The wail of the siren could be heard all across the island.
The attackers groan at the sound. Their camouflage is perfect, the time impeccable. It’s in the middle of the night- and the moon never shines here, for the storm. There is not so much as a speck of light on the island.
But the alarm still went off.
Two squadrons of pegasi take flight, charging towards the island. To get inside the defenses, before they can be stopped.
One of the two ships explodes with no warning. No survivors.
Two squadrons of pegasus blood runs cold as the mountain peaks emit little pops, accompanied by momentary flashes of light.
Two squadrons of pegasi are dead before they hit the water.
The other ship explodes. No survivors.
The attack is over. The siren stops.
The first defender reaches his post, finds all is well.
He returns home.
While the above isn't technically part of the story, it does exist in the story timeline, before the beginning.
I don't know where I got the idea for this story. String of the Stars was originally intended to be an origin story for my take on Lyra, but didn't turn out as anything close. This has turned out much better, as such, so far.
While the opening may be a little dark, it is worth note that this is NOT a tragedy.
As always, tags may be updated as the story progresses.
Well, that's disturbing. It went a bit into surreal territory, in my opinion. Reminds me of Cuil theory...
Hmmm. I think I'm starting to figure out what she's doing, if not why. At least I now know what the heck is going on with the weird clocks now. That was confusing me because it was just bizarre. I didn't realize it was supposed to be...
...What happened to the boat they summoned from the Island? Can't they just use that to go back?
For that matter, I have a lot of questions.
I would expect whoever started that expedition to cut through hell or high water to get her back there (even if they don't have the boat), especially since they want to know what happened so badly and they have a clear clue.
For that matter, what happened with the other agents? I am wondering if they were plants or just really unprofessional that they would attack someone identified as a foal for annoying them. That would also cause a disciplinary hearing anywhere that word gets out. That should also override any "have to haul them back" rule if the commander truly disagreed with their actions, unless it was to confine them or something.
And lastly, why are they both being placed in an orphanage? Hiding from the possibly corrupt agents, or just an odd decision when they should be getting debriefed?
9440710
The agents attacked her because she was annoying... Yes, that is childish, yes it will probably result in an investigation.
Yes, she should have called in for debriefing, and yes, they would have authorized her stamping her passage back, with her new friend- especially with the amnesia... but she’s young, so she made (inaccurate) assumptions... and selected the orphanage.
9440841
Didn't they have the medic with them, though? They should have been a voice of reason.
And I still don't know why they didn't just ride the ship back.
9441609
The problem wasn't crossing the ocean, it was the trip back TO the ocean, where the ship might be waiting...
And no, he didn't say anything. Since she said it, and she was technically senior, he assumed she was correct.
Another spoon enters the stew. Or something. I'm still not clear why these "agents" are so incompetent/corrupt, or why there need to be so many. I'm also not certain how much they know (or how they even know what they do know), given that all the ponies originally there are dead and the sole survivor is in hiding.
And why are the Agents so young?