//------------------------------//
// The last word of Book 1 will be 'Thread' 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Starshine looked across the empty street. There was a sound, low and low pitched, slowly building up from somewhere nearby, but that wasn't what had caught her attention. There had been another sound. Short, dry, and seemingly, oddly, deliberate. Like something trying to get her attention, maybe by tapping briefly against a wall. "Who's there?" she asked in a slightly higher than speaking volume.
Nothing moved, and yet she sensed something was there. From behind one of the houses, a voice spoke. "Do you know what this battle is missing?" it asked. "Drama," it went on. "Oh, not general drama, no, there's plenty of that. But personal, interpersonal drama. One side is soldiers mind controlled and the other faceless automatons, it all feels so sterile. So detached. Quite boring if it wasn't sprinkled with a few living, choosing ponies here and there, but still those dwindle as time goes on."
Starshine had let the voice speak a while out of politeness, but she still ignored most of what it had said, and instead asked, "Who are you?" Her voice was louder than it had been before.
"Just a ghost," said the voice. "Ask me what I want, next."
Starshine stuttered, surprised and uncertain after it had asked for what she was herself already planning to do, but still decided it was worth asking it either way. "What do you want?"
She swore she heard the voice chuckle. "I'm here to ask for help," it then said, as something rolled out from behind a building on the side of the road. It was a small green crystal, no larger than a tangerine, shaped as two square pyramids with their bases attached. It reminded Starshine of an eight sided die, only elongated on two ends. She assumed she inherited that bit of association from Sunburst. The crystal shone a pale green, and had a bell-like ringing sound as it rolled towards her.
"What is this?" Starshine asked, eyeing the crystal for a moment and then looking ahead again.
"Freedom for one pony," the voice said, "and perhaps for another's soul as well."
Before she could speak again, an image manifested itself into Starshine's mind. A mare, clad in armour. It burnt itself clear into her memory, then disappeared from her immediate awareness at the forefront of her mind. "Who is she?" she asked then.
"It matters not," said the voice, "and you may find out yourself." Then it asked, "Save her. Find her. Use that. It's all I ask. You'll know where to find her."
"How do I know I should trust you?" asked Starshine.
"You don't," the voice answered. "In all honesty, I could not provide a good argument for it. Nothing but the goodness of your heart, and faith that a stranger voice you met on the battlefield means well. But what do you have to lose?"
"I have other ponies I could be defending."
"They may survive. Likely, they will, long enough for your return at least. She will not." A brief pause. "I may return the favour, one day. Still, I cannot expect you to do what I asked merely because I did. Though I'm sure you know how little risk is there for you, the choice is ultimately yours. I'll leave you to it."
Silence followed, filled by the knowledge that whatever had been speaking was gone. Starshine waited a few moments. Then, finally, she picked up the crystal.