Chapters
The Dark Storm
The world always seemed safe, like that life was fine although its many flaws, it was always countered. Most would go and think that life isn't bad, sure there is crime, but I am fine. Everypony has greed and demons that hide inside of them. No one notices that most only care if they are fine, but what is that worth when others are dying? What is a hero?
Light grey clouds lined the sky and blocked out the sun. The wind blew it made the Fall weather even worst then before. The light was dim even though it was the afternoon in Ponyville. A young mare walked down the streets, She was denim colored and the tips of her ears were darker, her mane was navy and her eyes bright green. If you looked into her eyes you could see kindness and determination.
She was teenaged and her cutie mark was two wings, which already stated she was a pegasus. She sighed for she was late, she was foal-sitting today for three little fillies that a mare named Rarity needed her to watch well she worked. Frustration filled her, she had spent too much time packing a few toys into her saddle bag for them to maybe play with. Her hooves stung slightly from the cold and it wasn't becoming a great day.
She passed a shop, where a window was broken and police tape was around it, there was so much crime here. She paused to look and presumed that this was the reason Rarity wanted her to foal-sit. She gasped as she remembered about the job she was asked to do and she began to run though the streets, she had to get to the boutique. She huffed and dodged ponies who soon yelled at her for almost knocking them over.
"Sorry!" She huffed as she continued to move.
She soon saw the boutique and stopped in front of the doors, tapping them until her client opened it.
"Jade you're late, what happened?!" Rarity asked, sounding disappointed.
"Sorry, I lost track of time, I didn't mean to." Jade explained, in a nervous tone.
Rarity just smiled warmly at her, as though she already knew that Jade didn't mean to, besides no harm done.
"Its fine Jade, your a good foal-sitter. Besides I did call you last minute from this upcoming order I have to fill. The girls are in the living room." Rarity explained as she allowed Jade to walk into the room.
The boutique, it was always quite lovely with the decorations that were around. She walked down through the halls and into the living room where three fillies were. Jade knew them from school and they felt like little sisters to her. For a second they talked until Applebloom lifted her head and noticed Jade.
"Hiya Jade." The little filly exclaimed happily and they soon all turned there attention to the teenaged pony who had just walked in.
Jade felted welcomed and it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside to be with these three. They were creative, imaginative and sometimes a little crazy, but that was no bother, they were friends either way. She put down her saddle, honestly unsure of what she had grabbed from her home. All she knew was that she had gotten some of her old toys before she left.
"Hi girls," she greeted, smiling back at them.
Jade opened her saddle bag, there wasn't much, but there was one toy that she really liked when she was little. Although she had a feeling they would soon think of they would like to do to try and get there cutie marks. It was a small top, there were four, as she always made sure there was enough for everyone. She put them down and the fillies looked at the toys.
"What are they?" Sweetie Belle asked, cocking her head and looking at Jade.
"There tops. Just watch I will show you how to use them." Jade answered.
She crouched down, places her hooves on opposite and made a spinning action that made the tops spin and the girls seemed excited about these little toys. Although they were old it was fun to play with, a good distraction for young foals, but these fillies won't that young, they wouldn't be distracted long. Scootaloo looked at the toys and it was clear to Jade that she had an idea.
"Maybe our cutie marks are top spinning." She exclaimed, grabbing one of the tops.
She tried to do the same as Jade, but it was incorrect and the top didn't spin. She tried again, but still couldn't get it, they were all having difficulty trying to spin the tops. Jade smiled as she watched them, they were determined to make it spin.
"Here, let me show you, we can all do it at the same time." Jade said.
She took her top back, closer to her, and as she put her hooves down on the side, the girls did the same and then she did the spin affect and soon all the tops were spinning. They all smiled gleefully from the simple toy, it was more fun then they thought. However soon they got bored of the toys and Jade knew they wanted to do something else.
"Jade, can't you help us earn our cutie marks?" Applebloom asked.
"Sorry, but these things take time, you will get it eventually." Jade answered, giving them a warm smile.
"Why don't we play marbles?" Jade asked, it was a game the girls enjoyed a lot.
"Okay." They all answered in unison.
They played for hours, and Jade didn't win a single game, she had taught them well, too well and she even laughed at her own little joke. Scootaloo won the most rounds and soon Rarity came in, she had to have finished working.
"Jade you can go now." She said smiling.
The girls sighed sadly as Jade packed up the marbles and put them into her saddle. She put it onto her back and smiled as the girls seemed sad she was leaving.
"Don't worry, I will see you again." Jade said to cheer them up and with that she left the boutique.
She walked out into the cold Fall air, feeling it nip at her. There were dark clouds swirling about and she knew she had to get moving. She walked down the side walk, thinking of her mother who had been killed, now all she had was her father, but it stung, She had been there and saw it all, and she had been young, she needed therapy for a month, but there was no sense living in the past.
She smiled, knowing her mother was watching her. Soon it began to rain and it came down like cold needles. Jade began to run for home and lightning began to strike and someone had seen her.
"Come on, get in." A young dull red mare said.
Jade just nodded and walked inside and soon recognized the mare, it was her year older friend, Star. She looked strange with her dull red pelt and bright yellow mane, but either way she was a friend.
"Thanks," Jade said.
"Your welcome, but hey did you hear about the murders in the West side of Ponyville?" Star asked.
"No I haven't, what happened?" Jade asked, concerned.
"Some pony going by the name Thunder just committed a massacre, 15 were found dead. Terrible, I went to my nurse job and saw his victims, I almost wanted to vomit and I can take a lot of stuff like that." Star sighed.
Jade knew Star had a strong stomach and didn't vomit easily, it had to be bad and she didn't even want to think of it. So this was what Ponyville was coming to? It was simply terrible, but Jade didn't know what she could do, she was one pony, but maybe one only was all that was needed.
I Wish
It had been two days since Jade had heard of the murders. They gained a few days off school because of the large mess that was Ponyville. The storm had done quite a bit of damage that took longer then expected to clean up. It looked like a mesh of branches, leaves, and other veriest objects. Little foals were told to stay inside until the Ponyville was 'safe', when nothing could be perfect. Jade knew that for days now, Ponyville was over ran by criminals, there was too much. For her it was unbearable, it made her stomach ache and she wanted to do something.
Even though she had school the following day, she laid in bed, unable to sleep, like the days before. Jade wanted just a little more safety, was that so much to ask? She looked up at the grey roof of her room, still unable to sleep, but she soon gave up on sleep and slid out of her bed and to the window on the right side of her room. She opened the red velvet curtains and looked through the large window at the bright stars, that were brighter from the crescent moon. She could see the brightest star, that was named the North Star, some even called it the wishing star. Soon she thought of her little foal friends, so young.
They didn't deserve to be in a dangerous place, they were all so sweet and nice. Since the Unicorns were here, there were only legends of the star's power, what if it actually worked? She shook her head, the thought of even trying such a thing was preposterous, yet tempting. She looked straight at the star, as though hoping to be able to see the magic from her location. She sighed, she was trying something that was probably fake.
"Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
To have the wish I wish tonight.
I wish I could save our world from the crimes of today."
The last sentence lingered and Jade rolled her eyes at her predicted outcome. She felt stupid for even saying such a thing, what was the point? She walked back to her bed and slid under the covers, almost angered by the fact it didn't work, and the fact that she believed a foal's tale. It took a while, but she fell asleep and was happy of it.
It was early morning when Jade woke up, she stretched her arms in the air and released a comforting yawn. She took a few seconds, and looked forward to see she seemed a little taller, she looked down, and realized she wasn't even touching the bed! Panic surged through her and she yelped, and as she was not calmed she dropped onto her bed and was bounced onto the floor. Her shoulders collided with the ground first and it was quite painful. Maybe it was just a stupid prank and soon she got up.
She began to brush her mane, knowing her father wouldn't be up yet, she brushed it until it was soft. She stretched out her wings, knowing that it was the best way to prepare them for the day. Next was the bed, that was a mess from her little tumble, who ever did this deserved a stern talking to. She wanted to hurry up and noticed she seemed faster, her eyes were calculating all sight faster. She finished in two seconds, and didn't break a sweat, it almost made her nervous, but laughed, maybe she was still dreaming?
Panic settled in as she began to debate with herself if she was dreaming or not.
Unnatural powers don't exist, but what about magic? There are unicorns after all, no Unicorn would do this, maybe prank somepony, but why help afterwards. This must be a dream, but in a dream you don't feel pain. The last thought made her ears fall back and her mouth gaped.
This wasn't a dream, the star wasn't a lie, it was all real, all of it, and it made her stomach unsettle. Jade's mind was screaming to tell someone, in hopes they would help her get through, or maybe she just needed more therapy. However she soon knew, no one could knew, she didn't know if the comics she sometimes read were true. She opened the door to her room and walked down to the kitchen to see her father was awake and had already made breakfast, he must have also woken up early.
"What is up Jade?" He asked, giving her a warm smile.
"Nothing." Jade said.
She ate fast and packed her saddle bag, she didn't want to stay here, she just wanted a nice normal day. She opened the dark brown door and went outside without saying good-bye. She stuck to the paths of dirt and cobble stone and went up the hill, when she saw her little filly friends, she smiled until she saw the two bullies. Her face seem to drop as she watched and she knew, it was still continuing. Jade instantly understood, the name calling and rude treatment, it burned at her insides to see it. They told teachers, parents and siblings and yet, the three fillies were still bullied. She walked up, to the right side of the group, the two bullies were laughing and Jade recognized them as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoons.
"Hey, leave them alone. They did nothing to you." Jade said in a somewhat nice way, but even she could hear the snap in her voice.
They just turned, muttering up by what she guessed were rumors to spread. She looked towards her friends and smiled warmly, they just nodded as though to say thanks and ran off towards the school. After a few minutes Jade followed, happy to get inside the school and happy to have prevented the bullying from going further. However she normally just waited and told the girls just to ignore, although they got sick of hearing it, but she felt different. She felt like she had more bravery inside of her. However she shook it off and knew that she just needed a normal day.
The school day was average and soon Jade wasn't thinking of what happen this morning and was heading home. She walked down the paths until her forest home came into view and she knew that she would soon see her dad. However she was confused, the lights were out, dad never left the lights out. She got nervous, maybe he was late from work, she thought to sooth her. Soon her legs no longer shook and she went inside, but when she entered through the kitchen door somepony stood in the center.
"We need to talk Jade." The Unicorn mare said, and Jade could see her yellow glowing eyes.
The Birth of a Hero
Jade was nearly shivering, had something bad happen? Yet there was something mystical about this unicorn, not the fact it controlled magic, but she could feel something else. She could tell she was trying to calm herself from the fact that she was breathing slowly. She gulped and went forward, closing the door and coming closer to the mysterious figure.
"Yes." She said, and instead of cowering, stood tall.
The mysterious pony seemed pleased with her bravery, and yet there was a sense of surprise. She smiled and came closer, her smile soothed Jade, she felt safer.
"So you are a brave one, but I know something that you did that was the bravest, then again, not many know of other forms of magic. The power of the stars. Besides, you already know who I am." She said, flipping down her hood.
Jade was surprised, it was Star, her best friend. Jade's mouth gaped as she recognized every feature, the dull red pelt, yellow mane and dull brown eyes. Star stood out like a sore hoof with her clashing colors, but she never dyed it or did anything to make it look batter. In fact she loved her features, even if they were odd. Jade realized she had been holding her breath and breathed out, trying not to keep her breathing calm. Her eyes couldn't help, but to stare in surprise.
"Star! What are you doing here? I-I didn't invite you." Jade stuttered, trying to say, leave in a nice way.
Star just smiled and took a step closer to Jade and exclaimed. "Don't worry, your father isn't dead, I have a good reason Jade. Oh it had been so long since someone had made a wish! I am so happy! I have been storing energy for too long and I hated it, but you did it!"
Jade cocked her head, she had no idea what was going on. Star was talking so fast it was hard for her to even get a word of her sentences. However she got a few points that confused her very much.
"Pardon me, but Star? What are you taking about? Wait, how did you know I thought my dad was dead? In fact, how did you know about my wish?" Jade questioned, her head now seeming to spin.
"Oh, well I guess you don't no the full story, or my full name in fact." Star giggled then continued. "My full name is Wishing Star, and well I am the wishing star. My cutie mark is that of a nurse because I love to help people, it is a talent healing for me anyways. I granted your wish!" Star said cheerfully.
Jade was now flabbergasting, and Star knew, she needed some time to take it all in. They had been friends so long and she was probably having trouble dealing with her friend being a star and all.
"Jade, come down. I know it is a big deal, and I never told you, but it is against the rules... sorry." Star explained.
Jade shook her head, getting rid of the shock. She paused, letting it sink in and get through her head. This was big news, her friend she had known for so long, a star? And she never even knew. When her breathing went back to normal, she was able to look her friend in the eyes and smile.
"That's great! Wait a minute, I wished to help the world, why do I have powers?" Jade asked, remembering the speed and the mysterious floating from this morning.
"Oh, uh, well... we can't just give, we have to add challenge, so you got well powers. So you can help the world, you have to be specific, you wanted to help the world. You didn't say for the ponies to be able to help themselves. So I guess the Wishing Rules made you a hero." Star explained, with the best understanding she could give.
"What! I-I am strong, but I am I really ready?" Jade asked, stepping back and somewhat shrinking.
"Well the rules know what there doing, they believe you can do so I do too. However I will help you along the way Jade, don't worry." Star said cheerfully.
Jade went pale with fear, what if she failed? She shook as she stood, and her eyes were dull and her stomach ached.
"Um, I-I don't know about this Star." Jade stuttered, unable to smile anymore.
Star smiled in a warm motherly way, a way that Jade hadn't seen in so long. Since her mother had passed away, she had forgot the smile that a mother offered when you needed it.
"Jade, you can do it." Star coaxed, still smiling.
Jade stood tall, all fear ebbing away and she breathed in.
"I will do it! I can't stand it anymore, innocent ponies being hurt for no reason, it just hurts." Jade said in a voice that slightly quivered.
"That's the spirit!" Star exclaimed. "Now to get you a costume."
There was a flash in Star's eyes and out of no where a costume appeared. Jade trotted over to it, she was excited and scared. However when she saw it was amazed. There were boots that didn't go up too far, with string in the front. There was blue around where the string weaved through. There was black under that would press her body, a small hole for her tail. There were extensions that were grey and dark. A face mask that just covered around the eyes, also black, and a black cape. On the back of the cape in gold letters was Golden Heart.
"Wow. I-I don't know what to say. I remember this, we played pretend when we were fillies and, and-" Jade couldn't continue.
"I know you would remember this. I am glad you like it, but before you save ponies, you need to learn a little." She smiled. "I will teach you and be a bit of a sidekick since I will call you to the crime. Are you ready?" Star asked.
Jade felt the nausea returning, but soothed and took a deep breath. Her head was spinning, this one word was about to alter her life forever.
"I am."
