“Fascinating,” Twilight murmured, leaning forward in her chair. Beside her a magically manipulated quill darted across parchment, pausing only occasionally to dip itself into a nearby inkwell. “So it was an explosive release of the pent-up sexual tension you’d both built up through your contests...”

“A sexplosion!” Pinkie clarified, giddily.

“Well, ah guess that’s one way ‘a puttin’-” Applejack started, before cutting herself off. “Twilight, are you takin’ notes?”

“Yes...?” Twilight replied simply, giving her friend a vacant stare. “Why wouldn’t I be? If I’m going to use your experiences to help others, I need to know I’m getting the details right.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I’m not sure I want a record of this.” She huffed. “We’re a couple, not a case-study.”

“I’ll keep your names out of it.” Twilight dismissed with a wave of her hoof.

Before Rainbow had a chance to protest further, Rarity cut in.

“Well, I for one think it’s terribly romantic,” she sighed wistfully. “The setting, the heated competition giving way to heated emotions, your complimentary coats...”

AJ and Rainbow glanced at each other and their still held hooves uncertainly at this.

“One of you an emotionally stunted, surly athlete, the other...” Rarity continued before trailing off. “Well, I suppose you’re both one and the same in that regard, aren’t you darlings?”

“Hey!” AppleDash cried in unison. Rarity smirked at her jibe.

“I think it’s very sweet.” Fluttershy offered, eliciting a scowl from Rainbow.

“See?” She turned to AJ and gestured to the yellow Pegasus with her free hoof. “Ponies think we’re sweet!”

She turned her attention to Fluttershy.

“We’re not sweet.” She said sternly. “If anything, we’re awesome. Never sweet.”

“Oh, um, okay.” Fluttershy replied, abashed.

“An’ Appledash? That’s what y’all call us?” Applejack said suddenly.

“Yeah!” Rainbow seconded. “Why not RainbowJack?”

“Uh-uh.” Pinkie cut in. “Sorry, that one’s taken by Rainbowberry and Springjack.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Getting back to the point;” She announced, in an attempt to cut through the idle chatter, “Should I warn Starlight about this potential outcome?”

She was met with five blank stares.

“No.” Came the unanimous answer.

“Sugarcube, ain’t no good’s gonna come from meddlin’,” Applejack stated patiently. “If’n it’s meant to be with Starlight an’ Trixie, then they’ll figure it out.”

“But I’m the Princess of Friendship!” Twilight whined. “This is clearly a friendship problem; I’m supposed to help Ponies with their friendship problems!”

“This is different, Twi,” Applejack sighed. “Ya can’t just go interferin’ with matters of the heart.”

Twilight grumbled incoherently as the quill returned to the inkwell.

The rest of the friend’s visit passed pleasantly enough, once Twilight had finally conceded that no, she probably shouldn’t be poking her nose into Starlight’s romantic affairs. To Twilight’s relief, Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s recounting of the tryst that started their relationship had completely evaporated both of the marefriend’s anger at the prospect of their sisters working on the redemption project. That being said, Twilight still planned to honor the farmer’s wishes and remove Apple Bloom from the job.

A few hours later, when the interesting news and catch-up anecdotes had run dry and when Pinkie Pie had pretty much eaten her own body weight in pastries, it was time for the friends to say goodbye, as Pinkie, Rainbow and AJ had a train to catch. Fluttershy offered to walk with them, as as she pointed out, her significant other could pick her up from literally anywhere. That left Twilight and Rarity alone at the table once more.

“Any ideas on where you’ll have your first date then?” Twilight asked abruptly, once Crisp Suit had escorted the other mares to the door.

Rarity considered the question for a moment, one hoof propping up her chin as she leant over the table, the other tracing the rim of her glass.

“Well, I fear the answer to that rests on Spiky’s broad shoulders.” She said with a light reddening of her face. “I must confess, I’m looking forward to finding out though.”

Twilight smiled, happy for both her friend and her brother.

“Well, I can take you back to Yakyakistan whenever you like. Would you like to say goodbye to him before you leave?”

Rarity hesitated for a moment before she answered.

“No,” she said finally, not trusting herself to keep her hooves off him if she did. “I rather get the feeling I’ll be seeing him soon enough. Not to mention, it’s always best to leave them wanting more.”

Twilight giggled softly. Rarity stood from her seat and donned her chapeau.

“Right then. I suppose I should be going. Those Yak ensembles aren’t going to craft themselves.”

Twilight nodded, rising from her own chair. The pair met beside the table, and one flash of pink magic later, both vanished. A stillness hung in the room for several minutes before there was another flash, and Twilight re-appeared, this time alone. She cast her eyes over the table, at the demolished remains of delicious treats and dirty plates, and she felt a pang of longing, as she often did at the conclusion of one of her meetings with her friends. Sometimes she just wished she was back in Ponyville. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. There were more important things right now. For starters, there was a little Dragon she had to talk to.

A few minutes later she found him, predictably in his room, thankfully now sans music. His door was open, but she dutifully rapped on the wood anyway. Spike looked up from his chair. He was sat at his desk, a towel draped around his neck, and he set the pen he’d been using down.

“Come in,” he said with a smile.

Twilight returned the pleasantry as she stepped into the room.

“Your equipment requisition form, as requested,” he said simply, leaning back in his chair and handing Twilight a sheet of parchment.

“Thank you,” Twilight replied, taking it in her magic and holding it up to her eyes. Spike looked on with pursed lips. Twilight read carefully. It was the usual stuff, parchment, quills, ink, gems, petty bits and... hmm, that was a new one...

“What’s this?” She asked in a neutral tone, flipping the page around for the Dragon to see.

“What’s what?” Spike replied innocently.

“This.” Twilight reiterated, poking at the page with her hoof. “An EEA medallion?”

“Oh, that.” Spike said, doing a credible impression of somedragon who’d forgotten he’d added that particular item to the list. “I just thought it’d, y’know, come in handy if I have to get back here quick. For emergencies or whatever.”

“That’s a high-end magical artifact, Spike.” Twilight said shrewdly, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

Spike met her gaze with a serious expression.

“Yes, but if anything gets out of hoof on the project it’ll mean that I’ll be able to portal to you instantly, if we need an immediate Alicorn intervention. I’d say it was a necessary safety precaution.”

Twilight glanced at the page before a wry smile strolled across her face and she looked back to the dragon.

“Sure would make it easy to nip over to Yakyakistan whenever you liked too, huh?”

Spike’s nonchalant face fell, replaced by one that signaled that he knew he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of his skull.

“Have...have you spoken to Rarity?” He asked timidly.

“I have,” Twilight grinned. “You dirty little stop-out tomcat Dragon.”

Spike’s eyes flitted shut as he frowned and shook his head at his sister’s teasing.

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed before a grin of his own took over his face. “I didn’t plan on that happening.”

He paused before adding:

“I’m pretty happy it did though.”

Twilight laughed.

“Well Spike, allow me to be first to say: WoooooooOOOOOOOoooooo!” The Alicorn continued her relentless ribbing. “What’s next? Are you gonna scratch her name inside a heart on your pencil box?”

Spike snorted in annoyance, but his smile stubbornly refused to budge.

“I take it then, that you’re not angry about it?”

“No!” Twilight cried, snapped from her merriment. “Why does everycreature think I’ll be mad about this?”

“We never did establish what the rules were on me dating your friends.” Spike folded his arms and placed his feet on the table. Twilight stared at him for a moment.

“Well, and no offence now Spike, but it honestly never even occurred to me that those might be rules we’d need to establish.”

The Dragon cocked his head in begrudging agreement.

“But no, I’m not angry.” The Princess continued. “You’re a big boy now, you can date whoever you please. Just don’t go breaking her heart, or I’ll have you cleaning the palace latrines indefinitely.”

Spike allowed his head to fall back over the backrest of his chair and then threw a light groan at the ceiling. He supposed he should have expected this much mockery from his big sister. He hauled his face back up to look at her.

“So can I have the medallion then?”

Twilight sighed, throwing him a sideways glance.

“Well, EEA medallions are, as you’d expect, only carried by members of the EEA, and only by senior members at that.”

The Dragon looked at the floor, crestfallen.

“However, I’m sure I can find you something of equivalent functionality in the Royal vault.” She smiled.

Spike’s head snapped up to her, his eyes wide.

“Really?!” He cried, leaping up from his chair and embracing his sister in a bone crushing hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

“Sss fine Spike!” Twilight struggled to say. The Dragon released her. “Just for Celestia’s sake be careful with it. Those things aren’t cheap, you know?”

“Seriously, thank you.” Spike repeated.

“You’re welcome. I’ll have it added along with the rest of your things and I’ll give you a quick training lesson on how to use it properly.”

“Okay.” Spike nodded whilst beaming.

“And you have to promise, no sneaking off to get all lovey-dovey with Rarity when you’re supposed to be working. You can use it in your free time only.”

“Absolutely.”

Twilight stopped, suddenly thinking of something.

“Speaking of Rarity, what’s this I’ve been hearing about Diamond Dog muggers?”

“Oh, that,” Spike muttered, suddenly remembering for himself. “It was three low level thugs by the look of it. They soon lost interest when they realized I can breathe fire. Storm in a teacup really.”

“Well, I’ll still need to make a report to the six Diamond Queens.” Twilight said. “Your first assignment when you arrive in Ponyville can be to provide me with a description of the incident and of the assailants.”

“Will do.”

“Right then. Let’s get you kitted out.”

A short while later, the Alicorn and Dragon siblings stood in the library of Canterlot Castle. They were at a table on the ground floor, one of many rectangular polished wood desks, each equipped with a small reading light. To the left and right of them were hundreds of bookcases packed with dusty tomes, and behind them a grand staircase led to the upper floor, where yet more books lay in wait. Twilight produced a small golden amulet on a chain from her saddlebag and dangled it in front of Spike’s face.

“Here you go!” She beamed. “I managed to dig this out of the vaults underneath the castle. Try it on.”

Spike reached up and held the artifact in his palm. As the cool metal rested on the scales of his hand he noticed that there was an engraving of a Pegasus and a Unicorn on the front of the amulet. They were in profile, looking into each other’s eyes, each of their hooves resting on the other’s shoulder. A smile played about both of their faces. Spike frowned in wonder at the engraving.

“What is this?” He murmured.

At this Twilight looked away, her cheeks reddening. She raised a hoof to her mouth as she suppressed a giggle.

“What?” Spike smiled a confused smile.

“It’s called...” Twilight coughed, and her voice lowered to a whisper “It’s called the Talisman of Lovers.”

Spike’s own cheeks darkened.

“Oh.” he said simply.

“Yeah.” Twilight said from the back of her throat. “You know that reason you want it? That’s exactly why the Ponies of moons gone by wanted it too.”

Twilight continued to fight back her mirth as Spike sheepishly pulled the chain over his head and allowed the talisman to hang around his neck. After taking a moment to allow the grin to drop off her face, Twilight cleared her throat.

“Alright, so now that you’re wearing it, the Talisman should respond to your thoughts. If you concentrate on a place you’ve either been to before or are familiar with enough to accurately visualize, a portal should open. Try visualizing your room. See if you can get a portal open.”

Spike nodded, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few moments, the talisman glowed faintly. A portal at the foot of the stairs began to crackle into life.

“Yes! Yes, you’re doing it!” Twilight squealed excitedly.

As the portal grew in size, a few light flakes of snow drifted through. Twilight’s brow furrowed in confusion, and when the circular entrance to...somewhere else was fully open, she looked through properly.

The red door of Rarity 4 You, Yakyakistan branch stared back at her. The Alicorn threw Spike an exasperated glance.

“Seriously?”

Spike’s face burnt.

“Sorry.” He said to the floor. “I was trying to concentrate on my room, but then at the last second...”

He gestured to the portal. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Fine.” She sighed. “See if you can close it again. Just will it shut and it should obey.”

Again the Dragon nodded and closed his eyes once more. After a few seconds the portal lazily began to close in on itself before it disappeared with a magical hiss.

“Well done.” Twilight intoned.

“Seems easy enough,” Spike replied.

“Wait, wait, wait, there’s more.” Twilight held her hoof in the air. “It’s time to go over safety features.”

Spike nodded with the slightest of eyerolls.

“See if you can open a portal to your room again.” Twilight repeated. “And try and keep your mind off certain fashionistas this time.”

Twilight watched as Spike concentrated and the portal once again spluttered into life. This time, it opened into the drab confines of Spike’s bedroom.

“Good,” Twilight smiled. She poked her foreleg through the hole and held it there. She turned to the Dragon who was watching her inquisitively. “Now, try to close it.”

“Close it?” Spike repeated, incredulously. “But your leg-”

“It’s fine.” Twilight dismissed with a smile. “Try.”

Spike frowned at her but acquiesced. He closed his eyes and attempted to close the portal. Twilight glanced at the magical gateway. It crackled angrily, but held in place. Spike opened his eyes and looked at the portal in wonder.

“You see?” Twilight laughed. “An active safety feature. It’s impossible to close the portal while there’s living organic matter in the way.”

Spike snorted a chuckle through his nose.

“Handy.”

“However,” Twilight continued, “the same is not true for inorganic material. Observe.”

Twilight magically levitated a nearby lamp from a table and held it halfway through the opening.

“Now, try again.”

Once again the Dragon concentrated. The portal shrank in size and vanished, neatly slicing the lamp perfectly in two. Twilight levitated the slightly smoldering remains of the metal stand up for him to see.

“You’ll never be able to lose a limb to this artifact, but make sure you give yourself enough time to step through, because it’ll slice through clothes and luggage no problem.” She announced.

“Got it.”

It was the early evening, and the School of Friendship was a far cry from the buzz of activity it had earlier been. The students having either gone home or else retired to their dorms or nipped out to peruse the night-time attractions Ponyville had to offer, the only sounds that could be heard was the rushing water of the numerous waterfalls that cascaded around, and indeed through, the school. Not that there was anycreature around to hear them. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, staining the clouds on the horizon a deep crimson, and the birdsong was beginning to die out. Other than the running water, all was still outside the institute.

A crackle of magic interrupted the calm as a portal spluttered into life. It hung in the air, just over the steppingstones in the pool in front of the school before a purple dragon tentatively poked his head through. He looked around, sniffing the air lightly, before stepping through. He balanced carefully on one of the stones, before turning his attention back to the magical opening. At his mental behest, it shrank in size before disappearing completely with a light pop.

Spike turned back to the school, before sighing and hopping his way to the entrance.

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo lightly padded down the carpeted hallway in the direction of Starlight’s office.

“I wonder what this is all about,” Sweetie Belle thought out loud for what must have been the umpteenth time.

“No idea,” Applebloom snipped back tetchily, still moderately annoyed that she was missing her dance class for this.

“Well, we know it’s something big,” Scootaloo said quickly, picking up on her friend’s tone. “Must be something that only the Crusaders can help with.”

Applebloom offered the Pegasus a weak smile. They turned a corner and found themselves on the same corridor as the headmare’s office. Walking towards them from the other end, they spotted a familiar face. As their eyes met, the Dragon offered the mare’s a smile, and raised his hand in a casual wave.

“Hiya, Spike!” Scootaloo cried, shooting him a wave of her own.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom waved too, and within a few seconds they were all together, just outside the door to Starlight’s office.

“Ladies,” Spike drawled with a grin. “What brings you here? I thought the school would be mostly empty by now.”

“We’ve got a job for Starlight to report to.” Applebloom grumbled. “Mandatory overtime.”

“Oh, me too.” Spike replied, missing Apple Bloom’s sour mood. “Must be the same thing. I guess we’ll be working together.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sweetie Belle said quickly. “You’re on this job too? Is that what Starlight meant when she said this came from the top? From the Princess?”

The Dragon shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He answered. “Twilight gave me my marching orders this morning.”

The trio game him a blank stare for a couple of seconds.

“Well?” Scootaloo blurted finally. “Spill it, what is this?”

“No idea. I was just told to report to Starlight. I have my suspicions though...”

The Dragon’s words hung in the air for a few moments, before a blurry purple and pink shape appeared at the window in the headmare’s door. After a moment it opened, and a slightly disheveled Starlight Glimmer greeted the friends.

“Girls!” She smiled. “I thought I heard voices out here.”

Her attention turned to the Dragon.

“Spike! You’re here too, perfect. Step inside everypony!”

The headmare stood aside, gesturing for the creatures to enter. The Crusaders shuffled in, closely followed by Spike. Inside three chairs had been set up in front of Starlight’s desk, and a large blank blackboard on wheels beside it.

“Sorry Spike, I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” the mare fussed at the Crusaders took their seats. “Here, let me rustle up another chair.”

The three mares took the chairs provided while Starlight left the office. Spike waited patiently, and after a few moments, the headmare returned, a rickety wooden chair in hoof. She placed it next to the Crusaders. Spike stepped over, flipped the chair around and sat on it backwards, resting his arms on the backrest. Starlight blinked at the splayed-legged display but passed no comment.

“So,” the headmare announced, looking around the quartet. “I’m sure you all have a lot of questions.”

There was a series of nods and murmurs of affirmation from the seated creatures.

“Well, rest assured that I’ll be answering them now,” Starlight smiled. “First, however...”

The Unicorn’s horn glowed a pale turquoise and expelled a large bubble that grew in size until it engulfed the whole room. Spike and the Crusaders regarded it with varying levels of interest.

“A simple sound-proofing spell,” Starlight explained. “Everything I’m about to tell you is classified.”

The seated creatures exchanged glances. Starlight stood on her hind legs and leaned on her desk, facing the creatures. Her eyes dropped to her carpet as she organized her thoughts. She took a deep breath, then outlined the details of the project to her colleagues.

When the headmare had finished the crusaders sat in a stunned silence. Only Spike didn’t seem surprised, but his face wore an expression of quiet apprehension.

“So, uh, that’s what we’ll be doing.” Starlight said lamely, circling around her desk and taking her chair. “Any questions?”

Spike slumped his chin onto the backrest of his chair and raised his hand. Starlight nodded in his direction.

“Not really a question, but I’d like it on the record that I think this is a terrible idea.” The Dragon stated.

“Duly noted.” The headmare replied, tapping the tips of her hooves together. She turned her attention to the three ponies. “Can I assume that everypony has similar reservations?”

The Crusaders exchanged worried glances. Finally, Apple Bloom spoke.

“Well, yeah, kinda...” She relented.

“I understand,” Starlight smiled kindly. “But, as I say, this comes from the Princess herself, and I for one am not going to run from the challenge.”

The four friends fixed her with a hard stare.

“Neither are we,” Scootaloo announced. Her fellow Crusaders nodded and smiled determined smiles. Then all eyes turned to the Dragon in the room.

Spike left his chin where it was on his chair, but he did offer the Ponies a dramatic eyeroll.

“I do what Twilight tells me.” He said simply, with little enthusiasm. “We’re gonna need to plan this very carefully though.”

“That’s exactly what this first meeting is all about,” Starlight beamed, rising from her chair and striding to the blackboard. She flipped it over and displayed what was written on the other side. In her own neat hoof-writing, the following words were displayed:

One at a time

Least to most dangerous

Magical dampening where necessary

Left alone for as little time as possible

Regular counseling sessions

The Killswitch Contingency

“This is what I have so far,” she announced proudly. “I’ll go through it with you now, and if anypony-”

The headmare paused, and raised a hoof towards Spike.

“-or Dragon- thinks of anything else we’ll add it on.”

Spike nodded her way appreciatively.

“Most of this is pretty self-explanatory,” The Unicorn continued, “But let’s review it all anyway.”

She pointed to the first line.

“If we’re going to do this, we do it one of them at a time.”

The other creatures nodded in agreement.

“They’ve shown the preliminary leanings of friendship in the past-”

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interjected. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Ordinarily I’d agree with you,” Starlight continued without missing a beat, “however in this case their capacity, however slight, for co-operation makes them exceptionally dangerous.”

“You don’t want them coordinating an attack together.” Spike muttered out of the side of his mouth to the Crusader.

“Precisely.” Starlight replied, tapping the board with her hoof. “When we have the first of them un-petrified we’ll work on guiding their ability into more constructive avenues.”

Starlight paused, looking back at her audience. Each of them was staring at her attentively. She turned back to the board.

“Which brings me to my next point,” she said, hoofing the next line down. “We work from the least dangerous to the most dangerous.”

“I guess that means Cozy Glow is first.” Spike piped up.

“Right.” Starlight confirmed. “She’s literally a foal with no magical abilities. A highly intelligent, conniving, manipulative foal, but a foal nonetheless. It’s up for debate who comes next.”

Simultaneously, Spike and Applebloom said ‘Tirek’, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said ‘Chrysalis’. The quartet exchanged confused looks.

“Well, like I say, it’s up for debate,” Starlight smiled. “We can cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Thankfully, her words re-focused the creatures on her.

“The next point though,” Starlight moved her hoof down the list, “this won’t apply to Cozy Glow, just to Chrysalis and Tirek.”

“Keep a lid on their magical abilities,” Scootaloo noted. “Got it.”

“It’s fairly obvious,” The headmare nodded. “We’ll use inhibitor rings and whatever else is necessary. This will take some research though. We need to find a way to limit Tirek’s ability to consume magical energy, and I don’t even know if an inhibitor ring will affect Changeling magic.”

The Unicorn turned from her board and found four sets of concerned eyes looking back at her.

“Again, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” She sighed. “I think we need to treat Cozy Glow as a proof of concept for the entire project. If we can get her right then we can say we’re on the right track. If not, then I may have to go to Twilight and ask her to re-evaluate her expectations.”

The headmare shook her head, glancing back at the board. That was a nagging thought to be kicked down the road to be worried about later. She slid her hoof down the board to the next point.

“This one’s fairly self-explanatory too,” She said, raising her hoof to her chin and leaving a dusty chalk mark there. “Obviously, until we’re sure that they can be trusted, we want them left to their own devices as little as possible.”

“Hold on,” Spike raised his hand. “Does this mean they’re going to need round the clock supervision?”

“Not twenty-four hours, but I’d say at the very least during their waking time, yes.”

Spike frowned.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Starlight enquired.

“No,” Spike said hastily, “but I do have something going on right now. I’ll need at least some evenings off.”

Starlight nodded.

“We’ll arrange a rota so that every-creature gets their requisite time off.”

She turned to the board and added the word ‘rota’ to the bottom.

“Are you doing anything important?” The headmare added with a smile.

“No.” Spike replied bluntly, pointedly not elaborating.

The Crusaders gave each other quizzical looks, before Scootaloo silently mouthed the word ‘marefriend’ to the others. The three barely managed to stifle their giggles as Spike quietly sighed a deep sigh. Starlight bit back a giggle of her own.

“Obviously, this precaution is so we know what they’re up to at all times, and they aren’t doing anything...inappropriate.” The headmare continued. “Moving on.”

She tapped the penultimate line.

“The regular counseling sessions...” She read thoughtfully, before shaking her head clear of whatever thoughts were drifting through her mind. “They’ll be conducted by me, possibly with other creatures sitting in, at everyone’s discretion. It’s been a while since I’ve been doing sessions, but hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things soon enough.”

The other creatures nodded. Starlight gave a small smile. There was a long silence, then Applebloom raised a hoof into the air.

“So, uh, what’s ‘The Killswitch Contingency’?”

Starlight gave her a hard stare.

“That’s something I’ve come up with that I’m going to have Twilight integrate into the spell she uses to un-petrify them.” She explained gravely. “Basically, it’s a last resort final fail-safe. We set up a code-word, and at any point after any one of them has been freed, anyone of us can speak this word within their ear-shot and it will...”

She trailed off. The four creatures leaned forward on her chairs.

“It’ll re-petrify them.” Starlight finished. “Generally speaking, I not a fan of conditional second chances, but with the case of these three, I don’t think we have much choice.”

“We don’t.” Spike confirmed flatly. Starlight nodded in his direction.

“Well, that pretty much covers what I have so far,” she finished. “Unless anyone has anything to add...”

She paused, looking from face to face of the other creatures present. They all met her gaze evenly.

“...good. Tomorrow, I’d like you three-” The headmare gestured to the crusaders “-to dig into Cozy Glow. Check the Cloudsdale records, Ponyville, wherever. Try to find out who she is and where she came from. Nopony ever came forward asking about her when she was arrested all those years ago, so I’m guessing you won’t find much, but see what you can uncover. We know virtually nothing about her.”

The Crusaders nodded compliantly; their expressions determined.

“Spike, you set up a dream meeting with Twilight please. We’ll give her everything we’ve spoken about here, plus anything the girls find.”

Spike raised his head from the chair and nodded.

“Thank you all,” Starlight finished. “I know this is a lot, but I’m hoping that if we work together, and keep the principals of friendship close to heart, we’ll make some real progress here, and do the Princess proud.”

With that, she dismissed the soundproofing spell, which flickered and died within a matter of seconds.

“Get a good night’s sleep,” the headmare said with a thin smile. “Dismissed.”

As the other creatures shifted out of their seats, Sweetie Belle tentatively raised her hoof, her ears flattened against her head. Starlight closed her eyes in silent annoyance. She’d just dismissed the spell for Celestia’s sake...

“Yes. Sweetie Belle.”

“Oh, um...” Sweetie started, uncomfortably. “It’s just, um, if this goes well, can we have a refrigerator for the treehouse, please?”

Starlight stared at her for a few seconds.

“Girls, if we pull this off, you can have a pinball machine and a minibar up there for all I care.”

Starlight clutched the bottle close to her chest as she strode through the grounds of the School of Friendship. She wandered across the steppingstones, past the roaring waterfalls, and began to trek around the side of the colossal building towards the rear. She pulled her blazer close over her coat to protect against the rushing wind and cast a glance to the moody sky. Frowning, she continued to walk, surmising that she probably should have just teleported herself.

A short walk later she arrived at the rear of the school and made her way to a space between two tall turrets, where a ramshackle caravan stood. It was weatherbeaten, and green mildew was starting to creep up the wheels; it had stood there for so long. The pale purple paintwork was cracked and chipped, and the wizard-hat shaped tin chimney was bent and showing patches of rust.

Starlight paused in her walk and sighed. She’d been putting off this meeting for obvious reasons, and now that she was here her legs felt weak and there seemed to be an infestation of creepy-crawlies going on her stomach. The wind seemed to concur with her body; it blew brutally into her face, causing her to narrow her watering eyes. Defiantly ignoring both her body and the elements, she pressed on and strode to the steps of the door. She rapped loudly on the wood, at this point desperate to not only get this over with but to escape the chilly wind. Over the air rushing about her ears, she fancied that she heard rummaging around inside the small dwelling. After a few moments, the door opened a crack.

“Who is it?” a voice tainted by annoyance called out. “The grrrreat and tired Trrrixie needs her beauty sleep.”

“It’s Starlight,” Starlight replied unnecessarily. “I’m sorry it’s late Trixie. Have you got a few minutes to chat?”

Through the crack in the doorway Starlight saw a single violet eye roll in its socket. The counselor opened the door further, revealing her entire face. Her hair has brushed back and a stripy button-down pyjama top hung loosely around her withers. She regarded Starlight with an irritated raised eyebrow.

“This’d better not be about work.”

“It is,” Starlight confessed guiltily, “but I brought drinks?”

She held out the bottle for her friend to see.

“Why didn’t you say so?” Trixie replied, her face immediately brightening as she flung the door open.

Starlight smiled as she stepped inside the cramped caravan. The interior was warm and cozy, and though the outside of the home was in dire need of repair, the interior was a well maintained, if messy, set up. Towards the rear of the caravan Trixie’s hammock hung, a ruffled blanket and pillow resting upon it. At the front there was a small stove with a miniscule counter-top beside it with various cups and bowls standing higgledy-piggledy on top. Lining the walls of the caravan there were numerous crates, stacked haphazardly on top of each other, each one with various pieces of magical equipment poking out. Starlight navigated her way over the worn paisley carpet, inched around a box that had a wand with a colourful bouquet of plastic flowers protruding from the tip, and carefully lowered herself into the hammock, there not being any other obvious places to sit.

Trixie levitated two tumblers from the counter and followed the headmare to her bed, the entire caravan creaking softly as she did so. Starlight smiled. She had offered Trixie a permanent residence at the school of course, but the Unicorn had flatly refused. Sitting inside of the thing, Starlight could see why. It was eccentric, yet comforting, inviting, and utterly adorable. Much like its owner.

The faintest twinge of redness played across Starlight’s cheeks as Trixie sat down next to her. Thankfully, the blue Unicorn didn’t seem to notice her friend’s flustered state. The weight of the pair of the mares on the hammock pulled them close together, hip to hip, which really wasn’t helping Starlight’s mind focus on what she wanted to say.

Trixie floated one of the glasses over to the headmare, which she accepted, and concentrated on uncorking the bottle.

“So,” Trixie drawled. “What’s up?”

A soft pop sound announced that Starlight had gained access to the bottle, and she poured the red wine into the glass that was eagerly thrust her way. Starlight paused in her reply to fill her own glass before carefully lowering the bottle to the floor.

“I need you to take on the headmare duties around here for a while.”

“Me? Headmare?” Trixie gasped. “Why? You’re not leaving are you?”

“No, no,” Starlight reassured, waving a hoof in the air. “I’m not going anywhere. I just have an important job to do.”

“Oh. Good.” The blue Unicorn exhaled. “You had me worried for a second there. Trixie barely gets to see you as it is.”

Starlight grinned as her butterflies swarmed.

“I know. I’m sorry. After this is done, I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”

“Trixie’s heard that one before,” she pouted as she took a swig from her glass. “What’s the job, anyway?”

Starlight sighed.

“It’s from the Princess,” the headmare frowned, swilling her wine around in her glass. “It’s a pretty big deal.”

“Twilight.” Trixie groaned, momentarily eyeing the roof. “What’s she got you doing this time?”

“I’m not supposed to talk about it. It’s classified.”

“Oh, come on!” Trixie cried in outrage, giving her friend a light dig in the shoulder. “We’re best friends! You’re Trixie’s only friend, who else would I tell?”

Starlight threw her friend a sympathetic smile before inhaling deeply.

“No, y’know what, you’re right. Just let me, uh...”

Starlight held her glass close to her chest in her hooves as she once again pushed the sound-proofing bubble spell out of her horn. Trixie looked on in wonder as the spell washed over her and engulfed the room.

“Prevents anypony from listening in.” Starlight smirked.

“Wow.” Trixie breathed. “You’re not kidding, this is a big deal, isn’t it?”

“You have no idea.”

Starlight proceeded to carefully outline everything that had happened to her since – Celestia, had it only been a day? - though she conveniently left out the part about the dream she’d had and Twilight’s subsequent intrusion. Trixie, to her credit listened attentively as her friend unfolded her tale, almost forgetting to refill her glass halfway through. Almost.

“...and so now I’m here, asking you to fill in for me, while I try to unravel this massive pile of garbage that Twilight’s dumped on me.”

“Whoa.” Trixie whispered. “You could have just said ‘no’, you know?”

Starlight snorted a bitter chuckle.

“No. No, I really shouldn’t talk like that.” she remanded herself. “It’s a great honor that she trusts me with...this. And I know you’re not her biggest fan, but I owe a heck of a lot to Twilight Sparkle. I just don’t want to let her down.”

At some point during Starlight’s lengthy explanation, Trixie had shifted herself in the hammock into a lying down position, her rear hooves now resting across Starlight’s lap. At the time the headmare’s nerves had gone into overdrive, all too aware of the similarities between her current situation and the dream she’d neglected to tell her friend about. She could feel Trixie’s silky fur lightly tickling her thighs, and she found that she didn’t know what to do with her hooves. In the end, she settled on holding her glass in one, and resting the other lightly on the blue mare’s leg. If she didn’t like it she could damn well move. Trixie didn’t, and afterwards Starlight began to relax, and was able to finish her story.

“Still though,” Trixie stifled a yawn. “Trust her to hoof you this out of nowhere.”

“Hm,” Starlight smiled, staring absently at her hoof on her friend’s shin. “So you’ll do it then? Take over as headmare for a while, I mean.”

She retrieved the bottle from under Trixie’s side of the bed and topped up both their glasses with the last of the contents.

“Are you kidding?” the mare replied. “Trixie will be the greatest and most powerful temporary headmare the school has ever seen!”

“Thank you.” Starlight whispered effusively, giving the Unicorn’s shin an involuntary light squeeze. “I’ll get you my schedule tomorrow.”

“Did you tell her I’d be the one taking over?” Trixie grinned slyly at her friend. “Twilight, I mean.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I had to. It was one of the first questions she had for me.”

“Bet she loved that.” Trixie’s grin widened. “Celestia, I wish I could’ve seen her face.”

“Actually, she said you were the perfect choice.”

“Huh? Really?” Trixie’s eyes widened, before returning to their sleepy, half lidded expression. “Well, I suppose they do say wisdom comes with age.”

Starlight chuckled lightly. Trixie really was the perfect Pony to talk to when you were feeling irked by the Princess of Friendship. The perfect Pony to talk to in most situations really, or so it seemed to the headmare in that exact moment. She took another mouthful of her wine, leaving only the silty dregs behind in the glass. She was still observing the mare’s legs over her own. She dragged her hoof a fraction of an inch over her friend’s blue fur. The booze was starting to make her feel warm, and in that moment all she wanted to do was cuddle up beside Trixie and fall asleep. She resisted the urge.

“A-actually, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about...” She stammered, looking down to hide her burning face. “See, I had this really weird dream, and-”

A loud snore from the other side of the hammock stopped her dead in her tracks. She snapped her head towards her friend, and saw her sprawled on the bed, mouth open wide, eyes closed. Her glass was still held limply in her hoof, on the verge of tipping the remains of her drink all over herself.

“Oh.” Starlight commented in frustration as she hastily levitated the glass away from her friend’s hoof.

“Great...powerful Trixie...volunteer from...audience...” Came the murmured reply.

Starlight smiled, and carefully extracted herself from under the Unicorn’s legs. As lightly as she could, she stepped down from the hammock, levitated both their glasses to the countertop and gently arranged the blanket on top of her friend. She smiled as Trixie rolled onto her side, a smile tugging at the corners of her blue mouth.

“Goodnight Trixie.” She whispered. “Hope it’s a good show.”

The magician peeped something unintelligible as Starlight turned and tip-hoofed her way back to the door. She paused only briefly at the counter to drain what remained of her friend’s drink. No sense in wasting that.

She quietly opened the door and closed it behind her, disappearing into the night.

Author's Note

Tra la la la la
I have no idea where this plot is going
Tra la la la la la

Hope you enjoy.