"Can somepony contact Twilight for me?"
At times, it asked of strange names and requests.
"Tell her that I'm lost. I'd... I'd really appreciate it if you can."
Sometimes, it had logical requests.
"Also, tell her that my teacup spell is in the top drawer of my filing cabinet."
...Other times, it did not.
"Starlight, huh? Sounds pretty fitting for a unicorn magus," Emily wandered into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. "You want me to call you Whisper or Starlight?"
"Either is fine."
Emily wet her toothbrush and squirted a blob of toothpaste onto the bristles. "So, what does a unicorn mage do, anyway?"
"Advise, primarily. My position as Arch-Mage of Equestria puts my expertise and skills at the helm of Princess Twilight Sparkle, a former rival and mentor of mine. You actually remind me quite a bit of one of the Princess' closest friends."
"Hrng? An who irshth thath?" Emily spoke through the toothpaste foam.
"Rainbow Dash-- your attitude is like hers."
"Hm," Emily spit out the foam and turned on the faucet again. "Maybe I could meet her someday then."
"I believe that you may eventually have to meet her. I--" Starlight cut herself off abruptly with a quiet whimper.
"I... what?"
"Er... nevermind about that." Starlight's voice seemed to waver. "She's gone now. They've... all been gone for a while. Actually, would you mind if I spoke a little more naturally? It's been ages since I've been able to properly speak my mind."
Speak her mind? What, had she been under some sort of restriction before?
"Heheh, noooo..." Starlight's voice forced a laugh. "No, it's just... Even though I was able to artificially slow my aging for the sake of Twilight when her friends began to pass, it didn't make their passing any less painful for her."
Emily snorted, wiping her mouth and exiting the bathroom. This Starlight Glimmer... voice? Presence? ...Whatever she was-- she was definitely turning out to be quite an interesting character. Come to think of it, she'd probably be a great character to play as the next time she played a D&D campaign.
Surprisingly, Starlight didn't respond to her thoughts this time around.
"Emily, your breakfast's getting cold! Are you coming down yet?"
"Yeah, mom!" the girl shouted down the stairs.
"I have to leave for work now. Don't forget, don't answer the door if anyone knocks besides your friends, okay?"
"I know, I know," Emily swung herself around the end post of the railings. "What do you think I am, five?"
"Just making sure. I'll be back around two, so make your own lunch. Love you!"
The familiar hum of the garage door opening rattled through the house.
"Would you like a teacup with your breakfast this morning, Emily?"
She blinked, not registering what Starlight said until she noticed the porcelain handle in her hand. "Wait, hold up," she pointed at the teacup with her other hand. "Did you just make this?"
"My mana stores are higher than they've been for ages, now that I do not have a physical body to maintain for myself."
Emily set the teacup on the table, sitting down in front of her plate of scrambled eggs. "What."
"I used to use an anti-aging spell before I was transported here."
That got a bit of a chuckle out of her. Apparently, even arch-mages still wanted to look as young as possible. Maybe Starlight was actually some old hag that lived in the middle of the woods!
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that second bit."
She absentmindedly shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth, scrolling through the notifications on her phone.
"Want another teacup?"
"Gah!" Emily couldn't catch the teacup in time before it tumbled into her lap. "Starlight, what was that for?"
She swore she heard a chuckle coming from the voice in her head. "Nothing, it's just been so long since I used that spell. An old friend of mine from way back was trying to learn a spell for her show, and so she started... well, turning things into teacups."
Turning things into teacups? Then, that meant...
"No, your fancy device is fine. I modified the spell for my own purposes into a general summoning spell. I'm just turning the energy of my mana into matter, that's all." Another teacup clattered onto the table. "Though, casting the spell without anything to channel the mana is certainly proving to be a little difficult."
What, was she going to need a wand or something for Starlight?
"Actually, a wand might be somewhat useful right about now. Something conductive should work pretty well from what I've heard."
Emily rose from her seat, walking to the cutlery drawer while Starlight continued on about conductive substances and magic. She took a spoon from the drawer, immediately silencing the voice for a moment.
"Are... are you suggesting that I use a spoon to channel my magic?"
"Yup."
"Why not a knife? At least it'd be straight."
Emily idly smacked the palm of her hand with the utensil, walking back to the table. "Nah, no knives or forks. We ran out of 'em two weeks ago."
"But they were in the drawer?"
The girl shrugged, sitting down and continuing her breakfast. "What drawer?"
"You mock me."
"Eh, I do that a lot."
The fork in her hand transformed into a teacup.
"Emily!" Starlight exclaimed, "Will you take me seriously just once?"
Emily rolled her eyes, placing the teacup on the table. "Fine, what do you wanna say?"
"I want to show you something."
"If it's another teacup, then I will give myself a brainfreeze."
Starlight took a moment to respond, but she soon broke through her hesitation. "Alright. I want you to pick up the spoon with the handle facing away from you."
"Okay..." Emily followed as she was instructed, clutching the head of the spoon between her fingers. "What next?"
She heard what almost sounded like a sigh of relief from Starlight. "That's all you need to do, thank you. I'll take it from here. Just... try to point it somewhere open."
"Wait, what are you--" a turquoise aura enveloped her hand, trickling down through the spoon and collecting at the tip of the handle. "HOLY HECK, WHAT THE CRAP IS HAPPENNI--"
Emily yelped, her entire body jerking back from the recoil of the spell's casting. A burst of pure mana shot from the tip of the spoon, narrowly missing one of the teacups on the table before freezing mid-air and balling up. Slowly, the blob of magical energy began to warp, taking on a vaguely quadrupedal form. A rough head emerged from the shimmering mass, followed by finer details-- ears, mane, tail-- and finally, a face. The figure remained still for a couple of seconds, gently pulsating in the morning sunlight.
"Sooo..." Emily pointed the spoon at the pony hovering behind the table. "Is that... yo--"
A final blast of light exploded from the pony, rattling the entire room and filling the place with the smell of ozone. Emily coughed, fanning the air in front of her face. She opened an eye, freezing in her place.
Starlight Glimmer blinked, lifting a hoof off the floor. "It... it worked," she sputtered, "Th-this spell has never worked before!"
Emily raised a brow.
"It must've been the rest I'd taken in your body! My mana reserves must've been full! I... I--"
"You're a pretty pastel pony that straight-up looks like a stuffed animal come to life."
Starlight snorted, cantering around the table. "Well, the main point is that now you know what I look like. Even with the extra kick the spell got, this body's only going to last at most a minute or two before it disintegrates again. Now do you understand what I can do?"
Emily sat back down with a new fork, stuffing another bite of scrambled eggs into her mouth. "Yeah, I guess. Could probably make for some pretty neat party tricks, to be honest."
She continued to thoughtfully chew her food, staring blankly into the distance. Starlight groaned.