Starbeam Prism was a loyal night guard, who'd do anything for Princess Luna. But it may be her loyalty that costs her everything she had ever known and loved. Travel back in time before Nightmare Moon's banishing, to see another side of the story.
Starbeam Prism was a unicorn who long ago served as a night guard for the Castle of the Two Sisters. She was one of Princess Luna's closest friends at the time, and would have done anything for her. As Luna grew more depressed, Starbeam would try to comfort her as much as possible, but had little effect. Meanwhile, Star was also facing her own inner demons from haunting memories and troubling events. Having few ponies to turn to for help, her world began to slowly crumble, until the fateful night her companion and leader was banished to the moon. Take the journey to ancient Equestria, and discover the path one long-forgotten unicorn chose to take.
The sun began to set over Everfree. A blue mare could be seen overlooking the horizon, awaiting her time to raise the moon. Down in the courtyard, the night guards took their places; ready for whatever came lurking out of the darkness of the forest. Two of them, however, weren't following routine like the rest.
"I bet you couldn't sneak into the kitchen and take a piece of Celestia's birthday cake!" One of them challenged.
"Oh, really? Well I bet you couldn't eat the whole thing without getting caught!" The other one jeered.
"Yeah, well, um... I bet you couldn't-"
"I bet neither of you will ever become full-time night guards is you continue to not pay attention to the task at hoof." A grey unicorn guard stood before them, glaring disapprovingly.
"Uhh... hey, Starbeam. H-how's it going?" The first colt asked timidly.
She flared her nostrils. "It's going to be one of your last nights here at the castle if you don't stop gawking around like fools," she hissed at them. "I'd hate for your families back home to receive news that their sons wouldn't become one of the princesses' elite guards because they couldn't behave any better than a half-grown foal."
The two young stallions looked at each other nervously. "You... wouldn't really do that, would you Star?" The first one gulped.
"Yeah, we trained together in camp, remember?" The second one chimed in.
"What I remember is two slackers who always messed around and couldn't concentrate for one second even if their lives depended on it!" She took a deep breath, calming herself. "But to answer your question: no. I won't send you laggards crawling back home just yet... so long as you start behaving like grown stallions instead of immature colts. Now get to work!"
She began to trot back to her station, but then hesitated.
"One last thing... if I ever catch you two discussing anything that involves ruining one of the princesses' events or anything of the equivalent again, I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE IT WAS LIKE YOU TWO NEVER EXISTED HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" she huffed, then turned around, flicking her tail.
Starbeam seethed with anger as she strode past a line of guards, each of them saluting her as she passed. She didn't take notice that a tall, blue stallion had taken place beside her.
"You know, you didn't have to be so hard on them. They may have been fooling around, but they didn't cause any harm." he told her.
She blinked up at him. "They've been here long enough to know what's expected of them. If they'd actually focus for once, they would be of much higher ranking than they are now."
"True... but we can't all have the same devotion to our jobs as you." he said teasingly.
"It's not about being devoted to being a castle guard, it's about loyalty to the princesses. Everfree is dangerous, especially at night. One wrong move, and half the castle staff could be devoured or turned to stone or who knows what else."
"Relax. We have enough guards to keep everyone safe. Two less won't make any difference."
"If that's so, why are they even here?"
"Well, maybe they really do care about what they do, but they just get a little... sidetracked."
"Hmmf. That's one way to put it." she glowered.
"Lighten up. It's beautiful out here, you should enjoy it." He turned to the moon, which slowly began rising in the sky. It's beams cast everything into a silvery light.
Maybe Dusk Wind is right. Perhaps I am expecting too much of them. And it is lovely out... Erhhg! He knows me so well!
"Anyway, I need to go, you know, fulfill my duties." Dusk said.
"Right... okay then." Starbeam said awkwardly.
"I'll see you later." he said, walking away.
She clopped into the Firefly Garden - a place enclosed with special flowers that only bloomed during nightfall and glowed majestically in the dark. Starbeam didn't know what kind of flowers they were; she isn't a botanist after all. Yet she found them mesmerizingly beautiful, especially once the fireflies came out.
The lunar rays gleamed directly down the path, and it was like walking on starlight. It brought her to a circular grotto with even more flowers. A large stone fountain graced the center, water gurgling peacefully out of it. No guards were posted here, since it was unnecessary. The tranquil space was in the middle of the garden, in a place where many ponies didn't come. But Starbeam loved it more than any other place in Equestria.
A tall shadow momentarily blocked out the moon, and the graceful, blue mare swooped down next to Starbeam. She was greeted by a swarm of tiny, glowing bugs that encircled her and danced through the garden. The fireflies zipped to-and-fro, a few stopping to play in the mares' manes. The blue alicorn giggled.
"Such alluring creatures, aren't they?" she said, turning to Star.
"Indeed." Starbeam replied, bowing.
"It never ceases to amaze me how such small, delicate things could communicate and show such emotion through flickerings of light. I wish that everypony could see it."
"Someday they will, Luna." Star reassured her.
The princess looked mournfully at the ground. "It doesn't seem that way... sometimes I think nopony cares about my night at all. They live and play all throughout the daytime, basking in the sun and praising it for its creation and growth. And then, they just sleep and disregard the night. It's like they don't even need me."
The grey unicorn's eyes widened. "What? Of course they need you! You're important, and you know that I love the night. That I need you!"
Luna sighed. "Yes, I know. I just want somepony else to, too."
The two sat in silence, the breeze grazing their fur. They had been friends for a long time now, ever since Starbeam had passed her evaluation in training camp and started working as a part-time night guard for the castle. She had been young then; weary, and cautious, and made every effort to pass the next stage of her training. Eventually she'd worked her way up to becoming of high ranking, taking her job very seriously. Through all that time, her acquaintanceship with Princess Luna grew to become something better: friendship. Her relationship with Celestia, however, stayed moderately professional.
Luna smiled a little, and roughly nudged her shoulder against Starbeam's.
"You know, I'm really glad you're here, Starbeam Prism. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Starbeam looked up at her, smiling back. "I'm glad, too."
Starbeam stood tall and proud, Dusk Wind across from her. Horns trumpeted at the entrance of Princess Platinum and her father, who trotted prominently through the towering doors as Star opened them with her magic. Dusk Wind called out to the crowd, "ANNOUNCING THE ARRIVAL OF KING BULLION AND PRINCESS PLATINUM OF THE UNICORNS!"
Many turned their heads to gaze at their radiance, including the more prestigious guests, like Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Puddinghead. The hoity princess gracefully walked over to Princess Luna, greeting her in a sophisticated manner. the two had become friends the first time they made their acquaintanceship, although it took a small argument, a tumble down Luna's hidden castle tunnels, and an apology from Princess Platinum to do so. But it seemed it had been worth it in the end, since both were now content and agreeable with the other, especially at social gatherings.
Starbeam also took notice to Princess Celestia, who was engaging in a conversation with her and Luna's magical mentor, StarSwirl the Bearded. Starbeam herself mostly knew only basic or combat spells, which had been mandatory for her to learn in training as a guard. As she scoped the room, she wondered what it must be like for these ponies; always feeling secure knowing that somepony else was keeping you safe instead of having the constant task of making sure everypony else was.
Serving stallions pushed an enormous layered cake into the room. It was finely decorated with white and yellow frosting and tiny sun-shaped sugar pieces. At the top, there was a skillfully crafted sculpture of Celestia's cutiemark that reflected light across the room.
The attention was then focused onto Celestia, who was sung a harmonized birthday song by a choir standing from the balconies on each side of the room. it wasn't the usual run-of-the-mill song like the kind sung at a young filly's birthday party, but instead one that told of her beauty, reign, and the blessing of her raising the sun each morning. The musical feature was then proceeded by applause and cheering for Celestia and all her glory.
Many ponies then went up to the Sun Princess, thanking her, complimenting her, and a few asking if she would be able to attend their events in the near future. Even Princess Platinum had left Luna's side to converse with the older sister. The Moon Princess stood alone, nopony even really acknowledging that she was there. She appeared calm and collected, but Starbeam knew it was bothering her.
I've seen that look before. She must feel miserable... I wish there was something I could do, but I don't want to break from my position; it's my assignment to stand here and watch over everyone... but...
"Go ahead," a voice said to her, "I've got it covered."
She turned to see Dusk Wind behind her. He motioned for her to go over to the princess. Reluctantly, she did. Star never liked abandoning her duties, especially for frivolous things such as socializing. But she figured she would be doing more of a service to Princess Luna this way. The blue alicorn's expression brightened when seeing her friend coming over to chat with her.
"Good evening, Starbeam Prism." Luna said.
"My Princess." she replied, bowing.
"So, art thou enjoying this most stupendous of occasions?"
"I am simply here to make sure you are enjoying it, Princess. And... are you?" she queried.
Luna's mood suddenly soured a little, and she sighed unhappily. "To be honest," she began more quietly, dropping The Royal Canterlot Voice, "not really. I mean, I know this night is supposed to be about Celie and all... but no one seems to care that I'm here."
"But what about Platinum?"
She looked over to where the unicorn princess and Luna's sister were laughing together. "Well, yes, she came over a while ago to talk for a bit. But she seemed... disinterested. It's like I was boring her or something."
"Perhaps she had something else on her mind that she was worried about." Star said encouragingly.
Luna snorted. "Well she sure seemed to have forgotten about it now."
Starbeam decided to change the topic. Luna seemed a little better after a while, but still not completely satisfied.
A few hours later, the guests, guards, and Princesses all gathered outside to witness the setting of the moon and raising of the sun. The party had begun very early in the morning while still dark out so everypony could watch the transition of night to day up close. As Princess Luna soared towards the clouds first and used her magic to make the bright, full moon slowly descend behind the horizon, the crowd paid little attention and instead talked and gossiped. When Princess Celestia spread her wings to do her part, they all gasped in wonder and awe. The sunlight bathed Everfree, casting rainbows through the glass windows of the castle. Again, they cheered for her, smiling and stomping their hooves.
Luna trotted back inside with her head down, fighting back tears. Starbeam followed her several paces behind, unable to catch up with her once the sad, blue princess began running up to her quarters with liquid streaming down her face. She stopped pursuing her when she heard the slam of her bedroom door. Unsure of what to do, Starbeam stood there awkwardly while listening to the muffled sounds of sobbing. After a minute or two, she crept away, back to the grand hall.
The guests had began filing back inside, with no concern as to where the Lunar Princess had run off to. The candelabras had been put out, along with the spine-chilling dismembered hoof torches and ornamental lanterns. There was still a fair amount of food left, which a few ponies were munching on whilst a couple others said their farewells to one-another and began to leave. The servants tidied the used plates and silverware, and some of the night guards traded places with the day-time guards. Starbeam wouldn't mind her shift to be over herself, just so she could get some rest and forget this night for a while.
A little over a half-hour later, the last of the guests left, and the rest of the leftovers and decorations from the party were cleaned up. Celestia followed StarSwirl to the library to work on magic with him. Dusk Wind came up to Starbeam once more.
"Ready to hit the hay? It's been a long night, and I don't know about you, but I feel a lot more tired after being around these aristocrat ponies and their upper class 'preferences'." he said to her.
"Yeah, one of them freaked out on me for the punch not having all natural ingredients. She just couldn't get it through her skull that it wasn't my job to deal with it."
The two guards laughed together.
"I'd like to see one of them spend a day in a remote village without their fancy eclairs and butlers."
"A whole day? I doubt they could even last an hour." Star scoffed.
Dusk and Starbeam walked along the bridge across the chasm, teasing about the guests that attended and discussing the previous night. They came to the end of the bridge, where they were to depart.
Dusk Wind yawned. "S'pose I'd better get going. The more time I spend here, the less time I'll have until I have to come back."
"Yeah, okay. I feel you." Starbeam said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "See you later, then."
"Bye, Starbeam." The blue stallion took off into the sky, waving to her.
Starbeam Prism walked the rest of the way home alone, pondering everything that had happened that morning.
It was a warm, summer morning. The tall grass wistfully danced in the breeze, and dandelion fluff flew through the air. The faded echoes of young foals playing could be heard coming from the village down the hill.
"Wake up, little one. Wake up," a familiar voice said softly.
Starbeam moaned, snuggling closer to her mother's flank.
"Come on, now. You don't want to waste such a beautiful day sleeping, do you?"
The little, grey filly cracked her eyelids open, gradually getting used to the light. She peered upward to see the comforting smile of her mother facing her. She had always loved how her blue eyes matched the cloudless sky.
"Mommy?" Star squeaked, "Oh, Mommy, I've missed you so much! There was this castle in a dark forest, and a Princess, and-"
Her mother giggled. "It was only a dream, dear. We live in the meadow, remember? Like we always have. There's no castles or forests here."
The foal gazed at her surroundings, beginning to jog her memories. "Right. I, I don't know what I was thinking."
She knew exactly where she was. She was in her favourite spot with her favourite person in the world. She was home.
"Mommy, can you tell me a story?" Star asked.
"Of course, my little flower. Whatever you'd like."
"Tell me a story about Grandpa."
"Well... Grandpa was a daring traveler. He traveled everywhere, from far beyond Equestria, right to where our village stands now. He conquered many beasts only thought to be myths, and discovered treasures of absolute rarity. He explored caves, swamps, woods, and oceans. Mountains, and deserts, and jungles. He heard the call of adventure, and he answered it."
"But what about Grandpa's family? Didn't they miss him when he was away?" Star looked up at her mother with round, questioning eyes.
"Of course they did," she replied, smiling, "but he knew his destiny was elsewhere, and they wanted to support him as much as they could. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is let them go."
"Even if you really love them?"
"Especially if you love them."
"So... how did Grandpa meet Grandma if he was always exploring?"
"He couldn't always be out-and-about. Sometimes he needed a rest, either by setting up camp in the wilderness or stopping in small towns and villages. He met many ponies along the way, and became good friends with a few of them. So sometimes he would stay some extra days with them. I believe he'd been with Mercutio at the time, who was a sales pony. Mercutio introduced Grandpa to his younger sister, a very beautiful mare. The two of them grew fond of each other, very quickly."
"And then they got married and lived happily ever after like in my story books, right?" the filly asked excitedly.
"No, sweetheart. Grandpa felt he couldn't stay, that he needed to follow his heart where he thought it was urging him to go." Star's mother put a hoof on her daughter's tiny face to comfort her. "But they kept in touch. They sent letters back and forth, and thought of the other every day. Until eventually, Grandpa became lonely. He felt sad and hollow inside. He missed that pretty mare more than ever. The next morning, he woke up with a new feeling in his bones. He now knew he had a different path to tread, one that would take him back to where he'd already been. He took a longer route this time, collecting trinkets and special objects on his way. He finally came to his destination, going straight to Mercutio's house. He walked in to see his beloved, whom had waited so long for him-"
"And then they got married?" Starbeam cut in.
"No. Grandpa walked in to see his beloved, whom had waited so long for him that she had given up. She'd thought he was never returning again, and in the time he was gone, had gotten engaged to somepony else."
Starbeam gaped at her mother, no words able to come out at first. "Wh... b-but, he loved her! They were meant for each other! H-how?"
"Grandpa didn't know. She never mentioned anything about another stallion in her letters. So when he got there and saw them together, he burst out in disbelief and rage. Mercutio tried to calm him down, but Grandpa raced out of the house before he could even say anything. He never returned to that village again.
"Where did Grandpa go after?" Star was restless, now. She shuffled her hooves in the grass, impatient to know the end of the story.
"He went home. He trod the roads he'd first come down, and returned to the ponies who he thought could mend his broken heart. And they welcomed him with open hooves. He told his family all about the things he'd seen and the places he'd been, and gave them the trinkets he'd brought along with him. They were so glad to have him back home, and he was glad, too."
"But, you still didn't tell me how he met Grandma. If the pretty mare wasn't her, then who was she?" Star questioned irritably.
"Grandma was the daughter of a traveling trader. She went across the land selling and buying things of all sorts with her father until they came to where Grandpa and his family lived. Grandma decided to stay with Grandpa, and-"
"Then they got married?? Starbeam burst out.
"Yes, dear," her mother's reply made Star sigh with relief, "and almost a year later, they had a foal."
"Auntie Lemongrass!" Star said.
Starbeam's mother nodded.
"And then you, right?" Starbeam squealed eagerly.
"That's right, dear."
"And then you met Daddy, and had me!"
Star's mother laughed at her enthusiasm.
"That was a great story, Mommy."
"I'm glad you liked it, little flower," she said, standing up and shaking out her mane, "now, we should go make dinner. Everypony is probably getting hungry by now."
Starbeam quickly got up and followed her mother down the hill. They walked through the village, passing young foals kicking around a ball, and old ponies snoozing in the sun. Star's aunt was in the kitchen preparing the ingredients to make dinner. Together, they made a luscious, green salad with hay burgers and baked a lemon meringue pie for dessert.
Starbeam was so happy to be with her family that evening. She gazed at the ponies sitting around the table with her: her mother, Grandpa, Aunt Lemongrass, Lemon's husband, and her older cousins. She wished she could stay there forever. That one thought made her blink, puzzled.
Why am I sad? I'm not going anywhere, and neither are they. Everypony's having a good time. So why do I feel like something's wrong?
When they were finished eating, everypony went outside to play some games. Starbeam played tag and hide-and-seek with her cousins, while the adult ponies chatted and played poker. The foals laughed when Cream Bean tripped over her own hooves and went flying into Star, sending them both tumbling into the bushes. Starbeam found a great place to hide with Astral in hide-and-seek. It took Lightning ages to find them. He might have never found them if Cream, who'd already been found, hadn't pointed out Astral's tail which was poking out.
Star yawned as the sun set. Her mother nuzzled her with her muzzle.
"Come on, little flower. It's time for little fillies to get some rest." Star's mother said to her.
"But I'm not tired... I wanna stay up and see the fireflies..." Star mumbled.
"Don't worry, dear. The fireflies will still be there tomorrow night."
"But you said that last time..."
"Shhh..." her mother hushed her, guiding her into the house.
Her mother tucked her into bed, humming a relaxing melody Star remembered from her childhood. Again, she was confused; she was still only a filly...
"Mommy... can you promise me something?" she asked.
"Sure, darling. What is it?"
"Will you promise that you'll always be here with me? Forever?"
Her mother's smile softened. "I'm sorry, dear, but even I can't promise that."
Star frowned, sadly.
"But," her mother continued, "Even when I'm gone, there will always be somepony here for you."
Star looked into her mother's beautiful, blue eyes. She could see the whole night sky reflected through them, filling her with a sense of peace.
"Good night, my little flower."
"Good night, Mommy."
Starbeam drifted back into the same, dreamy unconsciousness she'd experienced earlier in the day. But this time, her dreams were strange and muddled. She couldn't quite make out what was going on in them, or who was there with her.
Starbeam woke with a start. The entire room was dark and lifeless. Not even the moon shone through the open window. Instead, just a bone-chilling wind blew in. She got out of bed, her little hooves clopping rather loudly on the floorboards. She slowly turned the handle of the door, and made her way out into the empty hallway. She passed her cousins' bedrooms, whose doors were wide open, but nopony was inside. She walked down the long row of bedrooms, but they were all the same as her cousins'. She trotted down the stairs, the railings seeming twisted and the steps bent and chipped in the dark. She knew they were in perfect condition when she walked up to bed, so her mind must have been playing tricks on her.
Passing through the kitchen, she began to feel uneasy. Star didn't know where anyone was, and everything in the room looked morbid and creepy. She assumed that perhaps everypony had gone outside, so that was where she went next. But everything out here was dead, too. Normally, there would be a street lamp lit or someone out for some reason in the middle of the night, but nothing stirred.
She jumped at the sound of an ear-piercing wail, which sent her running through the village towards the open field. Suddenly, the world spun around her, and everything was on fire. She coughed and gagged as smoke filled her nostrils and lungs, but she kept going. She made it to the bottom of the hill, where she could see the moon being revealed from beneath the cover of the clouds. It was a bright, unnatural blood red, and bathed the ground in an unholy light. The silhouette of a tall, dark unicorn appeared standing at the top of the hill, its eyes glowing, menacingly. The last thing Star heard was the horrified shriek of her mother calling out her name.
She awakened, shaking. Starbeam could still hear the sound of her mother's voice ringing in her ear. She found herself not in the village, but in her lonesome home in the Everfree Forest. Her body was ice-cold with fear, and her breathing came fast and shallow as if smoke still remained in the air.
She got up and peered through the window, and saw the sun had moved closer to the west. Taking a deep breath of air, she calmed her nerves, trying to shake off the beginningly sweet nightmare.
Starbeam walked over to her cabinet. Inside of it was a couple changes of clothes, some old letters, and a necklace embedded with a stone her grandfather had found on his expeditions. She remembered when her grandmother had given it to her; telling her he'd collected it so that one day, one of his young kin might have it and remember him. She placed the precious item around her neck. It was the only jewelry she owned, and she wore it every day under her uniform.
She then made herself a quick breakfast to give herself energy for the night, and put on her guard uniform. Walking back to the castle, she still couldn't overcome the dread she felt from her mother's last word, which played over and over again in her head for the rest of the night.
Starbeam arrived just on time. She couldn't forgive herself if she'd come late, it would be completely degrading. The awful vision from earlier in the day had purely disturbed her, making her lost in thought on her way to the castle and slowing her down. She headed off to her assigned post, but was taken aback when she saw somepony else in her spot. But there was something really strange about this pony. He had menacing slitted irises, long, oddly-shaped ears, and his wings were featherless and bat-like. His armor was different from the regular guards as well. She trotted up to the peculiar stallion to inform him that he was obviously mistaken.
"Ahem." she cleared her throat. He didn't even bother to take notice.
"A-hem!" she tried again.
He turned his head, eyeing her. "Can't you see I'm busy?" he told her gruffly.
"I'm well aware of that," she said, irked. "but I'm afraid you're busy doing your parole in my post. If you would kindly move-"
"Don't think so." he interrupted. "Perhaps you should go check with the station manager, I'm entirely certain this is my spot."
Her temper inflamed at his words. Nopony spoke to her this way! She was about to give the trespasser a piece of her mind.
"Hey, Star!"
She suddenly glanced up, her anger subsiding. Dusk Wind was standing across the courtyard, surrounded by a few other quite confused-looking guards. She briskly went over to them.
"Dusk Wind, what's going on? What's with these weird new ponies?" she questioned him.
"We're not sure, they were already here when we got here, and they refuse to move." he answered.
"One of them told me I was the one who should get lost. Honestly, the nerve these ponies have!" another guard spat.
A few more of them began complaining as well, none of them pleased with this development.
"Alright, quiet down!" Starbeam shouted over them. They all went silent at her command. "We should all just go see McTarnish and find out just what the hay is happening around here."
The band of disgruntled night guards followed Star and Dusk to McTarnish's office. Entering, Starbeam found the old guard officer seated at his desk.
"What would be the meaning of this, Leftenant?" he asked, seemingly aggravated by the number of ponies crowded in the space.
"Well, sir, we were wondering the same thing. There's these ponies outside, claiming to have the rights to our place of duty." Dusk Wind reported to him.
"Those would be the new recruits, Leftenant. You all have been given a new assignment."
"Which would be..."
"Your job is now to patrol sections of the Everfree Forest. You are to go in pairs around your allocated position and report back to me at the end of the night. Here's the list of pairings and stations." he passed a sheet of paper forward. "If you fail to report back, I'll assume you were either incapableof living up to the expectations, which will possibly result in losing your rank as a castle guard, or that you were eaten by some living nightmare in the forest." A few of the attentive guards were perturbed by his last statement, looking anxiously at each other.
"Once you've had a look where you're to be, group and disperse. You're dismissed." McTarnish finished, going back to his paperwork.
They began to file out of the office, but Starbeam wasn't satisfied with this turn of events. She slammed her front hooves on his desk, knocking over a cup of pens. He glared at her, accordingly.
"Is there a problem?" he growled.
"There most certainly is," Starbeam replied, exasperatedly. "how could we be demoted like this? We have the utmost merit to retain our places. We have worked here for years, earning our status, and now these 'new recuits' are just able to come in and take our places? That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard!"
"Look, Starbeam. I think we both know that when you say 'we', you mean you. I understand that you would be troubled by this, but this is the way it is." McTarnish said to her, calmly.
"But-"
"Hey, if you're really bothered by it, go talk to the princesses about it. I don't make the rules, I just enforce them."
Starbeam was about to scream at him some more, but quickly withdrew.
Talk to... Luna? She made this happen? But... why? Does she think we're not good enough to serve her? That I'm not enough?
She turned around, leaving without a word. Still shocked, she made her way through the castle corridors to where Princess Luna was studying magic with StarSwirl and Celestia. She saw StarSwirl exampling a new spell he had been working on, to which he got Princess Celestia to practice first. Star walked up behind Luna, who had only been half watching and listening out of boredom.
"Princess?"
The lunar princess turned, surprised. "Oh, hello, Starbeam Prism. What brings you here?"
"Well, I wanted to have a word with you about the new guard arrangements."
"Oh, certainly. Why don't we step outside for a moment?"
Sparks flew from Celestia's horn, then abruptly withered out.
"Guess I need more practice," the white alicorn told her mentor. She directed her attention to her sister, whom was just about to slip unnoticed out of the room. "Luna, aren't you going to try this spell?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, yes. In a minute. I need to speak with one of my guards for a moment." she walked away before giving her sister a chance to answer.
Out in the hallway, Luna sighed with relief from being excused from the uneventful learning session. "So, my friend, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Luna, how could you replace the courtyard staff with these new ones? We've all worked so hard and so long to be where we were, does that not mean anything to you? And how could you reposition us to Everfree? There are things out there that could potentially be too dangerous for groups of two ponies at a time, and not all the troupes are exactly competent in situations like this! Do you not care about our safety? Are we... am I... expendable?"
Starbeam's instant outburst left the princess staring at her, startled. But she then gave a tight smile, putting a hoof of reassurance on her friend's shoulder. "I know it may have been a bit unexpected, but even I wasn't fully aware of the change, either. You see, these new ponies are much more adept at seeing and maneuvering at night, and my sister and I agreed it would be more beneficial to have them at close range of the castle in case of imminent threat."
"But... what are they? They're the strangest-looking ponies I've ever seen!" Star said, still confused about the topic.
"They're Bat Ponies. They may seem different at first, but they have unique qualities nopony else here has. And they're not completely used to us yet, either." Luna explained.
"But why would you send us to patrol Everfree? Would the Bat Ponies not be more suitable for the job if they are so great at navigating in the dark? And what about my troupes? Just a few nights ago, I was telling a couple of them off for slacking off."
Luna looked away for a moment, not seeming to have a just answer. "You just have to trust my decisions, Starbeam Prism. And besides, I wouldn't send you out there if I didn't know you could do a good job."
A voice called from inside the library. "Luna, are you going to study with us anytime soon?"
"Coming, sister!" Luna called back. She turned back to Starbeam. She put her hoof under her discontented friend's chin, raising her head to look at her. "Do you trust me, Starbeam Prism?"
Star looked into the princess' cyan eyes, and replied, "With my life."
Luna smiled. "Good. Farewell, my friend, perhaps we will meet later, hm?"
"Sure." Star agreed.
Luna went back into the library, leaving Starbeam to stand alone with her thoughts.
She then remembered that she had been assigned a partner to work with, who by now was probably wondering where she was. Returning to the courtyard, she saw a nervous yellow pegasus shuffling her hooves in the dirt outside the office. Suddenly her new task seemed even more dislikable. The yellow pegasus perked up a little when spotting Starbeam. Star briefly went over the list of pairings.
Ugh... yep. She's the one.
"Oh, good, you're here. I was worried you weren't coming, and that I'd have to go into the forest by myself, but I guess now we can go together." The yellow pegasus was particularly cheery about the whole thing, very much unlike her partner.
Star held back a sharp retort, and instead put on an unconvincing, fake smile. "Yes... I just had some business I had to take care of."
"My name is-"
"Sheep Shimmer. Yeah, I know all my recruits." Starbeam told her.
"Oh wow, you actually know my name? That's so great! I mean, nopony ever really knows who I am. Usually they just don't talk to me..."
Celestia knows why that is...
"Yes, well, I'm-"
"Starbeam Prism! Oh everypony here knows who you are. Just the other day, Brass Sheath and Emerald Pierce were saying how you were the most bossy pony out of all the guards and that everypony else thinks so too and... oh, oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that..." she shuffled her hooves some more, kicking up the soil.
Star let out an irritated breath. "Right, well, we should probably get going."
"Oh, um, yeah, right."
As the two mares headed out into the wilderness, Starbeam's thoughts swirled in her brain.
Of all the ponies I could have possibly been put with, I had to get Sheep Shimmer. Sheep Shimmer! Honestly, that pony is afraid of her own shadow, not to mention also a total feather-head. I would have preferred Emerald Pierce over her.
For the first while, Sheep Shimmer continued to blather on about pointless things. Or at least, they were pointless in Starbeam's opinion. Plus, she never was really much of a conversationalist. As the trees became denser and it grew darker, Sheep Shimmer gradually quieted down, shaking with fright. Starbeam used her magic to light up the area, allowing them to see better. Rustling noises coming from the bushes made Shimmer squeak fretfully, and she hid behind Star. A large brown snake slithered out, not particularly caring much for the ponies. Starbeam rolled her eyes at the diffident pegasus that was using her as a hiding place.
"You can come out. It's just a snake." Star told her.
"A... snake?" she said squeamishly. "I hate snakes! They're so slimy and creepy and icky, and ooh! They give me the shivers just thinking about them!"
"They're not slimy, and besides, it's only the deadly ones that really matter."
Sheep Shimmer gulped. "You think there's any deadly snakes out here?"
"It wouldn't be surprising if there were. This place is infested with Cockatrices, Timber Wolves, and the likes, so it's not unlikely that there are."
Sheep Shimmer stood frozen, quaking in her shoes.
The rest of the night went on without any real problems, other than the fuss Shimmer made over every crackling leaf and gust of wind. When Starbeam returned to the castle to meet with Luna like they'd planned, she found she was unable to track the blue alicorn down. Tired from a long, grueling night, she decided to go home. She wouldn't have the company of Dusk Wind that morning since he'd left during her search for the princess.
She was so relieved to be able to finally flop down on her bed and fall asleep when she got home, grateful that night was over.
Shadows danced across the wooden planks of the flooring, though their movements were anything but delightful. A filly lay curled with her tail around her at the back of the room, shielding her from the disputing shouts outside her mostly ajar door.
"YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T DO THIS AGAIN! I TRUSTED YOU, WHEN I KNEW I SHOULDN'T! I GAVE YOU ANOTHER CHANCE, YET STILL, YOU CHOSE TO SNEAK OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND... AND I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHAT!"
"OH, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO GO AND BLOW EVERYTHING OUT OF PROPORTION, DON'T YOU?"
"BLOW IT OUT OF... UGH! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YOU WENT AND STABBED ME IN THE BACK AGAIN, CLEARLY NOT EVEN CARING ABOUT ME, OUR FAMILY, OR OUR CHILDREN!"
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I'M THE ONLY FATHER THEY HAVE, ALL THAT MATTERS TO THEM IS THAT I'M HERE!"
"THAT'S JUST IT, YOU'RE NOT HERE, YOU'RE NEVER HERE! AND WHEN YOU ARE, YOU BARELY EVEN BOTHER TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A-"
A pained scream could be heard, followed by an unsettling crash. The filly whimpered, tucking her tail closer.
"IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU'LL SHUT YOUR MOUTH, HAG."
The filly listened to the sound of the heavy footsteps fading and the creak of the front door being opened then slammed shut. Her mother's shadow was seen slumped over on the floor, the mare's flank rising up and down from her shallow gasps of breath. A second, older mare then joined her, kneeling down to tend to her.
"Oh, dear, are you alright?" the old mare asked.
"Y-yes, Mother. I'm okay." the wounded shadow replied.
"I knew that stallion was bad news right from the start. Come, child. Let's get you to bed."
"Thank you, mother."
The old mare slowly helped her daughter to her hooves, supporting her as best she could with her shoulder.
A light lime coloured pony trod into the filly's bedroom. She knelt next to the filly's bedside and stroked the top of her head with her hoof.
The filly sniffled. "Mommy and Daddy were fighting again."
The mare looked at her sadly. "I know, Sugar Blossom."
"Why? Don't they love each other?"
"Oh, of course they do. It's just, well... they've been having some troubles for a while."
"Troubles?"
"Yes... it's... it's a bit complicated to explain."
"Auntie Lemongrass, do you... do you think they're going to leave each other?" her tiny voice shook with grief.
"I don't know, Blossom..."
The filly reached forward, wrapping her little hooves around her Aunt's neck and buried her face under her chin. "I, I just want them to love each other again! To love me again!" Salty tears poured from her dark turquoise eyes, dripping down Lemon's fur.
"Starbeam, of course they love you. They'll always love you."
Lemongrass continued to stroke the heart broken unicorn's mane and hold her tightly.
Mommy...
Mommy...
Starbeam woke crying out for her mother. Tears stained her pillow and were smeared across her face. She sniffed, recalling her surroundings.
It was just a dream... nothing more.
She sat upright on her bed, wiping the remaining liquid from her eyes. Her woeful nightmare had caused her to wake up much earlier than the previous day, the sun was nowhere near ready to set. But she dared not slip into unconsciousness again, for fear that the awful images would play over once more in her mind. She decided to take the opportunity to have a decent breakfast. Often times she didn't get the chance because of the onslaw of nightmares trapping her in sleep and nearly making her late for her duties at the princesses' castle.
Putting on her grandfather's necklace and uniform armor, she left her home and went in search for a hearty meal. Star recalled seeing some different kinds of edible berries and plants over near the river when she first moved to Everfree. She always liked exploring new places, it made her feel like her grandfather was still with her. When she arrived, she found the place to be plentiful of herbs and fruit of all sorts. The river provided an abundant source of nourishment and mineral-rich soil for them to grow. It also made them extra tasty! Of course, it could never beat her grandmother's soup recipes. She made a mental note to try using some of the plants she found there for a broth or chowder sometime later on.
By the time she'd eaten her fill, the sun hung much closer to the west in the sky, a reminder to get on her way soon. In the courtyard, she met up with her unseemly partner. Shimmer once again was yammering on and on. It was like that pony didn't have an off switch. Star was half-relieved once they got deeper into the darker parts of Everfree, shutting up Sheep Shimmer. The other half of her was incredibly irritated by the pegasi's yelps and squeaks from every falling leaf or small gust of wind.
It was mostly quiet, which was rather odd for where they were. Today's patrol took place close to the path to where the zebras lived. Luna had told Starbeam about the strange striped "ponies" that lived together in a village in the tall grass lands on the other side of the forest. She hadn't actually met one before, but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to, either. Apparently they spoke in a different tongue and performed magic with potions and mixtures, unlike most unicorns who used their horns. But the princess also said they were friendly and generous as well, and found their uniqueness and traditions interesting. Star wasn't completely convinced at this, but she decided to just go along with the princess' word.
Later on, they crossed paths with a huge, growling creature; a Manitcore. Sheep Shimmer nearly fainted at first sight of him, but his presence didn't faze Starbeam in the least. Despite his humongous, sharp-clawed paws, fangs, and scorpion-like tail, she knew he wasn't anything but a soft baby kitten on the inside. After all, Melvin was a good friend of Princess Luna's. She introduced him to her several moons ago, and told her how he had helped her many times over. Melvin had become fond of Starbeam as well, but since she couldn't speak Manticore, it was difficult for them to communicate with each other without the princess to translate.
The winged beast recognized the grey unicorn right away, and was happy to see her. He told the two ponies how he was glad to have some company since neither of the royal sisters had come to visit lately, but Star couldn't understand anything he said. She explained to him that they were patrolling Everfree, hoping he was fluent in at least some pony tongue. He nodded, seeming to understand. Melvin followed them around for awhile, having not much else to do, making Shimmer more restless than ever.
A murky river blocked their path, though it was dotted with stepping stones to allow them to cross. Star skipped across easily, Melvin following right behind. Sheep Shimmer stood frozen on the other side, unwilling to move.
"Come on, Sheep Shimmer. We haven't got all night." Star called above the sloshing river waves.
"Oh, um, I dunno... you sure it's safe?" she replied hastily.
"You have wings, featherhead."
The yellow pegasi still refused to budge.
Starbeam sighed. "Okay, look. There's no way you're gonna fall in, and even if you somehow manage to, Melvin and I are right here. Now will you please just hurry up already?"
Shimmer thought for a moment, then, gulping, mustered up the courage to say, "Okay."
A bit clumsily, she hopped onto the first stone. She breathed out, glad to have made it there. Star rolled her eyes. Shimmer took another breath and hopped to the next one, and then the next. The fourth stone was kind of wet from the water splashing onto it, causing Shimmer's hooves to slide around. She gave a high-pitched, "EEP!" while trying to remain upright, her legs shaking. After regaining her balance, she leaped onto the next stone. Something was off.
I don't remember that stone being there when I first crossed...
Shimmer was about to move to the next stepping stone, when suddenly the abnormal one she was standing on began to quake beneath her. It flipped her into the air, sending her crashing down onto the rock she'd been aiming for. The head of a young cragadile popped up from under the waves, opening its jaws to snap them down onto Shimmer. More of them began to float towards the pegasi from upstream, their eyes gleaming in the darkness. Sheep Shimmer, frozen with fear, lay on the rock squealing with panic. The first cragadile loomed closer, preparing to take a bite out of the little pony. It moved forward, beginning to clasp its mouth shut, when a bright beam of magic shot itself directly into the reptile's maw. It roared in frustration and pain, swerving its head away. Starbeam leaped in front of Shimmer, blasting the carnivorous monsters with spells from her horn. A particularly head-strong one ignored her attempts to make them fall back, and threw itself at them. In the heat of the moment, Star drew up a defense spell and formed a shield bubble around them. It sent electricity through the cragadile's body, and it thrashed in the water, growling and hissing.
Melvin flew from above, swiping at the cragadiles with his claws, trying to lure their attention away from the ponies. Two of them began to back away, sulking into the cover of the low-hanging trees. Starbeam swung her head around at the sound of a deep-throated moan behind her. A ginormous, blood-thirsty, full-grown cragadile skulked out of the bushes, baring its yellowed teeth and blowing its hot, reeking breath in her face. She suddenly went ice-cold.
Those are just younglings... and now... Mama's here.
The mature crag lunged at them. It sank its teeth into the protective bubble, ignoring the shocks and jolts. Cracks began to form as it broke, weakening their defenses. The younger ones also began to have at it, while Melvin's attempts to help became useless.
"Starbeam, what are we gonna do?!" Sheep Shimmer shrieked.
Star grunted without replying, trying to focus her magic to keep the cragadile family at bay. But their attacks began getting stronger, and their shield wouldn't last for much longer. The bubble finally shattered like glass, its pieces scattering across the rock and flying into the river. With a swift movement, the mother crag knocked Starbeam into the water with her tail. The normally brave unicorn began to flail helplessly in the river, as it tossed her around until she couldn't tell which way was up or down. Her armor, which was meant to protect her, began dragging her down as the river washed her downstream. A couple of the younger cragadiles swam after her, hungrily chasing their prey. The others surrounded the now defenseless Sheep Shimmer. Melvin continued to strife against them, only seeming to fuel their rage.
Meanwhile, the two going after Starbeam began to speed up, as the river's current grew quicker. Water filled the mare's nose, only allowing her to breath every once and a while when her head met the surface. Her limbs grew weaker as she hopelessly fought the current.
Come on, Starbeam, think! Use a spell, you just need to-
Her thoughts were cut short as she began to fade in and out of consciousness. All she could feel was a deep pain in her foreleg, the cold, dark blackness of the water around her, and the suffocating lack of oxygen in her lungs.
Suddenly a pair of warm hooves embraced her, pulling her upwards. Sound instantly filled her ears like thunder as they broke the surface, a mixture of roars of wrath and screams of alarm. She also thought she heard the beating of wings. She was completely unsure of what was going on now, and became more confused as she was lifted high into the air. Below, she could see four ponies and a lion fending off the cragadiles. Or at least, it looked like a lion. A lion with wings and a pointed, arching tail. How peculiar.
She was soon lowered to the ground, away from the fighting. A muscled stallion appeared in front of her, with a look of concern in his eyes. She then realized that he was one of her troupes. She began to cough up water, her chest burning like fire.
"Starbeam Prism, are you alright?" the stallion asked her.
Instead of speaking, she swung her head over to watch the battle between her troupes and the hungry cragadiles. She recalled that the winged scorpion-lion was actually Melvin, and saw that he was fully engaged in the fight now, rearing at the reptilian creatures and spitting fits of rage. She was the most surprised to see Sheep Shimmer though, who was perfectly unharmed and actually fighting back as well now that she had the support of so many other ponies. Star's attention was refocused to the stallion who'd saved her from the river, who repeated his question.
"Y-yes. I'm fine." she told him, her voice hoarse.
"Can you walk?" he also asked.
"I think so."
Starbeam clambered to her hooves, wincing as she felt the sharp pain from her foreleg once more. She saw she had a long, deep cut near her hoof that was dripping with blood. But she put on an assured face and stood up straight despite it.
The dusky grey stallion turned to his four brawling companions. "Alright, let's go! She's okay!"
They all looked at him, and then quickly dashed from the crags towards the two grey ponies. The six of them, followed by Melvin, raced away from the scene to an enclosed section of the forest, stopping to break only once they were certain the cragadiles hadn't followed them. Not one of them wasn't huffing for breath from their endeavor. Starbeam, who was still a bit shaken, filled with anger. She turned on Sheep Shimmer, who was sitting on the ground nearby.
"Featherhead!" she shouted.
"Wh-wha?!" Sheep Shimmer yelped.
"Why in Equestria would you be such a senseless ignoramus? You're a pegasus for Celestia's sake! You could have just flown over the river and none of this would have happened! Your cowardice nearly cost us both our lives, and for what? Because you were scared of a river? I cannot believe-"
"Starbeam! That's enough! It was just a mistake, anypony could have done it." The grey stallion said to her.
She was absolutely miffed by his retort. There was rarely ever a time when any of her troupes ever talked back to her.
"Hey, yeah, calm down, Star. Everything's fine now, we're all okay." a mottled, burgundy pegasus mare with amber eyes coaxed her. "We're all a little rattled from it, but you can chill now. It's over."
Sheep Shimmer began sniffling, tears streaming down her flushed face. "I... I'm... so sorry... St-starbeam, I was just... I didn't... pl-lease forgive me..."
Starbeam suddenly dropped her guard, realizing how ridiculous she had just been. She looked at Sheep Shimmer, suddenly resenting what she'd said. It was her job to be protect Everfree, her troupes, and the princesses. And she hadn't done any of that. She just yelled at Sheep Shimmer. She awkwardly sat down, turning away from the others in shame.
"We should probably head back to the castle soon, right, Jasper Wing?" Brass Sheath, one of the ponies who Starbeam had caught slacking off on the job days before asked the dark grey stallion.
"Indeed. No doubt McTarnish will want a full report on all this." he agreed.
The small group made their way back to the courtyard, Melvin accompanying them until the edge of the trees. Starbeam kept her head down the entire time without a word. The night guards were abuzz with the news of the cragadiles, asking non-stop questions to the tired out group. McTarnish wasn't too happy to hear about what had happened, and stated that that area would have to be avoided for the time being. Afterward, Starbeam stepped outside alone. She saw Sheep Shimmer trotting to leave, unhappily. She quickened her pace to catch up with the yellow pegasus.
"Um... hey. Look, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was really out of line, and, it just wasn't right of me."
"I never wanted to be a castle guard." Shimmer piped up. "I always knew I wasn't cut out for it."
"Then, why did you?"
"My dad thought it would be good for me. He said it would toughen me up, make me less of a wimp. Though, honestly, I think it was just because he wanted a son."
Starbeam listened carefully, she hadn't known this about Shimmer. Now she felt a whole lot worse.
"I always thought it would be fun to be a seamstress. You know, making clothes, and sewing and stuff. But I guess I wasn't meant for that, either. I mean, I tried, I really did. But I could never make anything right. It always turned out wrong, with holes or accidentally sewing things in the wrong places, and missing stitches. I don't really know what I'm talented at."
It was only then that Star noticed that Sheep Shimmer lacked a cutie mark. She looked at her own flank, which bore a star shooting through a light spectrum prism. She didn't fully understand what her cutie mark meant, but compared to not having one at all, she was pretty lucky. She couldn't imagine what it must be like not knowing your destiny.
"Anyway, I really should get going. My dad is expecting me at home."
Star nodded.
"But, thank you. For the apology. It means a lot."
As Shimmer left, the rampant pounding of hooves sounded behind Starbeam. She turned around to see Dusk Wind hurtling toward her.
"Is it true?" he asked her worriedly.
"Is what true?"
"Arabia Song said you had a run in with cragadiles, and that you fell into the river."
Star found it rather silly of him to ask that when she was dripping wet and bleeding.
"Oh no, I just jumped in for a leisurely swim with the native wildlife." she said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm only making sure. That mare likes to make up stories. And I was worried about you."
"Well, I'm perfectly fine."
He looked down at her wounded leg.
"Okay. But you really should put some bandages on that before it gets infected. And you'll catch a cold staying out here like that. Come on, I'll walk you home."
She gave him a stubborn half-smile, and reluctantly agreed. She acted as though she could handle herself fine the whole way back, but secretly, she was very grateful he offered to be there for her. Reaching her home, she noticed her escort was particularly fascinated by the likes of her house.
"What?"
He gave a disbelieving laugh. "This is where you live? All the way out here, by yourself?"
She turned up her nose at him, slightly offended. "Yes, and I happen to like it this way."
He looked at her, sympathetically. "Well... okay. Get a good sleep, alright? And don't come to work tomorrow night unless your leg is healed. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine." she said less defensively.
"Night, Star." he said to her, looking over his shoulder as he turned to leave.
"Goodnight Dusk."
She watched him until he was completely out of sight, then went inside and sprawled out on her bed. She looked around the room, thinking about what she said to him. A voice in her head kept nagging at her, and as much as she tried, she couldn't quite silence it. It made her question herself.
