//------------------------------//
// 131 - A Clever Unicorn 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
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"Let's start here." She flipped through the page with her magic, settling on a shield. "This, and..." She flipped along to a flight spell. "This."

Silver tilted his head at the book. This wasn't a time travel spell, but perhaps expecting Starlight to open with that would be asking a bit much. He reached with his hooves, drawing the book closer and studying the two spells. Though he had been asked to merge the shield and the flight spell, his inspiration began running in another direction. 

The shield that was before him was very different from his own personalized version. He began comparing it to his own in his head, then he drew out his own book and began swapping back and forth between them as unicorn letters were muttered under his breath.

Starlight raised a brow. "What are you doing, precisely?"

Night flashed her fangs. "Once he gets his little unicorn teeth into a spell, he's lost to the world."

Morning Glory, ignored and trying to reach for the food on the table, hit his limit and gave a keen cry as he pointed with a hoof. The sound drew Night instantly. She produced a bottle from wherever mother ponies got such things and gently soothed the hungry foal, which necessitated Clear Twilight get her share.

Silver glanced up, but seeing Night had the situation well-in-hoof, his attention slid right back to the books. He produced a quill and began scribbling furiously. "Funny... interesting, combination..." No full thought escaped his mouth, mental bandwidth occupied with converging the two spells. "Invert, just like..."

Starlight slid from her chair and circled Silver to peer over his shoulder at the new letters he was producing. "One doesn't just make a spell, not as a party trick. What are you doing?"

Night shook her head. "We were both serious. It's best to let him finish what he's started."

Starlight raised a brow as she moved back to her seat. "You'd better not damage my book."

Silver made a noise of distracted confirmation as he scrawled busily. The table became quiet a long moment before he drove down the quill down on the paper with a triumphant cry, drawing some stares. "There!"

"There... what?" Starlight's magic grabbed for Silver's book to look at what he had written. Her eyes scanned over it, muttering under her breath as she tried to memorize it, which was a skill she had plenty of. "What's it do?"

Silver rolled a hoof. "Well, if I got it right, it combines the hardened structure of my optimized spell with the structure of yours, turned inwards. It should be a way to safely disable a pony."

"Really?" Starlight raised a brow before a smile spread over her snout. The last thing Silver saw was her horn lowering before there was a bright flash. He was frozen in a chunk of crystallized magic.

Night sprang to her hooves, only to be locked in her own crystal, foals still in her wings. They could look around with their eyes but little else.

Starlight gave a little titter of delight as she scooped up both spellbooks and tucked them away. "Well, it seems your cutie mark is working quite well." Her face took on a look of disgust. "Enough. Who sent you?" There was no reply from the frozen ponies. "Right, nevermind that." Her horn lifted them both into the air and she moved to leave with them, only to be interrupted by a waiter.

"Will you be handling the bill, ma'am?"

Silver silently swore. Were ponies really so oblivious as to not question the fact that he and his family were locked in crystals?

Starlight smiled. "Oh, yes, silly me." She surrendered a few bits and strolled out with the two crystals bobbing behind her like exceptionally odd party balloons. 

Night struggled in her prison to little effect and tried to talk, but it was little more than muffled grunts. The foals were better at making noise, but to equally little real effect. Starlight looked back to all of them. "Now be good little ponies. I'll let you out in the moment." She was wreathed in magic Silver could see and lifted into the air. "Away we go!"

She moved quickly away from the sparkling city with her hostages, descending under Canterlot to a small cave and settling her prize there. "I really should thank you. That spell will be quite useful. Oh, I wonder what expression I'll lock onto Princess Twiddle's face." Her horn twinkled and the spell broke, freeing Silver from his prison. "Now tell me who sent you. Was it her? Did Princess Celestia decide to act? Tell me now and I may be merciful."

Watching from a distance, Celine surged forward to intervene, only for Sunny to thrust a hoof in the way. "Have faith in them."

Celine's back twitched, flaring wings that weren't there. "They're in danger! Shouldn't we help them? We're friends. Is that not what friends do?"

Sunny smiled gently. "Friends also have confidence. Silver has not lost this conflict yet."

Silver sat up from where the broken spell had left him sprawling. "Starlight, we're not here to stop you."

Starlight raised a brow. "If you were, you're doing a very bad job."

Silver smiled a little. It was the same Starlight he once knew. That infectious confidence made him giddy, but he didn't like her angry look. "Is it that hard to believe some ponies may take an actual interest in you?"

"Yes!" Starlight only seemed to notice what she said long after it spilled from her mouth. She started to darken in her cheeks and she stomped a hoof with rising fury. "Stop mocking me!" Her magic grabbed at Silver and he projected his own increasingly delicate telekinesis to slide along hers in a dance that was invisible to most. "What are you doing?"

Silver stepped free of the battle of wills calmly. "I've had enough being swatted around of late, thank you. Starlight, I want to be your friend."

"W-what?" Starlight frowned at him. "You have a cutie mark."

Silver pointed. "So do you."

Starlight glanced back at it even as her magic faded. "I didn't ask for it..."

Silver smiled gently. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Starlight frowned at him a moment. The crystal apparently had a time limit, or perhaps she was not focusing well enough, because Night and the foals fell to the ground in a chorus of small cries and a grunt of annoyance. Starlight sneered at the three. "Stay where you are and I won't put you back on ice."

Night gathered her foals close. "If we wanted to attack you, we would have already."

Starlight raised a brow at the statement. "I know more than enough battle magic to take care of two parents and their squawking little brats."

Silver sat on his haunches, regarding Starlight evenly despite the thumping his heart. "You could, I'm sure, but we're not here to fight you. Can we talk, like adults?"

Starlight suddenly brought a hoof to her face. "How did I not recognize you?!" She leveled the same hoof at Silver. "You're that new diplomat. You're practically Celestia's little pet." She took a dangerous step forward. "You think you can stop me?"

Silver shook his head, muscles stiff with fear. "I'm here for you, Starlight, not her. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. I just want to talk."

Starlight shook her head slowly. "I should get rid of the lot of you..." Her eyes lost their focus a moment. "But I don't think that's needed... I believe you." She half turned away. "I don't even know why, but I do. You make me regret that decision and I'll make sure you don't have long to regret yours."

She walked away a few steps. "If you work for Celestia, you have to know Princess starbutt, tell me everything about her. Spare no details."

Night snorted softly. "Besides the fact that she eats up magic?"

"That's a start." Starlight smiled. "Tell me what she values."

"Her friends." Silver tilted his head a little.

"Pfft, figures." Starlight frowned viciously. "She took away my friends while she enjoys hers. I bet she'd change her tune if she knew what it was like..." A thought came to her and the frown eased into a calculating smile. "Tell me what her greatest mistake was."

Night looked perplexed at the question. Silver, on the other hoof, had a few guesses. "She once had a town stampeding after a doll."

Starlight snorted back laughter. "Foalish, no, something else." She rolled a hoof. "Go on."

He tapped his chin softly. "She spent a week preparing Ponyville for a disaster that turned out to be herself telling herself not to worry."

Starlight blinked quietly. "How did she tell herself?"

Silver brought two hooves together. "Well she skipped backwards a week to warn herself, though her past self wasn't very--"

"How do you know any of that?" demanded Night with a bit of a frown.

"Now we're onto something, oh yes. Now, my clever little unicorn. Do you know where this spell is?" She sauntered towards him with a seductive smile. "I would be ever so grateful, and we can part ways without any hard feelings at all."

Night frowned with her own bristled emotions, but getting this far was the goal. She calmed herself and held her foals gently, eyes locked on the two unicorns.

Silver bobbed his head. "Actually, I do. That one she got from the Star Swirl wing of the library."

Starlight raised a brow faintly. "That raises a challenge." The expression melted into a smile. "But not an insurmountable one. I have more information gathering to do. You can go now."

Silver took Morning Glory in his magic and levitated his foal to his back. "That's not how you say goodbye to friends."

"Good thing we're not." Starlight frowned a little. "Go ahead, go, before I change my mind."

He let out a little sigh. "I'll see you later, Starlight."

"Perhaps." She seemed to be pointedly ignoring their presence, and they took their leave.

Silver raised a hoof. "Oh, can I have my spellbook back? You can..."

Starlight ripped out the page with the crystal spell before he could give permission to copy it. She tossed the remainder of the book at his hooves. Silver quietly counted to ten in his head as he reclaimed his book. With a smoldering bit of anger, he left with his family.

Night nipped at him the moment they were out of sight and hearing range. "What do you see in that pony? All she needs is a swift hoof right to the jaw."

Silver chuckled a little. "Right this second, I find myself agreeing, but I know there's a good pony in there. It's our job to help it get its chance to come out and leave this bitter and angry pony behind." He rolled his eyes. "At least she isn't working for shadowy organizations this time."

"What?"

Silver shook his head. "We should get back to the city, and we shouldn't be surprised if Starlight turns up again. She'll probably want help making that spell do what she wants it to do, either in asking me, or just snatching my talent for a little while."

Night grunted softly. "This is one mission I'm glad is over..."