//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Thestral Town // by StuffBuddy //------------------------------// Star was not having a great evening. It didn't have anything to do with getting caught sneaking around late last afternoon. Nor did it have anything to do with the fact that she had managed to get soap suds in her eyes in the shower after waking up. They did still sting and - combined with her insufficient sleep - made her eyes look redder than her uncle Polychrome's when he was locked in his painting room and "not to be disturbed unless it's really important because you'll break the inspiration, man!" He was definitely a hippie, no matter how much he tried to deny it. No, tonight Star was miffed at herself because she had just been passed by a colt on the street, He was one of her classmates, one she often daydreamed of when Ms Tulip went on for too long about something or another. She didn't realise she had been staring until he was waving a hoof in front of her dumbstruck face, to which she responded by growing as pink as Fly normally was and then bolting away in embarrassment. Ughh. Why didn't you at least say something, Star? Stupid! If she was lucky, Comet Trail wouldn't have remembered her. But that was very very unlikely. Not after what happened in the tavern… Star winced. This was going to be another one of those bad memories which would resurface just as she was about to fall asleep and make her want to go back in time and beat her past self with a broom handle. There was no doubt about it. Behind her, the sun slunk away behind the mountain, making way for the stars to reveal themselves in the night sky. One by one, they bloomed like flowers in the spring. The town forge rumbled to life. Smoke - barely visible in the dark backdrop - trickled from its chimney while the glow of the burning coals illuminated what she could see of the inside. She rounded the corner, her steps unconsciously falling in time with the steady cadence of steel clanging on steel. Her destination, Cass' house, wasn’t far. She had found herself intrigued by the creature that Cass, Fly, and herself had discovered and rescued yesterday. After being told off by Mrs Moon Glint and parting ways with Fly, she couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like if it was as dangerous as Fly had thought. Star had gotten a good look at the creature and even though it was injured, what could it do when it recovered? She had thought back to what she had learnt (or at least what she remembered when she had actually been paying attention) during fauna class. The creature reminded her of the predators they had learned about with its mouthful of sharp teeth, its large size and strong arms. Imagine what it… No, what he could do if he became hostile? What would happen if he caught her by herself with nobody close enough to be of any help? She would end up helpless, being marehandled like the prey she was- Star felt her back twitch, wings stiffening slightly. She blushed, pressing them to her sides. Oh right, she could fly. Get your head out of the gutter, Star. You're not a little filly anymore! Control yourself! Stupid teenage hormones. Ugh. Why did she have to be like this? She just wanted a colt, and yet it was as if she just wasn't destined to have one. Luna knows it wasn't for lack of trying. She winced, looking about and spotting a tall building to her left and remembering the embarrassment she'd subjected herself to the last time she was there. The tavern was for grown-ups only, except on Fridays. The third floor was reserved for all the foals to hang out at the end of the school week. They served drinks, but they were nowhere near as strong as the ones grown-ups were allowed to have, and there was a limit to how many they could buy. That was why she had to get creative to get her hooves on seven strawberry cocktails. She thought the alcohol would give her the courage she needed to approach Comet and do what she always noticed Ombre did to her brother to get his attention. She did eventually get Comet's, just not in the way she had hoped. Maybe this week she would have more luck. Star trotted up to and knocked on Cass' front door. When he opened the door, Star noticed Fly and the creature - a towel wrapped around its strange shoulders partially concealing its bare chest - sitting at the dining table with a set of playing cards in the candlelight. He was looking significantly better than he did yesterday afternoon. It didn't have Fly in its strange, fleshy, claws and it wasn't looking very predatorial. Star hummed. She guessed she just really needed to get a hold of her imagination. "Star! Hey, uhh, are you okay? Your eyes are a little…" Cass asked, sounding worried. Star put on the most convincing smile she could. "Yeah, it's nothing. What's going on?" Cass took her word for it, before explaining, "Anon's teaching us a game." "Hi," the creature, Anon, waved. "Sup." She nodded her head in an upwards motion. "I'm Star." "Care to join us?" He gestured to an empty seat. "Fly just arrived and I noticed Cass had a deck of cards here." Star hummed, taking her place with Cass close behind. Anon waited until everyone had seated before starting. "So this is called 'Scum'. Here are the rules…" ----- "…done." "Again?" "…wha- how?" "Are you cheating? He has to be cheating! Anon, either your game's broken or whichever one of you shuffled the cards rigged it." "That was you, Cass." "Oh. Right." For the fifth time in a row, Fly placed his last card on the pile. "An ace? You saved an ace for last?" Anon sputtered, bewildered. "I- I don't know," Fly said, shying away, "I just did what I thought worked." Cass' jaw hung ajar. "How? I don't believe that this is just luck. I can't!" "Stop whining, you big baby. And you should close that-" Star reached over with a hoof to clamp Cass' mouth shut "-before a fly finds its way in there. And I'm not talking about this cheating bat here," she said, before pondering. "Well, I guess since I'm no mind reader, I can't say exactly what this one fantasizes about in the shower." "Star!" The two ponies yelled in unison. Star burst out laughing, "I was just messing with you, I didn't actually think either of you would do that. Now though…" Fly pointed his muzzle down in a desperate attempt to hide his raging blush behind his mane. Cass simply looked away. Anon dropped his cards on the table. "Alright, calm down everyone. I think this has been enough cards for us all today- err, tonight," he corrected himself, and sighed, whispering under his breath. "Crazy nocturnal ponies." "Hm? What do you mean, 'nocturnal'?" Star glanced at him with interest. Oh yeah. Batponies and their hearing. Cass answered, "It means we sleep when the sun's out-" "No, I know what nocturnal means, dummy," interrupted Star, "Why are you calling us that? Wait… do you sleep at night?" "Yeah. From what I've seen so far, I'm guessing that's not normal here." Anon stared at the candle flame as it flickered playfully in the darkness. The shadows it created danced before him, performing a gloomy ballet. He wasn't used to this. His mind seemed to insist that while shadows did act like this on occasion, it was rare. They were supposed to stay still, only changing if someone moved the light source or incrementally like with the sun. The flame pulsed. In a blink, he was lying on his back on a cold stone floor staring up at hanging stalactites and hooded figures. Their shadows wavered on the ceiling above. "You really are weird." Anon jolted in his seat, eliciting startled squeals from the ponies around him. "Anon!" Cass yelled. "Huh? What?" "What was that!?" "What was…" Anon looked at the three ponies. Cass and Star had jumped out of their seats away from him. They were ready to run. Fly sat in front of him, eyes locked onto him in terror while he compressed himself as small as possible. He was deathly afraid of him… almost the same as he looked yesterday when the three had come to his rescue. His fingers became sore and he peeked downwards, noticing that he had stood up leaning over the table, fingers arched as if they were claws with the tips pressing into the wood. His eyes were dry, and he blinked when he realised they were wide open. "It's nothing. I just… zoned out, is all." No one moved. He retracted his hands and carefully stood up. Star looked at him with an expression that Anon couldn't quite discern. "Cass, could I use your bathroom?" "Uh… yeah," eyeing him, Cass answered hesitantly. "It's down the hallway there." Anon didn't respond. He made his way into the hallway on the opposite side of the house to the table, leading in the same direction as the staircase. Leaning against the wall for support, he took a right turn into the unlit passage where he found a storage and then a laundry room before finally reaching the bathroom door. He ducked below the low doorframe and locked the door behind him before kneeling in front of the likewise low sink. He felt around for the tap, letting the water run into his cupped hands once he found it. He splashed the cool water against his face, making sure he was wide awake. He stared at his barely visible reflection in the mirror. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, but he could still only make out the basic outlines of his head. There was something off about him. He could feel it. Something wasn't right. He couldn't remember his name, but he knew he had one. While "Anon" was nice, it made him feel incomplete. Something was missing. He couldn't remember anything past falling into the forest, but he knew he had experiences before that. It was as if the memories were locked away and hidden deep within his mind. He knew they were there, but he didn't know where they were or what exact information they held. He just… couldn't remember. Anon narrowed his eyes. No… That wasn't true. There was something. He had just seen it. There was a… a cave… and there were these people wearing blue cloaks… There was… it was a- He lay on the rough, uneven floor. Something was digging into his back. He was cold. Cloaked figures were looming over him. Anon shivered. He couldn't see much more from where he was. Too weak to move, all he could do was open and close his eyes. Even then, his vision was somewhat blurred. There was noise. Voices. Was that yelling? Yes. It was muffled, but he could hear it. There were two voices, though, and the other was much quieter. It sounded afraid. Underneath all of this, there was soft, steady buzzing. His head started to throb, and the images in front of him warped and were ripped away. A spike of pain stabbed at him near his forehead, and he cried out in shock. It felt like an hour before the headache faded away and ceased entirely. There was a rattle and a click. A breeze swept across his face, and a set of hooves hurriedly clopped towards him. A furry appendage stroked his head and concerned voices echoed from the hallway. "He's okay." It was the mare again, Moon Glint. Anon slowly opened his eyes. They had adjusted somewhat in the light-starved room. Cass and the others were watching him from the hallway. He could make out their worried expressions. "Yeah," he groaned, "I'm fine. I, uh… I slipped. Still getting used to this whole nocturnal thing." With a helping hoof from Moon Glint, he stood. The tap was still running, and he bent down to turn it off. A doozy feeling overtook him, and he stumbled backwards. Moon Glint extended her wing to catch him. "You need to take things easy, Anon dear. You're still recovering from some quite serious injuries. And yes, Cass told me about your new little name. Come now." She moved to guide him out of the bathroom, but slowed, stopping in front of the three rubberneckers in the way. "Move along, children." They scurried back into the main room of the house. She motioned Anon to sit on a couch, one of two positioned in an L shape on the hallway side of the room. Cass took his place beside him, while the other two sat themselves on the other couch. "Anon," Cass began, "are you… okay?" "Yeah, no, I'm perfectly fine," said Anon. But even as the words left his mouth, he knew he was lying. Cass knew it, too, if the way he frowned at him was to be believed. Moon Glint returned with a glass of water held in a leathery wing. Anon took it and gulped it down, strangely thirsty. The mare took the glass back and returned to the kitchen to put it in the sink. "Don't exert yourself too much, honey." She warned Anon before turning to Cass. "I'm off to market, dear, I'll be back in a few hours." She opened the door, but before she left Cass spoke up. "Actually, Mom, could we bring Anon around town? We talked and we think some fresh air would do him some good." Anon glanced at Cass questioningly. Moon Glint peered back in, raising a brow. "Well, as long as you don't make him run around and hurt himself, I'll allow it." She hummed in thought, "And why don't you bring a lantern with you as well? Just in case." "Got it. Thanks, Mom," Cass smiled. "Alright, children. Take care." Anon looked at the others. He opened his mouth to speak but Star beat him to it. "So, mommy's boy, are we going or what?" "Star!" Cass whined, "Don't call me that!" "You haven't answered the question." Cass sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anon?" Anon pushed himself up from the couch, relying on his left arm to do the work. "Yeah. Come on."