A New World

Chapters

Anything is Possible
Black and White and Red All Over
The End of an Era
Welcome to The School of Friendship
Orientation Day
Learning and Experimentation
Teacher's Pet
The Last Straw
Escape
Hiding Place

Anything is Possible

Three years after the events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic…

“I’ve already been a mother for a long time in a sense. I’ve raised more fury, scaly, and feathery friends than I can count. I love caring for them. It makes me happy, but it’s more than that. It makes me who I am. Life is beautiful and magical, and the fact that almost anyone can help create it is one of the most amazing things in the world to me. All it takes is two creatures coming together in love to create something wonderful. I’ve witnessed these beautiful creatures being born many times, but I want to do more than witness it. I want to experience it for myself. I want to be a mother not just to nature, but to my own child or children. Now I’ve finally found someone that I love, and I’m ready. I know it may be difficult because of my and Discord's unusual situation, but I'm ready to do whatever I need to do in order to make it happen."

It took Fluttershy a second after she finished speaking to realize that she had just said all of that out loud, in her cottage, in front of other ponies.

Two pairs of eyes stared back at her in utter bewilderment. They belonged to Dr. Horse; Ponyville’s best pediatrician, and Dr. Fauna; Fluttershy’s veterinarian and good friend. Of course, there was one other pair of eyes at the scene, belonging to Fluttershy's beloved fiancee, Discord, but unlike the doctors, he was not staring or looking mortified. He simply smiled at them with an expression that was half loving and half cocky.

"Fluttershy, I'm not sure we understand exactly what it is that you want us to do," Dr. Horse said. Dr. Fauna nodded her head in agreement. Fluttershy looked down at the floor timidly.

“Quite simple really. You use all of your pony doctor wisdom to find out what to do, you tell us, we do it, and it works perfectly,” Discord answered.

“But I only work with baby animals, and he only works with baby ponies. I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I just don’t think we’re the right ponies to talk to about this,” Dr. Fauna said apologetically.

“Yes, perhaps a more magic based doctor,” Dr. Horse suggested.

“A magic based doctor? Oh… Ok… Hopefully we can find one,” Fluttershy said. Her voice seemed to shrink a bit more with every word.

"Hmm. If only we knew some sort of exotic, black and white pony who specialized in supernatural remedies and happened to live just outside of town," Discord said. His voice dripped with sarcasm. Fluttershy gasped.

"Zecora! You're a genius, Discord!" Fluttershy said happily. Poof! What sounded like applause rang out through Fluttershy's cottage, and sunglasses appeared on Discord's face.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're too kind!" he said. Then, poof! Everything was back to normal. The doctors were not amused. Fluttershy rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

“You really think she could help?” Fluttershy asked the room hopefully.

“Let’s see…” Discord said. He snapped, and he was in a scientist’s lab coat wearing goggles and writing notes on a clipboard.

“Pi times two hundred and fifty-four, divided by x squared, plus the gravitational constant, equals two point six six six repeating minus eight…” Discord muttered comically. Then, poof! His scientist things were gone.

“Only one way to find out my dear!” he said. Fluttershy gave him a weary smile, but it was beautiful nonetheless. She turned to the doctors, not wanting to be rude and shoo them out so soon, but also wanting to see Zecora as soon as possible.

“I think if it's okay with you guys, we're gonna go ahead and go now, but… Um… Thank you so much for coming over to my cottage to help. I really appreciate it.”

However, when Discord and Dr. Horse were just out the door and Fluttershy turned to leave, Dr. Fauna stopped her.

“Fluttershy, as your friend, I feel the need to tell you… I may not know much about the physiology of ponies-much less whatever creature Discord is-but I do know that when you try to breed two different species, sometimes if they’re too different, they can’t conceive. It just doesn’t work.”

“Is it… Is it even possible?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Dr. Fauna looked pityingly at Fluttershy’s face, which had turned sad and hopeless, and even though logically she could not understand how it could happen, she smiled solemnly at Fluttershy and said

“Anything is possible.”

“Will we be able to have a baby?” Fluttershy asked Zecora once Fluttershy and Discord had made it to Zecora’s and explained their dilemma. Fluttershy entertained the idea that she could always just adopt instead if having her own child didn’t work out, and of course she would, but she knew it wouldn’t be the same. Wonderful, but not the same.

“I know my answers are usually set in stone,
but I’m afraid that this time, it is simply unknown,” Zecora said. She had a deeply thoughtful expression on her face.

“That’s definitely a first,” Discord muttered.

“To know whether the result would be noble or tragic,
I must first take a closer look at Discord’s magic.” Discord was taken aback for a moment.

“What do you need to know?” he asked. Despite being disorderly and chaotic by nature, it was obvious that he cared about Fluttershy and her dream quite a lot.

“You seem to have the entire world awaiting your command,
and how that could be possible, I do not understand,” Zecora answered. Discord sighed. He had hoped he would never have to fully explain how his power worked. He hated getting technical, especially since every time he explained to somepony how his magic worked, there was a chance that it wouldn’t work on them anymore. But, he was willing to do it for Fluttershy.

“You’re right. No currently existing creature in this universe has the amount of power that most ponies believe I have. Even I am clueless as to how anypony could ever possess that much power without losing control and destroying everything around them.”

“I don’t understand. You do have that much power. I’ve seen you use it,” Fluttershy said confusedly.

“No. My power isn’t real. It’s just a mirage that fools the senses.”

“But that can’t be… I’ve seen you make beevers go evil, and turn water to ice. Those can’t be mirages! They did real damage,” Fluttershy said.

“Those weren’t mirages, but the magic I used was. I fooled the beevers senses into believing that they had no choice but to be evil, so they were. I convinced the water that it had to become ice, and it did the work to become ice itself. My magic is merely persuading senses to believe what I want them to believe. As you’ve seen Fluttershy, even I myself do not physically exist. I’m made of an idea, and my magic reflects that.”

Fluttershy was flabbergasted. How had she not known that? She and Discord were engaged, and yet some aspects of him were still beyond her comprehension. Meanwhile, Zecora was also trying to wrap her mind around what she’d just heard.

“If what you say is truly correct,
there are two likely outcomes for your child I suspect,” Zecora said thoughtfully. Several seconds passed.

“And they are?” Discord prodded.

“The most likely product that I can predict,
is a normal pony pegasus, with minimal conflict,” Zecora said.

"And the second?" Discord asked. The couple could tell that the second possibility was not as pleasant. Zecora hesitated.

"If I am to be honest, I must confess.
The other possibility would be reason to stress,” Zecora said cautiously. Fluttershy and Discord exchanged a worried glance. Well, Fluttershy’s was worried. Discord’s was more vaguely uncomfortable. Discord spoke up, knowing what Fluttershy wanted to ask, but also understanding that she was too shy to actually ask it.

“What exactly is the likeliness of the second option?”

“I would say the likeliness is just a slim chance,
but if the unlikely pulled through, we would know in advance,” Zecora said.

“S… So our child would probably be ok? And… And if they weren’t, we could save them in time?” Fluttershy asked faintly. Zecora saw the same thing in Fluttershy’s eyes that Dr. Fauna had seen in them, and she couldn’t bear to disappoint her. Zecora nodded her head yes.

Hours later, Zecora hoped and prayed that encouraging them hadn’t been a terrible mistake. After all, regardless of the odds, anything was possible.

Author's Note

Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this chapter, please give it a thumbs up, and if you have any questions or critiques, feel free to comment below!

Black and White and Red All Over

Ten months later…

Fluttershy laid in bed at Ponyville hospital, with a nurse tending to her as she went through labor. Just outside the room stood Dr. Redheart, Discord, and Zecora.

“I’m sorry, but only the mother and father are allowed in the delivery room,” Dr. Redheart said to Zecora. Discord sighed and spoke back.

“Look, I know you’re a little new to this whole being-a-doctor-instead-of-a-nurse-thing, but just to be absolutely clear, my wife-” Poof! A giant styrofoam pointer appeared in the air and pointed at Fluttershy.

“-has asked for Zecora-” The pointer pointed at Zecora.

“-to be in that room-” It pointed at the door.

“-when she has the baby,” he finally finished. On the word ‘baby’, the pointer in the air had transformed into a floating, two-dimensional baby bottle. Dr. Redheart’s face had gone bright red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. A second later, the bottle disappeared.

“I’m sorry sir, but-” Dr. Redheart was interrupted by the nurse slamming open the door to Fluttershy’s hospital room.

“The baby’s coming,” she said. Dr. Redheart immediately dropped the conversation and walked into the room, closely followed by Discord and Zecora. Though Dr. Redhaert stared daggers at them, she said nothing at Zecora’s entrance.

A few minutes and a couple of painful cries later, the filly was born. At first, Dr. Redheart smiled at the filly she’d just delivered.

“It’s a girl,” Dr. Redheart said. Fluttershy smiled.

“Arceus. Her name is Arceus,” she said.

Though all seemed well for a single happy moment, the doctor’s smile faded when she got a closer look at the baby.

“Oh no,” Redheart said almost inaudibly.

“What?” Discord asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. The baby… She’s not crying,” Redheart mumbled confusedly.

“You do know that not all babies cry when they’re born?” Discord asked condescendingly.

“Is she ok?” asked Fluttershy.

“It’s not that she doesn’t have the urge to cry. Her body is very tense, and her eyes are squeezed shut much more firmly than they should be. It’s almost like she’s holding in her tears.”

“It cannot be! How is it so?
I was convinced if this happened, we would surely know!” Zecora cried. Zecora looked around the hospital, seeming to look at it in a whole new way. Then she looked back at Arceus. Fluttershy had never seen Zecora so panicked.

“I must take the child and get out of here!
I need to get her where no one is near!”

Then, just like that, Zecora grabbed Arceus from Dr. Redheart roughly, and ran from the room, presumably from the hospital as well.

“Zecora no!” Fluttershy screamed. Discord stared at the door in shock. Without a word, fluttershy tried to jump up and follow Zecora.

“Fluttershy, wait! You're still connected to the machine!” yelled Dr. Redheart. After realizing that the doctor was right, she yanked all of the cords off of her, and ran as fast as she could, stumbling due to her epidural having not worn off yet. With Discord’s help to run, Fluttershy caught up with Zecora and Arceus just a few minutes later.

Zecora hadn’t taken Arceus far. They were in the middle of an empty acre of land within viewing distance of the hospital.

“Please stay back! Don’t come any closer!
If you do, I fear your lives may be over!” Zecora yelled. Even with her loud volume, Fluttershy and Discord could barely hear her across the distance.

“What is going on Zecora?” yelled Discord with a threatening tone in his voice. Fluttershy just stood and stared. She was shocked, confused, and scared.

“I beg you to be cautious of your daughter’s incredible powers.
For they multiply not just over years, but even over hours.
Suppressing them will only lead to more of what you’ll soon see.
But letting them out will be dangerous if not done carefully.
The two of you took a mirage, and made it something real.
And you’ll find that actuality is an infinitely bigger deal.”

Zecora paused when she heard a tiny moan from Arceus, who was still incredibly tense, and was clutching her tiny eyes together even harder than before. Tears of concentration formed at the corners of the newborn filly’s eyes. Zecora looked sad, but determined as she stared at her innocent face. She turned her attention back to Fluttershy and Discord.

“And now with so much left to say, I fear that I haven’t the time.
So with all you are and all that is, remember my final rhyme.
The only way to free your child from the clutches of her curse,
is to release her magic and not hold back, but not in our universe.”

Before Fluttershy and Discord had the chance to react, Zecora looked down and saw Arceus take a preparatory breath. Then she looked up with tears in her eyes, and smiled solemnly. No more than a second later, Arceus let out her first cry, and with it came power. Pure power poured from the tiny filly, and blasted out in every direction. It was white, loud, and too bright to look at. The whole town heard the ominous boom.

Dust and rubble flew into Discord and Fluttershy’s eyes. When they were able to see properly again and most of the dust had cleared, Fluttershy ran towards Zecora and Arceus. When she found them, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Arceus lay in the middle of a circular crater that spread out in every direction for at least twenty feet around her. Her eyes had finally opened. Her coat and mane were black and white, not unlike Zecora’s, but instead of being striped everywhere, she was mostly white with just a few black stripes, and a blob of black around her eyes, almost looking like a superhero mask. Her eyes were quite a contrast to the rest of her petite body. Where the whites of her eyes should have been, they were the same color green as Fluttershy’s eyes, but in the center, where the color usually was, they were blood red.

Arceus looked around. She seemed confused. It was as if she was looking for Zecora.

Although Fluttershy understood what had happened, between the state of Zecora and the tears in her eyes, her eyes could hardly make anything out. All she saw was black and white and red all over.

Author's Note

Hey! Thanks for continuing to the second chapter! If you liked it, please give it a thumbs up, and feel free to comment.

The End of an Era

Sixteen years later…

Arceus sat sadly on her bed in her quaint and cozy room, cradling her best friend. Her mom, Fluttershy, had too many animals to count, but one in specific had always been there to cuddle with her when she’d been in dark places. That was Mew, Arceus’s cat. Nopony else had wanted her because she was hairless, but Arceus thought she was just as cute as any other cat, and she could certainly relate to being unwanted because she was different. Plus, in Arceus’s opinion, Mew’s light pink-tinted skin and big blue eyes were just as cute as any fury cat.

There was a knock on the door. Her mother came in and looked around Arceus’s room.

In one corner was a bookshelf with three tiers. The top tier held books and manuals by Headmare Starlight and Assistant Headstallion Sunburst, all written specifically for Arceus. Some held ideas on what to do when she felt like she would lose control, while others held rules on all the things that she should and shouldn’t do.

The middle tier held all sorts of good luck charms. Some were from Princess Twilight, backed by research she’d done on supernatural magic, but most of them were just political signs of support from powerful ponies who wanted to publicly support Arceus. It was fancy ponies’ way of showing her where they stood in the debate about her. Since she was quite a controversial subject, the good luck charms told Arceus and her parents which ponies were with them, and which were against them.

And the bottom tier held potions created by various ponies. Some of the more notable ponies included Princess Twilight, Headmare Starlight and Assistant Headstallion Sunburst, Prince Blueblood’s wife Princess Moondancer, the recently passed Starswirl The Bearded, and Dr. Hooves. They were for a large assortment of purposes, such as teleporting to an empty patch of land, creating a powerful forcefield, healing severe injuries, and too many other things to remember.

Arceus’s bed was on the opposite side of the room, and it was similarly unpersonalized. She’d at least gotten to pick out the actual bed herself, but the sheets and blankets were sewn by magic experts and imbued with magical protection spells. Her bedside table too was taken over by things that didn’t particularly interest her. It was covered in letters. Some were from owners of land she’d demolished, some were letters of encouragement and support, and some had just come in the mail with the good luck charms.

The only things in her room that gave any hint to her personality were the walls. They were covered in drawings that she’d made. They were drawings of random things, but most of them were inspired by the animals she’d grown up with, and at the corner of each picture was the name of the drawing, and Arceus’s signature.

There was one that was based on a mouse that her mother had been taking care of for a while. The poor guy had been very sick, but that hadn’t taken away from his limitless energy, or his resentment towards enclosed spaces. The picture looked like that mouse, but yellow, and with a lightning bolt shaped tail to represent his ridiculous amount of energy. She’d named that one ‘Pikachu’ and it was one of her favorites. Technically it was her second favorite, after the one she’d drawn of a version of Mew that had a longer tail and could fly or become invisible at will.

There were so many drawings that you could hardly see the walls themselves, but Arceus loved it. It might be a random hobby, but seeing her creations reminded her that she was a pony with talents and emotions, not just an experiment like so many ponies had treated her.

Worry about being treated like an experiment was precisely the reason that she was sad at the moment.

“Sweetie, you might want to start packing. We should leave for The School of Friendship in a little over an hour if we don’t want to be late,” her mother suggested lightly. Arceus smiled mischievously.

“Being late is fine with me.” Arceus had gotten her father’s sense of humor, but it didn’t work as well for her since she didn’t have the right kind of magic to create literal versions of all her sarcasm and puns.

At Arceus’s statement, her mother gave her The Stare.

“Sorry Mom. I’m just not very excited,” Arceus said. Her mother’s eyes softened.

“I understand honey, but you don’t need to be nervous! You already go to The School of Friendship every week for The Releasing. Is this really so different?”

The Releasing was something Arceus had been doing every week since she’d been three years old. It involved going to Headmare Starlight’s office and trying to learn how to control her power. Arceus’s parents-along with many other ponies-believed that releasing small bits of her power over a large amount of time would make her power go away. When Arceus asked anypony why they thought that, all they’d say was ‘The only way to free your child from the clutches of her curse, is to release the magic and not hold back, but not in our universe’. The problem was that no one would tell Arceus who had said that or why everypony was so sure that it was right. It just sounded like a bunch of crap to her. She wasn’t even sure that information was right, because The Releasing never really seemed to do its job. She learned to release more explosions that were small, rather than one large explosion, but the power she used never left for good like ponies said it would. By the time the next Releasing would come around, her power would be back, and coursing through her even more than the week before. But, at least The Releasing prevented explosions due to loss of control. She hadn’t had one of those in years.

“Yes! It’s completely different! For The Releasing, I just go there, get it over with, and come back home. This time I’m going there for an extended period of time, to be surrounded by ponies that I could hurt by accident! Everypony will probably be terrified of me!”

Just then, Arceus felt it. She felt the power inside her bubbling to the surface. Immediately, she tensed up and tried to think about something else. She managed to keep the explosion in, as she usually did. It was infuriating! It seemed that every time she let out her emotions, whether they were anger, worry, or even excitement, her powers would try to be let out with them. Luckily, Arceus’s mom didn’t notice this close encounter with danger. It had happened so many times that Arceus had no trouble hiding it.

Her mother gave her a sad and pitying look.

“Oh sweetheart. They have no reason to be afraid of you. You’ve always been a remarkably strong girl. You would never hurt anyone.”

“But what if I lose control and get angry or scared?” Arceus asked quietly.

“You won’t. And don’t forget, Headmare Starlight will be there if you need her.”

“Oh, goodie,” Arceus said, rolling her eyes. Her mother gave her a weary look.

“Arceus, we’ve been over this. Starlight might have been a bit… Well, evil in the past, but she hasn’t been that way for more than two decades. There’s no reason to be nervous around her.”

“I know. I know,” Arceus responded. But the truth was, she didn’t know. Headmare Starlight didn’t seem diabolical or anything, but her obsession with magic had always striked Arceus as a bit creepy.

“Can I at least take Mew?” Arceus asked hopefully.

“You know pets aren’t allowed at the friendship school,” her mom said. Arceus raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you smuggle a cat with you when you went to school? And a bunny and a bird?”

“Well yes, but… That doesn’t…” Her mother sighed, relenting.

“Oh alright. As long as she doesn’t cause any trouble, you can bring Mew.”

Arceus’s face brightened instantly, and she hugged her little hairless friend, who purred happily in return. Arceus’s mother smiled at them, then looked at the clock.

“Oh my. Now you really ought to get packing.”

The Friendship School stood just a few hundred yards away from Arceus and her parents. The sunlight reflected off of the shiny material that the school was made of and glistened across the large moat. Though Arceus had been there more times than she could count, she knew that this time, it was very different. This time, she would be staying there all year, without the comfort of the cottage she’d grown up in to look forward to going home to. This time, she’d have to actually talk to the ponies that wandered through the halls. This time, she’d be one of them. Arceus gulped visibly.

“Remind me how this works again,” Arceus squeaked nervously.

“Don’t be nervous pumpkin. It’s simple. We just go in for a few minutes to sign you in with Headmare Starlight, and you spend the day meeting with your new teachers and classmates. Then classes start tomorrow,” Arceus’s mom said. It didn’t do much to help Arceus’s nerves. Her father layed a comforting claw on her shoulder.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Orientation Day will be a piece of cake,” he said with an evil grin. Arceus looked over to see that her father had in fact transformed The School of Friendship into a giant piece of chocolate cake with a bright red cherry on top, the moat having been turned into a river of frosting. Arceus knew the truth about her father’s magic, and she rolled her eyes at the illusion and classic pun, but it did make her smile, which was what her father had been hoping for.

After her father had poofed the palace back to normal, they continued on towards it, until the inevitable moment when they were standing just outside the front doors.

“Are you ready?” her mother asked. Arceus took a moment to prepare herself. No matter what, she could not create an explosion when she walked in, so she had to be ready for any outcome.

“Yes.”

Then, they opened the doors and walked into the foyer.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! By the way, if you read "Prince Blueblood's wife Princess Moondancer" and thought 'What's up with that?' make sure to check out my short story called The Truth Spell. It's a comedic romance between Blueblood and Moondancer that takes place in the same universe as this story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Welcome to The School of Friendship

Unlike the other times that Arceus had been to The School of Friendship, this time the entire foyer was full of all sorts of creatures. Although the biggest difference Arceus noticed was not the amount of ponies. It was the fact that most of the room was completely silent, which was quite a contrast to the usual talk and laughter that had always filled the school when Arceus had been there in the past.

When Arceus finally figured out where all the noise had gone, she felt a pang of shame and embarrassment, which she did her best to hide. They were all scared of her. Most of the students had not-so-subtly moved to the opposite side of the room when they’d recognized her from the newspapers. After a moment, the room filled with light whispering. She could only hear bits and pieces, some of which included things like ‘Wow, the rumors were true,’ and ‘I hope we don’t have classes with her.’

There were a few groups of ponies that hadn’t immediately run from her, and that gave Arceus hope. Although, after taking a closer look at them, she wasn’t sure about how reassured she should’ve been by that.

The first group was a pair of earth pony stallions that brought to mind the expression, ‘opposites attract’. One had a brightly colored appearance and an expressive face, while the other looked depressingly bland and flat in comparison. She knew she recognized the former from somewhere, but she couldn’t put her hoof on where it was from. Those two looked at her not with fright, but with curious, thoughtful expressions.

The second group was another pair of ponies. Well, not actually ponies. One of them was a winged male changeling with particularly notable orange eyes, and the other was a female kirin with a kind-looking face. When Arceus locked eyes with the changeling, he blinked a few times, seemingly surprised to have gotten her attention, then his cheeks turned bright red, and he turned away. The kirin widened her eyes at him in obvious frustration, then looked back and forth between Arceus and the changeling, elbowing him and unsuccessfully attempting to push him towards Arceus. Arceus wasn’t sure what to make of that.

The next group wasn’t really a group at all. It was just one mare, staring her down with questioning eyes. Arceus recognized that look all too well. Ponies who looked at her like that didn’t see her as a pony. They saw her as a research project. At least the mare wasn’t afraid of her though… Right?

The final group that didn’t run from her was by far the largest. It was made up of seven or eight ponies, all emulating an air of class that the rest of the room lacked. There was one stallion who was clearly the clique’s leader, and with a start, Arceus recognized him. She could barely believe her eyes. It was Starcatcher!

Starcatcher and his parents had sent her several good luck charms, and his mother, Princess Moondancer had even sent her a potion or two. Starcatcher was one of the only ponies her age that she felt like she truly knew. He was pretty much the only one who had continued writing to her after she’d replied to his political letter. Perhaps that had only been because her original reply had been a bit more smitten than her usual responses, but she couldn’t be sure. The newspapers that Arceus had read about Starcatcher always described him as self-absorbed and lazy, but Arceus found that hard to believe. It was obvious to Arceus how much time and thought he’d put into each letter he’d sent her.

Starcatcher finally met her eyes, and Arceus blushed fiercely and looked away, similarly to the changeling she’d seen earlier, although Arceus hadn’t been out enough in her life to be able to put two and two together.

“Hello?” Headmare Starlight said. Arceus was surprised to find that while she’d been nervously looking around at her classmates, she and her parents had walked all the way to Headmare Starlight. Arceus shook her head to clear it.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked.

“I was just saying what a pleasure it is to be your teacher! I mean, Celestia knows we at this school have taught many types of creatures, but we’ve never learned from somepony as special as you,” Headmare Starlight said. Then her eyebrows drew together.

“Did I say ‘learned from somepony as special as you’? I meant to say we’ve never had someone as special as you learn from us,” Headmare Starlight corrected as she laughed at her error. Arceus’s parents laughed a bit with her, but Arceus was not amused, especially with that creepy note in the headmare’s laughter.

“Well, she’s all signed in! I think that’s all I need from you. You can leave now. Thanks for stopping by!” Headmare Starlight said to Arceus’s parents.

“Oh... Okay. Will you be at tonight’s Friendship Counsel meeting? I know you haven’t been to one in quite a while, but you’re always welcome,” Arceus’s mother said.

“Am I? Well isn’t that sweet. As much as I’d love to be there, I just have some other plans tonight,” Headmare Starlight said. To Arceus, her smile seemed fake, but her mom didn’t seem to notice, and her dad was too busy turning furniture into cotton candy to be paying any attention to the conversation.

“Oh. That’s fine,” her mother said disappointedly. Then her mother tapped her father on the back to get his attention, and they both turned to Arceus.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a flash,” her father said. On the word ‘flash’, there was a bright flash of light across the school. It drew a lot of attention back to Arceus, which she didn’t like, but she appreciated his effort to make her feel better.

“We love you, and we really think you’re going to like it here,” her mother said.

Several hugs later, Arceus’s parents were gone, and she was left feeling completely alone while surrounded by dozens of ponies.

Headmare Starlight looked at her and noticed her nervous expression.

“Don’t worry. Let’s just say I have a feeling that you’re going to do great things this year,” she said cryptically. Her expression looked smug. A moment later, it changed back to the fake smile.

“Well, I suppose I ought to make my speech now. After all, you were the last student to get here. I’m sure it was because your mother knows how patient I am no matter what. She and her friends certainly know that about me.” Headmare Starlight’s tone had gotten more and more resentful as she spoke. Then, she seemed to remember that she’d originally been talking to Arceus, and quickly added

“Not that it’s a problem of course! I don’t mind a bit! Go stand with the other students now if you don’t mind.”

Arceus had no problem with that. She was happy to leave that clearly messed-up pony. In fact, now that she thought about it, she was actually looking forward to talking with Starcatcher. She’d been wanting to meet him outside of paper for quite a while. From the way he had written to her, she’d always felt like he understood her in a way that nopony else did.

However, before she managed to get within speaking distance of him, Headmare Starlight had stepped up onto a small podium in the center of the large foyer and begun her speech.

“Attention students! Today is a very special day. Not only is today Orientation Day, but it’s also the beginning of a new era for The School of Friendship. For over twenty years, this school has been a symbol of friendship and equality. It’s something that has brought together so many creatures over the years. We’ve had not only earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but also changelings, yaks, hippogriffs, griffons, dragons, buffalo, and kirin.

“As you know, Princess Twilight Sparkle founded this school, and then upon her coronation, gave me the official position of Headmare. But, even with her princess duties, she’s always found a way to come here quite periodically to manage certain things. While I would never accuse the princess of being at fault, I regret to say that many students in the past have considered her their ‘true headmare’, and considered me as just a stand-in. Of course, this caused much unfriendly behavior amongst the students.

“But, that’s all going to change this year, because after having a long discussion with Princess Twilight Sparkle, we agreed that from this point on, she will only come to this school either under dire circumstances, or on days when the school is open to the public. I believe that this change is in the best interest of all of you, and I think that it will help expand the implications of this school so that it not only represents friendship and equality, but also learning and experimentation.

“But I’m sure none of you want to stay here all day and listen to me drone on, so please bring any baggage you’ve brought with you to Ms. Scootaloo, and she will take them to your new rooms. Your schedules are still being made, so it will be another few hours before you all receive them. While you’re waiting, please feel free to meet new creatures and talk amongst yourselves. We encourage you to get to know one another.

“And that’s all! Without further ado, welcome to The School of Friendship!”

Author's Note

Hi again! I did some searching, and I've update the cover art source to go to the website that created the art, rather than the google search that I originally found it on, but sadly I couldn't find the original artist. Hope you liked this chapter! If you did, please give it a thumbs up, and make sure to comment with your thoughts.

Orientation Day

Well that was by far the most unsettling speech Arceus had ever heard. Was it irrational to think that all the 'learning and experimentation' Headmare Starlight had mentioned had something to do with her?

Arceus couldn’t seem to calm her thoughts as she took her very full backpack to Ms. Scootaloo as instructed.

“Be careful with it please,” Arceus said as she handed it over. Mew was hiding inside, and although she had made sure to make it very comfortable for her, she still didn’t want her to be jostled around. Ms. Scootaloo raised one eyebrow.

“Not that there’s any particular reason. I just um… Like my blankets to stay folded,” Arceus covered, laughing a bit hysterically at herself.

Ms. Scootaloo’s look only got more suspicious.

“Uh huh,” Ms. Scootaloo said skeptically.

“Alright then! Looks like you’ve got it covered, so I guess I’ll just go over there now. Bye!”

There were definitely some drawbacks to living in a secluded cottage for sixteen years and only seeing the same ponies over and over. Clearly, Arceus still had a lot to learn about talking to ponies.

It was just so much easier being able to think through how every word would come across when writing a letter. When talking to somepony in real life, you barely had time to think through what you wanted to say. Arceus resigned herself to figure it out though. If she couldn’t even smuggle her cat into the school, she would have a lot of trouble making a life for herself here.

Speaking of making a life for herself here, there was still somepony she wanted to talk to.

Starcatcher was still with the classy ponies on the other side of the room. She was a little nervous to meet him in real life, but not as nervous as you might think. After all, she already knew him on paper. How different could he really be?

However, just before she was within speaking distance of him, she was interrupted yet again. This time, the kind-faced kirin she’d seen earlier had intentionally run over to her and blocked her path. She had a navy blue coat, a pure white mane, and icy blue eyes.

She had dragged her changeling friend with her, and she threw one of her front legs around his neck in a gesture of companionship, but Arceus could tell that it's true purpose was to keep him from running away.

He struggled lightly in her grip. It looked like he was trying to shrink into himself, but it didn't work very well since his color scheme of lime green with bright orange accents made him automatically stand out.

“Hi! You must be Arceus! I’ve heard so much about you,” the kirin said. Arceus looked down uncomfortably.

She wasn’t sure why anyone in their right mind would be excited to meet her after hearing about her. After all, most of the articles published about her had headlines like, ‘Hybrid Creature Destroys Fields All Across The Countryside,’ or ‘Arceus: Valuable Asset or Big Mistake.'

The changeling saw my expression and eyed the kirin angrily, then looked back to me.

“That’s not what she meant,” he said, seeming to read Arceus’s thoughts. Arceus looked up at him. It was almost like he knew her somehow, but Arceus was sure that she hadn’t met him before, so how could that have been? Recognition dawned on the kirin’s face.

“Oh no! I don’t even read those dumb articles. I’ve only heard good things,” she clarified.

“From where?” Arceus asked skeptically. The kirin smiled.

“Let’s just say that we have a mutual friend.”

That clearly made the changeling uncomfortable.

“I’m Winter Willow by the way, and this is my friend Xendar. And I do mean friend. We’re not together,” Winter Willow said.

“Um, okay. Nice to meet you,” Arceus said. Just then, Starcatcher turned around and saw Arceus, then walked over to her. His posse followed close behind.

He walked right up next to Xendar, unintentionally pushing him to the side a bit.

“Arceus. Good to finally meet you,” he said with obvious smugness in his voice. It was like he was trying to show off their relationship to his friends. Arceus wasn’t sure what that was all about, but he had once told her in a letter that he felt like he always needed to pretend to be somepony that he wasn’t in order to earn the respect and notice of ponies around him. Arceus could only assume that the ponies following him around were those ponies.

“Starcatcher! It’s so good to see you!” Arceus said excitedly. Arceus noticed that the classy ponies were looking at her and Starcatcher with raised brows. Starcatcher looked a bit worried. Wanting to avoid the other ponies' attention, she leaned a bit closer to him and spoke quietly.

“I don't mean to embarrass you. It’s just that after what you said in your last letter-”

“Can we talk in private?” Starcatcher interrupted. Arceus’s stomach suddenly filled with nerves.

“Sure,” Arceus said shyly.

“Excuse me for a moment,” he said to his posse. Then he started walking towards a nearby hallway, clearly expecting Arceus to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, she did.

He took a left turn, then right, then opened the second door on the left, leading Arceus into what appeared to be an empty classroom. Then, he turned to her.

They were close. Very close. She could smell his overpowering cologne and see his features up close. His coat was cream-colored, and his hair was royal blue with amethyst purple tips. His cutie mark was a rose, and his red eyes matched it perfectly.

He looked perfect, just as he had in her mind when she’d imagined a moment like this, with the two of them alone in a dark, secluded room. But now that it was actually happening, something felt wrong. She tried to blame it on the confused look in Starcatcher’s eyes, but she knew that wasn’t it. Starcatcher took a cautious step back.

“What exactly did I say to you in my last letter?” he said. Arceus was surprised and a little disappointed. He didn’t even remember? For some reason, she’d thought the letters had meant as much to him as they did to her.

“You said that you were nervous about meeting me here. And something about hoping I’d understand something important that you wanted to tell me. You said that I…” Arceus paused, blushing.

“You said that reading my letters made you feel special, and you didn’t want to lose that.”

Arceus still didn’t understand why he’d ever thought that he would lose her, but she expected that he had gotten her alone in order to answer that question. However, when she saw his expression, it only confused her even more. He looked extremely, undeniably angry. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before addressing her.

“I truly hope that my letters gave you an idea of the support that my family is willing to offer you. I’m sorry if I have ever implied other things. Though I am always here if you need me for a professional matter, when it comes to other matters, I’m-,” he paused as he looked her up and down with a slightly disgusted expression, “-not interested,” he finished.

Then he nodded his head once and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He didn’t even give Arceus the chance to yell at him, slap him, question him, or any of the hundred things that she felt like doing.

She felt her power clawing at her skin, hoping that this time, while she had no potions or force-fields to protect her, perhaps it could break free and destroy everything around her.

With much difficulty, she pushed it back into herself. It didn't matter how upset she was. She couldn’t give into it. She had destroyed an entire acre of land the last time she had, and she had been only ten years old at the time. It had felt great to get it all out of her system, but she knew that it wasn’t worth it, especially now.

She hadn’t told her parents, but she knew that her power had multiplied several times over since the last time she’d created an explosion. She could feel it growing within herself every day.

After slowly counting to ten to calm herself like she’d been taught, she left the room and headed back to the foyer.

That proved to be a problem though, because after aimlessly wandering through the school for a minute or two, she realized that she had no idea how to get back there.

"There you are! I couldn't find you," Headmare Starlight said from behind her. Arceus felt a shiver up her spine, but said nothing. She only turned around and stared at Headmare Starlight.

"I need you in my office immediately for class."

Arceus gulped.

"But classes don't start until tomorrow," Arceus said desperately.

"For you, they start now."

This was exactly what she'd been afraid of. Her parents weren't there to protect her anymore, and she felt utterly defenseless.

"No, I won't. I want to go to normal classes like everyone else," Arceus said, faking confidence in herself.

"I can see you aren't going to make this easy for yourself. What a shame."

"You can't make me! I won't let you! I… I'll unleash my power," Arceus threatened, her voice shuddering.

She had never threatened to unleash her powers before, and she knew Headmare Starlight would never believe such a threat.

Arceus frantically looked around, hoping to see somepony who would help her, but there was nopony around. Headmare Starlight smiled. It was a more genuine smile than any she'd shone today, and it was terrifying.

"That's what I'm hoping for."

Then, before Arceus could do anything, the headmare's horn lit up, and they were both teleported to her office.

Author's Note

Hi again! Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave a thumbs up! Also, feel free to comment with your thoughts, critiques, and theories.

Learning and Experimentation

Headmare Starlight’s office looked harmless for the most part. Most of the tile floor was covered up by a large purple carpet with a vintage-looking design. In the middle of the room, there was a large, shiny, wooden desk with some paperwork, trinkets, and photos on it. The walls were littered with awards and certificates for various things, and there were shelves on both sides of the room showcasing trophies, artifacts, and lots of books. There were also some chairs and coffee tables here and there.

It was not the decor that gave the room it's slightly eerie look. It was the fact that the windows that usually showed a spectacular view of the courtyard were shut with their blinds down, and the double doors that usually stayed open for ponies to go in and out as they pleased, were closed and locked from the outside.

Arceus had been to this office many times, but never like this. Her parents had always been beside her, making sure that everything was okay. She’d always walked into it on her own four legs, rather than having been teleported there against her will.

Arceus was terrified. Normally, she could get rid of her fear by rationally going through what was happening and telling herself that it wasn’t so bad. This time, she couldn’t do that, because she had no idea what Headmare Starlight was going to do to her. She told herself that her parents trusted Headmare Starlight, so she couldn’t be as bad as Arceus thought, but she felt like that had already been proved wrong when Arceus had threatened to unleash her powers on the headmare, and all she’d said was ‘That’s what I’m hoping for.’

“You can’t keep me here. Ponies would notice,” Arceus said. Even as she said it, she didn’t believe it. Who would notice? Her parents weren’t expecting her anytime soon. The only pony she knew here was Starcatcher, and after their last conversation, Arceus was pretty sure that he wouldn’t go looking for her. She supposed the teachers might notice, but that would be easy for Headmare Starlight to cover up seeing as she ran the school.

Headmare Starlight sighed sadly.

“Arceus, I don’t want to keep you here. If you cooperate, everything will be quick and simple. It’s important for Equestria to properly understand you, and that will take a lot more research than what your parents felt comfortable with. If all goes as planned, you’ll still be able to go to classes like all the other students. It should just take a few short hours a day of boring activities in my office. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

“What do you want from me?” Arceus asked, ignoring her question. Headmare Starlight gave her a weary look and rolled her eyes.

“Well first, I need to make sure you understand at least the basics of how magic works. That is crucial. Tell me what you already know about magic.”

Arceus stared at her defiantly, not saying a word.

“Look, I don’t have time for your teenage distrust and drama. If you want to leave my office sometime today, you need to work with me.”

Arceus hated this mare. What right did Headmare Starlight have to force Arceus to do anything?

“Not much,” Arceus started reluctantly.

“I know that it glows and comes out of unicorn horns. I know that some spells are harder to do than others, and that different unicorns have different amounts of magic.”

Headmare Starlight cringed when Arceus stopped talking.

“That’s all? What about Starswirl The Bearded’s Theory of Quantum Mechanical Magic? Or even any of Neighls Bohr’s research on Quantum Mechanics?” Headmare Starlight asked hopefully.

Arceus was at a loss for words. She didn’t even know who Neighls Bohr was. Much less did she know anything about his research on Quantum Mechanics. Was that chemistry or biology?

“Oh dear. I see I have a lot of work to do.”

Headmare Starlight let out an exasperated breath.

“Neighls Bohr was a scientist a long time ago. He tried to figure out if light was a particle or a wave, and he found that light shows characteristics of both. It operates very similarly to a wave, while looking more like a particle on a molecular level."

Oh. That was Physics. Arceus had been reading about that at her home, but she'd only been part of the way through. Was Arceus really expected to just sit quietly and listen to her? She supposed so, but she was certainly not happy about it.

"Then, quite a while later, Starswirl The Bearded was looking into Quantum Mechanics, and made a revolutionary discovery. He learned that magic and light work the same way. At least in the way that even though they're not exactly particles, they're not waves either.

“But, although that might not seem like it would be particularly important, it is the reason that light and magic are so similar in other ways. Just like light, magic can be reflected, refracted, scattered, or absorbed. But the more important similarity, and the one that makes you so important, is the way that light and magic both cause physical damage.

"Light is harmless in small amounts, but as it gets more concentrated, it starts to cause harmful radiation, and if it were to be concentrated enough, it would burn through everything. But light that’s concentrated to that extent is almost unheard of. Magic is the same way. Magic itself is not naturally physical. Unicorns must tinker with it quite a bit to use it for physical purposes. To have enough unaltered magic to naturally make a physical impact, it would take thousands of unicorns worth of magic, and even then, it might not work as it does for you.”

Wait, what? Arceus had always known that she was powerful, but that was insane! The idea of the combined power of thousands of unicorns inside of her was preposterous… Wasn’t it?

Even as she told herself that it was impossible, she could feel all of it within herself. She could feel the hum of all of her magic, constantly trying to worm it’s way out.

Now that she thought about it though, was this really such a big deal? She’d already known that she was powerful and dangerous, and now that she understood herself a bit better scientifically, she was definitely more afraid of herself, but the knowledge alone hadn’t actually changed anything. Physically, she had the exact same amount of magic as two minutes ago. The difference was only her awareness of it.

“If you have that much power in the raw, just imagine what you could do if you knew how to control it! Every unicorn spell, amplified a thousand times over,” Headmare Starlight continued. Arceus had almost forgotten that she was still talking. Arceus gasped at the headmare’s last statement.

“Wait. You mean, I can actually control my power? I can do spells like unicorns can? I can be almost… Normal?” Arceus asked in shock, forgetting her anger and fear for a moment.

“Yes.”

For just a second, Arceus forgot that she didn’t trust the headmare and just reveled in the idea of being normal. Well, not completely normal. She still wouldn’t have a horn like regular unicorns, but maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about hurting ponies when she let out her emotions. It was such a foreign prospect that Arceus could barely even believe that it could be possible.

“But first, I need to see your full capabilities.”

That drew Arceus out of her longing thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Arceus asked suspiciously.

“I mean exactly what I said. I need you to release all of it. I need you to show me the full extent of your power.”

“What? That’s crazy! I can’t do that! It would destroy the whole… School!”

Arceus was originally going to say ‘world’, but she felt that it would’ve been a bit dramatic, and saying that probably wouldn’t have helped her current predicament.

“Not if I put up a powerful enough shield, which I intend to do.”

Arceus felt like that was a bit of a contradiction. Hadn’t Headmare Starlight just said that she had the power of thousands of unicorns? There was no denying that Headmare Starlight was a powerful unicorn, but could she really contain Arceus’s magic? But there was a more important question.

“Why in Equestria would you even want me to do that?”

The headmare gave Arceus an obviously condescending look.

“To study it of course! If I can find a way to replicate your power, I can remake the way magic is used all throughout Equestria! Then perhaps I’d be remembered for something in the history books.”

“And you really think that it’s worth the risk?”

“Obviously,” Headmare Starlight replied.

“I can tell that you’re uncomfortable, but that’s unnecessary. Once I set up a shield, all you have to do is let it all out. I know you’re constantly tense. You just need to give in to your emotions. Find some anger or excitement.”

Arceus looked at her with raised brows.

“You really expect me to just let out everything I’ve spent the last sixteen years keeping inside of me? There’s no way your shield can handle that, and I am not going to test it out.”

Headmare Starlight walked over to one of the shelves, pulling off a small, rectangular case. She then turned back to Arceus. The headmare’s horn glowed, and suddenly Arceus was bound to a nearby chair with sturdy ropes. She walked over to her ominously, her face disappointed. Then, she slowly opened the case, using her magic to take out a curved dagger. Arceus’s eyes widened in fright.

“If I remember correctly, your powers are not only activated by anger and excitement, but also by fear. Is that right?”

Arceus said nothing, but her breath quickened and her legs shook, giving her away. Starlight nodded her head once.

“I can work with that,” she said.

Author's Note

Thank you for getting all the way to Chapter 6! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave a thumbs up, and feel free to comment

Teacher's Pet

One week later…

Headmare Starlight circled Arceus’s chair, which she'd transfigured to be less and less comfortable over the past week of these daily interrogations. Unlike when Headmare Starlight had started doing this to Arceus, now Arceus was almost completely calm. Almost.

“What are you waiting for? Did you run out of ideas or something?” Arceus asked. She wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. After all, Starlight had already drawn her blood, taken a few locks of her hair, and gotten her saliva with a Q-tip.

Arceus was pretty sure that Starlight had figured out that Arceus was never going to release her full powers. After all, she’d already tried pretty much everything for the fear approach. She'd threatened Arceus with a dagger, a syringe, a chain-saw, and too many other things to remember.

What Headmare Starlight didn’t count on was the fact that each time she threatened Arceus, Arceus got just a little less scared. By now, even though it had just been a week, Arceus had figured out that the headmare was all talk. She never actually hurt Arceus. She just threatened her and got unsettlingly close to doing damage. Because of that, Arceus was barely even afraid of her anymore.

In fact, at the moment, Arceus’s worst fear was that she’d never get out of this terrible cycle. For the past week, Arceus had been locked in her room all day every day until the headmare was ready to experiment with her. Arceus was pretty sure she would’ve gone insane if it weren’t for Mew. Mew’s presence was definitely a pain, since she had to give the cat a decent portion of the meals that were teleported to her room three times a day, and she had to keep Mew's presence a secret from the headmare, but it was worth it by a large margin since that meant that Arceus didn't have to go through this alone.

Today was the first day in a while that Arceus was truly curious as to what Headmare Starlight was going to do to her. It was like the headmare was waiting for something. She didn’t even answer Arceus’s question as she walked in a slow circle around Arceus’s chair.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

“Headmare Starlight? Are you in there? I’m sorry I’m late,” said a young female voice from behind the door.

“Just a moment,” Headmare Starlight responded.

What? Headmare Starlight had gotten knocks on the door during their little ‘sessions’ before, but she’d always shooed them off and told them to come back later. What was different this time?

Headmare Starlight walked to the door and opened it up to reveal a student that Arceus recognized. It was that mare she’d seen when she first came to the school. The one who had looked at her with a calculated gaze, and hadn’t been afraid of Arceus like most of the other students had been.

She was a unicorn with a pink coat, a mane that was pulled up into a ponytail and streamed down in shades of yellow-gold, and a cutie mark that looked like a sunrise.

The young mare looked shocked when she noticed Arceus.

“Luster Dawn, this is Arceus,” Headmare Starlight said to Luster.

That was Luster Dawn? Arceus’s mom had told Arceus about her. She was Princess Twilight’s pupil who’d just moved to Ponyville almost a moon ago. For some reason, she was not at all what Arceus was expecting. Arceus’s parents had said that she was just like Princess Twilight, but Luster didn’t give Arceus that impression at all. She didn’t seem regal, anxious, or nerdy enough to be anything like The Princess of Friendship. Luster came off as sort of cold and detached.

“But I thought she went back home!” Luster exclaimed in surprise.

So that was what the headmare had been telling everypony. Well, at least nopony thought she was dead. Headmare Starlight cringed at Luster’s words.

“That is… A necessary precaution. The other students and the teachers wouldn’t understand why this is so important. They’re not like you and I.”

Luster Dawn looked a bit confused.

“Why what is so important? And what do you mean, ‘not like you and I’?”

Headmare Starlight smiled at Luster affectionately.

“We both understand the importance of learning the truth, and we understand magic in a way that I’m afraid many ponies cannot," she said calmly.

Luster looked back at Arceus.

"Why is she tied up?" Luster asked. She asked Headmare Starlight. Why not just ask the pony who was actually tied up? It was as if Arceus wasn't even there.

"She refuses to show the extent of her power. She's very... Protective of it. She thinks that only she can control it."

Arceus snapped out of her silent shock at that.

"What? That's not true!"

The headmare raised her eyebrows.

"It isn’t? Then by all means, show us.”

As if Arceus would fall for that. After the two unicorns got a look at Arceus’s stubborn expression, Starlight walked over to the other side of the room, beckoning Luster to follow.

“Not many students are as comfortable with authority figures like me as you are, Luster,” Headmare Starlight whispered in an obvious attempt to prevent Arceus from overhearing. The attempt was unsuccessful.

Luster put her chin up smugly. Arceus couldn’t believe anypony would fall for something like that. Couldn’t Luster tell that Headmare Starlight was just buttering her up? She didn’t know Luster personally or anything, but Arceus thought she seemed smarter than that.

“She doesn’t feel comfortable being true to herself in front of her headmare, but perhaps she could be persuaded by another student,” the headmare continued, still whispering. Luster nodded in understanding, all of her confusion and suspicion gone.

Luster looked at Arceus and narrowed her eyes, just like she had on Orientation Day. Arceus could tell that Luster was trying to analyze her. Arceus just glared at Headmare Starlight.

Before now, the headmare hadn’t brought any outsiders into their mess, and Arceus had been grateful for that. It was probably foolish, but Arceus was surprised that Headmare Starlight had included an innocent student. Then again, Arceus didn’t truly know if Luster was innocent.

“Maybe I should talk to her alone then?” Luster suggested, confirming that she truly believed the headmare’s load of lies.

But maybe Arceus could talk to Luster properly with the headmare gone. Maybe she could help Luster to understand.

Arceus’s eyes widened slightly in hope, but then she neutralized them. She couldn’t show any positivity about Luster’s suggestion, because if she did, she was sure that the headmare would refuse.

Headmare Starlight thought about it for a second.

“Alright,” she agreed. Arceus smiled a bit too wide, and both unicorns noticed. Headmare Starlight stared daggers at Arceus.

“But be cautious,” she added. Luster nodded.

The headmare left the room, leaving Arceus and Luster alone.

"So what's your story? What's your explanation for not wanting to expand the knowledge of ponykind?" Luster asked. She sounded genuinely curious, not bitter like Headmare Starlight sounded when she asked those kinds of things, but the fact that Luster would phrase it that way at all immediately deflated Arceus's hope to get through to her.

"Well, let's see. Would I rather destroy the school so the rest of Equestria can be smarter, or just leave everything the way it is?" Arceus asked in mock contemplation. Luster raised one eyebrow.

"What do you mean, 'destroy the school'?"

"I mean blow it up from the inside. My powers are like a bomb. If I let them explode, they'll destroy everything."

Luster looked extremely skeptical.

"Nopony is powerful enough to break through Headmare Starlight's shield."

Arceus groaned involuntarily. She was so tired of hearing that.

"Isn't that the whole reason you ponies want to learn about my magic? Because it's power is unheard of?"

"Well yes, but Headmare Starlight would never put anypony in danger. She wouldn't try it if there were even a slim chance for ponies to get hurt. She wants to help ponies."

Arceus rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. She couldn't care less about putting ponies at risk! Can't you see that she'sjust using you?"

At Luster's offended expression, Arceus knew that she probably shouldn't have said that.

"Whatever. I'm getting Headmare Starlight. Obviously, I'm not going to be able to make you see reason," Luster said as she turned and started for the door.

"Just look at me, and you'll know I'm right!" Arceus yelled, stopping Luster in her tracks. She looked back at Arceus, annoyed. It was a good thing that the school walls were soundproof, or else Headmare Starlight would have heard the yelling.

"I'm literally tied to a chair! Anytime I'm not here, Headmare Starlight is keeping me locked in my room! She swung a dagger towards me and stopped inches from my throat. She injected me with colored water and told me it was poison!

"Even if you don't care what happens to me for the supposed 'greater good', at least stay out of this for your own safety."

Luster gasped, and for a moment, Arceus saw horror and fear flash across her face. She looked almost fragile, which was quite a contrast to her usual stone-cold demeanor. But then she squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, they seemed back to normal.

"I don't believe you," she said calmly.

But Arceus could hear the slightest note of uncertainty in her voice.

Author's Note

Hi! Hope you liked this chapter! If you did, leave a thumbs up, and make sure to comment with any theories, critiques, or pretty much anything else you'd like to say. See you next chapter!

The Last Straw

Headmare Starlight continued to invite Luster Dawn to each of Arceus’s interrogations. At first, it was easy to tell that Luster disliked Arceus. She seemed pretty excited to be the headmare’s right-hand mare, but overtime, Headmare Starlight grew more and more comfortable with Luster around.

Because of this, she became much less careful of the threats she made to Arceus in Luster's presence, and Arceus noticed that whenever the headmare said things like, ‘Would you rather I turn you into a toad again?’ or ‘I wouldn’t have to hurt you if you would just do what I say,” that Luster would become very uncomfortable.

When Headmare Starlight shot a magic blast towards Arceus and missed her face by only a hair, Luster was biting the side of her cheek with terrified eyes. All of that made it clear to Arceus that Luster was nothing like Headmare Starlight. Luster had true fear and sympathy for Arceus, but after giving it a bit of thought while in her room - since Arceus had nothing better to do in her spare time - she decided that it didn't matter if Luster cared about what the headmare was doing if she wasn't going to do anything to stop it.

Arceus had already lost all hope for her original idea of possibly getting Luster to help her escape. After all, she assumed that Luster would've already done something to help if she was ever going to.

A few days later, Arceus was proven wrong.

Up until now, Headmare Starlight had still been providing her shield to Arceus for the weekly Releasing. Even the headmare understood how important the Releasing was. When Arceus let out so many little microscopic amounts of her magic during it, it gave her a kind of freedom that she couldn't have without it. If she didn't do it, there was a large likelihood of Arceus losing control while sleeping or while feeling even the smallest bit of emotion, and Arceus assumed that Headmare Starlight knew that even a unicorn as powerful as herself couldn't hope to shield Arceus twenty-four seven.

However, one day, after a few more unanswered questions and an eye exam that clearly didn't help the headmare at all, Headmare Starlight finally gave in.

"That's it! I'm done with this! This is the last straw! We need to come up with a different plan," Headmare Starlight announced to Luster Dawn. Luster looked exhausted. Since she had classes during the day, Headmare Starlight had made Arceus's sessions at night so that Luster could be there. But, as a result, Luster was always exhausted by the end.

"What do you mean?" Luster asked sleepily.

"I've been too gentle with her. It's time to take extreme measures." At that, Luster's exhaustion suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a look of utter disbelief.

"Too gentle?! What more would you even do?" Luster asked.

Headmare Starlight turned towards Arceus.

"Your next Releasing is tommorow?" she asked. Arceus remained silent. She knew by now that saying anything at all would only encourage Headmare Starlight.

"We're skipping it," Headmare Starlight said casually.

"What?!" Arceus screamed, immediately forgetting her own 'no talking' rule. She tried to jump out of her chair, but was unable due to the ropes. Luster looked panicked as well, but on a much smaller scale.

"But Headmare Starlight, wouldn't the lack of release cause an unstable overload and quite possibly fester into an uncontrollable force which would destroy the whole school and everything in it as well as-" Headmare Starlight grabbed her head with her hoof as she interrupted Luster's babbling.

"Luster, please stop. You're giving me a headache."

Luster looked deeply annoyed.

"You do realize that you would die with me if I lost control, right?" Arceus asked angrily.

"At least I would die for a good cause." Arceus's eyebrows rose practically to the top of her head.

"Are you serious? What about your students?" Headmare Starlight looked down at the ground solemnly.

“It would be for the greater good.”

Arceus should’ve seen this coming. She should’ve known that it was only a matter of time. She had to get out of here now. She could probably find another unicorn with a strong enough shield to withstand the Releasing, but even if she couldn’t, she could at least find a secluded place to stay where she couldn’t hurt anypony. But how could she possibly escape? She couldn’t get past Headmare Starlight’s magical lock in her bedroom, and she didn’t see any way that she could escape while she was tied to this chair.

“Headmare, with all due respect, I really don’t think that skipping the Releasing is a good idea,” Luster said cautiously. Headmare Starlight looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Look, either you’re with me, or you’re against me. You’re a smart young mare, Luster. I trust you, and I’d like to have you with me, but don’t think for a moment that I need you for any of this. So, are you with me, or against me?”

Luster Dawn turned her eyes to the floor and bit her lip, looking conflicted. She flicked her eyes towards Arceus for a split second, then looked back to the carpet.

“I’m with you,” Luster finally answered. Headmare Starlight smiled.

“Good. Now, I think we’re done for tonight. You may go.” The headmare was about to teleport Arceus back to her room.

“Wait! Can I um… Talk to her for a moment alone please? I uh… I think I might be able to get through to her one on one. I know we already tried that, but I’ve had some time to… Think more about my persuasive strategies,” Luster said. Headmare Starlight narrowed her eyes at Luster for a moment, seemingly suspicious, before shrugging it off and nodding.

“Fine. I’ll be back to send her to her room in two minutes. I’ll be right outside the door.” The headmare then followed through with her statement, and left the room.

Arceus and Luster Dawn looked at each other for a moment, Luster looking embarrassed and Arceus looking very confused. Luster was seemingly waiting for Arceus to say something. Arceus did not oblige. A moment later, Luster sighed and gave up, walking towards Arceus’s chair until she was just a few feet away.

“Look, I don’t like you, and I don’t understand why you won’t just show us the full extent of your magic, but… No one deserves to be treated the way that Headmare Starlight has been treating you, and it’s not right of her to put the school at risk, so… I’m going to help you get out of here,” Luster Dawn announced. Arceus could barely believe her ears.

“But you… When did… How would you even do that?” Arceus asked, struggling to verbalize her thoughts. Luster visibly cringed.

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet,” Luster admitted. Arceus’s mouth dropped open.

“What do you mean, ‘you haven’t quite figured that out yet’?!”

“Hey! You’re in no position to judge me! I’m the one who’s risking my education to get you out of here!”

“How can you guarantee that if you don’t even have a plan?!”

Luster made a strangled, angry noise in her throat, and her face turned from pink to red.

“I’ll have you know that I-”

Headmare Starlight opened the door and walked back in. A moment of silence passed.

“Well?” the headmare inquired. Luster quickly regained her calm.

“It um… Didn’t work,” Luster answered. Headmare Starlight rolled her eyes.

“I’m shocked,” she said sarcastically. “Now this session is over. I have important things to attend to before bed.”

The headmare turned around and was walking towards the door as her horn lit up to indicate that she was using a teleportation spell. It was a statement that demonstrated what a powerful unicorn she was. Only incredibly elite unicorns could teleport somepony without looking at them.

Just as Arceus was fading out of the office, she lipped the words, ‘Thank you’ to Luster Dawn. As idiotic as Luster’s poor planning was, she didn’t want to go back to the isolation of her room without Luster knowing that she appreciated her effort. Arceus wasn’t in the headmare’s office long enough to know for sure, but she was pretty sure that Luster smiled in response.

A moment later, Arceus was back in the room that had been her prison for the past three and a half weeks. She walked over to her bed and practically fell onto it, staring up at the ceiling. Mew jumped up onto the bed as well and curled up a few inches from Arceus’s face.

“I hope Luster knows what she’s doing,” she said into her beloved cat’s big blue eyes.

“If whatever plan she comes up with doesn’t work, I don’t know what we’re going to do…”

Author's Note

Hi again! I know some of you are probably a little upset that Starlight is portrayed as such a strong antagonist, but I promise that she has an explanation for her behavior. It will be revealed in this story, but it might be a while before that happens. As usual, I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, please leave a thumbs up, and feel free to comment with your critiques, speculation, and whatever else you'd like to say. (As long as it's appropriate.) Thanks for reading! :pinkiehappy:

Escape

Arceus finished packing up her things. She knew that Headmare Starlight was going to teleport her to her office in just a few minutes, and if Luster Dawn was truly going to help Arceus escape, she had a feeling that she wouldn’t have time to pack.

Then again, Luster might not even be breaking her out today. It was only yesterday that she said she would, so for all Arceus knew, it could still be a few more days. But, it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

A minute later, she disappeared from her bedroom, and reappeared in her roped-up chair in Headmare Starlight’s office. This time, instead of waiting a minute for Luster Dawn to get there and then starting, Luster was already there speaking to the headmare when Arceus was teleported there. Headmare Starlight didn’t bother to make eye-contact with Arceus, but Luster did.

Luster looked nervous, to the point that she was sweating a bit. Oh no. Arceus hoped that this wasn’t her attempt to help Arceus escape. There was no way Luster would be able to get Arceus past the headmare with that face.

“I’m just saying that maybe she would be more susceptible if she were talking to me one-on-one outside ofthis room, than talking to me one-on-one inside this room,” Luster said. Arceus was pretty sure that she couldn’t be any more obvious if she tried. Sure enough, when Arceus looked, she saw that the headmare did in fact look very skeptical.

“That may be true, but allowing her to set hoof in a place besides her suite or this office would break the cycle that we have created,” Headmare Starlight said. Arceus and Luster both cringed at the word ‘we’. Luster may have had more control over the situation than Arceus, but she certainly didn’t create this horrible cycle.

“Perhaps breaking the cycle could be a good thing? It could jump-start a fresh mindset in which she feels more comfortable around us,” Luster suggested. It would have sounded convincing, but she was so openly nervous that Arceus feared that Headmare Starlight would expose her any second for attempting to help Arceus escape.

To Arceus’s surprise, the headmare actually considered it for a minute.

“I see what you’re saying, and perhaps we’ll try it eventually, but for now it’s not worth the risk. I’m hoping that skipping the Releasing today will be enough,” Headmare Starlight said. Arceus was pretty disappointed by that, but Luster didn’t give up.

“But-”

Knock knock. Luster was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. The headmare was quite irritated.

Headmare Starlight cracked open the door open just a bit to take down the magical sound-proofing barrier. The light blue eyes, navy hair, and white coat of a kirin came into view. Arceus immediately recognized her as Winter Willow, the kirin from her first day at The School of Friendship. Sadly, Arceus’s chair was positioned just right so that Arceus could see Winter, but Winter couldn’t see Arceus. Headmare Starlight sighed.

“Hello Winter Willow. What do you need?” Headmare Starlight asked, faking politeness. Winter Willow stared at the headmare a bit angrily.

“I think you know exactly why I’m back,” Winter said. That got Arceus’s attention. Back? She’d been there before?

“Ah yes. Well I’m really quite busy at the moment, so if you wouldn’t mind just coming back another time,” the headmare said before slamming the door in her face. Luster looked almost as curious as Arceus felt.

Knock knock knock. Headmare Starlight groaned and opened the door back up, probably preparing to give Winter Willow detention.

“I brought somepony with me to talk to you this time,” Winter Willow said with a grin. Headmare Starlight opened the door a bit wider, and Arceus was shocked by the pony that she saw standing next to Winter Willow. Headmare Starlight tried not to show any signs of surprise, but her eyes widened just a bit at the unexpected guest.

“Starcatcher. What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?” Headmare Starlight asked. Arceus thought that was a very good question. What was he doing here?

Starcatcher was silent for a moment, looking a bit nervous. Winter Willow elbowed him in the side, which prodded him to speak.

“Winter Willow has recently informed me of some… Discrepancies with your story of why Arceus left and where she is. I simply want to discuss them civilly with you before I speak with my father, Prince Blueblood about them,” Starcatcher said. Well he’d straightened up his act abnormally quickly. The last time she’d seen him, he’d made it very clear that his interest in her was entirely professional. She supposed that he could just be asking Headmare Starlight about her purely for political purposes, but it seemed unlikely, and frankly, she didn’t really want to believe that.

Headmare Starlight noticed his slight emphasis on ‘prince’, and raised her eyebrows a bit.

“Very well. May we speak in the hall?” Headmare Starlight asked. Starcatcher hesitated before responding.

“As a matter of fact, we cannot. Does it not strike you as inappropriate to refuse royalty access to your office?” he asked. Calling himself royalty was a stretch. Sure, his official title was Duke Starcatcher, but since his mom hadn’t had much of a social standing, nopony really referred to him as such. Headmare Starlight was cornered. She smiled at Starcatcher and Winter Willow falsely.

“Fine. One moment please.” Then, she slammed the door in their faces. Arceus assumed that the headmare would teleport Arceus back to her room, but Luster had apparently seen an opportunity.

“This is the perfect chance. You can just teleport us a little down the hall from where Starcatcher is, let him in, and I’ll keep an eye on her while you’re talking to him. It’ll only be for as long as you’re talking, so probably just a few minutes. I… Really think it could make a big difference towards her… State of mind,” Luster said. She sounded more convincing now than before, but Arceus could still tell that she was lying. Headmare Starlight nodded begrudgingly.

“Okay then. You keep a very close eye on her, understand? I can cast some sort of spell to prevent her from getting away?”

“No! I mean uh… No thank you. It’ll be fine,” Luster replied.

“Very well," said Headmare Starlight. Her horn started to glow, and Luster and Arceus were teleported to the corner of the hall directly outside the headmare’s office, just outside the view of Starcatcher and Winter Willow. A moment later, Headmare Starlight opened the door to her office and let them in. A thought suddenly occurred to Arceus.

"Did you plan that?" she asked Luster. Luster looked back at her, shock apparent on her face.

"No." Then, Luster shook her head to clear it, and gestured with her hoof for Arceus to follow her.

"Come on. We only have a few minutes. We need to run," Luster explained, just as she started running down the next hall. Arceus didn't follow, and after a second or so, Luster turned back around to see why.

"What's wrong?" Luster asked.

It was a stupid thought, and there was a good chance that it could get her into trouble, but Arceus couldn't help it: Was she really going to just leave Starcatcher with a mare whom Arceus knew for a fact was evil? Could she really risk something happening to him or even Winter Willow, purely to get away herself? They were clearly questioning a lie that Headmare Starlight had been very adamant about, and although the headmare needed Arceus for her plan, she didn't need Starcatcher or Winter Willow. Who knew what Headmare Starlight would do to them?

Arceus was still pretty angry about what Starcatcher had said the last time they'd spoken. The disgust on his face at the idea of anything more than a political alliance between them, his convenient loss of memory to the last letter he'd sent her about saying he needed to tell her something important. She was still angry about all of it.

But five minutes of heartbreak didn't erase the last two years of their pen pal relationship. Five minutes couldn't erase the fact that even though she didn't want to, she still cared about him.

“I can’t leave yet. I have to make sure they're okay,” Arceus decided aloud. Luster looked at Arceus like she was insane.

“What? I basically let go of any hope I might’ve had about finishing school and taint my reputation of never going against a teacher, and you’re willing to throw all of it away on a stuck-up duke and some random kirin?” Luster asked angrily.

“Some random kirin? That ‘random kirin’ just helped save us! Your plan never would have worked without them. And Starcatcher is not just a stuck-up duke. There’s more to him than that,” Arceus said. Luster rolled her eyes at that last part.

“So you’re risking blowing up the entire school because you have a stupid schoolpony crush on Starcatcher? I didn’t realize that you were one of those mares,” Luster said. Arceus huffed.

“Look, you can run if you want to, but I’m staying. I’m just going to crack open the door, and make sure that Headmare Starlight isn’t hurting them,” Arceus said. She started running towards the door to Headmare Starlight’s office. After a moment, Luster groaned quietly and followed.

“What if it’s locked? Did you think of that?” Luster asked as they arrived at the door.

“Well there’s only one way to find out if it is,” Arceus said as she took hold of the door handle. She started to twist it, and sure enough, it was unlocked. Arceus cracked it open ever so slightly and peeked in. Headmare Starlight was sitting at her desk, and Starcatcher faced her from the other side. Arceus couldn’t see Winter Willow.

Headmare Starlight’s face looked far more smug than it had when she’d first seen Starcatcher, and it made Arceus very uncomfortable.

“Tell me Starcatcher, what is your mother’s middle name again?” Headmare Starlight asked casually. Arceus noticed a flicker of fear in Starcatcher’s demeanor, but he hid it well.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t change the subject, Headmare. Perhaps we should get right down to business. So, where are you hiding Arceus?” he asked. The headmare just smiled at him.

“I think this conversation is over,” Headmare Starlight said. Her horn started to glow, and Arceus jumped into the room, unsure what she needed to do, but aware that she had to do something. But, she never got the chance.

Arceus barged into the room just in time to see Winter Willow jump out from behind the headmare, and slam a trophy into the back of Headmare Starlight’s head. The headmare was knocked out cold.

Author's Note

Hey again! I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, leave a thumbs up, and feel free to comment.

And if you want more info on how Moondancer and Prince Blueblood became a couple, make sure to read one of my other stories, The Truth Spell (linked below) to learn a bit more about the love story of Starcatcher's parents.

See you in the next chapter! (If you keep reading of course)

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/468209/the-truth-spell

Hiding Place

Arceus stared at the scene in front of her incredulously. A moment later, both Winter Willow and Starcatcher turned to look at her and Luster, who had just peeked her head into the room.

“Arceus,” Starcatcher breathed as Luster gasped at the headmare’s unconscious body. Arceus stared at Starcatcher.

She was sure she looked like an idiot just staring into the eyes of the stallion that had rejected her only a few weeks prior, but believe it or not, she wasn’t staring at him because she had feelings for him. Well, at least that wasn’t the main reason that she was staring at him. She had this sneaking suspicion that he was different somehow. He had the same cream-colored coat, blue mane with purple tips, and fiery red eyes, but there was something that wasn’t quite right. His expression looked much more compassionate than it had before. That was for sure. But that wasn’t it either. She felt as if it was right under her nose, but she still couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.

“You!” Luster said, looking at Winter Willow accusingly. “You attacked the headmare!” she said, horrified. Winter looked a bit shameful.

“I wish I could’ve done something less violent, but she was probably about to attack us, and obviously she’s not a good pony. I don’t know what she’s been doing to Arceus, but there’s no way it’s good,” Winter said. Arceus finally tore her eyes away from Starcatcher, though he was still looking at her.

“What is going on?” Arceus asked no one in particular. “Why did-”

“There’s no time,” Starcatcher interrupted. “We need to get you away from here. Who knows when Starlight will wake up. When she does, you shouldn’t be here to see it.”

“But-”

“You’re right,” Luster said, interrupting Arceus. “We need to get out now. We can figure this out when we’ve gotten somewhere safe,” she announced. She began to run off.

“Okay then,” Winter said, following after a moment of hesitation. Arceus and Starcatcher were left alone for a moment before he looked at the floor regretfully for a moment, and then followed the others. Arceus ran out the door too, shutting it behind her. Once she was out, it took her a moment to catch up to the others. When she did, she mustered up as much breath control as she could in order to speak.

“Wait!” Arceus called to everypony. Everypony pretended like they didn’t hear her, which was quite ironic since she was the one they were breaking out. Well actually Starcatcher turned his head toward her, but he still didn’t stop running.

“What?” he asked.

“Well first of all, where are we going?” Arceus asked.

“The Crystal Caves,” Luster said.

“Away from here,” Winter Willow said at the same time. She flushed in embarrassment when she heard Luster’s much more viable answer.

“That works too,” Winter mumbled.

“We need to make a stop first,” Arceus said urgently.

“Why?” they all called back in unison, still running.

“I have things that I need to get from my room,” Arceus said vaguely.

“What could be so important that we risk answering to Headmare Starlight? I mean, obviously I would never knock out a teacher, but she’s definitely going to blame me at least partially for that. Not to mention helping you escape. There’s no way I’m risking her finding me so you can get some unnecessary garbage from your room!” Luster said. Arceus couldn’t see Winter Willow’s face since she was running behind her, but she could tell by Starcatcher’s weary look in Winter’s direction that she didn’t take the knocking-out-a-teacher comment very well.

After considering Luster’s question, Arceus supposed that keeping her pet-smuggling secret was the least of her worries at the moment.

“I may have sort of smuggled my cat into the school,” Arceus admitted guiltily.

“What?!” Luster said loudly. “That’s against the rules!” she preached.

“Um, I’m all for taking care of animals, but I don’t think this is a good time to try to break into a magically sealed room,” Winter Willow said, trying her best to be polite.

“But I can’t just leave her there all alone!” Arceus exclaimed.

“You talk about your cat like it’s some mythical god or something. It’s just a cat! It’s not the end of the world,” Luster said irritatedly. Arceus was too offended to speak.

“I think if you had been confined to your house for sixteen years with no one but your parents, you would’ve treasured your cat too.”

Arceus was surprised to notice that the statement hadn’t come from her mouth. It was exactly what she’d been thinking, but Starctacher had said it. This was starting to get really weird. He hadn’t even remembered their most recent conversation the last time she’d talked to Starcatcher properly, and now he remembered something they’d corresponded about almost a year ago? There had to be something going on there, but Arceus hadn’t the slightest idea of what it could be.

Luster said nothing in response to Starcatcher’s comment.

“Arceus, we’ll find a way to come back for your cat later, but I can’t think of any way we can do that now. We need time to figure out what we’re going to do first,” Winter said pityingly. After a moment of thought, Arceus sighed sadly.

“Fine, but I’m not leaving her forever. The poor thing doesn’t have any food,” Arceus said worriedly. Arceus could’ve sworn she heard hoofsteps and saw something red and frizzy flit through a nearby hallway, but there was no way that could’ve been. After all, wouldn’t the pony have confronted them if they’d witnessed them running as fast as they could through the halls?

The group stayed silent for a while, starting to get tired from running so long.

“So, am I the only one who has no idea what The Crystal Caves are?” Arceus asked. “Or how far they are?” she added after thinking about the long time they’d been running through the school. Luster looked at Winter and Starcatcher questioningly. They nodded their heads.

“Yes,” Luster said matter-of-factly.

“It’s not just you. Most ponies don’t know about them. The easiest way to get to them is through the library, which just happens to be on the opposite side of the school as the headmare’s office,” Starcatcher elaborated. Arceus was a bit confused.

“But if not many ponies know about them, how do all of you?” Arceus asked them.

“I read a complete history of this school as soon as Princess Twilight recommended me here,” Luster said proudly.

“My b- I mean, my parents told me,” Starcatcher said. Arceus wondered what he was going to say originally, but decided not to ask. Arceus and Luster looked at Winter Willow, awaiting her explanation.

“He told me,” she said with a shrug, obviously referring to Starcatcher. Finally, the group approached the library doors. After Luster opened them so delicately that you’d think she was afraid they would break, they walked into the library, going to a specific spot near the back corner, where Luster sat down and began to feel the tiles with her hooves.

“Around two decades ago, when Princess Twilight and The Friendship Counsel were first establishing this school, some students discovered caverns under the school filled with crystals. The caves were created by the legendary Tree of Harmony. They were a magical place, where illusions were as vivid as real life, and they engulfed many that entered.

“When the Tree died, the caves lost their magical properties. The Tree had protected the caves from erosion and serious rodent settlements. Without those protections, the caves grew wild and dangerous.” After Luster finished her speech, she finally found the tile she was looking for, and then used her magic to pull it out of the floor. Beneath it, Arceus could see nothing but darkness. Luster began to stick her first hoof in.

“Wait!” Arceus interjected. “Why in Equestriaare we hiding in these caves if they’re wild and dangerous?” Arceus asked. Luster rolled her eyes.

“Where else are we going to go? Headmare Starlight put a spell on everypony in the school to prevent us from getting to your parents’ cottage, Starcatcher’s parents are politicians, - so obviously we can’t trust them - and clearly the kirin isn’t from around here, so we can’t really stay at her place either.”

“Racist much,” Winter muttered to herself a bit too loudly. Luster glared at her.

“I’m just saying that not all non-ponies are immigrants!” Winter said. Luster raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe I’m an immigrant, but that doesn’t mean anything! And you didn’t say why you can’t house us for a while!”

“First of all, the only thing you need to know is that I can’t, okay? And second, there is no us. I’m protecting Arceus to keep her from being tortured. You two are on your own,” Luster said. Winter Willow got angry. Very angry. Starcatcher widened his eyes in fright, and tried to calm Winter down, but it was no use.

“Are you serious? We help you, and you’re just going to ditch us?!” Winter’s voice got more and more monster-like as she spoke, and then she transformed.

Her pure white coat turned pitch black, her eyes started to glow, and her mane turned into pure fire. She had turned into a nirik.

“Who do you think you are?!” Winter screamed. Luster looked terrified, silenced by the shock. Starcatcher was still trying to calm Winter down, but she ignored him. So suddenly that Arceus jumped, an alarm sounded, and water sprayed down on everypony. Winter Willow had set off the magical fire alarm with her fiery mane. The walls of the schools were soundproof, but they weren’t fire-proof, and any minute now, students would evacuate, and teachers would search for the source of the fire.

“Winter! I know you’re angry, but we have to get to the caves now!” Starcatcher said. Winter looked at Starcatcher.

“Don’t tell me what to do! You’re just like this idiot of a unicorn! You get me entwined with your complicated life, and you just expect me to keep all of your secrets and risk everything for whatever you want! And what do I get for my efforts? Nothing!”

Starcatcher looked truly saddened by this proclamation, and Arceus found herself wondering if the two of them had a romantic relationship. She hated the speck of jealousy she felt just thinking about it. Now was not the time to be thinking about romance.

Starcatcher blinked back a few tears.

“I’m sorry, Winter. You don’t have to be a part of this if you don’t want to. I know that none of this has anything to do with you. It was my idea, and you got caught in the crossfire. Headmare Starlight didn’t actually see who hit her. She might believe that I used magic to do it if you go back and tell her that,” he said.

Was Arceus incorrectly remembering the way he’d treated her the last time they’d spoken? This stallion standing before her was exactly how she’d imagined Starcatcher to be like in real life, while the last time she’d interacted with him, he’d been a huge disappointment.

After hearing Starcatcher say that, Winter Willow started to cool off, going back to her kirin form.

“No,” Winter started. “I got myself into this mess with you ponies, and you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She took a moment to look at Luster. “You’re not getting rid of either of us that easily. Whether youlike it or not,” she added. Arceus looked at Starcatcher and noticed that he was already looking at her. He flushed a bit, and looked away. It seemed cute to Arceus, but there was something hidden beneath it. It almost looked like… Guilt?

“I suppose we ought to-” Starcatcher was interrupted by the doors to the library opening. Arceus heard footsteps from the entrance. The whole group froze in place. Luster was the first to break through the initial shock. She nodded towards the cave entrance, and jumped in. Great. Now Arceus was going to have to deal with spiders, roaches, bats, and who knew what else? Arceus jumped in.

The drop wasn’t as far as it looked, and her landing didn’t leave her with more than maybe a small bruise here and there. She managed to get out of the way before Starcatcher jumped in, followed by Winter Willow. Luster used her magic to move the tile back into place.

The cave was pitch-black. Arceus couldn’t distinguish a single thing, but that didn’t stop her imagination from deciding what was there. There could have been hundreds of blood-sucking bats hanging from the ceiling, just a whisper away from waking. There could have been thick spider webs stretching across everything, holding poor creatures who were unlucky enough to be caught. There even could have been-

Arceus’s thoughts were cut off when Luster lit up her horn. It illuminated the tunnel that they were currently in very well. What Arceus saw within the cave was certainly nothing like she’d imagined. It was empty.

Not empty as in ‘it had plenty of empty space’. It was eerily empty. There were walls made of rock, earth, and crystal, but they had nothing on them or between them. It wasn't even dusty! Everything looked clean.

“Is it just me, or does it smell like cleaning supplies in here?” Winter asked. Now that she said it, Arceus did smell cleaning supplies, along with a subtle scent of something else.

“I smell it too. But there’s another smell. Is that… Pizza?” Arceus asked confusedly.

“As little sense as that makes, I think you’re right. I wonder if they’ll refund me for that book. It was advertised to be high-quality, up to date, and-” Luster stopped mid-sentence, looking at a spot on the floor of the cave. She walked up to it, and levitated something off the floor with her magic to get a closer look.

Clearly Luster was a very powerful unicorn. To be able to use a light spell and a levitation spell at the same time took quite a bit of skill.

“What is this?” Luster asked confusedly, still looking at her finding.

It was a very small piece of paper-like fabric that was bright green. Arceus, Starcatcher, and Winter Willow walked over to Luster to see it for themselves.

“Confetti?” Winter said uncertainly.

“I knew that,” Luster muttered unconvincingly. Arceus smelled the tiny piece of fabric.

“Pizza scented confetti? Where would you even get that?” Arceus wondered allowed.

Creak!

“Please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was,” Starcatcher said.

Creak!

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it was,” Winter Willow said. They didn’t need to explain what they were talking about. The tile that covered the entrance to the caves was moving. Somepony had found them.

“What are you waiting for? Hide!” Luster commanded. But it was too late. The tile was finally lifted up properly and thrown to the side roughly. Light showered the group as two ponies stared down at them.

Author's Note

Hi again!

You probably noticed that this chapter had quite a few mysteries, and although I will be answering them later in the story, I'd love to see what you guys think is going on. I'll be giving a shout-out in the Author's Notes to anyone who guesses correctly. Please note that I won't confirm or deny anyone's theories until I confirm or deny it in the actual story, so if you're right, it may be a few chapters before you see it in the Author's Notes.

Thanks for reading! If you like this story, make sure to leave a thumbs up, and feel free to comment with your thoughts.