The sound of hoofsteps on stone softened as Starlight watched her friends leave. The further away they got, the quieter it became. She watched it all with an anxious smile, her mind uneasy with the thought of being left alone to care for the castle once again. It was far from the first time, and doubtful to be the last, but ever since the escapade in the Changeling hive, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the prelude to something happening.
Starlight felt a hoof on her shoulder, reminding her she was, in fact, not alone.
“Cheer up, the Great and Powerful Best Friend is here, and she will keep you company for the week.”
Starlight rolled her eyes, giving Trixie a baleful glare.
“Okay, fine. ‘I’ am here,” Trixie said, dropping the airs, “so you don’t need to worry about getting bored.”
“It’s not that.” Starlight sighed, causing the blue mare to adopt a confused look. “It’s just… the girls are gone. You, me, and Discord are all here. I know Thorax isn’t here, but I just feel a sense of foreboding.”
Trixie began to chuckle to herself. “You’ve been spending far too much time in Ponyville.” She giggled to herself again. “Come on, let’s go see what Spike and Discord are up to. I’d be lying if I said the story about his Ogres and Oubliettes game didn’t interest me.”
Hooves striking crystal, Trixie walked back inside. Starlight took one last look in the direction her friends and teacher had gone before shaking her head, putting on a confident smile, and turning to walk inside. The week was hers, so she was going to do something with it.
The pair soon found Spike in the library. Discord had commandeered most of the tables in the room, pushing them all together, and now their surfaces were covered in sheets and sheets of notes and one giant map.
Apparently, this was all prep work, and when the girls asked about it, they soon found they didn’t share that keen of an interest. Politely declining an offer to help out, the pair decided to take a look through Twilight’s collection of games and entertainment. Moving into the private library, they soon stood together, looking up and down at the set of shelves holding the games.
Focused on picking something, they failed to notice that a series of mana wires adorning a particular large mirror had sprung to life. With a faint noise, sounding akin to someone slipping on ice in the distance, their ears perked up. Next thing they knew, there was a loud thump.
“Son of a—ugh, that hurt.”
Eyes wide and horns alight, Starlight and Trixie turned to face their would-be intruder only to find an amber unicorn mare sprawled out on her back, twitching in pain.
“Sunset Shimmer?” Starlight gawked.
The prone mare stopped moving. “Starlight Glimmer?”
The purple-maned mare moved and helped the other to her hooves. “That’s me. How’d you know?”
“I’ve had run-ins with the alternate dimension you, so I know the voice.” Sunset rubbed the back of her neck, her face a little flush. “Same question back?”
“With the mirror and Twilight’s description, let’s just call it an educated guess.”
Both mares were somewhat startled when a hoof slammed the floor, the blue mare it belonged to wearing an irate scowl. “Would somepony please tell me what in Tartarus is happening here?!”
Trixie had stopped moving. Starlight was starting to grow concerned and waved a leg in front of her face.
They had spent the last quarter of an hour explaining the deal with the alternate dimension, Sunset’s theft of the Element of Magic, and the subsequent magic shenanigans on the other side. At some point, Trixie had stopped being able to comprehend it all and had just stopped responding.
With motion and talking having no effect, Starlight decided to try something bold. She leaned forwards and gave her friend a quick peck on the cheek. Instantly, the blue of her cheeks went red, and it slowly worked its way to the tips of her ears.
Sunset watched the exchange with intrigue, before Starlight shuffled across next to her. “And three… two… one…”
“She did all that?!” Trixie exclaimed, looking at the newcomer with a mixture of respect and fear.
“Yes, and like us, Twilight helped her to better herself.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Sunset stuck her hoof into the middle, “but speaking of Twilight, where is she? I came here to talk to her about something.”
The faces fell on the other two mares. “Sorry, Sunset, she and the other Elements have gone on a mission. They should be back in a few days if you want to come back later.”
“Ugh.” Sunset dropped to her stomach. “I’d rather just wait here, if that’s okay with you? I’d really like to talk to her in pers… pony before I have to do something.”
Starlight shrugged. “I don’t see that being an issue. This castle has enough rooms.” She looked across to Trixie, and the two shared a look, before she turned back to Sunset. “I’d never turn down more company, and if what Twilight tells me is true, you are quite the skilled mage; the three of us can talk shop.”
A distant crash echoed through the castle. Two of the three mares looked at each other and spoke at the same time: “Discord!”
When the trio made it to the library, the area was in chaos… which made sense, given that the Lord of Chaos was currently there. Half of the bookshelves had been overturned and one of the desks was still smouldering.
Facehoofing, Starlight sat down. “What even happened?”
“Sorry, Starlight,” Spike said as he approached, broom in claw. “Discord wanted to try out a new enemy type, and he accidentally brought it to life.”
“Of course he did. Where is he now?”
Spike glowered. “He saw the mess, said ‘Oops’, and vanished.”
“Of course he did,” Starlight deadpanned, scanning the damages. “I’m sorry Sunset, I know you just got here, but do you mind lending a hoof?”
The mare in question shrugged. “I’m not sure where things go but I can repair broken things easy enough.”
With that, each mare began moving around the room, using their magic to clean, fix, or rearrange the room. Spike offered to help, but quickly found himself unable to keep up, choosing instead to go and make tea.
“So what kinda mission have the girls gone on?” Sunset questioned, a table currently floating along beside her.
“No idea.” Starlight pushed a few reading cushions back against the wall.
“The map only says who is needed, and where. Safe to say it’s a ‘friendship problem’. It must be a doozy too, needing all six of them.”
“Trixie thinks the whole thing is silly. We didn’t need a magic table to save Equestria.” Trixie rubbed one foreleg with another, “Though she admits she wished she was sent on important missions.”
With a slight creak, the side door opened, and in backed Spike, carrying a tray. He turned around and whistled. “Wow, you three work fast. Thank you, this would have taken me all day by myself.” Moving again, he set the tray down, giving everypony a look at his efforts. The tray was covered in sandwiches and snacks, along with a set of cups, a pot of tea, and a pot of coffee.
Without even a word, the three mares decided that they had all earnt a break. They finished their own task, and assembled around the table, laying on their stomachs. With three unicorns, it almost turned into a ballet display, sandwiches, cups, and pots floating around, each in a different color magic, until four places had been set, and filled.
Blinking, Spike marveled at how quickly the almost total strangers had synced up with one another. But a rumble of his stomach was more important right now, so he took his place at the table.
A comfortable silence reigned, and everything seemed perfect. Too perfect.
Before anyone could say anything, the castle shook, the lights going dark before flickering back to life. An alarm tone shrieked throughout, originating from the throne room. Spike and Starlight were instantly up and running, Trixie and Sunset having to play catch up, not sure what was going on.
As the group skidded to a halt in the throne room, the siren stopped, and the table flashed a warm yellow. From behind her, Starlight heard a gasp, before Sunset tapped her on the back.
“Starlight?”
“Yes, Sunset?”
“Why is my butt glowing, and why is my symbol on that map?”