Moon Dancer's eyes swept left to right over the crisp new text of the book. It held no secrets to remedying horn maladies. It held no great society-changing whispers.
It could maybe change her world as much as any of those things. She brought her bushy brows together, silently mouthing along with the words a moment before rewinding and going over them again. Who knew the socialization process had so many rules?
Still, having it laid out like that... She made a mental note to thank Twilight, for having the book, and Starlight for pointing her towards it. She set the book down, tapping at it with a hoof gently. There was nothing to do but... put theory into practice. She would have to walk up to a pony, preferably one that matched her ideal characteristics, and say hello.
Mare or stallion. She reached up, brushing her taped glasses aside to rub at her face. She knew more mares than stallions, which meant she knew more mares that met her desirable characteristics. That was simple math. A larger sample size was sure to cause that.
She deflated suddenly with a weary sigh. For all her thoughts, she actually didn't know many ponies of either sex. She had her close friends in Canterlot, a few escapees in Ponyville, and all the rest were, at best, acquaintances. Twilight and Sunburst, clearly, were already disqualified. Hay, she'd tried that negotiation and it hadn't gone well, no...
She blinked softly, realizing something. "There is a stallion." There was one male she knew. He was kind, caring, understanding, and ready to support her. It was a male that didn't mind that she studied a lot, and was already accustomed to that. He knew how to cook and clean and do lots of things she wasn't actually very good at.
He was also... young. Too young? She frowned as she stood up, adjusting her glasses into proper position. There was only one way to find out.
"I wish to court Spike." She looked across the desk at Starlight. "Please advise me."
Starlight nudged a cup of steaming cocoa over towards Moon Dancer. "And what brought this... idea on?"
Moon's horn glowed as she lifted the cup for a soft sip. "It's logical. He knows me. I know him. He's already used to the company of a female engrossed with study. We're friends, and I don't care that he's a dragon. I feel we could become more compatible, with time and effort."
"Well... alright, but you know he's a baby dragon, right?" Starlight hiked a brow. "Not that I'm judging! Just bringing up the facts."
"He is no longer a baby dragon," countered Moon, an image appearing against the wall, showing the life stages of a dragon. "He started as an infant." She pointed at where the chubby-cheeked little wyrmling was just emerging from the egg. "Then became a child, not a baby." She moved on to where a young dragon ambled around on two legs, about Spike's size. "But then, and this is the important part, they leave this stage behind with a very clear physical change."
She drew a magic circle around her magic image, highlighting the new wings of the dragon in the next phase. "He is now a young adult. A 'teenager', if you wish to phrase it another way."
"You are not a teenaged mare," pointed out Starlight, sipping from her own cup. "You are very much an adult. You've made it through school and pursue a career."
"He's very mature for his age..." Moon glanced at Starlight, the image on the wall fading away. "Am I being foolish again? You were very... blunt before, and I appreciate that. Be blunt, tell me."
"Well... alright." She set her mug down. "I think you're... a little desperate."
"Are you saying Spike couldn't be an ideal partner?"
"No! No... He's a wonderful dragon, and a fantastic friend." She smiled gently. "But he's still growing, learning who he is. He has moments of... wisdom, it's true, but he's still a kid under that, and he deserves that. We all deserve a chance to be kids."
Moon Dancer sagged a little, worrying her forehooves together. "Has he not shown... interest in mares yet?"
"Only one specific mare," sighed out Starlight. "That just can't end well..."
Moon sat up, ears focused on Starlight with sudden focus. "Hm? What mare?"
"Ugh, he's smitten with a unicorn, Rarity. She doesn't return the affection, at all, but it hasn't slowed him down. He keeps hoping, and she keeps casually walking all over him. Sometimes I just want to scream!" Starlight threw up her hooves before realizing what she was doing. "Um, not that we're here to talk about that. Let's refocus on you."
"If I were to return his affections, would it be less or more healthy than this one-sided infatuation with Rarity?" asked Moon, calculations almost visible in her nerdish eyes.
Star thumped her head against her desk. "I... suppose that would be healthier, a little, if it meant he moved on."
"Excellent." She brought her hooves together with a joyful clop. "What are the qualities in Rarity he seems to admire the most?"
"Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure. I think it may be a purely physical thing. He just likes the way she looks. Don't get me wrong, any good relationship is made better when both sides like the way the other side looks. I mean you'll be looking at them a lot, it only makes sense... but it's kind of shallow for that to be the only real attraction."
"Shallow... but exploitable." She hopped down from her chair. "Excuse me, and thank you. You have been a fantastic help."
Starlight watched Moon Dancer leave, considering how she could have handled that better. "At the very least... this promises to be interesting to watch."
"It's open," called Rarity as she ran her sewing machine, working steadily. "Welcome, darling, to..." She glanced over and saw the frumpy unicorn known as Moon Dancer entering. "Oh, hello there. You're Twilight's friend, aren't you?"
Moon Dancer looked towards the voice and began the study Rarity intently from ears to hooves and back and forth. "Mmm."
Rarity blushed softly and tittered, raising a hoof over her snout as her machine slowed to a stop. "Dear me, you shouldn't stare like that. You'll make a mare nervous. How can I help you today?"
Moon pointed at Rarity's mane. "What conditioner do you use?"
Rarity blinked in surprise. "Oh, well, there's a question nopony usually asks. You want to try a new style?" She hopped down to her hooves and trotted towards Moon. "Mmm, yes, you could use a little touching up. You're not letting your inner beauty shine, dear. I know exactly who could help."
"You do?" She raised one of her shaggy brows high. "I assume you groom yourself?"
"What a curious way of phrasing that, but most days, yes." Rarity nodded with confidence.
"I would like to learn that." She pointed at Rarity's mane, then back at the white unicorn's tail. "Would you show me how to style my hair in a pleasing fashion?"
"How adorable!" Rarity suddenly grabbed Moon, one hoof to either cheek and squeezing. "Twilight's little bookish friend wants to copy me? How can I say no to that? Now, I should warn, it takes constant effort to be this fabulous." She tossed her mane and fluttered her lashes.
Moon took a step away, freeing herself from the grip, as well-meaning as it was. "I am ready to begin. Let us start with the necessary ingredients."
"Ingredients? Oh! Yes, of course." She floated over a book and began to take quick notes. "You did ask about that conditioner, but shampoo is also vitally important." She ripped free the page and offered it towards Moon. "Here you are. Get this together and I'll show you how to treat your mane and tail as they should be." She suddenly lashed out a hoof, knocking the hairband that held up Moon's mane away quite suddenly. "And lose that."
Moon's mane fell down in a sheet, becoming quite Twilight-like in appearance. "I see..."
"Oh dear, you really do take after her..." She tapped her chin softly. "I'll bear that in mind for the lessons. Go, prepare, and we shall begin!"
Moon was already reading over the list of ingredients needed to make the shampoo and conditioner. "I'll be back," she promised, distracted as she wandered from the store, already planning on where to get what she needed.
"Lunar convergence," breathed out Sunburst, rubbing behind his head. "To think... We used to have the answer, but we abandoned it."
"It's fascinating," agreed Twilight with a bobbing of her head. "When Luna took over the role of raising the moon, the rituals involved with moving it fell to the wayside. If not for the Canterlot Archives, it could very well have been entirely forgotten." She pointed up at the city far above. "But I know there are copies there."
"Yes, but... I would never have guessed this." He tapped at the heavy book. "Apparently this used to be a less frequent disease, not because of a lower occurrence rate, but because ponies with it were often assigned to moon raising duties, which would cure them of the malady, or kill them."
Twilight huffed softly. "Not a solution we can suggest as a global cure, but it is one we can mediate far more easily than what we were trying with you and Starlight. There is a snag, however."
"Hm?"
"Both the sun raising and moon raising rituals must be performed with multiple unicorns working in concert." She tapped her forehooves. "And it's very draining. Doing it over and over again is how unicorns would lose their magic, forever. Thankfully, we should only need to do it once or twice, but we would need other ponies willing to take this effort on with you."
"How many to do the moon?" He knew it took a full circle to get the sun to move. "I mean, we have you, right?"
"Wrong." She shook her head. "If I was involved, I would overwhelm your effort, do most of the work, and you wouldn't be cured."
"Which rules out Starlight too, I imagine?"
"Precisely."
Sunburst stroked his beard, considering the matter quietly. "Why not... others who have the same condition? They would likely have about the same level of raw power, limited by the condition itself. They'd be personally invested in doing it right, so they aren't likely to balk." He adjusted his glasses. "But do we have a list of such ponies, considering we've only just started diagnosing it?"
"Sounds like a project!" Twilight hopped up from sitting to standing. "Now that we know what to look for, we can put out a call to unicorns that feel their magic is impeded to have a quick check." She nodded with building confidence. "We'll isolate the ones that have this condition, and have the ponies we need to give this a real try."
Sun leaned over and suddenly kissed Twilight on the cheek. "You are breathtaking when you're excited, but let's not forget to warn them of the risks and challenges. I don't want any pony going into this blind."
"Yes, of course." She was blushing softly from the kiss, the two not used to each other's affections enough to avoid it. "I'll get to work on a flyer and we'll see who we get."
Together, they trotted off to get started. "By the way." Sun glanced over. "We should, you know, get permission from Luna to take over moon moving duties for a day or two."
"I'm sure she'd appreciate the break." Twilight shrugged softly. "She deserves one anyway."