"The... Nightmare?" Trixie was deep in thought, a hoof pressed against her chin as she paced back and forth in front of me. She'd finally calmed down a bit, the fact that I'd already encountered one of the curses in the past having sent her into hysterics. She'd gone on a tirade about how they were "incredibly dangerous" and how I should have immediately notified Celestia.

She was probably right. I was going to tell Luna about what had happened after all, I just hadn't had the time before coming to the Empire. I wasn't going to tell Trixie that though. I still wasn't certain if I could trust her or her friends, so instead, I let her simmer down and get it out of her system, watching her think out loud in silence.

"That's two that have appeared so far," she continued talking to herself. "One in Canterlot and one here in the Empire. Maybe that means there's one operating in each of the territories? That's... possible, but probably not something we should consider right now." She was in a world of her own. "What if that's what they want us to think? One in Canterlot could mean one in Ponyville... that makes sense considering it is our home. If we're meant to stop them and they choose to prey on creatures they can take advantage of then that means that- wait... WAIT!" She was suddenly in my face, an expression of panic on hers.

"What?" I leaned away, her close proximity to me a little unsettling.

"Did she approach you, Starlight?" Somehow, she drew even closer to me.

"She-" I was going to answer honestly, but I realized what doing something like that would reveal. Unfortunately, a hesitant answer was just as telling as an honest one was, so I'd already messed up.

"What did she offer you?" she demanded. I looked away. "STARLIGHT!" she forced me to look at her. "WHAT. DID. SHE. OFFER. YOU!?"

I was trapped. If I said nothing she'd almost certainly run straight to Celestia and tell her what I'd said about encountering the Nightmare. If I told her the truth, she'd probably try and probe even harder.

I'll have to find a workaround or risk complicating things even more.

Replying with aggression was probably a bad idea. I really didn't need to piss her off right now. Honesty wouldn't be beneficial either, not without coming to an understanding first, at least.

That's probably your only chance, Starlight.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked the azure unicorn as evenly as I could. I grabbed her hooves with my own, forcing them away as gently as I could.

"Trus-" she looked annoyed all of a sudden, a reaction I was expecting. "It's not a matter of trust, Starlight. We have a responsibility to protect Equestria from monsters like the curses."

...we what now?

"What?" I looked at her like she was mentally disturbed.

Saying insane things like that, she just might be.

"We..." she returned my look of disbelief. "You're one of Princess Celestia's students, Starlight."

"I am," I tilted my head. "Sssso?"

"Don't you..." She shook her head, visible confusion mounting on her face. "Don't you care about Her Highness at all?"

...

"Whoooo are you talking about when you say 'Her Highness'?" I scratched at my nose a bit with a hoof.

"Who am I...?" She was completely flabbergasted now. "Princess Celestia. Obviously." Her expression said I should have known who she was talking about without her having to explain. I knew who she'd been talking about, I just didn't like it.

"Thought so," I hid my irritation from her, at least for the time being. "There are two princesses that rule Equestria, Trixie," I snorted. "Why do you act like Her Highness' sister doesn't exist?"

"I..." she looked ready to argue for a moment but that quickly fizzled out as her typical reserved demeanor came back. She took a seat next to me, meekly staring at the ground. "Princess Luna is..."

...

"Princess Luna is a mystery," she finally spoke. "It's not like I'm trying to refute her rule or anything like that, it's just..." she considered her words carefully. "You see it too, don't you?"

See it?

"The way she takes a backseat to her older sister," she answered herself when she realized I wasn't going to. "She's obviously a ruler too... but I'm sure it's easy for a pony as intelligent as yourself to see that she's the lesser of the two... right?"

My body went rigid. At that moment, I had a thorough understanding as to how the traitor felt back in the lab when I ran my mouth. I couldn't go on a tirade like the traitor, -- having made a similar mistake myself to Trixie's -- but I was sure as heck gonna tell her just how wrong she was.

"No," it was my turn to stand to my hooves.

"N-no?" she watched me closely, confused again.

"Maybe you forgot, Trixie, but I'm Princess Luna's student as well." I stated with a hint of flint in my voice, causing the sitting mare to flinch.

"N-no, I didn't-"

"The Princess of the Night has been nothing but kind to me since taking me under her wing," I stated proudly, getting directly in her face. If I had to describe the expression I currently possessed it would be reminiscent of the one Celestia had when I told her what I'd planned to do to Sun back in my town. "I really don't appreciate it when creatures badmouth my mentor right in front of me," I placed a hoof on her chest. "Understand?"

She was visibly shaken, however instead of becoming more fearful a look of defiance came to her face. For some reason, that made me even more angry.

"I do," she didn't turn away, looking me right in the eyes. "I meant no offense by it, but maybe if you knew Princess Luna a little better you'd be well aware that she shares the same opinion of HERSELF," she roughly pushed away my foreleg.

"Princess Luna is humble," I huffed, slightly annoyed she wasn't being as submissive as I thought she'd be. "That doesn't give you or anypony else the right to disrespect her. Especially not in front of me!" I snarled, my horn flickering to life.

"I didn't intend to, Starlight," she sneered. "You asked me a question! I answered it!" she stood up, poking me in the chest with a hoof. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S BEING CRAZY!"

My blood ran cold.

C-crazy?

I took a step back, flashes of the traitor's unbridled rage passing through my mind.

Why... why am I so mad?

I really did care for Luna, I knew that much was true. She'd done a lot for me. She saved me from her sister's wrath. She was doing all she could to guide me in the right direction. She was one of my teachers.

But...

The admiration I was feeling right now was clearly bordering on fanaticism. The only other pony I'd seen acting in a similar way towards the Night Princess was the traitor, but back then it had been because of things I'd said. Nothing big had changed for me since then other than maybe-

"S-Starlight?" Trixie had calmed down, nothing but concern in her as she slowly walked towards me.

Could it be the influence of that thing? Could Twilight have...?

"Trixie..." I was stuck in the middle of rushing back to my room and collapsing on the spot. "Can a curse influence its victim even if they haven't made a pact yet?"

She didn't respond immediately, lifting a hoof to her chin to ponder my question. I stood in silence, my mind racing along with my pulse as I waited.

...

"I... don't see why they wouldn't be able to," she looked at me. "The pact let's them exercise their full capacity in our world, but they're still incredibly powerful beings without one," she lifted a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"Could one of them be operating right under the princesses noses?" I was doing my best not to appear rattled, but the possibility that I might be correct was beyond disturbing. "Long term, I mean. Like... say within Canterlot?" I clarified before she had a chance to answer.

"I don't..." her face twisted up in discomfort. "I really don't think so," she shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, the curses are really strong, but Princess Celestia is... different."

You can say that again.

"If anything happens in Canterlot, I'm certain Her Highness is aware of it," she declared confidently.

...

She had to be right. There was no way the Nightmare had done anything more than approach me in Canterlot.

Twilight is safe... she's... she's safe.

Even if Princess Celestia had overlooked something Luna surely wouldn't make the same mistake.

S-surely.

The traitor was precious to her, after all.

"Both Celestia and I are aware of every soul within our own city, Starlight. We've no need of magic to perform a duty every ruler should."

The Moon Princess' words came to mind. If what she had claimed was actually true, then that meant the curses could be soulless beings. Taking that into account, both sisters might be incapable of keeping tabs on their locations as well as their activities. It was either that or Celestia was well aware of the Nightmare's movements and simply didn't care.

Nah, she'd never be that callou-

"HEY, TRIX!" the call drew both our gazes skyward. A cerulean pegasus descended from the afternoon air, coming to a stop next to Trixie, but not taking her eyes off of me. "Errrr who's the unicorn?"

"Hey, Dash," Trixie greeted the mare kindly, though it was easy to see she was a little irritated we'd been interrupted. She wasn't the only one. "this is-"

"WAIT! I GOT IT!" the pegasus flew right into my face, an elated look on hers. "You're Starlight Glimmer, aren't you?" She was flapping her wings to stay airborne and I was beyond annoyed.

"Who's asking?" I lifted my brow, letting my displeasure shine through.

"Yep, definitely Starlight Glimmer," the rainbow maned mare deadpanned before brightening up considerably. "The name's Dash. Rainbow Dash. I'm sure you've already heard all about me from Sunset," she crossed her forelegs, looking altogether much prouder than she should have.

"No. She never mentioned you," I replied bluntly, leaving out the fact that I hadn't spoken to Sun yet. "And 'Rainbow' is a bit on the nose, isn't it? I flicked her bangs upward with a hoof.

"H-HEY!?" she glared at me, backing up a little, but still not coming into contact with the ground.

"Let me guess," I pressed further. "You're reeeeally fast too?"

Trixie snickered, drawing the ire of her blue friend.

"What!?" the azure unicorn shrugged. "You are fast, Dash."

"Darn right I am!" Rainbow nodded her head, her annoyance with the mare quickly forgotten as soon as she was praised.

So she's that kind of pony.

They were the easiest to deal with and since she'd interrupted an important conversation I decided a little discipline was in order.

"I doubt that," I poked the bear.

"WHAT did you say?" She was in my face once again, her anger back at the forefront.

"I said I doubt you're that fast," I stated matter-of-factly. I didn't even look at her, already figuring out that she thrived on attention and knowing refusing to give her mine would make her blood boil. "I mean, maybe you're a liiiittle faster than a typical pegasus, but I don't imagine much faster than that."

"Faster than you," the pegasus snorted, flying a bit higher so she could look down on me.

"Think so?" I ignited my horn, lifting myself into the air so that we were face-to-face. "Why don't you PROVE it."

"I WILL!" she was pissed, all according to plan. "HOW!?"

So predictable. She's so headstrong she doesn't even care what we do.

Ponies like her were simpletons. She was already like putty in my hooves, easily malleable. If shaking her was as easy as a single foalish taunt, beating her at well... anything would be a piece of cake and ponies like her hated losing more than anything else. I didn't even need to challenge her to something she'd have trouble besting me in.

I can have some fun... teaching her a lesson.

"First one to touch that tree," I lifted a hoof to point at the destination about a hundred meters from our current location. "And then touch Trixie wins. She'll be the one to count us down."

"Dash, I don't think you can-"

"A race?" the pegasus was dumbfounded, but it didn't stop her from interrupting Trixie. "You're challenging ME to a race?"

"Afraid you're gonna lose?" I smirked, looking at Trixie with the cockiest expression I could muster. "Your friend isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, is she, Trixie?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Rainbow was appalled for only a second before she began to fume. I was delighted, smiling wider at the arrogant mare.

"Starlight..." the unicorn glared at me, apparently well aware of the game I was playing.

Darn it, Sun. You really had to tell them that much about me.

"She's trying to make you mad, Dash," Trixie tried to ruin my fun, but I wasn't worried about her interference. Ponies like Rainbow Dash weren't the type to listen to reason when they were angry.

"WELL, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" the colorful pegasus growled. "NO TELEPORTING!" she glared at me.

"That's it?" I held in the bout of laughter that threatened to spill out of my mouth. "You actually think you can beat me in a race when the only thing I'm not allowed to do is teleport?"

"And... AND YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CAST SPELLS ON ME!" Her attempt at bravado was flimsy at best.

"Sure," I shrugged without a single worry. "Simple enough."

"Dash, she's going to-"

"LOSE!? I KNOW!" the rainbow pegasus finally touched the ground, getting into position next to me. "ON GO, TRIX!"

"Dash, she's going to-"

"ON GO, TRIXIE!" the pegasus wasn't buying anything her more intelligent friend was selling.

"...Fine. just don't go blaming me when she embarrasses you," the blue unicorn whispered, but I'd caught it.

This is going to be so much fun!

"On your marks!" Trixie lifted a hoof in front of us. "Get set!"

"Just do your best to try and keep up with me, Rainbow," I grinned, my horn beginning to sing. "Everything's gonna be okay, even after you lose." Her only reply was to tense up more. She was roaring to go. Little did she know I'd already won.

"G..."

Time Alter... Triple accel.

"oooo!"

In spite of my acceleration spell my competitor took off towards the tree fairly quickly. Being able to function at a much faster speed made it simple for me to keep track of her movement. She was trying her hardest and would have certainly bested anypony else.

Too bad she's up against me.

I tipped my horn forward, a small distortion in reality opening up in front of me. Just as the Rainbow mare was about to touch the tree in the distance I stuck my hoof through the makeshift portal, making contact first.

Too easy.

I took my hoof out of the portal and gently tapped Trixie on the flank. All together it took me less than a second. The unicorn let out a loud yelp, glaring at me angrily as she backed away from me.

"S-S-STARLIGHT!" her horn began to shimmer weakly. Rainbow had already made her way back to us.

"Sorry, Trix," I shrugged. "Wasn't sure where to touch you at. Your behind was the bigges-" If one traditionally glared daggers she began to glare swords. "EASIEST! I MEANT EASIEST!" I waved my hooves in front of myself.

"YOU CHEATED!" the rainbow mare was just as pissed as I'd figured she'd be. "YOU WEREN'T ALLOWED TO TELEPORT!"

"I didn't teleport," I smirked.

"YOU TOTALLY DID!" she continued to protest. "You saw it, didn't you, Trix?" The blue unicorn sighed shaking her head as her anger left her.

"That wasn't teleportation, Dash," Trixie replied, bringing a look of utter disbelief to her compatriot's muzzle.

"But..." it was easy to see the pegasus was trying to work a reasonable excuse for her loss through her thick skull. "But it was still magic! That's not fair!"

I laughed at her weak attempt to justify her defeat. Trixie just looked away from her friend, probably thinking the exact same thing I was.

"What do you think these are?" I flicked one of her wings with a hoof.

"My...?" She was baffled by my question. "They're my wings."

"Pegasi can only fly because of magic, Dash," Trixie explained further so I didn't have to. "Unless you wanna run a hoof race, Starlight using her magic is just as fair as you using your wings."

"THAT'S...!" she had nothing and her irritated expression said she was well aware of that fact. "WHATEVER!" she shouted, turning away from us in a tizzy.

"Awwww, It's okay, Rainbow," I sidled up to her, nudging her gently with my shoulder. "Maybe racing's just not your game, Dash. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!" The rainbow mare shoved me away, growling in a sad attempt at intimidation, but only causing me to cackle in euphoria.

"I told you, Dash," Trixie sighed. "They're students of the princesses. You're gonna have trouble matching up to them in any area."

"We'll see about that," she huffed. "It doesn't matter anyway, losing to a cheater doesn't really bother me."

"Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better about losing, loser." I smirked as soon as she was in my face again.

...

"You're almost as annoying as Twilight, you know that?" she smirked back, apparently under the assumption that insulting the traitor would irritate me.

"Would you be gloating if you'd have won?" I looked at her expectantly.

"...You know what? Fair enough," she chuckled. "Maybe we have a little more in common than I thought."

"Not the whole 'losing' thing though, right?" I snarked.

"Don't push it," she playfully shoved me. "Anyway, why was I- OH CRAP!" She flew up to Trixie, causing the unicorn to stumble backwards. "Rare sent me to get you and Flutters! Things're starting in a little while! We need to meet up with-"

"Queen Cantata," Trixie nodded. "Let's go!" she started towards the throne room.

"I'll see you girls later," I watched them go as I turned to head back to my room.

"You're coming with us too, Starlight," Trixie's magical aura collided with my barrier, doing literally nothing to stop me. If I hadn't seen it with my eyes I probably wouldn't have noticed she'd tried to stop me.

She's that weak!?

"Do you ALWAYS have a barrier up!?" the blue unicorn was clearly stunned by that possibility.

"Of course," I turned to face them.

"Smart mare," Rainbow chuckled. "You should be taking notes, Trix."

"Yeah," Trixie laughed in disbelief. "Maybe if I had anywhere close to that much mana."

"Why would I go with you girls?" I asked, genuinely curious as to why she'd think I would.

"Sunset and Twilight will be there already," Trixie explained. "Cadenza was going to get them."

"Doesn't she have better things to do?" I groaned.

"Probably, but who cares," Rainbow wrapped a foreleg around my neck and pulled me forward. "Come on, we're all friends now."

"Are we?" I raised a doubtful brow, but didn't fight her.

"We are," Trixie smiled, satisfied as she turned to go. "And we still have some things we need to discuss."

"Besides, I know you wanna hang out with me some more," Rainbow chuckled.

"Rrrright," I couldn't help but smile as the three of us went to meet up with their friends.

Author's Note

Somehow, the sociopath has an easier time fitting in than Twilight. How strange.