Scorching Day, Chilling Night

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

A Kind Gesture

Do you ever feel as if something is taking forever? Admit it, we’ve all been there. Starlight certainly felt like that right now. It felt like she and her friends had been going through this forest for months. She still was having a little trouble getting used to even thinking about friendship in a positive light. She then chuckled to herself, and thought: Heh. seems I might need to fork over a ruby to Moondancer after all. Oh well. If these are my friends for the rest of my life… she then looked at the six of them trudging through the forest, and smiled to herself. I can live with losing a stupid bet.

Once again, the group abruptly stopped, but this time Starlight saw why immediately. A extremely large eagle-like bird with a sharp row of teeth in its large, menacing beak was perched in the treetops. Its golden feathers shimmered in the scant sunlight peeking through the canopy. The bird seemed to glare at the group in contempt. Maestro spoke in a hushed voice. “That’s a Thunderbird. I didn’t quite expect to see one of these here. It’s best that we try and avoid agitating it. They can shoot lightning from their eyes.”

“Is that really true?” Thunder Blitz was very confused, after all, she'd never seen a Thunderbird before. In fact; it was the first time that many in the group had seen a Thunderbird.

Maestro nodded. “My half-sister Janice still bears a scar from one. Let me tell you, that was one nasty scar. It’s not so bad now, but… well, her scream when it happened during our trip to Salt Lick City was agonizing, and it still sticks with Chessmaster and me. So, let’s think of some way around this mess.”

Thunder spoke again. “Can’t we just go around it?”

Maestro shook his head. “Not a chance. Thunderbirds are extremely territorial. If we get much closer it will most definitely attack.”

Cherry then spoke. “Couldn’t we reason with it?”

Maestro scoffed. “Unless any of you have a talent with animals, I highly doubt we could do that.”

Crescendo then lit up. “I’ve got an idea!” she then pulled out a set of wind-chimes of all things.

Starlight balked. “How will those help? It makes no-”

Maestro then interrupted. “Shhh! I know it looks unconventional, but she may be onto something.” He then gestured to Crescendo. “Continue.”

Crescendo then flapped her wings as to create a steady breeze that flowed through the wind-chimes. The melody that was produced was wonderful, crisp, and gentle. The overall effect was immediately clear as the Thunderbird started to drift off to sleep. At the end of the short lullaby, the Thunderbird was fully asleep. Crescendo then flew up to it, and checked its eyes. “Just as I thought.”

Starlight spoke questioningly. “Just as you thought? What do you mean?”

Crescendo touched down to the ground, and spoke. “I thought that the Thunderbird looked quite tired and cranky, so I played a lullaby to help it get to sleep.”

Maestro then spoke up. “As interesting as that is, we still have quite a ways to go. We best get going.”

Starlight and friends then went on their way. However Starlight started to think to herself. I think I understand now why Moondancer was pushing me to make some friends. I’ve learned now that not everyone will use you and then discard you. I feel that these friends of mine will stick with me. I can’t say how I know… I just… do. And with that thought in her head, she continued on with her friends.

However, in the shadows, a cloaked pony watches on. From beneath her hood, she grins. “Ah, the folly of these fools is delicious.” She breathes in deeply, and chuckles. “It’s good to see that they have spirit, though. That makes them far more entertaining to break.” and if you looked at her, for a moment you might see the slight gleam of a platinum locket for a split second. She then smirked to herself. “Oh yes, this is certainly going to be fun.”

Author's Note:

Here's chapter ten! I'd debated merging it with chapter eleven since they're both a bit short, but then I realized that I'd have nothing ready for next week. After all, chapter twelve is taking a bit longer than I'd hoped. No editor as of yet,so this chapter may be a bit choppy. Please criticize constructively, and if you like/fave/dislike, I'd like to hear your thoughts below! See you around this time next week with chapter eleven!

Comments

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

7913941 Thanks (for this comment, and the fave)! I hope you also take a look at some of my other work too.