BRNGNGNGNGNG
The sound was piercings and forced the exhausted Starlight Glimmer to open her eyes. Ever since she had moved into the apartment she had been plagued by terrible nightmare flued insomnia. She didn’t know how much longer this would go on, but the pounding aches of sleeplessness had been a reliable companion for the past three weeks.
The source of the offended noise was directly off the bridge of her snout. It was her alarm clock, its two shiny silver cymbals crashing against the metal casing. Starlight groaned and sat up, smacking her hoof down upon the device. It stopped clattering, leaving the room in silence. She blinked repeatedly looking at the time, five, five in the morning.
Starlight rubbed her eyes with the edge of her hoof, clearing away the last lingering vestiges of sleep. With a huff Starlight swung herself off the bed, her hooves connecting with the ground. She yawned loudly and looked around. The first lingering rays of regal sunlight entered her room, lighting up the space.
She walked over to her desk examining the paperwork she had been doing before bed. They were plans, ranging from A to Z, each of them a separate act of treason for merely existing. Starlight picked up Plan C. She multitasked, reading over the plan while at the same time making her bed.
Plan C called for poisoning the punch at the Grand Galloping Gala. Starlight thought about it, it would be simple enough to do. A few leaves from a hemlock plant could kill anything. She also had newspaper clips proving that Princess Twilight and her gang had been in attendance to every single Gala since the return of Luna. However, Starlight was not a huge fan of harming bystanders. As such the plan was shuffled down the alphabet, losing relevance with each letter that was now above it.
Starlight shuffled her notes, shoving them into a folder before depositing that into a drawer. With a click of a tumbler her crimes became safely locked away from any prying eyes.
When Starlight had first arrived in Canterlot she had been amazed by the sheer volume of things to do. Yet less than a month later she had found that every day became routine, with every morning playing out nearly the same. She’d wake up, clear her desk, take a quick trip to the washroom to clean up, and then she was out the door.
Poetic Prose would still be in bed by the time Starlight left, her own shift at the library starting later in the day. This meant that Starlight never really interacted with the mare at home, the two of them having very few overlapping private hours. This suited Starlight just fine. The mare was simply access to a job and roof, nothing more, nothing less.
Upon hitting the streets Starlight would head towards the city core. The maze that she had first encountered was now a series of familiar routes with their own unique landmarks and faces. The most traveled of these routes was the one she took to work.
This early in the morning the city was just getting itself together. The early risers, such as herself, shuffled out of their homes. Each of them looked as sleep deprived as she felt. They all possessed eyes with dark sleepless rings, and moved around like mindless drones.
Starlight soon found herself in the shopping district, though only a couple of places were opened. Those few were either bakeries or convenience stores. Starlight ducked into a small side street and approached a bakery wedged into the first floor of a thin building. It went by the name Cup of Joe.
For every day Starlight had work, she’d stopped into this bakery for breakfast. She had quickly become a regular, which prompted the cashier behind the counter to wave a hoof at her every time she entered. The mare had a greyish-blue coat with a black mane pulled into a bun behind her head.
Starlight trotted over to the mare and flashed her a professional smile. “Good morning, Puzzle Piece.”
Puzzle Piece returned the smile, hers having far more warmth and friendliness to it. “Hey, good morning, Glimmer. What can I get you? Oh let me guess, medium coffee, one cream, two sugar, and a lemon poppy seed muffin.”
That had been Starlight’s same order for the last month. The same thing, to help cement the eerie routine she had imposed upon herself. So, for reasons she couldn’t really justify she decided to change things up.
“Actually how about a blueberry muffin today. I’m feeling adventurous.” Starlight stated allowing her smile to turn into a grin.
This made Puzzle Piece laugh. “Oh-oh, is somepony having a drug test at work today?”
“Drug test? Why would they have a drug test at a library?”
“Well I mean there has to be a reason why you’re not getting a lemon poppy seed muffin.”
“Maybe, I just felt like changing things up. What does a muffin have to do with a drug test anyways?”
“Well I mean; they make painkillers out of poppyseeds. So sometimes eating them can give you a false positive on your drug test.”
“What? That can’t possible be true.”
“Sure it is. How do you think I lost my last job?” Puzzle state before laughing. “Joking, joking, enjoy your meal Glimmer.”
Starlight side stepped as Puzzle Piece address another regular who was standing behind her. From what she could eavesdrop the customer’s name was Honey Bee and he was a comedian.
As Puzzle Piece and Honey Bee chatted, another of the shop’s employees grabbed the muffin and coffee, placing them down on the counter. The employee rang up the purchase and Starlight forked over the couple of bits her breakfast cost.
She levitated the coffee over, taking a massive sip. The first pulse of caffeinated goodness hitting her as she left the bakery. It put a little extra hop in her step as Starlight merged back onto one of the major roads that cut through Canterlot’s core.
She bit into the muffin letting out a satisfied moan. It had been a good choice to try something new. The muffin was the perfect texture, the berries ripened with their sweet juices coating her tongue. She washed down each mouthful with another sip of coffee until only an empty cup and wrapper remained. Both of them were tossed into a nearby garbage can before Starlight cantered towards her job.
By the time Starlight reached the library, the sun had asserted its dominance, ushering away the last bastions of night and replacing it with a glowing dawn.
She walked up the flight of stairs and approached the golden doors leading into the library. They were locked at this early hour but as a librarian she knew the spell to open them.
Without even a pause in her step she advanced. Her horn glowed and a spell gripped the handle to the door. They swung open for her and she walked inside. Upon entering they closed behind her, locking automatically.
The library was an eerie place without its patrons. Libraries were always quiet, but at least when ponies were around Starlight could hear them walking about, flipping pages, and having hushed conversations. Without any of that the only sound that greeted Starlight was the echo of her hooves upon the tile floor.
After her training she had been given the responsibility of getting the library ready for opening. This was a job she was informed, they saved for the newest staff since it involved ponies having to wake up incredibly early in the morning. While Starlight wasn’t fond of the silence she did enjoy the privacy such a position gave her.
She would talk to herself as she worked. Her conversations always being about the same topic, revenge. If any other pony had been around they would have been driven mad long ago by her constant and infinite interest in the topic. However, since the only set of ears in the space were her own, she knew her voice had a captivated audience.
So, Starlight worked while muttering under her breath. The tasks were simple, junior level stuff. She had to empty the bins containing returned books, check them in, and then cross reference the titles with a reserve list.
Any incoming book on that list would be set aside for the first pony who requested each title. Any book that remained afterwards would be placed on a wheeled cart. When the day began Starlight would be responsible for taking that cart and restocking the shelves.
She was usually done about an hour before opening at which point more of the staff would arrive. It was still a skeleton crew containing Poetic Prose, and another of the assistants, but at least it was enough bodies to start creating some ambient noise.
The three of them worked independently as more of the staff trickled in. Five minutes before nine, Poetic Prose called together a pre-work meeting. In it she went over the trivial news of the day. Payday was friday, membership was steady, and the city mayor had seen to it that the library would have funding to buy an additional five hundred novels for the city’s foals.
With the meeting done everypony got to their stations. The library was opening and the first “rush” was about to hit them. Starlight sighed as Poetic unlocked the door and a grand total of three ponies came marching in. Each of them were an elderly unicorn clearly more in need of attention than a good book.
Starlight wasn’t fond of talking with the patrons, so instead she went over to the cart. She gripped it with magic and disappeared amongst the shelves. The library was massive and even though she knew what to do, the shelving would still take her a good bit of time to get done.
Book after book slipped into the vacant gaps in the shelves. Starlight was kind of amazed by the diverse taste the ponies of this city had. She was putting away spell tomes, fiction novels, auto-biographies, and even a picture book full of figs.
Just like she predicted the whole process took her nearly two hours. By that point the cart was down to a dozen or so volumes. All of which needed to be shelved in the main atrium. Those were the shelves that held the newest and most popular books.
As it was unwieldy to push the cart through the atrium, Starlight parked it and scooped up the books with her magic. She then marched into the atrium, making her way around, moving swiftly from bookshelf to bookshelf. By now the atrium had become populated as students and other ponies had begun to wander into the library.
The pile of books embraced by Starlight’s magic began to dwindled until only a couple titles remained. She nearly dropped them as a shrill gasp pierced the library’s silence.
“Oh my gosh! Moondancer is that-” A very familiar voice state before being assaulted from every angle by shushes.
Starlight stared at the figure, her jaw agape at the royal’s presence. Standing in the middle of her place of work, was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Who having been silenced by the mob of library goers made a hasty retreat away from the atrium.
She couldn’t believe her eyes, her magic faltering at the sheer shock of the encounter. Starlight swallowed hard and noticed that one of her coworkers was studying her in a very concerning manner.
“I uh, know that mare.” Starlight said with a nervous grin.
The mare known as Bookmark rolled her eyes. “No kidding? It’s almost like she’s a monarch or something.”
Starlight let out a single amused sound. “Yeah, sorry. I must be star struck, or something.”
“You should have been here like four or five years ago, Twilight used to come in all the time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she moved though.”
“Oh? Where to?”
“Uh some small town called Ponyville. She got a job as the librarian there. You know, before the whole becoming a princess thing. I heard she’s become pretty down to Earth. I’m sure she’d be willing to sign something for you.”
“I wouldn’t want to bother her, she’s probably busy.”
“Suit yourself Starlight.” Bookmark said before shrugging and turning to help a young foal.
Ponyville, the home of Princess Twilight Sparkle. That was a little sliver of information Starlight was eager to get. She’d have to visit this town when she had a chance. Though, she needed to figure out what Twilight was doing in her library first.
The next time Starlight saw her, she was under a purple dome of pure magic within the centre of the library. The dome surrounded a single desk where this Moondancer unicorn was sitting. Twilight obviously had some business with the mare.
She couldn’t help but wonder how Moondancer could possibly know Twilight. Moondancer was a regular to the library and Starlight had only interacted with her a couple times. Those interactions portrayed Moondancer as a bit of a hermit with severe social issues.
The relationship between Twilight and Moondancer while strange also appeared to be rather one sided. Starlight couldn’t help but smirk at how bored and aggravated Moondancer looked at all of Twilight’s advances. Very few words were exchanged between the two before Moondancer shot up a spell of her own and pierced the silencing bubble with a loud pop, prompting another wave of shushes.
Twilight once more fled into the library, hiding herself amongst the rows of books. Starlight decided to follow. She played it safe, making sure to remain a shelf over from Twilight. The shelves were accessible from both sides, and with the strategic removal of a book Starlight would be able to peer into Twilight’s row.
Twilight had fled pretty far into the library when Starlight finally found her. She peered through a gap in the shelf studying the mare. Twilight was just standing their, seemingly deep in concentration.
Starlight smirked. She could end things right here, right now. A well placed spell to remove Twilight’s cutie mark, and then a swift retreat. Canterlot was a big city and she’d be able to disappear. It took a lot of willpower not to do that. Sure it would have been great to destroy Twilight but it would be even greater to take her and her five friends out, all in one mighty swipe.
Starlight kept her eyes on Twilight, replacing one book for another whenever she felt like renewing her cover. She began to notice that Twilight was doing the exact same thing with the shelf across from the one Starlight was using. She’d pick up a book, peer on through the gap it created, then stare at the cover for several moments before finally putting it back.
Time made a slow advance with Starlight watching Twilight spying of what seemed to be an empty row of shelves. Suddenly Twilight slid a book into place and pranced on the spot. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. Whatever she had been waiting for was clearly coming.
A white glow formed on a book a bit to Twilight’s left. She stepped to the side in order to be directly behind it. The book was removed and Twilight leaned in, going nose to nose with Moondancer.
Even with Twilight facing away, Starlight had no trouble hearing her conversation. “I’m really sorry to bother you. I was just hoping that we could go outside and talk for a bit-”
Twilight wasn’t even able to finish the plea before the book was re-insert and Moondancer was gone, shunning her. Starlight nearly whinnied watching her nemesis getting snubbed by a commoner. It was the most entertaining thing she’d watched in years.
Twilight wandered off once more, with Starlight lingering behind. The princess was to engrossed in Moondancer to even notice her own stalker.
Starlight’s espionage went on for a few minutes before Twilight made an intrigued noise. Her little gasp of surprise was followed up by the casting of a spell. Starlight peaked through the bookshelf and noticed that the mare was missing. She grunted and let out a potent sigh. Twilight must have teleported away.
Starlight returned to the front desk and assisted with the midday returns. Canterlot had a busy library and as such there was a constant supply of work to be done. Still even as she performed her tasks, Starlight couldn’t help but stare at Moondancer.
Moondancer did not seem like the type of pony who would garner a royal’s attention. She was a complete and utter dork. She presented herself in an unkempt manner with overgrown eyebrows and a scattered mane. She was so distant and antisocial, and seemed to prefer her studies over interacting with other ponies. Maybe that was their relationship, Twilight needed information and knew that Moondancer was well versed in the field.
Starlight shrugged it off and went back to her duties. That is, until a scream came from Moondancer. The mare slammed her book shut and was for the third time told to shut her trap by the surrounding patrons. She then looked at her book, re-opened it, and began to have a hushed discussion with the pages.
An oddity like that only managed to pique Starlight’s interest. She watched from the corner of her eye as the discussion became rather theatrical. Finally, the book erupted with a flash of light and Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the pages. Starlight’s jaw hit the counter at the shock of what she just saw. She turned to her left and right, her co-workers seemingly neither impressed or aware at the feat of magic.
The duo of Twilight and Moondancer talked for a moment before the two headed for the exit. Starlight looked at the mare to her left and shot her a smile.
“Hey I’m going for my lunch break. Do you uh mind covering for me?”
The mare nodded and waved a hoof. Starlight looked at the door, waiting for Twilight to exit. Once she was gone Starlight waited several seconds longer before teleporting for the door, and stepping outside.
Starlight had timed it perfectly with her exiting the building just in time to see Twilight descend the final step. Twilight was engrossed in conversation with Moondancer, seemingly completely unaware of her surroundings.
With a roll of her eyes Starlight let out an amused snort. How had no one even attempted to assassinate her yet, it didn’t even seem all that difficult.
Starlight began to follow, making sure to trail behind at quite the distance. Now that it was noon the number of ponies on the street had exploded with hundreds rushing around in every direction. This supplied Starlight with the perfect cover, giving her an endless supply of bodies to put between herself and Twilight.
Thankfully they were in Canterlot. A city where most of the inhabitants were unicorns. In Canterlot, Starlight would be just another unicorn. Twilight, however, would always be a sore thumb in a crowd. Her regal body marking her as the special little snowflake she was.
Moondancer and Twilight trotted along at a rather casual pace making it easy for Starlight to follow. The three of them weaved through the crowd pressing towards the majestic white wall of Canterlot. Their destination was a series of pristine spires that dotted the grounds of Canterlot University.
As they made their way closer to the campus the crowd of ponies began to thin. This would make Starlight easier to spot if Twilight were actually bothering to look. Thankfully, she hadn’t turned her head once.
The campus of Canterlot university was an incredible sight. It was a mixture of clashing architectural styles, with different buildings being built dozens of generation apart. Gothic structures made of stone stood next to their modern counterparts constructed from steel and glass. Intermingled among the buildings were ponies of all ages talking, walking, and discussing their fields of interest. The campus also had some of the largest stretches of green space that Starlight had ever seen within Canterlot.
Starlight had to fall farther and farther back as the crowd continued to thin, until finally she stood alone. Her heart hammered in her chest as Twilight turned around. Starlight stared right into her eyes. She thought that Twilight had noticed her, but to her relief those eyes stared right through her as she swept a hoof over the campus saying something apparently funny to Moondancer.
They giggled for a bit before Twilight turned back around, continuing her tour of the campus. Starlight had to be more careful with her hunt. In lieu of ponies, she began ducking behind trees and shrubs. This prompted ponies to give her strange looks. Though once they saw who she was following, they simply rolled their eyes and continued on. Some ponies were just crazy for princesses after all.
The tour ended near the edge of the campus. Where the only buildings around were storage shed, and the offices of long forgotten faculty members. Among all the drab and grey was a single tower.
It looked far more exotic then its neighbours. It had a dark blue base which leapt skywards in the form of a marble white tower. At the very top of which, was an onion shaped golden roof. A spiraling walkway clung to the outside, leading to the very top of the structure.
Twilight and Moondancer ascended the walkway, climbing higher and higher. Once they were about halfway up Starlight made her own trek upwards. She peered through the many ornate windows while performing the hike
Inside the structure was a home, though one that looked long abandoned. Cobwebs clung to the furniture, and a thick layer of dust seemed to have settled on practically every surface. Whatever this place may have been, it had clearly been left in squalor long ago.
When Starlight finally made it to the very top of the tower she felt winded, the ascent having robed her of energy. The view from this high up was spectacular. The campus of Canterlot university spread out around her. It was massive, though even it eventually clashed with the far larger city that swallowed it whole. It was like a green boat in a sea of grey.
There was a single door at the very top and Starlight pressed her ear against it. She attempted to listening to whatever conversation the two may be having inside. Though, not a single sound reached her. She growled loudly and let out a pent up huff of aggression. She began to pace, wondering what type of valuable conversation the two were having away from her prying ears.
She waited and waited, the minutes slowly rolling by, until finally a white aura clung to the door. Starlight instantly pulled herself to the side, pressing tightly against the wall. The door flung open nearly smacking her on the snout. Moondancer walked out, though only a few step before turning and looking back over her shoulder.
“You’ll teach me Hayscartes’ method?” Moondancer ask.
“Yes, but only if you come to dinner.” Twilight responded from outside of Starlight’s view.
Moondancer paused staying silent for a moment before sighing. “Where and when?”
“Seven tonight at the Royal Hoof. The reservation is under Twilight Sparkle.”
Starlight smirked, it was rare that she had plans for dinner. She’d have to book a reservation on the way back to work.
“Alright, I’ll come. I’ll see you later Twilight.”
“See you later Moondancer.”
Even before Moondancer had a chance to close the door Starlight leapt into action. She teleported under the walkway, and held herself in a hover. She looked down, swallowing hard. A rock began to form in her gullet. Even if she could fly, it didn’t mean she was exactly comfortable with the process.
Starlight could hear the other unicorn above her, noisily walking down the steps. Moondancer was muttering under her breath. She was clearly not a fan of being blackmailed into going to dinner. In fact, she seemed to downright despise Twilight for holding a new spell over her.
Starlight followed her from under the stairs until her hooves hit bare ground. She paused for a moment waiting for the unicorn to get further ahead. Starlight then began to follow her.
This pursuit was far easier to accomplish due to the fact that Moondancer had no idea who she was. To Moondancer, Starlight was just another mare. Plus, she seemed to be focused on her angst filled lamenting.
They left the campus after awhile, and entered into a nearby neighbourhood. This one looked pretty residential with housing units standing row by row. They walked along an elm tree clad street until they stopped in front of a dilapidated little shack.
The shack stood out for two glaringly different reasons. First it looked like something an ogre would live in on the edge of a swamp. Secondly, it had been one of the few homes Starlight had seen that housed a single pony. She found herself both jealous and repulsed by Moondancer’s abode.
Starlight blew air into her cheek as she walked on by. An alarmed expression washed over her face. She was nearing the end of her lunch break.
The trip back to work was uneventful, with only a brief detour taken to slot in a reservation at the Royal Hoof. For the rest of her shift she was zoned out, simply wasting away the hours with shelving and other repetitive tasks. No pony approached her, nor did she really want to interact with any of them if they did. When she finally came back to reality it was three in the afternoon and her shift was over.
The next three hours went by rather slowly, with her wasting time walking through the city. By six forty-five she found herself in front of the restaurant.
It was a luxurious place in a well off neighbourhood. The streets were clean, and all of the buildings were free of even the most minute flaw. Ponies dressed in the finest of attire marched to and fro eager to dine, dance, and in general be around the best that Canterlot had to offer.
Starlight felt strangely naked, an odd sensation for an equine. She walked into the restaurant and felt her jaw tighten. The place looked straight out of an aristocratic painting. Fine tables surrounded by velvety chairs filled the rich looking space. Fine drapes hung from the windows and expensive looking decorations coated the walls, tables, and lights. This was going to be an expensive evening.
A waiter dressed in a fine looking suit stood behind a pedestal. He observed Starlight with wary expression.
“I’m sorry, but we are not hiring at the moment.” The waiter said with his nose turned upwards.
Starlight raised an eyebrow, and responded with a hint of edge in her voice. “I have a reservation at six-fifty, its under Starlight Glimmer.”
The waiter blushed and cleared his throat. He briefly looked at the sheet of paper on his pedestal confirming that she was in fact a client and not a job seeker. “My apologizes madam. Where are my manners? If you would please follow me.”
The waiter led her over to a small table near the back of the room. It overlooked the whole restaurant, including a large table in the middle surrounded by six empty seats.
The waiter pulled out a chair and Starlight sat upon it offering him a cold smile. He looked sheepish, offering her a menu and listed off the specials for the evening.
“Can I interest you in anything to drink madam?”
“A glass of the nine eighty-three Canterlot Merlot if you would.”
It was the first thing listed on the wine menu.
He gave a curt nod and walked away, leaving Starlight alone.
A few more minutes passed before every conversation in the room halted. Starlight peered from behind her menu watching as Princess Twilight Sparkle entered with an entourage following at her heels. The princess sat down with her friends, and began to converse.
There were six of them at the table. Two of them were the familiar faces of Twilight and Moondancer. Mingled among them were three other unicorn mares. One was cream coloured with a pink mane, the second was yellow with a blue mane, and finally the last was a mare made up of various shades of blue. The most peculiar figure was a little purple and green dragon.
Not a single member of the party cast Starlight even a wayward glance, it was like nothing existed outside of their little bubble.
The waiter returned with the glass of wine.
“Have you decided on a meal madam?”
Starlight glanced through the menu swiftly, picking the first thing she saw.
“I will have the eggplant loaf with a side of three carrot soup. Thank you.”
The waiter nodded and made a grab for the menu. Starlight held onto it firmly, warding off the waiter’s magic.
“I would like to hold onto the menu thank you very much.”
She was given a strange look but the waiter decided to leave her be, he was already in deep water after all.
Twilight’s group began to talk while idly sifting through their own menus. The talk was mostly centered around events and developments in their own lives. Moondancer was pretty silent during the whole thing only giving short answers when directly prompted. Starlight wasn’t the queen of small talk, but even she would have made better conversation for Twilight.
They ordered their own meals, before slipping back into conversation. This time putting Twilight under the microscope, what was it like being a princess and what not. Twilight deflected most of the questions trying her best to get the attention on Moondancer. Starlight had no idea why. Even if they had at one point been good friends it was obvious that Moondancer was not enjoying herself.
Their first course arrived, with each of them being presented with a platter of grilled vegetables.
The mare with several shades of blue in her mane decided to turn to Moondancer and ask a question. “So uh, what are you studying these days?”
Moondancer responded with an almost aggressive curtness. “Science, magic, history, economics, poetry, things like that.”
Starlight’s ears perked up. Magic was a wide range of fields. Knowing how much Moondancer studied meant that the mare probably had a stronger theoretical understanding of magic than Starlight. She would have to look into that later.
The blue mare laughed. “Yowzah, you planning on being a professor of something?”
“No.”
“So you’re just studying?”
“Can I go now?” Moondancer asked, flashing Twilight a glare.
Starlight smirked, her magic curling at the edges of the menu. She was liking this mare, a lot. Anypony who could aggravate Princess Twilight was a friend of hers.
“Moondancer, please.” Twilight said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
“It’s alright Twilight. We’re having a good time. Right everypony?” The blue one said gesturing to the yellow, and cream coloured unicorns. Both of whom shrugged and made an uncommitted noise.
“So uh Spike. Tell Moondancer the story about how Twilight had to read a book about doing a sleepover.” The blue mare said.
The dragon, Spike, raised a claw only to be cut off by Moondancer. “Slumber 101? I’ve read that.”
Twilight laughed nervous. “Oh really? Well uh did you know Lemonhearts here works at the Canterlot Palace?
The yellow mare, Lemonhearts, replied awkwardly. “Ah yeah, it’s true. I do the big events mostly. State dinners, that sort of thing.”
Starlight smirked and cocked an eyebrow from behind the menu. She would need to pay this Lemonhearts a visit sometime. You could never tell when getting access to the palace could come in handy.
Starlight watched as Moondancer didn’t respond and the rest of the table chuckled nervously. Moondancer instead bolted to her hooves and began to trot away. A noise of disgust fell from her lips.
Twilight stood up and held out a hoof, trying to stop Moondancer. Though she didn’t call out, seeming at a loss for words. She apologized to her friends before disappearing in a cloud of magic.
The meal continued on in a rather tense manner. The three unicorns exchanged small talk about how awkward that situation had been. When Twilight returned, she just seemed drained, and the groups conversation slowed to a half-hearted crawl.
When each of them was finished eating Twilight requested the bill, paying for it by herself.
“I’m so sorry girls.” Twilight mumbled, seemingly unable to meet their gaze.
“Hey its not your fault.” The blue mare said.
“Yeah, Moondancer was just…..” Lemonheart went on trying to find a polite way of putting it.
“Weird,” the cream coloured mare finished.
Twilight shook her head, leaving the restaurant with her friends.
After her own meal was finished, Starlight left the restaurant with a smile. Two useful tidbits of information had been uncovered. First, Moondancer was well studied in magic, and secondly, Lemonhearts had access to the palace. She would need to pay them both a visit. Since Starlight already knew where Moondancer’s hovel was she decided to get that out of the way tonight.
The hovel looked the same now as it had during the day. It was small, overrunned with filth, and in general an eyesore on the otherwise perfect city. Starlight approached the door and hammered her hoof upon it.
A groan came from inside, as a pony stomped towards the door.
“I swear to Celestia if that’s you Twilight. I told you too-” The door swung open and Moondancer stopped, her voice softening by only a hair. “Oh. What do you want?”
“May I come in?” Starlight asked with a smile.
“No.”
Starlight’s vision narrowed and the tip of her horn glowed. “I really suggest you let me inside Moondancer.”
“How did you know-” Moondancer paused and stumbled back allowing Starlight enough room to advance.
Starlight entered the home, closing the door behind herself. Moondancer cried out and struck out with a bolt of raw magic. Starlight brought up a barrier and easily deflect it. The deflection sent the bolt hurtling into a dilapidated couch. The couch exploded sending pieces of moldy wood and stained fabric showering in every direction.
The mare may have had an incredible theoretical grasp on magic, but in practice she was as weak as a foal. Moondancer readied herself for another spell, but Starlight simply smirked and encased the tip of her foe’s horn with a layer of raw magic. The spell caused the layer to harmlessly balloon outwards by a few inches.
A magical glow began to taper off of Starlight’s horn sending a glowing cloud towards Moondancer. The cloud filled her nostrils, entering her form. Moondancer spasmed for a moment before her eyes glossed over and she stared blankly at the wall.
Starlight smirked and paced around Moondancer’s home. It was filled to the brim with books, resting on shelves, tables, and even staked into haphazard towers on the floor. It was like a scene from her nightmare.
“Hello Moondancer.”
“Hello.” A distant voice replied.
“My name is Starlight Glimmer,”
“Starlight Glimmer.”
“and you are going to help me.”
“Help you.”
“Very good, so simple question. Why do you hate Twilight Sparkle?”
“She left me behind.”
“Left you behind?”
“Yes, when she went to Ponyville. She left me behind without saying good bye.”
“Do you know why she left you behind?”
“The Princess ordered her to do it.”
“Well that is just awful of her. Don’t you just hate when ponies come into your life, and then leave? Ripping you heart out while doing so.”
Moondancer blinked, so Starlight went on.
“Tell me Moondancer, do you know of a spell which would allow me to be as powerful as an alicorn?”
“There is no such spell.”
“Is there anything that would allow that?”
“The alicorn amulet, that would enhance your magic a hundred fold.”
A smile crawled across Starlight’s lips. A hundred fold wouldn’t just make her stronger than Twilight, it’d make her stronger than all the princesses.
“And where is this alicorn amulet.”
“In the possession of Princess Celestia and hidden away in her private vault.”
“Do you know where that vault is?”
“Only rumours.”
“What do the rumours say?”
“That it’s on the moon.”
“Well shit,” Starlight blew air into her cheek. “Do you know of anyway to defeat Twilight Sparkle?”
“Time travel.”
“Excuse me?”
“You could use Time Travel. Twilight ascended to alicornhood. If you can go back in time and stop that, then she will remain a unicorn.”
“And is there a spell for that.”
“Yes.”
“Where is located.”
“The royal archives at the palace.”
“What is the spell called.”
“The spell is unnamed but it was written by Starswirl the Bearded.”
Starlight smiled. “Well thank you Moondancer. You’ve been very helpful.”
“Helpful.” Moondancer replied distantly.
“When I leave your home you will fall asleep. When you wake up it’ll be like this little talk never happened.”
“Never happened.”
“Very good. Have a good night Moondancer.”
“Good night Starlight.”