Starlight Glimmer was six years old when she first understood fear.

The specifics of the memory had turned murky with the passing of time, but even now, as she stared into the flickering shadows, Starlight could still remember the singular feeling that everything was wrong.

It was an especially stormy night. Lightning flashes transformed shaking tree branches into shadowy talons on the bedroom wall. Buckets of rain pounded the roof, howling winds shook the windows, and one small girl shuddered in a space between dreams and waking.

Normally, sleep came easily to the young girl; so full of energy was she that by the time she finished bouncing off the walls for the day, she fell headfirst into dreamland as soon as her mother tucked her in. Now she lay awake; eyes shut tight against the darkness of her room.

She’d been put to bed early because tomorrow was the last Monday of first grade, and Starlight had struggled to sit still all through the year. She’d been reprimanded twice for it. The fear of bad grades and letting her parents down had already been sown into her young mind, ready to blossom into an obsession that would sap the joy out of her entire school career.

But school wasn’t the only thing eating at Starlight Glimmer that night. Only an hour earlier, she had groggily scampered to the bathroom across the hall.

She had heard a noise. Something like a nail being hammered into place. A sound that sent her scurrying back to bed, searching desperately for a peaceful sleep despite the chaos all around her.

The scratching of the branches at Starlight’s window, the approach of the last week of her first school year, and the raging confusion of the stormy night curdled into bald terror.

A horrible nightmare bounced around Starlight’s skull, matched by the child’s frantic heartbeat. She shot up in bed, shivering with fright.

There it was again. A persistent, rhythmic thumping, like old knucklebones against a door. The hammer in her head.

The old tree outside spoke in rattling whispers. It gossiped with the grandfather clock about how bad of a child Starlight was, how she ought to be chained to her desk. Soon those dark murmurs rose with the wind into a howl that rattled Starlight to her core.

She couldn’t cover her ears; she couldn’t cry out; she couldn’t move at all.

Somewhere that was nowhere, something shattered, and there was yelling. The thumping stopped.

Movement, shouts, and whispers swarmed around Starlight. The world was wrong, and Starlight didn't belong in it. She felt she was being lifted up by a foul wind, soon to be dragged out into the rain, scattered like leaves in the storm.

Starlight screamed, the sort of painfully high, eardrum-jostling squeal that only young girls can summon.

“Starlight, what’s wrong?” Said a sanctuary of a voice. A tender hand touched Starlight’s cheek, banishing the paralysis as if it were some fairytale curse.

“I had a bad dream! I’m…I’m scared!” Starlight squeaked.

Starlight’s mother Glitterdawn was a picture of new money beauty. Her skin was a blue as bright and pale as fine china. At this late hour, her wavy, dark purple hair was frazzled, and her twinkling sapphire eyes were puffy and red. Instead of the walking image of poise, Glitterdawn looked like the “before” picture in a cheap beauty magazine, but Starlight didn’t notice. She was still catching her breath.

“What are you scared of, Starlight? Is it that big tree again? I keep telling your father to get that thing pruned properly.” Glitterdawn said, staring through the window at the scary night as if to scold it.

“Am I a good girl?” Starlight said.

Glitterdawn frowned the same way Starlight’s teacher had frowned at her homework. Something was fundamentally incorrect in what she had asked, and Starlight cringed into the covers, expecting some terse remediation.

“Starlight Glimmer, has someone told you that you’re a bad girl?” Glitterdawn said slowly.

“No…” Starlight said.

“Then let me tell you, you are the brightest little girl to ever walk the streets of Sire’s Hollow. The sweetest and the warmest and the brightest, and anyone can see all of that with just a look in your pretty blue eyes.” Glitterdawn said, tapping Starlight’s nose with a smile.

“Really?” Starlight said.

“I knew it the second you were born. I knew you were going to rise into the sky and shine brighter than everyone around you. That’s why I named you my little Starlight.” Glitterdawn said. The sublime confidence in her tone turned the words into gospel.

Starlight giggled as Glitterdawn tickled her and tucked her back in. A matronly kiss on the forehead banished all the nightmares.

“Now, get some rest. Even stars need to sleep.”

“But Mom, what if the bad dreams come back?”

The bedroom door creaked, letting a thin slice of light from the hallway enter the room. Glitterdawn glared at the ajar door, but when Starlight glanced over, she didn’t see anyone. Glitterdawn turned Starlight’s cheek back towards her and stroked her daughter’s hair.

“I’ll stay here and make sure you’re safe. If any bad dreams come into your room, I’ll swat them all away like bugs in the woods.”

“Do you mean it?”

“I’ll be right here with you, Starlight. I promise.” Glitterdawn laid down next to Starlight and held her tight. There would be no more bad dreams that night, but Starlight knew something was wrong. Something fundamental and just outside of her understanding. It would take her years to understand, but as she drifted to sleep in her mother’s arms, a quiet unease was planted in her heart. It was only a matter of time before that feeling grew into a nightmare of its own.

After a few seconds of trying to figure out what she was staring at on the cave wall, Buck snapped his fingers in front of Starlight Glimmer’s face.

“Glimglam? Y’alright?” Buck said.

“Huh?” Starlight blinked.

“I’m askin’ if you’re alright? You said you grew up in a place called Sire’s Hollow, and then you just kind of zonked out on me for like four months.

“What!?” Starlight glanced at her phone, then rolled her eyes. “It’s only been a few minutes. Don’t rush me!”

“Uh, sure.” Buck shrugged. “Take your time, I guess.”

“No, I will not take my time! I’m stuck in here reading my memoirs to you while Sunburst could be out there fighting for his life!”

“Adagio, too.”

“Whatever. I’m trying to figure out the best way to explain all this. Give me a minute.”

“Cool, cool. I’m listening.”

“I hope so. I don’t want to talk about this again. I don’t really want to talk about it right now, honestly. Can’t we just skip to the part where we make up and get on with our lives?” Starlight tried.

Buck frowned and gestured to the little red bonfire. It was flickering like a candle, barely holding together, and beyond its glow was nothing but the darkness of the cave.

“No can do, Glimglam. I gotta care about you for my steez to work. Apparently. All I know about you right now is that you talk a lot of shit and do violence to magical creatures. I can’t care if I don’t understand your beef, and right now, the beef's all I got.”

As Buck spoke, he pointed to his bruised left eye and the bloody scratches on his clothes. Starlight wasn't sure if he'd gotten roughed up from the skirmishes with the changelings or the fistfight that they'd had, wondering if there was even a difference. He was down here because of her. Every single ounce of this was her fault for bringing him.

“Ughhhh…!” Starlight’s hands went to her face. “Why can’t the magic in this world make sense?"

"I'unno, it kinda makes sense to me. I'm startin' to think that like 90% of magical problems are just therapy questions." Buck said, scratching his chin.

"The books say how it works on the other side, but everything around here is just so…!”

“Wibbly-wobbly?”

“Unpredictable! When I do magic, it’s just a basic equation! Point, think, shoot! I just focus, and it does what I need it to do. I mean, I have to take it from somewhere, and it can go wrong, it can always go wrong, but yours is just this huge mess, and I’m trying really hard to make it work, but-”

“Speakin’ to the choir there, Glimglam.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“I will when you stop trying to control everything and just tell me what your problem is!”

“I’m TRYING! My past is just…it's really painful.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I know a thing or two about sad backstories, believe me.” Buck said.

“Save it. Just let me concentrate.” Starlight snapped. She shut her eyes and crossed her arms, waiting for an epiphany. She instead found nothing but angst, anger, and more regret than she had any idea what to do with. It all seemed equally horrible, so she sighed and opened her eyes.

“I guess my problems started when I was young.”

“They usually do.”

“Are you going to make commentary the whole time?”

“I mean, I can stop if you want me to.”

“Please do. I’m begging you to let me focus.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll shut the fuck up. Go on.” Buck said.

Starlight noticed the red flame on the ground between them diminish just a bit more. She took a deep breath and took an uncomfortable step into the too-warm kiddie pool that was her childhood.

Sire’s Hollow was a gleaming gated community sitting in a broad valley. Starlight hid it in her memories the way one hides the supplies of a long-neglected hobby; it was out of sight more for her own sake than anyone else's.

Starlight recalled the summers least fondly of all. The sun would bake the wide, sidewalkless blacktop and reflect off the gleaming vintage cars directly into the eyes of anyone passing by. Because of the hills surrounding the place, it was hard to find a breeze anywhere in Sire’s Hollow, so residents would fry like eggs in a pan if they stayed out for too long.
It didn’t much matter to Starlight. Since her parents treated her like a porcelain doll, she only got to risk the summer heat with a chaperone.

When she wasn’t being made to cram her way through the school week, Glimmerdawn would trot Starlight from door to door as she collected signatures for the philanthropic endeavor of the season. It was either that or sit around listening to her father's unbearable lectures about the lore of Sire's Hollow.

Starlight remembered when they rallied for a cause with a long acronym for a name, something about stable financial assistance, and how one particularly loud resident had rebuffed the initiative by saying, “If they want my income, they can come work for me instead of trying to steal it from my pocket!” That spray of bile and spittle was followed by a slamming door. Starlight could remember the clipboard creaking in her mother’s hand. It was the fifth remark of that nature they’d heard in the last two hours.

It was just as they got home when Starlight Glimmer drummed up the courage to ask.

“Mom?”

“Starlight.”

“Why do we keep trying to get names from our neighbors if they don’t want to talk to us?”

And Glitterdawn turned from where she had been hunched over her desk, and her sour seething shifted into a smile that was too tired to be dishonest.

“Because they’ve got it in their heads that they don’t have to care. You know how Sire’s Hollow is nice and clean, and you can get food whenever you want, and take baths and sleep in a nice, comfy bed?”

“Yes?”

“Not everyone can do that. The people here have a lot of money, but there are many, many more outside of Sire’s Hollow that don’t, and life is hard for them. The people here could help if they wanted to. That’s why we collect money and signatures.”

“But if they don’t want to…why do we keep trying?”

“Because someone has to. Someone has to care about helping people. It's a matter of principle. I’ll argue that until I’m blue in the face, because if I don’t, no one in the neighborhood will.”

“If people need help, can’t they just go and get it?”

Starlight saw anger pound on the door behind her mother’s eyes, but after a moment’s glance at the ceiling, she smiled tenderly once again.

“Sometimes, Starlight, bad things happen to good people, and there is nothing they can personally do about it. Those are the kinds of people I want to help!”

“But why?”

“Why? Because…life is unfair. Justice is a hard thing to come by in this world, but if I can help even one person and make their life just a little bit fairer, then I've made the world a better place. It's simply the right thing to do. Does that make sense?"

“I dunno…”

“You what?”

“I don’t know.” Starlight corrected.

“And that’s fine for now, Starlight. Just remember what I said, okay? You should always do the right thing, even when it's hard. Even when no one wants to listen, or help. Always do the right thing, and you'll make the world a better place.”

“Okay.”

“Pumpkie-wumpkin! Your little friend is here!” Called Starlight’s father from down the hall. Starlight twitched, almost charging out of the room before she caught herself and stood up straight.

“May I be excused?” Starlight said.

“You may,” Glitterdawn said.

Starlight scampered to the door but was stopped as her mother called out to her.

“Starlight, one more thing,” Glitterdawn said.

“Yes, Ma’am?” Starlight said.

“I love you!” Glitterdawn said.

And with her smile racing ahead of her feet, Starlight scampered down the stairs to the living room, where her best friend in the world was waiting.

Sunburst’s name said it all. Starlight was quickly growing into a child of dark thoughts, but it was impossible to be sad or angry when Sunburst was around. He was like a cool breeze in the summer, a warm sunbeam in the fall, a sudden break in the clouds when the weather got cold. Sunburst was a bright spot in Starlight’s troubled childhood, and they were absolutely inseparable.

“You’re super wrong,” Starlight said.

“Well, I think you’re wrong,” Sunburst said.

Starlight and Sunburst were kicking off their summer with their favorite game in the world; Dragon Pit. It was a board game with a chunky metal base and lots of moving parts. A plastic volcano in the center spat marble fireballs down tracks, trapping hapless dragon pieces in pitfalls as they raced to the caldera.

The two were neck-in-neck, their little plastic dragons on the perilous final stretch of the board, where the lava tracks crisscrossed. Starlight was just a bit ahead of Sunburst.

“There’s no way you’re going to make it! Your dragon is so getting trapped!” Starlight gloated.

“Unless…!” Sunburst said.

“Unless?”

“Unless I roll a six! Then it’s your dragon that’s going in the pit!” Sunburst said, shaking the dice in his hand. At thirteen years old, Sunburst was all knobbly limbs and thick glasses. An awkward bit of orange peach fuzz had sprouted from his chin, which he insisted was the beginning of a magnificent beard.

With all the confidence of a dedicated monopoly player, Sunburst rolled the dice. As the pair watched with rapt attention, it bounced across the table, rebounded off the metal base of the game, and finally came to a rest…on the number two.

Sunburst hung his head, moving his piece up two spaces…directly into the path of a fiery red marble. The board clicked, and a little trap door sent Sunburst’s token hurtling into the dark below.

“YES! Heeheehee!” Starlight giggled with glee, slapping the table so hard that the board flipped, spilling its tokens and pieces across the living room.

Sunburst and Starlight looked at each other and laughed. They laughed and laughed until the Goofy Movie soundtrack finished its run on the stereo. The living room was quiet as the hi-tech sound system clicked, rotating its lavish five-cd tray with a soft whirring noise. Where the Scooby-Doo soundtrack should’ve been playing, there was a loud ka-chunk as the machine stalled.

“Daaaaad! The CD changer is messed up again!” Starlight called out.

No answer.

Sunburst and Starlight looked at each other for a moment, and then curiosity turned to mischief in their eyes. If there was one thing the pair of them liked more than studying together, well, it was playing Dragon Pit, but solving little mysteries was a close third.

They’d many times cracked the case of the missing remote, they’d cleared a few lunchroom pokemon card capers, and they had even found a missing housecat that had gotten trapped in a storm drain on the edge of town.
In their own way, Sunburst and Starlight were like night and day, but when they worked together, they were unstoppable.

“Alright Sunburst, you take this floor, and I’ll go upstairs!”

“What? I don’t want to wander around your house alone!”

“Don’t be such a scaredy-cat, Sunburst!”

“But what if I knock something over? Like one of your Dad’s weird antiques or your Mom’s paperwork?”

“Okay, okay, fine. We’ll go upstairs together and work our way down! Geez.” Starlight sighed dramatically, but she grabbed Sunbursts’ hand. She didn’t know why she insisted on that at the time, but it seemed important somehow. Critical, even.

The pair crept up the stairs, ears trained for any disturbance. Starlight flinched as a board creaked under Sunbursts’ foot. He smiled bashfully as Starlight held a finger to her lips. She had heard something.

Starlight pressed herself against the wall, and with Sunburst just behind her, she sidled along until she was just past the grandfather clock, listening carefully.

Her parent’s bedroom was just a few feet away, and Starlight could hear a terse conversation coming from beneath the door. It was her mother, Glimmerdawn, and her father Firelight.

“I don’t care if it's a bad time; just sign the paper!” Glimmerdawn said.

“Now honey-” Firelight started.

“Don’t. Don’t you dare,” Glimmerdawn growled.

“Please keep your voice down, at least!” Firelight said.

They spoke a bit lower then, and Starlight wasn’t going to risk creeping any closer to the door. She moved back to the stairs with Sunburst in tow.

“What was that?” Sunburst said.

“They’re talking about something important, I think. Something about a paper. I couldn’t hear.”

“Ooh! I’ve got an idea!” Sunburst said, and he trotted down the stairs with a grin on his face. Starlight followed him back to the living room, where he was grabbing books off the shelves lining the wall.

“What’s your idea?”

“Help me stack these up! And, and these chairs!” Sunburst said.

“Okay? What are we doing?” Starlight said.

“Well, your parent’s room is right over this one, right?” Sunburst said.

“Yes?”

“Let’s build a sorta ladder thing, then you can climb up and put your ear to the ceiling! You can use this!” Sunburst said, holding out a glass that had previously contained juice.

“Sunburst, you’re a genius!” Starlight said.

“Aw geez, I don’t know about that!” Sunburst said, blushing. The kids worked in haste, not wanting to miss a moment of the secret rendezvous. In less than a minute, they had a precarious tower of chairs, couch cushions, and books built on top of the coffee table.

Sunburst did his best to hold the whole thing steady while Starlight perched on the top, listening intently through the glass.

“Glimmerdawn, be reasonable! Our little Starlight is about to go back to school; we can’t afford to drop this on her now; she needs all the help she can get. Let’s just wait until the end of the school year. Can we please just do that much? For our little Starlight?”

“How dare you. How dare you hide behind…you can dance around and make excuses all you want, but you need to take responsibility!” Glimmerdawn said.

“I took care of all of that ages ago!” Firelight said.

“By sending hush money to that little homewrecker of yours…!” Glimmerdawn hissed.

"What are they saying?” Sunburst said.

“Shh!” Starlight said.

“Don’t you think I’ve already spent enough money on this as it is? Now you want more?”

“It’s not about the money, Firelight!”

“I’m doing everything I can. If we could just calm down and-”

“No, you keep saying that and then doing nothing! For once in your life, face your problems like a man! I can’t keep pretending that…that this is working.”

The doorbell rang.

Starlight couldn’t be sure what she heard. She wasn’t dumb; she knew it was trouble. She also knew that she was in the center of it. There was no time to think. Someone was coming down the stairs, and so Starlight and Sunburst scrambled with the blazing speed of pre-teens to un-cobble their tower. Starlight hit the floor with a low thud while Sunburst caught falling books.

On the other side of the house, the door clicked open.

“Hello Stellar Flare. You’re in a good mood today!” Glimmerdawn said with practiced congeniality.

“Heloooo~ Glimmerdawn! I’m in a wonderful mood because today is a wonderful day! I just received some spectacular news about one of my plans!”

“You can badger the city council all you want, we aren’t letting you bulldoze the library. It’s a historical site.”

“It’s not about the library! Let’s just say I’ve got some traveling in mind!”

“Are you going to New Horseleans to try and scoop up flooded properties with the rest of the carpetbaggers?”
Starlight could nearly visualize the frown forming on Stellar Flare’s face. She was grabbing books now, tossing them to Sunburst, who was frantically sorting them back onto the shelves.

“Oh please, with all that water damage, think of the renovation rates! Talk about a sunk cost!” Stellar Flare laughed, stepping into the living room.

Stellar Flare was cosmetically carved like a classical renaissance statue, cut with fastidious detail and shockingly cold to behold, even when she laughed. She always looked like she was ready to bring hell to a service worker, poised to flex even the smallest modicum of control in any situation.

Starlight and Sunburst had just managed to sit where they were supposed to be around the coffee table, though they had left the book they’d been reading about reptiles upside down. If either of their parents noticed, they didn’t mention it.

“Mom! Hi! You’re here uh…early!” Sunburst said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.

“Oh, Sunburst, there you are! I just had to rush on over when I got the news! Look! You’ve been accepted!” Stellar Flare squealed, tossing an opened letter onto the coffee table.

“Is this…addressed to me? Did you open this?” Sunburst said.

“Details, Sunburst! Read what’s inside!” Stellar Flare said.

“Dear Sunburst, you are hereby cordially accepted into the Crystal Prep Young Scholar’s Study Program, where enterprising young minds like…yadda, yadda, yadda…which will give you the accommodation and tools you will need to build a brighter future with our greater suite of educational programs—Mom, I didn’t sign up for this!”

“Well, of course not! This program is cutting edge; it’s only been implemented in the last few years, and only a handful of students manage to make it in! I signed you up in January, and now you’re on the fast track to that Everton Independent Study Program you’re always talking about!”

“Mom, you can’t apply for Everton until you’re a sophomore in high school! I’m starting eighth grade in a month!”

“Not anymooore~! This program will put you in a special classroom with other brilliant minds attached to the Crystal Prep main campus!”

“All the way in Canterlot!?” Sunburst said.

“Exactly! Now, don’t worry about your packing process, I’ve already got a plan together that will put us right on schedule!” Stellar Flare said, pulling out a handheld computer.

“But what about school? What about…what about my friends?” Sunburst said, and his eyes immediately turned to Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight screamed in her own head not to start crying, but it was too late. She could feel a wet trail rolling down her cheek before she could even blink.

“Now Starlight, I know that this is a shock, but you still have the whole summer to spend with Sunburst, right?” Glimmerdawn said.

“Oh my, no! We need to get everything in order for the new program. I happen to have a few properties in the Canterlot area, and as soon as I get one prepped, we’re going to pack our bags!” Stellar Flare tittered.

Stellar Flare froze in the cockatrice glare that Glimmerdawn fixed her with, then frowned as she saw Sunburst hugging Starlight.

“Starlight? Are you okay?” Sunburst said.

Starlight didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t seem to recognize the word “okay,” and she wondered if she ever would again. She just squeezed her best friend tightly and tried not to wet his collar with her tears.

“Well…okay then…hm. Sunburst? It’s time to go now, sweetie. We have plans to make and uniforms to buy!” Stellar Flare said, pulling Sunburst away by the scruff of the neck.

“Why do you choose to be like this?” Glimmerdawn said.

“Come along, Sunburst!” Stellar Flare said. She leaned down to mumble in his ear. “This place reeks of desperation and social justice…”

“Excuse me!?” Glimmerdawn said.

“Nothing! Nothing at all, Miss Glimmerdawn! My son and I were just leaving! Isn’t that right?”

“Starlight! I’ll email you every day, and I’ll make sure to call, too! This isn’t goodbye!” Sunburst said.

As soon as the door shut, Starlight was up the stairs, down the hall, and in her room. She slammed her door and sank down to sit against it, knees curled up to her chest.

“Pumpkie-wumpkin? Is everything alright?” Came her Dad’s voice from the other end of the door.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Starlight shrieked. There was no space for a conversation after that. All Starlight could do was muffle her hysterical sobs as the weight of losing her best friend settled onto her.

The grandfather clock in the hall bonged and ticked on, ever ambivalent to the world that was changing around it.

"You know, Sunburst used to talk you up all the time back in college. He was devastated when his Mom dragged him away from you."

"What did he say about me?"

"He said you were his best friend and the only person who didn’t make fun of him for being a book nerd. As a fellow book nerd, I know that’s a huge deal.”

“You read?”

“Is…is that a trick question?” Buck said.

“Nevermind. What else did Sunburst say about me back then?” Starlight said. There was a little blush on her face.

“Oh, he used to gush about you when he got drunk. About how one day the two of you would meet up and he would confess his feelings with a love letter, just like in his Japanese animes! I for real thought he made you up for a while. But he waited for you. He really did.”

Starlight looked to Buck then. She couldn’t spot a lie in his easy expression.

“He waited for me?”

“Didn’t date nobody in school. Not even once.”

“That’s…that’s so sweet. He never told me he stayed away from other women.”

“Oh, he definitely got laid from time to time, make no mistake. Hell, not too long after we met Smolder, we totally-”

“No! No, no, no!”

“What?”

“No! No to all of that! No thank you!” Starlight said.

“Oookay. Well, uh…Say, what was he like as a kid?"

"He was pretty much the same, I guess. He was sweet and smart but shy. Sometimes we would hang out several times before he would say anything. He didn't become a people person until later on. I guess I have you to thank for that. He told me a little bit about how you used to drag him into trouble."

"What did, uh…what did he say about me back then?"

"He told me not to judge you."

“Bang up job there, Glimglam.”

“I find it hard to believe there was a time when you were stupider than you are now.”

"...yeah. Me too." Buck mumbled. Starlight had expected a retort or a rise, but Buck’s shoulders slumped as he stared at the ground. She instantly felt guilty.

“Sunburst thinks you’re brilliant. Did he tell you that?”

“He’s just bein’ nice. But anyway, what’d you do after you got the news?”

“I cried, mostly. I cried for days after I found out. He was my only friend in the world! Eventually, my Mom came and pulled me out of it. She told me that Sunburst was a good boy and that I should take him at his word. She said it was important to have someone in your life that you can trust unconditionally and that Sunburst was definitely that person.”

“She was right.” Buck smiled. The fire flickered pink.

“She was! Mom was…she was right about everything. Sunburst and I stayed in touch, so even if we were apart, he was always just a phone call away, which helped both of us. He didn’t like anything about Crystal Prep.”

“Yeah, nobody did. Everyone who went to CPH had a rough time. As I heard it, Sunburst couldn't get off campus and into indie study fast enough. Funny how we both ended up in Canterlot for High School and then San Franciscolt for college. Maybe it was fate." Buck smiled.

"You believe in fate?" Starlight said.

"Not at all. If I thought fate was real, I'd think someone was out to get me!" Buck laughed.

“So, do you believe in anything?”

“You mean like a religion? Nah. Where I come from, we got about as many churches as bar rooms, and the bars’re more honest. If someone’s tryna sell you salvation, you better think twice, you know?”

“I see. That’s a pragmatic way to look at it.” Starlight said, almost smiling.

“What about you? What do you believe in?”

“Justice. I believe in justice.”

“Holy shit, I just got chills. You just said that shit to me with a straight face.”

“Are you making fun of me? In a world as chaotic as ours, it’s important to have something to ground you, and that’s mine, okay?”

“Nope, no. However you wanna…navigate all’a this, I’m not hatin’. I mean, magic is real, so what the fuck do I know? It’s a big universe…uh, multiverse? Holy shit. Man, I never even thought about that. If there’s two Twilight Sparkles, and pony world is like a mirror image, and if that’s the case, does that mean there’s like a bazillion different worlds, like multiverse theory? Could we go to the one where I went to clown school?” Buck rambled.

"I keep forgetting that you're high." Starlight groaned.

Suddenly, the cavern seemed to shift. There was a sound like gravel being shoveled, rumbling the cave.

For a few moments, Starlight and Buck stared into the darkness beyond the light of the little magical flame, dreading what may come gnashing out at them.

They didn’t hear the sound again.

“...So, how was college for you?” Buck said.

“Numb. I always had a rough time in school; no matter how hard I studied, I was always a little behind. That, and I was on my own. Sunburst could only help so much between his own studies.” Starlight said.

"What about your friends on campus?" Buck said. Starlight stared at the ground like she was trying to look through it.

"I'm not a people person," Starlight said.

"Okay, wow, no friends. Well, what about your parents?" Buck said. Starlight aimed her laser focus at Buck, and he feared her glare would microwave him until he exploded. Considering she could use magic, that didn't seem all that far-fetched.

"Like I said, I was on my own."

“Okay, touchy subject; got it. Uh...what was your major?”

“Mathematical Physics. I took it because I was always good at math. I thought it would be easy.”

“What the fuck? Why are you out here doin’ Buffy shit instead’a…fuck, I dunno, programming airplanes or something?”

“I don’t know, Buck! Why haven’t you done anything with your…?”

“Film.”

“A Film degree! Of course, it’s a film degree. Why aren’t you a famous hotshot director right now?”

“Uh, well, because I’m a writer, not a director. And I actually tend to prefer cartoons over live-action--”

“Yeah, well, I’m a monster hunter, not an engineer. Does that answer your question?” Starlight cut in.

“Fine, geez. Sorry. So your childhood, despite taking place in the lap of luxury, wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I get that. But what does that have to do with the crazy shit that happened in Fillydelphia?”

“I just wanted you to understand that when I was a kid, there was a lot wrong. I didn’t really fit in with people in Sire’s Hollow, and college was somehow worse because everyone thought I was a spoiled brat.”

“Can’t imagine where they’d get that notion.” Buck said. Starlight glowered, and he put his hands up and smiled.

“Sunburst was my only friend for a long time, and I guess… it's nice to actually talk about it a little.”

“Okay?”

“But it’ll also help you understand why things went the way they did. After six years of brutal academia, I was completely bombed out, exhausted and depressed. My college years took a lot out of me and a lot from me."

"That's relatable."

"I had the degree but no idea what to do with it. No direction. I also didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Why not move in with Sunburst?”

“His Mom would have thrown a fit. Stellar Flare is a lot of things, but one thing she’s not is open to change. Unless that change involves some stupid real estate project.”

“Yeah, you’re not kiddin’. It took…some effort, to uh, to get her to accept me being in Sunburst’s orbit. That was a wild summer.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Right, your story. So school sucked, and you were a leaf on the wind when you finally finished. You're now an angry twenty-something with a chip on your shoulder and severe lack of direction. You would'a probably blown up if you were in an emo band. Where's that leave us?”

“At an airport.”

It was the blazing edge of Summer. The Wind Rider National Airport was filled with families and spring breakers ready to ditch the damp heat of Canterlot for exotic European tour buses, windswept beaches, and restful summer retreats. Starlight Glimmer had precisely none of that in mind as she trotted to her terminal with haste.

If she hurried, she would be right on time to be early for her flight. She had her phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear as she looked over the details of her boarding pass for the fifteenth time that morning.

“So what did he say, exactly?” Sunburst said from a world away.

“He said that everything is ready for me to come home,” Starlight said.

“Just like that? I remember you saying your Dad was mad when you decided to go to Canterlot for college.”

Firelight had been beyond furious. His eye had twitched, his nostrils flaring, his fists clenching when Starlight announced that she was moving far enough away that he couldn’t ambush her with his overbearing dotage.
He had almost stopped smiling, then.

“He said he’s just happy to have “his little girl” back.” Starlight said.

“How long are you going to stay?” Sunburst said.

“...Just until I figure out what I want to do with myself.”

“Well, the important thing is that you get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

“Sure.” Starlight sighed. “I’ll have plenty of time to be bored out of my mind.”

“Aren’t you happy to be going home?”

“It’s not home, Sunburst. Didn’t I tell you? This is some new place in the woods outside of Fillydelphia. My Dad sold the old house.”

“You didn’t tell me, no. I can’t imagine Firelight selling off a piece of history like that! He was always going on about Sire’s Hollow and its lore.”

“I don’t know, you know my Dad and his stupid projects! It doesn’t matter, anyway. I need to have a serious talk with him, and depending on how it goes…I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick around.” Starlight said. Sunburst said nothing, leaving her to sit on that somber note for a few unpleasant seconds.

“Flight 220 to Fillydelphia will be departing on time. All passengers, please report to the terminal.” Said the airport’s intercom.

“I have to go, Sunburst. My plane is going to leave without me!” Starlight said.

“What?” Sunburst said.

“They just announced that they’re departing on time!” Starlight said, her trot speeding up.

“So what? You’re early, aren’t you?”

“Sunburst, you should know that when they say a plane is late, it’s four hours late, and when it's on time, it’s ten minutes early!” Starlight said.

Her arms pumped as she hustled through the crowded airport, ducking around a clog of people on the flat escalator. Her eyes darted, trying to find the exact route, rushing and slowing and squeezing through people that seemed to be on the most casual stroll in the world until she saw it; the number for her terminal on a lit sign at the end of the corridor.

Suddenly, a hand snagged Starlight’s sleeve, nearly tripping her over. Her frantic eyes caught the sight of a short, spindly girl squinting up at her. She had curly red hair and a round nose, and she couldn’t have been older than fifteen, speaking with an aggressive lisp through a set of braces.

“Excusthe me, lady? Can you help me? I’m-”

“No time!” Starlight said. She wrenched her arm away and took another stride, but the kid was surprisingly strong.

“Wait, wait! I can’th find my-”

“I don’t have time for this,” Starlight snapped.

Tears were gathering in the kid’s eyes, and worse yet, people were looking, and the terminal was just a quick jog away, and Starlight had a spotlight on her, and it felt like she was baking alive. She needed to escape. To escape this kid and this airport and this stupid town and the entire planet, and just as she was thinking of creative ways to reach escape velocity, a voice called out to her.

“Starlight Glimmer?”

Starlight turned on a pair of bright turquoise eyes filled with concern and recognition. Hair as red as a fire engine shot through with blonde streaks framed an orange face. She seemed close to Starlight’s age, yet her eyes carried an earnest concern, like a doting aunt. She wore a dark leather vest with punk spikes on the shoulders.

“Who’re you?” Starlight said.

“Oh, hold on just a second.”

The woman blinked quizzically, looking Starlight over, then she dipped like a summer sunset, taking a knee to speak to the frazzled teen.

“Are you lost? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sthorry to be a bother, but I’m legally blind, and I can’t findth my glassthessth! My Mom isth waiting for me, but I’m ssthuper lost, and, oh, thisth isth justh stho embarassthing!” The girl said, on the verge of tears.

The woman with bright eyes smiled and touched her shoulder. “It’s okay, I get it. You’re okay.”

“What? You understood that?” Starlight said. The woman stood.

“Her glasses were knocked off on the way from the bathroom. Could you please stay with her for a second while I go grab them?”

“Are you out of your mind? I have a plane to catch!” Starlight said.

“I’ll be just a minute!” She said with a smile and ran off. The young girl took Starlight’s hand, wiping her nose with a sleeve.

“I’m really sthorry abouth thisth…” The girl said, staring at her shoes.

Starlight exhaled sharply.

“It’s not your fault,” she said.

A few moments later, the woman returned with a pair of thick purple spectacles and handed them to the girl.

“Better?” She said.

“Yepth!”

“Okay, good, fantastic! Can I go now?” Starlight said, tapping a foot.

“Well, sure. I think this one’s got it handled from here, right?” The woman said.

“Now that I can sthee again, I’m good! Thank you, ladiesth!” The girl said.

“Yeah, thanks. You were a big help!” The woman said.

“Oh! Um, no problem, I guess.” Starlight said, grinning awkwardly.

“Don’t you have a plane to catch?” The woman said with a gentle smile.

Starlight’s eyes widened, and she looked at her watch for a moment before dashing off to her terminal.

As it turned out, she was right on time to sit around waiting as boarding started. She was beyond embarrassed, but at the very least, she wasn’t late. By the time she was in her seat on the plane, she had nearly forgotten what had happened, save for a single question that scratched at the back of her mind.

“Is this seat taken?”

Starlight looked up and saw the same woman from before. Once again, she wore a knowing smile.

“Oh! Uh, yes.”

“Yes, the seat’s taken, or yes, I can sit in it?”

“No! The seat isn’t; you can sit.” Starlight stammered.

“Oookay then!” The woman said. She stuffed a heavy-looking duffel bag into the overhead compartment and took the aisle seat.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer, by the way.” She said, offering a hand to shake. Her smile was so easy and relaxed, Starlight couldn’t help but match it.

“Thanks for stepping in earlier. I was in a rush.”

“I could tell! You seemed pretty wound up. Is anything wrong?”

“I have a lot on my mind, to be honest. You don’t want to hear about that.”

“Well, it’s not the longest flight in the world, but we’ve got time.”

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere!” Sunset chuckled.

“I guess that’s true!” Starlight said. “But, before that, there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

“Something else?”

“Yeah. How did you know my name?”

Sunset Shimmer looked off into some alternate dimension that must have been toward the front of the plane.

“It was…on your boarding pass!”
Starlight looked down and realized that she was still holding her pass, though at this point it was a little crumpled.

“Oh. Right. I must be more out of it than I thought. Whew.”

“Happens to the best of us.” Sunset said.

The two settled in and started to chat. The plane moved into position, the attendants and pilot did their speech, and before Starlight knew it, she was spilling her guts to this total stranger she had just met. She was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Sunset Shimmer, how she listened carefully and without any judgment, and how in turn, Starlight hung on her every word.

It was like magic.

“What a class act.” Buck smiled wistfully.

“I realized later that she could have used her powers to look into my head right then, but she didn’t. She just talked to me instead. I never understood that.” Starlight said.

“It’s just basic respect, GlimGlam. Y’see, people have these things in their bodies called “Boundaries,” and when you violate those boundaries, they tend to think you’re a massive cunt.” Buck said.

“Yes, well, I’m glad you’re establishing boundaries with Adagio, even though you have to work with her today,” Starlight said.

“That’s not what I--y’know what? Nevermind. What was Sunnybuns doin’ on that plane outta Canterlot, anyway?”

“It’s a research trip. I’m a streamer, mostly, but I’m also part of a club of paranormal investigators.” Sunset Shimmer said.

“Really? Isn’t that a little…silly?” Starlight said.

“Everyone’s got their hobbies.” Sunset smiled. “I don’t stream it, mostly because there’s rarely any good footage, but you never know what could happen!”

“Sounds spooky,” Starlight said. “What’s happening in Fillydelphia that’s got your attention?”

“That’s top secret,” Sunset said, putting a finger to her lips.

“Oh, come on. What’s so top secret about being a “paranormal investigator”? What, are you worried you’ll run into a guy wearing a sheet?” Starlight said, rolling her eyes.

Sunset frowned, and it gave Starlight a sudden pause. All of the warmth in her eyes had bled away.

“Are you from Canterlot, Starlight? Or did you just move there?”

“I just went to college there.”

“Did you get out much?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sunset smiled.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“So what’s the scoop? What’s so spooky and secret that you’re flying out of Canterlot to find it?”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Sunset said.

“Fine, sure,” Starlight said.

Sunset reached into the overhead compartment, coming back with a little stack of journals. She flipped through the one on top with an intense look on her face, speaking low and conspiratorial.

“For the last few years, there have been strange but similar events in the tri-state area. Tradesmen suddenly quitting their jobs, reporting that they “just can’t do it anymore.”

“Okay…it sounds like a lot of really depressed people to me,” Starlight said.

“There’s also been reports of patients in psychiatric wards being fine one day, and completely gone the next.”

“Gone?”

“Gone. Hollow. Sudden chronic exhaustion. And the testimonials all say the same thing; one night they went to bed, and the next morning, it was like the world was…less. Like they’d lost everything, even though they were physically the same. Some even talked about having similar nightmares.”

“What kinds of nightmares?”

Sunset flipped a few pages.

“‘Like I was a strip of velcro being pulled apart.’ is what an architect in Ohio said. Another one said that she dreamed her brain was being ripped out. It was violating and painful.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“She was a public speaker, but she quit after that nightmare because she experienced a sudden, incurable frog in her throat as soon as she approached a microphone. Another one, a kid like the one we saw earlier; his Mom says he was perfectly vibrant and lively; the best infielder on his school’s softball team, and then one day, he woke up with no energy, not even enough to get out of bed. Doctors say he had a sudden chemical imbalance in his brain, but his mother says he’s possessed. Said he talks about a dream where something was ripped out of him by some kind of monster.”

“Woah.” Starlight scratched her chin as Sunset Shimmer flipped through the pages.

“And they aren’t alone. Similar testimonials have been popping up all through the year! Here’s one from an accountant, a farmer, a mortician…”

“Okay, I’ll admit that’s pretty spooky,” Starlight said. “So you think it's a ghost or something?”

“I don’t know what it is. I’m going to see if I can track these people down and interview them.” Sunset said.

“Wow, you take this hobby of yours pretty seriously, huh?”

“I guess so. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only person in the world that really cares about this stuff,” Sunset said gravely.

“So…let’s say I believe you about the ghosts and monsters and creepypastas. What will you do if you find out something supernatural really is happening to these people?”

“Well, I’ll investigate it, document it, and try to help.”

“How would you help?”

“That’s top secret.” Sunset smiled.

“Really?” Starlight deadpanned.

“Really, really. Not allowed to say.”

“What? By who?”

“That’s-”

“Top secret? That must be some club you’re with. Yeesh.”

“What about you? What are you going to do when you see your Dad?”

“Ugh. I don’t want to think about that. If I could get by without saying anything, that would be perfect, but I just know he’ll want to talk about school and Canterlot and hear all about my classes and blah blah blah.”

“Well, you said you’ve been away for a while. Did you call often?”

“No.”

“Maybe he just wants to reconnect with you. It’s different for older people; for you, it's been four years, but that’s a blink of an eye to someone like your Dad.”

“You’re probably right. I’ve been gone a long time, and to be honest, we do have a lot to catch up on. My Dad…well, let’s just say he’s got some things he needs to answer for and leave it at that.”

“And you need a break.”

“And I need a break, right.”

"There's no shame in that! And hey, I'll be around Fillydelphia for a little while, so if you get tired of the family, you could always come and hang out with me." Sunset smiled.

"What, and hunt some ghosts?"

"I think ghosts might be a little too easy for you. Maybe you could try going after something tough, like a siren, or a centaur." Sunset said.

The pair shared a chuckle. The plane rumbled briefly and listed to the side. The captain announced that the final descent was coming up.

"But seriously, thanks for sitting with me, I guess. I can't remember the last time I smiled so much!"

“No problem! You never know where you’ll find a friend; you just have to give people a chance, right?” Sunset said with a smile.

“I guess so!” Starlight said.

When Starlight and Sunset got their luggage, they stood talking for a few minutes more.

"I really should get going. Thanks a ton for all of your advice." Starlight said, reluctantly checking her watch.

"Are you feeling a little better about going home?" Sunset said.

"To be honest, I just know it's going to be awkward and exhausting, and who knows how things will end up?"

"Well, I'll tell you something a friend of mine once told me: You've just gotta live in the moment. If you spend all your time worrying about the bad things that might happen, you'll miss out on all the good things that are happening."

“What if bad things happen anyway?”

“Then do your best to find the good.”

“And what if my best isn’t good enough?”

"Look, here's my number. If you have any trouble down there, just give me a call. And if you can’t talk or don’t want to…" Sunset produced a blank journal. "When things get confusing, weird, or uncomfortable, I like to write in one of these. Problems always look a little smaller when you put them on paper."

Starlight eyed the journal with skepticism. It was leather-bound and had a mark on it that looked like a burning sun.

"...or if you don't want it, that's fine too," Sunset said.

"No, no, I'll take it! You never know when it could come in handy." Starlight said, placing the journal in her little duffel bag.

“And with that, it looks like my cab is pulling up. Good luck out there, Starlight Glimmer. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“And you too! Even if it's ghosts and goblins!” Starlight laughed, and patted Sunset on the shoulder, then recoiled as Sunset’s smile turned sad and subdued. Sunset touched her hand gently.

“And Starlight?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry about your Mom.”

Sunset Shimmer turned and left the airport in silence, leaving Starlight to stare at her back, completely bewildered.

Starlight Glimmer spent the next hour and a half sitting in silence, watching as the cramped alleys of Fillydelphia gave way to gash trees and babbling brooks.

Her uber driver had tried twice to make conversation, and Starlight had chosen instead to stare silently out the window. The address had to be lost in the woods close to state lines, she guessed. Soon she would be lost right along with it since everything out here looked the same.

When a twist down an old unmarked road finally gave way to a high stone wall, Starlight wondered if she would have been better off ghost-hunting with Sunset Shimmer. As her cab pulled away, she felt certain that she was making a mistake.

Starlight stared at a set of towering metal gates that blocked any line of sight inside. A pair of security cameras glared down at her like blinking red eyes, giving Starlight the distinct impression that she wasn’t supposed to be there.

An intercom recessed into the wall buzzed as she poked it.

“Hello? I’m Starlight Glimmer. I’m here to see Firelight, my Dad?”

There was no answer.

Starlight’s eyes darted nervously, and she suddenly noticed that the stone wall was covered by strange carvings, evenly spaced apart. It looked like some sort of alphabet. One that Starlight didn’t recognize.

Just as Starlight was pulling out her phone to call another ride, the doors rumbled open with intimidating slowness, revealing a portal to the past.

Starlight saw a wide hill with a mansion atop it. It had red brick walls and a green tiled roof that gave way to a clock tower, its black metal hands gleaming in the sun. It had all the presence of a haunted manor in an old 70’s cartoon. From its front door snaked a tiled path, which lead to a variety of smaller, old-timey cottages, bunkhouses and buildings with old colonial decorations and odd runic letters carved into the beams. She could hear the sound of cows mooing in the distance.

Everywhere else Starlight looked, she could see people milling about with jubilant smiles. Their clothing gave them the appearance of old colonials right out of a history book; all hand-woven, dull-colored dresses for the women; white shirts, and black suspenders for the men.

Before Starlight could wonder what the hell was going on, a woman with light pink skin and dark magenta hair approached her. She was in a long brown dress, and her curly tresses were pulled into a tidy bun.

“Welcome to Our Town! My name is Sugar Belle!” She said in a breathy, nasally voice that Starlight found instantly obnoxious.

A chorus of “welcomes” echoed from across the way and down the street and a few blocks over as ambling people all smiled and waved at Starlight in practically the same way.

“...okay, that’s not weird or anything…Ahem. My name is Starlight Glimmer, and I’m here to see my Dad about a place to stay?”

“Of course! Everything is ready for you to move right in! You can go ahead and set your bags down. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you where you’re going to stay!” The woman said and turned on her heels, gesturing down the street.
Starlight carefully set her luggage on the ground, keeping her little duffel bag on her shoulder. Before she could blink, a pair of men loaded her bags into a wheelbarrow and rolled them away. The metal gates swung shut behind her.

“...I guess I’m doing this.” Starlight said.

After being surrounded by exhausted students for four semesters, this was like stepping into another world. Everything Starlight passed within arm's reach of a person, they smiled and said "Welcome!" in a tone that was one part motivational speaker and nine parts hotel concierge. Friendliness and good cheer flanked Starlight on all sides.

"What did you say this place was called?" Starlight said.

"Our Town!"

"Yes, this town. Does it have a name?"

"It's Our Town!"

"I understand that, I mean what's the name of this place?" Starlight said, sneering.

"Who's on first?" Buck said, from the future.

"Shut up, Buck." Starlight said across the campfire.

"The name of this place is Our Town. With a capital O and T." Sugar Belle said.

"Oh. Doesn’t that get confusing?" Starlight said.

"Maybe if you're new!" Sugar Belle giggled. “So, what brings you here? In need of a vacation, or are you trying to get back on your feet?”

“Uh…yes. How did you know?”

“That’s what Our Town is for! It’s a place for the bankrupt, the lost, and wayward to settle down and rediscover their passions. At least that’s what it says on our website!”

“So it’s like a homeless shelter?” Starlight said.

“No, no, it’s more of a rehabilitation clinic!” Sugar Belle said.

“Oh my god, my Dad is in rehab.” Starlight said, horrified.

“Oh, no, no, no! Not at all!”

“Oh, good. So where is he?”

“At the mansion on top of the hill. He runs this place!”

“Oh my god, Dad is running a rehab,” Starlight said, doubly horrified.

“He runs a tight ship, too. I’ve got about ten minutes before I need to get back to the bakery, so would you mind if we walked a bit faster?”

Starlight glanced at the woman and just barely caught a frown that was quickly replaced with a big grin.

“Sure. So…do you have wifi here?”

“Not personally, no! We all have scheduled computer time over at the Rec, and public phones are at the manor if we need to make calls.”

“You have to schedule time with a phone?”

“That’s right!”

“Isn’t that a little primitive?”

“Yeah, I thought so too! But after a month without mindlessly scrolling on my phone, I have to say, I feel a lot more clear-headed.”

“So you’re like the Amish?”

“No, no, we have modern tech; we just prefer to do some things a bit more old-fashioned.”

Starlight was led past a squat concrete jail, complete with iron bars and a row of stockades.

“Old fashioned is right.” Starlight said. "How often do you throw people in the slammer?"

"Less than you'd think, but more than you'd hope!" Sugar Belle said without skipping a beat.

It wasn’t too late to turn around and run screaming into the woods, Starlight thought, but as she came up to the looming redbrick mansion, she started to feel a bit of guilt. Her Dad had likely built this place from the ground up, so it felt cruel to dunk on it out of hand.

"Is this the place?" Starlight said.

“This is where the magic happens! The mansion is the heart of our village! It’s where our founder and executives stay to perform the essential functions that keep this place running!” Sugar Belle said.

Starlight turned around and looked down the road, only to be greeted by more smiling faces. That was a little creepy, she decided, but then she looked further and saw a kid on a bench making balloon animals. Then she saw a pair of people chatting as they flew kites. She squinted and saw a person standing at an easel, laying down the first strokes on a painting.

This place, at the very least, seemed cozy and well put together.

“Well, this is where I leave you!” The energetic woman said with a smile.

“You’re not going to lead me to my room?”

“Villagers are only allowed in the mansion if they have an invitation. I wasn’t invited, so you’re on your own.”

Starlight stared at Sugar Belle for a few seconds. The woman’s smile seemed firmly rehearsed. Sturdy as a lamppost. Starlight looked down the street and saw a lot of that same smile aimed in her direction.

“...right. Well, I’m going to go ahead and…go, I guess.” Starlight said.

“Of course! And, hey, between you and me?” Sugar Belle leaned forward, whispering.

“Yes?”

“I can tell this place isn’t really your style. If you get a little tired of the food around here, I like to make some special snacks at the bakery. Brownies, you know?”

“Brownies?” Starlight said, raising an eyebrow at Sugar Belle’s sly wink.

“And don’t be afraid to try our muffins!” Sugar Belle said, straightening up. “Take care, now!” Sugar Belle hurried down the way, presumably to the bakery or maybe the cover of a children’s book, when she came to a sudden halt.

It was noon.

Starlight knew because the clock tower gave out twelve bellowing bongs, and as they rang across the compound, every person in sight stopped what they were doing and closed their eyes as if in meditation. It was as if the whole town had frozen in place. And then, when the last bell ring finally stopped echoing, the people went right back to milling about as if nothing had happened.

“What is going on here?” Starlight muttered.

“I can explain it to you, Sugar Plum!”

Starlight whirled around and was met by a pair of exuberant copper-colored eyes.

Firelight’s green hair was coifed in a designer haircut that looked more expensive than anything in the town. He was in a stately vest and shirt, complete with a cravat, and as he reached out his purple hands to pinch at Starlight’s cheeks, she realized with dawning horror that the only thing that had changed about her father was the streaks of grey in his hair.

“Aww, you’re just as cutesy-wutsey as ever!” Firelight said.

“Daaad! Quit it! What is this? What is any of this?” Starlight said, smacking his hands away.

“Right, right! Your mother was always pushing for some sort of cause! Serving the underserved and all of that. I thought I’d pay that work forward!”

“Okay? So you built a rehab clinic?”

“Well, when you decided to leave Sire's Hollow for school, I had a lot of time on my hands," Firelight said.

"Dad, I wasn't trying to-"

"So! I did some research, took some classes, did a little investing! It took some time, but, well, you can see the result! The Our Town Community Renewal Commune! It’s a place for people with nowhere else to go. We’ve got our own community farm, kitchen and bakery, so no one goes hungry! We’ve got a recreation center with trainers and teachers to keep people active and curious, and we even have a library and media space for more sedentary interests!”

“And how are you paying for it all?”

“Oh, you know how it goes! Investors, a bit of state funding, and sales of the products we make here!”

“And the people pay to stay?”

“Nope! They don’t pay a single penny to stay here! Everyone has a job in town, and everyone just takes what they need when they need it!”

“That’s…really cool, Dad.”

“Aw, I just knew you’d love it, Chipmunk Cheeks!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well, we should get moving! I need to show you to your dorm so you can get nice and settled in before your big welcoming party tonight!”

“MY WHAT!?”

Before Starlight even knew what was happening, Firelight was ushering her down the road and around a corner to a row of stubby brick bunkhouses.

“We’re going to hold a banquet to welcome you to Our Town! We hold one for everyone that joins our little commune!"

"You're throwing me a feast?"

That's right! You can have all the food you can eat! I remember you used to really put it away, my little Paunchy Pants!” Firelight said, tussling Starlight’s hair.

“Quit it! I am, I…I need to sit down.” Starlight said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Of course, Cheeky Chops! Take all the time you want!” Firelight said, letting Starlight into one of the squat buildings.

The bunkhouse had polished wooden floors and uniform white walls. Starlight’s room looked like it belonged in some sort of Amish-themed summer camp. A tall wardrobe with a mirror, a window with a little candle holder on the sil, and a bunk bed indicated to Starlight’s horror that she would be sharing a dorm with someone else. Her luggage was set down next to the bottom bunk.

“Wait a minute, wait, Dad, we seriously need to talk-”

“Someone will come along to bring you to the banquet at six o’clock sharp!” Firelight spun around and sauntered down the way before Starlight could protest, leaving her to remember all the times she screamed into her pillow as a teenager.
It was amazing how quickly she slipped back into those old frustrations; her Dad had started a weird project and then wheeled it out into the living room, expecting a round of applause, while all Starlight wanted to do was lay down and turn up her music.

In that way, this truly was a homecoming. As Starlight plopped onto the bed and groaned at the wall, she wondered how long she could stay here before it drove her crazy.

Back in the cave, Starlight paused and looked across the little magical campfire. Buck’s eyes were wide, darting across the floor. He looked like he had just seen a ghost, or a spider, or the ghost of a spider.

“What the fuck.” Buck muttered, counting on his fingers.

“Buck, if you’re going to freak out whenever this story gets weird, I’m never going to finish telling it.”

“Right, right, right. Okay. Holy shit.” Buck said.

“Seriously, what’s the matter?” Starlight said.

“Nothin’, nothin’.” Buck said.

Starlight squinted at Buck’s rattled expression. He smiled then, burying his concern in an instant.

“Well? What was your roommate like? Were they weird?”

“We’ll get to that. My roommate was a sort of eccentric. She had a little calendar on the wall next to her bunk filled with pictures of sweaty bodybuilders in costumes.” Starlight smirked.

“Not your type, right?” Buck said.

“How would you know?”

“C’mon, we all know that you like ‘em small, stringy, and nerdy! Ain’t no shame in it!” Buck laughed.
Starlight blushed then and scratched the back of her head. It was the most normal thing Buck had ever seen her do.
Maybe under all of the bitching and the monster-hunting horseshittery, Starlight Glimmer was just an awkward ball of stress, and he’d been a little too fast to judgment.

“So then I went to dinner. And I wanted to burn the whole place to the ground.” Starlight said.

The sun had just dipped below the treeline, casting ember streaks across the little village and into the tall windows of Our Town’s Mess Hall. It looked like something between an auditorium, a barn, and a church. Starlight hoped she could blend into the crowd and not be too terribly bothered, but that earnest wish was destroyed by a bombardment of wide grins and senseless small talk.

As Starlight sat down at the head of the long tables that stretched the room's length, she joylessly nodded and smiled as people came to make pleasantries and say “Welcome” for the two-hundredth time. It was like every tacky charity drive her mother had ever dragged her to, and it reeked of fakeness.

Just smile and nod, Starlight. There’s no way today can get any more embarrassing, she thought like an absolute fool.

Suddenly, the din quieted. People stopped chatting, listening with rapt attention as Firelight tapped a glass of water with a spoon. He strode purposefully to the head of the room and gave his best five-dollar smile.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Kiddies and Kiddoes! Thank you all for coming out tonight!” Firelight said. “Tonight, we celebrate a very special occasion! My incredible daughter has decided to come home, and I couldn’t be happier to have her here! Give everybody a little wave, pumpkin!”

Starlight made a valiant effort not to grind her teeth into dust as she flopped a limp hand at the audience. She was met with a smattering of exuberant applause.

“Like all of us she’s just trying to find her place, so I’d like each and every one of you to welcome her like you would anyone else!”

The toothy smiles that Starlight saw in all directions made her doubt she would ever have a normal conversation in this place.

“Tonight’s dish is a modern one; burgers and fries!”

The people cheered like they’d all won the lottery. Starlight looked around, wondering what was so special about some basic fast food.

“Though you might want to watch those fries. I hear they aren’t french; they were cooked in Greece!”

Firelight laughed, and the whole town laughed with him as Starlight slammed her head into the table, hoping she could wake up from this nightmare.

“Before we dig in, I wanted to thank our crack team of cooks for putting all of this together! Give ‘em a hand!” Firelight gestured to a fourth table set along a nook in the wall that peaked into a kitchen. A squad of people in aprons stopped and waved to the crowd as the mess hall filled with applause.
Starlight could see Sugar Belle among them, though she wasn’t waving. She seemed to be gesturing urgently to the inside of the kitchen from behind the nook.

“And I’d like to thank these two lovely ladies for making dessert!”

Sugar Belle hustled out of sight, then came out of the kitchen’s swinging doors, pushing a rickety wooden cart with several wide, covered plates.

Well, it was more like she was pushing the person pushing the cart. Sugar Belle smiled nervously to the crowd but not half as bashfully as the woman in front of her.

She had fair gray skin, and her blonde hair was up in a bun, identical to Sugar Belle and every other woman in the room. Just above her rosy cheeks, her yellow eyes were unfocused. She looked about Starlight’s age, maybe a bit younger.

“And what are we having, girls?” Firelight said.

The grey-skinned girl just smiled nervously until Sugar Belle nudged her with an elbow.

“Oh! It’s um…we’re doing, um…m-m-muffins!” The girl said. She hastily lifted the plate covers to reveal piles of freshly baked blueberry muffins. Starlight’s favorite.

“What kind of muffins?” Firelight offered.

“Blueberry! Blueberry muffins! Uh…ta-da?” The girl said. She picked up a muffin, presenting the treat to the hall, but she stepped on the corner of her dress and violently pitched over.

Sugar Belle managed to stop the cart from flipping due to the girl’s flailing arms, but the muffin she held went sailing through the air.

Starlight could see the arc of it as it crossed the room, and a small, sadistic smirk appeared on her face. It was headed straight for her Dad.

The whole mess hall gasped.

Starlight saw the look of pure horror on the girl that had tripped and one of remorse on Sugar Belle, but those looks shifted to shock in an instant.

Firelight had caught it. He had moved only the slightest bit, and the muffin landed right in the middle of his palm. He smiled at the audience and took a bite out of the muffin.

“Well, well! That Ditzy Doo cooks as good as she looks! We just need to get her some better shoes, huh? Those heels look a little wobbly!” Firelight laughed, and the rest of the room chuckled with him. “Let’s give her a hand, folks! For all her hard work!”

Starlight sank in her seat as the meek woman waved bashfully, then bumbled back into the kitchen.

“At least I’m not the only one embarrassed out of my mind tonight,” Starlight grumbled.

Firelight began to speak again, but the clock tower rang again in the middle of his speech. Everyone in the hall went silent, closing their eyes as the clock bonged six times.

Once the ringing stopped, Firelight smiled at the hall once more.

“And with all that out of the way, let’s dig in!” Firelight said, and everyone stood up, approaching the buffet table in a pair of neat and orderly lines, like a colony of ants. The lines crisscrossed in an odd way. Where they converged, the people of Our Town shook hands, chatted amicably, and made small talk while the rest moved methodically and patiently.

“Don’t worry, I made sure that a few of those tasty muffins were set aside for you! I know blueberry is your favorite! Now, what do we say?” Firelight stage whispered.

“...thank you.” Starlight seethed.

“Only the best for my pumpkie-wumpkin!”

“Are they in the kitchen? Because I’d like to go get them, and not be here, in this room, with all of these people staring at me.” Starlight said.

“Aw, you always wanted dessert before dinner! Now, normally I’d say no, but since it’s your first day, and you’re my special girl, I’ll let it slide! You can’t spell ‘Exceptional’ without ‘Exception!’” Firelight said, pinching Starlight’s cheeks.

“Ughhh, cut it out!” Starlight stomped her way to the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with every aggressively friendly townie along the way.

The staff parted like a saloon door as Starlight walked into the messy kitchen, eyes scanning for the upside to this embarrassing evening.

She instead saw the blonde-haired girl, Ditzy Doo, sitting against the walk-in freezer, head down and shoulders shaking as Sugar Belle patted her shoulder.

“Now everybody knows I’m a total clutz! It’s just like back in Canterlot! They’re gonna start calling me names!”

“Nobody’s going to make fun of you, Ditzy Doo.”

“They laughed at me!”

“No, no, Firelight spun it. You’re fine, Ditzy, I promise.” Sugar Belle said. She looked up and noticed Starlight, then tilted her head to a nearby counter where a little plate with three muffins was waiting. There was a little sign on it that said: “For Starlight.”

Before she knew it, she had taken a bite. It tasted like home. Like the few hazy memories Starlight could remember when she enjoyed being at home, the treats her mom would make when Sunburst was over to play Dragon Pit, the taste of blueberries and lemonade in the summer. A home that didn’t exist anymore and maybe never really existed in the first place. And then she was caught, her mouthful of nostalgia sending her to an ugly, reflective place that reminded her how many small, gritty details she had glossed over as a kid.

You realize so many nasty little things in retrospect; Starlight could easily name a few things wrong with Sire's Hollow, but the main one would always be her own father and the shit-eating grin he always carried around.

“You’re Starlight Glimmer,” Ditzy said.

Starlight’s eyes shot open, her summer memories banished in an instant. Ditzy Doo was looking up at her, wiping her eyes.

“You know me?” Starlight said.

“Everybody in town knows you! You’re kind of a big deal.” Ditzy said. “Well, Firelight’s been making a big deal about you, anyway. His super smart, super talented daughter coming to our humble little village.” Sugar Belle said.

“My Dad makes a big deal about everything. Don’t buy into the hype. I’m just here to clear my head. This is way too much, as usual with him.”

“I gotta say, I’m sorta jealous. My Mom never cared enough to set up something like this for me.” Ditzy said. There was an unmistakable bitterness in her tone that made Starlight’s eyes narrow.

“...do you like the muffins?” Sugar Belle said.

“Hm?” Starlight quickly brushed the crumbs from her face. “Yes, I do.”

“See Ditzy? I told you! You did great!” Sugar Belle said with a smile.

“Aw geez, they’re nothing special,” Ditzy mumbled. “It’s just because you’ve been teaching me.”
Sugar Belle gave Starlight a pleading look.

“The muffins are fine. They taste a lot like the ones from my hometown.” Starlight tried.

“Oh, that makes sense! Mister Firelight gave us the recipe for them. He wanted them made special for you!” Ditzy said, brightening up.

“He told us that every little detail had to be just right.” Sugar Belle said. “It was more than a little stressful.”

“But, but also really sweet of him to care so much!” Ditzy said. She rose to her feet, and would have toppled over completely if Sugar Belle didn’t move to brace her. One flailing hand slapped a bowl of flour, launching it into the air “Oops! Sorry, did I get you?” Ditzy said, looking up.

“What do you think?” Starlight said, now coated in white powder.

“Oh gosh, I’m a big clutzy dummy, I’m so, so sorry! Oh, this is why they don’t let me in here!” Ditzy simpered. She started flailing at Starlight with a dish towel, only for Sugar Belle to move around her and start patting Starlight down carefully.

“That’s not your fault, Ditzy.” Sugar Belle said.

“A lot of it is, though…I have a bit of trouble getting around sometimes. I’m a little top heavy, and my eyes’re, y’know. But I’m getting better, I promise! I’m doing these sorta ‘spacial awareness exercises’ at the rec, and-” Ditzy said.

“Quiet!” Starlight barked. “Ugh. Leave it to my Dad to hire a top-heavy dunce to run the kitchen…”

“Hey, don’t be like that! Ditzy is doing her best in here!” Sugar Belle said.

“Whatever. He probably just keeps her around because she’s got-”

“A great personality, unlike somebody I just met!” Sugar Belle said, hands on her hips. “Now, did you just come in here to rib on us, or what?”

Starlight glared down at Sugar Belle, who no longer had any hint of the peppy tour guide Starlight had met earlier. Ditzy cowered behind her, one eye fixed on the floor.

“If you’re done spilling stuff on me, I’m going to take the muffins and go.” Starlight sneered. She turned to a barrel of fresh towels but suddenly remembered what Sunset Shimmer had said earlier. “This place is weird, and I’m not great with people, even on a good day. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Sugar Belle said nothing, but Ditzy Doo brightened up.

“That’s okay! Everybody makes mistakes! Right?”

“Right.” Starlight sighed.

“Oh, before you go, did you have time to think about those brownies I offered?” Sugar Belle smiled.

“No. I’ve had just about enough of everyone here, you two included.” Starlight said. She walked away, leaving the muffins behind.

“Yikes. Remind me to think twice before I ask her to pass a good time.” Sugar Belle said. Ditzy just shook her head.

“Here’s another one; why didn’t the melons get married?” Firelight said. The villagers sitting around him listened with rapt attention as he paused for dramatic effect.

“...because they cantaloupe! Hah!” Firelight said, and the whole hall erupted with laughter just as Starlight took her seat nearby.

“Dad, I know you’re having fun, but you and I need to talk-”

“Not now, Starlight! I’m entertaining my people! Go ahead and enjoy the food; I’ll be with you in a bit!”

“Dad, I’m serious-”

“And I’m serious about figuring out the best joke to tell at the rec’s comedy night! Here’s a good one; how did the two cats end their fight?”

“I don’t know!” Said a nearby villager. “How did they?”

“...they hissed and made up! Eh? Eh?” Firelight said, to another round of belly laughs.

Starlight would spend the remainder of the meal trying as hard as possible not to snap as her father socialized with the villagers, talking a ton and saying very little. Starlight interjected over and over, but it was no use. She just ate her burgers and fries, excused herself as soon as possible, and went for her bunk.

Starlight Glimmer fell onto her bed, doing nothing but groaning into her pillow until she decided she would go nuts if she didn’t do some venting. And so it was that she reached down into her luggage and produced the journal that Sunset Shimmer had given her just a few hours ago.

After “Dear Diary,” Starlight’s hand trembled as she stared hopelessly at the page. It felt like she was failing at a basic homework assignment, though she doubted that getting an “A” in journaling was a realistic thing to care about.

All Starlight had to do was write her thoughts down, but she felt so stupid and out of her depth, and it didn’t help that everyone had been staring at her from the moment she showed up, and then there was her Dad acting like no time had passed at all, like she was a dumb little girl that had gotten lost, and she felt the pen creaking in her hand just thinking about it all.

Suddenly, the door opened. Starlight shoved the journal under her pillow so fast she struck her knuckles on the headboard. Standing in the threshold was yet another annoyance to sour Starlight’s mood, one which looked generally disheveled as she blinked her off-center eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Starlight said.

“I live here!” Ditzy Doo said.

“I live here! You must have walked into the wrong dorm!”

“No, that’s my bunk, this is my dorm, and…that’s my tasteful nudes calendar!” Ditzy huffed.

“This has to be a mistake. There’s no way they would stick me in a dorm with someone like you!”

“I thought the same thing when I looked at the registry, but here we are.” Ditzy sighed. She reached up and let her bun fall apart, her thin blonde hair falling past her shoulders. Without giving Starlight another look, she stumbled over to the wardrobe and began to brush her hair at the mirror.

“I’m not settling for this. The second I see my Dad again, I’m going to tell him to put me with someone who can go more than a yard without falling over her own feet!” Starlight said.

Ditzy’s shoulders tensed up for a moment, and Starlight heard her breathe out carefully and slowly.

“We’re low on space as it is. I don’t think they’re going to move you just because you complain about it, even if you are like a princess around here.” Ditzy said.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re already getting lots of attention and special treatment. I wouldn’t push it, that’s all I’m saying.” Ditzy said. Her tone was quiet and frank as she continued brushing her hair. “I know you’re a big deal, with your college degree, and your connection to Mister Firelight, but that doesn’t mean you get to be all fussy and so…so mean!” Ditzy said.

Starlight didn’t have an answer to that. She rolled over without another word and went back to staring at the journal, thinking about what to say.

And there it was.

The most basic question Starlight had for herself and the world at large came out of her hand in basic, clear print.

“Why am I mad all the time?”

It was the next day, at an hour of the morning that Starlight found frustrating and a little painful. It had been a struggle to get her hair up in the bun that all the women of Our Town wore, and now she was just outside her bunkhouse, bleary-eyed and yawning.

Already, people were out and about, Starlight saw a young boy carrying pails of water, a small group of men walking off to the fields with old plows and wheelbarrows, and still others with sports equipment or artistic tools heading for the large auditorium at the edge of the village.

“Now that you’re settled in, it’s time to go over the rules of Our Town!” said an incredibly pale and obnoxiously chipper man.

Through her bleary and hateful glare, Starlight noticed that he wasn’t wearing the usual white colored shirt and black suspenders of the other male villagers. He was in a modern grey t-shirt and sweat pants, with a bright red armband bearing a symbol that Starlight didn’t recognize.

“My name is Double Diamond, by the way, and I’ll give you the rundown of your responsibilities!”
Starlight decided instantly that she didn’t like Double Diamond because he explained everything to her the way one would talk to a toddler.

“We don’t do money here! That’s the thing that surprises people the most, I think. Everything you could possibly need is at the General Store, and everything you could want is at the Recreation Center!” Double Diamond said.

“I want to sleep in.” Starlight said.

“Sorry, no can do! Everybody keeps to the same schedule around here! Lights on at 6 am, Lights out at 11 pm!”

“DISGUSTING!” Buck spat from the future.

“Well then I want a spa day.” Starlight sneered in the past.

“We can do that! We have a sweat lodge attached to the Recreation Center, and we have bathing facilities both private and communal!”

“That doesn’t sound very historically accurate. Isn’t this place supposed to be colonial?”

“Haha, well the colonials had a habit of smelling pretty ripe most of the time. There are some bits of the past that we don’t want to repeat! That’s what Firelight says, anyhow!” Double Diamond laughed.

By now they were walking. Starlight didn’t know where to, exactly, which was concerning but less important than the obvious questions she had in her head.

“How exactly do you guys pay for all of this?”

“Oh, that’s simple! Everything we make here in Our Town is added to a stock that is sold to pay for upkeep and maintenance. That includes clothing, food products, and even art!” Double Diamond said, cheerfully gesturing across the town square. “It’s all done over there, at the Assembly Center!”

There was a plain brick building with a few long tables set outside it. Rows of women were seated on benches, toiling away at complex cross-stitch patterns, their knitting needles moving with deliberate speed. They smiled and made the kind of small talk that Starlight found insufferable, and even though there was sweat on their brows, their work did not cease for a second. Starlight turned away before they could all smile and wave at her.

“Let me guess, you’re going to make me plow the fields?” Starlight said.

“No, of course not!” Double Diamond said.

“Phew,” Starlight said.

“That’s men’s work! The ladies do things that are a little easier on the back! Knitting, cooking, herding, that sort of thing!”
And in an instant, Starlight’s relief turned into a sneer.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of-”

“Since you’re new, we’re going to start off with something simple! If you’ll follow me!” Double Diamond trotted ahead of Starlight, and she begrudgingly followed him to the back of the building, where a pile of rugs taller than she was sat next to a crudely made clothesline carved out of thin tree trunks. On the other side of it was a wheelbarrow.

“We were told to give you a job that was pretty active because you don’t like to sit still!” Double Diamond said.

“Who told you that?” Starlight sneered.

“Firelight, of course!” Double Diamond said.

“Of course.” Starlight seethed.

“So every bunkhouse in Our Town has a rug in its living room, and they all get super dusty, as you can imagine. The old fashioned way of dealing with that is this!” Double Diamond presented a sturdy woven rod with a long handle and a set of intricate loops at the far end.

“It’s a stick,” Starlight said.

“It’s a rug beater! Made authentically with rattan and woven by hand! You take this, and you smack the dust out of the rugs, and you put them in this wheelbarrow! That’s the job!” Double Diamond said.

“What? All of these rugs? All by myself?”

“Oh, don’t worry, this job is pretty easy! You should be done in three or four hours, no problem!”

“Three or four hours!?”

“You’re allowed to take a break whenever you want, we’re not monsters! Just make sure it gets done by sundown, okay? Take care, now!”

Double Diamond tossed the rug beater to Starlight, who stumbled to catch it as he turned to head back down the path.

Before Starlight could complain more, Double Diamond was off on a brisk jog. He trotted across the field, where others wearing the same armband were jogging together. Starlight noticed a woman with dark blue skin and white hair smile up at Double Diamond, dropping him a wink as they ran in lockstep.

Starlight stood there, looking at the tool in her hands, then at the villagers milling about. This place was the polar opposite of Sire’s Hollow. No quiet animosity between neighbors could fester here. Everybody had a place, and everybody knew everyone else. The whole place moved like an ant farm, with machine-like efficiency, and yet Starlight could not seem to fit in at all.

Her hands clutched the rug beater, and with a hard swing, Starlight tried to find her place. She was furious for several reasons, chief among them that she couldn’t simply relax and go with the flow. She was angry at her Dad, she was angry at her situation, she was angry at her Dad a second time, but mostly, she was angry at herself.

Thwack.

The rod slapped into the plain brown rug. It felt good.
Starlight built up a steady rhythm. She would knock the dust out, yank the rug off the rack and replace it. Soon her anger and bitterness were lost in the simple repetition of her task.

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

But it wasn’t enough. After a few rugs, all of Starlight’s anxieties came creeping back into her skull, and she tried to blot them out by striking the rugs harder until she was flailing, grunting like an animal, sweat dripping down her brow. Blood was rushing in her ears, blotting out everything but the pure physicality of the work. She struck the rugs, and they got cleaner. Like a hammer and chisel on a block of stone, Starlight hit the rugs, and their true colors emerged from beneath the dust. There was a sort of primal catharsis in that act. Something that felt right about striking the world in order to change it.

“GAAH!” Starlight swung wide, and the rug beater thwacked the side of the clothesline, sending it clattering to the ground.

There were whispers all around, but when Starlight looked, she saw the same smiles that had greeted her when she arrived.

The clock tower rang, and everyone shut their eyes.

Noon.

Another, smaller bell rang out across the village. It was tinny and light, and at its sound, all of the villagers broke from their trances and moved in the direction of the Mess Hall, albeit slowly. They all had the same exuberant smiles as they had since the moment Starlight arrived, but compared to the fervor she had seen at the feast, this was little more than a shuffle.

A breeze carried a greasy scent to Starlight’s nose, something like a combination of bacon and sausage that was more confusing than enticing.

Starlight made her way to the Mess Hall, where the smell of frying pork threatened to overwhelm her. It was the total opposite of the burgers and fries she had savored before.

On every villager’s plate were two slices of something that seemed more brick than bread, a steaming bowl of cloudy, brown liquid, and what looked like a bit of cinderblock that was sizzling with little greasy bubbles. The atmosphere was subdued; villagers tucking into their food with perfect postures as if this were some charm school test. There was hardly any small talk; every part of this seemed utilitarian and lifeless.

Firelight was conspicuously absent, but Starlight noticed Double Diamond and the group she had seen running before were standing watch at the exits to the hall.

With a bewildered march, Starlight found herself in line for the food and happened to see Sugar Belle serving at the end of the table, her own practiced smile shining brightly.

“What the hell is this?” Starlight demanded.

“It’s Dinner!” Sugar Belle chirped.

“It’s noon. How can it be dinner?”

“We serve dinner at noon! We serve supper later, at night!”

“Like-”

“Like the colonists, yes!”

“No, I mean what is this menu? It looks like…like something you found buried under the floorboards.” Starlight said. The people in line around her stopped their small talk for a moment and glanced at her, their flanking smiles giving Starlight the distinct discomfort of seeing a security camera inside an elevator.

“...well! I wouldn’t call it that! What we have here is our usual spread: Homemade whole wheat bread, chicken broth, and a historical specialty: Scrapple! All done up like the colonials did it!”

“What is it? It looks like a brick.” Starlight said with a sniff.

“It’s a sort of cornbread made with pork…stuff.” Sugar Belle said.

“Why does it smell like a barbecue pit? And what do you mean pork stuff?”

“You know, liver, and kidney and stuff. Byproducts!”

“Excuse me, could you move it along, please?” Said a painfully polite villager.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Starlight rolled her eyes and let Sugar Belle plate her up.

“Enjoy!” Sugar Belle waved with a practiced, customer service smile. As Starlight grumpily stepped away with her plate of culinary question marks, she saw another hand waving at her; Ditzy Doo was sitting alone at the edge of a long table. Starlight sighed and sat by her; better to suffer together than alone.

"You can't seriously be eating this stuff every day." Starlight said.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it! After I've been working all morning, I'm kinda glad to have it!" Ditzy said.

With much trepidation, Starlight poked at the lump of pork-smelling weirdness until a thick chunk of it came off on her fork, hissing with steam.

Starlight glanced at Ditzy Doo, a look of horror on her face. Ditzy Doo smiled apologetically and nodded. Starlight squared her shoulders. There was no way her Dad would let the cooks serve garbage here. It had to taste better than it looked...right?

The piece had barely passed Starlight’s lips before she started gagging. It was like licking bacon grease out of a pan. The texture was oily and grainy at the same time, coating Starlight’s tongue in a sticky film.

“They don’t expect us to eat this slop, do they? What happened to the fast food?”

Ditzy glanced around in alarm and put a finger to her lips. Several villagers looked up from their plates directly at Starlight. She struggled to put on a smile that matched theirs.

“The old settlers thought that stuff like sugar and salt was sinful. They didn’t use them much, so we don’t use them here.” Ditzy whispered.

“You don’t use spices here!?” Starlight murmured.

“I don’t know, they only let me in the kitchen to do those muffins! I’m pretty sure they make all this food traditionally!”

“You mean they make it badly on purpose. This is outrageous, I’m going to complain to my Dad!” Starlight said, rising to her feet. Ditzy caught her by the arm and pulled her back down.

“No, no, no,this is how its supposed to be!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Almost everything we do here in Our Town is traditional! It keeps things simple, and it clears the mind, that’s what Mister Firelight says!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see him eating this crud.”

“Shhh!” Ditzy’s eyes darted around, left and right, and then a combination of the two. She blinked until her eyes refocused and held Starlight gently by the arm.

“Everything here is carefully designed to bring people back to basics, but also to get them to try new things. You give something up to get something, you know?”

“I’m not giving up good food,” Starlight said bluntly.

“Is everything good over here?”

Double Diamond was back, threatening them with a cheery smile.

“Oh, oh, uhm…” Ditzy mumbled, twirling a lock of hair.

“Ditzy was just explaining to me how the food is made,” Starlight said.

“Oh, right! Pretty good, right? All of the food around here comes straight out of the history books, and the village diet is designed to keep everyone happy and healthy!”

“So, does everyone have to eat this?”

“Technically, no! Executives like me have our own strict diet to keep us in top shape!”

“Executives?”

“I know it sounds a little scary, but that’s what the guards are called,” Ditzy said. “They get to live in the mansion at the top of the hill! Oh, and they get those nifty armbands!”

Starlight squinted at the strange symbol on Double Diamond’s band. It was something like a black lyre. Instead of strings, it had an orange dot in the center.

“What is that symbol?” Starlight said.

“Oh, this? It’s the sun’s cradle! It’s a symbol that the colonials brought over. It’s supposed to represent…uh…I forget!” Double Diamond said.

“Typical. So, what, if you volunteer for guard duty, you get a cushy suite and a better lunch?”

“Oh, it’s not just guard duty! That’s just one of the important jobs we can do. Some of us work the mail room, or oversee the rec, or the farm. Didn’t anyone explain how things work around here to you?” Double Diamond said, frowning at Ditzy Doo.

“...oh! Oh, sorry! I was supposed to do that, wasn’t I? Because we’re roommates and all, and-”

“That’s alright Ditzy, you can just tell her now!” Double Diamond patted Ditzy’s shoulder, and Starlight could swear the cross-eyed woman was going to catch fire on the spot.

“The pipeline goes like this; everybody comes to Our Town to sorta get their head on straight and have a new start!” Ditzy said.

“The modern world is full of poisonous influences that lead to pain and heartache. In Our Town, we all have a place to detox!” Double Diamond said.

“We each have a job, and we each do our part to keep the place running, and we try a bunch of hobbies until we find one we like! After a while, we get to become Executives and live in the mansion, which has a bunch of luxury stuff in it, and when we’re ready to leave, we pick up all the money we earned from our work, and we go!” Ditzy said.

“This isn’t a resort, so there is a time limit. People can only stick around for four months without becoming executive. If they don’t, we have to kick them out so that new people can come in.” Double Diamond said.

“But what if they aren’t ready to go? What if they don’t want to be executives?” Starlight said.

“Why wouldn’t you wanna be an executive?” Ditzy said.

“It sounds like a lot of responsibility. And a lot of physical labor. I didn’t come here to run laps, I came here to get away from everything.” Starlight said.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place!” Double Diamond said. “I’m sure once you get comfortable here, you’ll come around! Take care, now!”

Ditzy sighed as she watched him go, leaning on the palm of her hand until her elbow slipped and she knocked her forehead against the table.

“Are you alright?” Starlight said.

“What do you care?” Ditzy grumbled.

“How are my two favorite ladies doing? Enjoying the grub?” Firelight said, throwing his arms around the pair’s shoulders.

Starlight shuddered, and Ditzy nearly fell out of her chair.

“No, I’m not. I’m really not.” Starlight said.

“Aww, don’t be such a Debbie Downer, pudding pop! What’s bothering you?”

“What’s bothering me? I don’t even know where to start! How about this one, why isn’t there any spice in the food here? It tastes like a…like a…”

“Like a sock that was cooked in bacon grease?” Buck offered.

In the flickering glow of the little bonfire, Starlight blinked out of her memory.

“...actually, yes, exactly like that. Have you had Scrapple before?”

“Nah, but I’ve heard it’s nasty as hell. Always kinda wanted to try it, though. That, and haggis.”

“Wait, do you hear that?” Starlight said.

Buck held a hand up to his ear as Starlight glanced around the chamber in the earth. There it was again, Starlight thought. Some sort of tapping in the wall. She held a hand to her ear, hearing nothing but her own heartbeat.

“I don’t hear nothin’,” Buck said, eventually. “What did your Dad have to say? Starlight frowned, and Buck saw a deep disdain cross her face, the same kind she had when she spoke of Adagio.

“He started going on and on about the background of Our Town; how it was based on a real colonial settlement, down to the foundations and the carvings, and the rules were there to ground people, and the exact process of how they made their weirdly stony bread and at some point I just started tuning him out.”

“And that’s why we make everything here according to the old ways. It’s to give people a sense of place. A baseline if you will, so that they can see the modern world from the outside, with all its glitz and glamour and distractions polluting the mind. In the old days, you would-”

“Oh my god, who cares!? What’s next, are you going to make everyone poop in a hole in the ground? Maybe shower with rain water?” Starlight groaned.

All around her, villagers gasped. Ditzy looked absolutely mortified, and she remedied this by stuffing her mouth with colonial garbage food so she wouldn’t have to talk.

“Now Starlight, not everything is a throwback; we’ve got running water, space heaters, computers in the library, you name it! We just prefer to do some things the old fashioned way, and it works! You’ll see.”

“Right, so you make up the rules, and then break them whenever you want?” Starlight said, crossing her arms.

“Starlight Glimmer, that is enough,” Firelight said. His voice had lost all sense of mirth, his bright and sunny smile gone. “You’re making a scene.”

Starlight stammered indignantly, glancing around at the smiles around her as they began to turn down. Beneath her father's gaze, she felt like she was alone in a dead forest. Firelight squeezed her shoulder then, and somehow it felt comforting.

“I know that Our Town is out of your comfort zone, but I also know you’ll do well here. Just give us a chance.”

“...fine.” Starlight grumbled.

“As for the little creature comforts we have around here, well, there’s just some things we can’t do without, like working toilets, and a spa!” Firelight chuckled, turning away. “Hey Ditzy, how are you doing today, are you doing something new with your hair?”

“Uh…no?” Ditzy said, blushing.

“Fantastic!” Firelight said, a few steps away.

“Dad, wait a minute, I need to talk to you. Not about the rules, but about Mom!”

“Sorry honey bun, I’m a little busy right now!” Firelight said, already out the door.

The bell tower rang again, and once the villagers stepped out of their brief trance, they started chattering excitedly to each other as they neatly filed out of the mess hall, including the cook staff, who tossed their aprons into a barrel and moved with the crowd.

“What are they so excited about?” Starlight grumbled.

“It’s rec time!” Sugar Belle said, adjusting her bun as she walked up. “After dinner, everybody who worked in the morning has their free period. Most people fast-walk over to the library to get on the computers, but there’s a ton of stuff to do around here!”

“What do you like to do for fun, Starlight?” Ditzy Doo said.

She really was trying, Starlight realized, and it made her feel extremely self-conscious about the way she had been acting. Starlight looked to and fro and felt her palms get sweaty as she tried with all her might to be just the smallest bit friendly and approachable.

“I…uh…I like…kites!” Starlight said, with all the confidence of a second-grade theater performance. Ditzy and Sugar Belle looked at each other for a moment and chuckled.

“What!? What’s so funny?” Starlight said.

“No, nothing, nothing! It’s just, that’s just so normal!” Sugar Belle laughed.

“Kites are fun!” Ditzy said. “Do you want me to show you where they keep the kites over at the rec?”

“...sure.” Starlight said.

For a few precious minutes, Starlight stood on the side of a little hill beside the main village, smiling and surfing a colorful box kite with practiced ease.

“It’s really about the aspect ratio. The higher the AR, the better the kite jumps, but it can be hard to relaunch. If it’s low, it won’t zip around as much, but it gets more stable and easier to control!” Starlight rambled through the first smile she had made since arriving.

“I think I get it.” Sugar Belle said as she dutifully untangled Ditzy from her own kite’s line.

“What part?” Starlight said.

“Why you like kites! It’s sort of a delicate thing; like you were saying before, every kite is different, but you have to make them just right to get them to fly. You can control everything about them until they’re up in the air; then all you can do is hope they work. It’s sort of like baking! You know, in a way.” Sugar Belle said.

“Ooh, that makes sense! The uh, the string is like controlling the heat in the oven! It’s not a ton of control, but it anchors the thing so you can keep a handle on it!” Ditzy said excitedly, finally slipping free of her line.

“Yeah, you’re right!” Sugar Belle said.

“I guess so. I never really thought about it like that.” Starlight said. “Do you need some help with that?” Sugar Belle said.

“No, no, I think I got it!” Ditzy said. Her kite was what Starlight Glimmer called a Delta, a glider-shaped kite that was meant to dip and flit through the air like a falcon on the wing. It was colored bright green and soft grey, and it soared into the clear skies for approximately thirty seconds before it took a nose dive, crashing into Ditzy Doo and bowling her over in a heap.

“Phooey.” Ditzy Doo said, her eyes spinning.

This time as Sugar Belle helped Ditzy up, Starlight stuck her kite’s handle into the ground and pulled the grey-skinned girl up by her opposite arm. She was surprised to find she had done it without thinking; it just seemed to happen naturally.

“Thanks, you guys!” Ditzy said.

“Don’t mention it.” Starlight said.

“No, I’m gonna! You’re actually not so bad, and that’s really nice!” Ditzy Doo said, smiling at Starlight like a puppy getting pet.

“Right…I’m…look, I’m sorry for the way I acted before, okay? I’ve been under a lot of stress, and it’s not okay for me to take it out on you.” Starlight said.

“That’s okay! I’m used to it!” Ditzy said.

“You shouldn’t have to be, Ditzy.” Sugar Belle said.

“I get it, you know? I’m a big clutzy dummy sometimes, but that’s why I like being here so much! No one is ever mean to me when I make mistakes! Everyone just treats me like I’m part of the family, and after the stuff I came from, well…I need that right now. There’s nothing for me at home.”

“My story is a lot like that, too. I was kind of a troublemaker back at home. I came here because I wanted to try being someone else for a little while. Someone nicer.” Sugar Belle said. “I think if you ask most people in Our Town, they’ll say something like that. Everyone’s here for a reason, and everyone is welcome. Including you.”

The clocktower rang again, and all the villagers froze. Starlight saw them all, paused in the middle of roller skating and flower arranging and knot tying, all reflecting on the things that they were happy about in their lives, and it suddenly made sense.

When time went back to flowing, Starlight looked to Sugar Belle and Ditzy Doo and smiled.

“Thank you. Both of you. I think I get it, too.”

The afternoon passed quietly and pleasantly. When supper came around, Starlight decided to retire to her bunk, where a surprise waited for her on the side table.

It was a little lunchbox, the same one that Starlight used to carry to grade school, with the little wizard girl petting a dragon on the front.

Starlight opened it carefully, revealing a feast fit for a princess. Two square-cut slices of pizza with pepperoni and pineapple, a thermos filled with hot chocolate, and another one of those delicious blueberry muffins.

Stuck to the inside of the lid was a sticky note.

“You can’t spell ‘exceptional’ without ‘exception.’”

It was a small adjustment and a simple one. After that day, Starlight finally started to fit into the villagers of Our Town. In the days to come, she would try her hand at all sorts of recreations. She got pretty good at beating rugs, churning butter, and folding clothes. She worked hard and she played hard, and day by day, she felt her spirit lifting and the corners of her mouth turning up.

She could also see her father in his element; he seemed to know the names of everyone in town and checked in on them in a very personable manner. He was surrounded by an aura of respect and admiration, especially from the executives who would flock around him like trained pigeons. She had never seen him look so proud.

Much like it was when she was a child, Starlight Glimmer grew increasingly frustrated that Firelight never seemed to have time to talk, but she did her best to put that aside and focus on the positive. Her Dad was busy, certainly, but he cared; the lunchboxes Starlight found on her bed every night were proof of that. She just had to be patient, and he would have to make time for her. It simply meant she had time to figure out exactly what she wanted to say to him.

Perhaps what helped most was the diary Starlight had been given by Sunset Shimmer. At first, she just used it to rehearse the tirade she had in store for her Dad, but soon enough she was writing in it every night. Whenever she felt strongly about practically anything, she was sure to mark it down in the diary. Building that simple habit made her feel stronger and more in control of herself than ever before, and as the days turned into weeks, Starlight started to feel something like peace in the routine.

Starlight Glimmer had been in Our Town for about a month, and for all intents and purposes, she was adjusting well. It was after sundown, and Starlight was on one of the computers in the rec center, a building that was a part gym and part library, typing on one of the chunky old computers with a smile on her face. She was the only person still in the rec, and that privacy felt like the height of luxury. There weren't any webcams here, but she could still message Sunburst, and that made the whole situation better by an order of magnitude.

“So what’s new with you?” Starlight said.

“Not much. We’re heading into finals, and it’s kind of a nightmare. Oh, and I had the most embarrassing night of my life.” Sunburst said.

“What? What happened?”

“I don’t want to get into it, but let's just say I got into a big fight with a burly purple guy at karaoke, and the night went downhill from there.”

“That sounds insane! People in the Bay Area must be crazy! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! I think I might have made a friend.”

“Wow. I had no idea things could be so eventful on your end. Beyond the weird colonial vibes and the labor, things here are actually pretty boring.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted? A little bit of peace after crunching through school for so long?”

There was a long pause.

“I’m not really sure what I want anymore. But you’re right. It’s nice to slow down and just be somewhere else for a while. Anyway, I’ve got to go. My time is up, and the sun has already gone down.”

“Have we really been talking for that long? Time really flies, huh? Don’t let me keep you, I guess. Stay safe out there!”

“I’ll talk to you soon, Sunburst. See you later.”

Even now, just chatting with Sunburst brought a warm glow to Starlight’s cheeks. A part of her was terrified that he would find someone over there and fall in love before she could tell him how she felt, but another part desperately wanted to do it in person. As she logged off, she ran through all the ways she could do it in her head, maybe flowers or a note or something sappy like that. She was so caught up in imagining it that she didn’t notice the hands drifting out from the darkness behind her, reaching around her head.

“Peek-a-boo!” Sugar Belle said, covering Starlight’s eyes.

“AAH!” Starlight shrieked.

“Sugar Belle, you really shouldn’t do that to people!” Ditzy Doo scolded.

“What is wrong with you?” Starlight said, slapping Sugar Belle’s hands away.

“Heehee, sorry Starlight! You just looked so lost, I had to give you a little shock! What’s the matter? Thinking about Mister Right again?” Sugar Belle said, snorting as she laughed.

“That’s none of your business!” Starlight said, slapping the PC’s power button.

“Oh, come on, nothing ever happens around here; you’ve gotta give me a little gossip!” Sugar Belle said. “Here, look, if you tell me about your boo, I’ll tell you about this guy back at home that I like!”

“Are you high?” Starlight blustered.
Sugar Belle looked at Ditzy Doo and started giggling. Ditzy shushed her, looking around nervously.

“Okay, so I may have come here with some special ingredients, and I maaay have decided to make some brownies for all of us!” Sugar Belle said.

“Come on, Sugar Belle, you’re gonna get us in trouble…!” Ditzy said.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Do you want some? I figured we could all get a little bit giddy and gossip!” Sugar Belle reached into the front pockets of her colonial dress and produced a pair of plastic baggies that were nearly bursting with a whole tray’s worth of lumpy, chocolatey mess.

“No,” Starlight said.

Sugar Belle stuck out her tongue, then took a pinch of brownie and popped it into her mouth.

“What, are you allergic to fun, or something?” Sugar Belle said.

“I’m about…eighty-percent sure that stuff is illegal in this state. Also, weed makes you dumb. Everybody knows that.” Starlight said.

“Wow. What did you even do in college?”

“...I studied. Like you’re supposed to.”

“Okay, miss stick in the mud and up the butt! Me and Ditzy are going to have a fun night without you, then!”

“Ditzy, did you have some, too?” Starlight said.

Ditzy blushed and smiled, pinching her fingers together. Just a tiny bit, it seemed.

“It’s just I know some juicy info about what’s happening tonight, and I wanted to see if you two wanted to scope it out!” Sugar Belle said.

“What is it?” Starlight said, perking up.

“Oooh, now you’re interested! You wanna see the kinds of stuff that goes on in your daddies’ perfect little pet project?” Sugar Belle said.

“If you managed to smuggle illegal drugs in here, who knows what else is happening in this place?” Starlight said haughtily.

“So do you want to come? Aren’t you scared of getting caught with me and my…uh…contraband?”

“Girls, uh…maybe this is a bad idea?” Ditzy said.

“I’m not scared! What’s Dad going to do? Ground me? Please.”

“Okaaay, just know that you’re going along with a ‘dangerous criminal’ and her spooky sticky-icky! Look out Glimmy, you’re gonna eat it, and it’s gonna make you chill for a second!” Sugar Belle laughed.

“I can chill! …I’m the chillest!” Starlight said.

“Are you sure you want to-” Ditzy started, but Starlight grabbed a baggie from Sugar Belle’s hand. She then grabbed a handful of mushy, chocolatey brownie particulate and stuffed it into her mouth.

Sugar Belle and Ditzy glanced at each other in shock as Starlight chewed.

“...okay, there, I took your stupid slacker drugs. So can we go now?” Starlight said.

“...yeah, sure!” Sugar Belle said, stifling a laugh as she headed for the door. Starlight followed behind her, arms crossed with indignity, while Ditzy took up the rear, looking equally mortified and terrified.

Beneath the cloudy night skies, Our Town took on a disquieting silence. It was now the break of fall, and the wind carried a cold, wet caress that made Starlight rub her arms as she crept along between Sugar Belle and Ditzy Doo. There was no happy chatter at this time of night, but that wasn’t to say there was no one about.

A set of guards patrolled the grounds and a slow and deliberate march, keeping an eye out for any villagers playing hooky from the nightly curfew, their smiles subdued. They had been graciously afforded the privilege of wearing modern grey hoodies to keep them dry.

The trio of women crept behind the buildings, careful to avoid the flickering lights of the old-timey lanterns that dotted the cobblestone paths.

"Stay low and quiet. We really, really don't want to get caught sneaking around out here." Sugar Belle said.

Something about this whole thing had Starlight feeling giddy. Before, she was something like a begrudging prisoner of this odd little project, but now she was like a thief in the night, flanked by co-conspirators as they sussed out some choice information. Even as they huddled by the old barn at the edge of our town, Starlight found herself growing excited.

That excitement started to wane after the group had been huddled in the darkness for twenty minutes, staring at a stubby hill that Sugar Belle had indicated. There was an outhouse next to it, and next to that was a lit lantern, which was the only source of illumination this far out.

“Okay, I give up. Is the hill supposed to haunted, or something?” Starlight said.

“No, no, it’s not the hill; it’s what’s going to happen on the hill!” Sugar Belle whispered.

“How long does it usually take for something to happen?” Ditzy said.

“Usually it’s a couple lines of dialogue, and then they see their guy.” Buck said, from the future.

“Shh! Someone’s coming!” Sugar Belle said.

A figure emerged from the misty darkness. It was broad of shoulder, imposing of height, and intimidating even in a plane grey hoodie. As it entered the lantern light, it threw back its hood to reveal…Double Diamond. He looked like he was getting ready to raid a cookie jar and having some major misgivings about it.

Ditzy Doo audibly gasped, then covered her mouth. Starlight saw Sugar Belle flash a mischievous grin.

“Every night, Double Diamond comes out here to meet with his special lady.” Sugar Belle whispered.

Double Diamond was taking the cold about as well as Starlight, shivering slightly and wringing his hands as he stood alone on the hill. He wouldn’t have to wait for long, as minutes later, another person strolled out of the mist, although with far less trepidation in their steps. It was a fit feminine form with an athletic build, though it moved with the grace of a tin soldier come to life. Double Diamond tilted his head, then reached out gingerly and pulled the hood down to reveal the woman Starlight had seen before. She was smiling brightly like every villager had during the day.

“We’re super not allowed date here, by the way.” Sugar Belle whispered.

“Night Glider?” Double Diamond said.

“Welcome.” Night Glider said.

“What?” Double Diamond said.

“How are you tonight? It’s great to see you.” Night Glider said.

“It’s…good to see you too? Are you okay? You seem a little…are you sick?” Double Diamond said.

“I’m great. I wasn’t so good before, but I’m great now.”

“That’s good to hear, I guess. How are things at the mansion?”

Double Diamond reached out to hold Night Glider, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“The mansion is the heart of our village.”

“I know that, I mean, are you doing okay there, away from everybody? Away from me?”

“I’m great!”

“Well, I’m not. It feels like I haven’t heard from you in weeks! What are they having you do as an executive?” Double Diamond said. Any trace of his chipper, professional demeanor was gone, and as he spoke, his voice started to crack a bit.

“We executives perform the essential functions that keep this place running.” Night Glider said. It was like a recording from a theme park animatronic.

“I know your work is important, I know that, but I’m saying that if…this; me and you, if this is as important to you as it is to me, I need you to make a little time for me. I miss you, Night Glider.” Double Diamond said. He leaned in to kiss her, then drew back suddenly as Night Glider’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. She just kept looking at him with her wide eyes and bright smile, blinking slowly.

Night Glider looked up and away, and Starlight followed her gaze to see that she was staring at the mansion’s clock tower.

“Oh, it’s gotten late! I should go back to my room and rest.” Night Glider said.

“Is that really all you have to say…!?” Double Diamond said. He couldn’t hide the hurt in his voice, even as he tried to keep it low. A bit of wetness on his cheek shone in the lantern light.

“I really should get some sleep if I’m going to do my best tomorrow. Take care, now!” Night Glider said, and she marched off in the direction of the mansion, leaving Double Diamond to sob quietly.

Sugar Belle took Starlight’s hand, then Ditzy’s, and led them away. They moved low and slow, pausing periodically to let the patrols pass by.

“Well, that was weirder than usual.” Sugar Belle said under her breath.

“What’s it usually like?” Ditzy said.

“Usually, they make out and stuff! That was…I don’t know what that was. That girl’s turned into a real workaholic.”

“I guess that’s just what it takes to be executive material. That seemed really harsh though, I dunno. What do you think, Starlight?” Ditzy said.

Suddenly Starlight felt something like a metaphorical bonk on the head. It was more like a bonk in her brain. She felt unmoored; like she was about to lift off from the ground and float into space. Bubbles of laughter burbled up from her throat, and she might have toppled over it Sugar Belle and Ditzy didn’t have her by the hands.

“Whoop!” Starlight giggled.

“Uh-oh.” Sugar Belle said.

“Oh geez, Sugar Belle! You don’t think…?” Ditzy said.

“You girls are suuuuper fun~!” Starlight laughed, flopping limply into Ditzy’s arms.

“No, no, no, not now! We’re almost back at our dorm!” Ditzy said.

“Speak for yourself!” Sugar Belle hissed, looking around. “Now Starlight, I know you’re having fun right now, but we really need to shake a leg, okay? I need you to just chill out, and-”

“I’m chill, I’m chill, I’m super cool!!” Starlight said.

“Shhhh! Keep it down! If we get caught, they’ll lock us in the stockades!” Sugar Belle said.

“Oh nooo, I won’t have to eat the garbage food, whatever will I dooo~?” Starlight whisper-yelled. “Be honest, do you guys think I’m a jerk? I kinda feel like a jerk, like all the time.”

“I don’t think you’re a jerk, you just come off as kinda mean!” Ditzy said, pulling Starlight to her feet.

“I’m not mean; I’m just tired! I’ve been tired for a while. Maybe…maybe I was born tired?” Starlight gasped.

“I know the feeling.” Ditzy giggled.

“Come on!” Sugar Belle said. She pulled Starlight by the hand, ducking into an alley between cottages just as one of the guards passed by.

Starlight’s loopy gait and giggle fit made it extremely difficult to keep a low profile, but Ditzy and Sugar Belle valiantly held her up and covered her mouth as they darted between pathways, just barely managing to keep out of sight of the guards.

Finally, they made it to the bunkhouse where Starlight and Ditzy were staying. Sugar Belle let out the breath she had been holding.

“Okay, we made it. That got a little hinky, but we made it.” Sugar Belle said, stretching her arms with a yawn.

“Hinky is a silly word.” Starlight leaned against the door, slowly sliding down.

“Yeah, I’m glad that’s all over.” Ditzy said. She leaned against the wall of the bunkhouse, and her hand promptly slipped against the mist-covered wood. She fell to the ground, knocking over a butter churn, which rang against a wheelbarrow, which toppled over, spilling freshly cut logs onto the cobblestones, where they bounced down the path and nearly tripped up one of the guards.

“Who goes there?” The guard said, rushing over.

“Oh, brilliant.” Sugar Belle said, slapping her forehead.

“Yeah, that Ditzy is a comedy genius!” Starlight laughed.

“Hello, Sugar Belle! Ditzy Doo, and Miss Starlight! What are you doing out past curfew?” Said the man. He had light blue skin and curly, dark blue hair. He bore the same red armband as the rest of the guards.

“Hello Party Favor! Ditzy and I were just fetching Starlight from the rec! She lost track of time, and fell asleep at one of the computers! Classic new villager mistake, right Ditzy?” Sugar Belle tittered.

“Owie…” Ditzy Doo said, eyes spinning in her head. Party Favor kindly leaned down to help her up.

“Starlight is just exhausted. I was making sure she got to bed properly.”

Now that Sugar Belle had mentioned it, Starlight could feel her eyelids growing heavy as she sat against the bunkhouse door.

Party Favor's expression scrunched with scrutiny. It was anyone's guess what he was thinking as he glared at Sugar Belle, whose smile stood resolute, even under pressure.

“Oh, well, far be it from me to get in the way! Will you make sure to report this to Firelight? I’ll go ahead and clean up this mess.” Party Favor said, already grabbing some of the logs from the ground.

“Of course. Sorry to startle you like that! I’ll make sure these two get good and settled in!” Sugar Belle said. She nodded to Ditzy, and with her help, Starlight was once again on her feet.

“Alrighty then, you all take care now!” Party Favor said with a wave. Sugar Belle was already ushering Starlight inside.

“Take care now!” Sugar Belle smiled and closed the door. “Yeesh. I think I need another brownie.”

“Don’t you go all floppy on me, too!” Ditzy said.

“Yes, listen to Ditzy! She’s an expert on being floppy!” Starlight said.

“Gee, thanks.” Ditzy said.

“I like this version of Starlight! She’s a riot!” Sugar Belle laughed.

“Well, she’s definitely a handful,” Ditzy said. “Okay Starlight, come on, one foot up, and then the other…”
Starlight plopped onto her bed gracelessly. There was a certain wetness at the corner of her eyes, and she quickly rubbed her face against her pillow to cover it.

“Are you alright?” Sugar Belle said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’m f-f-fine!” Starlight said.

“What’s the matter?” Ditzy said.

“Nothing! I’m just…not really used to people being this nice to me. I guess there’s Sunburst, and I chose to come to this place instead of being with him, and I…I don’t know.” Starlight said.

“Oh, so that’s the guy! Is he your boyfriend, or what?”

“No! Maybe, someday. I really like him, but I haven’t said anything. I really wish I was staying with him right now.”

“Oooh~! Were you gonna confess to him and get all touchy-feely?” Sugar Belle said. “I didn’t think you were the kind of girl to hold back!”

“Shut up! We’ve known each other since we were kids! If I tell him how I feel, things will get weird between us, I just know it. What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

“I get that. Sometimes boys turn out to be a little different than you thought you knew. You think you get them one minute, and then they change their minds.” Ditzy said.

“What if I tell him and he hates me!?” Starlight said.

“I mean, you know him better than us. Does he seem like the type to run away when things get a little mushy?” Sugar Belle said.

“No, that’s more of a me thing…” Starlight trailed off.

“He sounds oblivious. Lemmie guess; he’s quiet, except when he talks about something nerdy?”

“...yes. How did you know?”

“Just a hunch.” Sugar Belle smiled. “I’ll tell you something my Dad used to say; you miss all the shots that you don’t take. You’ve got to let the good times roll, instead of worrying so much about what could happen!”

“Wow. You’re the second person to say that to me just recently.”

“Oh yeah?”

“On my flight over, another girl--Sunset Shimmer–-said practically the same thing.”

Sugar Belle and Ditzy Doo shared a glance.

“You met Sunset Shimmer?” Ditzy said.

“Do you know her?” Starlight said.

“Yeah. We went to highschool together! She was kind of a big bully…but she really came around.” Ditzy said.

“She’s trouble.” Sugar Belle said, crossing her arms.

“Trouble? Like how?” Starlight said.

“She’s just another weird thing about Canterlot.” Sugar Belle shrugged. “Did you say you met her on a plane? Did she come here with you?”

“No, no, she was headed for Fillydelphia.”

“Oh, okay.” Sugar Belle said.

Starlight was starting to sober up now, and she could see the tension drop out of Sugar Belle’s shoulders.

“Do you have some kind of problem with Sunset Shimmer?” Starlight said.

“Not me, personally.”

“Then why do you look so upset?” Starlight said.

“Sunset Shimmer…Everyone around her gets wrapped up in some sort of trouble. If I were you, I’d steer clear.”

Starlight's senses were starting to return, and as she replayed the night's events in her mind, she felt a pit in her stomach start to form.

“...what do you guys think about my Dad?” Starlight said.

“When I came here, I thought he was some kind of motivational speaker. A lot of words. Bleh.” Sugar Belle said.

“B-But he really is kind! He cares about all of us here, and he remembers all of our names, and he works so hard to keep this place running!” Ditzy cut in.

“Yeah, that’s…not what I’m used to from him. My Dad…as long as I’ve been alive, my Dad has had a nasty habit of focusing on little details and steamrolling over the things that really matter.” Starlight said.

“He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met. You’re lucky to have a parent that cares about you.” Ditzy said. My Mom is…well, she’s the worst, and I wish you wouldn’t be so critical of Mr. Firelight when he’s working so hard to change people’s lives!”

"Yes, well, I've known him my whole life, and I promise you, he's not as great as you think he is." Starlight said.

“Ditzy’s into the earnest type.” Sugar Belle said with a smile. “Kinda like a certain guy who just got super dumped, huh? Are you gonna make a move?”

“What!? What are you talking about?” Ditzy said, turning red.

“Come on, Ditzy, we all know you like Double Diamond!”

“I don’t like him-like him! He just sorta…reminds me of my ex. In a good way! And he’s nice!”

“So you’re into earnest guys with big shoulders. I totally get it, I’m the same way. Actually, I think I might know somebody that you would like a lot.” Sugar Belle said, an edge of conspiracy in her voice.

Ditzy protested in her usual flustered way while Sugar Belle teased her gently, but eventually, the conversation petered off. At some point, Starlight had rolled over in her bed, and the other girls took that as a cue to wind down.

Starlight waited. She sat silently in the dark until she heard the tell-tale sound of Ditzy’s tiny snore. She pulled the journal from under her pillow, then pulled a travel flashlight from her bag beneath the bed.

She felt as if she had seen something very off tonight, something that disturbed her, but she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.

There was something wrong about the look in Night Glider's eyes; an exhaustion so pronounced and intense, it was nearly feral. It was the same look Starlight saw every semester during finals.

Instead of bottling it up, Starlight put pen to paper, hoping to sort it out in the morning.

“Dear journal, something really strange is happening here.”

She heaved a sigh of relief, feeling better just from admitting it, but then shock crashed into her head like a freight train.

Before Starlight’s very eyes, words spread across the page in a neat, steady hand. Except it wasn’t her hand that put them down. It bore a simple question in red text, one that raised a hundred others as Starlight gawked at the page in shock.

“How strange are we talking?”

Starlight had just about curled up into a ball on the cave floor. After that last sentence, she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, and she rubbed her bad leg gingerly. Buck had never seen her look so vulnerable.

“I’m sorry about today. Your leg must be killing you, with all the running and the weather’n all.” Buck said.

“It’s not me that I’m worried about. Every second we spend down here is a second wasted.” Starlight sighed.

“I’unno ‘bout that. Look.” Buck said.

The red bonfire had bloomed like a rose, doubling in size over the course of Starlight’s story. Where it was hardly a spark before, now its light filled the cavern with shifting shadows.

Starlight could tell that it wouldn’t be enough to undo the rock slide and get the two of them out, but progress had been made.

Buck was genuinely starting to care.

“Do you need to take a break? I can tell that this’s only gonna get rougher from here, so if you wanna slow down, I get it.”

“No. No, we need to get through this. We need to get out of here and finish the mission, but I also need you to understand what I’ve seen, and what Ditzy has seen, too. Maybe then you’ll get why I’ve been so harsh.”

“Is it because that’s the only way you know how to be?” Buck said, raising an eyebrow. “I know how easy it is to get stuck in your ways, especially when you’ve been through trauma, but you don’t have to-”

“Don’t. I know where you’re going, and I’m telling you to stop. Don’t compare me to her. We’re nothing alike.” Starlight said.

“...which “Her” are we talkin’ about? The one you look up to, or the one you punch down at?”

“You can save your moralizing for after we’re finished out here.”

“Well, I know which one I’m talkin’ about, at least.”

“I will come over there and punch you. You know I will.”

“Uh-huh.”

The bonfire diminished a bit. Starlight groaned into her knees.

She wanted so badly to just cut to the end and tell Buck the moral, but she knew that wouldn’t be enough.

He didn’t like her, he didn’t trust her, and at this point, Starlight understood all the reasons why. She had promised to tell her story, and so she would because it was the right thing to do. He was trying to understand, at least.

But she also knew it would hurt to go back to that place again.

At least the fire was warm now.

“Alright. I need you to listen carefully, because the rest of this…is the worst period of my life. I’m only going to go over this once, and when I’m done, we’re getting out of here, and we’re going after the Queen. Deal?”

“Of course. Whenever you’re ready.” Buck said, offering some more trail mix. Starlight took it graciously, then took a deep breath.

Neither noticed the rubble shifting nearby as a black serpentine form slithered across the floor. Its pale blue eyes shone with hunger as it focused on the crackling red flame.

Far from Fillydelphia but not too far from Starlight and Buck, in the depths of the Snowdrop Inn, there was a muffled clattering inside a closet. A changeling drone paused in its patrol, head tilted, body twitching with nervous energy.

It had no words for surprise or suspicion, nor could it read the word “Maintainence” on the wooden door beyond which the sound had come.

It had only existed for about a week, and it therefore knew only a few basic routines. It defaulted on its instincts, leaping to the wall beside the door and sticking firm. It reached a spindly, pocked limb toward the knob and wrapped its awkward digits around it, testing the handle curiously.

Push? No. Twist? Yes. Push, twist? No. Pull?

The door swung open with a low creak.

The drone bared its fangs at an old mop and bucket, some long expired cleaning chemicals, and a large pile of old, dirty rags.

Empty.

The changeling gingerly reached into the narrow space. It picked up a fossilized sponge from the shelf, nibbled at it for a moment, then spat it onto the floor.

Empty. It thought. Hungry.

There was a shuffling down the hall. The drone saw a small group of its kin scuttle by, paying it no mind.

Patrol, it thought.

Suddenly, there was a low shuffle from the closet. The drone’s head spun back, and it gasped as a bit of shining steel flashed from the rag pile, slipping into its mouth and right through the other side like a needle through cloth.

Adagio had lunged from beneath the rags, singing low under her breath. A stream of greenish energy drifted from the changeling’s mouth and into her body. It was drained in an instant.

Adagio scanned her surroundings, shaking the slime from her blade. The hall she was in was a decrepit echo of past excess; yellowed wallpaper and expensive carpeting, creaking columns taken over by a pale, stony substance. It was dark, with the only light coming from green sacks hanging from the ceiling, with orifices opening and closing in the walls. The incessant wet beating of footsteps echoed from all directions. It reeked of mindless hunger and fear.

A migraine cocked like a shotgun at the back of Adagio’s head. This place was oddly reminiscent of a city bus, and she despised it for the noise.

She needed to focus, or she’d be debilitated by the sheer chaos of this place, so she crouched in the nearest darkest shadow and shut her eyes.

With a deep breath and a licking of her lips, she tasted the air.

It was humid, oily, and bitter, like being inside a cockroach nest. It made Adagio’s skin crawl, but she tasted something familiar as well. Beneath the disgusting flavor of gathered changelings, Adagio tasted Buck’s sugar-sweet aura. It was faint, likely far away, but she could taste him, for the first time in hours, she could taste him, and that meant he was alive.

Something about it was off. Dark, frantic, and desperate. Was that fear? Adagio’s mind raced with the possibilities, but she put a stop to it.

Of course, if Buck was here, he must be captured. That was part of the plan. If he was captured, he was guarded, but not currently by the Queen; she was still out in the snow. That meant Adagio had a very short window of time to retrieve him.

She could taste the trail of Buck’s aura leading down into the guts of this place, probably beneath it, but Adagio would find him.

And when she did…what would she do? She had held his love in her hands and shrunken away from it in fear. Again. Was she truly ready to face him now?

A wet scuttling of feet came from down the hall. Another patrol. No time to fret. Adagio moved to close the closet door, sparing a glance at the dying drone she was leaving behind.

It looked up at her dumbly, its eyelids drooping with the rest of its body as it melted into a puddle.

Adagio had to fight the disgust welling up in reaction to her pity. The beast didn’t have the words to beg. It would soon be nothing more than a stain on the floor, nameless and forgotten. The worst fate imaginable.

“I’m sorry.” Adagio whispered, and to her own shock, it was an honest sentiment.

She closed the door and skulked into the darkness of the hive.

Author's Note

What year is it!? Sorry to worry y'all, but after the last chapter, I had a lot of getting-it-together type shit to handle on my end. Long story short, I'm back and better than ever, sprinting through the New Year like an unchained shonen protagonist! I won't be able to put out content at the same breakneck pace I had in the first year of this project, but I am back to writing regularly with a dedicated schedule. To all of you that have enjoyed the ride so far, thank you for tuning in! I'll see you next chapter, where everything will get worse!

Song Review: Unwell is an early 2000's ballad dedicated to the awkward pains of early adulthood. It's a fairly simple rock ballad, but its catchy hook earned it a ubiquity on the radio that can't be overstated. The music video is a pubescent acid trip, showing a melancholy Rob Thomas stumbling around as strange childhood curios leer at him like vengeful ghosts. The perspective shifts and odd sizes of the scenery emulate the uncanny feeling of being out of place and too small in the world; a metaphor for growing pains. The trippy imagery creates a world that is never quite right for a person that never quite seems to fit into it. That feeling is where Starlight Glimmer finds herself as she explores a past that she feels is better left forgotten.