Through the Docking Glass

by Striving Scholar

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Rarity, Other, Starlight Glimmer, Random, Slice of Life
Length: 5529

While on a trip to an art gallery, Starlight Glimmer meets a new friend in the most unlikely of places.

Starlight Glimmer is on a trip to Canterlot with Rarity and Spike. The fashionista has her own to-do list and this included a visit to an art gallery to view a new exhibit being featured. While there, Starlight is given the chance to make some new friends...though she is skeptical on her chances in this 'proper' place. As she goes through the gallery however, she meets a peculiar pony in a very unlikely way...and this pony may just break such skeptical thoughts in Starlight...

This story was inspired by a “Painting-Inspired” class activity paper that I wrote a few years ago.

Photo is by awais

Published 2016-07-17 18:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-17 18:20:01 UTC

The mare in the 'dock-scape'

Author's Note

Hey everypony, thanks for choosing this story; let me know what you think and as always, all constructive feedback is welcome and encouraged so that I can improve and continue to write stories for people to enjoy :twilightsmile:

The mare in the 'dock-scape'

It was a warm sunny afternoon in the West End Art Gallery in Canterlot. Many ponies were gathering from around the bustling city for a new exhibit that had just opened up in this particular gallery.

In the line to get into said gallery, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer and Spike stood calmly, awaiting their turn to get in.

“Oh~ Can you not feel the majestic atmosphere radiating around us today?!” Rarity cooed in excitement as the trio slowly inched towards the clerks at the ticket counter.

Starlight grinned with an uncertain nod, “Ehehe...yeah, I guess so, Rarity.” she replied.

“Why, all the enthusiasm…the intrigue and anticipation around us; everyone is ecstatic to see the new exhibits!” Rarity continued, waving a hoof to the crowd around them, who other than smiles and whispers, weren’t exactly 'radiating' with the same excitement.

“Oh, yeah, sure…” Starlight agreed and then cleared her throat. “Hey...Rarity? I’m happy you picked me and Spike to come along on your trip to Canterlot and all, but…” she rubbed her neck uncomfortably, “why do you think this place would also be good to make a new friend? Also, I know you enjoy gallery’s on occasion...but what’s so special to get you almost as excited as Pinkie Pie would be?” she asked, not understanding Rarity’s motives or excitement.

Rarity blinked and cleared her throat, catching herself in her giddy excitement, “Oh yes...of course...forgive me for not explaining and acting so filly-ish…” she composed herself to look at Starlight, “I asked you to come along so we could have some personal time together and I could show you a few nice places while sending those new designs to my Boutique here. Though you have been Twilight’s student for a while now, we haven’t had much chance to spend time together, now have we?” She concluded, putting a hoof around Starlight’s shoulder.

Starlight smiled at her gesture and shook her head, “No, I can’t say we have all that much.”

“Exactly! I thought this museum visit and the rest of the stops I have planned on this trip would be a good chance to talk more as well as have you meet other fine ponies who are attending the gallery as well,” Rarity continued, “Who knows? You may even make some new friends.”

Starlight gave her a half-smile, uncertain if her reasoning was sound, considering she’s heard that most ponies who go to them are more on the...well, ‘prudish’ side and wouldn’t be interested in meeting her, “Sure...that sounds like a nice idea. And speaking of getting to know each other, I didn’t know you were this into art, Rarity. I thought it was fashion and gems that was your passion?”

“Well not exactly, Starlight,” Spike piped up from reading his brochures on the current works, “Rarity likes art a lot; since fashion is something like a form of art and it's kinda a thing for higher class ponies to like it, it’s only natural she’d have a knack for that too,” He said.

Rarity chuckled and flicked her mane, “Yes, Spike. I couldn’t have said it better myself,” she complimented, making the young dragon blush. “In fact, inspiration for some of my dresses came from seeing certain paintings in art galleries, so it’s not without its benefits.” She pointed out.

“So is that why you’re here too, Spike? Do you like art too?” Starlight asked.

“Well, uh...I mean, yeah! I love art!” Spike started, glancing from Rarity and then leaning in close to Starlight, “Well, truth is, I don’t get the stuff, but Rarity invited us on a trip and when Twilight said she was too busy to come along, how could I say no?!” he whispered in excitement as he revealed his true motive.

“Of course…” Starlight replied with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh I really am excited to see the new exhibits …” Rarity said with a content sigh, “I especially can’t wait to see the recently accepted works of Marco Von-Neighinghay.” She said.

“Von who, now?” Spike asked in confusion.

“Oh, I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of him. A lot of ponies haven’t yet,” Rarity stated, “You see, Sir Von-Neighinghay was one of those underappreciated artists during his time; even his works did not gain very much attention until some promotion a few moons ago and since then, they’ve been featured in various museums around Equestria.” She explained, “They usually aren’t featured for very long in each museum, but since I had gotten a few passes for it and i'm in town as well, I can finally see them...as well as share the experience with you two.”

“Wow...that’s really interesting, Rarity.” Starlight said, now curious about the exhibits as well.

“Mm-hm, I promise you, they indeed shall be,” Rarity said as she headed up to the counter.

While she got the tickets, Spike and Starlight looked at the area around them. The interior of the gallery wasn’t overwhelmingly spectacular; a lot of ponies walked around the dull marble colored room, whispering among each other and observing the few displayed works. Beyond the narrow ticket booth entrance, other ponies could be seen passing through or stopping to inspect particular paintings of the actual gallery.

Shortly after, Rarity turned around and levitated three pins in her magic. “There! We are all checked in and are free to roam the gallery now,” She exclaimed happily as she handed the pass pins to the other two, “Shall we move along? I’ll show you the finest works offered here.” She chirped as she trotted into the gallery.

Spike and Starlight glanced at each other with optimistic smiles and followed, off into the gallery to start the touring of the fancy paintings.

~***~

The three wandered around the area for a bit, Rarity being the tour guide as they passed through the first few exhibits of the gallery. They were nothing spectacular, just replica works of the famous Cepaso and Victor Van-Goat, but Starlight and Spike still listened as intently as they could to Rarity’s discussion.

“…of course, not many of Van-Goat’s were quite as famous as this one: ‘the Cloudless Evening,” Rarity concluded as she quietly explained to Spike and Starlight of one of his famous works. “You could just look at it and feel like you were living the dream that he had experienced to inspire this work.”

Starlight and Spike both tilted their heads simultaneously as they gazed up at the large painting that Rarity was waving a hoof at. It was an abstract and uniquely colored painting that depicted an early evening night sky with the moon on the horizon and not a cloud in the sky over the old city-scape that was painted below.

“Huh…yeah, I kinda see it…” Spike whispered as he struggled to make out which colored strands were sky and which were the buildings of the town of this painting.

Starlight could understand it a bit better, but was in a similar boat, “Oh yeah, I see it; the yellow colors really…pop out of the blue…shades.” She commented, hoping her ‘artsy’ terms were right.

Rarity chuckled with a sigh, “Oh I know, don’t they? You can see why it is so famous to be featured in different museums,” she flicked her mane and then gazed at her watch, “Oh dear, I didn’t realize it that late already. Starlight, Spike darlings, we still have some time before our reservations for lunch, so why not split up to look around at thing we want to see ourselves?"

Starlight nodded, "Sure, that sounds good."

"Very well, I'll come and find you two when it's almost time to go, alright? Have fun, you two." Rarity said and then turned to head towards the 'Van-Goat' section of the gallery.

Spike waved and scratched his cheek, “Oh yeah! I have been wanting to check out what kinds of pieces they have in the gem section…let’s hope some old ones fell apart for me to-! I-I mean, it’ll be fun! So yeah, I’ll catch up with you later Starlight. Enjoy yourself and good luck finding a friend.” He said innocently, before turning to walk away with a smudge of drool threatening to leak from his jaw.

Starlight smiled after him sadly, “Hm…maybe Rarity should supervise him…I can’t imagine the trouble it’ll cause if that section turns into his buffet…” she thought to herself with a chuckle and turned to head down a nearby section that looked interesting.

Starlight wandered aimlessly through a few sections of the gallery, very few of the pieces catching her attention. She did think they were interesting, particularly one of a kitten sitting on a sofa and another of ducks flying with Pegasi, but overall they didn’t keep her attention for long.

As she walked up to a large golden framed painting of a large basket of fruit and harvest items, she spotted a stallion patron who was also looking at it. Feeling confident, Starlight trotted over and stood next to him to watch the painting; the stallion took little notice of her and focused on the painting.

After an awkward few moments of silence, Starlight spoke up, “An interesting piece, isn’t it?” she complimented.

The stallion jumped at her sudden voice and looked back at her, “Ahem…oh, yes…it is very much so…” he trailed off before returning to the painting in silence.

Starlight furrowed her brow at the lack of response, but forced a smile and continued, “So uh…what is it you enjoy about this artist?” the stallion looked at her curiously, “is it the types of works, or something special?”

“Hm…no, I can’t say it’s anything spectacular like that,” the stallion replied, “I am just enjoying the works of the gallery and I happened to like this painting as well.” He replied calmly before adjusting his tie and turning away, “I’m afraid I must be off, miss. It was nice talking with you though, ciao.” He said with a polite smile before calmly walking away.

Starlight blinked, “O-oh…ok, see ya…” she forced a half smile with a wave. Letting out a disapproved sigh, she looked up at the piece one more time and then moved along to the next attempt.

It felt like a lost cause for Starlight; after the first failed attempt, she had even worse luck with the ponies that followed. Nopony really cared to talk with her; they were there to enjoy the art, not to really converse with a stranger. She did have an interesting conversation with a trio of mares marveling at a pair of pieces called “The Ponderer and The Ponelissa”, but they just didn’t click well enough to be considered new friends with her.

Giving up on the notion of making a new friend in there , and picking up a few random pamphlets of the exhibits she passed through for possible future viewing, Starlight gave up and just decided to look around for other cool paintings in the gallery. They weren’t going to be there for too much longer, so she could just duke it out until then.

As Starlight looked towards the back wall of a particular section created by this “Guertena Weiss” artist, she noticed a large painting occupying a good portion of the wall she was passing by. Curious, she trotted over to it for a better look. It was a very long piece with a nice looking frame…but it looked to be somewhat crudely drawn. A multitude of crayon and other art tools were used to draw it, but it looked to be some sort of hallway or room in the gallery drawn by a foal. Despite this, Starlight was curious and decided to check it out. Upon closer inspection, she looked the label beneath it, titled: “Fabricated World.” shrugging with a small smile sat down on a bench in the middle of the aisle to look over the massive piece.

It was a fairly strange piece that felt out of place in the gallery; the colors didn’t blend together and really felt like it was a section of the gallery that came from the coloring book of a filly, just blown up. She looked over it for a few minutes and enjoyed it...until something caught her attention.

“Huh?” Starlight whispered as she blinked at a new detail that appeared. The tag was now covered in fresh blue paint that bled down from the painting and spelled out something eerie:

“Come with me, Starlight...come down below. I’ll show you someplace Fun.”

Gasping at the spooky message, Starlight quickly gathered up her saddle pack and trotted hastily away from the painting, “Ok, nope. L-Let’s check out another exhibit…” she thought to herself as other patrons looked after her curiously.

Back at the painting, the silhouette of a green filly with a wavy blond mane and blue eyes appeared inside of it. She looked after Starlight sadly, folded her hooves with an angry pout and then ducked back into the frame.

~***~

After trotting through more of the gallery, Starlight let out a sigh in defeat and let her ears drop.

“Well, I guess there isn’t anypony interested in being friends...just the artworks here,” she whispered to herself as she walked along the rows of paintings and sculptures.

As she paused near a few sculptures, she glanced up to see a title plaque hanging on the wall; it read ‘Von-Neighinghay’. “Oh?” her ears perked up as she saw the name, “Hey…this must be the section of that artist that Rarity was excited to see.” she mused to herself, “Hm…maybe I’ll be able to understand what she was so excited about in here…” she concluded with renewed interest.

Trotting through the works, Starlight was intrigued by the variety of types of art that this Marco artist had created. From charcoal drawings to almost lifelike water color paintings, he had a lot of passion for his works as detailed in each of the short descriptions of the piece.

“Wow...his works are really interesting; that pony really was a good artist, much better than me, that’s for sure. I still think that stick figure I drew should have won that art competition back in school...” she muttered to herself until a certain painting in the back caught her eye. “Hm? What’s that one?” she asked, casually trotting towards one particular piece on the side that caught her eye.

The piece in question was a fair sized portrait that actually looked like a lifelike photograph. It was a painting of a misty morning at the docks of one of the Equestrian harbors in the olden days. Starring at it, made it look as though someone had placed a door on the shores of Equestria and one could just walk through it and actually be there.

“Wow, it feels like a real shoreline…like I could just…go and jump in the water…with my friends…” Starlight muttered to herself strangely, almost as if falling into a trance.

Just then, the painting started to ripple as if it were water and strange fog began to pour from the painting; Starlight noticed this and tilted her head in confusion as the mist covered the area around Starlight. A few moments later, the mist began to lift and new noises reached her ears. A soft breeze brushed her skin, the sloshing of water rolling across the ground, the cawing of seagulls and even the clanging of bells…kind of like the ones used in a…

“Wha…?! T-the harbor?!” Starlight gasped, opening her eyes to see that the environment around her had changed. She was no longer in the art gallery; instead, she found herself in a foggy beach off the coast of a very large lake. “How am I…?” She said and looked around at the calm, yet confusing landscape.

Though many parts of this area were heavily shrouded in fog and mist, she could make out some objects. There was a sandy and rocky beach in front of her, a lot of it possibly covered by the high tide and she felt the cool ocean breeze on her fur as it wafted by, smelling of moisture and mildew that came from the waters. The moist sand felt nice beneath her hooves and the waters slowly lapped over them in a slow sweeping motion of the waves. Across the bay, the hampered beams of a lighthouse could be seen over the mist-covered waters and behind her, a grassy hill that stretched as far as the eye could see both ways along the coast. Shapes of other hills and cottages could be made out as well, but much of it was shrouded by the thick fog that obstructed any hope of specific clarity of them.

“O-o-ok…this is getting really weird.” Starlight said to herself, starting to feel scared now. Just then, her ears twitched as another sound reached her ears…it sounded like music. “Hm? Wait…is somepony…humming?” she asked herself as she turned her ears to listen more closely. Sure enough, someone was humming a soft tune and it sounded close by; Starlight focused her ears on the sounds and looked in the direction that it was coming from. A short distance away, just within sight, an outline of a dock and a moving silhouette atop of it could be seen. A pang of relief as well as caution swept over her and she began to walk towards it. Soon enough, said dock indeed came into view.

The dock was a standard aged wooden deck with piers and rope ties around it and was fairly long to allow a few boats to stationed at. Up on the dock, there indeed was another pony in that strange world. As Starlight approached, she could she could make out more detail about them; this pony was a mare and she had a short cut brown mane under a blue sun hat, soft blue fur under an old-fashioned style dress and was sitting calmly, swinging her rear hooves over the edge of the dock.

Starlight stopped at the steps to watch this mare and noticed there was a large bouquet of purple and white flowers next to her that she was dropping into the harbor.

The mare sat on the edge of the dock, softly humming a tune to herself, “...The sparks soaring down through the pouring rain and restoring life to the lighthouse~” she sang softly to as she gazed out at the passing light from the lighthouse across the foggy bay. She was fiddling with some of the Lilacs and forming them into small crowns or just scattering the petals over the water.

Starlight smiled nervously and proceeded slowly up the wooden dock towards her, “Um…hello?” she asked.

The mare gasped and wheeled around to face Starlight, revealing a pair of frightened deep green eyes as she looked back at her unexpected company.

Starlight gasped too and raised a hoof, “O-oh, I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to scare you…!” she quickly apologized.

The mare took a deep breath with a hoof on her chest to recover and smiled at Starlight, “Oh…that’s alright…I just wasn’t expecting anypony to come here this early morning,” she said with a cheerful smile, “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before. Are you new to this area and what is your name?” she asked politely.

“I’m Starlight Glimmer…and I’m actually not sure where I am right now…” Starlight replied, glancing around the foggy bay in uncertainty.

“I see, well this old place isn’t one that many ponies still visit,” The mare nodded and then turned back to the dock and patted the seat beside her, “would you like to join me, miss Starlight?” she offered.

Starlight shrugged, “Sure.” She walked over and sat down beside the mare. “What’s your name?”

“Marecelina.”

“Marecelina…that’s a nice name,” Starlight complimented brightly, feeling more calm now.

“So what are you doing here, miss Starlight?” Marecelina asked politely.

“Just Starlight is fine, thanks,” Starlight chuckled at her formality and then furrowed her brow, “Honestly, I don’t know how I got here. One minute I was looking at some paintings in an art gallery while trying to make some friends, and then ‘poof, I’m walking along the shoreline and meeting you.” She explained as best as she could.

Marecelina twisted her lip in thought at that, “Hm…that’s a curious way to use teleportation magic…” she trailed off and then thought of another detail she had brought up, “Wait, so you were also trying to find a friend at this gallery?” she asked.

Starlight nodded, “Yeah; I’m not the best at making friends and…well, one of my friends thought I could find one in an unexpected place, like the gallery.” She elaborated and then sighed, “I don’t think it was a bad idea, I just didn’t see that much potential there.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Starlight…but I think you’re lucky to have friends. I…don’t have many friends,” Starlight glanced at her curiously, “I was bedridden for a long time…not many ponies came to visit me and it was very lonely sometimes…” she explained sadly, “Of course, I was never truly alone; my elder brother would keep me company,” she smiled and looked across the bay, “my brother was always so kind…taking time out of his busy artist schedule to care for me. He was always showing me his newest painting…and the invitations to shows that he wished he could bring me to.” She sighed and took a handful of the flowers and scattered them over the sea, watching them make ripples on the water.

“That’s really sweet to have your brother…I never had any siblings…” Starlight trailed off and then an idea struck her, “Hey…would you like to be my friend, Marecelina?”

Marecelina waved a hoof, “Please, you may just call me Marecy, everypony I know cal-!” She went wide-eyed and looked at her, “Wha…really?” she asked in disbelief.

“Mm-hm. Sure, you’re a very pony and I am enjoying talking with you.” Starlight replied honestly.

“Oh my…thank you for saying that…” Marecelina put her hooves on her cheeks and looked away bashfully; she had been complimented like that in a long time and liked it very much. “S-so…do you want to scatter flowers with me…while we talk?” she asked.

“Uh…scatter flowers?”

“Yes,” Marecelina nodded and picked up the bouquet filled with purple and white flowers to put it between them, “it’s something I like to do to pass the time and I enjoy seeing them float away, off on their own little adventures. Here, take the flowers and petals of the Lilacs and Lilies off the stem and scatter them into the water, like so.” She explained, picking up a couple of said flowers and taking the petals and waving a hoof to scatter them in an arc over the water. Every petal made a small ripple on the water before the gentle tide carried them out into the open waters. “See?”

Starlight thought for a moment and smiled as she picked up the flower and began to pluck the petals off the stem and dropped them into the water as well. She felt oddly nice, watching them drift off into the fog of the bay and she grabbed another few to do it again.

~***~

The pair talked for what felt like forever about anything that came to mind and laughed happily together. All the while, they continued to drop the purple and white petals into the water and watched the trail they formed flow off into the foggy waters. Strangely, the bouquet never seemed to run out of flowers, but the pair didn’t mind as they just enjoyed each other’s company.

After a while, Marecelina started making bracelets out of the flowers, “Here, lean towards me,” she requested. Starlight did so and she slipped something next to her ear. “There, it looks cute on you.” She commented with a giggle.

Starlight felt the new soft accessory in her mane, smiled and leaned forward. In the reflection on the water, the purple and white band rested perfectly on her head and complimented her mane. “Wow…thank you, Marecy,” she giggled in glee at the new look.

“You are very welcome, Starlight.” She said happily.

Starlight leaned back with a smile when a realization suddenly hit her, “Hm…I have been enjoying this time talking with you, Marecy…but I may need to head back…I know my friends may be wondering where I am…” she trailed off, uncertain how she would even do that.

Marecelina’s smile faded slightly, but she nodded and fixed her own flower band that she had made, “I see…I suppose they are…” she agreed, sounding dejected before getting up on the dock and walking over to Starlight.

Starlight stood up as well and shook herself off, feeling slightly stiff from sitting for so long. No sooner as she had finished, she found herself locked into a tight hug from the other mare, holding her firmly with trembling hooves, “Marecy…?”

“Thank you so much for spending some time with me today…and for being my friend. I really enjoyed it,” she whispered happily.

Starlight smiled and returned the hug, holding her close for several long moments. “Heh…you’re welcome, Marecy…”

Marecelina broke the hug and pulled her head back to look at her anxiously, “W-will I ever see you again?”

Starlight smiled uneasily, “Well…I mean, I would love to…I just…have no idea how I got here to meet you in the first place…” she admitted honestly.

Marecelina giggled and shook her head, “That’s ok, I wasn’t sure I would meet you either, hee heh…” She leaned forward, "Please promise to come and see me again...I would be so happy if you did." she whispered before moving up and kissing Starlight on the forehead.

Starlight blushed at the action, but just closed her eyes and nodded, "Ok...I promise I'll come again..." Before anything else could happen, the wind picked up and the area around them became shrouded in a bright light. In an instant, the sounds of the water and shore disappeared from her ears and were replaced with the quiet sounds of a large building interior.

~***~

“Sta...light...Starlight Glimmer, hello?” A male voice said impatiently, piercing through Starlight's trance as he prodded her side.

“Huh- wha-?!” Starlight gasped, shaking her head and blinked in confusion. As her vision cleared, she saw that she was back in the art gallery, still staring at the dock painting. She turned to look and Spike was standing next her, looking concerned, “O-oh, hi Spike...when did you get here?” she asked curiously.

“Uh, I’ve been here for the past ten minutes.” He said flatly with a raised brow, “I was looking at stuff and then I see you just standing here and staring up at that painting.” He explained, “You haven't moved or blinked for like the entire time...it was starting to scare me.”

Starlight blinked in confusion; had she really just been staring at the painting? Was it all just a daydream of feeling tired from all the looking around? “Really? Oh...sorry Spike. I guess I was just so impressed with this painting that I just...got really ‘drawn’ into it.” she apologized, trying to shake off the strange dream.

Spike wasn't entirely convinced, but just shrugged, “So you did…” he trailed then turned to look up at the large painting himself, “Wow, you’re right! This painting is really cool looking!” he exclaimed as he looked it over, “It’s so real and looks like I could just run out on the dock and jump in!” he said...before his eyes started getting wide and his body relaxing as he stared at it, “and you know...it does feel...like it’s drawing me in…”

Starlight chuckled and pat him on the head, breaking his stare. “Yeah it will…so be careful how closely you stare at it…” She trailed off, smiling at the notion that he made.

Spike chuckled at that and rubbed his patted head, his gaze from the painting, broken.

“Ah! There you two are!” a voice called from behind. The pair looked back and saw Rarity trotting towards them, her saddle pack now carrying several pamphlets of other artists from around the gallery that she had clearly been to. “I’ve been looking for you two; how are your experiences?” She asked.

“Oh, you know…enjoying some stuff here and trying to talk to other ponies," Starlight said, a small smile appearing on her lips. Spike shrugged with a nod since he did have fun as well.

“I’m so glad to hear it, Starlight. Now, I was hoping we could…?” Rarity's eyes trailed upwards and spotted the painting behind them, “OH MY!” she gasped, putting a hoof to her cheek, “I see you found Von-Neighinghay’s final piece.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow, “His…final piece?” she asked curiously.

“Mm-hm. This was the last painting he made shortly before he ended his art career…” Rarity trailed off in a somber tone as she walked up next to Starlight, “He made this for his younger sister, who was bedridden at the time,” She began to explain and pointed below it.

Starlight looked down and spotted the plaque that she didn’t see before. Sure enough, the writing on the plaque detailed the piece:

“The Mare at the Dock”

Date Unknown/ XX-XX, Marco Von-Neighinghay

The final work created by this artist during his life. Created in memory of his sister, Marecelina Von-Neighinghay, the image presents a mare (presumably Marecelina) taking various flowers and scattering them to the waters to watch them drift into the morning tide.

Oil-base, acrylic and a light charcoal dusting on cloth canvas, that gives a lifelike appearance. Some have even claimed that it was like looking into a doorway to an Equestrian harbor of the time period.

Starlight glanced at this in confusion as she glanced up to see that a mare that had appeared in the portrait; she looked just like Marecelina from the dock!

“It really is a nice, yet sad story that goes with this work,” Rarity continued, regaining Starlight attention, “According to what I’ve read in the brochure, Sir Marco cared very deeply for family and friends and painted many different styles during his time for them as well as his art career. Near the end, he learned that his sister may not have long to live and quickly began to work on the piece here,” she continued, making Starlight look at it, “He originally made it as a gift to her to help her be close to the docks that she always loved playing on growing up.” She stepped forward and looked up at the painting, “Sadly…she passed away not long after he showed it to her…but even in the end, she was happy, knowing her brother loved her so much to the very end…”

“Wow Rarity…you sound like Twilight with how much you know about him.” Starlight praised, taking in her story.

Rarity blinked with an innocent smile at the realization. “Eheheh…well, like I said, it was all in the gallery pamphlets mostly…but I daresay I would never be able to hold a candle to Twilight.” She admitted, before something about Starlight caught her attention. “Starlight, what is that in your mane, dear?” Rarity asked.

“Huh?” Starlight put a hoof to her mane, having it run across a particular soft object. Upon touching it, she pulled it out and looked at what it was. In her mane, was a bracelet of Lavender and Lilac flowers…like the one that Marecelina had given to her at the dock. She blinked in realization and smiled softly as a tear threatened to escape her eye, “Oh…this was a gift…from a new friend that I met here.” She told them and held the bracelet close to her.

Rarity smiled and sighed, “Really? Aw, that is such a sweet gesture of them, Starlight,” she said softly and then checked the time, “Oh dear, we’re going to be late for the restaurant reservations; come along Spike, Starlight. We’ve got to be going.” She said sternly. "You simply must tell us about this friend later, Starlight; I am curious to learn more about them and I'm certain Twilight would too."

Spike and Starlight nodded in agreement and started to follow after her. Starlight paused for a moment, remembering the bracelet was still in her hoof. Smiling to herself sadly, she held it close to her chest for a few moments, enjoying the soothing fragrance it gave off. She then opened her saddle pack and placed it as well as the pamphlet Rarity had given her, gingerly inside, thinking it may be a bit safer in there. With one last smile at the painting, she sighed and trotted towards the gallery exit with Rarity and Spike.

Back at the painting, the mare sitting at the dock turned her head to glance after Starlight and waved to her friend as she exited the gallery. She was happy and now eagerly awaited for her friend to visit her again.

The End