//------------------------------// // Just Another Day // Story: A Pegasus Horn // by Ignimbrite //------------------------------// "Here goeth one who is greater than all!" "Move the sun! Move the sun!" "Show thy true power!" "Come on Prince, do some magic!" Laughter erupted around him, but Obsidian Crystal didn't care. He couldn't. He couldn't care because if he did, they would win. He trudged through the streets of Manehatten, steadily away from the schoolyard and towards his home. He couldn't let the other kids know that they had won. Gneiss Crystal finished stirring the soup and set down the spoon. "They should be home any...." Right on cue, there were some steps just outside. The door handle turned slowly, and the door opened with a slight groan. "Oh, there you are. How was school today?" Obsidian didn't answer. Instead, he continued up the stairs towards his room. Evidently, it was one of those days again. She sighed and returned to the soup. Perhaps his father's news would cheer him up. Right on cue, the door opened again, and a white unicorn stallion walked in with a gray pegasus filly on his back. "Mommy!" The two adults chuckled as the stallion levitated his daughter off his back. "There you go, sweetheart." As soon as the filly touched the ground, she jumped up to her mother's leg and hugged it, flapping her wings to try to gain a little extra height. They laughed again. "So Quartz, how was your day?" He turned to the dark pegasus with light streaks in her wings. "It went well. In fact, I think the days coming up are going to be even better." "You don't mean..." "I do. They said yes." Later, around the dinner table, Quartz Stone made an announcement. "I think I have some good news. The paper's opened up a branch office in another community, and they needed a new manager there. We're finally leaving the city." Everypony stopped eating. Gneiss, who knew what he was about to say next, smiled. Feldspar looked up expectantly, with curiosity filling her bright eyes. Obsidian was also curious, but he was far more deflated. Quartz Stone turned specifically to him. "It's a small rural town called Ponyville. I've been there a few times before on business. The ponies there are a lot nicer than the ones here, so I don't think they'll give you any trouble." He turned to Feldspar. "And you are finally going to have room to stretch your wings properly." Her eyes brightened. "Really?" He chuckled a little. "Yes, really. There is even an all-pegasus cloud city that spends a lot of time near there. If that doesn't say 'plenty of room to fly,' I don't know what does." He went back to addressing the whole family. "I know it will be a change, but I believe it will be a good one." Moving? Obsidian didn't know what to think. How would that help? Now, instead of just being the freak, he would be the new kid and the freak. Granted, he at least had about a few days to get ready, but that also meant he had a few more days of dealing with the school here. Uggggh! He needed air. He opened the window to his bedroom and climbed out. From the edge of the second story window, he jumped and spread his silver wings. Flapping as quietly as he could, he ascended up to the roof, where he then lay on his back and looked up at the stars. "Please, please don't let that town be like this one..." He sighed. "Why do I have to be different?" All in all, he wasn't too different from any other pegasi kids. Never mind the dark fur that made him look like a wannabe lunar guard... or his telescope cutie mark that automatically branded him as a nerd... or his mismatched eyes... or his... He was disturbed by the furious beating of a tiny pair of wings. Slowly, a pair of light gray hooves clasped the edge of the roof and tried to pull a filly up over the top. Obsidian lit up his horn, giving her a bit of a boost the rest of the way up. "What are you doing up here?" "Just thinking. What are you doing here?" "I came to see what you were doing." He smiled. "Thanks for checking up on me, sis." They laid back on the roof a while, looking up at the stars. They were beautiful tonight. Near the outskirts of the city, the light and smog didn't block the stars nearly as much as they did in the center of the city. Maybe that would at least be something nice about the new town. He had always heard that small towns had the best stars. After a few minutes, Obsidian turned to his little sister. "Do you think the new town's gonna be better?" "Yep! Don't you?" He looked away. "I don't know. What if... what if it's just like this one?" She thought a moment. "What if it's not?" He looked at her. She looked back with a grin. "You don't know if it's gonna be as bad as this one, so why are you acting like it already is?" As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. His dad did say they were nice there, and he had been to that town before. Maybe he should give it a ch... "FELDSPAR!!!... OBSIDIAN!!!" They looked at each other. "FELDSPAR STONE, ARE YOU UP ON THE ROOF AGAIN?" Obsidian leaned over and whispered to his sister. "You didn't tell mom you came up here, did you?" She shook her head. "Let's get you back inside before she flies up here then." Carefully, she glided back down through the open window, her brother's horn lit up and ready to catch her, just in case. He then followed in a glide, careful not to make any sudden noises. He carefully closed the window with his hoof before they stepped out into the hallway. "She was just in my room. She wanted to talk about the move." Gneiss Crystal looked up the stairs, relieved to see that they were still safe. "Please don't scare me like that. You know your wings aren't fully developed yet." The two siblings looked at each other, still trying to figure out how she knew they were up there. By this point, they had started calling it her "mom sense," although not while she was in earshot. "You two need to get some rest. Moving soon or not, it's still a school day tomorrow." They both answered together, "Okaaaaaaaay." "Good night, you two." "Night mom."