Stars in the Sky

by Book_Wyrm

Despair and Hope

Chapter 12

Starry leapt from her chair. “Your son has gone missing? Where? When?”

“Just a few minutes ago.” The mare coughed. “He was being bullied, like he sometimes is by the other colts, and he ran off into the forest, northways. I tried to follow him, but I ran into... something. Something big. I knew I had to find someone who can brave the forest. The deep forest.” Starry remembered it coming up in conversation that villagers often entered the deeper forest, but never farther than a mile from the village.

Starry grabbed her saddlebags. “Mystic, Shadow, come with me,” she called. Mystic responded quickly, grabbing her bag and leaping up with a practiced ease.

Shadow rose more slowly, grabbing his stuff with his deep maroon magic. “Where are we going?” He looked at her inquisitively.

“Well, we’ve gotta find him, don’t we?” Starry looked at him expectantly.

“I guess.” He came to her side, trotting to catch up as the two mares took off down the street. As they galloped, Starry looked up, igniting her horn for a few moments. Turning down the street, they galloped straight towards the northern edge of the village. The cobblestones were hard under her hooves. Under the light of the crescent moon, the houses blended together.

Finally, they reached the tree line. Shadow and Mystic hesitated for a moment. The forest loomed overhead. The dark canopy blocked out any moonlight, throwing the woods into pitch blackness, so pitch black that Starry could barely see her hoof if she waved it in front of her muzzle.

Shadow steeped under the trees. He blended in, becoming nearly invisible. “Do you have any idea which way that colt took off?”

Starry lit her horn, keeping it bright enough to see by but too dim to attract too much unsought attention. “Remember that tracking spell?” She formed the spell, casting it while thinking of a small lost colt and a desperate mother. A trail of blue footprints hopped along the ground, leading deep into the woods. “I can only hold this up for so long,” she told them, “And it will prevent me from doing any complicated magic. The most I’ll manage is levitation.” Mystic nodded along with her speech.

“Oh, so its near-overload working then,” Mystic commented, “the magical recoil would break the spell.”

“And you would know that because you’re so very university educated,” Shadow muttered.

“I know that because I spent nearly half a decade trying to research precognition magic,” Mystic retorted, “and that is known for having a low distraction tolerance, being extremely near overload if not all the way over the line, and having a massive magical recoil sometimes knocking a pony out.”

“And why would you research that?” Shadow asked.

“Because it’s a very interesting and little studied field,” the green unicorn replied, “There is so little known about it, because so few have that gift. And it's not a magic a pony can learn, you’re either born with in or you’re not.”

“Of course.” Shadow grumbled. Starry listened to the bickering while keeping her eyes focused on the trail in front of her. Her magic lit the imposing trees on either side. The village was out of sight now, but they still trotted through the outer forest. Monsters did not lurk in such numbers in the outmost rings, and the many dangerous flora of the Everfree were less in number.

“Shhh...” Starry said suddenly. Both Mystic and Shadow stopped short behind her. Starry pointed her hoof. In front of them was a cave. Great snores could be heard from the inside. The blue hoofmarks could be seen going around the cave, the prints going through a small cut in a patch of blue flowers.

“Crap”, a voice whispered in Starry’s mind. She smiled.

“Oh Mystic,” her gaze never left the cave. “It’s good to have you back in here. I’ve missed this.”

“We’ve gotta avoid waking whatever’s in there up,” Mystic’s voice sounded a little worried.

“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead.” Starry whispered her answer out loud, so Shadow could here. Horseshoes off, Starry began to quietly make her way around the cave. That was the easy, soundless part. Much harder was treading the small path while not touching a single flower. Each step was carefully taken. Her eyes always watched in front of her. Shadow muttered a curse as he tripped, his hoof stopping just above the plants.

Starry sighed with relief as she stepped out of the Poison Joke. Mystic and Shadow soon followed. The trail continued, its northward line stretching onwards. The ponies followed it in silence.

“I know we haven't done this in a long time.” Mystic mind-spoke into Starry’’s mind. “But this feels right.”

“It really does,” Starry sent her response back with a feeling. The feeling of warm sunshine. That was kind of what having Mystic back in her mind felt like. Those years together had left an imprint on them both. It was comforting, always having another to talk to. Communication was as quick as a thought, and sensations and emotions could truly be shared. It was not the same, after she and Mystic had separated.

Starry’s thoughts, and her conversation, were interrupted. “Uhh, guys,” Shadow’s voice came from where he had ducked into a shadow. Starry looked up. In front of them was a large manticore. She frowned. It growled in return.

Starry dodged quickly as the manticore charged. Mystic leapt out of the way as well. Not able to let go of her tracking spell for fear of losing it permanently, Starry could not use her explosive magic. Using the one magic she could, Starry reached her magic under her cloak. Shadow gasped as she pulled something out. Two knives were held in her magical grasp, their wickedly sharp twin blades glinting almost copper in the magic light.

As the manticore swiped at her, Starry swiped back. Mystic drew her own sword and charged in. Manticores were magic resistant, so she knew that her spells would be of little help. In the ensuing battle, Shadow stayed in the darkness. He had no combat experience, and no weapon to assist them.

Starry weaved in and out. She came in from one side, while Mystic attacked from the other. Dodging, twisting and slashing, the two mares were blurs as they moved and reacted. Warnings flashed between them as quickly as a thought. They drew blood with nearly every attack. Soon, the red liquid was splashed through the forest.

Hacking, Starry cut through the Manticore’s stinger. With a great roar, it lashed out, smashing Mystic away from in front of it before turning and galloping off.

Starry looked at the stinger, lying in a bloody puddle on the ground. “It’ll grow back, and then that manticore will continue on with its life,” She told a shell-shocked Shadow. Then she looked over to where Mystic was lying against a tree.

“Shit, she muttered as she galloped over, ignoring the blood coming off a cut on her cheek. Mystic was groaning, blood pouring out of a wound on her chest.

“That looks bad,” Shadow whispered as he came over. Blood was pouring from the deep wound. The manticore had cut through her skin and most of her muscle.

Starry went digging into her bag. “I know absolutely no healing magic. My power isn’t compatible. But I do have this which Wave Dancer gave to me.” She brought out a healing potion and poured it down Mystic’s throat. She then pulled out a roll of bandages and began to wrap the unicorn’s chest. After that was done, she and Shadow sat for a few moments of terse silence.

Mystic opened her eyes, coughed, then winced. “I got hit bad, didn’t I?” She said, her voice quiet.

“Sure did.” Starry replied. “If you’re okay, we need to get going.”

“I’m as good as I can be, with a hole in my chest.” Mystic smiled weakly. “It's not as bad as its been. Remember that one time in Las Pegasus.”

“I told you cheating was a bad idea.” Starry grinned back, “Now we probably need to carry you, so...”.

Lifting her friend onto her back, Starry continued onwards. They followed the trail carefully. Starry could feel the night growing older, even as they walked beneath the tree cover. The moon would be at its zenith.

They walked until they came to a moonlit glade. Starry stopped for a moment, lowering Mystic onto the ground. She attempted to catch her breath. Carrying another pony was hard. Especially while also trying to hold up a complex magical spell. They were running out of time before the magic ran out.

That was when Starry and Shadow noticed green eyes glowing in the bush in front of them. Starry scanned around. Surrounding the glade were green eyes, peering from the shadows.

“Timberwolves!” Shadow gulped.

“Escaped from goblins to be caught by wolves,” Starry muttered under her breath.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“Oh, just an old saying.” She watched as the first timberwolf lumbered out of the shadows, its wooden teeth gnashing together. The others followed, until the entire ring of beasts was closing in on them. One leapt, and Shadow blasted it instinctively with his magic breaking power. The timberwolf shattered into pieces, the magic holding it together dispelled by his power. Meanwhile, Starry felt her own magic begin to fizzle.

“I need to go!” she shouted.”

“I’ll hold them.” Shadow Shot another spell at the next timberwolf. Starry galloped off, dodging between two timberwolves. One tried to give chase, but Shadow blasted it. Turning in a circle, he kept the creatures at bay while Starry slipped off into the trees.

Galloping along the fading trail, Starry kept her magic burning. Nearly two hours of holding the spell was draining her of her magic, and quickly. Each step, she worried it might end.

Starry felt her magic drop, the spell tearing away from her. The blue hoofprints began to fade. Starry kept following the barely visible marks. As the last one faded, she found herself in a little glade, much like the one she had left her friends in. Great trees ringed the clearing, and inside sat a little colt.

“W-who are you?” He asked.

“I’m Starry, and I’m here to help you.” She replied walking over to him.

“You can’t help me,” he cried, “Nopony can. I just want to die! All the time, they call me a weirdo. A freak.” He pointed to his back. Two little nubs stuck out. Wings that had never grown fully. She also noticed his eyes. One was green, one was blue. “I just want it to end.”

“Never say you want to die,” Starry told him. “Do you know the name of the star up there?”

“Estel, right?

“Do you know why she’s called that?”

“No.”

Starry smiled softly. “Estel was a pegasus mare, nearly six thousand years ago. She faced many issues as a filly. Depressed, bullied for being, well, against her societal norms. She stopped being able to stand it.”

“What happened,

“Well, one night, she flew from her home, and, landing on a cloud, prepared to take her life with a knife.” She had the colt’s attention now. Starry continued. “But Estel looked up, and she saw the stars. They whispered down to her. The stars, they told Estel to stop. To not throw her life away. The stars led Estel down another path, one of helping other fillies and colts like her.”

“Really? "the colt said, “what happened to her?”

“Estel spent her life helping pegasi, and other creatures, with depression, bullying and the like. When she died, she rose to the stars. That’s where they go, the world’s hope bringers. Once, there were no stars. But when some creatures began to spread hope, they appeared. And now, those that give their lives to bring hope to others, they rise, become stars themselves, watching over those below. So, young one, look up now. Think of Estel, all the hope, everyone out there facing this with you. and know that you are not alone. Think of all the stars in the sky." She held him, speaking softly.

He looked up at her, seeing the tears in her eyes, as she repeated the last lines, "All the stars in the sky."

Author's Note:

This chapter is dedicated to my friends, and everyone, who is suffering with bullying and depression. My heart goes out to you. Be strong

It is also by far the longest chapter to date. I hope you enjoyed it.
PS. Can anyone guess what Starry Spark's magic is. And what her flaming star cutie mark represents?

Comments

[WARGAMES]

...
Shes estel aint she

[WARGAMES]

also lotr referencex2

[Book_Wyrm]

9389961
Hah, you’re close. But no.

[Book_Wyrm]

9389962
Don’t worry, there won’t be any two tree destroying, self devouring monsters anytime soon. Probably.

An obsession must be appeased. There will be many more small references.