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