It took a few days for Starlight to run into Fancy Grass's protest group again. Few ponies on campus paid enough attention to the protests to know which groups tended to argue for what causes, but a skunky smelling pony who claimed to have known Fancy Grass from high school told her when they'd appear. Starlight was reluctant to trust him, but following her one lead paid off the next day when she came upon a protest in the confluence.
Fancy Grass waved her over. "Oh, hey, you're that chick from last time!"
"Yep!"
"...I don't remember your name…"
"Starlight Glimmer."
"Right, right. You here to join in again?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you'd be willing to talk about running a slightly more… focused protest."
"Go on." Fancy Grass sat down as he listened.
Starlight described the presentation she'd seen the other day, focusing on the differences in distributions of cutie marks in different cities in Equestria.
"...so like… society changes what cutie mark you get?"
"Yeah, and if that's the case, shouldn't we fight to give everypony a chance to do something great?"
Fancy Grass nodded. "Hey, brah, you should come to our party this weekend and tell the others about this." He stood up. "They'd totally dig it."
"That's good, right?"
Fancy Grass nodded. "Plus, there's gonna be a keg. Limber Timber's got a hookup for the good stuff."
"Alright, sure, I'll come."
After she got the details on the party, Starlight joined in the protest. Like last time, there didn't seem to be any particular direction to the chanting. As Starlight looked around the Confluence, she spotted a familiar orange mane and coat. Inky Quill was talking to another pony, casting furtive glances into the throng of protestors, and writing in her notepad.
They made eye contact. They broke eye contact.
After a while, the protest petered out. Inky Quill walked over.
She put her notepad into her saddlebag as she approached. "I guess I can't be too surprised to see you here."
Starlight blew her mane away from her face. She frowned, and raised an eyebrow. "Writing another exposé?"
Inky rolled her eyes. "Shockingly, not everything I write is about you."
"What do you want?"
"Why are you hanging out with these…" Inky waved her hoof in the air. "...losers?"
Starlight scoffed. "Losers? At least they're fighting for something!"
"Fighting for what, exactly?"
"Well, hopefully, soon they'll be fighting for equality!"
"Uh huh. And you're gonna whip them into shape?"
"Yes! They invited me to speak at their…" Starlight looked away awkwardly. "Uh, their…"
"Their what?"
"Their…” Starlight stood tall, her nose held high. “... social gathering of like-minded individuals."
"I see. And will there be a keg at this 'social gathering?'"
Starlight blinked. "Uh… maybe."
Inky slapped her hoof against her forehead. "Look, Starlight, I know we didn't exactly get off on the best hoof, but you're smarter than this!"
"And how would you know?"
"It's more of a statement on the situation than you, and are you seriously arguing with me saying you're not a loser?” Inky stammered. “ Your argument was terrible the other day, but it was at least semi-coherent. If you're not gonna change your mind, at least ditch those guys before ponies get the wrong idea about you."
"Ugh! What makes you think you know anything about me?" Starlight stomped her hoof.
"You… argh! Alright, know what? Fine. Go have fun with the stoners, see how far that gets you." Inky started walking away. Over her shoulder, she yelled, "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Seriously, what is up with her?" Starlight gesticulated wildly as she lay in her bed.
Midnight was working at her desk, tinkering with a magical stone. "It sounds like she thinks you're wasting your time."
"But that's ridiculous! They're not losers, they're just… unfocused! I'm sure that if I talk to them, I can get them to tackle the real issues!"
“Uh-huh.” Midnight’s gaze was aimed intently at the stone as she manipulated it in her magic. "So… this party's gonna have a keg?"
Starlight cocked an eyebrow. "Why does everypony ask me that?"
"Hey, I just want to relax a bit!" Midnight looked up from her work. "And you probably shouldn't go to that party alone. I'm sure Fancy Grass and Limber Timber are perfectly nice, but there're some real nasty ponies out there."
"I'm not going to get drunk!"
"But you are going to drink?"
"Well, uh… it would be rude not to?"
Midnight stood and placed her hoof on Starlight's shoulder. "And that is why I'm coming with you. If you're going to wake up with anypony after a night of debauchery, it's going to be with me." Her face scrunched as she scratched the back of her neck. "As in here, in our room. That sounded better in my head."
Starlight gently pushed off Midnight's hoof, giggling. "Alright, alright. I appreciate it, Middy."
Midnight returned to her work.
Starlight looked pensive. "Hey, Middy."
"Yeah?"
"Do you pull a lot of all-nighters at the observatory?"
"Oh, yeah. One of the professors is letting me do a project on Middy. The observatory here is amazing! It's got an enchanted lens so any astronomical spells are amplified and… you look concerned."
"Well, I helped you get back to the dorm last time; what do you normally do when I'm not there?"
"Oh, I, uh… just kinda conk out on the console?" Midnight nervously clapped her hooves.
"That doesn't seem ideal."
"I mean, what else am I going to do?"
"How about this: you let me know when you're going up there, and I can come get you in the morning."
"Star, you don't have to–"
Starlight put a hoof to her friend's shoulder. "Consider it returning the favor for the escort tonight."
Midnight smiled. "Thanks."
"I guess this is the place." Starlight and Midnight looked up at the large brick house before them. They could hear music coming from inside, an eclectic blend of electronica and ska, punctuated by shouts of "CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG."
Midnight gave Starlight a skeptical glance.
Starlight forced a grin. "Like I said, they just need a little… focus."
The inside of the house was crammed with ponies in varying states of intoxication. The music pulsed so strongly Starlight couldn't feel her own heart beating. She gulped. Her breathing quickened. More ponies. When did they all start pressing in? A pony she didn't recognize offered her a cup of… something. It smelled funny. She took the cup reflexively. This is definitely spiked, isn't it?
Starlight felt a hoof on her shoulder.
"Uh, Starlight, you're thinking out loud again." Midnight looked concerned. "Do you want to head back?" She took the cup from Starlight's aura, pouring it out a nearby window.
"No, no way… I'm fine." Starlight took a few deep breaths. "Come on, I need to find Fancy Grass."
The two pushed through the throng of dancing ponies. Midnight filled another cup straight from the keg and drank it as they searched.
Starlight was annoyed. "How many ponies can possibly be in this place?!"
After what felt like an hour, she spotted Fancy Grass and Limber Timber. They were perched on a balcony near the top of the staircase, looking over the dancers.
"Hey, there she is!" Fancy Grass was pointing at her. "Come over here! We were wondering when you'd make your appearance."
Starlight climbed the stairs, Midnight close behind her. Fancy Grass and several other ponies she recognized from the protests were gathered, most of them drinking or dancing.
Fancy Grass waved to the others. "Hey, everypony! This is the mare I was talking about. Her name is… uh…"
Starlight’s jaw dropped. "Seriously?!" She shook it off and looked at the others. "Starlight Glimmer. We've all met before, sorta."
"Right. She wanted to talk to us about doing more protests!"
A cheer came from the group.
Starlight raised her hoof, quieting the crowd. "Well, not just more protests. I had some ideas on how we could do better protests, like–"
A pony from the crowd interrupted her. "Oh, better slogans!"
"I was thinking more along the lines of protesting for something more specific."
“Like what?”
“Well… ahem.” She cleared her throat; every pony in the group had their eyes on her. “Oh, ha, wow, there sure are a lot of you!”
The ponies muttered amongst themselves, confused.
Starlight took a deep breath. “You can do this.”
“Look at all of us. We are all here because we have something we’re passionate about: something that makes us unique and special, right?
“But what about the ponies who aren’t here? What about the ponies who don’t get to explore who they really are?” Starlight stomped her hoof, punctuating her point. “What gives our society the right to pick and choose what our destinies are?”
The crowd started chattering in agreement, though many of the words were slurred. Someone in the crowd yelled, “Nothing!”
“Exactly! We’re told these marks on our flank represent our destiny, but what kind of destiny can be changed by your parents being young or poor?!”
“WHOOOOO!” A pony in the crowd cried out.
“...I’ll just pretend that was meant for me.” Starlight cleared her throat. “We need to fight for every foal to get the opportunity to do something great! We need to fight for a society of true equality! So, who's ready to make a difference?" Starlight shouted, puffing her chest out and standing tall. More cheers. After a few minutes of chatter, the group agreed to meet up after the next semester began.
As ponies returned to their debauchery, Limber Timber tapped Starlight's shoulder. "Good speech. But I think your friend might be in some trouble downstairs."
Starlight whirled around to look over the balcony: Midnight was talking to a very drunk stallion. Though she was smiling, Starlight could hear her losing her patience, even over the cacophony of the dance floor. She raced down the stairs.
"Hey, I'm just waiting for my friend."
The stallion opened his mouth to speak. The foul stench of cheap liquor hit Starlight, and she retched. The words coming out of the stallion's mouth were as indecipherable as they were vomit-inducing, slurred so heavily that Starlight wondered if he was speaking Old Ponish. "Yoush c'mon 'n' c'm t'me 'n' we c'n fsh ths naaatawy, b'by." He reached a hoof out to touch Midnight.
She batted it away. "I have no idea what you said." Finally, she spotted Starlight. "Oh, hey, there she is!" Midnight wrapped her forehoof around Starlight, pulling her in close. She whispered, "Please for the love of Celestia get me out of here. He's been following me ever since we split up!"
"Oh, yeah! Hey, Midnight, buddy, thanks for… uh… coming to pick me up!"
"Oh, you know it, Starlight. Let's leave now!"
The drunk pony said nothing. He blinked, slowly, each eye closing separately.
Starlight and Midnight walked past him. Starlight saw the stallion move towards them. Suddenly, Midnight raised her back legs and bucked the stallion in the face.
"He slapped my ass!"
A crowd began to form, but before anyone had figured out what happened, Starlight had pulled Midnight to her side. The two galloped out the house and into the night.
Midnight was panting. "Star, please… I don't think they're following us."
The two stopped in the middle of campus, near a fountain in the magical studies area of campus. Water spouted from the mouth of a statue of Celestia.
Starlight looked over the statue while Midnight caught her breath. "Who designed this?"
"Ok…" Midnight grunted as she sat on the rim of the fountain. "Never running that far while buzzed again."
Starlight scratch the back of her neck. "You seem pretty familiar with this... stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Drinking and parties."
Midnight waved her hoof dismissively. "Oh, I went to a few back in Vanhoover."
"There are parties outside college?"
Midnight was incredulous. She stammered at Starlight a few moments before responding. "Star, I know you weren't exactly Miss Popular back home, but…"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing." Midnight stood up and the two continued their walk home. "Yeesh, that guy was drunk."
"What happened?"
"Oh, just your typical drunk attempt at flirting. Except he was so far gone I couldn't understand a word he was saying."
"Not into stallions who can't hold a conversation?"
"Not into stallions, but yeah, that second part, too."
"Oh." An awkward pause hung in the air.
Midnight stammered. "B-but I'd never make a move on a roommate! Don't worry, totally not going to happen. That'd be super awkward and…"
Starlight's eyes were glued to the path ahead of her. She said nothing.
"...and I'm going to shut up now. I'm sorry, I probably should have told you up front; I just didn't want things to be weird."
Starlight shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I was just… a little surprised, is all."
"We're still good?"
"Yeah." Starlight's expression was inscrutable.
"Good. Did you have any luck with the hippies?"
"They're not–never mind. Went pretty well. We're going to meet up again after winter break."
"Cool, cool."
The conversation didn't last long after that. They walked home across the empty campus to their dorm. They silently went to bed. For the second time in the semester, sleep didn't come to Starlight.