> Nothing's Impossible
>  by The Wizard of Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starfall leaned against the ropes of the ring.

She had done the action hundreds of times before, nearly all of them for different reasons. Usually it was out of fatigue, a workout or sparring match taking its proper toll on her. She loved the feeling. Other times, she did it to think, planning for her training regimen or upcoming match. It was always easier to know how far she’d go if she knew what she was going to do. But the rest of time, as she did now, it was to judge the pony across from her.

The mare was about her height and build, give or take a few meaningless ounces. They were close enough to be in the same weight bracket, and that was what mattered. A unicorn, like herself, but with a bright yellow coat and flaming red hair. The mare emphasized that, tying her mane up into a short ponytail, making it look like a fire almost. She had her hands on the ropes as well, leaning back and forth, likely to stretch. Her eyes, however, a sharp emerald in color, were focused on Starfall. A low scowl was set just beneath them. Star herself only smirked back at the gaze.

She rolled her hooves on the training ring floor, feeling the fibers of her coat squirm beneath her training tape. She pushed out her chest, stretching the muscles along her back as she did so. The already tight tank top she wore matted her coat as well. Starfall didn’t mind. She let go of one of the ropes, letting her hands rise and trace a single band of tape across her forehead. It was dry for now, keeping her lavender locks out of her equally purple gaze. That wouldn’t last long.

“Both fighters set,” the voice of the judge spoke with power from another corner of the ring. He was holding up both his hands, gaze shifting between the two mares. “Fire Burst,” he spoke again, lowering the arm closest to the yellow mare. Starfall watched with no lack in satisfaction as Fire Burst literally growled at her. She nodded though, leaning off the ring and raising her arms to her side.

“Starfall,” her name was called out. She shut her eyes when it was, taking a slow deep breath of air. She savored it, letting it flow through her limbs. When she released it, she pushed herself off of the ropes, raising her arms to guard her head. Her hooves lightly bounced on the floor of the ring, all the warm-up she could do without wasting energy. When she was ready, she nodded as well.

“Both fighters, make to the ring center,” the familiar call came.

Star felt her grin widen. She knew what was coming soon. Keeping her guard up, she approached the center of the ring, feeling the floor beneath her bounce against her hooves. She could hear the springs beneath the stage pushing against her. But more than that, she saw Fire Burst only a few lengths away from her now.

“Touch gloves.” Only two commands left after that.

Starfall extended her hand as asked, her lavender padded glove reaching towards Fire with a clenched fist. It was the best way to show off her cutie mark embroidered on the end of it; a large white star sitting between five twinkling lavender ones. Just like a star falling.

Fire Burst made the same action with her opposite hand, showing off her red fighting gloves complete with her own cutie mark; a circle of yellow and red surrounded by flames. Her name fit the mark well. The scowl still set upon the face of the mare just made it even better.

“Ready for your beating?” Fire Burst mockingly asked. To Star, it was one of the worst taunts she had ever heard, and half a decade spent training in Magical Martial Arts meant she heard some impressively bad taunts. Fortunately, it gave her just as much training for responding to them.

“I prefer spankings, too bad for you I’m the one handin’ them out.” Starfall’s grin widened as she saw Fire’s horn spark with rage. This was going to be fun.

“Fighters, return to your corners.” One command left now.

Star back backpedaled, her hooves lightly bouncing as she did so. Fire mimicked the movement, arms still raised up her sides and around her head. This next part was where timing was important.

She had a second, likely less than that to respond to whatever Fire tried to pull off. Really, this was an easy match up. Fire had potential, Star couldn’t deny that, but potential didn’t mean anything if you didn’t use it right. Star had experience, with years of practice and training.

Out of the corner of her eye, Star saw the judge raise his arms again, getting ready for the countdown. She had the timing of it down to an art, practiced as carefully as her breathing, repetition in its finest form. Repeating the same workout, the same form, the same spell over and over again, stopping only when she had it perfected.

Just like Star’s repeating exercise, her mind went through a now oh-so familiar pattern in preparation for the fight. It had started the moment she had entered the ring, wearing her signature uniform and ready to fight. She could feel the muscles in her body pumping, ready to let loose. She could feel the magic flowing through her, ready to jump through her horn and show just what it meant to be an MMA fight.

But she also saw, for not the first time and definitely not the last, all the events that brought her here.

“Three!”

Ever since Star first saw Celestia, the White Sister, commit a total knockout on Madame Cocoon, Top-Fighter of the Changeling Circle, she knew she wanted to be a Magical Martial Artist. Her official training started over five years ago, but her actual training began when she was just a little filly.  She practiced conjuring bow-staffs and shields until her horn was steaming from the effort. She ran miles around Canterlot and climbed enough stairs each day to make up to Cloudsdale, and back. She watched every match she could, sneaking out when she had to.

She could see her parents, the same parents who told her she would grow out of her little phase, buying Star her first set of sparring gloves. They were cheap, padded with wool, and absolutely plain. No color or depth to them, something that would mean more as a souvenir than an actual tool in the ring. Star loved them more than even the gloves she wore now.

“Two!”

Star remembered her first sparring match, a practice round for volunteers; really a way to get the crowd ready for a main event. She was up against another mare whose name she couldn’t remember. She could only recall how large her ego was, cutie mark embezzled on everything from her gloves to her hairband. She gloated at Star, talking about how no mare or stallion could possibly best her magical gifts in the ring.

She recalled how she had committed a Total Knock Out on the mare. It was a pleasant memory.

The memory only got better with the roar of the crowd, the mares and stallions - already ready for a fight - getting a free show. They were chanting her name, calling it out for an encore performance, something she would have been only too happy to do. It was the first time Star was able raise her gloved hands into the air, cheering for the crowd that cheered for her. It felt amazing.

“One!”

Only shortly after that was Starfall approached by the one mare she never thought she would be. Celestia, the White Sister. It was one of the greatest moments of her life, and still was as far as she was concerned, for now. The Champion MMA fighter had spoken to her, giving her high compliments, telling her that with enough practice, she, Starfall, could be one of the greatest fighters in the league.

Star told her straight faced that nothing could stop her from being that. She was going to be the strongest mare in all of Equestria, bar none. Celestia laughed with her, not at her. It was from that point on that her true training started.

And now, she was about to beat another obstacle to the ground.

“Begin!”

With a flash of lavender light, Star materialized a bo staff in her right hand. Swinging her arm, she directed the length of the ethereal item, flicking her head to pull back on the magic. She was already two steps towards Fire Burst, dominant arm extended with bo staff in hand. But she wasn’t done.

Her horn lit itself again, left hand pulling in direction for a small shield. It bent itself around her forearm, making it easier to grip and sturdy enough to take any blow Star knew Fire would send at her. When she knew her lavender defense was finished, she raised her arm higher, flicking off the trail of magic and holding the defense above her head. Her training served her well.

Not a moment later did she see Fire slam her hand upon the shield, a fiery red aura bent around her appendage. It was a smart move to make when you were trying to be fast, hardly any time needed to enhance the durability of gloves. However, Star was safe thanks to her shield. More than that, she was ready for a counterattack, bo staff extended and already swinging for the vulnerable mare. The look of panic that quickly washed over Fire’s face said it all.

This was going to be an easy fight.





“Winner by count, Starfall!” She was right, once again.

Star stood tall and proud above Fire Burst, the latter mare’s yellow coat coated with sweat. She was breathing heavily on the ground, no doubt silently nursing her wounds and ego. Hair splayed about her and eyes staring blankly upwards, the judge didn’t even need the count to see the yellow mare was done.

Star flicked her hands at the decleration of her victory, dissipating the bow-staff and shield she had conjured. There wasn’t a trace of sweat on her coat. This wasn’t even worth a workout for her. She was never wrong when it came to her magic. She was going to be the greatest MMA fighter there was, and no wannabe amateur was going to do anything but remind her how close she was. She smirked down at her defeated foe, Fire panting on the ground of the ring.

“Let me know when you want that spanking.” Star taunted, doing nothing to hide her cheeky grin. “I can tell you like being on bottom.”

Fire snarled up at her, taking a deep breath of air as if to get up and start the fight again. The action only made the yellow mare groan in pain. Nothing was broken, Star made sure of that, but no way was any middle-weight mare gonna take a few dozen blows from her bo staff without bruises lasting for weeks. Star was smart enough to avoid that. The key? Not to get hit.

Starfall gave one last smirk to her defeated opponent before turning back to her corner. She stretched her arms as she walked, laying one over chest and pulling with the other. She repeated the action on both limbs before letting them flop back to her side. By the time she was done, she was at her corner. She began to slip off her gloves, pulling and dropping them in her bucket, pulling off her headband when she was done.

She felt her hair fall down at the release, her lavender locks, hitting her muscled shoulders. She shook her head, untangling what she could before running her fingers through them. A few stubborn ends were pulled, but nothing that was any worse than any a well-placed chest blow. She shook her head for good measure, feeling the hot air of the ring chill at the small gust her mane made.

Starfall donned a proud smirk as she was finished, looking over the ring to see the approving face of her fellow trainees and mentor. Her grin only lengthened at the adoring gaze of a few young members. She couldn’t blame them. It was hard to look away from something awesome, after all.

A few other members were making their way onto the ring, helping Fire up from the ground. She heard it through the annoyed grunts the yellow mare made. She was strong, Star could admit that much, but she was nowhere near her level. But that was because she was only a title away from being at the pro level. One good match, one officially sanctioned rookie tourney, and Star knew she would be making waves across the MMA circuit.

She lifted the highest rope of the ring, lifting her hoof over the second band, preparing to step out of the ring, ready to mark up another flawless victory on her part. Any celebration was cut short as her hoof caught on the rope.

Star performed a fantastic face plant right into the side of the ring.

Her orientation was heavily skewed, and it only got worse when her foot loosened itself from the rope, letting her fall to the floor. The sound of her back slamming into the ground was almost as impressive as the impact of her head.

The first thing the lavender fighter was aware of, after the grueling pain that suddenly assaulted her head, was the laughter of voices around the ring. She kept her eyes shut, moaning from both pain and embarrassment. The last thing she wanted to do know was see a bunch of wannabe fighters laughing at her bad luck.

Star lifted her head and let it fall back to the floor, almost thankful for the way the dull ringing muted out the sound of the chuckling around her. Deafness was far preferred than mockery. Her hands rose and fell on her face, pulling at her coat hairs as she dragged them downwards. It really was the only way she could deepen her scowl.

“Are you alright?” She heard a familiar voice ask above her. Star risked a glance, not disappointed in what she saw.

Her coach and idol, number one MMA fighter, Celestia, The White Sister, stood tall above her. Her majestic mane, proof of her magical strength, waved in a non-existent wind. She was wearing her usual gym attire, coat-tight fabric that hugged only the essentials, letting as much of her coat breath in the air as was possible. Her emblem, a rising sun, was right across her upper chest. If nothing else, Star reasoned, her notice of all the small details showed that she was still in her right mind. Quite unfortunate, really; her wrong mind could probably deal with the mocking laughter around her better.

“Yeah,” she begrudgingly spoke up, though making no effort to move. “Peachy, just embarrassed myself in front of a bunch of scabs and wannabes. Could only be better if I fell into a buffet of food.”

“That does sound like fun,” Celestia jokingly spoke above her, earning only a groan from Starfall on the floor. “But I’d rather know if you're physically okay. That didn’t look like a soft landing.”

“Don’t worry,” Star spoke up, voice high with faux-seriousness. “My pride broke the fall.” Celestia chuckled down towards her, for a reason far different than the now fading laughter of the trainees around them.

Her mentor extended a hand down to her. Star took it, leaning up as she did so. It didn’t take much effort on Celestia’s part to pull her off the ground. Few things did require effort on her part. The last time Starfall ever saw The White Sister ever break a sweat was against her literal sister, Luna. Even then, victory was as assured as the sun rising in the sky. Star shook her head when her hooves were back on the floor, disorientation present but swiftly abated. Celestia, however, was quick to look her over, towing above her with the massive difference in their height. She let her coach look her over, far more than used to it after the grueling training sessions she endured.

“Everything looks good,” Celestia spoke as she stared deep into Starfall’s eyes. The younger of the two MMA fighters knew it was to check for damage, not to steal a kiss. “But I’m going to need you to check in with a doctor still, just in case.” That surprised Star more than the fall.

“Oh c’mon, what?” Star let out as she backed away. Her arms extended outwards, as if caught in disbelief by the words. “I’m completely fine! No head trauma or nothing! I didn’t even get hit during that spar!” She motioned her arms to the ring, seeing Fire limping out with the aid of two other trainees. If she weren’t currently focused on talking to Celestia, she would have said something about the cheeky grin the yellow mare had. She certainly didn’t deserve to wear it.

“Hey,” the yellow mare spoke up, grin still intact despite being held up by two young rookies. “You won the match through luck, but I’m glad you could show me how a Star Falls.” Star felt a hand on her shoulder before could take a single step forward.

“You’ve already beaten her and you might have a possible injury. Those are two very good reasons to not get baited by a sore loser.” She grit her teeth in exasperation, or maybe anger.

“Be that as it may, I’m not going to risk making an internal injury worse.” Celestia literally waved off Star’s complaints. “Don’t misunderstand, you did great in the match, but if you hit your head too hard and I missed something, a hard workout tomorrow is only going to make it worse.”

“But what could you have missed?” Star fought on. She ignored any feeling that it might have been a fruitless battle. “You checked out my eyes, no troubles there. I can recite my entire training regimen, backwards! No trouble with me walking either.”

“This isn’t a discussion, Starfall.” The White Sister crossed her arms now, looking every bit the term of intimidating. Her alabaster coat practically glowed… her long horn was literally glowing, golden light complete. “I need you to see a doctor to make sure there is no injury. Trust me, it’s far better to waste a trip to a clinic than to ignore a wound and let it worsen.”

Star opened her mouth, ready to prove her point once more, but was silenced by the mare in front of her. The very large, very muscular, well-trained, intimidating mare. Arms crossed and with a dark shadow, she looked every bit the part of a champion fighter. It was awesomely terrifying.

“What would happen if you did have a possible crack in your skull? Do you really think it’s worth risking all of your progress these last few years, just because you didn’t want to double check a possible injury?” Starfall bit her lip, stopping any complaints or arguments she may have had.

“Fine,” she spoke with restraint. A few more colorful words were trying to work their way out, but that was why her teeth were holding her lips back. She could still feel the sores from last time she spoke in such a way to Celestia. She wasn’t an MMA champion for her looks, but she certainly had those, too.

“Good,” Celestia spoke with a nod and grin, ethereal mane billowing with it. She stuck her thumb over her shoulder, motioning towards the exit of the gym. “You know where the clinic is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Star waved off. “First thing you taught me to remember after getting me to swear dedication to my training.”

“And I haven’t regretted teaching you either.” Starfall saw the gleam of pride that crossed her coach’s pink eyes. It made her grin as well. There was something to be said about having a champion being proud of you. It felt good, great even. But the real next step was being the champion. “But go on. The sooner you get checked out the faster you can get back to your training. Tomorrow that is, you’re done for the day.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Star begrudgingly let out, not happy about the turn of events following her victorious match. A long sigh escaped her lips as she pulled her gloves from the ring, taking extra care to shoot an evil eye at a few snickering rookies still looking her way. They were quick to go back to their free weights or projection training. That got her to chuckle. She may have taken a tumble, but it didn’t make her any less of a force of nature to the rookies.

She reached down outside the ring, grabbing her lavender bag embroiled with her name and cutie mark. She ran her hand over the stitching, remembering it as the first gift Celestia had gotten her when her training started. A contract, she called it. If she promised to make it to the MMA, the bag was hers. To Star, it was basically a gift, because the condition was a guarantee. Her gloves and headband were slipped inside the casing, jacket and loose pants pulled out. She slipped the latter two on, plenty of air between the fabric and her coat. She zipped the bag back up when she was done.

With a small huff of effort, she threw the straps over her shoulder, giving one last look at the ring. She grinned at it, knowing she had thrown many more mares and stallions onto the floor than any falls she may have given it. Fall may be in her name, but she was more often than not the cause of someone else’s.

Sighing at her earlier departure, but knowing better than pushing Celestia any further, Starfall exited the gym stage left. The sun was dipped low in the sky, moon already beginning to rise. The night air was cool, wind just beginning to chill. Thankfully, her jacket and loose pants kept the worst of it away. She snorted, more concerned with getting a doctor’s slip ASAP so she didn’t miss anymore practice.

Taking the ever practiced street, she marched off for the clinic.





“No doctors.” Star repeated herself again.

“No Physicians, sweetheart, there is a difference.” A nurse across from her spoke. Her cerulean eyes were drawn in annoyance, one of them hidden by the impressively long pink locks. Her head was resting on her hand, held up only by the elbow on the desk. The wings coming out of the back of her uniform twitched every so often.

“But you just said no one can help me.” Her statement only got the nurse to sigh in annoyance.

“That’s correct.” Now it was Star’s turn to let out an air of grievance. She flexed a fist beneath the counter, doing her best to hide her distaste. She wasn’t sure she was doing a good job.

“Which means there are no doctors.”

“Physicians,” the yellow pegasus replied again out of annoyance. Starfall felt a similar feeling, but she usually expressed her annoyance more directly. Who did this mare think she was? “You are looking for a physician because a physician will be able to get you a check-up. A physician is what we are currently out of.”

Star let her head hit the counter of the nurse’s station, doing her utmost to not light her horn and blast the annoying mare clear across the room. The temptation was very hard to resist.

“Look,” Star began. “You’re a clinic, a place that helps ponies that are injured or need a quick check-up. Am I wrong here?”

“Not so far, but I’m sure you be will soon.” Never mind temptation. Starfall simply knew her wrath would fall on this canary coated pegasus before day’s end. That or hell itself would smite her.

“Okay, but, if you have no physician, then doesn’t that mean you should be closed down by now?” The pegasus, for all that was unjust in the world, only snarled at Starfall with disgust. Screw destiny. Not even The White Sister would stop Star from putting this mare into the ground, six feet under preferred.

“Excuse me, but we do have doctors,” she spoke with a righteous huff. Star wasn’t sure in what plane of existence she deserved to make that sound. “The clinic is here strictly for the benefit of the public. Our main reason for being here is research. Having a clinic just gives us a small reduction on our taxes.” Again, the righteous huff, why?

“Alright, I know this may be hard for your, so I’m gonna talk nice and slow.” Star put her hands on the counter as flat as she could. The urge to ball them was great. It only got greater at the vicious snarl the yellow pegasus was making. She was lucky Starfall was trying to be in control, for once. “I’m a fighter for Celestia, the White Sister, at the gym down the street. I got a small injury during a sparring session, and she’s not gonna let me get back to training until I get a check-up from one of your docs.”

“What you are looking for is a phys- ” Star didn’t let her finish.

“Or,” she spoke loudly as she lit her horn, doing nothing to dim the sharp lavender light that emanated from it. It did a marvelous job of shutting the nurse right up. If it wasn’t her horn’s light doing the job, it was the effect of her mane billowing almost menacingly at her shoulders. That did a lot for stuck-up rookies at the gym.

“I’m gonna show you exactly why the greatest fighter in Magical Martial Arts history is personally training me to get in the ring. That means every spell, hold, and blow I can possibly remember. Trust me, I got a good memory with this kind of stuff.” Starfall did her utmost to do little more than grin when the nurse gulped on a large ball in her throat. Better that then something else the unicorn felt like shoving down her throat.

“I’ll… I-I’ll see if I can get one of the doctors to help you.” Her voice was far softer now, much better in Star’s personal opinion. She would admit bias, however. The nurse, pulled out a sheet of paper on the other side of the desk, looking over carefully. She pushed back the long pink locks to get a better view of it. “We have clinical research being done in rooms 1-4, b-but if you can wait in room 5, I’ll see if I can… c-can get a doctor in for you.”

“Perfect,” Star spoke pleasingly.

She leaned back from the counter, the light of her horn flitting off and dying. Her hands fell to her hips, positioning themselves there as she cocked one of her legs out, leaning on her other hoof. She made no effort to hide her pride as she gazed at the nurse across the counter.

“See? That wasn’t too hard, right?” She said nothing as she grabbed some papers are went around the counter, through a door, and out of Star’s sight. The unicorn huffed at the disappeared figure, calling any day where she could put some humility in someone a good day.

She turned around to see the frightened expression of a pair of mares.

They were huddled together, hands clinging to the backs of one another as their legs and hooves were pulled to their chests. Both had great big eyes, focused on Star with wide and panicked expressions. One was pink as candy, a poofy mane that seemed to wobble with her every shiver. The other was gray as stone, her long mane hanging straight as curtains. Neither looked thrilled to have Star looking at them.

“Uh…” Star spoke dumbly. She knew she screwed up.

Scratch that. Burn that. Smelt it and punt it to the moon. She had colossally screwed up in a way that Celestia would be impressed by before she would be angry. Oh, but the anger would come, no doubt about that.

That made this bad. Nothing in all of Equestria was more terrifying than an MMA pro with an axe to grind, especially for her trainees. That made this bad in ways the guards would be horrified to hear about. She had to fix this… somehow.

“You two… um…” She began weakly, looking at the cowering ponies unevenly. She wasn’t good with this kind of stuff. “All that before… I was just… mad, ya know?” She held up her hand, doing her utmost to get her message across. Both mares only continued to stare at her, gripping one another.

“Look just…” Star avoided eye contact with them for a moment. She had to think. She hated to do that, at least outside the ring. Everything made sense when all you had to focus on was someone trying to hit you. Right now was kind of the opposite.

“Just… pretend you didn’t see any of that, sound good?” She shrugged her arms at the ponies, hoping that would be good enough. The nodded furiously at her question, still never speaking a word.

Starfall breathed a sigh of relief. Problem solved.

“Cool, thanks,” she waved off, heading through the clinic door. She didn’t need to look back; both mares had promised not to say anything.

More important, the nurse said that she was supposed to wait in Room Five. Hopefully a doctor wasn’t already there. That would have just made this a little more embarrassing. Somehow though, judging by the way the prissy, prim and proper nurse was talking, Starfall likely had little to worry about. There were no physicians here, just doctors.

A short walk down the hallway and she had found the room was looking for, marked by a very large sign with 5 printed on it, sticking out of the wall and into the hallway. Made sense, Star supposed. Easier to see which room it was without having to check each door. She blew a stray strand of lavender hair out of her face, pulling the rest of it back over her ear. Opening the door, she ventured in.

There was only one word Star could use to describe the room she entered. Boring.

Boring didn’t quite cover it. Boring meant that someone didn’t really try to make something fun. Not unheard of, but still pretty bad. This room, however, was impressively boring. It was as if somepony decided to put all their effort into actually making the room boring. There wasn’t a tv, no windows to speak of, no magazines to look at, not even a picture on the wall! Everything was the same drab color, gray. Who liked gray? Gray was boring, probably literally meant boring. Not good or bad, let’s just do gray. Gray table, gray walls, gray counter, gray cabinets, gray everything!

Star sighed putting a hand to her forehead to calm herself. This was probably that nurse’s way of getting back at her, give the MMA fighter a room she knew any other mare would lose their mind in. Problem was, it felt like it was working. But no, she could wait. She could take this much. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything else she could do.

Jumping up onto the table, shielded with a long white cloth she could remember doctor’s tearing off, she laid down, content to wait out however long it took for the not-physician to show up.





“-llo? Hello?” Star grumbled, twisting her eyes as she did so. It took her that long to notice that they were shut. Another fresh groan rumbled through her throat as she blinked her eyes open. Her back felt stiff, probably because she was lying down on a table. It was amazing really, Star thought, she was so bored in this room that she fell asleep.

The same boring gray table in the same boring room with the same absolutely boring design. There wasn’t a thing different about it. She curled up, stretching her back as she did so. She shut her eyes as she did so, feeling the familiar euphoria of her muscles loosening up. Star blinked again, rubbing her eyes for emphasis.

When she opened them, she was greeted with sight of a new mare in the room. About time.

“Oh good, you’re awake now,” the other mare spoke with a soft sigh. That confused Starfall. Did this mare actually think she was down for the count? Maybe this room really was that boring. “I apologize for the wait, but I was caught in some important research when Nurse Butterfly told me we had a patient after-hours.” The mare cleared her throat again, raising a dainty hand to her neck a she did so. Talk about prude.

“My name is Doctor Aurora Glider. I am a researcher here, but I have received the proper authorization and privileges to perform basic check-up on patients. I graduated from The School for Gifted Fillies at the top of my class, number one also in…” Star tuned her out. There was pride her voice. Too much of it.

The mare, Aurora, was maybe a few inches shorter than herself. She was wearing a long white coat, the kind doctors wore. Guess that made her a doctor. She also had an impressive set of wings behind her, large enough that even when folded extended out of the back of the uniform. Must have been able to get some good air with that. Star wouldn’t know. Beneath that, however, she was wearing what Star could only describe like the rest of the room. Boring.

The pegasus wore a boring tie tied around a boring white shirt sitting beneath a boring stitched vest and all of that above a boring gray skirt. It was so boring that it almost put Starfall right back to sleep. It only got worse when she saw the mare was wearing long white socks and high-heels. Heels? Who wore heels on their hooves! Star knew the answer, boring ones.

The only thing about Aurora that wasn’t boring was her coat and mane. Blue hidden beneath a rainbow. Literally, actually. Her coat was blue sky without a cloud upon it, noticeably free of any blemish. Then again, it was hard to see the entire coat when so much of it was hidden beneath her boring clothes. Her mane was easier to make out, mostly because it would have been impossible to ignore. It was literally a prismatic design, running through the Roy G. Biv of the rainbow colors. It had length to it, something that Star, as an MMA fighter, couldn’t possibly allow for herself. It dipped well past the neckline of the mare, disappearing behind her expansive white coat, like the rest of the doctor’s figure. She could probably assume her tail was much the same, but where her hair kinda disappeared, Starfall couldn’t catch a glimpse of the mare’s tail.

The pegasus’s face however, was pretty cute. That was a high compliment coming from Star, and she knew it. The blue coated mare had lean features. Not toned like Star was, but showing either a great set of genes or light training program. Given her geeky attire, it was probably the former. Her eyes were hidden only by a light layer of glass, held up by her glasses. Her mouth was… still moving. She was still talking.

“Okay, okay, yeah, I get it.” Star waved her hand, hoping to cut off the long-winded speech Aurora was giving. She didn’t come here for a lecture, dang it. “Sorry for knockin’ myself out like that. This room is just too boring to stay awake in.”

“Oh, is it?” It sounded like it was a genuine question from Aurora. Star gave her a perplexed look, not knowing what other one to offer. She couldn’t be serious, right? “I think it meets all the required needs for a patient’s clinic room. An examination table, disposable sheets, a sink for pre-examination preparation, and cabinets for storing any medical tools that require stat use.” So she was serious.

“Right,” Star let out flatly. “Okay, look, I’m just here cause my couch says I can’t train till I get your okay to hit the gym again. Mind signing a slip or somethin’ and letting me get out of your hair?”

“Absolutely not!” Oh c’mon. Aurora even said it with a stomp of her high-heeled hooves. “I assume your coach is a wise pony and only asked you to come in at this hour due to a special circumstance. Since you are here and not in the ER, I would have to guess you fell down or something fell on you, causing her or him to fear for internal injuries.” Star felt her fingers lace into her mane, pushing at her temples to ease the building pressure.

“That’s right, yeah…” Star let out slowly and begrudgingly. So this really was going to happen, wasn’t it? She let out a slow sigh, hoping she could endure this small insult to her pride. She’d already had one blow given in a crowded gym. What was one more mare’s examination going to do? “So can you get it over with? I just fell outta the ring and hit my head is all. Only real blow I got even with the match.”

“Oh, of course!” The pegasus spoke with clear glee. “Head examinations don’t take too long. I only need to do a basic pressure test and memory examination. You should be all set to go then!” Well that was a relief.

Without another word, Aurora reached into one of the boring drawers, pulling out what looked like clipboard and white sheet of paper. Shouldn’t she have had that earlier? Whatever, it wasn’t for Star to worry about. The pegasus approached her raising her digits towards Star as she did so. The unicorn had not a word of protest, far more than used to physical contact, if a bit violently at normal times. Normal for her, anyways.

“Alright, let me know if you feel any pain. Any at all, no acting tough.” Star snorted, but said not a word. She felt the prismatic pegasus begin to push against her skull, fingers lightly tracing through her mane. She didn’t poke and prod, like Star expected her to. Instead, Aurora was more like tracing her hand through her scalps, feeling for something. Star just assumed it was cracks. Still didn’t hurt.

Her hands traveled to the back of her skull, lightly pulling forwards to apply the same kind of pressure to Star’s head. Now there was prodding. Her fingers never left her hair, so she didn’t know if it counted as poking. Probably close enough though. Still, nothing hurt, not even a strain from practice.

When the doctor’s hands went below Star’s ears, they began to pull forward, tracing the fighter’s jawline. Star lifted her head up, used to pre-fight examinations. That’s exactly what this felt like. She hoped she could get that slip soon, now preferably. But no, instead, she only felt the doctor start to make her way up her cheeks. Now she was poking. Still didn’t hurt.

Finally, at least as finally as Star hoped it would be, she felt the pegasus start to push against her forehead. No more poking at least. She was tracing her fingers like she had done before, circling around the base of the unicorn’s horn around the sockets of her eyes. Guess if you had an injury it made sense to look there. Star kinda assumed it would be obvious though. Was whenever saw a fighter take a good blow at least.

“That should be it,” she finally heard Aurora speak. Star didn’t even try to hold back the sigh of relief. This was more of a pain than she thought it would be. She watched the doctor write some notes down on the pad she had pulled out before. She wasn’t sure the mare was writing down, at least aside from ‘In Perfect Health’ or ‘Let’s Hurry This Up.’

“Now, just need to ask some basic questions to make sure there isn’t any damage to your brain. Nothing difficult, just a few recollection and observational tests.” She immediately turned away, not even waiting for Star to respond. Fine for the fighter at least. The faster the better.

She watched the pegasus reach into another drawer, lower than the first. She produced a few pads of paper, laminated by the looks of them. She hit them atop the countertop lightly, probably to straighten them. The doctor nodded when she was done.

“Okay, let’s start.” Aurora faced Starfall again, holding the sealed papers as she did so. “I’m going to show you some shapes and I want to identify for me what they are. Easy, right?” The only thing easier was running laps, at least to Starfall. She nodded her head anyways. “Alright, let’s start.”

Aurora held up one of the first pictures. Star blinked at it. She knew perfectly well what it was. It was just… was that really going to be the extent of this test.

“Ah… a yellow square,” she mumbled out the words, unsure what Aurora wanted to hear. The smile and nod told her she was on the right path. That was good.

“Excellent! Next,” Aurora dropped the paper and picked up a new one. Starfall immediately spoke a silent wish for them to stop before they got through the whole deck of paper. She would be here all night otherwise.

“A blue circle.” A nod and a new card. “A pink heart.” Another nod and another new card. “An orange horn.” The nod she saw this time had some finality to it.

“Alright, your simple ocular abilities are intact. Now I need to test basic extrapolation. It’s a lot easier than it sounds.” She probably said that for the look Star gave. Too bad the super smart doctor couldn’t figure out it was out of annoyance and not worry. “Just a few more pictures, but they’re going to be more complicated than shapes. Just say what they are and we’ll only have one more test to go.” At least they were close to the finish line. Star took in a slow breath of air to ease her racing heart. Adrenaline was a funny thing.

Aurora held up another picture for her. True to the mare’s word, it was a bit more complicated than a square or circle, but it was like saying a bo staff was a bit harder to model than a stick. Really nothing to it at all.

“A house.” Aurora nodded with a pleased expression as she picked up another card. “A Timberwolf.” Another nod from the doctor and another new card. “Bucket full of hay.” Crap, now she was getting hungry. At least there was another new card. “Plates, I guess.”

“Guessed correctly,” Aurora proudly returned. She set aside the used cards and, to Star’s relief, the remainder as well. Guess they were for another test. The pegasus, however, picked up her notepad again and started writing on it. Better be just good things again. Star wanted out of here.

“Okay nearly done. All I need now is the recollection exam.” Aurora looked up at Starfall, pad still in her hand and eyes focused on the fighting mare. “I’m going to ask you only a few basic questions about the past few days. They’re global variables, things that you should intuitively know. Sound good?” Star gave another nod, doing her utmost to not sigh in response. This was lasting three exams too long in her mind.

“Excellent. Alright, first question, what is the name of the city we are currently in?” Guess she was serious when she meant obvious questions. That was good at least.

“Canterlot,” Star answered back easily. The pegasus across from her nodded with a small grin marking something on her clipboard.

“Good. Now who is the currently leader of Equestria?” Easy come and easy go.

“King Sombra the 10th,” she spoke easily as well. “If it helps, numbers one through nine came before him, in opposite order. Good aren’t I?” Star told herself that Aurora’s giggle wasn’t cute, even if the previous pouting demeanor she had was.

“Perfect, bonus points, too.” Too bad Star wouldn’t get a prize for this. “Final question, how many different kinds of ponies are there?” Star wished all her tests were this easy. Would have meant she could have passed high school.

“Six,” she began raising both hands and tilting her head into the air before she continued. “Pegasus, unicorn, earth, bat, iron, and crystal.” Her head lolled left and right with each answer, falling back down when she was finished. “Did I ace it?” Aurora giggled at the question. Star only raised her brow. She wasn’t trying to tease the pegasus that much.

“Yes, you did,” Aurora started again. “With flying colors!”

The doctor then promptly extended her wings, grinning broadly as she showed off her wings. It really was an impressive sight, the length of the long limbs easily reaching the width of the room. It added a lot of color to the otherwise boring room. However, Star couldn’t even force herself to smile. Not… Not with that clearly horrible pun.

“You work with kids a lot, don’t ya?” Only assumption Star could make for the how horribly obvious the pun was. The question had an immediate effect, however. The doctor’s wings wilted, her grin flipping almost instantly into a worried frown. She pulled the clipboard and paper over her chest, hiding what little was still able to be seen of her coat.

“Um… no,” the pegasus responded. Starfall only raised a brow. “I… usually work by myself… all the time. The books I read said that would be funny… wasn’t it?” Books she read? She… oh…

Star promptly put her face in one of her hands, barely stifling the chuckle that came out.

“So it was funny?” the unicorn felt herself laughing even harder. Now she needed both of her hands to hold back the bubbling chuckles, a single slip and she would basically torment this mare into the ground. That would be fun, but really uncool. The latter was far more important than the former.

“Y-Yeah,” Star quickly and horribly puttered out between the balls of laughter rolling in her chest. “T-Totally just… j-just…” She resulted to biting her lips. Anymore and she would definitely start laughing at the pegasus. She couldn’t do that… at least not until she got a slip signed saying she was good for practice again.

“Oh excellent!” The pegasus enthusiastically replied. “I was worried I would perform the joke wrong. It had very specific requirements, but it looks like those hours of studying paid off.” Star started to think of her fall at the gym, embarrassing herself in front of all the trainees. Maybe that would get her to stop laughing. Well… it helped.

“Now all I need you to do is sign a quick form showing you came here and you should be good to go.” That did it.

“Wait, what?” Star asked aloud, her laughter quickly forgotten.

“It’s nothing to worry about, really,” Aurora waved her hand at the unicorn’s worry, marking something else down on her sheet as she talked. “I just have to enter your data into our systems and time stamp it. Once I have that, I’ll just need you to sign the accompanying paper and you’ll be good to go.”

“Can’t I just go now?” She motioned to the door as she spoke. “You did just give me the all clear. Heck, you said it twice.”

“I did, but, well, this is a public clinic. We get our financial aid by the number of patients we are able to help. So the more patients we help…” Starfall knew exactly where that was going.

“The more funding you get.” If nothing else, she could get that at least. Kinda like the number of fans at a match. Didn’t matter how good you were on the ring. If you couldn’t sell the show, you were outta the match. It sucked, but at least now she knew it wasn’t just in MMA fights. “Yeah, whatever, just make it fast.” Star waved her off, putting her head into her free hand again. She knew boredom was sure to come again.

“Promise!” Aurora cheerily said as she left the room. The sound of the door clicking came across like a cell door slamming shut. It forced a groan out of Star’s lips.

This was seriously starting to become more of a hassle than the spar with Fire. At least there she knew what was going to happen. Specifically her victory, a crushing one at that. Star knew the weapons she had to conjure, the best density to shape them to, the best places to strike and the best times to block or dodge. Fighting was easy, really easy; fun too.

This? This was torture. This was dragging out a long and overly done test just to get a few bucks from some place she couldn’t even name. That was stupid. It felt like a padded fight, saving time for a real match to start by having some newbies who didn’t know a strike from a cross duke it out. Something that was fun to watch for all of two seconds, but then left you wishing desperately for it to end and something real to begin.

That feeling was magnified a hundredfold, at least according to Starfall. It was only made more and more abundantly clear by the gray interior of the room seemingly mocking her. She thought it might be worth breaking one of the walls, if just to add a bit of color. The inside of them probably had more color. At the very least she might break a pipe, give her an excuse to get the hell out of here.

She should have brought some free weights. That was the newest thought that popped into Star’s mind. She should have brought some forty pound weights to do some free curls of push-lifts with. At least then she wouldn’t be wasting her time, literally watching the wall. At least paint drying had something going on. This was… so much worse.

A slow groan left her throat as she fell backwards onto the table again, hair splaying around her she stared up to another boring ceiling. The thought idly crossed her mind that she could probably take another snooze, knock off whatever amount of time was left with a good nap. Wouldn’t hurt much, considering that Celestia wasn’t even letting go back to the gym until tomorrow. That still sucked.

She had a whole training regiment made up for the night. She knew Fire wasn’t going to be anymore than a pushover in the ring, so she had to make up something to really get something out of the day. She was going to alternate between weighted strides and medicine ball throws, three sets of each with twenty reps preferably. Shake that up with some speed conjuring, quick alterations between her shield, bo staff, and night stick as fast as she could. Probably wouldn’t set any kind of PR, but it was better than sitting in a boring room staring at a boring ceiling with boring colors and boring tests.

Oh, this had to be against the law in some way. Starfall was at her wits end with it. If something didn’t happen, like a riot or a bomb going off, soon, she was going to break down the door, find Aurora and make sure she signed that freaking paper so she could-

“I’m back!” Saved by dumb luck. The voice spoke perkily as the door opened, the familiar pegasus doctor stepping through, clipboard still in hand. Her heels clicked as she entered, nearly in time with the opening and shutting of the door. Star realized just how bored she was when she started noticing those details.

“Well, I have your clinic hours all set, I just need you to sign this recognition paper showing that you were here and we’re not faking records.” Star held out her hand. Aurora didn’t need to say anything else. Nothing at all. Really.

“But, according to your records, you haven’t had your annual physical in quite some time. Is that correct?” Oh you have got to be… Star’s extended hand came back and slapped herself in the face.

“Augh. Weren’t those things just supposed to be done when you were signing up for something?” Honestly the last time Star could care to remember getting one of those done was when Celestia said she needed to prove her state of health from a doctor. Not wanting to train someone who was sick or going to be sick, something like that. She was starting to suspect her mentor’s motives.

“Of course not!” Star was surprised by the force the seemingly meek pegasus spoke with. “Physicals are an absolute necessity for ensuring the health of an individual. Without them, you could be suffering from a potential illness without even knowing it! It has been shown that routine physicals are able to spot nearly fifty percent of acute illnesses before harmful effects begin to arise.”

“Whoa, okay, alright, just… relax, will ya?” The MMA fighter held up her arms at the pegasus, who was flaring her impressive wingspan as she spoke. She may have had the muscle mass of a wet noodle, but she sure had the intimidation factor all set. “I’ll get my physical taken care of later. I just need ya to sign a slip or something to show-”

“No,” Aurora spoke with finality. “As a doctor loyal to my practice, I am not going to let you leave here before I do a complete check-up on you. To not do so would be an insult to the oath I swore to uphold.” For a moment, Star was about to swear she did have some kind of brain damage. She swore she saw flags waving and fireworks exploding behind the blue mare. She rubbed her eyes to make them go away.

“Uh, no, that’s cool and all, but I really just wanna head out, so-” Star stopped speaking when Aurora stomped her hoof. She had her arms hands balled into fists and pointedly extended towards the floor. The posture wasn’t so much intimidating as it was… adorable. The little pout the pegasus had just sealed it, at least in Star’s opinion.

“I can’t let you leave until I do the examination!” There was a lot more force with that declaration. Problem was, Aurora wasn’t talking to any stubborn patient. She was getting ready to butt heads with a near pro-level MMA fighter. Star snarled at the challenge the pegasus was putting forward.

“You already did a freaking examination of me, and that was already two tests too many for me.” The unicorn brought her hands up as she spoke. It was instinctual when she was getting into a fight. She settled with rubbing the temples of her skull. “There’s clearly nothing wrong with me, so just mark me up as A-O-K and let me outta here.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you mentally, but you might have the early signs of a chronic illness, which I cannot know unless I perform a physical.” The pegasus huffed as her wings extended lightly behind her. It was never more than a twitch. Star practically wished they would just open up, then she might be able to see this as some kind of fight.

“If you’re lookin’ to do your good deed for the day or something, just sign the card then. That’s really all I need.” Aurora only puffed her lips at the words, stomping one of her high heels again. Star put her face back in her hands, already knowing what was coming.

“The issue is not a matter of good deeds, but a matter of principle!” She all but shouted at the unicorn. A small moment of silence hung then, confusing Star. The sigh that followed shortly after told her to wait for the doctor’s latest dull point. “If I let you leave here and you are inflicted with an illness that does not present obvious symptoms until significant time has passed, it may already be too late to inoculate you with the proper vaccine or anti-bacterial!”

“Then I’ll take my chances!” Star chopped her hands in the air as she spoke. That gave finality to her words, definitely. “I don’t need another ten minutes of your prodding me for something that I already know isn’t there. Seriously, I don’t need it.”

“But I am seriously telling you that you will not be aware of your need or lack thereof for a physical until it is already complete!” The doctor marched until she was nose to nose with Starfall, snouts only breaths apart. The unicorn, trained MMA fighter and undefeated sparer, furrowed her brow at the nosy pegasus. Aurora did the same to the lavender mare.

“Well, what are you gonna do ta make me take one?” The unicorn dropped her voice as she spoke. She was taller than the doctor, if only by a hair, but still taller. She got on the tips of her hooves to loom over the mare as she spoke. “Do you really think you can take me down?”

“No.” Star was almost thrown by how quick the prismatic maned pegasus responded. She was used to some challenge in her opponents. “I will not fake some false sense of bravado to perform a routine and required medical procedure.”

Star slowly let her scowl fell, letting a grin rise upon her features. She leaned back down, nodding her head in satisfaction. Looks like she was getting out of here.

“However,” the doctor continued. “If you do not consent to the physical, I will have to take that as some form of mental illness or damage brought on by your injury, thus restricting me from signing. Your. Slip.”

Starfall’s jaw dropped as she stared at the doctor, words falling over and failing. Aurora didn’t flinch.

A thousand and one questions passed through her mind, several of them taking laps. The leader of the pack, far and away, was how much gall this mare must have to make that kind of threat. The second question, though a far-and-away one, was if this doctor was bluffing. Something itched at the unicorn’s mind.

Was this legal? That was a big question. It didn’t sound like it. Forcing some stupid tests under threat of no care? That sounded pretty bad to her. Then again, maybe this peppy pegasus had the bones to try it. She didn’t have the horn to show of her magic, but her wings… maybe she really did have some kind of backbone. Would have needed one to handle those beasts on her back.

But those beasts, Starfall passively noticed, were open now. And, like she guessed before, they were the size of the room, easily. Fully expanded, the shimmering blue feathers far out-did the dull white and gray of her uniform. It brought out the rainbow in her mane, hanging only slightly over the stern expression still staring intently at Star.

It was… kinda hot, actually.

“You… you’re serious?” She questioned the mare, hoping her voice had her usual confidence. The way she tripped over her first words, however, told her it was likely otherwise. It didn’t help when Aurora raised her brow, smirk rising where once there was a cute frown.

“I never go back on my word.” The words gave Star no room to move. That… was really bad.

No, scratch that. That had never happened before. She always had somewhere to move! A weak guard to exploit, a joint to press, a weapon to twist, something! But… she couldn’t find anything. Either she really did walk out of here and have to forego even longer without training, or she buckled down and endured another terrible test.

“Wow,” Starfall mumbled. “Beaten by an egghead.”

She let a long sigh, body relaxing as she let one of her hands weave through her lavender locks. This was new, and not something she enjoyed. New was cool, but only when it was actually fun. This wasn’t. Not at all. But… maybe she could make it fun. Maybe. Had to give ground first though.

She unzipped her jacket, taking off the loose material and laying it over the table behind her. It left her in only her form fitting top, matching the hue of her coat and embedded with her cutie mark. Her arms, midriff, and rest of her upper body was bare to the eye. This was step one. Now she needed to play along.

“I’ll do the freaking test for you.” Aurora nodded proudly at the words, wings folding back into her figure, drastically reducing her size. But Star wasn’t done. “But, I have a condition.”

“Physicals are meant to be done in a procedural fashion to prevent any lapse in judgement.” Talk about a rehearsed line.

“No no no, the test is fine. Well, fine enough that I’ll bite my lip and go with it, but that’s not what I’m talking about,” Star began to explain. One of her hands fell to her hip, cocking the side of herself out as she leaned the other way. “What I meant is that I want something out of this to really make it worthwhile. Can’t expect me to be really patient with you if I’m doing something I hate for no gain, am I right?” Pain meant muscle, as Star had been drilled by Celestia.

“I… suppose not,” Aurora lightly admitted. Starfall smirked. That was ground she could work with.

“Sweet. But don’t worry, I’m not askin’ for like bits or somethin’ like that. Don’t need that kinda stuff when ya got a body like mine.” Star made a verydeliberate point to flex her arms, locking her fingers behind her head to make a bow shape with her muscular arms. The sultry look she added for spice. Everyone loved spice.

The faint red over the doctor’s face and even fainter twitching of her wings was all the cue Starfall needed to know she had definitely stepped on solid ground. Time to plant a flag.

“I… traditionally… no, you-y-you normally don’t…” Stuttering, very good. Things were going smooth as a well-conjured bo staff. Good thing Aurora was as honest with herself as she was with her code of honor.

“Right, so, here’s what I’m thinkin’.” Star untied her fingers, rotating her left arm until it swung to just beneath her chin, fully extended. Her left hand lifted, pulling against it to loosen her deltoids. Also helped to show off how tight her muscles were to the clearly eagle eyed doc. Leave it to a pegasus to have an eye for the details.

“See, with or without your note, I’m not gonna be able to go back to the gym until tomorrow. That leaves me with nothin’ to do for the rest of the night.” Star had done this so many times before, this was almost as scripted as Aurora’s code of honor. Good thing Starfall knew how to sell what she had. Grade A merchant right here. “I was thinkin’ of going back home to try and catch some early z’s, but that’s probably not gonna happen?”

“I-It isn’t?” The blue pegasus swallowed on something. Seeing as Star didn’t spy her drinking any water, looked like she was trying to swallow her pride. She hoped it wasn’t water at least. The pegasus was beginning to look a little thirsty. “No you must be… um… what?” Stumbling for answers. Hopefully she stumbled right into where Starfall wanted her.

“I’m going to be lookin’ to have a bit of fun tonight, at least move around the town without doin’ too much over the bend, if you catch my drift.” Star winked. Aurora blushed. The universe worked its magic.

“Does, um… this mean you are looking for… a-a-a-I don’t know.” Aurora didn’t look too happy admitting that. Star wasn’t too worried herself. She had made many stallions and mares happy with what she had planned.

“Now I’m looking for someone to join me on a fun night.” She took a very large step towards the pegasus, intentionally of course. Too short and the pegasus would have retreated, making it easier to shy away from Star. The MMA fighter wouldn’t be having any of that.

She crossed her arms as she stood only a very short distance apart from the pegasus. Aurora swallowed on something again, probably still nothing. Star took extra care to flex her muscles, showing off what over a decade of training could make. The doctor seemed impressed with the results, at least her wandering eyes said so.

“And the thing is,” she spoke up, earning Aurora’s immediate attention. “You’re probably the first pony to beat me like that. Trust me, I win just about everything. So right now, I wanna know a little more about you.”

“That’s… v-very kind of you,” the doctor spoke as she shrank a little. Starfall double checked her vision to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. But nope, it appeared the pegasus was indeed dipping a few inches lower than she had before. Must of been the fault of her crossed legs. “B-But it’s improper for a p-patient and their physician to-”

“You’re not my physician,” Starfall spoke up, already knowing where the line was going. “Your anything-but-kind nurse made that pretty clear. You’re a doctor, doing some kind of research here that’s just getting funded by the clinic’s help. So there’s really nothing stopping you from saying yes.” This was Star’s second element.

The first was and always would be the ring, standing across from another pony that had dedicated their life to perfecting their Martial Style and Magical Abilities. Moving around the four corners, making due with quick judgements and consequences, that was her life. This right here, making mares and stallions a little hot under the collar, this was a close second.

“P-Perhaps,” Aurora stuttered out. “But… Is there, um… w-will it really help?” Help? Oh yeah, help with the physical. Well, Starfall couldn’t lie about that.

“Trust me,” she said. “If I got something to look forward to, I can endure anything.” The most honest words she’d ever spoken.

“Um… okay,” the words came out in a whisper, Aurora almost hunching over herself. The image was only compounded by the fact that her wings were starting to fold around herself, probably some kind of nervous reaction. Star grinned, used to it by now. The nervous part at least.

“Sweet!” Starfall relaxed her arms as she spoke the declaration. She took two quick steps back, jumping up on the table and swinging her legs. She took a long moment to appreciate the nervous mess she had turned the once oh-so confident doctor into.

Knees bent, heels far apart, calves creased together, and blue fur almost died a tomato red, the MMA fighter almost called it some of her best work. Guess that made them one and one. Aurora pulled at her collar, likely to let off some of the steam Star had given off. The unicorn’s smirk only grew.

“Yes… well…” she spoke as she began to collect herself. “I believe we can… start the physical now.” She stood her tallest, wings readjusting till they were folded behind her back once more. The pegasus took in a deep breath of air, probably to cool herself off. Star knew she was going to need a lot more than that. Showers helped.

“To begin, take off your top and turn around.”

The unicorn’s grin fell.

“Wait, what?”
> Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two to one. The current score on the board was two to one. The prismatic-maned pegasus of a doctor had a point above her in a match that most others would probably call over. That wasn’t just bad. It was terrible.

It had been years at the very least since she was last in this kind of situation, probably longer than that. It had always been first-strike/strong-lead for her, never giving her opponent anything but a clear picture that they were being outclassed, letting them know that Star was leagues above them. Best way to show you were ready for the next rung on the ladder to the top.

But this mare, Aurora? She had tripped up Star once, took the counter thrown back, then immediately delivered her own comeback that would have left an audience screaming for joy in their seats. It made the fighter bite her lip in further annoyance. It was only made worse by how the pegasus seemed so gullible up until then.

Star had to get that point back. She couldn’t lose to something like this. There had to be something she could do to make Aurora recognize that she’d taken on the wrong mare. That was the trouble though. This wasn’t some match in a ring she’d gotten tripped up on; this was out in the open with the only ref available sitting in her head.

She huffed a spiteful breath, crossing her arms hard over her jacket. She flexed them, tightening them up while leaning back against the wall behind her. The air outside was starting to cool, the sun finally falling out of the sky and giving room for the moon to start to peek out from top of the buildings around her. Street lights began to flicker on, illuminating the otherwise dark roads. They were all secondary to Starfall.

What she was more concerned with was the building she was leaning against, the Canterlot Public Clinic. It was still half light, the windows glowing across the street like the lamps above. She couldn’t see anyone inside, not inside the clinic itself at least. They were all in that back room, the one that had doctors and not physicians. The room where Aurora was no doubt still working.

Starfall hadn’t the faintest idea what the pegasus was working on specifically, she only knew that the doctor enjoyed it. Enough that, after having the MMA fighter take off her top and feeling her up with a rubber glove, she rushed off to the back room to finish up more of her work. Leaving it to that butterfly marked nurse to dismiss her, of course.

That wasn’t why she was staying here right now. Oh no. She was here now because Aurora had agreed to go out to dinner with Starfall following her work, whenever that was over. It was what gave the unicorn her solitary point on the scoreboard, teasing another mare into a date. Often hard to do, but like any fight, she nailed it.

The problem was that Aurora seemed just as ready for the curveballs that Star was throwing. Not only did she twist her arm like a perfect chicken-wing to make her take the dang physical, but then she was able to use it as an excuse to make her strip. To turn the tables on her like that, it was just… It was worse than having one of her MMA moves backfire.

So now, Star was out here waiting for Aurora to show up, thinking of a way on how to get back at her before they jumped off to that dinner. There were choices, at least a few, but there were just as many options she couldn’t even allow herself to glance at.

Humiliation? Oh no, that was a no go. Not for a lack of ideas, Starfall reminded herself. She could think of at least a dozen ways to get the pegasus feeling poorly about herself, the most obvious of which was just to leave right now. Easy to execute, easy to follow-up on, and simple. But no, it wasn’t going to happen. There was a higher chance of her leaving the MMA then doing that. Tactics like humiliation and pranks weren’t how you got points on the board. Those were cheap tricks used by unskilled fighters.

Lead-lined fighting mitts, audience cast illusions, pre-fight threatening, post-fight attacks; they were all the lowest of the low when it came to ‘winning’. Celestia may have been strict about that lesson, but Starfall didn’t need her to emphasize it to know it. She learned that lesson before she ever set foot in the White Sister’s gym.

Schoolyard bullies going after her brother, picking on him cause they couldn’t ace the tests like he could, trying to throw everything they could get their greasy little hands on. Star snorted angrily at the memory, feeling her hands ball into fists in their crossed state. She hated those bullies, hated them for the cowards that they were.

No, Star wasn’t going to try and humiliate Aurora. The pegasus deserved so much more than that. There weren’t any cheap tactics or underhanded moves being made. She was playing the board they stumbled on like a smart fighter did the ropes of a ring. Not relying on the elastic bands, but getting a solid strike with them. Star had to admit, the first time she pulled that trick off felt great. Aurora must have been feeling the same way.

That was why she had to be smart about this. No childish name-calling, no pranking, no running off and leaving a mare to weep. Whatever she was gonna do, it had to be good, solid, but just enough to know that it was an even counter, not an underhanded blow.

Teasing seemed good, at least a good option for now. Worked for a solid point before, but Auorora might already be seeing through it now. It was hard to pull the same move on an opponent twice. It was why there was no such thing as a signature move in MMA. Once word got around what it was, didn’t take long for someone else to learn how to counter it. For a mare as smart as Aurora, she probably had an idea of what to expect out of Star now. Hell, she might be in there studying possible comebacks as she waited. So not out, but not a first option.

A false front might work. Fake attention was the quickest way to make other ponies feel more important than they often were. It was why Celestia was so keen on not teaching any of the newbies too much longer than she had to. Too much attention on one of them over the others resulted in the idea that they were overtly special, and not the simple reason of needing more attention because they were worse off.

In training and mentoring, it was a bad idea. For getting a point in this kind of battle, however, it was perfect for Starfall. There were a hundred and one questions she could ask Aurora. Her job, her past, her likes, dislikes, all the basic stuff and even a little more. Questions, and a lot of them, gave the idea that someone was curious. Thinking a mare was curious gave the idea that the mare was interested. And just next to that was the idea that something good was going to come out of it.

What a haymaker it would be to have that same mare suddenly end the evening without so much as a goodbye. That could work. Not public, subtle at first, and striking a decisive blow where it mattered most, at the end of the match. Done right, it could even be a Total Knock Out. That was a good option.

But there were a few more ideas. Passive attention, ignorance, playing the idiot, acting the muscle head, maybe even throwing away those manners her parents made her learn at the dinner. Borderline humiliation, but it was more of a reversal than a direct blow. Putting Star, herself, in the humiliation role in order to allow Aurora to feel the burn. Hard to do, but when done right, it was more satisfying than a knockout in the first round.

“Oh good, you’re still here!” The voice nearly made Star fall over. She at least slid down the wall. Not off to a great start.

Blinking away her thoughts, the unicorn turned to see the pegasus plaguing her thoughts standing just next to her. Took a few seconds longer to fully recognize her, given that Aurora was out of the white lab coat she was wearing before. Still, the rainbow mane, large wings, and blue coat made it kind of hard to not recognize the mare.

Clothes were new though, at least different. Not far off from what Star pictured the uptight doctor would wear. A skirt, of course, stretching just far enough to above the knees, colored a boring and rather dull blue, like the sky just before shifting into nighttime. The top was little different. Just one long-sleeved buttoned up top, colored a lighter shade then her skirt. It was cuffed at the sleeves, but without a wrinkle on it. Kinda impressive if she was wearing it all day. Just as impressive if she was saving it. Either she was super careful, or super prepared. Both made for difficult fights.

Aurora, however, seemed to take notice of Starfall’s wandering eyes. She started fidgeting slightly, pulling her arms closer to her body as if to shield herself. Poor defense if that was the case, but the message was pretty clear.

“W-What?” the mare stumbled on her word. Star noted how the pegasus tucked a stray strand of her red hair behind one of her ears. A common nervous habit, but just like any kind of fight, she had to take careful note of every detail. And, just like those fights, she had to plan her every move.

“Nothing,” Star responded easily. “I was just thinking you look nice out of that lab coat.” An honest statement. Can’t do any feints this early in the match. Solid hit nonetheless, given how the blue of Aurora’s natural coat turned a shade pinker. Star smirked at the accomplishment. “But we should start walkin’ if we want to go somewhere to eat. Not in the mood to eat off the sidewalk.”

“Huh?” Aurora’s blush faded quickly, her brow knitting instead. “Oh! Right,” she spoke quickly, walking forward the small distance till the two were side-by-side. It took that long for Star to note that the mare was also wearing high-heels, putting them at just about equal height. She only figured that out after hearing the heels click on the concrete. Star was glad her ears were still in check, but she put a tally against herself for not noting the shoes. A lot of the fancy mares cared so much about shoes she should have at least noticed them.

Any criticism Star had for her observation skills were put aside when Aurora linked their arms together.

Star had to look to confirm it, staring down at her arm for a moment. Sure enough, there was a dark blue sleeved arm wrapped and the crux of hers, effectively knotting them together. They were linked right around the elbow, held together like some advanced pinning maneuver. Major differences here though was that Aurora wasn’t just holding their arms together, she was leaning over and onto Star as well.

In the course of only a few moments, the seemingly nervous pegasus had managed to put Starfall in one of the most precarious positions that she could. As if to add insult to the maneuver, Aurora smiled at her, grinning with a look the unicorn knew instinctively was adorable, complete with half-lidded eyes. They hadn’t even taken a step yet and the doctor was already gaining the upper hand.The hesitation, however, was noticed by the pegasus.

“I-I’m sorry,” the doctor spoke as quickly as she had linked her arm around Star’s. “I… I thought this was appropriate for dates. I… Was I too forward?” She was already leaning off of the unicorn, unhooking her arm as she did so. Star, trained for years, was faster.

“Hey, no, you’re fine,” Star spoke as she caught Aurora, just before her arm left the crux they made. “Just surprised me is all. I didn’t expect ya to be so quick on the uptake. I just thought I’d be the one leading this night is all.” She had to say that. She had to speak the most reassuring words she could. Otherwise Aurora would have effectively pulled off one of the most impressive improv guilt trips the unicorn had ever experienced. This way, however, there was no gain on either side.

Aurora’s face relaxed, her wings laxing behind her as well. That was a good sign, the wings at least. Made it clear to Star that those were going to be a critical thing to keep her eyes on if she was going to be reading the pegasus right at all tonight.

“That’s good,” the doctor spoke again. “I was nervous I may have already overstepped the boundaries of physical contact. I’m happy to know nothing has been spoiled.” This mare… she was using a lot of high-brow words to just say she was glad she didn’t screw up. Thing was, Star felt the same way.

“Don’t worry ‘bout that.” Starfall returned quickly leaning towards and away from the pegasus. It had the desired effect of the doctor leaning back into her. A common instinct of overcompensation, a good use of a feint. It ended with Aurora leaning on Starfall once again, arms linked together, and the unicorn looking down at her. “I asked you to have dinner with me in order to get through that physical of yours. It’s gonna take a little more than a bit of social awkwardness to get out of it.” Aurora smiled back up at her, unease alleviated, though Star could see only lightly. She would have thought this was new territory for the pegasus. She would have, if the doctor weren’t clearly a pro at it.

“I’m glad,” Aurora returned. “Truth be told, I was looking forward to having this late evening with you. I can’t remember the last time any pony asked me out on a date, let alone in the midst of an examination.” Star found that hard to believe. Sneaks and tricks aside, it wasn’t hard to see the blue-coated doctor was very easy on the eyes. If the stallions and mares weren’t flocking to ask her out, something must have been up.

Fortunately, she had an entire night to find out. It might even be the winning point of the match.

“Well there’s no use in thinkin’ about that kinda stuff now.” Star spoke up again. “I’m here, you’re here, and we got a night to enjoy.” Aurora giggled at the words. That made Star grin.

So now the game was beginning again.





They had been walking for maybe ten minutes before Starfall realized she had no idea where they were going.

She wanted to go to a restaurant, she had promised and planned as much. Problem was there wasn’t really a restaurant she had in mind. The local joint she would usually head to didn’t seem like the greatest place to take a doctor. Goal here was to make a good night with a sudden let down.

Somehow taking a doctor to a place like the Salty Salad didn’t seem like a great idea for that to happen. Sure, it had good food, but the usual brawls and typical banter that came from the bar end usually ended in made that a rather bad choice. Fun for the newbies to feel at ease, probably not the prime choice for a doctor to relax in.

Star searched her head for a good alternative. Taking away the fast food joints, take-out menus, bar-hopping social venues, and of course, the usual meet up points for MMA fighters and trainees, she wasn’t left with much. Just a few places she didn’t have the clothes or money to go to. Course, the biggest reason she wasn’t on board for those places was the judging eyes that usually came with them.

Not cute enough, not dressed enough, not enough make-up, not enough bits, not doing something right in those places and every eye would stare at you like you were a changeling in daycare. An outsider in the worst of ways.

“If I may ask, where are we heading to?” Aurora asked Starfall, looking to the mare she was currently leaning on. The question didn’t scare the unicorn off guard so much as it annoyed her. She hated questions she didn’t have the answer to. More than that, she hated having questions she’d have to admit as much.

“I… I got nothin’.” The words spilled out, tasting like venom. “Can’t think of any place that would suit both of us. No point in eating out if one of us is feeling like we’re taking our title match in a foreign ring.” She rubbed her head with her hand, shutting her eyes to block out the street lights above. No stars to see in a city.

“Hmm…” She heard the pegasus on her arm hum, probably in thought. For a small amount of time, the only sound was the hoofs clicking across the ground. Well, the heels that Aurora was wearing and the basic sneakers that Star wore. The unicorn’s hooves didn’t click. They were actually meant to be comfortable, not stylish.

Starfall stopped rubbing her head when she felt something pull on her arm. Didn’t take her long to realize it was Aurora. Took her a bit longer to notice that the pegasus was standing in front of her now, pulling her forward. Both hands were on her arm, the same arm aiming forward instead of sitting at her side.

Only problem was, Starfall was a trained fighter and muscled well enough to take blows as well as she gave them. Aurora was a doctor and probably not an athletic one at that. That meant that when the latter was trying to pull the former, it was more like Aurora was pulling on a tree branch. In other words, about as pointless as hand-squeezing apples.. Did make Star grin though. The doctor was acting pretty cute if nothing else. The pout helped.

Wait, did that mean Aurora was taking the advance here? Crap, she was.

“Probably be best to tell me what you’re thinking.” Star spoke to the miffed pegasus. She had to move with the grab, just like any basic escape tactic. “We’ll be heading nowhere fast otherwise.” The unicorn felt the pegasus sag at the response, namely because the small amount of force she felt pulling her lazed.

“I-I’m sorry,” Aurora spoke up, sounding far more anxious than she initially appeared. Maybe she didn’t expect Star to be so hard to move. Her mistake, and mistakes were what decided a match. Not how many you made, but how well you moved with them. By the way the doctor was acting, she was a regular pro. “I… I think I know where we can go, where you and I can both be comfortable with few distractions, but… I don’t know. The majority of the novels I’ve read emphasise that surprise helps to bolster the emotions felt by individuals in the short term following the reveal.” Star was more impressed how Aurora spoke all that with not only a single breath, but a straight face.

“Huh,” the fighter let out at first, processing everything the doctors had said. “That’s… that’s a mouthful.” Star found herself lightly waving a finger in the air as she spoke. Her mistake, unfortunately. She assumed it was by the action Aurora took next.

Specifically, how the doctor seemingly curled in on herself, bottom lip between her teeth, aversion of the eyes, tightly tucked wings, it was all pretty amazing thinking back on it. Starfall had taken blunt maces to the chest in training, bo-staff swings to the head, and then many more trips and falls between the two. Yet, the thin pegasus in front of her, looking like she was about to cry, felt much worse than any of those. Star had to react, fast.

“So… all that psycho-stuff aside, you know where we can eat?” Best way to avoid a blow was follow its path. Made reversals easier. “I mean, might as well check it out, right?” Star put on a lopsided grin as she asked the question, shrugging her shoulders at the mare still holding her arm out. It worked, again, seemingly. The sudden disappearance of the frown helped.

“Alright,” Aurora spoke, once again looking less uncomfortable. That was all the indication she gave before turning around and walking forward again, pulling Star’s arm still. This time, the fighter quickened her pace enough to match the doctor’s, though it wasn’t tough when the latter was wearing high heels.

Her wings, tall and wide, were fidgeting against her back. The long cyan feathers that made up the bulk of its mass didn’t so much as twitch in the light wind of the city. Made sense, as they were made to fly above the clouds, kinda like how Star’s own horn was meant to channel magic that would normally make a regular mare sick.

They were nice to look at though, especially with rainbow locks flowing over the back of them. The mare’s tail was hidden behind the curtain of feathers, but the wings were pretty enough by themselves that it wasn’t a mournful loss. True, they could have used a bit of muscle, probably some tonic, but otherwise they were nice.

All that aside though, reeling her mind back in, Starfall didn’t have anymore of a clue for where they were going.

What was with this mare? She either explained herself like a freaking book or she assumed everything was common knowledge. Where was the middle ground?

“So, where are we headin’?” Star asked the pegasus trying to drag her forward. “Don’t get me wrong, I like a good surprise now and then, but can’t help but wonder where you’re thinking of taking me.”

“Well, it is a surprise,” Aurora spoke up, though still refusing to turn around as she did so. “But I know it's someplace that we can both enjoy!” Wow, careful with the details, Star humorlessly thought. Seriously though, she could at least tell her what the dinner was going to be like.

“Is it a pub, or a restaurant, or… what?” Star didn’t slow her pace, but the tugging on her arm told her Aurora wanted to go faster. All for speedy workouts, especially when you were trying to build up the endurance, but she hated having to do something quickly without so much as an idea about it.

“The first two options are both ‘whats’ as well, referring to a question of the identity of the physical object.” Star felt her arm try and massage her head. She kept it from doing so. “But the diner is not a pub, as they do not serve alcoholic beverages. It can be classified as a restaurant, but so can most other dining places.” Again, the over-detail. She was like a pendulum.

“Are we at least close?” Star spoke as she swung, literally so. At least that was what it felt like when the moved around the corner. Her words did get the pegasus to chuckle a little. The move was more obvious this time, making it easy for Starfall to avoid the usual feeling of giddiness it brought.

“Closer than we were before,” Aurora cheerily replied. She was seriously slipping, Starfall realized. Maybe she had played too much of her ‘A’ game too early. Common mistake for a lot of newbies, but she didn’t think the doctor was anything like that. Maybe this was a new tactic of hers… just meant Star had to stay careful.

But seriously, closer than they were before? Why was she being so sneaky? It was almost too difficult to tell, almost. She could at least tell that the pegasus was starting to look head, her prismatic mane bobbing left and right as she looked for something. Probably a sign or landmark. No different than trying to look for the give-away of a coming strike.

“Ah, we’re here.” Star marked a soft point in her favor. She called Aurora right, too bad it didn’t count for a point in her actual favor. But that wasn’t important, not in the immediate sense. Now she needed to sum up the ring the pegasus had brought her to.

It was a restaurant, as Aurora had so clearly pointed out all places that served food were, but clearly not a dine-and-dash sort of diner. Wasn’t upscale, not by the way the ponies walking in and out dressed, but was far from a casual sit in either. There was a patio with that white fencing Star never really understood. No roof to guard against the rain and no plant life to make it seem like a garden. Just some funny looking architecture.

The actual place itself looked really nice. A lot of windows that were all curtained, guarded by those same white fencing things. Short place though, one floor, which was kinda rare in the city. It was very pretty though, more brightly colored than the rest of the buildings. But again, not in an overly fancy way. A lot of white, some bright oranges and reds, but no frilly pinks, purples, or other colors Starfall knew the upper class called ‘royal’. Guess it was good so far, at least it was the kind of middle ground the unicorn was looking for. Her eyes scanned the name of the place, painted across the top of the place.

“The Apple Orchard?” Star spoke the name aloud, not recognizing it. Wasn’t odd, not with how large Canterlot was, but still felt weird finding something new in a place she had lived in all her life. She did feel Aurora lean against her, nodding at unicorn’s questioning tone.

“Yes, it’s a nice place I like to eat when I’m waiting for samples to finish in the lab.” Well that answered a question Star didn’t ask. Over or under on those details. “It was founded over a hundred years ago, run by the same family ever since. It’s given them an opportunity to refine their family recipes, kept secret because they grow all their own produce.”

“Sounds like you really know the place.” That was a good thing, knowing the places you liked to go to. Starfall knew the gym, her house, and most of the bars around her place in, out, and well enough to recognize them with swimming vision. What that told her fighting instincts was that Aurora was bringing her to what was near equivalent to her home turf. Smart move.

“Oh yes, I’ve been good friends with the family since I was a foal!” Starfall didn’t need to look at her to know that the pegasus was beaming. “They used to insist on making me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, doing an excellent job at balancing out the carb ratios of their sweet apples with fatty foods and legumes.” Oh those details. No wonder she was a doctor.

Any more thoughts Star had were pushed aside as she felt the pegasus pull at her arm again. Still went about as fast as a rock on a flat surface, but there was enough force to tell the unicorn she should start moving. And she did, knowing that stalling in a match scored poorly. Didn’t take long for them to get inside, the entrance a simple pair of double doors, painted the same bright orange that covered majority of the place.

Inside, however, she saw that eating here would be a bit more of a challenge.

It did look nice, really nice. Nice enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised to see a crew of paparazzi trailing a local celeb through the place. But even knowing that, she could still see a fair number of ponies wearing clothes she’d expect taxi cab drivers to wear. Oh yeah, there were a few ponies wearing collared shirts and horribly uncomfortable dresses, those stupid wastes of cloth, but there didn’t seem to be any real skewing one way or the other.

No, the problem she noticed was simply how full the place was. Cause honestly, it was packed, packed like what Star wanted a stadium to be when she started to really tally her wins in the ring. The kind of packed that would have the announcer proudly declare a match sold-out to a crowd of screaming prepubescent foals. The great kind of packed. How were they supposed to eat in here?

“Hello Honey-crisp.” Apparently Aurora was already working on that. She saw the blue mare talking to a hostess behind the podium that sat in most restraints. Said hostess was a mare, colored orange with a hay blonde mane, and dressed in a light green suit. Star didn’t care anything for fashion, like at all, but she knew the mare was wearing the outfit cause it suit her and the restaurant. Had to keep with the theme of the place and all that.

“Aurora?” The aqua pegasus grinned at the orange hostess. The other mare only lifted a hand to her mouth, daintily at that. “I hadn’t received word that you were coming to visit us tonight. Did one of our new hires mislabel your request?”

“Oh no, of course not,” Aurora returned easily to her friend’s worry. “I was merely surprised by a request to eat out tonight, and we concluded that your establishment would suit our needs best. Do you have seat available for us? I’m sorry to be specific with an already rare request, but a table away from frequent traffic would be best.”

The orange mare looked back down at the podium she stood behind instead of speaking in return. Her emerald eyes scanned the sheet beneath her carefully, no doubt looking up a possible table for the pair. Star looked back out at the restaurant. The only table or two she could see that were open were meant for more than just a pair of ponies. Probably not good for a date. At all.

“Ah, we have a back room available for two. A small extra stipend will be required, but other than that it is free.” A what room? Star felt her mane whip with the speed her head spun. She could tell her mouth was as open as her eyes were wide.

Back rooms were where parties happened, or maybe where the parties really started. What was Aurora planning with this? Was it to get Star riled, make her stumble in the fight? If it is, she was doing a damn good job.

“We’ll take it!” Aurora cheered, taking out and placing a choice amount of golden bits on the podium. The hostess, Honey-crisp as she was called, pocketed the coins. “We’ll also have a plate of your Apple Fritters, but only if you make them like we used to as foals.” Star watched as a surprisingly shy grin grew across the orange mare’s features.

“We would not even dream of making them any other way for you, Aurora. The Apple Family always treats their friends.” The two giggled, probably at a joke Star didn’t get. Not uncommon. The hostess did grab a pair of menus and began to walk through the sea of tables. Aurora followed, Star not far behind.

They maneuvered through the sea of chairs and tables, unavoidably hearing the occasional snippet of conversation from the ponies around them. Aurora seemed determined to apologize to every mare, stallion, and foal she passed, like her being there was untimed or something. Star, herself, found it easier to just maneuver around them like she would the training sticks at the gym. Can’t block them, gotta avoid them, getting ready for reversals.

It didn’t take long for them to reach a wall on the far side of the restaurant, a wall lined with doors that were all framed by bright green drapes. The orange and green did go together, but it was disturbingly weird seeing backrooms in a place like this. Half of Star expected to walk in and see booze on the table with a slim-dressed mare waiting for them. Those were her instincts. Her more logical half, taught and trained by Celestia outside of the ring, told her to think before she acted. Star’s thoughts right now, as Honey-Crisp opened the door, were telling her that there was no way a nervous mare like Aurora was walking into any room like that.

What lay beyond the door was far off from what Starfall’s instincts told her. They were in the back room now, surprisingly well-lit given the other kind of rooms Star had found herself in. No dark corners, no oversized table, and there was a window placed just beside their table. Didn’t show much other than a semi-barren street outside, but you would never see something like that in the unicorn’s usual bars. Star looked to Aurora, the pegasus standing beside her own seat. Instinct took over unicorn, as she so often let it.

“Hey, let me get that.” Without another word she pulled the chair back for the doctor. It earned only a singular moment of surprise, but was quickly replaced with the pegasus gratefully taking the seat, her wings pulling closer to her back. When she was down, Star pushed the chair forward, easily given the light weight of the doctor. That was a compliment for most mares, if she could remember that right.

“You are very polite. That’s good.” That was good, but that wasn’t Aurora talking. Star turned her head to see the hostess still standing in the room, eyeing the fighter with a subtle grin. It was the kind of grin Star got from the odd sponsor or interviewer, the ones that they knew something special and were looking to use it. The kind of ponies that were planning something before you even passed the ropes of the ring. “I would hate to see the mare that was able woo Aurora into a night alone to be thinking more of what comes after the meal.”

Did this just turn into a two on one match? They were in a backroom of the restaurant, alone, likely out of sound as well as sight, on the home turf of the earth pony’s family, which happened to be old friends of Aurora’s. Sounded like that was what it was going to be. Star resisted the urge to kick herself for missing it.

“Oh Crisp, don’t tease Star,” Aurora, of all mares, spoke up. “I appreciate the help, but Star and I are simply having a nice evening together.” Well that was true. “We are hoping to generate a quality level of conversation that allots for a significant increase for our understanding in one another, hopefully allowing us to generate a more long-term friendship.” That was, without a doubt, so far off from what Star was thinking that it didn’t even qualify as a feint. That was more like some drunk’s attempt to recite MMA pledge then fake out a mare.

It didn’t look like Honey-Crisp believed Aurora any more than Star did. The fighter watched the orange hostess turn eyes from the blue pegasus to the lavender unicorn, one eyebrow cocked noticeably higher than the other. The grin that slowly grew across her lips was as unnerving as the look itself.

“Well then, I won’t interrupt your evening any more than I have to.” What did that mean? “I’ll be right back with those Apple Fritters and some water. Please let me know if you need anything else.” Then, with a simple and clearly practiced bow, the orange mare left the room.

That left Starfall alone with Aurora, enclosed in a backroom that was more enclosed than any other ring she had stood in. There were walls instead of ropes, a table to replace boxing gloves, and a hostess in place of a referee. It took her this long to realize just how out of her element she was. That wasn’t good at all.

But she couldn’t show that. Not even a hint. Signs of weakness were the quickest way to give another pony a sense of confidence. Fear may have been the mind-killer, but confidence was the life-giver. A fighter with confidence was sometimes harder to fight than a well-trained one. She couldn’t let the pegasus see any of her unease.

So, in a move she had been taught by her parents, Starfall gently pulled out her chair and sat down. She fought the urge bend over her plate, hunch over the table like she would at her home. This was a meal with another pony, one she had literally only met a few hours ago. Manners were very important. Even Celestia had told her as much.

“Alright,” Aurora let out, adjusting herself in her seat. She coughed into her hand, clearing her throat for something. Star resisted the urge to crack her knuckles. “So, um… where do start?”

In her head, Starfall heard a bell ring. Match start.

> Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was ever one lesson Celestia hammered home with Star, it was timing. Timing was everything in a match. If you took a swing too early or raised your defense too late, you would turn even the most well-practiced of moves into nothing but a floundering fault. Timing was important in the match, but it was never more important than when the match began.

The faster you reacted at the match start, the more of a lead you have. The faster you react to the bell, the better your timing, the higher the advantage you had against your opponent. More than one match was decided so early, and it was why timing was key in every aspect of training.

It was also why Starfall felt completely off guard when Aurora made the first move.

“Oh! Let’s start with our occupations. Many books say that is a great conversation starter,” Aurora clapped her hands together lightly with the declaration, a smile pulling at her lips, large enough to push up the lenses over her eyes. “A neutral topic that likely has great history and relatable subject matters within. As the proposer of the conversation, I’ll start.” Star was still getting her bearings back when Aurora cleared her throat. It gave her just enough time to speak up.

“Whoa whoa, hold on,” Star waved her hands in front of her, stopping Aurora from continuing. She responded with a confused blink. Time to counter. “Um… You mind if I give a bit of backstory first? Kinda used to making the first move in these kinds of things.” Star watched as the pegasus’s lips formed an ‘o’.

“Oh, of course!” Aurora replied with far more cheer than the unicorn expected. “I apologize if I offended. This is… just my first time on a date.” Now that was interesting.

“It is?” Star asked, leaning on the table slightly as she did so. “I mean, yeah, I’ll be honest, I kinda got the impression this was new to you. But not brand new.” Her words made the pegasus bite her lower lip, averting her gaze. Oh, that was shame. Good and bad.

“Well… I-I don’t tend to try and search for social connections around the clinic or other public venues I may frequent.” She really did love the way she stumbled on those big words of hers. “I’ve already read plenty of books on the subject, more than most libraries have, but nearly all of them indicate the need for a mutual attraction between two opposite parties. And I’ve… well…”

“Never got out enough to tell what that was,” Star finished nodding her head. Aurora began to mimic the action. Her pink eyes looked back up to Star, bottom lip still caught between her teeth. Cute, in a sort of innocent-mistake kind of way. “Well I’ll admit, it isn’t the easiest thing to pick up.”

“It isn’t?” Aurora sounded honestly surprised by that. “But the simple singular instruction all of the texts gave indicated that the attraction would be an immediate feeling. There were instructions on wariness, but those were mostly placed in locations of high alcohol consumption.” Star did her absolute best not to snicker. She accomplished that by biting down on a bread roll.

“They got that last part right at least, being careful,” Star commended to Aurora. “But really, there’s no way you can go along waiting for the right mare or stallion to just… click with you.” Star rotated her hand in the air as she spoke.

“You can’t?” Aurora spoke, again, with genuine surprise. If this was how the whole conversation was going to go, Star could already see this becoming a drag. “The texts gave no indication that there was any other way to proceed.”

“I’m willin’ to bet the pot of a title fight that those books were probably betting on you having either already found the ‘Magic One’, or you having an idea of who they were.” The unicorn let out a puff of air as she finished. The candle that sat between the two danced wildly at it. “Books tend to assume too much.”

“Oh, I completely agree on that front.” She did? That didn’t jive with the bookish nerd Star imagined Aurora being. “Books are an excellent source of information, a great reference material as well, but in order to increase sales amongst the general populace, they tend to make over-reaching conclusions that are supported by widespread assumptions, often times false or exaggerated.” Star noticed the pegasus’s wings fluster a bit at her word.

In a fight, that was usually the sight of some high emotion. A dedicated swing or something like that, planned out and acting on it. For Aurora, the doctor, it meant she put a lot of thought into this.

“So you do a lot of thinking this kind of stuff at work?” The unicorn ventured. Had to test all the waters before getting into the really hard questions. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun hearing about what you think nets you a fun night, but I’m havin’ a hard time buyin this is the only thing on your mind.” Star couldn’t buy that any pony with any amount of success had a one-track mind.

“Oh by the Court no, absolutely not,” Aurora hastily dismissed the thought, waving her hand as she did so. Star noticed passively that the candle was dancing at the pegasus’s motion now, pushing a lot of air with her gesture. “It is important that I keep myself astute and focused when I am at the workbench. Failure to pay attention to the chemicals, reagents, or cell lines I’m studying could result in a contamination. That would ruin any results I obtain, at the very least costing the clinic a good amount of income as well as time.” Well, she was talking a lot more.

Wait… did the pegasus just side track this? To be about her?

She had! She totally had! With just a single statement the doctor had somehow gotten Star to completely forgo talking about herself. They were just talking about the doctor’s social life. Granted, yeah, it was kinda cool, especially the part about how she was able to design a gliding machine for training, but still!

“But you must have an interesting reason for your career path,” Aurora spoke again, shattering the thoughts of Starfall. “Fighting as a means for income. It is far from common in today’s more advanced society, more dependent upon higher brain function than muscular strength, but it must be rewarding to have such muscle mass and dexterity.” Star couldn’t hide her smirk if she wanted.

“Yeah, it is pretty nice to have,” she admitted, flattered. She leaned back in her seat as her finger played with the edge of her plate, and she spoke on. “Fighting has always been my kind of thing, really the only thing I ever felt great doing. Didn’t enjoy reading, writing, or doing math in school. And history? That’s just another word for a lullaby.”

“Many historians in the clinician’s office might disagree, but I do see your point.” Aurora spoke from across the table, encouraging Star. Well… more like leaning over the table. Her hands were at the table’s end, holding her upper body balanced above her plate. She kept adjusting her rainbow locks, falling past her upright ears and over the fine china.

“Might want to tie your hair up,” Star offered with a point of her hand. It was the kind of advice she’d offer a novice training. “Don’t want to get your hair in the way when the-”

“Food for the private affair!” Star nearly jumped at the sudden entrance. Turns out you didn’t need to speak of the changeling for it to appear. Just needed to think about them.

Honey-Crisp was standing in the doorway, for some reason. It was odd to Star only because she was used to seeing the hostesses once then none at all. Maybe it was different for this place. Then again, judging by the way the orange mare was winking at Aurora before glaring at the unicorn herself, it probably had more to do with a personal history than a professional one.

“I apologize if I interrupted the conversation,” the mare spoke. Star could spot the lie like a novice’s feint. “Just been a busy night is all.” Terrible excuses, too. Honesty must have been her policy.

“Honey,” Aurora spoke the hostess’s name in a whine. “We were just starting to generate a cohesive conversation. You’re interruption has impeded that.” Star wasn’t used to a pony saying words that had three more syllables on average, but the orange mare clearly was. They really were old friends.

“You don’t have to stop on my account,” Honey-Crisp cleanly countered. “I’m just a server at the moment. I was trained and raised to ignore conversations around me while I work.” Star could believe the mare was raised like that, but she doubted she practiced that. Not with the way she was looking at her, sizing her up like the weigh-in for a match. Was this starting to become a tag-team against her?

Well, actually, judging by the way Aurora pouted and folded her arms, wings tucking harder against her back, it didn’t seem so. More like Honey was just your average intrusive mare, using the excuse about empathy for her friends to learn more about someone else. Gossipers, they annoyed Star almost as much as tabloids.

“Now I am sorry for interrupting, but I do have your appetizers ready for you.” Star actually missed the food, her attention on the mare’s entrance and all. That being sad, it was hard to not smell the aroma of roasted apples in the air. She had to fight herself from taking a large whiff of it. It was tempting, really tempting.

And unfortunately, Honey seemed to see that.

“Like it?” The orange hostess-now-waitress asked. “Family recipe and signature dish of the restaurant. It’s only gotten better with age, like a crate of well-seasoned Apple Cider.” Did apple cider get better with age? Star wasn’t sure. “We always have a few of them being prepared throughout the night. Helps us deliver them faster when the orders come in. Punctuality is the key to success in any industry.” Well, Star had admire her business sense, at least. She couldn’t think of a place where timing wasn’t important.

“And you grow your own apples and you have specially designated fertilizer to enhance the flavors and you have been learning to peel, cut, and bake them since you were a foal.” Star had to blink when Aurora went off on the tangent. Looked like Honey really knew how to annoy the pegasus. Must have been common between them, cause the orange mare just kept smiling. “I’ve already heard this a hundred times from a dozen different members of your family tree.”

“Oh come now Aurora, I’m well aware you know but I rather doubt our newest patron is aware of our history.” Looks like Aurora’s diversion tactic was a miss. Wait, was that what it was? Cause if it was, that meant they were going up against Honey now. Talk about a surprise fight. “I can tell she’s as eager to talk as she is to taste our signature dish.” That wasn’t completely untrue.

“Gotta admit I’d like to know how that tastes.” Star spoke honestly, hand pointing to the food Honey held just above her head. Given that she was seated and the orange mare was standing, it made it hard for her to really describe what the apple dish looked like. She did see, however, Honey-Crisp flash a grin towards Aurora, who pouted at her words. “Buuuut, I think I’ll rather take a talk with Aurora than the history of a meal.” Out of the corner of her lavender gaze, Star saw the pegasus blush a noticeable red, unmasked through her cyan fur.

“You sure about that?” Honey-Crisp asked in all of her upstart glory. “Aurora has a bit of a tendency to speak superfluously. She might bore you with her talk about flying patterns and feather development theories.” Star had no idea what those were. What she did know was that Aurora was looking offset by the words. That was a no go for the fighter.

“It’s like I just told the doc a few mintues ago. History’s just a lullaby to me.” Star let her grin grow wide as Aurora began to giggle across the table. It matched well with Honey’s blinking gaze, lips loosened and falling from their sure smirk from before.  That was before the orange mare set the food down in front of the pair, her grin returning and stretching clear across her face.

“Good answer,” she spoke to Star, sounding cheerier than the fighter could say she’d ever seen a mare before.

It was during her frozen surprise that Honey-Crisp set down a pair of plates, one for the pegasus and one for the unicorn. Each had a glazed treat that seemed to puff out from the plate, like small globs of delectable pastry begging to be eaten. With her perked ears and the sudden silence between them, interrupted by Honey’s movement of the plates, she could hear the apple slices inside still boiling from the heat. They really did look delicious.

“I spoke no lies when I said we are famous for our Apple Fritters,” Honey-Crisp answered the unspoken question. “And Aurora was just as honest when she said our families go back to our foal hood. We’re good friends, she and I, sometimes the only friends outside of the workplace.”

Before saying anything more, Honey-Crisp leaned towards Star, pointedly staring into her eyes with a soft under illumination from the candle of the table. Ominous didn’t cut it. She looked like the Title Fight Contender with the odds in her favor.

“So believe me when I say I’m gonna protect Aurora if you try anything underhanded. Understood?” Star nodded towards the mare. She knew better than to taunt a mare in her home turf. You didn’t know where the tricks were laid out. She did. “Good! Now enjoy your food! I’ll be back with the bill when you are finished.”

With as much ceremony as her entrance, Honey-Crisp left through the darkened door of the room, leaving Star and Aurora alone. Alone with a shattered conversation, slight ground gained in knowledge, and a pair of delectable treats to dine on. Not a bad trade, if Star had to say so herself. At least it could have been far worse.

“I apologize for Honey-Crisp,” Aurora replied a moment into the silence, bowing her head as she did so. It was a good thing her hair was pulled back, otherwise it would have been flung onto her Apple Fritter. “She’s been very defensive about me since I was a foal. I attribute it to her elder sibling instinct, drawn to defend those close to her and physically or mentally lower in some capacity. Not that I am inferior mentally to her, but she does know how to um…”

“She knows how to make the bullies run like pansies?” Star finished the thought bluntly. Aurora settled for sticking the very end of her finger in her mouth, biting on it as she buried her head between her shoulders. That was shy-language for ‘dead right’. “That’s a good thing, having friends that can back you up when you need them. Actually kinda surprised she was able say that stuff to me so easily.”

“Really? She honestly wasn’t much different in attitude than how she is with others. She acts similarly when her younger sibling or elder brother brings home interested mares or stallions. Why was this more impressive?” Star couldn’t blame Aurora too much for not knowing.  She did basically call herself a shut-in like five minutes ago.

“Cause I was the one pushin’ all the bullies away for my friends.” Star explained simply and matter-of-factly. She put on a proud smirk as she reached for the apple fritter in front of her. She tore off a knobby piece of it, watching the steam rise from the core as its fluffy interior separated. She felt a pool forming in her mouth, ready to drown the doughy confession in it. “Did it so much when I was growing up that word basically got around that I wasn’t to be messed with. Too many bruised egos afraid to look any worse than they already did.”

“So that’s how you found a calling for professional fighting then?” Aurora ventured forward. Star nodded her head, keeping her gaze focused on the Apple Fritter in front of her. She didn’t want to tear too fast and turn the thing to mush. It felt like it would do just that if she squeezed it. That or burn her hand off. “I suppose I had a similar reason for my career choice.”

Star looked up now. She saw Aurora sitting in the same place she had before, but with her hands beneath the table, likely folded in her lap. The Apple Fritter in front of her was untouched. Wasn’t she the one who ordered it?

“My work at the clinic is very isolating,” Aurora began to say. “Many hours a day I will spend without having contact with other doctors or physicians specifically because I am invested in the work at hand. Analyzing results, comparing cultures, determining new hypothesis, experimentation, they all require a great deal of care and focus. That amount of focus usually results in the ostracization of others.”

“You get so busy you ignore everyone else?” Star had to guess the word, cause she’d never heard it before. The nod from the pegasus was confirmation enough. “Well that’s not really rare. I mean, most of the friends I have are like that, too. Celestia got me a bell when I’m practicing, so someone can ring it to get my attention.”

The doctor lifted a brow at the statement, unsurprising to Starfall. She’d gotten that look a lot when she told others about The White Sister’s gift. That was because she wanted to tell the story. Best way to intimidate was to punish the curious.

“She had to after a few situations. We’ll call them unintentional sparring sessions and leave the rest to the imagination.” The unicorn slipped a piece of Apple Fritter between her lips as she finished, winking at Aurora as she did so. The shy blush and giggle the doctor gave out was just as sweet as the treat she snacked on.

She was going to have to do some serious working out tomorrow to burn the carbs of the Fritter, but a little splurge here or there didn’t hurt. No matches coming up anyway, so she wasn’t jeopardizing anything. Had to be smart before you had fun, like Celestia would say.

“I can see the benefit of a chime,” Aurora spoke again. “But… most others do not readily seek me out. Very few ever do.” Oh? Well, it jived with what she said earlier about this being new to her, but didn’t she have friends at work? Star wasn’t about to admit she dated anyone else from the gym, but she could hang out with Celestia or most of the other fighters without an issue.

“Trouble on your first day?” Star guessed. Probably a reason for a spiteful situation. First impressions mattered enough on the ring that a wrong word could be the difference between trying to pin an opponent or knocking them flat out.

“No, I was actually well-invited into the clinic. The PI of the lab was very eager to have me thanks to my credentials. Sumo Cum Laude from Cloudsdale University, specializing in stem cell progenitors in avian species.” Honey-Crisp was right about one thing. Aurora liked to talk a lot. “Actually… that might be the reason for my solitude.”

“What, you’re too smart?” Star had to put her fritter down as she asked the question. Aurora still hadn’t touched hers. “I get being too big or strong, maybe even quiet, but do you really think ponies aren’t gonna talk to you cause you’re too smart? The whole reason I was supposed to go the clinic was because you guys are smarter about medicine and stuff than anyone at the gym.” She waved her hand at the far wall, unsure if the gym was in that direction or not.

“Do other fighters in the gym ask you for aide in training regiments, or do they try and improve themselves behind your back.”

Oh… the pegasus had her there. Star felt her muscles lax in her face, not able to recall a single time one of the other fighters asked her for help. Maybe with where something was, or where Celestia was, but… had any of them actually asked her what to do? Or… no, fights didn’t count. Those were tests, not training…. Oh crap.

“See,” Aurora spoke, probably able to read what she had to off of Starfall’s reaction. She was feigning a swing or anything. “It’s little different where I work. Other mares and stallions, they want to be great too, but none of them want to admit that you might be smarter than them. So they try and prove themselves without you. But when everyone is trying to make themselves better than you, that also leaves no one to talk to.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the table. Star watched Aurora’s face drop, her once stiff wings now slightly drooping behind her. Even her shoulders sagged a little. All bad signs. But… she was little different. Her vision slowly fell from the pegasus and back down to the table. It really was a well made-table, set-up nice, too. The dishes, table cover, the food of course was great. But right now, Star focused on the candle.

With how quiet the room had become, she was almost able to hear the little flame, burning up the air around it. Her lavender eyes stared at the pooling wax, bubbling from the heat. She kinda envied that right now, with how cold Starfall suddenly felt.

“I apologize,” Aurora spoke up, earning Star’s attention again. The pegasus was shifting her seat to try, and failing, to get comfortable. “I made the conversation awkward and unreasonable with that. I-It wasn’t my intention a-and I apologize for ruining the evening you tried to have with me.” Ruin? Wait, oh no.

“Ah, hold-on,” Star spoke waving her hands in front of her. Aurora blinked, but looked back at the mare. She had an expectant look in her eyes, like a foal waiting for the decisive blow in a fight.

That was no good. They weren’t at the climax yet!

“I-I think you’re jumpin’ a little ahead of yourself. Nothing’s ruined yet. I-I-I mean nothing’s going to be ruined. Yeah, that’s right.” She was rambling. Crap, that was bad. Rambling words were like shuffling feet. No balance meant no force to strike with. “We’ve got good food, this is a great place to talk, and I at least know more about you now than I did back at the clinic.”

“While that is true, it does not deviate from my unacceptable conversation topic.” This mare seemed content to damn herself. What the hay?! “I should have put more thought into my words before speaking them. It was not a-”

“You’re talking about things that haven’t happened,” Star countered. “You don’t plan around a move that hasn’t happened. You read the fight and go with what you see.”

“W-What?” Aurora blinked at her singular question, looking completely thrown. Was that good? Star couldn’t tell. At least doctor wasn’t insulting herself again. But… that meant it was the perfect time to lighten the mood. And nothing did that better than a well-placed joke.

“Sides, I think you already crossed a few lines with me before we even started talkin’.” Star planned on what was going to happen next. She really did. She planned on the pegasus’s wings to open up, though slightly, a clear sign that was panicked by the unicorn’s words. She planned on her to fumble and scramble for her mistake. That made her vulnerable.

“I-I did?! When? What did I do!?” Her words were rushed, panicked. Like a newbie that had their pin reversed, unable to decide what to do next. It was perfect.  Star didn’t waste the chance she was given. So wearing a smirk she knew was visible, making every bit of her posture exaggerated to extremes, she let out her line.

“I think fondling the goods before the meal is line enough for most mares.” Only after Starfall saw a hot red blush run through Aurora’s cyan blue cheeks did she break out in laughter.

And it felt good. It felt good to just cackle at the expression she had put on that mare’s face. She didn’t have to do any kind of underhanded trick or sly moves to make it happen. She just had to let the mare walk into the trap herself!

Oh, that was a point; that was points in her favor and might have been worth the match if there was a judge nearby. No way that was going to be seen as anything else other than perfect. Oh yeah, that was good, that was worth it.

“I…” Aurora tried and failed to speak, falling back into laughter. She snorted into her hand, a sound that completely baffled Starfall, before trying to talk again. “I-I suppose you’re… you are right. Hard to go further than that over a meal, isn’t it?” Star stopped, only to grin like a Cheshire. She knew the right response to that.

She’d take it one further.

“Well… I wouldn’t call it hard, but it is pretty risky.” Star grinned, loving the expression Aurora brightened up with. At least brightened up before covering up, burying her face in her hands and curling over her apple fritter. Seriously, was she going to eat that? “Nah, that’s a line too far.”

“Y-Yes,” Aurora fought valiantly to speak again.

She was taking deep breaths through her hands, but the unicorn could just tell she was grinning all the while. It was like her parents refusing to admit they enjoyed her beating up her brother’s bullies. Scolding in public, high-fives back home.

Silence was kept far at bay by the alternating forms of laughter, chuckle, snorts, and giggles between the two. It was a blessed shift from the awkwardness before, and heavenly to know that she was the one who did it. A complete reversal, a flawless maneuver. Turning what was nearly a damning pin into a solid hold. All she had to do now was keep the upper hand, and the match was hers.

“Thank you,” Aurora finally managed to speak with a straight face. As straight as she could keep her curved lips at least. “I needed that. I… I really appreciate it.” Gratitude was good. Great actually.

“Hey, it’s not an issue.” Starfall easily returned. “Believe me. I’ve been through the ring enough times to know how to turn just about any kind of situation around.” The unicorn picked up her glass, taking a nice long swig of the cool water inside. It felt great, especially after that laugh fest they just had.

“Not just that,” Aurora spoke on. “Work has been hard, results coming back inconclusive or negative. It’s… It’s difficult to keep moving forward when the way ahead is so hard to see. Truthfully, your invitation tonight seemed like a much needed break from my schedule, and I greatly appreciate it.”

Oh… this was probably bad.

“After this,” Aurora began, feeding her hand over the table. She had it shift past the plat that had her food, past the cool glass of water she had yet to touch. It slipped by the candle with ease, either ignorant or unaware of the heat.

Then, with a touch so soft and demanding that Star thought it was a tap-out, Aurora curled her digits around the unicorn’s forearm.

“After this… after we finish eating… Do... Can you walk me home?”

Star swallowed her water in one great gulp.





Starfall wished she could have said it was a long walk to the doctor’s place. That would have allowed the feeling she had to make more sense. The chasm of a hole she felt in her gut was only digging itself deeper with every step she took. Like a sweep kick from an experienced duelist, or more appropriately an undertaker’s shovel, each step she took just made the feeling worse.

Aurora was still right next to her, the two of them walking in tandem down the lamp-lit street. Starfall could have counted every pony they had passed for the last twenty minutes on one hand. Despite the other mare’s clearly higher intelligence, Star was pretty sure Aurora couldn’t have counted one.

The pegasus had her head resting on the taller unicorn’s shoulder, leaning into the more muscled of the two. Starfall could feel her arms wrapped around her arm, holding it tightly as they walked. It was probably one of the weakest holds the fighter had ever been put in, but she doubted she could have possibly broken out of it if she tried.

And again, that pit in her gut got a little bit deeper.

Star felt Aurora pull on her arm, the only indication she had that they were turning again, around another block this time. The pull was like a splitting of the blinds, showing all the cobwebs that littered Star’s head. That’s honestly what it felt like to her. Just a bunch of webs in her head making it harder to think. Ironic part about that, she couldn’t connect two thoughts together.

The whole point of this night was to get that point advantage over Aurora, the doctor who had verbally beaten her back at the office. She may not have had a plan, but she at least knew that by night’s end she was gonna be walking out of the ring the victor. Right now though… she didn’t even have that. Just a lot of second guesses and her instincts screaming at her to back off.

Kinda seemed a moot point when she felt another tug on her arm, this one a clear indication to stop. And so, like Star did whenever facing a stronger opponent, she followed their move. Didn’t take her long to see why they had stop, not with Aurora looking up at a building beside them, her rainbow mane laying over Star’s lavender coat.

Star looked up at the house, taking note of how nice it looked, clean really. The bricks were painted, all the windows clear as cloudless skies, at least three stories tall, and most impressive of all, flowers growing between the sidewalk and the building. Most Starfall had at her place was a room that was clean enough to eat in. For her, a few boarded windows and chipped bricks were the norm. Guess Aurora wasn’t kidding about the high class upbringing.

“So, um… this is it.” Aurora spoke simply, softly as well. “Ah, thank you for dinner. A-And for walking me home. Oh, and also for… um… coming to the clinic?” Star noted how she was curling in on herself a bit again, like before but with a few noticeable differences.

First off, the doctor wasn’t pouting, she was grinning. Secondly, her wings were flexed against her back, quivering energetically. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, she was rocking her heels, doubtlessly waiting for something. For Starfall, who had seen every kind of mare and stallion try and taunt and goad an opponent to attack before, the thing Aurora was waiting for was obvious.

Problem was, Star didn’t know what kind of strike to make. There were two choices here, two clearly impossible to mash choices that would really decide how the rest of this match would play out.

Star could have left right then. It would have been perfect. Dinner was over, the promise fulfilled, and Aurora had clearly had a good time. If she left now, it would have left a clear and noticeable impact upon the doctor, like a solid right hook to an unprotected torso. Near crippling.

Yet… it didn’t seem right. She was having fun, both of them were. They were talking easily, about things Star admittedly wouldn’t have cared to talk about before. And Aurora was a pretty sweet mare to add to the pile, following her dreams like Star was.

The fighter wasn’t a linguist. She didn’t know the word for it, but there was something going on between the two of them. Maybe there was a word for it, maybe there wasn’t, Star didn’t know. But she did know one thing. She wasn’t about to walk out on something she was enjoying.

“Um, listen,” Star began, feeding a hand around the back of her head as she spoke. She scratched idly with it. “I did have fun tonight. I mean, I knew we were going to have fun, but I didn’t think it would… uh, what’s the word for it…”

Instead of answering for her, Aurora was patiently silent, forcing Star to search and scramble for the appropriate word. She couldn’t find one. She was literally left stuttering and speechless, unable to finish her own thought. This was awful.

“Ah, the truth is um… when I came to the clinic tonight, I did it cause my trainer wanted me to.” She’d already said that before. Star gave the whole story the first time the two had met. This was… not going well. “B-But when I did finally see you, a-and you kinda put me on the spot for getting my slip-”

“You were planning on embarrassing me in some spectacular way.” 

Star’s hand grabbed at the back of her head, staring at Aurora with an unblinking gaze. In that one moment, for that brief instance, all she could could focus on was the pegasus in front of her, the same mare that had read her so well. Her… placid smile, down-cast eyes… why was she looking defeated?

“I told an inaccuracy earlier.” The doctor began to say, wringing her hands on the bag she carried. “I have been on dates before, but most have ended with the stallions or mares attempting to embarrass me in some manner they assumed would humiliate me. Some have been… more successful than others.” That was… oh…

“So then… Honey-Crisp-” Star didn’t get a chance to finish even that. Aurora was in control of the conversation now.

“She has been a friend before I needed one, and she was a companion when I desperately required one. I cannot thank her enough for all that she has done… but she keeps wry eyes on those that I spend time with. Always careful about my own well-being.” She laughed. The mare actually laughed. How did she do that? It was like watching some fighter giggle after being put in an arm-lock. “I cannot help but wonder if I invite these sort of behaviours. Requests for solitude are only denied by those who wish to exploit or embarrass.”

“H-Hey now,” Star began, reaching out for Aurora. The pegasus stepped back, right out of her reach. Unlike in a fight, unlike her main reference for life, Star didn’t pursue.

This… This wasn’t a fight. This was more important.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I really am.” Starfall began to say, letting her arms drop to her side. Apologies were all that she could offer. “Yeah, you’re right, I was… I was going to do something to you, but it wasn’t going to embarrass your or anything like that. I’ve had to take care of too many bullies for my brother who did those kind of things.”

Aurora was silent as she spoke. That was probably good. It meant she was listening at least. Star cleared her throat, wishing she had some water, before continuing.

“I wanted to get back at you cause I felt like you one-upped me at the clinic. I just wanted to go in and out, but ya got me to stay there for like an extra hour for that freaking physical of yours.” Aurora opened her mouth, but Star waved her hands quickly in front of her. “I know, I know it was for my own good, I get that. It’s just… I’m not used to anyone but Celestia telling me what to do. So… I wanted to one-up you.”

The pegasus stared at her for a moment, then began to nod her head. With the streetlight above shining down on them, her prismatic mane casted a dark shadow over her eyes. It didn’t look ominous. Far from it. It looked just sad… really sad.

“But that’s not the same now,” Star continued. Earning Aurora’s attention again. “I realized I screwed up. I really did. And I’m sorry for it. I… I-I can’t say anything to make you realize that. But… um…” she searched, desperately, for the right thing to say. “Maybe I can take you out again? For real this time. No tricks, no fight plans, just… just you and me enjoy a night on the town?”

Aurora blinked at Star, head held high enough now that the fighter could see the wonder in her eyes. That wasn’t just good, that was great! She couldn’t let up now.

“W-We can go see the rock exhibit at the museum, or maybe a play over at the theatre. I heard There was a dragon starring there. I-If that’s too awkward, maybe we can try out a science thing. I kept hearing about this ‘Muscles In Motion’ thing at the Equestria hall, b-but I didn’t think to-”

“Or we can see one of your matches.” Star stared, blinked, and let her jaw slightly fall as she looked at Aurora.

The pegasus wasn’t grinning at her, she was smiling. She was offering Starfall a genuine look of delight, and it was one the unicorn found herself mimicking. Night’s were usually cold in the city, but right now, she felt warm as ever. Perfect, really.

Aurora rested a hand on Star’s arm, still smiling up at her. The fighter put her muscled digits over the doctor’s dainty ones.

Yeah, completely perfect.