Iris Strike: Sealed Power

by hujan86

BLOOD MOON

It was late evening in Illumina. Rainbow Dash and Cadenza both lay in the midst of a broad field of bloomed flowers, gazing at the clouds awash with pink hue drifting up in the sky.

“Still,” the princess said, “you have progressed further than I could ever hope to achieve myself.”

“Doesn’t change the fact I’m so average,” Rainbow Dash responded sullenly. “Are they really gonna let someone with such a mediocre talent into Magic Arts?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Cadence said, her tone prompted the younger Pegasus to turn her sights away from the clouds, “having the spark alone already makes you very special. No other Pegasus can perform magic like the way you do.”

“You still think I can make a big impact like you said I would?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Cadence said, “There’s a saying, a small stone can trigger an avalanche if it falls in the right place. Have patience and have faith. With hard work and proper guidance, you shall succeed. One day when you’re ready, you will help inspire future generation of young Pegasus to realize their true potential, thereby marking the first step in restoring our race to its former glory.”

Rainbow Dash looked back up at the sky. She closed her eyes, relishing at the thought. If things go well, chances are her name and story might appear in History of Magic textbook for the future generations to read, making her of equal prominence as the likes of Star Swirl, Hayscartes and Meadowbrook- perhaps even surpassing them. Who knows?

“I believe in you, Rainbow Dash,” the princess affirmed.

The moment did not last long. A stern voice jolted them out of their daydream.

“Hey!” shouted a Pegacorn. “Get out of there this instance! Didn’t they teach how to read in school!?”

The public park employee, whose name is Pony-Berserker, stood on the cobblestoned path, his finger at the sign that reads: BE CONSIDERATE. DON’T WALK THROUGH THE FLOWERS.

The panicked princess bolted to her feet, pulling Rainbow Dash up with her. “Oh, we are so busted!”

“But Cadence, you’re the princess. Can’t you-”

“What, you mean to say I can openly use my position as an excuse to get away from breaking a municipal law? Be serious! Crissy’s going to kill me if she finds out about this! Now come on!”

They flew out of there, having got away with it at the end because the dimwitted Pegacorn was busy writing a fine. When he was done, he hastily tore off the paper and to his dismay found himself presenting the fine to thin air.

“What the buck!? No, not again!” Pony-Berserker went on his knees, fists up high in anger. “Curse all of you delinquents who seem to always get away with everything!”

***

Rogue tracked the small blip from the first moment it appeared on radar. The flight-capable Ryoko Asakura was passing over Snively’s province in the return journey from Prower-sanctioned Suppression Squad ops at Grand Forest. Whether it was a success or another failure, she did not know.

But she did notice the beading of the blip looked off. It was not heading out to the west nor the military base from where it departed in the first place, but instead it appeared to be heading in the direction of Prower’s province. Later, she reported the findings to her superior.

Snively leaned back on his chair, weighing the information.

“There is something suspicious going on inside that villa,” he intoned, to which his secretary agreed.

“According to my source,” the latter said, “D’Coolette has expressed his distrust but was ignored by Her Majesty. He harbors suspicions that the kid might be the one behind the divulging of classified intel to Rebel Underground.”

“The recent bombing?”

“Perhaps he wants to make D’Coolette look bad,” Rogue offered her opinion on the motive. “There appears to be a rift going on for quite some time between him and his former comrades.”

“There is only one way to prove whether he is guilty or not,” Snively stated with resolution. “We should give Patch a big hand in his investigation.”

He took a bottle of red wine and a crystal tumbler from the drawer.

“We remove Prower from the picture,” the viceroy continued, pouring the wine into the tumbler. “Once that is accomplished, I have a couple of friends in mind who would make a worthy replacement for the poor sap.”

“What do I get in return for the engagement of this extra service?” A bold demand from a someone who holds no position of power.

Yet Snively was well aware of his secretary’s capability in information gathering. The viceroy held up the half-full tumbler at her.

“My dear, just name your price,” he said, with a self-satisfied smirk.

Fiona had finished all her work for the day, but there is still twenty minutes left before closure time. So she took her time reminiscing her past relationship with Miles. The photos scrolling across the monitor screen were all taken together as a couple on their past dates. It turned out Prower do- or rather, did have a soft side underneath his serious exterior. The only time Prower has ever shown that part of him was when he was spending quality time with his girlfriend. But that was all in the past now.

Utmost anger and heartbroken was what she felt when their broke up abruptly, a unilateral decision made on Mile’s part. Yet her love for the young viceroy has not fade completely. Otherwise, she would not have stayed on to work for him, and those photos should have been deleted long ago.

Switching off her computer afterwards when the clock struck six, she got up ready to leave the office but then came what sounded like a jet engine followed by something landing with a heavy thud outside. The front doors swung open to reveal two humanoid figures she did not recognize.

“What the hell!?” Fiona exclaimed, baffled how the intruders managed to bypass the Mechanaut guards. “How on Moebius did you get in!?”

Asakura ignored her and proceeded to carry Nagato inside.

After pressing the silent alarm button located under her desk, Fiona pulled a gun on them. “Stop where you are!”

“Stand down, Fiona,” Prower.

She obeyed albeit reluctantly. Asakura brought up her senpai to the viceroy.

“What’s wrong with her?” Prower asked upon seeing Nagato’s condition.

“She was hit by Dark Magic.”

“Then it’s beyond my expertise.”

“There must be something you can do for onee-sama,” Asakura implored. “You must help her!”

“Follow me into my lab,” Prower said after giving it a thought.

Only then Fiona recognized the face of ‘adolescent girl’ being carried away by her peer.

“Miss Fox, you may leave,” Prower said. “I’ve disabled the silent alarm and will notify them a false alarm was triggered. Now, have a pleasant evening.”

Those two aren’t Overlanders, Fiona figured on her way out the gate. What are they?

Maybe she will be able to find out soon enough.

Rainbow Dash carefully got off from the examination table after putting her shirt and jacket back on. Dr. Kintobor’s confirmed from the x-rays that she incurred neither displaced joints nor broken bones to the shoulder, despite the force from her attacker’s knee strike.

“How’s the woman doing?” she asked Arial who just came into the examination room

“Mika? She insisted that she didn’t need to be looked at.”

“That’s crazy talk!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed exasperatingly. “Didn’t you see how big the gash is!? The blade that made it was like nearly six inches long!”

“What…gash?” Arial was genuinely confused.

“On the left thigh,” Rainbow Dash replied, the hummingbird’s reaction baffled her. “How could you’ve missed it?”

Arial shook her head. “There aren’t any apparent wounds that I could see. Besides, I’ve already asked if she was sure. She said she just needed rest, a glass of water and nothing more.”

No wounds!? You kidding! “I saw it with own eyes,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “Where is she now?”

“Out in the lounge.”

“Take it easy!” Kintobor warned the Pegasus of her untreated shoulder. “Wait, Rainbow Dash!”

It was too late, as she had already stormed through the swing double doors. Shortly after, they heard Rainbow Dash crying out in pain.

“Can I get you another glass of water?” Zach asked.

Lying on the couch, Godslayer Kurogane declined with a mild shook her head. She looked in agony from holding in the pain as the SHADE worked on healing the deep wound in her thigh.

It was unfortunate but still Zach was thankful that Mika’s injury was not as serious. Things could have gone far worse, as is the case of May and him, wherein they both had sustained life-threatening injuries in their respective battles.

Rainbow Dash and Kintobor came shortly afterwards. True to Arial’s words, Rainbow Dash found to her disbelief that the gash on the female Godslayer’s thigh had gone. She tried to inquire about it but Zach told her that they should talk somewhere else because Mika needs time of peace and quiet to cope with her injury.

The blue feline explained without delving too much into the technical details about the armor’s built-in emergency protocol, how the unique crystalline material that make up the bodysuit’s fibers act an adjuvant to the body tissues’ regenerative capability to speed up the healing process.

Kintobor immediately caught it, whereas Rainbow Dash took time to digest the explanation.

She is satisfied nonetheless and so decided to ask Zach about Iris Dashiell, “Are you familiar with someone by that name?”

The feline’s reaction confirmed it for her. “She’s alive?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “She’s safe, hidden. Thanks to me, though she can’t remain in Crystal Empire for long. So I got a plan. Well, actually not so much a real plan but I think it’s a safe bet that I can get her here without getting noticed by the border guards.”

“Thank you,” Zach said gratefully. Finally, the weight on his shoulders lifted. “Really, I can’t say it enough.”

“Heh, don’t mention it. Oh by the way,” Rainbow Dash said and went on to describe a pony whom Zach recognize as who could only be his Field Master.

“Oh, crap,” Zach said. “Was she captured?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said. “But if that’s the case, then there’s nothing I can do to help. I wish I could, but I don’t want to be accused of treason, you know?”

That doesn’t make sense, Zach thought. There’s no way someone like Forte could so easily be caught. Then again, why isn’t she here yet? She’s not even answering her COM. That’s not like her.

During nearly every mission, fate tends to put Forte’s lance through ‘hell of a mess’ type of situations. At the end, he acknowledged that he could not ask more from Rainbow Dash than what she is willing to give. He could only hope his Field Master is still somewhere out there all right, and that she will pull it through somehow- better without having to take Crystal Empire’s forces apart.

Kintobor had spent a good portion of the evening thoroughly reviewing his latest research notes for the final time. Later, he started work on synthesizing an antidote from all the ingredients Arial had helped prepare earlier. In what is the latest of many attempts to treat Rosy’s illness, it had taken all night to finish what he hoped is the definitive cure. However, before the antidote can be administered to Rosy, it is standard requirement that it needs to undergo tests for its efficacy on blood samples taken from the pink hedgehog, which will take a day or two to complete.

Zach sat next to the bedside, quietly looking down at his former Proctor, still unconscious. Patricia’s condition saddened him greatly. All those intravenous insertions looked very painful to him. Her breathing was irregular as though she was struggling for air.

It is a possibility that the Spirit Godslayer would not be able to see action against the Monster and its Guardians since it would take months, probably up to a year, for the wounds to completely heal. Zach really felt bad for unable to avenge her, since one of the constructs that did this to her had survived the assault by him and Alkarin. If the Moebians had gained Nanite tech to resume the Monster’s construction, they surely would find a means to get Nagato repaired.

He looked up at the clock on the wall. It was a quarter past midnight- less than an hour before switching turn with the Ensign in guarding the generators outside the dome force field. He got up and left but not before reciting a short prayer for Patricia.

On his way out, he encountered Rainbow Dash who was getting herself settled on the couch in the lounge area.

“Dude, this is where you sleep?” He kept his voice low so as not to disturb Godslayer Kurogane whom is sleeping on the other couch.

“No,” Rainbow Dash replied in the same manner. “I usually sleep at the clubhouse. But I’m too pooped right now to follow Arial back.”

“Hey wait,” she prompted the feline not to leave yet. “Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened to your friend there. There was…a confusion. I mean, I didn’t know which side is which.”

“It’s not your fault,” Zach assured her. “You got nothing to apologize.”

Relief came over Rainbow Dash. “But, what I don’t understand is, the Suppression Squad supposedly had given up a long time ago. Why the resurgence of interest all of a sudden?”

Zach regarded the Pegasus. “You’re from Crystal Empire, right? You familiar with something called Riddle’s Codex?”

How-? That’s supposed to be top secret. “No,” Rainbow Dash lied, careful not to let the feline detect her reaction.

“What about Precursor Artifacts?”

“Stuffs of legends,” Rainbow Dash replied indifferently. “Magical objects of powerful nature... It is said that whoever possesses one of the artifacts, he or she will be bestowed unlimited power. But seriously, there’re way too many versions of the tales surrounding them for me to remember all the details.”

“Apparently someone out there thinks it’s real,” Zach notified her. “Those guys were trying to find a way in because one is believed to be hidden someplace here in Grand Forest. And somehow they also knew about your queen looking for the artifacts, the same they are.”

How could they know? Rainbow Dash wondered.

Then it dawned on her. If the enemy somehow knew about the codex, then they must have someone spying on Starlight Glimmer. That would mean the Crystal Peace Tower project is now in jeopardy.

Tried hard as he possibly could but Prower could not comprehend the data that came up on the screen.

“Well?”

The fox turned towards Asakura.

“The exact cause of her erratic behavior could not be pinpointed,” he informed the construct. “None of the data returned by the diagnostics scan stacks up.”

Subsequently, neither of them spoke for a while. The construct Asakura was such in a moody state, it is clearly written on her face, a far cry from her carefree disposition.

“There is one method I could attempt,” Prower said, breaking the silence at last.

“I am listening.”

“Your artificial neural architecture isn’t so much different from a biological brain. If you agree, I can build her another body, with an endoskeleton modified to work seamlessly in tandem with the same nanomachines that you four are composed of. Of course, should the ‘mental pattern’ transfer process be a success, keep in mind that the new body is by no means an improvement over the original.”

Asakura weighed the option presented to her.

“Wakaru,” she said at last and went out the lab’s door.

When Rainbow Dash woke up first thing in the morning, she found that the female Godslayer was no longer there at the couch. But she did not think much it. Getting back to Illumina by today was her main concern. So after cleaning herself up, she headed out to Tank’s workshop where he makes and repairs Extreme Gears. Upon arrival, she found that Mika is there as well.

Tank was showing the Godslayer a small alloy plate in his hand. “I’ve exhausted every possible combinations and ratios I could think of. This is the closest I can get it to match the required strength and density. But temperature wise…”

Godslayer Kurogane nodded her understanding. “It’ll have to do since we’re running out of time. I dread to think what may happen if we delay any longer.”

She has every reason to be worried. In many such cases in the past, not long after the main crystal deposit was first discovered and subjected to study by Ethenian scientists, an energized Void Shard undergoing structural destabilization not only emits high levels of radiation, the energy it generates warps and breaches through space around it, causing objects inside the expanding field to spontaneously change location, disappear without a trace or fused together in a gruesome manner.

“So it’s good enough?” the tortoise asked.

“It’ll be okay so as long as the drive isn’t switched on,” Godslayer Kurogane said. “Will it take long for you to fabricate the actual plate?”

“If you have a detailed drawing, I may be able to give you an idea.”

When they noticed Rainbow Dash was at the entrance, Tank greeted her and asked the purpose of her visit.

“I need to borrow one of your boards,” she told him, then instantly changed her mind at the intermittent pained sensation on her shoulder area. “Make that two.”

“Hey, you should rest up more if you’re not feeling up to it,” Godslayer Kurogane suggested.

“I can’t,” Rainbow Dash said. “I promised Iris I’d get back to her by today.”

She was inclined to ask Godslayer Kurogane about her leg’s condition but then decided not to. She did however take this opportunity to study the young woman’s face. The hair and eye color is completely different, but… a part of Mika’s looks sort of reminded Rainbow Dash of her former schoolteacher.

The factory at the fortified Acorn One is a massive structure that lightly mirrors that of Robotnik’s domed construction facility in Mobius. In its original design and purpose, the broad hangar could accommodate up to five Warlord-class airships constructed at a time. Due to its size, the Monster docked inside had occupied nearly all the space in the hangar. Scaffoldings had been erected around it to provide accessibility for the constructor robots.

The whole hangar is abuzz with activity, as it has been shortly after the destroyer’s arrival at the facility. Flatbed cars and overhead cranes moved back and forth transporting parts and installation and repair works were carried out by the constructors. Day and night, these machines worked at fast pace in order to complete Monster on schedule.

Asakura strode across the floor, making her way towards blast doors at the other end. Something is amiss the construct realized as she gazed around. The female supervisor was not around to monitor the construction work. On top of that, where are Konata and Mikuru?

Konata and Asahina waved avidly at the camera. “Konnichiwa!”

“Izumi Konata da! Hajimemashite! (I’m Konata Izumi! How do you do?)”

“Watashi no namae Asahina Mikuru desu. Oaidekite ureshii desu. (My name is Mikuru Asahina. Pleased to meet you.)”

At Nicole’s request, the two let her take pictures of them modeling bathing suits in erotic poses around the beach.

The adjacent chamber behind the blast doors is where the Monster’s core parts and armor covers are being mass-produced. The industrial machines used convert the Nanites are obviously Moebian tech. These were looked upon with disdain by Asakura- noisy, slow and inefficient. Back in her master’s homeworld, a machine of such complexity and size would have taken no more than a day to finish constructing.

All of the lengthy troubles went through throughout the course of helping Prower acquire Robotnik’s Roboticizer technology. That being said, Nagato still gave the young fox a little kudos for doing his studies. Otherwise, he could not have built machineries sophisticated enough to take advantage of the nanomachine’s mimetic properties without their master’s intervention. Not many individuals across the multiverse have been able to successfully figure out the Nanite’s workings like he did.

Asakura keyed in the twenty-digit passcode. She strode in, walked past among the mammoth centrifuges, each one spinning as part of the complicated mechanism to load the Nanites into the in-feed end of the processing machines, and arrived at the row of cargo cases by the wall. Like the blast doors, these cases require access via a keypad. She got one to open, its contents revealed as metal canisters containing the Nanites.

Two of the canisters were removed, but she did not close the hatch afterwards as her attention was suddenly drawn to an air duct at the wall. On all fours, she peered through the grill cover, confirming her suspicion. In order to extract the object hidden in the duct, her fingers liquefied and reformed into long metal claws.

The three of them were now at a small hot spring not far away from the beach.

“Uh… Hey, Konata?”

“Hai?”

Nicole’s face blushed. “Remember the commercial we saw on TV the other day? Can you do me a service one more time? For the camera?”

“Mondai nai (No problem),” Konata winked.

She dipped underwater then reemerged with a big splash, whipping her head to make her hair flip back. Nicole pressed the camera button, after which the she showed the perfectly timed shot to Asahina, both to their gratification.

“Nikki,” Konata was referring to the lynx’s nickname, “junbi dekiteru no? (You ready?)”

Nicole switched her camera’s setting to video mode before training its lens at her companion. “Okay, go!”

Konata alluringly sang, “Timotei, timotei, ti-mo-teiii…!” whilst wringing out her sleek hair into the warm water.

Asahina gushed, “Oooohhh…! Anata ha hontou ni kawaii ne, Kona-chan! (That is so cute of you, Kona-chan!)”

With that, they all giggled, until Asakura showed up all of a sudden.

“Ara?” Asahina nervously said, after noticing the latter’s sweet guise showing signs of faltering. “Nee-sama? Dou shita no? (Is something the matter, sis?)”

Asakura saw what they had been doing, especially Konata’s ‘timotei’ act. She regarded their racy bathing suits. “Ittai nandesuka? Kosupure? (What is this? Cosplay?)”

Delighted at Asakura’s return, Nicole stepped out of the pool and went up to her. “Ryoko! Care to join us? Come on, the water’s great!”

Asakura showed her a bunch of time bombs she held in her hands. Nicole shrieked and bolted back in shock. Her foot stepped on a slippery rock whereupon she fell down on her back.

“I’ve disarmed them all,” Asakura said in a mix of casualness and sarcasm. “As Acorn One’s caretaker, you should’ve ensured tight security around the base. But rather than doing your job, here you are playing about. Now, really I can’t imagine how your superiors would react had these bombs detonated for real.”

“Aaa, daijobu desu yo (Oh, it’s okay),” Konata dismissed the matter with a comical gesture. “Ki ni shinaide, senpai (Don’t worry about it).”

The child-like construct’s attitude unwittingly prompted Asakura to produce in her hand a folded gunsen.

With a deceptively pleasant expression, she said to Konata, “Watashi wa kimi ni hijou ni okotte imasu, Konata (I am really upset with you right now, Konata),” then proceeded to smack her hard in the head with the metal fan.

She pinched Asahina’s ear, grabbed Konata by her hair, then dragged them both out of the pool and back to the base with her, leaving an upset Nicole alone by the pool.

Starlight Glimmer cast down her eyes, hands clenched tightly on her lap. Summoned to the office early this morning, she thought the chancellor wanted to talk to her regarding the codex. But to her mortification, Queen Crisanna instead inquired about the issue of Rainbow Dash’s bullying.

So I’ve underestimated Rainbow Dash after all, the young Unicorn thought. That stupid Pegasus had finally worked up her guts to speak up to the royal sisters.

Starlight Glimmer looked up at the royal sisters, both of whom looked back with piercing stare. She knows fully well that it does not matter how much she is of a teacher’s pet, Crisanna shall have to exercise fair judgement. Unwilling to openly lie in front of the royal sisters, she began her confession, finally revealing the motivation behind her actions against Rainbow Dash.

Moon Dancer sprang up on the bed with a start.

“Was it all just a dream?” she wondered aloud, seeing that she is back in her own room.

As soon as she pulled the blanket off her, Moon Dancer found herself still in the same clothes as last night, and not her pajamas. She got off the bed and it was then the thought finally dawned on her that the female human might not be a figment of her imagination after all. Something did happen last night.

The box of cupcakes and room key on the desk are the final clues Moon Dancer needed to piece it all together. Due to terrible habit of getting the house keys misplaced, she always put the keys inside the drawer for easy finding later on, meaning that someone must have had carried her back to her room after she fainted. It could not have been that hard to locate her room by looking at the key’s tag.

Was she really Rainbow Dash as claimed by the human? Moon Dancer recalled how Rainbow Dash behaved in one instance as if she was trying to hide something in her room. She intended to find out the truth later on.

Crisanna regarded Starlight Glimmer with disappointment.

She spoke to her student, “The reasons you’ve given are not sound at all. I’m not saying they weren’t wrong however. You all were only foals at the time. Ponies at such age sometimes have poor understanding of the consequences of their actions. Besides, it’s more likely than not those you mentioned no longer remember about it as adults now.”

The young Unicorn nodded meekly. “Y-yes. I’m sorry.”

“As for Rainbow Dash,” Crisanna continued, “according to her, she has never met you before for as long as she could remember. So why are you targeting her?”

Starlight Glimmer did not say anything initially. “A-actually… We…came across each other at the same camp…”

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had just arrived at Crystal Heart, a long duffel bag strapped on her back.

“You’re back,” Iris exclaimed, her face beamed with excitement as she came up to the Pegasus. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! Show it to me! Show it to me!”

“Woah there,” Rainbow Dash said, slightly amused by her counterpart’s childish behavior. “Keep it down, will ya? Sheesh.”

She took one Extreme Gear out from the bag, pressed the safety switch and set the board down between them.

To Iris’ delight, the snowboard-like device levitated few inches short of touching the floor. “Sweet!”

Finally, a hoverboard that actually works. Unlike the total gimmick back on Earth that is the miniature self-balancing two-wheeled sideways scooter that functions nothing like its namesake.

Starlight Glimmer bowed submissively before the royal sisters.

“Please accept my apology,” she appealed. “I also would like to ask for your understanding that my actions on Rainbow Dash were purely for my own selfish reasons. By no means it signified I harbor ill intentions upon Princess Cadenza. My loyalty to the royal family and the kingdom is true and undivided. Should however Her Royal Highness wish to punish me for my foolishness, I shan’t object.”

Crisanna considered the matter. “All right. So what do you think we should do?”

“What- Me!? Cris-” Cadenza quickly corrected her slipup, “M-my Queen…”

Having composed herself, she continued, “You know the protocols. I have no say whatsoever when it comes to dealing with student’s discipline. I brought up the issue of Rainbow Dash’s bullying to you directly in the hope that it may be resolved straightaway, that’s all.”

“Yes, definitely it is up to me,” Crisanna said in earnest. “But since this case concerns Rainbow Dash, I decided to have your opinion taken into consideration. Her apology is largely meant for you, after all.”

Cadenza thought on it for a moment. Though indignant upon learning the Starlight Glimmer’s bullying of Rainbow Dash, judging and punishing the student never came to her mind.

“You want my opinion, here it is,” she said then turned to address the young Unicorn, “Starlight Glimmer, if you really want to apologize, then you should go and say it to Rainbow Dash instead. For your own sake, you have to make it right between the two of you.”

The request stung Starlight Glimmer badly.

Rainbow Dash pressed her finger around the keyhole, as though trying to feel it. She made sure that no one was around in the hallways before taking a booby pin out from her pocket. She held the pin close to her face, shut her eyes and focused hard. Slowly, the pin altered its shape on its own into a key, which Rainbow Dash then used to unlock the door. There was a hard click sound. Then, without hesitation, she slipped quietly into Starlight Glimmer’s workplace.

The archive is a sizable room with wall-mounted bookcases on all four sides. She reached a table across the room, and then for the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash set her eyes upon the so-called Riddle’s Codex. The ancient manuscript was placed under a stereoscopic microscope. On closer inspection, she discovered the text on the browned papers was in a strange language that uses cursive-styled writings. On the adjacent page is a detailed illustration of a green briolette-cut gemstone.

Clutters of papers spread out next to the codex have the same type of writings on it but these are obviously newer, likely written by Starlight Glimmer herself as evident from the bottle of ink and a pen made out of hard-dried plant stem. Rainbow Dash guessed that this must be the version of the texts that is still going through deciphering process.

Now then, she thought to herself, where could’ve Starlight kept all the translated texts?

She gazed around the room. A safe whose door was haphazardly left ajar drew her towards it. Inside, she found what she was looking for. Excitement overwhelmed her as she shuffled through the paper stack.

After finished making photocopies of the texts and putting the originals back into the safe, Rainbow Dash lingered, even though Starlight Glimmer could return to the romm at any moment. She could not leave just yet after the enemy was revealed to have found out about Crystal Empire’s possession of the codex. How they knew, Watterson had no answer to that.

Rainbow Dash clasped her palms together, uttered a short incantation then gestured both her hands towards the floor. A ring of energy spread outwards from the spot she is standing, across the floor, up the walls and finally, it converged on the ceiling into a single glowing orb. Rainbow Dash held out her hands, prompting the orb to glide down and hovered about above her palms. She stared into the orb briefly before whisking it away. The orb then dissipated into nothingness.

“There’s nothing here,” Rainbow Dash muttered in disappointment.

Her Spell of Revelation failed to find anything out of the ordinary in the room.

“Now remember what my sister said about making presumptions, okay?”

“Yes, Your Royal Majesty,” Starlight Glimmer nodded.

Crisanna wrapped her arms tenderly around the depressed Unicorn. “I’ll see you in the next term. Have a good time during the summer break.”

After Starlight Glimmer took her leave, Crisanna slumped back onto the chair and gave herself a good rub in the forehead.

“Aren’t you worried?” Cadenza asked seriously, arms folded on her chest. “It’s like poison. I’m afraid of the effect of such a mentality could have on her health.”

Crisanna said, “I quite agree, Cadence. That’s why I encouraged her decision to take a vacation, so she could take things off her mind for a while. If she is to reflect on her own wrongdoings, then she needs to be at peace with herself first.”

“I did think of recommending her to the counsellor,” she continued, “but we shall see how she fares in the next term before I come to that decision.”

Cadenza sat to rest on the sofa. “Sis, why didn’t you say a single word to her?”

“It is in my opinion that you’re in the better position to advice Starlight Glimmer.”

“I don’t understand. You know that she’ll listen to you more than me.”

“I…can’t.”

“You can’t? Why?”

“I saw it, Cadence. I saw my own reflection in her.”

Cadenza asked apprehensively, “It’s not about us, is it?”

Crisanna shook her head. “It’s more than that.”

“You’re talking about the Moebians,” Cadenza quickly figured. “Sis, I’ve told you many times. You mustn’t let your feelings get the better of you.”

For taking her parents away, she harbors ill feelings for the Moebians just as much. But Crisanna being over-irrational truly worries her. Many times had the elder sister expressed her intention to initiate a pre-emptive strike on Moebotropolis, as part of a deterrent to another attack similar to that had fallen upon Cloudsdale. But Cadenza saw through the guise. As such, both she and Kibitz took pains in their counsel to prevent their queen from stooping so low to the House of Acorn’s level.

“I know,” Crisanna said somberly. She placed a hand on her chest. “But it still hurts inside.”

Starlight Glimmer was now back in the archives, putting back everything in their places rather than continue researching on the codex, being too frustrated after the setback. As of right now, she just wanted to get out of there, go someplace where she could be alone for a while and clear her mind.

All her notes, instruments and the codex were returned to the safe. She reached for the papers inside, the stack’s obvious shift in position due to Rainbow Dash’s inattention earlier went unnoticed. Abruptly, a sharp sensation in the chest made her flinch and dropped to the floor.

Lasted only for a second, it was thus far the worst kind of pain Starlight Glimmer had ever felt, described as a needle piercing into her heart. She could not remember exactly when she began experiencing the chest pain but it has been ongoing for a very long time. None of the doctors she had visited could find anything physically wrong with her heart. Her most recent visit to another doctor she was told that it could be a case of cartilage inflammation. But despite taking the prescribed medicines, the pain would recurred from time to time.

“Darn it,” she wheezed, clutching her chest. “Why won’t this pain go away!?”

“Hello?” came Professor Inkpen’s urgent voice at the door. “I thought I heard a cry in here. Is there someone who needs help?”

Resting on the staircase’s banister leading up to the chancellery, Rainbow Dash read through the first act titled Blood Moon:

Once there existed a kingdom, built around iron, and isolated from the rest of Moebius. Its king, relatively young, was neither the wisest nor the strongest in the family line. But he is tenacious and so always did his very best to rule in his subject’s best interest. If he has one weakness, it is probably the blind love for his consort. A beautiful woman the young queen was, she possessed every trait that make up an elegant lady, save for an insatiable lust for jewelry.

One day, a maidservant, whose name is simply Isabella caught the queen stealing from the treasury. Knowing well that queen’s deed was wrong, as the treasures rightfully belong to the kingdom, she however agreed to keep it a secret after giving in to the queen’s pleas on the promise that her majesty will no longer steal.

Still the queen did not keep her promise. More cunning than before, she kept on stealing to no one’s knowledge, until the treasurer finally began to notice the missing jewels and reported it to the king. In order to save her face, the queen decided to betray the one maidservant who had faithfully kept her secret all this time. And so, she bribed the other maidservants to accuse Isabella of the crime.

On his wife’s advice, the king sentenced Isabella to death by stabbing. The maidservant pleaded innocence but no one would believe her. She pleaded to the queen how she had served her majesty with faith in times of merriment and in times of illness but the queen merely regarded the tearful maidservant with indifference. The execution proceeded, her red blood staining the ground. With her dying breath, she cursed the kingdom seven years of bad luck.

That same night, at the witching hour, the moon in the sky appeared unnaturally big and red vivid as blood. Those who saw the moon interpreted it as bad omen. True enough, disasters soon followed- blights, draughts, diseases, endless wildfires… By the end of the seventh year after the Blood Moon’s occurrence, a cloaked figure appeared before the king and queen to proclaim that an impending flood will soon arrive to destroy them.

The figure offered the royalties a heart-shaped crystal that she claimed could grant them a chance for salvation from the impending doom. In exchange, the queen must confess for her crime against the maidservant wrongly-executed seven years ago. Enraged, the king ordered his guards to chase away the insolent visitor but to his shock, the figure demonstrated her invulnerability with the crystal’s power.

As for the queen, she did indeed confess, for the temptation by the crystal’s brilliance and clarity, its power was too much for her to resist. Retribution however quickly fell upon the queen. The figure removed her hood to reveal she has Isabella’s face, though considerably younger. She cited how her majesty failed to keep her own promise to Isabella, hence in an act of vengeance, the figure too will betray the queen.

Just as the figure predicted, an enormous wave rose over the horizon, rushed through the evergreens and eventually engulfed the whole kingdom. Such is the force of the sweep that entire villages and farms were gone in a blink of an eye. Likewise, the destructive wave stripped the castle of its magnificence and what was left of it was lost in the depths.

Perched above her home under the Crystal Heart’s protection, the cloaked figure watched the wave rush into the inland in aftermath of the kingdom’s oblivion. In no time she found herself in the midst of the flood’s expanse.

“Are you satisfied?”

The cynical voice startled the figure. Out of nowhere, the Daimon had appeared and was sitting right next to her.

“A shallow victory,” the figure admitted solemnly, “but yes.”

“It will be a lonely life for you from now on,” stated the Daimon. “A lonely death will later follow.”

“My mother is dead,” the figure said. “My life felt hollow ever since.”

“From the very beginning,” the figure added after a momentary silence between the two beings, “I never, even for a moment, thought that my mother did anything to deserve what happened to her. Retribution has been served. That’s all that mattered and I can live with that. After all…”

“Yes?”

“Would it not be better for them to perish so that this land be free from those who will follow and share the queen’s wickedness?”

The Daimon looked admiringly at the cloaked figure. “I like the way you think, Mina.”

Then he vanished into thin air, leaving Mina alone contemplating on the watery view.

Having heard somepony calling her name, Rainbow Dash quickly folded the papers and slipped it inside the pocket of her jacket before standing up.

“What are you still doing here?” Princess Cadenza asked her. “I thought you’ve gone back to Cloudsdale.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated. “Err…tomorrow?”

“I see. You didn’t happen to run into Starlight Glimmer today, have you?”

The younger Pegasus shook her head. “No. Why?”

“My sister and I had a talk with her earlier,” Cadenza said. “I don’t think she’ll be bothering you from now on.”

“That’s…good.” At least, I hope so.

“Rainbow Dash, listen. I’ve advised Starlight Glimmer to make a personal apology to you, though it was more of an encouragement than obligatory. I hope she does and that you two can become friends. Or at the very least, get along with each other like normal classmates.”

“I dunno,” Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly, eyes off the princess.

“Please try,” Cadenza urged. “Starlight Glimmer and I have had plenty of conversations before. She’s actually someone who’s really enjoyable to be with. Just needs to get past her prejudice by getting to know you better- the current you.”

What does she mean by the ‘current me’? Rainbow Dash wondered. “I don’t get what you mean, Your Royal Highness. If you’re implying she and I had met before, then she lied to you.”

So the princess asked, “Do you remember going to a summer camp in Hallow Shades when you were, say ten to twelve-years old?”

According to Rainbow Dash, Camp Hallow Shades was ‘the worst camp- ever’, from its campers to counsellors. She could remember so little good things that it was overshadowed by all the bad ones. Altogether, as she put it, the whole experience ‘totally sucks’. Due to this one reason alone, she never went to another camp thereafter.

“There was no way I could’ve bullied Starlight Glimmer back then, okay?” Rainbow Dash emphasized. “I would never do such a thing. Yeah, there’re victims all right. I was one of them.”

“So you don’t remember running into her at all?”

“No,” the younger Pegasus maintained. “I’m extra twenty percent sure that she made it all up.” Yup, a lie to cover her own sorry hiney. She’s a bully, and a liar!

Perhaps bringing up the past is pointless after all, Cadenza thought. “Never mind. Forget that I ever mentioned about it. If you can’t forgive and forget, then promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.”

Rainbow Dash pretended as if she did not understand.

“You know what I mean,” the princess said sternly.

“All right...” Rainbow Dash raised her right hand and made the vow. “I, Rainbow Dash, give a hundred and twenty percent assurance that I won’t get back at Starlight Glimmer, no matter the circumstances.”

Satisfied, Cadenza affirmed that the chancellor will talk to the rest of the class after the summer break is over. “Next time, if you’re experiencing any problems in class, speak up. You are an adult pony so I expect you to act maturely.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

Before they parted, Rainbow Dash came very close to disclose the princess the enemy’s knowledge regarding the codex’s existence. But then came the predicament of explaining the source of the information? Is she seriously going to say she came by it from a blue cat whose airship was responsible for the crash in Illumina last week? On second thought, she decided against it.

Muffins tossed her notes on the desk then dropped flat on the bed. The last exam was over, she had eaten lunch and now all that was left is to get the last of her things packed and go back home for the holidays. But first, she decided to take quick doze to relax her tired mind. Before long, a knocking on the door interrupted her nap.

Who could that be? she wondered. Maud? Or maybe it’s Firefly coming over to return my LPs. Finally.

She got up and went to open the door. To her surprise, both guesses are wrong.

“Well, well, well,” Muffins said to the visitor. “This is rather unexpected.”

“H-hi…” Rainbow Dash stammered, smiling hesitantly.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Muffins immediately asked. “Oh, was it Moon Dancer who sent you?”

“Huh?”

“What,” Muffins reacted at Rainbow Dash’s lack of comprehension, “didn’t she came to find you last night?”

“No- I mean, I don’t know. I wasn’t around at the college last night.”

“What really brings you here then?”

Rainbow Dash said, “All right, I’ll cut to the chase. But we should talk inside. May I?”

Muffins agreed and let her in.

“What could be so important that you wish to talk to me in private,” she teased, pulling the chair for her guest to sit on. “The only plausible reason I can think of you coming here is that you’ve decided to join my club.”

Fat chance, weirdo, Rainbow Dash thought cynically.

She took notice of the white board at the corner, covered all over in article clippings, scribbled notes and photos related to conspiracy theories on Moebian activity. Amongst the many photos, she could make out a magnified shot of the wanted white mare in her transforming armor, the Illumina crash site taken from various angles, and a highly pixelated, aerial image of an unidentified airship (the Monster).

Rainbow Dash, having able to think of another way to persuade Muffins, mustered her courage to state her purpose. “Actually, I’m here about Starlight Glimmer.”

Muffins’ expression changed at the mention of the bully’s name but did not say anything, instead waited for Rainbow Dash to explain more.

“I know she came to you, about a lunar eclipse that occurred around…say, sixty thousand years ago.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Hold on, she must’ve eavesdropped on our conversation the other day, Muffins soon realized. We were careless. But from where did she get the rest of the details? “No, never mind. Listen, Rainbow Dash. Whatever is it that you want from me, I can’t help you. I swore an oath of secrecy to the queen, you see.”

“But she didn’t say what it was for, did she? You weren’t told of anything, aside from to comply, no questions ask. Aren’t you a little bit curious on what Starlight Glimmer was working on?”

“Rainbow Dash, please.” The grey Pegasus grew uneasy.

“Surely a mystery fan like you have heard about the Precursor Artifact?”

“W-which one?”

Rainbow Dash made a heart-shaped sign with her fingers.

“The Crystal Heart,” Muffins murmured, recognizing the name of the artifact which the college is named after.

One legend that she is familiar with tells that at one time it was used by Emperor Incitatus to create an impenetrable defense around Trot, prolonging the war with Orion until one fateful day the city was finally brought down by way of a trickery. Orion’s forces seemingly withdrew but left a giant wooden sculpture in front of the city gate. The emperor took the bait and willingly accepted the sculpture as a victory trophy, unaware that the enemy was hiding inside the sculpture’s secret compartment, all poised to strike once they are inside the city.

“Show to me what were you doing for Starlight Glimmer,” Rainbow Dash urged, “and maybe- just maybe, I’ll be able to help figure out where the Crystal Heart is buried. If the artifact happens to be found, I’ll make sure you get half of the fame. What do you say?”

It appeared that Muffins’ curiosity has been piqued but she soon shook the feeling off.

“No,” she uttered decisively. “If what you say is true- Even if the artifact really exists, the task of uncovering its whereabouts was delegated to Starlight Glimmer by order of our queen. We have no right to meddle in their affairs. And more importantly, I don’t want to get into trouble, okay?”

Rainbow Dash felt mildly disappointed by the response but was not about to give up yet.

“Maybe I can persuade you to change your mind with this,” she said and took a bulky box out from her backpack, the Sugar Cube Corner’s logo clearly labeled on it.

Inside is a dozen vanilla-flavored muffins. Not just any muffins though. These are baked in Sugar Cube Corner after all. Filled in the center of each muffin was a generous amount of dark chocolate filling. The subtly sweet, citrus flavor and fragrance of culinary dried lavender sprinkled on top compliments the rich taste of the chocolate.

“You kidding,” Muffins scoffed. “You think you can bribe me with a mere bunch of muffins?”

“Come on,” Rainbow Dash urged. “You say that but you know you really want it.”

And she was right. Muffins was actually drooling over the expensive muffins.

“It’s not just about the muffins,” Rainbow Dash went on to tempt the grey Pegasus. “You love chocolates too, don’t you? Preferably, the Cowbellgian variety. So pure, so rich, its taste is almost indescribable! And not to mention the texture…! Seriously, how often do you get to taste this kind of chocolate? It’s not like every day the Sugar Cube Corner could import the premium-grade ingredient.”

Just when it appeared that Muffins was about to give in, she stood up, strode towards the door, and swung it wide open. “Leave!”

Before slamming the door shut, she said indignantly to Rainbow Dash, “I maybe a quack or a weirdo, or whatever other labels you could come up with. But one thing I’m not, that’s a cheap, undignified donkey.”

Rainbow Dash breathed a deep sigh. That didn’t work out well like I hoped it would.

She opened the lid and nearly tossed the box into the trash bin. Such a waste though. She does like cakes and chocolate, but… Hmm, I wonder if Iris can handle lavender.

“YOU FIEND!!!” Unexpectedly, Muffins dived at Rainbow Dash and tackled her down to the floor, thus saving the good food from getting wasted. “What is wrong with you!? Show some appreciation for food! Do you have any idea how many families out there are poor and starving!?”

“Just wanted to double-check some data on the instruments,” Muffins lied after receiving the keys from the assistant admin. “This won’t take long.”

Lightning Dust turned her sights on the other Pegasus. “What business does a non-faculty member have here?”

The elder Pegasus explained that she recognized Rainbow Dash only because she heard about how the only Pegasus to have ever enrolled in Magic Arts has a very distinctive rainbow-colored hair.

Aside from Princess Cadenza, none of the current generation of Pegasus seemed to care that one of its kin has a talent for magic. One day, the princess always reminded her. It would be far easier to mold the younger generation coming in the future, though the restoration work will still be long and hard one.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Muffins reassured Lightning Dust. “She’s just a friend of mine here to accompany me. We’ll be leaving together right after this.”

“All right,” the assistant admin shrugged. “I trust you, as always.”

Muffins led Rainbow Dash down the hallways until they arrived before a carved double door.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she grumbled as her nervous hands inserted the key into the lock.

The chamber looks to be a study of sorts for faculty students and lecturers alike to conduct astronomy-related research, characterized by depictions of sky maps on the walls and tabletops. In between these stands a machine so unusual in appearance that Rainbow Dash had at first mistaken it for a sculpture.

She followed Muffins past the orrery to an adjacent room where the faculty’s physical archives are kept. Muffins pulled out two pieces of papers from the filing cabinet and unfolded them on the table for Rainbow Dash to see.

“This is what I was making for Starlight Glimmer,” Muffins revealed to her. “It’s what we astronomers call a moon visibility map. Since supermoon eclipse is so extremely rare, I’ve only identified only two such astronomical events within the time frame she’d given me.”

She indicated the darkest shaded portion on both atlases. “The darkest shade indicates the location where the greatest eclipse would’ve been totally visible to observers at the time. One fell over the middle of Great Mobo Ocean and the other one was-”

“Grand Forest,” Rainbow Dash noted. “Is this accurate?”

Muffins had to be frank. “We are talking about tracking the moon’s path over a span of thou tens of thousands of years, using estimations based on limited available data.”

She next showed her the thick manuscript whose content Rainbow Dash viewed as jargon. Not that Muffins cared. It was only to let her know how much effort was put in solving the complicated equations.

“But, all calculations have been reevaluated multiple times to make sure there weren’t any errors in the model,” she told Rainbow Dash. “Probability-wise, this is as accurate as it could possibly get.”

Rainbow Dash carefully studied that specific region of the map. “Hmm, Smoky Mountain is just of north of the place, and…”

She traced her finger down on a spot in the south. If her hunch is correct, then location of the Iron Kingdom is in-

“What’s over there?” Muffins wanted to know what Rainbow Dash was pondering about. “You don’t look disappointed at all. It’s a dead end. Unless you’re Brave Blue, you cannot hope to freely go in and out the place.”

Rainbow Dash smiled inside. Oh, yes I can.

Later on after they were done, the study room was locked. Muffins decided to take this opportunity to ask her, “So, do you live alone now? I’ve heard you’ve been away from your hometown.”

“Who wants to know?”

“Just asking. You staying somewhere here in Illumina?”

“That’s none of anypony’s business.”

“That’s too bad,” Muffins murmured, for Moon Dancer.

Rainbow Dash scowled.

“What was that!?” she asked angrily.

Muffins raised her hands in a disarming gesture. “Woah, touchy subject, huh?”

“Anyhow,” she went on, in a more cautious tone this time, “you should go visit Moon Dancer sometime.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“She’s your classmate,” Muffins tried to make her point. “Besides, you could use a friend. Rather, that’s what Moon Dancer said, since she always thought you looked so lonely...and depressed.”

“She really said that?”

“Yes. Moon Dancer is but anything like Starlight Glimmer. There’s little reason to be suspicious of her motives. I know because we’ve been good friends for a long time.”

“Err… thanks for the bit of insight. I…I’ll think about it.”

As Rainbow Dash strode away from there, she thought to herself, that maybe she should stop pretending that she is alone in class and make an effort to make friends with Moon Dancer. There shall be plenty of time over the holidays to think about mending some fences with her however. As of right now, she should focus on getting Iris out of Crystal Empire safely. Then there is the matter concerning the Crystal Heart…

Under Rainbow Dash’s supervision, Iris maneuvered her Extreme Gear slow and steady, careful not to get too near the edge. It was half past midafternoon and they are on the dorm’s roof. After almost two hours of practicing, Iris was starting to get the hang of the basics on board riding, to her counterpart’s satisfaction.

So far, she had taught Iris on how to keep herself completely balanced on the board and steer using her body and leg movements. By tomorrow, she hoped to take it up a notch by stepping up the speed and teaching her how to maneuver around obstacles. However, to accomplish that, they need to be somewhere with lots of space, far away from prying eyes. As such, she planned to have them leaving the city tonight under cover of darkness and set up camp in White Tail Woods before heading off to Ghastly Gorge.

Iris observed how silent the dual underside fans are, as well as the amount of momentum they are able to generate despite their small size. Understood even less are how the four metal discs between the fans work keep the board off the ground. Iris was not certain whether they are attributed to the Moebians’ scientific and technological achievements or simply, the physical laws in this world work in a different manner. Either way, she was impressed.

When the practice session ended, Rainbow Dash showed Iris how to detach from the Extreme Gear. The special boots are what anchors her to the board by way of a magnet built into the sole and heel.

“Oh man,” Iris was elated, “the people of Earth would be jealous if they could get a load of me right now.”

Rainbow Dash merely smiled, wondering what kind of world Iris came from.

Muffins finished packing all her books and other things into the box. She looked at her watch. There is still time before dorm office’s storage closes for the holidays. She grabbed a muffin from the box (the bribe from Rainbow Dash), slumped on the bedside and took a small bite.

She murmured, “Heavenly,” then proceeded to wolf down the whole cake.

Afterwards, Muffins went over to the window, where several pieces of electronics laid to dry, after Maud Pie had spilled her drink over it by accident last night. All the pieces were back together into the device she showed to Moon Dancer and Cloudchaser. She switched it on to make sure that the handheld tracker is functioning properly. To her relief, it came beeping to life. She frowned at the reader, as it was registering small bumps on its display.

With Iris’ help, everything- spare clothes, toiletries, camping gears and the Extreme Gears, had been packed into their respective bags. Rainbow Dash left the room, bringing the heavy box along with her effortlessly thanks to her Pegasus magic. Along the way, when she stumbled into Muffins. What was mistaken as some sort of weapon carried by the latter alarmed her.

Muffins looked down at the reader display confused then scrutinized the rainbow-maned Pegasus standing before her. The aura enveloping the wings and floating box appeared to be authentic. Not unless they had learned to replicate pony magic. But that’s unlikely to happen…or is it now? One can never be too careful when it come to Moebians.

“What’s your name? Where you’re from?” she questioned sternly, much to Rainbow Dash’s confusion.

“What?”

“Answer the question, please!”

“Rainbow Dash…from Cloudsdale?”

“If you are truly who you say you are, and not a robotic clone, then answer this. What is the relationship between the Wonderbolts’ history and the founding of Cloudsdale?”

“General Fairweather founded Cloudsdale in the year xxxxx. A-and the Wonderbolts was established fifty years later, with Fairweather’s grandson as one of the academy’s founding committee members.”

“Oh,” Muffins said and went on to apologize, “okay then. Sorry about that. Had to be double sure.”

“About what?” Rainbow Dash demanded to know what this is all about.

However, the other Pegasus was no longer listening.

“I just don’t know what had went wrong,” Muffins grumbled to herself, checking up on the device. “The parameters shouldn’t have been this off. Looks like I have to recalibrate the thing…”

Rainbow Dash looked around while waiting by the counter. There were not many students left eating at the cafeteria. Like her, some of them probably have their own reasons for not leaving yet even though it was the last day before the summer holidays. Soon after, her order of two submarine sandwiches arrived. Rainbow Dash made the payment, picked up the sandwiches and turned around.

“What the hay-!?” Moon Dancer appearing out of the blues took her completely by surprise. “Moon Dancer! Why in Goddesses’ name did you show up like that?”

Moon Dancer gave out a mock surprised gasp. “So! You could remember my name this time. That’s a total surprise. Gee, the real Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Her sarcasm puzzled Rainbow Dash. “What do you mean by ‘real’? There’s only one of me-” Wait, had she somehow found out about Iris? Aw, that’s bad! Really bad!

“Oh, I see,” Moon Dancer stared and continued, “So you really were messing around with transfiguration magic then?”

“What- No! Moon Dancer, you’re acting weird all of a sudden!”

“Am I?”

“Like, yeah!”

“Or maybe you’re the one who’s acting weird because, you got something to hide.”

Rainbow Dash took a step back from the Unicorn in apprehension. “Hey, I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You sure?” Moon Dancer pressed on. “Why two then? Why bought two subs? Seems a lot for just one pony.”

At this point, Rainbow Dash lost her patience and shrieked, “I’ve had it! If you wanna go on acting like this, sure! Fine! Go join the weirdo’s club! Just leave me alone, okay!?”

She turned away to leave, but Moon Dancer was quick to step in and blocked her path.

“What is it that you want from me, Moon Dancer!?”

“Simple. The truth.”

When Starlight Glimmer arrived, she found the place surprisingly gloomy. She flicked the switches to light up the hallway and the sitting room.

“Hello? Is there anyone home? Moon Dancer?”

There was no answer. After closing the door behind her, she left her bag at the hallway and went straight to set the groceries on the kitchen table.

The house she was in is quite lavish, with its fine decors and the chandeliers, cabinetries and furniture all custom-made. There is a lot of grandiose Southern charm all around the house. Cues have been taken from the Apple residence, as the family who built it had previously resided in Ponyville, and had business dealings with the Apples. Apart from the sitting room, a parlor, formal dining room, study, family room, kitchen and several store and powder rooms fill the vast space of the first floor. There is also a staircase leading to the cellar but it is locked behind the door at all times.

When Starlight Glimmer came back for her bag, she was startled by a figure clad in a black hoodie coming in through the front door. Soon, the figure revealed herself as Photo Finish.

“Photo Finish,” Starlight Glimmer said in a mix relief and exasperation, “can you not wear a hoodie all the time!?”

“Hey!” the Earth Pony interjected. “I do not tell you vat to do in your life!”

Starlight Glimmer had often wondered why the stark contrast of clothing choices outside college but right now she was in the mood to argue with Photo Finish.

“Where’s Moon Dancer gone off to?” she asked, more calmly now.

Photo Finish was just as surprised. “I zout she is supposed to be here after-”

“What is it?”

Starlight Glimmer could not hear it but Photo Finish’s keen sense of hearing enabled her to detect even the slightest sounds coming from upstairs.

“Your ‘friend’ has avaken!” said the alarmed Earth Pony. “And she is turning za place upside down!”

“No, wait!” Starlight Glimmer grabbed Photo Finish’s wrist, preventing her from running upstairs. “Stay here! Let me deal with her.”

“Zen ve go togezer!”

“No,” Starlight Glimmer insisted. “I can handle this. Just a few minutes alone with her, that’s it.”

She stepped ahead of the reluctant Photo Finish, then offered to help with her bag.

“Everything will be fine,” Starlight Glimmer promised. “There’s groceries on the kitchen table. Help me unpack them and prepare dinner. Now go. I’ll come down once I’m done.”

Photo Finish aversely complied, while Starlight Glimmer went up the staircase.

The hallways on the upper floor are as spacious as on the floor below. Altogether, the second floor houses eight bedrooms, a washroom and five bathrooms, all of stately designs.

A bedroom door was wide open. The condition inside the bedroom appalled Starlight Glimmer. Almost all the furniture has been turned over. Drawers pulled out, its contents scattered all over the floor. The fresh clean clothing she provided for the her ‘friend’ was strewn around the room. Starlight Glimmer placed Photo Finish’s bag down on the floor then went to check the other bedrooms whereupon she found them completely ransacked as well.

Oh, this whole mess is going to steam the house owner up…

Forte tore the clothes in her hands into two and hurled them against the wall.

Where is it!? Where are my clothes!? WHY is this even happening!?

Her face was red, mix of fume, embarrassment and dread. Imagine the mare’s feelings when one day she found herself in an unprecedented situation- waking up in an unknown house, and soon realized that someone had stripped her naked because she was now dressed in a nightshirt.

Forte stood up. To vent her anger, she punched at the mirror on the closet door, cracking the glass but not shatter it. A loud gasp came behind her at the subsequent moment, so she turned around. It was Starlight Glimmer at the door, both hands over her mouth, obviously shocked at the violent display.

“It’s you!” It all came back to her now. Forte recognized Starlight Glimmer from the music store, and the very same pony she encountered in the alley. “What is the meaning of this!?”

She shoved Starlight Glimmer out into the hallway, and held her against the wall. “What did you do to me!?”

“Y-you’re fine,” Starlight Glimmer’s voice was quivering, having been taken aback by the older mare’s utter strength and actions, “I haven’t done anything indecent, if that’s what you’re thinking. I swear. And… And you won’t find what you’re looking for anywhere in this house. I’ve hidden it. Only I know where it is.”

“I haven’t got time for this!” Forte gripped Starlight Glimmer’s wrist in a strong clasp. “Where are my clothes!?”

“No, please wait,” the young Unicorn begged. “I saved your life. You’d be right to think I have an ulterior motive for it. But, nothing malicious. I have a proposition!”

“No,” Forte balked, “I do not make dealings with anypony!”

She applied pressure little by little, just so that the Unicorn knows that she was being serious. “Now give me my clothes back, then I’ll be on my way!”

Is this really the same mare I met before? Starlight Glimmer asked herself, just as her wrist began to hurt. “You won’t do it.”

The response took Forte aback. “What-!?”

“You won’t do it!” Starlight Glimmer repeated, sounding firm in the second time. “You’re just trying to scare me but you won’t carry out your threat. Because…because I think you’re not that kind of pony.”

“Darn you!” Forte hissed at her. “Don’t you dare underestimate me!”

Increasingly desperate, she squeezed further around the wrist, eliciting a pained gasp from the young Unicorn. “Tell me! Then and only then I’ll stop!”

Almost crying, Starlight Glimmer begged Forte to stop yet the latter was still not prepared to yield.

She really can’t be this stubborn, the latter thought.

Eventually, she conceded defeat, and her grip on Starlight Glimmer gradually loosened. A look of regret came over her. She had just threatened and hurt an adolescent. Too many times had Forte let her temper got the better of herself.

Her eyes widened, the instant she felt a sharp blade inching close to her neck.

“Impossible,” she muttered.

The pony threatening her with the kitchen knife is Photo Finish, who somehow had managed to crept up to right behind her without a noise. With one hand held tightly on Forte’s nape, the Earth Pony seemed to know what she is doing. Should she yank both her arms, it would result in a clean cut through the throat.

“Believe it, dumpfbacke,” Photo Finish scoffed. “Now you let my friend go.”

Forte complied and released Starlight Glimmer, after which Photo Finish yanked her against the wall, the knife pressed lightly against her throat.

“I told you zis vas a bad idea!” she shouted to Starlight Glimmer, eyes still trained on Forte. “Forget about your plan! Zis pony is obviously dangerous. Ve should hand over her to za autority and be done vif it!”

“Starlight?” When there was no response, she glanced at Starlight Glimmer to see whether she was all right.

Forte seized the chance to swipe the knife away from her then lunged at Photo Finish. A brawl on the floor ensued, with both ponies exerting their physical strength to the fullest in the bid overpower one another.

“Stop!” pleaded the fraught Starlight Glimmer. “You both have to stop!”

Forte hurled Photo Finish off of her via a hard kick in the stomach. The knife slipped off from her grasp upon hitting the floor. Starlight Glimmer attempted to prevent Forte’s escape, hoping she could still reason with her but was shoved out of the way instead. Forte dashed into the corner, only stopping when to her horror, the knife whizzed past in front of her eyes. It struck a wall painting, whereby its blade had lodged into the wooden frame.

That was meant for me, Forte gasped. Celestia, they’re just college students!

Photo Finish grunted her annoyance at the miss and, against Starlight Glimmer’s pleas, quickly went after Forte.

Halfway down the stairs, she jumped over the handrail on to the floor below. Instead of chasing Forte who was nearing the front door, she ran off to the fireplace in the living room.

“Geh sterben!!!”

Forte turned her head back. The sight of a fireplace poker came hurtling towards her froze her dead on the spot. In a split-second the poker should have impaled her below the chest, but something stopped it just at the critical moment. A turquoise-colored magic aura wrapped around the poker, had prevented it from going no further than touching the nightshirt’s soft fabric. Starlight Glimmer summoned the fireplace poker up to her.

“Starlight!” Photo Finish exclaimed, notably angry at her friend’s action. “Vat do you zink you are doing!?”

“I don’t know whom I should be more afraid of, you or her,” Starlight Glimmer said back to her. “Where did you learn to throw like that?”

Forte dropped to the floor, panting in disbelief at how close she came to a painful death. Even in the state of shock, Forte was still able to think straight- She’s dead serious on killing me. I need to get out of here!

Even as she reached for the knob and pulled herself up, Photo Finish marched up to her with a porcelain umbrella vase at the ready.

“Photo Finish, no! Don’t!” Starlight Glimmer shouted her protest, which Photo Finish yet again ignored.

The blow slammed Forte’s head against the door, with the vase shattered into pieces a result. Her vision went dark immediately.