Starlight

Chapters

Chapter 1: Star Chasing
Chapter 2: Star Gazing
Chapter 3: Star Secrets
Chapter 4: Catching a Fallen Star
Chapter 5: Starlight (Epilogue)

Chapter 1: Star Chasing

Starlight

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fan Fiction

By Anthony Bova

Chapter 1: Star Shooting

The life of a reporter is not a tale of glamour. Nor is it a tale of heroes or knights in shining armor coming to rescue a mare in distress. I live this life one day at a time, dealing with financial struggles like everypony else in Cloudsdale. Of course, there are advantages to being a Pegasus News Pony. I get to avoid the worry about not knowing what is going on in Equestria, aside from the typical and very dull stories about when Princess Celestia travels somewhere, which happens a lot more often than you’d think.

My name is Grass Marks. I’m a reporter. I just joined up not too long ago, and now that I’m 17 years of age, they’ve moved me up from junior reporter to a full-fledged reporter. That means I get bigger wages, bigger stories, and a lot more mares and colts saying I’m a terrible pony for intruding and reporting on the lives of other ponies. If only I had a bit for everypony who told me that.

Anyway, so this is my life. I wake up, put on my proper attire, get over to the office, get my assignment, go to work, come back, go home, eat, go to sleep, and repeat. There’s rarely any days off and it’s not like everypony wants to become a reporter. It’s not exactly an exciting job compared to working the weather or running a shop or even racing. Those are the glamour jobs. I just report on their exciting jobs. You could say I get the scraps of what they leave behind.

I stretch my forelegs out, feeling my way to my blanket and roll it off, really hesitating getting up. I slowly move out of my bed, putting my hooves on the ground and making my bed. This was just another day. I don’t have time to eat breakfast because I was stupid enough to decide to play the “just five more minutes!” card with myself, being fully aware that it was a terrible idea despite what I told myself. I walk downstairs, letting a yawn slip from my mouth. My room shaded with white wallpaper and pictures of Ponyville, Canterlot, and points of interest in Cloudsdale hanging around my walls. I walk over to my small closet, which is just an indent in the wall of my house. Inside, there are several vests, all looking the same. It’s a green vest with many pockets for things such as a notepad and pencil. It wasn’t a long vest. Not a trench coat, but just a plain vest that covered about a fourth of my body. I know what you’re thinking; about how my fashion is terrible.

Sliding the vest on and putting my appropriate corresponding reporter gear in the small pockets, I head for the door, gently opening the door and closing it softly behind me. The sun glares on my forehead, making me cringe and regret having to go today. It’s not that I hate my job; far from it in fact! My only issue with it is that the boss is giving me what he called a, “huge story involving fallen stars.” Yeah, that’s quite a story all right. Excuse me if I withhold my enthusiasm.

I hesitantly take my first steps, feeling the typical cloud beneath my hooves. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that the only way I could get through the day is to find a way to make this “fallen star” story more interesting. Maybe think of it as an alien invasion! That’d sure be something to report on. And Equestria would have to praise me as a hero for delivering the news. Although, I know how things work around here. The news would get to Princess Celestia and she’d get all the credit instead. Okay, maybe that isn’t such a good idea. Well, at least it’d still be interesting for my 15 minutes of fame.

I walk along the clouds, following my ordinary path to an office building, not too noticeable or tall, and look at the building. It’s not a long walk, maybe only a few minutes. Cloudsdale itself really isn’t a maze or metropolis like a lot of the Earth ponies seem to think it is. It’s really just like their village of Ponyville… just, well, floating.

Regretting I didn’t call in faking a cold, I opened the door. The quiet atmosphere was pleasant considering it’s usually hectic. There were only a couple other reporters in the field where I was at in my career. But my boss, who we call “Money Bags”, seems to think we’re all below him and are just his tools for getting more money. That’s the only reason he wanted me to do this story, anyway!

It didn’t take long for me to get noticed by him in such a small room, either.

“Grass Marks!” Money Bags called out to me. I closed my eyes tightly, wishing he hadn’t seen me and praying with all of my might that when I opened my eyes, he’d be gone. Sadly, this wasn’t the case.

“Yes sir?” I asked, trying hard not to seem disrespectful.

“Why aren’t you out reporting on the fallen stars?” Money Bags said, eating an apple on his desk.

“Sir, I just got in the office. For that matter, I just woke up!”

“Watch your tone. Get your sorry flank to the crash site right now!” This is where my boss always makes me regret taking the job under his control. See, Money Bags is a green pegasus, just like myself, but he’s chubbier. Your typical fat, lazy, money craving corporate type.

“Yes, sir.” I finished, ignoring my want to explain to him that I don’t even know where the crash site even is! I went into the other room, the only other room in the building, and looked at the pinned marks on a map hanging on the wall. They were color coordinated. Red for Flare Skates, yellow for Golden Dusk, and green for Grass Marks. We’re the only reporters Cloudsdale has at our expertise of the reporting career.

It’s a map of Equestria, and there are two yellow marks in Cloudsdale. Meaning Golden Dusk is probably somewhere in town. Part of me considered going to him so I wouldn’t have to immediately go to the site of the fallen star. I did start to feel bad for Flare Skates now, seeing what I counted as five or six other markers for her. I only had one. That one green mark somewhere about five minutes from the Everfree Forests’ eastern barrier. Grabbing my notepad and pencil, I write down the information. Five Minutes from East Everfree is exactly what I wrote. It didn’t need to be clear. I knew what it meant. Quickly walking back out and avoiding the attention of Money Bags, I shut the door behind me and flew off into the skies, looking around the city for any sight of Golden Dusk, but not seeing even a hint as to where he could be. I mean, it was early in the morning still. Everypony is heading off to work and continuing their daily lives.

It’ll be about a seven minute flight. My wings open and spread to jump into the sky, soaring high into the sky and feeling the ever so cold air brush harshly against my face. I follow my intended trail, still looking for any sign of something interesting to get off track and away from the job. I pass by faded clouds. That is, clouds with very small amounts of rain inside them. The Everfree Forest is within sight, and it won’t be long to get there. Maybe if I was a faster pegasus during flight school, I’d have been able to get there in a shorter amount of time. However, that’s Flare Skates’ job. She’s the fast one in our trio of Pegasus News Ponies.

The Everfree Forest was in viewing distance now. It’s dark, almost chilling nature, always making me wonder about its origins, given that it’s day. It seems like there’s only night in that forest. The trees were almost bound together, creating a barricade around the Everfree Forest in all spots but the main entrance. That is the only way in and out of the forest itself.

A crater could be seen right where they said the star landed. It’s not often a star falls out of the sky here in Equestria. There’s an old ponies tale of a land where shooting stars are quite common. A blue-tinted land where stars fall almost like rain falls. I’ve never been one to believe in these tales, but they’re fun to read about nonetheless.

I made my way to the crater. It was just a large hole in the ground. About 40-feet in diameter if I had to estimate using my eyes. There was no smoke, no nothing. Just a hole in the ground from the impact. Peering my eyes over the crater, I saw a small blue orb in the crater. Maybe about 10 feet tall; spherical of course. I flew lower, my hooves touching the ground, and my flapping wings coming to a halt.

Now I was inside the crater, looking at the strange orb. I marked it down in my notepad quickly. No star in crash site. Blue orb. As I put my pencil away, I had a strange feeling. I knocked my hoof against the blue orb, and much to my surprise, it cracked. At first, I had a sense of shock as if I just did something I would regret terribly. My next sense was that of confusion and curiosity as to what was in this orb. Knocking on the orb again, it cracked. What happened next seems difficult to recollect.

There was a flash. A white shine that came from the orb, leaving me stunned and blinded. It lasted a few moments before it died down. It took me a moment to open my eyes again. They stung and felt like they were going to bleed from just how bright the light was. But now that I think about it, that also could have been from my killer headache that didn’t help at all with whatever it was that just came from that orb.

Finally, I came to. I rubbed my eyes and rattled my head, baffled by what had just occurred. Slowly, my dizzy vision came to a halt and I started seeing single as opposed to triple. For whatever reason, it took me a while to notice that the blue orb I had tampered with a moment ago was gone. That thing could have held a dragon for all I know and I could have died!

I stood in the same spot, hoping my headache would dissipate. The weird feeling I felt earlier grew. It wasn’t weird as in “super powers” weird, it was weird as in I felt like something was unnerving me. I looked around, scouring the edges of the crater until my eyes locked on to something charging at me. For a moment, everything stood still and time stopped as my eyes observed this character.

A blue mare with a yellow mane and tail. It was safe to assume, at the time, that she had long hair just held up. A bow was also in her hair, giving her somewhat of a sweet and innocent appearance accompanied by the red outfit she wore. Her expression was that of anger, making me immediately feel like I disturbed some sort of ancient burial grounds. Then it hit me. Literally.

I flew backwards, landing on my back after being head butted by the blue mare whom I knew nothing about. I groaned and looked at her as she stood in a battle stance on all four hooves, looking ready to kill me. She yelled and charged once more. This time, I wanted to take the defensive approach and flew to the air to avoid her. I believed I was safe in the air and maybe I could talk her down from here. That is, until she revealed to have wings and took to the sky. Just what I needed on the job. A battle crazy female pegasus wanting to kill me for Celestia knows what!

She charged at me, faster than any pegasus I’ve seen before. I dodged out of the way, but the way she stopped in mid-air and bolted at an angle towards me was seemingly impossible in my mind. Being tackled, she flew me towards the ground and gravity did not appear to be on my side, keeping me firmly in her hooves as she slammed me against the ground. I couldn’t move. She had me.

“Who are you?” she asked angrily, pinning me to the ground. I couldn’t speak at first, still groaning in pain. “Well?” she grew impatient.

“G- Grass Marks.” I said, feeling like I really shouldn’t be cooperating. I’m the one who should be asking all of the questions! Who is she? Where did she come from? What does she want? Why did she attack me? What was that blue orb?

“Why are you here?” she asked, her attitude making it seem more like a demand than a question. No sense in arguing it… it’s not like I can get out of here without cooperating now.

“Investigation.” I replied, trying to be vague.

“Of what?”

“A crashed star.” Her angry look shifted, her eyes growing wide and her livid expression turning blank.

“A… star?”

“Yeah. You know, those things in the sky at night.” I said. Talk about having to point out the obvious.

“I know what a star is, you dolt!” she snapped. Talk about an attitude.

“Great. Then maybe you can tell me who you are?” I asked, hoping to get at least some answers to what was going on around here.

“That’s none of your business! What did you want here?” she snapped again. Forget having an attitude. She’s touchy and makes Money Bags seem like a saint.

“I already told you!” I accidently snapped back. “I was investigating the crash site!”

“Why?”

“It’s my job!”

“As what?”

“A reporter… I’m a Pegasus News Pony.” I said. From there, her expression seemed confused, her head tilted.

“A… what?” she asked.

“A news pony. I go around and gather information to send to the citizens of Equestria.” I explained. I think that upset her, because she pushed down harder on me now.

“You’re not telling anypony about me!” she said, still sounding as demanding as ever with her somewhat rattled voice.

“I’m investigating a star, not you.” I said, trying to keep myself from dying.

“How do I know I can trust you?” she asked. I sighed.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I went to go do the movements to put my hoof to my eye, but the moment I made a motion she pushed me down again. She didn’t say anything for a while. She just sat there and looked at me, looking like she was in deep thought.

“Alright!” she said, perking right up for some reason. Her angry nature went to that of extreme happiness as she let go of me and bounced right back up to her hooves, releasing all tension. This is usually the part of the story where everything gets weird and the hero finds himself waking up from a bad dream. I hoped this was that kind of story.

I stood up, brushing myself off and looking at the blue mare with an incredibly wide smile. After a brief moment of awkwardness and silence, I cleared my throat.

“So, what’s your name?” I asked. She took to the sky, flying in circles and doing what looked like a routine from the Wonderbolts, but with less speed than them. She flew through the circle she made and flew straight up to the sky, angling herself down towards the ground and bolting in a dashing speed towards the ground. When she hit the ground, she met it still standing on her hooves and flipping her hair at me.

“I’m Star Chaser!”

Chapter 2: Star Gazing

“Star Chaser, huh?” I asked, trying to be cautious about my questions. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she suffers from multiple personality disorder or bi-polar disorder. However, I’m not a doctor. I can’t say for sure. I watched the stance Star Chaser stood in. Her hooves close together as she stood up straight on all four hooves. Like a superhero would stand after arriving to the location of the villain’s headquarters while feeling pumped up for the upcoming battle. Well, that’s how I imagined it as, being a fan of classic superheros like Batcolt and Spidercolt.

“That’s right!” the peppy yellow maned pegasus confirmed, grinning ear to ear with her eyes closed proudly.

“Where’d you come from?” I asked.

“Wh- what do you mean?” she snapped, “I came from my mother, like everypony else!”

“That’s… not what I meant.” I said, kicking a small pebble on the ground. “Where were you before you came here?”

“In the sky.” she quickly answered. At this point, it was hard for me to tell if she was being elusive or just plain stupid.

“Never mind that. Why did you attack me?”

“You rolled your eyes at me.” she said. I couldn’t even tell if she was serious or not. “Where I come from, that’s a sign of attack.” I stopped in my train of thought real quick. Did I really roll my eyes at her? It’s possible I did after the flash, but otherwise I don’t recall a thing. Judging by what I have gathered from this mare already, she could even be finding an excuse just to justify her actions for attacking me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” I felt it was better just to play along. “Do you have anywhere to go? I need to get back to the office in Cloudsdale.” I desperately just wanted to get away from this crazy pony. I get enough crazy at the office.

“Cloudsdale?” she said slowly, as if she was saying it for the first time. I tilted my head at her, my mind warped as to what was going on now.

“Yeah. The… place where pegasi live. You’ve never been there?” I asked. I would normally try not to ask so many questions just because she could have suffered amnesia or something from the fall, but I’m a reporter. I couldn’t help myself.

“No. I’ve never been in this land at all.” she replied. This shocked me with relief for a moment. I thought I was dealing with someone crazy who was ‘born of the stars’ as my mind first described her since I needed something to classify her as. I guess she’s just a foreigner.

“Oh, so you’re not native to this land.” I assumed based on what she told me. That seemed like an obvious statement anyway. Or an understatement as the case may be. “Do you have any way to get back home?”

“No.” she said. That was it. She just shook her head, frowned, looked down, and said ‘No.’ I hated where my mind was going with this as it seemed to speak for me without stopping to think.

“You can come back with me to Cloudsdale if you want.” I said, now wanting to cuff myself with regret for suggesting that. Perhaps it wasn’t the fact that I said it that bothered me. Rather, it was how after I said it, she looked up beaming at me with a peppy expression on her face, jumping up and down saying quickly,

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” for a few moments.

“It’s… no problem. Really.” what was I thinking? It was a huge problem! I sighed, the happiness of Star Chaser really making me feel happy myself.

“Should we go, Star Chaser?”

“Call me Star. Let’s go!” she said, not even giving me a moment to acknowledge what she said before blasting off into the sky. It took me a small moment, and I decided to go after her. She didn’t even know where she was going after all.

“Follow me, Star!” I yelled to her as I got close next to her. She reduced her speed slightly and allowed me to take the lead. Cloudsdale was in sight, but I’d still feel safer knowing she couldn’t possibly get lost following me. She had to at least be somewhat coherent. As we flew past, I took out my notepad once again. Mare in the Stars. I wrote. Putting my notepad and pencil away, I felt a rush of wind hit against my backside as Star blasted off from behind me towards Cloudsdale. At least she was heading in the right direction. I was surprised by her speed. She was quick and reckless, but knew what she was doing.

Arriving at Cloudsdale a few minutes after I realized Star’s speed, I landed close to the office building, looking at Star do random circles with increasing speed every time she completed a circle.

“Come on, Star!” I yelled towards her. She came to a halt, and started to move down. My eyes focused on her. How her red clothing gracefully flowed loosely in the wind. How her beautiful sapphire eyes glared in the sunlight that gleamed over Cloudsdale. How her wings folded slowly as she landed on the cloud. And how she looked at me like an idiot for staring at her with my mouth open, admiring her form. I shook my head, pulling myself back together.

“Are you okay?” she asked. I must have seemed like an idiot. I didn’t want her to think that. What was wrong with me? Now all of a sudden I care about what she thinks about me as opposed to less than half an hour ago when all I wanted was to get away from her? Celestia, if there was ever a time in the world to need a drink…

“Yeah. Of course.” I said. I let a moment of silence take over as I thought about what to do next. Do I really show her to Money Bags, who would probably want interviews and reports left and right? I don’t. I did NOT want to have her crowded by colts left and right. She was walking towards the office door happily. “Wait!” I said, losing hope the closer she got. Luckily for me, she stopped in her tracks, just a few feet from the door.

“What?” she asked, turning around.

“Let me show you around Cloudsdale first.” I suggested, desperately not wanting to let Money Bags see her through a window.

“Okey dokey!” she said, surprisingly cooperative and walking happily towards me now.

“There’s a lot of sights to see in Cloudsdale.”

“Then let’s go! Get your flank in gear!” she said. I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. My wings started to flap as I flew up into the air, waiting for her to do the same. When we were both looking eye to eye, I began to head for the biggest sight first. The Wonderbolts performance that is currently going on right now. If she loves flying, she’ll love seeing some of the best in action.

Soaring through the sky, my mind was filled with thoughts of sitting together and watching the Wonderbolts. Then they were filled with how stupid I was being. This mare comes from who knows where and doesn’t even belong in this land and the first thing I think of is trying to impress her by taking her to a group of professional flyers. Yeah, this will go over well.

The Cloudsdale Stadium was directly ahead of us. It was the biggest landmark in all of Cloudsdale, and I’ve been there many times. Not many can say they’ve been to a Wonderbolts performance about seventeen times, but in the life of a reporter, somepony needs to try and get interviews with some of the fastest known flyers in history. It was a large building, looking like a colosseum-style building with an open arena-looking center that when looked down from has a direct sight towards the ground itself.

Landing outside of the entrance to the Cloudsdale Stadium, I looked at Star’s expression. Her face was filled with expressions of excitement as she beamed at the site of the colossal landmark right in front of her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the building.

“Wow…” she said, admiring the handiwork of the stadium. Her face went from side to side, observing the building from what I could tell. In front of us was a pony collecting tickets to get inside the stadium. He seemed buff, tall, and a completely white pegasus with a black flat mane with a short stub of a tail.

Walking up to the pegasus, Star tried to trot happily inside, but was pushed back by the ticket collector.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he said, his rugged voice halting us in our steps. “Where’s your ticket?”

“Ticket?” Star asked, confused. I wasn’t sure if she was confused by the fact that they needed a ticket or if she even knew what a ticket was. I walked up towards the ticket collector and flashed my golden flat and circular token at him which signified that I was a reporter in Cloudsdale.

“We’re all set.” I said, trying not to make eye contact with him.

“Alright, you two are clear. Go on inside.” he said, letting us pass through the doorway of the stadium. Star looked at me happily, now thinking we’re some sort of V.I.P. guests or something. I wasn’t about to spoil her fun.

Walking through the halls of the Cloudsdale Stadium, we noticed a lot of paintings and artwork hanging around the walls. Statues of the Wonderbolts, paintings dedicated to the history of fast fliers in history. I’ve seen them all multiple times, but watching Star’s expression seemed to make it feel like I was here for the first time again. The carved marble sculptures of the Wonderbolts, most notably Spitfire, caught Star’s attention. Even though the sculptures weren’t in color, I could tell she had no problem matching the paintings of them with the sculptures of them, and there was something about Spitfire that inspired her.

After finally regaining Star’s attention, we quickly made our way to the designated cloud reserved for news reporters. Of course, I wasn’t supposed to be there, so Golden Dusk took the spot on the cloud where I would have been if it was my turn. We flew over to the cloud and sat next to him. It took him a moment to notice, but when he did, he nearly jumped off the cloud.

“What are you doing here, Grass?” asked Golden Dusk. He lowered his camera which was hung by a strap around his neck.

“Figured I’d come and see the show.” I said, deciding not to explain the whole story yet if I didn’t have to. It couldn’t be that big of a deal.

“And who’s this?” Golden Dusk said, motioning towards Star acting charmingly. I took in front of Star and glared at Golden Dusk, almost jealous.

“Star Chaser.” she said, peering from behind my back to see him.

“Hello Star Chaser!” Golden Dusk said, smiling. I sighed and moved out of the way, realizing how kiddish I was being on the situation.

“Star, this is Golden Dusk. He’s a news reporter like me.” I introduced them, trying to keep it short.

“A pleasure to meet you.” Golden Dusk said. I was going to try and explain a bit more as to why Star Chaser and I were together when I shouldn’t be, but then the announcements came on.

“Attention mares and gentlecolts! Fillies of all ages! I present to you the one, the only, the Wonderbolts!” the announcer said with enthusiasm.

“Star! Look!” I said, pointing at Spitfire as she led a triangle-shaped formation of five Wonderbolts. They split up as they flew into they flew into the sky, two Wonderbolts going left and two going right while Spitfire flew straight up. They looked like they were going to do what I call their “Sky Bomb” performance, which was basically just all meeting up in the middle where Spitfire was going and all flying down at bolting speed in a single-file line going straight down the center of the stadium. I knew Star would enjoy seeing something like that. Looking at Star, she seemed very happy, her face continuing to beam wider and wider until she let out a chuckle. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

“I can do better than that!” she said, feeling challenged.

“They’re doing great!” Golden Dusk said, taking pictures as they four of the Wonderbolts met back up with Spitfire, who began to dash straight down with the others following her, just as I described earlier. As they passed by us, I noticed Star begin to move. For some reason, she flew off into the center of the stadium and dashed after the Wonderbolts, following them.

“Star!” I yelled, trying to get her attention to no effect. She followed her new-found idol, Spitfire, while still having to follow behind the other four Wonderbolt performers. “Golden, what do we do?” I asked, turning towards Golden Dusk as he snapped photos of the performance, making sure to zoom in specifically on Star.

“I don’t know! We can’t just go after her. They’ll kick us ALL out.” he explained as he snapped a photo every few seconds. The crowd was buzzing with chatter and cheers as they watched Star’s expert performance with the Wonderbolts. This went on for a while. She followed their routines and matched it up symmetrically if they needed to disperse. If they ended up doing another of the sky bomb routines, she just followed Spitfire. The weird thing was, they acted like she was never there and if she got in their way, they acted like it was just part of the performance. Before I knew it, it was time for their finale.

“This is a disaster…” I muttered to myself.

“Are you kidding? This is fantastic!” Golden Dusk said, taking picture after picture. His mouth was almost watering with the thought of being responsible for a story like this. The Wonderbolts spun in a wide circle, big enough for everypony to see. Eventually, the circle looked like a solid blue ring that blended perfectly with the color of Star, despite her red clothing, which worked surprisingly well for the performance.

“Here it comes…” I said, becoming very nervous on the performance. All of the Wonderbolts, including Star Chaser, broke off into different directions and flew up simultaneously until they did a group pose together, in which Star joined in the back. I slammed my hoof against my forehead, not wanting to believe what I just saw. As always, there was Golden Dusk taking even more pictures. Some part of me wanted to smash his camera. I wasn’t sure what that reason was for. Maybe just because I didn’t want him to have pictures of her with his mouth wide open like it was and his tongue hanging out. As the Wonderbolts flew into the same spot in the stadium where they flew in from, Star came back to us.

“Star…” I began to say. She cut me off.

“Did you see that? It was awesome! Why didn’t anypony else jump in?” she asked. I didn’t get to finish what I started to say earlier before pegasus guards flew to our cloud.

“Ma’am, we have to ask you to leave. Now.” one of the guards said, grabbing Star’s arm.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” I said, grabbing her other arm.

“Gold!” Golden Dusk said. That just happened to be his catch phrase. He snapped pictures of us arguing, and as soon as I realized the constant flash of his camera, I let go of Star and looked at Golden Dusk to yell at him for taking pictures of our small fight. I didn’t get a word out of my mouth until Star was being taken away, her body trying to wiggle her way out of their grasp. I flew after Star, leaving Golden Dusk to wrap up his job.

Finally, Star was thrown out of the stadium. She landed on the cloud with a “Oof!” and stood back up, getting ready to charge at them until I quickly dashed in front of her and held her still.

“Star! Calm down. It’s alright. The performance was over anyway!” I said, noticing a small tear in her eyes.

“But I wanted to meet them!” Star protested, trying to push me away. Then I noticed that for some reason, she really looked up to Spitfire. As an idol or friend or something. I thought of it as a little sister to big sister feeling.

“They’re swamped with wrapping up now. You’ll have your chance.” I said, loosening my grip on her. “I promise.”

“What’s that?” she said. At first, I thought she was referencing what a ‘promise’ was, and then I caught her glare around my neck. No, it wasn’t a camera. Around my neck was a piece of sturdy tan string with a wooden Wing-Shaped charm around it.

“This?” I said, moving my necklace so she can get a better look at it. “It’s a good luck charm. They’re rare. I found it in a dumpster in Cloudsdale one day.” I smiled at her. “Maybe I’ll tell you the whole story one day.” She surely wasn’t one to stay on one specific topic for too long.

“Okay!” she said, perking right back up.

“How would you feel if we went to go get some lunch?” I asked, feeling my stomach rumble from not having eaten anything all day. Usually by this point, I’ve at least had my lunch break. Star just nodded her head. “Okay. What are you in the mood for?” she shrugged. No answer, just a shrug. I chuckled a little, and grabbed her hoof, trying to pull her into the air so we could fly. “Come on. I know a place we can go to.” and I looked towards the direction of a small grab-and-go café that sells dandelion sandwiches and make amazing hay shakes. That’s where I usually go during my break.

Coming up to the café, which wasn’t far from the stadium at all and was now starting to get busier with the recent event just getting over, I looked at Star again. She looked straight at the menu which hung over the mobile kiosk. There were maybe about seven other ponies there looking to get food. So we just had to sit back and wait for a while.

When it finally became our turn to get food, Star ran up to the kiosk as if she were a filly experiencing a candy shop for the first time. She looked right at the menu, her tongue hanging out at the sight of a picture of a dandelion sandwich. I looked at her and smiled.

“That’s what I get every day. You should like it.” I said to her as if she was even paying attention to me in the first place. I looked at the cook, who knew me so well by now that all I had to do was lift a hoof and he knew exactly what I wanted. Two dandelion sandwiches and two hay shakes. They had other things, but I was desperate to see if she and I were compatible in any way.

It only took the food a moment to get ready. Next thing we knew, we had a paper bag with two sandwiches wrapped in thin paper and two shakes on the counter. I grabbed everything, having to hold the bag with my mouth, and Star followed me to a small bench that sat at the exterior of the stadium. I put the drink down on the bench and sat down, and Star followed my lead. I opened the paper bag, handed her her sandwich, which she proceeded to grab quickly, and took out my own.

I expected her to unwrap it and eat it all in one big bite. However, this time she actually showed some sort of courtesy. She unwrapped the paper so it didn’t rip it all. I couldn’t even do that. I usually just tore the paper and threw it away. Looking at the sandwich, she took a bite out of it. Not even a big one. After swallowing, she looked at me curiously. I immediately turned away. I think she thought I was being creepy by watching her eat.

I did the same as her, trying to be careful with my typical eating habits. I looked at my sandwich and took a bite, wishing I got something different. It’s just awkward saying no when somepony already assumed what you wanted based on what you’ve had in the past and goes to prepare it. Maybe I’m just getting sick of the taste of dandelion sandwiches every day.

There didn’t seem to be much conversation at all. In fact, all she was doing was sitting there, eating her sandwich and drinking her shake. No looking around the city, no nothing. I couldn’t tell if I was more surprised or knocked back. This entire time I’ve been preparing myself on how to deal with this mare who seemed to cause trouble at every turn, and now all of a sudden she’s calm and polite about what she is doing.

“So…” I said, hoping to spike some sort of conversation. “You wanted to know about the necklace?”

“Mhm!” she said, taking another bite of the sandwich and showing a faint smile.

“When I was a child, my mother gave me this necklace…” I started, knowing this story would be a long one. “This was just before they left. You see, mother and father never really wanted a child. When they had one, father decided he needed a break from all of the hospitality and care they had to create for me and my mother agreed.” I stopped for a moment, letting her finish taking a sip so she could pay attention.

“That’s not nice.” she said. She seemed to have a clear definition set in her mind between right and wrong.

“They never came back.” I said, feeling a little bit of pain in my heart. “But when my mother gave me this necklace, she told me that no matter what, it would bring me good luck and that there’s only a handful of them in existence.” I finished, now realizing I was holding back a tear while looking at my charm.

I don’t know if she understood what I said. We sat there for a while even after we finished our food and threw it away. We didn’t talk about much. Just different sites in Cloudsdale and some of the people I’ve met. Money Bags, Flare Skates, Spitfire, Golden Dusk, and just other random miscellaneous pegasus who played a part in Cloudsdale. I sat there, thinking for a moment to myself about what was going on.

Here I was sitting in a daze. My mind was completely oblivious to the outside world. I was thinking about my parents again. How I never knew where they were or if they’d ever come back or if I even wanted them back. I see fillies with their parents every day and never before have I seen such a sight that looked as aesthetically pleasing as running around and playing with a little one. I thought of Money Bags. How, even though he was probably the last person I’d save if something bad were to happen, he was the closest thing I had to a father, but I’d never let him or anypony else know that.

It took some time before I refocused back on the reality at hand. When I did, I felt a bit of weight left on my shoulder. Before you start making assumptions, no, I’m not speaking metaphorically. I looked to my left where I saw Star laying her head down on my shoulder, asleep. I wondered if she was just exhausted from all of the excitement, and then I realized it was nearly sunset.

“Star?” I asked, trying to wake her up. No movement. She was peacefully breathing out of her slightly open mouth and I cracked a smile. I picked her up, holding her by my hooves and carrying her like a child, trying to support her head. She was beyond passed out. I felt like I was kidnapping her at first. She doesn’t even live here. At the same time, I couldn’t just abandon her. I had to keep her safe.

Ignoring everything else, I hastily made my way to my small house. Her small yawns causing me to let out yawns and smiles of my own. I opened the door with my bottom hoof, trying hard not to wake or disturb Star as she slept. My legs were starting to shake and my eyes were closing every few seconds. My stairs suddenly looked like they could stretch on for miles. I groaned, looking around my small living room and realizing how tempting the couch looked. I walked over, laying Star down on the couch and sitting peacefully at her head, which was half way across the couch.

“Hello, I’m Star Chaser…” she mumbled. I looked down, listening to her talk in her sleep. “Grass Marks… shooting stars.” It appeared to be a list of things she was talking about. Maybe recalling what had just happened. I looked at her as she started to move, her eyes still closed. I thought she perhaps had just woken up until she moved closer to me and wrapped her hooves around my neck loosely, pressing her soft lips against mine. My heart began to race, pounding against my chest as I blushed intensely, kissing Star.

I held Star close, suddenly feeling glad to be alive. Next thing I knew, she was moving even closer to me, getting out of her relaxed position and crawling her way onto me. She sat down on my lap, her eyes still closed as she kissed me. I closed my eyes with her, not being fully aware if she’s even aware of what she’s doing and for a moment, not even caring. It sounds selfish, I know, but the feeling was so intense and so powerful that I didn’t have a care in the world for once in my life. This was our moment together.

Star opened her eyes slowly. I did the same almost in perfect harmony. She looked at me, her eyes half way open and stopping there. She blushed, slipping her tongue in my mouth, and closed them again, pressing her body against mine and forcing my back against the couch. Our tongues swirled around each other, the feeling tingling in my mouth.

I couldn’t help but feel great ecstasy overcome my body. She soon found this out when, as we were kissing, she was poked from behind. The second this second her eyes opened and she looked at me to see me blushing more furiously than when we started. My eyes met with hers and my I kissed her again, letting the moment wash over every bit of worry I had. She sat herself up, keeping her eyes focused on me and lowering her red skirt until it was completely removed from her body. For whatever reason, seeing her without some sort of fabric covering her just made the heated moment even hotter. I mean, most ponies don’t wear clothing anyway, but it was the fact that she did that made seeing her without it hotter to me.

I soon felt weight being pressed down around me, knowing I was entering inside her. The feeling of having her clenched tightly around me as she moved slowly and hearing her moans as she moved just made me lean back and enjoy the moment. It took a moment for her to reach all the way down me, but when she did, she immediately leaned forward and kissed me passionately with her eyes closed.

Moments passed with the same motions, but the feeling never died down. I couldn’t lie to myself. It felt amazing. An absolute trance of pleasure and enjoyment. I looked at her in the eyes as she continued to bounce on my lap, and the look let her know what was about to happen. She started to move faster, getting louder as she moaned in both pleasure and slight pain. She looked at me, one eye open and with a wide grin from ear to ear stretched across her beautiful blue face. I groaned her nice in a whisper, and she heard it well. It was just as if she didn’t care. It was impossible for me to hold it any longer. I released inside of her, feeling multiple pulses shake through my body as she arched her head back and smiled with her eyes shut. After it was over, she fell sideways, panting with her mouth open. I followed her position until we were both laying down together on the couch, my arm reached across her body.

“Star?” I asked, feeling my heart pound against my chest from exhaustion.

“I’m never leaving…” she said. I believed every word of it. I smiled and hugged her tightly.

“I love you…” I said, pulling a small blanket up to try and cover us, but intentionally giving her more of it.

“I love you too.” she replied as her eyes closed shut and we both drifted off to sleep.

That sealed the deal.

Chapter 3: Star Secrets

“GRASS MARKS!” Money Bags yelled. If that wasn't one of the most recognizably annoying voices I have ever heard in my life. My eyes opened, hearing several poundings on the door. Star was completely asleep, still in my arms.

“Oh shit!” I yelled. Swearing wasn’t a habit of mine. Some moments just specifically called for it. I sat up, and tried to get off the couch without waking Star up. Quickly, I rushed to the door and opened it to see Money Bags slamming a paper in my face. “Ow!”

“What the hay is this?” he yelled, showing me the paper. I moved the paper from my face, grabbing it and reading it out loud.

“Grass Marks, AWOL and In Chaotic Love.” I stopped. Immediately, my eyes looked for the author. It was precisely who I thought… “An article written by Golden Dusk…” I read.

“Mind explaining yourself?”

“I… uh… well…” I had no words. What was I supposed to say? That I found a mare at the site of the crash and took her into my house and had sex with her? Yeah, that story won’t get me fired!

“I haven’t seen a story about a shooting star on my desk yet! And you haven’t even reported back since you left almost twenty-four hours ago!” he yelled.

“Y- yes sir. I’ll get to work on your story right now and have it on your desk before lunch.” I said. I’d have to bust my flank to get this done.

“Do you even know what time it is? It’s the afternoon, Marks!” I looked at my watch on my front hoof which I always kept there.

“What?” I said, surprised. I was almost ready to slap my boss. He was lying. It was nearly nine in the morning! I looked back up at him to see him laughing.

“I thought that’d throw you off!” he said, chuckling. “But I seriously want a report on my desk my noon.” he said, turning his smiling face instantly into one of serious anger.

“Yes sir!” I said, shutting the door quickly in his face so I could get to work. This was going to be a long day. Turning around, I saw Star sitting up, her mane looking like a mess. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. “Good morning, Star.” I said to her. She rubbed her eyes, her legs crossed, and looked curiously at me.

“What happened?” she asked. I wanted to keep my frustration a mystery.

“Just have to do some work for the boss.” I said. “I have to get this report done before noon.” She yawned, just barely keeping her eyes fixed on me.

“Okay.” Star replied. I walked over to her, kissing her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“Mind if I ask you some questions?” I asked, taking out my notepad and pencil.

“Sure.” she said, still waking up. I cleared my throat, trying to get back into the reporter state of mind and trying to forget our current relationship.

“What is your name?”

“Star Chaser.”

“What is your job?”

“I talk to the stars.” This was news to me.

“Where are you from?”

“The Star Nest.”

“The what?” I asked. It wasn’t going to be reported. I just wanted to know. She didn’t reply. She just looked up where the stars would have been and started to nod off again. “Star?”

“Hm?” she said, falling asleep again. I couldn’t help but shake my head. I just let her sleep. Besides, I needed to look deep into Equestrian Mythology. For that, I needed a trip to the Cloudsdale Library.

Before leaving, I picked up a small bag with a strap that went across my body. I also put a tray in front of the couch with tea and eggs for when Star wakes up, along with a note explaining that I’m going to the library. I also stopped to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead before leaving.

“Okay,” I started, talking to myself, “time to do some investigating.” I left the house and took flight, flying with speed towards the library. It wasn’t a long trek by any means. When I got to the two story building, I opened the door, hearing a small bell go off. The environment was to be expected. Quiet and calm. The librarians were running around, returning books and keeping everything organized as possible. One of the librarians walked up to me as I looked around the room, observing the paintings and organized sections.

“Pardon me.” the librarian said. “Are you looking for anything specific?”

“Actually, yes.” I said, showing her my reporters’ badge. “I’m looking for the section on Equestrian Mythology.”

“Any particular book?”

“Something regarding the home of the stars.” Immediately, she started walking away. I followed the turquoise mare with a silver mane over to a section of books that was lined up with the other sections.

“No… no…” she said, sifting through the many books. I think she knew exactly what I was looking for. This is why I loved libraries. If you needed something, they typically made your life that much easier. “Ah! Here we are.” she said, pulling a book out of the astrological shelf of the mythology section.

“Thank you.” I said, reaching for the book and grabbing it. She nodded at me and started to walk away. I didn’t know if she was just brushing me off or if being a librarian actually took a lot of work even on slow days. Either way, it was irrelevant to me. I walked over to a small table, placing the book down and sifting through the table of contents of the book labeled, Beyond Our Reach. I moved my hoof down the table of contents, making an invisible line across any section that didn’t sound like the spot I was looking for. Eventually, on the third page, my hoof came to a stop at a certain section. Star Ponies is what it said. Page 202. Quickly, I flipped through the pages to get to that spot and began to read the small excerpts.

“Star Ponies are a mystic and rare breed of ponies not native to Equestria. Although not much in known about their race, the first known Star Pony appeared in Canterlot during the Discord Era and was locked away for a small period of time before it died. According to ancient texts found after Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated Discord, the Star Pony died three days after it landed, where it ran out of what they called, “Star Energy” which is to them what oxygen is to everypony else in their native land they called “The Star Nest.” Without having any confirmed sights of Star Ponies, the Royal Canterlot Library has labeled their existence as a myth.”

I stopped reading and slammed the book closed, putting a hoof on my mouth. Star is dying. This is more important to me than my news article. At the same time, this was a perfect opportunity for me. Quickly, I went over to the typewriters in the back of the library and began typing my article. The title was Starlight.

On my way home after having the article printed out, I bolted into Money Bags’ office, threw the paper on his desk, and ran out before he could even speak to me. His opinions were not my concern. My concern was doing everything I could to keep Star alive. This was my highest priority.

Finally, I made my way home and shut the door. I checked my watch to find out it was just barely 12:00pm. I made it just before noon. Looking around the house, Star was still laying down, but the tea and eggs were gone. I ran over to her and sat next to her, stroking her mane with my hoof until she opened her eyes and looked at me, groaning with exhaustion.

“Star?” I asked, trying to get her attention.

“What is it?” she asked, dazed. I said nothing more. With hesitation and for the first time in my life, I took off my Wing-Shaped charm that my mother gave me. I looked at Star and held her head up, putting the charm around her. Her eyes opened as if she were awake and looked at the necklace I put on her. “Why?” she asked.

“I love you, Star. I’ll find a way to protect you.” I replied as I hugged her. She hugged me back and I think she then realized that I knew who she was; what she was.

“I love you…” she replied sincerely and softly.

“There’s somepony I’d like you to meet.” I said.

“Who?”

“Just trust me. We’re going to go visit her.”

“Okay.” she said, smiling. I think she trusted me. I hoped she trusted me. It took us a small time to get everything together. We left the house together, hoof in hoof.

“Hey Star?” I asked, closing the door.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s race!” I said, smiling and watching her expression light up as she folded her hooves and gave me a “challenge accepted” look. Without any further word, she blasted off into the star, faster than I’ve seen before. I flew after her until I caught up and pointed towards a building outside the Cloudsdale Stadium. She nodded at me, keeping a serious face and dashed off. She was faster than anypony I’ve ever seen. Well, except for a few of the Wonderbolts.

In a literal sense, she was like a shooting star. She moved in an arch, heading straight down towards the building I mentioned earlier. I tried catching up, going as fast as I could, but the mare was just too fast for me. She was in front of the building before I knew it, and it took me a minute to catch up.

When I landed, she was on the ground. At first I panicked.

“Star!” I yelled, leaning down in front of her. The door nearby opened to reveal an orange mare with a fire-like smooth mane. Quickly, the mare ran up to Star as well until Star opened one eye.

“Gotcha!” she said. The tear I was trying to hold back turned to a laugh of relief and I looked over at the mare, who Star saw and immediately felt shy.

“Hello. You’re Star Chaser, right?” the mare said.

“Y- You know my name?” Star asked.

“Of course I do. How could I forget the mare that did so well with us when we performed yesterday?” Spitfire replied. Star’s expression lit up with enjoyment as she hugged Spitfire. “What’re you two doing here?”

“It’s… difficult to explain. I just wanted her to meet her idol.” I said to her, smiling.

“Not a problem. Any fan of Grass Marks is a friend of mine.” Spitfire said. Spitfire and I knew each other for a while. After a lot of interviews, I think I grew on her as her favorite reporter with how much I respected her personal life. I looked back at Star, who was happy and shaking her bottom hooves with uncontainable joy.

“Spitfire!” Star said. She repeated saying Spitfire’s name multiple times. I don’t think she’s ever been so giddy in the time I’ve seen her. She eventually loosened the hug on Spitfire, and afterwards Spitfire invited us inside. It was a big home. One worthy of such a seasoned flyer. This was my first time being in Spitfire’s home. From what I could see, she had the life. Very elegant furniture but also a lot of personality to it with random things scattered along the floors of her house. We came to her living room and each sat down, letting the silence take over before I decided to say something.

“Do fans come by to visit you often, Spitfire?” I asked.

“Yeah, but it’s cool. I like seeing everypony as much as they like to see me.” Spitfire replied. It was nice having an actual conversation with somepony of importance that didn’t involve me taking notes on every word they say. Spitfire picked up a small magazine with herself on the cover and handed it to Star. “Here, Star. Keep this.”

Star looked at the magazine. She read the cover and looked inside, zoning out into her own little world as Spitfire and I talked with each other about random things. How our jobs were going, what was next for us, how we both hate who we work for. Typical topics. I’ve reported on Spitfire before, but this is the first time I’ve ever really spoken casually to her.

Every now and then, I’d look back over at Star, whose eyes were moving back and forth on the magazine pages, completely engaged in her reading. However, as time went by, she fell asleep again. She just collapsed on the couch. Spitfire and I rushed over to her. Her heart was still beating, but something just seemed wrong. She didn’t doze off. She just fell unconscious.

We agreed she needed to get to the hospital. I put Star on my back and left the house, flying over to the hospital, thinking only about what could go wrong. Spitfire had already blasted ahead of me. By the time I arrived to the hospital, the doors were already open and other pegasi were rushing over to get Star. They were dressed in white coats and other doctor-type accessories with them. They came out carrying what looked like a white cloth stretched along with two wooden rods on each end. They grabbed Star Chaser off my back and put her down on her back on the cloth, rushing inside with Spitfire watching them head to an emergency room. I was about to go after them to make sure she was alright, but one of the doctors stopped me.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you’ll have to stay out here.” she said, preventing me from moving forward any more.

“Take care of her.” I said. That’s where I left that conversation. I went over to the wall near the entrance to the hospital and sat down next to Spitfire along a row of seats.

“When did you meet her?” Spitfire asked, not even so much as looking at me.

“Yesterday.” I said plain as that. She let out a small chuckle, looking down. “Why?”

“She’s a Star Pony, isn’t she?” Spitfire said. It caught me by surprise as I looked at her, seeing her blank expression as she stared at the floor.

“How’d you know?”

“She’s not the first, you know.” Spitfire said. I felt like there was more to this story. “Ponies don’t just randomly pass out from exhaustion. Only one other I’ve met was like that.”

“Who?”

“His name was Glimmer Sprite. Like Star, he was blue.” A single tear crossed Spitfire’s eye as she recollected the memories, but she held anything else back, taking a deep breath.

“What happened to him?”

“I never told anypony of him. He was my friend and when we met, there was just something—“

“Unnatural. Appealing. Attractive.” I said, finishing her sentence. She smiled and let out a hefty sigh.

“Yeah.”

“What happened to him?” I questioned.

“Three days later…” Spitfire started. I already knew where this was going. I stopped her, putting a reassuring hoof on her back.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to say any more.” I looked down, the only thing I was able to do was pray that Star Chaser would be alright.

“Glimmer Sprite left. He didn’t die.” Spitfire said after a moment of silence.

“How? They die without their energy…”

“They’re different, Grass Marks. They can withstand our planet’s atmosphere and fly to the stars themselves.”

“How can Star Chaser make it to the stars if she’s stuck here?” I asked, noticing that the third and final day was coming up sooner than I anticipated.

“Sneak her out. Get past the hospital security, get Star Chaser, and get her out of here.” Spitfire said, keeping a hushed voice.

“What?” I couldn’t believe what I heard. She wanted me to break into the hospital and steal a patient.

“That’s the only way she will survive. She’ll die without the energy and I doubt any doctor will believe your Star Pony theory.” Spitfire explained. It all made sense to me, but stealing a patient from a hospital would get me in a lot of trouble.

“Why did you bring her here if you knew she was a Star Pony?”

“I didn’t know for sure.” she started, sitting up straight. “Better safe than sorry, right?” I nodded. I tapped my hoof against the floor for maybe ten minutes of nothing but complete silence. Not a word was spoken between Spitfire and I until one of the doctors came up to us, staring us down.

“What’s the news?” I asked, my heart pounding against my chest.

“It appears she’s in some sort of coma. We’re still running tests to find out why.” I looked at Spitfire, who nodded her head at me. Star was in the final stages of her death. “Visiting hours are over. You’ll have to come back in the morning.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I wasn’t going to fight it. Spitfire and I walked out of the hospital, feeling as if we were both carrying weights on us. Neither of us wanted to leave. We wanted to stay by Star’s side.

“Grass.” Spitfire said, looking at me seriously as the doors to the hospital close behind us.

“Yeah?” I replied, the cold wind pressing against me and my nose starting to tingle from the smell of the cold air against the warm air inside the hospital.

“How far are you willing to go for Star Chaser?”

“I would give my own life for her to stay alive.” I glared seriously at Spitfire, wanting her to know for a fact that I was serious. She looked at me for a moment and then smiled.

“Meet me back here tonight at midnight. Wear all black.” Spitfire said as she began to fly into the air. I nodded at her, watching her fly away. This was it. All or nothing to save Star Chaser.

Chapter 4: Catching a Fallen Star

The time was here. Midnight. I stood in the shadows of the hospital, out of sight from the immediate light and looking for Spitfire. I stood wrapped in black fabric and kept just on just enough so that I could still move around freely. It was completely quiet. Colder air swept passed me, which was greatly welcome with how warm the fabric made me. I sat down, patiently waiting for Spitfire.

“Grass.” A voice whispered to me from around the corner of the building. I curiously walked over to the corner and walked around it. Spitfire was there. Upon seeing her, she crackled for a moment before bursting out laughing softly.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, taking slight offense.

“What are you wearing?” she asked, pointing at my clothing.

“It’s all I had!”

“Are those curtains?” she laughed.

“Stop laughing!” I was starting to get ticked off. She told me to wear black. I did. She said nothing about actually needing it to be clothing. Besides, it would be suspicious to go into a store and buy a back jumpsuit. Spitfire eventually stopped laughing and pointed to a window up on the third level of the hospital.

“That’s where we need to go.” Spitfire said.

“Is that where Star’s room is?” I eyeballed the window, observing it.

“I don’t know which room she’s in. I just know that it’s on the third level of the hospital.”

“Fair enough. Let’s get this over with.” I started to fly up towards the window, staying close to the wall. Spitfire followed close by, smiling the entire time. Opening the window for Spitfire, I watched as she slyly flew in, pushing herself close to the wall when she entered. I did the same, closing the window gently behind me.

Spitfire and I looked around. We were in the hallway of the hospital. I looked at Spitfire, who was checking to make sure the coast was clear.

“You go right. I’ll go left.” Spitfire said. I nodded at her and turned my back, walking through the hospital and trying to keep calm but alert. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. Sneaking into a hospital and committing a crime that I normally report on. I stopped for a moment, reality hitting me like a brick making me wonder if those ponies I reported on and got in trouble had the same problem as me. A tall tale that nopony would believe.

Hearing the pitter patter of hoofsteps, I pulled myself together. Somepony was walking through the halls. I saw a light, possibly from a flashlight, aiming in my direction. Quickly, I flew to the ceiling. As I looked down towards the source of the light, I saw one of the doctors walking through the hall, waving her flashlight left and right slowly, making sure the halls were clear. I guess I should take this time to thank Cloudsdale Security for not remembering that we’re all pegasi here and can just fly over everypony.

Waiting for the doctor to take a corner or continue far enough down the hall, I eventually lowered myself, landing once again on the cement floor. I looked cautiously around and poked my head around the corner, hoping to avoid more surprises like that. The longer I walked around the hospital, the more I felt tense. I had no idea where to even begin looking for Star.

I started to just go with the flow, walking wherever the hospital took me. I took corners, walked around and avoiding directions I hear hoofsteps in. Eventually, I came up to a series of offices. I had a feeling I was going in the wrong direction, but a single door caught my attention. The records of everypony born in Cloudsdale. It was too tempting for me. I walked over to the door and turned the knob, surprised to know it wasn’t locked. Inside the room was a series of drawers that were alphabetically organized. I found the M drawer and opened it, reading the names as they went by. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew I had to find Star Chaser but I just ended up here as if by fate.

I eventually found my folder and opened it, looking at my record. At first, it was exactly as I expected. Two names I never had recognized. However, inside was a note of family members present at the location. As I looked at it, my eyes widened and I dropped the folder on the floor, running out of the room and leaving the door wide open. I flew to avoid any footsteps, but I couldn’t see clearly until my name was whispered across one of the corridors.

I looked in the direction, seeing a silhouette of Spitfire walking towards me. I landed, slowly heading towards her. She put a hoof on each of my shoulders and looked at me, knowing I was upset about something.

“Grass Marks, what did you find?” she asked.

“The birth records… names of all family members present at my birth…” I told her.

“So? How does that help us?”

“It doesn’t… but I wanted to know who my parents were.”

“Did you find your answer?”

“Yes, but I didn’t recognize the names.” I looked around, making sure we were alone. “I only recognized one family member.” I stopped, clearing my mind and building tension.

“Who?”

“My boss, Money Bags, is my father’s brother. He’s my uncle.” I said, trying to believe it myself. The same pony who hired me out of pity for not having parents is my uncle. Somehow, it all seemed to make sense.

“Wow. What are the odds of that?”

“I don’t like it. But I guess knowing that I still have family makes me feel better.” I let out a smile and looked at Spitfire, who as soon as I finished my sentence, flew to the ceiling. I followed her, not sure of what she was doing. All of a sudden, another doctor passed by. A different one than before, but still carrying a flashlight by the mouth. She was making the same motions, moving left and right passed us. Spitfire and I moved in another direction, continuing around the ceiling until we took another corner and landed.

“So, did you find anything?” I asked.

“I found out what room she’s in.” Suddenly, I was filled with a lot of relief.

“What room?” I whispered excitedly.

“Room 2C. Let’s stick together and look now.” Spitfire said. I nodded, following her. We stayed close and stayed quiet enough to stay away from the doctors. Finally, we came up to the door. I looked at it, almost scared of what we’d find behind it. Spitfire was the one to open the door. She seemed so put together about this entire thing. Almost obligated to help out.

The room was a single-patient emergency room. Star Chaser was laying on the uncomfortable looking bed with a blanket over her and some wires taped to her, reading her brainwaves. I walked up to her, taking off the taped wires and holding her up straight.

“Star?” I asked, trying to get her to move. She shook, afraid of what was going on. “It’s me, Grass Marks.” After I said that, she grabbed onto me, hugging me tightly. “We’re going to get you out of here. You’re going to live, I promise.”

“Grass, be quick. I think more doctors are coming.” Spitfire said, holding the door open.

“Come here, Star. Hold onto me tightly.” I said, picking her up, her legs being supported by me holding onto her. She put a hoof around my neck to keep herself balanced but Spitfire pulled onto me.

“Now!” Spitfire said, bolting away. I followed her, trying to be careful of Star. We came up to a window and did the same maneuver as before, but trying to keep ourselves very wary of everything going on. Filled with great relief and accomplishment, Spitfire and I flew over to an open space in Cloudsdale and landed down.

Looking at Star, I saw that her life was fading. She was increasing exhausted, shivering now as well from the cold night air. She looked up at me, fear spread across her face. She was so worried and I could tell.

“Star…” I said, setting her down and looking up at the stars. “That’s where you belong. You can’t stay here any longer or you’ll die.” I looked at her as she looked back at me.

“But I love you… also,” she started. “the doctors told me that I’m… pregnant.” she finished. My body froze. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I wanted to be here for my foal, but Star needed to live.

“Star Chaser, I love you with all my heart.” I said. I needed to convince her she had to leave. “Now you have more than a little piece of me with you. Please, I need you to leave. Live and raise our child…”

“I want to be with you and you can’t stop me!” she stomped her hoof. I didn’t say anything for a moment. I was too deep in thought and too surprised about what I was told. After a small time, I took off my necklace and put it around her neck.

“Now you will be with me. I want you to pass that on to my foal when he or she is born… please. For me.” A tear crossed my eye once more. She nodded, hugging me tightly and even starting to tear up herself.

“Grass Marks. She needs to leave before it’s too late.” Spitfire said, smiling at Star Chaser and even giving her a small hug. Not another word was said between us. Star looked at us one more time and then back at the good luck charm around her neck. Her beautiful sky blue wings opened up and she flew towards the sky until we could no longer see her.

“Goodbye, Star Chaser…” I said.

Chapter 5: Starlight (Epilogue)

When I returned back to Cloudsdale, I confronted Money Bags about my father. He told me the entire story. About how my father never wanted a foal and neither did my mother, so they left me in the care of distant relatives and never told me a word about it. They never wanted me to find out that my parents were terrible for me. He told me he was so hard on me specifically because he wanted me to be good enough to take over the business when I was old enough and he had to retire.

The next day, I was arrested and charged for breaking and entering. The proof they gathered from the scene were my hoofprints left on specifically my folder in the birth records room. When in court, Spitfire tried to defend me but failed. I never gave a mention or indication of Spitfire. I pleaded guilty and took whatever punishment they gave me. I remained in prison for two years. It was supposed to be a minimum of eight thanks to taking Star Chaser, but a recent article got them to remove me on two only for the count of breaking and entering. The article that saved me was my very own paper titled Starlight, which is the same name of the story I wrote while in prison and continue to write up to this very final day.

Everypony now believes the existence of Star Ponies, and more research is being done to try and learn more about them. It’s been only a few weeks since my release from prison, and I am to return back to work with Flare Skates and Golden Dusk, who’ve risen above my own position since I was imprisoned and are also now engaged to each other. My life now continues as it did before, only with more sorrow and mild dose of fame.

Every now and then, I will go out at night and look up at the stars, seeing one specific star gleaming down at me, and then a smaller star next to it shining at me. Even if it isn’t exactly what I think it is, it’s still nice to know that it could be my own filly or colt as well as Star Chaser looking down at me from the stars.

Where my life takes me now is yet to be seen.

And who knows, maybe one day I will see them again. One thing is for certain. My name is Grass Marks, and I’m a Pegasus News Pony. This title is worn proudly around me now with newfound hope that life is full of surprises, so keep on pushing through yours until you find your shooting star.