A princess is supposed to be a rally point for her subjects. The role model which all other ponies should look up to. Despite the title, Starry was still new to her duties, and she was finding it difficult to maintain her bearing.
Her throne room, once a place of constructive discussion and festivities, now contained an atmosphere of dread. The Nighthawks weren’t present, but the nobles were still divided over their course of action. Some called for them to reconcile with the Nighthawks, since if they did not, they would be banished beyond the mountains. Others called for them to stand their ground, and not cede their principles to a tyrant like Captain Crow.
Starry was at a loss. She wanted to avoid harm to her people, but she simply had no way to make any demands. Her wisest advisor and dearest friend, Harvest moon, had already been captured by Crow’s guards, and banished over the mountains. Since then, no one had dared oppose his quest for the throne.
Now, all of Starry’s actions merely delayed the inevitable. Still, she had to try to escape. As the nobles bickered over their plans, she quietly slipped away, but as she did so, Crow’s guards kicked in the door, and began to arrest everypony in sight. Once they saw her, there was nothing more she could do.
Starry jerked her head up, and began looking around to get some idea of where she was. Her friends heard her, and came into the room where she lay in bed. “Starry! Oh my goodness, are you okay? We didn’t know if you would ever wake up.” Buttercup was frantic, putting ice packs on her head while handing her fresh brewed tea.
Starry had so many questions buzzing around in her head, she simply didn’t know what to ask first. Eventually, she got her thoughts in order. “What happened? I thought somepony else was dragging me away.”
“They were sugar. But Rosie here went berserk and scared them off. It was actually quite terrifying.” Honey glanced over to a blushing Rose.
“I would have done it for anyone of you. It was nothing.”
“I had another memory. It seemed like it took place over the mountains, though I’m not exactly sure what it means.” Starry glanced at the other ponies to see if they had any thoughts, but they were just as stumped as she was. She decided it was finally time to taste the tea Buttercup had given her. To her surprise, it was really good, she had to remind herself it was hot before she could try and gulp it down.
“Slow down on the tea. It’s better if you take little sips.” Starry headed her advice. “Try not to think about your memories too hard now. You need to regain your strength for the climb.”
This confusion made her finish the tea, without even realizing it. The heat of the liquid going down her throat made her cough, like her throat was on fire. “What climb?” Starry asked. “We haven’t even left San Franciscolt yet.” She looked around for a reaction, but was puzzled when there was none. “Haven’t we?”
Honey took away the tea cup. “Actually, dear, your were unconscious for quite a while. Once we snuck you out of the city in a luggage carriage, it was a days trip to get here, to Manechester.”
Starry was even more curious now. She wanted to get up, but her whole body was stiff. Buttercup helped her onto her feet, and the two made their way to the door. Starry was intrigued by what she saw outside.
“Welcome to Manechester.” Honey said, like it was an attraction of some sort.
Starry immediately ducked back inside. The speed with which she moved showed no sign that she had eve been injured. “Are you crazy!? I can’t go out there! It’s broad daylight. They’ll be able to tell what I am!”
Honey pulled the blanket off from her head. The light didn’t hurt anymore, but it was still unpleasant for Starry. Honey offered a hoof to help her back up. “Relax, dear. Even news like that doesn’t travel out here.” She mustered Starry back over to the door. “These ponies are as plain as they come. Mighty Hospitable, too. We’re lucky Miss Triage was here to help.”
The name was not familiar to Starry. “Is she the one who owns this house?”
“Oh it is much more than just a house. It’s my Palace of Healing.” Starry turned around to see a teal blue unicorn standing behind her. Her snow white mane didn’t hang far below her shoulder, and would’ve blended perfectly with her nurse’s cap were it not for the red cross. “It’s good to see you’re awake darling. To be honest, I was beginning to fear for the worst. You have some of the worst night terrors I’ve ever seen.”
Starry was slightly overwhelmed by her new friend. “Are you Miss Triage?”
“Oh you don’t need to bother with the ‘miss’. Triage is just fine.” Starry suddenly realized that Triage could see her wings. She looked around for anything to cover them with, but Triage but a hoof on her shoulder to calm her down. “Deep breaths, Starry. You don’t want to make yourself unconscious again. Come back inside. I understand Honey Suckle here has made you a nice hot meal.”
Starry hadn’t gotten this from anypony so far. “Most ponies ask me about my wings or my eyes before they befriend me.”
Triage let out a dismissive breath. “Oh hush. It’s not like I haven’t seen a thestral before.”
Starry brushed off Triage’s hoof, and whipped around to face her. “What!? You’ve seen somepony else like me!?”
“Why of course. I thought you would have known her. She described you down to the horn on your head. She was actually off to San Franciscolt where you four were coming from.” Triage spoke as if she ought to know this information.
Starry was genuinely speechless. It was as if her mouth had forgotten everything. as well. “Why don’t we get you some food? You can fill me in on everything over dinner.”
The meal Honey and Triage had prepared was remarkable. It didn’t seem to be a lot, but the two mares knew how to fill a pony’s belly. There was apple cobbler, daffodils, and even clover cocktails. Once the five had all finished Triage began to converse with Starry. “It seemed like you had something to tell me back outside. What was it.”
Starry looked at the other ponies across the table, then back to Triage, who stared patiently, waiting for a response. “Have the others not told you anything?”
Now Triage looked at the other three. “Well, no. We’ve simply been so busy tending to you, we never really had time to make much small talk. Why? Is there something I should know?”
Starry took a deep breath, as if she was going to give a speech. “I can only remember anything back about a week ago, when I woke up in a cave. For a short while, I couldn’t even remember my name.”
Triage kept looking intently at Starry, and was obviously intrigued. “Continue.”
“Once I got out of the cave, I ran into Honey, and she said that I had I had collapsed on her doorstep just few nights before. She took me to Maresailles to see if there was any information there about me.” She took a break to see that Triage was still looking intently at her. “We found out that thestrals might come from over the Hadrian Mountains. That’s where we’re headed right now.”
Triage nodded. “I see. The amnesia you described is identical to the affliction of the bat pony that came to me. She had no idea who she was or how she had gotten to my clinic. She stayed with me for a couple days, then I woke up and found a note saying that she remembered again and was headed to San Franciscolt to find...” Triage’s perked up, then started to grin from ear to ear. “...Starry Night! She was looking for you!”
Now it was Starry’s ears that perked up. How could this pony know her name, unless, “Did she ever give you her name?”
“Yes. Her name was Harvest Moon.”