The moon crept over the horizon as the sun set. In the Kingdom of the Sun, the pupil of Princess Celestia falls asleep in the small town of Ponyville, having learned the Magic of Friendship for the first time.
This is not her story.
Starlight Glimmer gave a subtle sigh as she raised her hooves, turned away and returned to her room. It was quite sparse; One small bed with plain white sheets, a small oak end-table with a basic gray lamp, and a closet for her robes she wore when she performed her duties as Luna's Archmage. The only extravagant piece of furniture was a large bookshelf on the wall opposite of the bed, which was packed full of various spell books. A mare of her position was expected to know a wide variety of spells.
It was still early moonrise, so she still had a few hours to comb her mane and get to work. She made her way over to the end table. This room was empty, and much larger than Starlight would have preferred. But, Princess Luna insisted that she slept in the same room as Archmages past, and so she did.
Starlight was never a fan of extravagance.
Her horn lit and moved the end table to the right, then pressed her magic against the wall. After a moment, a panel of the wall opened up. Inside was a plain brown journal, wrinkled from years of use. Her magic grasped the book, and she rested it onto the bed before sitting onto the bed herself. She used her magic to open the bottom drawer of her end table, and she pulled out a quill and a glass bottle of ink.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound of more than thirty clocks in perfect sync filled the household in the town of Crescent. For Obsidian Hour, this sound was everything. His purpose, his reason to live. The heartbeat of each clock let him know that he was doing good work.
Obsidian Hour was considered unique in a variety of ways. He counted them as he unscrewed the back of a clock. He had to get it fixed before midnight, so there was no rush.
He was a crystal pony, a rarity in Equestria. Most of them vanished a thousand or so years ago, something to do with a curse. It just so happened that his ancestors were on vacation or something. Obsidian clicked his tongue as he removed the back of the clock to reveal its guts. It would really suck if his town upped and disappeared while his back was turned.
His name was also quite accurate: His crystalline coat and mane mimicking the glossy deep-black of his namesake, with vibrant violet eyes. His mane was slicked back, though the ends were rather split. Obsidian took a moment to make a mental note; It was about time to get his mane cut.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound of a bell ringing echoed through the hallway into his workshop. This meant one of three things: One, that somepony wanted to buy a clock; Second, that somepony wanted to get their clock fixed; Or C, his friend was coming for some chit chat.
"Obsidian?" The familiar voice of his friend Derpy Hooves asked.
Looks like it was C.
"I'm in back!" Obsidian replied. He carefully removed each of the gears in the clock, and examined them closely. He then pulled the magnifying lens over the opening of the clock. Hoofsteps approached his work room, then stopped.
"I'm just working on a client, that's all." Obsidian said. "How's life?"
The sad sigh was all the information he needed. He turned towards her and gave a small sad smile. "Didn't get the job?"
The pegasus shook her head.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
"Don't worry, you'll get the next one." Obsidian assured.
"I haven't been able to for a year now." Derpy replied. "Why would that change now?"
Obsidian looked upwards, as if what he could say was written on the ceiling. "Things..." He returned a level gaze. "Things will get better. Good things happen to good ponies."
"Except when they don't." Derpy said, a touch of anger in her voice. It vaporized in an instant. "I'm sorry..."
"N-no, it's alright." Obsidian said. "You can vent it at me. I don't have the answers, but I can be the wall you need to bounce your feelings off of."
Derpy rubbed one foreleg against the other.
"I'll lend you some bits." Obsidian said. He opened a shelf on his workbench and pulled out a small bag of Bits with this teeth before setting it in front of Derpy. "Go and treat yourself to something nice, it's on me."
"I- I can't." Derpy replied.
They both knew the steps to this dance; It happened the same way each time.
"Please, take the Bits."
"I don't want to take advantage of you."
"I have plenty of money, it's really not a bother."
"But you worked hard to earn them."
"And so I can spend them as I please. Right now, I please to give them to you."
Derpy opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself from giving the usual reply. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "Okay." She said. "Thank you."
The pegasus stepped forward and grabbed Obsidian in a hug. He felt his shoulder moisten as she silently sobbed.
"I- I'm sorry..." She said.
"Take as much time as you need." He replied.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
- - -
Derpy stepped out into the early moonlight. She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and put on a smile. She spread her wings and took off into the partly cloudy night sky.
One eye focusing forward, the other rolling downwards, she did her best to keep focus as she hopped from cloud to cloud. Sometimes she would come up short, and other times she overshot the cloud. Either way, she went back and tried again.
As she perched on top of a cloud barely large enough to hold her, she gazed down at Crescent. Ponies trotting along, opening up shops and making conversation. She leaned forward and off of the cloud before opening her wings into a glide. Ponies waved as she passed by, and she waved back.
Her mind began to wander. She had twenty Bits now; Just ten would be enough to get her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most ponies knew of her situation, and she found she often got discounts because of it.
Derpy let out a sigh. While she had made friends with pretty much everypony in town, she was always reminded of her joblessness whether the others mean to or not. She shook her head slightly; She refused to just be another victim. She had to find something to do!
She could have sworn she heard something...
She turned around and lowered herself to the ground. She took a moment to close her eyes and orient herself. She was facing north on a street that ran east-to-west. She perked her ears, and heard it again; Was somepony else crying?
The noise was to the southeast. She broke into a gallop and darted into the alleyway. Why this pony crying? The voice sounded female. Was she hurt? Did somepony do something to her? What happened?
The voice was right around the corner! Derpy took the turn-
Right into somepony's hoof. She rubbed her bruised eye, faintly aware of somepony taking her bag of bits. "Hey, that's-"
Another hoof to the face knocked her back down. She heard the other pony run off. "H-hey! I need those Bits!" Derpy called out. "Somepony help!"
A guard's ear twitched. He heard the call for help. An instinct deep in his very soul told him what to do.
He bent his knees before launching into the air. A light breeze ruffled his well-groomed silver mane and his white fur, his wings flapping to keep him stationary. Red eyes scanned the area.
He had heard the cry from-
The guard dived, his light gray armor rattling. He then flared his wings and landed next to a pegasus mare with gray fur and a blonde mane. Her eye was bruised, and a bit of blood was dripping from her mouth.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" The guard asked.
"S-she took my..." She mumbled.
"Stay put, I'll be right back. I promise." The guard said. He took flight and shot down the alleyway. He took a sharp right turn, and spotted a pink earth pony with a yellow mane, and a bag in her mouth shaking with Bits. The mare turned her head, and her eyes widened. She doubled her pace.
He flapped his wings hard, drawing closer to her. Right before she could take the next turn, he tackled into her.
The mare let out a grunt, and lashed out with a buck, smashing him into a wall. He groaned and got back to his hooves, but she was gone. He noticed that the bag was ripped open, and Bits were spilled out on the ground. He gave a sigh. He'd go to find her, but there was something more important to do. He gathered the Bits into the ripped back, holding it the best he could under his wing before returning to the injured mare.
"Ma'am?"
Derpy groaned and opened one eye. There was the guard again, the bag of bits in his teeth. He then placed the bag under his wing.
"Are you okay?" He asked. Derpy replied with another groan. "Can you walk or stand?"
She sighed, still tasting the blood in her mouth. She spit it out before rising to her hooves. "I can manage." She replied.
He wrapped a wing around her. "I'm going to help you get some medical attention."
"Thank you." Derpy said, smiling a little.
She leaned on him as they walked. "What's your name?" She asked.
"Radiant Silver, Ma'am." He answered. "Yours?"
"Derpy, Derpy Hooves."
He smiled. "Everything's going to be alright, Derpy."
A rosy pink earth pony let off a giggle. The previous day was quite fun; She should really call up Spanner Works again. That mare really knew how to work a-
She put a halt to her thoughts as she saw Derpy, looking like she lost a fight. Rose Quill absently brushed her knee-length crimson mane in thought. "Hey, you alright?" Rose asked as she trotted over to the pegasus.
"I'm... I'm fine." Derpy replied. She then put on a smile. "No concussions."
"That's good, did you lose a fight with a chimney?" Rose asked. "Those things can be real bastards, you know."
Derpy's smile faltered. "I was mugged."
Rose closed her eyes a moment as she sighed. "Here I was, thinking this was a decent town..."
Derpy shook her head. "I didn't recognize her; I think she was from out of town. In any case, I still got my Bits back, and I'm going to be just fine." Her infectious smile returned.
"That's good to hear. Listen, I know it's unlikely that you'll get attacked again, but perhaps I could walk you home?" Rose offered. "Perhaps I could help lick your wounds." She then smirked as she raised an eyebrow. "...And maybe lick a few other things?"
Derpy blushed and giggled. "You know what? I could use something like that right now, get my mind off things."
"Sure thing. I'm here for you, we all are." Rose Quill said.
Derpy laid her wing upon Rose Quill's flank, which showed the image of a rose dipped in ink; A hint towards her writing profession.
Rose began planning out a good time for her friend, as well as shuffling "Mare helps another mare who is down on her luck" into a folder for ideas. Her next adult novel was going to be a little more heartfelt this time.
Party Favor studied his cards intently.
Across from him sat a griffon, body all black and looking like the cross between a panther and a raven of unusual size. Though Party didn't believe that the latter existed.
"Have you made your choice yet?" The griffon replied, holding the cards in his left claw while leaning in his right. "We don't have all day."
"I have today free, and you're a scribe. You said it yourself, she just got done writing her last book." Party replied.
"That mare doesn't take breaks." Kulart said. "I don't get as much time as I want to relax."
"There isn't enough time in existence for that." Party Favor replied with a grin.
Kulart opened his beak to deny, then closed it.
The front door entered, and in trotted Rose Quill and Derpy, the latter blushing quite a bit as she spotted the party pony and the griffon.
"I'm going to be upstairs." Rose Quill said, then gave a knowing wink.
Kulart watched the two climb the stairs before sighing and placing his hand of cards on the table. "We should go outside. She can get very..." He groaned. "...Loud."
"She listens to dubstep?" Party Favor asked.
"Actually, she puts on freeform jazz, but that's not what I meant." Kulart said.
A sudden loud "Oh~" came from upstairs.
"Oh." Party Favor said awkwardly.
"Oh." Kulart commented dryly.
Party Favor placed his cards on the table as well before leaving the house with Kulart. "How often-"
"Too often." Kulart said. He stretched his wings. "It's not her that bothers me, honestly after all these years I'm used to it, but there are some things about mares in this town that I really do not need to know."
Party Favor chuckled. "They can't be that bad."
Kulart then whispered something into Party's ear, and the latter winced.
"I didn't think that could even fit in there." He said. "And that's a grievous misuse of balloons."
"You're best off not knowing who likes that, trust me." Kulart replies. "Makes conversations awkward."
There was a knock at Starlight’s door. Scowling at the interruption, her horn lit up to hide her work. The journal snapped to a close and flew into the hidden compartment, which was then sealed up. She moved her end table back into position, opened the bottom drawer, and placed the quill and ink back into place. She then put on a comfortable smile, and said "Come in!" in a friendly manner.
Into the room walked the Princess of the Night. Starlight's expression did not change. "What can I do you for, Luna?"
Princess Luna walked over to the bed Starlight sat upon. "I have a new task for you, Archmage Glimmer. Do you know of the Elements of Harmony?"
"Why yes, I do." Starlight beamed. Her smile faltered slightly. "Though, I confess I do not know much about them, only the brief notes in the history books I have read." She lied.
"To be expected." Luna replied. "Most of the information on them is classified."
"That would explain it." Starlight said thoughtfully. "Because of the attempted theft a few years ago?"
Luna nodded.
"You brought up the Elements for a reason." Starlight said. She frowned, putting a hoof up to her chin in thought. "You have a plan for them, and it involves me."
"That is correct." Luna said. "A threat is coming, and the Elements are the only things that can stop it."
"I see." Starlight said. She smiled. "You want me to wield the Elements. You would not bring up the subject to me otherwise. But, you and Celestia have used them before. Therefore, to maximise effectiveness, you need a group of ponies attuned to each Element. Since you came to me specifically and I happen to be your archmage, you expect me to wield Magic."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "You know more about the situation than you let on."
Starlight shrugged. "I connected the dots."
"Since you seem well informed, I will cut to the chase: You will move to Crescent, find and befriend five ponies that you expect represent each of the other five Elements. Then, you must travel with them through the Everfree Forest to the Castle of the Two Sisters, where you will find the Elements of Harmony." Luna said.
"That won't be a problem." Starlight said, as if she was just asked to take out some lemonade from the fridge. "Don't bother renting an inn for me. I'm sure one of the ponies there will be kind enough to let me stay at their place."
"Do not take this task lightly, Archmage Glimmer." Luna said.
Starlight's happy and playful demeanor dropped. "I don't intend to."
"Good. I shall arrange for a chariot before the hour is over." Luna said.
"I'll take the train." Starlight replied.
Luna was quiet as she studied Starlight's serious expression. "Very well."
With that, Luna turned. She hesitated before leaving the room. "Good luck, Archmage Glimmer."
"I won't need it, Luna, but thank you anyways." Starlight replied.
The moon continued to rise. Starlight Glimmer checked the copper timepiece she had brought with her. It was now 11:32 Luna's Time.
She looked out of the train car window as the stallion sitting next to her made conversation with the mare across the aisle. She opened up her map once again to confirm what she knew.
The small town of Crescent sat to the southeast of the Everfree Forest, right on the border of The Kingdom of the Moon. The Everfree was not under the jurisdiction of either Kingdom, though hiding out inside the forest is ill-advised given the hazardous wildlife that thrived in that chaotic mess.
Starlight closed her map. The ponies she would be bringing with her would have to be rather dedicated if they wanted to make it through.
This brought her thoughts to how she would go about this. If she just announced her intentions, ponies would line up to take advantage of the opportunity. They might lie or exaggerate to get what they want.
The method she decided to go with was fairly straightforward, a way to gain information without being suspicious.
It was time to take a census of Crescent.
Starlight checked her pocket watch once more. It was 11:40 LT. The train would arrive at its destination soon.
Starlight enveloped the handle to her luggage in a magic aura. She pulled her single bag with her out of the train and onto the platform. The high moon illuminated the small town before her.
A pang of hunger struck. First things first, she needed to eat some lunch.
She looked around the town as she walked. Small buildings no higher than two stories, simple gaslights lining the roads rather than the magic-based ones she was used to. Starlight knew that she was being sent to this town because of its proximity to the Everfree; Whoever she decided was good enough to be brought along should be fully aware of the dangers involved. She briefly remembered what she read about in one of the letters to Luna from Celestia (getting her hooves on those was not easy), that Celestia had done something similar, going so far as to hold the Summer Sun Celebration in such a tiny village. Perhaps they thought that small-town folk generally had personalities and virtues of the type they're looking for? Starlight had no problem with small towns, of course, but she wasn't sure they were that much worse than the big city. Sure, crime was often worse in cities, but progressive thinking was also that much better. It's simply a matter of extremes.
As Starlight noticed a small restaurant she could eat at, she filed that line of thought for later. Something to eat would do her much good right now. She walked past a few buildings before spotting a combination bar and restaurant. Figuring she might get a lead on a few potential candidates, she stepped inside.
It was a lot cleaner than she expected. Six ponies and a griffon sat in booths. The griffon seemed to be talking to a crystal pony, which Starlight found curious. There were not many of those around; The only one she remembered was one who worked on temporal magic back in Midnight. Starlight noticed that another pony, one with a red coat and a fiery orange mane, was looking a bit plastered. Starlight gave a small grin and trotted over, luggage bag in tow.
"You're new around here, I see." He said, golden yellow eyes focusing intensely on Starlight's. His wings ruffled a little.
"Yes. I just moved to this little town, and it seems like a really nice place!" Starlight said innocently, her eyes sparkling with false wonder.
"A town's only good as its ponies, ya know." The stallion said. "Name's Burning Fury."
"Hello there, Fury." Starlight said, her smile widening slightly. This was going to be easier than she thought! "So, Fury... Tell me about the ponies of this town..."
The first stop on her journey was the Stay A While Inn. She had to put away her luggage and find a way to create the census forms, as well as find a place to stay until her task was complete. No doubt that this town would likely become her permanent residence once she found the ponies for the Elements; After all, if her unofficial research was correct, the interpersonal bond between her and her new friends would power the magical artifacts. Once the week was done, whoever bore the element of Generosity would no doubt give her shelter until Luna gave her something more permanent. Starlight allowed herself a small smile
The inn was quite small. The main building was two stories and there were four small shacks, two on each side. The two on the left were colored yellow and green, on the right blue and red, and the main building white, all with black roofs. The paint on the wood had faded over the years, though the sign looked new.
Starlight took a moment to bend a crick out of her neck, earning a satisfying pop. She then entered the main building.
The bell chimed as she entered. To the right and behind a counter, was a light blue pegasus with a combed back blonde mane. Her ears perked up and a wide smile grew on her muzzle. "Oh hello!" She said warmly. "Welcome to the Stay A While Inn! My name is Snow Day, how may I help you?"
Starlight noticed the mare's cutie mark: A snowflake half-buried in snow. She then looked the mare in her ice-blue eyes. "Hello! I would like to rent a room for a week in this delightful little town!"
Snow Day smiled as well. "Of course! 15 Bits per night." Starlight nodded, and unzipped a pouch on her luggage bag and pulled out three light blue colored coins, each worth 5 Bits. She placed them on the counter, and Snow Day placed the bits into the register.
She fluttered her wings as she reached under the desk and pulled out a blue key, placing it on the desk. Starlight nodded and took the key in her magic. "Have a wonderful day." She said.
"You as well!" Snow Day replied.
Starlight left the main building and trotted to the blue shack. If all the ponies in this town were as nice as Snow Day...
Starlight hummed thoughtfully. She could see why Luna brought her to this town; Small population, sense of community, all around friendliness. She would have a lot of ponies who could conceivably fit the bill.
But, it was a double-edged sword. With so many ponies who could potentially fill the position, picking one for each category was going to take a lot more time. At the very least, this meant that she could be sure that she was getting the absolutely best possible candidates.
Starlight's horn lit with turquoise magic, and her letter was lit with similar flames and sent through the closed window into the night sky. Hopefully the census forms would be sent shortly, but even them Starlight would likely need to wait several hours. Until then, perhaps she could go talk to these ponies beforehoof, and establish a friendly presence. With all her books neatly arranged on the bookshelf the room provided, though there were several placed on top due to lack of room, Starlight could take some time to relax. With a smile on her face and determination in her soul, she set off to make some friends.
“You do not approve of my choice.”
“It is not that simple, Luna. I know that Starlight is one of the most powerful unicorns living today, and we both know her potential rivals that of my student.”
“But.”
“...But I don’t know if we can trust her.”
“Oh, it’s you again.” Burning Fury said with a smirk as Starlight re-entered the restaurant. “I barely finished my meal and yer back for more.”
“You just seem like such an interesting pony!” Starlight replied as she sat down next to him. “I’d like to get to know you a little better.”
“Hey, that’s no problem in my book. Make new friends, keep the old, one’s silver and the other one is also silver.” Burning said.
“I thought the other was gold.” Starlight said with a slight eyebrow raise.
“Eh, gold’s too heavy.” Burning waved his hoof. “Silver’s better, and more useful. Or something. Ask Obsidian, he’s the one who told me that. Besides, both are important.”
Starlight gave a thoughtful hum, then nodded. “I see your point.”
Burning put his hoof on the table, next to his plate of a half-eaten hayburger. “So, you seem like a friendly sort.”
Starlight leaned forward slightly, her smile widening. “I get along with a lot of ponies.”
Burning closed his eyes and gave a silent sigh. “I don’t doubt it. What is it you want?”
“I’m just trying to be friendly.”
He opened one eye. “No, you want something. Ya don’t just go up to strangers to shoot the breeze. You want information.”
Starlight’s smile vanished, and she adopted a more professional posture, sitting upright with her forehooves together on the table. “I’m looking for ponies with certain qualities. I am likely to stay in this town for an extended period of time, and would like to start forming a social web as soon as I can. A little friendship can go a long way, you see.”
“And you single me out.” Fury stated.
“Yes, you are the outgoing sort.”
“I am.”
“You have plenty of friends.”
“I do.”
“You are going to give me a list of names and addresses.”
“I won’t.”
“Because you don’t trust me.”
“I do not.”
“Because you do not know me.”
“Because you manipulate.”
Starlight’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and she leaned forward. “Conversation is all about manipulation. Doing nice things, saying nice things, this is manipulation. It is trying to alter or maintain a belief the other pony has.”
“Whether they mean to or not.” Fury said.
“Precisely.”
“You mean to.”
Starlight leaned back again. “Perhaps. I would not be seeking this information without good information. I really don’t want to pull this card, but I am the Archmage serving directly under Luna herself. I am here on orders from her.”
“So you are, oh Sir Glimmer, truly a selfless mage you are.” Fury said.
“Don’t mock me.” Starlight said flatly.
Fury finally cracked a smile. “Just teasing ya. A bit of prodding to bug you. Sure, I can help you out. What do ya need?”
“I am not sure Twilight is that much better.”
“Twilight is an exemplary student-”
“Starlight is just as skilled in magic.”
“...But Twilight has a good heart. She will do the right thing, even in the most dire circumstances.”
“But is she capable of doing it? There may come a point where she has to lead a pony to their death, for the good of Our Kingdoms. She does not handle pressure well, and is likely to shut down in such a case. I know how… Particular she can get.”
A light breeze teased Starlight’s mane as she trotted back towards her motel room. Some of Burning’s friends definitely seemed they fit what she was looking for. Burning Fury himself, even.
She turned the knob to the little shack she was staying at, then paused. The door was locked. “Oh, son of a…” She muttered. Starlight sighed at the key resting comfortably on the other side of the door.
Starlight glanced to either side, and once she was sure nopony was looking she touched her horn to the door.
Unfortunately, it seems the locksmith in this case bothered to protect against magical lockpicking as her magic kept slipping off of the tumblers.
Starlight groaned. The last thing she needed was to be locked out.
“Luna… If they ever have to face such a situation, then we have already lost.”
“And that is why we must have our Knights, and our Bearers. They will save our ponies if we fall.”
“Let us hope it never comes to that, then.”
“We shall see.”
Starlight checked one more time to ensure that the coast was clear, then closed her eyes and concentrated. Black lightning crackled along her horn, green and purple orbs radiating off with it. She easily punched through the magic barrier, and the tumblers slid into position. She grasped the knob and turned gently.
Once the door was open, she canceled her magic and used her hoof to open it the rest of the way, closing it behind her. She half sat, half flopped onto the bed as she used her normal magic to open her bag and pull out a small transparent bottle of white pills. After opening the bottle, she popped two aspirin into her mouth and sighed.
Starlight considered herself lucky that she got the side effects down to a minor headache.
