Prologue- Dad?
Dad?
I yawned and with a stretch I sufficiently cleared most of the cramps that had accumulated in my bones and muscles. I put on a confident, mature smile. Or so I thought. You really don't seem mature when you're nearly four years old. Tomorrow was my birthdate. I heard my father rushing around in our cave, his horn alight with red power. Upon noticing that I was awake he smiled and greeted me.
“Good twilight, Star.” Father said.
“Twilight, daddy.” I chirped as I nuzzled his dark green coat and went to fixing my bed of hay. I walked outside into the gloom. One side of sky was a beautiful orange which blended into purple as it went to the other side which was a amazing blue. I trotted over to my favorite glade, which had a small pond and was usually moonlit. I focused on a leaf currently on a sapling I planted a few months ago. I poured magic into my horn. My face was twisted in a look of pure concentration as I struggled to get it off the tree.
“Hnng,” I grunted. There was soft snap as it came off. “Huzzah!” I smiled joyously and put the leaf into the pond. Then there was a rusting and I heard my father come up behind me.
“Follow, Star. Our meet with the Princess of ye moon is nigh.” He said in his calm way.
“Wilt we get our land?” I asked hopefully.
“It is a possibility.” He murmured.
Now to all you moderners, at the time I was young the world was shifting into modern day talk so it was a bit mixed. Some, like our dear moon princess, still clung to old ways while the day princess was a bit more lenient with her talk and was shifting easily.
“Awe-worthy!” I cried. The beginning of awesome was a bit weirder than it is now. We set off in the direction of the castle. I shivered at the cold.
When we finally arrived a quarter hour later the line was short. No one really came to night court. As soon as we came inside I saw her. Her coat was a beautiful dark blue and her mane was like the night was in the room itself. Which it was, with the mistress of it here. Princess Luna’s eyes were an oceanic blue and her crown and royal neck piece obsidian. Her shoes seemed to made of some sort of silver. I grinned widely and stared at her in awe. Wow.
“Come hither and state thine title and purpose.”
“Grass Fields, your highness. We have applied to receive ye land thy have live on for forty-eight moons.” Dad spoke and bowed, I followed. A soft smile wormed it’s way onto Luna’s face. From what Star knew, she liked peasants.
“Ah, yes. Mr. Grass Fields and young Ms. Starbound. Of course, here is thine deed. Simply cast ye spell it says onto ye paper and the land will be thou family’s for now and on.” She used her blue magic and levitated it toward us where dad grabbed it in his red magic and spoke once more.
“Thank you, your highness.” He stood and left with me in tow. Once we exited the castle I let out a cry of celebration.
“Hurrah!” I bounced in a circle around my dad for a little bit of time on the journey home. He had teleported us here so it was short, but we walked back so it was a good hour or so. When we got to the edge we went in a little and he cast the spell on the paper. A soft red barrier shot up around the property lines and then shimmered out. Anybody who would walk into the lines would know this was someone’s property, then it would list off the magical code of the current owner. I was the next heir. We looked at each other and smiled. We set off back to the cave.
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Now, my life sound great right now, right? We get to meet a princess, we get a 40 acre plot in the Whitetail woods… well hold onto your butts because here's something.
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I sighed as I walked through the woods, my tiny hooves leaving a little pitter-patter sound to echo through the woods. I was so bored. I licked the tiny fangs in my mouth and wondered when I would eat next. I hope it’s rabbit this morning. I thought. That lifted me up a little. Rabbit was hard to come by because they were so fast. My ear perked up when I heard a sound behind me. My light pink pupils dilated in fear. It was too heavy and deep to be daddy.
I shot around. A manticore the height of two adult stallions stood behind me with a snarl embedded on it’s face. He began to circle me as my heart sped up and I began to hyperventilate. Oh my Celestia oh my Celestia.... He pounced. I lept back and attempted to buck him in the face. Sadly, a little filly does not have much power. He grabbed my leg and threw me against a large tree. I screeched in pain as I realized the bone was jutting out where he bit me.
“Star!” I heard my dad cry.
“Daddy help me!” I wailed. The manticore diverted his attention to where my dad’s voice had come from just as he bucked it in the ribs.
“Get help!” He cried. I stood up only to collapse on my left hind hoof. I grunted and squealed in agony. I let instinct take it’s stubborn toll and I shot a numbing spell, which I didn't even know, and stood up. Minus my leg which I held firmly against my underbelly. I galloped off on full speed toward the nearest settlement, the town of Canterlot.
To you ponies, the old ruins used to be the center of a town called Canterlot. It moved to that mountain later.
My horn sparked randomly and teleported me forward constantly, without my permission of course. I had not a drop of idea how to do any of the spells I was doing. I reached Canterlot in a matter of five minutes, give or take. Upon arriving I saw all of the ponies look at me. I mean, why would you not look at the crying, bleeding filly running through the town with a bone jutting out of her leg? I reached the castle and was stopped by two guards.
“State your purpose and ti- OH HOLY CELESTI-” The guard’s eyes went wide before his lunch went right out the the side.
“Prithee help me, my father and thy were attacked by a manticore in our home- pant- please help..” I grunted as the spell began to wear off and the blood loss began to take it’s toll. I looked down at my reflection in the guard’s armor who still had his stomach’s content and notice my dark cyan coat was terribly pale. The one who’s lunch was on the ground nodded.
“Flame! Get a team, quickly!” He called to the toward closest to him, the left one. I had visited a library before and I knew that he was following a protocol. He would get a team of four, two fighters, a guard, and a first-aid plus himself if he believed this would be a small threat to the citizens and would be able to resolve that threat.
“Smoke, cover for me and if anypony asks where I have gone tell them that I am following protocol 1-0-6-5!” He called to the other tower. They arrived in record time time a enchanted carriage. The first aid, who was a unicorn, lifted me in her magic into the carriage and we began to lift up.
“Ok filly, which way?”
“T-the White Tail woods…” I stuttered as blackness peeped at the edges of my vision. “You need to go verily, it’s an hour’s yonder.” The first aid, who was a female, in the carriage grabbed a first aid kit in light green magic and started work on my leg. It stung like, forgive my tongue, tartarus. She shot another spell in my leg and the pain went away. Mostly. It stung a little but not too much. Like when you run into a tree on accident. Don’t ask how I know what that feels like. Blackness nearly had encased my vision before I was woken by the first aid. Her peach colored hoof batting air onto me.
“Stay awake, little one. We need to know where your home is in wood.” She said soothingly. I struggled to access what little magic I had left. Ever since a few weeks ago when we got our land dad had taught me a spell that would lead me toward our land with a beam of my pink magic. It shot out and it went forward and then curved a little toward the right before straightening out again.
“Follow the beam.” I murmured and leaned against the wall next to the seat in the back. I sniffed a little and caught all of the scents of the five ponies. And even if I didn’t know it, my naturally large black magic store caught the sight of their souls. We arrived sooner than I thought, partially thanks to me fading in and out of consciousness, and landed next the the clearing in a tree. My dad lay on the ground with blood dripping out of his mouth and several limbs bent in wrong ways and his horn was chipped on the top.
I snarled and stood, the cast on my leg making it easier. I jumped out of the tree and summoned magic, but I didn’t have any light magic left- except the little bit of essence that produced light magic, but that was too raw to use and even I knew that if I used it I would either die or never use light magic ever again or magic in general.
So I tapped into the mysterious bit of magic in a store I didn't know I had and fired a beam at the awful, horrible, sickening thing in front of me. A beam of darkness shot out at it and blew it’s leg clean off. The guards gasped a little but jumped forward and proceeded to kill the lion type thing. I quickly ran up to dad and cried to the first aid with fresh tears in my eyes to help him.
"Starbound. Do not worry, my time is here. You're a Magmamanyika, Star. You'll have plenty of time to get over this. *cough* Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened." He slowly closed his maroon eyes and breathed his last breath. Everything caught up to me and I looked over his peaceful, bloody face in shock.
"Daddy? Daddy wake up! Wake up!" I cried. "Please wake up! We were going to the lake tomorrow, remember? Wake up! Please!" Fear welled up inside me and I nuzzled his black mane. "Please wake up." I whimpered. "I don't want to be alone." I nudged his chest and face before I crouched down next to him.
Sobs racked every corner of my body and tears matted the fur on my face and chest. He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating. I put my head on his ribs and closed my eyes as the tears flowed freely. There was cheering as the manticore died before it cut off upon seeing me.
"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry.." They aid mumbled as she nuzzled the bottom of my neck. I didn't move. I just laid there, mourning my loss. I may have been young but I knew two things. We were poor and funerals aren't free. I'm a filly, and daddy was my only guardian.
"Come on little filly. We need to file this report and get this worked out. We'll get a proper funeral for your dad, ok?" He cast a bubble around the deceased pony and I stood up, knowing I couldn't stay.
