The hotel Starlight chose was surprisingly generous when it came to booking our room. Although they couldn't outright cut us a room for free when they heard we'd come in with the train-load of refugees, they were able to cut us a pretty decent deal on a suite for the week. Much to my delight, I didn't even have to suggest that we get a room on the interior of the building, keeping us free of windows; the only available room at that moment was a windowless room on the second floor. Sure, if we used our ties to the crown, we could probably get the penthouse, but that'd cost an arm and a leg.

That said, it wasn't without issues. The receptionist was kinda condescending toward me because of my age and appearance, and didn't seem to take my request to also rent a room safe for the week seriously at all. Even Starlight was confused at first as to why we would need one; in all the chaos of the day, she'd clearly forgotten we were travelling with one grand in bits. Plus, we have all of my research notes with us.

That said, the actual reason, which I indicated to her with a tap of one the medallions in my sleeve, was my spell medallions. Even though I didn't exactly feel safe in this city, I couldn't keep carrying these military-grade spells around on my person. They also weren't safe to just leave around in our rooms; what if some nosy maid started poking around and accidentally set off Flamethrower or Arctic Gale in such an enclosed place? We'd either have a fire to lose all of our belongings to, or a frozen corpse in our room that we would have to explain to management and cops.

In the end, the shift manager had to come out and authorise having a safe brought up. Once Starlight fished out her own bit-purse from her saddlebags and paid the receptionist—I'd have offered to pay, but the receptionist probably would've just treated me like the child I sorta was—and a bell-colt brought us to our room. All in all, I was surprised that it only cost us forty bits for the week. That was just under three bits a day per pony, although it probably helped that we were being given a pretty sweet discount.

The moment the bell-colt was tipped and we were alone, I climbed up onto the singular bed—not that I minded; I trusted Starlight, and I was more comfortable on a cushion in a corner. I began removing the medallions from my sleeves, dropping them into a pile next to my saddlebags. After that, I took off the jacket and draped it over the pile. Starlight set her own bags on the small table alongside the complimentary drink-glasses and took a seat there, her head in her hooves. The poor mare was a giant ball of stress and anxiety, but she was full of relief, as well.

"How are you as calm as you are?" she asked, tearing up as she watched me I pawing through my bags to retrieve my possum and the water and ice medallions. "I'm just barely holding it together, and I didn't even do any fighting. You're just a filly... you shouldn't have had to fight at all, and you still stepped up. You... you killed today, Anon, and if anypony should be freaked out, it should be you."

Popping my plush pal onto my head, I brought the retrieved medallions over and set them atop the table before sitting across from her. Once I was up in the high-backed chair, I placed the plush in front of her and nodded. She hesitantly picked it up and gave it a squeeze. Instead of answering right away, I conjured us up some cold drinks, wincing as mana coursed through my strained pathways. It gave me time to think about my answers. A smile spread across my face when I felt her panic ebbing away.

"I wanna preface this by stating that I know that this isn't a healthy way to approach it," I explained, earning a raised eyebrow as I spun the glass with my hooves. "I'm not freaking out because I'm rationalizing right now. I tell myself that they're little better than rabid animals; they come and strike at the heart of our country without warning or reason, capturing our rulers and countless ponies for fuck knows what purpose. They needed to be put down before they hurt or killed someone, because I don't doubt for a second that anyone that's too much trouble will be disposed of." My facade cracked momentarily, tears flowed freely, and before I could help it, I blurted out, "I couldn't save Mommy, so I have to help everypony I can! I know I'm a murderer like him now, but somepony had to do it."

She stared at me in shock. Although she'd definitely heard from Twilight about what had happened to my parents, back when Rarity got me high and I blabbed, she'd never brought it up. Fact of the matter was, I seldom spoke of Mom and my sisters, and I'd never referred to her as Mommy. Even I wasn't sure if that was me suffering from filly brain, or if that was a bit of Emerald shining through again. I was inclined to believe it was the latter, though, because of the ponyism.

"You went that far for complete strangers..." She gave my plushie a good squeeze before levitating it back over to me, forcing it into my grasp. Even though I sagged under the calming influence of the little doll, I still felt a tremor working its way across my body. "You're not a murderer, Anon," she said in a firm voice, "and you're nothing like him."

Her expression softened, and I saw a glint of something in her eyes. "You are right in believing that somepony had to do it, but it didn't need to be you. Regardless, you did step up, and several ponies saw you out there today, providing support to the Royal Guard so they could safely get on the train. I'm sure more than a few saw you swat that airship out of the sky. To them, you're a heroine, not a murderer."

With a sigh, she ruffled my mane. "You need to get some rest," Starlight whispered, wiping away my tears with a gentle caress of her magic. "You performed some very powerful magic today, and you need more time to recover. Would you like me to put you under for a few hours, and give you some time free of thought?"

For some reason—maybe it was the anxiety of the day, or the stress that last spell put on my thaumic system—I found myself nodding. "If you say so," I murmured, feeling my eyelids begin to droop. Although I'd gotten a little sugar and a nap on the train, I was wiped and my thaumic system ached from the strain it'd undergone today. Her horn shimmered in the incandescent light of the room, and as her magic caressed the top of my head once more, my mind grew foggy. The only good thing about such spells was that they resulted in a dreamless sleep. With how fucked up this day had been, and with Princess Luna potentially out of commission, I couldn't trust myself not to have nightmares.

She was doing everything she could to make sure I didn't freak out over what I'd done, yet here I was refraining from showing her that poster. Hopping down from the chair with my possum pal clutched to my chest, I gave her a look. "Hey, Star?"

"Yeah, Anon?" she asked, surprise radiating off of her. She was probably expecting me to fall asleep on the spot, but I was still standing, fighting the effect of the spell. "What's up?"

"Can you—" A yawn escaped me as I moved over to the bed, reared up on my back legs, and snatched one of the pillows. I drug the pillow over to an enclosed space by the bedside table and wall and made a nest before continuing. "Can you cast an extra locking spell on the door if you go out for food? I'll explain late...r..."

~ 33 ~

When I awoke, I did feel magnitudes better than I had when I passed out. It was still the same place I'd been when I went under, curled up on a pillow with my forelegs wrapped around my plush. The only real changes to the room were Starlight's absence, the lights being dimmed, and a blanket being draped over me. Despite it all, it was an extended moment of peace.

Hmm... There's a thought. Pushing the blanket off, I rose from my makeshift nest. The only benefit to the extended period of time with my forelimb in an immobilization sling was that I'd gotten used to getting up and walking on three legs. I wasn't quite ready to let go of my plush; as long as I had it—no, she was definitely a her, I think—I could remain in this state of serenity.

The water and ice medallions were exactly where I left them on the table, but the ones I'd left beneath my jacket were no longer there. I saw that there was a large safe occupying the space beneath the table, so I had to assume that Starlight had moved all of my dangerous spells in there. There were also a few bottled sodas and packs of jelly beans on the table, along with a note written on some hotel stationery. I climbed up onto the same chair as before, and pulled the note over.

Anon,

I shouldn't be gone for too long. There were some things I needed to take care of while you were sleeping, before everything closed up for the day. There's information we don't have, and things I need to know. Don't think I've forgotten about dinner, either. I should be back before you wake up, but in the event that I'm not, I have a few things to let you know.

Firstly, the soda and candy on the table are for you to help replenish your mana reserves. You don't need to eat it all when you wake up, but it wouldn't hurt for you to get some sugar in you. In case of emergency, I've tucked the spell you used on the night of the banquet into one of the sleeve pockets in your jacket. That said, unless somepony can break my master-level locking spell, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Starlight

Reassured that Starlight hadn't, for some reason, abandoned me, I reached over to the nearest bottle and popped the metal cap off one-hoofed. When I first brought it to my lips, I thought it to be a cola of some sort, but I was soon treated to the sweet vanilla taste of cream soda. I was glad to have my little possum friend as I leaned back in my chair and sipped my beverage. It was much easier to not think about what had happened only hours earlier.

I think you need a name, my little friend, I thought, setting down the bottle and using the malleable hoof field to tear open a pack of jelly beans. Pouring the bag onto the table, I idly threw a few into the air to catch in my mouth as I mused. Sips of the cream soda happened in between as I thought aloud to myself.

"Let's see, you were given to me by Princess Luna, the former Mare in the Moon," I spoke, chewing as I went. "Back on Earth, there was the word Mare, which meant sea, and it was often used to describe dark spots on the moon. One of them was Mare Serenitatis, the 'Sea of Serenity'..." Hugging my plush ever tighter, I smiled as the peaceful feeling washed over me. "And you certainly make me feel serene... So I think I'll call you Serenity."

Although I was tempted to go put my jacket back on, and have a means of self-defence at less than arm's reach, I didn't really want to have to wear it just to feel safe. It was bad enough that I couldn't rely entirely on my own emotional fortitude without having Serenity around to use as a crutch; if I could no longer feel safe without being heavily armed... No, I can't make myself rely on that.

Instead, I finished my snack and then took my jar of clay and sculpting tools from my bag and returned to the table. If I'm gonna be in this city, where that stallion might still lives, I can't look anything like Emerald. Although I was probably going to need Starlight's help to make a spell that could change my coat colour, at the very least, I could do something about being an earth pony that can use magic. After all, everyone notices an earth pony slinging magic, but nobody notices a unicorn.

How to approach this though? I thought, looking at the clay. I could flatten it, roll it into a cone and then add details like the spiral grooves. It'd be lighter, but cooking it might be harder. Too long and it'd just flat-out split. I tilted my head as I tried visualise a horn in three dimensions. Adult horns are longer, whereas a foal my size would only have a stubbier horn.

Carefully, I rolled out first a ball. Next, I rolled that ball into a thick cone shape with the finesse of my versatile hoof field. That left me with the rough shape of a horn, but I needed to flatten out the bottom without distorting the shape. It wasn't too difficult to figure out, although I ended up using Starlight's note as a spacer to keep the clay from sticking to the table when finished.

As I held the shaping tools, I struggled to figure out which direction to etch the horn spiral. Aunt Twilight's and Princess Celestia's are both clockwise, but Starlight's and Princess Luna's were counterclockwise. For that matter, did the direction of the whorl on a unicorn's horn have some sort of cultural or social significance? I certainly hadn't seen any unicorns with just straight-up fuller grooves in their horns.

Sorry, Twilight, I'm feeling more counterclockwise than clockwise.

A few minutes later, I was in the bathroom with my jacket on, firing the clay horn—yes with the fan running; I'm not a savage—when I heard the tinkle of a spell being cast upon the door. Between all the ponies who were coming and going in he hallways, I never really even paid any mind to the presences going up and down the hallway. That changed the moment I picked up on the potential intrusion.

Two ponies... Carefully setting down the hot baked clay on the counter, I moved my right hoof up my left foreleg, to rest atop the air bullet medallion. As I faced the open bathroom door, which flanked that room's door, I readied myself. What to do...?

The tinkle of the spell ended, and then the lock clicked, and the door swung open.

I pumped mana into the air bullet spell...

5...

4...

"Anon, I'm coming in, and we've got a guest!"

3... That's Starlight!

A blue mare in a starry witch's cap and cape stepped into my field of view.

2...

Her head turned and she caught sight of me. Already her eyes went wide, likely in response to the glowing coming from in front of my forehead. In response, I redirected my gaze to the carpet in front of her. Shit, shit shit!

1...

The air bullet streaked out of the space where the blue glow had been just moments before, and fired off, kicking up some loose strands of whatever dense fibre it used. There was a startled sound from the strange unicorn as Starlight stepped into view. She looked to be levitating along a few take-out bags and drink trays.

"<>, Starlight!" I squeaked, my eyes flicking between the two. I felt kinda dizzy from the spell, and nearly slumped against the wall before the exhaustion passed. My thaumic pathway to my hoof felt like a literal ache in my soul. "Warn me before you bring a stranger! I thought you were... Well..." Shaking my head, I looked to the unicorn I'd nearly blasted. "Sorry; not a great first impression, I'm sure."

Grabbing the fake horn from the bathroom counter and exiting the bathroom, I slipped past the still unicorn. Once I was past, the blue mare took off her cap and ran a hoof through her white mane before following. She seemed somewhat surprised when, instead of hopping up onto the bed or taking a seat at the small table, I ended up going over to the oversized down pillow that I'd drug into the corner earlier.

"Trixie, meet Anon," Starlight said, making her way over to the table and setting down dinner. She didn't pay me any mind as I took my jacket off again; instead she opened a closet I hadn't noticed before and levitated out an extra chair. "Anon, this is my friend—"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" the previously named unicorn interrupted. I raised my eyebrow at the rolled Rs and the stage flourish that probably would've been accompanied by confetti on a stage. "Travelling Showmare Extraordinaire!"

That got a momentary smile from Starlight. "Anon's normally not so jumpy, but considering the day she's had, I'm not surprised she's on edge," she explained, her smile dropping. "She was in Canterlot with me, working alongside the Guard to ensure the first train got out."

I continued to stare at Trixie for a moment. I've heard that name somewhere before, I thought, watching as the mare climbed into the newly-added third chair at the table. Wasn't that one of the people Starlight travelled with in order to save Equestria from the bug? Yeah, there was Trixie, Thorax, Discord, and that Sunburst stallion that she mentioned.

Content that she was someone that my sister trusted, I slowly made my way over to the table. If I could help it, I'd rather not get too close, just to be safe, but that was kinda hard. After all, this wasn't a full-sized dining table, so the three of us seated at it didn't leave a lot of room. Starlight won't let anything happen anyways.

Once I was up in my seat and Starlight levitated a batch of chili con carne and a plastic spoon over to me, I grabbed another of the sodas she'd left out for me. "So how bad is it out there?" I asked, taking a sip of the cola before digging into my chili. My eyes widened at the flavour, and for a moment I stared at my big sister. This has turkey in it, and it still tastes good... Was this intentional, or did they fuck up her order? While they ate their own burritos and quesedillas, Starlight and Trixie started relaying what had been going on while I was holed up in the room.

Firstly, the Sun had stopped moving through the sky on the course Celestia usually guided it, trapping us in an eternal late afternoon. I wasn't sure exactly how bad that was here, but I'd heard that Equestria had gotten away with an extended night during Nightmare Moon's return, so it seemed feasible that it would probably be alright for a few days. That said, a lot of ponies expected the heat to go up beyond even the typical summer temperatures. If things continued past that point, things would get dangerous.

Back home, if the Sun stopped 'moving', that would've meant the Earth had violently stopped spinning, which would've been cata-fucking-strophic.

Trixie, who'd also been in Canterlot, got out a few hours after we did. Surprisingly, before the invaders blew the track going down the mountain completely, the group led by the Captain of the Guard managed to temporarily fix the damage from the earlier sabotage just long enough to get two of the other trains from the depot out of the city. I guess the damage to the track hadn't been as bad as it looked. Oops. The showmare had been on one of those two trains and gotten in maybe an hour ago.

News of Canterlot falling had already spread far and wide. Several cities were already preparing for the worst, but Manehattan itself wasn't going into lock-down or declaring a state of emergency. The Mayor had indeed requisitioned the use of the buckball stadium to create a temporary relief camp—the influx of extra refugees from Canterlot had guaranteed that. Anypony who got out with their money was being given discount vouchers for the hotels. Trixie was apparently even staying in the recently-vacated room directly across from us.

The Mayor of Manehattan was also requesting volunteers to help out with the relief efforts. Anypony with organisational skills, or the ability to provide blankets or extra food was welcomed, although I had my own ideas for how to help. I didn't know anything about this city's water situation, but they were going to need a lot of water to keep all these refugees healthy. If things started getting hot, ice was probably going to be necessary for improvised cooling, especially in the stadium. I could give the relief coordinator a spell to produce a lot of water and ice.

There wasn't any word from Aunt Twilight, unfortunately. From what little she'd been able to overhear from the Captain of the Guard and Prince Blueblood, Twilight was likely fleeing south in search of an old ally of Equestria—the Queen of the Hippogriffs. Unfortunately, they were likely being pursued by the leader of the invading army: a unicorn servant to a creature calling itself the Storm King. Props to the guard's intel gathering, but perhaps they shouldn't be discussing details like that where civilians can eavesdrop.

Worse, Starlight told me that the guard expected possible retaliation for the downing of that airship. They didn't think that the Storm King's army knew who shot it down, but they did know that they were on the train that went to Manehattan. That made me feel worse than I already did about blowing that thing out of the sky—and probably killing all their dudes onboard—because that meant they might send someone here. Sure, they might've just assumed it to be someone from the guard, but that didn't change the fact that a retaliatory strike was my fault.

Once the meals were finished, I looked seriously from Starlight to Trixie. "Star, about what happened earlier," I started, taking a final sip of cola. "You reckon she's safe to bring in on the whole Emerald thing? It's not just this invasion that has me on edge, and it has to do with that."

Without a second thought, Starlight nodded. "I trust her with my life," she answered, a hint of concern, but mostly pride in her aura. "She can be a bit of a braggart, but she's a good pony."

I considered this for a few seconds. "Basically, Ms. Trixie, I have the consciousness of an adult from another world; long and short of it is that Harmony itself granted me a second chance at life when I was found dying after having crossed between worlds." That got a big jolt of alarm from Trixie, which only caused me to giggle. "I dunno if Harmony sent my soul back in time and I reincarnated as this filly, only to go through such awful things that I repressed my memories and somehow awakened the memories of a past life, or if I was simply stuffed into the corpse of a dead girl."

That alarm grew into horror, which morphed into confusion when I giggled at her reaction. "Sorry, Trixie," Starlight interjected. "After an encounter with our least favourite bug, she's become something of an empath. She's just being a butt and playing off your reactions."

I just stuck my tongue out at my adoptive sister before continuing. "Given the odd flash of memory I've gotten, either is technically a possibility," I added. "Up until just recently, the only proof of Emerald Flicker's existence was the fact that she existed in that mirror world and those memory flashes. Today, outside the train station, I found definitive proof that Emerald existed."

Hopping down from my chair, I made my way over to where my bags were stashed, and fished out the poster. Carrying it in my mouth, I brought it over to Starlight. Passing it to her, I returned to my spot at the table and hopped up. While the pair shared a look—of course alarm would start to fill the air—I tore open another of the packs of candy and started popping the jellies into my mouth. "Whatever part of Emerald still exists in me saw that picture and that name, and all I could feel was fear," I murmured. "The Mayor looked like he recognised me—and although it could've just been from the newspapers, he looked kinda familiar too—but I think Prince Blueblood's request will keep his lips sealed. Still, I know that Raging Storm was not a good pony, and Emerald was certainly convinced that he had something to do with her mother's death. Me and him meeting is likely going to end in violence due to the similarities between Emerald's childhood and my own."

Starlight stared down at the poster, her fear threatening to amplify my own. "Wouldn't it be better to leave?" she asked, casting a glance to her friend. "It's only a short wagon ride to Our Town, and I'm sure Double Diamond, Party Favour, or Night Glider would be willing to put us up."

Trixie, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. "Is that what the fake horn is for?" she asked, turning her gaze to the spot I ditched. "A disguise would certainly make it harder for anypony to recognise you."

"Fake horn?" Starlight looked from me to Trixie in confusion. Evidently, she hadn't seen what I had taken out of the bathroom, and probably just assumed that I was making spells again. "What fake horn?"

Trixie thankfully saved me a trip back over there by levitating the false horn that I'd crafted. "Trixie believes this to be quite the forgery," she said, examining it close up before passing it to Starlight. "Unless somepony is looking for an imitation, it would likely pass scrutiny. Is it safe to assume you were considering dying or enchanting your coat and painting it to match?"

I shrugged. "I was thinking we could put an enchantment on it that would allow it to stick, as well as change my coat colour," I answered, glancing at Starlight. "If neither of you know artifice, though, I suppose dye, paint, and costume glue will do. I don't just wanna leave because I'm scared; there are plenty of other ponies who are just as scared, and I want to help them."

With a loud clop of her hooves, Trixie began to grin. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has had a stupendous idea!" she announced with such volume that Starlight nearly dropped the fake horn in fright. Rubbing her hooves together, she stared at Star. "We shall dye her coat to match your own, and then young Anon shall pose as the younger sister of Trixie's best friend and Great and Powerful Assistant!"

Neither Starlight nor I could help it. Both of us erupted in laughter at the absurdity. I'd thought maybe she'd already told her best friend that I already saw her as the big sister I never had, but it could've escaped her mind. The resulting confusion on Trixie's face just made everything much funnier to me. I found myself rolling off my chair and onto the floor, giggling like a little idiot.

"Oh stahp," I cried, holding my sides as they began to ache. "You're killing me."

Tittering nervously, Trixie looked down at me before asking, "Was it something Trixie said?"

Author's Note

The direction of horn spiral listed for Twilight, Starlight, Celestia, and Luna is based entirely off their portraits on the MLP wiki. I don't think there's an actual canonical direction so much as it is based on the direction the model is facing when they produce the show.

Note: this is the end of the cushion of new chapters I'd built up. Now that I've actually hit writer's block on the newest chapter, I'm probably going to take an actual break. I have ideas, they just aren't coming out easily... It also doesn't help that my 100% Orange Juice addiction has been rekindled. Fuckin' salt dice boardgame, I tells ya.