//------------------------------// // Meaningless Conversations // Story: Starlight // by BeingFrank //------------------------------// "Really, Frost, you don't need to do this. I can take care of it myself." Frost pushed the couch into place in the library. "Like I said, it wouldn't feel right if I let you do this for me after letting me stay here. You've done enough." "I still think I should get you a bed." "This couch is fine. Besides, I'm just here until I can find somewhere to go. I don't want you to worry about something you won't need soon." "You should stay a while, though. You're the first pony that wasn't one of my friends or a doctor that Starlight's been willing to talk to." Starlight herself was still asleep in the small bed normally reserved for Spike. Frost looked at her and grinned. "Not a bad idea. Can't say I don't want to stay. You form a bond with a pony that gives you a concussion. But like I said, I don't want to stay here if I'm not helping in any way." "Then why don't you?" "How? Moving couches? If you want I can tell long, rambling stories that I claim to be about my life and change every time I tell them." "What I tried to ask you about at the hospital. You have experience with fillies, don't you? I need some of that with Starlight." "She's four years old, isn't she? I thought a pony as smart as you would have figured out how to deal with her by now." Twilight gulped. She had already told him Starlight was hers. Now that he was starting to ask questions, her advice from Doctor Feelgood was falling apart. She didn't want to lie, but that advice still kept popping up like a voice inside her head. Why did harmless conversation always have to lead to things like this? "It's a long story." "You want to talk about it?" "Not really." "Eh, might as well keep some of your secrets to yourself I guess. Mares, Bah! Don't want to tell strangers every single secret they have. Back in my day we made sure strangers knew everything about us. When we'd be home, how our backs were, even those strange itches you get that feel awkward to talk about." Twilight sighed with relief because of his joking tone. "Sounds like too much information to me." Frost mimicked an old stallion's voice. "Back in my day there was no such thing as too much information. Those were the good old days when neighbors from the next street over would break into your house while you were in your shower to tell you that they had just borrowed your lawnmower. Or when your mother would sneak into your house to wash your clothes and lay them out for you to wear tomorrow. You Young'uns today and your 'too much information'." He spat in a jar for good measure. Twilight laughed. "I hope that jar wasn't mine." "No, I brought it as part of my comic relief box. I've also got rubber chickens, a whoopee cushion, and the script from Monty Python and the Holy Grail." "I don't see how that last one is funny." Frost pulled a skull from the comic relief box. Both his and the skull's jaws dropped. "Are you serious? I can't believe you mares sometimes. It's a miracle you don't die of boredom." Twilight sighed. This was probably worse than him figuring out the truth about Starlight. "First my brother keeps annoying me about it now you. It's like every stallion in Equestria is out to get me to watch some movie I don't find funny." "Then every stallion in Equestria has the right idea. I promise that by the time I leave, I'm going to get you to watch that movie." Twilight face hoofed. "How did we get to talking about this?" "Most ponies get that when they talk to me. Start talking about the weather and you get an in-depth discussion about economics. I can turn a serious conversation into an "I can burp louder than you" contest. It's like I'm a writer who doesn't understand what point he's trying to get across and wants to waste some space, so he just rambles on about some boring thing that's never going to matter any time soon." "Well, we're not having a loudest burp-off if that's what you're getting at." "Of course not. I'd win, not much competition." They shared a smile. Frost sighed. "I'm glad we had this meaningless conversation. Maybe the most important moments in my life have been meaningless conversations. At least, some of the best have. But time for some serious talking." He walked up the stairs, followed closely by Twilight, and approached a box. "What is this?" Twilight looked apprehensively at the box. "That may be, um, something I made." "What's it do, then?" Frost pulled it out. It was a small box. Connected to it by a wire was a banana-shaped lump of plastic. "Well, it's supposed to let two ponies talk to each other. I call it the P.H.O.N.E, or Pony Held Operating Node Enigma." "Now that's what I'm talking about! Inventions, acronyms, random words, enigma. This is what I expected!" "What do you mean by 'expected', exactly?" Frost froze. Him and his big mouth! What do I do? Why does this always happen? He searched his mind for something to say. Luckily, there was one thing in it other than the word Damn. "Oh, it's just I'm used to it. Where I come from, most of the smart ponies are also inventors." "Where are you from, exactly?" "Oh, it's actually quite like Ponyville. Remarkably similar, actually." "Does it have a name?" Think of a name, think of a name. "Um, Germaneigh?" "Is that a question?" "No?" When prompted by a stern glare from Twilight, he added, "I mean, no. Sorry, I just always make answers sound like questions." "Germaneigh?" "The funny thing is, though, that even though I'm surrounded by inventions, I hate them. Even this P.H.O.N.E. thing. I'm so old-fashioned that I miss back when everything was harder." "I'm going to regret asking you to help test it, then." "Oh no, I'll help. I just won't like doing it. Speaking of helping, shouldn't you be doing something with Starlight waking up." "How would you know if she's awake?" "Because unless you have mutant rats or your friends are incredibly sneaky and have a tail fascination, she's pulling my tail." Sure enough, when Twilight walked to behind Frost, she saw Starlight trying to pull his tail with her hooves. "Starlight, what are you doing?" "I'm trying to keep it still." "What do you mean?" "His tail keeps moving, but he's not doing it. It's like he's nervous. Are you nervous, Uncle?" The word uncle made Twilight twitch. She had been insisting on calling Frost that since they picked him up from the hospital, and even though Frost said it was alright, Twilight still felt something odd whenever Starlight said it. "Why would I be?" "Good point." "See, Starlight, everything's alright," Twilight cut in. "Now, let's get you ready." "For what?" "Tomorrow we're going to Canterlot. There's a pony there I want you to see." Twilight led Starlight down the stairs, leaving Frost on the second floor, looking down on them. What is it about her that draws them to her? Every pony she's met, stuck to her, ready to do whatever she wants. Unable to leave her. Is this what he did that made her so dangerous? When any other pony looked at her, all they saw was a perfectly normal filly. Maybe a bit odd, but then again, every pony was a bit eccentric. They weren't bothered by how she could speak a language over night. How she could go from a filly who just followed and only said "Mommy this" or "Mommy that" or would just make a noise for attention could develop a personality overnight. A filly who could tell when another was nervous. But when he saw her, he knew the truth. Everything she did. Everything she could do. Everything she was capable of. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was why she was so dangerous. Maybe this was how she could destroy entire worlds. But at moments like this, where all he could see was a loving mother taking care of her adopted filly, he didn't see that. This was one of those moments where there was no evil in sight. There was only love. And shame. Shame that this moment would be one of few. Shame that this moment couldn't happen without dooming the world itself. He could see this filly, powerful enough to destroy the world, being stopped by a mare who didn't know what she was caring for, and the stallion who may have helped her cause it, with only a box of trash he found in several dumpsters that he found funny. He saw them stopping her. He saw what would happen. It was a shame, that this bond, the likes of which may never happen again... "What a shame." "What's a shame?" Frost had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed he was thinking aloud. "Oh, it's nothing, Twilight. It was just seeing you now reminded me of-" "Your granddaughter. I know. I understand, Frost, I really do. But just think about it this way. When Celestia closes a door, she opens another one. If you had met them, you wouldn't be here." "I guess you're right. I mean, this isn't the best door. Compared to the solid marble one, It's a shoddy little wood one. But sometimes, wood is better than marble. It's hard to see, but sometimes it is. And thanks. To overuse your analogy, If I hadn't found your door, I'd just be bumping into solid marble. And that's not good for my head." Please, Celestia. I know I don't pray, but if you had been through what I have, you would have given up hope long ago. Just once, please, just once, let her be right. Open a door for them. Please. Or at least a window. All they need is a window. There has to be a way for them to stay together. There has to be.