//------------------------------// // The 50th // Story: Student of Friendship // by zalla661 //------------------------------// Starlight was worried. She was in a strange world, she had no way of contacting Twilight, and she really wished she listened to the sign on the door. She looked down at her arms. Cuffed by hoof cuffs around her newly deformed appendages. She wiggled the long things at the end of her hooves. She believed Spike called them, ‘claws’. Yet they were different from his. For one thing they were larger than his for sure. The talons on them were dull and round not sharp. Yet the strangest thing was the fact she had no fur. She had tail. Her mane was slightly different. Yet the worst thing of all was the fact she had no horn and no magic. She was truly naked in this strange world. She had no defense for herself and she had no idea how to walk. She felt like a foal. Vulnerable. She looked to her captor who was busy controlling this strange caged carriage. Occasionally Starlight would hear another voice come from the carriage and the other being would answer sometimes. What Starlight did know was she was being taken to a local police department. While equestria still relied heavily on the Royal Guard and the Wonderbolts, local law enforcement had become more common within the last twenty years. In Equestria every major city had police ponies. In this strange world it seemed they existed here too. Perhaps she could talk to these ‘police ponies’ and get them to understand that this whole thing was a misunderstanding. *Guess I’ll be putting my friendship lessons to the test.* She thought looking at her captor. The carriage pulled into a dark underground facility where several similar carriages were lined up side by side. Some were like the one she was in, small compact and sleak. Others were large and bulk easily able to hold up to twenty strong. Then there was a special section where a few of these carriages seemed to be under more protection than the others. Starlight didn’t have enough time to look at all the wondrous things here. The carriage pulled up between two others and stopped. Starlight watched as her captor reached for a small box and pushed a button with his opposable claw and spoke into it. “Dispatch I have that 428 Captain Armor called in,” He said holding the box in his hand. Moments later Starlight heard the disembodied voice respond again making her jump slightly. “10-4, 34. Bring her in and we’ll book her.” “10-4.” The man replied replacing the box. Getting out he made his way to Starlight’s door and opened it. He suddenly grabbed her roughly and pulled her out, taking care to watch her head as she exited. “Come on you. We don’t got all day,” He said pulling her along, slamming the door shut with his leg. “Ah! Alright I’ll cooperate! Just let me go!” Starlight pinned struggling against his firm grasp. The officer suddenly tightened his grip around Starlights arm making a sharp pain drive through her arm. “Ah! Alright! Alright! Please loosen your grip, that hurts!” Starlight cried out. He didn’t respond. Instead he continued to lead her roughly through the complex until they reached the main precinct. Starlight looked around to see several others like the officer who was handling her. They were all shapes, sizes, and color, just like ponies were. Each wore the same dark blue uniforms with golden badges on their chests. Many were in small cubicles doing paperwork. Others were handling other’s in cuffs like Starlight wore, and some just stood about. Starlight was taken to an isolated room where a single officer was behind a concrete stall writing on some papers where she noticed the two approaching. “Officer Candy. Is this the 428, Shining called in?” The woman asked giving Starlight a disgusted look. “Yes, this is the one,” Starlight’s captor said, guiding her to the wall to the right of the stall. After some questions were asked and answered between the officers Starlight was taken into another room where her pictures were taken. Two side shots, and one mug shot, she determined. After which she discovered her appendages were called, ‘fingers’ when she was having them marked with ink and pressed on paper, leaving black marks behind. All the while she remained silent and did nothing to provoke the two officers. She hoped this would all brush over quickly if she cooperated. That is until she heard what the two officers were talking about once her prints were done. Something about her fingerprints brought up something that made the two officers happy. “So, that’s it,” The female officer said, closing a file and placed it in a large filing cabinet. The male officer looked to his friend and gestured to Starlight with a his thumb, “Should we tell the, Captain?” The female officer looked to Starlight with a cruel smile. She then leaned back in her chair and lowered her hat over her eyes like she was about to take a nap. “Nah, let Shining Armor call this one in,” She said looking  at the male officer. “Besides, I think the Captain would love to see we caught the ever so elusive Glimmer Groper.” The female officer got up out of her seat and walked over to Starlight. She lifted up an arm like she was about to punch Starlight in the face. When the fist flew forward, Starlight clenched her eyes shut waiting for the inevitable pain that’d follow. Feeling nothing she opened her eyes to see the arm right past her face. She followed the length of it to meet the female officer's eyes. There was nothing but cold loathing behind those emerald eyes. In that moment Starlight knew she was not getting off easy. The woman looked Starlight over once, sticking her tongue out like she was appalled by the very sight of Starlight. “Your kind make me sick,” She said taking Starlight by the shoulders and pulled her along to an area of cells. “Your sick. Preying on young children like that. Well, Diane will probably get along with you well.” With that said Sterling was shoved into a cell where another prisoner was in a long coat with the collar up, a blue hat with a silver horseshoe pin above the rim, and tan slacks. Most notably of the stranger was her puffy pink hair that extended down to the bench they sat on. Starlight panicked and quickly turned around to try and escape,but she was stopped by the cell barred door closing on her. “Wait! I didn’t do anything!” Starlight cried out reaching for the officer, who quickly backed away. “I’m innocent!” “Yeah, sure you are.” The officer turned and walked away. Starlight sighed slumping down on the bench opposite to the other prisoner. She choked back a sob trying hard not to cry. The person next to her looked over to her. Her face was covered by her upright collar. Starlight was afraid of what would happen to her so she said nothing to the stranger. As luck would have it, she didn’t have to say anything the stranger decided it was time to talk. “Rough day, huh?” The stranger said from under her hat. Starlight curled up against the cell wall, holding her legs against her chest, wrapping her arms around them like a protective shield. “Yeah, rough… What’s your story?” Starlight asked the stranger. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” The stranger replied, turning away from Starlight. “Hah, yeah same here,” Starlight replied. “I came here through a portal mirror of sorts and now I have no idea where I am, what I am, and these police ponies, erm things, seem to think I’m some sort of predator or something.” At the word ponies the stranger glanced over to Starlight with interest. Starlight noticed this and scooted up against the wall with a shocked expression. “You stay away from me you creep,” She threatened the stranger. The stranger shot forward sliding seamlessly to Starlight’s side and pressed her nose against hers. There was a creepy, yet strangely familiar looking smile on the woman’s face. Yet Starlight couldn’t think of where. *Come to think of it, this pony looks very familiar and sounds familiar too.* Starlight thought. Suddenly the stranger blurted out happily in a high pitched voice,”Oh, silly! I’m not a pony now! I’m human!” Starlight sighed allowing her body to ease from the high tension. “Oh, right sorry about-” Starlight paused allowing her brain to process what she just heard. Something didn’t click right with what she heard. She heard and understood human, she figured the stranger was referring to their current forms, but the fact the stranger said ‘pony’ caught her attention then, “Wait minute!” Starlight exclaimed pointing to the stranger. “How did you know I thought that!? Unless… no way…” Starlight looked at the stranger wide eyed as she removed her hat and lowered her coats collar. Revealing a face of all smiles and bubbly laughter that the former unicorn had come to know all too well. For a brief moment Starlight clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. Then suddenly without thinking she flailed her arms out and screamed, “WHY ARE YOU HERE?!”