Twilight and Starlight made their way up the spiral staircase and back into the library. They were relieved to see that they had risen just as the Sun had—its morning rays shining through the large windows dotting the walls.
"So... what now?" Twilight asked, looking around the busy library, "I kinda thought Burning Comet would come and wake us up or something."
"I don't know," Starlight, trotting ahead, "maybe we woke up before anypony was able to show up, or maybe Aeon is finally letting us have some free time to do... whatever."
"I doubt that," Twilight muttered, following Starlight's lead, "we still don't know anypony here, or where anything is, really."
"We took that tour with Burning Comet, didn't we?" Starlight replied, looking back at Twilight with a raised eyebrow, "I mean, sure one trip through the Fortress probably wouldn't be enough to memorize everything but..."
"How much do you remember about where things are around here?" Twilight challenged, raising her own eyebrow, "because I don't remember a lot of places, and I have a pretty good memory."
"I... well... t-that," Starlight fumbled for a moment before shaking her head roughly turning away with an irritated scowl, "look, let's just ask somepony where to get some breakfast, alright?"
Twilight chuckled a bit and followed Starlight deeper into the library. Together they weaved their way through bookshelves and tables looking for anyone who didn't look too busy.
"Wait... Starlight, hang on a minute..." Twilight whispered, before stopping suddenly, "that mare over there..."
Starlight stopped and looked back to see that Twilight's eyes were slightly narrowed and focused on something over near the row of tables in the middle of the library.
She furrowed her brow and followed Twilight's gaze until she saw what—or rather who—the lavender filly was looking at.
Sitting at the exact same table as the night before, was the tall, slender, and clumsy mare Twilight had literally bumped into.
From what they could tell, the mare had just sat down with a large number of books in her bright grey aura. Placing them on the desk, she glanced around nervously before pulling the topmost book off the pile and cracking it open.
"That mare?" Starlight asked, turning back to Twilight in bemusement, "what about her? She looks just as busy as everypony else."
"I wanna talk to her," Twilight replied, already making her way over to the mare, "she might be able to tell us where we can get something to eat."
"Twilight!" Starlight hissed, "you can't just... ugh, fine!", she reluctantly followed after the curious filly, and grumbled under her breath, "why do I get the feeling we're not gonna be getting any breakfast anytime soon?"
Twilight ignored the other filly and trotted up to the table, where the mare was already absorbed in what she was reading, scanning the pages with an intense frown.
Twilight hesitated a moment before making her way to the other side of the table and hopping onto the long bench opposite the mare.
Starlight rolled her eyes and sat beside Twilight, before leaning forward and propping her head on a hoof. Curious, Twilight gave the other books in the pile a conspicuous glance and frowned in confusion at the titles she read.
'The Outlands: A Survival Guide'... 'An Introduction to Combat Magic'... 'Deadly Creatures from Beyond the Barrier'?
Twilight turned to look at Starlight, who had also read some of the titles and merely shrugged as she looked back at the other filly.
Getting no help from Starlight, Twilight then turned back to the mare, who still hadn't noticed them, and cleared her throat politely. When the mare didn't react, Twilight frowned again and decided to speak up.
"Excuse me."
The mare flinched slightly at Twilight's voice and looked up from her book, blinking in surprise. After a moment she shook her head and gave the fillies an apologetic and somewhat hesitant smile.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry you two," she said in that odd accent Twilight had picked up on before, "I didn't see you sitting there. Did you need something from me?"
"Well... kind of," Twilight replied, rubbing the back of her neck before giving the mare an awkward smile, "my name's Twilight... Twilight Sparkle. We bumped into each other the other day."
The mare furrowed her brow in thought before her eyes widened and she slowly nodded.
"Ah, that's right, I remember now," she exclaimed before giving Twilight another apologetic frown, "again, you must forgive me, Twilight Sparkle, I... my mind was on... other things, and I was not paying as much attention as I should have been."
'That's okay," Twilight replied with a friendly smile, "it was just an accident, and no one was hurt," she then gestured to the impatient looking filly sitting next to her, "anyway, this is Starlight Glimmer, she's... my sister."
Starlight whipped around to face Twilight with an incredulous raise of her brow. Twilight looked back with an innocent, and somewhat pleading smile.
The light pink filly went to protest, but seemed to think better of it, and shut her mouth. She frowned thoughtfully for several seconds before shrugging and turning to the mare with a nod.
"Hey," Starlight greeted casually, "nice to meet you."
"Likewise," the young mare replied with a small giggle before gesturing to herself, "my name is Fleur de Lis, but you can just call me Fleur."
"Alright," Twilight responded with a nod and smile. She then frowned and tilted her head slightly, "you seem... different from when I first saw you."
Fleur's smile faltered and turned a bit sad as she looked away.
"Ah... well... it is as I said," she replied quietly, "I had... other things on my mind at the time, but... I'd rather not talk about that if it's all the same to you girls."
"Fine by me," Starlight replied, "it's your business after all."
But Twilight frowned again, her gaze drifting to where she knew the mare was hiding a large scar. That same sensation—that same pull she had felt before, nagged at her again as she stared at Fleur.
She needed to know what this was about.
She frantically searched for a way to ease them both into what she wanted to talk about. After a moment, her eyes landed on the stack of books and she smiled.
"Um, so..." Twilight began tentatively, "are you... planning on traveling into the desert?"
Fleur's eye's widened slightly, but she quickly hid her reaction behind a mask of polite confusion. Starlight gave the other filly an annoyed grimace, but Twilight ignored her as she waited for Fleur to answer.
"What makes you ask that?"
"Well, I noticed the books you were reading," the lavender filly explained, nodding towards the stack of books, "and, judging by the titles, it seems like you're preparing to head out into the desert."
Fleur glanced over at the books in question with a small glare, as though they had given away an embarrassing secret. After a second however, she sighed and shook her head, her ears flattening beneath her faded pink mane.
"Yes... I do plan on trekking across the desert," she conceded, somewhat bitterly, "I... have somewhere I need to go... some answers I need to find."
"What kind of answers?" Starlight asked, her own curiosity getting the better of her, "are you going on some kind of epic journey of self discovery or something?"
Fleur didn't answer right away.
Instead she looked between the two fillies with an odd expression Twilight couldn't quite place. A minute passed and Fleur's eyes eventually settled on Twilight herself.
Twilight looked back, shifting nervously under the mare's contemplative and scrutinizing gaze. Just when the filly was about to comment, Fleur spoke again, her tone thoughtful.
"Where are you from, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight's brow furrowed and she looked over to Starlight, who looked back with just as much confusion on her face. She then turned back to Fleur with a bemused frown.
"I'm... from Canterlot," she answered warily, "why?"
At this, Fleur gave a slow nod before chuckling, her smile returning to her face once more.
"I thought as much," she replied, leaning forward and resting her hooves on the table, "I do not know how you made it all the way out here from Canterlot, but I will not pry. There is, however, something you may be able to help me with after all... if you'd be willing, that is."
Twilight and Starlight gave each other another confused glance before turning back to Fleur.
"Um... okay?" Twilight replied with an uncertain smile, "what did you need help with?"
"Not now," Fleur replied quietly as she stood up from the bench. She wrapped her books in her light gray aura as she continued, "can you meet me back here around an hour after the Sun sets? The library should be mostly empty by then... oh, and you can bring your sister so long as she can keep a secret."
Twilight didn't have to think too hard about her answer. She still didn't know why Fleur drew her attention so much, but if the mare was willing to give her answers, then she wasn't about to turn her down.
"I'll be here," Twilight replied with a determined nod, "I don't know if I'll be able to help you, but I can at least try, right, Starlight?"
She turned to Starlight expectantly, but frowned when she saw Starlight's unsure expression. The light pink filly eyed Fleur warily, clearly not trusting the mare nearly as much as Twilight did.
When she looked back to Twilight, she could see that the other filly wasn't going to change her mind. She gave Fleur one last look before letting out a heavy sigh.
If she couldn't convince Twilight to reconsider, then she'd just have to be there to look out for her in case something went wrong—not that she believed it would, given Aeon's office was just across the room.
Starlight may have been reckless, but she wasn't stupid enough to randomly trust strangers like her 'sister' was apparently. With that in mind, Starlight turned back to Twilight with a scowl.
"Right," she replied in a low, begrudging tone, "I'll come with you," she whipped around and pointed an accusatory hoof at Fleur, who took a step back in surprise, "but if things start getting shady, we're going straight to Aeon, got it?"
"Starlight!" Twilight hissed, "be nice! She hasn't done anything suspicious!"
"She's got a shady past," Starlight replied with a shrug, "can't be too careful, right?"
Twilight bit back her retort, not daring to say what she thought about that comment coming from Starlight of all ponies. Instead, she turned back to Fleur with an apologetic smile of her own.
"I'm sorry, Fleur," she said, casting a small glare in Starlight's direction, "my sister is kinda slow to trust other ponies. Don't let it bother you too much."
"No, it is okay," Fleur replied with a small chuckle, "I understand where she's coming from, believe me," she grimaced before shaking her head and smiling at Starlight, "but you needn't worry yourself, Starlight Glimmer, I mean no harm, I just... need some help is all, and I'm hoping your sister can oblige."
"If you say so," Starlight replied, still unconvinced, "as long as you're not gonna make us do anything that'll get us in trouble with Aeon, I'll keep your little secret."
"Thank you... both of you," she replied, giving them one last beaming smile before turning on her heel and looking back at them from over her shoulder, "see you two tonight then."
With that, she quickly trotted away, disappearing behind one of the large bookshelves further ahead. Twilight turned towards Starlight with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks for agreeing to do this, Starlight," she said, smiling gratefully, "I know we just met her, but... there's something about her that's bugging me, and I wanna find out what it is."
"Don't thank me yet, Twilight," Starlight replied with another scowl, "I meant what I said. If things start getting suspicious, I'm going to Aeon."
"Right," Twilight agreed with a solemn nod, "I wanna know more about her, but that doesn't mean I fully trust her either."
"Well," Starlight responded with a smirk, "glad to see you're not a total idiot, then."
The light pink filly laughed at Twilight's indignant sputtering, but the sudden growling of both their stomachs cut the laughter short and she gave Twilight an annoyed frown.
"You forgot to ask her where to get breakfast, Twilight."