Capitulo Quince
Adjusting to Status Quo
Later that day, as the party drew to a close, Celestia smiled down at Starrk and Lilynette "Well, it was nice to meet the two of you, and I hope you enjoy your stay here in Equestria."
Lilynette tilted her head "You're leaving? Where do you even live?"
Celestia turned to Lilynette "I live in Canterlot with my sister Luna. Hopefully you and Coyote can drop by if you like."
Derpy smiled "Thanks for stopping by, your majesty!" She said brightly.
Starrk looked up at Celestia "See you soon, I suppose. But I have to ask...Is danger common around here?"
Celestia stared at Starrk "I wouldn't go so far as to considering any danger befalling Ponyville to be a daily routine. Although there have been a few strange cases once in a while, you and Lilynette included." She explained.
Lilynette frowned "So we're not gonna be defending this town as much? That sucks! I'd figure we could at least take down some more monsters or something." She said, looking away with a pout.
Celestia chuckled at Lilynette's response "At least I know you're ready for anything. I have faith that you'll keep everypony safe from harm."
Lilynette huffed "Well, I have to protect my sister somehow." She said as she turned to see Dinky smiling at her, to which she returned with a small smile.
Twilight approached Celestia and shared a small embrace with her "Thanks once again for coming, Princess Celestia. I'll be sure to write to you soon."
Celestia nodded to Twiight with a smile "I look forward to your next report." She turned to the crowd of ponies "Well, my little ponies, it is time for me to leave for Canterlot, but it was nice to see you all again." The crowd cheered and said their goodbyes in response. She trotted out of Sugarcube Corner and flew up in the air before she lit up her horn and winked out of existence.
Lilynette galloped outside and looked up "She can use Sonido, too? How strong is she?"
Twilight smiled at Lilynette's curiousity "Not exactly, but she is very strong. Princess Celestia moves the sun while her sister moves the moon. She's lived in Equestria longer than anypony in history!"
Lilynette looked up at Twilight "So she doesn't age, huh?" She looked up at the sky where Celestia teleported from before she looked bored "Starrk could take her..."
Twilight twitched before forcing a smile "Well, it's good to know that you look up to Starrk..."
Lilynette frowned at Twilight "Who said anything about looking up? Starrk said he was strong, didn't he?"
Rainbow Dash trotted up to Starrk's side and donned an embarrassed smile "Twilight, I think I'm willing to agree with Lilynette on this one. You saw what Starrk did to Cerberus back there, right?"
Twilight perked up "That's right!" She turned to Starrk "How were you able to make such a large beam emerge from a cloud?" Twilight asked with her tone bristling with curiousity.
Starrk stared at Twilight before he scratched his mane "I honestly didn't expect my cero to be fired from a cloud. Normally, I would be able to just blast it without any trouble or movement..." He answered nonchalantly.
Twilight rubbed her chin with a calculating stare "Interesting..." She muttered with intrigue.
Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight before nudging Starrk "Hey, I'd grab your crew and run. Twilight's got that look in her eyes..." She whispered to the former espada.
Starrk turned to Rainbow Dash "What do you mean?"
Rainbow Dash winced "Let's just say that if you stay here for too long, you won't be able to go back to sleep..."
An excellent reason to Rainbow Dash's warning. Starrk looked down at Lilynette "You should go play with your sister while I get going."
Lilynette nodded and galloped back into Sugarcube Corner in search of Dinky. Twilight flinched "W-Wait, I only want to-"
"It was nice talking to you, but I still have to deliver mail..." After stating his reason to Twilight, Starrk perked up when he realized that he left his mailbags at Rainbow Dash's house. He turned to the cyan pegasus "I'm gonna need to head to your house."
Rainbow Dash cocked her head to the side "Why? Did you leave your mail there or something?" When she received a nod in reply, she chuckled "Bit of a smart move to leave your stuff behind when Ponyville was in danger! I'll come with you since this party's ready to stop."
"Can I come?" Pinkie said as she stood between the two pegasi, startling them "I kinda want to hang out with Starrky for a bit before he goes back to work!"
Starrk twitched an eyebrow "I'm just going to be at Rainbow Dash's house before I actually DO get back to work...You know that, right?" Pinkie simply nodded in comprehension, troubling the former espada's mind 'What kind of pony is she?'
Rainbow Dash chuckled at Starrk's unease "Let's just get moving, huh? We all got stuff to do, after all." She unfurled her wings and took off in the air. Starrk watched Rainbow Dash leave before he followed her with his Sonido.
Pinkie looked around "Those two are so super-duper fast!" She turned to Twilight, who looked ready to pout "What's wrong, Twilight? Did you wanna hang out with Starrky, too?"
Twilight frowned "I actually wanted to get to know him more and study his properties as a pegasus." She sighed "I guess I'll have to find him at a later time."
Pinkie giggled "I hear you, Twilight! Starrk kinda reminds me so much of Dashie, only he loves to sleep so much! He's such a nice stallion!" She looked up in the sky with a distant smile "I wonder if I should get him a nice bed for his birthday..."
Twilight turned to Pinkie "Do you even know when his birthday is?"
"Nope." Pinkie did not face Twilight as she answered "But that's nothing a little stalking can't fix!" She exclaimed confidently.
Twilight stared blankly at Pinkie "...You're joking..."
Pinkie grinned at Twilight "What's wrong? It's not like you did the same with me. The only difference is that I'll actually get data!" She then pronked away "I should probably hurry up and find Dashie and Starrky since I wasted too much time. See ya later, Twilight!"
Twilight stared before she sighed to herself and went back inside Sugarcube Corner, thinking of a better time to study on either Starrk or Lilynette.
_____
Starrk managed to follow Rainbow Dash all the way back to her floating house and noticed that his mailbags were exactly where he left them. He trotted over and wore them over his midsection, making sure they were on properly.
Rainbow Dash watched Starrk prepare for his delayed mail run; how he seem nearly dedicated despite his disinterested and lazy background. She mentally questioned herself on how such a stallion could be gifted with incredible prowess, and her mind drifted back to when she was saved by that same stallion. She perked up before shaking off when the memory pooled in, coming to the conclusion that it was a simple save and that she could have recovered without Starrk's help.
However, no matter how hard she tried not to, she sighed to herself when she thought about being in Starrk's grasp. After thinking to herself for so long, the cyan pegasus spoke up "Hey, Starrk." The former espada turned to Rainbow Dash when she grabbed his attention "You ever wanted a job other than being a mailpony?" She asked curiously.
Starrk stared before answering "I never really wanted any job to begin wtih. I'm just doing this since Derpy offered it to me; I'm already staying at her house, after all..."
Rainbow Dash nodded "Yeah, I know that. But if you're looking for another job, I can always get you a spot on weather duty." She smiled "I'll bet with that Sonido of yours, you'll be able to work two jobs without a hitch AND get yourself some sleeping time! What do you say?"
Starrk hummed in thought. Two jobs meant twice the payload for himself while he and Lilynette stayed with Derpy, and if what Rainbow Dash said was true, then maybe he could actually take advantage of his speed if he ever worked two jobs, so long as said jobs were done precisely. But he didn't feel entirely motivated to take Rainbow Dash's offer so soon. He waved a hoof to the cyan pegasus "I'll think about it. I just need to take care of this mail first."
Rainbow Dash felt mildly disappointed before she smiled at Starrk's consideration "Cool. Just remember that I can only keep a clear opening for so long. Try not to think too hard over this, okay?"
Starrk nodded "Got it." He looked down at Ponyville, and how some of the damages were being tended to. The former espada somehow felt sympathy for the ponies below him. He took comfort in knowing that none of them were hurt "I better get going now. I have work to do, and I'm not in the mood to waste anymore time on the job..."
Rainbow Dash smirked "And here I thought you were just a lazy stallion. Well, I'll talk to you later then, Starrk." She watched Starrk trotted over to the edge and unfurled his wings, about to take flight, then frowned "Hey, Starrk..." The former espada looked back at Rainbow Dash "I know I said it before back there, but..." She looked away "Thanks for the help with Cerberus. You were really awesome out there."
Starrk stared at how Rainbow Dash was looking away. He wondered why she was acting so distant like this rather than her formerly arrogant nature "You're the one who taught me how to use a cloud, so basically you're awesome." He watched Rainbow Dash freeze in her position and passed it off as her accepting his reply "I'll see you around." He said as he looked away and blurred out with his Sonido.
Rainbow Dash froze, and a light blush was seen on her face. She sighed in relief 'Thank Celestia he didn't see that...Wait, what am I thinking? He probably didn't mean that last part!' She narrowed her eyes, then her expression softened as she shifted her eyes to where Starrk once stood 'Then again, he was pretty sincere the whole time, even if he isn't that good at talking.' She smiled to herself 'Yeah...Maybe it'll be nice to have Starrk on weather duty once he decides to join.'
_____
At Ponyville train station, the Friendship Express was slowing to a stop as it reached its destination. The cart doors opened to reveal many pony passengers departing, one of which was Noteworthy, who effortlessly remained inconspicuous to those around him while he took in his new surroundings 'Hmph...So this is Ponyville? This town seems to be more droll than Canterlot back then.' He made himself scarce from the station and decided to look around and gather some intel, and possibly find another host if his current one did not prove to be anymore sufficient to his goals.
Noteworthy trotted further into town to see that a good portion of it had been leveled despite the many looks of calm on the faces of the crowd, save for those that just exited the train with him. He smirked to himself 'I see now...This must where that filthy mongrel chose to stay for the moment.' Noteworthy took in the large amounts of collateral damage that were being cleaned up by some foreponies with hardhats, then decided to venture further into Ponyville after he felt himself entertained by watching acts of labor.
As he trotted, however, he realized something: It would have taken copious amounts of magic to subdue a hypnotized creature, especially one as old and strong as Cerberus. What pony had the strength to accomplish such a feat? He stopped in his tracks and thought to himself 'Somepony within this town must possess an immeasurable amount of magic to have countered my ploy...But who?'
"Yo, Noteworthy!"
Noteworthy perked up and noticed two ponies to his left; one was a white unicorn mare with purple shades while the other was a small earth pony colt with a calico coat "Didn't expect to see you back here this early. I thought you were enjoying your vacation days at Canterlot. What made you wanna come back here?" The mare said with a bemused tone.
So that was the reason for Noteworthy's appearance in Canterlot. After coming this far, he could not risk to make himself suspicious "I...forgot something." He said while making himself appear gentle, if not embarrassed.
The mare arched an eyebrow seen behind her shades "Seriously? I figured somepony like you would've had everything packed; You're always the orderly stallion sometimes."
Noteworthy managed to stop himself from flinching after the mare's statement. He looked away "Yeah, well, this is the first time that this has happened to me, so I should probably get back home and sort through my belongings..." He said in a forced calm tone.
The mare stared for a moment before she shrugged "Whatever floats your boat, dude." She looked down at the colt next to him "Let's go home, Pipsqueak."
Pipsqueak nodded "Right, sis!" The two ponies then left Noteworthy behind as he resumed his trek into town.
Noteworthy quietly sighed in relief when he distanced himself 'A close call. Now to assess the points of interest in my current location without anymore disruptions...' Up ahead, he saw what appeared to be a house made of candy and gawked at the sight of it; Who in their right mind would make an establishment entirely out of candy?
He noticed the front door to the building open to reveal a lavender unicorn mare and a purple dragon walking outside. The very sight had triggered enough ire within Noteworthy to make him grit his teeth and have his eyes glow an eerie green as purple mist trailed from the corners of them. He shook off his rage when he realized he was out in the open and darted his head about to see that nopony had paid any attention. Looking back at the two targets, he had a mind to follow them and study their lifestyle before finding a way to end them both.
Another group of ponies were found trotting out of the door, all of which were females. There was a wall-eyed pegasus traveling with three unicorns, two of them being young fillies. He hummed to himself while he listened in on the wall-eyed pegasus talking "Well, the party was good and all, but we should probably see if anypony needs help around here. Ponyville needs our help to rebuild, after all!" Her eyes rotated before she looked down "Oh, and I should deliver the mail, too. Who knows how long anypony's waiting for their mail right now?"
Shaking her head, the amethyst unicorn next to the pegasus spoke up "Of course. Even though we have to repair the damages in Ponyville, there are some pieces of mail that are addressed out of town, right? I can't believe all of this had to happen while everypony was busy." She said with a disappointed frown.
The small purple filly smiled "Wouldn't Mr. Starrk wanna help us, too? He's so strong and fast, I think he's like some kind of superhero!"
Next to her, the red filly scoffed "We'd be lucky if he chose to buckle down and clean up his own mess after taking down that stupid dog. I think he's probably gonna follow Derpy and deliver his mail, too."
Noteworthy stared with complete interest. This 'Starrk' pony was responsible for subduing Cerberus, was he? His power could prove to either be the greatest asset or the worst obstacle to his goals. It seems that the blue stallion had a change of plans if he were to go through his secret agenda swimmingly. He chose between the group of mares to see who would be a worthy candidate since his current host proved to be of no further use.
The children were exempt from his choices; why would he want to masquerade as a filly? He needed to feel strong, even if the many hosts to choose from were beneath him. That only left the wall-eyed pegasus and the amethyst unicorn mare. Looking at the latter, she seemed to be a worthy candidate for the obvious reason of her horn; Not to mention her cutie mark made him grin ear-to-ear.
She was perfect.
Noteworthy secretly trotted towards the group of mares, making sure to stay out of their sight as they chatted amongst themselves. He kept his eye on the unsuspecting unicorn and before he could inch closer, a pegasus stallion blurred into existence next to the group of mares, startling him as he distanced himself away from them.
From the look in Noteworthy's eyes, the pegasus stallion seemed disinterested, presenting an envelope to the wall-eyed mare as she checked it out, then smiled as she talked with him about it. Afterwards, the stallion nodded and blurred out of existence once again. How was this possible? From what Noteworthy was aware of, pegasi were only capable of weather magic, not teleportation. Could this stallion could possibly be the one known as Starrk?
Glancing at his desired target, he narrowed his eyes and decided it was best for him to wait when she is both vulnerable and alone. He saw the wall-eyed mare talk with the others, kissing the purple filly and tussling the red filly's mane, with the child responding by irritably flailing a hoof. She then took off into the sky with her bags of mail, leaving the unicorns by themselves.
Noteworthy decided to inch closely towards them and listen in on what they were saying; it would be best to gather some basic data if it meant trying to blend in with the group after successfully possessing his target.
"So where should we go first?" Said the purple filly shifting her gaze towards the others "Should we go help pick up the mess?"
The amethyst unicorn chuckled "You can leave that part to me. I think it's about time you two should go home and wait for Mom and Starrk to finish up their routes."
Frowning, the purple filly replied "But Sparkler, why can't me and Lilynette help? We can do a good job if we follow you around."
Sparkler shook her head "Dinky, you have to understand that Mom would rather have you two safe than working. Besides, nearly everypony in town's pitching in to help out with the damages once the party's over. You won't have to do much once that happens."
Lilynette huffed "So while you get to do stuff, me and Dinky have to stay at home and wait? That's boring! We should at least have jobs of our own, you know!"
Sparkler heaved a sigh "Look, I know you're both eager to lend a helping hoof, but could you at least try to listen to me for once?"
Lilynette pointed a hoof "Like we should! Derpy even said that we should help out as well, so why listen to you?" She asked in a harsh tone.
Sparkler scowled "Well for starters, I'm older than you." She stated sternly "Secondly, I doubt that Starrk would even abide letting you run around trying to fix everything while he's busy himself."
Dinky blinked "Really? Mr. Starrk seems pretty relaxed most of the time. The only time I ever seen him bothered was when Lily acted out at school." She smiled "What makes her more of a help is that she's strong enough to lift heavy things, right, sis?" She asked as she turned to Lilynette.
Lilynette crossed her forelegs and had her nose in the air "Well, I wouldn't be an arrancar if I couldn't." She proclaimed proudly. Lilynette paused before looking away awkwardly with a sweatdrop 'Wait a minute...I'm not an arrancar anymore...'
Dinky looked back up at Sparkler with trembling pupils "Pretty please let us help, Sparkler? We'll to listen to everything you say to us; We promise!"
Sparkler stared back at her younger sister, and slowly caved into her stare while she tried to steel herself 'I can't believe that still works with her...' With a defeated sigh, she looked down at the fillies "Alright, fine. But you'll have to be extra careful when working, and you better make sure to listen to me. Understand?"
Dinky nodded vigorously with a smile "Mhm! You can count on us!"
Lilynette looked away "I'm only doing this because Dinky wants to. If it were my choice, I would've helped out without you talking down on us." She stated distantly.
Sparkler rolled his eyes at Lilynette's rebellious remark and pointed a hoof "Well, at least you're willing to cooperate this time. I expect you two to follow along without any mishaps."
Dinky grinned "We'll do out best." She turned to Lilynette "C'mon, Lily! Let's go home and get some tools!" Lilynette nodded and went to gallop with her sister.
"Hold it!" Sparkler barked, causing the two fillies to look back "Before you go running off, just remember to meet up with me at the park once you get the tools. We'll get to working from there."
Lilynette frowned "We get it. So let us go, already!" She said as she galloped away "Let's move, Dinky."
Dinky watched the red filly leave and tried catching up to her "Right behind you, sis!" She called out brightly.
Sparkler shook her head at the fillies galloping away "Kids these days. To think I acted like them once..."
"Hey, Sparkler."
Sparkler perked up and looked behind to see Noteworthy approaching her with a polite smile "Oh, hey, Noteworthy. What's up?" She asked curiously.
Noteworthy pointed towards a nearby and wrecked house with rubble "Could you give me a hoof with some of the rubble over there, please? It'll only be a minute."
Sparkler frowned "I'd love to, but I gotta meet up with Dinky and Lilynette at the park soon. I should get going."
Noteworthy had an urging look in his eyes "The job will get done quicker if I had some help. Everypony else is all tied up with their own work. All I need is an extra set of hooves. Please, Sparkler?"
Sparkler looked over at the house and hummed "Well, I'd be lucky if the kids didn't already grab all the tools yet. I guess I could help out."
Noteworthy smiled "Thanks. Follow me, please." He said as he trotted away, having Sparkler follow after him.
Sparkler noticed how fast he was pacing in his trot 'He seems pretty energetic today. I guess he's trying to make it an effort to have Ponyville rebuilt in little time.' When she reached the house, Noteworthy opened the front door "We're gonna start inside for this one?"
Noteworthy nodded "It's pretty bad in there, so I figured we'll do the inside together, and I can handle the outside by myself. I don't wanna take too much of your time."
Sparkler smiled "It's no trouble. Anything to help out, at least. Let's go inside." When she followed him inside, she looked around at the wreckage "Wow...This house has seen better days. Looks like we'll have to make this as quick as possib-" She yelped in surprise when she was pushed into a wall, her shoulders pinned by a devious looking Noteworthy "Hey! Noteworthy, what are you doing!?" She grunted as she struggled in his grasp "Let go of me!"
Noteworthy only stared at the struggling mare in his grasp with an evil smile before it widened into a toothy grin that had black mist trailing from behind his teeth. His eyes faded from yellow to red as they narrowed "Time to become a useful stepping stone, my dear..." He uttered in a tone alien to benevolence. Sparkler's eyes widened at the sight of it.
To be continued...