Homestead
Twilight tossed and turned on the ground unable to sleep, the ground was as comfortable as it could be, the warmth of the fire soothed her, the night sky was peaceful and her body longed for rest but she just couldn't. She gave up on her futile efforts and stood up turning her attention to Stargazer who was sat on a log at the top of the hill they had decided to rest at. He hadn't spoken a word since she asked him how he had managed to lose the ability to wield his elements of harmony and she was worried about him. She felt odd that she seemed concerned for him, she didn't like him and she certainly didn't want to be friends with him but there seemed to be a part of him that she wanted to nurture.
She moved slowly up the hill staying quiet so as not to wake her friends eyeing Stargazer up all the while. He held his rifle to his side ready for anything that may be out in the fields expanding before them whilst he focused on a small pendant that was dangling round his neck. It was beautiful in it's simplicity, a diamond contained in a small gold ring that dangled delicately from the chain that he must've kept under his armour, he kept flipping it over in his hoof as if he was trying to find something that he couldn't see. She sat down next to him causing him to give her a grunt acknowledging her.
"Where did you get that?" Stargazer shuffled his attention from the necklace and looked her straight in the eye. She noticed his eye's were bloodshot and that there were still the glints of tears on his face but she thought it better to ignore it.
"I dunno."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"When you've lived for as long as I have you forget a few things, a year or two that you just can't quite place so I don't know where I got it from all I know is. It's important." She took another look at the necklace as did he trying to take in its beauty.
"It looks to me like it's a wedding necklace." Twilight had seen many pictures of wedding necklaces in books but she had never seen one up close before. According to the books she had read on marriage the necklace was ordinarily worn underneath an clothing against the chest to signify that the wearers loved one was always with their heart. Thinking about it the idea was incredibly romantic to Twilight although at the time she had read it she didn't care, being focused on her studies she had never really thought about romance even when she hit puberty she didn't care much for stallions or gentlecolts.
"Maybe but I don't remember having been married which I think i would do. Also there really has only ever been one I cared about like that and that didn't end well." He looked back at the necklace again probing it as if it would start talking to him and tell him what it was that forced him to hold onto it.
"So who was the lucky mare that stole your heart?" She kept her tone light so as not to strike a nerve like she must've done earlier plus she couldn't take much more anger and negativity.
"That would be Luna who took it but....Stuff happened that was out of my control." He wiped yet another tear from his eye and took another survey of the expanse ahead of them.
"You mean when she became Nightmare moon?"
"Yeah...Maybe you should get some rest, sun's gonna be up in a few hours." She looked over at him and merely nodded before heading back down to the camp fire and quickly fell to sleep like her body wanted after getting comfortable.
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The group had managed to leave the fields before midday and were now out of the country of Equestria moving through the forest that mapped the northern border of the country. The forest was probably the most peaceful place they had been yet the tree's protected the ponies from the sun and the breeze moving through was refreshing. All around them animals scurried around going about their lives occasionally stopping to take a look at the group, birds flew through the tree's singing to one-another. They passed a group of rocks that resembled a pony's head which Rainbow Dash spotted and instantly flew to the front of the group in front of Stargazer.
"Hey! we're going in circles! You don't know where we're going you bucking ass-hole! c'mon girls lets go." He narrowed his eyes at her meeting her glare without faltering before he seamlessly grabbed her and pinned her face first into the ground wrenching one of her wings so that she wouldn't move.
"How many of us are there?" He growled the words at her like a lion or similar creature.
"Buck you!" He applied more pressure to her wing making her gasp in pain whilst the others looked on in stunned silence.
"I said, how many of us are there?"
"Se...seven." He let up on her pulling her off the ground by a few inches.
"Then tell me why there are eight sets of hoof prints?" He pointed her vision over the ground where she counted the sets of prints they left earlier and as he had said there was another set that didn't belong to any of them alongside the prints. The extra hoof prints were larger than any of the others including Stargazer who stood a full foot above them meaning that it was no ordinary hoofed creature following them. Having heard something the others didn't Stargazer turned letting go of Rainbow and snatched Rarity's scoped rifle from her pointing behind them into the tree's. Looking through the scope he saw a hooded pony that must've been allot taller than himself open a strange vortex that pulsed and swirled both purple and black, the pony then looked right at him before walking into the vortex where it shrank away into nothingness.
"What is it? what's there?" Rarity's voice broke his concentration on where the hooded pony had been. He gave the rifle back to the unicorn before retaking his place at the front of the group.
"It was nothing. Let's get going." The others each began following him including Rainbow who kept rubbing her wing where the Alicorn had been pressing on it. Before she began following the others Fluttershy gave her a hug nuzzling her head against her chest.
"Why do you hate him so much dashie?" Rainbow returned the hug letting a smile crawl across her face before she looked back to the others and frowned at Stargazer.
"I don't hate him. I just feel like he's hiding something and what he did to Pinkie was just mean."
"I don't think he means to be mean I think that's just the way he is. Just let up on him, please? For me?" Rainbow looked into the butter pegasus' eyes and let out a sigh before grinning.
"Okay then just for you." The pair shared a kiss before they were interrupted by Applejack.
"Hey get a move on will ya!" They both turned to their friend each with grins on their faces slightly embarrassed at falling behind whilst they kissed.
"Yeah we're coming!" The pair moved off after their friends hoping they would soon be at Haven.
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As the day turned to dusk they began to notice the tree's beginning to thin around them. The ground had changed from the damp grass they had gotten used to walking on into rock and dirt, some of the tree's around them had no leaves on them and looked like they were dying. They continued on walking as the ground steadily turned more to stone and the amount of dead tree's dwindled until there were just a few dotted around them. They moved over the rough terrain climbing a gentle slope until they came to the edge over looking a farm house. Pinkie's eyes went wide as she saw the place, she bolted over the edge of the ridge ignoring the calls of her friends and Stargazer.
"Mum! Dad!...MUM! DAD!" She screamed as she ran across the open plain towards the house. Her parents opened the door where Pinkie threw her arms round them stunning them both as she cried into her mother's shoulder.
"Pi..Pi. Pinkamena? what are you.." Her father trailed off as he saw the others moving towards them Twilight at the front of them and pulled Pinkie's hoof off him letting her hold onto her mother tightly.
"Urmm...Hello Mr. Pie My name is."
"Twilight Sparkle yes I know my daughter has told us allot about you lot." He looked at the group before his eyes landed on Stargazer to which he cocked an eyebrow at.
"Well all but you." The pair moved forward to face each other Stargazer keeping his stoic look and Clyde eyeing him up and down.
"my name's Stargazer."
"Clyde. come on then lets get you all inside Sue why don't we get some supper for our guests?" Sue looked over to him and nodded before giving Pinkie a final squeeze before they let each other go.
"Well come in then there's a shower upstairs you can use to clean yourselves up." He let the mares move into the house ahead of him each of them thanking him for his hospitality. Pinkie wiped the tears from her face and turned to her parents trying to force a smile on her face.
"I'm gonna go say hi to Bellamina."
"Okay then don't be too long." Sue gave her daughter the warmest smile she could before she entered the house leaving Stargazer and Clyde on the porch alone.
"So....what are you doing with my daughter and her friends out here?"
"Are you seriously saying you don't know what's happened?"
"Of course I do we've been listening to that Voice of freedom on the radio for the past few days now. But that doesn't answer my question bud."
"I'm taking them to Haven."
"Well then I want you to promise me something. Me and my wife can't do much travelling any more we're too old for that but please. Keep my daughter safe."
"I'm getting them there sir that's"
"No! You keep my daughter safe, you keep them all safe or as Celestia is my witness I will hunt you down."
"I will get them to Haven. That is all I'm doing and them I'm out. There should be others that can look after them there anyway." Stargazer admired the old pony he had guts. Not many had ever been able to hold an argument against but this pony had done just that. Clyde entered the house leaving Stargazer on the porch, he looked through the window inside the house. Rarity was helping Sue cook the food whilst Clyde had sat in a chair talking to Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack meaning that Rainbow Dash was taking a shower. He decided to move away from the sight to where Pinkie had gone minutes ago.
Pinkie sat looking at the grave stone of her little sister, she brushed away a few patches of moss that had begun to grow on it with a saddened smile on her face.
"Hey little sis. I know it's been a long time since I last came to see you I'm really sorry." She turned as she heard hoof steps from behind her and saw Stargazer standing just a few meters away from her.
"Please don't stop on my behalf." His voice seemed to hit her ears differently it was soft and gentle unlike the sharp coldness that she was accustom to hearing from him. He next to her looking at the grave.
"What happened to her?"
"She was murdered........A long time ago. By a sick colt, he did horrible things to us." She finally succumb to her sadness and burst into another flood of tears latching onto the Alicorn.
"It was all my fault! She died because of me! I made her come with me to play with him, I thought he was nice but then he killed her! And the worst part is....I'm glad she's gone. I mean I miss her everyday and want her to be alive but...."
"You're glad she doesn't have to live through this shit storm?"
"Yeah. That's it."
"honore defunctis, pugna pro viventium"
"What?"
"Something an old friend said. A long long time ago. It means Honour the dead, fight for the living." Pinkie gave Stargazer another hug he hair puffing out into its usual curly demeanour causing Stargazer to recoil as the hair hit his face.
"Thank you Stargazer. I actually feel allot better now." She said her goodbyes to Bellamina and skipped off merrily towards her home with Stargazer following behind her slowly.
As he entered the house he was set upon by Rarity who dragged him across the room and slowly up the stairs.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"You are going to have a shower."
"But I don't need one!"
You look positively vile and to be honest you stink I can't let you go without a shower in this state." He took a sniff of himself which he immediately regretted, the smell hit him like a blast from a shotgun. she kept pushing him through the upstairs hallway that was littered with family photo's through to the bathroom that was still warm from the showers that had been taken that night.
"Fine then I'll have a shower if it will keep you quiet." Rarity pulled the door shut behind her leaving him to his privacy where he took off his armour laying it gently on the floor then turned the shower on. Before he entered the stream of hot water he stretched his wings out as far as he could in the small room he moved into the shower and relished the water splashing on his head. His hair flopped down in front of his face, he could feel the grease and dirt that was in his hair. He reached out and grabbed a bottle of shampoo pouring the goo onto his head and rubbing it in.
Just as the food was dished out Stargazer made his way down the stairs freshly cleaned. His mane had regained its full colour and fluidity yet he still kept it pulled back so as not to obscure his vision and he looked refreshed. He joined the others at the table as they ate the food. Afterwards they decided it would be best to go to bed as the group would be leaving the next morning for the penultimate step in their journey towards Haven, due to a shortage of beds Stargazer and Twilight had to sleep in the downstairs room. Stargazer merely laid down on the floor whilst Twilight slept on the sofa, after awhile Stargazer finally let his eyes close and drifted off to sleep.