Her Eyes Reflect The Stars

by Lynwood

Adaptation

Author's Note:

My deepest apologies for the unannounced hiatus. This blog link has a little more info if you're curious as to why.

The Rarity clung to me for a while after she finished crying. I wasn't sure what to do, so I let her. After a quarter of an hour she finally leaned away and lit her horn, levitating the Journal up off the floor, still clutching the maneband to her chest. Without a word, she began to read the blank pages. She stayed planted next to me, and I had nowhere more important to be, so I stayed put.

"This is remarkable," she said after a while. "I have no memory of this, but I can see my own writing here. I've held this book before..."

"Or a version of it," I said, my voice gravelly. "I don't know how it works exactly, but I think the Journals can talk to one another somehow."

"Yes, somehow," she said, absentmindedly. A few pages turn. "I can only see a few of my own, erm, entries, I suppose, in here. Four, as a matter of fact." She frowns. "And... this page is blank."

The Rarity flipped through the rest of the book. "The rest of the Journal is blank." Her shoulders sink, and she leans her head against my foreleg. "Goodness," she muttered, "I hope we don't need to fill this before we sort this out."

"Um." I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "What are the entries about?"

She sniffed. "Our experiences. It says here that Applejack once woke up in the southern desert. She helped some ponies defend their home from those horrid Children, and they showed her how the crystals that grow out of them can hold power." The pages of the book flipped themselves back. "And it says here that Fluttershy was once told of a crippled machine that spoke like a pony, but she was too afraid to try and find it." Her voice shook, threatening more tears. "It's just— bits and pieces. We're nowhere near discovering the reason for it all, let alone being able to fix this horrible mess."

"Well," I said, "one hoof in front of the other, right?"

The Rarity looked up at me with a small smile and wiped at her eyes. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

I nodded.

"You know," she said with one last sniffle, "that machine was rumored to be near here." Her voice gained some strength. "Perhaps... perhaps there's something to be learned from it."

"Well," I said as I stood, "looks like you have a destination." I held out a hoof to her, and she took it.

"It is reassuring to see that gentlestallions aren't gone from Equestria just yet," the Rarity said with a little smile.

I smiled back. "Not yet, at any rate."

She stared at me for a moment before wrapping her hooves around my neck. "Thank you, Spearhead. All this is happening so fast, but I can't afford to waste my time." She gave me a squeeze before stepping back. "It's hard to be alone. I wish that my friends were here dearly."

I began to lead the Rarity out of the town hall. "Well, your friends may not be here, but you've got the next best thing." I pointed at the journal as I pushed the hall's door open, leading her out into the street. All around, ponies worked to keep their home safe. "And Miss Rarity, you're far from alone. You've got us, and we're all ready to help you in any way we can."