"...Finally." the Crystal Unicorn muttered with a huff of his breath. He finally had some alone time for the first time since he arrived in Ponyville earlier that morning. All day long it was just touring Ponyville, then touring the Princess's castle, followed by a tour of her school. And that was only the start of it. There were still the lectures themselves. Some of them went smoothly, others... didn't. For the ones that didn't, Astral was bombarded with question after question, sometimes he could swear they had nothing at all to do with the lesson. And if that weren't enough, the pink one insisted on throwing him a welcoming party at the end of the day. Sweet Celestia if he had to hear anymore of Pinkie Pie's annoying ramblings, or of Rarity's boutiques, or worst of all Spike's continued reminders of who it was that saved the Crystal Empire and the Equestria Games, then Astral Gleam would go absolutely insane. That's it! That had to be why Sunburst put him up to this! He knew this would turn into Astral Gleam's personal Hell and wanted to watch him squirm!
"Thank Luna today is finally over with..." he said with an exasperated sigh. Of course, this was only day one. He was stuck here for the rest of the week and something told him it was all going to start over again in the morning, "...well at least I still have the stars." he used his magic to open his balcony window, the window itself briefly gaining a sky blue aura magic that matched the Unicorn's eye color and Cutie Mark color. It opened and Astral Gleam's hooves clicked on the marble floor of the balcony as he stepped outside. He was using his magic to carry a handheld telescope behind him and then proceeded to use it to admire the night sky. The view felt... different somehow. Logically speaking the change of location shouldn't have that strongly of an effect one's view of the stars, unless of course they moved half way around the planet. But Ponyville was no where that great a distance away from the Crystal Empire, so the night sky should by all accounts look relatively the same. Perhaps there actually was some kind of magic behind it? Ponies in his field were still debating whether the stars were a result of magic or a more natural phenomenon. And for the record, Astral Gleam was in the latter camp. In his rather astute opinion, if there were any magic behind the stars then surely the Princesses would have known about it and told them by now.
For a moment he looked down at the small town surrounding the castle. Princess Twilight had insisted that Astral stay there as her guest. Sure, the Castle was glittery enough, but in his mind nothing would ever top the sheer beauty of the Crystal Empire. Some ponies could swear that the crystal structures could sometimes practically glow under the moonlight. Not that Astral was biased, of course... even though he totally was. Still, that gaze was only momentary, as the unicorn's true interest was in the night sky. Or rather, in what lay beyond it. He may have been visiting Ponyville to give history lectures, but Astral Gleam's true field was astronomy. Watching the night sky, studying it for endless hours in the hopes of figuring out exactly what makes it all tick. But for this Unicorn, it went beyond that. He was convinced there was even more out there, beyond what any naked eye or Telescope could see. The biggest mystery of all... the ultimate puzzle just waiting for a brilliant mind like Astral's to solve it.
"What the devil is
that?" Astral exclaimed aloud when he spotted multiple objects literally falling out of the sky in what could honestly be described as a blaze of glory. Almost all them impacted in the Everfree Forest, and when they did the sheer explosive boom could practically be felt all the way back in Ponyville. Any pony who was asleep was almost certainly awake now. But Astral didn't have time to waste. He grabbed a couple of notebooks with his magic, also still levitating telescope with them, "No time, I've got to get to the nearest crash site before somepony messes it all up!" he was practically in a full gallop by the time he was outside the castle and on his way in the direction of the nearest impact site. Briefly, however, he stopped and looked up at the sky again with his telescope.
"Of course...
they would be showing up wouldn't they?" the Shadowbolts. Some would call them the "real" elite flying team of Equestria. Sure, the Wonderbolts had flair and style. But the Shadowbolts were easily more efficient, prioritizing functionality over entertainment. Of course, an incident like this occurring at night would naturally warrant their attention. Well, that just meant Astral had to hurry even faster. He had to try and get to at least one of the sites before the Shadowbolts could start throwing around red tape all over the place. And even if they did, well, it was a good thing Astral Gleam always carried his credentials. A flash of those was always enough to prove his certification in his field and allow him access to the objects for study. It wasn't long before the Shadowbolts almost instantly cleared the skies around the forest. There would be no moving about them spotting the Unicorn, especially considering his more crystallized coat.
"Ha!" Astral almost laughed to himself as he resumed his gallop into the Everfree Forest, "Sorry Sunburst, but it looks like the joke is officially on you now!" since he was already here so close to the sites, chances were very good that he would get to be among the first to really study objects up close. Meanwhile everypony else would running in a desperate attempt to catch up. But alas, Astral's head start all but assured his success. Of course, then Astral almost swore under his breath when he realized something, "Oh great, I just realized I'm going have to actually thank the bastard for this opportunity! Always a catch to these things... always."
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