The Light of the Star

Despite her parents’ ill manners towards their new company, Starlight enjoys spending time with Leo and Asger. As they spend more time talking together, she finds more qualities and querks that they share, even though they are different races of creatures. What worries her is that Leo and Asger are becoming restless from being confined to one area for so long; one thing she found out about them is that they prefer to explore rather than stay in one place. Starlight tries to reason with them, that other ponies will not accept their kind, but they keep insisting that they want to see the world around them.

Finally, after several days like this, Starlight approaches Leo and Asger one day with a surprise. “What is it?” Leo asks excitedly.

“Well, I’ve been studying a spell that will allow you both to get out and roam around!” she says, equally as excited.

“Hooray! Did you hear that, Asger?” Leo exclaims while his pet bounces around the shed happily.

“Granted, this spell will only last for a couple of hours,” Starlight explains hesitantly, “but don’t worry. I’ll be with you the entire time, so I will let you know when the spell is wearing off.”

“Okay, sure,” Leo says, “Now let’s get going! I’ve been dying to get out of here!”

“Alright, here goes nothing!” Starlight says as she performs the spell. Leo and Asger suddenly become enveloped in a pink glow as they begin to transform; their hands and feet turn into hooves and their bodies shrink to her size. When she is finished, they look more pony-like, but Leo keeps his clothes and Asger retains his wide snout.

“Well, it’s not perfect,” Starlight says, admiring her work, “but I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Wow, this feels. . .weird,” Leo says, looking down at his hooves, as Asger purrs in agreement.

“Don’t worry, you guys look great,” she says as she leads them out into the main road, “Alright, here we go!” she adds as they step out into the street. Leo and Asger stare around in awe, taking in as much of their surroundings as they can; the hustle and bustle of the village, the smell of freshly baked pastries, and fillies playing games in the street. Starlight decides to take them to the library first; upon entering, the librarian instantly perks up.

“Good morning, Starlight,” he greets warmly, “I see you’ve finally made some new friends!”

“I sure have!” Starlight returns the gesture, “This is Leo and Asger.”

“How’d’ you do!” the librarian turns to the newcomers.

“Hello!” Leo says while Asger nods in greeting.

“They just got in from Manehatan, so I’m showing them around town,” Starlight explains.

“Well, feel free to have a look around, young ones,” the librarian says, “We don’t bite – well, not much, at least,” she adds with a wink as Starlight leads Leo and Asger towards her favorite sections.

For the rest of the day, Starlight shows her new friends all of her favorite things to do around town, from playing hopscotch to sharing laughs over turnovers. Starlight cannot remember a time when she had been happier to be with anypony else – not recently, at least. She never even thought about all the hardships she faced a few weeks ago or the heartbreak she felt over Sunburst leaving. She has so much fun, in fact, that she completely loses track of time; just as they finish eating their treats, Starlight notices a faint glow emitting from Leo and Asger’s bodies.

“Oh no, the spell!” she exclaims and suddenly pushes them into a dark alleyway.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Leo asks.

“Shsh!” Starlight says, “The spell is wearing off! Just wait here until the coast is clear; I’ll let you know when.” She steps out from the alley to keep watch when she runs into somepony else; she looks up into the muzzle of Dark Wing, one of the biggest bullies in her school, surrounded by his friends.

“Well, look who it is,” Dark Wing exclaims, “Lil’ Gilm-Glam out an’ about, ey? I thought Mommy and Daddy didn’t let you out of the house anymore, after your little breakdown?” he finishes laughing in her face.

“Nice to see you too, Dark Wing,” Starlight groans, “Don’t you have some colts to bully around or something?”

“Schedule’s clean today, baby,” he sneers, “And you’re the only one around, so I guess this is your lucky day.” Suddenly, they hear a low growl coming from the alleyway, “W-What was that?” Dark Wing stammers.

“Uh, n-nothing,” Starlight says hastily, “Now, why don’t you just get out of here, Dark Wing!” she adds, pushing him back. The other colts coo teasingly while Dark Wing recovers.

“Oh, I’m just getting started with you, little punk!” he says, throwing Starlight forcefully to the ground. Suddenly, Asger, returned to his full night fury glory, leaps out from the alley and stands over Starlight, staring menacingly at the bullies.

“Asger, stop!” Leo emerges from the alley, looking human again. The bullies gasp in horror at the newcomers and gallop quickly away. All the commotion the group caused turns quite a few heads, but Leo and Asger’s appearance receives attention from the entire village.

“What in Equestria are those things?!” a shopkeeper exclaims.

“They’re going to eat us!” another calls from behind a sign.

“Starlight Glimmer, get away from those things!” the librarian calls out from the entrance.

Leo and Asger take the brunt of the insults and cower in fear, but Starlight bravely stands her ground to the villagers. “No, I won’t leave them!” she shouts, “They’re my friends!” “But they’re monsters!” the librarian shouts back.

“No they’re not!” Starlight retorts, “They’re kind and sweet and – well, a lot nicer than most of you!” Suddenly, the local police force arrives with riot shields and batons, completely blocking both ends of the street.

“Young lady, step away from the creatures while we apprehend them!” one of the officers calls out.

Starlight looks both ways down the street at the lines of police ponies and makes her decision; “NO, I won’t let you hurt them!” she screams and shoots down the alleyway, with Leo and Asger close behind. They eventually make it back to her house before anypony else can catch them. To her dismay, however, her parents block the doorway leading inside.

“Oh no you don’t!” her mother says, “We warned you about taking in these – things – but you just wouldn’t listen, would you?”

“How could you have done this to us?” her father exclaims, “Did you ever stop to think about how this will affect our reputations?”

“Mom, dad, please, this isn’t the time!” Starlight says, “We need to hide because everypony in town is after Leo and Asger!”

“I can’t believe how selfish you’re acting,” her mother says vehemently, “We tried to raise you right, but we clearly failed!”

“You certainly won’t be staying here anymore!” her father adds, “And to think you could ever be our daughter after this stunt.”

Starlight Glimmer stands there, horrified, tears pouring from her eyes, “Fine! I don’t need you guys anyway!” she shouts and runs away, with Leo and Asger in tow. Asger picks both of them up onto his back and climbs high away from their old home, with Starlight sobbing into the wind.

* * * *

My life is officially a complete mess, Starlight thinks somberly to herself as she, Leo, and Asger trudge along the outskirts of Equestria. Basnished from my town and my home, nowhere to go, she continues, I don’t deserve to live like this.

“Um, Starlight,” Leo asks, “Are you okay?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” she asks sarcastically, “I’m just a complete emotional wreck who is also a fugitive in my own home!” She says that last line a bit harsher than she intended.

“S-Sorry, w-we didn’t mean to,” Leo says, and from the sound of his voice, on the verge of tears himself, “We only wanted to have a little fun, right Asger?” he asks his pet, who whimpers in agreement.

“I’m sorry, Leo,” Starlight says comfortingly, “I didn’t mean to get angry; I guess I had it coming for a while. But please don’t blame yourselves,” she adds, holding her hoof under his chin, “I would have done it again in a heartbeat. You guys are, like, my closest friends-” Leo smiles gratefully “-well, my only friends now, I guess,” she chuckles lightheartedly.

“So, what do we do now?” Leo asks, “Where should we go?”

“Well, my village is pretty small,” Starlight thinks aloud, “So, word about you guys probably hasn’t spread very far yet. Maybe we should-“ she suddenly looks down into a valley and spies an abandoned-looking house; they crawl down the mountainside and take a look around. With no other settlements for miles, the house stands completely isolated from other ponies – other ponies, Starlight thinks to herself, who won’t be able to judge us. For being an abandoned house, she observes, the house is in pretty fair condition; “We could stay here for a little while,” she offers to the other two.

“Um, I don’t know,” Leo says hesitantly, “How will we get food? How will we live all the way out here?”

“How about we sleep here for the night; it’s getting pretty late,” Starlight says, noticing the sunset, “We can work it out more tomorrow. What do you say?”

Leo ponders for a moment before consulting with Asger in their secret language; finally, he looks up and says “Okay, that seems fair.” So they settle in for the night; as Asger collapses with exahaustion and Leo prepares for bed, he notices Starlight curled up in a corner of the main room, looking tired and dejected. Feeling sorry for her, he walks over and picks her up around her waist.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asks surprised, but calms down when he sets her beside Asger.

“You should sleep with us,” Leo says warmly, “You could use a friend or two right now. Now come on, make some room, Asger!” Asger playfully scoots over to allow Leo between him and Starlight. She begins to relax a little when Leo wraps his arm around Starlight and whispers in her ear “Good night, sis.”

Starlight sits speechless as the other two doze off. Being an only child, she never really knew anypony well enough to consider them as more than just a friend. With tears of joy in her eyes this time, Starlight finally settles in and falls asleep, whispering in reply “Good night, brother.”