//------------------------------//
// The Consquences of Listening to Starspinner 
// Story: The Spectacular Stories of Starspinner 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//

And then we waited. For twelve hours.

Maybe I'm oversimplifying.

Starspinner was having a blast. She giggled as she buzzed around the room, pointing out every little detail she could, and bemoaning her lack of physicality. Me, though, I was constantly glancing at the door and wondering when the guard would come in. It certainly didn't help at all when she started... singing. She was actually a very good singer, but... the songs she chose were a little off.

"Wake up in the morning, it's a brand new day ahead, the sun is bright and the clouds smile down and all your friends are dead..."

"When you're rife with devastation, there's a simple explanation, you're a toymaker's creation trapped inside a crystal ball!"

"So long and thanks for all the fish! So sad that it should come to this! We tried to warn you all, but oh deeeeeear...."

This is the worst part about having a perfect memory. I find myself humming these tunes at complete random. I don't know if Starspinner picked them up from somewhere, or made them up to amuse herself, or made them up to screw with my head... it's all possible, I guess. But I just... they're incredibly catchy tunes about horrible things! The mare has a sick, sick sense of humor.

As the moon rose over the glass dome above us, I eventually I took to looking around the room myself, and... well, I was actually rather astonished at what I found. Pony society changes as time goes on, even a most basic glance at history will tell you this, and that's reflected in the things they make and how they make them. All around me was furniture, tapestries, globes and abacuses made using methods a thousand years out of date--and carefully, delicately worked to look brand new. The books on the shelves, mind, those were modern for the most part--but the shelves themselves were ornate, carved and slotted together with the precision of a carpenter who had no nails.

And there was moon imagery. A lot of moon imagery. Interestingly, most of it lacked the mare in the moon--some of it did, but only in the most modern works. Even there it was rare.

I turned to Starspinner, who was futilely trying to spin a globe. "...Celestia has a sister, you said."

"Mmmhmm."

"And since she hasn't been in the public view, I assume she's been... away?"

"Away, indisposed, imprisoned, it's a really complicated scenario that honestly I don't even know the full details of." Starspinner shrugged. "Of course, nothing lasts forever."

I looked around the room with a more discerning eye. "...so. When, exactly, is she expected back?"

"Well, depending on how you set your clock, today or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow, actually, she has a few things to do before coming back to the palace."

"So you want me to wait here for the whole night, just so I can meet this mysterious sister of Celestia's."

Starspinner gave me a smirk. "Meet? Moondancer, you've got to think bigger. Merely meeting the mistress of the moon is not much." She twirled in midair, allowing herself to rotate upside down. "You're going to be doing soooooo much more for our fine missing monarch, hmm?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Like what, exactly?"

"How old is the oldest thing here?"

I glanced at an abacus leaning against a wall. "I'd say... one thousand and thirteen years."

"What LUDICROUS precision but that's besides the point. Why would something so old be here?"

"Why are you asking me? You obviously already---this is a test, isn't it."

Starspinner leaned back into midair. "Maaaaaaaybe."

"Well, let's see. Celestia arranged this room for her sister, if I'm reading your implications correctly. Ergo, even the nostalgia would be... oh. Oh wow."

"Mmmhmm. You're starting to get it."

If something from a thousand years ago was set up, specifically for Celestia's sister... either she had to be really, really interested in history, or she had to have been familiar enough with it to develop a personal attachment. Suggesting that she came from that historical period. Which in turn suggested a great unfamiliarity with the modern era. And assuming that Celestia did not intend to lock her away again, that would need to be corrected...

"...you want me to teach her about the world?" I asked Starspinner.

"Moondancer: Adjustment Adviser to the throne! I figure it's a good place for you to be, you get an excuse to study and a way to put your studies to good use!"

"Oh no. No no no no. I am not--that is just--Me?! Look at me!" I pointed at myself. "I'm nowhere near royal standards, I, I... I can't just... Look, I don't think that I'm the right pony for the job."

"Moony, Moony, Moony, there's not 'right' pony for the job. Unless Celestia made them out of her own raw magic. But the job, it's practically tailored for you!"

"No it isn't! How could it possibly be--?!"

"Wanted: A general-purpose scholar willing to work nights with functioning knowledge of linguistics outdated for millennia and an affinity for astronomy. You will be interacting with a small number of ponies and primarily attending to one individual. Two vacation days a month, room and board provided." Starspinner gave me a look. "Your name is actually Moondancer. Frankly, I don't see how this opportunity was missed in the first place."

"You think that the princess is going to care about my name?!"

"Well, Blazing Sun certainly isn't going to get the position."

"Who in Celestia's name is Blazing Sun?"

Starspinner shrugged. "I dunno, I made the name up. Look, the point is you're stressing over nothing. Well, mostly nothing. You're stressing over the wrong part of the situation. You are a totally acceptable adjustment adviser and you'll do fine, believe me."

"I'm talking to an invisible pony that convinced me to break into the princess's bedchambers!" I hissed.

"But that's not going to impact your job performance, is it?"

I groaned, cradling my head in my hooves. "This was a mistake. I need to get out of here. I should go home, go to bed, and then go to a therapist tomorrow."

Starspinner shrugged. "Your call. All I can do is pester and distract you. By the way, are you dating anybody?"

"What--no! No I am not!" I held up a hoof. "I am not looking for a relationship either, so--why are you even bringing this up?!"

"I figure, if we're stuck here, we should get to know each other."

I couldn't help but stare at her.

"Oh!" She chuckled. "No, I'm not coming on--I'm not flirting. Just saying I'm single. Nooooo romance. No interest. Not that you aren't interesting, it's just that I don't... think I'm in... I don't do the whole dating thing. When I said get to know each other I kind of meant, you know, in a platonic sense--"

"I think I'm going to leave," I grumbled, walking toward the door. "Yep, that's what I'm going to do."

"Wait wait wait--!"

I didn't even look at her as my horn lit up, turning the knob with my magic--

--or, at least, trying to. It rattled in my grip.

With a frown I leaned down, looking at the lock and trying to manipulate it. It felt like trying to shift ice...

"Where is this coming from?"

"Where is what coming from?"

"There's another field in the lock," I explained absently, not looking at Starspinner. "It's not very visible, so... hold on. It's coming from the door?"

"So, wait, the door's magically locked, is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, but that... that doesn't make sense. Magical locks are expensive, I mean this is the palace and all, but why would they activate this lock? Do they know I'm here? Am I being imprisoned?!"

"What time is it?" Starspinner asked casually.

"What?"

"What time is it?"

I glanced at a clock. "It's half an hour till midnight, what's that got to do with anything?"

"So the moon should have set by now?" she asked, glancing upward.

"Well, yes, I suppose. What does that--"

I froze.

The room was lit by grey, faded light. It had been for a while. And now that I thought about it, the shadows on the floor hadn't shifted for a while.

Slowly, unwillingly, I looked up. Up to see the moon.

It was pale, white, untarnished by the outline of a unicorn's head I had grown so used to seeing.

"Oh.... oh."

"Mmmhmm."

I swallowed. "So, Celestia's sister is... Nightmare Moon?

"See, this is the part where I have to say maybe."

I blinked, turning to Starspinner. "What do you mean you have to--?"

"Like I said," she shrugged, "I don't know all the details. There's the question as to whether the lost princess was, in fact, entirely cognizant of herself while in the persona ascribed the title of Nightmare Moon. And I'm pretty certain said persona only vaguely resembles that of the crafted mythos of the holiday known as Nightmare Night. Ergo, simply saying 'yes' is not accurate, and simply saying 'no' is also inaccurate. At the current moment, Celestia's sister is in a persona with the title of Nightmare Moon, but that persona is not the entirety of her existence, nor is it akin to the entity you think you know."

"...Well that's a very thorough answer," I grumbled. "So the palace is on lockdown until this crisis is resolved. Which means all the important rooms, of which this is apparently one, can only be accessed by those with proper rank and authority."

Starspinner blinked. "I mean... I guess? You probably know more about military protocol then me."

I sagged against the door. "Which leaves me trapped here, in a strange room, with no chance of getting out until the lockdown is lifted, at which point I'll be discovered and probably put on trial for grand treason."

"I'm pretty sure this is just breaking and entering."

"This is the palace, it's going to come across as grand treason."

"Well, only if you act like you weren't supposed to be here." Starspinner gave me her 'messing with Moondancer' face again. "If you pretend that you were actually supposed to be here and were utterly shocked at the lockdown, then the guard isn't going to have any reason to arrest you, assuming it's the guard that finds you. They'll even apologize!"

I gave her a look. "Do you really think I can fool the royal guard?"

"It's all a matter of knowing how to say the right thing. Be flustered, be annoyed, be tired, but allow just a touch of understanding to tint your words. Acting is not nearly the same as overacting, after all, you shouldn't mug for a camera that isn't there."

See, that's the thing about Starspinner. She gives very useful advice about things I would never have wanted advice about. It's... aggravating. I don't know why she likes to upend my worldview so much--I mean, maybe it's just out of boredom? I am her primary link to the world, after all. But at the same time a lot of what she does to help me is only necessary because she's the one that gets me into these messes in the first place--and I only listen to her because she keeps managing to convince me, and I really shouldn't be but--

It's a logical loop. That's what it is. I trust her to help me when I really need it, but she uses that trust to get me into situations where I need her help.

"And what if it's not the royal guard?" I demanded. "What if it's some other staff member?"

"Same basic thing."

"What if it's Princess Celestia?!"

Starspinner considered that for a few moments. "I'll give you cues," she finally replied. "I think I can handle it."

"But--!"

"Hey. You look exhausted. Maybe you should get some sleep?"

I glowered at her. "The only reason I'm exhausted is because I have been dealing with YOU all day!"

"True, true. Still." She twirled in the air. "I promise, I'll wake you up when somebody comes to open the door, alright?"

"But--!"

"Look, even if you're not really tired, there's nothing you can do. A little nap certainly won't hurt you. I mean, I guess we could stay up and chat, if you like."

I frowned. "Yeah. We could. We could talk about how you know all this stuff--"

"I already told you, ask me again when the youngest princess takes the throne."

"Would that be Mi Amore Cadenza?"

"Younger then her."

"There are no princesses younger then her!"

Starspinner grinned. "Well.... you're right. Of course."

I groaned. "Great, stuck in here with a ghost. What else could go wrong?"

And in retrospect, that was a really, really stupid thing to ask.