Sand, rocks, gravel. The northern mountainside land was a special place in Equestria. It was barren, only a handful of dead trees here and there in the valley surrounded by mountains. The cart's hard, wooden wheels were bumping up and down on the surface. There were no roads, there were no ponies, only the traveler and her caravan.
She stopped, reaching into her left saddlebag with unicorn magic and taking out a small dial. Her dark sepia hooves brushed her raspberry-colored bob aside. West, she was holding her direction well. She put the needle back into her bag and moved on before the night could take hold of the sky.
The evening was a sight to behold, even on a no-mare's-land like this. She had a hard time not turning her head behind to look at it again and again. The stars appearing one by one, twinkling on the horizon's gradient like glitter powder. It might have been the reason behind her namesake, Evening Glitter.
If the rumors were true, the Rock Hyrax was here in this valley, possibly one of the caverns. It has been a source of terror to the land, this gigantic rock rodent, and it was Evening's duty to put and end to it. She swore to do it, to fight evil and bring harmony to Equestria, and where was a better place to start if not here. She was confident in her skills, having been practicing two of the four great elements since years, there was no question if she can do it.
After a long time, the Sun's orange globe crawled behind the mountain range as a whole. It might have been best if she calls it a day for now and continue the search tomorrow. But then, some odd lights started to flicker in a distance. It was just ten or so minutes away, maybe a house, or a train station. She picked up the pace to make it there in time, who knew just what may come out at night.
The town however didn't put her mind at ease either. In fact, it was eerier than the night out in the open. Two equally long rows of houses faced against one another, six-six on each side. No lights, no sounds, no signs of life. Nothing, apart the one just up in front. Eerie was an understatement, actually. Evening walked up, step by step, her heart racing, her head sweating. She didn't know who would live here in this ghost town. Might be bandits, might be refugees, might be an evil spirit even. One she's not strong enough to cleanse.
The door opened with casual, careless fashion, yet it still startled the traveler. Might have been just the loud creak it gave away.
"Welcome to our little town." an unicorn mare appeared, light heliotrope with a deep purple mane she wore in a ponytail. It had a couple highlights of light purple and cyan blue running across it. Her wide smile and friendly nature was rather unfitting, to say the least.
"Our town?" Evening questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Technically, it's just my town, but we can make it ours if you wish to join." she corrected herself. Felt like a trap, a pretty obvious one at that too. Either that, or she really was trying to create a village in the middle of nowhere. It was to be found out sooner or later.
"Who are you?" Eve asked, deadpan serious and suspecting.
"Oh, how rude of me," she replied, her eyes slamming into the top left corner, trying to be dramatic "My name is Starlight Glimmer, the mayor of Equestria's soon-to-be paradise." she added. She kept giving a rather inviting look, those sapphire rims trying to seduce her, charm her closer.
"Evening Glitter, huntress." the other one introduced herself, easing her suspicious look on the hermit. She didn't look evil so far, maybe a bit of a drama queen but still a kindhearted mare.
"Please, do come in, make yourself comfortable." Starlight said, turning around and opening the door behind her as an invitation.
"Mind if I keep my caravan by your house?" Eve asked, smiling now.
"Not at all, feel free to." the other replied, waiting by the door in patience until Eve parked her carriage just by the right side of the house. She aligned so that the window of their homes would be next to one another's. Curious. Starlight gave a light hum as a response, what was that mare just up to?
She let the guest ahead of her before closing the door behind them.
"A huntress, hm?" Starlight asked with, those eyes ceasing to give that seductive look "On the way to catch the big price?"
"Yes. Yes I am, have you seen the Rock Hyrax lately?" Evening asked, sitting down on the red couch just in front of the fireplace. She took off her bags and put them by the side.
"The Rock Hyrax? Taking the term 'big game hunt' to a whole new level I see. No, I haven't I'm afraid." Starlight chuckled, shaking her head afterwards.
Starlight's little home was rather, uh, traditional. Gray bricks glued together by concrete made up its walls. The doors and their frames were simple wood, much like the frames of the windows. The curtains were just pieces of dark green fabric and the carpet was an old, red rug. The entire room was lit by a single bulb up in the ceiling. It was pretty obvious that she lacked the bits to have something more modern built, but the fact that this little settlement was funded by her was, to say the least, impressive.
"Say, Starlight, when you said 'paradise' just before, what exactly did you mean by it?" Eve asked. The other one's smile shifted, her grin widened and her eyelids hung even lower.
"A town where everyone is treated as equals, of course." she replied, shutting her rims away "Imagine a community without a fight over who is better, a place where you get judged by your skills, not appearance. A place where everyone is special by not being any special. Creating that place is my cause." she sung with dramatic tones, as if she was making a speech on an election. Certainly, she was pursuing big dreams as well, something the other found rather relatable to.
"Then we have something in common. We both fight for the perfect world, in one way or another." Evening responded. She started to fancy this mare, there was something so attractive in her behavior, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Maybe it was those eyes, or that attitude, or both. She just didn't know.
"Why? What is your cause?" Starlight asked.
"Banishing evil once and for all, down to the last fragments of it. It's lurking everywhere, tainting the ground, polluting the air, and it flies by everyone at this point. I wish to cleanse Equestria from this corruption." Eve replied, her voice taking a rather melancholic tone as she did.
"How noble!" Starlight responded "I have a feeling you and I are going to get alone so well.". She walked through the hall towards the door on the other side, turning her head back just a bit before opening it.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked over her shoulder, sassier than ever so far.
"Yes, please. I'll have whatever you have." Eve replied, leaning back on the sofa to have some well deserved relaxation. It seemed she's not going to defeat that monster today. Didn't matter, winter was still a couple months afar so she had plenty of time to hunt it down. She gazed at her saddlebag for a couple seconds, reaching and digging into it. A ring was taken out, a beautiful opal shining in the middle of its golden surface. She twisted and twirled it around in her hooves, giving a longing gaze at every beautiful detail it had.
How about some fresh strawberry juice? Starlight asked while opening the door, making Eve quickly shove the jewelry back into the bag.
Thatd be perfect, thank you. She replied, getting her hooves away from the bags. It was too late though, Starlight already suspected something, her expression told her all. Yet, she didn'tt bother to ask anything about it. Instead, she just levitated two glasses of fine strawberry juice out within her turquoise magic, giving one to her guest. She sat down next to her and made herself comfortable as well, for some friendly chatting.
"My, what an interesting cutie mark." Starlight complimented, her voice hardly showing genuine interest. Her eyes on the other hand said otherwise. She eyed that symbol, two dark yellow curves making up some sort of horn shape, with the orange crescent of the descending sun and the purple rising stars in between. What did it mean? What was the talent that came with it? These and several similar questions bombarded her mind without stop as she ogled the mark.
"Uh, thanks, yours... too?" Evening replied out of courtesy, stopping for a brief moment when she noticed that said symbol in fact, is not there. Starlight had no cutie mark at all. Her eyes widened at the sight, and Starlight herself noticed it too, answering the question before Eve could even ask it.
"In our town, we free ourselves from the curse that our cutie mark means. This way, all of us are going to be equal."
"'Our' town?" Evening asked again, noticing Starlight using that word again.
"You seem interested. I can show you the initiation tomorrow if you'd like." she answered, that look of a succubus returning again. Of course, she was right, she did spark some curiosity in Eve in the end. How could've she not?
"Sure, why not?" the sepia one replied with a shrug, taking a sip from her drink. A town where nobody has cutie mark, nor special talent. Made sense for her, no special talent equals no flaunting, no competition and no fights. She wanted to see how Starlight would handle this.
"By the way, where did you live before moving here?" she asked, changing the topic to a little different one.
"Manehatten," Starlight replied "but I'd rather not go back there, to be honest."
"Wow, that's pretty much the other end of Equestria." Evening exclaimed "I'm from Trottingham nearby."
