//------------------------------// // Decisions' Consequences // Story: A Star Pony Tale // by BlondeSky //------------------------------// Chapter 9 Decisions' Consequences The night after her encounter with North Astro had fallen asleep on the grassy ground in the clearing where she had first found herself on the surface. It had been slightly cold, but hardly unbearable. Her largest task would be working out how to make living accommodations for herself. She was hardly good with construction so that wasn't the best option for her. Her stacks of items that she would have to store stood around her in their respective categories between which she had divvied them. An extra bag stood, however, beside all of the items she recognized as her things. She walked over and opened it and found a good deal of golden coins inside. It took a moment, but she soon identified them as bits which she had discovered at school worked as a means of trade. She quickly decided that North had probably left them there for her. She didn't know how to use them, but hoped that they'd learn how to work it out at school. Another problem arose in that her saddle bags were hardly large enough to carry all of it and she didn't exactly feel comfortable leaving all of her stuff in the middle of a clearing in the forest. She tried to think about these new conflicts that she would have to plan for, but all of it seemed silly as she had just given up everything she knew for something she could barely understand. As she tried to collect herself she continued to ask herself whether or not she made the right decision. It had all happened so fast and she found herself wishing she'd waited longer to make her final choice. The little metal pendant felt like ice against her chest where it lay. The realization of all that she'd given up hit her very suddenly and tears started to come to her eyes from the loss she felt. She lowered her face to the ground to try and hide them even if she didn't have anypony to hide them from. It wasn't what she'd hoped it would be, but she had promised to enjoy this path she'd chosen and she was determined to. She wore her honor on her chest and she would live up to it no matter the cost. She held the little metal oval in her hoof with the H embossed on its front. It was clean and new and shone with a great deal of luster. It wasn't what she'd call beautiful, but it was still striking in its own form. It was simple and had a sort of proud feel to it, like it wasn't afraid to proclaim its message to the world. I am honorable and I carry with me and display proudly all of the promises that I have kept to my companions. It was strange, but the simple metal trinket seemed to speak to her on an emotional level. It didn't contain the color or vibrance of this new world, but it still belonged just the same as everything else that was there. She held it to her front and took a deep breath calming herself. Crying had little to do with joy unless they were tears of happiness which hers were not. She wiped the tears from her face as she turned again to her current conundrums for distraction. In her mind she felt certain her best bet at that moment for stowing away her things was to hide them in some nearby brush. Bringing it all school would've been difficult and in her opinion ill advised. So she scanned the outskirts of the clearing for a sufficiently hidden place to place her belongings until she should return. It didn't take long for her to find a spot that fitted her needs and she placed all of the items there excluding the bag of bits. She knew they held more value than the rest of the items and had decided to keep them with her. If left behind and discovered they were more likely to be stolen and so it made more logical sense to keep them closer to her. Soon she had her saddle bags packed with everything that she thought she might need for school and the bits that she didn't want to leave behind. This consisted almost entirely of the things North had left to her and she found herself tearing up again looking at them. She closed her eyes and again took a deep breath trying to compose herself. In the quiet and calm moments that followed she attempted to expel the sentimental thoughts from her mind. Until she felt more emotionally stable she had decided she wouldn't allow herself the sensation. If she couldn't handle it then she would avoid it until she felt she had the ability to do so properly. In her heart she locked away these sentimental thoughts where they would stay awaiting the moment she felt comfortable releasing them. She hefted her bags onto her back and started her way towards the school trying to focus on seeing her friends. Still, she couldn't even find joy in that as she was afraid that releasing the joy would release the sorrow as well. She walked into the area where the students waited to be allowed inside the school completely straight faced. She had arrived a good bit early and so there weren't that many ponies there, but a good few were still present. Scanning the thin crowd she didn't see Kara there, but she did recognize Spot. She walked over to him hoping that he wouldn't notice her sudden change in demeanor from the previous two days. That day was not one for her to be happy, but she refused to be sad and so felt nothing at all. She pulled a fake smile as she waved to him while approaching. He smiled back genuinely and waved to her as well. When she got closer she looked down ever so slightly hoping that he wouldn't notice any tear stains. He was the first to speak once the two stood next to each other. "Nice new necklace." he complimented her looking at it. "R-really?" she stuttered not wanting to think about it due to who she received it from. "Yeah, the silver looks nice and the H is cool." he answered sincerely. "Thanks." she mumbled in appreciation. "Course, where'd you get it?" he inquired just making innocent conversation that to her set off an emotional grenade. She felt her eyes welling up and found herself unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Running away had seemed so simple before she understood what she had left behind. He saw a tear run down her cheek and his mouth fell open in shock. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say anything! C-can I help?" he stammered confused and concerned. "It's fine. I just… stuff happened. Not your fault." she choked out wiping her eyes and shooting him a smile. Her plan for containing her emotions had failed miserably and she felt like a train wreck waiting to happen. She wanted somepony to confide in and looking over at his face full of concern she considered doing so, but there was too much to say. Still, she wanted to at least let something out and thought of what she might say as he responded. "I'm sorry that… stuff happened, I guess. I hope that stuff gets better." he offered with a reassuring smile. "Th-thanks. I'm just having some trouble adjusting, new location and all. It's so different from where I used to live and well… it's a lot. I got this from somepony who lives where I used to live and I'm going to miss them a lot." she confided in the end. "Oh, that's too bad. But you got new friends here right?" he asked grinning hopefully. "Yeah, I do." she agreed growing a true smile and releasing the smallest of giggles. "I'm glad you do." he commented happy to see her smiling "Me too." she replied with her smile widening a little bit. She was still sorrowful, but it felt nice to have somepony who knew, if not in detail, what her story was. As her emotions escaped their cage she found that she felt better, even with the sadness that they brought. It was much easier to enjoy her company without her heart on lockdown. It was still guarded for several valid reasons, but opening up felt good and lightened the load she carried. She still felt that she should've more carefully considered her decision, but right there, talking and even laughing slightly with Spot she felt more confidence in her choice. She knew that there would be consequences on either side of the resolution, but what she felt was important was that the pros outweighed the cons. In that moment though she felt that they indeed did and managed to find the enjoyment that she promised North she would. It was a good moment just talking with him and her joy only escalated as Kara arrived as well. Throughout the entire time that day she managed to balance her grief for what she had left with joy for what she had found. At some points it seemed that the consequence was too much, but both Kara and Spot seemed to know exactly what to say to her when she leaned towards the more dejected end of the spectrum. They hadn't even known her for a week and already they knew how to make her smile. Just as the two days before, when it came time to leave it didn't feel like a long enough period had passed before their departure. She managed to smile despite her dejection as she left the school grounds due to her friends' reassurance and was glad she had found them. The previously icy pendant became warm against her neck. When she reached the clearing in the forest she felt content if not bursting from her joy as with the previous day. She grabbed an apple, some paper, a quill, ink, and a hardcover book for a solid surface before starting to draw. It wasn't the same as writing, but it was a similar enough motion to what she had been doing for the past six months of her life. She wasn't exceedingly skilled with it yet, but she was improving as she continued to work. She had always been a quick learner and this was no exception. It was just as therapeutic as her previous pastime and she enjoyed it even more. She was keeping her promise, just as she said she would. It didn't matter that not everything was perfect as long as she could see past those imperfections. That night when she slept she felt full both in her stomach and her heart.