My Little Pony: Dark Star

by WestRail642fan

Chapter #5: The Call of Adventure

Chapter Five.
The Call of Adventure.

Nighttime fell upon Maretime Bay, the once busy streets were now abandoned as the townsfolk had all gone home for the day. This left Pipp and David alone by the waterfront.

"Thank you for giving me a tour of this town." David smiled, arms resting on the railing as he looked out to the water as the moon began to rise.

"No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed your personalised Princess Pipp Petals tour of Maretime Bay." Pipp giggled, the cool evening breeze blowing through her feathers. She yawned, "It's getting pretty late, I best be getting you to Mane Melody." She smiled warmly.

"Pipp, can I ask you something?" He asked as he followed her towards Mane Melody, placing his hands into his coat pockets.

"Sure thing, what do you want to ask?" She looked up at him, the breeze blowing through her mane.

"Where could I get some fuel?" He replied, looking down at her.

"Fuel?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"For my car. Its tank is pretty low." He continued.

"Hmm, the only place I know where you might get some is Canterlogic, but it's closed for the night, why?" She came to a halt, tugging at his arm.

"Because, you said magic is back, and as Sunny said, the Crystal Empire disappeared when the magic did. So I was thinking that with the magic back, the Empire might have come back too." He knelt at her eye level.

"You're leaving already?" Her ears fell flat against her head as she sat down.

"Well, I at least have a chance to go home, and I want to use that chance." He cupped her ear, gently stroking it, "And even if it didn't return, at least I did try."

"That makes sense I suppose. But you'll have to wait until morning." Pipp sighed, "I'll ask Phyllis first thing tomorrow about the fuel, but I can't promise anything, ok?" She added, rising to her hooves and stepping towards Mane Melody.

"Ok then." David shrugged as Pipp opened the door that led to the upstairs apartment.

She followed him up the stairs, "It's not much, but it should be cosy enough for the time being, at least until we can get a bed big enough for you." She gestured to the pile of pillows on the floor.

"It's fine Pipp, thank you." He patted her head as he took his shoes off and flopped down on the pillow pile, "You know, you're welcome to join me." He smiled.

"W-what?" She stuttered, face turning a shade of red.

"Joining me when I go to the Crystal Empire." He added, placing his arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling.

"You want me to join you? Why not Sunny?" Pipp flustered.

"Sunny's ok I suppose, but she seems more interested in asking me about Equestria's past than anything. Besides, you're the only pony I've met here that seems to respect me, no offence to your friends and your sister." David continued as Pipp trotted over to the door, a smile filling her face. She let out a second yawn.

"Ok ya big lug. I'll be here tomorrow bright and early. Night." She cooed, slowly closing the door.

"Night..." David replied, still looking up at the ceiling as the sound of Pipp's hoofsteps faded away.

---

David lay awake, still staring up at the ceiling, he looked over at the small clock Pipp had left him.

"2 am... Really?" He said to himself, pushing himself off of the floor. "This can't wait until morning..." His voice echoed through the empty room, "If I'm going to get home, I need that fuel now. I might need a trailer though, I don't even know how far away this town is from the Empire." He thought to himself as he got his shoes on.

He grabbed his phone off the floor, walked over to the door and descended the stairs. He threw open the outside door, unknowingly setting off the alarm. David pulled the sheeting off of the car, opened the door and climbed. He turned the ignition, and the car roared to life. Dashboard instruments flickered on as he slowly drove the car out of the alleyway and down the waterfront. "Canterlogic, here I come." He spoke to himself as the car crept along.

---

The buzzing of her phone awoke Pipp from her slumber. Letting out a yawn as she pulled off her sleeping mask, "Wha..." Sleepily, she grabbed her phone and looked at the screen, "The Mane Melody alarm's been set off?!" She thought to herself as the app loaded, her eyes widened as camera footage from the alleyway showed the door left open, banging in the wind.

Pipp shot out of bed and flew down the stairs at rapid speed, "David, what are you doing?" She asked herself as she raced out of the Brighthouse.

---

David sat at the bottom of the hill that led up to Canterlogic. The car's engine sat idle as he went over the plan in his head.

"So, I crash through the gates, make my way to the backlot, find a fuel trailer and the fuel, load up the tank and the trailer and then get out of there." His hands held tense on the steering wheel, "Should be simple enough." He chuckled nervously. "Here goes nothing." Shifting gears, the engine revved twice.

As if an invisible starting gun was fired, David slammed his foot on the peddle. The car screeched as its tyres gained traction, David lurched back as the vehicle quickly picked up speed. The engine roared like a tiger as it sped up the hill, briefly leaving the ground as it crested the slope, slamming through the gates. Alarms blared as David sped past the main factory building, looking for the loading docks.

"What the?!" The security shouted as the car raced past the security booth. The stallion grabbed his radio, "Perimeter breach!" He screamed into the device.

"Bingo!" David shouted, the headlights illuminating a small fuel trailer park on the far side of the backlot. Pulling on the handbrake, the car skidded around, its rear end now facing the front of the trailer. David threw the car into reverse, backing up to the trailer. He quickly hopped out of the vehicle, coupling the trailer to the trailer Hitch. "Bioethanol. It'll have to do." He spoke to himself as he read the sign on the side of the trailer. As he turned to jump back into the car, David noticed a chain running from the trailer to a wall, "Shit..." He groaned as he heard the sounds of ponies getting closer. "No time." He added, jumping back into the car.

---

Pipp flew towards Mane Melody, the piercing screech of the alarm assaulting her ears as she landed by the open door. She quickly shut off the alarm and ran up the stairs. Pipp threw the lights on, her worst fear was proven right.

"He's gone after the fuel!" She shouted, flying down the stairs and out onto the street, she turned towards Canterlogic.

---

David threw the car into forward gear, it lurched forward as the chain was pulled tight. Smoke billowed from the tyres as the car yanked on the chain attached to the trailer. With a sudden jerk, the chain snapped. Whipping around like a snake, the chain shattered the rear window as the car pulled away from the backlot, trailer in tow.

Outside the factory, the guards were radioing for more reinforcements. Pipp, standing on the corner at the bottom of the hill, took out her phone and tried to call her friends but to her avail, there was no connection inside the factory. Pipp shouted in frustration. "UGH!" Pipp said as she threw the phone down in a fit of rage.

---

Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Brighthouse. Sunny, Izzy and Zipp were all fast asleep in their respective beds. Zipp tossed and turned but she could not sleep. "Ugh..." She said as she got up from her bed and gently glided to the balcony of the Brighthouse to not wake Izzy and Sunny. Zipp took out her phone. The time on her phone showed, "2:34 am." She grumbled, resting her chin on the guard railing, ears resting flat against her head.

"Can't sleep either huh?" Zipp turned around to see Misty standing behind her.

"Yeah, guess you can say that." She said as Misty walked to the balcony and admired the stars.

"But that's not why you're here, right..?" Misty said as she looked at Zipp. Zipp sighed before looking at her.

"My younger sister is always taking risks and always ignoring my advice. As an older sis I always want her to be safe but she's always ignoring it and always doing dangerous things on her own. After what happened to our father. I'm not letting that happen to her." Zipp sighed as she looked into the night skies.

"If you don't mind me asking what happened to your dad?" Misty asked. "Well it started as a simple cough but it got worse over time and a few months later he was so sick he can't even get out of bed, my mom was worried and pleaded with the royal doctors for them to do something but they said there was nothing that could be done, soon enough our dad passed away and we held a state funeral for him. After that my mom became queen." Zipp said as she tried to hold back her tears because she missed her dad so much.

Misty placed a hoof on her. "I'm sorry for what happened to him, I'm sure he's in a better place and watching over you and his wife." Misty said.

"Yeah, a part of me likes to think he's up there, smiling down on me & Pipp. She was really young when he passed..." Misty then hugged Zipp.

"You know he's watching down from heaven making sure you, Pipp and his beautiful Haven are well and safe." Misty said as she hugged Zipp. "You know I never met my parents, the only parent I know is Opaline….." Misty said.

"How… Did you end up with Opaline, if you don't mind me asking?" Zipp looked over at Misty, the wind gently blowing through her mane.

"She found me… When I was a filly, it was a freezing cold rainy night so she took me to her palace and gave me a room. She cared for me for all these years. I just never knew why she went down a dark path for power so much…" Misty said. "She was like a mother to me. I just dislike the fact she went down a dark path. I think something corrupted her heart because she kept saying stuff to herself, and I found that extremely weird but I kept it to myself."

"If Sunny's history books are anything to go by, it seems that most alicorns were always lusting after power, like Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow-" Zipp counted the list on her feathers.

"Chrysalis wasn't an Alicorn, neither was Cozy Glow for that matter." Misty interrupted.

"Oh, what makes you say that?" Zipp looked at misty in confusion.

"Opaline told me the history of Equestria when I was a filly, it was the only thing that would help me get to sleep, especially when it was stormy outside. And she told me that despite what she looked like, Chrysalis wasn't an Alicorn, and Cozy Glow only briefly became an Alicorn due to the power of this bewitching bell." Misty said.

"Hmm... my research did not say that " Zipp said as she took out her book from under her wings and briefly examined the pages.

Zipp then asked misty. "Also, do you know what Opaline was talking about?" She asked. "Umm... no I don't, I'm afraid it was always stuff relating to ancient Equestria." Misty said, "Opaline never really talks about old Equestria, and even if she does, only to tell me that she was once a Unicorn from some ancient Empire."

"Huh, that's weird because that was over a thousand years ago and I am generally confused about how she lived for so long if she was a unicorn." Zipp said as she flipped through her book.

"Being an Alicorn… It allowed her to live so long. It's a perk of the job, or as she told me, more of a curse. Because she outlived all of her friends and all that grief built up in her." Misty said. "I would definitely be angry and sad at the same time," She added. "Speaking of which... Do you know somepony called Shooting Star? Because I saw a painting of her in one of the disused rooms" Misty asked Zipp.

"Not much, if I'm honest. There are some records of a mare by that name existing in the Zephyr Heights archives. The records are incomplete, but they suggest she was the firstborn of Empress Cadenza Mi Amore of the Crystal Empire… When magic disappeared, she did too..." Zipp said. "Wait, Mi Amore, why does that name ring a bell?" Zipp rubbed her chin perplexed, she flipped through her book, landing on the page about the known Princesses of Equestria.

"Of course! She was the first Empress of the Crystal Empire, loved by her subjects!" Zipp said as she flipped through the pages. "How did I miss that ??" She said again.

"Oh yeah!" Misty's face lit up, "Even Opaline spoke highly of her on the few times she came up when she would tell me about this shadowy unicorn called Sombra!"

"Wait, Sombra as in Emperor Sombra??? He ruled the Crystal Empire for a long time before getting banished by Celestia and Luna but not before putting a spell on the empire causing it to vanish for a long time." Zipp said. "This is amazing stuff! I know more about the ancient Crystal Empire now!" Zipp said as she took out a pen and wrote down notes.

Zipp let out a slight yawn. "Well, imma head to bed now it's like 3 in the morning goodnight, Misty." The white pegasus said before silently gliding back to her bed and falling asleep.

"Goodnight to you too Zipp" Misty said, turning back towards the vast ocean. Her eyes drifted upwards towards the full moon, "So this is what freedom is like?" She mussed to herself, the wind blowing through her cornrowed mane.

---

Pipp flapped her wings as first as she could, "Wow, this hill is a lot bigger than it looks." She groaned, out of breath and panting heavily. She shut her eyes as something bright began to hit her, "What in the world is-?" She asked herself as shouting could be heard.

"Is that? Pipp?" David asked himself as the pink pegasus became visible in the headlights as the car now rattled down the hill. He slammed down on the horn, turning the wheel to the left in order to avoid hitting Pipp. In what felt like time slowing down, the pair locked eyes with each other as the car narrowly passed Pipp.

David looked back to the road just in time to see the sharp corner, slamming on the brakes, the car's rear end kicked out from under it. The car drifted around the corner sharply, the trailer nearly tipping over as the vehicle came to a screeching hold. Smoke filled the air as thick tyre marks stained the road.

"David! What are you doing!! I told you this place is off-limits! I can't be here you know this is like trespassing! I'll be in trouble if you don't stop!" Pipp said.

Pipp then flew over him in an effort to talk David out of this. "David please stop! This is too dangerous. You knew that area was off-limits! And you just stole something worth a lot of money. If the guard catches you, hell, if they even catch me talking to you, it's the jail for both of us!" Unfortunately for Pipp, the guards saw her and David talking to each other.

"Hey, looks like they're working together?" One guard said. "Yea looks like it!" Another guard said.

"Don't move!" The guard shouted, Pipp turned towards them like a deer in headlights. David slammed his foot down on the throttle, speeding off down the road. One of the guards tackled Pipp to the ground, pulling out a pair of cuffs.

"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING I'M A PRINCESS!" Pipp shouted.

"Sorry, but your royal title only exists in Zephyr Heights. Here you're a normal civilian." Another guard said, aiming a weapon at her.

"Help me!" Pipp screamed, trying her best to wriggle free from the guard's hold on her, her eyes focused on the tail lights of David's car as they got smaller.

End of Chapter Five.

Author's Note:

From this point forward, chapters are being assisted by CPL of the manechat discord server

Comments

[MatTheBook]

"So, I crash through the gates, make my way to the back lot, find a fuel trailer and the fuel, load up the tank and the trailer and then get out of there." His hands held tense on the steering wheel, "Should be simple enough." He chuckled nervously. "Here goes nothing." Shifting gears, the engine revved twice.

So you'll abandon them like that without a goodbye?

wow

[Lucien Arindel Domingo]

That was incredibly stupid of him. All in can say is plead temporary emotional insanity.