Love or revenge

It was night, and a voice was whispering to herself in her room.

"You are the most powerful unicorn that Equestria has ever known, you are at the same level as Dusk, you traveled in time, you cannot give up easily." The conscience of a mare growled.

"Of course, you're not the one who wants to hurt Celestia's protégé, you're not refusing to live a new and better life without consequences... and you're not the one who's having any weird feelings for that pathetic nerd". Starlight whispered in response to herself. “The most effective option is to enter Dusk's room, silently approach him, and-“.

The unicorn was interrupted by a clicking sound that came out of nowhere, followed by a curious and playful voice. “Wake him up with a kiss of true love? Hahahahahaha”.

Starlight looked in all directions searching for the intruder, finding him levitating in the air. Pony head, a body that mixed parts of different creatures, and an arrogant attitude, it had to be that creature that Dusk and Fluttershy casually told him about a few times.

“Discord!?”. The mare exclaimed in surprise and disgust. “What do you want and what are you doing here?!”.

“Oh, no need to be alarmed, you vengeful little mare, hahahaha.” The Draconequus exclaimed playfully. “I'm just here to make you an offer that you might want to accept”.

'Why does this fool want to offer me something? Also, how do you know about the sudden inexplicable empathy I feel for that Nerd?'. Starlight thought.

“Maybe it's because I'm the lord of chaos and I can stop time with a snap... Did you really think that your trick with cutie marks and your manipulation of time wouldn't catch my attention?”. Discord growled with a frown after reading the mare's mind.

The mare was just beginning to notice that, despite the noise, no one had come and that after the “snap” there was a strange feeling in the air. This situation was becoming more and more disturbing.

“What were we doing?... I remembered!”. Discord took a whiteboard and chalk that appeared by magic, literally. “Your previous revenge didn't work, and the current revenge is at risk of failing because of your infatuation”. The chalk drew by itself equations and funny representations of what Discord was telling.

“Get to the point, what's your offer?”. Starlight said as her cheeks blushed.

“You ruined the drama of the moment”. The blackboard and chalk disappeared after another "snap". “I can help you with your revenge and your love at the same time, all you have to do is make a decision at the right time”.

“What do you gain from all this?”. The unicorn asked cautiously.

“Chaos, you know, that thing my existence depends on, your resentment and the butterflies in your stomach generate a small amount of chaos, but with my help it will be a huge chaos factory. And also because it's fun, nyehehehehe.” Discord brought his eagle talons closer to the unicorn to shake her hoof and seal the deal, flashing a big smile that only Pinkie Pie could match.

Starlight hesitated for a moment, she was afraid, but revenge and love were stronger, and the lord of chaos was on her side. She extended her paw towards Discord's claws.

The draconequus narrowed its eyes and closed Starlight's paw tightly, while with its free hand it made the horn disappear with a "snap", making the unicorn horrified. “But there is a warning you should keep in mind, if you do something to Fluttershy, no matter how insignificant, well-intentioned or accidental, your horn will not be the only thing that will disappear and reappear on an active volcano or in front of a hungry hydra, Am I clear?”.

The mare, left with no other options, nodded quickly while her watery eyes did not blink.

"Excellent!". The lord of chaos exclaimed happily, then shook Starlight's paw and snapped his claws free. "We have a deal, good luck, and don't tell Fluttershy I'm helping you, I don't want to miss her tea parties".

Discord disappeared, the strange feeling in the air was gone, the horn reappeared in its place, and Starlight was shaking in fear as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Maybe I should have stayed with dad.” Starlight whispered to herself, as she lay down on her bed and covered herself completely with a blanket.

Maybe the next day will be calmer...

*****

With the arrival of a new dawn, Starlight rose from her bed after absorbing a new trauma all night, but if Discord told the truth, she would have Dusk and perhaps Equestria on the tip of her hooves.

The thought of knowing that Discord could do something to her if she hurt Fluttershy terrified her.

Being aware that if anypony discovered her intentions they would end up on the moon made her uneasy.

Guilt and remorse for changing the past for the worse tormented her.

That didn't stop her, she was a prodigy magic, she managed to enslave a village single-handedly, she placed cutie marks in jars and changed a spell with a simple reading, she could face anything that Celestia had prepared for her, and even more so with the embodiment of chaos on her side.

"Relax, Dusk told you that he wanted to see you in his library, and this day will be normal..." The unicorn exclaimed as she opened the door to go out to look for Dusk.

*****

Starlight entered her room with her dinner on a tray, her body and mind exhausted after chasing a baby alicorn, helping to rebuild a relic, and rekindling the friendship between her and her childhood friend. But that didn't matter, the mare knew how to feel.

'It was wonderful'. That was his only thought as he laid back on his bed and put his food aside. 'I'm more powerful than I thought, too powerful to need friendship lessons from a wimpy nerd and his pet'.

Starlight devoured her pancakes and drank her glass of milk with a cocky smile, the day was better than expected, she felt like she could do anything she wanted.

'I don't need Dusk's charity, I don't want his friendship, I want him to love me, and Celestia knows I'll get it... Right?'.

The mare's smile disappeared as her mouth stopped chewing. As far as she remembered, she had never had a boyfriend or talked to other studs, in fact, she didn't have the slightest clue about how to flirt or arrange a date. This caused him to start chewing and devouring his pancakes faster than he should.

'I only talked to 2 studs outside the village in my entire life. One of them was my father! In the name of Celestia, I'm still a virgin!'.

When there were no more pancakes to bite into or milk to drink, Starlight began biting her hooves in a futile attempt to change her growing anxiety, she hadn't interacted romantically before. This continued for a few minutes, but one word was enough to calm she down and think clearly.

"Enough!". The unicorn exclaimed after shaking her head. "I am one of the most powerful unicorns that exists, if I am able to match Dusk in a fight, then I am capable of making him fall in love, it shouldn't be that difficult to seduce a bookworm".

Starlight stood up and looked up firmly, magically levitating her used dishes to take them to wash, as she left her room.

“I'm going to return to this room with Dusk's eyes on me!”. Starlight thought decisively as she closed the door behind her.

*****

Prince Dusk walked with his “brother”, Spike, both carrying the plates and cutlery they used for dinner, chatting about who should clean up on this occasion.

“Come on, you haven’t taken charge in the last 5 days.” The little dragon said with annoyance.

“You know I need to study more because of Starlight's lessons, it's not my fault.” Dusk responded.

“Yes, I'll pretend that you don't secretly love her and that you don't look at her with the same eyes you do when you see a book on sale.” The little dragon exclaimed casually.

Dusk turned pale at the dragon's words while a cold sweat ran across his forehead, he felt a sea of emotions hitting him so that none of the answers he rehearsed before could be pronounced. “I-i… I… no…”. The alicorn couldn't pronounce anything he wanted to say.

“Calm down, Dusk.” Spike gave his brother a few pats to reassure him. “We can all see it, and we all think it's great if you and she want to be more than friends.”

Dusk wanted to answer something, deny what he felt, say that it was impossible because of the lack of professionalism that a romance between a teacher and his student meant. But the words couldn't come out. At least they wouldn't come out if it weren't for the sounds of hooves approaching their position.

“Speaking of the Trot queen, I think that's my cue.” The little dragon exclaimed as the mare stopped in front of them.

“Cue? Am I missing some secret plan?” Starlight asked excitedly.

“Nothing special, it's just Dusk, I think he wants to tell you something.” Spike responded as he picked up some dirty dishes and left, smiling evilly. 'Dusk will thank me for this tomorrow, maybe then he will stop being so picky with his lessons and assignments'.

As the dragon left, the alicorn and the unicorn stared at each other for a moment of awkward silence. Dusk was terrified of having to reveal his most likely feelings and Starlight was nervous because it was the first time in her life that she had invited a stud on a date.

“Did you want to tell me something?” Starlight asked with false casualness.

“Uhhh… Ehhh… I…”. The prince couldn't even think properly because of fear. “Yes, from what I have seen today, your magical power is much greater than I imagined, please give me the name of the magic school you went to.”

The idea that crossed Dusk's mind turned into a doubt as the sentence finished forming. Starlight was more than a unicorn. She was a unicorn among thousands, she had to be part of some school of prodigious sorcerers, use an item of power, or even some lost descendant of Celestia or Luna. The alicorn could not conceive the idea that a normal mare could easily match his years of learning.

“Bah, I always went to normal schools, even I'm impressed by that, but I think I'm just a little above average, Hahaha". Arrogance replaced any fear or doubt. “I wouldn't mind coming from a special school or having a power object under my pillow, but everything you've seen me do is for completely natural and common practice.”

“You say that your achievements are the product of common effort, without any external force?” Dusk asked in disbelief and doubt. “If that is true, then your power is unique, and can be refined further, perhaps you need a guide who has spent years studying magic and improving his spells.”

Starlight received a hopeful look and a friendly smile. A free offer to enhance her magical power and possible opportunities for genuine friendship, and perhaps, a date.

"Of course". The mare responded excitedly. "What will I learn? Teleportation over long distances, creating copies of myself, summoning spirits, putting cutie marks on foals that don't have them yet..."

“We'll start with something simple, maybe a magical energy blade to cut.” Dusk interrupted. “It is better to start with simple things that are easy to handle, you don't want to find out the destructive power of a poorly channeled spell.”

Starlight remembered when her childhood friend, Sunburst, would get so excited playing his favorite game that he would accidentally flip the board with his magic. It was better not to risk it. “So, we have a date? Hahahahaha.”

The joke interrupted the prince of friendship's flow of thoughts. '...we all think it's great if you and she want to be more than friends...', those were Spike's words, and Dusk didn't know how to act, no book on psychology or relationships could help him the way he wanted. He wanted to say no and maintain a friendly Teacher-Student relationship, but he also didn't want to miss the opportunity to love something that wasn't a book or Spike.

'She's cute, a good student, I like being around she and her magical power could help Equestria'. Dusk thought as he turned as red as an apple from Applejack's farm. “Yeah, I think it's a date, unless you want Spike around”.

'That little scaly guy won't get in the way of my plans, and I think he deserves a break, I never see him do anything other than follow Dusk's orders'. Starlight thought to herself. "No need, I think Spike deserves a day or two of vacation, while we train my magic he can relax and have the castle all to himself".

“You're right, in that case, our “date” is tomorrow at the old princess castle after breakfast.” Dusk exclaimed nervously, trying to sound casual and carefree.

'This is your chance, kiss him and you will have him in your hooves.' Starlight thought, imagining kissing Dusk, but the mental image was nothing compared to her nerves, so her idea of a long kiss was reduced as she brought her lips closer to the alicorn.

A small, fleeting kiss on the cheek, all the mare's effort went into not fleeing at full speed.

“Thank you for giving me your help… and a home.” Starlight said blushing, then quickly trotted towards her room with her breathing and mind processing what happened.

“It was a pleasure.” Dusk whispered, stunned by the first kiss he had received from a mare other than his mother or Cadence.

Dusk walked in the direction where Spike had gone, to help him with the dirty dishes and not think about Starlight, while he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach again.

Meanwhile, the unicorn couldn't find her room, and out of desperation, she used a teleportation spell to appear next to her bed and try to relax.

'I kissed him on the cheek, my first kiss to a stallion'. Starlight thought, shaking with excitement.