//------------------------------// // Over Dinner // Story: Consanguinity // by D4ftP0ny //------------------------------// “Though, I imagine that having a family to support me would be even better.” Starlight’s words echoed through Skyla’s head as she sat at the table, her eyes focused out the window on the far side of the room and not on the plate of food that sat in front of her. In the distance to the east, the storm that had rolled through the Kingdom was painted in colors from orange fading to purple in the gathering twilight, and as Skyla watched she could see pinpricks of lightning peeking through the surface of the clouds. She slowly chewed the food in her mouth, the flavor of the meal lost to her thoughts as she idly moved her fork around the plate with her hoof. You’d think she was right, with how confidently she said it, she thought as she chewed, her gaze stuck firmly out the window. But it’s really easy to say that, Starlight… it’s another thing all together to actually do or have it. Her fork meandered around until she felt the tines hit something solid yet yielding, and without even glancing down at her plate she impaled and lifted the item to her mouth. Her lips parted and she slid the food in without hesitation or investigation and, despite the sweet tartness of it, she barely registered the juicy strawberry before she was gone again. I mean, it’s not like I don’t agree with her, she thought as she watched a particularly bright flash of lightning chase the color away from the clouds for a moment, the silent display of natural power stunning despite its distance. After all, family bonds are stronger than any friendship, and having a family to support you and hold you up is worth a thousand friends doing the same. Her chewing slowed, and her fork began wandering her plate again, searching for its next victim. I mean, that’s just common sense… but… She swallowed the strawberry and let out a soft sigh, her forehead furrowing in thought. But if that’s common sense, then why do I get the feeling that Starlight was actually trying to tell me something different? Or at least get me to think about it in a different way… that’s normally how she is. “That was a pretty big sigh, Skyla,” said a voice, its soft, light tones shattering her reverie like a stone through a huge pane of glass. “Everything okay over there?” “Hmm?” Skyla blinked and turned her head to her left, where Cadence sat with a hint of concern in her smile. “I-I’m sorry, what was that?” Skyla’s ears wilted as she shrank sheepishly in her chair, her fork scraping against an empty portion of her plate. The older alicorn’s smile perked up slightly, but the concern simply moved to her eyes as she gave her head a shake. “Oh, I was just asking if everything was okay,” repeated Cadence as she shifted her own fork around until she found another piece of fruit. “You’ve been staring out the window for a bit now, and then when you sighed I thought you might have something on your mind.” She lifted a piece of cantaloupe up on her fork. “Is there something you’d like to talk about?” she asked before popping the piece of fruit into her waiting mouth. Skyla settled her fork back to the table before waving her right hoof dismissively. “Oh, that? I was just watching the storm, that’s all,” she said, doing her best to keep her tone light and even. “The sunset is making it a very pretty color, so I was just kind of letting my brain relax, you know?” She shrugged. “No big thoughts or anything – don’t worry about me.” Cadence nodded, but a scoffing sound from across the table drew Skyla’s eyes straight ahead to where Flurry Heart sat, her curled mane just slightly below the window that had dominated Skyla’s attention. The other filly’s gaze was neutral, but as Skyla fixed her attention on Flurry she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Oh is that so?” asked Flurry nonchalantly as she turned her attention back to her plate, her fork hovering over it in her hoof like it was a pool full of fresh fish and she was a fisher-griffon, just waiting for the right moment to strike. “Must be a preeeetty interesting storm, I guess.” Her fork lashed out and impaled a chunk of pineapple, which she lifted up triumphantly in front of her face. “Mmmm, I love pineapple,” she muttered before Skyla could offer a response to her statement. “They come from Haywaii, right?” “That’s right, snowflake,” said Shining Armor, his words muffled by a bite of his own food. “It’s summertime, so it’s a little easier to get them right now. Haywaii doesn’t export much of their produce during the winter months, unfortunately.” “Ooh, I get it.” Flurry lifted the pineapple higher, as if the fork that supported it was a royal scepter. “I think pineapple is my favorite fruit,” she said with a nod, “even if we can’t always get it.” She lowered the fork and devoured the chunk with a single chomp, the sounds of her happy chewing overlapping the more subdued eating sounds of her parents. Skyla’s ears stood back up and she gave Flurry a half smile. “You sure look like you enjoy it,” she murmured, grasping her fork and returning it to its search of her plate. Flurry nodded vigorously as she chewed, though she waited to speak until she’d finished chewing. Something she obviously learned from her mother, thought Skyla with a quick glance at Shining, who still hadn’t finished the massive bite he’d taken before speaking to Flurry. “I love them,” Flurry clarified, her fork shifting things around on her plate as she presumably searched for more chunks of pineapple. “Even though they’re hard to get, and even though they’re all hard and prickly on the outside when you do get them, I still love how soft and squishy and juicy and sweet and… and…” her ears flattened and she lifted her eyes away from her plate to stare up at the ceiling, a stream of uncertain and inquisitive noises slowly trickling from her mouth as she searched for a word. Finally, Cadence giggled. “Tart?” she offered, and Flurry’s ears snapped back upright. “Yeah! Sweet and tart!” The filly grinned. “Thanks, mommy! Yeah, tart and sweet and wonderful on the inside…” Her eyes shifted to Skyla, and her smile grew. “Just like Skyla!” Skyla’s smile morphed into a frown as her ears drooped towards her head. “I’m like a pineapple..?” she muttered, and Flurry nodded emphatically. “Yeah! You’re kind of prickly and hard on the outside, and kind of hard to get sometimes…” Flurry’s fork made a quick jab onto her plate and returned with another glistening yellow chunk of pineapple, which she held up proudly yet again, “…but you’re all sweet and tart and soft on the inside!” Skyla’s frown deepened as her face filled with heat, and it was all she could do to keep from wrapping herself in her wings and hiding, like she’d done when she was a very little filly. “Th-that doesn’t make any sense,” she blurted, her ears finishing their journey to her mane as her tail twitched behind her, its voluminous length brushing the sides of the back of the chair in which she sat. To her chagrin, she heard both Shining Armor and Cadence chuckle at Flurry’s comment, a sound that caused her face to color even more brightly. “Wh-whatever, Flurry Heart,” she snapped halfheartedly before crossing her hooves over her chest, wings rustling against her back. The pounding of embarrassment in her ears drown out the gentle laughter for a moment, but as her heartbeat faded back to where it belonged, Shining Armor cleared his throat and sat his fork down onto the table. “Flurry, calling someone ‘prickly and hard’ probably isn’t the nicest thing you could do,” he said gently. To Skyla’s surprise, Flurry’s wings puffed up and she gave her father an indignant look. “Well she is sometimes,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean that she’s not my favorite!” She glanced over at Cadence, her mane falling across the left side of her face and blocking Shining from her view. “Isn’t it okay to tell somepony about their faults as long as they know that you love them?” she asked, her voice slightly strained as if she were trying desperately to keep it under control. Cadence’s smile grew and, after taking a moment to collect herself, she nodded. “Yes, Flurry, it is okay to tell somepony close to you where they might need to improve themselves.” She brow furrowed in sympathy. “Although, comparing somepony to a pineapple at dinner probably isn’t the best way to do that, sweetheart.” Skyla’s gaze flitted from Cadence to Flurry, whose expression of indignant certainty melted into one of deep regret as she turned back to Skyla, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “Oh…” she murmured. “I… I was only trying to say that she was sweet and great on the inside, but…” “Don’t worry too much about it,” said Shining with a wave of his right hoof and a smile. “I’m sure Skyla knows what you were trying to say. You tried and you learned – that’s the important thing here.” “I agree,” said Cadence with a nod. “You did very nicely, Flurry Heart, and your father's right – you learned a little bit about complimenting ponies today, and particularly about how not to do it.” Flurry's cheeks flushed and she giggled softly before popping her pineapple chunk into mouth as Shining Armor pushed his empty dinner plate away from him. “And speaking of learning,” he said, sitting back in his chair, “what did you girls do in school today? Learn anything good?” Now Skyla sat forward, her ears shooting back up despite the embarrassed color still in her cheeks. “We learned about the Griffon War in 1014 A.C.,” she said, her voice filling with excitement as the stallion's eyes came to rest on her. “About how it all started, the order of events, and about the role that Princess Celestia played in it.” This was her favorite part about mealtimes with Cadence and Shining: the part when they asked about what the girls learned that day. It'd been a little awkward at first, since Skyla wasn't really accustomed to talking about herself or what she was doing, but she'd quickly grown to enjoy talking about the lessons she'd learned about this fascinating new world. “Oh really?” Shining sat forward, his blue eyes bright as he placed his hooves onto the table. “I can remember learning about that as a knight cadet, but I didn't think that it was part of the standard curriculum for ponies your age.” His smile became a grin. “Guess you girls are just too smart for the standard, huh?” Skyla blushed again, this time with pride. “W-well... maybe,” she muttered, her heart pounding as she fought a sudden, burning desire to agree with Shining that she hadn't felt in a very long time. It came on so fast that it took Skyla by surprise, and only her innate sense of propriety stopped her from launching into a long, complicated description of exactly how smart she was, and that alone made Skyla frown. Wow... I can't remember feeling so eager to be told that I was smart, reflected Skyla. I didn't even care if my mom thought I was smart or not. In fact, it's probably for the best that she had no idea how smart I was... but this feels different. She met Shining's gaze and felt a strange squeezing sensation in her chest, a tension that made her feel short of breath and anxious all at once. Do I want him to know how smart I am? Or do I want him to TELL me how smart I am again..? “Actually, Sunburst said something about it being important for us to understand why Princess Celestia did the things that she did before he started teaching.” Flurry nodded as she chomped onto the last piece of pineapple that she'd found. “He didn't say it was because we were smart.” Skyla's ears slanted back as she leveled her gaze at the younger alicorn, her nose scrunching as she glared. “Well he wouldn't be teaching us graduate school level lessons if we weren't smart,” she quipped sharply, “but Princess Celestia did become the main part of the lesson at the end, so I guess we're both right.” Flurry paused in her chewing and arched an inquisitive eyebrow at Skyla, but instead of pursuing Skyla's sharp words with some of her own, she simply swallowed and offered the older filly a smile. “I guess we are!” she said nonchalantly, her fork returning to her plate yet again. Skyla felt the deflection like a physical blow to the chest, but to her surprise the feeling that spread through her wasn't anger or irritation like she'd expected. Instead, a wave of relief spread through her as Flurry gave her a quick smile and returned her attention to her food as Cadence cleared her throat at the other end of the table. “Well, I'd say that you're both very lucky to have a teacher with as much foresight as Sunburst,” she said, pushing her own empty plate towards the center of the table. “He's showing you examples of how a princess is supposed to behave, both on the battlefield and off, so that you'll both understand the horseshoes that you may have to fill someday.” She turned her attention to Skyla, her eyes bright. “And how did your individual lessons go today?” Again, Skyla felt the warm rush of feelings that she'd gotten when Shining Armor had complimented her; a tense, squeezing feeling along her chest and neck that caused her heart to race and her breath to come short and fast as she sat up straight in her chair and turned to face the older alicorn, her smile growing slightly. “My session with Starlight was... good,” she said, her smile growing into a sheepish grin, “though I might have tried to push myself with my magic a little bit too much. Starlight tried to tell me not to try five orbs, but I did anyway, and...” She shrugged, her wings bobbing. “Well, it went just about as well as she'd expected, I'm sure.” “Did any of them explode?” Shining asked, and Skyla glanced over her right shoulder at him, hoping that her hair would hide the blush that crept into her cheeks. “...at least two of them exploded, and that doesn't count the one that Starlight made specifically so it would explode.” The white stallion crossed his hooves over his chest and nodded his mouth pushed up into a look of deep approval. “Nice, very nice. When I was trying the same exercise with Twilight – y'know, helping her with her magical homework – I made one explode in my parent's china cabinet.” A grin curved his lips into a mischievous mask. “I'd never tell them, but it was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to that ugly china from my great-grandmother.” “Shining Armor, that china was an heirloom,” said Cadence from the other side of the table, her voice full of disapproval, but Shining simply gave her a deadpan stare. “Trust me, Cady, you wouldn't have decorated the table with that set, either. And hey, now at least it's special.” Skyla frowned. “How is it special?” she asked... and by the time Shining Armor's face lit up, she knew that it was too late to take her question back. His grin returned, and he uncrossed his hooves so that he could lean onto the edge of the table, his left eyebrow raised. “Well, that's easy, Skyla – now it's broken a few records.” Two groans and a giggle erupted from the group, with Cadence and Skyla harmonizing while Flurry pattered between them like a tap dancer around a pair of ponies playing tubas. Skyla's right hoof found its way to her forehead where she pressed it firmly beneath her horn, trying her best to suppress the giggles that were trying desperately to leave her own mouth. I can't give him the satisfaction, she thought desperately, Cadence said not to encourage him... “Hey, one out of three isn't bad,” said Shining with a lopsided grin as he sat back in his chair with a creak. “I'll get all three of you at once, though – mark my words!” Cadence snickered into her hoof and shared a glance with Skyla, who couldn't help but giggle softly at the look on Cadence's face. Sometimes I can't tell what Cadence's real reactions are to Shining's jokes... but one look into her eyes and you know that she loves him, despite the stupid things he says sometimes. “All right, all right,” said Cadence after a few moments of laughter and rolled eyes, “that's enough humor out of you, Shining Armor. No more jokes for at least ten minutes.” The stallion chuckled before sighing dramatically. “Ten whole minutes? GOSH... I dunno if I can handle that much time without at least a little joke...” He arched an eyebrow at Cadence, but when she frowned forcefully at him, he brought his hooves up and held them out in front of his chest, as if to deflect her gaze away from his body. “Okaaaay – no jokes for ten minutes. You've got it.” Cadence's eyes narrowed at him for a heartbeat, but her expression softened just as quickly. “I swear, Shining Armor, you're setting a terrible example for the children,” she said before sticking her tongue out at him. Skyla snorted into her hooves as she tried desperately to keep her laughter contained, and just when her eyes started to water from the effort she saw the silhouette of Cadence turn her attention to the filly on the other side of the table. “And what about you, Flurry? What did you do this afternoon?” Skyla blinked away the thin film of tears and gave her eyes a quick swipe with the back of her hoof to completely clear her eyes, her vision recovering just in time to watch Flurry's face fall as she set her fork down onto the side of her plate, her expression fading from happy to blank in a matter of moments. “I learned about lightning, and the effect it has on a pony's body,” she reported, her voice as deadpan as her expression. A single shiver ran through her body, causing her hair to vibrate comically. “The good news is that I figured out why my flying lessons with Flash were canceled...” Skyla smirked, and Flurry Heart's whole muzzle scrunched as she glared across the table at her. “Well, I didn't know about what lightning can do to a pony,” she grumbled. “I'm just glad that Sunburst gave me that book before I tried something really dumb...” Her ears drooped as her eyes dropped to the table, and Skyla cleared her throat to chase away the laughter that was trying desperately to claw its way out. “No, Flurry, it's... I'm sorry, okay?” she said. “I guess I take what I know for granted sometimes, and I have to remind myself that you don't know the same kinds of things that I knew when I was your age... so I'm sorry.” Flurry lifted her gaze back to Skyla as her sad gaze slowly became eclipsed by an inquisitive one. “The same kinds of things you know?” she asked, her brow furrowed. “If you lived in the same place as us, how did you find out about lightning?” The question was as innocent as it could have been, but Skyla's eyes widened all the same as a memory exploded into the forefront of her mind: a memory of crackling white-blue sparks that danced down a horn pointed to the sky, and of a wild-eyed smile on a trusted face that made her stomach clench like she was going to be sick. “I... I read a lot when I was in the Crystal Empire,” she answered quickly, her ears drooping. “I'll tell you all about it another time... don't worry about it.” Flurry frowned and opened her mouth, but to Skyla's relief Cadence raised her hoof towards the smaller alicorn. “That's enough, Flurry Heart,” she said with a small smile. “Skyla just said that she'd tell you all about it later, so try to control your curiosity, okay?” Flurry closed her mouth slowly, her cheeks puffing out as she frowned at Skyla again, but eventually she nodded. “All right, fine,” she grumbled, crossing her hooves over her chest. Cadence gave her a brighter smile than before and nodded happily. “Thank you very much, Flurry. I know you want to know absolutely everything about Skyla, but you're not the only one who wants that and I'm afraid you have to share a little bit.” Now Skyla's ears perked up and she turned so that her whole body faced Cadence, who had turned her violet gaze to Skyla. “Share?” she asked, and Cadence nodded before placing her hooves onto the table, pads down. “Yes,” she said simply. “We – that is, Shining Armor and myself – want to know more about you, Skyla, and to that end...” “...we'd like to start spending time with you one-on-one,” finished Shining, his voice drawing Skyla's gaze back to the other side of the table. “It won't be anything stiff or official, of course,” he said with a wave of his hoof, “but we wanted to talk to you about it before we started.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, we considered just trying to do it without talking to you, but Cadence thought it would make it look like we were trying to play you against each other, and that wouldn't be good.” A sigh floated across the table. “Shining Armor, we weren't going to tell her that, remember?” Cadence's words were tinged with a breathy lilt that made Skyla's ears twitch, but Shining just chuckled again and shook his head. “Yeah, I remember – but I think that we should just be fully honest with her, y'know?” He shrugged. “I mean, I know we're used to raising Flurry and not having to talk about stuff like this with her,” his eyes moved to Skyla, “but she's different. She's not Flurry Heart, who doesn't have any reason to be suspicious of a pony's motives.” He smiled at Flurry before looking back down the table to his wife. “She's seen some terrible stuff, Cady, and I think that if we want to really do this, then we're going to have to be one hundred percent open and honest with her and tell her what we're thinking.” “Well... I suppose you do have a point there.” Cadence lifted her right hoof and gestured to Skyla. “All right then, I'll be completely honest with you, Skyla – I really want to have some time with you. Just you and me, getting to know each other better.” She smiled, and it was such a kind smile that Skyla felt her throat get tighter, like she might start crying at any moment. “Shining Armor wants to have the same thing, and we're both hoping that by doing this, we'll all get to grow closer together.” “And, if I'm being totally honest here, I'm really hoping that we'll be able to put some distance between us and your parents back in the Crystal Empire,” said Shining. “It's got to be strange, having us look just like them... but I promise, we'll do our best to be way better.” A warm wave of emotion welled up in Skyla's head, and before she knew it she was wiping tears away from her cheeks, a smile pulling upwards at the corners of her mouth. I don't know what I'm getting so upset about, she thought with a sniffle. I mean, sure they're saying stuff that makes me feel better, but they haven't DONE anything to make it better yet... Yet even as she thought it, she knew that it didn't really matter. She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hoof before turning a quavering smile first to Cadence, and then to Shining Armor. “I... I don't know how things are going to go,” she said softly, her voice squeezed by the emotion in her throat. “I can't promise you that I won't... still think of you differently...” From across the table, Flurry Heart shook her head. “Then don't promise anything, Skyla. Just try – that's all you can do, sometimes.” Shining Armor snorted and gave his daughter a smirk. “Way to spit out my own words as your own, squirt,” he muttered, and Flurry Heart gave him a huge grin. “I told you that I'm keeping track of good quotes to use, and what's the point in doing that if you don't use them?” Shining Armor's smirk became a full smile as he began to chuckle, seemingly against his control. Flurry joined him happily, her boisterous laughter seeming to fill the room, and, after a moment, Cadence's laughter did the same, her tones floating between Shining and Flurry's... and soon after, Skyla couldn't stop from joining in with her own laughter even as tears still prickled the corners of her eyes. It may have been just words for now, but Skyla felt like she knew these ponies well enough to know that they meant what they said, and that if they were saying that they wanted to be closer to her, to get to know her better, then that's what they wanted to do. And that means that they care, she thought, wiping her eyes again as she smiled down at her empty plate. It wasn't much right now, but Skyla had a feeling that it would be more soon – and that made her feel warmer inside than all the summer sunshine in the world. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ...and, whether because of her own innate skill or because of my teaching – the former much more likely than the latter – Skyla was able to expertly handle up to four magical orbs today. She tried for five, but the last one gave her trouble... The scratching of a quill on parchment mingled with the sound of chewing filled the room as Starlight Glimmer wrote, her magic directing the quill as she shoveled another bite of food into her mouth with the fork in her hoof. The food was warm and gooey, with lots of vegetables, cheese, and pasta, but Starlight's eyes never left the paper upon which she was composing her letter. She usually wrote her letters to Twilight Sparkle during dinner time, when everypony else was out in the dining room or mess hall, eating with their friends and family. It guaranteed her some time to herself when she could think and put all of her thoughts in order and, after going from the relative solitude of Twilight's castle to the fully staffed family home of the Crystal Castle, any time that Starlight got to be alone was time that she cherished. It's not that I mind having other ponies around, she thought as she took another bite of her food, but there are times when a mare needs her privacy, and it's like nopony here has ever heard of it... She scratched another line to her friend, outlining what she was planning to do for Skyla's training in the future as she took another large bite. The room that she had been given at the Crystal Castle was much more than she'd expected, considering that she made the decision to stay all by herself and without asking permission from the royalty living there: instead of a single room like she'd expected, she'd been given what amounted to a large apartment for her exclusive use. The large suite consisted of a living/sitting room area complete with couch, low table, and a large desk at which she currently sat. Just off the living area was a small, informal dining area with a modestly sized table around which sat four chairs, and down a short hallway sat the bathroom and the bedroom. In truth it was nicer than most other places that Starlight had called home in the past, up to and including her rooms in Twilight's castle; however, there was one thing that both locations had in common, and that was the fact that Starlight Glimmer kept her lodgings as neat and clean as they had been when she had first arrived. Everything was still exactly as it had been on the day she'd moved in, and if she had her way it would stay exactly so until the day she left. It might be a little bit of a leftover from the time when I was stalking Twilight, but it's not such a bad thing to be able to do, the unicorn thought with a little bit of a smirk around the tines of her fork. She was frowning down at her letter and trying to decide if there was anything else she needed to add when a polite knock on her door drew her attention, and despite the gentle, non-intrusive nature of the sound, Starlight's teeth clamped down onto her fork firmly enough that they squeaked against the metal. Oh joy, what fresh excitement has this lively place brought to me? She thought with a twist of her lip. She let out a sigh and withdrew the fork from her mouth before turning towards the door. “Yes, who is it?” she called. She knew it wasn't good manners, but they were intruding on her private time, so she thought it all evened out in the end. “Starlight? It's me,” came Sunburst's voice through the door, and the mare's brow furrowed into a deep frown. “Oh, hey. What's up? Do you need something” “Um... actually, would you mind if I came in?” Even though she couldn't see him through the door, she could hear him shift around on his hooves from the tone of his voice alone. “I'd like to talk to you about something, if I could.” Starlight let out a smaller, less vehement sigh before she nodded to herself. “Uh, yeah, sure – come on in.” She turned back to her desk and set her quill down into her inkwell as the door swung open and closed rapidly, admitting the orange and white stallion to the room. “Sorry to bother you during your dinner, but I knew this would be the best time to catch you alone so we could discuss a few things.” Starlight frowned, but when he did not seem forthcoming with any more details her face softened. “That's okay,” she assured him, gesturing towards the couch with her left hoof, “I was just finishing up my letter anyway.” Sunburst nodded his thanks and moved towards the couch, giving Starlight a sympathetic smile as he did so. “You're still writing those letters to Twilight?” he asked, his hooves clopping solemnly against the stone floor of Starlight's room. The mare's frown returned, and she gave him a stern glare. “Of course I am. I said that I'd report to Twilight about everything I do, and I'm doing it.” She spun in her chair to face him and crossed her hooves over her chest, the curl in her mane bouncing against the side of her face. “Even if there's nothing happening, I'm not backing out of a deal I made with a Princess.” Sunburst chuckled and shook his head before taking a seat on the couch, his right hoof rising to forestall her ire. “All right, Starlight, all right – no need to get so defensive.” He dropped his hoof back to the couch and gave her a disarming smile. “Actually, I'm glad that you're working on them. It makes it that much easier for me to segue into what I actually wanted to talk about.” Starlight squinted at him. “And what's that?” To her surprise, Sunburst sighed heavily. “Something that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since Twilight left: the possibility of being discovered by Skyla's world, and, if we are discovered, what kind of threat the Crystal Empire might pose to us in this world.” Now Starlight frowned heavily and hopped off her chair, her tail swishing behind her. “But I thought you said that it would be impossible for anypony there to find us here. You said that there was such a tiny chance that you didn't even consider it a chance.” She moved to the couch and settled onto the cushions to Sunburst's left, her curl settling against her left cheek so that she could fix her blue gaze on her friend. “What's got you so worked up about it now?” “Well, that's the thing of it,” he admitted, his front hooves fidgeting with the cushion beneath him as his eyes stared down at the floor. “I guess it's because I dismissed it so easily that I'm still thinking about it. Twilight was so adamant about not forgetting about that small chance – despite all evidence to say that I was right, mind you – that I couldn't help but dig back into the numbers and theories that we came up with that night... and the more I dug, and the more I thought about it... the more I realized that she had a point.” He turned his bespectacled gaze to Starlight, and the seriousness in Sunburst's eyes caused her to blink. “I wanted to discuss a few key points with you, talk with somepony about these thoughts, before I start to get paranoid with worry...” “Oh for crying out loud, Sunburst!” Starlight gave the stallion her very best disapproving frown, and was satisfied when he winced. “Is that what this is about? Are you really, actually worrying yourself sick about this?!” “...maybe..?” he muttered with a halfhearted shrug and thin smile, and Starlight rolled her eyes so hard that she was surprised they didn't rattle in her head. “Oh for the love of Celestia and Luna...” She sighed before settling back against the cushions of the couch and crossing her hooves over her chest once again. “All right, bookworm – you've got two minutes to talk to me about this and make me care, or else I'm kicking you out of here so I can finish my dinner in peace.” Sunburst's eyes lit up as if she'd just said the nicest thing that anypony ever had to him, and in a heartbeat he perked up. He sat up straight on the couch and adjusted his glasses with a hoof, losing his depressed, serious air so fast that Starlight squinted at him again. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he just played his way in here to chat with me... her lip quirked into a smirk once more, ...but that's impossible. Sunburst couldn't do that, even if he really wanted to. Duplicity's not in his blood. “All right,” he began, turning towards Starlight a little so he could face her squarely. “I'll try to make this quick so I don't keep you late into the night. Firstly, I'd like to ask you about the statement I made about ponies not being able to find this plane again.” He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for disappointment. “Do you really, honestly, in your deepest heart-of-hearts as a scientist, mage, and time-traveler, think that there's a way for somepony from the Empire to find their way here?” Starlight sighed. “Of course there is, Sunburst,” she said softly, and as soon as the words left her mouth Sunburst's look of apprehension melted into one of surprise. “Oh... really?” He blinked before staring off towards the door, his eyes unfocused as if he'd just been faced with a problem he thought he'd never have to solve. “But... why didn't you say so at the meeting that day, with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” Starlight lifted her hoof and gave it a quick twirl in the air. “Well super sorry about that, Sunburst, but I kinda had my own things to worry about that day,” she grumbled. “Unlike somepony, I didn't sleep at all because I was trying to figure out how I was going to make up for my-,” her hoof froze in midair and, after a pause that felt like an eternity, she dropped her hooves back to the couch before her with a loud humph. “I had other things on my mind,” she finished as she felt her cheeks flush slightly. Sunburst squinted at her in much the same way that she had at him only minutes before, but, instead of pursuing her bitten-off quip, he proved how smart she was by simply shaking his head and pushing forward. “And why do you think that there is a way for a pony to find us?” he asked. Starlight's lips quirked into a soft smile. “I know that somepony could find her, if they really wanted to, because that's how friends and family work.” She turned her gaze back to the desk, where her letter to Twilight sat, almost finished. “Those kinds of close ties, that consanguinity between ponies, links us in ways that I'm just now starting to understand. It's what keeps Twilight and her friends close, no matter where they go in Equestria on their missions,” she turned her gaze back to Sunburst and smiled, “and I'm sure it's what led us back together after so long apart. Those kinds of links don't just go away... so if somepony, say, a close friend or family member, decided that they wanted to find Skyla? They'd be able to find her, one way or another.” Sunburst nodded slowly, and it was clear to Starlight that his mind was working at full tilt. “I see... but what about her mirror? She built that out of Starswirl's unfinished spells and research, something that not just anypony could accomplish.” He chuckled. “I mean, nopony short of an absolute prodigy could put together even a basic mirror to slingshot like Skyla did... and all the desire in the world won't get you through the barriers of space-time without a tool to do it.” Starlight's lips curved into a frown as her muzzle scrunched. “That is assuming she didn't leave notes behind as she completed things,” she pointed out. “Or assuming that somepony, say, her mother, who is the ruler of an entire empire, didn't gather up the best and brightest mages that she could and have them all work together to replicate the thing. Or...” Her words died on her tongue as a thought burst into her mind, and it did so with such force that it killed all of the rest of her thoughts without remorse. Silence fell over the pair for several long seconds before Sunburst reached out a hoof and poked Starlight in the leg, his expression somewhere between curious and concerned. “Um... Starlight? What happened?” “I... um...” She blinked rapidly. “I... I just realized that we're forgetting about something.” “Oh? And what's that?” Starlight turned her gaze back to the stallion, her throat clenching against her as she did her best to swallow and wet the desert that had somehow replaced her mouth. “...we're forgetting about Twilight,” she said softly. Sunburst's expression became a frown for a moment, but it wasn't more than a heartbeat before he chuckled. “I haven't forgotten about Twilight,” he said, his cheeks coloring. “Actually, I think about her a lot...” “NO, you idiot!” exclaimed Starlight, pounding a hoof onto the sofa. “Not our Twilight – Skyla's Twilight! You know, Tower of Starswirl, Queen of all Equestria?” “Oh..?” Sunburst frowned at Starlight. “And what does she have to do... with...” Suddenly, his eyes widened until Starlight felt they were going to pop out of his head, and she pointed at him with her left hoof. “SEE?! THAT!” she blurted. “That world has its very own prodigy sorceress and magical technician – somepony who would, given enough time, have literally no problems recreating what Skyla did.” “That world's Twilight,” breathed Sunburst. “I mean, it makes the most sense, I suppose... but... why would she come looking for Skyla? I mean, Queen Cadence was setting her up to be Queen Twilight's usurper. She wouldn't really care to go looking for her if Skyla were to suddenly go missing.” Starlight shook her head as all of her experience as a small-time dictator came roaring back to her in horrifying clarity. “She would if she wanted to make sure that threat was gone forever,” she muttered. “Think about it, Sunburst. She couldn't touch Skyla when she was in the Crystal Empire for fear of being the one to incite the war that Cadence had been threatening. Cadence was the aggressor, so Twilight was able to sit back on her laurels and be the defender, even if she was secretly yearning for a chance to cut the heart out of her opposition.” Sunburst made a face, and Starlight waved a hoof. “Figuratively, of course.” “All right, I'm with you so far...” “Okay, so suddenly Skyla goes missing. Something like that isn't going to be kept a secret, especially when you consider the fact that somepony like Twilight is going to have spies on the inside in the Crystal Empire, even if Skyla didn't know they were there.” She lifted her left hoof. “So now, she has the heir to the Crystal Throne and weapon of her possible destruction,” she lifted her right hoof, “tossed out into a multiverse that, whether she may or may not be able to return from, is someplace that she's not under the protection of her mother, Twilight's enemy...” She lifted both hooves into the air a little more before turning them towards one another and mashing them together. “Loose end tied up, and she still gets to play defender.” Sunburst's eyes widened incredulously. “But... would Twilight really do something like that? I mean, she's so level-headed and rational. Wouldn't she just see this as a fantastic boon and just let it go?” “Sunburst, I've seen Twilight Sparkle at her worst, okay?” Starlight curled her lip and shook her head. “That mare can lose her head just as fast as anypony else, and if the stories I've heard are true, she's caused some pretty big magical problems trying to make sure that everything was perfect to her specifications. If you take her and give her Queen Twilight's experiences...” she shrugged. “You might have your seeker, right there.” “Oh... oh that's really bad, isn't it...” muttered Sunburst. “Maybe... we should come up with a contingency plan...” he locked eyes with Starlight, “y'know... just in case?” To her surprise, Starlight felt herself nodding. “Yeah... maybe we should.”