Starlight was on her own now, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn't have much reason for going outside because the morning breakfast was over, and she wouldn't be eating grass from the courtyard. There was nothing in the garden she felt could interest her. It was morning, so there wasn't much reason to go to the dorms. She didn't have any reason to visit the fruit tree orchard either, as she still couldn't quite stomach what she had eaten for breakfast. She didn't exactly feel like going to the pool either, as swimming wasn't really her thing...
She got an idea then. She hadn't explored the market plaza since she first got to the academy and looked around with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. There might be something there that she had missed in the days since her arrival. She took a breath and walked off the stage. She headed out the open doors, and followed the path all the way to the market plaza. When she arrived, she noticed other ponies were looking around there as well. Sunburst and Rainbow Dash were both looking at each of the stalls. Rainbow Dash seemed the most busy, but Sunburst was looking at some things that had been inside the stall he was at.
"What are you doing?" Starlight asked as she walked to the stallion.
"Hm?" Sunburst was broken out of his focus. "Oh! I was just looking at these antiques that were inside this stall. I've never seen anything quite like them before, and I've researched plenty of things like this in my free time. Ancient artifacts, old paintings, antiques from ghost towns, y'know, that sort of thing."
"And you've never seen these before? What are they?" Starlight lifted up one of the antiques with her magic and carefully studied it.
"What you're holding right now looks like a Dodecahedra, the symbols on it seem to be retelling some sort of story." Sunburst took the artifact from Starlight and rolled it in the air with his magic. Starlight studied the artifact at it was turned around.
"It looks like this artifact is supposed to be talking about the day and night cycles," Starlight said.
"Potentially." Sunburst brushed his hoof through his chin beard. "Actually, I think it might be talking about the two sisters."
"Is it?" Starlight wondered.
"Take a look here." Sunburst turned the artifact to Starlight and pointed with his hoof at some of the symbols. Along one of the thin lines, there were two ancient pony drawings, and in the connecting center line there was what looked like a crescent moon. The darker coloured pony reappeared on another line, with a new expression of pain, and the next connecting line showcased a moon with the symbol of the mare in the moon in it.
"There's no questioning it," Sunburst said finally. "This artifact must be actually an ancient artifact created more than a thousand years ago. I think it depicts when Nightmare Moon was first banished to the moon by Princess Celestia. The other symbols seem to be repeating the same event, though some also express the lighter carved pony, most likely Princess Celestia, crying over what she had done. We all know that Celestia regretted sending Luna to the moon, but it was for the good of all of Equestria that she had to."
"It's such a sad story..." Starlight sighed. "I could never imagine having to banish one of my own family members to the moon for a thousand years. The guilt would weigh on my conscience even after they returned from banishment, still angry at me for doing such a thing."
"That's what happened when Nightmare Moon returned, if I remember correctly," Sunburst said as he adjusted his glasses. "No pony knows who it is, but a group of ponies came together and defeated Nightmare Moon, dispelling the dark magic from Luna's body, and turning her back to normal."
"That sounds like a fairy tale," Starlight snickered. "Why haven't these legendary heroes been named if they defeated a pony that Celestia had to deal with herself a thousand years ago?"
"I'm not quite sure." Sunburst shrugged. "There has to be some sort of explanation somewhere. Maybe some of the books in the lounge can explain it. I'd love to look sometime."
"How about we look together next time we hang out?" Starlight suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea to me." Sunburst put the antique back in the stall. "In the mean time, I wonder what else is recorded in here?" Starlight walked behind the stall with Sunburst to see what else was in the stall. Behind the stall there were two glass doors wide open with 3 shelves inside, each carrying a variety of antique items. She lifted up a silver vase out of the case.
"I've never seen silver this dark," Starlight mused.
"Oh! There's a reason for that," Sunburst got excited as he was ready to explain. "It's because the silver has oxidized. That means that as it got older and was exposed to different environments, it gradually began to dark and harden. It's pretty much the equivalent of rusting. They usually don't make artifacts out of silver, though. It's really hard to work with because it's so soft. They must've used some kind of special coating agent to make this vase keep its shape."
"That's so weird," Starlight said. "But it's interesting to know. What do you think this vase is describing?"
"Well, um..." Sunburst scratched the back of his head and took the vase from Starlight, rolling it around in the air to look at each side. "On this side of the vase there is a large group of ponies. It looks like they're standing in front of a king of sorts. On the next side there's what looks to be another king, and a... sphinx? Oh! This vase has to have been from the ancient village of Somnambula, named after one of the pillars!"
"You know the story?" Starlight asked.
"Of course I do!" Sunburst laughed. "No pony doesn't remember the Six Pillars of Equestria, they were legendary ponies that protected this land in a similar fashion to the ponies who defeated Nightmare Moon. This vase describes the legend of Somnambula. Her village was suffering because of a Sphinx, who kept stealing the crops from the village for itself. Somnambula would sacrifice her belongings in order to afford food for the village, including a pearl necklace that she held dear. Then, one day, the prince of the village was kidnapped by the Sphinx."
"Kidnapped?" Starlight covered her mouth. "I don't like where this is going..."
"She went to rescue him, and the Sphinx gave her a riddle. It wasn't very happy when she answered correctly, and she thought it would go back on what it had said. She asked for another challenge, and the Sphinx obliged, even knowing it would be banished from the village forever if Somnambula succeeded. The sphinx made Somnambula walk across a thin bridge, blindfolded and unable to fly. She was guided by the voice of the Prince, and she reached the end of the path to save him. The sphinx fled, and the prince was freed, allowing the village to prosper. It's even said that he gave her a necklace made of glowpaz because she lost her pearl necklace during the famine. After she saved the prince, the village was named after her and a statue was built in her honor."
"Wow, that's incredible." Starlight's eyes sparkled as she listened to the story. "She sounded like she would've been an incredible pony to be around."
"I'm sure she was," Sunburst sighed. "She disappeared a long time ago, though. No pony really knows what happened to her, but they suspect it had something to do with the Pony of Shadows."
"There's another research topic for you," Starlight teased. "Since you love reading so much."
"Reading is fun!" Sunburst stomped his hoof with a pout. "And anyways, I'm not sure if this school has a history book that goes that far back. I'd just have to look around myself, I guess."
"I'm sure there is, and you can find it." Starlight nodded.
"I might as well get to looking," Sunburst said as he put the vase back into the stall, and closed the doors.
>> Starlight's friendship with Sunburst has deepened. <<
"I'll see you later Starlight," Sunburst said and waved to the mare.
"Yeah, see you later." Starlight waved back to him as he began walking down the path to the school. Now that he was gone, Starlight took notice of what time she supposed it was. The sun had just barely crossed the sky, she suspected it was at least 10. She still needed things to do to pass the time... She had one idea, but it involved talking to someone she didn't want to talk to. She sighed, and lifted her head.
"Philomena!" She called out for the bird. She waited patiently before the bird appeared in front of her in a small burst of flames.
"What do you want?" Philomena cocked her head to the side and blinked at Starlight.
"I want to ask about the second floor," Starlight said. "Since you can only tell the truth right now, I want you to tell me how we can get to the second floor."
"The second floor..." Philomena tapped her talon. "Oh right! Well, actually, I was supposed to open that after the first murder was completed. I can't believe I totally forgot!"
"You forgot to open the second floor for us to explore?!" Starlight wanted to be mad, but they didn't even know what was on the second floor... She couldn't be mad because she didn't know what Philomena was hiding from them. But, she wasn't happy about it either.
"Whoopsie..." Philomena laughed nervously and tapped some of her feathers together. "I will make an announcement about this right now!" She spread her wings and slammed them down hard, catapulting herself into the air and sending a blast of wind around the area. Starlight covered her face as the wind hit her and blew her hair around. She looked up, and Philomena had disappeared out of the sky. Then, she heard the speakers crackling to life.
"Everypony, listen up!" Philomena's voice squawked. "I've just remembered something very important that I forgot to explain, and you all can thank Starlight for reminding me." Gulp. "Please report to the main lobby immediately for more details!"
Starlight hoped no pony would think she had done something bad. The anxiety made her head hurt, and her legs shake as she began walking to the lobby. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. She just hoped that there was nothing bad on the next floor. She'd regret asking Philomena if there was. When she emerged into the lobby, the ponies were divided into groups. She recognized the division; on the left side of the room stood the free ponies, and on the right side of the room stood the Student Survival Committee. She went to join the committee ponies for the announcement.
"What did Philomena mean when she said you reminded her of something?" Twilight asked in a whisper as Starlight approached.
"It's about the second floor," Starlight whispered back. "I think she's going to open it for us."
The ponies mumbles amongst themselves, and from the corner of her eye Starlight noticed how the other ponies were talking. She felt her anxiety speak as she noticed the looks they were giving her. She turned her eyes away, hoping that whatever was on the second floor would distract them from being mad at her. It wasn't her fault that Philomena forgot, and they shouldn't be mad at her for reminding her. They'll find out the details soon, Starlight thought. As she thought that, Philomena hopped up onto the stage once more and stared down at the crowd.
"Welcome back everypony!" The phoenix cawed. The bracelet on her talon made a bit of noise as she walked back and forth on the podium. "So, one of our students has reminded me of something very important that I forgot to mention. Every time a murder is committed and the class trial finishes that day, I will be opening up the next floor to the academy! This floor will be instantly mapped out on your Phoenix Pad when you first visit the floor! On the next floor, there are two more flights of stairs that are blocked off on either side of the academy, these stairs will open up when the next murder is committed! Have fun exploring everypony!"
Philomena flapped her wings and left the area. Every pony waited patiently for the bars to the second floor to open. Few ponies flinched as the sounds of many mechanisms sounded across the entire campus. One by one, the bars that locked the ways to the second floor by the stairs and at the stairs themselves disappeared into the ceiling. Starlight had no idea where those mechanisms went when they were gone, but she did know she was happy that they were gone. All at once, almost every pony in the room ran up the stairs, more than excited to explore the second floor. The first thing that everypony was met with at the top of the stairs was on the very opposite side, an obstacle course had been set up.
"YES!" Rainbow Dash shouted, more than ecstatic to see the obstacle course. She flapped her wings and raced to the course immediately, studying it carefully. Every pony watched quietly as she navigated the course, nothing but determination on her face. The course consisted of small sections; one was dedicated to running through the centers of tires, several rows of them in fact. The next afterwards had the pony running climb a rope to the ceiling, and drop down onto a trampoline in front of them. Afterwards, they'd be tasked with going through 4 hoops that were hanging from the ceiling. The last part of the course was a long set of monkey bars, which Rainbow Dash cleared using her wings. She reached the end of the course, barely out of breath.
"You cleared that so quickly I could barely keep up!" Pinkie giggled as she ran to the course herself. "My eyes are still spinning all wildly and you're standing still!"
"The course could toootally be more awesome, but at least it gives me a way to stretch my wings!" Rainbow Dash flexed her wings. "That last part was totes improv by the way."
"I gotta say I'm impressed myself," Twilight said as she walked over. "I've got no doubts that you'll have the most fun here."
"You guys go on ahead and explore." Rainbow Dash waved to the other ponies. "I'm gonna run the course a few times. My wings are literally killing for some exercise that isn't looping around the academy."
"Have fun Rainbow Dash!" Starlight waved to the pegasus before she found a location to check out herself. She went to the right side of the stairs, and remembered the map on her Phoenix Pad. She pulled out the pad and turned it on. She opened the map app, and scrolled to the second floor's layout.
She flinched seeing the fashion studio. She immediately remembered Rarity, and decided that for the other mare's sake, she would look into what the studio looked like. She walked down the hallway, and headed into the room. The room inside looked just like a boutique from Canterlot. Mannequins were scattered everywhere, and there were two shelves with thread and fabric stacked on them. There was a chest in the corner of the room, and when Starlight opened it, hundreds of differently coloured gems were inside. Knowing how the mare was, Rarity would have had a field day in here. Starlight wished that Rarity hadn't been so stupid as to kill another pony; she could only imagine the kind of outfits she could create in here.
"Was this place designed for Rarity?" Twilight asked as she walked in the room with Feather Bangs and Sunburst.
"It looks like it," Starlight replied. She walked to the door to meet the other ponies.
"The map calls this room a Fashion Studio," Sunburst said as he looked at his own map. "It must have been designed exclusively for Rarity, as the Ultimate Fashionista."
"I really feel bad for her now." Feather Bangs scratched his back with his hoof. "If she hadn't killed Party Favor, imagine what she could've done in here."
"It's too late to dwell on the past now," Twilight said, though it was obvious that she was sad too. "All that we can do is keep exploring. Maybe this floor has some clues as to who is running this place."
"I'm not buying that Philomena 'forgot' about this floor either," Sunburst said. "She could have very well been lying because she wanted to keep us from coming up here."
"Normally I would agree with you," Starlight said. "But during the meeting and when I was talking to her, the bracelet didn't buzz. She really did just forget about this place until I reminded her."
"Dammit," Feather Bangs hissed. "I thought we had a good theory going too."
"It's alright," Twilight assured the stallion. "We can't be right all the time, that's just not how the world works. Let's keep exploring in the mean time."
"I'd like to look around this room a little more," Sunburst said. "You never know where some clues could be, and at the very least I'd like to get an insight as to who Rarity was, outside of being the pony that killed Party Favor."
"Smart idea, Sunny," Feather Bangs said. "I'll stick with him, you two can go on ahead."
"Alright." Twilight nodded her head. "You can come find us if you find something interesting. We'll be off."
Starlight silently walked off with Twilight out of the room, leaving Feather Bangs and Sunburst to search on their own. They each pulled out their Phoenix Pads, wondering where they should go next.