Star Chaser and the Diamond Dogs
The night sky was chilly. The perfect temperature to do some serious flying. Star Chaser, a white Pegasus with purple wings that had that muscles of a hardened distance flier took off from her home in search for one of her favorite things in the world, falling stars.
She had quite a collection and she'd even made some fun art with them, but that's not why she did it. Fallen stars, if you knew what your were doing, could house an amazing amount of magic within and, if in the wrong hands, could lead to disaster.
The truth about this was not widely known, fact being that other than the Princesses Celestia and Luna, no pony knew about it, which is why she'd freely given a few away as gifts from time to time. It also helped that you had be able to use magic to use the star's potential, and none of her gifts made it into the hands of unicorns.
As soared up higher, using the last bit of a warm up draft from the rocks near by her home, she scanned the darkened horizon. Stars winked at her as she glided effortlessly through the sky, humming the latest balled Octavia had written. She didn't know the gray mare personally, but she had heard her music from time to time. Star Chaser liked her latest piece and so hummed it often, without thinking, while she worked.
Something sparked and caught her eye. A jet of light erupted and shot through the sky on a downward ark towards the earth. Tucking her wings in, Star Chaser poised, almost motionless in the chilled air, and then plummeted at a break neck speed down after the fiery chunk of stone. As she sped towards the ground, she could tell that she wasn't going to reach this one in time to catch it mid air, but she could see where it was going to hit.
The star collided with a nearby hillside with a mighty Craaack. With a dash of flare, she pulled out of the dive, twisting a cork screw, and looping down to land not far from the smoking hillside, she cantered up to the chard bit of earth, still humming to herself.
“RRA! That one's mine!”
Star Chaser, with reflects honed from catching stray stars, leaped to the side, her wings flapping just enough to give her an extra boost for speed and distance. She turned, bending low over her front legs, ready to headbutt anything that came her way, and spied a diamond dog in a long hooded robe, open at the front, reveling a bare, diamond studded, chest.
“I'm afraid not.” Star Chaser replied. “That star is coming with me.”
“Raa ha ha ha!” The dog laughed. “So says you, but was say my brothers?”
All at once, Star Chaser was surrounded by more hooded dogs, all much taller than the pony, and scary looking.
“Ra, I'm hungry, brother.” One of them said, laughing. The other laughed along.
“Let's have a snack, then. A pony snack.” Barked another, but before they could move in, the elusive pony in question shot straight up, all four legs acting like springs and sent her air born in a matter of moments.
“That star doesn't belong to you.” Star Chaser said, trying to reason with the dogs. “It's not a gem, it could be dangerous.”
The dogs laughed, their deep throated voices making the noise sound like rock clashing together.
“That's only if you don't know what you're doing.” One growled. “And we know how to use it.”
Star Chaser felt an icy chill crawl down her spine and settle into the pit of her stomach.
“Y-you do?!”
“Shoo flying pony.” On of the dogs growled, making a leap for her, but the Pegasus just flew higher, out of reach.
“For your information,” She retorted in a snippet tone, “I'm a Pegasus, not a pony.”
“You smell like a pony, flying pony.” There was a murmur of agreement from the other dogs to this statement. “You smell like a pony, you must be pony, pony!” And the rest roared their approval. “So, pony, leave us alone. We have serious magic to do.”
A quick count told the white pegasus, that there were seven diamond dogs total. She couldn't take on that many, not without help, and there wasn't time for that.
“And what magic are you going to do?” She asked, trying to stall for time, to think of a way to get the star back.
“Like we tell a pony.” Snarled a dog.
“You have the upper hoof, er, paw.” Star Chaser stated, trying to be as appealing as she could. “There are more of you than of me. You could tell me anything, and I still couldn't do a thing about it.”
The dogs pondered that thoughtfully, and then turned to the one who held the star. That must be their leader, and an idea was starting to form in the Pegasus's head.
“We are going to summon the Di'Clo'Me.” The Alpha dog stated.
Star Chaser cocked her head to one side, honestly confused and curious. “What's a Di'Clo'Me?”
A dog snarled, as if the answer was in the question itself, but the Alpha answered. “Di'Clo'Me is a dog of diamond. They can sniff out diamonds and other shiny stones. Di'Clo'Me is a Diamond Clone of Me, or the dog that summons it.”
The answer gave Star Chaser what she needed. She was always quick on her hooves, and very clever when the occasion arose.
“What does a Di'Clo'Me look like?” She asked, putting the finishing touches on her plan.
“Like a diamond dog, but made of diamonds.” Replied a different dog.
“Really?” Star Chaser feigned astonishment. “What do diamonds look like?”
A dog in the group opened his robe, revealing a diamond incrusted chest. “Like this!” He snarled.
“Then it worked!” She sang happily, clapping her front hooves in mock joy. “You are a diamond dog, but you've got a diamond for a heart, so you must be made of diamonds.”
“Silly pony,” The dog chuckled gruffly. “I'm not made of diamonds. A Di'Clo'Me has a heart of made of a diamond.”
“Where is your heart then?” Star Chaser asked stupidly, hoping not to sound too obvious of what she was doing.
“In our chest.” Another dog replied, like this was common knowledge, which it was.
“But, he has a diamond in his chest, and he looks like a dog. If the diamond is in his chest, it must mean that his heart is a diamond, and if his heart is a diamond, then he's made a diamonds, and if he's made of diamonds, he's a Di'Clo'Me, a diamond clone of a dog!”
The other dogs stared at her, dumbfounded. They turned to the Alpha for an answer.
“Silly pony is trying tricks.” He stated. “We all have diamonds in our chests. That what makes us diamond dogs.”
“Then it worked on all of you.” Star Chaser smiled. “You all are Di'Clo'Me's. It worked, and you didn't even know it! You can sniff out diamonds with ease now, and you don't need that star anymore, because you've already summoned what you need. I bet it worked on all the diamond dogs. I bet they all have diamonds in their chest now.”
For a moment all the dogs were still, the thought stunning them where they stood. Just a little more, Star Chaser thought, adding,
“Why, I bet you all have diamonds in your chests right now.”
The dogs looked at their own chests, then at each others. It was true, they had diamonds in their chest, and they were dogs...
“It worked!” The Alpha barked out, tossing the glowing star aside. “I told you it would work! Now, lets go find some diamonds!”
And with a bark, all the dogs turned and ran off to where they came from. Star Chaser glided down to the star, and put it in her star bag she always brought along with her.
“One down.” She commented to herself. “Can't believe that actually worked.” She added with a laugh as she spread her wings, ready to find more fallen star.
Wings tucked, head down, hooves forward and a smile on her face, Star Chaser dived after the star. The jet of sparks and light was the fourth one tonight she'd chased down, truly living up to her name. As both star and pegasus raced towards the earth, Star Chaser steadily gained on the fiery rock until she held out a hoof and scooped up the glowing stone.
“Got'chaaaaaaaa that's hot!” Swiftly, she stowed the fallen star into her special star back and pulled out of the dive, looping a few times, just for fun, and flapped off to find more.
Star Chaser had spent many enjoyable years chasing down the stars that seemed to loose themselves from the fabric of the sky, but she never tired of the chase, nor of the wonderful beauty of the night sky. Looking at the moon, gauging how late it was, and that it might be time to head home for the night, Star Chaser closed her wings, letting herself drop a few dozen feet through the starlit sky, to open them as she twisted around, literally turning a one-eighty in the air.
“Not bad.” A voice complemented. “I would have done it differently, but I like your style.”
Looking around, Star Chaser saw another Pegasus flying, not too far from her. Star Chaser smiled, not too surprised to see another flier out. Every Pegasus knew that flying under the moon and stars on a summer night was treat, especially when the western wind blew. You could almost taste the exotic flavors of the ocean, a place that Star Chaser had dreamed of visiting for some time now.
“Thank you.” Star Chaser nodded in appreciation. “Haven't seen you around here before.” And in deed Star Chaser hadn't ever seen a Pegasus like this one before. The stallion was yellow, almost glowing, with a flowing mane and tail that seemed to shimmer, like sparks and a cutie mark of a falling star.
“I only come around here from time to time, when the weather is right.” He replied. “My name is Sky Sparks. What's yours?”
“Star Chaser,” The white Pegasus replied. “It is a nice night.”
“More than you know.” Sky Sparks replied. “Now, do you feel up to a little race?”
Star Chaser never boasted on how fast she could go, distance fliers aren't known for their speed, but she could put some distance away with ease.
“What an interesting idea.” She smiled. “To where were you thinking of racing too?”
Sky Sparks pointed a hoof at a mountain peek ten miles away. “I know it's some distance, but with speed and a little endurance, it will be over before you know it.”
Star Chaser nodded, keeping her true abilities to herself, for now. She'd let her wings do the talking.
“Ready?” They both leveled off. “Set,” For a moment they hovered, both waiting in anticipation for the final word. “GO!”
In a flash, both Pegasus beat their wings as hard as they could, cutting through the air like butter, hooves outstretched, heads down and wings beating a beat that would have made a drummer exhausted. Star Chaser glued her sight on the mountain, when something caught her eye.
Just off to her left, a star was making it's rapid decent. For a moment, Star Chaser wondered what to do. True, she caught falling stars to keep them out of the hooves of the wrong ponies, but it wasn't something she'd been formally tasked with, not to mention, she was currently in a race, not matter how silly, and she did not like losing to any pony. On the other hoof, she knew guarding the fallen stars was much more important than a race.
Angling herself slightly, she dived down at about forty-five degrees, mentally calculating where the star was going. If she'd been flying fast before, she was rocketing now, as she used both her wings and gravity to gather more speed.
When she hit her mental mark, Star Chaser straightened out, zooming straight and then up so fast, she felt something she'd never felt before. It was a barrier of some kind. A barrier of air that she tore through, speeding onto a collision course with the earth bound star.
In an expert twist, the Pegasus untied her star bag with her teeth, held it open with her hooves in time to catch the star, pulled it tight again and throwing on her back, tightening the strap that held it in place. The speed she was going was greater than any she'd achieved before, and she could see that Sky Sparks was still a few miles away from the mountain finish line.
He must have not noticed me going after the star, Star Chaser thought, but now she was up so high, she thought she could see all the way to the Princess's castle in Canterlot. With a tight smile, she dove again, hitting that air barrier and ripping through it.
The thrill of speed she felt, she would never be able to put into words, but it felt like nothing else before. In a short minute, she'd caught up to Sky Sparks, and a half a minute latter, she was landing on the mountain top, ready to drop.
“By the Stars, I've never seen any Pegasus do that before!” Sky Sparks exclaimed in awe as he landed, huffing and puffing.
“Then you clearly had never hear of Rainbow Dash.” Star Chaser laughed, laying down on the rough mountain top. “Or any of the Wonderbolts.”
“Speed is one thing,” Sky Sparks disagreed. “But catching a falling star by intersecting it, and then using the height you gained to go super sonic, now THAT little filly, is impressive.”
“Thanks.” Was all Star Chaser could reply. She was glad she had chosen to lay down, because she was dizzy now.
“Well, I must be off.” Sky Sparks smiled. “I have another part of the world I need to be in, before morning.”
Star Chaser blinked. “What? Where you going?”
Sky Sparks smiled, and then Star Chaser saw something she didn't see before. A horn. A long golden horn on the top of Sky Sparks' head. Sky Sparks was no Pegasus, he was an Alicorn!
“I doubt you see my sisters much, but tell them their little brother says hi.”
Star Chaser blinked, stunned at the simple statement. “Little brother?”
Sky Sparks laughed. “I prefer it if ponies don't know much about me, but I'm Prince Bolide, the ruler of the fallen stars, and you, my dear Star Chaser, have my blessing in catching my fallen stars.”
And with that, the Alicorn, Prince Bolide was gone.
Star Chaser took it easy on her trip back home. She was tired, and had a lot to think about about. When she returned home, she put her star bag away, and was about to go to bed, when she spied something on her pillow.
It was a small golden medallion on a silver chain. Peering closer at the medallion Star Chaser read: Star Chaser, Royal Star Catcher.
