//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: To Share an Idea 
// Story: My Little Pony: Eternal Harmony 
// by LightOfTriumph 
//------------------------------//

Luster looked over her new room, and she was more than happy with the accommodations.

It was smaller than her apartment in Canterlot. That said, only slightly. Impressive for school housing. She had a few bookshelves for her modest library. Lots of natural light, good for reading and writing. Finally, the Princess had sent her a going away present. A very well made chess set, made from the Crystal Empire. She set it up on the bedside table and moved one pawn forward.

"Who are you playing against?" Mercury Breeze asked.

"Myself," Luster answered frankly. "I used to play with Princess Twilight when I was studying under her. I like to make sure I keep my mind sharp, so I play some games against myself."

"Wish I could help you practice," Mercury said. "But I'm terrible at chess. The problem is you've gotta think like... Twenty moves ahead, and I'm no good at that kind of thing. Stinks, too."

"You don't really need to think twenty moves ahead," Luster said, moving a black pawn. "It helps, but you don't need to to have fun. Or even to win."

Mercury shrugged. "Maybe you can teach me how to actually play some time. It might be useful for a book later."

"You like to read?" Luster asked with a twinge of hope.

"Not really," Mercury said. Luster's heart sank, but it would immediately be lifted again when Mercury continued. "I'd much rather write my own stories."

Luster was intrigued. "You're a writer?"

"Well, I'm trying to be," Mercury admitted. "I'm not very good at finishing my stories and my proofreading is... Well. Atrocious. I'm working on something right now... I'm not sure if I'll ever manage to get it published."

"Its going to be a rough road ahead," Luster blurred out, without really thinking. "Writing is a very difficult business to break into... I hope you're prepared for a struggle." Luster caught herself. She was pushing people away from her again. She needed to stop that. 

Luckily however, Mercury took the comment in stride. Not showing any sign of offense. "So I've heard, and I don't mind," she said cheerfully. "I can't say I wouldn't mind if I never got published. It would be devastating. That said... As long as I can share my stories with someone else, I get what I want most out of publishing. I get feedback."

"Feedback?" Luster asked, a little confused. 

"You know about the history of the Kirin, right?" Mercury asked. 

"Yeah, of course I do," Luster said, happy to prove the true depths of her well of useless knowledge. "Kirin turn into Nirik when they get angry. Beings made of pure fire. So they gave up their emotions and ability-"

"To speak," Mercury stepped in. "We gave up the ability to talk, and so we kept ourselves to ourselves. Who we are didn't matter. No one stood out, because standing out could make someone else angry. Then Applejack and Fluttershy came to our village. And we realized that with any kind of individuality comes the chance of making enemies, but also the chance of making real friends. So we all took a vow to put as much of ourselves as possible out into the world."

"So what does that mean for you?" Luster asked, her curiosity about this strange Kirin growing by the second. "I hope I'm not being to blunt here but... Who are you?"

The young Kirin let out a smug grin, and leaped onto Luster Dawn's mattress, she put her hoof to her chest and began to speak very eloquently. "Imagine a world governed by a magic crystal, where a princess and a thief realize they're staying alive for each other," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Imagine a comedy writer making a movie star realize his true worth. Imagine a farm who's animal's overthrow their farmer, and try to run the farm themselves. These stories are buzzing around in my head constantly. Someone was kind enough to share those stories with me, and I have my own stories I want to share! I want the worlds I make in my mind to belong to everyone, not just me. No one should ever keep their stories to themselves. Not me, not you, not anyone! Your mind is the most precious thing you have! The best thing you can do is share it!"

Luster looked at Mercury, a little taken aback by the sudden speech that happened on her freshly made bed. "That's, uh..." Luster said awkwardly. "That's certainly uh... Exciting?"

Mercury blushed a little. "A side effect of wanting to do this is that I tend to, well..." She gave a nervous smile. "Act like a total goof. A-anyway, are you all set to head out? Starlight said we should hit the town, and it's not gonna wait for us... Well I mean. It's not like it's going anywhere... Its a town. Although a moving town would make a good story!"

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Luster said, hoping to move past the awkward moment. "Well, as good as I can be today."

"Something wrong?" Luster asked. She noticed at that moment that Mercury was shaking. As if there were some kind of chill in the air. A draft that Luster couldn't feel, but was definitely there. 

"Did you ever wake up, make breakfast, and then feel like getting up was the biggest mistake you can make that day?" Mercury asked. "You're not tired, or sleepy. You just know that this isn't going to be a day worth living through."

Luster remembered the bad feeling that she had going into Starlight's office. "You too?" Luster asked. "I was feeling like that this morning. Like there was something in the air that... I don't know... Didn't like me very much. What do you call that? What do you call a bad feeling you can't put your finger on?"

Mercury looked more than a little spooked about the fact that Luster felt the same way she did. "Well," Mercury said, swallowing hard. "Writers have a word for it. You know, this feeling of impending doom that we can't shake off, but the only hints of what are vague."

Luster slowly nodded her head. "Foreshadowing."

"Yep, that's the one!" Mercury squeaked.

The uncomfortable air in the room had at this point become impossible to ignore. Luster needed a distraction. Something, anything needed to happen in order to make the tension break for a second. 

It was at that moment that they heard something zoom past Luster's window. 

Luster wondered if Mercury had heard the same sound. A question that was very quickly when she looked at her. Mercury's normally scarlet coat had turned jet black. Her green mane had turned into a rolling blue fire. It was rather intimidating. Luster had seen pictures of the Nirik in books, but to see it up close was another matter.

Mercury Breeze took a deep breath. "Would you excuse me for a moment," she said as calmly and pleasantly as possible. She walked over to the window, opened it slowly, and cleared her throat. "POUND CAKE!!!" she shrieked, now letting the anger show through her voice. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO BUZZ PAST MY WINDOW?! GET DOWN HERE AND START APOLOGIZING!!"

A stallion with a milky white coat and brown mane zoomed in front of the open window. "Look Breeze, I'm sorry alright?" the pony said, obviously out of breath. "I'm running a double shift today because Pumpkin is looking after Cheese today, and Aunt Pinkie is at a council meeting so I also had to feed Gummy, and your apartment is the fastest way to get to Starlight's office and-- This is the vacant apartment next door, what's going on?"

Mercury took a deep breath, seeming to try to leave her Nirik state, and failing. "Pound Cake," she said calmly. "This is Luster Dawn my new coworker and neighbor. Luster, this is my friend Pound Cake."

"Oh, the new aide. Nice to meet you!" Pound Cake smiled. "Breeze, you might wanna turn down the heat. It doesn't make a good first impression."

Luster could feel the fire coming off of the Nirik burn a little hotter.





Sassy Saddles opened the door Canterlot Carousel, coming into the shop from the driving rain. "Yes, yes, I know, I'm late back from lunch, I can explain myself." She took off her rain hat and shook out her Mane. "Consider yourself lucky that you don't have foals, Rarity. Blazing is having trouble with his University tuition and Rhinsestone is experimenting with this awful Goth fashion that doesn't suit her at all. I'm trying to be supportive but..."

It was then that Sassy Saddles noticed something. Someone had tossed the boutique. Garments were strewn around the floor. Mannequins were knocked over.  Mirrors were broken.

Sassy came close to panicking, but she kept herself calm. The store had been robbed. First step, find what was taken. She rushed over to the register, and although it was knocked over, nothing was taken. She checked the safe, it had remained locked. She looked over every Garment, and although they were unkempt, they were all still present. She wracked her brain. What was missing?

A horrible Realization worked it's way into Sassy Saddles mind.

"Rarity?" Sassy asked cautiously. "Rarity?!"

She gave the Boutique a more thorough going over than the intruders did. No matter where she searched, however, the boss was nowhere to be found. Something that was obviously in a very big hurry, had taken Rarity. 

She stood in the middle of the Boutique. Breathing deeply. What was she supposed to do? Where was she supposed to go from here?

It was then that she took a look in the shattered mirror. The stallion she saw behind her looked unnatural. His eyes black as pits, his smile wide and evil.

"If I were you, Sass," he said slowly. "I'd call for the guards..."

Sassy Saddles snapped her neck behind her, but found her self alone with only the sound of casual laughter to keep her company.