Moon Unit Zappa

by RarityEQM

The Student

The Castle Library was a vast, sprawling expanse that left Diamond dizzy just peering into the room. Thousands upon thousands of tomes, texts, and documents lined the shelves that stretched from one end of the library to the other. Diamond was not an avid reader, nor did she care for the miserable silence that surrounded her as she made her way down the rows of shelves. The entire room made her feel slightly uncomfortable and prickly. It was the silence. The frighteningly unmistakable sensation of being absolutely and utterly alone made her feel ill at ease. But she wasn't alone. Not by a long shot, for even in the dismal silence that surrounded the girl, her sharp ears could make out the sound of leathery pages being turned and flipped somewhere deep in the bowels of the library.

Diamond pressed on, keeping her ears perked and listening for the sound of life that got louder and louder the deeper she went, and stopped when she found its source. At the very end of the library, sitting at the furthest table she could, sat a little gray unicorn that was perhaps Diamond's age. Dinky Hooves, the Student of Darkness. She had her nose buried in a thick, thick looking text and next to her sat an elephantine stack of books that looked just as fat. Diamond drew in a quiet breath and steeled herself for the headache about to take hold of her. Ok. This was it.

"Go away," Dinky spat coldly, the moment Diamond took a step towards her. The angry little unicorn hadn't moved from her spot and didn't look up, but somehow she knew Diamond was in proximity.

"Oh, good. I was afraid you'd be in a bad mood," Diamond groaned, approaching the other side of the table where Dinky sat. Dinky didn't look up, she simply flipped another page in her book and continued reading.

"I reiterate. Go. Away," grumbled the little unicorn. Diamond grimaced and glanced at the door at the other end of the library. It would be so easy...

"I need your help," Diamond said, tentatively sitting down across from Dinky, who sighed in irritation.

"That's a shame," Dinky grumbled.

"Luna's missing," said Diamond. At that statement, Dinky actually looked up, eyes widening briefly. That got her attention! Diamond almost let herself feel hopeful that this would be easier than she thought until the expression melted away and back into irritated indifference.

"Then go find her," Dinky huffed, turning another page in her book. Diamond remained undeterred.

"She's in Tartarus, " She said as patiently as possible. Dinky frowned, looking up at Diamond in shock.

"What?! I mean...why is she in Tartarus?" She asked nonchalantly as if it didn't bother her in the slightest. Diamond felt her muzzle slack and confusion take over. That was a good question. Why was she in Tartarus? Slowly, it started to dawn upon Diamond that she might not exactly know the full story behind the horrible adventure she was about to embark on. Her ears remained curiously perked a moment longer, before the filly shook her head. No. It didn't matter. The reason why Luna was there was a moot point, by her own will, or by somepony else, the mission was still the same.

"I- I don't know! But she's in trouble, and she needs our help!" Diamond exclaimed. Dinky rolled her eyes and flipped another page. Slower this time, as if she were demonstrating her absolute lack of interest in the conversation. Diamond felt the fringes of a snarl starting to take hold.

"The castle guard will handle it," Dinky replied only to see Diamond quickly shake her head.

"The guards have already failed!" she barked, planting both her forehooves on the table with a tiny thud. Dinky flipped another page in that damned book of her's and rolled her eyes yet again, entirely ignoring Diamond's frustrated gestures.

"And you will too, you moron. Do you really think you're going to make a difference? Trained soldiers failed and you think you're going to get one hoof step further than they did? Are you really that stupid Diamond? Use the pitiful excuse for grey matter you've got between your ears and think about this! You will not come back from Tartarus. Let Twilight and her friends handle this, and just stay out of it. "Dinky huffed. Diamond's expression hadn't changed, although now she was visibly breathing hard and glaring at Dinky with no small amount of contempt.

"You think Princess Luna has the time to wait around for Twilight and her friends to come rushing to the rescue?! Celestia choose us for this mission for a reason, Dinky!" she snapped, the snarl having fully seized her face. Dinky reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a groan. The conversation and the absolute brainless nature of the pony next to her were grinding down to the last of her patience.

"No, you imbecile! The only reason Celestia talked to you is because finding you is as easy as locating the nearest open crater and she knows at least one member of the Night Court knows what Tartarus looks like! She doesn't want you because you can't fly without face planting the ground! You think you'll actually manage to help save Luna?! You're loud, you're dumb, and the only thing you're good at is making a mess! Do not go down to Tartarus. Seriously, you're smarter than this." Dinky spit, daring to look up from her book to make sure Diamond was getting the message. The dumb filly had, however, turned sharply on her hooves and kicked the stack of books Dinky had collected.

"You're a bucking coward, Dinky!" Diamond snapped, marching away from the other filly, and out of the library. Dinky watched in silence as Diamond took her her leave after her completely oblivious little tantrum. Dinky grumbled. That moronic mare made her so angry sometimes that she wanted to wrap her hooves around her neck and squeeze until the stupid stopped. No. Calm down. Focus. Now that silence filled the library again, she could concentrate on her studies- a fact that became apparent as the kicked over books around her lifted telekinetically into the air. They arranged themselves in a neatly aligned stack to the left of her, and she tried to find where she'd left off, before Diamond poked her head in. Madness. That stupid filly was going to get herself killed. Surely there was no way she'd be dumb enough to head into Tartarus. No. No. She wasn't crazy enough to set hoof down there, was she? That just wasn't possible, was it? No. No. Dinky shook her head, trying to forcefully snap herself out of her thoughts. But everything Diamond had just said was a broken record playing in her head. The Night Court wasn't really going to go on a suicide mission, were they? What hope could they have against the horrors and titans of Tartarus?

Dinky glanced at the open book in front of her and closed it with a dismal sigh. To accept the mission was to accept a death sentence. If the other servants of Shadow were heading into Tartarus, it was clear what she needed to do: Find a new job.

Comments

[Olden Bronie]

Wow, Dinky sure had a bad attitude! I'm wondering how Luna tolerates her. She must be very good at necromancy!

[GamingWolf]

7977842 spoiler much? Geez.

[Olden Bronie]

7980831
Oh, I'm sorry! I thought it was talked about in a previous chapter as to what Dinky's skill was. I truly apologize if I ruined anything, for you or anyone else. Or for the story.

sorry

[GamingWolf]

7982254 No problem. I usually spoil stuff too