//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: Starlight // by PurpleFire135 //------------------------------// Silver Rain was a weather pegasus. She loved her job and her favorite time was when it rained, which it was doing now. Unfortunately, she knew it was just a quick shower and would have to go clean it up in an hour or two. She sighed and then brightened. No use feeling sad when it was raining. She smiled and leaped out of the tree she had been perching in and soared into the sky above the gray buildings and streets of the City. She was really cruising high today, far into the clouds. From this high up, she could almost pretend that it was just clouds and fog that made the City look so gray and depressing, even though she knew full well it looked like that all the time. She swooped lower and brushed the top of a lightning rod that stuck out off one of the higher buildings. As she flew she watched the streets. Most every pony had gone inside, as if the rain and washed the streets clean and empty. Silver sighed happily as the rain pelted her steel-blue feathers and slicked back her silvery mane and tail. A soft rumble from her mid region reminded her that she hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning and needed to eat before she had to help clear the sky. She dived for the street and came to a soft and easy landing. She looked around and began walking back towards her home, which was a few streets over. It wasn’t long before she was walking up to her small building. It was just another of hundreds of apartment buildings, but she liked it and didn’t need much space. She could have had any home in the city she wanted, heck; she could have the whole apartment complex if the impulse struck her. However, she was a pony of simple wants and needs and liked just living on her own with just her basic necessities. She just wasn’t happy any other way. With a few powerful flaps of her wings she hovered up to her balcony and let herself in through the glass door that overlooked the street. She pulled herself into her home and shook the water out of her coat and mane, splattering it everywhere. She smiled and walked towards the kitchen, about to make a honeydew sandwich when a sharp voice from behind assaulted her ears. She spun around to find herself face to face with a flint-gray pegasus mare with pure white hair and ice blue eyes that seemed to cut right through Silver Rain. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed that after my last mission you would leave me alone for a while.” Silver narrowed her eyes at the other mare. “Ah, yes, I had thought that too. However, as they so often do, complications have arisen and I need your services.” Sliver scowled at the flint pegasus. She tried to control her rising frustration at the situation. She hated when Silver Shard, who happened to be the mare who had once again invaded her home, came to her for dirty work. Silver Rain wasn’t just a simple rain and clouds pegasus, as much as she wanted to be. She also possessed a remarkable talent for stealth… and the ability to deal with the ponies the Guard and more importantly the Council wanted dealt with; mainly by making them disappear. “So, come by my office later and I will give you the details.” Shard said and went for the door. “I don’t think I said yes. I told you before, I want a break from all this! I have a job to do and I’m not leaving right now to go off on one of your nasty missions!” Silver stood her ground and looked the Shard in the eye, as hard as it was to do so. “If I recall correctly, you don’t have that choice. Besides, why waste your natural talents, Silver? You are by far the best assassin the Council has and you shouldn’t be wasting your effort clearing clouds; any pegasus can do that.” Shard said dismissively. Silver turned her head down, glancing for a moment at her cutie mark. It wasn’t the nice rain related mark one would expect from a pony like her. It was a knife, with a single rain drop, or tear drop as she had also thought it might be, falling off the very tip. She sighed. “So it’s a direct order, really? You couldn’t give me a few more days of peace?” She asked, relenting. “Sadly, no. It is a matter of the utmost importance, quite easily the most important mission of your career.” Shard looked at her and she nodded. It didn’t really matter what she thought. Shard had all the power here and Silver had none. After all, Silver Shard was the female pegasus member of the Council, one of the four most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. A direct order from her meant business. “Well, I will be coming by your office later this afternoon then.” “I am so glad you decided to see reason. Of course, I would expect nothing less from my favorite daughter.” Shard smiled, one eyebrow arched. “I’m your only daughter.” Silver said turning back towards the kitchen. Silver Shard may have been one of the Council members, but that wasn’t why Silver Rain listened to her. It was because Shard was also her mother. --- Starlight was out in the small clearing behind Fluttershy’s cottage. The area was fenced; less to keep the animals that lived there in, than to keep the animals of the Everfree out. She was happily sitting under one of the neighboring trees and reading one of the few books she had managed to fit into her saddle bags when she left her hideaway with Rainbow. Already that felt like a whole lifetime ago. She turned back to the page happily, engrossed in the reading. Rainbow Dash glanced out the window in Fluttershy’s living room, watching Starlight. Having her out there made Dash just the tiniest bit nervous. The monsters of the Everfree attacked with little to no warning, even in daylight. However, she was reassured that the clearing was safe. Fluttershy wouldn’t let her chickens and other animals be back there otherwise. Dash shook herself and turned away from the window. All this running and their near capture, and then close experience with being eaten the day before had made her jumpy. Fluttershy came into the room and sat down on the couch opposite the window. “How long do you really intend to stay? Not that I mind, but you seem to think you need to be somewhere. You’ve been antsy to leave since you got here.” Fluttershy asked. Dash sighed and looked at the floor. “As soon as I can decide where we need to go. After this morning’s incident, it’s pretty obvious that we need to find a way for Starlight to sharpen her magic skills. She just isn’t safe otherwise. She needs to be able to use her magic, at least to defend herself. Equestria has become a very dangerous place; even more so for a unicorn filly.” Dash paced around the room with a frown on her face. “I just don’t know where to find that knowledge though! No pony would know how to help her, and any magic books the Guard could find were burned. I mean, its not like flying. That’s instinct. Unicorn magic has to be learned, doesn’t it? Even Twilight had to spend most of her time studying to be able to use the magic she did!” Dash turned back to Fluttershy, who had a thoughtful expression on her face. “Do you remember the second time Trixie came to Ponyville?” She asked, seemingly out of the blue. “And Twilight couldn’t beat her when she had the Alicorn Amulet on?” She continued. “Well, yeah! Of course I do!” Dash interrupted Fluttershy’s next thought. “‘Cause we all helped take her down by fooling her! You really should dress up like me more often. I looked good on you! Of course, I’m pretty sure this level of awesome would look good on anybody. Too bad I’m the only one who can really pull it off… It has something to do with the personality I--” “Rainbow, focus.” Fluttershy cut her off sharply. “I mean, if you don’t mind.” Dash arched an eyebrow and then smiled. Fluttershy continued. “Not that part. Do you remember when Trixie ran Twilight out of town? And Twilight went looking for magic advice?” Dash nodded, still not quite seeing the connection to their conversation about Starlight. “Yeah. She went to see Zecora who told her that sometimes magic isn’t the best answer to the problem. We solved it with teamwork instead. What does that have to do with Starlight’s magic?” Dash was even more confused. “I went to get Twilight when we found out about the Amulet remember? When I found them at Zecora’s home, they really were training in magic. Zecora may have taught Twi when not to use magic, but she also taught her lots of other things. I’m not sure she’ll be able to help in Starlight’s case, but it is worth a try, don’t you think? Even if she can’t help at all, she may know where you can look next.” Dash looked out the window at Starlight peacefully reading in the yard. She sighed. It seemed as good a plan as any. Also, Zecora didn’t live very far from here. About a day’s worth of flying would get them there safely. Dash didn’t want to leave the relative safety of Fluttershy’s, but they would have to sooner rather than later. “Alright. It’s settled then. Starlight and I will leave first thing in the morning to see if Zecora could help with her magic control.” Dash said, turning around decisively. Fluttershy smiled. “You’ll at least stay for breakfast though right?” She asked. Dash amended her earlier statement. “Starlight and I will leave first thing in the morning—after pancakes.” --- Silver Rain flew unhappily towards the center of the City. Her face was scrunched into an unhappy frown and her thoughts twirled angrily. She absolutely hated the way the Council used her, but she could think of no way out of it. There were reasons why the Council had taken power, and she did not want to be on the receiving end of their wrath. Lost in her thoughts, Silver plowed headfirst into a small gray cloud. She kicked it angrily out of existence and flew on, more focused on where she was going. Not to far off she could see her destination. A tall, grey rectangle of a building stretched towards the sky in the center of the City. She had a vague memory of something else being there before the Uprising, but she had been too young then to properly remember it. Now, it was at the very heart of the grey city she called home. It was the headquarters of the Guard and the heart of the Council’s rule. She shuddered inwardly. She really hoped that the rest of the Council was not attending her mission assignment. She had met them all before, and had received missions from all of them, though her orders usually came through Shard regardless of who was giving them. However, Shard’s earlier comment about this being one of the most important missions of her career weighed heavily on her mind. She was used to Silver Shard. She might be mildly scared of her on occasion, but at least Silver Rain could usually tell what Shard was up to. The other three Council members however, were an entirely different story. Iron Flare, the pegasus stallion who effectively ran the council was the worst. Not only was he cold and calculating, he was a dangerous fighter and his rages the stuff of nightmares. The two earth pony members were just as bad. She was sure that Copper Wire, the mare, was certifiably insane and would be just as likely to give you a cookie as she was to mercilessly kill you. The earth pony stallion was a bit of a mystery to Silver, since she had only met him a few times. He went simply by the name of Steel and was a large pony who spoke very little, preferring to let his sword and hooves do his communicating for him. Silver Rain hoped for the best, that only Shard would be there to receive her. She focused again on the tall building in front of her as she swooped down to the front gate. She frowned. All that hoping would do her no good. What awaited her inside would be the same, no matter her thoughts. She knew her hopes had no effect. They never had in the past. Scowling at those grim thoughts, Silver pushed a button on the side of the gate and said, “Silver Rain requesting access to headquarters.” The automated system responded by blinking green at her voice and opening the gate. She walked inside and the gate shut loudly behind her. --- Starlight looked up at the sky angrily as it clouded over. If it began to rain, she would have to go inside to finish her reading. Starlight was very particular about where she liked to be. She loved being outside and was not happy with the sky for possibly forcing her inside. A small raindrop fell and hit her square on the nose. She scrunched her face and sighed, picking up the books scattered around her. She would under no circumstances risk damaging her books. She packed them up quickly and went in to the cottage through Fluttershy’s back door. It led directly to the kitchen and she began depositing her stuff on the floor. Starlight looked around the kitchen and upon seeing no pony; she made her way into the living room. She found Rainbow sitting on the couch, just looking out the window. Starlight made her way over and pulled herself up next to Rainbow, who seemed to be lost in thought. Starlight poked her in the back and Rainbow turned to look at her. “Finish your book or something?” Rainbow asked. “No, but it’s going to rain.” Starlight replied. Rainbow nodded and looked back at the window. Starlight looked around the room. “Where’s Fluttershy?” She asked. “Upstairs. One of her animals is sick.” Starlight flopped onto her back, letting her head hang off the front of the couch. She sighed heavily and loudly, all the while looking at Rainbow Dash, who didn’t seem to notice. She rolled her eyes and sighed again, even louder this time. Once again, her efforts proved in vain as Rainbow continued to stare out the window. “I’m booooooorrrrrreeeedd.” She groaned, looking at Rainbow expectantly. This time she was rewarded in her efforts with a glance. “Why don’t you finish your book?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t know. I’m bored with reading right now.” Starlight sighed dramatically again and then perked up. “Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?” She asked Rainbow who finally looked down at her with a bemused expression. Starlight flipped back over and looked up at Rainbow with wide eyes. “Nothing.” Rainbow said and turned back towards the window. “I’m Boooooooooooorrrreeedd!” Starlight repeated, louder this time. “Go outside and play or something. It isn’t raining yet.” The sky responded to Rainbow’s suggestion with a loud crack of thunder and a downpour of rain. “I’m really, really, really booooorrrreeed!” Starlight whined and crawled her way up to the back of the couch, right next to Rainbow’s head. Rainbow turned around to look at her and rolled her eyes, but then sighed in defeat. “Ugh! Fine! What do you want to do?” “Yippy!” Starlight yelled and bounced off the couch, down onto the floor; then abruptly she stopped, and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Do you know any good stories?” She asked very seriously. “Like scary stories? I know lots of them, but they probably too scary for a kid like you. You aren’t chicken are you?” Rainbow challenged, leaning forward ominously. Starlight paused, looked out the window and then nodded. “Yep. I’m a total chicken. I don’t like scary stories. Do you know any good stories? With adventure? And action? Oh! and a happy ending?” Starlight wiggled her way back onto the couch until she was looking right up at Rainbow. “Well, I know a few.” Rainbow responded and then looked thoughtfully down at the young filly. Then as if a light bulb had appeared above her head, she smiled and looked at Starlight. “How about the awesome adventures of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony against all of Equestria’s evils?” “Elements of Harmony? What’s that?” Starlight asked. “They are the traits of Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter and Magic. When wielded by six ponies who exhibit those traits of Friendship, they are the most powerful magical force in all of Equestria.” “Woah.” Starlight said, her eyes growing wide. “Yeah.” Rainbow nodded. “But if you don’t want to hear about them, I can come up with another story…” “Tell me! Tell me!” Starlight was practically bouncing off her seat. She blushed, “Please?” Rainbow Dash smiled and launched into the story. “We’ll start at the beginning, when the Elements first came together to defeat the evil of Nightmare Moon. Of course, I should begin by telling you that your favorite character is going to be Loyalty. She’s way awesome. Like twenty percent cooler than any pony else. Anyway, it all started with Magic, when she discovered the reality of Nightmare Moon’s return to Equestria…” --- Silver Rain looked at the door to Silver Shard’s office. She frowned angrily and then knocked. “Excellent! Right on schedule! Come in Silver!” Shard barked from inside the office. Silver opened the door and went in. She was greeted by Shard sitting at her desk. Silver breathed a sigh of relief. They were alone. None of the other Council members had decided to come. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her all by itself. Silver whirled around to see who was behind her, but found that the room was still empty. She turned back to face Shard and found herself nose-to-nose with a dark brown pony with wild amber eyes. “Heee Heee.” The other mare laughed slowly. “Gotcha!” The pony screeched, shoving her face even closer to Silver’s. Silver accidentally let out a small squeal of fear and jumped backwards towards the door, her heart hammering in her chest. The mare turned towards Shard. Silver was glad to have the other mare’s eyes taken off of her. They were wild, crazy and never quite seemed to focus. Despite this, Silver felt like those eyes were cutting her apart whenever the mare looked at her. She shuddered inwardly. The mare wore rusty goggles on her eyes, which made them even larger and creepier. “Shard, you need to work on your daughter’s nerves. A jumpy killer is dead rather than killing.” The mare said in a high squeaky voice, one that sounded like a hinge that needed oil. She whipped her head back towards Silver, her wild copper mane following just a bit behind her. That wild tangle of hair was how she got her name. Copper Wire backed towards the desk, her eyes never leaving Silver. “You hear that girly? You better kill before you are killed.” She said with a deadly look. She pushed the rusty metal goggles from her eyes and up onto her forehead, focusing on Silver. Then as if a switch was flipped she focused on the door instead and simply walked out. As she slammed the door shut behind her she screamed, “Where is the corn!? Where is it???!!! It’s MINE!!!” She continued to scream as she went down the hallway and it was long minutes before Silver couldn’t hear her metallic voice ringing in her ears. Shard rolled her eyes and picked up a packet from her desk, acting as if the entire episode with Copper Wire hadn’t even happened. “You are going after two ponies this time. One is a fugitive from the Guard for possession of magical artifacts… among other things. The name is Rainbow Dash and she is a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane. She and the other one were last seen at the edge of the forest at the base of the City’s mountain.” Shard pulled out a picture from the file and slid it to Silver who looked at it with little interest. “Her you can kill. However, I want the second one brought back alive. It shouldn’t be too hard. She’s only a filly after all.” “You have me hunting a filly?” Silver frowned. “She has a dark purple coat and yellow, almost white mane. She will be with Rainbow Dash.” Shard looked at the file. “Earth pony or pegasus?” Silver asked, because there was no picture. “Unicorn.”