//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: Starlight // by PurpleFire135 //------------------------------// “Rainbow?! What in Equestria are you doing here?” The yellow pegasus looked incredulously at Rainbow, who shrugged. “I haven’t seen you in…” She frowned, looking up as another howl reached them. “Well, a long time.” She finished and looked back at them. She turned her head, as if deep in thought. “Fluttershy, I’m sure you have tons of questions, but we have been out all night and were wondering if we could stay with you, at least for tonight.” Rainbow cut into Fluttershy’s reverie. Starlight shivered as a cold wind blew past them. “Oh! Of course! I would be happy to have you! You’ll have to introduce me to you’re friend when we get there, Rainbow.” She turned and walked into deeper foliage. Just as she was almost out of sight, she called back, “Come on. It’s not far.” Starlight turned to Rainbow, who nodded and they both followed behind the retreating form of the butter cream pegasus. While they were walking, Starlight took the time to examine their guide, who she was very confused about. The pegasus, Fluttershy, hadn’t even batted an eyelash at her horn. She seemed totally unconcerned about Starlight; which both reassured her and made her slightly nervous. Fluttershy seemed like a very nice pony, but Starlight noticed the dark scar that ran from the corner of her eye down her cheek. She was very at home in the forest, weaving her way in and out of the branches and roots without making a sound at all, her tied back pink mane and short, cropped tail lit up in the shade of the forest and were easy for Starlight and Rainbow to follow. It didn’t take them long to reach Fluttershy’s home. About ten minutes after they had started walking, they came to a clearing in the woods. Sitting in the center of the clearing was a small, modest cottage with a bright, inviting glow coming from the windows. Fluttershy lead them to the front door, which she opened quickly with a key. “Wow, Fluttershy, it’s almost identical to you’re old cottage…” Rainbow said, looking around. Starlight turned to look back at the door, as just before Fluttershy shut it, a small white form hopped its way in. “Oh, Angel! Come inside please, its far too cold out for a little bunny like you.” The bunny looked at her in a way that could almost be condescending and went over to a pet bed in the corner and lay down with a huff. Fluttershy smiled warmly at the little creature and then turned back to Rainbow and Starlight. “So, who is your friend Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked, her bright teal blue eyes looking at Starlight kindly. Starlight once again got the feeling of reassurance from this yellow pony. “I’m Starlight. It’s nice to meet you. Oh! And thanks so much for letting us stay here for a little while.” Starlight smiled happily. “I’m Fluttershy, and you are very welcome. It’s been quite a while since I have had friends over to stay with me.” She looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was nonchalantly looking around the cottage. Starlight yawned. It had been a very, very long day and she was exhausted. “Hey, Kid, I bet Fluttershy would be happy to show you to a bed, if you’re tired.” Rainbow said, noticing Starlight’s yawn instantly. Fluttershy smiled, almost imperceptibly at Rainbow, before turning to Starlight. “Absolutely I would. Come upstairs and we’ll get you settled in for the night.” Starlight nodded, her eyelids already starting to droop. She had never been good at staying awake when she was tired. She would simply get sleepy and then drop like a log. She followed Fluttershy up the stairs as Rainbow turned to go into the kitchen. A few minutes later Fluttershy came back down and went into the kitchen after Rainbow, who was hunting around for food. “I’m starving, got anything good?” She asked, peering into a cupboard. “How do sandwiches sound?” Fluttershy replied, getting out the supplies. “Perfect” Rainbow said, flopping into a chair at the dinning room table. There were a few minutes of silence as Fluttershy busied herself around the small kitchen. “I can’t believe Angel is still alive after all these years.” Rainbow said, hoping to break the silence that was hanging around them. “Oh, that’s not Angel, well, technically, his name is Angel, but his full name is Angel the Third. He’s the original Angel’s grandson.” Fluttershy responded absent-mindedly. “Oh.” Rainbow replied and the conversation died again. Fluttershy sighed and without looking at Rainbow said, “She’s a unicorn.” It wasn’t a question. “Yeah.” Rainbow replied. “You know how much trouble this could bring down on you, and now me by extension, right?” “Yep.” “Well, just wanted to make sure you know what you are getting into.” Rainbow shot her a look. “Don’t get defensive. I expect no less of you. I knew from the first moment I saw her that you cared for her. I just want you to understand the risks you are taking.” Fluttershy smiled wistfully, “Not that you’ve ever been one to avoid risks.” “Nope, and don’t worry. We’ll only be here a few days at most. After that I will need to come up with some other place for us to go more permanently. Although, I’m not sure the Guard will stop looking after they saw her with me today.” Rainbow grabbed a sandwich off the counter and went to sit down, not noticing that Fluttershy had frozen and had stopped everything she was doing. “They saw you?!” Fluttershy whipped around to face Rainbow, pure terror in her eyes. “You’re sure they didn’t follow you here?!” She gasped, looking around as if there were Guard ponies just outside the windows. “Pfft. They didn’t know what hit them. We lost them way back on the edge of the Canterlot forests.” Rainbow laughed. “That kid has some serious magic talent. You should have seen her! She saved both of us today when I got hit with a tazer! I nearly fell right out of the sky, but somehow she stopped our fall right before we hit the ground. And just after that she helped us hide from those moronic Guard idiots. It was pretty darn cool, not as cool as me, but still pretty cool.” Rainbow finished, still very excited. “You never did tell me how you met Starlight.” Fluttershy commented and Rainbow filled her in on the events of that day. Fluttershy listened anxiously and her frown deepened. “There are two things I don’t understand; first: what did the Guard find in your house that had them in such a tizzy to find you? And second: Starlight, we need to know more about her. Where did she come from? How has she stayed hidden all these years? And how magically talented is she? It’s been ten years since unicorns were supposedly wiped from the earth. I can’t believe she is still here. She can’t even be more than ten years old!” “I have no idea about Starlight. I just get this feeling that she’s important and I need to protect her. I mean, think about it. She is most likely the last unicorn in all of Equestria, and that has to be important, doesn’t it?” “Rainbow, I think I gave up on changing the way things turned out a long time ago. I just want to be left alone in my cottage with my animals. I was never built to be a hero the way you can be.” Fluttershy sighed. “But, I know you. And I know that when you stake a claim, when you put your loyalties somewhere; you are never wrong. If you believe your place is to help this filly, who am I to even try to talk you out of it?” Rainbow looked up at her and smiled. Fluttershy had always had a little something that helped her understand other ponies and made them feel better. Rainbow realized how hard it had been all these years, alone. She once had thought that their friendship, not just her and Fluttershy, but her other friends too; she thought it would never end, but it had been ripped apart and… “You still haven’t answered my question about the Guard.” Fluttershy abruptly interrupted her thoughts. She looked up, “They found my necklace.” She didn’t have to elaborate. Fluttershy knew exactly what she was talking about. “ “Oh, no, Rainbow. That’s terrible.” Fluttershy put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Whatever, I guess. It’s not like we could have used them ever again regardless.” “No, but we need to protect them. In a society that hates and fears magic… well, the Guard will destroy them if they ever managed to get their hooves on all six of them. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen. Even if we can’t use them now, it doesn’t mean we won’t ever be able to again, or some pony else won’t.” “It’s just lucky they need all six together to destroy them. You still have yours, right?” Fluttershy nodded. “But they already have four for sure and maybe even five. We know they have Twilight’s and Rarity’s, and obviously Applejack’s, but we don’t know about Pinkie.” Rainbow huffed angrily, old fires relighting in her spirit. The events of those days gone by, well, they were better left in the past. She got up stormily. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. The past is the past and there is nothing we can do to change it. What we have is here and now. We need focus on changing the future.” Rainbow paced the kitchen. “Calm down. I didn’t say that and I didn’t mean to bring up old wounds. Let’s just finish our sandwiches and then get some rest. We can figure out what to do next in the morning.” Fluttershy got up too and went to start cleaning the few dishes they had made. “You’re right. As usual.” Rainbow conceded and went towards the door of the kitchen, then stopped. “Do you think Starlight is alright up there?” She said, an odd, rather out of place look crossed her face. Fluttershy smiled. “Of course she is, but if you want I can sleep on the couch and you can take my room, since its right next to the guest room where she is sleeping.” “Really? Thanks!... I mean, whatever, I don’t want to make you move or anything.” Rainbow floundered. “Oh, it’s no trouble. Angel loves when I sleep downstairs anyway since he can snuggle with me.” Fluttershy went out into the living room, where she began pulling blankets out of a closet. Just as Rainbow was heading up the stairs, she turned. “You really care about this little filly, don’t you?” Rainbow looked uncomfortable, but she tried to play it off. “Uh, yeah, I guess. I mean we’re friends and stuff, but like I said, I just get this feeling about her. Its, uh, really nothing more than that.” “Well, I was just going to tell you that you’ve learned a lot more about kids and being there for a little pony than the first time around.” Fluttershy finished, turning to make up her bed. “You mean that?” Rainbow asked, unsure of herself. “I do, and I am glad Starlight found some pony like you to look out for her.” --- The General looked down at the reports for the day. Even if most of her energy was going towards making Rainbow Dash and the supposed unicorn filly were found, there were still other things she had to make sure were running smoothly. Equestria never stopped, never slept, and there was always one crisis or another she had to handle. She sighed. If she didn’t make sure everything was spot on, and the Guard were doing their job, her superiors would be all over her. While most civilian ponies and part to most of the Guard believed her to be the ‘leader’ of Equestria, this wasn’t really true. She was the head of the Guard, that was true, and the Guard was the only part of the governing body that made themselves known and seen out and about. So most ponies assumed, rather incorrectly, that the chain of command ended with her, especially since she was the ‘figure head’ of the organization. Despite all this, she had higher powers to answer to, and they made her life nothing short of a living hell. The council was comprised of four ponies that had been in charge since the uprising ten years ago. The intercom on her desk blinked, interrupting her thoughts. “General, a Council Member has requested your presence in the M.A. room.” It was her secretary calling, one of the few ponies around her who even knew of the Council’s existence. “Let them know I will be along shor-” “Immediately.” “Well, then I am on my way.” She frowned and rolled her eyes. She had known the Council wouldn’t wait long to get their meddling noses into this case. She had, however, expected it to wait until tomorrow. She reached down and pressed the button under her desk and removed the lightning bolt necklace, leaving the apple one where it lay. She wasn’t 100 percent sure this was the reason the Council was calling her, but to her best reckoning, it was the only one she could think of. However, she wasn’t going to reveal all her cards until she was sure that it was; so she slipped the magical item into a pocket on her uniform. She walked out of her office and locked the door as she went. She then went to the end of the hall and turned towards what was a seemingly blank section of white wall. She glanced to make sure no ponies of lower rank were around. She pressed one front hoof into the ground, on a particular pattern in the carpet and held one green eye up to an imperceptible crack in the wall. A short beeping sound was heard and the wall slide open, allowing her into a darkened hallway. She waved her badge by a scanner on the wall and a dim, red light came on. She quickly went down the long hallway, passing by many of the doors. The Council was composed of four ponies, two males, two females, two earth ponies, two pegasi. She was slightly nervous about which one she would find waiting for her. She didn’t like any of them and dreaded the few times that their duties and hers had crossed paths. She just sincerely hoped it wasn’t the male pegasus member. His name was Iron Flare and he was the most ruthless of the group and quite frankly gave her the jitters. Finally, she came to the one she was looking for, a door with the label ‘Magical Artifacts’. She opened the door and walked in. In contrast to the dark hall outside, the room was surprisingly well lit. Gleaming cases lined the white room, full of old magic that could not be destroyed, at least not by any means the Council or the Guard had discovered yet. In the very center, on a raised platform, a necklace with a purple diamond in the center rested alongside a tiara with a brilliant pink-purple, six-pointed star on the top. The necklace was another companion to the lightning bolt one the General held in her hand. Also inside the case were the indents to fit another four necklaces. Standing next to the case was a dark red pegasus. The General mentally groaned. It just had to be him. He turned and looked at the General, who frowned. “Why the harsh looks, General?” He asked innocently, though his dark, almost black eyes looked anything but. “No reason, Sir. Just a little peeved you pulled me away from my work. I was almost finished with the details of a rather important case.” She turned towards the wall, looking into one of the other cases, inside was a dark red amulet that she pretended to examine so she could avoid meeting Iron Flare’s eyes. “General, focus. It is the details of that very case that have given me reason to call you here. It has come to my attention that you are in possession of another one of the missing Elements.” He was quick to the point. She turned back towards him forcing herself to concentrate on him. She frowned and reached into her pocket. She had hoped she would be able to hide it from him, but she could tell by his tone that he not only knew she had it, but also knew it was with her currently. Besides, she was really, really bad at lying. “Yes, Councilman Flare. It was recovered today in an apartment building on the far west side of the city.” She brought out the red necklace and gave it to Flare, who opened the case and placed it gently inside. “As you are aware, General, this is the most potent magic left in existence. This is an abomination to everything the Guard, and the world we have created stands for. However, without all the pieces, these artifacts are quite indestructible. I have long thought they had been scattered to the four corners of the Equestria and possibly the world. However, now that we have found one, we can assume the others are still out there and probably still with the ponies they are connected to. We need to put any and all available resources towards finding the other three Elements and the two bearers we don’t know the location of. I trust you understand what I am asking of you?” “Sir, I understand and will make sure to put extra patrols out and double the patrols already looking for Rainbow Dash. Just keep in mind we have no leads on the location of the other two Elements or their bearers. Is that all you needed from me?” She turned to leave, hoping he wouldn’t bring up the fact that she had only mentioned finding two, not three other Elements. “I believe you have lost track of one of the Elements. That of Honesty, which is odd, considering that you, my dear General used to be the bearer of that Element yourself. You are still positive you cannot remember its location?” She froze, her hoof outstretched to the door handle. “uh, erm. Ah.. No Sir. Like ah have said before… I mean…” She turned and without looking at him said, “No Sir. Like I have stated before, to you and to the rest of the Council, I lost it during the first battle of the ‘Glorious Uprising’ when I realized that to protect my family and uphold earth pony honor, I would need to ally myself with the Guard. In fact I got rid of it for specifically that purpose.” She spat meanly and turned again towards the door so he wouldn’t see her face scrunch. It was a nervous twitch and happened whenever she told a lie. It was part of the reason she avoided lying as a rule these days. “General! Did I give you permission to leave? I realize you are eager to get back to your duties, however I require your full attention.” She turned to face him and he came closer to her, his face filling her vision and his dark, almost black eyes looming over her. “Do I make my self clear?” He said, still deadly calm, even though his voice had assumed an even deeper and more sinister quality. “Yes Sir.” She said her voice not as strong as it was before. He backed up and looked at the case again, almost angrily. “Speaking of your family, they are doing alright aren’t they? You still have a brother and a grandmother at home don’t you?” He asked, making no attempt to sound conversational. She nodded. “It would be a shame if something happened to them simply because you couldn’t jog your memory, now wouldn’t it?” He faced her and arched an eyebrow. Her heart stopped. She could not, under any circumstances allow that to happen. Yet… for some reason she still held back. “It would Sir. Trust me; you can be assured I am doing everything in my power to bring you the other three Elements and the bearers that are still at large.” She held her face as still as possible, but her nose still wrinkled at the lie. “Thank you, General. That is all.” He said and motioned toward the door. She couldn’t get out fast enough. As soon as she was back in the hallway she breathed a sigh of relief to be away from Flare. She walked down the hall and back towards the main building of the Guard, conflicted. She had almost told him about her possession of her Element right then and there, but something had stopped her, she wasn’t quite sure what. Obviously she would eventually have to hand it over, especially if her family was threatened, but she couldn’t help feeling like she had to protect it and make sure nothing happened to it. In her rational mind, she justified it by thinking that if there was ever a threat against Equestria; the Elements were good back-up if the situation was dire. Under that there were other feelings, of remorse, sadness and though she would never admit it, even to herself, she might have even been a little sentimental about the old thing. Even those feelings were outweighed by her sole reason for keeping it; she almost had the feeling that she was meant to keep it, it was hers and she had to protect it at all costs. The General shook her head, a small bit of her yellow mane falling into her eyes. She held her head up and straightened her shoulders. She needed to focus on her job and her responsibilities. She was not a scared mare, concerned with her feelings and emotions. She was a leader, she was strong and she needed to act like it. She wouldn’t let any pony, even the Council, or more accurately Iron Flare get the better of her. She walked back into her office and immediately got onto the intercom and ordered for extra patrols to be sent out and a team to begin looking for leads on the whereabouts of the other Elements.