NaNoWriMo2015 Oneshot Colletction

“Hey guys, chances are, if you’re seeing this, something in my latest spell attempt haywire…”

One Sentence, and already Neutral had a mixture of feelings. Sadness, worry, anxiety, and—surprisingly enough even to him—anger.

Before he could say or do anything, however, the Illusionary Starlight went on. “This is one I don’t want to record name or use of where any random pony might find it, though, so I hope you guys can forgive me. Instead, I’ll tell you who to tell something went wrong. My next of kin, as it were.” The illusion paused and took a breath. “My sister is the only one in Canterlot with me normally. Unit Sixteen, seven-thirty-two Silverwood Crescent in North Pointe. Her name is Moonlight Dancer. If she’s not in her apartment, check with her friend, Obsidian Sunrider. He will be at 1563 Twenty-First Street, in the International District. Obsidian Martial Arts Academy. One of them will be home. Just… tell Moonlight I tried my healing spell. She’ll know what you’re talking about. And…” Starlight paused for a moment. “And don’t hate me too much. Please?” With that, the illusion ended. Not with some dramatic exit, or even any warning, but simply a wink out that caused them all to jump slightly.

Event was the first to find his voice. “I get her not telling us she had a side project, that’s not what surprises me, but why didn’t she tell us she was casting something possibly dangerous? “

Neutral was in shock at the message, a mixture of emotions roiling in his gut. On one hoof, he couldn’t expect Starlight to tell them all her projects, and he knew she often didn’t considering a different novelty spell carried her into the lab nearly every week, but this was dangerous! It was something she should have told them about, told him about! He could have helped her!

“Are you okay, Neutral?” Flux asked, jolting him back into the real world.

“Why didn’t she tell us?” he asked Flux helplessly, stating his thoughts. “We could have helped her.”

“Fear?” Event suggested. “Worry about what we’d say or think? The same reasons she didn’t tell us about taking Arcanex until we caught her in the act?”

Neutral paused, finding himself unable to argue immdeiately. Arcanex was a highly, highly illegal and volatile potion that there were very little legitimate uses for. One of those uses was the control of a black hole effect on magic created by burnt alicorn via the simple method of oversaturation of it. The solution was temporary and not considered ‘necessary’ by doctors, but Starlight had taken it anyway to be able to work in the field of magical research around other unicorns, as well as function in day to day life without dealing with the stigma it would bring her. That stigma came almost completely from the misconception that she must have brought it on herself. “I guess… but after we accepted that, why would she feel the need to hide this from us.”

“Because that was illegal,” Flux suddenly said, her eyes widening. “But this is Forbidden. That’s why we don’t recognize the base structures, this isn’t just illegal magic to defend against and help the Guard in some capacities….”

Event picked up as Flux trailed off. “…this is magic that all copies of are to be destroyed and to practice is at least the rest of your natural life in prison.”

Neutral’s own eyes widened at that fact. Was Starlight really so desperate to heal herself that she’d recreate Forbidden Magic? He looked over between Event and Flux. He’d truly had no idea. She’d never shown any signs of it. “Let’s… let’s just go grab Moonlight,” Neutral finally said. He hoped that doing something useful might distract them. “Teleportation or walking?” he asked. Personally, he’d prefer to teleport, but he didn’t have any real good landmarks or places to use as a destination to bring them closer, and he didn’t like the idea of line-of-sight teleportation chaining. That tended to be very tiring over any real distance, unless one had a knack or talent for it.

“Unless either of you have a destination I can use to piggyback your teleport, I think we’re going to have to walk,” Flux answered. Event just shrugged somewhat helplessly.

“Walking it is,” Neutral said. “Let’s just get down from here.” There was another trio of flashes and the three were on the ground in front of the building.

“So, do either of you even know where North Pointe District even is?” Event asked as they began to walk.

Flux shook her head, though Neutral nodded. “I lived there when I was younger,” Neutral explained. “I just haven’t been back in several years.” As he said that, he rather suddenly found himself in the lead, though he did expect it to happen.

The trio trotted at a quick pace, none of them suggesting somepony wait at the hospital now that they had a better idea of what might have happened to Starlight and just what she might have cast. There wasn’t likely to be anything coming from the doctor now that they didn’t already know, especially if it was something they didn’t need a next of kin to disclose it to.

The walk was mostly silent as they trotted towards North Pointe District, none of them really having anything to say while they traveled. It wasn’t too long before they arrived in front of a large apartment building towards the north edge of the city. Above the main entrance, it read Sky High Apartments: Live Where You Can Touch the Sky. The place was of high class, high quality, and really felt more like stacked mansions on entrance to the lobby than an apartment building.

“I knew her family was loaded, but this is ridiculous,” Event stated after a long moment, the trio having come to a shocked halt on entry.

“Let’s just figure out where Unit Sixteen would be,” Flux said, sounding just as shocked as Event.

They walked over to the wall containing the directory, and came to a half again in surprise. The first six floors of the building were divided into five units each. The next six were divided into two units. The top four floors of the building were a single unit. Unit Sixteen was the sixteenth floor of the rather large building.

It took a couple more seconds for the trio to reign in their surprise enough to actually get moving, and even then, it was Neutral that did so first, as he turned away from the directory and walked over to the elevator, the other two close behind. It was a quiet ride up to the sixteenth floor, as the speaker in the corner of the elevator was hanging from a couple of wires. Once they stepped out of the elevator, they found themselves in a lobby like space about a hundred square feet in area, with a door on the other end.

On the door there was a sign. “Solicitors and Epona’s Witnesses, knock at own risk? Filly Scouts, I will buy all your cookies, so please knock?” Neutral read off in confusion. Shrugging, Flux walked up to the door and knocked. Three hard raps, before she stepped back.

There was a short wait, before the door opened to reveal a mare. Her coat was white as snow and her mane was long, thick, wavy, and raven black. She had the build of a ballet dancer, all firm, muscular lines and graceful curves. Neutral’s face exploded into a blush and he looked straight at the ground, unable to meet the mare’s piercing green eyes as they ran over the three unicorns with a discerning air. “Yes?” she asked them, her voice neutral.

“Are you Moonlight Dancer?” Flux asked. Neutral glanced over to see why Event hadn’t gotten in the first word, only to find that he was very clearly keeping him mouth firmly clamped shut so as not to say anything stupid. It seemed he did have an understanding of where the line was sometimes. Or at least, he had his own lines for appropriate flirting even he wouldn’t cross.

“Yes,” the mare answered. “Why?”

“We’re here about your sister, Starlight,” Flux explained. “She left a message to tell you something went wrong when she attempted her healing spell. Do you know what she’s talking about?”

Moonlight’s eyes widened visibly and she nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yeah, I do,” Moonlight answered, stepping back and to the side into her apartment, motioning them inside. “What happened?”