Starlight Glimmer's Canterlot High Vacation

by Toon4Thought


Day 2, Part 1

Starlight Glimmer was still peacefully asleep, dreaming of all her favorite recent memories, from her strong, trustful friendship with Trixie to meeting and getting to know Sunset Shimmer...  when all of a sudden, she could hear a familiar yet faint voice speak into her ear. “Starlight!”

She ignored it for at first, figuring it was the little voices she would occasionally hear in her head again. But it only grew more powerful with time. “Starlight! ...Starlight?”

Even after it became clear it wasn't all in her mind, she still pretended not to hear as she didn’t like being disturbed when she was all by herself. All this led to, however, was a sudden, albeit not very forceful, nudge on her thigh; along with a “Come on Starlight, it’s time to get up!”, significantly louder than the rest. This finally got her to slowly and groggily open her eyes.

At first, Starlight couldn’t even remember exactly where she was. Her new, strange body and most of yesterday's events were so unlike anything she’d dealt with before that she could’ve very well dreamt it all up. But once her vision cleared up and she could  properly scan her surroundings, she finally recognized the apartment and wrote off her theory. This reminder made her all the more reassured to see Sunset Shimmer standing on her right side.

“I hope you slept okay last night,” said Sunset. “I imagine you did, since you certainly looked like a pretty heavy sleeper.”

Starlight felt stiff from the sudden awakening, and didn’t really feel like speaking at the moment. However, she managed to muster a yawning response: “Yeah, I’d say I slept fine. It sure felt a lot different resting in this form though...”

Sunset shrugged, accepting the reply. It’s not like she couldn’t sympathize with her guest’s troubles, and it was clear that Starlight wasn’t much of a morning person (or pony, as it were).

“So…” Starlight asked, wiping the cobwebs out of her eyes. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are those plans you mentioned last night?”

“I figured I’d take you on a long walk to show you around the city district,” Sunset widely grinned, obviously with anticipation. "I was even planning on stopping at a few of my favorite places.”

“Oh…” Starlight stared down at her hands and blue nails, which still looked just as jarring to her now as they did before. “I hope I don’t get too overwhelmed...”

“You shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Just try to enjoy yourself and you’ll be perfectly fine.” The grin on Sunset Shimmer managed to brighten Starlight’s mood, so she opted to just go with it -- besides, Princess Twilight did give her the same advice.

“Anyway,” Sunset continued, “Before we do that, we must wash up and eat our breakfast.”

Starlight felt like she was being talked down to, which she always took personal issue with. She inhaled, preparing to speak up about it, but no, she thought. That would’ve been a rude way to treat someone who has given you both companionship and a place to rest. Sunset, however, had no problems with letting Starlight wear her original, more comfortable clothes.

After freshening up and eating a delicious oat bran breakfast, they walked out into the morning streets. At first, Starlight kept her head down, focusing on her two legs as she walked. She may have already done a fair amount of walking, but she felt she still needed a little more practice to fully get the hang of it. However, it only took her a short time to find her sense of balance, which subsequently led her to scan her surroundings..

There were too many buildings to count, many of which seemed much more tall than wide and barely had any space between them. Not to mention the many motorized machines constantly traveling along the roads. For the so-called suburbs area, it already felt like a city -- the environment she almost never enjoyed visiting, since they often made her claustrophobic .

Early on, she noted the even more towering buildings in the distance, and upon passing the first crossing pointed towards them with one finger. “Is that where you’re taking us? It kind of looks like Manehattan over there.”

“It does, doesn’t it? Yeah, believe me when I say that’s far from the only thing you’ll find strangely familiar today," Sunset replied with a wink.

This made Starlight feel uneasy, but, trusting Sunset, she chose to push the doubts to the back of her mind and continue studying everything around her. After a certain point, the onslaught of relatively small buildings gave way to fewer, larger ones - so much that, at one crosswalk, she almost accidentally walked onto it before Sunset grabbed her arm tightly as a reminder.

Not long later, they had entered the city district. Starlight couldn’t help but pay more attention to the road machines she had acknowledged earlier, since there were just so many of them here in particular. They came off as incredibly loud, bulky, and wasteful, to the point where she wondered how the people around her could even live with this. She even found herself holding her nose upon smelling the gas fumes of a bunch of cargo trucks lined up against one another. Sunset was quick to notice this, but only gave a slight chuckle -- she knew this was coming.

Almost immediately after, they suddenly stopped in front of a large, more old-fashioned building. It was made of red brick, and it didn’t have any overly flashy signs or logos. Just a banner just above the front door that read “Canterlot City Library”.

Starlight, flushed after all the walking, read the sign with perplexity. “You’re taking me to a library? I have a hard enough time escaping dusty old books where I come from, you know.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I was never as much into books as Princess Twilight,” Sunset reassured, putting her hand on Starlight’s. “However, I don’t think you’ve ever been to a library quite like this one.”

She playfully pushed Starlight through the doors, which - curiously - opened by themselves as they approached. On the surface, the interior looked just like a standard Equestrian library. Shelves of books all around, some signs marking the proper sections, with a nice reading area in the corner. However, as she took a much more thorough look around, the sense of familiarity only declined.

For one, there was a set of screens, each of which had some kind of power box underneath and an especially sleek keyboard. Given the basic shape, Starlight could only assume it was a digital typewriter; which, remembering how the keys would sometimes annoyingly get stuck, immediately peaked her interest. She took the seat in front of one machine, and hit a key. What appeared on-screen, however, was not the matching letter but some kind of security interface, asking for something called a ‘library card number’. Starlight pulled herself back, caught completely off guard.

Sunset caught up and giggled at Starlight’s confusion. “Don’t worry, this is just a common thing for computers. Here, I’ll log in for you.”

She typed in a lengthy string of numbers followed by a password of both numbers and letters that was thankfully censored. Upon hitting the “Enter” key, the security screen faded out and in its place came an entirely new display, with a blue gradient background and a few symbols and labels on the left side.

Starlight eyes widened in surprise, gesturing with her arms and hands. “Wait, what is all this stuff over here? I thought I was only supposed to type on this…”

Sunset turned to the monitor, then back to Starlight, slightly amused. “Oh right, you don’t know about computers. Basically, you control the pointer on there with this,” she put her right hand on the mouse, “and click on one of these icons to open up the program. Like so.”

She handed the keyboard and pointer remote back to Starlight upon, reaching the front page of some virtual encyclopedia. The mere concept of one immediately fascinated her. “Just type in what you’ll want to look at, and it’ll pull up everything it has about it. Doesn’t that sound cool?”

Starlight still looked a little unsure of what she saw. “I guess so…”

“Good. I’ll just go pick up a few things, go ahead and search in the meantime.” She walked away, keeping her eyes on Starlight before she turned a corner.

Staring at the wordy display, Starlight pondered and pondered over what to put in the search bar first. After thinking for longer than she wanted to, she finally typed in the box “Canterlot High”, and hit "Enter".

A new, full page of text and even a few simple graphics were what awaited. She already had a hard enough time reading the phenomenally detailed description, only to stumble across “page down” key, which proved quite helpful in navigating through. It turned out there were all these charts regarding sports events and test scores, along with an entire history section regarding the conceptualization and opening of the school. Starlight’s eyes widened with intrigue, not so much at the information itself but more at just how much of it could be crammed into a single page, real or not.

Eagerly, she returned to the search bar, this time requesting “Equestria”, only to find a result that was surprisingly much more empty and devoid of content. There was still a graphic or two to be found, as well as a decent list of details, but that’s all it really had. Much of what was there had to do with old legends and unconfirmed rumors. Starlight wasn’t sure how to react. To most everyone she was now among, her home-world was little more than a myth. It felt so incredibly surreal to her, giving her the need to pinch herself on the arm. Nope, still not dreaming.

Suddenly, several large hardcover books landed on the desk with a solid thud. Giving them a quick glance, she noted that most of them had to do with meteorology and astronomy. She turned her head in their direction to notice Sunset Shimmer, once again carrying her eager face.

“One of my favorite things to do when I come here is to check out all the fascinating things there are to the science in this world. Sure, I may not be very familiar with Equestria anymore, but I still love how there’s always something more to learn here!”

Sunset eagerly showed Starlight several different samples from each of the books, one by one. Some of the earlier details - like how their weather patterns, beyond not being actively controlled at all, almost exactly matched the Everfree Forest of all places - were real eye-openers, largely due to the bewilderment of such odd connections. Even the Sun, Moon, and stars functioned in a much more automated manner here, much to her shock. At first, she was beyond curious if they were always like that, given the other scientific advancements she had seen, but when she did find the explanation in a later book it only raised various more questions that even further clouded her mind. It left her mind feeling stressed and worn out, rendering her unable to really let the rest of the details sink in.

Despite Sunset retaining much of her enthusiasm the entire time, by the time an hour had passed Starlight held up her head with her hand on the cheek, constantly looking at her watch and preventing herself from daydreaming. Once Sunset had finally finished the last of the 10 or so books, she gave a sigh of relief only to quickly give a casual, content look in an attempt to hide it. Claiming she didn’t want to waste any more time, Starlight insisted they leave the library at that moment, which is exactly what they did. This time, Starlight Glimmer led to the doorway.

Their next stop was a much smaller building, one that sounded much more familiar to Starlight: Sugarcube Corner. “Hey, I know this place back in Ponyville! It’s where I always get my cakes and ice cream!”

“Well, I can’t say I have ever been to one over there,” Sunset mused, “but some people call this the Sweet Shoppe, and I think you’ll indeed find this place quite sweet.” She opened the door, and let Starlight walk inside first.

The first thing that surprised Starlight was the number of tables and chairs all around, like it was some kind of indoor café. At the counter, she saw who was clearly Mr. Cake. However, there weren’t too many desserts on the display windows and most of the patrons seemed to be carrying drinks. Even the sweet aroma was entirely new to her.

They sat down at a table close to the counter.

“I’ll go get something nice for you. Wait for me here,” said Sunset, who patted her companion's shoulder before walking away.

Starlight was quickly becoming tired of all the vagueness coming from Sunset. She got why her friend wanted to surprise her, but her mind felt like she could only take so much more before she’d crack.

She only had a few moments to herself before a familiar pink bushel of hair suddenly rocketed out of the chair on the other side of the table. “Hey Star Glim!! You liking it here so far?” she asked with her standard beam.

Startled, Starlight nearly fell off her chair. After she regained enough of her composure, she finally spoke, albeit with a clear shudder in her voice. “Things are going… fine, I suppose. The library was kind of interesting. Though it’s… really hard for everything sink in, considering how… peculiar this world seems to be compared to mine.”

Pinkie sighed, but stayed hyper. “Sometimes I wish I knew more about the life in your world...”

“I’ll try to tell you about it later.”

“Ooh, how about at our sleepover!? At my place! Tonight!”

“Yeah, that would be…” Only now did she take in what Pinkie said. “Wait, a sleepover?”

“Yep! With all seven of us!”

“Well… uh, okay.” She figured she might as well accept if she wanted to get to know everyone better, even if she was a little bugged at how out of nowhere this came up. “I’ve never actually been to a sleepover before.”

“And that’s why it's going to be the best sleepover ever!”

At that moment, Sunset came back with a piping hot cup in each arm. “Hey, why am I not surprised to see you, Pinkie?” she said in an almost sarcastic tone. “Anyway, I got Starlight this mocha. I think she’d like it.”

“...What even is this ‘moch-ah’?” said Starlight, slightly mispronouncing the name.

Pinkie did not hesitate to respond. “Only the most scrumptious and sweet coffee drink you’ll ever taste!”

“I can’t say I’ve ever had a… coffee drink.”

“My point exactly!”

Starlight could only respond with a shrug.

Sunset placed the beverage right in front of her guest as she took her seat on the opposite end of the table. “Well, go ahead. Mochas are my favorite thing they serve here.”

Looking down at the handled cup, Starlight felt steam rise to her face. She saw both Pinkie and Sunset’s subtle yet genuine faces, encouraging her to try it out. Her trust in them was enough motivation for her, so she took a quick sip.

At first, the drink tasted much like hot cream, which made her eyelids rapidly and briefly open all the way on both ends. However, this sensation was quickly replaced with the tongue-stinging yet tasty one of boiled yet thick chocolate, with a hint of the powdery texture that filled some of the donuts she remembered having back home. It undoubtedly struck her as unique and even kind of addicting.

“It’s… certainly chocolatey and all that,” she said, “but honestly, I just wish the rest didn’t feel so… invigorating. Don't get me wrong, I do see the appeal of it and all that, I suppose, but… I don’t think it’s really for me.”

“That’s okay,” Sunset shrugged. “These really are an acquired taste. Did you know that some people actually drink these to energize themselves each morning?”

Starlight cocked her head to the side. Coffee wasn’t exactly unheard of in Equestria, but it was much less common and she never knew anypony who drank it for that specific purpose. Maybe it was more of that hidden magic that was brought up earlier?

Sunset guessed her thoughts. “Yeah, I’ve sometimes wondered how they come up with all this myself.”

Pinkie and Sunset took up most of the of the exchange from that point on, Starlight quietly listening, lost in her own thoughts. By the time Pinkie left as inexplicably as she appeared, her mind was becoming so clouded up with all of the new and unusual sights and tastes of her visit, that she could only fidget with her arms and hands in an attempt to distract herself from it. She couldn’t help but wonder how much more she would even be able to take before cracking.

“You know, all this is neat to see and all,” she said. “But I’m not sure I will be ready for the third stop.”

Sunset stopped in place and turned to face Starlight. “Is there anything wrong?” she asked out of concern.

“Well… I love what you’ve done for me so far, and… this world has certainly been… interesting, but… I can only be kept in suspense and surprise for so long. I don’t mean to sound threatening, but when things unexpectedly don’t go my way I’ve been known to get a little… extreme.”

Sunset patted her on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. If you told me earlier I definitely would’ve toned it down a little.”

Starlight’s eyebrows remained arched, and her mouth slightly frowned, but the sudden glimmer in her eye revealed that her spirits had indeed been lifted.

“The thing is, I’m one of those people who loves being kept on her toes and finding out new things for myself,” Sunset continued. “I guess I just assumed you would too, considering how much we’ve had in common already…”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” said Starlight, now much more calm. “I’m just glad you understand.” After a brief pause, Starlight spoke up again, her mouth now in a neutral position. “So, what did you have planned for our final stop? Something else unlike anything I’ve ever seen in Equestria?”

“Actually, what I had in mind was a nice, relaxing hour at the local spa.”

“Really?” Starlight asked curiously. “I mean, spas are nice and all, but after my time at the one in Ponyville, I’m not sure any other spa could ever impress me like they have.”

***

“Ahhh…” Starlight gave the biggest sigh of relief she could ever remember after settling into the mud bath, with everything but her head completely soaked in the delicate, warm, smooth substance and cucumber slices placed over her eyes. While she has once had a mud bath in Ponyville, her new limbs and body shape seemed to just make the soothing nature of the texture a hundred times more effective. “It feels so amazing to have all the stress from today just lifted off my shoulders like this.”

“What’d I tell you?” Sunset said quietly, bathing in an adjacent tub. “It’s easily my favorite place to just wind down and relaaaax...”

Starlight simply responded with a content hum.

For most of the bath, there was little noise beyond the quiet jiggling of the mud. Starlight gently moved her legs across the tub, relishing the wonderful tenderness of her body’s encompassment in something so warm and vicious. It felt especially nice when she would lightly wiggle her toes, with the mud between them rubbing against the skin. She wished it would never end, but by the time it did, she wasn’t at all disappointed, though she was convinced what followed would not match.

Yet, the subsequent massage managed to catch her by surprise once again. The two bodies were still covered in a coat of mud, but now they were lying on their fronts atop body-length benches. Most of the time, their now cucumber-less eyes remained closed as their masseuses, which resembled the sisters Starlight knew in Ponyville, delicately treated their muscles and tendons.

However, what truly amazed Starlight was just how much the various complexities in her overall structure added to her experience – more so than the mud bath, even. Sure, she loved the massage treatments she always got as a pony, but she found this form allowed for one that was somehow even more precise, relieving, and especially therapeutic.

As her masseuse delicately pressed down repeatedly on the top area of her back, between her spine and rib cage on both sides, Starlight’s huge sigh of relief rivaled the one from the mud bath. Her muscle-heavy legs went from stiff and worn to sturdy and firm. And just as she thought that she couldn’t become any more relaxed, she felt her feet being pressed in a manner more delicate than any other feature. It provided a somewhat tickly sensation that was ultimately overpowered by just how amazing they felt immediately afterward, which was simply never possible with hard, stubby hooves.

Even though both treatments lasted well over an hour, by the time their time had expired Starlight felt like it ended far too soon, but she still loved the opportunity just the same. The moment they exited the treatment area post washing off the mud, she made sure Sunset saw her wear the most grateful, satisfied smile she had since she first entered this world.

Just as Sunset was signing them out of the facility, a distinct, over enthusiastic voice at the sign-in table on the opposite end was heard that made her groan. “Why, someone as great and powerful as myself only deserves the very best that you’ve got!”, it went.

Starlight immediately recognized the voice, despite not at all expecting it. Without thinking any further, she turned herself around and sure enough, no matter what the form, there was no mistaking the deep blue skin and silver hair. “…Trixie?!?”

“Wait, you know her?” said Sunset, turning her head towards Starlight despite still having the towel on.

“Of course, she does!” Trixie boasted, putting her arms on her shoulders while glaring at Sunset. “The Great and Powerful Trrrixie has many more adoring fans than someone as… unusual… as yourself.”

“No…” said Starlight, frantically trying to think of what to say spur of the moment. “Where I come from… y’know, the other world… we’re best friends!”

“You are?” Sunset asked, surprised.

“Yeah! I’ve helped you with your spells, while you’ve helped me overcome my fears, we teamed up to save my teacher from the changelings…” It was only at that moment that she realized that this Trixie probably wasn’t aware of her pony counterpart, let alone their friendship. Her expression abruptly turned dumbfounded, wishing she had thought about it a few seconds before she did.

Trixie just stared for a moment before responding with even more confusion than Sunset. “Trixie… does not comprehend your logic.” Her face then went back to self-pride. “Especially considering she’s too good with spells to even seek out help, let alone from you.”

Starlight simply stood still in mild shock for a few seconds, before Sunset’s hand met her own, prompting her to follow Sunset out. Starlight still kept her stare until they had passed the double-doors.

They sat down at the bench just outside the resort, listening to the rushing and dripping of the water from a patio fountain. After a few seconds, Starlight felt the need to explain herself. “The Trixie I know is... a lot friendlier than that one was. Boastful for sure, but she at least appreciates my company…”, she whispered quietly.

“I guess not all the events of one’s life can be the same across worlds,” Sunset replied with a slight smirk.

“Even still, it’s… hard to see any Trixie like... that. I sure know I won't be able to look at mine the same way next time we meet…”

“I... may not necessarily understand how your friendship works, but you’ll get over it eventually. I know from personal experience.”

“I sure hope so. This spa really was amazing, though; I can’t thank you enough for taking me here.”

Sunset perked up at Starlight's high opinion, causing the visitor to smile back. Sunset could tell simply from her friend’s inflections that she meant every word of it. "Well, however much you thank me, you are most definitely welcomed."

Starlight's grin grew until it reached from ear to ear, her body still feeling as at ease as it ever had been. Sure, the specific treatment was also a little different from what she was used to all her life, but it was in a manner that she found herself more than willing to enjoy. It single-handedly made her gain much more of an appreciation to all she went through and experienced so far, and she suddenly felt much more confident and ready for what was to come.

She had no idea what kind of amazing, otherworldly wonders awaited her next, but after the tour, she knew she had nothing to worry about from now on. Especially when she was with a friend as fantastic as Sunset Shimmer.