Star Chaser: Terrestrial

by Direct Current

[1] Fate by Firefly

The smallest, unrelated things can have the biggest impacts. A dog’s bark taking someone’s attention away, leaving them unaware of a large, dangerous thing careening towards them at a faster-than-survivable speed. A single drop of water in a circuit that shorts it, starting a fire that consumes a whole home.

Or a firefly.

Star Chaser mindlessly flew towards their home in the dark of night. The desert plains that they flew over were home to only a few sparsely placed buildings whose residents had retired at an earlier, more reasonable hour leaving only the glow of a gibbous moon to light their long flight to Cloudsdale from the coast of the South Luna Ocean. Star rarely shifted their focus on these regular flights, opting to concentrate on getting home as quickly as possible to avoid becoming too tired to fly. In contrast, they were a naturally inquisitive pony who found enjoyment from the little things in life, however a day job foal flight instruction followed by a second job of teaching night-time flight basics left the pegasus deflated who only wanted to find the enjoyment of a comfy cloud bed.

But then they saw a firefly.

A small flicker floated passed Star, forcing them to stop and turn to follow it. The insect’s glow led their eyes to the south before disappearing, forcing them to focus on what was behind the bug; in the distance floated a massive storm-cloud that loomed over the landscape. Within the cloud, flashes of light shined as streaks of electricity leapt from cloud to cloud gradienting from a shadow to a heavenly glow. Star was tired, but they floated to the ground to sit and watch the phenomenon in awe.

The lightning-bug left.