Chapter 19: Grounded Skies
"Star Gazer... why are you blaming Princess Celestia for this? It wasn't her fault."
Sparkly Skies whispered to herself while everypony else in the room remained silent. While Twilight held Rainbow Dash back, Sunset was lost in thought. I get the feeling that Star Gazer didn't tell the whole story... Taking a deep breath, she got the pegasi's attention. "Sparkly..."
Sparkly didn't answer. She remained still, facing the wall with her back turned towards everypony.
"Star Gazer... she's the one who did this to you... isn't she?" Sunset asked.
Sparkly slowly turned her head, and with a long sigh, she nodded. "In a sense, you're right. Star Gazer's the one who paralyzed my wings."
"And she's shifting the blame to Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash asked, her face growing tense.
"I honestly don't know why, though," Sparkly admitted. "If it wasn't for her, things might've turned out even worse."
"Wait a minute..." Sunset interrupted, holding up her forehoof. "Princess Celestia was also there during that accident?"
"You could say that," Sparkly answered. "She arrived just before Star Gazer's experiment backfired."
"And what kind of experiment was it?" Twilight asked, wondering why Princess Celestia wasn't supervising it.
Sparkly approached the group and took a long glance at her wings. "She was trying to help me fly."
Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow. "Hold on... what do mean 'help you fly'?"
"My wings... they're extremely underdeveloped," Sparkly answered.
"Underdeveloped?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"It's the same thing that's happened to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained. "Sometimes the magic that allows a pegasus to fly takes longer to fully awaken, and as a result, their flight ability is limited. Scootaloo had a hard time flying at first, but her pegasus magic is starting to awaken, and now she can hover in the air at short bursts. Soon enough, she'll be able to fly just like a normal pegasus."
"Thanks for the biology lesson, Twilight," Rainbow Dash deadpanned. "I totally didn't learn how pegasi magic works in elementary school."
"Well, my pegasus magic stayed dormant throughout my whole fillyhood," Sparkly said. "I lost count of how many times I tried to get airborne, but couldn't. It even extended into my teen years. My magic wasn't waking up at all. Not even a small hover inches above the ground."
"Ouch..." Sunset murmured uncomfortably.
"That's just unbelievable!" Rainbow Dash spat out, looking utterly shocked. "I thought Scootaloo had it rough, but you...!"
"I don't know why my magic never woke up. Not even a tiny bit," Sparkly sighed, casting a forlorn glance at her wings. "Even the doctors my parents took me to were confused by it."
"You have any idea what might be causing it, Twilight?" Sunset asked.
Twilight racked her brains, trying to come up with a possible explanation. After a few moments, she shook her head. "Sorry, I don't," she answered sadly. "This is the first time I've heard of a pegasus's magic refusing to wake up at all. It's extremely curious. It might've also piqued Star Gazer's interest."
"Throughout my whole life, I've always been fascinated by stunt fliers," Sparkly said, her gaze fixated on the Wonderbolt cadet. "It was absolutely stunning, watching those daredevil pegasi flip, spiral, and soar through the air fearlessly. And my lifelong dream was to join them. In fact, it was during a Wonderbolts performance ten years ago that I first met Star."
"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes," Sparkly answered. "Princess Celestia was also with her. They took a day off just to relax, and Star wanted to check out the Wonderbolts show. The two of us bumped into each other in the crowd, she accidentally dropped her notebook and a couple quills, and they just fell right through the clouds. After a ton of apologizing, she decided to forgive me, and we just started chatting with each other. Turns out, Star was also fascinated with stunt fliers, but she preferred to show it scientifically. We spent the whole day just going on and on about the topic. I kept yammering on about the history of the Wonderbolts and other famous stunt fliers, she wouldn't stop talking about angles and physics and all that stuff. Until the end of the day, when we said our goodbyes and left for home."
"But it didn't stop there, did it?" Twilight responded, a small smile forming on her face.
Sparkly chuckled. "We bumped into each other again in Canterlot. My house was only a short distance from hers. We started hanging out with each other, and we became really close friends. Almost inseparable."
"So... what happened?" Sunset asked.
"She and Princess Celestia were also surprised by the fact that my wings were completely unable to fly," answered Sparkly. "And Star knew how much I wanted to be a stunt flier, so she swore that she would help me accomplish that. Since then, she's been obsessed with finding out a way to help me fly."
"And... how far was she willing to go to do it?" Sunset asked hesitantly, memories of her obsession with the Mirror Portal coming back to her mind.
"What do you mean?"
"Was..." Sunset twiddled her forehooves as she tried to get the words out of her mouth. "Was she willing to resort to... dark magic to get you flying?"
"No..." Sparkly answered with a sigh. "Princess Celestia and I both told her we didn't want to get me airborne using dark magic. The Princess even told Star Gazer that she'd dismiss her as her student if she did."
"And yet... she did anyways, huh?" Twilight murmured, glancing towards Sunset.
"Her experiment didn't involve dark magic, but it was still a dangerous one," Sparkly said, glancing towards Twilight. "She's not too much of an alchemy class fan, mostly because of how ridiculously easy it is to completely ruin something you're mixing up. Even the smallest mistake can end badly. You have to be really careful and patient, and patience isn't one of Star Gazer's strong points. But one day, she just ran right up to me after alchemy class, out of breath with excitement. She told me she found the answer to helping me fly again. And it was one of the potion ingredients she learned about that day."
"A potion ingredient?" Twilight repeated. "What kind of... oh no..." Her eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Don't tell me..."
"Something wrong, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked quizzically.
"She... she didn't try using Essence Stones to wake up your pegasus magic, did she?!" Twilight blurted out, panic evident in her voice.
"Essence Stones?" Sunset repeated, raising her eyebrow in confusion.
Twilight gave an equally confused gaze in Sunset's direction. "Wait... you don't know what Essence Stones are?"
The unicorn shook her head. "My studies with Princess Celestia probably ended before we got around to that," she reasoned. "I might've seen them while I was living with Moon Dusk, but I didn't really give them a thought."
Twilight began to pace around the room. "Basically, an Essence Stone is a small crystal that contains traces of the magic left behind when a pony passes away. They're commonly used as alchemy ingredients, but they're very unstable on their own." She stopped and turned towards Sparkly. "I think I know what Star Gazer tried to do: she tried using an Essence Stone containing pegasus magic to help you fly. Am I correct?"
Sparkly nodded. "She brought me to her alchemy teacher after class one day, and she tried asking if she could borrow a couple Essence Stones. He flat-out refused, saying it was a potentially dangerous and risky idea. She tried to argue with him, telling him how it could possibly help me. He wasn't having any of it, and he scooted us out of the classroom without another word.
"But Star Gazer was persistent. She tried to talk to Princess Celestia about it, and she said the same thing. She didn't want her to try something that could possibly backfire. Star was extremely crabby about it, despite my attempts to reassure her. 'We'll just find something else that might work,' I kept telling her. 'It's no big deal.' Her words told me that she understood, but... something still bothered me about how she was acting. One day, she asked me to meet her in one of the labs on the school campus. I tried to ask her why, but she wouldn't answer. So I arrived at the lab, and she was there waiting for me. And she had something in her saddlebags."
"That mare made off with a couple Stones, didn't she?" Rainbow Dash said, crossing her forearms.
Sparkly nodded again. "During lunch break, when the staff and the rest of the students were outside, she broke into one of the alchemy storage rooms and grabbed a couple Stones. And when I met up with her in the classroom, she had this weird-looking contraption inside. Some kind of helmet-shaped thing that fit around my wings, attached to a machine with a bunch of wires, knobs, and flashing lights. She said it was designed to help awaken my pegasus magic using the Essence Stones. But I'll be honest... the way she looked when she said that... she almost looked like a mad scientist. And it was starting to scare me."
"If she was starting to scare you," Sunset asked, "why didn't you just tell her no? Plus, the alchemist and Princess Celestia told you two it was risky."
"I tried to, but..." Sparkly shuddered. "She kept insisting I give it a try. At some point, I just decided, hey, it's worth a shot. So I agreed to it. She couldn't contain her excitement as she hooked me up to the machine and started it up."
Sunset cringed as she pictured Sparkly being hooked up to the machine like a lab rat. "So what happened after she turned it on?"
Seven years ago...
"You sure this is going to work, Star?" Sparkly asked, nervously eyeing the wing covers she was wearing.
"Positive," Star Gazer replied, crouching down next to the machine as she made a few last-minute adjustments. "Pretty soon, you'll be flying alongside Captain Firefly as a member of the Wonderbolts! It's what you've always dreamed of, isn't it?"
Sparkly chuckled slightly. "I guess," she answered.
Star Gazer mumbled to herself as she took a few more wires in a magical grip and attached them to her machine. "It's almost ready!" she exclaimed, standing up straight and wiping her forehead with her hoof. Her horn lit up, and she levitated a small bundle of crystals out of her saddlebags. Opening a compartment on her invention, she carefully levitated the crystals inside. "Careful now... careful... and..." *CLICK!* "Got it! It's ready to go!" With a small squee, she slammed the compartment shut and turned to face Sparkly. "You ready to take to the skies?"
Taking a deep breath, Sparkly nodded. Here goes nothing... "Ready."
With a nod of her own, Star Gazer lowered a pair of goggles over her eyes and dimmed the lights. Grasping the machine's lever with her forehoof, she began counting. "3... 2... 1..." She pushed the lever down.
Nothing happened at first as the lights began blinking and the machine began to hum. But after a few moments, the humming intensified and Sparkly's wing covers began to give off a flashing light.
"You feel anything yet?" Star Gazer shouted as she kept her hoof on the lever.
"Um... there's this weird feeling in my wings..." Sparkly answered, looking down as her wings began to glow brighter.
"It's probably your pegasus magic finally waking up, try giving them a few flaps!"
Sparkly closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Straining with effort, she began flapping her wings, using her forehooves to gently push herself off the ground. "Come on..." Sparkly continued flapping as her last fetlock left the ground.
"Holy crap! It's working!" Star Gazer screamed excitedly. "Look, you're hovering!"
"I am?!" Sparkly slowly opened one eye, immediately followed by the other when she found herself... a few inches off the ground. She gasped and quickly looked her wings, slowly but surely flapping and keeping her airborne. "It worked, Star Gazer!" she yelled, her face ecstatic. "It really worked!"
"What'd I tell you?" Star Gazer remarked, galloping up to her friend and offering her a hoofbump. "Told you it was worth a shot!"
Unbeknownst to the two giddy friends, another pony was watching them through a crack in the door. One of the teachers was passing by the lab when she heard a commotion. Raising her eyebrow, she glanced towards the door, and through the closed blinds she could make out a series of flashing lights. "What's going on?" the teacher murmured to herself, approaching the door and gently propping it open. She took a peep through the crack, and the sight inside made her eyes widen in shock.
"Oh my...!" She covered her mouth as she saw one of the students inside. Is... is that Celestia's pupil?! She was running some weird machine that was connected to the wings of a young pegasus mare she didn't recognize. The sparks flying from the wing covers made the teacher extremely uncomfortable. What is she doing to that pony?!
At that moment, she heard a series of chattering voices behind her. Pulling away from the door, she turned around and found Princess Celestia escorting a family through the hallways, presumably giving a tour of the school. "Princess Celestia!" the teacher called out.
The Princess turned her head, looking surprised at the sudden outburst. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Star Gazer..." the teacher gasped, wildly gesturing to the classroom door. "She's doing something to a pegasus in there!"
After mentally connecting the dots, Princess Celestia's eyes widened. "She didn't?!" Her expression of shock turning into one of anger, she galloped to the door and shoved it open. "STAR GAZER!!!"
With a yelp, Star Gazer turned around and began sweating nervously. "Princess! What're you doing here?!"
"I could ask you the same thing," Princess Celestia replied. "I thought I told you it was too dangerous to try using Essence Stones to wake up Sparkly Skies' pegasus magic!"
"But look!" Star Gazer gestured to the hovering pegasus beside her. "It's working! She's flying!"
"Yes... for now," the Princess replied, stepping up to her student and looking down at her. "But remember: Essence Stones are extremely unstable when improperly used on their own. Your friend might be able to fly now, but who knows what else could h-"
At that moment, Star Gazer's machine started shaking violently, making a loud rumbling sound.
"Wh-what's happening?!" the teacher cried out from the doorway.
"Uh... Star? Something's wrong with my wings!" Sparkly cried out, her wings fluttering rapidly. "I can't- WHOA!!!" Before she could finish, she instantly sped off, unable to control her flight. Princess Celestia and Star Gazer dove to the floor as the pegasus zoomed around the lab, crashing through tables and leaving broken lab equipment in her wake.
"Sparkly, slow down!" Princess Celestia yelled, lifting her head only to duck back down as Sparkly narrowly avoided colliding with her.
"I... I can't!" Sparkly shouted, her eyes widened in fear as she continued her destruction.
"Try to get those wing covers off!" Star Gazer barked. "Hopefully it'll stop- OOF!" Her friend tackled her, and Star Gazer found herself unwillingly dragged through the air, screaming and clinging to her friend for dear life.
"Star Gazer!" Princess Celestia cried out. "Hang on!"
"Get it off!" the pegasus cried out to Star Gazer, trying to maintain control of her wings as she swerved past a cabinet and sent several glasses and beakers crashing to the floor.
Star Gazer strained with effort as she tried to yank the wires off her friend's wings. Despite her best efforts, her telekinesis refused to make them budge. "Come on, you stupid thing!" the unicorn growled, straining as the glow of her horn intensified.
"Oh no..." Princess Celestia murmured. Looking around hurriedly, her gaze fell on the machine that was hooked up to Sparkly, rumbling and sparking dangerously. Using her magic, the princess grasped the lever, pushing it upwards. The machine's shaking and flashing slowly died down as it powered down.
Regaining control, Sparkly flared her wings, bringing herself to a screeching halt. Star Gazer let out a sigh of relief as her friend touched down and she rolled off onto the floor. "Whew..." she breathed. "Glad that's over. You okay, Sparkly?"
Sparkly gave a salute with her forearm. "A little shaken up, but I'm all right," she said, hovering a few inches off the ground with a few flaps of her wings.
Star Gazer couldn't help but chuckle. However, the relief on her face disappeared when she looked up and saw the towering figure of her mentor. "Um..."
"Star Gazer," Princess Celestia said. "That was an incredibly dangerous and foolish thing to do. Especially to a close friend."
"I know," Star Gazer sighed. "I just wanted to help Sparkly fly."
"It's understandable that you want to help out your friend," the princess continued. "But attempting something that could possibly hurt her even more... it's fortunate that Star Gazer wasn't severely injured... or possibly worse."
Star Gazer rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Sorry about going behind your back like that. But it turned out okay, right?" She gestured to Sparkly, hovering beside her.
Princess Celestia opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a loud rumbling sound accompanied by a series of flashing lights and a loud buzzing sound. Worry taking over her face, she turned around, the two young ponies following her gaze.
Star Gazer's machine was shaking and flashing violently, glowing a deep red as smoke billowed out.
"Hit the deck!" Star Gazer yelled. As the ponies outside the classroom ran off, the ones inside the lab dove behind a desk, Princess Celestia using her horn to cast a protective shield over them. Star Gazer dropped onto her haunches and braced herself for the incoming explosion.
"Uh... guys?!" Sparkly cried out.
Both Princess Celestia and Star Gazer turned their heads. Time slowed down for Star Gazer as her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her.
The wing covers that Sparkly was still wearing.
And just like the machine they were hooked up to, they were glowing a deep red.
"NO! Get rid of-!"
At that very instant, Star Gazer's machine exploded. The blast sent debris and glass flying everywhere, bouncing harmlessly off the Princess's shield. Unfortunately, only Star Gazer and the Princess were safe from harm. Right when the machine exploded, Sparkly's wings started sparking violently and she began to scream out in pain.
"SPARKLY!!!" Star Gazer tried to reach out to her friend, only to pull her forehoof back as she got zapped. "Dammit, no!" She felt nothing but utter helplessness as she was forced to watch her friend in agony, unable to do anything but let tears fall from her eyes.
It only lasted a couple moments, but it felt like an eternity until the zapping finally stopped. As Princess Celestia dropped her shield, Star Gazer crawled up to her friend, who was trembling violently, smoking, and on the verge of blacking out.
"Sparkly?" she murmured. "Are you okay?"
"Ugghh... my wings... they feel funny..." Shifting slightly, Sparkly let out a faint groan and her eyes closed. As she did so, the wing covers fell apart in front of Star Gazer and Princess Celestia's widening eyes.
"Oh no..."
Burnt clean off were the feathers on Sparkly's wings, which were no longer their sky blue color. They were pitch black.
"Her wings..." Princess Celestia murmured. Closing her eyes, she ignited her horn. Her magic aura enveloped Sparkly's wings for a few moments as her apprentice watched. After she was finished, Princess Celestia opened her eyes and turned to Star Gazer. "Star Gazer... I'm afraid that... Sparkly's wings... her wings are paralyzed."
Star Gazer turned to her mentor in shock, unable to accept what she just heard. "P-paralyzed...? You mean-?!"
Princess Celestia gave out a slow, solemn nod. "I'm afraid so. She cannot fly. The pegasus magic within her has completely vanished."
"No..." Star Gazer shook her head and covered her ears, trying to fight back her tears. "No... no, no, there's... no, I don't believe it. Her wings can't be paralyzed! Her pegasus magic can't be gone!" She dropped to her knees, casting a horrified sideways glance at her friend's black wings.
The realization of what Star Gazer did to her friend was too much for her to handle, and she broke down. NO!!! This can't be happening! Star Gazer buried her face into her hooves and began sobbing loudly, tears streaking down her face onto Sparkly's fur. Princess Celestia didn't say a word, instead placing a comforting hoof on her apprentice's shoulder.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Sparkly! Why... I didn't mean for this to happen... I'm so sorry!!!" Star Gazer couldn't get any more words out between her sniffles, and she just lowered her head, crying softly.
Sparkly Skies... what have I done?
The last thing I remember before drifting off into unconsciousness was Star sobbing uncontrollably, apologizing nonstop for the unfortunate event that occurred. It wasn't until several hours later that I woke up in the hospital, where Princess Celestia and the nurse explained to me what had happened with my wings. When Star Gazer's machine exploded, it caused the Essence Stones to overload and zap the pegasus magic out of my wings. As a result, my wings are now pitch black and paralyzed, and I can't fly. I can't even step foot on a cloud without falling through it.
Princess Celestia, my parents, and my friends showed up while I was recovering, trying to cheer me up. Some pink earth pony with a poofy mane and tail also showed up for some reason, completely out of nowhere. I think I might've seen her in Ponyville earlier when Princess Celestia brought me here... Anyways, I had a lot of friends and relatives wishing me a good recovery, but only one pony didn't show up.
That pony, as you can probably guess, was Star Gazer. I heard her just before I blacked out, and she sounded like she was stricken with grief over what she had done. She was probably afraid to speak to me, afraid that I would yell at her or call off our friendship. But I know that she was just trying to help. She knew I've always dreamed to become a stunt flier, and she was desperate to make that a reality. But instead, fate had different plans, and now I'm just a pegasus who can't fly or walk on clouds.
Even when I was checked out of the hospital after recovering, Star Gazer was being distant. Instead, she spent most of her time in the library, reading piles of books. There were a few occasions where we would run into each other on the streets, but my attempts to greet her always ended the same: with her walking past me without so much as a sideways glance. She was almost acting like a completely different pony from the one she was before the accident. A foal could see that the guilt she was feeling bothered her.
I've tried talking to Star, but she insisted on avoiding any discussions about it. "I don't want to talk about it," she would keep saying. On a few occasions, I would try starting a conversation about her, and she would gather up her stuff and leave, giving me the excuse that she needed to study for her classes.
Princess Celestia must've noticed how differently Star Gazer was behaving, because she sent me a letter about it, offering me advice. She knew that Star needed a friend, and she asked me to talk to her, try to get her to listen. But I wasn't able to. And I didn't want to force it on her, pressure her about a topic that's clearly getting to her.
Looking back, I think I should've done that. I should've just straight-up told her what I was feeling. That I didn't blame her, or even hate her in the slightest for what had happened to me. She was trying to be a good friend. And no matter what, she would always be a good friend to me. That's all I wanted to tell her...
But I never got a chance to.
One day, Princess Celestia stopped by my house, bowing her head solemnly. She... she told me that Star Gazer had vanished without a trace. The Princess confronted her the previous night about how she was distancing herself from me, saying that she shouldn't ignore me, especially when I'm trying to tell her my feelings. The next morning, Star Gazer didn't show up for her lessons. The Princess asked the teachers and students if they had seen her, but they all said they hadn't. The Royal Guard conducted a search of her castle, but didn't find hide nor hair of Star Gazer.
"I should've told her!" I shouted angrily, stomping my forehoof. "I should've just told her!" It hurt me deep inside, that Star Gazer would just up and disappear without even so much as a goodbye. She... she couldn't face the music. I tried to comfort Star Gazer, and all she did was push me away and disappear. Star Gazer had vanished.
I made a promise to her and myself that day that if I ever ran into Star Gazer again, I would tell her the truth about how I felt. It wasn't her fault for what had happened to me, and I don't blame her in the slightest. She was just trying to be a good friend. I may never take to the skies, but I don't care anymore. I'd give up my dream of becoming stunt flier just to have Star Gazer back.
She was, and still is, my best friend.
And even today, seven years later, I plan on keeping my promise.
A tragic accident seven years ago leaves Sparkly Skies without her pegasus magic, unable to fulfill her dream of becoming a stunt flier. Stricken with guilt over what had happened, Star Gazer disappears without a trace.
But now, with Sunset and Twilight's help, Sparkly might get a chance to reunite with her old friend, and fulfill a promise she made seven years ago.
Yes, I'm aware that I've come up with some pretty convoluted stuff for this chapter. Honestly, it was the best I could come up with, especially with all the binge-playing I've been doing lately (right now, I'm binge-playing Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, since I can't get The Phantom Pain yet). 
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Oh.... shit... Sparkly slap some sense into your friend.
sounds kind of like how Moon Dancer was. But worse.
Ouch... Something tells me Sparkly will confront Star Gazer later.
And now I am all caught up! Oh man this story really caught my attention!
Can't wait to see how this progresses! But, until then back to my own writing! *Puts on pith helmet and dives back into his own stuff*
Arrogant! Overconfident! Reckless! Toying with powers you did not understand and lacked the patience to try to understand! Star Gazer, your intent was pure but your arrogance has cost you and your friend dear. Naturally, like those of a similar stripe, you chose to find somepony else to blame... anypony else... even Celestia. So, now, you would bring the whole world tumbling down into anarchy just to extinguish your own guilty anger and assure you that it wasn't... your... fault!
Sparkly Skies, your loyalty to your friend is admirable but you must accept that the mare you once knew may not longer exist. it may not be possible to save her; she may not even still want to be saved.
I'm sorry.
FWIW, I think that Sunset understands Star Gazer very well.
Perfect Theme:
This chapter has a storytelling style reminescent of Phantom Pain.