“What do you mean the princess was abducted?” Feather Dream asked between bites of her tulip sandwich.
“I mean exactly that!” Starlight exclaimed, “The princess was taken by Night Mare Moon who turned out to be her sister Princess Luna! And-”
“Take a breath Star. We cannot have you choking.”
The two pegasi were sitting outside at a restaurant in Ponyville enjoying an early lunch. After Feather Dream had left her patrol the previous evening she returned home and went straight to bed. While she had slept, dreamlessly thankfully, Ponyville had been under attack.
“Right,” Starlight took a gulp of air, “and she was saved by six residents of Ponyville. Can you believe that? Ponies from our town saved the Princess!”
“From here?” Feather Dream asked like someone would ask about the weather, “Really? That is surprising. How did they do it?”
“Well,” Starlight spoke slowly, surprised herself by the pink pegasus’s interest, “it turns out that they are the ponies who wield the Elements of Harmony. Oh the Elements of Harmony are-“
“I know what they are,” Feather Dream interrupted before listing the elements off like grocery items, “Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and the sixth unknown-”
“Magic.”
“What?”
“The sixth element is magic,” Starlight said with a radiant smile.
Feather Dream’s expression stayed blank, “Hmph, that seems so,” Feather Dream searched for the right word, “obvious. I wonder if I could have figured it out for myself, if I had thought about it for more than five minutes.”
“Did you know about Night Mare Moon’s return?” Starlight said through a mouth full of hay fries.
“I think I read about it somewhere, but I had always assumed it was an old pony’s tale.”
“Well anyway,” Starlight said, “The ponies that saved Princess Celestia are from here, like I said. Wait no, five of them are from here. The Element of Magic is from Canterlot and, would you believe it, she is Princess Celestia’s star student. And it turns out she will be living here from now on.” Starlight took another deep breath before eating another hooffull of fries.
“Wait, what?” Feather Dream’s ears twitched with interest.
“Oh I have so much to tell you.”
Starlight then recounted the previous night’s adventure as well as the brief celebration of Princess Luna that happened that morning while her friend slept. Feather Dream stared at the blue mare speechless. The pink pegasus took a slow bite of her tulip sandwich and thought for a while. She looked at her freckled faced friend who smiled back while drinking a chocolate shake.
“So,” Feather Dream asked slowly, “what is this Twilight Sparkle like?”
“I’m not sure to tell the truth,” Starlight admitted, “I haven’t really met her yet. I got all of this information from Pinkie Pie.”
Feather Dream adjusted her glasses, “How accurate is this information then? I mean, sometimes Pinkie Pie does not seem to know what is going on in her own head, and sometimes she seems to know far more than she ever should.”
“Well,” Starlight puffed out her cheeks, “I saw what happened when the Princess was taken away and when Night Mare Moon showed up and the celebration this morning. Not only that, but Pinkie Pie Pinkie Promised me that it was all true.” Her wings drooped slightly, “I guess if you don’t believe your bestest friend forever then you can go ask Twilight Sparkle. She lives at the library now.”
“Really? Well I do believe you but…”
“You want to meet Twilight?” Starlight could not hide the surprise from her voice. Feather Dream was a loner. She only associated with whoever it was necessary for her job and basic living. There were only three other ponies that she could consider close.
“Kind of,” Feather Dream admitted, “I would like to know who this unicorn is, leaving Canterlot to stay in Ponyville of all places.”
“Hey!” Starlight exclaimed, “I like it here!”
“So do Star, but must admit that Canterlot and Ponyville are two very different places.”
“True,” Starlight sighed, “I have always wanted to go there. I heard that the Grand Galloping Gala is supposed to be amazing. I would love to go.”
“Hmm, it would be interesting,” Feather Dream put a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Wow Feather Dream,” Starlight looked at her friend in confusion, “Showing interest in two things in one day? Are you feeling alright?”
Feather Dream spoke flatly, “Taking interest in events that are far out of the ordinary is not strange.”
“I know but-”
“Enough Starlight I am fine.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Feather Dream then suggested that they go visit Twilight Sparkle. The duo finished their lunch and headed over to the town library where a large crowd had gathered.
“Wow,” Starlight said, “Did every pony come to meet the new mare? I would think they would have been fine with Pinkie’s welcome party.”
“I am not sure,” Feather Dream said. She walked up to a cram colored earth pony with a blue and pink mane and tail. She was slightly bouncing with a toothy grin.
“Hey Bonbon,” Feather Dream asked the excited mare, “What is everypony doing here?”
“Haven’t you heard? Twilight Sparkle has an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!” Bonbon shrieked before running back into the crowd.
“An extra ticket?” Starlight’s eyes widened, “I want to go!” She started to fly above the crowd, but was pulled down by Feather Dream.
“Hold on a second. What makes you think she will give you the extra ticket? You said it yourself, Star, that you barely know her and she probably does not know you at all. It is more likely she will bring one of the other Bearers of Harmony.”
Starlight fiddled with her braid, “But there are five of them. How will she choose?”
Feather Dream sighed, “You said she was Celestia’s student. She could ask the Princess for enough tickets to take all of them.”
“Oh, true,” Starlight said frowning, “And I bet she wouldn’t ask for a ticket for some pony she doesn’t even know.”
“Exactly, now I have to go on patrol for the rest of the day. We can meet up tomorrow if the weather holds up, unless you want to come with.”
“No thanks,” Starlight’s braid swung back and forth, “I was planning on doing something else today.”
“Oh, what?”
“Umm well, I uh,” she stumbled over her words.
“Secret?”
“Yes.”
“Pinkie Promise?”
“Well no, but I uh.”
“It is fine,” Feather Dream awkwardly patted her friend, “I will not pry. Like I said; patrol. See you later Starlight,” Feather Dream took off.
“Bye Feather Dream,” Starlight waived frantically after her friend. Once the pink mare was out of sight the blue pegasus ran a hoof along her mane, blushing and skipped toward the park.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. There was only a small planned afternoon rain shower that had a partial interruption by Rainbow Dash.
Feather Dream returned home that evening and went through her process of ending the day. Luna’s moon had begun to rise when she picked up the Daring Do book from her nightstand. She ran a hoof through her black and white striped mane when a thought occurred to her.
I never met with Twilight Sparkle…hmm. Oh well, since she is living here I will probably get the chance eventually.
She cracked the book open and snuggled into bed to read. By the time Luna’s moon had risen Feather Dream turned off the light and went to sleep.