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The Story of Starberry Sparkle
Introduction - A Trip to Grandmother's House
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Gramma! Gramma Starberry! Open up! It's me!" yelled a little purple unicorn filly outside of an apartment. It was nearly the don of evening and everypony was home, preparing dinner and some even sleeping. But not Twilight. Twilight Sparkle was the small purple unicorn filly's name, and she had a bouncy mane that almost made her look intelligent - of course, if it was possible for such a small filly at a small age to look that way.
She was pounding on the apartment door excitedly when her mother, a white unicorn by the name of Twilight Velvet said sternly, "Twilight! Show a bit of manners, okay?" When the filly's worrisome eyes stared up at her, all the proud mother could do was smile and sigh. As they waited for the door to be answered she watched two unicorns, a colt and a stallion, come up the street. "There you are, Nightlight!" Said the exhausted mother with a smile, and then a small screech was heard.
The family turned to the door which was slowly being opened by a white, crippled hoof. On the hoof was a dark birthmark of a small eight-pointed star. On the wrist was a deep scar. The door was creaking quietly as it opened a bit and a small, wobbly voice was heard. "Hello?" It said, but no pony came outside. Twilight bounced up and down excitedly.
"Gramma Starberry! It's me!" squealed Twilight as she bounded inside to hug the mare. The mare let out a startled "Oh!" but smiled as the filly hugged her. She patted her back as the rest of the family walked in.
"Mother! I'm sorry for Twilight, she's-" started Twilight's mom, but the old mare just shook her head and smiled. The filly finally let go, leaving her shy brother to poke out from behind his father and approach with him.
"Starberry Sparkle," said Nightlight, "What a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hoof for her to shake, but the white mare simply gave him a hug. A bit taken aback, Nightlight merely smiled as she did so. When she did let go, Nightlight cleared his throat. "Shining, it's just your grandmother," said the stallion quietly to the colt behind him. He crept out, looking strange as he trotted up to the old mare.
"H-hello M-Miss Starb-berry.." He stammered, obviously timid, but she smiled and shook his hoof gently. "Pleasure to meet you, Shining," She said, and the colt smiled.
Twilight fiddled with the mare's gray and red mane with a giggle. Starberry just chuckled. "Gramma, are you gonna tell us a story now?" Squeaked Twilight excitedly. "Like the one where it's why the sky is blue? And why Celestia's mane is soo colorful?" Twilight babbled on when finally Starberry took her hoof and patted the filly's shoulder.
"Actually, I'm going to tell a different tale tonight. Last time you came on over to Fillydelphia to visit me, I told you half of the book!" Twilight and Starberry giggled, then she continued, "I decided I'm gonna tell you and Shining a different tale. But you two will love it!" She touched Twilight and Shining on the nose, and Twilight squealed. "Okay! Come on! Let's go!"
"Hold your ponies, kids," said Nightlight as Twilight tried to drag Starberry into the living room. "Let's give some time for Granny to settle in, have dinner, and then we can have story time, alright?" He chuckled as Twilight reluctantly let go of Starberry's hoof and sadly looked over to her father. She turned to her grandmother, but she replied, "He's right, kids. Let's have dinner, then we can gather 'round the fireplace, alright?" Twilight and Shining sighed and said in unison, "Okay.."
"Come ofn, Gfranfy Sfarferry! Blfets' gof!" said Twilight as she leapt out of her seat and raced toward the living room, her mouth obviously still full of apple pie and spinach. She gulped down the food and looked back to the white mare and the rest of her family. Her parents were frowning but Starberry just gave off a faint smile. "In a moment, hon. I'm just finishing up my last bits of pie," she said, and Twilight nodded and grabbed Shining's hoof. "H-hey! What's the b-b-big idea?!" croaked the colt, but Twilight rolled her eyes. "Come on, Shining! You're the big sibling. You're supposed to be dragging me!" The colt laughed and together the two foals rushed into the living room where a fireplace was crackling calmly.
For a few minutes the two foals sat on the couch, waiting patiently. Twilight was about to go in and look for Starberry when she walked in. The two foals gazed up in awe as she walked in, ready to hear any story the old mare threw at them.
Starberry sat down on a chair in front of them and used her magic to carry a portrait over for them to look at. The stallion in the picture was hued a dark blue and had a forlorn expression, as if he was wondering something. He had bright, green eyes and a horn under a blue hat with stars and moons covering it. But his most standout feature was a long, puffy beard.
After a few moments, Starberry took the picture and placed it back on the high shelf it was originally standing on. The foals watched intently as the old mare turned back to them. She comforted herself in her chair and sighed.
"Our story begins on the outside of this very town.."
The Story of Starberry Sparkle
Chapter One - A Rude Awakening
Oh Celestia, more rain, were the words that echoed in the young unicorn mare's mind. She brushed dirt and mud off her white coat and out of her red-and-gray mane. She took shelter under a tree, looking out over the hills as she rested her back against its hard, woody stump. She rested her hooves behind her back as she gazed out over the hills. Bringing her hoof up to clear her mane, she looked down at her scarred hoof. With a sigh, she looked around for something to cover it with. Eventually she picked up a leaf and placed it on the bleeding scar.
For thirty minutes she tried to wait out the pounding rain pouring down on the land around her. Then forty. Then fifty. She cursed silently to herself as each minute passed. Then, with a sigh and a mumble, she cleared her mane of any bark that might have caught onto it and decided to come out from under its leafy dome.
With no protection the young mare dragged her hooves behind her. It was bad enough falling into a pit, and now rain. Wiping blood from her coat and shaking it onto the ground, she looked for any form of shelter. She'd been on this journey for weeks now. But she was the outlaw: Starberry Sparkle, wanted for theft. It wasn't her fault her siblings were...
Ack! She was thinking about it again. Shaking her head she cleared her mind.
Looking over the rolling hills, she glanced at the bustling city of Fillydelphia. She swore though she was far away, she could get there. But what would they think? Had the word spread from her small, strange village to there? She didn't want to risk being caught. But then again..
Stopping all thought, something gleaming caught her eye. To her left, there was a calm, quiet plain and a cave. It looked almost welcoming as she stared down the path. It, like every other thing around her, was pounded by rain, but it was her only option if she wanted to escape being caught in the city.
"Fair enough," she murmured to herself. She walked down the path with a quicker stride in her step. When she was under the cave, she breathed a sigh of relief. She wringed out her hood and spent a bit of time picking leaves and bits of dried blood from her mane. The cave was cozy enough to spend the night. It was warmer than outside, and.. quiet.
Thinking she'd found a place to stay, she took some moss from the wet walls. She began to place them in a mound, a comfortable one at that. She found some twigs to hold it up and twined some grass together to make a blanket to cover herself.
Starberry drowsily rubbed her eyes and lay onto the bed of moss. She used the carefully twined grass blanket to keep herself warm. "Finally, some sleep," she said to herself. She'd been needing rest for a long time now. She took one last glance around the quiet cave. It was so quiet.. Almost too quiet.
Her eyes were about to flutter closed. She pulled the blanket closer to her face, but just as she was about to go to sleep for the night, she heard a noise.
Krrraakk...
Her eyes flew open. Though extremely tired, she swore she heard some hoovesteps and a twig break. She lifted her head curiously, but the sound was gone, except for water dripping from the ceiling.
She suspiciously started to rest her head back down to the pillow of moss. It must have been her imagination, because as a few more minutes went on she didn't hear it again. Her eyes were slowly closing back together when...
"Not so fast, pony."
She sprang up from the mossy bed. There wasn't something, but someone! Its whispery, bloodthirsty tone echoed through the cave. She swiftly turned and started galloping toward the exit. The sound of buzzing wings stopped her as about twenty equine-like figures flying in the air blocked the exit. With more careful observation, she saw there were holes in their legs.
"My comrades... When you are ready...
Feed."
The Story of Starberry Sparkle
Chapter Two - Who Are You..?
Starberry had nowhere to run. There were nearly fifty of the creatures within the cave - it must have been a hideout of sorts. About twenty blocked any chance she got to make my way to the exit. They were all murmuring foreign speak to one another but they were all chanting something about taking no prisoners. A creature slammed forcefully into her side and started to attack. Starberry shouted in pain and swatted it away with force. Two more dove in for the kill but she dodged with as much skill as she possibly could.
It seemed like an eternity this went on - running, swatting, dodging - when in actuality it was five minutes. Finally she was tackled by five as they started to tear at her skin. She screamed in agony as horns pierced and fangs gnashed. Starberry felt faint, and was trying with all her might to fend them off with magic.
"Foolish pony! You dare challenge the Changeling Swarm? You are but an insignificant unicorn! You can do nothing to stop us! NOTHING!"
For a moment she felt like this was true. She was bleeding from the side and her scar on her hoof was open again. That's when she felt like she should stop fighting back - there were too many. But a strange thought occurred when she heard pounding gallops from outside the cave. Was that another changeling? She was surely going to die, here and now...
A flash of blinding light entered the cave. That didn't seem like any changeling magic she's heard of or seen. But this did distract the changelings as their yelps of terror harmonized with hers. She fought back some changelings piled atop her. The light seemed to weaken them.
She stumbled near the entrance of the cave. She picked up her grass blanket and wrapped it around her deep cut on her side. It did barely anything. She felt extremely nauseous, like she'd been on a giant roller coaster with twists and turns and upside-downs. But her last few waking moments were spent gazing across to the other side of the cave.
A figure of a unicorn stallion with a powerful build stood in a corner. He blasted beams of light from his horn at the monstrous creatures. He seemed almost perfectly okay.
Then, Starberry Sparkle blacked out, in the corner of that bloodstained cave.
"Gah! Where am I?!" were Starberry's words when she sprang up from her seat. She was in a round room and sitting on a red velvet couch. Books and tomes lined shelves and she saw bottles of strange substances on a cabinet. There was a stallion sitting across from her.
"You truly put up a good fight in that cave, young mare. You should be proud of yourself for such feats." he said. The strong stallion had a very baritone voice. He was certainly much older than Starberry, for a long, flowing beard touched the floor beneath him - not that the floor was very far away, but the beard was a sign of his age.
"Who the hay-? Where am-?" Starberry start stuttering. She was sure he was a cop, she must have been caught. But with closer observation, the old stallion looked kind. He didn't have any obvious intentions of bringing her into jail.
` "How foolish of me!" The stallion suddenly blurted out. "I forgot my manners. I am Starswirl E. Glimmerdust, otherwise known as Starswirl the Bearded."
Where've I heard that name before..? She thought, but then it hit her.
"Hey! You're the Miracle Pony everyone talks about!" she said in a rush. Starswirl chuckled. "Yes, I suppose that's my most common name.." With a sigh, he shook his head to himself. "Starswirl the Miracle Pony. Yes, that is what I'm commonly known as.." Starberry took a few minutes to let this soak in.
Finally, she said, "Are you really a great wizard in storybooks?" Starswirl let out a large laugh. "I have been around a while, I'll give you that, but those storybooks are mere.. Exaggerations, I should say. I am actually a.. Hunter, of sorts, though I know some magic. And young mare, you haven't told me your name, and what in this world you're doing in the middle of the forest. So let me hear your story."
Starberry was extremely reluctant. She didn't want someone she met five minutes ago to hear what she's been doing for the past.. what.. A month?
But she somewhat trusted the stallion. After all, he seemed so kind, and..
Suddenly, it hit her. It was kind of stupid as well, having just realized, that, well, this stallion saved her life who knows how many hours ago. That must've been the pony who came and saved her at the last minute in that cave.
"Before I do, I just want to know one last thing," She said a bit slower. Starswirl lifted an eyebrow, beckoning her to continue. "What exactly.. Do you hunt?"
There was a long silence.
"Changelings," he said finally. "I hunt changelings. Now let me hear your side of the story, young one."
"Fair enough," she said, satisfied. "Okay, so, uh.. Where do I start..."
