My Little Pony: Dark Star

by WestRail642fan

Chapter #12: Make Camp

Chapter Twelve.
Make Camp.

"David..." Pipp yawned, "Please talk to me..." She added as the car was pulled over on the edge of a forest.

"Good night Pipp." He spoke deadpanned, stepping out of the car. The sound of grasshoppers filled his ears as Pipp also stepped out of the car.

"Night I guess..." She sighed, slowly trotting over to her trailer and stepping inside.

David sat down on the hood of the car, gazing up at the inky black sky filled with dozens of stars.

---

"What? Why are we stopping?" Zipp asked as Sprout brought the Sprouticus to a stop at the side of the dirt trail.

"Well, because unlike you. I need to sleep." Sprout smirked smugly as he shut off the engine.

"But we need to find Pipp!" Zipp shouted, shaking Sprout.

"Look! I am the only one who knows how to drive this. And I am not driving tired!" Sprout pointed to the sky outside, "Plus, it's dangerous to drive at night, especially in uncharted territory."

"Sprout's right, it's already night. We have been travelling since 10 am." Sunny spoke up. "I say we set up camp for the night." She added, tiredly removing her bag from around her neck.

"What?? It's already 9pm??" Zipp said as she checked her watch on her hoof.

"I'm in favour of it. My hoofs could use a rest." Hitch grumbled, rubbing his sore hooves.

"Same here, my hoofs are tired too," Izzy groaned, rubbing her throbbing hooves

"How can your hooves be tired? All you've done is sit down all day." Zipp looked angrily at her friends

"The road is super bumpy, for one thing, Zipp." Zoom injected herself into the conversation, "It's night and even if we use our flashlights, it's unsafe to know what lurks in this forest." She added.

"Zoom's right," Hitch added. "We should hunker down for the night and continue tomorrow morning when the sun is up, continuing in the morning is better and safer."

"Besides." Sprout rubbed his eyes, "Even if I were to teach one of you how to drive, it'll have to be in the morning, I am simply too tired to teach." The red stallion yawned loudly.

---

Soon enough, a small fire was blazing. Sunny, Zipp, Izzy, Dazzle and Thunder all sat around the orange light whilst Opaline, Hitch and Zoom went to gather more firewood.

"Sheesh, Sprout sure is a lightweight." Zipp spoke, looking over at the red stallion who was snoring loudly in the open doorway of the Sprouticus.

"Yea and one heavy snorer." Thunder added, holding out his hooves towards the warm flames.

"Tell me about it." Izzy smiled, gently rocking a sleeping Sparky.

"Izzy, you're a total natural with kids, remind me to hire you as a babysitter if I ever have my own foals." Sunny giggled, yawning slightly.

"Well, it comes naturally with the job." Izzy looked down, "Guys, I have a confession to make, so far only Hitch knows." Izzy leaned forwards.

"Don't tell me." Sunny rubbed her head, looking like she was mind-reading, "You're pregnant."

"What? No." Izzy responded, gently rubbing her belly, "No foals in here." The unicorn smiled slightly, "At least, not yet." She winked.

"Eww, gross. I don't want to hear about your love life." Zipp covered her ears.

"Pffft. Zipp, you were never the type that's interested in love." Thunder laughed loudly. Everyone chuckled as Zipp's cheeks turned bright pink.

"Hey, don't make me tell them about that one night." Zipp raised her hoof.

"Ok ok, I'll stop." Thunder fell silent quickly.

"Anyway." Izzy tilted her head, "The reason I'm so good with foals, is because I have my own back in Bridlewood, I hope to introduce you all to her once we're done with this rescue mission." Izzy smiled proudly.

"Wait?!" Zipp flustered, she would have spat out her drink if she had one, "You're a mom?" She added.

"Yep." Izzy nodded, "Why do you think I always spend the weekends in Bridlewood?" Izzy pulled out her phone from her be-dazzled saddle bag, turning it towards Sunny as a picture of Izzy and a filly loaded on the screen, "See that filly next to me? That's my daughter." Izzy smiled as she pointed at a filly sitting in between her legs.

"Aww..." Sunny, Dazzle and Thunder said in unison, "How come you never mentioned her?" Sunny asked, looking back up at the pony, who was perhaps her best friend in the whole world.

"You simply never asked me." Izzy grinned while shrugging, " Her name is Lil Annie." She added, gently placing the phone in Sunny's hoof.

Zipp raised her eyebrow, deep in thought, "Izzy, how could you have a daughter? You're a year younger than both me and Sunny."

Izzy blushed a little "How I had a daughter is a little… Complicated heh." She chuckled a little, eyes shifting from left to right.

"Why? Were you taken advantage of by a stallion?!" Zipp leaned closer.

"What? No." Izzy shook her head, "Nothing like that, me and Bongo Beats were just idiotic teens and we got drunk and well..." The unicorn rubbed the back of her head, "9 months later, Lil Annie entered the world."

Thunder looked closer at the photo as Sunny passed the phone to him, he frowned a little, "Not to be rude or anything, but what's wrong with her coat?"

"She has vitiligo, and no, you're not being rude by asking." Izzy gave the pegasus stallion a reassuring smile.

"Vitiligo?" Thunder asked. "I've never heard about that, is it something to do with the genres? I mean, I'm no science guy, so I have no idea what that is." He added.

"It's a genetic disorder, a very rare one at that." Sunny answered, Izzy simply nodded.

"It's something I wouldn't change." Izzy declared proudly, looking down at Sparky.

"So, where is she right now?" Dazzled asked, flapping her wings against the flames.

"She's staying with my mom, only until I save up the bits to afford to buy my own house in Maretime..." Izzy paused and looked down.

"Izzy?" Sunny cocked her head, "What's wrong?" The orange pony asked.

"While I enjoy living with you all at the Brighthouse, it's a bit too cramped for me and Lil Annie..." Izzy dully spoke, avoiding eye contact with Sunny.

"You know..."Zipp pointed at Izzy, "There is more than enough space for you both in the Brighthouse."

"But you said there was no room just a few days ago when the human showed up." Izzy looked confused.

"I lied..." Zipp tapped her hooves nervously, "I just didn't like the idea of this stranger living with us so soon, plus, he's a boy, you know how smelly boys can be right?"

"Wow, rude." Thunder said bluntly, crossing his hooves. He felt so insulted right now.

"Oh, didn't mean you, Thunder..." Zipp rubbed the back of her head, "I'm sure you smell nice." Both she and Thunder blushed, avoiding eye contact with each other.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"So..." Sunny broke the tension, "Zipp, if you don't mind me asking. Could you perhaps tell us about your father?"

"Not really much to tell honestly." Zipp bit the inside of her cheek, this was still a rather sore subject for her, "He was a guard, my mom was a princess, 9 months later and boom, yours truly was born."

"Come on Zipp, there's gotta be more to it than that." Izzy nudged the white pegasus.

"It's a rather... Sore subject for me, that's all. But, if you insist, I can always tell you about how he and my mom met?" Zipp shrugged.

"OH OH! Lemme grab some snacks." Izzy smiled as she opened her bags and grabbed a few packets of popcorn and passed one to Dazzle, Thunder, Sunny and herself "Hehe story time!!!" She added excitedly.

Zipp rolled her eyes in amusement, "Well, it all started 25 years ago, on a night just like-"

"You're not telling a ghost story." Izzy butted in.

"Yes, right. Sorry." Zipp rubbed her face in embarrassment, "Force of habit." She coughed, "Well, it all started 25 years ago. My father, Zephyr Blitz, was a royal guard, fresh out of training, and my mother was a princess at the time." She paused to take a sip of water from her flask, "My grandfather, the formidable King Ezekiel, assigned my father to be my mother's personal guard for a mission that would take them beyond our city."

"What was the mission?" Thunder asked, finally managing to open his bag of popcorn, with help from Izzy.

"Well, rumour had it that there was another pegasus city. My grandfather had originally intended to go himself, but due to an emergency within the city, my mother went in his stead."

"Another city?" Dazzle asked, tilting her head, "Then what happened?"

"They never found the city, because, along the way, these bandits showed up trying to steal mom's jewellery. But my father fought them all off, at great risk to his own life!" Zipp simulated a sword fight in front of the group.

"What happened to the bandits? Were they killed or captured?" Dazzle asked as she chomped on her popcorn.

"They were scared off at the sight of a royal guard so they never bothered to show up again." Zipp said as she took another sip of her flask, "But... Not before getting a lucky hit with a spear. Dad... Got it right in the shoulder. But not once in the fight, did he stop." She fluttered her wings proudly.

"Then what happened?" Sunny asked this time.

"After the bandits fled, my mom attended to his shoulder wound. From what she told me he took it pretty good, deep wound but she got him patched up." Zipp rubbed her shoulder as if she felt the pain, "It was whilst she was tending to his wound, they fell in love." Zipp's face then turned a slightly pinkish red, "It was here, I assume they... well..." Zipp tapped her hooves.

"Did the nasty?" Sunny added.

"Totally fucked each other's brains out?" Izzy loudly spoke, getting looks from everyone, "What?"

"Mated..." Dazzle corrected the two, "We Pegasi use the term mating or mated when discussing such... things..."

"Yeah..." Zipp rubbed her forelegs together.

"Either way, it sounds like a classic love story." Dazzle smiled, "Surprised your mom never had this all put into a book. I'd imagine it would sell like hotcakes." She added, taking a mouthful of water from her own flask.

"Your grandfather must have been super pissed when he found out, right?" Thunder spoke out

"Very much so." Zipp frowned, "From the old letters I've seen when I used to sneak into my mother's room. She and my father were planning on running away together after she found out she was pregnant with me." Zipp gulped, "When my grandfather found out, he wanted my dad's head on a pike. My mother, despite being nearly 7 months into her pregnancy, still beat my grandfather to the barracks, she wanted my father more than anything. Grandfather caught her helping my father pack his things."

"T-then what?" The four other ponies asked in unison.

"It was after seeing how much my father made my mother happy, did grandfather relent, he gave them his blessing to wed. After that, the rest is history."

"Whaaa? surely there has to be more right ??" Izzy asked, biting her lips. "TELL US MOREEEE!" Izzy said excitedly, shaking Zipp around like a doll.

"Actually, that's all I know Izzy, I don't know much besides the letters and from what they themselves told me and Pipp when we were younger." Zipp scratched her head.

"FOR THE LAST TIME! STOP RIPPING UP ENTIRE TREES!" Hitch's voice shouted from the trees.

"Well, Hitch's evening is eventful." Izzy giggled.

"Hey, you wanted firewood, I gave you firewood." Opaline's voice echoed back in reply.

"He didn't mean the entire trunk idiot!" Zoom shouted back, Thunder, Sunny, Izzy, Zipp and Dazzle couldn't contain their laughter.

"What? A trunk of wood is better than a few branches ya know?" Opaline spoke, her voice getting closer to camp.

"Yes, we know, but it almost fell on my head!" Hitch spoke sternly.

"Hmpf, maybe next time you should stand clear before I chop a branch down with magic." Opaline said unamused.

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN CHOMPING THEM! YOU'RE TEARING THEM OUT OF THE GROUND, ROOTS AND ALL!" Hitch protested.

"What do you expect? I'm an alicorn you little-" Opaline mumbled.

The 5 ponies at the campfire chuckled as the trio reemerged from the treeline, Hitch and Zoom's manes filled with twigs and leaves. Opaline meanwhile was carrying a large pile of wood on her spread wings.

Hitch flopped down next to Izzy's sleeping back, "I am never gathering firewood with those two, ever again." He whizzed, Izzy let out a giggle and kissed his forehead. Sunny, Zipp and Dazzle all giggled at the pair as Hitch blushed.

"My my, someone's in love." Dazzle giggled. "At some point in the future I might do a report on two special lovebirds" She giggled.

"Heh yeah..." Hitch blushed hard.

"It's ok Hitchy." She smiled, using her magic to remove the leaves and twigs from his mane.

"Sit still." Opaline ordered as she pulled twigs and leaves from Zoom's mane with her magic whilst dropping the pile of wood near the campfire.

"Ouch, it hurts." Zoom whined like a child.

"Well, maybe if you weren't wriggling around like a worm, I'd be able to remove all the twigs." Opaline groaned, thinking perhaps she was the only sane one on this trip. "There, done." The alicorn added, throwing the last twig into the crackling fire.

"So... How was the wood gathering?" Sunny asked Opaline directly.

End of Chapter Twelve.