Starlight

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at the filly stretched out on a sleeping mat in the clubhouse. So far, nopony else knew of her existence. Applejack and Big Mac were out bucking Zap Apples, and even though it was urgent, Applebloom had insisted that they not be disturbed. Granny Smith was out buying ingredients for the jam.

Their next thought had been to go to Rarity, but the filly was dirty, and Sweetie Belle recalled a time when there was a leaf stuck in her mane and she went to the Boutique. Rarity had placed her in quarantine and returned with a hazmat suit to spray her with disinfectant and rinse her mane with all sorts of detergents. Given the state of the filly, exposing her to that kind of treatment didn't seem fair.

Scootaloo thought Rainbow Dash would be perfect, but she was in the Everfree Forest helping Zecora with something, and none of the fillies wanted to go in without a fully grown pony, after what happened with the cockatrice. As for the other Element Bearers, Twilight was in Canterlot, Fluttershy was somewhere in the meadows and Pinkie Pie was...well, Pinkie Pie.

No, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their own on this one. Even the current location of the filly had been a subject of controversy. Sweetie Belle had thought that she should be put in Applebloom's bedroom. Scootaloo had pointed out that she had no cutie mark, and therefore she was one of them and deserved to share the clubhouse. Applebloom wasn't sure of either option. Scootaloo won, so here they were in the clubhouse.

The filly was interesting in terms of appearance. She had a soft yellow coat, about the same colour as Fluttershy's. Her mane and tail were like those of the princesses- wavy and shiny, flowing in non-existent wind. Her mane was striped a cool aquamarine and a vibrant green. Her horn was longer than your average filly's but short nonetheless. Scootaloo envied her wings, which were the same size as an average pegasus' already. They were adorned with some sort of brace or jewelry, which was a pale beige in colour. Her four hooves each bore a boot. The ones on her front hooves were black, her rear hooves white. On her front ankles she wore gray bracelets with jewels embedded in the centre.

She had a regal aura, and the Crusaders wondered if they had somehow stumbled upon one of the princesses as a filly.

The filly stirred. The Crusaders watched apprehensively, as she rose to her feet. She looked at the Crusaders. They smiled at her.

Their gesture was not well received.

"No! Please do not toy with me!" she gasped.

"The universe and its workings are complex. I could not possibly explain it to you even if I wanted to," she asserted, and then braced herself, though for what was unclear.

She had a manner of speaking that was more like that of an adult pony. In fact, she distinctly reminded the Crusaders of Princess Luna.

"Whoa, calm down! I don't need a history lesson! Miss Cheerilee's are boring enough for me," Scootaloo protested.

"Yeah, we didn't mean ta scare ya," said Applebloom.

"You are not infuriated with me?" the mysterious filly asked nervously. She was shaking, and leaned over the bed.

"No, we don't want to hurt you," said Sweetie Belle. "We were just outside and you showed up. Then you just fell over! It was really scary! Even scarier than a cockatrice!"

Her exuberance seemed to cause the filly physical pain. She shielded herself with one tattered wing and asked, "Cockatrice? Where? Must the endless stream of peril that follows me constantly chase me even here? Worse, have I endangered other fillies merely by existing in this location presently?"

The Crusaders looked at her blankly. Scootaloo spoke up, "First of all, there's no cockatrice. Second of all, what?"

The filly visibly relaxed a little. Her breathing became less ragged and she lowered her wing.

"I am relieved. Pray tell, what might the titles of your personages be?"

More blank expressions. She tried again.

"Umm... How to make this simpler... Uh, your names?"

The Crusaders looked at each other and introduced themselves.

"And here I thought Sweetie Belle was a walking dictionary!" Scootaloo whispered to the other Crusaders in exasperation.

Applebloom chuckled. "Sweetie's a picture book compared to this one!"

The mystery filly looked at the Crusaders and went over their names.

"Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom. I see. Most intriguing. My, uh, name, is Starfire. Starfire Glow. Pleased to make your acquaintence," she introduced herself, stumbling when trying to make her words 'simpler' for the Crusaders.

"That's a really pretty name!" commented Sweetie Belle.

"Meh, it's kind of a mouthfull," said Scootaloo.

"Ah agree," said Applebloom. "Mind if ah call ya Star?"

"Alright. That causes no inconveniences to me. I am satisfied with this um...how do I say it simpler..." Starfire thought hard but couldn't come up with anything.

"Nickname?" suggested Sweetie Belle.

"Yes. I believe that is the word I was looking for. Nickname," responded Star.

"What were y'all gonna say?" asked Applebloom.

"Yeah, we probably could've got it," said Scootaloo indignantly.

"Alias."

"Oh."

Applebloom and Scootaloo were thankful for Sweetie Belle's intervention, otherwise they could've been stuck there all day.

"I am tired. Mayhap there is someplace for me to rest my head?" Star asked tentatively.

"Huh?" Applebloom and Scootaloo said.

"She asked if there was somewhere she could rest, 'cause she's tired," Sweetie informed them.

"I apologise that my vocabulary and manner of speaking are too foreign for you. I hail from a far off land. Common terms in this location escape my knowledge," Star apologised sheepishly.

"Nah, that's alright," assured Scootaloo.

"Yeah, we got Sweetie here ta translate if we get stuck on something ya say," said Applebloom.

"Wait, what?" said Sweetie Belle. "Don't volunteer me for stuff!"

Star laughed at the discussion, a clear, pure sound like a flute.

"Anyway, y'all can sleep there if ya want," Applebloom said, gesturing to the mat she had been on earlier.

"I am most grateful for your assistance," responded Star.

She lay down on the mat once more. Within minutes she had fallen into a restless slumber.

The Crusaders waited until they were sure she was asleep before they began speaking.

"What now?" asked Scootaloo.

"We should tell somepony about this," said Sweetie Belle.

"No!" said Applebloom and Scootaloo simultaneously.

"Why not?" asked Sweetie Belle, taken aback by her friend's outburst.

"Ah don't know, ah just have this really bad feeling," said Applebloom.

"Yeah, me too," agreed Scootaloo. "I just have a feeling that if we tell somepony about her, something really bad will happen."

"But we can't keep her locked up in this clubhouse!" protested Sweetie Belle. "It's not fair to her. We don't know anything about her, she could have a family that's out looking for her right now!"

"Ah don't think so. She said she came from someplace far away, and she looked mighty beat up. Plus, alicorns ain't so easy to come by. Ah think we'd have noticed a search party by now, they probably have some kinda detection magic they could've used ta find her," reasoned Applebloom.

"But..." Sweetie tried to put up a fight, but had to give in.

"Alright, when she wakes up, we'll ask her what happened and then we'll decide whether or not we should tell somepony," she huffed.

"Good thing we had a sleepover planned tonight anyway. I'd hate to leave her here alone," mused Scootaloo.

"Ah'll go get another bedroll," said Applebloom, striking off towards the farm.

***

In Canterlot, Princess Luna was resting, preparing for the night shift. She wondered how Celestia was doing. Her sister was off on royal business with Twilight, which meant that Luna had to keep watch all day and all night.

Suddenly a pegasus courier burst in through the door. He hastily bowed.

"Your Highness, I have an urgent message from your sister."

Luna took the scroll and read it.

"What!? It cannot be true!" she exclaimed.

She scribbled something onto a piece of parchment. She then cast a copying spell, and generated several more scrolls.

"Get one of these to the mayor of every town in Equestria, posthaste!" she boomed.

The courier nodded, filled his saddlebags with the scrolls and rushed out to recruit his fastest fliers.

Luna gazed out the window, unable to comprehend what she had just read.

"It just can't be..."

***

That night, while the other Crusaders slept, Sweetie Belle could not. She couldn't help but feel that what they were doing was wrong.

As she tossed and turned, she became aware of a melodious sound. It was coming from just outside the door. She rose to investigate.

Starfire was there, gazing at the stars and singing softly to herself. Sweetie took in the song

Day to night, dark to light,

Fall the sands of time.

Let the years like the gears

Of a clock unwind

In your mind walk through time

Back to better days.

Memories, like a dream,

Wash tears away.

Like a star in the sky,

Darkness can't reach you

Light the night, joy is light,

Till the new dawn.

Cast away your old face

Let go your spite,

With this mask I'll ask

To borrow your light

The song had a lullaby effect on Sweetie Belle, and put her mind at ease. She went back to bed and soon found peace in her dreams.

As Starfire entered the clubhouse, she glanced at the now sleeping Sweetie Belle. A small smile crossed her lips and she reached out with her magic.

Communicating telepathically, she delivered the following message:

Goodnight, and do not stress yourself. Things shall work out in the end if you just let the wheel of fate turn in its own direction