//------------------------------// // Star's Shadow // Story: When the Stars Align // by Borsuq //------------------------------// Panting after the endeavour, Starburst gazed down with satisfaction. Her enemy laid up in chains at her hooves, captured after a hard-fought battle. And it was all thanks to her incredible skills.   Everywhere she looked, ponies were gazing upon her with admiration in their eyes. Everypony, including her friends, saw that it was because of her that the town got rid of a terrible threat. For once she didn’t hear Prism make any smart-tail comments, and was genuinely cheering her on along with the others. Already, Starburst could see a few battered royal guards murmuring between themselves and nodding, undoubtedly all saying that she should join their ranks now, disregarding her young age.   Trying to keep her emotions under control, Starburst focused at the pony she had bested. “Got anything to say before you’ll be put in prison, scum?” she asked, her face twisting into snarl as she recalled her captive’s crimes.   The pony quivered. “Yeah…” he muttered weakly. “I have a… request…” the unicorn stopped abruptly. Before Starburst had a chance to blink, he was standing erect on his hooves, his face inches from hers.   “Can we sleep together again?” Starfall asked, grinning from ear to ear.     The much oversized bed for a pony her size squeaked as Starburst woke up with a start.   Breathing heavily, as if she had flown upwind for an hour, the pegasus princess moved up on her bed to sit with her back against the wall. Her heart was pounding; the dream, despite being more ridiculous that terrifying, had scared her. Starburst knew that it wasn’t really that scary, and yet… as she tried to remember the grin on Starfall’s face, the glee in his eyes as he spoke, knowing full well that she would had became a laughing stock of the entire kingdom… I’m beginning to see the pros of having beads that can keep Princess Luna away from your nightmares, Starburst thought in annoyance, as she started using her mom’s and aunt’s breathing exercise to calm down, while at the same time thanking her lucky star that the Princess of the Night hadn’t peeked into her dreams tonight.   Why was she dreaming about him, anyway? Was it because of what her mom told her? That they were friends for a day, even if they were infants at the time? Or maybe she dreamed that because she wanted to capture the thief herself, to make up for letting him escape and make fool out of everypony.   I should have captured him, Starburst admitted, rubbing her eyes, but instead I let him lead me by the nose. And later, I hadn’t figured out his plan fast enough to warn Mom…   But could she somehow do that? Starfall had managed to elude all her friends, the royal guards and outsmart her mom of all ponies. His abilities were so above her class-   No, she stopped herself. Starburst went over the events of that transpired in the town square. I hit him. Nopony else did, she realized with a satisfied smirk. There’s more to winning than just skills and abilities. Just like he outsmarted Mom, I outsmarted him. If I could do it once, I can do it again.   She allowed herself to fantasize about capturing a pony that escaped even from her mother. Starburst had a problem figuring how exactly she could go about that - especially since she had no idea where to look for the colt - as every idea and scenario she could come up with could be immediately countered by Starfall’s abilities.   The main problem would be his Polestar Spell, she eventually summed up, the sleep completely forgotten. He would have to be within Anti-Teleportation Field… which means Mom would have to cast it again.   She rolled her eyes. It’s not like she had actually planned on capturing him without anypony’s help; that would have been clearly out of her league. But if everypony else would just keep her covered while she fights him, she could accept that as her win.   Aside from the Polestar Spell, the biggest risks are his affinity with light and water, and his agility. It would be best if I could corner him someplace where there would be no water. Also, it would be good to do it around noon as well, for the weather should be so sunny that his light tricks would lose some of their flashiness. As for his agility… a flat terrain. Without any buildings, trees, or rocks for him to jump on and from, that thief should get tired pretty quickly.   A smile crept on her muzzle. She wondered if she should tell her parents about the conclusions she came to after analyzing Starfall’s abilities. Of course, Starburst expected that they had already figured out what she just did, but if she could prove to them that she was taking this matter seriously, then maybe they would allow her to help with the capture?   Yeah, she fought, savoring the image of that thief in chains and lying at her hooves, that would be-   -just like in her dream.   A squeal escaped her as she recalled the last part of her dream. No, not dream, Starburst corrected herself as she shook her head, a nightmare!   The thought that he could say something like that was terrifying her. He just… just… Starburst stammered in her head as she rose from the bed and began trotting in circles, just... came out and said as if-   Wait, what am I doing? she paused, sitting down on her haunches. That was a dream! It’s not going to happen in real life! I mean, nopony can be so shameless to-   Starburst once again paused. Actually, there was one pony she knew off that could be so shameless, and that happened to be the pony in question.   Oh, come on! she hit herself before she started panicking again. He was just a foal! He cannot possibly remember that!   As the thought entered her head, she relaxed. If she didn’t remember him, then he also didn’t remember her. The more she repeated that in her mind, the more convinced she was that she didn’t have to fear Starfall reveal that they ‘slept together’ to the entire Ponyville.   How could I get so worked up by that stupid dream? Starburst rolled eyes at herself, rising from the bed again.   The clock in her bedroom showed her that she had still three hours left of sleep before she would have to start getting ready for school. Starburst sighed with irritation; she didn’t want to fall asleep, she wanted to go after that stupid colt and teach him some respect!   Oh, and she was a bit thirsty, too.   Might as well go drink some water… she thought as she scanned her room lazily.   From the slumber parties Candy dragged her along, Starburst knew that she had a bigger room than any of her friends, both here and in Canterlot. Not that it really mattered to her; she used the extra space mostly for practicing battle stances and or doing push-ups or something. That was really useful when she was staying in Canterlot, as she didn’t have too big of a choice where to practice.   Her room, both in Ponyville and in Canterlot, was much modest than one would think a princess would have. Granted, there were a few drawers and shelves, hiding some dresses and jewelry she had to wear from time to time on special occasions. There was a table next to the windows (hidden behind drapes ornamented with the symbol of her cutie mark) where she did her homework, and under it was a small stuffed kennel, where her ferret, Snow, slept.   Still offended, she thought with a roll of her eyes. Snow was a friendly pet, but whenever they would move from one place to another so unexpectedly, he would take an offense and would ignore her for a day or so. Which so happened to be part of the reason Starburst usually left him in Annie’s mom care when her family was going somewhere for just a couple days. Maybe if he would wake up to find me offering him a treat it would improve his mood… the pegasus pondered as she rose from her bed and stretched out. She hopped off her bed (a few years back she tried sleeping on the floor, to have some ‘grooming’ before she would sleep in royal guards barrack, but she had to quit it after mom caught her) and flew towards the door quietly.   There wasn’t anything like curfew made by her parents that would cause guards to escort her back to her room, but Starburst still did her best to avoid them. It was a game she made up for herself soon after she had learned how to fly; originally for fun, now for practice. After so many years, she could now go to the other side of the mansion and come back without being spotted by patrols.   That kinda should have had them fired… she mused, like she did every time when she was doing that; it was, after all, the matter of her family’s safety at stake here. However, like every other time, she eventually came to a conclusion that if somepony would enter the mansion unannounced, the alarm spells her mom had placed would go off, so it really didn’t matter. She shook her head and turned away from the shine of the patrolling unicorn’s horn that she just passed… and saw a light coming from her mom’s library.   Intrigued, Starburst completely forgot about the water and Snow’s treat, and flew to the doors. She could hear both of her parents talking about something; could it be related to the colt? Did they found him?   “... I mean, can you believe at this timing?” her mom was just asking her father when Starburst stretched her ears. “It had to happen just now, hadn’t it?!”   Is something wrong? Starburst wondered, deciding to remain hidden; if this was something important, then there was a high chance that they would stop talking the moment she would walk in.   “Don’t worry, Twi,” Dad spoke in a calming voice. “Me and the rest of the guard will be fine on our own. I mean, he is just a colt.”   Starburst crept a bit closer when she noticed that they must be speaking about Starfall. “A colt that found a way to complete the spell even Star Swirl the Bearded couldn’t,” Mom pointed out. “He isn’t just a colt, Flash. If he were, then Star would have caught him without anypony’s help. You know she’s already a better fighter than about half of the royal guard.”   A flush of pride came over Starburst as she heard her mom’s praise. “But the fact is: he managed to elude her and her friends, overpower six guards, and outsmart me. He won’t be captured easily.”   “Especially you insisted on not harming him, unless it’s absolutely necessary.”   “Well,” Mom replied, and Starburst could practically feel the annoyed gaze she shot at Dad, “he is Star’s age; do you honestly say that you would want to hurt him?”   “Of course not,” Dad assured her. “But there are a few amongst the guards that had a different view on a colt that tried to blow up their friends.”   “Which is why you need to capture Starfall as soon as possible, while I go to the Crescent Lagoon for the peace summit.”   Wait, what? I thought that she didn’t have any duties for the next couple of days…   Starburst question was soon answered: “I still cannot believe that the sea ponies and the zebra had to pick such time to escalate this stupid conflict… now they’re almost ready for war, and Celestia and I need to go there and smooth things out.”   That comment made everything obvious to her: some time ago, about a month, an earthquake caused a portion of the Zebra Nation - rich portion - to slid into the ocean. The sea ponies of Aquestria had quickly claimed it as their own, for it was now an island half-submerged in the water. The two kinds had been arguing over the ownership of the land ever since. Now, it would appear that the argument had evolved into a prelude to war.   Most ponies in her situation might have started worrying. Starburst didn’t. She’d seen her mother deal with such issues before, and if Princess Celestia was going to be there as well, the shops on that island might as well start selling t-shirts that say “Zebras♥Sea Ponies”.   “Anyway, let’s get back to the topic of Starfall,” she heard Mom say and immediately returned to eavesdropping. She heard a pock as the alicorn poked something that started swinging “I prepared this crystal to counter his Polestar Spell, once a unicorn activates it it will cast an Anti-Teleportation Field on the area that will be required; it will grow bigger if he tries to escape. I managed to calibrate the magic resonance to match Starfall’s, meaning that only he will be affected; the unicorn guards you’ll bring with you will be able to teleport.”   A grin appeared on Starburst’s muzzle. She hoped to see the look on that thief’s face once he realized that.   “But once we eliminate his Polestar Spell, there will be still the matter of his other skills,” her mother continued. “He’s very agile, his magic has an affinity with water and light, and above all, he’s very cunning. Also, I believe that he can use Polestar Spell for more than teleporting instantly; Star told me he could dodge attacks without looking. Perhaps he somehow figured out how to use his marks to increase his perception’s field.”   That… makes sense, I suppose. Didn’t think magic could work like that, though.   “Hm. Well, anyway, the first two won’t be a problem,” Dad replied. “I managed to get guards Inferno and Blaze temporarily transferred here.”   “Ah,” Mom exclaimed, and there was, without a doubt, a touch of worry in her voice, “the ‘Fire Twins’?”   She wasn’t the only one that knew them. Starburst did as well; two of the most elite unicorns within the Royal Guard, Inferno and Blaze were specialists when it came to fire spells.   “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to have the colt get more parts of body seared than he already has,” Dad said with assurance, and Starburst had an unpleasant flashback to the moment when she got the sight of the thief’s right flank. “The twins will use their spells around him, so that the humidity in the air will be gone, and he won’t be able to use it.”   Starburst blinked. Why hadn’t I thought of that?   “Why hadn’t I thought of that?” Mom echoed her question. “Flash, that’s brilliant!”   “I have my moments.”   “Just make sure they know to not actually hit him. And it would be good if you could keep the fighting in a secluded area… preferably away from the swimming hole or the river.”   “I also thought about it,” Dad confessed. “There’s a perfect spot near the border of the Everfree Forest that should do. It’s also flat, so there goes his agility.”   “How do you plan to lure him there?” Mom inquired.   “‘Lure him’? I was thinking about using five unicorns to teleport him, me, the twins, a wingteam of pegasi armed with ropes and inhibitor rings, and themselves there from wherever we’ll find him.”   “My, somepony certainly did his homework…” Mom purred.   Yucchh!   “I try my best when I see you caring so much,” Dad replied, his voice also lowering. “Whatever happened to his mother, you don’t blame yourself, right?” he asked, uncertainly.   Mom sighed. “I kinda do,” she admitted, much to Starburst’s annoyance. She didn’t even know yet if something had happened to Trixie, the pony who had once kicked her out of Ponyville! There was being a caring Princess that wants what’s best for everypony, and there’s feeling blame over a mare like Trixie. “I cannot stop wondering how her son would have turned up if I had managed to convince her to accept my help and find a more… stable work than a traveling magician, somewhere in Canterlot…” Mom once again sighed. “But that’s in the past,” she said, her voice hardening.” Wherever Trixie is, her son broke the law, and unlike when she took over Ponyville, ponies had been hurt by him. His spell would have harmed Nighty and Star if he hadn’t acted then. Had he not save them… I don’t want to think about it.”   “Me neither,” Dad added quietly. “So,” he said in a more briskly voice. “Is there anything else I should know about this son of your old enemy/acquaintance?”   “Oh right!” Mom exclaimed. Starburst’s eyes widened in surprise; what more there was?   She gasped. On no… she’s not going to tell him about me sleeping with him, isn’t she?!   “He’s of a dragon lineage.” Starburst sighed with relief, and then blinked. Huh? “The vertical narrow pupils and fangs are marks of having a dragon somewhere amongst one’s ancestors… unless it’s a bat pony we’re talking about, and then it’s a bat pony of course.”   Fangs? I don’t recall him having those… Starburst trailed off, trying to recall. Surely, given how often he had grinned, she would have noticed, right?   No, she decided quickly. ‘Misdirection’. His eyes were drawing my attention. I wasn’t looking at his teeth.   “Dragon blood can have strange effects on ponies,” Mom continued her lecture. “Claire, for example, who’s a half-dragon, can hardly use magic, but she’s very agile. T, on the other hoof, is really strong and has wings, but can’t use magic at all. Unfortunately, there haven’t been many hybrids in history to exactly compare all of them.”   “How much of a dragon is Starfall?”   “Given the lack of anything else separating him from ponies, and what I managed to find about descendant of ponies and dragons… I would say that he’s at best a dragon in one eighth, maybe less.   “I don’t suppose you know who his father is?” Dad asked after a few seconds, and Starburst ears perked with interest.   “Not a clue,” Mom replied, much to her disappointment. “I asked Trixie, of course, but she didn’t tell me, so I stopped praying. Although…” she trailed off. “Spike told me that he… thinks he saw those eyes somewhere before, but he cannot place it.”   “The dragon migration?” Dad suggested. “Maybe there was a dragon there with red eyes. It could be Starfall’s ancestor.”   “Maybe…”   “I cannot believe that you stopped pestering Trixie, though,” Dad said, and Starburst was sure there was a smirk on his face. “I mean, a foal with red dragon eyes?”   “What difference does it make what color they were?” Mom replied in her defense.   “Oh, not a big one, except for two things,” Dad said with amusement as he trotted closer to her. “One: red is a much rarer color for eyes than blue; and two:” the trotting stopped, right next to Mom if Starburst ear was right, “we both know how curious you are about everything.”   Mwah.   Wait, what?   To Starburst terror, she heard her mother squeak in surprise and delight in reply to the kiss. “Flash! I don’t have time for-” Mwah. “Oh you naughty-” Mwah. The sound of kissing was followed by the sound of something heavy moving against the library’s desk, everything happening in like two seconds. Her mom giggled. “Okay, Mister-” Okay, I’m getting the buck out of here, Starburst snapped and flew back to her room, trying to not think about what was happening in the library right now. The sound of her alarm clock had never been as irritating as today. The thought of what her parents could be doing right now had loomed large in Starburst mind. When she finally fell asleep, it must have been like ten minutes before her alarm went off, judging by how she felt.   She groaned and rubbed her eyes, when she felt something very light land on her chest. “Morning Snow,” Starburst said, yawning. “Guess you’re not mad anymore about moving, huh?”   Snow dooked in response and nuzzled against her chest, making Starburst chuckle. “Okay,” she told him, rising, “what do you say we-”   The moment she opened eyes she stammered. That thief was staring back at her.   Starburst blinked, not believing what she was seeing… and saw the albino ferret tilt his head in confusion.   Starburst facehoofed. What was the matter with her? “Sorry, I… thought I saw something…” she murmured to Snow, petting him with her other hoof.   How could I see that colt when I looked at him? the pegasus thought as Snow dooked softly. I mean, just because they both red eyes…   Her jaw dropped when she realized what just crossed her mind.   Six years ago… “Coming!” a soft voice came from the cottage and within a second, the door they just knocked on were open. “How was your day- Oh!” the yellow pegasus with pink mane said timidly, probably surprised to see so two ponies at her door. “Good morning Star! Annie, you should have told me you would bring your friends with you, I would have make you all some snacks to eat.”   “Sorry, Mom,” Annie replied as Starburst said her greetings. “Mrs. Cheerilee gave us projects to do in groups of two, so we wanted to get started right away.”   As Miss Fluttershy began asking if they would need any help, Starburst took a look around. Annie wasn’t kidding when she said that her house was crawling with animals; there were birds peeking at her from the treehouses on the walls, small mice running around the floor, and an old white rabbit resting on the couch   So, that’s Angel? she wondered, curious. Why is Uncle so grumpy every time somepony mentions his name? He’s kinda cute.   She was contemplating whether to pet him or not, but on their way here Annie warned her not to do that, so she gave up. Probably, the small thing was so old and fragile that he would get hurt by a slight touch. Starburst turned around to check if they could go to Annie’s room already when she saw something that made her pause: two red eyes looking at her from the shadow of a pet’s kennel.   “Hey, who’s there?” she called out-loud, intrigued, as she trotted towards the red dots.   “Hm?” she heard Miss Fluttershy’s voice; her eyes were on the kennel. “Oh, that’s a baby ferret I found in a sack that was floating down the river. How could anypony do something like that!?” the gentle pegasus exclaimed in a not-so-gentle tone.   By now Starburst had reached the kennel, just as she was about to call out to the small critter, the ferret poked its head out of the shadows. She had barely contained a gasp; it was so cute! Its small white muzzle, it small little paws, its flaming red eyes…   “Hi there,” she said quietly, reaching to it with a hoof. The ferret backed away slightly. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you...”   Slowly, very slowly, the albino ferret extended its muzzle and sniffed her hoof, and then nuzzled it with its head.   “Oh, he likes you!” Miss Fluttershy whispered quietly, sounding really happy.   “I didn’t know you like ferrets, Star,” Annie said, sounding a bit surprised, as she walked up beside her. “Or pets in general for that matter.”   “Oh, I don’t… I mean...” she mumbled, wondering about the interest she took in the ferret as she pet its head. “I think... I really like his eyes,” she blurted. It was true; his eyes were what had captivated her and made her come over to him. “They’re so cute.”   Present day…   “Oh dear Celestia, I decided to have a pet because it reminded me somehow of a colt I knew when I was a baby,” Starburst exclaimed, facehooving again.   Snow once again looked at her in confusion. She decided to not dwell on what he must be thinking about this unusual behaviour of hers. The pegasus was also not going to dwell on the issue; so she got Snow because it reminded her of… him. Big deal. “Nevermind,” she told the critter, finally getting off the bed. “I was just remembering the day we met,” Starburst confessed, glancing at him. After a second she gave up and began petting Snow again. “And you’re as still cute as then!”   The ferret, left at the mercy of her onslaught of affection, could only make his cute chattering noise as he rolled on the bed.     “Hi Star! I-”   “No.”   “But I didn’t even-”   “No.”   “I just wanted-”   “No.”   “WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME?!!!” Candy finally exploded.   Starburst glanced at the enraged mare. It was a recess; Starburst and her friends usually spent their time on one of the picnic tables at the edge of school limits. Today, however, she was the first to appear, and she already began eating some apples she had for lunch before she spotted Candy happily trotting in her direction.   She sighed then, suspecting what the earth pony was going to ask her. As if this day hadn’t started bad enough, she thought.   One she had reached the smaller living room (the one more private) to eat breakfast this morning, Starburst asked her father if she could perhaps join the search for the thief after school. He disagreed, saying that he and the Guard would handle him. Hearing the answer, Starburst dropped the issue; she knew her dad wouldn’t change his mind, and he was right. Given how well-prepared he and his team were, she’d be useless there.   Saying goodbye to Mom also hadn’t been easy. Starburst hated it whenever she had to travel so far away. It was bad enough that they didn’t have much in common with each other and as such they hardly had any conversation topics, but not having her around was just… saddening. And to make the matter worse, the Crescent Lagoon, where the peace summit was going to be held, was a place filled with strange magic that made magical means of communications impossible. In other words, Starburst wouldn’t hear from her mother for days at best.   And now she had to deal with this.   “Candy,” she told her friend seriously, “I don’t care what half-flank scheme you came up with to get Wind and Prism together, I already told Annie that I don’t want to be a part of it, and I’m most certainly not going to use my position as a princess to help you.”   “What?!” Candy exclaimed, making a rather good attempt in pretending that wasn’t a part of her plan. “Why would you even think that-”   “Because otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered with recruiting me, knowing too well that I won’t want to have anything to do with it,” Starburst replied flatly, returning her attention to the apple.   Truth to be told, in spite of all her sternness and seriousness, she actually enjoyed hanging out with everypony… to some extent. Because of that, Starburst was kind of grateful for Candy’s constant ‘forcing’ her to tag along to whatever the rest was up to. But there were some limits, and playing matchmakers was beyond that limit.   The gray mare continued her act. She puffed up, offended, and mumbled: “Well, that is the most…”   “Am I not right?” Starburst interrupted her with a glare.   Finally, Candy gave up. “Okay, okay, we wanted to have you use your princessy connection to score those two tickets to a movie premier… or for the Grand Galloping Gala.”   Starburst could only facehoof. “Candy, those two would have gone crazy in the Gala. Do you have any idea how boring those are every year?!”   “Yeah, that’s the point: they would get crazy enough to fall in love...”   “Brilliant…” Starburst murmured, as she finished the apple and threw the core into a trashcan. It landed perfectly. “Why are you trying to get them back together, again?” she asked out of boredom, turning to Candy on the bench. She leaned on her back against the table and continued: “Those two were going out in kindergarten; that means they held hooves, played with just each other, and maybe kissed on cheeks a few times.”   “Well, that’s the thing! Don’t you think that two ponies being so close at such young age mean that they are meant to be with each other?”   NO!!! Starburst wanted to scream, Candy’s weird view on love making her remember what her mom told her yesterday.   “I mean, c’mon,” Candy continued, thankfully unaware of the anger building up inside of her pegasus friend and of what was causing it, “can’t you just picture Windy and Prism as foals, walking around by hoof? How cute they had to be?”   “First of all,” the princess said flatly, “I happen to not associate the word ‘cute’ with Prism, no matter how immature, physically or otherwise, he is. And second of all, the word ‘cute’ is used by me only in regards to my ferret.”   “Oh, right, how’s Snow?” the other mare asked with a smile, changing the topic of the conversation without batting an eyelash. “Is he still being grumpy-pants about moving?”   “Nah, he had gotten over it by morning,” Starburst replied with a shrug. “So… where are the others, exactly?”   “Annie and T were distracting Prism and Wind somewhere else while I convince you to help.”   “Great job,” she said sarcastically.   Candy shot her an angry look. “Well, for your information, princess,” the mare accented that part, knowing how Starburst didn’t like being called like that, “Annie and I happen to have a few fallback plans in case you didn’t agree.”   “Have fun with them,” Starburst retorted. “Let me know when they blow up in your faces, I will be sure to be there to have a laugh at you.”   “Didn’t know you can actually laugh,” came from a pony sitting beside her.   It took Starburst about a second to place the voice, but once she did, she immediately spun around trying to kick its owner right in the face. Unfortunately, the thief from yesterday was fast enough to jump on the table.   “What do you think you’re-” the princess began, only stop. She was going to end the sentence with ‘- doing here?!’, but when she got a look on him, Starburst couldn’t help but change her question into: “What do you think you’re doing in the Royal Guard’s armor!?”   Starfall gave her an upset look from under the golden helmet. The cloak that he wore yesterday was gone, and instead his body was clad in the armor of a royal guard, who must have been a size or two bigger than him. He still had his bandana, though, clashing with the armor and making him look ridiculous; which, given what she knew of his so far, was probably the point.   “Well, I was eating a peanut butter cracker,” he said, showing the half-eaten bar he held in a hoof, “when somepony just tried to kick me for no reason.” His reply caused Starburst to groan in irritation. Could he take anything seriously?! “What?! They’re really good!”   “I’ll say,” Candy giggled beside her. “Good morning, Star! Did you come to say hello to Star?”   Starburst glared at her friend laughing friend, cursing the cosmic coincidence that caused her and him to have such similar names, while the colt chuckled. “Well, kinda. I wanted to thank her and the DAMSEL!” he suddenly raised his voice and turned his head in the direction of the school, “for their help with the show yesterday,” the unicorn added in a normal voice, turning back to them.   She had enough. “Excuse me!” Starburst interrupted Candy and Starfall’s combined laughter. Trying to not think about the attention the three of them were gaining from the other students, she continued, “This is the part where you explain why you are wearing a royal guard’s armor and why are you here!”   The colt blinked. “Oh!” he exclaimed, surprised. “That’s what you meant!”   She facehoofed.   “Well, you know how those guards are peeved at me for some reason?” Starfall asked while she fought the urge to lunge at him, knowing that it would serve no purpose other than making a fool out of herself. “So you see, I was walking around, and I thought to myself: what would be a perfect disguise to hide from them? This one!” he said, lifting his forehooves up in the air and firing several fireworks. “In unrelated news, there was an armed patrol in the area,” he added nonchalantly. “Since I’m sure that by now they informed their superiors that a colt borrowed from one of them her armor - band of snitches! - I think I have about a few minutes to annoy you before I will have to play with the reinforcements.”   I’m glad that he at least started to call things as they are.   “Why me?” she asked, her mind trying to figure out the best way to catch him. “You seem to enjoy annoying everypony.”   Wait… she immediately thought after she had said that. Don’t tell me he… remembers…   “Excuse me: I don’t annoy ponies, I entertain them!” Starfall objected. She listened to him, masking her dread. “You’re a special case; you hit me.” A sigh of relief escaped her. “And I didn’t like that.”   “And I didn’t like how you tried to blow up my brother,” Starburst countered, glaring at the armored pony.   “Ow, cut me a break, will you?” the colt whined. “I had no idea the kid would be there. And didn’t I save him? And you? Mind you, if I had sent that explosion away a bit slower, it might have taken my horn off, so you should be grateful.”   That’s right, she mused, that’s how he saved us; he send the force of the explosion to the mark he left on the fountain. So he really can use the Polestar Spell for more than just teleporting…   “Say, are you going to perform here?” Candy asked, ignoring the glare Starburst was giving her. “It would so totally awesome, think how many friends you could make!”   “Sadly, I cannot,” the colt replied. Much to Starburst confusion, he pressed a hoof to his heart. “For I am on a noble mission to battle those who would see me bound-”   Oh dear Celestia, he’s pretending to be a knight now, she facehooved.   “- and I must converse my strength for the hour of truth. Fear not, for I-”   “YOU!”   All three - along with the ponies around them - turned their heads towards the shout. Prism was hovering in the air on the other side of the school’s grounds, having just exited the building with T, Wind and Annie. He was glaring in their direction, especially at Starfall.   “Ah…” the colt grinned, and this time Starburst saw his fangs; how could she have missed them before? “If it isn’t Damsel!” he snickered, rising on his hind legs. “How are you?”   Now! Starburst thought, seizing her chance.   She slammed the table on her end with her hooves, making it other end shoot up in the air, throwing the thief like a catapult. The colt, already standing on his hind legs, had lost his balance as his end rose, and could only quaver as he was soon in the air. Starburst, not wasting any time, had quickly grabbed her lunch box even before the colt was airborne, and threw it aiming at his head.   When it was less than a second from reaching him, the colt had disappeared. The armor didn’t teleport with him, though. For a heartbeat it stayed suspended in the air, before it fell down on the ground along with the lunch box.   Starburst jaw dropped. Wait, this… this happened before...   Fifteen years ago…   The big metal pony chasing them had finally caught up with them in the huge room with many tables. With a nod, they separated; she flew to the left and her friend, his body surrounded in a glowing aura, flew to the right. Star was giggling, thinking how fun it was, when suddenly she heard her friend cry.   Turning around, she saw the mean pony standing on one of the tables. His teeth were clasped on a white-and-blue tail, and he slowly pulled his head back, his hooves extending to catch the tussling blue pony.   With a cry, Star, without much thought, lunged. She hit the other end of the table with her whole body with such speed that it threw the opposite side of it up, and the mean metal pony flew over her head. Once his muzzle was on the same level as her, she bucked him. Her hooves were a lot smaller than his huge head, but she hit the meanie hard enough to make him let go of her blue friend.   As they moved away from the big mean pony - who was now rolling away on the floor, his metal coat klunking - Star looked at her friend to see if he was hurt. The other Star grinned and laughed, making her giggle as well. She was so relieved that he was okay...   Noises of some other big ponies coming their way made them stop. Star glanced at the direction they were coming from, and then back at Star. His red eyes gleamed with mischief.   Grinning, he caught her hoof with his and led her behind the nearest drapes. They hid behind them, staying close to each other so the guards wouldn’t notice them...   Present day…   Starburst shook her head, banishing the vision. Why am I remembering this? she wondered. It was… long ago. I was a foal… practically a new born! How can I recall something like this?!   “Wow Star, didn’t think you would make a mess like that,” she heard Candy say, probably regarding the turned over table. “Hey, is something wrong? You look a bit spaced out.”   Blinking, she looked at her concerned friend. “Yeah, I’m just... lost in thought about how to get him.”   That seemed to convince Candy, because she smiled and looked away. “Well, I would recommend just asking him out-” Starburst glared at her, feeling suddenly a bit hot “- but I think Prism is going to beat you to it.”   What in Tartarus does she mean by- Starburst started, by her train of thoughts trailed off once she looked in the same direction as Candy.   Starfall was standing on one leg high up on a school pole, once again clad in the cloak he wore yesterday… and Prism was lunging right at him from behind.   “Stop!”   The word had left Starburst mouth before she noticed. Why did she just say that?! Did she tried to… protect that thief?   Whatever the reason, it caused Prism to stop. Now the pegasus was looking at her in confusion, and he wasn’t the only one. Everypony in the schoolyard had eyes on her, including him. Starburst knew she’d need to explain why she just said that.   “If you try to fight him, it will be a repeat from yesterday,” she quickly improvised, somehow managing to return her voice and expressions to her normal stern demeanor. Starburst spread her wings and took the air, flowing up to the peak of the school pole. “He will just make fun of you,” she told Prism. “Besides, if you touch him, he will leave a new Polestar mark on you.”   Her pegasus friends grimaced, not eager to have another invisible multi-colored tattoo on himself. Satisfied, Starburst turned to the thief next. “It has been most entertaining,” she spoke calmly and coldly, “but recess is almost over, and we will have to go back to our classes. Furthermore, seeing how you are a fugitive, I would appreciate if you would leave.”   The colt looked at her with surprise, and then with disappointment. “Aww, you’re such a buzzkill,” he told her, leaning back and letting himself fall down. Starburst stayed in the air - despite a part of her wanting to lunge after him - and watched as his horn glowed, making a bubble of water appear.   Not appear, she corrected; it looked more like the water had come from around and formed the bubble, he gathered the water from the air…   Once Starfall landed on it, it didn’t burst; it amortized his fall, and then bounced him back up to the same height as he was before.   “And why exactly…” he said once his head was on the same level as her, but then trailed off as he plummeted down, doing a flip, “do you think I’ll...” and down, “do that?” once more he was on the top.   “Wow, this looks like fun!” Starburst heard Candy exclaim, but she fought off the urge to glare at her.   Trying to find a reply to Starfall’s question, she stayed silent for a few seconds. What could possibly convince him to go away? she wondered, her eyes following him up and down. Wait! She suddenly snapped. Why do I want him gone? Just a few hours ago I wanted to help Dad capture him…   Was it because she knew that they had no chance to do anything to him? Or was it… because...   “Oh, forget it,” Starfall sighed, pulling her from her uncomfortable musing. She looked at him in surprise. “It’s no fun if you two are going to be calm. Boooooooring!” he accused with a hoof pointed at her and Prism while at the highest attitude he could gain while bouncing of his bubble.   As he began falling down, he began backflipping, and his horn flashed. The bubble burst as he fell through it, landing perfectly on the ground without any problem.   Turning around, he waved his hoof back at her. “Later,” Starfall said, and with a burst of fireworks, he was gone.   “Urgh!” Prism groaned, grabbing his head. “I hate that frickin little-”   “Watch your words, we’re on the school grounds,” Starburst chided him, her eyes on the spot where Starfall was moments ago.   Why… why was she… relieved?   Shaking her head, she landed beside her friends. “My dad is leading a team that’s supposed to capture him,” she told them. “Since he clearly still hangs around Ponyville, they will probably get him today.”   “You know,” Annie began slowly, “That colt doesn’t seem so bad… I mean, sure, he stole from Gold’s family,” she rolled her eyes at the combined value of the things he stole, “and then he blew up the town square, but-”   “The problem is not only that he blow up the town square,” Starburst interrupted her, ignoring whatever part of her brain that made her hesitate before saying it. “He hurt six royal guards, and almost got Night Light killed because of his stupid show.”   “But he did save him and you in time,” Annie argued. “So he isn’t a bad pony. Maybe he’s just lonely? You did notice he doesn’t seem to live anywhere nearby, right?” Starburst and the others nodded instinctively and then cringed as they remembered their friend couldn’t see. “I asked my mom about the name Princess Twilight, Mr. Spike and Mrs. Applejack had mentioned yesterday, Trixie,” she continued. “Apparently, nopony has heard of her in years. So maybe Starfall is… you know…”   Yeah, everypony did know. At least Starburst did. It was, after all, her mom that had been trying to discover where was Trixie seen, fearing the worse. But even if that was the case, and even if she did feel sorry for him, that still wasn’t changing anything.   “Being an orphan doesn’t justify committing crimes,” she said. “And even if ponies were to overlook what he did yesterday - as Ponyville has a strange record with that - a unicorn so skilled like him with destructive tendencies shouldn’t be allowed to do as he pleases.”   “Well said,” Prism added, in a rare moment of being on the same side of an argument as Starburst. “I think-”   His statement was interrupted by the sound of school bell. Sighing, the group began trotting towards the school.   As they walked, Starburst was deep in thought. Dad was going to apprehend him; about that was no doubt. But what then? He would be placed in Ponyville’s detention, but would he get a trial, or would they keep him there until Mom would return, as she wanted to talk with him. Should Starburst maybe visit him? Try to figure out what was puzzling Mom: what happened to Trixie? Or maybe… ask him if he… remembered her?   Right, I will just walk up to him and say: hey, you remember how we demolished half of the Canterlot Castle? she snorted. What’s the point? I mean, it’s not like I still… like him… she trailed off, glancing at her hoof. She could recall somehow the feeling of his hoof grabbing hers… it felt so warm...   “Hey, Star?” she heard a whisper. She looked to the side to see Candy walking beside her. The others had outrun them… or maybe she was trotting slowly and Candy stayed back to talk with her. “Is everything okay?”   “Of course,” she almost bristled. In a more quiet tone, she added, “Why wouldn’t it be?”   “Well, you seem… upset. Sad, even.”   Starburst suppressed a sight. Was she really becoming visibly sad over… this?   “I’m fine, I’m just… annoyed!” she told the half-truth and stomped. “Starfall and I are the same age; why is he so better than me?! I’m want to become the Captain of the Royal Guard; why can’t I capture a simple thief?!”   Considering that she really felt irritated that she couldn’t catch him, it wasn’t a surprise that her gray friend bought the excuse. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Candy told her gently. She looked around, and then leaned over, whispering confidentiality, “Between you and me? I think that unicorns are cheaters by default.”   Despite herself, Starburst chuckled.   “So it’s not your fault that you couldn’t capture him; he was just cheating,” Candy grinned.   “I suppose you’re right,” Starburst smiled. “Thanks, Candy.”   “No problem!” the gray mare exclaimed happily, but then she lowered her voice. “So, about Wind and Prism…”   Oh, brother…     “Dad?” T asked as the group came to a stop near Uncle Spike. “What’s going on?”   The school was over. They were just leaving it when suddenly, they noticed a gigantic purple sphere in the distance. Starburst had a suspicion to what that was, but even if she hadn’t, she would have still raced with her friends in its direction.   They were still far away from it when they’ve passed Ponyville’s limits, and saw that the way further towards the dome was blocked by a squad of royal guards. Several of the town’s citizens stood at the edge of the perimeter, muttering between themselves, T’s Dad among them.   “I’m not sure,” Uncle Spike confessed. “I think the guards caught that colt from yesterday, but nopony says anything other than ‘That area is restricted, please step aside’.”   Starburst was now certain that was the case: her dad cornered Starfall, but was still trying to capture him. Suddenly, she felt that she should be there. For what, she did not know. Did she want to help Dad apprehend the thieving colt? Or...   “I’m going there” she told her friend, then turned to the two nearby guards. “Guards, step aside.”   Of course she could have just flew past them, but being a princess required a proper etiquette for just about freakin’ everything...   A frown appeared on her face once she saw both of them shook their head. “I am sorry, Your Highness, we are under strict orders to-”   Starburst didn’t let him finish. “I wasn’t asking!” she snapped, spreading her wings wide and glaring threateningly.   She was both satisfied and disappointed when the royal guards backed away in fear. Is this really what the royal guard had come to since Uncle Shining Armor left the position of the captain to rule the Crystal Empire with Aunt Cadance? Being threatened by a filly?   Remembering that this wasn’t the time to ponder on such matters, she spread her wing and flew towards the sphere. Already she was thinking about what she should do once she got there. But, given that she didn’t know what she wanted, was a tad difficult.   As a criminal, he should be detained, Starburst thought, slowly nearing the sphere. But getting trussed up like a turkey won’t be fun, especially if he resists… Maybe I could convince Dad to let me try and talk him into coming on his own?   The moment she began to wonder just how exactly she could talk Starfall into something like this she facehoofed. Nothing came to her mind. And did she actually want that? He nearly blew up her brother.   By the time she reached the sphere, she still hadn’t decided what she should do. However, her dilemma was solved for her, for once she was just a few meters away from it, the purple Anti-Teleportation Field had disappeared.   Guess this means they’ve captured him, Starburst thought, feeling… confused, actually. Sighing, she sped up… only to stop almost immediately.   The sphere didn’t disappear because her father ordered the spell to be canceled. Broken shimmering shards that littered the scorched ground must have once been the crystal her mom had enchanted. The spell failed because it got destroyed.   Around the clearing laid the still forms of the royal guards. Three pegasi and seven unicorns, all knocked out. But there was a certain feature of them that made Starburst quiver: the black chains, burning with purple flames, were shackled around the necks of each of them.   Nothing, however, was as terrifying sight as the one further away.   A pegasus was hanging in the air, held by multiple chains like the ones Starburst saw on the next of his subordinates.   That pegasus was her father.   And he was not moving.   Her eyes moved slowly, following the chains to their source. The source was a horn of a unicorn, pulsating with dark energies.   The unicorn looked back. When their eyes met, Starburst felt her grow even wider; instead of the red eyes with narrow pupils she was familiar with, the eye that looked at her was glowing red, the white of the eye was green, and there was purple smoke coming out of it.   She quaked, not because of fear, but because she couldn’t understand what she was seeing, as the unicorn spoke, “You know,” Starfall said, his voice sounding both as joyful as before and at the same time much colder, “I really hate encores… especially when they get the casting wrong...”   His eye moved back to her father, and Starburst had finally found her voice. “No…” she said quietly, looking at her dad. “NO!” she screeched.   “Funny,” Starfall said, once again looking at her and making her freeze. “Nine years ago I said the same thing in Trottingham. Wanna know how that turned out?”   Starburst watched in dread as the darkness around his horn deepened… and the chains around her father disappeared. Starfall’s wrapped his body in magic and placed it gently on the ground.   “Differently,” she heard him say as she lunged for her dad. “He’s just unconscious.”   She didn’t reply. There were no words she could say to him now. All she cared about was making sure Dad was okay, and then…   As she flew past Starfall, Starburst, with deep, unforgiving fury, briefly glanced into his eyes.   They were no longer cute.