//------------------------------//
// Towns and Guards 
// Story: Stars in the Sky 
// by Book_Wyrm 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 6 


The three ponies trotted down the road.  The morning sunlight glinted off the golden circlet the tallest one wore on her head. She was slightly ahead of the other two, leading the pack. To the passerby, they might seem an odd company, as only one carried saddlebags. Of course, for a passerby to note this, there had to be a passerby. 
Starry Sparks kept a sharp eye on the terrain around them. Her golden shoes were stuffed into the saddlebags. She also kept a watch om the sky, alert in case any pegasi were in the air. So far, they had seen nothing today. She fell back, lining up with her two traveling companions. 
“it's time to take stock of our abilities,” she told them. “We’re going to need to know what we’re capable of.” 
“Well,” Shadow Shield began, “You know I’m a magic breaker.” 
“And that, as long as our opponent isn’t too gifted and well prepared, will be a blessing,” Starry said.  
Amethyst sighed, “My magic isn’t much of use. It's just a little bit of illusion and gem magic, that’s all.” 
“And I’m shielding, general magic and blowing things up,” Starry summarized. Blowing things up happened to be a specialty of hers. Explosions tended to crop up in her wake, and more than a few had been her fault.  
“That’s a pretty good mix of talents,” Shadow commented, “We could use a healer, if we run into any violent trouble though.” 
“And that would never happen,” Starry intoned dryly.  “if we’re ever going to do anything, we’d better find somepony that’s half decent at healing.” 
“That will be totally be easy, since you’re a wanted criminal and we can’t just walk up to  somepony and ask them to join us on what’s quite probably a suicide mission,” Shadow retorted.  
“Never said it would be easy,” Starry told him. “Anyway, we’ve got to stop at the next town. There are not enough supplies for three. Of course, I can’t go into any towns right now, so I’d suggest you do the shopping.”  
“And where will you be?” Amethyst asked.  
“Keeping my head down. Far down. So far down its gonna get stuck in the mud.” Amethyst grinned at this.  Shadow continued to frown, thinking.  
“What if you get caught?” he asked, coming out of his brooding mist. 
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.” She smiled at him. “And my plans only fail occasionally.” 
He looked at her skeptically. With a reassuring shrug, she refocused on the land around her. They were passing under a rock formation of towering stones, which she watched carefully. They were about an hour away from the town of Randhoof, and anything could lurk in the rocks, pony or otherwise. 
Within a short while, the companions were in sight of the town. The noon sun shone brightly overhead, illuminating the many buildings of Randhoof. It was a town similar to Ponyville, but without any crystal palaces. The sturdy homes were shingled rather than thatched, and there were fewer odd shaped buildings. A river wound through the valley, a number of bridges crossing it. It was a homey looking town, like many Starry had walked the streets of.  
She would not enter the town. Sheltering amongst the rocks scattered across the ridge, she nodded Amethyst and Shadow onward. “Come back by sunset.” she called after them. They nodded. They headed down into the valley, while she remained behind, watching them. She sat in the shadow of a boulder. She sat creating plans, considering their next move. She had figured out their next step when she finally broke out of her own mind. 
The sun was crossing the horizon when she looked up. There were no signs of Shadow or Amethyst. After a few more minutes, Starry began to worry. She had rarely had more than herself to take care of on her travels before. She wasn’t sure whether to honestly expect her companions to be on time or not. Looking at the setting sun, she turned, and putting her hood up walked down the valley. 
The town was bustling with ponies. Either finishing up their shopping or going home from work, mares and stallions filled the streets. It was hard to find anyone pony, and even her companions distinctive coats were invisible in the fray. The only advantage was that it hid her too. There were tall enough ponies around that nopony looked at her too closely. 
Starry wandered through the town market. She smiled as she spotted a gray coat next to a purple one. Amethyst, it seemed, was talking animatedly with one of the shopkeepers, while Shadow kept trying to pull her away. Rely on her to get distracted, Starry thought. 
She watched the two leave the stall, trying to run to catch up with them. They turned into an alley to void the traffic jamming the road. She lost them for a moment when a crowd of ponies crossed in front of her. When she approached the alley, she heard voices. Starry hesitated, clinging to the wall to listen. 
A rough voice was saying. “Might either of you have seen this mare? We're looking for her. Wanted for murder.”  
“N-no.” Amethyst stammered 
“You’re lying said a colder voice. “I’m an expert at truth spells.” 
“Well then. I think we may have to detain you to see what you know.”  
At this, Starry risked a peak around the corner. Four guards had Amethyst and Shadow backed up against the wall. Amethyst cowered while Shadow seemed to be preparing a spell. All Three of the guards were unicorns though, and all of them were preparing their own horns. Starry watched as the leader grabbed Amethyst, while two of the others went for Shadow. He bowed his head. He was probably planning something, but Starry wasn’t going to leave them to get out of the situation themselves. 
She stepped into the alley, pulling her hood off her head. “I believe it was me you were looking for,” she told them. She grinned, the cocky grin that she had shown the guards in the inn in Ponyville. She blasted a spell at the guards as two of them charged her. The captain and the earth pony hung back, watching Amethyst and shadow while calling for aid. Starry’s spell shattered, and she realized that one of the unicorns must be a magic breaker. She looked at the two advancing guards. None of her spells were set up well enough to fight a magic breaker. She hated fighting in close. 
She did the smartest thing possible. She ran.  She dashed away, the guards in pursuit. The other two abandoned Amethyst and Shadow, and she looked back once to see them fleeing for the hills. She skidded around a corner and slipped between two stalls.  The guards chased after her. Starry galloped as fast as she could, dodging swerving, and occasionally teleporting away. She led the guards through a chase, trying to lose them. 
Through the streets they dashed, ponies darting out of the way as they crashed through. Starry occasionally through a spell behind her. The magic breaker cut through it easily. Starry knew her best bet was to outlast them luckily, centuries of conditioning made it easier for her to maneuver, and her stamina was insane. The guards were good, and they weren’t falling behind. Several more seemed to have joined the chase since she had last looked.  
Galloping, Starry found herself in an alley ending in a brick wall. She gulped. Ten guards were right behind her. Starry looked around frantically. She had no escape, and her teleportation was depleted. She had only one option, talk. 
The chief guard stepped forward. “Starry Sparks, you are under arrest. You’re coming with us, whether you want to or not.” 
“That,” she said, “Is a similar speech to what I heard last time. How did you find me last time, anyway?” 
“One of the privates spotted you. Remembered your face from a wanted poster.” 
“I have wanted posters? This I have to see.” 
“Oh, you will,” the guard told her, “You’ll see them on the walls of the jail.” 
“and why would I ever want to go there?” She asked in a mockingly sweet tone. 
“Because you have no choice.” 
“I always have a choice.” She smiled at him and threw something on the ground. All the guards took proper bomb precautions and backed away. The thing erupted, smoke filling the alley. Starry teleported away in the momentary confusion, using the last of her teleportation magic. The other side of the wall led to the land beyond. 
Starry galloped up the hill. Under a tree, she met Amethyst and Shadow. Amethyst was bleeding and Shadow was treating her. 
“At least we got supplies,” he commented as she approached. 
“Yes, we did. And we also got a destination.” 
“Where?” 
“Vanhoover. I remembered where we can get ourselves a healer.” she indicated Amethyst’s leg. 
“Hopefully it will go better than this excursion.” 
“We can only hope,” she said, “because anything could happen now.” 





Twilight Sparkle stood looking up at her mentor Princess Celestia. The white alicorn was angry, Twilight could see it in her eyes. 
“Twilight Sparkle. I command you and your friends to find the criminal that is running through our kingdom and bring her back to me. Use the elements if you need to. Her name is Starry Sparks, and she is a villain who must be stopped.” 
Twilight Sparkle nodded, her five friends nodding alongside her. It was an order from the princess, and they were always fine with tracking down wrongdoers. Then she looked at Princess Luna. The moon princess stood beside her sister, her jaw clenched, her eyes staring down. As if she wanted to say something but wouldn’t. 
Or couldn’t. 
Twilight wondered what Luna was thinking. And what she knew that nopony else did.