//------------------------------// // Chapter 18- Pegasus in Hollow Shades // Story: North Wind: Earning your Cutie Mark // by BlackBonitaCherry //------------------------------// ‘Golden’ groaned, face planting onto the table in front of her and ignoring the looks of the other diners. She couldn’t help it! Two months after she arrived to help Fluttershy, and she was bored! Acting according to Golden’s persona had been fun at first. But she wasn’t meant for research! At least, not the extensive kind that her friend had been doing.  The first month had been fun after that little incident at the beginning, and Fluttershy finally found some friends among the trainees after the other pegasus and unicorn were expelled. The earth pony had finally broken out of whatever standoffish attitude he’d been and helped Fluttershy learn how to ski.  In return, she gave him her other animal friend upon seeing its interest in the other pony and was promised by the ecstatic pony that he would take care of it. Though that was before he quit, stating his intentions on staying at the hotel longer and wanting to focus on snow rescue. Golden watched over Fluttershy’s runespoors who ended up sleeping most of the time they were on the cold mountain and feeding them the occasional fish that was delivered to the hotel. They had spent the second month in Fillydelphia, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to go over to Dragon Town to meet the dragons living there. She managed to pass the time in the library, doing random research and finding some interesting books on parties while Fluttershy did some sort of police training. Now they were in Hollow Shades and while Fluttershy was in the swamp with another group that had also lost a few members, Golden was staying in town to live with the residents. Which were Nocturne. And they did not like her gold coloring at all. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be in Hollow Shades staying amongst ‘bat ponies’, she would have panicked and gone to the nearest store for garlic. Even though her own family sort of worked with Nocturne, it was a rare thing and it was mainly her parents that worked with them.  Remembering North’s reprimand back then made her cheeks burn as she sipped the spicy broth they placed in front of her. Apparently Hollow Shades main export was ghost peppers and other types as well, with an apple orchard at the edge of the village. She’d seen a few Apple ponies walking around, but they seemed to get along with the residents, even if it was a bit strained. “Ugh, another daywalker?” ears perking, she looked in the corner of her eye and stilled every muscle at seeing the bright blue coat of her friend taking a seat at the bar next to a Nocturne with oak brown fur and a black hat on his head. He glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow but she didn’t look at him as she placed her order and accepted her glass of water from the chef with a thankful nod. Golden sighed, finishing her own food and placing the bits on the table before going towards the exit, fighting the urge to glance back at North, she knows if she did that she would end up hugging her. Time to go to the library. Again. ------------------------ “Looks like that filly did not want to talk to you,” North saw the reflection of Golden leaving and let out a breath. “Why would she want to? We’re strangers,” she stated, he chuckled, tufted ears flickering. “You know, my special talent is knowing whether or not someone is lying, has helped me a lot on cases,” stiffening, North glanced at him, but he didn’t look mad about her lying so she sighed. “As far as certain ponies are concerned, we have never met, so there is no reason for us to converse,” a plate of bacon-wrapped ghost peppers slapped down in front of her, and she pulled it towards her while her fellow diner gave the chef a ‘look’ that had him wilting and going away. Before coming back with a bowl of chocolate pudding that she immediately dipped a pepper in, making him turn a bit green and retreat. “So, what is a filly like you traveling without an adult or Cutie Mark, doing here?” she let out a breath. “Just curiosity, and a question,” humming, he got down from the stool, placing his bits and gesturing for her to follow. “I suppose you know who I am then?” “Judge Oak, your the leader of this village despite it already having a ‘mayor’, and your brother is the leader of the Nocturne tribe in the Badlands, which is on the outskirts of the Forbidden Jungle,” he paused in his steps before continuing. “I’m guessing by your questions you are going to ask about a certain temple?” she spotted some Nocturne glancing in their direction, ears alert. The village of Hollow Shades had a sort of Gothic feel to it, with stone buildings two stories high and a pebbled road leading in different directions. He led her up some wooden stairs on the side of one of the houses, unlocking it with a key he pulled from his pocket with his wings, an action that got her interest and made him smirk as he let her in, locking the door behind him. The inside looked cozy, with a desk at the end and a long couch with dark blue cushions.  “This is where I hold most of my meetings before court, my living quarters are downstairs, though I make it a point to always keep the two separate. Now, when I received that letter from Gaius, I was rather surprised, but nothing compared to receiving a forward by Master Po himself, that dragon hasn’t sent any letters for decades,” North shivered, recalling the training and wishing she did not. He saw her shiver and sat in his chair, giving her a searching look. “Why don’t you tell me the reason for coming here and I will see what I can do,” she took a deep breath. Right. ----------------------------------- 8 a.m. the next morning Golden glanced up at the tall building, its tower like structure the highest in all of Hollow Shades. Hollow Library was on the sign above and she climbed up the stairs, shivering at how cold they felt as she read the open sign. Surprisingly it was open 24/7, though there seemed to be a few more rules for day goers than those who went at night.  She stepped into the library, not liking how empty it felt as she went passed the check-out desk which was being manned by an Apple stallion with a green coat and orange mane, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning as he waved off a dark purple Nocturne with an even darker mane and brown eyes who was packing up their bag to go home, looking just as tired. Neither of them spotted her as she trotted passed them, heading straight towards the doors leading into the library and nearly freezing once she did step through them. Well, now she knows why it’s a tower. From the ground level, all the way to the top of the tower were shelves of books, and as she craned her head going forwards, she spotted tables and chairs on a few of the levels, while others seemed to be closing in and were only shelves. A bright yellow caught her eye and the first thought to come to mind was Fluttershy, but that didn’t make sense. Fluttershy was still in the swamps, right? -------------------- Fluttershy let out a breath, trying to remind herself how far she’s come since this program started. Even if this stallion didn’t seem to think so. “What did I say trainee Fluttershy about relying on your animals?” his voice was raised as he gestured at her fellow trainees, “The rest of the group managed to get through this course without the crutch of others, the fact that Amethyst Storm let this go on so long is,” he shook his head, and Fluttershy felt herself shrinking, which he did not like, “Stop doing that!” he barked, “Celestia above, this is what happens when you have a mare like Amethyst Storm letting you coast along, you should’ve been dropped from the program in the first month!” she could feel her stomach dropping as the other trainees gave her dirty looks, some sneered. But, she’d been doing so well, and the reports of how they passed got to the head of the program right? Surely if he saw something wrong with her method he would’ve said something right? Onyx Arrow huffed, looking none too pleased with her,  “Looks like I’ll have to correct what she did not, at the end of this exercise, you're dropped from the program,” her legs buckled and she felt her heart stop. What? ---------------------- When she climbed up the stone steps to the level she saw the yellow from, she realized that no, it wasn’t Fluttershy, but a Nocturne pony. With a very similar yellow coat and silver mane tied up underneath a pink beret, the Nocturne could pass as a close relative of the pegasus. If it weren’t for the leathery bat wings curled around her, one holding a book while the other turned pages with the small fingers at the other. “That’s a neat trick!” her voice made the older filly eep before the book dropped from her grasp and she dove underneath a table, silver tail shaking. Golden stared at her before making a mental note to check out Fluttershy’s family tree. Going to the table, she lied down her stomach and peered into pale, slitted blue eyes, making the other gulp and cover her head with her wings, still shaking. That made the Earth filly frown, not liking that reaction at all. “Hey, I’m not going to do anything, I actually saw that coat of yours and thought you were my friend for a moment, she’s one of the Ranger trainees so I thought it was a bit strange so see her here, but when I came up here I thought, wait, Fluttershy isn’t a Nocturne, and she doesn’t have pretty silver hair either,” a wing moved and one eye glanced at her, taking in her form before the shaking stopped altogether. “Your an Earth filly,” she whispered, Golden grinned. “Yep! The names Golden Lotus, what’s yours?” the filly got out from underneath the table and shuffled in front of her, looking very shy. “I-i’m Crescent Spiral, did you need help finding a book?” Golden spotted a name tag that said ‘Volunteer’ on the filly’s beret and hummed. “Maybe, I was just curious because this library looked cool, although,” she frowned in thought, “I saw a Nocturne pony changing shift with an Earth pony, don’t you have day time Volunteer to fill in so you could go to bed,” that was clearly the wrong thing to say if the way the filly flinched and draw into herself was any indication, muttering something. “What?” Golden stepped forward, stopping when Crescent flinched. “I’m the Day Volunteer,” she whispered, an ashamed expression on her face, Golden blinked, taken aback. “Oh, but what about your sleep schedule? I heard that it’s easier for you to sleep during the day than at night,” a bitter smile appeared on the other’s muzzle. “Isn’t it obvious?” she gestured to herself. “Um, obvious?” Golden’s question seemed to agitate her. “Yes, obvious, because I have a yellow coat and not a dark one, I’m a Day walker masquerading as a Nocturne who is only supposed to be born with the colors of the night to honor our Lunar Princess,” ok, North did not say anything about this. Though, something did puzzle the party filly. “But you do have the colors of the night,” she pointed out, getting a glare. “And how is that?” Golden opened her mouth but was interrupted. “She’s right, you do have the colors of the night,” North appeared right next to her and Golden smoothed the excited expression before it could be spotted. Taken aback by a new stranger, Crescent Spiral looked ready to bolt before realizing what she said and becoming angry. “No I don’t! Stop messing with me!” her voice echoed through the tower, but North sighed. “Seriously,” she stepped right up to the filly and touched her coat, “Waxing Moon,” then tugged a hair, “Starlight, seriously, has your whole tribe thought only dark co-” she was glomped to the ground as Crescent Spiral hugged her very tightly, tears falling from the filly’s eyes. Blue eyes locked with hers, North mouthing help that had Golden giggling just as the librarian ran up, looking out of breath and looking ready to scold them before he saw the scene and his mouth dropped open. “Crescent Spiral?” the filly saw him and turned red, getting off of North and covering her face with her wings. He then looked at them. “Right, can one of you tell me what is going on here?” North had her own unimpressed expression, looking back to him. “How about telling me about this whole Day and Night color thing the Nocturne have going on?” there was a steel in her eyes that Golden hadn’t seen before, and she was surprised to see North’s wings actually moving as she stared at the stallion, waiting for her answer. The stallion actually looked intimidated. Golden knew why North was upset, if Crescent Spiral was acting like Fluttershy did, then that did not mean good things. Hopefully, Fluttershy is alright. -------------------- Fluttershy panted, dropping the last of the markers in the basket, trying not to break down. After her friends put so much effort into helping her, she was letting them down, and the crushing disappointment was suffocating. She spotted Onyx in the distance with another unicorn stallion next to him and grabbed her bucket, hurrying towards them and stopping. “Mr. Onyx please, I promise not to rely on my animals, please give me another chance to pass,” she pleaded, he looked her over before snorting. “Your lucky, my friend here has a problem of his own he needs fixing, and if you help him solve it, I will let you finish the program,” the unicorn smiled at her and Fluttershy felt a shiver go down her spine. “How do you do, I heard of your talent with animals, and of this Stare of yours, tell me, what do you know of Vampire Fruit Bats?” ------------------------ “Pink,” “Setting Sun welcoming the Moon,” “Fire red,” “Meteors from the sky are on fire aren’t they?” “White,” “Stars,” “Crimson Red that isn’t fire,” “There are red stars,” she deadpanned, earning whispers as the group of Nocturne colts and fillies surrounded her. Golden and Crescent watched them from a gazebo in the park they were in, the latter sewing together a bag with her wings while the former watched the spectacle in amusement. “This has been going on for three days,” Golden had lost count of how many residents approached her friend upon hearing of her declaration of any color being in the night sky.  It got to the point that Golden saw North writing down another one of her research scrolls, consulting an astronomy book next to her while going through different colors. There had been a few that scoffed, but North went right up to them and asked point blank if the reason they didn’t want to believe it was because then the reason they’ve been bullying others over what coat they were was rendered mute and immature. They spluttered and anyone else who tried saying anything negative received a very thorough lecture about why they started being prejudiced against their fellow Nocturne and a pointed comment of Princess Luna herself having a white crescent moon as part of her Cutie Mark.  No one wanted to get caught into a debate with her after that, and this is when colts and fillies approached her, especially the ones that had a coat color the others condemned as sun colors. “Green,” a green Nocturne colt called out, she sighed. “There’s a green-ray that appears after the sun sets or rises in the sky, and it is one of the colors of the aurora borealis that can only be seen at night. You know, a night rainbow,” that revelation made the colt light up and a few exchanges glance before they ran to the planetarium in the village, no doubt to see if it was true. Finally they all disappeared and she went up to their gazebo, looking kind of exhausted. “At this point, I’m just going to write up a list and pin it to the outside of the library,” Golden giggled, thinking of North Star magazine and getting a strange glance from the other filly that had her clearing her throat and looking to the side. The two of them had ‘introduced’ themselves to each other and were very careful about acting only as acquaintances, even if she mentioned how someone named ‘Rainbow Dash’ mistook her for the other. That had been a fun conversation. Crescent let out a huff, surprising them as she glared down at her work, looking extremely frustrated. “Are you alright?” the yellow filly flushed, seeing their worried expressions. “It’s just, I know what I want to do,” she gestured at the bag, biting her lip, “But no matter how many bags I make or perfect, or how many different designs I try, there’s just something missing. And I’m passed the age of when someone gets their Cutie Mark, I even threw a coin into the wishing well last week, not that it did much good,” she wilted, looking ready to cry. North looked at the bag, brows furrowed in thought. “Well, if it helps,” she began, Crescent looking up at her, “There’s a filly in a town I visit a lot, she’s a fashionista and designed clothes since she was old enough to use a sewing machine. But like you, no matter how many outfits she made, nothing seemed right, and she almost gave up. Then something happened and she came upon a cache of jewels, and when she added them to the costumes she was making, she got her Cutie Mark. So,” Crescent lit up, before deflating again. “I don’t have any jewels,” she said dejectedly, “There not as abundant here as they are out there,” North glanced at Golden who grinned and ran off, coming back with a chest from the cart and placing it in front of the filly. She opened it and gestured at the Nocturne who gasped at the contents, “Go ahead,” the filly picked up a ruby, marveling at the beauty, before shaking her head and putting it back. She did the same with other jewels, looking awed at their appearance but not choosing them. Then she came to the bottom and her hoof paused, “What’s this?” she brought it out, the tip sharp, “What’s this end,” she flipped to the open end and oohed at the inside of it. Golden and North exchanged bewildered glances, “Uh, that’s a shell? You’ve never seen one, even in the swamp?” Crescent cleared her throat, looking away. “I don’t like the swamp,” she whispered, before fishing other shells from the chest and spreading them out, blue eyes shining, “These will work,” she undid the seam on her bag, making it come undone and the two left her to it, going to the fountain in the middle of the park that others were near. North stared at the water, the bits shining at the bottom of the fountain, and Golden watched as the filly ran a hoof through the water, her blue eyes shimmering. “North?” eyes blinked, the shimmering disappearing as North broke away from the fountain to look at her, “What are you doing after this?” the filly let out a breath. “I got my answers from Judge Oak, but there are still a few questions, and he said the answers are in the Bad Lands with the other Nocturne Tribe, but that it will be a bit more difficult to earn their trust. Apparently, they’ve been having issues with a local village and tensions are a bit high at the moment,” Golden hummed, thinking about it. “Well i-” they were cut off by squealing, turning to the gazebo where Crescent was dancing on her hooves, twirling and looking really happy. The glowing on her flank told them why and North sighed, “When is my Cutie Mark going to appear?” but she was smiling, and Golden shut her mouth, following her back to the gazebo. She’ll ask if North was planning on staying to wait for Fluttershy. At least so that the filly stops fretting over whether the dragons would eat her or not, or if Wind Scar caught her in Fillydelphia. But the filly will be relieved to see North safe and sound, Golden just wished they did not have to wait another few weeks for that to happen. ------------------- Somewhere in the Badlands “Quick! The chains are coming off,” several Nocturne rushed to tighten the chains, ignoring the hissing from their captive before flying out. One of them looked uncertain, glancing at his fellows and frowning, his ash coat and poison green eyes filled with doubt. “What if someone comes looking for her?” he got a scoff from the leader, the older colt sneering, “Then that unicorn will be the one in trouble, no one will think to look here, now hurry up! We need to leave before one of the chief’s spies catches us,” the rest followed him, leaving him last. Glancing into slitted pink-red eyes glaring at him, a muzzle on the prisoner’s face stopping her from biting any of them, her yellow tufted ears flat against her head. Sighing, he gave her a soft apology before turning to go.  He stepped on something and glanced down, realizing it was a strand of hair that must have fallen off the prisoner when they brought her down here. Brushing the hair aside, he climbed up the stairs, ignoring his guilty conscience.  He hated the color pink anyways.