and the measures I could have taken to prevent that... If only I knew them at the time.”

He smiles at me.  “Well, it is your job now to help make sure that no one has to go through what you had too…” He bows his head, sorrow attempting to take over him.  “I feel as if I have failed you by not warning you, or making sure that you were okay.”

I stop walking, causing him to also stop and look at me.  “Father, I knew full well what I was getting into… The problem was I was too… dense, to figure out what was going on before it was too late.” I let out a long sigh. “Alas, my pride took control of me.  But, it’s all alright now.  All the pieces are finally falling back into place.”

He sighs.  “Yes.  Everything is going to be alright.”  He looks off into the distance.  “I still wish I could have done something to help, though.  I should have tried harder to find you.  Tried harder to be a better father.”

I grab hold of his shoulder.  “Enough of that, father.  You did nothing wrong.  It was all my doing.  I didn’t come to you because my own pride plagued my judgement.  I didn’t want you to see me in such a state.  You’ve done nothing to deserve calling yourself a bad father.  If anything, I was a terrible daughter.”  I pull him into a hug.  “I realized a long time ago how stupid I was.  I love you, daddy.”

He tightens his grip around me, “I love you too, my darling Tavia.”  He says, almost sounding like he’s holding back from crying.

I let go of him and smile, “Besides, as you said, my job is to make sure that no other father, or mother, has to go through the guilt that plagues you now.  And I’ll make sure that your students leave that classroom with full knowledge of what it’s like in the real world.”

“That’s my girl!”  He exclaims with pride.  “Come now, class is about to start.”

We came in to the classroom and immediately my ears started to cringe.  Not only were these children talking really loud in an acoustically built room, but some of them were playing instruments badly.  Well, not that badly, more of that they had no harmony.  No harmony, I say!  And playing that piece on a flute?  Wrong!  They have no class at all.  

What can I say?  I’m picky.

The room is a fair size, with desk enough to fill about twenty or so ponies, though there are only twelve in here right now.  At the front of the room is a stage, and father’s desk is in the corner.  The two of us stood on top of the stage, and father began to address the class by clearing his throat.  Once the students hushed down, he spoke.

“Good afternoon class.  Today is going to be a special day, indeed.  My darling daughter, Octavia, is going to speak to you all about the trials and hardships in the music industry, for those of you wishing to pursue a music career after you graduate.” My father said, moving aside to ‘give me the stage’, both literally and figuratively.

All eyes were suddenly upon me and I suddenly felt slightly nervous… for some reason. I took a deep breath and–

“Hold on, wait wait–”  A male student says, effectively cutting me off.  “You’re Octavia Harmonious?  The one that played for the Royal Symphony?”

I smile, a small bit of pride overcoming me for a brief moment.  “Yes, that’s me.”

“Woah.”  The student says.  “Awesome, I loved your work!”

“Why, thank you!  What’s your name?”  I ask.

“Winterstorm.”  He replies.  “But… what happened to you?”

“Wasn’t she a druggy?”  Another student asked before I could reply.  Druggy?!  My word, do these children have no respect?

"No," I begin, deeply offended. "I would never–"

“I heard she stole music from another pony.”  A third one chimes in.

My eyes widened.  I can feel my blood beginning to boil.  "I have never–"

“Yeah!  There was a court case about that.”

I ground my hooves into the floor as I barely contain my growing fury.  “That was–”

“I read somewhere that–”

A flash of light followed by an explosion echos through the room.  From the corner of the classroom, my father is leaning over his desk, seething with absolute rage. “Have you all forgotten who you are speaking about?!  That is my daughter, my daughter!  I invited her here to help you not get stuck in the same rut as she did, and you all start slandering her with these disgusting rumors?!” He stood up from his chair, glaring death at anypony who dared look him in the eye. “You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Even if she were not my daughter I would still be disappointed in you, all of you!”  He trots over to the stage as everyone cowers beneath him.  “I will not tolerate anymore disrespect.  If I hear one more insult, going to the Archmage’s office will be the least of your worries .  Do I make myself clear?!”

In a split second, the entire class nods in unison.  Pleased with himself, my father goes back to his desk while muttering obscenities in Istallion.  Silence falls on the room.  A tense, dreadful silence.  The kind of silence that nopony even dares to breathe.  I take advantage of this silence to quickly re-collect my thoughts.  I can not believe the disrespect these bloody children have for guest speakers!  In my day, we wouldn’t dare talk that way to another pony right to their face!

Great, now I’m making myself sound old.

I clear my throat and address the class again.  “You,”  I say, pointing to a young mare.  “You said I was a druggy.  Why?”  She kept silent.  “No, it’s ok.  Tell me why you think that… where you heard it.  I want to know about all these rumors about me so I can stop them from spreading.”

After a second, she spoke up.  “I-I just… read it somewhere.”

I raise a brow.  “Would it happen to be in a tabloid of some sort?”

She nods and looks away.

“What is your name?”

“Amethyst Star.”  She replies timidly.

“Well then, Amethyst.  I can tell you right here right now that I have never used any illegal substance.”  I pause.  “You’ve all taken a biology or chemistry class, yes?”  The students give various alterations of ‘yes’.  “Good.  Then you should all know what drugs do to your body.  Drugs are addictive, they make you jittery, they drain the life from your face; giving you wrinkles and bloodshot eyes.  Now tell me, do I look like that?  Are my teeth rotten?  Is my fur dull and lifeless?  No.  So from that logic, we can conclude that I am not a druggy.

“What else is there?  What other rumors have you heard? Don’t be shy, now, you were spouting them like crazy a second ago.”  I pause.  “I think one of you said I ‘stole somepony else's music?’”

A meek little filly seemed to shy into her seat at the comment, and I took that as a confession. “You, there, what is your name?”

She jumps in her seat and looks around as if making sure I am addressing her.  “I’m… uh… Emerald Song.”

“Alright Emerald, tell me, where did you hear that from?”

“Uhhh...I… uh… saw it on the news.  Th-there was a court case and…”

I nod to her.  “Yes, yes, the infamous ‘Octavia Harmonious vs. Silver Symphony’, where I was accused of stealing his song and copyrighting it under my name.  The truth behind that was yes, I was brought to court and lost the case.  However, mind you, I did not steal any music or copyright.”

“The Supreme Court of Equestria says differently,” A student in the back, a small blue colt, deadpans.

My father aggressively stands up from his desk.  “Windtrotter!  What did I say about disrespecting my daughter?!”

The colt rolled his eyes. “I am not disrespecting anyone. The highest court in all of equestria ruled that your daughter did, in fact, steal that song. I am merely stating the facts, professor. We’ve had freedom of speech in our fine land for… a long time.”

“The court also said O.J. Simpony, was innocent sooooo…” Another student retorts, shrugging.

“It was the butler! It’s always the butler!” Chanted another one of the students.

“Could we calm down for a moment?”  I ask, the students then shortly hushing up.  “Good, now let me explain what happened with the court.”  I always hate telling this story.  Whenever I explain, I always sound like some conspiracy theorist nutjob telling everypony about the corruption of the courts and the Illuminati or something.  “As much as we want to believe that everything is supposed to go as it is supposed to, that’s not always true.  In blatant terms: I was set up.  My so called 'lawyer' was not even on my side, and because of how he presented my case, once the damage was done, I couldn’t do much to save my already sunken case.”  I can see the students’ expressions, some of them doubting me, others looking at me like I am crazy, which is expected.  

“I believe it.”  Winterstorm says.

“You’d believe it if I said the world was ending tomorrow because of a crazy unicorn that summoned a demon from Tartarus.”  A different student says.

"Oh, shut up! And you believe the tooth fairy is real!"

"What?!" Says a little filly in the corner. "She is real, you meanie!"

My eye twitches.  How does my father deal with this every week?  I now wonder why my dad isn't an alcoholic... He isn't, right?

“Psssh.  Court corruption?  Likely story.”  Windtrotter starts.  “That’s the excuse everypony uses when they lose a case.  You know, Princess Celestia --”

“You know something, Windtrotter?  Why don’t you go see the Princess yourself and tell her all about what you did in class today?  I’m sure she’d be delighted to hear about your disrespect and, of course, how much you adore her court system.”  My father says with a strained smile.  

“Rek’d!”  A student sitting next to him leans in and says.

Windtrotter groans and leaves the classroom.  Once the door clicks shut, the other students express feelings of relief or delight after seeing him leave.  I guess I found out the pony in the class everyone hates.

I clear my throat, “Well, now that that’s over, let’s shift the conversation towards me talking about the reason why I’m here in the first place, shall we?  Now, as my father said, I am here to educate you about the hardships that come with being a ‘modern’ musician. As I bet most of you currently believe that, once you graduate, ponies will be lining up to hear you play, right?  Well, this is not always the case, and very few actually get recognised right away. When you graduate, or decide to join the professional music industry, you will be fighting against countless musicians who want exactly the same thing you want, and only a few spots are there for the taking.” I sigh. “Then, when you get to the top, like I did, you need to fight to stay there. You have to watch out for those who try to use you, try to abuse you, and try to tear you down. I thought that, since I was at the top, that I was all set, that nothing could bring me down… but I was wrong.  I don't want to scare you, and I am actually doubtful that any of you will suffer through the same thing I had to go through, but you still need to be aware of what can happen.

“The world isn’t nice, as much as I want to believe it.  There are ponies out there who can and will stab you in the back to better suit themselves.  You need to be aware of this, ‘watch your back’ so to say.  My own manager stabbed mine, but now that I’m starting to make a come back, I will make sure that doesn’t happen again.”  

I end my speech with a relieved sigh.  I think that went well… I’m sure some of the students believe me and no longer think I’m a druggy or a thief.  Whatever the case may be with that, I just hope my words got through to them.  

"On second though, I don't want to be a musician..."  

"Yeah, me either."

"I don't want to be sued!!!"

My ears fall flat as my eyes go wide.  Oh dear… I wasn’t expecting this.  “No no no!  Don’t say that!  Don’t think that what happened to me will happen to you, too!  It’s not that common, honestly.  I’m sure what happened to me will never happen to you, seeing as how extreme my ordeal was!  I’m just here to warn you in case something along those lines does happen!  And...and uh…”  Bloody hell, I’m no good at motivating ponies.

“I think what Octavia is trying to say,”  my father says while trotting on stage next to me, “is that there are trials and hardships in everything.  If you want to be a Royal Guard, you are at risk of getting injured or dying everyday.  If you want to be a doctor, not only do you have to work long hours, but you have to save ponies lives, and if you can’t save them, or you make a mistake, could you imagine what you could go through after that?  The emotional pain, and the malpractice lawsuits?

“The reason why I brought her in today is to explain the trials in becoming a musician.  You children thought that it would be easy.  That all you had to do was play good music and you’re set.  That’s not true.  You have to fight hard to get a shot at becoming a musician, just like all other jobs.  So please, don’t be frightened by what happened to my daughter, just take it to heart, then ask yourself, ‘Am I ready to take on those challenges?’”

The classroom fell silent.  I can see the children looking down at their desks in deep thought.  Some of them are fiddling with their instruments, while others are just staring at different parts of the classroom.  My father’s words seem to have the desired effect of both quieting the children down, as well as making them feel more confident in their decision to pursue a music career.

Let’s check off motivational speaking as one of those things I’m no good at... if only talking to ponies was as easy as music!

Looking back at the students, I see a hoof slowly raise.  “Yes, Winterstorm?”

“So… how did you um… you know, come back?  I heard you were gonna be in this years Grand Galloping Gala.”

I will never understand how gossip spreads so quickly in schools.  “Yes, it’s true.”  I say while smiling.  “I will be performing at the Gala this year.”  With that said, a few surprised and excited murmurings arose from the class.  “And to answer your question,” I paused and smiled even wider.  “I had some help from a few very good ponies.”

My memories brought me back to the time when I was broke and living in the slums.  I inwardly chuckle at how much of bint I was towards Vinyl.  If it wasn’t for her stubbornness and selfless actions, I can’t imagine what I would be doing right now.  She showed me nothing but compassion, even though I was so rude to her.

Then there was Fancy Pants, bless his heart.  Back then, I had this mindset that the upper class hated me.  That I was washed up and thrown out of the spotlight like an old rag.  I soon found out that that was not the case, and Fancy Pants had invited me to play at his Hearth’s Warming soiree.  From then on, my career slowly but surely rebuilt itself.

One of the students narrowed their eyes at me.  “Go on...”

I clear my throat.  “Of course.  You see, when I was broke and struggling just to keep my run down apartment, I ran into Vinyl Scratch, who--”

“Woah, woah, woah!”  One of the student, Amethyst, yells, “You know DJ Pon-3?”  

“Well, yes.  She and I are good friends now.”  I reply.

“Coool.”  She says with envy.

“Anyway,” I continue, “Vinyl was kind enough to help me get back on my hooves, and is probably the main reason I am where I am now.  Some time ago, Fancy Pants also came into play.  He was the one to offer me my first job that would eventually put me back in the spotlight.”  My tone shifted as I begin to think about his father.  “His father recently passed, bless his soul, and in his will he gave me a position in this years Gala.”

From beside me, I hear father clear his throat.  “Octavia.”  He calls.

“Yes?”

“I hate to interupt, but class is ending in a few minutes.”  He gestures to the clock while walking on stage.  “Class, thank you all for listening to and respecting my daughter…. well, most of you at least.  I hope you all take what was said here to heart, and consider the choices you make in the future and I hope you all have a newfound view on the music industry.  Dismissed."

With that said, the students packed up their belongings and made their way out of the classroom.  I sigh heavily and slump on a nearby chair.  I didn’t realize that this speech would be so draining.  And these children… sweet Celestia teenagers are vicious.  “Ok, father, where do you keep your whiskey?”  I say matter of factly.

“In my office.”  He replies as if he knew I was going to ask.  “Come, I have more than enough for the two of us.”

We once again walk through the mystical hallways littered with robed ponies young and old.  Father’s office isn’t too far away from the classroom, and once inside he unlocks a drawer from his desk and pulls out an almost new bottle of whiskey.  I blink a few times and look at him incredulously.  “You were serious?  Are you alowed to do this?”

He puts a hoof on his muzzle.  “No, I’m not, but trust me when I say that every professor here keeps alcohol in their offices.”  He pauses to pour me a drink.  “The headmaster kind of turns a blind eye on the matter. Hell, he probably drinks more than the rest of us.”

I chuckle as I take the glass and raise it.  “After what I went through today, I’m not surprised.”

Father raises his own glass and we tap them together.  “To children! And how they are slowly poisoning my liver!"

We clink glasses. "Amen."

So we sit and we drink while laughing at father's tales about his classes and previous students.  I try my best to pay attention to exactly how much we’re drinking, seeing as two drunk ponies walking around a school filled with powerful unicorns and the Princess of Equestria would be looked down upon.  Two glasses and that’s it.  Just to take the edge off.

There’s a knock at the office door.  Father beckons them inside with a welcoming ‘come in’ as he hastily removes the whiskey from sight, shoving it under his desk.

Okay, I lied, I need more than two glasses.  

A wild Moondancer appears, but this time not in a grand, fiery entrance.  “Hey, Professor Arpeggio, I have a question about--”  She cuts herself off as she notices me.  “Oh, hey Octavia!”  She looks between my father and I, “I’m, uh… not interrupting anything, am I?”

Father shakes his head.  “Not at all, Moondancer.”  He motions for her to sit.  “What’s the question?”

“Okay, so… that six page essay, exactly what do you want me to put in it?  I wasn’t here Thursday because Grand Magus Frostbite needed me so… what’s it about?”

Father rifles through some papers on his desk.  “Ah, yes, for the essay you have to chose an event in Equestrian history that depicts a negative action towards the reconstruction of the Kingdom after the Discordian Era.  It can be anything you want to choose, so long as it had, or still has, a significant, lasting effect on the Kingdom.”

Moondancer sways in her chair from side to side, thinking.  “So… an event that negatively affects the reconstruction of the Kingdom… how about--no… uhhhhh…ponies...factions...magic...stuff...”  She gasps, “The Disciples of Antrozous!”

Father raises an eyebrow at her suggestion while I just sit here and idly listen.  I’m not exactly sure what she’s talking about, but I’m sure father will fill me in with the details later.

“Would they work?”  Moondancer asks.  “I mean, there was a civil war between them and the Order of the White Sun about… what was it?  Fifty or a hundred years after Princess Luna was banished?”

Father nods.  “The Disciples will work for your essay.  Just be sure to explain in detail exactly how they affected the reconstruction, why, and also the consequences and legacy that happened in years to come because of them.”

Moondancer claps her hooves together.  “Got it, boss!”  She then turns to me, “Octavia, you should totally help me out with this assignment!”

I tilt my head at her and furrow my brow.  “Help?  I’m sorry but I have no idea what you two are talking about.  I’ve never heard of these ‘Disciples of An… Anzous.’”

She shrugs me off, “Pssh, you don’t need to help help me.  Just like… grace me with your presence!”  I give her a questioning look; she groans,  “Ya know, writing essays alone is boring, okay?  And I don’t have a roommate.  I just need somepony there to like… make me feel less alone.”  She crosses her hooves, “And to somewhat motivate me because I’m a procrastinator.”

It seems that my mission to investigate Moondancer has just presented itself to me.  Perfect!  I’ll agree to ‘help’ her write her essay, and while that’s going on I’ll delve a little bit into serious conversation.  Let’s just hope that that last part will be obtainable in the first place.

I nod to Moondancer, “I guess I could keep you company.  I don’t have practice today, and it beats sitting at home watching television all day.”

“Hooray!  Bonding!”  She exclaims.

Father, however, is not so excited.  He glances to me with a look that easily reads ‘What the bloody hell is wrong with you?’.  He motions to the bottle of whiskey under his desk, almost as if asking me if I had over-indulged.  I simply roll my eyes at him.  I can hold down two glasses of whiskey just fine… as long as Sour Grapes doesn’t go near them.

Father gives me one last glance before addressing Moondancer.  “Well then, is there anything else I can help you with, Moondancer?”

“Uhhhhh...nope, that’s it!”  She turns her attention to me.  “Come, Octavia.”

Her horn charges, and I feel a tingling sensation that quickly encompases my body.  Dammit, Moondancer!  I swear if you’re going to magic-handle me I’m going to give you an earful!

However, to my luck, the sensation stops just as father clears his throat.  “Moondancer, teleportation spells are not allowed on campus grounds.”

“Pssh, way to take all the fun outta it.  I mean, why did I spend all this time learning a complex spell if I can’t even use it?!”  She emphasizes her point by surrounding herself in an allure of flames that flash for a mere second.

Father, unphased by the second-long inferno, replies, “Sorry, Moondancer, it’s just to keep you safe.  You wouldn't want to teleport halfway into a wall now, would you?”

She waves a hoof at him.  “That happened once and everypony got freaked out and made that rule.”  She looks away and lowers her voice.  “Not my fault he sucks at magic.”  She stands up.  “Anyway.  Come, Octavia, we’ll take the long way home.”

I follow Moondancer through the ensorcelled hallways, listening to her point out certain aspects of the school as we pass by, as well as tell either a comical or tragic story.  Though, in Moondancer’s case, she probably didn’t see a difference between them.  She would laugh at some of the more… descriptive tales on ponies who misuse magic, either on purpose or not, and laugh at most of them.  According to her, there are two types of unicorns at this school: ones that suck at magic, and those who don’t.  More specifically, the ones who are named Moondancer.

And Vinyl says I have ego problems.

The walk to Moondancer’s dorm room only took about ten minutes.  As we enter the room, I must admit I’m a bit surprised.  I expected it to be similar to Vinyl’s before I moved in; posters on the wall of various bands, generally unkempt with clothes and other objects littering the floor and so on.  However, Moondancer keeps her room fairly clean, save for her unmade bed.  There are no posters on the wall, or anything on the wall in fact.  Her bed is raised a few feet in the air, and there is a mini-fridge, a basket, and a small dresser underneath.  Besides the bed is a desk with a small assortment of papers and a closed laptop.  In the small closet space the room provides, she has a few jackets and a dress or two hanging, and a trash can in the corner.

From behind me, Moondancer slams the door and locks it with her magic.  She looks at me with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes.  “Alright, Octavia, let’s get started.  Take off your bowtie.”

I groan at her.  “Not the reason I’m here.”

She blinks.  “Damn.  Anyway, essay!”  She plops herself on the chair by the desk and opens her laptop.  “Quick, tell me everything you know about the Disciples of Antrozous!”

“Umm… I don’t.”  I reply.

She looks at me with a furrowed brow.  “Oh c’mon!  They’re only, like, the coolest dudes in Equestrian history!”  She stares at me, and I remain neutral.  “Fine, I’ll do the explaining.”  She pauses to crack her neck and back.  “After the Princesses defeated Discord, the Kingdom was left in ruins.  Celestia and Luna both thought up of different ideas on where to begin to reconstruct the Kingdom.  Celestia thought of focusing on the infrastructure of Canterlot, then branching outward, while Luna thought to build an army to protect the remains of the Kingdom from outside threats now that it was vulnerable.  

“So they argued, Celestia thinking it wouldn’t help morale if they tried to build a defense force now, while Luna thinking it would be the best to protect what little they had from the Griffons and Minotaurs.  

“Eventually Luna got fed up with Celestia bossing her around and made an army herself.  You know about those bat ponies right?”

I nod, “Yes, they are Luna’s personal guard.”

Moondancer rubs her chin.  “Ehhh, more or less.  Nowadays they do more than that, but let’s focus on the past.  So, Luna selected a bunch of ponies and transformed them into bat ponies, or, what we call them, Thestrals. and commanded them to watch over the borders of the Kingdom.

“As time went on, ponies grew more fearful of the Thestrals and Luna’s popularity as a princess kinda went down the hole.  You know the rest from there on out… Luna got corrupted by her own jealousy, Nightmare Moon, thousand years later, now she’s here again.

“But!  What happened to those Thestrals?  Being freed from Luna’s hold over them after she was banished, they tried to come back into society, but, of course, they weren’t accepted.  They were cursed in that form, a spell Luna created, and only she can undo.  Celestia did her best to help them out anyway she could, but she had too much on her hooves already still rebuilding the Kingdom, plus grieving over having to banish her sister.

“But, along came a Thestral who saved his people.  Who brought them to everlasting peace and prosperity.  A name that everypony should know and honor, but only those who delve really hard into history know about.  A pony named Antrozous.

“Antrozous was a pony who used to be a paladin extremely loyal to Celestia.  He actually fought with them as they were fighting Discord.  However, when Luna took control of him and turned him into a Thestral, he kinda got depressed and thought that he betrayed his beloved princess.

“So he rallied up the other Thestrals and led them away from Equestria, where they can live in peace in the forest.  He cast away his former self, and begged the Light for forgiveness so that he may be a paladin again.  Fortunately, the Light does not discriminate, and he was granted its powers once again.

“He then went on to teach other Thestrals about this ‘newer’ style of worshiping and using the Light that wove in some of the Dark magic of a Thestral.  Their philosophy is that ‘every light has its shadow’ and that even though they are tainted by Luna’s curse, they can still find ways for it to be used for good.  Think of them as… paladin assassins.

“Then, as time went on, the children of the Thestrals didn’t inherit their ancestor's curse, but they were still condemned for being related.  So they kept to themselves in the forest on the borders of Equestria.  There was also a civil war between them and some of Celestia’s more… radical guards twenty or so years later.  Celestia quickly stepped in, though.  Even though the Disciples were ‘exiled’ Celestia still kept in touch with them, and even used their skills for some tactical missions every now and then...behind closed doors, of course.  The end.”

As I listened more and more, I couldn’t help but think ‘why did she need me in the first place?’  However, I disregarded that thought quickly.  What matters now is that, judging by the tone of her voice throughout the whole story, she seems very pleased with having somepony listen to her tell the tale of these Disciples.  Which, might I add, is a very interesting one.

“So,” I start, “Are they still around today?”

She shrugs.  “When Luna came back, she risked paying them a visit to apologize for her past sins.  To her surprise, they didn’t have any ill intent towards her.  According to Luna, the Disciples learned to forgive her through the Light’s teachings and some of them even joined her to reform the Lunar Guard.  But, other than that, they mainly keep to themselves in peace.”

“Huh… I see.”  I glance behind her to see her computer is blank.  “You should probably write all that down as your explaining it to me.”

Moondancer waves her hooves at me.  “Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh! I’m gettin’ to it.”  Her horn fires up, and a soft glow envelopes the keyboard.  The rhythmic sound of clacking keys fills the room for a few moments before Moondancer speaks again.

“So, Octagon, how’s life been treatin’ ya?”

I blink from the sudden question.  “Life?  Life been ‘looking up to me’ so to say.”

“Oh, ye’?  How so?”

I smile to myself.  “Well, first off, I got a position to play at this year’s Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Frikin’ nice!  Though, the Gala isn’t my thing, it’s still really good for you.”

“You don’t like the Gala?”  I ask.

She shrugs.  “I went there a few times as a filly; it wasn’t fun.  Just a bunch of rich dudes flaunting their richness to other rich dudes.”  She pauses.  “If I had a date, I’d go, though.  Get to wear a fancy dress with some cool classical music I can slow dance to with my date.  It’d be nice.”  She glances to the closet.  “I have those two dresses and I only wore them like… three times in the last year.”

I approach the two dresses and inspect them.  Though they are simple, they are elegant in their own way.  Judging from the rest of her wardrobe, as well as the lack of posters on the wall, it seems that Moondancer is a simple pony at heart.  “Tell me about those times.”  I say, digging a bit deeper.

“Hm?”  She questions.

“Tell me about the three times you wore these dresses.”

“Oh yeah.  I wore the red and gold one on the day I became a mage.  The white one when I went to a school dance because my friend Twinkleshine begged me to go because she didn’t want to be there alone when she asked this guy to dance… I don’t get that logic, by the way.  Wouldn’t she want to be alone?  Anyway, and the third time was when I went to a fancy dinner with the family.”  She looks over at me inspecting the dresses.  “I have more, you know, at home.  I just didn’t bring ‘em with me because, well, then I’d have no closet space.  Stupid small room…”

I look at her.  “I never took you for the kind to like this kind of stuff.”

She shrugs, “Eh, yea.  I like fancy stuff, putting on nice dresses, it just makes me feel more upper class and away from those...as you would put it, ‘ruffians’... lower class swine…”

I raise a brow at her.  This isn’t making much sense.  “But… what about the day I first met you?  You were at a low class club enjoying yourself to that awful music.”

She stops typing to look at me.  “Oh yeah, that.  You see, I was kinda on a mission for Frostbite.  I had to go undercover, ya know.”

“Undercover?  At a club?  For what reason?”

She cringes, “Can’t really say that.  I can tell you, though, that that club was doing some… illegal stuff… magic wise, and I routed it.”

Illegal magic stuff?  My eyes widen.  “Could that have anything to do with my heart attack?!”

She shakes her head.  “Nope, that was all you.”

Curses…  “Anyway, if you’re not into that, then what are you into?”

She leans back in her chair.  “Music wise?  Classic rock all the way.  Well, any kind of rock really.  Except for, like, screamo and shit like that.  Uhhh… I already told you about my classical taste in clothing and atmosphere.  As you can see, I’m kinda a neat-freak.  Everything must be in a grid-like order; no diagonals!  Let’s see, what else…”  

She sighs, staring out the window.  “You know what I’m really into?  Relaxing.  Sometimes I just wish that I could… slow down, you know? With school hammering me, plus Frostbite being a jerk and hammering me more, I don’t really have time to just… relax anymore.  It’s fun and all seeing life from the top of a rocket, but sometimes I feel like I miss stuff in the process.  I find myself just sitting in this chair, slouched over, and staring out the window a lot and… just letting life go by.  I don’t get to do that as often as I want to anymore.  I just wish I can get more moments of peace where I can sit and stare at the sky for a while and just… think.  No noise, no worries, nothing but my thoughts… just for a little while.”

This.  This is what I came for.  To learn more about Moondancer’s intricate personality, and I have done it!  Once again she has amazed me by being nothing like what I thought of her.  I always knew Moondancer can be serious when she wants to, but this is a whole new level.

I feel a twinge of sadness hit me as I took in her words.  I can somewhat imagine what she’s going through.  I had the weight of life bearing down on me heavily before, and I always powered through, even in my darkest times.  Moondancer is trying to keep up with life’s fast pace while she just wants a moment to rest once in awhile, and sometimes she doesn’t even have time for that.  So to cope, she tries to make life as entertaining as possible.

I approach Moondancer and wrap one foreleg around her shoulders in a tight, half-hug.  She returns the gesture, wordlessly.  And for a while, we experience that moment of serenity that she so longs for as we both stare out the window in comfortable silence.

I can get use to this.  I can appreciate slowing down so much as to just watch life go by you as you stay behind.  It’s peaceful, and allows my mind to wander off unopposed.  

“Hey Moondancer.”  I say, breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“How would you like to take a vacation?”

She looks at me.  “Is that code for sex?”

My brow becomes a thin line.  “No, it is not code for sex.”

“Oh… you sure?”

“Yes, I am pretty sure that I was not hinting at sex.”

“Oh…”

I clear my throat.  “I was, actually, speaking exactly what I meant: Would you like to take a vacation? Take some time to slow down and enjoy life, not having worry about what is happening now or what needs to be done later. Just… relax.”

“Sex is relaxing.”

“My god, mare, this is not about sex!”

“Why not?”

I throw up my hooves in defeat.  “Alright!” I scream. “All I wanted to do is ask if you wanted a vacation, just sometime to relax because you seem way to wound up for your own good. And you had to go and make a joke about it!”

Moondancer’s eyes go wide, and her pupils contract to pinpricks. She mumbles to herself for a second, just quiet enough so I couldn’t hear, then bows her head slightly.  “Sorry about that… It was just so… perfect of a moment.”

My anger leaves me immediately.  I have never, ever seen Moondancer apologize, let alone… deflate!

Moondancer takes a long breath, before exhaling softly.  She then turns her head, looking at me straight in the eyes.  “You know what, Octavia?  I would like that a lot.”

I smile at her.  This is the side of Moondancer that I really enjoy.  Vinyl was right;  she’s a good pony, honestly.  If you can get around her eccentric side, she’s an amazing friend deep down.  “I have a ticket for a cruise on the Lunar Dream that entitles me to a plus one.  Seeing as that Vinyl, Bluebelle, and father all have their own tickets, there’s room for you.”

Moondancer pulls me into a tight hug.  “You’re the fuckin’ best, Octavia.  I’m gonna sit on that airship on a recliner with a piña colada in a cocoanut for hours and hours and fucking relax!”

I chuckle at her.  “I hope you’ll enjoy yourself.”  I pull apart from the hug.  “Now come on, get on with your essay.”

She mumbles, but turns to her laptop.  “Just one last thing, though.”

“Yes?”

She puts a hoof to her mouth, as if she was stopping herself from laughing to hard.  “So is ‘airship cruise’ code for ‘mile high club’?”

I wait for her laughter to die down before I turn around.  “I’m going home, now.”