Chapter 6: Stars and Stones

The two mares sat around the campfire, the sun had finally taken its leave, and the moon was in full command of the sky. The light of the fire was pleasant, and First Light felt strangely drawn to it. She scooted closer to the pile of burning coals and wood. Now that they were in such a secluded and relaxed environment, Trixie let the troubles and worries of the day go. The two of them sat next to each other on one side of the fire, staring intently into it.

“Do you know the constellations?” Trixie asked, her head turning skyward.

“When I was Celestia's personal student,” First Light looked over to Trixie, “she taught me all of them.”

“What?” Trixie raised an eyebrow.

“When I was Celestia's...” First Light stuttered and stopped mid-sentence. Slamming her front hooves against her forehead repeatedly, more for effect than anything, she clenched her teeth and began grumbling to herself.

“What's the matter?” Trixie put a concerned hoof on First Light's back.

“I keep making these little mistakes.” First Light pouted. “I keep forgetting where my bio ends, and real life begins. It's really hard. You know?”

“No...” Trixie sadly shook her head. “I really don't.”

“Right.” First Light nodded. “You're not...”

“Yeah...” Trixie looked over to First Light.

An awkward silence fell over them, Trixie and First Light began to look around for something to change the subject.

“So, what are they?” First Light asked, looking up to Trixie.

“What are what?” Trixie cocked her head. First Light tossed her head back and stared at the sky. “Oh, the constellations?”

First Light nodded in response.

“Well.” Trixie smiled. This was something she knew all too well. “See those three stars over there?” Trixie motioned to the sky. “Left side of the moon. Right there.” First Light nodded. “Okay. Now, see the two above and two below it in an hourglass shape? That one's called Orion, the hunter.”

“Orion...” First Light smiled.

“Okay, now that one over there.” Trixie helped First Light to see what she was talking about. “That one is Andromeda.”

“Lulimu.” First Light noted.

“Yes?” Trixie looked over at her.

“It's also called Lulimu.” First Light restated.

“Oh. Yeah.” Trixie Lulamoon nodded. “I thought you said something else.”

“What?” First Light asked.

“Nevermind.” Trixie shook her head. “Anyway, do you know the story?” First Light shook her head. “Well.” Trixie lowered her voice. “Andromeda's mother boasted that her daughter was the most beautiful in the universe. The gods were angry, and sent down a monster to eat her. But! She was saved by a demi-god, and she married him. As a testament to the event, the gods put the whole family in the stars as a constellation.”

“That's a very nice story.” First Light smiled broader. “Hey there little Lulimu.” First Light waved at the stars. “What else is up there?” First Light knew most of the constellations, but even she could tell that Trixie liked telling her about them.

Each time, Trixie would make sure that First Light could see what she was talking about before explaining the significance of each constellation. Trixie would use her acting prowess to make each story seem mysterious and magical. For her first time having a real camp-out, First Light was enjoying herself. She looked over at Trixie, taking in the sparkle of wonder in her eyes as she told the tales of the stars. First Light lay back on the ground and took in the sky as a whole, as if it were a portrait. All of the constellations Trixie had described each seemed to have a part to play in the grand picture of the sky. First Light continued to listen to the descriptions and tales of the mythical figures as Trixie lay back as well.

Soon, the world became hazy, and Trixie's voice became distant. First Light's eyelids slowly fluttered down over her bright eyes as the dark sky was replaced with black.

First Light found herself onstage. A crowd of ponies she did not recognize gathered close to the edge, tightly packed together for a chance to see. The area did not seem strange to her, and instead of questioning why she was there, she immediately got to work. She reached up to her top hat and pulled her flight goggles over her eyes. With a flourish, she stood back on her hind legs and fired sparks high into the air, forming constellations above the gathering. It was more fun than she had thought it would be. The sky was black, most likely overcast, and the crowd stared in awe as the fake stars shot up and faded into nothingness.

Suddenly, the unicorn from Trixie's performance was the only one in the audience. She stared up into the sky, completely bored.

“Yeah.” She muttered. “Okay. So you can make sparks. When do you start doing some real magic?”

First Light did not reply, instead she just began summoning more power to make some better illusions. Her horn sputtered and sparked, but nothing came from her efforts. She kept trying to force something, anything to show the unicorn that she could do some incredible magic. The stage behind her exploded and sent her flying into the dark void where the crowd had been. Her top hat fell to the ground, and she pushed her goggled off of her eyes and back onto her forehead.

“You know...” The unicorn sighed, pacing around First Light. “Maybe you would be able to do some magic if you had some training.”

First Light looked up but said nothing.

“Or maybe...” The unicorn stopped. “Maybe if you had some actual talent.”

First Light scowled at the unicorn.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” The unicorn mocked. “Did I hurt your feeling?” She lay down, using the fallen over First Light as a pillow. “See... Trixie. She's talentless. She's got some cheap parlour tricks that she learned from a bit-store book. You, well, you're a different story. You're less than talentless. You can't even do parlour tricks.”

First Light tried to push the rude unicorn off of her, but she was either too heavy, or First Light was too weak.

“Alright.” The unicorn didn't seem to notice the futile attempt to push her over. “So, let's pretend for a moment that you actually have a special talent. What then?” She looked down at the confused face of First Light. “Oh. I get it. You still think you might have one. Let me put it in a way you might understand.” She stood up, and music began to play in the background.
“Born to this world a Mary Sue,
It's all you are, it's all you knew,
Though some said you have a talent,
I'm afraid that's not quite what they meant,
As an OC you have to see,
There's nothing that you're meant to be.”

The unicorn laughed like a maniac before looking First Light straight in the eye. “See. Most OC's are made with a talent in mind. They already have their cutie marks when they wake up. Looks to me like your special talent is not having a cutie mark.”

Suddenly, a blast of blue magic launched the unicorn into the dark abyss surrounding them. First Light looked up to see Trixie galloping towards her.

“Are you okay?” Trixie asked, her voice racked with concern.

First Light nodded.

Trixie picked up the top hat and placed it gently on First Light's head. “It's all okay now.” She smiled gently.

First Light looked around at the darkness.

“You do have a special talent.” Trixie assured her. “You just need to find it. I'm sure you're not the only OC born without a mark. Just keep searching.”

First Light opened her eyes, her neck sore from the way she had been sleeping. She was on her side, and her head had flopped over to the hard ground. Her mouth was as dry as cotton from her mouth hanging open as she slept, and one wing was completely numb. She realized she was still sleeping on the ground, and the dawn was just peeking through the trees. Deciding she couldn't maintain her position any longer, First Light rolled over and came face to face with Trixie, who was calmly and quietly sleeping. She was so close, if she had rolled over just an inch further, she would have jabbed Trixie in the eye with her horn. First Light held her breath, not wanting to disturb the other mare.

Trixie must have fallen asleep right after I did, First Light thought. She peered down at the fire pit, where only smouldering coals of the fire cracked and smoked. The scene of her dream was still vivid in her head, and she rolled onto her hooves. Standing over the fire pit, she focused on the coals and her horn was enveloped in a pink glow. She wanted to do something different. She had levitated things before, and she had made sparks, but she wanted to do something new.

Magically, she brought the coals up around her and began spinning them like orbiting planets around herself.

“I know.” She whispered to herself. “I'll work on my aim.”