An Astronomer's Light

Chapter Four: Fate has Spoken

"We have to pick up the pace!" Flarania said in a panic.

"I kno- ARRRGH!" Barzano howled. The wound was too much for him right now.

"I know it hurts, but we have to keep moving!"

"I know....urrgh," Barzano groaned. He was running, well limping really, as fast as he could, but he still couldn't keep up with the mare in front of him. When they finally reached the caves, they were sopping wet and freezing cold.

"Brrrrr! That storm must have brought in a cold front! At least it's dry in here," Flarania panted. "Tell me those bags are waterproof!" She said.

"Well, they should be, but I've never tested them," Barzano said weekly. He couldn't stand up anymore. The run had exhausted him of all of his remaining energy, and he colapsed to the cavern floor.

"Bar!" Flarania rushed to his side. "You ok?"

"MMmmf....tired, and cold," he muttered. "Need some sleep...probably....."

"Ok, lie there and don't move," Flarania told him as she started unpacking bags.

"HUm....Flara..?"

"Yeah? Oh dear," There was a small puddle of blood pooling where Barzano was lying. Flarania took another layer of bandaging from one of the bags and wrapped it around the now-sleeping Barzano. She took a blanket from another bag and lay down next to him, wrapping the blanket over both of them. "Goodnight," Flarania said softly. She soon fell asleep, but awoke several times during the night. Even though the warmth of the blanket and their collective body heat, she was still cold enough to shiver. When dawn came, the storm was still raging. "Hey Bar, wake up!" Flarania said as she shook him awake.

"MMmmerrm? O-oh. Morning...."

"Hey, the storm's still strong outside. You want something to eat?"

"Oh, yeah that'd be great...." His words trailed off. "And it's not the same storm,"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Flarania took some MRE's out of the bags.

"Squalls are brief, they usually last between 10 minutes and an hour, but one often follows another. A strand of squalls can last for days," Barzano said as he took the package handed to him.

"You mean, we're going to be stuck here? For how long?"

"No idea, this could clear up in a minute, or in a few hours, or tomorrow," Barzano responded. Squall weather patterns are extremely unpredictable."

"Well, that sucks. Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm still freezing," He said, smiling.

"Oh, sorry!" Flarania held him as she wrapped the blanket around the two of them.

"Mmmmm.."

"We might have awhile in here, why don't you tell me about your past?"

"Mmmok... Well, I grew up in Canterlot, I never liked the busy city, but I was stuck with it. My parents went to work every day and I went to school. They demanded I get good grades, and I delivered, for when I did, they would lavish me with gifts and praise. I didn't really like my school. It was easy, but my teachers were mean and I got picked on. Life was generally a bitch to me, which shaped me into the cynical and pessimistic pony I am today."

"That's horrible! You said you had a brother though, what about him?"

"Mmmoh? Oh yeah! Crimson Peak. He's the best brother anypony could have. We almost never fought, he was the nicest guy I knew, but that kindness was also his weakness. He couldn't see the bad in the world, didn't know when not to trust somepony, but I think he's learning. You see, he never had the bad experiences I did. He was always the perfect pony of the family. Nevertheless, we kept in touch as we grew up, even after we went our separate ways."

"That's great! You have other friends though, right?"

"Yeah, I have my friends in Canterlot. Known em' since high school. Speaking of which, lemme fill in some gaps. When I was fourteen, I enrolled in some advanced magic classes. I wasn't very athletic, so I figured I needed magic to help me defend myself. But trust me, you learn a lot more about magic in everyday situations where it's practical, than you ever will in a classroom."

"Yeah, I bet."

"I learned some pretty advanced stuff. Anyways, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life for some time.I didn't even have my cutie mark yet. But one day, my class got to take a tour of the grand castle. The tour included a speech from the Princess herself, and as we were walking towards the auditorium, she pulled me aside. I was a little scared at first, but she just wanted to have a friendly conversation with me. Celestia asked me where I wanted to work when I got older. I told her I had no idea, but she just smiled and told me about the observatory. It was like she knew. She mentioned many perks of the job, and told me I would work directly for her."

"Wow! That's awesome!"

"Yeah it was. From that point on, my heart was set on what I wanted to do. I worked some to earn some money, and used the bits to buy a telescope. It was great fun! Looking at the stars and all. I borrowed a book on starmapping, and I started working on my first map. I told my parents what I wanted to do, but they weren't so happy about it. 'Be prestigious!' They said. 'Be a doctor! Or a guard pony! Or an architect! Don't be some silly astronomer!' But I had decided, and if they didn't like it, that was too bad. I got my cutie mark when I finished my first map, which I have framed in the observatory. I wrote the Princess about the exciting news, and she told me I could start as soon as I was able."

"Wow! That's a great story!" Flarania shivered, and held Barzano tighter.

"Mmmhmm, your turn!"

"Oh, right!" She giggled. "Well, I grew up in a small town. I made a lot of friends, and I had a generally great life! School was fun, but my grades weren't so great. I loved the outdoors, though! My friends and I would go play in the woods almost every day! My mom was always happy for me, and let go wherever as long as I came back before dinner. My brother was born when I was 8, so I couldn't really have the relationship with him you had with yours." She frowned. "But as I got older, I started looking in to what I could do to earn some money. I began clearing paths for people, sitting their animals, and building treehouses for foals!"

"Wow, seems like you really had your life planned out."

"Well not really, I loved the outdoors! But I liked adventure! I didn't want to garden, or be a park ranger, or have any of those silly jobs. I was kind of worried about all that until I saw a flyer for the Frontier Service. That really made my day! I ran home to tell my mom; she was so happy for me!"

"I bet, but you keep mentioning your mom. What about your dad?"

"M-my dad died when I was four...."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Barzano put a hoof on her shoulder.

"It's ok. I'll continue! When I was sixteen, I dropped out of school and headed off for the frontier. Apparently, the ponies in charge were always looking for more workers, so I was welcomed immediately! I got along with the other ponies they're great! We all loved the outdoors, and I got my cutie mark when I made a path for the first time! Ever since then I've worked on the frontier, rising through the ranks and actually making a pretty good living!

"MMmmm, good for you!" Barzano sighed and closed his eyes. Flarania smiled at him, but her smile faded as Barzano's face began to pale.

"OH no!" She jumped up from where she was sitting. "Wake up!" She shook him. "Wakeup! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!" Flarania hollered. She looked at his wound. The bleeding had stopped, but there was a great deal of blood on the ground. "You must have lost too much blood! Please don't lapse into a coma! Nopony ever wakes up from those!" Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook Barzano again. "WAAAKE UP!" Flarania checked his pulse. The beat was slowing down. "Noooooooo!" she screamed, tears streaming from her eyes as she buried her face into his coat.

"Barzano?" Hmmm? Who was that? Somepony called my name? I can't make out her voice. "Barzano? Are you coming?" Coming? coming where? What? The dream faded and all went dark.

The next morning yielded more promise. The storm was fading, thunder could no longer be heard, and the rain was letting up. Flarania awoke to a still-sleeping Barzano. She continued to cry. "What am I going to tell his brother? What am I going to do?" she sobbed. "I never told you!" She looked at him. He was smiling, like he was having a good dream. "No Flarania, you musn't let your emotions get to you. You still have work to do, maybe he'll wake up," She told herself. "Now, how am I going to get us out of here?" She wondered. "Oh! The explosion! Somepony must have seen the ship crash, they have to have sent somepony to look for us! But how will they know where we are? Oh! I can build a signal fire!" Flarnia told herself as she trotted into the forest.

"Barzano!" Huh? That voice again. What does she want with me? Barzano looked down at his side. Oh! My woun- what? There was no mark on his right side. Oh great, I'm dreaming. "Barzano!"

"W-who are you?" A large, indigo, pony came into his view. "Princess Luna?"

"Hello Barzano. Are you feeling well?"

"Well, I gu- wait, you're dreamwalking, do you have something to tell me?"

"I certainly do! You must stay strong! We are counting on you!" Luna began to fade from the dream.

"Luna! Wait! What do you mean? Luna!" The dream collapsed into darkness.