The moon spread it's rays of soft light across the small town of Ponyville. Everyone was sleeping in their beds, probably dreaming of something lovely or happy. After all, that was what all ponies thought about, happiness and love.
But not Foxfire. Her thoughts were plagued with the evil of a reoccurring nightmare. One she could never get out of her head. She was robbed of sleep, so she took the next best thing. Being awake. Not like she had a choice.
She looked at the small homes, wishing she could just curl up and get some rest. But sleep alluded her, ever fleeting, always just out of grasp.
She looked to the stars. The moon reminded her of her mentor, Princess Luna. She still remembered the day Luna had taken her under her wing. She had been alone, tired, and ready to give up. Her temper was at times uncontrollable, and her mind wasn't quite in the right place, making it hard for some ponies to talk to her. But Luna saw past this. She recognized the beautiful creature that Foxfire was.
She scoffed. Beautiful... yeah right. It wasn't that she was too self conscience about her looks, but most ponies thought her as odd looking as well. After all, she was no ordinary pony. Her fur was a bit longer than most, and red, giving her a wild kind of look. Her wings were tripled layered, gray, black, then rainbow. Her tail was long and furry, the same color as her body. But the most astounding feature was that she was indeed an alicorn, though not a princess. Her horn was mostly gray with a bit of black on top. While she was only the size of any average pony, her horn was longer than any other unicorn her size, giving her an higher skill with magic.
Maybe that was why Luna had taken her under her wing. Because she was an alicorn. Why else would Luna trouble herself with such a troubled mare as herself?
Yeah, her past was dark. She scoffed at the fact that she had lived through it at all. She remembered where it all started.
She had been living in Ponyville with her family, as a regular earth pony. Her mom, dad and sister all lived with her as a small but content family. But of course, fate was cruel. It had to rip away everything she wanted most. She couldn't even remember what had happened, but one day, her mom and sister were killed. She had been devastated. Her dad sunk into depression, leaving Foxfire alone. So she ran.
She ran from all of her worries and troubles until she couldn't run anymore. She blocked out all memories of that horrid night to the point where she couldn't remember them.
Foxfire let a tear fall from her eye. It streaked her furry cheeks until it fell to the ground without a sound. Just like everything she knew. Gone, with no warning, and now no one to remember except for what fragments she could conjure up.
She walked out to the fields and sat down, once again looking at the stars. Another tear fell as she thought of the events that followed her family's death.
He came. She didn't know who he was, but he was evil. He found her, alone in the woods one day. She had seen him, but didn't think anything of him... until he knocked her out with a frying pan.
She slipped in and out of consciousness, but when she was awake, she knew he was... he was...
The pain of the memory caused her muscles to clench up. Because of him, her body had undergone the transformation into what she was now. it was all his fault.
She could feel herself losing her temper. She took in a deep breath. She tried to recall the calming exercises Luna had taught her to keep herself under control. She breathed in, then breathed out. In, out, in, out. She soon brought her muscles to relax.
Just in time too. A gentle hoof came to rest upon her shoulder. She was startled and turned to see who it was. A white unicorn mare, with green and yellow hair. Her eyes told of a deep sadness. Foxfire tried to recall her name. She knew she had seen her before. It was... something Melodies...
The mare opened her mouth, and soft, sweet words filled Foxfire's ears and seeped into her soul. “Are you okay? I... I saw you... alone. And it's... dark....”
Foxfire wondered over the seemingly magical power this mares voice held. But she decided to think on that later. She shook her head. “No, I'm not fine, but I don't want to talk.”
The unicorn sat down. “Okay. I'll just... sit here a-and... wait for you...”
Fox fire closed her eyes. Why was this mare being so nice to her? No one else cared, why would she? Why was this mare so different?
She opened her eyes to see the stars yet again. The same old, boring stars. They never changed. That annoyed her. Change was a part of life. Why were the stars not subject to the same rules everything else was?
She heard a soft tune float across the air. It was sweet and soothing, like the wind whistling through the glass. She turned to see that it was actually the mare who was whistling. Again, Foxfire marveled at the mare. She really was different.
“Why do you whistle so softly?” she asked.
The mare stopped and smiled lightly. “Because... anyone can whistle... whistle loudly. B-but... singing is like gold and... and silver.” She noticed the mare was stuttering less now. “Sure gold is brighter... and seems more valuable, but... silver has a... a clean look to it, like p-purity. It doesn't stand out as... as much, but to whistle softly is to.. to choose silver. Clean, s-soft, and pure.”
Finally the mare registered in Foxfire's head. “Oh! Aren't you Silver Melodies? The semi-famous singer?”
The unicorn nodded. Foxfire shook her head. “But... I heard you were in depression.”
“I am.”
“But you seem so peaceful and calm.”
The mare nodded. “Even though I... I am depressed, I am learning h-how to deal with it.”
She pointed at the sky. “You see... see life is l-like the heavens. Now... now each star might feel a-alone. Like they are nothing. But if... if you zoom out and take in t-the big picture...” she gestured to the sky, “you'll find that they all... fit together to become something... something beautiful.”
She pointed at Foxfire. “You can't shine... on y-your own. You need to learn to p-put the past behind you, to... to stop focusing on yourself and lifting yourself up, and... and focus on helping others. That's what I do... do to help me battle my depression, and it works.”
Foxfire shook her head. “No one will lift me up. I'm shunned.” Another tear made it's way down her cheek. She wished her mom and sister were here. She needed them more than ever.
“I will.” Silver Melodies said. She placed a hoof on her shoulder, drawing her closer. “You are never alone... to deal with your p-problems.”
She thought of something. “How do you know all this about me?”
Melodies smiled. “I've been talking with Luna. I asked her who she knew that needed lifting up, and she recommended you. She told me what she knew, And now here I am.”
Foxfire smiled now. So Luna did care. She took comfort knowing no matter how bad her problems got, she now had someone to talk to, something she didn't have before. Then another thought popped into her mind.
“Uh, Silver Melodies?”
“Mmh?”
“Why is your voice so sweet and soothing?”
“Well, it's a... a long story...”