Starry Skies: Shadowbolt Agent

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Home Again Home Again

"Mimic! Star! The Captain wants to see you in her office!"

The two of them stopped, looking at each other with surprise. They had come to check in, letting their bosses know they had returned, and start on their reports. If the Captain wanted to see them, it was more than likely because something had gone wrong.

Following one of the mine tunnels, they made their way deeper into the converted caves that now made up their base. The path twisted and curved as it went deeper into the mountain, lit by the magic glow of some of the remaining crystals or by artificial lights that were bare bulbs hanging from their wires.

Before long, they reached a large wooden door. On it was the symbol of The Shadowbolts -- a five pointed star surrounded by a pair of bat wings -- and a silver name plate with Capt. Trixie Lulamoon etched on it.

Before either of them could knock, the door swung open.

"Come on in. I've been waiting for you two."

Starry Skies and Mimic stepped into the office. Captain Trixie Lulamoon sat at her desk, her hooves busy with a white handkerchief.

"Take a seat," Captain Lulamoon said, still looking at the handkerchief as she tied it into a knot.

Star and Mimic glanced toward each other before sitting down opposite the captain. As they did, Star looked up at the wall where a newspaper article was framed. The title read Mad Mare Trixie Takes Over Town, and below was a picture of her wearing a high collared cape and The Alicorn Amulet, with a smirk on her mouth. Supposedly it had been that event which led to Trixie working for Princess Luna as one of the first Shadowbolts, a chance at redemption for what she had done while under the influence of the amulet and her own anger.

Captain Lulamoon gave the knot a tug, it vanishing as the handkerchief turned red. Tossing it aside, her horn lit up.

"The wand hasn't arrived yet," she told the pair, "and neither have the pegasi that were supposed to bring it in." Turning to look at the two of them, she raised an eyebrow. "I don't supposed you two still have it."

"No ma'am," Mimic answered. "We gave it to the stallions at the train station just like we were told to."

The captain pulled out two pictures and passed them over.

"Were these the ones?"

Mimic and Star each looked at the picture.

"Yes," Mimic said. She pointed at one. "This is the one that took off the bandages and took the box for the wand."

"And did they show you a Lunar Bit?"

"Yes," Star answered. "One of them showed it to me before we approached."

"Did you see them leave?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mimic and Star both said together.

With a sigh, Captain Lulamoon retrieved the pictures and stuck them back in a drawer. She then pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling them.

"Princess Luna isn't going to be happy about this," she said, more to herself than to the other two ponies. "She was already worried about something going wrong." Her ears pulled back as her jaw clenched. "How would they know what to look for? If there's a leak in this organization, I swear I'm going to--"

A knock at the door kept the two from learning what the captain would do to any creature that betrayed them.

"What?!" Captain Lulamoon yelled.

The door opened as a pony stuck her head inside.

"Captain, we found the missing pegasi. They were unconscious, but alive and with no noticeable injuries. They're in the infirmary being checked over now."

"And the wand?"

"Neither had it on them, and nopony found it in the area they were found."

Captain Lulamoon's horn lit up brighter, the pink magic taking on a redder tone. The cards in her aura sped up, shuffling and mixing faster. As she slammed her hoof against her desk, one of the cards shot out of the deck, sticking into a wooden shelf.

The cards dropped as the magic holding them suddenly vanished. The captain closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it back out.

"Mimic," she growled, "Starry Skies, you two are dismissed. Go file your reports."

The two of them gave a salute and headed for the door as quick as they politely could. As they went, Star looked at the playing card that had been embedded in one of the shelves. It would be better if she could get a better look, but it seemed like a regular playing card.

How much force and precision did it take to embed a piece of paper like that?

"Wow," Mimic said with wide eyes once they were well away from the office. "She was practically seething with anger at the end there. I would hate to be on the receiving end of that."

Considering some of the stories surrounding the captain and what she had just seen, Starry Skies was inclined to agree.

At the end of the day, Starry Skies was looking forward to getting home and sleeping in her own bed. As much as she enjoyed traveling, it was always nice for her to be back home. More so since she never knew how long it would be before she was off again. Plus, it was also kind of boring having to fill out the reports. It left Star feeling tired after all the excitement of her travels had finally worn off.

Slipping out of one of the passageways, she took off, flying up above Canterlot. As she got closer to home, she moved to avoid the pegasi and other bat ponies that were flying about.

Far from the castle and upper-class mansions were the more economic neighborhoods. In one such neighborhood stood the apartment building that was Starry Skies's destination. Smiling at the sight of the familiar building, she shifted to slowly bank around to the mountain facing side. Several other bat ponies flew past her, night guards heading to the castle to start their own shifts. Not far from her, she could see a pegasus in gold armor heading toward the better lit side of the same building. That was what most of her neighbors were: guards that had yet to start families and chose not to stay in the barracks.

Landing on the balcony, Star headed for the door and made her way inside.

"I'm home!" she called out as she stepped inside. Shutting the door behind her, she made her way toward her room. There was no reason to turn the lights on, Star knew her apartment so well she could easily make it through without light or echolocation. Besides, she just wanted to go to bed and get some sleep. Everything else could wait until morning.

Curling up under the blankets and letting the familiarity flow over her, Starry Skies drifted off to sleep.

Starry Skies was just a filly, excited over her first day of school. So much so, that she could barely sit still as she ate breakfast.

"Slow down," said her mother, a unicorn. "Don't want you to make a mess and end up having to clean it up before school."

"Speaking of," her father -- also a unicorn -- interjected, "we should get going if you don't want to be late."

With a squeal of excitement and flap of her wings, Star shot out of her chair -- knocking it over in the process -- and ran for the door. Throwing it open, Star jumped outside.

Hitting the ground, she charged on as fast as she could along the campus walkway. The filly was so excited. She was going to school. She was going to meet a lot of new ponies, learn all sorts of neat stuff, maybe even be like her sister.

There was a loud thud and a burst of pain as she slammed into something. Rainbow colored liquid leaked from her nose as she blinked back the pain, looking at the glowing blue barrier now in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" a stallion asked, standing behind the barrier with his horn glowing.

"Going to school," Star answered. "It's my first day and--"

"You are not going here." The stallion motioned to the building behind him. "This is 'Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.' The fact you don't fit into the second category alone is enough to keep you from coming here. In other words: no horn, no entry."

He then slammed the doors shut in Starry Skies's face.

Star sat in her room, when she saw some of the neighbor ponies playing around. Grinning (and a fang missing), she threw open her window and launched herself outside.

"Hey, guys," she called out as she glided down toward them. "Can I play too?"

As she landed, the ground gave way beneath her, causing Starry Skies to sink deep into dark water. There was no way to see, and every part of her body was quickly going numb. There was no way of knowing which way was up or down, even if she could move. Heavy chains were clamped to the base of her wings, massive weights attached to the other end, dragging her further and further down. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she tried to breathe. She kicked and struggled, trying to flap, to swim, to do anything. But it only seemed to make her sink faster.

A white light came into view. It grew larger and larger, moving toward her. Eyes wide, Star reached for it.

Massive teeth appeared from behind the light, opening wide as the lantern fish swam toward her. Star kicked with greater urgency, trying to get away, but it was no use.

The jaws shut around her.

Starry Skies stood on a stage, head high and wings spread wide while clad in night guard armor. Around her neck rested a gold medal presented to her by Princess Celestia for Star's courage and valor in protecting Equestria. Before her stood a crowd of ponies, looking at her with awe and clapping their hooves.

Everything suddenly turned dark. Not in the sense that Star was suddenly knocked unconscious, but like something was suddenly blocking out the sun.

Turning to look up, Starry Skies saw a silhouette that looked like a giant alicorn. The figure grew larger and larger until stopping, looking twice as tall as the castle. It held its head wide while it spread its own wings further, blacking out more of the city. As it did, whispers started among the crowd, slowly growing louder.

"Who is she?"

"Why are we here?"

"I don't see what's so special about her. Especially since..."

Before long, the crowd had disappeared, leaving Star standing alone on the stage.

It then turned darker. Star moved to look up and around, trying to find the cause.

Not far from the giant alicorn silhouette now stood the castle from The Crystal Empire. Behind it, The Crystal Heart floated in the air, glowing brightly. Light glittered through the crystalline structure, but none of it made it all the way through.

Star froze, growing tense. The back of her neck prickled.

She was being watched. Some other presence was in her dream.

Starry Skies opened her eyes, wide awake. Closing them, she let out a growl of frustration, punching the pillow. When she had realized that she was dreaming, she had wanted to take control of it, not wake up. That way she could find out what it was that had made her feel like she was being spied on. Star knew it was possible to control a dream once aware of it. She had done it before, but with the presence of either Princess Luna or Princess Nightmare Moon. The few times she had tried on her own, it had ended up just like this.

Although, she was not entirely upset. Truth be told, she was grateful to be away from those dreams. It was odd, she had not had any like those in years.

With a sigh and quick glance at the clock, Star tossed the blankets aside and got up. She did not feel like going back to sleep. There was an all night diner not far from the place. She could go there and grab a bite, maybe some coffee as well. Then she could start going through the mail that had accumulated while out, see if there was anything of interest.

Heading back to her balcony, Starry Skies took off and flew into the pre-dawn sky.

Comments

[Darthvalgaav]

Princess Nightmare Moon?