It was the middle of the day, almost noon, the latest Silverstar had ever stayed up. She had to stay up in order to get on a thing called a “train”.
She had imagined it as a sort of wagon, but it looked more like a series of long, metal building than a wagon. The huge metal buildings did have wheels under them and must be able to move somehow, though Silverstar felt sorry for whatever was going to be pulling it. The train would be heavy for ten trolls.
The inside of the train was very comfortable. On the one side was a long, padded bench, on the other were two walled-off areas, each of which contained a bed, and between the beds was a table and cabinet full of food.
The large windows on either side of the car were covered with heavy curtains that blocked out all of the sunlight. The light in the room came from lanterns that were bright enough for Lyra, but dim enough for a thestral.
Lyra had said that this car was just for them and they would have all the privacy they wanted here. Silverstar parted the curtains and glanced outside.
Outside the window was Dodge Junction. This wasn’t the first time Silverstar had seen the city, but it was the first time she had gotten anywhere near it. It could often be seen on the horizon when one went to the surface to look for fruit or admire the stars and moon. Silverstar had always thought it was one of Equestrian’s great cities, but never thought she would actually travel there.
The city was exactly as Silverstar had imagined it a metropolis of wooden buildings, some of them two or three stories tall, sprawling in every direction, spreading so wide that neither end of it could be seen. What shocked Silverstar was that Lyra seemed to think of this as a small town. Canterlot, she assured Silverstar, was massive in comparison.
Dodge Junction dwarfed anything the thestrals had built, but even it was tiny compared to where she was going. Silverstar couldn’t imagine how big Canterlot must be, so she decided not to even try. It would be better to just wait.
The ponies outside were so varied in color. Were they all from different clans? The trip between the carriage and the train had been two steps long, so she hadn’t had to talk to any of them just yet.
“So what you want me to do,” said Silverstar, turning her attention back to Midnight, “is march up to Celestia's throne and roll around on the floor crying until she agrees to help me?”
Midnight nodded. “Yes. I think something like that would be the best use for you. Celestia and many of the nobles we're going to appeal to have bleeding hearts. Showing them how hurt you are will do much to sway them.”
Midnight seemed keen on playing up the sympathy card. He had initially wanted to have Silverstar look a bit roughed up when they got to Canterlot, but it would be a three day trip until they got there. Instead he settled for the opposite extreme and covered her in excessive bandages. The largest of them was the gauss the covered her entire front left leg, where an inch long cut had been.
“Really?” asked Silverstar. She still wasn't convinced that this was the best plan. “Shouldn't I try convincing them that it's in their own interest to help us? You said that Onyx is their enemy too.”
“I intend to take care of that part myself,” said Midnight. “You need to appeal to different ponies in different ways. Some of them will be more convinced by logic, others by emotions. We need to play both sides to maximize out chance of getting their aid.”
“Be sure to mention the poison gas frequently. The use of such weapons is considered an abhorrent crime in Equestria, so we'll want to bring as much attention to that as possible. Also, some of the nobles are more sympathetic to our kind than others. When we get to Canterlot, I'll show you the ones you should try to get the attention of and the ones you should avoid.”
Silverstar hadn't remembered Midnight seeming this manipulative when she first met him. Perhaps he was the type to change his personality to fit the situation. It wasn't something she minded as long as he was on her side, and right now he seemed like her best asset.
“I'm surprised any of them have an opinion of us at all,” said Silverstar.
“Did I not mention that I've spent some years living in Equestria? Most of that time was spent in the company of the upper class, thanks to Lyra. Most Equestrians have never seen our kind before, but the ones we're going to be talking to are very aware of us.”
“Ultimate correction,” said Lyra. As it turned out, Lyra understood Thestrali just fine. It was only in speaking it she had trouble, needing long pauses to conduct her sentences.
“He's right, though,” she eventually said in Equine. “I've been running a vicious pro-thestral campaign, one that's already gotten a ton of nobles on our side. Some ponies think we're all a bunch of uptight bigots, and that's true for some ponies, but those guys are always willing to take up a cause. Many of them are all ready to go help the poor thestrals in their time of need.”
“Hold on,” said Silverstar. “The invasion happened three days ago. How did you convince them to help us in our time of need before our time of need even happened?”
“Maybe I'm just that good,” Lyra said with a sly smile.
“Actually,” said Midnight, “she sold them on the idea of helping the northern clans. As I likely told you clan, the north is wracked by starvation. It was the idea of helping starving ponies that Lyra sold them on. Still, they don't see a distinction of clans like we do; to them all thestrals are the same. Changing their attention from the north to the east won't be difficult.”
“If the northern clans are so bad then why did you come to us instead of going to help them?” asked Silverstar. Just as she finished her sentence she remembered the answer. “Oh! That’s right; you said you wanted to bring them to the land above our clan.”
“Correct. Your land is the key to my plans,” said Midnight. “We can‘t survive where we are much longer. We need to find a new home.”
“Why are they suddenly starving after living there for centuries, though?” asked Silverstar. “You said they were fighting, right? Is that what’s causing the food shortage?”
“Actually, I think it’s the other way around,” Midnight Explained. The mountains we live in are too cold to sustain life. However, they contain rich deposits of fire crystals, stones that become very hot upon touching water. The heat from the fire stones melts the snow, then boils the lakes and rivers of water that form. The resulting steam fills the caves and covers the mountains with a warm mist. It is that steam which allows the molds and insects we eat to survive.”
“Normally, fire crystals burn out very quickly, but there is a massive fire crystal, the magic from which stabilizes that of all the others in the mountain, allowing them to burn for centuries. We never found the reason why, but a few generations back a massive crack appeared in the crystal, one that has continued to grow. After that many of the smaller fire crystals began to cool or burned out completely. Many of the boiling lakes froze over, and the amount of food and habitable land shrunk dramatically. It was around that time that the fighting began.”
“We're working on it, though!” said Lyra. “I've hired a mage to create a spell that can restore fire crystals, and we've gathered a huge amount of donations to buy food for them.”
“Unfortunately none of it will be enough,” said Midnight. “It will only delay the inevitable. If we are to survive we need to settle in a new land.”
“On our land,” Silverstar said.
“Yes. The northern clans are proud and won’t be easily convinced to move. I hoped create a land inhabited by thestrals, under the protection of a powerful nation and fertile enough to support both groups. If I could make the eastern clans into such a place, then perhaps the northern clans, and maybe all the others, would be tempted enough to travel there. I was finally starting to make some progress too, but then this had to happen and ruin my plans.”
Midnight grimaced, and Silverstar did the same.
“But this is the part where everything turns around,” Said Lyra. The dire situation only made her bolder. “I’ll tell you exactly what’s going to happen. When we get to Celestia she’ll spring into action and free the eastern clans. After that, your people will see that there’s no reason for us to be enemies and accept our alliance. Then we just convince the northern clans to move in with you and everypony lives happily ever after.”
Lyra’s confidence did much to bolster Silverstar’s own. Silverstar hoped to Luna that things would turn out like that. This plan was still a long shot, but if Lyra had really done as much as she claimed, the prospects were looking better.
“You’re really doing a lot for us, Lyra,” said Silverstar. “Don‘t get me wrong, but why?”
“What do you mean why? You need help and that‘s reason enough for me,” said Lyra. “And I just love your culture so much too, and you’re all so adorable with your fangs and glowing eyes, too. If for no other reason I’d do all this just for the chance to learn more about you. Then there’s the fact that-”
Lyra suddenly stopped talking and had a flash of pensiveness. It only lasted a second before she returned to her usual cheerful confidence.
“Well, never mind that,” said Lyra. “What’s important is that I’m on your side 110%! I’ll spend the rest of my life fighting for you if I have too.”
“I’m with you as well,” said Midnight. “My goal is to create a powerful thestral nation, and saving your clan is the only way to do that.”
Silverstar felt a swell of affection for the both of them. Maybe she wasn’t entirely alone.
“Thank you.”
Before anything else sentimental could happen, the train lurched forward.
At first it moved at a reasonable speed, but soon began to accelerate faster and faster, until it was going at the speed of a gallop, and then even faster than that.
“Is it supposed to go this fast?!” Silverstar asked.
Lyra just nodded and assured her it was perfectly safe.
“I have to ask- what the hay is pulling this thing so fast?” Silverstar had to ask. “Is it some kind of magic?”
“Nah,” said Lyra. “It’s powered by steam. Whoosh!”
Lyra pumped her hoof in the air to show exactly how the steam went “whoosh”.
“Is that a joke?” Silverstar asked. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”
“It’s true, trains run on steam,” said Midnight.
Silverstar thought about how much steam you would need to lift a leaf. To move something like this you’d need to boil an ocean.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “That sounds kind of stupid.”
“I was skeptical of that when I first heard about it, too. Why don’t you go to the engine room and see for yourself?” asked Midnight. “You’re going to have to start talking to these ponies eventually, why not start now?”
It was true that Silverstar had been avoiding everypony but Midnight and Lyra since coming to the surface. She watched the bizarre multi-colored ponies whiz by the window.
“Just give me a little longer,” said Silverstar. “Let me get some sleep first.”
The others had to concede that it was, indeed, very late. Silverstar hadn’t realized just how tired she was until she crawled into the bed. She was asleep in minutes.
______________________________________
She awoke later that night. Midnight was still asleep at the time, but Lyra had been awake the whole time. There was another question Silverstar had been meaning to ask about the train, one she had been hesitant to ask. After an hour or two, however, she got to the point where she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“How do you go to the bathroom on this thing?” She asked. “Are you just supposed to go to the back door and…?”
“Ha! No. There’s a bathroom a couple cars ahead of us,” said Lyra. “Or at least there should be.”
Lyra vowed to take her there and soon the two were making their way towards the front of the train.
Silverstar had been briefly worried about encountering more ponies of light, but soon found that fear unwarranted. Lyra often stayed up until four or five in the morning and slept until late in the afternoon. As Silverstar soon learned, this was unusual for a unicorn, and by midnight all the ponies on the train were asleep.
There were a few still awake, but they were all too preoccupied with some sort of book to notice the thestral walking past them. A few of them did notice Silverstar, but all they did was stare. When Silverstar glanced back at them they quickly turned their attention away.
“Wait,” said Silverstar. “Are they afraid of me?”
“They’ve just never seen one of you before,” said Lyra. “Don’t worry about them.”
Soon enough they found the bathroom. Silverstar went and came back Lyra said that she had to go too and disappeared behind the bathroom door.
As Silverstar sat waiting, her attention began to drift about the car. She soon noticed a young colt sitting in the nearest seat to her.
The colt stared at Silverstar with wide eyes, but she couldn‘t tell the exact emotion that was behind those wide eyes.
She tried to just glance away and ignore him, like she did with all the other ponies, but his stare seemed to drill into her with more intensity than any other Silverstar had ever encountered. Silver couldn’t stop herself from looking back at the colt and meeting his gaze.
The two stared at each other for some time before the colt finally spoke.
“Are you a vampony?” he asked.
There was that word again. Lyra had referred to Silverstar as a “vampony” once or twice. From the way Lyra used it, Silverstar assumed it was the Equine word for thestral.
Silverstar nodded. “Yes. I am a vampony.”
The colt’s mouth opened up into a smile and his eyes managed to become even wider. “That’s so cool! Do you know Batmare?”
“Batmare?” Silverstar asked. “I don’t think I do. Who is she?”
“She’s a superhero,” the colt explained. “And she’s a vampony like you are!”
This was an interesting turn of events. It seemed there was another thestral already living in Equestria, one that was considered not just a hero, but a super hero. Silverstar wondered why Lyra hadn’t mentioned bat mare. Was she trying to hide something?
“Can you tell me more about this Batmare?” she asked the colt. “Does she live in Canterlot?”
“No, she lives in Manehatten. And she fights bad guys like Jokermort and Darthface!” said the colt. He sure seemed excited about the topic. “She came to my birthday party last year.”
This was just raising more questions than it answered. Before she could ask him anything else he turned to the sleeping mare next to her and began shaking her.
“Mom, look! It’s a vampony!”
His mother slowly opened her eyes and wearily looked at her son.
“Honey, there’s no such thing as-”
The mare glanced at Silverstar with a frozen look. After a moment it turned to a smile.
“That’s a very nice costume,” she said.
“I’m not wearing a costume,” said Silverstar.
The mare picked up her son and moved him to the other side of the seat. Silverstar realized that she should have pretended she was wearing a costume just a second before the other mare started screaming for help.
Silverstar backed up and knocked on the bathroom door. “Um, Lyra!”
“Ack! Just give me a second!” Lyra called from behind the door.
Other ponies were starting to wake up. A panic was quickly building in the car. Hopefully Lyra would be out in a second.
The door behind her opened and a stallion in a uniform entered.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
“That vampony is trying to eat my foal!”
The stallion shot Silverstar a brief look of panic before gathering his courage and tackling her to the ground. That was when Lyra finally came out of the bathroom.
“How dare you!” Lyra yelled. “Don’t you know who I am?!”
Her yells were drowned out by all the other yells that were circling through the train car. Lyra growled, then blasted the stallion off of Silverstar with her magic. She then leapt between Silverstar and the crowd.
“Shut up!” she screamed over all the other yells.
That was enough to bring silence.
“You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” Lyra said. “Just because somepony looks different doesn’t make them a monster! You have no right to treat my friend like this.”
The door behind them opened again and another uniformed stallion entered.
“What is going- Ah! Lady Heartstrings!” he said.
“Are you the one in charge here?” Lyra asked.
“Yes.”
“One of your employees just attacked my friend,” Lyra said. “This is unacceptable! I specifically told you about my friends and told you to inform the train’s staff.”
“I am very, very sorry, Lady Heartstrings!” said the stallion. He shot the other one a look.
“She was trying to eat that colt, sir!” he tried to explain.
“Is this true?”
“No,” said the colt. “She’s a good vampony like Batmare. I tried telling you, Mom, but you wouldn’t listen!”
The stallion who tackled her and the mare who had started the screaming were beat red now.
“Lady Heartstrings is a very important guest,” said the stallion in charge. “I am terrible sorry for this, Lady Heartstrings. We had to switch out one of our staff on short notice. I personally assure you that nothing like this will happen again.”
“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to Silverstar,” said Lyra.
“I am very sorry, Miss Silverstar,” he said with a bow.
The other stallion apologized as well after getting a stern look.
“If anypony else has a problem,” said Lyra, “then they can take it up with me!”
Lyra began defiant march back to their private car, Silverstar following close behind.
“Thanks for standing up for me,” said Silverstar. Lyra had just earned herself a few more points.
“Like I said, stay close to me and you’ll be fine,” said Lyra. “Believe it or not, I am a very important pony. Nopony will mess with you if you if you’re with!”
Silverstar smiled back at Lyra. It was then that she remembered a pressing subject.
“But tell me one thing,” said Silverstar, “Why didn’t you tell me about Batmare?”
___________________________________________________
As the train rolled onward to Canterlot it passed town after town, each more enormous than the last. Eventually they got to a point that seemed to be just an endless sea of buildings that went on and on forever, broken only by an occasional forest or plain.
By that time, Silverstar shad built up an immunity to large things. On the second day she saw a building that was ten stories tall, but by then only felt it par for the course. She doubted that even the skyscrapers, buildings hundreds of feet tall, that Lyra had told her about, would surprise her at this point.
Canterlot itself came into view a full day before they reached it. From this distance the city was a huge, white, gleaming thing that hung off the side of a mountain. For hours Canterlot had loomed in the distance, but now they were at the edge of the mountain and the train began an upward spiral to the top. It almost seemed as if the track were designed to give the city a chance to loom over you from every direct. After a short time, however, Silverstar realized that it only ever loomed from the right, a fact that made it only very slightly less intimidating.
That she was entering Celestia‘s domain began to sink in, and with it came a sense of dread. For the past two days Silverstar’s been bouncing up and down. Lyra and Midnight had been a source of constant reassurance, and despite the one incident the ponies on the train hadn’t seemed as bloodthirsty as she had once thought. A few of the ponies that had screamed at the sight of her earlier even came to their private car to apologize.
It wasn’t so much them that Silverstar was worried about, she had already decided that they weren’t all evil; it was Celestia that scared her.
“You’re sure that me walking up to Celestia s a good idea?” Silverstar asked. “Wouldn’t talking to the other nobles be enough?”
“How many more times do I have to tell you that Celestia is nice?” asked Lyra.
“A lot?”
“You’re worried about nothing,” Lyra assured her. “As soon as you meet the Princess you’ll know that. Princess Celestia is definitely going to want to help you. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to get off the train and go straight to her You still have a few more days to get ready.”
Silverstar didn’t feel like discussing this again, instead she bit into her juice box again. The juice box was one of her favorite Equestrian technologies. It was just a box with fruit juices inside, but the fact that fruit was so much more common in Equestria than in Silverstar’s caves meant that she could have as many as she wanted.
You were supposed to use a straw, but Silverstar found it easier to just bite into the side and suck out the juice that way.
Lyra looked into the compartment where their food was stored. Besides the three remaining juice boxes, there was nothing. “Oh, no! We’re out of snacks. I’d better go to the dinning car and get some more.”
“We only have an hour before we get to Canterlot,” said Midnight. “I think you can wait.”
“We have an hour and fifteen minutes,” said Lyra. “And I want nachos now. Now come on.”
“Why do I have to go?” asked Midnight
“To carry my stuff for me.”
“What? How much are you getting?!”
“I don’t know, but I want a stallion with me just in case,” said Lyra. “Now come on!”
Lyra dragged Midnight out of his seat.
“I suppose we’ll be back soon,” he said.
Silverstar nodded as the two disappeared from sight. After hearing the door in front of the car close, Silverstar took out another juice box and bit into it.
She didn’t get to drink much of it before she heard the sound of a door open and close again. Silverstar would have simply thought that it was Lyra returning, were it not for the fact that the sound came from the wrong direction, from the back of the car.
The problem was that there were no cars behind this one.
Silverstar slowly turned her head to the back of the train where she found a pony standing in front of the back door. The pony trotted towards Silverstar, her eyes glowing.
It was another thestral.
It was an unusual looking one, too. Her fur was pitch black and her mane was the same dark blue as Silverstar‘s, but Silverstar caught a glance at her roots which revealed that her true hair color was pink, meaning the rest was only dyed blue. It was her eyes that were truly unusual. They had the familiar, yellow glow of a thestral’s eyes, but the pupils weren’t slits, but were the odd, circular shape that Lyra and her kind had.
Her appearance was enough for Silverstar to conclude that she must have been some sort of hybrid. She didn’t have enough time to wonder how that could have happened before the mysterious newcomer spoke to her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She asked. Her tone wasn’t very friendly.
Silverstar glanced down at the juice box, then up at this new thestral. “Did you want some?”
The other thestral knocked the juice box out of Silverstar’s hooves.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“I’m here with Lyra Heartstrings,” Silverstar replied. “Do you know her?”
Silverstar had hoped that this was another one of Lyra‘s thestrals, one she somehow forgot to mention. The way the new mare’s eyes narrowed in disgust showed that if she did know Lyra, her opinion wasn’t very good.
“Were you forced to come here?” She asked. “Or are you just stupid?”
“I’m here to save my clan.”
“So you’re an idiot.”
Silverstar had had enough of this attitude. She stood up and gave the mare a look just as intense as the one she was getting.
“ Hey! Just who are you, anyway?” she asked. “Why are you here? You can’t just barge in here and start-”
“My name is Whisper,” she replied, “and I know these creatures, and the light, far better than you do. That is all that you need to know about me. Now listen.”
Whisper drew in close to Silverstar and began speaking very slowly. “Nightmare Moon is going to return very soon. Go back to where you came from and wait for her. The day that darkness rules the world will be here soon. Celestia will not free you‘re clan, but Nightmare Moon will.”
If this was the first time Silverstar had heard somepony tell her the return of Luna was neigh it may have had some effect. This was closer to the thousands time than the first, however.
“They’ve been saying that constantly for over a thousand years,” said Silverstar. “Unless you have actual proof I’m not going to believe you.”
“This time is different,” Whisper assured her. “I do have proof! I- I just can‘t show you.”
“Right,” said Silverstar. “Very convenient. Come back when you can show me, but until then I‘m staying on this course.”
Whisper gave a short hiss. “The other one has already been brainwashed. It’s too late for him, but you still have a chance. It’s not too late for you to turn back, but I cannot tolerate the presence of any more thestrals in this city. This is your last warning leave now or else.”
Silverstar had had enough of Whisper. “Or else what?”
Whisper really didn’t give her another warning; she simply turned and walked away, exiting the train through the back door.
Silverstar decided it would be best to go to Midnight and Lyra immediately. As she trotted to the front of the train she heard a loud, metallic clunk coming from the car ahead. She galloped the rest of the way and threw open the door.
The car ahead of her was now several yards away and was moving further away with each second. It was a good thing Silverstar had wings, with luck she might be able to out-fly the train. She took a few steps back and prepared to lunge forward.
Before she could take flight, something slammed into the side of the train car with enough force to tip it over. The left side hit the ground hard. Silverstar managed to fly out of the way of the shattering glass. The car rolled again and went plummeting down the cliff.
The car spun as it fell, throwing all of the objects within, including Silverstar into the air. Silverstar hit the wall, and then the ceiling before regaining flight, then lost it again fell on top of her. She struggled to throw the blanket off of her and the moment she was free she made a beeline for the open door of the train.
Silverstar flew out of the train car as fast as she could and flew back up to the ledge that it had fallen from. She looked down the cliff, just in time to see the train car hit the ground with a terrible crash.
Whisper was undoubtedly behind this. Silverstar looked around for the other thestral, but found no sign of her presence. That didn’t necessarily mean that she was gone, or that Silverstar was safe. Either way, the best course of action now was to get back to the train.
The train had already disappeared behind the bend and Silverstar doubted she could catch it by chasing it down the tracks, but if the train was spiraling up the mountain, she could still catch it by flying up.
Silverstar flew up along the side of the mountain until she saw the train tracks again. From her new, higher vantage she could see the train making another right hand turn as it moved up the mountain. Silverstar could simply wait here and the train would come to her. Standing on the tracks themselves was likely a bad idea, so Silverstar flew up to a small alcove above them to wait for the train.
Landing on the train when it returned shouldn’t be too hard, the difficult part would be the wait. Silverstar kept a constant scan of the area around her, watching for the yellow glow of eyes, perking her ears in every direction to listen for any out of place noise.
Once or twice she heard the flutter of wings or the sound of a disturbed rock. Each time she had snapped her attention in the direction, but, to her relief, found only a bird or small animal there. Soon enough the sound of the approaching train began to drown out the little noises that had kept her so on edge.
Far below her, at the spot that the train car had derailed, pegasi were beginning to assemble. Silverstar realized now that she could have just stayed there and waited for help, but the light of the train was peeking out from around the bend and she may as well return to it. Besides, she didn’t see Lyra or Midnight with the group below her and she wasn’t ready to confront any ponies alone.
There was still no sight of Whisper. That attack must have been threat enough for her.
The noise of the train was enough to drown out everything else. It would pass under Silverstar any moment now. Silverstar spread her wings and got ready to take flight.
The moment the train came into sight Silverstar’s plans came crashing down. Standing on top of the front car of the train was Whisper.
Whisper immediately saw Silverstar and lunged at her. Silverstar just managed to take flight before the other thestral reached the alcove and stabbed a spear at the spot Silverstar had stood. With Whisper between her and the train, there was nowhere to go now but up.
Silverstar flew up the mountain as fast as she could with Whisper following close behind. It quickly became apparent that Whisper was the faster of the two as the gap between the two began to disappear. Silverstar’s only option was to fly upwards as fast as she could to keep some distance between her and her pursuer.
The city of Canterlot was visible above them and was fast approaching. Entering the city without Lyra could be dangerous, but not as dangerous as what was behind her.
Silverstar made it the base of a wall, the only thing between her and the city, when Whisper had caught up with her. Whisper and thrust her spear she had found somewhere at Silverstar. Silverstar spun to the side to narrowly avoid getting skewered. Whisper lunged at her again with a blow that managed to graze Silverstar’s shoulder.
Silverstar managed to shrug off the cut and briefly landed on top of the wall before Whisper rammed into her hard, throwing her back into the air. Silverstar didn’t see what sort of building she had been thrown into, but from the looks of where she now stood she must have been knocked inside one through a window.
Silverstar looked up at the window she had just entered through just in time to see Whisper land with her spear readied. Silverstar picked up a broom that was lying next to her and swung it at Whisper.
Whisper easily sidestepped and slammed the side of her spear into the back of Silverstar’s head. She then rammed Silverstar into the wall. She pulled back her spear and lunged forward once more.
Silverstar heard the spear slam into the wall only a hair away from her face.
“Or else that,” said Whisper. “I’ll give you two days to come to your senses and leave.”
Whisper walked to the window and jumped out. Silverstar galloped to it and looked out, but by then Whisper had vanished.
Silverstar took a minute to calm down from her near-death experience before trying to think of what to do next.
It was obvious that she needed to get back to Midnight and Lyra. The question was the best way to do that.
They would have noticed she was missing by now, and were most likely looking for her. Her grandmother had always told her that if she was lost in the caves that she should just stay put and wait for somepony to come for her. Silverstar figured the same strategy should work in a city.
She trotted over to one of the windows and looked out at the city.
Her view wasn’t exception. There were so many towers and huge building in Canterlot that she could barely see the end of the street. Still, if Lyra came this way Silverstar would see her.
Two hours passed with no sight of Lyra. If it were not for those tall towers, Silverstar would have been able o see a much larger portion of the city. It was still dark, and there were only a few ponies in sight. Silverstar could easily fly to the roof of a higher tower without being seen.
Silverstar unfolded her wings and leapt out the window. She landed in the targeted window after just a second and, after peering inside to make sure the room was empty, crawled into the taller tower. Looking back down at the ponies was enough to confirm they hadn’t seen her, not one was looking in her direction.
Silverstar could now see a much larger portion of the city, but it was still obstructed by even taller towers. The one she was in now was already taller than any building had a right to be and yet there was one nearly twice the size just down the street. She considered going to that tower for an even better view, but realized that she had gotten lucky that this room had been empty.
As Silverstar looked over the city she noticed that some windows glowed with a brilliant light while most of the rest were dark. It didn’t take long to realize what this meant. The ponies of light needed bright lights to see anything, so the rooms that were bright were the ones that were inhabited. As long as Silverstar flew only to the dark windows, she would not encounter anypony.
Silverstar flew to the next tower in sight, then the next one after that. Now she was high enough to see what had to be the tallest tower in the city, and sure enough there was a dark window near the top.
Getting to this tower unseen would be a bit more difficult, however. There were several pegasi in the sky now, ones that looked like stereotypical villains with their white fur and golden armor. If she ended up having to ask somepony for help, it most certainly wouldn’t be one of them, she decided.
Silverstar waited for a path to open, then held her breath and zipped into the dark window as fast as she could. She hadn’t bothered to check if the room was empty before entering, but, Luna be praised, it was. The majority of the room was taken up by a massive bell. The only other exit from the room was a single door, but Silverstar had no intention of using it. She just had to find Lyra before anypony came in.
Silverstar glanced out the window. She could see the entire city now, but she also had a new problem. She was too far up to make out what each individual pony looked like. They were all just speck beneath her. Her eye sight was good enough to make out only basic details of ponies. She noticed one or two that had the same fur and hair as Lyra, but then she realized that she couldn’t even tell if it was an earth pony, unicorn or pegasus.
Silverstar blamed her lack of foresight in this area on the fact that this problem didn’t exist underground.
Things got even worse a moment later when the sun rose.
The sunrise was quick enough to force Silverstar to wince and withdraw back into the building. Even though she had spent days on the surface, she had spent it mostly in the dark areas prepared for her by Lyra, sleeping most of the day, and still wasn‘t used to the sunlight. Perhaps if the window had been facing away from the sun she could continue her search, but looking towards the sun would block too much of her vision.
Silverstar slunk back into the relatively dark room, and tried to think of her next move. She wouldn’t be able to find Lyra, so she would have to approach somepony and ask for help.
She wondered what sort of pony lived in this tower. They must have been very wealthy to afford such a large building, so it stood to reason they were a noble. If she was lucky, Silverstar might run into one of the sympathetic nobles. Whoever was below her would most likely be less intimidating than the armored pegasi outside, so she decided to go in that direction.
Silverstar cracked open the door and peaked through. Only darkness and stairs were on the other side. Silverstar was afraid of neither. She exited the room and began down the long, long, incredibly long staircase.
Again the spiraling. Perhaps that was the only way to deal with the massive heights that made up the city.
As she descended the stairs Silverstar tried to think of the best way to barge into somepony's house uninvited. She recalled Lyra saying that a true “vampony” couldn’t enter your house uninvited, so she could use her intrusion as evidence that she wasn't a blood sucking monster if necessary.
Silverstar wondered if they‘d be angry. Her usual way of dealing with awkward situations, but pretending there was nothing awkward going on, might not go over so well this time.
When she finally reached the next door down, Silverstar decided to listen in on the other side. Silence. Also something Silverstar wasn't afraid of.
She pushed open the door and entered a hallway, one that was massive like everything else. As she neared the end of the hallway, she began to hear the sound of voices and hoofsteps.
Silverstar crept to the edge of the hall and listened. The voices were too far away to make out the words, but she could tell that they were coming closer. The talking became louder and closer until Silverstar understand some of it. One of the first words she heard made her heart leap- “intruder”.
That answered the question as to how they felt about uninvited guests. Silverstar was thinking of how to salvage the situation when she heard an even more terrifying word- “princess”.
This couldn't actually be-
Maybe they were just talking about-!
“-It really would be best if you let us handle this, Princess Celestia,” said one of the voices.
“If this is what I think it is, then there is nothing to worry about,” said a female voice. “But it would be something I'd like to handle this personally.”
This wasn't a misunderstanding! Silverstar had broken into the lair of Celestia herself, and now the princess of the sun was coming to “handle” her personaly!
Silverstar may have had a chance if she was with Lyra, but she expected no sympathy from Celestia if she was caught breaking into the sacred hallway alone. Silverstar would undoubtedly be thrown into a dungeon, or maybe Celestia would just pounce and devour her on the spot.
Silverstar had blown the entire mission with this one move.
She may still have a chance. If she could get back outside without being seen she could just deny this had ever happened! Or something. She'd think of the rest later!
Silverstar turned and ran back down the hallway. Behind her one of the voices shouted something, then came the sound of running hooves. Silverstar got about halfway down the hallway before crashing into something.
Before her was a barrier of purple light, escape was impossible now. A white unicorn in golden armor entered the hallway behind her, and looked Silverstar over with a frown. Two of the armored pegasi Silverstar had seen outside entered the room next, followed by a fourth pony.
This last pony was neither a unicorn nor pegasus, but something else entirely, something huge, with both wings and horns. It was her.
Princess Celestia.