October 13^th, 2019
Saturday
Sunny

Morning

song: I (sun) - Blue Reflection

“So, you guys have fun?” Pinkie Pie asked Starlight and Trixie at the breakfast table. It took a bit for Starlight to realize what she meant.

“O-oh! Um, well yeah,” Starlight smiled sheepishly, Trixie blushing with her own awkward smile, “I mean, um, w-we didn’t really do much.”

“Just, some intense groping, and maybe a bit of bondage play,” Trixie said, “Starlight and I are still trying to take things slow.”

“For the best, really,” Celestia said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the breakfast table, as usual not partaking in the delicious food she apparently spent all night preparing, “I don’t want you triggering yourself, Trixie.”

Trixie smiled warmly, “Right. Thanks Ms. Tia.”

Ms. Tia smiled lovingly, taking Trixie’s hand and gently squeezing it. Starlight found herself curious if the powerful sensation she got from their Dorm Mistress was something others felt, or if it was localized to her. Since she had her empathic touch, it could have been that. It never really occurred to Starlight to use that on Celestia. She sort of felt like she knew how she felt, and what to expect.

Just, love. Immense, powerful love.

“So, what ‘cha doing today?” Rainbow Dash asked the new couple, “Gonna try and get to third base next?”

“Actually, I was going to work on my new show and study for Midterms coming up,” Trixie took a forkful of her eggs and then swallowed, “Just because we’re Persona Users now doesn’t mean we should slack off.”

“I mean, yeah but we have until the 31^st of October till we need to worry about that, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Think like that, and you’ll find yourself staring at the test, and realizing that you didn’t study~” Celestia said airily, a knowing smile on her lips.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed, “Shit. I hate that you’re right.”

“We can study together for midterms if you’d like,” Pinkie Pie offered, turning to Starlight, “What do you say? Wanna study together?”

Truth was, she was hoping to head out to the park to see Fluttershy, and try to strike up a friendship with her. But Trixie and Ms. Tia did bring up a good point. Midterms were still on the horizon, and part of the condition for Starlight to come to this school was that she maintain good grades.

“Remember, curfew is later on weekends, honey,” Celestia said to Starlight, “I trust you girls to be responsible, so if you want to go out later, that’s fine.”

Well, Fluttershy might still be out then, so maybe she could still make it work. Either way, it’d be fun to see what goes on at night.

“In that case, sure,” Starlight smiled, “Let’s study together.”

“Alright,” Trixie shrugged, “Kinda sounds like fun. Maybe we can also brainstorm for what we’re going to call our coven.”

“Right, we do still need to figure that out,” Rainbow Dash frowned.

“You should also choose twin deities to watch over your coven,” Celestia offered, “A father and a mother deity.”

“Really?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Starlight nodded, “Yeah. A lot of Coven’s will choose a Father and a Mother Goddess in order to represent them, both of which they worship.”

“Any real requirements on that?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Like, I know witches and wiccans are related, but do they have set gods or something.”

“Mmm, not to my knowledge,” Starlight shook her head, “Only rule I can think of, and it’s more of a recommendation than anything, is to try and pick two deities that are from the same pantheon. Failing that, just make sure the two you pick like each other.”

“So, no bad blood between them. Got it,” Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Think to be safe, we could pick ones from the same pantheon?” Pinkie Pie requested, “We don’t really know much about this stuff yet, and I don’t want to risk choosing two Gods that hate each other.”

Starlight nodded, letting them know she wanted to pick two from the same pantheon anyway. She knew a bit about other pantheons, but she and Sunburst never got to the point where they were going to choose a Father and a Mother.

She hoped her Mom didn’t mind her going all in on this, rather than going Christian. Sadly, the other Pantheons to her knowledge did NOT like Christianity, due to how those associated with it tried to remove all of their pantheons.

Really, that was why Starlight wasn’t a Christian. She felt that wasn’t fair.

“Alright. After studying for a bit, let’s at least decide on a pantheon,” Trixie suggested, “I think now that we have six members of our coven, we should try to have that sorted out before we dive into Rarity’s Dungeon.”

“Six?” Celestia asked tilting her head.

“The four of us,” Trixie counted, “Twi-Twi, whether she likes it or not, and you.”

Celestia blinked, looking at Trixie and everyone somewhat surprised, “I, didn’t know I was included in this.”

“Really? I kinda assumed you were in our Coven,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “Since you kinda hold all of us together.”

“Yeah! You’re like the super cool mentor witch! Only, you’re not a witch,” Pinkie Pie said, but then perked up, “But neither is Twilight, and she’s in our Coven, so you’re good!”

“Is that okay?” Starlight asked their Dorm Mistress, “That we include you in our Coven?”

“I, would be honored,” Celestia said warmly, actually tearing up a bit herself, “Thank you, girls.”

“Sweet! So let’s get to studying so we can get to planning the greatest Coven ever!” Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically.

“Oh now you’re excited to study?” Trixie said dryly.

“Studying’s important, Lulamoon,” Rainbow Dash nodded, “Gotta get on it now, so we don’t get blindsided by Midterms when they start.”

They all got a good laugh from that. Starlight noticed that Celestia was laughing a bit more than she’d normally laugh, almost like she was happier now. She must have really appreciated being included in their Coven.

Evening

They got quite a bit of studying done together. Afterward, they played games together in Rainbow and Pinkie Pie’s room while discussing their Coven. It ultimately was decided that they’d go with the Greek Pantheon. Was it a standard choice? Yeah, it was. But they all agreed that it was better to just go with something they were all familiar with rather than try and do something crazy just to say they were “one of the cool Covens”. Since they couldn’t decide on which deities to choose yet, they decided to do a bit of research on those before they made any final decisions.

As the sun was beginning to set, at around 6 o’clock Starlight decided to head out in order to see if she could catch up with Fluttershy. She didn’t know how long she trained, but she remembered seeing her out pretty late. On the way, she actually bumped into Twilight as she stepped out of her room.

She said good evening to her, but then remembered this, might have been morning for her? Which was it?

Twilight just rolled her eyes, “A simple hello is fine, Starlight,” she said. Starlight remembered that Twilight was associated with the Kirijo Corporation, and now that she got a good look at her, she was Japanese too.

Starlight asked if Twilight wanted to go out into town together, thinking it’d be a good way for them to bond. Much to her sadness, but unsurprisingly, Twilight just pursed her lips.

song: Riku - Kingdom Hearts 2

“Sorry, but unlike some people here, I have work to do,” she said folding her arms, “I don’t get to sleep through my work like you do.”

Starlight took a breath and frowned a bit at that, “You know, all we want is to be your friend, Twilight. Being honest though, you make that really hard.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be your friend,” Twilight said sharply narrowing her eyes subtly, “Maybe I’d rather we remain professional.”

“What did I do?” Starlight asked, “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you, it’s just-” Twilight closed her eyes and turned away, “Don’t worry about it. It's my problem.”

“We’re a team, so I’m going to worry abou-”

“Do you have any new information on Rarity?” Twilight cut her off, clearly wanting to change the subject. Starlight sighed in defeat, telling her about their last interaction with Rarity, how she seemed almost angry that Cinch called her to her office, “Huh. Rainbow Dash might be onto something then with this Cinch being the Dungeon Master. Alright, I’ll see what I can do with this,” she pushed past Starlight and began heading to Celestia’s room, but stopped, “Oh, before I forget, we should try and make some headway in Elysium soon. Your friend's Dungeon recently shifted.”

Starlight’s heart leaped out of her chest, “How much? Is it still in Elysium?”

“It is, don’t worry,” Twilight assured, her tone softer and, comforting almost, “I thought you’d be concerned, so I made sure it was still there. I don’t think she’s attracted a Dungeon Master yet, but still.”

Starlight asked Twilight if she’d be okay going in tonight. Twilight took a breath and thought about it.

“Honestly, I’d rather we see Diamond in person first. You hang with her sometimes on Sunday’s right? Could you get in touch with her and see how she is in the Waking World? It’d help us piece together just how far gone she is.”

Starlight nodded, “Sure. I’ll check on her tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Twilight nodded, and turned to get to work. She wasn’t a bad person. She seemed genuinely invested in solving the Nightmare Epidemic issue. It was just anything concerning Starlight that she seemed to have issue with. It’d probably take a major shift before she and Twilight could truly become friends.

Realizing that she didn’t want to miss Fluttershy, Starlight went down to sign herself out, and then made her way out into town.

song: Sumaru City - Persona 2: Innocent Sin

As Starlight walked through town, she was still amazed by how different it looked and felt when the sun was going down. Like this, she really got to take in just how gothic the architecture looked in Canterlot. She could really feel the magic in the air, and wondered just how it’d look on Halloween.

Come to think of it, she needed to figure out a costume for that, didn’t she?

That’d come later, as she found the park where Fluttershy trained. Checking the time, she was probably still there. At least this time, she could head in and not run into any-

“Well well, didn’t expect to see you out here late like this,” a familiar voice said, making Starlight freeze. She slowly turned and saw the young man Rarity was with in the alleyway. His messy black hair and cap, combined with how toned his abs were really sold the dangerous gang leader look. For the first time, she also noticed an interesting tattoo on his chest, over his heart. It was partially obstructed by his jacket, but she could see two purple diamonds, and possibly a bit of a third one.

Was that the gang symbol…?

She was about to run, but then she noticed a terrifying black and white husky by his side looking right at her. He was huge, and she could tell he was highly intelligent. Though she could see his leash in the young man’s hand, the dog wasn’t on it at the moment, meaning he was smart enough to stay close to him. If she ran, he’d chase her, and Starlight wasn’t confident she could outrun him, nor if the boy beside him would call him back.

“You’re… the leader of the Diamond Dogs…” Starlight said shakily.

“Ah, you remember. Good. Saves us the trouble,” he narrowed his eyes and walked over to her, the husky walking beside him. As the husky walked around Starlight, sniffing her all over, his owner got in front of Starlight and loomed over her, giving off a powerful aura that felt almost inhuman, “Name’s Rover Lovato.”

“S-Starlight, Glimmer,” she said shakily. She didn’t have nearly enough courage to stand her ground, so she was sure he could see the fear radiating off of her. Proven when he chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I only bite for two reasons,” he raised his fingers to count them off, “If you’re into that, or if you give me a reason to.”

Starlight relaxed a bit, but she did not want to risk pissing this guy off. His energy felt intense, like she was looking less at a man, and more at a beast in a man’s body. Why did this feel familiar...?

The husky got super close to her, actually getting a bit invasive with his sniffing. Just as it looked like Starlight was getting a bit uncomfortable, Rover snapped his fingers and whistled.

“Cool it, Link. Doubt this girl rolls as hard as Dirty Diamond,” Rover said, calling the husky back. That thing was more like a wolf. Also, who was Dirty Diamond? And what did he mean by “rolling hard”?

“Though I have to admit, you got potential,” he smirked at her, “Saw you last night with the magician chick. Kept hopin’ you’d take it a bit further.”

Starlight wasn’t sure how she felt knowing this guy saw them.

“We’re taking things slow,” Starlight said frowning a bit, “She had a bad experience before, so we’re working up to more serious stuff.”

“Oooooh, I felt that,” he narrowed his eyes at her, now giving her a toothy grin that showed sharp canines, “The Little Star’s got fire after all. I think I can see why she’d be drawn to you.”

“She”? Wait, did he mean, Rarity? That confirmed that she did have some sort of connection to the Diamond Dogs.

“How do you know Rarity?” Starlight asked, making Rover chuckle again.

“You’re smart, Sugar Tits. I’m sure you can figure out what me and “Miss President” did when you saw us,” he looked at her and licked his lips, “Shame she said you’re off limits.”

Starlight felt super uncomfortable knowing where his eyes were. It was different when Victor did it. Why, she didn’t know, but this guy wasn’t Victor.

“I, better go,” Starlight said softly, “I’m hoping to meet with someone.”

“That right?” Rover asked, Link now standing behind Starlight, “Too bad, cause I was hoping to ask you a question.”

“If you make it quick, then go ahead,” Starlight said, sucking in a breath when Rover leaned in, looking her right in the eyes.

“What’s your relationship with Rarity?” he asked, suddenly looking very serious. She felt like she was being starred down by a ferocious… beast… now…

This, was the same energy that Rarity had.

“She and I, don’t talk much, but I like her, a lot,” she answered best as she could, “I want to help her, much as I can.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, reading her, “You help her? Well, the mouse did save the lion once, so why not?” he stepped past her, “Just don’t think you know anything about her, Little Star. You’re as good as prey in this town, same as all the rest.”

“I don’t know much about her, I’ll admit, but I care about her,” Starlight said.

“Oh? I wonder,” he walked off, “Can you really care about a false identity.”

Starlight frowned watching him leave. She was really getting worried about what this looked like. More and more, she was beginning to suspect that Rarity’s connection to this gang was really deep.

And depending on how deep, Starlight might run into trouble getting her out, assuming this was connected to her Dungeon and not just Rarity's personal life.

She needed more concrete info before she could give Twilight anything substantial. She’d have to pay a visit to the Student Council on Monday to see how Rarity was doing. Maybe she could get some alone time with her and ask her a few questions.

For now though, she continued her search for Fluttershy. Hopefully that hadn’t interrupted her much. When she made her way to where she saw her last, she was worried at first, as she didn’t see her. Her worries were put to rest though, as she heard her voice deeper in the wooded area. Starlight followed the sound of her voice, leading her to the area right in front of the lake. There she saw Fluttershy, like before wearing the white gi top, yellow baggy pants, and wooden sandals like before. She was in the middle of her training, so Starlight chose to just sit by a tree and watch for a bit.

song: Kairi - Kingdom Hearts 2

Unlike her more nervous and demure air in school, like this Fluttershy was terrifying. Each swing lead into another, with Fluttershy’s eyes sharp and determined. To Starlight, it seemed like each swing was intentionally swung. Like in her mind, she was slashing something, trying to actively hurt them.

She did a heavy sideways slash, but then closed one eye wincing in pain, falling to one knee and using her wooden blade as support.

“Tokugawa-san!” Starlight cried, running to her side, “Are you okay?!”

“S-Starlight, san…” she grunted with a pained smile, “H-hai. I, alright.”

Starlight guided her over to a nearby tree and helped her sit down, sitting beside her, “What happened? Did you pull something?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “Last night, hurt leg,” she answered, “Pain, not bad. Just, er… unsure how to describe…”

“Like, it flares up if you work it too hard?” Starlight asked.

“Flare, up?” she tilted her head in confusion.

“Um, like, it’s there normally,” she held her hands together in a closed fist, “But, not very bad. But every so often,” she opened her hands suddenly, and then slowly closed them, “Like this. Flare up.”

“Ah! Hai hai!” Fluttershy nodded, “That, hai. Flare up. That, pain do.”

“If you hurt yourself that badly, maybe you shouldn’t have been out here training,” Starlight said, “You don’t want to damage it too much.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “Pain not bad. Training important,” she looked at her wooden blade, “Training, very important.”

Starlight had the feeling that she was going through quite a bit on her end, more than she could truly fathom. Sadly, she could tell she wasn’t sensitive enough to truly resonate with her without her empathy, and she didn’t want to rely on that. Especially concerning Fluttershy.

“Just, be careful then, alright?” Starlight said, “That fall scared me a lot.”

Fluttershy looked at Starlight curiously, “You, worried, about me?”

“Well yeah,” Starlight looked down blushing, “We haven’t really talked a lot, but well, I’ve wanted to be friends with you ever since we waved to each other on the first day.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened a bit, “You, remember.” she then looked away nervously.

“So… could we maybe… I don’t know, be friends…?” Starlight asked.

She could tell Fluttershy was really torn about something. Like, she wanted to be friends with Starlight, but was also worried about something. Fluttershy then looked at her hand, opening and closing it. It was the same hand Starlight had held yesterday to help her up.

Did she, do something wrong by offering her hand? Was she actually upset?

After a bit, Fluttershy smiled softly, “Hai. Friends.” she looked back at Starlight with the same smile, “Starlight-san, friend.”

Starlight smiled in return. She could feel a faint bond forming between her and Fluttershy.

Huh. Odd. This bond felt, guarded? It didn’t feel weaker than her other ones, but there was something about her that she was keeping close to her chest. Either way, this was a step in the right direction.

Fluttershy looked up at the sky, seeing the sun had fully set. She then closed her eyes seriously, “Gomenasai.”

“You, have to get home?” Starlight asked.

“Hai…” she said softly. For some reason, Starlight got the sense that was the last place she wanted to be. She then gave Starlight a clearly forced smile, “Arigato, Starlight-san,” she got up, and bowed to Starlight, “Ogeki-de, Starlight-san.”

That was, a different way of saying goodbye than before. Was that a sign she was more relaxed around her? Starlight got up, and bowed to her as well, “Um, Ogeki… de… Tokugawa-san…?”

Fluttershy snorted, and then laughed. She then nodded, “Hai hai! You learn Japanese good!”

“Ah, you don’t have to humor me. I know my pronunciation is terrible…” Starlight said rubbing the back of her neck.

Fluttershy nodded with an awkward smile, and patted Starlight on the shoulder, “But you try, you learn, you get better,” she said sweetly. She then bowed again and walked off. She had a slight limp, but it wasn’t too noticeable. Hopefully her house wasn’t too far from here.

Well, she reached out her hand in friendship. She got the feeling that if she wanted to get closer to Fluttershy, she’d have to work extra hard. She looked down at her hand, remembering how Fluttershy felt when they touched the one time.

It was almost similar to Trixie when they met.

Starlight nodded to herself, and made her way back home to the dorm. Between Fluttershy, and Rarity’s connection with the Diamond Dogs, she had a lot to think about…

Fool – Seekers of Light: 5/10
Magician – Trixie Lulamoon: 8/10
Priestess – Diamond Tiara: 6/10
The Empress – Ms. Tia: 4/10
The Lovers - Pinkamena Diane Pie: 2/10
Chariot – Rainbow Dash: 2/10
Strength - Tokugawa Fluttershy: 1/5 ESTABLISHED!!!!
The Devil – Silver Spoon: 3/10
Hermit – Sunburst: 2/10
Transformation - Ms. Luna: 1/10

Click here if you wish to support the Go Fund I've started for my parents. We've currently raised 1,505 dollars, so we're making progress, but I know I can take this further for them.