//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen // Story: Starlight // by PurpleFire135 //------------------------------// Silver Shard frowned. “We need to know what’s actually going on in the Everfree. I don’t want to send out a large group of troops just yet. It could give away our agent and her position. If Rainbow Dash caught wind of it, she and that filly will be gone in a heartbeat and we’ll be right back where we started; with less of a lead than before.” “I thought we already decided this! Your agent sent up a flare for reinforcements. We’re sending them! I’m sending a pegasus recon squad first, to be followed by ground troops. Seriously, do you think that one pegasus mare and a filly are going to be able to get away from all of them?” Iron Flare countered. “Time is of the essence! If we don’t want to lose our already strained hold on the country, we need to make an example of these two!” Flare slammed his hoof on the table. “Don’t you get testy with me! I just think you're being stupid.” Shard sniffed. Flare rolled his eyes. “There are already rumors flying through the streets about this filly, about what a unicorn could mean. Along with how easily it apparently is for one pony to completely evade the Guard, we’re being made out to look like idiots! We need this to end. I’m sending the troops!” Flare said with a tone of finality. A cackle came from the corner of the room, where Copper Wire was sitting, examining an old clock. “Doesn’t matter! We’ll all be eaten in a week or two anyway! Ole Celestia is mad at us!” Copper laughed and resumed pulling out the cogs in her clock. She took a particularly small gear and ate it, just to emphasize her point. Shard snorted. “Celestia? Ha! She’s dead. The sun’s is simply expanding. Am I the only pony in this room with her head screwed on right?” “Well, yes, since I am in the hallway now.” Flare said as he left the room. “Hey! Where are you going?!” Shard yelled at him. “I told you I’m going to send out troops to take care of the Rainbow Dash problem and bring back that filly.” He said, leaving. Shard got up and raced to the door. “We didn’t decide that! She said, coming up behind him. He calmly continued walking. “We need to make an example of her and nip this civil unrest in the bud. We need to teach ponies not to tangle with the Council and the Guard. Also, we need that filly. I don’t know if it has escaped your notice, Shard, seeing as you have a knack for ignoring the obvious, but the sun is about to consume the planet. The only way to stop it is to use a stasis spell. That filly is the best chance we’ve got. She’s got the only magic left.” “Magic?! You want to use magic?! Wasn’t the whole point of the Uprising to eliminate magic? Seriously, you talk about me missing the obvious!” Shard rebuffed. “No, the point of the Uprising was to take control of the Equestrian government. We just needed an enemy. What better enemy than the one currently in power at the time?” Flare explained, as if to a small school aged foal. “I know that!” Shard snapped. “What I meant was that if the populace sees us using magic, won’t that kind of undermine our entire position?” “WE don’t need to use magic. Just let the filly learn of the problem and solve it. Afterwards, when everything is fine again, we publicly kill her for using magic. We keep our hold on the country and deal with the last of the unicorns and magic. Simple. You understand now?” He asked arching an eyebrow. Shard frowned at him but nodded. “What if she isn’t strong enough to do the spell?” She asked quietly. “Then we all die and it doesn’t matter anymore.” Flare answered simply. “This is a big gamble you’re taking.” “Do you have a better option?” He asked. Shard was silent. “That’s what I thought. I’m going to send out the troops we need.” --- Rainbow Dash snapped her wings open and rose on a warm air current. Thunder boomed overhead and she blinked rain out of her eyes. This storm made her nervous. She knew there was little she could do at this point, but she still didn’t want to go inside. Some pony should stay out and make sure that nothing that this storm threw at the camp would do actual damage. She felt the swirling of a downward cool current and frowned deeper. This mix of air could be very bad. When a weather team wanted to really brew up a storm they mixed warm and cool air currents. This occurring naturally did not bode well. She landed outside of the camp wall and looked around. She wanted to fly above the cloud front and see how big this storm actually was. She would need some serious momentum to get through the clouds though. Suddenly, her ears pricked as she heard hoofsteps behind her. --- Silver Rain had been following Rainbow Dash since she had first spotted her, staying quiet and following far enough behind to not alert Rainbow Dash of her presence. “Land! Damn it, land!” She whispered. If she could confront Rainbow Dash on the ground, it would be so much easier. Even in the storm, Rainbow Dash had proved herself to not only be fast, like Silver already knew, but agile, which had made Silver more than a little angry. She needed Rainbow Dash to land! Then, in a stroke of luck, a cool current sent both of them towards the ground. Rainbow Dash coasted in for a landing and Silver was right behind her. She had to time this perfectly. Knife in hoof, she approached, not even caring if she was quiet anymore. --- Starlight looked up at the door of the basement. It had been almost an hour since they had all taken cover and Rainbow still hadn’t come in. Starlight had managed to get away from Fluttershy’s watchful eye by pretending to fall asleep and then sneaking away when the yellow pegasus had fallen asleep too. A loud crack of lightning from outside made Starlight jump. A long roll of thunder followed, shaking the ground below her. Rainbow was out there alone. What if something happened? And she can’t get back? Starlight thought. She nodded her head in determination and went for the lock on the door above her. “Where are you going little filly? Going out in a storm like this would be quite silly.” Zecora said from behind her. Starlight turned, and the zebra met her with a very serious stare. “Please don’t stop me Zecora! Rainbow is out there and I think she might need help. I just need to go and make sure she’s okay! Please don’t try to stop me, because I’m going no matter what!” Starlight pleaded. “Stop you? That is not what I came here to do.” Zecora said simply. “Thanks! We’ll be back in a--” Starlight began but Zecora cut her off. “I did not say our conversation was through. I have something very important I need to tell you.” Starlight turned around fully and looked up at Zecora who nodded and said, “It seems our time has reached its end, but I have one final lesson to you I must lend. I have taught you of magic, of focus and control; but those are things that can be done by any foal. There is one last thing about magic that I know.” Zecora paused and looked at Starlight who was focused entirely on the zebra. “Listen, and remember what knowledge I show: Magic is not yours alone. All types of ponies have magic of their own. Zebras and earth ponies know the ground, and the sky is the place where pegasi magic is found. But unicorn magic is different; it comes from far, far up above. It also comes from who you are inside and the ponies you love. Right now, unicorn magic is almost gone, but, it does not have to stay that way for long. Look inside to the you that is true, because, Starlight, the key to returning this magic is the first part of you.” Zecora took a step back and smiled at the young filly. “Goodbye, Starlight, for our time is through. I hope you understand what you need to do.” Zecora finished and turned and walked back through the tunnel to the main part of the basement, without another word and without looking back. “But…but…Wait! What do you mean?! I don’t understand!” Starlight yelled, but it was too late, Zecora was already gone. A resounding rumble of thunder reminded Starlight of her purpose. Rainbow was still out there. She pushed open the door and pulled herself into the swirling wind of the storm. --- Rainbow Dash whirled around, but before she even saw who had made the hoof steps, she was knocked to the ground and a knife darted for her throat. Her eyes widened in surprise and she twisted hard at the last second, just enough that the knife missed her jugular vein, but not enough to miss her altogether. A searing pain went through her shoulder as the knife sliced down. Dash bucked hard with her back legs and connected with the stomach of the pony on top of her. The pony went reeling backwards and Dash was up in an instant. She looked through the rain at her attacker. With a start she realized who she was looking at. It was the same attacker that had nearly killed Fluttershy. “You!” Dash snarled. This pony was going to pay for hurting her friend. The dark blue pegasus smiled. “Did you miss me?” She mocked. Dash wasted no time in charging at her. Once again she was startled by how fast the other pony could move as they began trading blows, each trying to get the upper hoof. The pegasus’s knife moved like an extension of her hoof and in no time Dash was covered in tiny nicks and cuts. She returned the pegasus’s attacks though, using all six of her limbs to hit and wound her opponent. The knife came dangerously close to Dash’s head, but she ducked at the last second and then snapped open her powerful wings, trying to hit the other pegasus’s hoof and dislodge the knife. She hit her target, but the other pony held tight to her weapon, and used Dash’s momentary loss of momentum to ram her. Dash’s hooves slipped on the wet grass and she fell. The other pony was on her in an instant. The other pony smiled again, secure now that she had her quarry pinned down. “It’s a shame about your friend. I really was hoping it was you lying on that couch.” She said simply. “You have no right to feel sorry about that!” Dash spat. “Oh, I think you misunderstood me, I meant it’s a shame she isn’t dead. It’s very rare I miss my mark, you know.” She grinned and held up her knife. “Glad I get the opportunity to fix my mistake with you.” She said. --- Applejack sat in the middle of what used to be her office. She angrily kicked at her desk. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. Now she was in no position to help any pony, least of all Rainbow Dash. She looked around the room, searching for an exit. She needed to get out and she needed to get out now. The first thing she tried was her intercom; she had no idea if her betrayal to the Council had been made known to the rest of the Guard. If it hadn’t, there would still be ponies loyal to her that may let her out. She pressed the button, but only a static sound came from the device. Stupid. She thought, obviously Steel would have thought of that! She looked at the window, she would be able to break the glass, but her office was on the top floor of headquarters. Getting out the window would do her no good. “Come on, think!” She told herself. She did another sweep of the room. A vent caught her attention. Seriously? You would have to be half your size to fit through there. She thought to herself. She moved on, scanning the room, her focus finally coming to rest on the door. It was the only way. She would need to get out the door and then get out of the building as fast as her hooves would carry her. She fumbled around in her desk for a few minutes, trying to find something to pick the lock. She needed to be quiet. Anything loud and half the Guard would be in to investigate before she could go two steps. She half-heartedly tried a paper clip she found, but it was no use. She growled in frustration. She was wasting time. Oh Buck it! I’m just gonna kick the darn thing down! She thought and headed for the door. Right before she was going to kick it, she suddenly remembered something. She rushed over to her desk and popped open the hidden drawer. She pulled out her Element and was about to shove it into her pocket when she noticed something very odd. It was pulsating with a dull red light, despite the jewel being orange. Her breath caught in her throat. Applejack’s heart almost stopped. She knew what this meant. Each one of the Elements would be pulsing red right now. When they did something like this it meant a bearer, whichever color it was pulsating was in mortal danger. She knew what the pulsating meant because she had seen her Element do it once before. On that day, though, it had pulsed deep purple and then magenta, before going black; it had been the day of Rarity and Twilight’s execution.