Capitulo Seis
New Experiences
Starrk and Lilynette appeared in front of Derpy's house, and the former pushed open the front door. Lilynette followed behind with a bitter look in her eyes, her thoughts still on both wanting to spend time with Dinky and killing Diamond Tiara dead. Once inside, Starrk managed to reach the living room couch and lay down on it, stretching open his mouth for a quiet yawn before burying his face in the cushions. Lilynette only stared at the former espada with a glare before she snapped "Why couldn't you let me stay back there!? She was asking for it!!"
Starrk lifted his face to look at Lilynette "Be happy I didn't make you apologize..."
Lilynette puffed her cheeks "You're not even listening to me! I was busy trying to kill some ignorant jerk!! I even managed to do my cero, too!!"
Starrk gazed intently at the red filly "Are you serious?"
Lilynette nodded "Yeah! I can even show you again right now!!"
Starrk held out a hoof "None of that...This isn't our house to destroy..." He lifted himself up "But I am curious...If you're able to do cero as a pony, then so should I..." He trotted outside and looked up at the sky. He tried to focus as he stood completely still like he would any time he would fire his cero. The former espada sweatdropped when nothing happened "I-..." One of his eyebrows twitched as he looked up and felt like an idiot for standing around with no results.
Lilynette blinked before she pointed a hoof and blurted out "You can't perform a cero!? Why not?"
Starrk looked down "I don't know...I can at least perform my Sonido, but what am I without my cero?"
Lilynette approached Starrk and jabbed at one of his forelegs "Maybe you're not trying hard enough! You're the Primera Espada, remember!? Give it another go!"
Starrk looked back up and tried to focus again. An idea came up as he then looked at Lilynette "How were you able to fire your cero? Normally it would come out of your left eye..."
Lilynette looked up at Starrk "Yeah, you're right! But this time, it came out of my horn!!" She pointed at her horn "It's like all of my reiatsu's inside of it somehow!"
Starrk stared at the red filly's horn before looking at his own forehead, then his wings "Perhaps I should be happy with what I have..."
Lilynette grinned and giggled before she teased the former espada "Looks like I'm the only one of us capable of using a cero after all!! Too bad, Starrk!" A hoof to her forehead instantly stopped her "Ow!"
After Starrk gave a light glare at Lilynette, he heard flapping and looked up to see Derpy and Dinky approach 'Hm...Looks like they followed us...'
Derpy landed and placed Dinky on the ground before she smiled at the two former arrancar "Hi, Starrky! I hope you're not upset over what's happened!"
Dinky trotted up to Lilynette with a smile "Hey, sis..." She greeted softly.
"Hi, Dinky..." Lilynette replied distantly as she looked away with a frown.
Dinky approached her sister and placed a hoof on your shoulder "I never thought you knew how to use magic. Or managed to ruin some of the playground while trying to hurt Diamond Tiara..." She looked away with a frown.
Lilynette sneered at Dinky "She's lucky to be alive right now! I almost had her, too!!"
Dinky frowned "But you don't have to do something like that anytime somepony wants to pick on you! Even Ms. Cheerilee was scared!"
Lilynette gritted her teeth "Why would she even want to stop me to begin with!? If she was there, she would've agreed with me!"
Dinky shook her head "No she wouldn't! If she knew that she threw sand in your eyes while you didn't do anything, Diamond Tiara would've been in trouble. But you almost got in more trouble than her back there!"
Lilynette looked away with a huff "Didn't look like it! She was picking on us, so if anything, I almost did you and your friends a favor!"
Dinky smiled "Well, they're your friends, too, Lily..." The red filly looked at her sister in confusion "You didn't have to do all of that if it meant wanting them to stop. And don't worry, sis. I'm not mad at you like Mr. Starrk..." She hugged Lilynette, who had her eyes widened for a moment.
Derpy watched the two fillies and clasped two hooves together with a touched smile "Awww~! Isn't that precious?" She was oblivious the dark glare she received from Lilynette after her words.
Starrk only stared at the fillies for a moment before going back inside. Derpy blinked "Starrky? Where are you going? Won't you stay with me for the rest of my shift?"
The former espada looked back at Derpy "I'm working tomorrow...The least I can do is enjoy a good nap before then..." He answered apathetically.
Derpy shook her head with an amused smile "That stallion..." She looked down at Lilynette "You're lucky to have somepony like him look after you!"
Lilynette and Dinky broke the embrace and stared up at Derpy. The red filly rolled her eyes "Well, Starrk needs me as much as I need him..." She answered cooly.
Derpy nuzzled Lilynette's head "Such a good little filly!" Lilynette was taken by surprise before she tried swatting away Derpy the moment she drew her head back. The mailmare looked around "Well, I better get back to work! You two enjoy your day together!"
Dinky smiled and hugged Derpy "Bye, Mommy!" When the mailmare took off, Dinky turned to look at Lilynette "C'mon, Lily! Let's go inside and draw!"
Lilynette tilted her head "Draw? Draw what?"
Dinky held out her forelegs "Anything! Just follow me!" The two fillies made their way inside the house. On the way to Dinky's room, they passed by Starrk, who was found snoozing on the living room couch "Hi, Mr. Starrk!" Dinky called out as she trotted along with Lilynette, receiving no response from the former espada.
The two fillies were led back to Dinky's room, where the purple filly trotted over and pulled out a stack of paper from a drawer along with some different-colored crayons. She brought them over to Lilynette and placed them on the floor "Now we can start drawing! But we gotta be sure to clean up when we're done. Mommy wouldn't be happy!" Dinky took a blank sheet of paper and two crayons - one grey and one yellow - and started drawing.
Lilynette observed her sister out of boredom. When a thought of what to draw came to mind, she decided to take a sheet of paper of her own, along with three crayons. She took the red, green, and purple crayons and began drawing herself. At first she was focused once she started, then began to grin evilly as she progressed.
Dinky's drawing turned out to be a childish doodle of her mother with her selective colors, and she smiled at her progress when she stopped for a moment "I think I'm getting better! What are you drawing, sis?" She looked over to see Lilynette enraptured in her art "Sis?" Dinky inched over and noticed that her sister was busy drawing a picture of herself zapping Diamond Tiara, who was split along her midsection, had 'x's' for eyes, and was around scribbles of red. She frowned at this, and grew uneasy when she heard Lilynette chuckle to herself. Feeling as if her sister finished her picture, Dinky nudged the red filly out of her artistic euphoria "Do you hate Diamond Tiara that much?"
Lilynette stopped her drawing and looked at Dinky "Is my drawing not that good?" She asked with mild irritation.
Dinky scratched her head "Well..." She looked back at Lilynette's depiction of finally ending her new enemy with her cero while trying to come up with an exceptional answer "What if we play a game?" She smiled hopefully.
Lilynette blinked "You mean like that game of tag you tried to play earlier?" The red filly moved her drawing to the side and looked at Dinky with her uncovered eye "How exactly do you play that?"
Dinky held up a hoof "It's pretty simple and fun! You see, if I tag you, that means you're it, and you have to tag somepony else!"
Lilynette frowned "So it's just running around? Doesn't that get boring?"
Dinky shook her head "Not if you have enough friends!" A thought occured to her, and she smiled "What if we find Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo so we can all play together?"
"You mean those other ponies?" Lilynette asked inquisitively "Why would they even want to play with me?"
Dinky giggled "I said they were you're friends, too, Lily! And besides, you'll never know until you try!"
Lilynette huffed "Do we even know where they live?"
Dinky nodded "Sure I do! Maybe if we have Mr. Starrk take us to Sweet Apple Acres, we can find them at their clubhouse in no time!" She looked down with a frown "Too bad he's asleep..."
Lilynette noticed the slight sadness in Dinky's tone and got up on her hooves "Follow me..." She spoke in an empty tone as she turned and left the room.
"Wait!"
The red filly looked back to see Dinky pointing at the crayons and paper, much to Lilynette's chagrin "Oh...right..." She moved back and put the items away with her sister's help.
_____
The two unicorn fillies trotted into the living room to see Starrk enjoying his time on the couch as if they were not in front of him. Dinky turned to Lilynette with an unsure glance "You're not gonna wake him up, are you?"
Lilynette looked back at Dinky "How else are we gonna make it to Sweet Apple Acres? Besides, I'm doing this for you!" She looked back at Starrk and a mischievous smile formed on her face as she hopped up to where she nearly touched the ceiling and flew down onto Starrk's back "WAKE UP!"
Starrk instantly brought his head up and arched his back with gritted teeth and comical tears as Lilynette began stomping in place on the former espada's back, causing a plethora of displeased grunts from him. Dinky only watched and wondered about Starrk and Lilynette's relationship together. A part of her was happy to know Lilynette was willing to act for her, but she did not favor the red filly's methods.
Lilynette eventually wavered and smiled down at Starrk "Good, you're up! Now you can take me and my sister to Sweet Apple Acres! C'mon, Starrk! Up and at 'em!"
Starrk slowly looked behind his back at Lilynette with an annoyed glare "What for?"
Dinky trotted up to Starrk's vision and bowed politely "We're very sorry to wake you up like this, Mr. Starrk! Me and Lily only want to go to Sweet Apple Acres and play with our friends! Can you take us there? Please?" She asked softly with an adorable smile.
Starrk stared at Dinky and wondered how such a creature would exist in any world. He was slightly moved by how she tried to appear cute in his eyes. To his benefit, he remembered the exact location of where the fillies spoke of 'Hm...I suppose it wouldn't hurt...' He looked over at Lilynette and frowned "Get off..."
Lilynette complied, knowing that Starrk was willing to cooperate, and hopped off of his back to stand beside Dinky while he got up. After stretching himself, Starrk led the fillies outside of the house. When they were at a good distance, Starrk took Dinky and Lilynette with both of his hooves and blurred out with his Sonido.
After a short moment, a certain pink mare poked her head out the front door "Wowzers! I thought they'd never leave!!" She grinned to herself "Better get back to work!" Pinkie zipped back into the house and made sure to shut the door.
_____
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack carried a bushel of apples on her back towards her house to bring inside for lunch. As she moved, she heard the sound of rushing wind above her and looked to see a prismatic trail headed her way. It stopped to reveal her friend Rainbow Dash as she hovered over the farmpony, who smiled "Howdy, Dash! What brings ya here today?"
Rainbow Dash waved "Hey, AJ! I was just busy napping one minute, and when I woke up later, I heard some ponies talk about some commotion that happened around Ponyville Elementary! I looked over there and saw some of their property leveled!!"
Applejack shuddered with a frown "Ah heard about that from Applebloom an' 'er friends...Ah feel pretty dern stupid not t' be there fer her, but she said that everypony was alright! Also heard that one little filly did all of it, too! An' all fer tryin' t' get back at Diamond Tiara!"
Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves with an arched eyebrow "You mean that one filly that picks on your sister and Scoots? How can one little filly do so much damage by herself? What's her name?"
Applejack tapped her chin "Applebloom said 'er name was...Lilynette?"
Rainbow Dash blinked before she tilted her head "That's an interesting name...But I still find it hard to believe that a filly came close to destroying Ponyville Elementary by herself! What's next? A pony who's faster than me?"
As if she tempted fate, three ponies blurred into existence in front of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, startling the two mares.
Starrk let go of the fillies after his Sonido, and looked to see Dinky stumble about in a daze from traveling so fast. Her mane was messed up and her eyes rolled in different directions as she moaned dizzily.
Lilynette noticed with mild worry, which gave way to agitation as she struck Starrk in his foreleg, causing the former espada to kneel "You idiot!! You could've warned Dinky before using your Sonido!!"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stared dumbfoundedly at the trio, and Dinky managed to recover after frantically shaking her head "Wow!!" She beamed at Starrk "You really are super fast, Mr. Starrk!! That was fun!!" The purple filly looked over at Applejack "Hello, Applejack! Is Applebloom home at all?"
The farmpony stared before she pointed out towards the orchard "Um, yes...She an' 'er friends are at their clubhouse."
Dinky grinned "Thank you!!" She looked over at Lilynette "C'mon, Lily! Let's go over and meet our friends!!"
Rainbow Dash stared before realization struck her "Wait a minute...Lily? Is that filly supposed to be Lilynette!?" She asked incredulously.
Starrk watched the two fillies before turning his back on the two mares and going to use his Sonido. Applejack noticed and called out "Hang on there, partner!" The former espada looked back and regarded Applejack with his bored stare while she continued "Mind tellin' us who ya are? Never really seen yer face 'round Ponyville!"
Rainbow Dash chimed in "Yeah! And how did you just appear in front of us?" She asked in a slightly interrogating tone.
Starrk stared before he introduced himself informally "The name's Coyote Starrk, and yes, I'm new here...As for how I got here, it was my Sonido." He faced away from the two mares, and before Rainbow Dash could call out to him, he blurred out with his Sonido, leaving behind the sound of booming static.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared with widened eyes before the cyan pegasus darted her head around "Wh-Where'd he go!?" She shouted in a flustered tone.
Dinky looked at where Starrk once stood before turning to Rainbow Dash "I'm pretty sure Mr. Starrk went back to my house! You can find him there!"
Lilynette gave Dinky a look of impatience "Are we not gonna go? The plan was to come here, wasn't it?"
Dinky nodded to Lilynette "Mhmm! Let's go meet the crusaders!!" The two fillies galloped away with Dinky taking point.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched them leave before the farmpony spoke up "Yer not actually gonna go after that stallion, ar-" A whoosh was heard, and Applejack looked to see a prismatic trail heading towards Ponyville as she sighed in exasperation "Of course ya are..." She shook her head before she went back to carrying the apples into her house.
_____
Starrk made it back to Derpy's house in no time at all and trotted towards the front door, inching a foreleg towards the doorknob.
"Hey!"
The former espada looked up to see a familiar pegasus speed towards him from the sky, landing in front of him as he stepped back "You kinda left me and AJ hanging back there! How does a pegasus like you go so fast that it seems like you're teleporting?" Rainbow Dash gazed intently at Starrk, expecting an answer.
Starrk stared before he spoke in a flat tone "I told you it was Sonido. Now please move so I can go inside and take a nap..."
Rainbow Dash blinked "Wait...You're super fast AND you love to nap? Seriously, who are you?" The cyan pegasus wondered if there somehow existed a male counterpart of herself, though she did not expect him to look so different.
Starrk furrowed his brow "Did you not hear me back there? My name's Coyote Starrk...And yes, I'm not afraid to admit that I like to sleep..."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head "In that case, why not sleep on a cloud, like me?"
Starrk blinked "A cloud? Is that even possible?"
Rainbow Dash looked annoyed "Of course it's possible! You're a pegasus! Duh~! Do you even have clouds where you were before?"
Starrk replied instantly "Yes, but it was impossible to sleep on them..."
The cyan pegasus stared blankly before placing a hoof to her temple "Wow, that's-...That's just so weird! Now I need to lie down!" She paused before looking at Starrk with a smile "I think it's about time I show you a good place to nap! Follow me!!" Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and flew up into the sky, with Starrk following shortly after.
The two pegasi stopped and hovered next to a white and pleasantly puffed cloud. They stared before Rainbow Dash turned to Starrk "Well? Aren't you gonna try it?"
Starrk stared at the cloud while Rainbow Dash spoke. At one point, it was believable with how strange this world was to the former espada, but he was still skeptical to believe he can actually sleep on a cloud. He looked back at Rainbow Dash "Are you sure you're not lying?"
Rainbow Dash heaved an irritable sigh before she demonstrated sleeping on the cloud by easily landing on top of it and laying down "There! Now do you believe me?" She asked with an unamused glance.
Starrk stared before he went to land next to Rainbow Dash, who held out a hoof "Sorry, pal. You had your chance before. This one's taken!" She looked around before she pointed at a nearby cloud with the same features as the one she laid on "Try that one over there. Trust me, you'll love it."
The former espada eyed the cloud before he lazily flew over and followed Rainbow Dash's example as he carefully placed a foreleg on the cloud. He expected his hoof to phase through it, but it felt as if he were touching the fluffiest pillow in existence. He followed with his other foreleg, then both of his hindlegs before he finally laid himself onto the cloud, dropping his face onto his new resting area.
It was heaven.
All that mattered to Starrk now was that he had no further use of Derpy's couch or her bed. He instantly lost himself to slumber without hearing Rainbow Dash ask if he liked it or not.
To be continued...