//------------------------------// // Short: Counting Stars // Story: Ungrounded // by Lucien Chance //------------------------------// Applejack awoke to a soft green light pressing on her eyelids. It shone gently through the blinds of her window and painted the walls in its muted color. The mare groaned gently in her sleep, used to waking up early, but not that early. Reluctantly, she rolled over and opened her eyes to stare at her wall. Upon noticing the odd color shining upon it, she turned around to check out the window. The light was a bit too bright to make out through the slits in her blinds, so she shook off the bed-covers and stood up swiftly. She reached a hoof up to pull down the slats and check what was the matter. Off in the distance, perched atop a snow-covered hill, was a sphere of lightly glowing green energy. Curious to see what it was that was in her orchard, the mare quickly grabbed her Stetson and fixed it on her head. She quietly opened the door to her room and crept downstairs, not wishing to wake up either sibling or Granny Smith. It took time, but she eventually reached the front door of the house. Letting out a pent-up breath she didn't realize she had taken, her hoof turned the knob and she walked out into the cool winter air. She then proceeded to turn around and walk right back inside. A minute or so later, she re-emerged wearing much warmer clothing. Afterward she began to trudge through the snow to reach the glow in the distance. Minutes passed and thoughts raced through her mind, most concerned with what she would find at the source of the odd light. It was magical, of that she was certain. Her largest suspicion was that Twilight was out experimenting with a new astronomy spell or something of the like. What it really was, as she saw when she climbed the hill, surprised her. The glow originated from a dome, about fifteen feet in diameter, nestled in an open area below the stars. The branches and trees of the orchard just happened to part enough to allow the person sitting in the dome an excellent view of the sky. Applejack looked at the ground inside the barrier and was surprised to see that it wasn't covered in white powder like the rest of the area. In fact, the snowflakes falling down disintegrated upon impact with the transparent surface of the dome. Lucien looked down from the sky and noticed her immediately. He give her a half-smile and patted the ground next to him in an inviting way. The mare, after a brief moment's hesitation, walked through the barrier, wincing a bit as she did so. She gasped, the air inside the dome was at least forty-five degrees warmer than it was outside. She removed some of her winter gear immediately. When she was done, Lucien just smiled and laughed silently at the mare's reaction. Applejack took her seat next to him in a playful huff. She swung her head to the side in a dramatic swish, patting him on the side of his head with her ponytail. The two chuckled at their antics for a moment, then silence filled the area once more. Lucien nudged her with his elbow, then when he had her attention, pointed up to the sky. She looked up to gaze at the stars that populate the night sky. Stars that she grew up under. She sat and looked up in ceaseless wonder, the sight never failed to amaze her. "That's one thing that I love," came a voice to her side, snapping her out of her reverie. She looked down to see that Lucien was now lying on his back, hands clasped behind his head. "What?" "The stars." The two broke eye contact and looked upward once again. The orbs of light shone bright against the otherwise black canvas that formed the sky. It was reassuring to know that they were always there watching over her. Her thoughts were broken once again when the human let out a tired sigh. "No matter where I go, whatever universe, reality, or planet, the stars are always the same. A constant in my constantly-changing life," Lucien said sadly. "Ah feel just about the same way," Applejack responded. He looked at her with a funny smile. "I'm sure that we're not that close on that aspect, but let's go with it. What is it about your life that is constantly changing, hmm?" Applejack looked down and removed her hat from her head. "It's true that Ah do live by a very strict schedule, but that doesn't mean that Ah don't know change when Ah see it. Granny Smith is gettin' older, Applebloom is growin' up," she fiddled with her hat a bit, "Ah'm not sure what comes next. One day it's this and the next day it's that; Ah-Ah just don't know what to expect sometimes." She put her hat back on her head tentatively. Lucien nodded and a pensive look took hold over his face. After a few minutes of stargazing shared between the two of them, he spoke again. "How old do you think I am?" he asked. She was caught off-guard by the question. "What?" "How old do you think I am?" he repeated. She thought for a good moment, summing up all his experiences with him so far. "From what Ah've seen, Ah'd say you're about twenty-five, in pony years, of course." "Twenty-five years, huh?" "Yup." There was a lull in the conversation when Lucien didn't respond immediately. "How old are you really?" "Fifty-two," he said at last. She was shocked. She couldn't imagine someone who acted so happy and colorful and light-spirited could be so old. Not to add the fact that his hair wasn't graying in the slightest, which she assumed happened to humans too. "Fifty-two?!" she exclaimed, "How is that possible?! He sat up and crossed his legs and faced her. "Magicians live for a long time. A very long time. I look and act so young because I truly do feel that young. And, in a way, I really am." Sadness crept into his features, though a small smile attempted to cover it up. "I've had a long life so far, one that, to me, seems satisfying. I've all but mastered several forms of magic and I've evaded death so many times it's like a game now. In fact, it's the easiest way for me to feel something. That rush of adrenaline that comes along with those situations is... intoxicating." He paused, carefully searching Applejack's face to make sure she didn't misunderstand. "Now, don't get me wrong, I don't go out and search for danger, it just has a way of finding me no matter where I am. It is my life, and I've accepted that. "Everything that kills me, makes me feel alive." He held out his hands and channeled mana into them. In response, the dome they were under lit up a bit brighter. "At first, when I started out, it was terrible. My life was a constant flow of fight-or-flight. Creatures that belonged in nightmares were breaking down the doors of my house." His gaze dropped to the grass. "That was the worst. The banging on the door in the middle of the night. I was about thirty when that was the brunt of my worries. Which, by my calculations, puts me in my teens in human years. "After time, it became a constant in my life, the knocking of the door, the clicks and groans that echoed throughout the forests and abandoned towns I explored. It became comforting to me." He made a bitter, mocking laugh. "How twisted is that? My life got reduced to such fear for so long I actually began to like it!" "Lucien, Ah'm not sure Ah'm comfortable hearing this." Applejack snapped him out of his thoughts. She had stood up and looked ready to flee from the dome they were under. "Oh, oh," his eyes gained some focus and he looked back at the mare. "Sorry about that, it happens sometimes. Call it a side-effect, if you will." He kept careful track of the fear present in Applejack's eyes. "My life was a cacophony of change. One day Venice, the next, Greece, after that, London. Locations, monsters, faces, it didn't matter. Each new place was entirely different from the last. I lived a nomadic life. "But, do you want to know what my only comfort was?" he asked. "Ah do," the slightly calmer mare replied. "There was one constant in all my travels. Something that was always present and always gave me reassurance that, no matter where I was, I would always be able to find home." "What was it?" asked the intrigued mare. "The stars."