//------------------------------// // A Sparkling Conundrum // Story: The Giant that holds up the Sky // by Snowlight //------------------------------// Fluttershy walked down the streets of Ponyville with only one destination in mind, trying her best to stay away from everypony. Stratos said he didn’t want to be noticed and she had guessed the reason why, well… almost why. Why would he be hiding? The top of a crystal tree castle could be seen rising over the horizon, glimmering against the morning sunlight. Ponies all about, beginning their days with a happy smile, though she kept walking, only wanted to get to her friend Twilight Sparkle. If anypony knew anything it was her. She was just too shy around Stratos to actually do anything to help him, with that and him being an Alicorn, he attracted too much attention. She began to pick up her pace, passing by an Inn, unknowing to a rather rusty colored unicorn mare with a wavy black mane and vibrant green eyes that followed each pony who passed by. Fluttershy just kept walking, eventually reaching the crystal castle. She pushed against one of the massive doors, hearing it creak open as she bared all her weight against it. She huffed past the entrance, looking up to see the 6 crystal thrones, empty, though still filling the room. Echoing inside the Castle, she could hear Twilight saying something to Spike. Fluttershy slowly walked up the stairs to the library, where the commotion was loudest, and peeked her head halfway around the corner to see Twilight pacing back and forth across the room. “That explains how it was fixed, but it doesn’t explain where it came from.” Twilight stated, her mind in obvious deep thought. “What if it was the Tree of Harmony? I mean, it gave you guys that box and it was unbelievable, what if something like that fixed the problem with its magic?” Spike said, trying to give Twilight some foundation to her persisting conundrum. Fluttershy found herself leaning into the heat of the conversation, not realizing she was about to fall over. She slipped and, with a squeak, fell onto the floor, getting up quickly and hiding behind the corner, hoping Twilight or Spike hadn’t seen her. “Fluttershy? Is that you?” She heard Twilights voice echo around the corner. Fluttershy slowly walked out from her hiding place and nodded, “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t want to intrude…” “It’s fine Fluttershy, we were just discussing about last night’s events.” Twilight stated. Behind her, Fluttershy could see at least two dozen books stacked on top of each other, several of them scattered about one of the tables, open. “What events?”, Fluttershy was curious, she didn’t know anything happened. This caused her to blush a little, she was always a bit of a heavy sleeper… “You didn’t see it?” Twilight tilted her head. Fluttershy shook her head, “I didn’t….” “I don’t think anypony really knows about what happened, Twilight, I mean, all it was was light and a small sound… I mean, you only saw it because you were having one of your late night cram sessions.” Twilight shot a malevolent glare at Spike, who held his claws up in defense. She then turned back to Fluttershy, “Last night there was a fissure in the atmosphere that grew to vast proportions before being mended with a sudden and greater beam of mysterious and incredibly vast levels of magic.” Fluttershy looked at Spike. “There was a big hole in the sky and a big beam of magic fixed it.” He said, understanding Fluttershy’s confusion. Fluttershy made a silent ‘Oooooh’, nodding her head as Spike received an annoyed glare from Twilight. Her eyes widened when she remembered her ‘Guest’, most likely still at her Cottage. Did he have something to do with it? She looked at Twilight, who began to ponder the situation they had just recited over in her mind. Fluttershy was about to tell Twilight about Stratos before she began to speak to herself. “Maybe it was one of the Princesses, but they would have told me…. and there would be a reason to be in the Everfree to do it….” “Uhm… Twilight…?” Fluttershy watched as Twilight began to go back to her pacing. “Maybe because of its mysterious properties?” She ranted. “…Twilight…?” “Maybe Spike was right, what if it WAS the Tree of Harmony…” Fluttershy poked Twilight, “Twilight…?” Twilight snapped out of her possessive self-argument and turned to Fluttershy, “Hm? I’m sorry… Yes?” “There’s a guest… at my home…” “A guest?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, Fluttershy nodded her head, “I’m sorry, but why are you telling me?” “Well…. He wants to get out of Ponyville un-noticed and I didn’t think I could help him, then you told me about last night and…” Fluttershy paused, trying to find a way not to be rude about him. Twilight leaned in, curious now. “I think he may be responsible….” She hid in her mane. Twilight leaned back and looked at Spike, “Why would you think that, Fluttershy…?” “He’s… well…” Fluttershy began, pausing again. “He’s what?” Now Spike was wondering what she had to say. “An Alicorn.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she moved uncomfortably close, picking her up to her huanches, “For real? Wings, Horn, everything?” Fluttershy nodded her head. “I knew there were boys!” Spike snapped. “Where is he? Right. Now.” Twilight continued to lean forward as Fluttershy leaned back to keep her space. “He’s at my house… C-could you please put me down….?” Twilight blinked and realized what she was doing, she gently let go of Fluttershy and regained her calm and focused composure. “Sorry… Sorry…” A blush appeared on her lavender cheeks, she looked at the yellow mare and shuddered, trying to keep her excitement contained. “We need to get to your home, Fluttershy. I think it would be faster to teleport there and not cause any suspicion or unnecessary attention.” Fluttershy was about to ask why Twilight would think that before she saw herself enveloped in the bright essence of fuchsia magic. Before the instantaneous teleportation, she heard Twilight call out to Spike. “Watch over the Castle for me, Spike!” Spike watched as the two of them disappeared, he crossed his arms and huffed, “They never let me in on the really cool stuff anymore….” He walked over to the table and opened the latest Edition of ‘Power Ponies’, immediately getting drawn into the action. Meanwhile, with Twilight and Fluttershy Twilight and Fluttershy materialized outside of the Cottage, just in front of the front door. Fluttershy took a few moments to catch her breath, scared over the teleportation. Twilight noticed and scratched the back of her head, “Sorry…” She said. Fluttershy nodded softly, accepting the apology before opening the door, only to see a rather angry white bunny, thumping his foot on the wooden floor. Fluttershy immediately picked up the bunny and rushed inside, “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Momma forgot to feed you! I’ll get right on it!” Fluttershy rushed into the kitchen, leaving Twilight alone in the Living Room. She could see many animals outside, enjoying the day, a pot and strainer spoon on the floor, a first aid kit, and more mud, twigs and leaves than she could count. She began to explore, looking for Fluttershy’s Alicorn ‘Guest’. She didn’t mention a name, but it was fine since there were only three ponies in the Cottage; her, Fluttershy, and the stallion. Downstairs was completely void of any stallions, which only left upstairs. She slowly walked up the stairs, peeking her head through the first of three doors, this one was the Guest bedroom, clean and tidy. The next was Fluttershy’s room, with the same status, save some ruffled sheets and a bent up pillow that Twilight quickly fixed up to perfection. That only left one room, the bathroom. She was so excited she forgot her manners and was about to barge right in before the door handle glowed a sky blue. The door opened with a soft hum behind it. Twilight watched as first a light gray horn came out the door first, followed by a muzzle, and a pair of Azure blue eyes that didn’t quite seem to notice her yet. “That ‘Conditioner’ was absolutely wondrous for my mane, I have never felt it so soft before!” She watched him dry off his mane a bit more before twisting his tail dry, allowing them to go back to their cloud-like selves of pure white. He evenly folded up the towel and placed it in the laundry bin. “No need to be rude and untidy for Miss Fluttershy and her friend- “ He paused, meeting eyes with Twilights, whose were in response, shrunken down to the size of a hayseed. The awkward staring contest seemed to have lasted for minutes before Stratos’ eyes broke from her gaze, looking left and right with a sigh to break the tension. “You must be Fluttershy’s friend I presume?” He looked incredibly uncomfortable. Twilight shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “You aren’t? Oh dear….” “No no! I am, I most certainly am, I’m sorry, I am just trying to comprehend this situation…” Twilight rubbed her head. Stratos tilted his head, “I apologize….” Twilight shook her head again, “No! You don’t need to apologize either…. I just never thought there would be another Alicorn….” She heard him sigh as he walked by her, “I do not believe a bathroom is exactly the best place for discussion.” He seemed to have avoided her statement. Twilight stayed close to him, watching his every move. His posture was perfect, though something seemed off about him, he didn’t seem all that regal… maybe he was new too. She shook her head, trying to clear the now infinite amount of questions forming in her head about him. She had to get back to why she initially wanted to speak to him. Upon reach down stairs she watched him sit on the floor, looking at her, though his casual expression seemed to have changed when he finally took notice to the fact that she, too, was an Alicorn. He let out another of those sighs that he seemed to always give off when he was placed in an awkward situation now that she thought about it. She wondered why he was so uncomfortable. But first, names. She was absolutely pestered by the lack of a decent foundation of knowledge on each other. She cleared her throat, which caught his attention, and spoke in a clear and rather intelligent toned manner. “My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. May I ask what your name is?” Stratos nodded his head, at least he wasn’t starting the conversation, it would be more trouble than it’s worth. “My name is Stratos Fallstreak.” Twilight thought about his name, recalling in her memory all the knowledge she could compare with his name. Nothing came up though, but something was unique about it, both portions of his name were relative to the sky. And with what happened this morning, and his sudden appearance, he must be the one responsible as Fluttershy had guessed. She smiled, proud of herself for deducing it so easily, the only way to prove it now was one of her favorite activities. Questions and Answers. She sat down just as him and stared at him, watching his eye movements for the questions to come to see if he would be lying or not. “Stratos…” She began. He was already shifty, probably relative with him not wanting to be known by anypony else, “Would you happen to know about the events that took place last night, involving a giant fracture in the sky and a massive beam of magic that came soon after to quote, unquote, ‘Repair’ it?” She watched as his body immediately stiffened, eyes growing wide and small beads of sweat beginning to form. Well that solved that. “I-i… Do not know what you are talking about.” She now just wanted him to admit it. So she would keep asking questions. “Where were you last night? Fluttershy claimed you were injured and from the looks of it, she was not lying” She noted all the scratched and bruises lightly covering his body, he must have been running through the forest, the twigs and leaves, along with the dirt towards the backdoor, he must have been at the Everfree Forest, another strong clue that added to the already inevitable answer she WILL receive. Stratos let out a huff, still shaking, he didn’t know how to answer it. She could see it, she knew, she was just waiting for him to break, to tell her his secrets. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t, he took a deep breath “I was in the Everfree Forest…” He guessed he would only tell her PARTS of the truth. He seemed to have finally cracked, “And why were you in the Everfree Forest?” Stratos looked up, his humble appearance replaced with a look of duty, “To do my job.” He only gave her a part of what she was expecting, though saying it was his job caught her off guard. “What would your job be?” She wanted him to say it. Stratos gave her a look of annoyance, realizing she already knew, she just wanted to rub it in his face for lying to her. “Oh for goodness sake, you already know, you don’t need me to say it.” “Say what?” Twilight gave an innocent look and a tilt of the head. “That I was the one who fixed that massive hole in the sky- “ He paused. She used the pressure and stress he was already experiencing to catch him off guard. She was good, that was clever. “You are good.” “I just needed to be absolutely certain that it was you. Now I have only one question left to ask you” She stood up. “Ask me your question then”, It couldn’t possibly get any worse than it already was. He watched as his vision filled with the face of the mare that was once a few meters away from him, looking as though she had not eaten in days and a feast was laid out in front of her, and he was the feast. “Is it possible to teach me that form of magic? I have never seen anything like it before! I MUST know.” She was practically drooling on him. He took a quick step back and watched as she began to fall before catching her and gently sitting her back up. He smiled at her, and said with calm clarity, “Absolutely not.” Her ears fell back and she gasped, “B-but! It’s undocumented!” “Then it will have to stay that way. I apologize, Princess Sparkle.” “Not even a little bit?” “No.” “Please???” “No.” “Come on!” He could hear her getting closer. “Please respect me declining your wish. I understand it is hard for you to accept the loss of potential knowledge.” ‘Loss of potential knowledge’, he may not have meant it, but those words clung to her mind and continued to echo, repeating dozens of times. Twilight found herself growing furious, how dare he. Knowledge was the most important virtue to hold, without it, there would be nothing, and to deny knowledge is just….just… it’s just preposterous. Stratos was about to ask if she was able to keep her promise of safe passage while remaining incognito before feeling his mane build a static charge. He looked behind him to see Twilight’s horn glowing violently and a very annoyed expression on her face. “Loss of potential knowledge.” She clung to those words like a foal to their mother. She was finding it difficult to let go of it. Stratos realized he just made a mistake, he should have thought about it, not immediately come out with what he was thinking. He just pulled the trigger to Twilight Sparkles anger, and she was about to unleash a point blank shot upon him. He acted quickly and opened the door, watching the first beam of magic shoot past him and outside. He turned his head back to Twilight to see her charging at him just before Fluttershy walked back into her Living Room to see them both leave the Cottage. “U-uhm…. Goodbye?” She looked around, maybe they were going somewhere else to discuss what to do. Stratos felt the barrage of the charge imbued with magical energy and tumbled down the path towards Ponyville. He quickly recovered and found himself in dire need to get as far away from the Alicorn Princess as possible, apologies were just too late now. He began to run, hearing the Princess call out to him in fury. “Stop right there!” She ordered him, quickly flying towards him. He didn’t answer back, in fear that would slow him down. He remembered early this morning what he did to get away from the Timberwolves and his wings slowly began to extend out, stretching as they prepared to be used. Twilight watched as his wings extended out and was about to tackle him where she THOUGHT he was going to fly. But she instead hit empty air, watching as he lunged forwards and propelled himself to a greater speed. She couldn’t keep up with him. She would need help, and up ahead she saw just the mare for the job. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was busy. Well she was before she decided to take a break, snuggled in on a cloud. A nap wasn’t so bad, this would help her out with the rest of the day. Cloud busting was SERIOUS business. “RAINBOW DASH!!” Rainbow Dash rustled up, looking about while rubbing her eyes, “Huh? What’s up?” She saw Twilight rush by, almost causing her to fall off her cloud. She quickly regained her composure and chased after Twilight, wondering what has got her in such a hurry. She easily caught up with her and flew next to her, “Uh, Twilight? What’s the rush?” Twilight pointed down at the streets where she could see a white blur rushing down them. “I need your help to catch him, he is of great importance.” She wasn’t lying, he was, in fact, important. His mind could be holding more knowledge than he seems to let off, a living library of untold history and magic. Rainbow Dash didn’t question Twilights request and gave Twilight a quick salute, “On it!” She halted and flew down towards the streets to catch up to him. It wasn’t that difficult for her, as she was only the fastest, most awesome Pegasus ever, nopony could beat her in speed. Stratos found himself beginning to breathe a bit quicker, last night took a lot out of him and he was far past his curfew for rest. And just to add again, he wasn’t an athlete, he didn’t have the stamina to keep this up for long. Of course, he apparently didn’t as he saw a cyan mare with a rainbow mane slowly creep up beside him, dodging food carts. And she was doing it upside down with her hooves behind her head too. Now that was just cruel. “Hey bud, I am going to have to ask you to stop running.” She peeked an eye open before they both shot open to see an Alicorn staring back at her. “What??” Stratos didn’t have time for another pony to ask him questions, he replied to her none-the-less though, “I apologize but I do not wish to die today.” Rainbow Dash paused, letting him gain ground, “Die?” Was that why he was running from Twilight? She began to laugh as she flew back up beside him, “Listen pal, she isn’t going to hurt you.” Stratos looked at her like she was psychotic and shook his head, “I do not trust your-“ “STRAAATOOOOOOOS~!! <3” His eyes went to pebbles, there was only one pony who called his name like that. She truly was relentless. Love Dust. It hasn’t even been half a day and she was already looking for him. Two options fell into mind. Get cuddled way too romantically and smothered by Love Dust or face the wrath of Twilight. It felt more one-sided really. “Twilight it is!” Stratos turned around, leaving Rainbow Dash as he began to run back to Twilight. She would have caught him anyways, he was just too tired, and he could already feel the fatigue setting in as he began to slow down. He really needed to sleep, best get the quickest one was the best. Maybe if he taught Twilight one of his spells she would stop bothering him and let him take a wonderful nap. He could see her, flying towards him, the rainbow maned mare with her. He was astounded with her speed. Twilight didn’t seem to be angry anymore, so maybe the colorful one told her about him coming back to her. “Stratos~! Where are you going??” “Twilight!! I promise to teach you something! Please! Get me somewhere isolated so I can do it!” She was so close he could feel her energetic optimism for learning. “Straaaatos~! <3” “Please! NOW!” He watched himself get surrounded with magic and just about to be teleported, almost there, come on. “Gotcha!” He felt a pair of hooves hug around him and snuggling, causing him to tumble with her on his back. “NooooOOOO!!!” And with that, they disappeared, his pleads echoing in the pony filled street wondering who and or what they just saw. Seconds Later Stratos and Dust tumbled onto an ornate floor, skidding for a moment before Stratos sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around, staring at the crystal columns that seemed to compliment the deep purplish blue walls. It was laid out in a dome, a set of doors to the east and west of the room, a stained window pane to the north, and in the center, 6 impressive thrones. He was admiring the architecture, finding it in good taste before a tingle ran up his spine, feeling a familiar presence nuzzling into his mane. “Oh my gosh! You’re mane is so soft now! And it smells like tangerines!” Love Dust snuggled into him giggling as he grumbled on the floor. Another sound echoed through the main foyer as Twilight materialized a few feet away. “Sorry about the long wait, I had to explain to Rainbow Dash what was going on, now, since I did what you asked and took you to someplace isolated, how about that spell?” He looked up to see her looking back at him with a wide, closed smile, optimistic eyes, and a waggling tail. He honestly wanted the isolation to get away from Love Dust, but he was a stallion of his word and got up, her still on his back, “I will teach you after I get my sleep. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare bedroom perhaps?” Twilight stared at Stratos, though she did notice his eyes, they were half open, almost ready to fall closed. She sighed, it would have to wait. She pointed to one of the doors, “Go up the stairs, down the main hall, turn right at the end and it will be the 4th door on your left.” Stratos smiled and nodded, walking towards the door. Twilight watched him go and saw the mare that seemed to know him turn around, and proceeded to glare at her until the door closed behind the two.