"How'd it go?" Maple asked without turning around as the door swung open behind her. Willow and Starlight stepped through, the former streaming water, the latter manageably dry.
"I'm okay," Starlight instantly said. She wasn't the best at sounding reassuring, but it seemed to pacify the mare.
"That's good. I-" Maple interrupted herself mid-turn with a gasp of surprise. "Willow! You look like you just got caught in a thunderstorm without a raincoat!"
"Or went swimming," Amber added, mumbling around a piece of fruit in her mouth as she strolled over from a different part of the room.
Willow smirked slightly. "I was having a talk with Starlight when the rain came up, and I decided I'd rather keep talking than stay dry."
"Oh?" Maple took a step closer, smiling down at Starlight. "What did you end up talking about?"
"Our trip to Ironridge." Willow suddenly fought back a shudder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's best I don't stay this wet for any longer than I need to..." She ducked back out the door, where the sound of furious shaking could be heard, followed by a ginger rush to the staircase to the upper floors.
Amber rolled her eyes, surveying the trail of water her friend had left despite her precautions. "I'll clean that up. Maple, you got something to do with yourself?"
"I'll manage," Maple replied, sounding as if it was the hardest thing in the world. Then, as Amber darted up the stairs as well in search of a towel, she turned to Starlight. "Feeling better now?"
"I was just surprised," Starlight mumbled, her head looking as if it was shrinking into her neck. "He reminded me of someone I hadn't seen in a while. That's all."
"Does this mean you want to be my friend after all?" a voice asked from above. Starlight looked, and Alder's head was poking down the stairwell, blinking hopefully at her. She sighed.
"Yeah... okay."
"All right!" Alder pumped a hoof. "We're hanging out back on the third floor until lunch is ready, if you want to come and join us?"
Starlight shivered slightly. Alder really was a spitting image of Sunburst, right down to the facial and hoof markings that had made her old friend stand out so much. It still produced a powerful reaction to do something, somehow... to warn him and prevent him from getting his cutie mark, or else to flee, to be as far away as possible when the moment arrived so she wouldn't again be hurt. She only managed to stand her ground and keep her composure because she was expecting it, but it was still undeniably unsettling. So, after a slight pause... she accepted Alder's invitation.
Amber cleared her throat, prancing down the stairs around the colt with a bundle of towels slung over her back. "You kids know lunch is ready now, right?"
"It'll keep," Maple said, waving Starlight onwards. "Besides, we've got some drying to do. Here, let me help." At her insistence, Amber passed her a towel and they set to work, clearing the way for Starlight to head upstairs with her new friend.
"So where are you from?" Alder rambled as he led the way, Starlight close behind. "What I heard was that you mysteriously floated down in a box from the southern mountains! Are you a pirate?"
Starlight's eyes whirled. How did he make that leap of logic? "Buh?"
Alder shrugged. "Well, mum said that the day before, another box showed up, and it was full of alcohol. Pirates love alcohol, right?" He turned up the next staircase. "Besides, they're totally mysterious and can do just about anything!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "At least, they can in mum's stories..."
At Starlight's silence, he continued, speculation growing wilder and wilder. "Or maybe, you were teleported there in a giant laser beam! Wouldn't that be cool? Oh, or you might have found a secret passage up from the underworld! Or what if... what if you actually fell down from the mountains!?"
"Yep. That's what I did," Starlight said smugly, waiting to see the shock plastered on his face.
She was handsomely rewarded. "No way..." he gaped, turning around and nearly tripping on the stairs. "That's amazing! Or..." His face scrunched. "Are you pulling my tail, river filly?"
Instantly, Starlight remembered why she wasn't telling anyone where she was from, and nearly broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, he had given her an easy out, and ever since Sunburst had left, she'd had a lot of practice becoming a good actor. "Heehee," she giggled, putting on her camera smile. "Yep. Keep guessing, pirate colt!"
"Pirate... colt...?" he muttered confusedly, clearly distracted. Perfect. "Oh, I see! Because I called you river filly! Well, I wouldn't have to if you would tell me your-" He cut himself off, eyes widening with a new idea. "Wait a moment! Are you a princess...?"
As Sunburst... no, Alder pushed open the door to what was presumably his room, Starlight carefully plotted her alibi in the event she did have to tell them where she was from. Maple and Willow had assumed she was from Sosa, so that seemed like a reasonable excuse. Willow had implied earlier that Sosans were quiet and didn't talk much about where they were from or what things were like there, which suited her just fine since she knew nothing about the place. It was too bad Willow hadn't told her more before they were interrupted. Hopefully there wasn't some secret everyone knew that was too obvious to be worth telling... Also, Willow's husband was a Sosan, apparently. He might be able to call her out on anything. Best to say nothing for as long as possible, then.
"Psssst!" A loud whisper interrupted her train of thought. She looked to see Alder beckoning from a pitch-dark room, the door of which was cracked just enough for her to wiggle through. "Come on!" he beckoned again, looking hopefully out at her. "This is our secret meeting place!"
Shrugging, she slipped in, brushing against the doorframe. Alder closed it as soon as her tail was clear, tapping her with a hoof to get her attention. "Follow me!" he breathed, prowling ahead in the blackness.
Something that felt like a lightweight curtain swished about her head as she moved. The air grew warmer and staler, and Starlight detected the presence of a third body. She kept silent.
Suddenly, there was a light flash and the hiss of magic... and two horns lit in the darkness. Alder's yellow aura - of course it was yellow - mixed with a rich sapphire blue from a filly who sat next to him, creating a small point of white light that descended and hovered just off the floor, staying on even as their horns went dark.
Starlight blinked at her surroundings. She appeared to be in some type of tent or blanket fort constructed from objects normally found in a foal's bedroom. Alder and the filly, whom she presumed to be his sister, sat with their backs to the backside of some kind of cabinet, watching her eagerly.
"Welcome to our lair," Alder rumbled imposingly when she didn't say anything. "Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's nice." Starlight nodded. "And I'm Starlight." Tactfully, she omitted Glimmer, as that had seemed to somehow tip off the older mares last time that she wasn't from Sosa.
"Yes!" The other two hoofbumped, raising their voices above a whisper. The filly turned to Starlight and grinned. "Hiya! I'm Fir. Nice to meet you. This is my brother, Alder, and he's a doofus."
"Am not..." Alder scratched his head. "Besides, me and her have already been introduced!"
Starlight was taking in Fir's appearance. Her coat was a pleasing spring green of a much richer hue than she had ever seen in Equestria, and her striped, two-tone mane thankfully didn't trigger any more flashbacks or panic attacks. She also seemed to hold the kindred opinion that Alder was ever so slightly out there. A good first impression, all told. Maybe she would be nice to be around.
"So this place," Fir began, seeing that Starlight didn't appear to be starting any conversations on her own, "is pretty much our clubhouse. And it's just the two of us just about all the time, because Yew isn't old enough yet, Frond is too old and Maple and Amber don't wanna have kids for some reason."
Alder nodded sheepishly. "Well, that's because mum said Amber only likes other mares..."
"Eh. Whatever." Fir shrugged, and leaned toward Starlight. "So you're being adopted by Maple, right?" When Starlight hesitantly nodded, she added, "That's cool. I've always thought it must be super lonely living by yourself like that. Brrbrrbrr..." She hugged herself, shivering for emphasis.
"...She's nice," Starlight offered, unsure of what else to say. "And she is pretty lonely."
"Well, good thing she's got you, then, huh?" Fir scooted over and nudged her, grinning conspiratorially. "You know, if you make good enough friends with her, you could try to hook her up with somepony. I bet it would make her really happy. We'd totally help, too..."
"Fir..." Alder droned uneasily. "Remember how mad mum got last time you tried to do that?"
"Huh?" Starlight's ears perked. "She didn't want you trying to find her a special somepony?"
"She blew her stack," Alder muttered tragically. "Gave Fir a big long talk that she probably doesn't remember any of."
He shoved Fir, and she blew a raspberry in response. "I remember it just fine! 'Something something, blah blah blah...' You know!"
As the siblings bickered and teased each other, Starlight's head was spinning. This was something she'd have to remember to ask Willow about... assuming the older mare would tell her.
"Enough about that for now, though!" Alder interrupted. "River filly, we wanna hear some cool stories about wherever you're from! Won't you tell us?" He leaned closer, face hopeful.
Fir bonked him. "Doofus. She said her name was Starlight!"
Alder rubbed his head. "Ow, what was that for...?"
Starlight cleared her throat before they could start again. "Where I'm from," she began imperiously, "there are cities that grow on clouds, caves filled with monsters, and, uhh..." She wracked her brain for something obviously untrue. "There's also a castle made of cheese."
"...Are you pulling my tail again, river filly?" Alder narrowed his eyes.
"Doesn't matter if a story's true or false as long as it's epic. Doofus." Fir stuck her tongue out and folded her forelegs, laying down towards Starlight. "Don't stop there, Starlight! Tell us the best story we've ever heard!" Grinning sideways at Alder, she added, "Just make sure it's got lots of romance. You know, make it mushy. Heh heh heh..."
"Awww..." Alder protested, frowning at her. "Sis! C'mon..."