//------------------------------//
// New Faces 
// Story: Stars in the Sky 
// by Book_Wyrm 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 13  


Starry watched the bloody field. She knew that she had to get a grip on herself. Luna was coming soon. Starry had felt the other night traveler’s purpose. However, her emotions were running too high. The story, the choices she had made that day. They were the right ones, she knew that. But how many centuries will it take to stop feeling this guilt. How many right choices to balance out the wrong. The wrong choices I keep making.  
She sat there in her thoughts. Then, looking out the field, she noticed a new detail. She gasped, her eyes widening. On the field, lying there in front of her, was an infant. A tiny filly with a light blue coat and a white mane, wrapped in cloths. Starry looked down at the filly in terror. She stared at it, unnoticing of anything else. 
“What...what is this place?” A voice sounded from behind her. Starry jumped, turning to face Luna, who was standing, staring at everything around her in shock. 
Starry sighed. “What do you have Luna? To remember.” The words came out a whisper. She looked back to the field. 
Her friend, standing next to her, spoke, a thoughtful and sorrowful expression gracing her ageless face. “A shard. A blue shard from my helmet.”  
“This is mine,” Starry told her. “This is my reminder of my mistakes.” 
“What happened?”  
Only the comfort of her longtime friend and another who could understand heled the words out of her mouth. “Luna, I’ve made wrong choices, but this was my worst. Three thousand years ago, in a land far to the east, there was a mare. After having watched the injustice and horror of the world, wanted to change it. But she made some horrible mistakes. She let herself be ruled by her fear, her hate, her sorrow and anger sitting for centuries inside her arising. She transformed into a nightmare form of herself, called Nova. Nova took the throne of a warrior tribe in the north through killing its former holder. From this seat, she began a campaign to conquer the world and bring it under her rule. That campaign culminated in a single battle, the Battle of The Fallen Stars, which occurred here.” She swept her hoof across the landscape. “The Plain of Fallen Tears. Creatures on both sides were slaughtered, and the grass was tainted red. Nova was defeated, and a dear friend, with the aid of a small collection of creatures brought her back from her nightmare form while she sat in prison. But she spent centuries, trying to get over what she’d done. And she will never, ever, forget the crimes she committed, and regretting the wrong choices she made. Never stop seeing it.” 
“Oh Starry,” Luna held the gray alicorn in her embrace. “You carry this around with you... every day. I-I never imagined.” 
“And it is my burden to bear.” Starry finally left the hug, staring back out at the field. “Every bit of it is my fault.” She scanned the plain, seeing each pool of blood, each mangled body. “It's my lesson. I was not meant for power, for leadership, for fame. And so I’ve faded into the background. I’ve erased my trail from history. Only here am I remembered, and only as a villain.” 
They sat for a while silent, wrapped in the embrace of another who understood. Starry let the tears flow, tears seen by so few through the centuries, tears so often shed alone and in secret.  





Starry awoke on a sofa sitting in the bedroom of Violet Wishes and Iron Hoof’s home. Mystic lay in the bed, still asleep. The unicorn looked much improved. With Wave Dancer’s aid, over the course of two weeks she had healed, and Starry and the others had thanked their hosts time and time again for their generous hospitality.  
Starry’s own small wounds had healed, and her magic had returned, though she had spent the good part of two days with little more than a drop. The gash on her cheek had healed well, leaving only a small scar, joining the many others adorning Starry’s body.  
The gray alicorn watched her friend’s chest rise and fall for a minute before gently pushing a thought into the turquoise unicorn’s mind. Mystic, you need to wake up. Today’s the day we finally can get on the road.   
Mystic’s eyes drifted open. She groaned, before lifting the covers and swinging her hooves off the bed. She stood up, walked in front of a mirror and grabbed the brush in her aura. The unicorn styled her olive mane into its usual extravagant style. Then she pushed open the door before heading down the hallway.  
As the two mares went downstairs, they were joined by the other members of their little company. Shadow was rubbing his eyes, while Amethyst and Wave Dancer chatted about something of which Starry was not sure, but probably involved the uses of willlowbark in herbal teas and spa treatments. They both seemed happy. 
After a hearty breakfast, the small crew got on the road. Saying farewell to their hosts, they turned back east, onto the dirt road leading away from Greendale. The path was far more well-trodden than many others they had taken.  Starry kept her hood up, sticking to the middle of the group.  
The five had been going on for a while, when Amethyst suddenly looked at them all, a goofy grin on her face. “You know, if we pick anypony else up, we’ll have six,” She commented. “Same number as the Elements of Harmony.” 
Starry began to laugh. Amethyst looked at her. “What?” 
“It’s just comparing any group with me in it to the Elements of Harmony is just so ridiculous,” Starry chortled. “It's like comparing Trixie and the Flim Flam brothers to Celestia and Luna.” She chortled. Amethyst looked skeptical. 
“You keep making references like that. I know you...have done some things in the past but killing in self-defense isn’t all that horrible.” Wave Dancer commented. She watched as Starry sobered up.  
“Yeah, what do you always seem to be thinking about.” Shadow added. “I was up the other night, and I heard you muttering in your sleep. You were sweating too.” 
Starry frowned. “It's none of your business.” 
“It kind of is our business,” Shadow insisted, “Anything that might give the Solar Guard even more reasons to hunt you is our problem.” 
“Trust me, this has nothing to do with Equestria,” Starry told him. “And what I say isn’t your business isn’t your business.” She stared at him coldly, her blue eyes turning as icy as the frost. Shadow backed away from her, a little nervous. 
“YAAHHHHH!” A loud scream suddenly cut through the air. It came from up ahead, around a bend in the road, and seemed to belong to a mare.  
“Are we really going to do this again?” Shadow asked. He watched the others gallop forward. “I guess we are.” He trotted after them.  The entire group cleared the bend, coming upon an unexpected sight. In front of them, a brown earth pony mare with the cutie mark of an open book with a castle. was facing down a furious blue Ursa Minor. The creature was snarling at the mare in front of him, while she backed away, her green eyes wide behind her red framed glasses. Still, she stared the Ursa down.  
Well, we can’t use magic. Mystic commented to Starry. So how are we going to remove that thing. I don’t see any water towers around.  
That’s easy, Starry replied, I’ll talk to the thing. See what it wants.  
Are you insane? 
The answer to that is yes. But not about this idea. Starry looked at the others. “Can you get the mare. I want to try something. Just be prepared for plan B if this doesn’t work.  
“What’s plan B?” 
“I’ll figure it out.”  
The ponies and hippogriff galloped towards the brown mare. Starry, on the other hand, aimed at the snarling Ursa Minor. She watched the star speckled creature. It growled and swiped at her as she approached. That is one angry creature, she thought. How unfortunate to the mare for having met it like this.  
“Stop this right now!” she shouted. “What are you doing! Why are you doing this, star-child?” She used the traditional formal name for a creature of the night. The Ursa Minor, who had been preparing to slash at her, paused as she said the words. It looked at her, cocking its head.  
Starry looked at it, perfect calm on her face, “I hear you, star-child.” She listened, hearing something no one else could. “Yes, I know this is your territory. I know you’re hungry and she had food. But this is unbecoming behavior. Its impolite to someone just passing through.” 
The bear nodded. It roared. 
“You’ll just have to get over it. There’s some fish in the stream back that way.” Starry pointed behind her. “Don’t bother ponies who have never done anything to you. That’s against our way.” 
The Ursa growled before lumbering off towards the river. All Starry’s companions and the new mare stared at her.  
“What was that?” the earth pony asked. 
“My little secret.” Starry grinned at her.  
“Who are you ponies? And hippogriff.” the mare added a slight bit of venom to the last word. Then she covered her mouth at Wave Dancer’s glare. “Oh, sorry,” she added, “I spent most of my childhood hearing that, even though I know it's wrong, the speciesism still comes out.” 
“Before we answer your question,” Starry said, “I think it's fair you introduce yourself first. We did save you, after all.”  
The earth pony nodded. “My name is Fable Notes. I’m from a noble unicorn family in Canterlot, and was studying Magical Theory before my family disowned me. I’ve been looking for work.” 
To Starry, the earth pony seemed soft. It was probably obvious why she couldn’t find work. Earth ponies mostly did labor, and studying magic wasn’t practical. 
“An earth pony learning Magical Theory?” Mystic questioned. 
Fable blushed. “My family is proud to be unicorns. They weren’t exactly proud of me.” She waved to her forehead. “I was trained with a unicorn's education. You studied something similar?” 
“Yes.” Mystic replied. “I’m Mystic Melodies, and this is Wave Dancer.” She nodded to her hippogriff friend. 
“I’m Shadow Shields,” the gray unicorn added. 
“My name is Amethyst Mirror,” the purple mare said. 
“And I’m Starry Sparks,” Starry finished, taking off her hood. At the lack of shock and fear in Fable’s eyes, she asked. “How long has it been since you were in a large town?”  
“Not in a month. After I left Ponyville, I’ve wandered the Everfree towns.” 
“Oh,” Starry commented, “Where are you heading now?” 
Fable looked at her a little skeptically, “uhm...the coastal cities.” 
“That’s where we’re going.” Mystic commented. She smiled at the brown mare. To her, Fable seemed nervous, probably because she was talking to strangers, in the woods. The blue mare held out her hoof. “We’re on our way to Manehattan. Want to join us? When traveling, large groups are better than small.” 
“I guess,” Fable said reluctantly. She reached out and shook Mystic’s hoof. And with that, Shadow groaned.  
“Can we get going now.” 
“We can stop,” Starry replied. “Get a chance to know our new companion.” 
Fable Notes smiled, settling down beside her own bags. The earth pony reached up into her butterfly and pencil barrette. The pencil came off, and the mare pulled out a notebook and began to write. “This just gave me an idea.” 
Starry settled down. “This Fable Notes is a rather interesting mare,” she whispered to Wave Dancer. 
“Personally, she’s not my favorite pony so far,” wave Dancer muttered, “But since you seem to be picking up random ponies, I’m getting the feeling we’re stuck with her.”