One to Make Him Shine (The Mare From Another Realm)

by OhYouFoal

Rating: everyone
Tags: Lyra, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Romance, Trixie, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 17449

One great and powerful magician finds herself in an Equestria unlike her own.

A year after her encounter with Twilight Sparkle, long after accepting her 'defeat' and admitting her mistakes, The Great and Powerful Trixie has thrown herself across time and space into a parallel reality of Equestria. With an opportunity to have a second chance at her meeting with Twilight, the magician mare finds the element of magic to be taking the form of a stallion in this realm. Between the plethora of colts, numerous changes in history and more, the once failed heroine will turn her life around and attempt make something of herself in this new existence.

Published 2012-05-01 05:04:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-07 20:44:40 UTC

Chapter 1

“I would like to congratulate all of you on your presentation of magical excellence throughout the past weeks. Many of you have shown your potential during these preliminary to be higher than expected, but unfortunately as with every year, we are required to only give a select few a full waiver of expenses into Solaris’ College for Talented Unicorns.”

The Headmaster to the college was blunt in his explanation to the mares and stallions before him, seeing many trembling at the forthcoming announcements.

“That being said, those who receive a B Rank or higher placement will be provided with a significant discount in tuition. For now, let us have our S Ranks come forward and present themselves. When you hear your name, please proceed up to the stage.”

No matter where I am, it seems that I will never escape the hot air of Canterlot. Hopefully I won’t have to kiss up to them any longer.

One particular mare amidst the crowd of ponies seemed to be impatiently awaiting the results, perhaps more than others. A silver maned pony who had been attracting attention ever since she had arrived for that week of testing, who’d blown through most of the exams that others had spent most of their lives worrying and cramming for, who had her background in question since her appearance. There was much distrust for a unicorn with such talent to appear out of nowhere, nonetheless in a world where the gender ratio was at times perceived to be a little bit off balance, but not enough to worry for.

Trixie, however, found it difficult to concern herself with the social politics of the academy. This college, this life, it was all a second chance for her. A past mistake left her with a desire to examine all possible outcomes of course. And while the pony who called her out on her prideful behavior was at a level of intelligence possibly beyond her grasp, she wasn’t one to ‘always’ quit and run... Just sometimes.

“Harpford Strings”

One of the first voices announced for the S Rank grade echoed through the auditorium, a teal colt ascending the stage.

“Just Harp please.”

The Headmaster gave him a glare, a little annoyed by his correction as the rest of the room seemed to laugh in amusement. A comment like that and they’re amused, hmm? Either these ponies have a terrible sense of humor or they’re just as sheltered as I thought they’d be. Looking around the room for some pony who wasn’t as daft as the others, her eyes caught the indigo maned stallion staring with what seemed to be contempt for his peers, head swaying left and right as he seemed to be also hunting for somepony else not entertained by what was a mere passing comment. The two made eye contact and he grinned a bit, giving a wave of the hoof to Trixie.

Dusk Shine... At least I believe I can count on him to grasp something that isn’t all that clever. She sighed and nodded to him, doing her best to not flash too much of a positive demeanor to him. Trixie was there to take another shot at getting to know the element of magic, the one who managed to purge the darkness from the Nocturne Knight and restore Prince Artemis to his original state. However, unlike the infinite praise his female counterpart received in her reality, the response from the other males was the exact opposite. The competitiveness of many colts and stallions in this world led to a bitter rivalry between Dusk and the other ponies, the stallion at times walking alone from exam to exam, spending very little time amongst others.

“Starlight Sonata.”

Another name called, followed by a small yelp as a young mare was shoved around by the other stallions. She hurried her way onto the stage, the pony doing little to pull Trixie out from her train of thought.

Though, I suppose a few years at this academy away from his friends isn’t a huge deal. Elusive runs a shop here in Canterlot, Applejack and Berry visit on their weekly trips for shipments from Sweet Apple Acres and both Butterscotch and Blitz- Oh dear sweet Celestia, have I really talked with him enough to actually remember all their names? Her hoof hit her face as names continued to be rattled off, sighing as she shifted around slightly to accommodate the various ponies heading to the stage, glaring at a few stallions who seemed to almost charge up there. But this was my plan, was it not? Get to know this pony better at all costs... Even if I didn’t mean to end up in a world where she was no longer a mare.

This was the one lone thing that perplexed the magician to this day. Trixie expected a world to parallel her own, but the changes were significantly more dramatic than expected. From the various quick buck biographies she’d read about Princess Luna’s ‘savior’ to the factually chronicled news articles, there was very little kept secret about Twilight’s life, not counting anything afterwards in ponyville, most figuring that such a significant girl heading to a podunk village like that wanted to give up on a more fame filled future. However, in this reality she’d found very little to mirror the events of the other world. Between the disposition from other ponies towards Dusk and the fact that the event had only occurred a month at best prior to her arrival, Trixie learned most about the young stallion first hand.

That as well confused her, the almost unnatural but pleasant cooperativeness the two were having. There was almost a magnetism, as if they found themselves unable to avoid socializing when they could. But not keen just yet on opening herself fully to her former one-upper now stallion acquaintance, she kept their relationship just so. They met for lunch on occasion, had a few study sessions together but the idle chatter wasn’t constant. If anything, it was more one sided, as Dusk Shine respected Trixie’s privacy.

“Dusk Shine.”

Trixie’s eyes darted from the Headmaster to Dusk, seeing him sink his head down and cower a bit. What came next quite frustrated the mare.

“Let’s give a round of applause to the stallion who basically used being a hero as a free pass into the college!”

A stallion from the back shouted, making the room erupt with laughter.

“It’s not like some hick from Ponyville basically waltzed in and stomped on the status of the rest of us here, oh no, not at all!”

More snide remarks continued on as Dusk Shine climbed the stairs to the stage, head still hanging low as Trixie’s annoyance continued to build.

“Oh you ponies should stop, Dusk didn’t essentially because Solaris’ best friend overni- OH WAIT, NEVERMIND.”

Between the pathetically sarcastic jokes and the amount of noise, she’d had enough. However, her hoof stomped in unison with a much larger outburst from the stage.

“ENOUGH!”

Such a voice to send all the other ponies in the room quaking with terror could only have belonged to one pony in particular, as the ponies on stage turned to their sides and watched the white alicorn slowly proceed from behind the curtains.

“Prince Solaris! But the plan was for you to come out at the end and congra-”

“Yes headmaster, that WAS the plan. But naturally, I gave my subjects too much credit. I expected maturity and humility from them all, but I can see that the general opinion is outweighing the facts here.”

Solaris’ wings burst outward from his side, artificially adding to his already intimidating appearance as he shouted out at the students within the crowd.

“The FACTS here are that Dusk Shine and all those before you on this stage excelled in the fields of magic the REST of you failed to show the level of aptitude required for such recognition. If you wanted to be up here, you clearly didn’t work for or want this respect as badly as these others did.”

Silence began to wash over the crowd, Trixie raising an eyebrow at the Prince’s criticism of the other ponies. Well well well, forgive my misjudgement Solaris, I don’t think anypony else could have said it better. She couldn’t help but stifle a small chuckle, struggling to not let it turn into actual laughter and let the others know how little she thought of them.

“Now then, if you would like to be up here and join the rest of them, by all means, be my guest! I’m sure everypony will appreciate it when you’re struggling to keep up with the standards set for S-Rank students. I mean, if you have no problems making a foal out of yourself in front of those who’ve been recognized as being the best potential offered to the professors here, then please come on stage now.”

With the ruler of Equestria essentially calling out the entirety of the freshmans to prove themselves superior, they all seemed to finally take a hint. A few more cold stares from the prince seemed to shut up the last few ponies still laughing to themselves, before the announcements rolled onward. With only a few other S-Rank students called out, they proceeded onward through A, B and C rank students. With everyone breaking into idle chatter about their plans for the semester, one lone mare couldn’t be bothered to pull her gaze from the floor.

So in the end, after I spent a year working on that spell, a full month getting to know Dusk and busting my flank on all that work, it was completely usel-

“Ahem, excuse me? Stallions and Mares, quiet please. I’m sorry to interrupt but there is one more announcement.”

Even with all the other ponies confused by the disruption, Trixie had already begun to admit defeat. The words that bellowed through the room next from the Prince who returned to the center stage were ones that would start the mare along the road she’d planned to travel all along.

“We have received a last minute correction for the S-Rank students, it seems there’s been one more addition to the S-Class students. Would Trixie Lulamoon please come forward?”

Oh horseapples.

Those very angry stares that Dusk had received earlier were now focused squarely on her, garnering attention she once craved, but now unwanted from those she valued very little. Her mind dug for days prior, bringing out the Trixie she used to be. If she was to be singled out, she would rub salt in the wounds of her fellow students.

“My my my, it seems the Great and Powerful Trixie may very well be proof of Prince Solaris’ concepts after all! Seems I did really want it as badly as the rest of my fellow S-Ranks did. Sorry boys, guess you’ll have to try next year.”

Trixie nearly skipped onto the stage, before stopping herself and resuming an elegant trot towards the Prince. Hovering before her wrapped in a golden aura was a hair clip, studded with a eight sided blue sapphire. Immediately, the mare froze in her tracks and looked up to the alicorn standing before her, seeing a soft smile across his face.

“Miss Lulamoon, I would like to congratulate you for being the first mare and the first pony in a century to place with such high scores amongst your tests in a first run. You’ve set quite a bar for your peers to reach, but I hope in turn you’ll show us the kind of humility and grace one would come to expect of a possible future graduate from my college.”

Jaw hanging almost off the hinge, she shook her head and took a deep breath, looking back up and nodding to the prince. Carefully, he placed the clip in her hair and turned back to the crowd.

“All non-S-Rank students, please proceed to the mess hall for dinner. The rest, I will meet you in my private dining hall. Miss Lulamoon and I need to talk for a moment.”

Taking the order from their ruler with no question, the other colts and mares followed the attendant along to the dining hall as Solaris led Trixie back stage. Making their way for a door in the back, they proceeded down a series of hallways. Minutes passed before one of the ponies finally spoke.

“You have to forgive me for that presentation there on the stage, my tolerance for those students only lasts so long. I expect everypony in Equestria to be proud and accomplish their goals for the right reasons... It’s merely a side effect that some perceive that as an excuse to be childishly rude to their fellow ponies.”

The mare was torn. On one hoof she wanted to speak in protest and compliment his handling of the situation. On another, she desperately wanted answers. The hair pin looked more like some kind of gemstone broach, one that looked very familiar to Trixie. The very sapphire that belonged on her cloak, a set of belongings she’d put away in a safebox in a bank in Canterlot. After freeing it from her mane, she looked at it close up and noticed it was not in fact her own broach but a replica.

Still, Trixie was squirming with worry at this point. She went over the initial trip to the bank in her head many times, making sure it actually happened, being that in this new world she occasionally questioned the reality around her and the one she originally came from.

“Goodness, it wouldn’t do you some harm to not ponder and worry over every possible thing my subject. Well, I guess it really isn’t fair to call you ‘my’ subject, now is it?”

Trixie found herself unable to walk any further after the Prince broke their silence. Surely by now, there was no further secrecy that could last. If he questioned and she answered, anything that would escape her lips would only incriminate her further. So she chose honesty, hoping it would pay off.

“How did you know? What... What was it that allowed you to know I’m not from, well, your Equestria?”

Solaris laughed for a moment, but ceased quickly as he saw the eyes of the other pony slowly beginning to twitch.

“Ah. Um, walk with me for now, this would be quite awkward to discuss in such a stand off. We’ll be joining the others momentarily, I just wanted to take this longer route so we could talk.”
Hesitant to follow, but unable to feel that running was an unsuitable idea, she began a slow trot once more.

“A mare appearing out of the blue like yourself whom I’ve never seen or met before entering into my academy with such ease? That itself was odd enough. Then proceeding to pass all entrance exams with above average scores, putting on a dazzling show during your talent test that rivals some of the best showponies at the college, and finally being placed in such a rank pretty much told me an investigation was needed.”

Slowly they entered the library, empty at this time of year, only a few ponies checking over the shelves to make sure everything was in place and prepared for the rush of pre-class studies likely to occur the next afternoon. Trixie stared in awe, witnessing something that she figured she never would have had the luxury of gazing upon in her homeworld.

“So clearly you did more than break into my lockbox, right? The comment earlier, me not being your subject. If you would like Trixie- I mean me to stop worrying, I’d like to know just how much you know about me.”

Though he wasn’t about to openly admit it, Solaris was somewhat fond of mindgames, slightly enjoying the anxiety that the pony beside him was clearly experiencing.

“Well, how can I put it... There’s this generally accepted concept of the flow of magic, it’s called-”

Trixie sighed.

“The Astral Line Theory, correct? The idea that magic is unified through a stream of energy flowing across the entire world?”

Another laugh from the Prince, continuing onward out of the library and into another empty hall that passed through the A, B and C rank dorms.

“Except it goes beyond the world. It connects through time, space and layered dimensions. There are an infinite number of expanding realities that truthfully, we were not destined to control so much as respect and understand. And when I investigated your belongings, I felt a very faint magic that was unfamiliar to our Astral Line and well, I’m taking a leap of faith at this point.”

At this point, it was becoming clear that confiding from the prince would be pointless. So, against much internal protest, Trixie let everything out.

“Where I come from, you are known as Princess Celestia, you have a sister named Luna and the very six who saved her... Well him in your case, were all mares.”

“So essentially, there are just more mares in this world?”

Trixie gave a firm shake of her mane.

“No, not at all. In fact, there’s much that was quite the inconvenience to learn about your world that was drastically different from my own.”

Quickly, the two briefly bonded over a sharing of various facts about their worlds, Solaris divulging details that could have been considered classified information to others. He did his best to make a long story short, pointing out the differences between her former reality and his. To Trixie’s amazement, she slowly found herself coming to enjoy the company of this realm’s prince more than she had expected. Albeit the mare herself never got a private audience with Princess Celestia, the various quotes and stories she’d read about her painted the alicorn as this ‘perfect’ leader.

Perhaps this is what intrigued her the most about this realm, the absence of perfection. The very orientation she’d just attended seemed to be a perfect example of such a thing. Her encounter with Twilight, the defeat and her months of study afterwards pointed to a general concept Trixie had begun to accept as a fact: The perfection and flawlessness she’d at one point seeked to achieve was not a reality. But those ponies in their happy little world free of worries and problems that all seemed solved by some all knowing Princess, at times made her wonder what enjoyment there would be in such a world with its inhabitants living so care free.

Something to ask him another time... Personal views and whatnot, I don’t need to be openly voicing irrelevant ideas right now. Slowly their conversation came to current events, going over the Prince’s outburst towards his college students earlier. He asked her to speak freely and Trixie was eager to respond.

“If you ask me, you put them in their place. They’ve become so absorbed in their own greatness that they cannot grasp that were it not for the actions of Dusk Shine and his friends, their treasured academy would likely be rubble. Not that I wish it Your Majesty, merely stating a possibility.”

Hearing someone compliment his more blunt approach to handling his subjects was something he appreciated more than he assumed the mare knew. But her praise lead to a moment of silence as he dug through his thoughts, stopping at the door to the dining hall.

“Miss Lulamoon, I... Wouldn’t be wrong in assuming you have or at least had a great deal of pride at one point in your life, right?”

Trixie gave a short nod, but was quick to correct him.

“But I took some time to understand that perhaps my pride wasn’t worth its value. After all, when a mare can single handedly quell a celestial beast, forcing out the truth behind one of the biggest lies you’ve told and prove her superiori-”

“It’s okay, I get it.”

Trixie huffed in protest a bit, but knew he was right in stopping her from further beating herself up. I’ve done enough of that to last me a lifetime. Of course with the shift from a low tone to that of a head one, it wasn’t too difficult for the Prince to figure out when to cut the conversation short.

“I have a request then. I’ve caught word of your occasional interactions with Dusk Shine, such as how you’ve spent time studying together. Granted, it was a good means of him attempting to socialize, but I’ve been concerned about him since he arrived at the academy. He’s shown amazing leadership skills and tenacity similar to what I’ve seen in his sister Shimmer Shield. She took up being the Captain of my Royal Guard a few months ago, I’d like to maybe see Dusk as least have similar potential in his own work someday.”

The solar prince let out a long sigh, almost a groan before he spoke again.

“His kindness and humility however, tend to only hurt him in the end. He’s taken endless ridicule, meaningless sabotage and some rather intense threats from other students. I’ve seen what he’s capable of and I think it’s been sheltered for too long. I’d like to think maybe if he has an example to follow, it would encourage him to open up and speak his mind more. What I’d really like though, is for him to change. It’s not that there’s something wrong with him, so much as it is he hasn’t had to rely on himself before. His friends back in Ponyville did a fine job making up for him and each other’s flaws, I figure that’s what caused them to bond.”

So what does he think I can do then? I’ll just be another friend for him to lean on. This one point bothered Trixie the most, feeling as though the Prince was perhaps giving her more credit than he should.

“I guess to identify the core of the problems, he sees the flaws in others around him but feels as though his own outweigh theirs in significance. When I met with him after the announcements, he told me that it was in their right to complain, that sometimes it was the burden of others to bear mild hate and anger.”

“He figures it’s unavoidable, right? Rather than protest other ponies opinions against him, Dusk would prefer attempting to ignore them. And since they can get away with harassing him, it leaves him little room to behave as himself, correct?”

Solaris raised a hoof to his muzzle, before he looked down to the mare beside him.
“I suppose that’s an accurate way to put it. As I said, without his friends here I’m concerned he doesn’t feel comfortable being himself. So, I guess in a way I’m asking you to be his friend here. But I want you to do more than that, I want you to bring out his sense of pride that I know is buried deep down. He’s a smart stallion for sure, but his social skills are lacking significantly. I’m not about to assume you’re some pony of high social awareness, so much as it is I can respect your ability to realize the difference between genuine criticism and needless whining. However...”

His eyes closed, followed by another heavy sigh.

“This change in him cannot be rushed. It must be slow and steady, nurtured into a realistic concept. He needs to learn balance, a means of controlling his emotions in a state of stress. At respect of Dusk’s privacy, I won’t detail much but there were some complications during his ‘talent’ portion of the test. We still gave him the placement he deserves of course... But we fear without the proper treatment he could become unstable one day.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow to this statement, curiosity piqued further than before. She didn’t have time to question him further, as Solaris seemed to wrap up his request.

“I believe that you have the ability to be the kind of friend he needs during his time here. Even though his friends will be granted visits with him when they drop by, he needs someone at his side to have his back. I believe you two will get along well, so I’d like you to spend as much time with him as possible. Studying, eating meals, classes, etc. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if he has someone who I believe he admires... And perhaps might even like with him that frequently during the day, I figure you’ll rub off on him in due time.”

Admire hmm? Who figured it would turn around like this. But that last part... Part of her wondered if there was truth to that or if it was just another one of Solaris’ mind games. Even more of her questioned something further, going so far back as to wonder just what might have influenced her arrival to this particular instance of Equestria. However, a tap of a hoof at her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality, the Prince preparing to open the door.

“Let’s not keep them waiting any longer shall we? Dusk and the others are waiting and I’m sure they’re all looking forward to meeting you, Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Chapter 2

“HOW MUCH LONGER ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT?!”

One of the unicorns at the table opposite of Dusk Shine was stomping his hoof as he practically barked at the server who was standing idly by, suffering the misdirected wrath of a rather obnoxious pony.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we were given strict instructions not to serve dinner until everyone has arrived. There are still two missing from the group.”

However, this statement only made the problem worse.

“So because Prince Solaris is having a private discussion with some no-name mare, WE have to sit here and starve? What a load...”

Dusk managed to ignore the distraction of the obnoxiously loud stallion, quietly observing the snowy white mare beside him, seeming to fiddle with the silverware before her. The fascination the mare seemed to have with the eating utensils forced him to stifle some mild laughter, not managing to avoid getting her attention anyways. With direct eye contact made, he figured being quiet wasn’t an option at this point.

“Hi there... Nice to meet you, I’m Dusk Shine.”

The mare tilted her head to the side, ruby eyes staring intently as he seemed to freeze up from her solid gaze.

“Dusk Shine is it?”

Her soft voice was barely audible above the whiny unicorn’s ranting.

“Ah, yes, Dusk Shine. I’m from Ponyville.”

The mare nodded briefly before repeating herself.

“Dusk Shine... Right?”

Why is she repeating herself? Dusk was unable to fathom what kind of reasoning was behind this repetition.

“..Yes, that’s right, Dusk Shine.”

And then her face lit up.

“It’s very nice to meet you Dusk Shine. I’m Starlight Sonata. Have we... met before?”

Dusk struggled to remember if he’d seen the mare before, but that sparkly white coat of fur matching his sister’s was unlike anything he could remember from the numerous students he’d met during his studies. Part of him debated if he had, in fact, seen a mare who looked just like her, but had a much darker shaded coat.

“I ‘want’ to say yes, but I can’t be certain.”

A crimson tint colored Starlight’s cheeks as she lowered her head a bit.

“Um, do you remember someone who looked like me, but much more grey?”

A firm nod of the head from Dusk confirmed her suspicions.

“Yes, I thought we met before. That, unfortunately, was mudslide day.”

Dusk found himself at a loss for words. Mudslide day meant absolutely nothing to him, and the numerous conclusions he drew upon her statement only confused him further.

“Right then. So, I heard you had to attempt the exams three times, was that right? Do you mind me asking why?”

Her mane tossed about as she shook her head, folding her ears down and up after she finished.

“I’m a rote learner, specifically with my ears. I had to take the tests at least once to memorize the questions we were asked... The second time was because I didn’t get enough sleep the night before exams. That was another bad day for me.”

Starlight seemed to shudder quite violently, Dusk taking the hint to possibly not persist any further.

“So you’re a rote learner? That means...”

Another voice spoke out, much more deep and less painful on the ears compared to the stuffy stallion’s still ongoing whining.

“Dusk, it means she can learn through repetition, and in her case, specifically from listening.”

Very familiar with the voice, Dusk turned to the teal colored stallion beside him. Harpford Strings batted idly at his mane as he turned to face Dusk and Starlight directly.

“Really Dusk, you should learn to minimize all your questions. I know you mean well though, just remember that not everypony cares for it.”

Seeing the purple coated pony look a little down, Starlight was quick to retort.

“It’s alright, he wasn’t bothering me. Besides, it’s better than listening to the noise across the room, right?”

Dusk was very aware of Harpford’s intentions. The two had met briefly during a study group some of the other stallions had put together. That group naturally ended off splitting up between friends and with Harpford being by himself, as was Dusk, they gradually got together and worked by themselves. It didn’t take long for Dusk to sort of find himself at home with Harpford, often thinking of him not being too different from Elusive. On the other hand, he felt a level of genuine concern from the other pony, and for somepony who was otherwise a complete stranger, they seemed to get along better than Dusk normally did with new acquaintances.

“I will gladly agree with you Miss Sonata. Though I do have to admit, I wonder what is keeping Solaris and... What was that one mare’s name?”

Dusk was quick to answer.

“Trixie Lulamoon.”

Harpford raised an eyebrow, grinning ever so slightly.

“Ah right, the one you ditched me for that evening to go have dinner with. Tell me, was that just another meal or was it something more?”

Dusk couldn’t help but laugh a bit at Harp’s suggestion, feeling it quite necessary to correct the other stallion.

“No, hardly; it was just dinner, but I think it’s best that way. The time I’ve spent chatting with her, I don’t think she really likes most ponies. Trixie tended to complain a lot about the other students, and kind of Canterlot as a whole. Still, she says it’s been more enjoyable that where she used to live. Not really sure what she meant by that though; don’t most unicorns live within the Unicornian territories?”

Dusk had been referring to the various regions of Equestria under the control of the current King of the Unicorns, reflecting of the shared states established by the three rulers thousands of years ago. Upon the discovery of Equestria, the three tribes had come to an agreement to a fair division of the lands. The pegasi were given the skies as they were in the land before, the unicorns tasked with refining the land into a suitable means of living, and the earth tribe was given the responsibility for cultivating and properly utilizing the fertile land for food growth.

Despite the higher stance some tribe members place themselves upon, the harmonious existence of the three tribes with one another was possible purely through the existence of the alicorns, acting as mediators and peacekeepers for Equestria. Their descendants, such as Solaris, Artemis and Shimmer Shield’s husband, Prince Mi’ Amour Emporte, carried on that duty to this day. Though citizens within the tribes themselves continue to have disputes to this day, the tribe leaders and the alicorns maintain the peace between the ponies, very aware of the much bigger threats lying outside the borders of Equestria. Without the alicorns and their powers ruling over celestial bodies and the very emotions of the ponies themselves, their unity would likely be non-existent.

“You’ve lived in Ponyville all your life, right Dusk? Never... really been outside of your home?”

Dusk looked to Starlight with a demeanor of uncertainty, seeming to dig into the depths of his mind for a perfect answer.

“There was one time, I remember my mentor had me come and stay with him for a few months at his home. He said I needed clarity, something about bringing my mind to peace or something. My mentor was kind of weird that way.”

A pleased smile came to Dusk as he reflected on some more fond memories, leaving Starlight still not having an answer, and only finding herself with more questions.

“What was your mentor’s name?”

Genuine interest on the part of the ivory colored mare prompted such a question, as Starlight was always interested in learning as much as she could, be it from teachers or friends. But when Dusk had remained silent for as long as he did, it led her to one conclusion.

“You don’t remember his name, do you?”

Harpford drew the same conclusion as Starlight, the statement seeming true as Dusk lowered his head.

“He performed a spell that wiped my memory of his name, saying it was for my own good. And that, one day, I’d get to remember his name. He didn’t tell me why, either. All he said was that it would have a purpose one day. I haven't seen him since then...”

Letting out the longest sigh he’d taken in a while, Dusk attempted to return to his chipper self.

“I gotta admit, it feels kinda nice talking to you guys about that. Only one back home who seemed to be okay with listening to me vent every now and then was Butterscotch, though I’m not sure if he was really ever listening or not.”

Their friendly chatter continued on for a while longer, until the doors to the dining hall finally swung open, hitting the wall with a loud bang as a rather shocked alicorn stood behind a fiercely grinning mare.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is sorry to keep you all waiting, but as we know, greatness like my own deserves special attention! Prince Solaris of course was not one to deny that either.”

Her eyes flashed a fiery glare at the unicorn who looked about ready to eat the poor server right then and there from his intense hunger.

“I see though some had no patience... Guess I should expect some of you to be so daft as to think attacking another would get your way.”

The choice of particular words seemed to enrage the other unicorn in just the right way. His horn flashed with a bright aura as a bolt of magic shot in Trixie’s direction. Trixie held her ground, but not in the way the other unicorn was expecting. The bolt came within inches of her mane before seeming to curve around the mare and shoot right past her and Solaris. The silver maned mare’s mouth scrunched up tightly before she burst into laughter, seeming to infect the others in the room with a similar amusement.

“What a surprise, the posh little colt’s magic is about as strong as a diamond dog is smart. Just a reminder, there are those of us who were accepted into this class rank on more than just intellect. You’d do well realizing that Trixie is capable of both learning and practicing what she’s taught, rather than just scribbling down simple rantings on parchment like yourself.”

Proceeding towards a free spot at the table Dusk and the others were sat at, Solaris proceeded to his own seat at the large table at the back center of the room.

“As Miss Lulamoon has stated, I intend to recognize those who not only excelled during the written exams, but the practical and oral exams as well. I’d like to remind everyone here that while intelligence is rewarded, if you can’t even make use of your teachings, it’s very possible that your time spent here will be short.”

That warning seemed to resonate through the room and settle most of the ponies, the servers beginning to bring out the food. While the students were prepared to start eating, the Prince raised a hoof high and halted the waiters in their tracks.

“As I stated, recognition will come to those with true talent and comprehension of magic unlike any other. The test results indicated two unicorns were capable of such requirements, both a mare and a stallion to be specific.”

The room fell quiet with most of the ponies focused on Solaris. Unfortunately for them, Solaris' stomach took priority over the announcement, waving his hoof for one of the waiters to come and take his order.

“Oh yes, some of the SAA Private Reserve perhaps? That will go quite well with the Garlic Stuffed Carrots.”

The stares of anticipation were quickly turning into stone cold glares. Solaris continued to ramble on, asking a thousand questions to the waiter and building the firey rage of the other ponies to an intensity rivaling the heat of the sun. Hooves began to tremble, stomach growls turned into roars, and Dusk even swore he heard the faint sound of glass cracking, dismissing the possibility of somepony actually attempting to eat their plate. Just as Solaris was about to discuss dessert, he watched the dishes on the table beside him slowly shift, spotting one pony at the end of the table with a mouth stuffed full of tablecloth. The Prince finally took the hint and spoke at last.

“Right then. Would Dusk Shine and Trixie Lulamoon please join me?”

Not wasting a second, the showpony made her way to Solaris’ table, Dusk needing a nudging along from Harpford to move his flank and join them. With both seated, the room burst into chatter once more, no longer one loudmouthed pony managing to deafen the other students. Dusk was seated on the side opposite of Solaris only a few feet from Trixie, who was lost in the plethora of delicacies listed in tonight’s menu.

“Forgive all the flash and such, Dusk. I know you’re not a fan of that. I still hope you realize that you deserve it.”

Even with the generous compliment, Dusk was still displeased by Solaris’ favoritism.

“I’ve told you before, I had the money to pay for my tuition. Placing me in the S-Rank was completely unnecess-”

Solaris let out a particularly loud groan, interrupting Dusk who gave the Prince quite the perplexed look.

“Why do you continue to question my decisions? We’ve talked about this before. You’ve spent all of your life in Ponyville with no real academia to speak of, not including your average amount of education everypony and their mother has, or that mentor you mention all the time. The accomplishment of freeing my brother of his curse showed your potential, and I only wish to give you that opportunity. There are resources, classes, and entire portions of the school exclusively locked for access strictly to S-Rank students.”

Dusk was completely silent, Trixie breaking from her repeated shoveling of food into her mouth to speak.

“You know, we get a private library. The Prince showed me on the way to the dining hall. We also get our own dorms, laboratories, recreational room, courtyard... Oh, and the Royal Guard’s Headquarters is right... near our dorms...”

A little bothered by Dusk’s lack of etiquette, what with him leaning on the table with both of his front hooves, she was quite unprepared for the forthcoming outburst.

“Solaris, I’ll get to live near Shimmer?! Why didn’t you tell me that?”

The Prince was struggling to not spew cider all over the table, hacking after Dusk’s excitement shoved the glass in his face, forcing down a little more liquor than Solaris was intending on drinking.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise. Shimmer Shield was going to drop by the dorms tomorrow, but I imagine there’s nothing I can do to stop you from visiting her later tonight now is there?”

Dusk started into a flurry of questions for the Prince, Trixie resuming her meal in a more controlled manner than before. Must be nice having family to visit every now and then. Wish I could be as excited as he is. Drowning her less than pleasant thoughts with a little Marelot, the mare tuned out the two stallions as they chatted, occasionally accepting an offer to talk here and there as the celebratory dinner carried on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following dinner, the S-Ranks were escorted to their dorms, being offered the opportunity to select which wing they wished to stay in. Lucky for Dusk, he was quick to choose the dorm that was close to the library, as well as the Royal Guard’s HQ, Trixie following suit along with Harpford and Starlight. A few winding corridors and directions on how to navigate the campus later, the guard guiding the four ponies took his leave, but not before Dusk asked how to get to the Guard’s HQ, of course. However, when the ponies entered, they couldn’t even see the hooves in front of their faces.

“Would somepony tell Trixie WHY the lights are out?! Are we seriously expected to stay in a dorm that can’t even afford electricity?!”

A giggle from across the room indicated that there was another presence in the room, before bolts of lightning bounced across the room, seeming to be kicked around from a central point. What the hay? How can somepony possibly be able to kick lightning around like that? The possibility that non-unicorns in this world were capable of using magic was not an unfamiliar concept to her, what with all the studying she did for the exams, but this would be the first she'd ever seen since her arrival.

“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a welcome if I didn’t try and dazzle you all, now would it?”

One last kick sent a final bolt to the ceiling before it burst with light, revealing an ebony coated pegasus at the other end of the room. The bright smile on her face faded quickly, as a Trixie stomped across the room, shoving her face against the gold eyed mare.

“Do you realize that you could have ELECTROCUTED, nay, KILLED one of us?! It doesn’t matter how strong any of us are or how quickly we could summon a barrier, a pegasus such as yourself should be aware of just how dangerous lightning can be!”

Even with Trixie practically puffing smoke out of her snout, the mare merely tilted her head to the side and frowned.

“Ah, my apologies miss, I didn’t mean to frighten! Only to entertain! Tempest Dancer only wishes to have fun with her little ponies!”

Harpford practically raised his eyebrow to the roof, and had that been physically possible, would have created a hole in the ceiling. He trotted out from behind the others and slowly raised his hoof as if to protest.

“Uh, forgive my assumptions, but do we really need someone ‘watching’ after us here? I mean, we’re all big ponies, right? We can take care of ourselves, feed ourselves, clean up, et cetera?”

Dusk casually fiddled with his mane, trying to avoid answering the question as Starlight squealed with excitement.

“Oh oh oh, I can make the best grass stew ever! And you can try some boiled daisies and... and...”

Harpford firmly planted his hoof in his face, as Trixie gagged and shivered while imagining the blandness of such a meal. It’s just hot water and grass... how in the hoof can you make THAT taste GOOD?! All the while, Dusk placed a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder, slowly shaking his head back and forth as her ears drooped downward. Tempest could see the mood of the room dropping right before her, so she worked to salvage the situation at hoof.

“Um, let Tempest just cut to the chase. Tempest is to be your denmother... No wait, that’s not right. The Residential Adviser? No, that’s not it either. Why don’t we just say Tempest is a housekeeper? Essentially, Tempest will be here 24/7 for your personal needs. Not... Too personal, of course, and do not expect Tempest to run out in the middle of the night because there are some carrot chips you’re just ‘dying’ to have, but at the same time I wouldn’t object to cooking up a quick midnight snack.”

Unfortunately, the whole concept of the overglorified foal sitter was rubbing Harpford the wrong way.

“So, you’ll be here all day and all night for our needs? They really think we need someone for that?”

Tempest giggled once more, trotting with a slight float to each step, practically bouncing towards Harpford. Her mane, grey like a storm cloud with a lightning bolt piercing through it as well, swayed in his face as she tossed it with her hooves; clearly the mare was having too much fun teasing him.

“My my, do you ask a lot of questions. A lot of questions for a mare like myself; if Tempest didn’t know any better, I would think it would be because you can’t get enough of staring at Tempest.”

All of the blood in Harpford’s body rushed to his face, Trixie pointing a hoof and laughing quite loudly at the once bold stallion who now seemed to be frozen in place, whilst the pegasus trotted around him in a circle. She tossed her mane back and forth once more as Harpford shook violently, quite intimidated, considering the mare was somewhat taller than him.

“D-d-d-on’t get any wr-wr-wr-wrong id-d-d-deas! I’m just wond-d-d-dering why you’re r-r-r-really working here!”

Tempest couldn’t resist the urge to swish her matching tail around in his face, giggling all the while.

“Ah, well to tell the truth, it’s good pay! After all, Tempest is not much older than yourselves, and even with her tuition paid off at the Weather Factory’s Technical College, Tempest still needs a few bits every now and then for herself. Even though Tempest can kick up a storm faster than most ponies, they are still insisting that I go through the ropes and get a license like everypony else. So when they aren’t dragging Tempest through the prerequisites, she’s here making some money and having fun. Everypony likes to have fun, right?”

The dorm soon filled with more laughter, Starlight unable to contain her giggling any longer and Trixie poking at Harpford in the side as Tempest continued taunting the riled up stallion. Dusk had been enjoying himself even sitting aside and watching everything unfold, their banter almost comforting to him. Something about the others was beginning to feel right. Thinking back to the last time he was with his friends, he wondered when the last time it was he had that much fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight came quickly, and most of the ponies had grown tired, the day’s exhausting and nerve-wracking events finally at an end. Trixie was the first to head into her shared bedroom, Tempest having to guide Starlight in after her. While the azure colored mare tossed one thing after another into its place on her side of the room, Starlight stood at the door while her eyes seemed to be locked firmly on the empty bed across from Trixie.

“Uh, Starlight, is something wrong?”

Starlight Sonata carefully trotted over to the bed, giving it a once over intently before looking at Trixie. Her eyes rapidly filled with tears as the pony began trembling, biting her lower lip.

“Oh, boo hoo, so we have to share a room! You should be happy to be in the presence of The Great and Powerful Trixie so often! Why, you may even be capable of a FOURTH of her greatness someday!”

Head held high, Trixie quickly came down from her ego boost as she realized how she didn’t really need to put on her proud face in front of such company, let alone insult Starlight. After all, she seems like a sweet little mare, no need to worry about her opi- Suddenly pulled out of her train of thought by the hooves wrapped around her, her gaze met Starlight’s tearful eyes.

“I-I get my own bed, and I get to share a room with somepony else? I... I can’t believe it...”

Clinging somewhat tightly, Starlight jerked slightly as soft sobs escaped her, leaving Trixie somewhat uncertain of how to respond. Slowly, she put her own hooves around her and held her back, a bit uncomfortable, but deciding to let the mare be.

When the crying finally stopped, the older pony was finally able to question the wet eyed ivory mare. “So, do you mind my asking what that was all about?”

Realizing that hiding the truth for that emotional outburst was pointless, Starlight answered with all the details she could, albeit there wasn’t much to tell. ”I’ve never really had a home or a family or anything to really hold onto. I guess that this dorm is the first place to really resemble anything like that. I’ve had to travel all around Equestria most of my life, and I’ve slept outside more times than I can count, even if I wanted to. No bed, no pillow, no blanket... Nothing I couldn’t carry on my back, anyways.”

Finally, after having packed away her sapphire brooch into her nightstand, along with her cape and hat, Trixie pressed Starlight with a few more obvious questions. “So, what about your parents then? Don’t remember them at all, I assume?”

Nodding her head, Starlight carefully organized her things around her portion of the room. Her ear began to glow with a magic aura as she removed an earring, placing it carefully in a box on her own nightstand. Trixie watched as the pony proceeded to place the first box inside another... And then another, before finally the magic around it flashed, Trixie assuming she’d placed an enchantment on it.

“I don’t remember my mother or father... All I remember is waking up in the woods one day, and the only thing I had on me was that earring. I think it belonged to my mommy, but I’m not sure...”

After letting out a sigh, Starlight looked over to Trixie and started turning her frown upside down.

“But it’s alright, I suppose. Maybe all that time alone then will be made up now. Dusk and Harpford seem nice, and we’ll spend time around here together, right? It’ll be like you’re my sister!”

Oh dear sweet Celestia, PLEASE tell me she is joking. Trixie was not ready for such emotional investment in another pony, let alone one she’d only known for a few hours during idle dinner chatter. However, she found herself unable to dismiss the rather cute behavior of the other pony who was now bouncing up and down on her bed, slowly at first, but with quickly growing enthusiasm. Clearly this girl is telling the truth; there’s no way somepony her age would still find amusement in jumping on the bed. But as the other persisted on, and seemed to not lose any energy, amusement turned into concern. Oh no, if she’s like this all the time, then it means I’m never going to get any sleep and she’s always going to bug me to play with her and-

Amid all her panicking, Trixie had failed to notice that the other mare had long since crashed and burned onto her bed, sprawled out amidst a mess of blankets. Alright, so she’s capable of tiring herself out, that’s good. Using her magic, Trixie carefully tugged the blanket and sheets of the bed out from under Starlight and tucked her underneath them, prompting a soft and pleasant sigh in approval from the other. She fidgeted a bit, hooves looking for her pillow even with her drowsy eyes barely opening, grabbing hold of it and clinging tightly.

“Thank you... Trixie...”

BE STILL MY HEART, DO NOT LET HER CUTENESS INFECT YOU. It took virtually every bit of her willpower to fight off the urge to hold the other pony. Trixie may be a changed mare, but she does not go around showing affection for random ponies just like that. Still... Thinking back to the other’s earlier statement, there was realization that maybe it wasn’t that detestable of an idea.

“If Trixie must make nice with other ponies, there are certainly worse choices.”

With the other settled at last, and the moonlight peeking into the room, Trixie finally resigned for the day, exhausted to the point of barely being able to crawl up into her own bed. The events of the day all seemed to be pointing to the best for the mare, even with the ruler of this realm more informed of her background than she’d like. I guess I should have known better than to think things would go off without a hitch. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like he’s about to throw me out nor hinder my progress. But something tells me there’s much he has left me out of the loop on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I believe that you have the ability to be the kind of friend he needs during his time here. Even though his friends will be granted visits with him when they drop by, he needs someone at his side to have his back. I believe you two will get along well, so I’d like you to spend as much time with him as possible. Studying, eating meals, classes, etc. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if he has someone around him he actually enjoys talking to, or dare I say admire, you might rub off on him in due time.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Solaris is a fool if he doesn’t think I won’t find anything about that suspicious. He knows nothing about me, and he surely doesn’t know about the other ponies that are in the academy... So why single me out? With one question only leading to another, Trixie gave into fatigue and finally shut her eyes. Worries for another day I suppose... Best enjoy the next few days off as much as I can.

Chapter 3

“So... We get dirty to bathe later?”

Starlight looked over her two friends, Tempest and Trixie, who had already made their way into the mud bath before her.

“Yes, Starlight, that’s how it works.”

Trixie groaned quite plainly, taking a quick dive underneath and coming back up for air. Her mane and coat were now completely covered in the slimy gray mixture to the point where Starlight easily could have confused her for a different pony were it not for those distinctly violet eyes.

“Starlight please, Tempest wouldn’t be one to get in this if she didn’t believe Tempest was doing this to clean herself. Tempest is not somepony to just play around in the mud like some careless schoolfilly.”

Tempest proceeded to gleefully trot through the mud before diving under for a moment, coming back up with every inch of her coated in the very thing Starlight was hesitant to trust.

“I don’t get it. I just took a bath 3 days ago, so why am I taking a bath again? And why are we getting in the mud before we get in the bath?!”

The purple eyed mare groaned once more, falling back and floating in the bath. WHY does this feel like a repeat of yesterday?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What’s a spa?”

The two mares found their jaws seeming to lack the means to be attached to the rest of their face. Starlight’s simple question was a reminder of how little she’d experienced in her life.

“I suppose it was too much to expect for you to know what that is.”

Had Trixie known that the suggestion of a trip to the spa would lead into another long winded explanation of Starlight’s life story, she probably would have kept her mouth shut. Fortunately for Tempest, this was her first time learning more about the other mare, and she found herself quite intrigued by the various tales the unicorn had. Starlight’s various ups, but mostly downs, managed to bring to light a certain lifestyle that the lightning-laced pegasus had never been aware of before; but with the pony’s behavior now explained, Tempest did her best to try and speak in a language that would make sense to Starlight.

“Starlight, Sweetie, going to the spa will be fun! It’s like... Imagine the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had. EVER! Now imagine that feeling without sleeping, and that’s what a spa is!”

That forced the orphaned pony to think back to the last night she actually slept without stress, barely tossing and turning. However, as enjoyable as that restful night of sleep had been, she remembered that the day had later turned sour.

“So it’s like Tornado Day without the tornado... right?”

Tempest was about to press for more information, but Trixie stopped her short, lest Tempest lead the other unicorn into another long story.

“Yes Starlight, it’s just like that. Look, we’re not going to get you into anything you wouldn’t want to do, alright?”

Still very hesitant but trusting in her friends, Starlight finally gave into their requests. Still somewhat unwilling, deep down she wanted to go and do something with the ponies whom she was slowly beginning to believe were her friends, the feeling shared between Trixie and Tempest. After all those days of studying, the girls would finally have their day out, with no inconveniences or problems whatsoever!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trixie should have known that was wishful thinking. And with Starlight still frozen near the edge of the bath, Trixie was growing fiercely impatient, her face beginning to show that Trixie was likely not going to wait any longer. Her horn sparked briefly before being coated in a white aura, the same aura slowly beginning to wrap around Starlight.

“H-hey! No, I don’t wanna get in! You can’t make me, Trixie!”

Quick to fight back, Starlight’s own magic flared a brilliant ebony color, pushing back against the white aura of her roommate. Much to Trixie’s surprise, the other mare was actually putting up quite the fight.

“You’re getting in this mud bath right NOW! I’m NOT waiting ANY longer!”

Another flare up of magic came from Trixie, as she slowly tugged Starlight in the direction of the bath, who began scrambling with her hooves to hold her ground and fight back with magic at the same time. Merely needing to calm herself, Starlight pushed back in full force, beginning to now lift Trixie into the air, the mud and clay dripping off her coat. Starlight puffed out her cheeks triumphantly.

“Now who’s gonna make me get in the bath?! Not you, Miss Trixie!”

Briefly intoxicated with pride from her victory, she’d failed to notice Tempest’s disappearance from the bath. With a tap of a hoof on her flank, Starlight released Trixie who hit the mud with a hard splat, face and belly first. With curiosity getting the best of her, the smaller mare found a rather large pegasus behind her, wings outstretched and ready to flap.

“Ah, Starlight sweetie, Tempest would like to suggest that perhaps her wings are stronger than your magic.~”

Tempest bega flapping her wings slowly, standing her ground and digging in her hooves before beating them harder, a gust of wind slowly swirling the air in the room. With the natural force of weather being something that Starlight was flat out unable to control, as well as not a huge fan of, she realized her fighting was only delaying the inevitable. Tempest’s wings eventually proved the strongest force in the room, as Starlight lost her balance and was blown into the mudbath. The smaller mare poked her head out of the mud, only to be met with a large ball of mud colliding with her face.

“And THAT is for dropping the Great and Powerful Trixie into the bath!”

Wiping the mud off of her face with her hooves, Starlight nearly confused Trixie for a different pony, what with her cheeks flaring bright red in anger. With three more mudballs floating hazardously around Trixie’s head, Tempest did her best to diffuse the situation.

“Starlight, say you’re sorry for dropping Trixie in the bath.”

Mouth agape in horror, Starlight whined in protest.

“But she started it!”

Tempest fixed her with a stern glare before replying.

“That doesn’t matter. You agreed to go through with this last night and you didn’t. And while Miss Trixie didn’t handle things in the best way, Tempest believes that she did it with the best of intentions. ‘Right’, Trixie?”

Well, that and I wasn’t going to wait any longer. Trixie was quick to disguise her inner thoughts with an meek nod. Buying into the other pony’s fake sincerity, Starlight bit her quivering lip and began tearing up. Oh hay, not the crying again.

“I’m s-s-sorry.. Tri-hi-hi-hixie.”

The Great and Powerful mare was incapable of resisting the other pony’s adorable mannerisms this time, wading through the mud and putting her hooves around Starlight. Giving her a tight hug, she stopped Starlight’s sniffling short of turning into a full blown sob.

“It’s alright, Trixie is sorry she tried to make you get in the bath before you were ready. I’ll... Try and not do that next time.”

With the problem resolved, Tempest couldn’t resist but getting in on the hug herself, pulling both ponies under her wings and hugging them close. Giggling with delight before sporting a sly grin, she dunked herself and the other two mares under the mud, both struggling to pull themselves back to the surface for air. Each of the unicorns were preparing a mud ball for hurling in Tempest’s direction, before being cautioned against such a decision.

“Ah ah ah.~”

Even covered in mud, her massive wings were still very intimidating, enough that both Starlight and Trixie dropped the mud back into the bath. Thankfully, the rest of the mudbath proceeded without any further conflicts,with the girls quickly moving to the next part of the treatment. A firm scrub down purged all the mud and clay off their skin, and out of their fur, was all Tempest and Trixie needed to feel better. Starlight, however, found herself unable to find the right words to describe the delightful feeling from such a cleansing.

“Uwahah... Ahhhhh... I just, I can’t.”

Trixie was quite amused by the flurry of expressions flying across Starlight’s face, who seemed to be unable to decided if she was happy, relieved, or just comfortable.

“I know, I know, there’s nothing else like a good scrub after a mud bath. Really takes the edge off if I do say so myself.”

Even with her mind drowning in indescribable pleasures for such a simple experience, Starlight attempted to contemplate just ‘why’ she was enjoying this so much.

“So we get dirty to ‘increase’ how good this feels? Is that right?”

Tempest was finishing up her own cleanse, shaking off her whole body of water and suds.

“Correct! Tempest meant to explain that to you earlier, but Tempest felt it would be best if Starlight experienced it first hoof. It seems that was a good call!”

The pony attempted to speak, but it was a wasted effort as all that came out were more delighted moans and squeals. Starlight was on cloud nine and she wasn’t about to come down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sauna, some hooficures, and a mane treatment later, the girls left the spa, the most refreshed they had been in the past 3 days. With two of the ponies grinding through books for preemptive studies and one keeping them fed and the dorm clean, this day out was an absolute necessity for each of them. However, one was particularly more blown away by the experience than the others.

“Once a week, right?”

Starlight had asked that question at least fives times now, each time being given the same answer. Trixie was on the verge of biting her lip so hard it’d bleed, but luckily Tempest was quick to pick up on the emotions of others, finally giving a more concrete and specific answer to quell the excited pony.

“Once a week, every week. We have the time for it, after all, but we’re doing something a little special today. There’s a particular unicorn Tempest would like for you all to meet; he’s gotten a nice start here recently, and I think he’s quite fantastic when it comes to making designer outfits. Best to get your measurements for him now, should there be any events at the academy in the future! Besides, you’ll have the Grand Galloping Gala to attend at the end of the year. It ‘is’ part of your tuition, after all.”

Before even placing a hoof in the shop, the three were greeted by a brilliant white-coated stallion, flashing a smile and sporting a gaze that would probably have knocked Starlight’s non-existent socks off... had she spent more time around stallions.

“Tempest, darling, so good to see you! Are these your friends you mentioned in your letter?!”

Tempest giggled and hugged the violet maned unicorn.

“Lucy, these are Tempest’s friends, Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Sonata. Tempest brought them in today just like you asked.”

Starlight gave a meek wave of the hoof, while Trixie’s eyes narrowed at the stallion. The nickname sounded familiar, the mare swearing she’d heard the name before, the full name coming to her after recalling a chat with Dusk Shine.

“Elusive, is it? You own this place?”

Elusive turned his attention to the azure mare beside his pegasus friend, raising an eyebrow.

“You aren’t aware of who I am? Why, I’m the friend to Dusk Shine and the embodiment of the Element of Generosity! So generous in fact that Prince Solaris seeked to return that generosity with my own store here in Canterlot! Of course, I only sought to give ponies what they wanted, and I’m looking to spread outside of just designing clothes now! Perhaps you’re willing to be the first customer for my personal mane stylings?!”

He gave a simple tap at her flowing locks of hair, dwelling on various ways he could give a little pop and flair to the mare’s manestyle. Being brought back to reality by the hoof firmly pushing him away, Elusive found himself on the end of a very cold and ire-filled glare from Trixie.

“You touch me, or my mane, without my permission and I will see to it you lose your horn.”

She trotted into the shop, both Tempest and Starlight left behind her with quite the shock from the spur of the moment icy mood swing from the magician that they never expected.

“Um, Lucy dear, please don’t mind her. Perhaps it’s not the best idea that I brought her here without letting her know first.”

Elusive shrugged it off, not even mildly bothered by Trixie’s less-than-thrilled attitude at being around the store, or so he assumed. Tempest walked off to another part of the store as Starlight began hunting down Trixie in what ended up being an unexpectedly large clothing shop.

Trixie had long since abandoned the customer areas of the store and gone into the backrooms, where she figured she wasn’t welcome. Much to her expectations, the rooms were lined with an array of dress forms and wrinkled fabrics. The doors to each of the rooms were locked, but experiences in the past forced Trixie’s hoof at needing to pick up some skills that weren’t what many would praise a pony for knowing. A twist of a spring here and a shifting of a lever there opened door after door, all the rooms showing something different, at least in terms of ideas. Is he paranoid that somepony is going to come into these pigstys and steal his designs or something?

What got to Trixie the most was the lack of neatness. For a pony whom she had learned always prided himself on keeping up appearances, clearly the stallion had no concerns about what went on behind closed doors. There’s something just off about all of this. Who even cleans this all up? He’s a full grown stallion who prides himself on appearance, and yet his workshop is like this? Finally, the seemingly endless hallway of workrooms came to an end as she reached what she figured was Elusive’s office. Had she taken the time to think about it, Trixie would have assumed that it was natural to keep one’s office tidy, but then it hit her fully as she took in just what state of order this heart of the shop was in.

Not a single pile of disorganized papers, nor a stray pen. The photos on the wall all have him in the shot somewhere too. Dinners, award ceremonies, school events, it’s all the same. So, why doesn’t he have a picture of Dusk in here if they’re friends? Trixie took notice of the picture hanging above the doorframe, seeing the very photo she’d been looking for: Dusk and his five friends, all wearing the elements of harmony. To anyone else, this would have seemed like a picture of legends, something that would be hung in the halls of a museum and otherwise seen as a piece of historical memorabilia.

This mare was not one to miss details though, as she guided the framed picture off the wall with her magic, bringing it closer for a better look. Just as I thought. Amid all the smiling and happy faces of Solaris and Dusk’s friends, Dusk was the only stallion there who seemed to be out of place. Trixie could see him smiling like the others, but his happiness in the picture seemed to lack a genuine excitement she’d see during his studies with her. The forced smile in the photo, however, did seem familiar.

“There you are sister!”

Startled but thinking quickly, Trixie guided the picture back up onto its hook and darted out of the room, slamming the door shut. Starlight was quite frightened by the rush of the mare charging out of the room, but kept her cool. As Trixie gathered her thoughts, she blocked out the concerns of Dusk and her investigation of his friends, instead bringing up something more pressing to discuss with the other intruder.

“I’m sorry but... did you just call me ‘sister’?”

Starlight’s face matched the red intensity she’d seen on Harpford’s face only a few nights prior. But instead of embarrassment over being teased, it was clearly for a different reason.

“Um, yes, if that’s... okay. I mean, we’re sharing the same rooms, you let me talk to you all the time at night about things I’ve done or had happened to me, and you do the same, so I thought it was okay.”

Trailing off a bit near the end, the two seemed to ignore the fact that they were trespassing into a private section of the store, feeling as though they were the only ponies in the shop.

“Starlight, forgive me, but I really find that awkward and uncomfortable. I haven’t really done anything to ‘qualify’ myself as a sister to you.”

The other pony shook her head in protest, eager to express just why she felt Trixie was wrong.

“That other night when you hugged me while I was crying, that was the first time in... well, honestly I can’t remember how long since someone’s hugged me, or if I’ve ever been hugged at all.”

Oh you have GOT to be kidding me; this mare can NOT be serious. But Starlight was quite serious, approaching Trixie and hugging her tightly, causing her to freeze in place. No no no no no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Her mind raced in detest of this very forward affection from the other mare, her thoughts screaming for it to stop, but her hooves speaking the opposite. Knowing that Trixie wasn’t a fan of physical displays of affection, Starlight let her go and laughed at the sight of the distraught pony.

“I’m sorry, I understand what you were saying. Um, if you don’t want me to call you sister, I can st-”

Trixie pointed a hoof towards Sonata, pausing her speech for her.

“Look, if you would like to call Trixie... Sister, then I suppose as long as it’s not around other ponies I’m... o...kay with that. But only when we’re alone like this, got it? I ‘really’ do not need flack from Harpford. That stallion truly thinks with the mind of a colt sometimes, and Solaris knows I wouldn’t hear the end of his implications. Worst of all would be the stares from Dusk. He’d mean well, but surely wouldn’t resist wondering just EXACTLY what goes on behind closed doors.”

The mare’s rambling had no effect on Starlight, who had long since tilted her head in confusion at the last statement from Trixie. Solaris help me, this girl has got a LOT to learn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, you’ve never been on a date?”

The girls had taken time to do a little extra shopping after getting their measurements at Elusive’s boutique, soon after finding a cafe to stop and rest at. Tempest was quick to dig at the two mares for some interesting conversation, and after discussions of studies with the boys, she quickly turned the talk towards boys period. Starlight had become Tempest’s target for teasing this time, like every other conversation it seemed, and pressed to figure out her interests in stallions.

“I’ve never had the time... or money, really. No home to go to, no school to meet colts at, nothing like what Trixie was talking about.”

Trixie couldn’t help but puff out her chest, grinning with delight as she reflected on past achievements with the crowd of stallions that she could gather around her.

“Those stallions back home couldn’t get enough of Trixie! After all, coming from a pedigree of famous magicians and being as amazing and fantastic as I am, why ‘wouldn’t’ they want to spend all their bits and free time on Trixie?”

A hearty laugh from the showmare wasn’t enough to drown out the loud sigh coming from Starlight, Trixie’s boasting having brought up a more depressing realization.

“Besides, who would be interested in a pony my age who STILL doesn’t have her cutie mark?”

This topic had been eating away at the other two mares since the day they had all met, Tempest most of all. Trixie’s curiosity was piqued by it, but not to the intensity the pegasus had experienced.

“Starlight sweetie, a cutie mark doesn’t change anything about whether or not stallions will like you. Sure, perhaps Tempest has gotten a few more free meals after Tempest’s father would suggest that he would destroy their homes with a thunderstorm, and that maybe if they made Tempest mad a twister would send then from Canterlot to Las Pegasus...”

It took the storm spinning pegasus a moment to realize that her brief explanation of her special talent wasn’t helping Starlight Sonata feel any better.

“Look, the better question to ask would be what kind of stallion you’d like to date.”

Trixie nodded in agreement.

“That’s actually not a horrible idea. After all, I only really found myself not bored out of my mind when I was talking with other actual showponies who knew what they were doing...”

After a little banter between the two ponies, Starlight finally spoke up.

“Somepony who likes music.”

Tempest and Trixie’s attention was broken by the interjection. They refocused on Starlight, prompting her to let out a small yelp as she found herself locked in their gaze, but quickly calmed down once she realized they were waiting to listen.

“I’d want to be with somepony who likes music. Since I had to move from place to place for as long as I can remember, I used to sleep under theater stages and in back rooms of concert halls. And whenever I heard the music playing, it always helped me fall asleep faster.”

Starlight began humming softly to herself, seeming to forget the others at the table with her, breaking from the tune playing in her head to speak.

“Somepony who likes music or is a musician themselves. They could play an instrument or maybe even just a composer, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

Both Trixie and Tempest were amused by Starlight continuing to hum with her eyes closed, as the tune seemed to have some meaning to her, judging by the huge smile on her face. The three mares failed to pick up on the presence behind them until it approached the table and prodded the ponies on their shoulders.

“Somepony who maybe also has it as their talent? Oh, maybe he would have it as his cutie mark! He could even help me figure out what ‘my’ gift could be! Oh that would be quite... Wonderful...”

Letting out a delighted sigh, Starlight slowly opened her eyes and saw the last pony in the world she expected to be standing across the table from her: Harpford Strings.

“Uh, pardon the intrusion, but do you mind me asking what you girls were talking about?”

Trixie was on the verge of exploding with laughter at the inexplicable level of coincidence, Tempest’s eyes were ablaze with excitement and Starlight was fighting the urge to take off for the nearest unblocked pathway out of the cafe. But as she realized that Harpford hadn’t a clue what they’d been discussing, she tried to cover her bases.

“Um, uh... Oh! We were talking about what kind of boys Tempest would be into! And uh, going on about what pony would be perfect for her!”

Harpford seemed to lose his balance, and his focus, as he stumbled forward and bumped into the table, grunting in frustration.

“Oh well uh... That’s nice I suppose. But uh, Tempest is a ‘bit’ too old for me, don’t you think?”

Any other mare probably would have unleashed a wrath wherein the intensity was comparable to that of a thousand red giant suns, but Tempest took it in stride and retorted with rather harsh snark.

“Well, I suppose I am a bit too mature and sophisticated for you, Harpford. After all, if you’re still stashing PlayColt magazines in your room, so perhaps you haven’t had the luxury of being with a real mare yet?”

A direct strike to his ego, Harpford made a mental note to, from that moment on, lock his personal belongings within a magically sealed container. He attempted to keep his cool, denying possession of such things.

“Oh my, so desperate to cover for your age by falsifying truths? I guess that would explain your lack of a coltfriend after all.”

Realizing that, perhaps, her words were hitting too close to an uncomfortable topic, Tempest gave in and let the green stallion have his win.

“Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. Regardless, you care to tell us what you were doing here in Canterlot anyway?”

Having lost track of the very reason he’d headed into town in the first place, he dug through his saddlebag and lifted out a gift certificate.

“My mother and father sent this to me and said I should enjoy a nice night out to dinner before classes start, but honestly I don’t know quite ‘how’ I’m going to spend all of the bits this covers on one meal. I don’t suppose one of you would like to tag along?”

Trixie rolled her eyes quickly at such a suggestion, not really interested in attending someplace that would make her gag at the rather uptight atmosphere, not to mention her complete lack of interest in Harpford. The obvious indifference on Trixie’s face directed Harpford’s focus towards Tempest.

“Tempest is busy with her own personal business tonight, so Tempest is afraid Tempest will not be able to give you the luxury of my presence. Besides, Tempest is too old, after all. Isn’t that right?”

Harprford had been expecting a response like that and brushed off her hostility. Thus, only one pony was left, trying her hardest not to make eye contact though not wanting be rude and deny the offer.

“Um, I uh, don’t have any plans. I suppose I could come along.”

Presenting a kind smile to the mare, Harpford motioned with his hoof for her to follow. She lifted her bags full of her purchases from the day only to find them taken over by Harpford, carrying them with his own magic.

“We can go drop these off at the dorms first; I made the reservation for later in case I ‘did’ fine somepony to go with me. Oh, and we can change too, since there’s kind of a formal attire requirement there...”

Trixie only smiled as her predictions were true.

“Therein lies my disinterest. And if you don’t mind, Tempest, I think I’ll take my leave too, as I’ve got a study session with Dusk later. We got our entrance exams back, and we’re going to go over whatever we got wrong.”

Thinking nothing of the fact that she was spending time with Dusk again, Trixie trotted off away from the group, leaving Harpford, Tempest and Starlight with an opportunity to gossip, the storm spinning pegasus taking the lead.

“For all that time they spend together, one would think they enjoy more than just academics.”

Tempest made a rather quick assumption about Dusk and Trixie’s relationship which Starlight was quick to rebute.

“Tempest, I don’t think it’s quite like that. Trixie’s talked to me about a lot of what they do, and really, she says that he’s kind of the only pony she feels comfortable actually talking over studies with. Though...”

The trailing off at the end left Harpford and Tempest unwilling to believe that was all there was to the matter.

“Starlight sweetie, what did we say about remembering not to trail off into the depths of your own mind?”

Starlight knew that Tempest’s comment was meant with good intent, the inner thinking a bad habit she was attempting to break now that she was spending time around other ponies more frequently.

“Well, I feel like maybe Trixie has some sort of ulterior motive. Not an emotional one, but it almost seems like she was ‘told’ by someone to spend time with Dusk. I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t like him so much as she’s very focused on never missing an appointment with him. In fact, she left the dorms yesterday morning without waking me up because of her plans to have breakfast with him before they went to plan out their schedule. When I asked her about it later, she said that she wanted to take classes with him and promptly yelled at me for giving her a funny look implying that I thought she liked him.”

Even with the rambling at the end, it managed to shed some light on the situation for Trixie’s other roommates. Each pony had their own suspicions, Harpford chiming in with what was the closest to the correct answer.

“So maybe she’s being told to keep an eye on him; it’s no big deal. Dusk Shine is a stallion of interest, it wouldn’t be entirely implausible for some out of the blue mare like Trixie, no pun intended, to be there from another country to keep an eye on the Element of Magic.”

A very valid point for the stallion to bring up, but Tempest was eager to believe her own thoughts.

“Ah well, if they did get together they’d probably have some cute foals.”

Tempest chuckled at such a thought, the two unicorns feeling that it was an ideal time to leave, quietly leaving the cafe. The pegasus ended her laughter only to discover that both of her friends were now gone.

“Nopony appreciates Tempest’s sarcasm, it seems. Oh well.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After having headed back to the dorms, Trixie found a note from Dusk informing her he was stopping by the Royal Guard HQ to see his sister off on a yearly trip she made. With little more details than that, Trixie made her way to the headquarters, having taken a walk there a few days before only to find it a waste when Shimmer Shield wasn’t there to meet Dusk Shine. After flashing the school ID from her saddlebag, the guards let her in, and Trixie followed the sound of Dusk’s voice as it echoed through the halls.

“You know how it is, Shiney. I’ll be back in a few weeks, so don’t worry about me, alright? You know Solaris wouldn’t ever send me off to do something too dangerous. Besides, even if it ‘was’ dangerous, we know I can handle myself.”

Finding a white coated and blue maned mare sitting across from Dusk Shine, Trixie assumed this to be his sister, Shimmer Shield.

“I’m aware of that, and I know you have Emporte’s magic protecting you. I guess I just get worried about the worst case scenarios all the time.”

Shimmer Shield put a hoof around Dusk as he leaned against her, hugging him close.

“I know, Shiney, I know. I’m the only family you’ve got left, but don’t forget that if anything ever happened to me, you still have Emporte as a brother-in-law.”

Trixie froze mid-trot into the room and began to slowly back up out of view. Carefully peeking her head outward, she watched Dusk try and find a response to that statement, but he seemed to be at a complete loss for words.

“Is something wrong, Shiney?”

Dusk remained silent, his head hung low and eyes closed. It seemed he was on the verge of divulging something important to his sister, and would have... had Trixie not fallen forward and hit the floor with a loud thud. Shimmer Shield jumped into a defensive position as Dusk tilted his head to the side, staring at the mare in confusion for a moment before stepping in front of his sister and waving his hooves like a madpony.

“Shimmer! It’s alright, it’s just my friend I was telling you about.”

Seeing the mild scowl on Shimmer’s face, all Trixie could do was force a weak smile and try to pick herself up, trotting into the room and sitting across from the Royal Guard Captain.

“You know, it’s not exactly polite to eavesdrop, Miss...”

Trixie groaned.

“Lulamoon, Trixie Lulamoon. Listen, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t even realize it was a private conversation and-”

Dusk Shine attempted to defend Trixie as well.

“And it’s my fault she came here in the first place. We were supposed to meet back at the dorm, but when you said you were leaving tonight...”

Shimmer Shield sighed and brushed her mane out of her eyes, nodding in confirmation.

“It’s alright, think nothing of it. But it is nice to finally meet the mare my brother’s been talking so much about. He says you’ve been making for a great study partner.”

Tossing her mane with flair, Trixie made her way to the couch and hopped up beside Dusk.

“Well, I figured someone as consistent and organized for studying as he is, why not keep working with him? No sense in studying with someone I’m not sure does it right.”

Shimmer Shield seemed to be buying Trixie’s spiel, prompting her to continue gloating.

“And I seemed to do well on the exams, so again, no sense in tossing aside what is likely a good luck charm.”

Dusk’s ears furrowed upon being called a good luck charm, Trixie working quick to recover from that.

“But uh, that’s uh, not all of course! He’s good company after all, tends to like talking about the same things I do, really understands magic...”

The next statement completely and totally threw Trixie for a loop.

“So why don’t you two do something else besides study then?”

This was something Trixie knew would be asked by one pony or another eventually. With all the time they spent together, and without knowing the real means behind her giving Dusk all of her free time, the question left her unable to come up with a proper excuse. But this was a new and improved Trixie, one not ready to simply roll over and accept defeat. Shimmer Shield wasn’t one to let her have that chance though.

“I mean, I’m sure you go out to eat together, but surely you guys could be doing more right? If you two are dating, there’s a lot more options for-”

Had Trixie been drinking something, she would have spewed it all over Shimmer.

“Sweet Solaris no! Sister, why would you suggest something like that?! Trixie’s a good friend. Why do I ‘have’ to do something like date her?!”

Dusk had practically stolen the words right out of Trixie’s mouth, her eyes growing wide for a moment before Shimmer finally clarified.

“Sorry, I suppose that was one massive leap of an assumption on my part. Still, just promise me you’re not going to closet yourself with your studies again like you did after your mentor left.”

But rather than accept what seemed like helpful advice from a sibling, Shimmer’s words only frustrated Dusk. And unfortunately, she didn’t seem to take the hint from his silence towards her.

“You’re getting older and it’s time to be thinking about the future. A family and friends can be just as important as your studies, so you shouldn’t be prioritizing that over socializing. After all, if I hadn’t loosened up and spent the time with Emporte and the others in the guards like I did, I wouldn’t have a wonderful husband and the friends I do now.”

Shimmer’s words grew more harsh with each second when finally, Dusk slammed his hoof on the table to silence her and gave her one of the most hate-filled looks she’d seen from him in years.

“And what am I supposed to do if those friends are too busy for me? Do you expect me to turn around and just make new friends like it’s nothing? Let’s forget that maybe I have done that, that perhaps Trixie is one of my new friends. Or let’s make another suggestion and imply that maybe AJ, Scotch and the others weren’t even my friends at all, how about that?”

Seems as though his sister opened up an emotional can of worms. Though she wasn’t about to touch this argument with a ten foot pole, Trixie found herself quite engrossed in the conversation.

“Shiney, I didn’t mean that, you know I don’t. I’m sure that all of your friends back home still care about you. I just worry that after mom and dad abandoned us, and then your mentor did the sa-”

“Don’t you DARE say that!”

Dusk screamed at Shimmer, leaving her at a complete loss. Having never seen her brother explode like this before, she was left speechless.

“Master didn’t abandon me! I’ve told you and everypony else and NO pony believes me! You think the same of mom and dad, but what if you’re wrong?!”

I wonder where all of this is coming from. At least, Dusk never seemed to really be this angry around me. Trixie did have some ideas as to what really was frustrating Dusk, thinking perhaps he wasn’t truly mad at his sister. Surely this is just misdirected anger.

“Shimmer, I study as much as I do because he told me to. He said I was meant for something important someday, and even though you and so many others keep telling me I already met that goal, you’re completely incapable of understanding how I feel! Forgetting master’s name, Mom and Dad’s disappearance, lack of any research evidence, and so much more... You and everypony else just moved on, but I didn’t.”

Stomping his hoof on the table after each statement and seeming to be on the verge of storming out, it was clear the tension between the seemingly well-to-do siblings was growing.

“You may feel like ‘you’ have done everything in your life you set out to do, but I do not. I will not sit here and listen to you lecture me on how to live my life when you’ve fulfilled your dreams, and made life changing decisions without ever consulting me.”

Realizing that, perhaps, her choice of words were wrong and that Dusk might actually leave, Shimmer apologized quickly in an attempt to try and defuse the situation.

“You’re right Shiney, I... It was out of line for me to say that. I get used to telling the boys what to do all the time and I forget you’re your own stallion. It’s not right for me to try and take Mom and Dad’s place or suggest that your mentor abandoned you. I may have my own feelings about him, and our parents, but it wasn’t right for me to push that on you.”

Although the two ponies were cooling down from the heated conversation, their time together was cut short as a guardpony entered the lounge.

“Miss Shield, I’m afraid there’s a matter that requires your attention.”

Shimmer rolled her eyes and got off her seat.

“Aquilinia got her feathers caught in the armor again, didn’t she?”

The guardsman nodded and took his leave. After a frustrated kick of the hoof to the floor, Shimmer turned back to the two ponies.

“Um, unfortunately, since I must attend to business, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask you two to leave. Technically speaking, non guard members are allowed in HQ outside of family visits and whatnot. But um, Trixie, do you mind if I talk to you for a moment? And Dusk, do you mind waiting outside the gate? I’ll show her the way out.”

Still attempting to come down from the peak of his anger, Dusk nodded and trotted out, but not before stopping and turning back to his sister.

“I’m sorry too Shimmer. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I hope you won’t stay mad.”

Shimmer Shield sighed and smiled.

“Shiney, you know I could never stay mad at you. I am your Big Sister Best Friend Forever after all, right?”

Trixie felt as if there might be something funny in a shortening of that title towards Shimmer, but instead ignored it and watched Dusk leave, feeling uncomfortable with just the Royal Guard Captain sharing the room with her now.

“Forgive the awkward suggestions earlier, Miss Lulamoon, but Solaris asked that I make my best attempt to keep my awareness of your duties in the dark.”

There was a mixture of relief and concern from that statement, Trixie hesitant to speak but forcing out her words.

“And how much has he told you?”

A sly grin ran across Shimmer’s face, suspecting that there were more secrets than she expected about Trixie being kept in the dark.

“That you seem to bring out a more social and upbeat side of Dusk he hadn’t seen in weeks, not since the Endless Night incident. I asked for some more background... But he said that was classified information. I’ll be blunt and say that while I approve of that and I appreciate you being friends with Dusk, I don’t like the pony who’s spending so much time with him having such a locked up history.”

A wave of the hoof to follow Shimmer pushed Trixie to do so. As they headed down the hall towards the exit, she continued her declarations towards the magician mare.

“I don’t expect you to divulge every detail right here and now, but since I’m trusting my brother to your care as Solaris suggested, I would like for you to someday open up to me. Secrets only make things worse, I feel, especially if th-”

There’s no point in this. Trixie ran the consequences of her forthcoming statement and decided that they were in her favor.

“I’m not from your Equestria; I used a spell to transport myself to your realm and Solaris believes that if I study along with your brother, I could help him find a sort of inner emotional peace and tap into the powers he holds as the Element of Magic.”

Hearing the other mare’s complete halt of her trotting, Trixie turned about to face Shimmer directly.

“If you want trust in that I have no intentions of using or harming Dusk, then I will trust you with what you need to know about me. Your brother and his counterpart in my realm have an aptitude for magic unlike any other. Solaris believes that he could confirm theories about magic and discover new kinds of spells and rituals that nopony else has ever discovered. It’s possible that Dusk could be responsible for the advancement of our knowledge in mere years rather than centuries or millennia.”

Shimmer was completely floored by the reveal on Trixie’s part, having never expected the mare to open up and let her in on everything that suddenly. And with her being at a disadvantage, she struggled to find the right way to thank her.

“I wish I had more to say, but I really can’t think of anything. I trust Solaris, so... I guess I’ll trust you too. Dusk hasn’t opened himself up to anypony else besides Emporte. He doesn’t even feel comfortable around Solaris sometimes, but I haven’t figured out why yet. Regardless, if he desires to make you part of our family too, I suppose I will welcome you as well.”

Even with that kindness in those words, Trixie resisted giving into Shimmer’s politeness.

“I’m not doing this because I’m some lovesick mare desperate for a stallion in my life. Dusk Shine truly does have some special gift with magic that I haven’t seen in anypony else, not even myself. I work with him so I can one day figure out what that talent is and maybe attempt to achieve some of that greatness myself. I have no desire to take it from him, nor do I have any desire to be something more than an obligated acquaintance.”

Leaving Shimmer with little else to say, they headed for the gate where Dusk was waiting, staring up at the evening sky. It seemed that he was off in his own little world, giving Shimmer one last chance to speak to Trixie.

“You’re a complete stranger, and he speaks of you in a way I haven’t heard him so excitedly talk about anypony else in ages. Please, don’t make him feel like it was for nothing. He could use a mare like you to make him really happy.”

Trixie kept her head faced forward, hiding the fierce blush that had taken over her face. Shimmer finally took her leave and left the two alone. Slowly trotting forward, Trixie carefully approached Dusk Shine and brushed up against him, pulling his attention away from the fiery orange sky.

“Oh, hey, did uh... Did Shimmer have anything else to say?”

The truth would probably have Trixie expelled from the school and Dusk’s memory wiped of her ever existing, so she chose a harmless lie instead.

“She said if I break your heart she’d drive her horn through my throat.”

Slowly the color seemed to leave Dusk’s eyes, the azure mare bursting into a roar of laughter and almost falling over.

“Oh boy, Trixie did NOT think that you would ACTUALLY believe that! Ahh hahaha, that was priceless! You looked like a zombie pony for a minute there!”

Shoving her aside with his hoof, he pouted like the gullible stallion she had teased him about being so many times before.

“Aha... Ahhh... Ahem. No, we, uh... she actually said to make sure that I don’t let you study so much that you forget to sleep or eat. Of course, I don’t plan on letting that happen, not after that one day we ended up having to go into town to get food.”

Dusk smiled weakly, recalling that incident prior to their exams.

“Your words, if I remember correctly, were ‘Make me miss dinner again and Trixie will drag you to the most expensive restaurant in all of Canterlot and make you watch her eat the entire menu’ or something like that, right?”

Giving a firm nod, Trixie acknowledged those being her exact words.

“Trixie will not care how many pounds she gains, she will hold to her promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later at the dorms, Trixie and Dusk were on the verge of working into midnight and growing quite bored. There had been silence for minutes now, and Trixie’s mind was beginning to wander. She dwelled on the private conversation she’d interrupted with her clumsiness earlier that evening, deciding to finally try and get Dusk to open up a bit more.

“Shimmer said something about her being your only family left... Did something happen to them?”

Dusk gave a nod, seeming to not have much issue with divulging details on his family.

“Shimmer and I actually used to live here in Canterlot, believe it or not. Our mom and dad were researchers under the study of my old mentor. They were working on expanding the knowledge of teleportation magic, having some grand theory about how maybe it would be possible to teleport from more than just one place to another.”

Against her desire to drag away from a topic somewhat too close for comfort, Trixie let him continue as he checked for her focus and interest in his story.

“One day... They basically just disappeared. They were supposedly at the peak of their studies, but everything was lost. My mentor, if I remember correctly, said they were testing something out that he had advised against and, well, there’s not much more to it. After that, since we didn’t have our parents to pay for food, or school, or anything, so we sold their manor and left for Ponyville. Emporte did his best to visit us on a daily basis and it wasn’t too much trouble, seeing as how he’d learned a lot from my parents. Best of all, he got a job for Shimmer in the royal guard and managed to build up funds so we could live on our own. I didn’t get to see her a lot, but Emporte was there a lot so it wasn’t too bad I guess.”

He doesn’t seem all that bothered by them being gone. I wonder why. Even though Trixie didn’t want to admit it to herself, this was something she genuinely had a problem with and it pressed her further.

“So you don’t blame them for anything? You’re not mad at them?”

Shaking his head, he smiled back at her.

“When I really think about it, if that hadn’t happened I wouldn’t have had my master teach me everything he did, Emporte probably wouldn’t have ended up with my sister, and I probably wouldn’t be here now. I’m sad they’re gone, and I miss them sometimes, but... Shimmer had to put up with me crying a lot after they left, so I don’t wanna think about it anymore. I believe, or at least I have faith, that whatever happened was an accident and that hopefully I may get to see them again someday. They were smart ponies; I don’t think they would give up on coming back home.”

Trixie was quite amazed by the kind of unconditional faith Dusk seemed to have in his parents, and it left her feeling a bit hollow on the inside, though it was Dusk’s voice that pulled her from her inner searching..

“So, Trixie, what are your parents like?”

Oh horseapples, I should have known that was coming. Having been put on the spot, it left Trixie with little room to wiggle out of answering, and thus forced her hoof.

“Well, where would you want me to start?”

Dusk seriously thought about that question for a moment, seeming to lose himself by staring at Trixie’s flank. Having finally caught on to his direction of sight, she growled.

“And WHY are you staring at my rump!?”

Thinking nothing of having done what he did, he flatly answered.

“How about you tell me how you got your cutie mark?”

Thankfully, this gave Trixie a good place to start off from and, more importantly, a more positive point. Dusk settled into his seat as Trixie cleared things off the couch, made herself comfortable, and prepared to weave a tale about her life to a point where she at least hoped she wouldn’t bore Dusk Shine. She was a showmare, after all.