Starlight

by PurpleFire135

Chapter Six

Starlight woke up to a warm, fluffy smell coming from the downstairs of the cottage. She sat up in the guest bedroom Fluttershy had given her and gave another sniff. Alongside the unidentifiable floury smell was a thicker, rich sweet one. Her mouth was watering as she slid out of bed and hit the ground running. She opened the door and was about to run down the stairs when she hit a blue feathery mass.

“Seriously, do you just run into every pony all the time? Or is it just me?” Rainbow said, a little irritable. She yawned. “It is just too darn early to be awake.”

Starlight tilted her head, thinking. “But it’s nine in the morning!”

“Like I said, too early.” Rainbow yawned again and began working her way downstairs. “The only reason I’m even up is Fluttershy happens to make fantastic breakfasts…and coffee. I need coffee.” Rainbow continued down the stairs and Starlight followed her, eager to discover the source of the delicious aroma.

They found Fluttershy in her kitchen, along with a host of animals who were clustered around her on the floor as she dealt out food to all of them. Rainbow sat down next to Angel, who was in a chair rather than the floor. Starlight pulled herself up on another seat and looked expectantly at Fluttershy who smiled.

“I thought I heard you two up. Good thing too, since I made breakfast! Who wants pancakes?” Starlight looked at the fluffy pads Fluttershy placed in front of her. They were the floury smell she had gotten out of bed for. She dug in eagerly.

“Wow! These are fantastic! I’ve never had pancakes before!” She smiled hugely at Fluttershy who was putting down pancakes for herself and Rainbow. Rainbow grumbled a thank you and immediately began eating. Starlight looked at her odd.

“Oh, don’t mind Rainbow. She is definitely not a morning pony.” Fluttershy said, seeing Starlight’s look, and then putting a mug of coffee down for Rainbow who eyed it happily.

“So, are we staying here long Rainbow? I like it here!” Starlight said, helping herself to a third and fourth pancake. Rainbow shrugged.

“Don’t know yet. If it’s fine with Fluttershy, I guess. Maybe another day or two to figure out where we are going.”

Starlight nodded and went back to her breakfast. She pulled her pancakes across the plate wishing she had just a little bit more syrup. There was a small thud next to her plate and she looked up to find the syrup sitting on the table, where before it had been on the counter. It had moved to the table by itself, Starlight knew neither Rainbow nor Fluttershy had gotten up. She realized with a start that she had moved the syrup. With her magic.

She looked up at Rainbow and Fluttershy; they hadn’t noticed the syrup bottle moving. On an impulse, Starlight bit her lip and focused on the bottle, trying to get it to pour syrup on her plate. It took a second, but then the syrup bottle levitated and poured just the right amount on to her plate. She was surprised, her magic continued to flow so much easier than it ever had before. She looked up triumphantly, to see both Fluttershy and Rainbow staring at her with wide eyes. She panicked and the dark purple glow around the bottle vanished, dropping the bottle onto her plate with a clang. She was covered in syrup.

Rainbow had watched in awe as Starlight had levitated the bottle. Even though she knew next to nothing about unicorn magic, she knew that was impressive for a filly Starlight’s age.

“I’m so sorry!” Starlight gasped and felt tears prick the sides of her eyes. She was so embarrassed and ashamed. She should have never used magic. Even if she knew that it was fine for her to do so, it still felt wrong.

Fluttershy leaned forward to help, but Rainbow was already there with a napkin.

“Hey Starlight, it’s okay, we’ll get you cleaned up and it will be fine. It’s just a spill and Fluttershy doesn’t care; trust me the animals make way bigger messes than you did.” Rainbow smiled, in what she hoped was a reassuring way. Starlight burst into full on tears.

“Woah, woah! Hold onto the waterworks! It’s fine!” Rainbow tried to wipe Starlight’s cheek with her napkin, but Starlight pushed her away.

“It’s not the mess!” Starlight said and raced from the kitchen. Rainbow heard her go into the bathroom and slam the door.

“What was that about?” She asked Fluttershy. She was out of her depth here. While Rainbow wasn’t too bad with kids, she just didn’t know what to do to make Starlight feel better.

“Give her a minute to wash up and then go talk to her.” Fluttershy responded helpfully. “I think this has less to do with making a mess than it has to do with her magic. Put yourself in her hooves for a second. Imagine growing up in a place where you and your talents are not only shunned, but openly forbidden. I think she may be conflicted about using magic.” Once again, Fluttershy proved herself to be the element of Kindness as she instantly understood the situation.

Rainbow sighed and looked up the stairs.
---

Starlight stared into the mirror. She put the washcloth she had found up to her face and wiped some more syrup off. She snuffled and sighed. She should have never gone with Rainbow that night. She should have stayed in her hideout and not bothered any pony. Because of her, both she and Rainbow were on the run, and had disturbed poor Fluttershy’s peaceful house. She just felt awful. She felt so guilty for spilling the syrup and making a mess of Fluttershy’s kitchen and her home. It was so nice of her to let them stay with her, even at risk to herself.

All of that wouldn’t have bothered Starlight so terribly if she hadn’t gone and used magic and mussed things up even further. She felt personally responsible for all the bad things that had happened, especially to Rainbow, ever since she had landed on her that day. Then, on top of it all, she had made things even worse by using magic. Don’t you know better than to use magic? A small voice in her head chided her.

It’s wrong and unnatural. You can’t change being a unicorn, but you can make darn sure to never use magic! It is one thing you can control! No pony is ever going to like you or accept you if you do things like that! The voice continued. She looked in the mirror, her light purple eyes focusing on the horn on her head. But…Rainbow didn’t mind my magic! She even told me she didn’t care and that my magic saved us yesterday! She fought back against the little voice of doubt.

Come on! Some pony who doesn’t hate magic? That can’t happen. Rainbow is lying. She hates your magic and so does Fluttershy! Did you see the way they looked at you at breakfast?! Like you were some kind of freak! Starlight burst into tears again. She just didn’t know what to do. Her thoughts continued to spiral out of control and she sat down on the bathroom floor, just crying.

“Starlight, its okay. Really. I know you aren’t just upset over the mess at breakfast. Can you come out here and just talk to me? I promise we can work it out.” Rainbow’s voice reached her from the other side of the door. She looked up and stared at the wood angrily.

“No! I’m not coming out! Not now, not ever!” She yelled and turned her back to the door.

“You have to come out sometime. Seriously, we can work out whatever has you so upset.” Rainbow said, trying to be understanding.

“I said no! I’m not ever coming out! I don’t want to come out and have my magic ruin anything else! Just leave me here.” Starlight flopped down on the bathmat.

Rainbow tried to combat her rising frustration. This was so hard. She wasn’t very good at being sympathetic. She believed that any problem could be solved by picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and moving on. This was no exception.“You’re overreacting, Starlight. Your magic hasn’t ruined anything! So you spilled some syrup? So what?”

“It’s not about the syrup!!” Starlight screamed in frustration. “It’s about the fact that I mess stuff up for every pony else because I’m a unicorn! I can’t control my magic very well; I put any pony I come close to in danger! You’re on the run because of me, and now we’ve involved poor Fluttershy! Just leave me here! I’m not coming out!”

“So you’re just going to stay in Fluttershy’s bathroom for the rest of your life?” Rainbow asked exasperatedly.

“Well…” Starlight hadn’t really thought of that. Rainbow continued with the logical approach and said,

“Besides, I would have been on the run anyway. Fluttershy doesn’t care. In fact I think she likes having other ponies around. She gets lonely out here, you know. Can you just come out so I can talk to you face to face? You can always go back into the bathroom if you decide to.”

Starlight sighed. She walked over to the door and opened it to fit Rainbow sitting right outside. She sniffed and looked and Rainbow hesitantly, then lowered her face to stare at the floor. Rainbow looked at her at first with reproach, but when she saw the utterly sad expression on Starlight’s face she sighed, scooted closer to her, and put a wing around her.

“It’s okay.” She said, her frustration melting away.

“I just feel bad. Like I mess everything up for every pony else. It’s hard to control my magic and lately it’s been harder and harder not to use it. Ever since I stopped our fall, its been right there below the surface. I’m sorry. I’ll try harder now…”

“You just don’t get it do you?" Rainbow said softly. "As much as you may not want to be, you are a unicorn. You’re magic is a part of you, a very important part. You can’t help wanting to use it, just like I can’t help wanting to fly. And you have a very potent magical talent. A unicorn your age shouldn’t be able to do the things you’ve done in the past few days, but you have. I have a feeling your magic is a big part of your destiny and that is something you shouldn’t ignore. No matter what every pony else says. It’s totally uncool to change because some pony else says you should. Just be who you are.”

“But I don’t know who I am! I’m not even supposed to exist! Unicorns were supposed to have disappeared completely a long time ago! I didn’t think it mattered that I was a unicorn, because, up until a few days ago, my magic wasn’t strong. It was very weak! I could barely light a candle before and now I can levitate objects. I always knew I was a unicorn, but it didn’t matter because I didn’t and couldn’t use magic; but now everything is different!”

“Huh. I didn’t know that you just discovered your magic that day…” Rainbow was about to go on, but she was interrupted by a voice from the stairway.

“Not that I am an expert on unicorn magic by any means, but magical talent can be triggered by a traumatic, or at least startling event.” Fluttershy came up the rest of the way. Rainbow looked at her for a second and then nodded.

“You’re right! That’s how both Rarity and Twilight got their cutie marks and discovered what their magic was good for! It was because of my Sonic Rainboom!” She exclaimed, more to herself than any pony else.

“Wait, wait, wait. I didn’t ‘discover’ my magic! It just got stronger... Is that the same thing? And who are these ponies you’re talking about? Whose Rarity and Twilight? Are they unicorns too?” Starlight asked, confused. She felt very out of the loop of conversation. Rainbow stiffened at her questions and shook her head. Fluttershy stepped up and sat down next to Starlight.

“I think its can just be the start of a magical talent. Again, I don’t know much about this, I am a pegasus after all…”

“Oh, okay. I understand. I guess that kinda makes sense.” Starlight saw her point, but there was still one thing that was bothering her.

“So who are Twilight and Rarity?”

Rainbow huffed angrily and then exhaled slowly. “They were two of our best friends; and yes, they were unicorns.”

“Were? What happened to them?” Starlight asked, not even thinking. Then she realized. “Oh.” She said softly.

“Yeah. That’s why we don’t care that you’re a unicorn or that you use magic. You know, Starlight, I fought for the unicorn side in the Uprising. I would never abandon my friends when they needed me,” Rainbow paused and looked down at her, “and now, you are one of my friends. No matter what, I will side with you I will protect you and I think every part of you, from your purple coat, to your horn, and your magic is just about as cool as any pony I have ever met. So as long as I’m around you don’t need to worry, about any of this…stuff…that has made you upset this morning.”

Starlight had never had a friend. Ever. She looked up at Rainbow and couldn’t even believe what she was hearing. Rainbow’s loyalty was amazing and she found it hard to comprehend that she had been deemed worthy of that loyalty. Rainbow smiled a small half smile and stood up.

“Now, I never got any pancakes, can we get some pancakes?”

“I’ll just go heat them back up!” Fluttershy said and went down to the kitchen. As Rainbow was about to follow her, Starlight stopped her.

“Thanks.” She said, hugging Rainbow, “for everything.” Rainbow smiled and hugged her back.

“Are you two coming? I have the pancakes ready! You know, if you don’t mind…” Fluttershy called from downstairs. Rainbow laughed and they came into the kitchen.

Starlight pulled herself back up into her seat, which thankfully had been cleaned off while she was in the bathroom. She dug eagerly into her fifth pancake. As she chewed, something occurred to her, something she was rather curious about.

“So you really had unicorn friends?” She asked to both of the ponies sitting at the table. Fluttershy looked at her, a little bit of sadness in her eyes; Rainbow stared down her plate like she was going to attack it. “Never mind, its okay if you don’t want to talk about it…” Starlight backtracked and went back to eating.

“No, its okay. Well, yes we did.” Fluttershy said softly. She looked at Starlight for a moment and then continued. “Back in the day there were six of us. Two earth ponies, two pegasi,” She gestured to herself and Rainbow, “And two unicorns.”

“What were they like? What were their talents? What were their magics like?” Starlight couldn’t help herself, she was just so curious. She had never heard about other unicorns. She really had no idea what they would have been like. Fluttershy thought for a moment.

“Well, there was Rarity. She was, well, she was… the best word I can think of is fabulous. She was a fashion diva; she actually owned her own boutique and was on the road to the elite of Canterlot. Her magic dealt with that, her special talent was finding the beauty in things. She was a very generous friend too, Dash do you remember when she made all six of us gala gowns? Twice?”

Rainbow looked up and a small smile came across her face. “Yeah. We should have just listened to her. Do you remember how bad our fashion sense was? That fashion show was so embarrassing and we thought we were just awesome!” Rainbow laughed.

“Of course!” Fluttershy was laughing now too.

“And Twilight? What was she like?” Starlight asked.

“Twilight…” Fluttershy began, but Rainbow cut her off.

“Twilight Sparkle." She said a little thoughtfully, "She was actually a lot like you, Starlight. She loved books and knowledge. Her magic was really unique and powerful because her special talent was magic. She also was a bit of a control freak, which I am glad you aren’t.”

“Well that all worked out eventually.” Fluttershy added. They both fell silent suddenly.

“You miss them, don’t you?” Starlight asked, looking at the two ponies that sat in front of her.

“Every day.” Rainbow said. “I would do anything to have them back. All of us, back together. If I could have one thing in the whole world it would be that” Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

"But its no use dwelling over the past because its over and nothing can be done to bring them back. We have to look to the future and focus on the present."

Comments

[Jagged Fox]

Wasn't the best chapter?! If it wasn't, then it was sure as hell close! Sorry, I enjoy plot, and I LOVE the way the story is going. And yeah, it's really sad about what happened to the mane six. I don't know whether they are even actually dead or not, but I don't really care. As far as I can tell, Starfire is the next element of magic, and there may be others to fill the stations necessary to defeat the Uprising and bring back the unicorns! Well, however it goes, I love this story!

[PurpleFire135]

2222251 Oh gosh, Thanks! I'm glad you are liking it so much!!!

[Black Wolf]

Okay, so I've reached this chapter and found that this was all that was up so far...I was kinda sad that there's going to be a wait for the next update, but that's just a sign that the story's good! I'm glad to see this story up, and it's kinda weird that it hasn't gotten more views. The tales of a unicorn in a world of earth ponies and pegasi should appease almost any reader, especially with your writing. Keep it up!!

[PurpleFire135]

2273315 Thank you so much! I am so glad you are enjoying it! And don't worry! I will be updating soon! I already have big plans for the next few chapters and can't wait to share them with all of you!

[Swirls]

Wait a second...
Celestia and Woona can move the sun and the moon! WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM PURPLE?!