Book 3 The Shadows [OUTDATED]

by Penelope Anne Ink

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten

Prologue

Where the world turns its eye

and the winds weave on by

and the breezes blow gently and soft,

there’s a land hidden still

filled with hatred and will

that watches and waits for your heart.

The old mare continued humming to herself. She took a deeper look at what she had been working on.

“Bah! Pointless as always!”

No matter how much she worked on translating the spell, it didn’t come out right. One more explosion here and there and her entire hut would be gone. She needed something, but she couldn’t figure out what.

Her eyes glowed a brilliant blue.

Her horn began to beam and so did the pages set in front of her. The words began to take form on the page by themselves, but the old mare couldn’t see it.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Far away, a dark, orchid colored unicorn was resting beneath a tree. She had spent the past few weeks traveling Equestria, a place she hadn’t gotten to know the better side of for most of her life. She had left it behind when she was so much younger and more foolish. She gave a small chuckle at that.

Maybe I’m still foolish after all?

Chapter One

Starry was reaching out of her window to wave at Rochester and his babies. They were so cute, she just had to lean in even further as Jane beckoned her. She could just see the litter when she felt herself starting to fall headlong onto the ground below. She shut her eyes, already bracing herself for the crash. But just as she would have hit the ground, she felt hooves around her and turned to see the pony that had caught her.

With a start, Starry woke up.

She tried remembering what it was that woke her, but she couldn’t remember. She was already too busy thinking about what she had going on today. Whatever it was that woke her, there was no hint of it now.

Trotting up to her dresser mirror, she could see her mane in a tangled mess, nothing like Rarity’s mane at all. Bracing herself for the amount of knots she’d have to go through, she picked up her metal comb with a levitation spell.

As she combed through the tangles, her mind wandered.

She looked around her room.

It didn’t seem all that different from the night before.

Her house would be pretty empty except for her occasional bouts of hoarding. Sometimes, she’d make copies of her works that she sold just because she liked them so much, and would keep them in piles around her floor. It meant having to clean them out every few months or so, but she couldn’t help herself keeping them all the same.

Trotting down the stairs, she could see into her living room and see how empty it was, with a simple couch and a rug in front of it. It was her spot to sit down with a notebook and think up ideas to later build in real life. She didn’t want any clutter in the room to distract her so she could fully focus.

Starry felt like Granny Angel had helped her so much. After the party, she had been asked to make several other kinetic sculptures for different events and displays by ponies that lived all across Equestria. It felt good to have so much to do. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought, if also feel a little apprehension and anxiety.

If anything, she knew her friends would be willing to help her. Cass and Bee were welcome distractions when they were around, and Postage Stamp always encouraged her work. And Edgy helped her a lot on her last adventure. Maybe he’d love to help her out on future ones.

“Like that stallion loves anypony but himself, if that,” she mockingly muttered. But she remembered back to how Edgy had saved her from the invasion in Canterlot. And how they had gotten lost but eventually found themselves back in Ponyville, a little bruised but alright. Without Edgy’s help, she would have been eaten or enslaved long ago. And he even helped me get back on my hooves.

I suppose...

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Edgy heard a knock on his door.

He was still living at the Ponyville Inn. Cass and Bee agreed the night of the party that they would continue to fund his stay, and he felt a bit relieved that he wouldn’t have to take a guest room with them anyway. Too much unnecessary risk there. Maybe they’d starve him to death, or frame him for murder. The odds were really endless.

He had woken up earlier with a fresh anxiety about the news that Tempest was coming, and for a second, he worried that it was already Tempest at the door.

But peering through the keyhole, he could see a soft blonde mane over a light purple pony and knew it had to be Star.

With a bit of an exasperated sigh, but still a concerned expression on his face, he opened the door.

Starry slightly bounced up with a “Good morning, Edgy!” and Edgy returned the greeting less enthusiastically.

“I have to go on a run to Zecora’s to pick up some potion for Jane’s babies and you’re coming with me!” Starry said and used her magic aura to shut the door behind her as she skipped back down the hall.

He had planned on staying in until Tempest had come and gone, but he also wanted to take another look at the Everfree Forest. It had a wild air about it that he kind of liked. He was worried he would start getting bored and lonely, anyway.

Starry waited at the front lobby for Edgy to finish getting ready, but she was a little anxious herself.

This’ll be fun, right? We’ll have a quick trip and I’ll show him I’ve returned to normal and everything!

That turned into a conversation with herself on how dumb it was to just spring it on him like that...

The two had quarreled plenty before, but she still wasn’t too happy about dismissing him earlier. Having a trip they could do together would be good for them, and that’s what she decided she’d do.

As soon as Edgy came downstairs, Starry ran up to greet him once again and they both trotted out toward Zecora’s: Edgy, occasionally darting his eyes searching for signs of a certain orchid colored unicorn, and Starry, a bit self consciously.

The path to Zecora’s had long since become well worn. The princess’s friends and the Cutie Mark Crusaders go there often enough that Zecora’s once single zebra path turned into a path nearly suitable for Ponyville’s main streets.

It only made Starry more uncomfortable. She couldn’t think of anything to talk about at first and just near scurried.

Edgy appreciated how fast Starry was moving and equally tried to speed up the trip.

He wasn’t happy about being an errand boy, but it was fine just to be with Star.

As they approached the tree, she finally got around to telling him all about the babies and he nodded along. It helped take his mind off Tempest for a bit.

“She had three babies! Rochester’s got his paws full. Jane’s always telling him to do this or that around the house. It’s funny. I woke up twice last night hearing them through my window, chirping away.” She didn’t say it aloud, but she added, at least, I thought that’s what woke me up.

Zecora’s place was always such an oddity to Starry. She thought she’d try to make a mechanism that would imitate its look but have interactive pieces. She thought it would make a cute little game for Jane’s sons. It would still have some issues to work out, making sure it was safe enough, and she still felt stuck for ideas. But the more she got a chance to see the tree itself, the more ideas she thought she would have.

The tree was impressive. It looked small on the outside, but the inside had a large open room. And it contained all sorts of bizarre stuff on shelves and hung up on the walls. And there was a large cauldron that always seemed to be brewing something. Masks in all sorts of expressions were hung up for decoration on the inside and outside.

Edgy was also impressed by the inside of the tree. Though he made sure not to make it too obvious, Starry could read him better and better, and Zecora was almost always an accurate reader of ponies.

It didn’t take long for Zecora to find the potion Jane needed, and Starry asked her how much she needed for it.

“For this potion, there is one price,

you must say something sweet and nice.”

“Oh,” Starry called out, “Thanks Zecora!”

And with a nod from Zecora, Starry and Edgy trotted back home.

Starry held the potion bottle up with her magic aura. She thought she was getting a bit better over nonmetal objects and slightly congratulated herself.

“I think I might even try to add something more real to my next sculpture. Like having it surrounded by a real moat or something.”

Edgy looked up at her curiously, “Are you sure...?”

“With fish in it!”

Edgy hung his head with an exasperated sigh.

Starry looked back at her companion.

Edgy was letting his mind wander. Zecora had a few potions with images of monsters. He could imagine himself taking down each one.

He’d give a hydra three black eyes! There was a giant snake that Edgy would string up to hang his laundry on. And even though dragons were starting up diplomatic relations with ponies, he still imagined punching one in the gut, making them spew flames that he would swiftly dodge.

“Edgy?”

“Huh?” Edgy saw Starry looking up at him.

“You were doing that mumbling thing you do again.”

“And you just dropped the potion bottle.”

Starry looked around to see that she had indeed lost it. She hadn’t noticed when she stopped concentrating on the bottle and started trying to listen to Edgy. She looked back a few yards and couldn’t see the bottle on the path behind them. She worried it rolled off to the side somewhere and maybe they’d never find it. She didn’t have any tracking and finding abilities like Rarity did.

As Starry started combing back through the foliage on the edges of the paths and started working her way backwards, Edgy felt relieved. The trip would take longer now, and the farther back Starry had to search the longer it would take. He started making it look like he was searching too.

About ten feet back she found it had fallen just on the edge where the trodden dirt met the regular forest floor. It seemed perfectly intact.

Starry sighed in relief, but this time she wasn’t going to take any chances. She took a bit of the chain from her mercury vial necklace and reformed it to make a loop to hold the bottle and held it there the rest of the way back.

Back in town, she waved goodbye to Edgy and made it back home.

Starry opened her window and began reaching out to see Rochester and Jane. Jane noticed her and waved and chirped for her kids to see Starry. They were still tiny infants in Jane’s arms, only a few days old.

Starry carefully levitated the cough syrup over and explained what it was to Jane.

The squirrel mom looked at it curiously and then stashed it away into the depths of their home.

Chapter Two

In the coming days, Starry continued working. Edgy continued doing whatever it was that he was doing. He had made some other trip but came back to Ponyville soon after. Starry wished he wasn’t so secretive, but she still didn’t want to ask.

At one point, Cass came barreling in through the window as always. Her feathery wings just barely clipping on the wooden slats. One feather falling gently onto the floor.

“Hey, guess what?”

Starry didn’t want to look at her. She was in the middle of trying to draw out something and she wasn’t going to be interrupted. Circles need absolute precision and control.

“...And it’s all because of that new school!”

Starry only half listened. It didn’t sound like something worth taking her concentration off her notebook for. Most things weren’t, if she said how she really felt at the moment.

Cass droned on and on about the students and some drama going on because of it.

Starry didn’t care to get involved.

Cass looked at her friend working and sighed. Starry’s always a workaholic. She took one wing and rubbed at the necklace around her neck. She almost didn’t feel its weight anymore. Even though Starry was always doing stuff for other ponies, Cass couldn’t remember the last gift Starry had given to her, or to their other friends, other than helping out with this locket.

Starry noticed Cass had stopped talking and looked up. It wasn’t like Cass to be thoughtful about things, but here she was, looking like she was contemplating the universe. Starry only caught it for a brief second.

“Just, take care of yourself out there,” Cass said. And with that, she flew off, leaving Starry a bit stunned.

About a week later, Starry didn’t want to hop out of bed. She had started feeling so lethargic. She could just picture all the new projects she had to do and decided she felt like doing none of them. It was like a wall of water crashing toward her and rather than trying to take it on a bucket at a time she was going to curl up and let it wash over her.

But she didn’t want to be ungrateful for her friends’ help.

Nope nope nope, I need to get myself busy, I have a lot of work to do.

She had just put the finishing touches on two of her projects and wanted to get them delivered soon. She planned to have Edgy help her deliver them. If she started with the furthest ones first, she would have an easier time convincing him to help.

It was always her deepest fear he would one day disappear as suddenly as he had appeared.

She had come up with a statue that was a miniature of the one in the town of Somnambula. It would hold tiny glowpaz crystals and shine a light through them, creating a shadow play of images of that legend with the help of even tinier figures inside.

It wasn’t too hard to make when she could snap the metal figures just so with a few illustrations to guide her. The rotating inside was also simple. But she was so proud she would help spread the tale of one of her favorite legends.

She was ready to get Edgy and go when she heard a knock on her door.

“Edgy?”

But it was a tall, brown pony instead of the expected grey.

“Hey Em!” Postage Stamp beamed and he trotted up to her. Starry wasn’t sure why she was so disappointed, but she tried to ignore the feeling and greeted her friend.

“I heard you were going on a long journey and figured you would want someone to watch over things while you were gone.”

“Oh, thanks so much!” Starry said and bounced into the air once.

“Also!” he said, a bit less excitedly. “I already told Edgy that you were heading out to, what was the place called again?”

“Somnambula!”

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Thankfully there were trains that came close to where the town was. Starry spent the whole way there telling Edgy how cool Somnambula and the other old legends were. He seemed to find it interesting. It may have been the first time she had seen Edgy really getting into something she talked about.

They hopped off the train station and made their way to the address one of the ponies had left behind for her.

The young mare greeted them at the door, but when Starry went to hand her the shadow box, the young mare shook her head.

“Oh, it isn’t for me. It’s for my adoptive aunt...” here she looked a bit nervous.

She explained to them that, a few miles outside of town, there was a sandy cave with a sorceress in it, and the item was meant for her. Starry was a little excited to hear about it, but she was also terrified. What if the sorceress was the sort to get angry easily? One wrong move and she and Edgy were done for, and she figured with Edgy’s attitude or her bounciness they would be doomed.

“I’ll pay you for it and my two little brothers will help you guys there, but we can’t go near the place anymore.”

“Why not?” Starry asked.

“...family issues?” the pony shrugged and left them at the hooves of her brothers.

The two guides had taken them within eyesight of the place, an oasis in the middle of the desert, before they bolted away themselves.

After a solid afternoon of panting and grueling through by themselves, they made it.

The place was covered in vines and leaves and was almost unrecognizable but for an awkwardly placed welcome mat in front of it. Edgy saw Starry’s hesitation, and, while scared himself, put on a brave face.

“Somepony’s a scaredy pony all of a sudden now. I guess this is why you need me to come along or you’d probably have gone home crying by now.”

Starry wrinkled her nose. She was not in the mood to be teased.

Edgy finally moved aside to let Starry through.

She really would have rather stayed away...

Starry shook her head to clear it.

It’s an adventure! Starry thought to herself, and trotted in with so much more confidence than before that it shocked Edgy.

Looking to the sides of the cave as she did so, she slowly increased the brightness in her horn. A simple light spell to act as their guide through the oddly damp darkness. A few slimy roots stuck out from the ceiling and trailed on their faces and would have made them both jump.

She almost convinced herself they were in the wrong place, when they could see the darkness slowly creeping away. A soft note could be heard up ahead, as shrill and small as a mosquito whine but growing into a beautiful melody as they continued on.

“Aaaahhhh aaahhh, ah aaaahhhh

when the moon runs cold

and the river runs dry

and time runs not at all...”

They both stopped. Starry didn’t want to interrupt whatever was going on. Edgy didn’t have the same worry.

I’ve heard that somewhere before...

“Don’t stand at the doorway when adventure calls, children. Come in!”

A withered old... neither of them could really tell what it was, actually. It looked ponylike, but for some reason the proportions and size were all wrong. The snout was bulkier and the hooves weren’t as round, and the tail was all scraggly.

“If I didn’t have such a pretty face, maybe more of my neighbors would feel like visiting, eh?”

They kept staring for another second but Edgy couldn’t help but say, “they probably got worried they’d catch whatever you have.”

Starry just barely stopped herself from stomping a hoof. It was no time for Edgy to pick a fight.

“I brought you the shadow box your niece ordered, uh...” Starry squinted at the name the niece had written out for her.

“That’s fine. Don’t have to try saying it,” she winked, “I think the name is cursed. My own mother could never pronounce it the same way twice. Oh, and tell her I said thank you next time you see her, dears.”

Starry was a bit taken aback but thought the creature was friendly enough. She decided to take up her cheery attitude again and bounced, with a careful, firm grip on her package, to the creature to hand it over.

The creature looked at it but wouldn’t take it.

“Sugar, you aren’t planning on just dropping it off and leaving are you?”

“Actually, we didn’t even plan on coming at all.”

Starry almost really did stomp a hoof at Edgy that time, and would have if the creature hadn’t interrupted.

“If you all stay a bit, I’ll read your fortunes!”

Both Edgy and Starry wanted to leave then.

“You both look scared. Come on! It’ll be fun!”

“Hey, Star, isn’t that what you and Doodle Top thought...” Edgy began to whisper wickedly.

“His name wasn’t Doodle Top, Edgy. Shush,” she whispered back toward Edgy, while she turned back to the creature and added, “I really have to get back home. There’s a lot of other stuff I have to do.”

The creature waved a...paw? hoof? hand? dismissively and then used it to grab a hair off Starry’s head.

With one flick, it was in a pot and the contents of four potion bottles were dumped in after it. In another movement, the creature was peering into the liquid and muttering.

“Well, dear, you have a few more things you have to deal with than that. I see angry ponies and deaths in your future. But you have many friends beside you and true love to help you through it. Next.”

Before Starry could even react to what she heard, the creature had dumped the pot and it fizzled out all over the floor and their hooves. Starry jumped from fear that the liquids would be hot but splashed back down into what felt more like frigid ice. Edgy had let it wash over him, lifting a hoof when it first hit him. He didn’t have quite the desire to jump at everything.

The creature all of a sudden appeared behind him and plucked a strand of his tail that made him nearly neigh out loud. Thankfully for him, Starry was staring his direction and he bit his lips.

“Hmmm, even more angry ponies and more pain.”

The creature looked up at the two of them.

“Well, it’s not all that bad. It never is, in the end.”

And with that, she dumped the pot once again and the two let the frigid water run by them.

The two had nothing to say. It had all happened very suddenly and unexpectedly and when the creature saw them just standing there bewildered, she looked a little upset with herself again.

“Oh, I see,” she rubbed one...claw? with the other, and looked off, “I see I’ve scared my guests again. I really want to give ponies a good time, but it seems I haven’t.”

Starry looked up at the creature and almost wished she could just agree and run off, but the creature seemed sincerely hurt.

“It is very nice that you have...” she searched for the right words, “special talents. I think ponies would prefer it if you were just a little less sudden and surprising.”

The creature stopped rubbing her hand and looked back at the two with a smile.

“Yes, I guess you’re right, dear.”

“A nice hello would have also been nice too before you told us we are surrounded by gloom,” Edgy mumbled.

“I suppose I could have been more inviting,” the creature seemed to consider it, raising a limb toward where its chin would have been.

“Well, next time then,” the creature clapped.

“Now, both of you run along back! Thanks again for the gift!”

And they were both escorted back into the tunnel.

“You don’t believe what she said, do you?” Starry whispered to Edgy once they were outside the oasis.

“I think she’s lost her marbles somewhere in the sandbox, Star.”

Starry felt a bit comforted. The creature had seemed a little strange, but what she did seemed real. Looking at Edgy trudging on in front of her, though, she figured she’d take his outlook on it.

That creature was crazy. Nothing more.

Still, she felt bad for her. After all, Starry herself could relate to being alone in her workshop most of the time.

“It’s not all bad. It never is, in the end,” the sorceress’s words echoed back to her.

I hope she was right on that part.

Chapter Three

Most of their trips together weren’t unusual. Many ponies just wanted a few odds and ends and would take a look or two, or a very intense, critical look, and then pay her with just a few comments on it.

Starry had organized her list of projects by location, then by presumed difficulty. Her eyes scanned over the section on Canterlot.

There was a grand square in Canterlot with a beautiful fountain in the center. A statue of a pony elegantly doing ballet was on top of it, all hooves curved and outstretched. Water gushed deliciously from the pony’s mouth and sprayed the basin below, creating a small rainbow.

Somepony that worked in city planning in Canterlot figured that it was stylish, but needed something more. Starry wanted to wait a bit before she got this one taken care of, though. The city planner also needed to go through several rounds of meetings and interviews before they could really get the project going. Bureaucracy in Canterlot was infamous throughout the rest of Equestria. With a sad sigh she opened another folder to look at the rest of the work she was going to do.

Her mind wandered.

A lot had been going on around Ponyville. This wasn’t new in itself. Ponyville always had something strange going on. Everywhere always had something strange going on. There was a new school that occasionally meant young havoc to deal with for the rest of the citizens. It wasn’t even all from the students, but it seemed like the teachers had forgotten the very thing they had been trying to teach: friendship.

Starry glanced in front of her. They were all simple yet elegant designs for door knockers. Once you’ve designed one or two of those, it just took adding a few more lines and bits to make them “fancy.” The main task here was making ones that hooked into a system that would ring a bell at the farther ends of the house, where a simple knock on the door wouldn’t reach.

Starry had been debating on if she really wanted to make these. After all, she had wanted to leave behind any painful reminders of her time in the factory. But still, she had freedom and could add all the flair she wanted to. She would make this an art. A pony’s home was her castle, and that’s just what these would be fit for.

They wouldn’t take long to make and all she would need to do is make sure she brought enough equipment to set them up. She made sure to call to Bee, when Bee was passing by that morning, to get Edgy and to tell him they would need to make a train ride to Canterlot later.

Edgy hadn’t exactly seen Starry in action at her shop before. As he walked there, he tried to think why he hadn’t and couldn’t come up with a reason. He went to push open the door and immediately felt uncomfortable.

Starry’s shop seemed unbearably hot. There was only so much her magic could do, so she would melt down the various bits of gold and silver and cast them into the molds she kept. The heat would sometimes singe her coat brown if she wasn’t careful, even with an apron on, but she didn’t mind that too much. Sometimes she thought it suited her better than her light purple.

She was in the middle of pouring some molten liquid into one such mold. Edgy could feel the heat off of it from where he stood at the door. Starry was holding onto a handle far enough away from the liquid and she still had heavy gloves on.

Suddenly, both could see that she was losing her grip on the handle and the metal was about to spill when Starry’s magic aura appeared over the whole thing, preventing the spill and taking a hold of the handle.

Both of them loudly sighed in relief.

When she finished, Edgy thought it was finally safe to get her attention and went to knock at the door, but just barely stopped himself from falling forward when he heard Starry say his name.

“Edgy. Don’t think I didn’t see you literally darkening my door. You almost made me burn us all alive,” and she stuck her tongue out at him as if it wasn’t a serious cause for concern.

As if she didn’t want to seem too bold, she added, “Twilight taught me a protection spell anyway.” She tapped at the ground and the whole floor shimmered. “I have one on me, too. It protects against getting burned but it only lasts for a little while.”

She turned back to her work and pretended not to hear him anymore. With a witness around she felt more self conscious and worried she’d have another near spill. It was only the last of the three she was making and she had made sure to complete the most challenging one first.

Edgy spent a while trying to watch Starry at work with the metal. She waited until it had cooled down a bit and began etching the lines into it. She had some ability to bend metals, but it still helped to use a few pliers and drills. Magic auras are a muscle, like any other. She had some strength with hers but it would take some effort. She also liked seeing the designs come out as she was working on them rather than having to imagine them out fully and make them appear through magic.

Eventually he got bored as she was reworking the same design for the fifth time and started going through the different shelves in her workshop.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye and felt better not having an audience until she remembered what was over there.

He was just about to open one of the boxes in the corner when Starry leapt over and landed on top of the box with a nervous smile. But then, worrying it would be more embarrassing now, she pulled out a few golden chains from it.

“I keep fanmade copies of the Element necklaces,” Starry blushed.

“Do they even use those anymore?” Edgy asked. News had spread all over Equestria about the way the Elements wiped out several villains with the necklaces, and tales were always retold among ponies whenever they thought about it. Still, it seemed like a while ago since the necklaces were ever mentioned.

“Hmm, I can’t actually remember,” Starry said after trying to think.

Edgy took one step back and Starry went back to finish up the last door knocker. This had only taken her until the afternoon, but Canterlot was a solid few hours away anyway, so they figured they could go overnight.

With the three door knockers packed away in Starry and Edgy’s saddlebags, they bought two train tickets and hopped aboard. Edgy still made sure to watch out for a certain unicorn, but he was also happy Starry was enjoying herself, though he tried not to show it.

Starry spent most of the afternoon and evening doodling in her notebook. She had a few orders that she hadn’t fully worked through yet and she was also preparing herself for a few potential ones. She looked outside the window of the train and noticed a bunch of empty hills. With a slight frown she looked back inside the train car. Nothing out there seemed too inspirational.

She looked toward Edgy and glanced at his scars.

They were in all sorts of weird shapes all over his front right hoof. She usually pretended not to notice them, in case he didn’t want to talk about it. She started trying to imagine what they looked like, and almost made herself dizzy thinking up what creatures they looked like they were, and what sort of things they were doing. Maybe they weren’t creatures at all but a map, and maybe the map led to a buried treasure that Edgy was destined to find, and maybe his name really was Edgy and it was because he has to find the edge of the map, or he’s always living on the edge, or maybe he discovered one day that whatever cut him had an unexpectedly very sharp edge.

“Edgy, what’s your cutie mark in?”

Edgy looked at Starry. He began hoping it was just a casual question that he could make her forget.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, you always wear that outfit and I was a bit nervous about asking but I was thinking it’d be something cool,” Starry said and turned from the scars to Edgy’s face.

“Well, knowing it’s on me I would say it would be.”

Starry scrunched up her nose and turned back to her notebook, and Edgy was glad the conversation was over.

Starry looked back outside the window.

The train had sped past most of the open hills and fields and began rolling past a shimmering lake. The last light of day was shining across its obsidian depths. She could see the waves churning in the chilly evening breezes. It made her think about the creatures that must live below.

She turned back to Edgy.

“I read a story once about water fillies.”

“Sea ponies, Star.”

“No, water fillies. They are a bit different.”

“Okay...” Edgy wasn’t sure what to say after that.

“I guess most wouldn’t get it. But I think the story was cool. I used to read a lot of cool stories when I lived at the orphanage.”

Edgy had a vague memory that she had mentioned the orphanage before. He wondered if it would have done him any good if Trot Town had one. There must have been one, but he usually kept to himself in the outskirts of town, so he wouldn’t have known.

“I can’t remember much of the story anymore, but I think there was a kid that was misunderstood and abused. It’s kind of one of those stories where the characters do a lot of random adventures that are somehow metaphorical. I like reading those, although they also kind of lose me.”

“Oh.”

“I mean,” Starry scrunched her nose again, “I like stories where the author is imaginative and has a sense of humor. And I do enjoy stories with deeper meanings than on the surface. And-”

“Maybe your cutie mark should have been in talking, Star,” Edgy said, and pointed out the other ponies that were trying to fall asleep as the light outside had nearly vanished. Edgy mentally snapped at himself for bringing up cutie marks again, after finally getting Starry off the topic. But he had been thinking about it and it just slipped out. Thankfully Starry took the hint and quit.

[Cutie Mark Enthusiast’s Note: Starry Emerald’s cutie mark is a star, emerald, and another star going up diagonally. It’s to show her normal positivity and show that she’s always looking for the best in a pony. Bumble Bee’s is, of course, a bumble bee. She’s a bit chill. Cassiopeia’s is a warm island breeze swirling around. It’s to show her enthusiasm and hectic personality. As for Edgy...]

Chapter Four

They both didn’t realize when they had dozed off until the train came to a stop and ponies started disembarking for Canterlot the next morning.

Starry took out the directions to the three houses they were going to, and thankfully they were all on the same street. It didn’t take too long to string the wires through the houses, and Edgy even helped Starry once she marked out where the wires were to go. The first two still took most of the day, but thankfully they were allowed to stay the night in two of the guest rooms at the second stop.

“A friend of Granny Angel’s is always a friend of mine,” the owner had said.

As Edgy went to sleep that night, he figured he’d have them spend as much time as possible in Canterlot. If Starry would be willing to spend the day shopping and sightseeing, which he figured she would, then they could knock out another day that he could use to avoid Tempest Shadow.

He had an uneasy feeling about it. She was his mentor as much as his commander, and he had looked up to her for so long. She had been his family of sorts under the Storm King. But still. She’s taking her sweet time to show up.

In the morning, Edgy stopped Starry in the hall and told her that after they finished the third pony’s house, he wanted to spend the day looking around Canterlot. Starry thought about it for a second, but agreed it might give her some ounce of inspiration, and it would help her understand her customers over here better. Plus, if Edgy wanted to do something, Starry wanted to be up for it. He hadn’t asked her to do much, and it was really easy to spend hours doing nothing in Canterlot.

It didn’t take too long to finish the last one, and soon the two were off exploring the royal city.

Starry wanted to see every bit of architecture in the city and take it all in. Edgy was glad to see her having fun, and felt relaxed himself. There was no way Tempest would show her face around here, reformed or no. She had no reason to be here.

Starry started passing by one shop window when she suddenly stopped and sat down on the sidewalk, causing Edgy to crash into her. He stood back up just as Starry squealed and pointed.

Edgy took one long look at the window. It had a bunch of multicolored tiny figurines.

“I need them!”

Before Edgy had the chance to respond, Starry bolted into the shop and came back with a shopping bag full of colorful figures.

“What...”

“Shush. These are from my favorite show!”

The two started walking down the sidewalk when Edgy noticed Starry was struggling under the weight of them with her magic aura. Before she could protest, he grabbed the bag with his teeth.

“Let the strong pony handle it,” he mumbled with the loops in his mouth. Starry could only roll her eyes but she was glad have the weight off.

The afternoon grew warm, and the two noticed a long line of ponies up ahead blocking their path. Starry peered as far around as she could to see what all the ponies were there for, and realized there was an ice cream cart. She mentioned it to Edgy and they both decided it was worth stopping and waiting for.

She left Edgy holding the shopping bag next to the fountain while she went to buy some ice cream. She was busy rummaging in her bag for her bits, hoping she didn’t lose them at the last stop, when the two ponies in front of her turned to face her.

It was Jet Set and Upper Crust, two of the elite unicorns of Canterlot that everyone knew were jerks but wouldn’t admit.

Starry was going to try to ignore them.

“Is that your servant?” Upper Crust asked, “I must say I’m impressed. We haven’t been able to find good help in a while.”

“Oh no, that’s just my friend Edgy.”

The two ponies crinkled their snouts.

“Oh, what kind of name is that?”

“Well, it isn’t his real name. I don’t actually know what...”

“Must be some stage name,” Jet Set said to Upper Crust, “Actors. I can’t stand ponies that work in entertainment.”

And with a huff they turned back around.

Well huff to you, too, Starry thought.

But again, she wondered why Edgy even put up with her using his nickname all the time. She felt like cringing at all the times she used it today and started wondering what the other stuck up unicorns must have thought, and she almost missed when she actually made it up to the ice cream pony.

She quickly ordered two vanilla ice cream cones and paid before slowly trotting back up to Edgy, who was still trying to forget the other stuff she had bought.

Starry levitated his ice cream over to him and he grabbed a hold of it with a newly freed hoof. He began to eat it peacefully when he realized Starry was staring at him.

“Edgy?”

“Star.”

“It’s nothing, I guess.”

“The most annoying nothing I’ve ever seen.”

Edgy couldn’t quite figure out what Starry could possibly be wondering, and he wasn’t sure whether her stare or the unknown was more discomforting.

“Didn’t you come from Canterlot?”

“I-” Edgy stopped. He didn’t want to lie to Starry, but he still didn’t want her to know the full truth.

“Why do you ask?”

“Uh...never mind.”

Starry didn’t know how to ask. She didn’t want to accuse him of being with the Storm King but she also didn’t know what else to think. Seeing him surrounded by shopping bags and eating a vanilla ice cream cone, he seemed the furthest removed from that nightmare.

She didn’t bring it up again for the rest of the trip. She reminded herself that he was still her friend currently living in Ponyville and that was all that mattered. Edgy had let her take all the time she wanted, but he still didn’t seem that interested in the city. It had been another few hours when they passed by the Canterlot Carousel. Starry began trotting in. She didn’t want to tell Edgy, but she figured she’d buy something to support Rarity and get Bee something.

“You really want to do more shopping? I thought you didn’t like fancy dresses. You never wear any,” Edgy said and took a look at the sun setting up ahead.

“Well I really need to know what sort of work Rarity is doing, just in case I need to make a few more necklaces and bracelets. It’ll only be a minute, Edgy, please?”

Chapter Five

Starry didn’t take too long looking around the shop. An oddly colored unicorn was dealing with a few difficult customers at one end of the shop. There was another pony in the shop that made Starry feel uneasy, and after a quick glance at the dresses she decided not to leave Edgy waiting too long outside. She picked out a small bag and quickly checked it out before heading back out the door.

Edgy just rolled his eyes as they headed toward the train.

Starry had remembered seeing a ticket listing for a time later in the evening, and she was relieved to see she remembered it right and paid for their tickets to board.

There weren’t too many ponies traveling at night. She saw maybe six other ponies walking around through the windows as the two trotted onto the station platform.

The two found a seat in a nearly empty train car. Sitting on a bench nearby was an older mare. Her coat was a sherbet orange and her mane was various shades of a banana yellow. She was covered as much as she could be in pearls: earrings, necklace, brooch. Her cutie mark was even a strand of pearls. She spent some time reading one of the magazines she apparently brought and didn’t pay attention to the two ponies that sat two seats away from her.

Edgy was still worried about what he was going to have to deal with in Ponyville. News would get around fast if Tempest had shown up, and what if she shows up right after they get there?

Looking at Starry, he could see she had already taken her notebook back out and was making some small doodles. She was oblivious to everything going on.

Starry had just finished up half the designs she thought of making when she looked to her right and saw Edgy staring at the orange mare. He seemed a bit dazed. Starry leaned over to get a good look at the mare from Edgy’s direction and noticed a mole on the right side of the mare’s face. It was a bit attention grabbing now that Starry had seen it. She almost felt herself going into a trance herself before she went to wave a hoof between them.

Edgy had been staring, but not at the mole. The orange mare wasn’t paying attention to them at all, yet he felt like he was being called to her. He couldn’t help but feel like something was off about her, and he suddenly felt himself going into a somewhat trance until Starry waved a hoof in front of his face.

“I think I’ll get something to drink and stretch my legs. These benches aren’t the most comfortable.”

Edgy nodded and started fiddling with the edges of his outfit.

She hopped off and trotted toward the car with a few booths and a late night server. It didn’t seem like anypony else was in the mood for a late night snack. The car was empty but for her and the server, and the server himself was already packing up and putting items away. He was just wiping down the counter when Starry walked up.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked as he continued scrubbing at the counter.

“I guess. I had a really busy day today and I guess it’s hard to shut it down,” Starry told him.

“I thought maybe you couldn’t sleep because of the ghost story.”

Starry’s ears perked up for a second.

The server put away the towel he was using and planted both hooves firmly on the counter toward her.

“We have a legend on this train. One night, the train was traveling through the Badlands. As you know, most of the pony towns there are new. The manager of the train lines had wanted the lines set up as soon as possible, but he didn’t fully check the terrain he led the train through. One area had a landslide and had turned into a massive gorge, taking the tracks with it. The conductor at the time, Straight Arrow, couldn’t see too far ahead, and didn’t know that the tracks were out. We lost the entire train that night and a dozen ponies.”

The server ended the story with a sad sigh.

“It happened maybe ten years ago. We eventually had the lines out there rechecked and fixed, but...”

Starry was going to comfort the serving pony when he looked back up with a grin.

“Some ponies say they still see the ghosts of those ponies riding the trains on late night trips,” he added with a flourish. “Of course, I’ve been working the night shift here my whole life and I have never seen one. I think they missed this train.”

Starry laughed a bit before ordering a blue fizzy soda and found a booth to sit at with her notebook. In spite of himself, Edgy was a distraction. Even as her friend, she still didn’t want him to see her doodles until they were just about right. She scrapped a few she had made in the other car and then touched up some of the others, but it was getting too late for her to stay up creating more.

She took a look out the window next to her. She wasn’t able to see much but she imagined what it was like in the darkness outside.

Equestria’s landscape had many empty plains and fields and hills. There were the occasional desert areas and forests, but the train hardly ever went near those. Of course, the train only stayed between the empty places going to and from the most populous areas. Main cities and such. It still had yet to make it through to Yak Yakistan or the Changeling Empire, and it was certainly going to be difficult to construct a line going to the southernmost of the Badlands. It was the weirdest thing to Starry that there was actually a line going toward the Crystal Empire during the years it was cursed.

With a sigh, she walked herself back to the car Edgy was sitting in. He was beginning to doze off. She had just made it to the bench when the conductor came by the other direction and, seeing how tired Edgy was, offered them one of the sleeper cars.

Starry literally leapt at the idea, and dragged Edgy along.

The sleeper car was empty. It was one of the normal sleeper cars, with two lines of bunk beds along the walls and curtains for each and a window onto the landscape at each one.

“I’ll take a top bunk!” Starry called out and made her way up the short ladder and began to snuggle under the blanket.

Edgy had to facehoof. If she was going to be so full of energy he knew neither one of them were going to get any sleep. He slipped into one of the bottom bunks and took one look out the window before settling down.

“You know what’s funny?”

Edgy opened an eye and saw a bushel of hair and what could only be Starry’s face leaning down in the dark and looking at him. It almost scared him a bit.

“What,” he said, and stared up straight over his head. He didn’t want to look back at Starry in hopes maybe she’d go away.

“Top bunks are cool, but they make me feel claustrophobic. It’s like I’m being squished against the ceiling.” Starry pointed up at the ceiling and started making gestures like she was measuring the width of space each bunk had.

Edgy took one exasperated breath.

“Then take another bunk, Star. There are about ten other ones in this car.” He turned over to face the window.

Starry saw him turn around and dropped her hooves back onto the ledge of her bunk. Looking around the car, she couldn’t see further than the bunks they were on. For a second she was worried she saw something move in the bunk next to hers.

Edgy could see the glow of her horn out of the corner of his eyes.

He had to squint as he turned to look at the glow. Starry hadn’t bothered to climb down from where she was at but had perched herself partly on the ledge and was turning around to look into the bunk next to hers.

With a cough he got her attention and she looked back down.

“I’m sorry. I thought I saw the curtain move, but apparently there’s just a vent above this one.”

Thank Celestia! He didn’t want to have to deal with another irritable would be sleeper. For a second he thought maybe he would make a minipone come out and scare Star half to death, but that would only make the situation worse and he didn’t want anything to go wrong and her to catch what he did. So he turned back around.

As Starry turned toward the center aisle of the car and started readjusting her bearings on the edge of the bunk, she noticed a pair of eyes staring back up at her from below. She scrambled backwards and hit the window of her bunk, pulling her mercury out in the shape of a crude knife and pointing it at the unknown, her panicked breathing and heartbeat the only thing she could hear.

Edgy heard the thump and turned and felt a little jolt himself.

The eyes turned upward and all of a sudden there was light in the car.

All three squinted as Starry and Edgy saw a stallion appear connected to the eyeballs.

“Will you shush? I have a very important meeting tomorrow.”

With that, he snapped the cord for the light once again. Starry fell onto her blanket again. She was definitely exhausted now. And hearing something so normal and mundane made her begin to tell herself that everything was fine. And when she finally calmed down, she fell fast asleep.

[Cutie Mark Enthusiast’s Note: The mare with a strand of pearls is a sophisticated mare of the world. She’s good at coating the ugliness of society and wears her accomplishments proudly around her. Postage Stamp has a postage stamp with a wood carving for an image on it and a mark for two bits, because of his hobby and how he likes to give his advice and help. And Edgy’s...]

Chapter Six

Because the train ride had started so late, they still had a ways to go in the morning.

Starry felt the warm sun creeping up through her window and yawned. She started crawling down from her bunk to get some breakfast, hoping she wouldn’t wake too many of the ponies in the car. As she went past Edgy’s bunk, she noticed he wasn’t there and felt a little cross that he hadn’t woken her up sooner.

He was sitting back in the same seats they were in yesterday, except this time he was staring out the window. Starry thought he looked really thoughtful for once, like a changed pony, but, in reality, he was thinking about the food in Canterlot. The food on the train hadn’t been nearly as good.

Starry thought about trotting up and pouncing onto the bench beside him, but went ahead and tiptoed as best she could by him and went back to the dining car for breakfast.

They hadn’t picked up too many ponies overnight, it seemed. She could only remember a few the night before and there weren’t too many this morning. They were already nearing Ponyville anyway.

She took an apple from the dining car and trotted back to where Edgy was sitting. He continued to ignore her so she decided to continue her designs in her notebook. She pictured making a fireplace screen with his scars as the design. It would cast the best shapes on the walls and give the fire a mysterious air.

Letting her mind wander, she could see the screen as a forest. Not like the one they had to travel through. One from the founding of Equestria, when there were small villages and brave pegasus warriors and the unicorns were the head of the land. Then things wouldn’t be too bad. She could wield a sword and have Edgy as her trusty, though negligent, companion.

Edgy peered over at Starry’s notebook. She hadn’t noticed when her scribbling had gotten increasingly loud and could be heard throughout the train car. He thought he could make out the image of a unicorn and an earth pony, but it looked like the earth pony was being yelled at. Starry’s eyes were fixated on where she was moving her pencil. Edgy couldn’t really tell how, but her eyes looked lighter colored than usual.

He turned back out the window. It seemed like he’d be a regular resident in Ponyville now. For the first time in his life he was going to have to be a normal citizen.

The skies outside turned grey for the first time in the past week, and he could just see where the pegasus ponies had patched up the remaining sunny bits of sky. Everything looked gloomy and when the rain started pattering on the train roof he could just imagine what it would be like if it was a shadowy army.

Starry had finally completed the image she was working on and stood up.

It was going to be a bold move, but she thought she could take the risk.

Her magic aura lit up for one second and Edgy nearly leapt to the ceiling. He looked at where he felt like he was hit and felt more confused than ever. A scrap of paper had been pinned to his flank and on it was a faint scribble of a sword. He took one look at Starry.

“I think it matches,” she said with a small grin.

Edgy frowned a bit, but he had an idea.

“Have you ever actually made one before? A real sword?”

Starry stopped and thought about it for a minute. She had one memory of an enthusiast that she attempted to make a sword for, but really...

“I tried once, but I can’t make a real one. It’s not the sort of thing I’m into, anyway. I don’t like the thought of making weapons.”

They both had to admit it would be out of place in Ponyville. Most ponies would falter at a raised voice if it wasn’t their own.

Edgy glanced back at his temporary cutie mark and for a second he was going to remove it, but then he thought better of it.

...But the train was nearly back in Ponyville and he wasn’t trotting out with it on.

He took a hoof and brushed it off, letting it fall with a small clatter onto the floor.

Starry pretended not to notice.

“Train rides are awfully dull sometimes, aren’t they?” she said.

“Depends on how you look at it!”

The orange mare was sitting behind Edgy. With a slight hop he turned around so that he and Starry were both facing the mare.

“Trains are interesting things. They’re more than just a method of transport. They are bridges into the unknown, they are an innovation for the past, they lead us into death and into life. I wouldn’t underestimate that.”

The orange mare flashed them a smile that reflected on all the pearls she wore.

Starry suddenly felt a connection with the mare.

“I like the sound of that! My name’s Starry by the way.”

The two mares shook hooves and the orange mare told Starry her name. Edgy didn’t quite catch it. He was once again struck by the odd sensation he felt.

The orange mare eventually left the train car and Edgy and Starry were once again nearly alone. The rain had stopped, and they could see one or two pegasus ponies clearing up the sky. Celestia’s sun was once again shining over the still empty green open spaces. It was almost calming how empty it was.

In the next hour they finally made it back to Ponyville. With a screech, the train rested its worn wheels next to the welcoming station.

They hopped off onto the train station platform and turned back toward the train. They could see the orange mare still sitting on one of the benches. She gave them a wink and Starry and Edgy turned around to head off the platform when Edgy took one last look at the mare.

Strange, they had only gone a few steps but it seemed like the mare and the train itself was getting farther away. Even while he was standing still, it began to fade more and more.

Starry had stopped trotting to see why Edgy had stopped and looked back at where the train was.

It had vanished. Starry blinked a few times and turned to look around the line to see if the train had quietly moved on without her hearing. As suddenly as the old one disappeared, a new one appeared in the same spot. No other pony except her and Edgy seemed to notice, so she figured it was just her imagining things from her lack of sleep.

Chapter Seven

Starry and Edgy didn’t have much time to think about it, because as soon as they walked off the platform, they were both bowled over by two of Starry’s friends, Postage Stamp and Cass.

“Hey filly, guess what?” Cass said in her usual tomboyish manner.

Starry couldn’t even begin to guess what her friend could be thinking. A house burnt down? The bank was robbed?

“Somepony just showed up in Ponyville in the train before yours did. And you’ll never believe who it is!”

Starry looked to Postage for help.

“It’s Tempest Shadow.”

Edgy suddenly stiffened but tried his best not to let it show. Starry felt like something had happened, but when she looked at Edgy he still seemed to be in his usual manner, slightly aloof.

She looked back at her friends and said, “Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter much to us anyway, Twilight and her friends are always dealing with those sorts. I’m going to hide back in my place before anything crazy goes down. Are you coming, Edgy?”

She turned back toward Edgy, who gave her a cool nod. Thankfully, Star doesn’t want to see Tempest Shadow either. He felt relieved.

He wasn’t in the mood to talk to her friends, though, and Cass was already used to this. Postage Stamp made an attempt at a hello, but otherwise politely smiled and backed off to listen in as Starry told Cass all about her trip. She was disappointed Bee hadn’t stopped by, but Cass told her Bee was pretty busy with work and would have to get her present later. It didn’t stop Starry from giving Cass her souvenirs, though.

Edgy was still carrying some of her bags, and had to occasionally feel the weight of one lifted off his back as Starry levitated something over to show or give to her friend.

Edgy hoped being with a group like this and having himself half covered in bags would be excellent camouflage in case Tempest were to walk by.

They managed to make it nearly to Starry’s neighborhood when Starry half whispered half groaned out, “Oh no, why do they have to be here?”

All four looked up and saw a young dragon walking by.

It was one of the few dragons that the citizens of Ponyville knew of, and he was always either by Twilight Sparkle’s side or running errands for her. Edgy was going to find somewhere to hide but remembered he still had a burden on him and didn’t want to drop it all for fear of upsetting Starry.

He already knew what lengths she went to when she was in a bad mood.

Sure enough, Spike wasn’t alone.

Edgy’s panic was growing more noticeable, if the others were paying attention to him. Starry and her friends were trying to crawl off into a nearby alley when Edgy heard an all too familiar voice.

“Well, that’s why I came to you for help. I haven’t been able to locate them yet and I knew you’d be able to find them.”

Tempest’s voice was heard intermingling with Twilight’s as the latter purple alicorn tried to reassure her. Edgy started blushing.

The two ponies and their dragon companion were away soon enough, and the other three ponies let out a sigh of relief and continued walking back as easygoing as they had been.

Edgy was a little dazed himself. Some of his old feelings of admiration had come up, mingled with fear, mingled with a lot of other feelings he was too confused to think about.

They were both reformed, but they had still left on the worst terms, terms of the deepest disappointment, on both sides. He had looked to her for guidance and support, but she was the one that blasted him and left him to be sent away and lost. He had let her down when he thought he would earn her praise.

Starry had Edgy and her friends over for the rest of the day, but she could tell something was off with Edgy. He was always a bit aloof but he wasn’t the type to be distracted. She thought she might plan a special trip for them around Ponyville and see if she could finally have a real talk with him.

Edgy couldn’t sleep that night.

He even thought about asking the shadowy minipones for advice. They didn’t normally have thoughts of their own though, and so he gave it up and sat there on the edge of his bed.

Maybe I should tell Star?

No, he told himself, and fell backwards once again. Tempest is busy looking for something or someone and shouldn’t be here long. With the way Starry and her friends are, they wouldn’t be anywhere near Tempest and Twilight and so he wouldn’t have to be near them either.

But if Starry finds out...?

Well, she just won’t.

And with that, he finally fell asleep.

Chapter Eight

Tempest Shadow was a little nervous.

She normally had a lot of confidence and could easily come off as intimidating, but she wasn’t her “normal” self. It had been weeks since her reformation but she was trying to relearn about herself as well as pony society. She hadn’t lived with ponies since she was a filly, and there were some habits and customs that, while they seemed familiar, were long lost skills to her.

First, adjusting her eyesight to the colors. It seemed like a dazzling array of rainbows everywhere she walked.

Second, ponies were more talkative and chatty. The storm guards were nearly silent except for random noises and the other creatures she lived with before were only there to speak in rude comments and gruff commands. Having ponies talking about their lives in all its mundaneness was odd.

Third, she decided to take off the armor of the Storm King. She kept the fabric that was underneath and resewed it to look more normal. She didn’t want to go entirely naked. She didn’t understand how ponies could feel so comfortable without anything on most of the time.

She even tried to get used to her real name again. She felt like if she was going back into pony society she would take on her old pony name.

Fizzlepop Berrytwist.

It seemed like a weird name now. Her friends used to think it was awesome when she was younger. Now it struggled on its way off her tongue and she had to stop herself midway through introducing herself as Tempest a few times.

She was trying to be polite and nice and friendly to all the ponies she came across, but it was still second nature to her to be a bit gruff and she nearly scared a small filly when she tripped over the filly’s toys out in the street and nearly said something she shouldn’t have.

She wanted to spend this time getting to really know Equestria again before she stepped foot around her old friends. She was worried what they would think of her and if they would even remember her.

She thought about the only pony she had really spoken to for the past few years.

She winced. That hadn’t turned out well either. She was nothing but a murderer. And it left an ache inside her that she had done that to a pony slightly younger than her that had looked up to her.

Her friends may have abandoned her but they didn’t leave her to die. Although, they might as well have, emotionally.

A few months of her living off her surroundings and she finally decided to see Twilight Sparkle and reunite with her old friends. Twilight was the Princess of Friendship after all, and was more importantly a friend to her.

It felt good knowing she had at least one friend for now, even though it was a little embarrassing that they hadn’t met under better circumstances.

She got herself on board the Ponyville Express and went on her way.

The train ride was long, but she could daydream. She may be harsh, but she also always had her head in the clouds. She was brave and always believed in doing more and more, always going forward. She wouldn’t consider herself a dreamer, but she did have an adventurous and resilient spirit.

She looked outside the train window and could see her own reflection.

Her scar was a constant reminder of how her risk taking led to more misfortune than she would have liked, but it was easy to forget it in her hope for a better future.

It was humbling. Having to go from her no nonsense, mighty stance on top of the winning party taking over Equestria, to being some common pony.

A pony with no family and only one friend and an endless and miserable track record.

She was more eager and excited to meet up with Twilight Sparkle. Rumors had preceded her on her journey and Twilight already knew that Tempest was coming and had Spike accompany her to the station.

They greeted Tempest...Fizzlepop...warmly and started walking her around town. Some ponies were curious to see what new character appeared in the Mane Six’s lives, but others were trying their best to act natural and leave the scene.

Tempest...Fizzlepop...noticed, anyway. Spike and Twilight were already so used to it they would have never noticed.

They were taking a turn around some of the neighborhoods when Tempest thought she saw a familiar pony. He was covered in saddlebags, but he seemed to have the right height and color...

But it can’t be. He’s dead.

With her training, she knew how to pretend she hadn’t noticed. She didn’t want to bring this up to Twilight Sparkle. Talking about old filly friends that she hadn’t seen was one thing, but totally taking out another pony was another, and not something she wanted to explain out in public like this.

They made their way to the Castle of Friendship and saw the others from the Mane Six.

“You’re lucky you came when you did. It’s a school holiday,” Twilight excitedly explained.

Rarity was inspecting her notebooks and turning back toward a project she was working on. It was a beautiful new scarf. With a brilliant strand of gems lining it in chevrons near the ends. It didn’t look like it would be comfy, but Rarity let the newcomer try it on and it felt like paradise. It was going to be a present for Sweetie Belle, who had just helped another pony get their mark, and whom Rarity still felt like she was neglecting, sometimes.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were talking in another hallway. They were always close friends. One gentle and the other bold, but always looking out for each other since fillyhood. It was a bond that anypony, including Fizzlepop could see and she felt a little bittersweet at the thought of having such a bond.

Applejack was taking a nap on her throne with her hat pulled over her face. The dirt on her coat was easily visible and a twig or two was sticking in her hair. She had spent a long day on the farm before this and deserved the nap.

Pinkie Pie could be heard and not seen. Smells of freshly baked goods wafted from what must have been the kitchen down the hall.

It all felt so natural and homey that Fizzlepop felt like she could be comfortable. She had spent enough time out on her own that she felt less self conscious, even though it wasn’t entirely gone.

Twilight once again asked her about the names of her old filly friends, and upon hearing their names, Twilight looked a little confused.

“Hmmm, well, Pinkie Pie knows everypony so I’m sure she’s seen them before.”

The three continued walking into the nearby kitchen. The new unicorn could see cakes piled up to the ceiling in a disorganized array, still managing to stay in their spot without collapsing or intermixing with each other. And they all smelled and looked delicious.

A particularly beautiful red velvet cake was nearest the door. The icing on it was perfectly uniform, with blue spirals over a delicate pink. She felt mesmerized looking at it, and ended up not hearing the first time Pinkie Pie addressed her.

Funny, with her usual instincts she wouldn’t have missed such a loud and high voiced call, she thought, before answering the pink pony with her friends’ names.

Pinkie Pie looked up thoughtfully. Her mane picked up a spoon of batter in another upcoming cake and she licked it before placing it back into the bowl, much to Twilight’s dismay and her companion’s bewilderment.

“Uh, I don’t know. I think I may know someone who would know though!”

She bounced back to the oven to pull out another glorious cake. Her new observer wondered where all the cakes would be going, but her question was answered when Pinkie bolted an entire cake down as they headed out the door.

Chapter Nine

“No, I don’t see their names in the public records. They could have been pulled, though. We had a break in a while ago and noticed a few files were taken,” the grey haired mare told them, rifling through the file cabinets with her hooves.

Twilight Sparkle was going to be all over interrogating Mayor Mare right then and there, but she was stopped by a shout from Spike, pulling out a dusty folder from one of the cabinets next to the opposite wall. Twilight levitated him and the folder over and the four eager ponies peered over each other to see what was inside.

Sure enough, Fizzlepop recognized her two old friends.

“Their last known location is...” the two unicorns both squinted a bit. The writing had smudged and faded and it looked like gibberish on the page.

“Hmmm, I can’t tell but I think I know what neighborhood it is talking about,” Twilight said.

With a thank you to Mayor Mare, the two ponies and Spike trotted out of Town Hall.

Fizzlepop wanted to meet up with them on her own and Twilight agreed. Spike remembered the time Starlight and Sunburst had to meet up after years apart, and knew the meeting may be a bit awkward, but that it was best for her to be able to figure it out herself.

She was two streets away from the retreating backs of Twilight and Spike when she caught a glimpse of two other ponies trotting down the street.

The unicorn was laughing and bouncing around but she had a certain amount of grace to it where it wasn’t the pure happiness of Pinkie Pie’s bouncing and laughing. It was a tempered kind. She was teasing the earth pony walking next to her. He was a grey pony wearing a suit.

Tempest...Fizzlepop...ducked before either caught a glimpse of her.

“See, you look good in it! I told you!” the purple and blonde unicorn was saying.

“Well, of course, I look good in anything.”

“Not that old thing you used to wear,” the unicorn said before finding herself tumbling over. The stallion had just slightly tapped her hoof and set her off balance just as she was coming down.

She brushed herself off. She was in a good mood. And seeing Edgy stick his tongue out afterwards only helped her brighten up faster. Her new business was doing well, Edgy was her assistant, and she felt good about herself and life.

They continued trotting by.

Edgy and Tempest had seen each other.

He had tripped Starry partly to tease her but partly to stop their tracks so he could have time to get a glimpse of what he thought was a familiar orchid colored unicorn nearby. He still wasn’t sure about how to handle facing her one on one, but he wasn’t going to let her go unnoticed.

Tempest had recognized him. From the front view and with that level of overconfidence, there was no mistaking it.

She wasn’t sure how she felt. He was alive and he seemed happy in his own new life of peace here in Ponyville. It was miraculous, but she had seen miracles with her own eyes before.

He probably doesn’t recognize me.

She felt like there was consolation in that, with his memory wiped, he at least wouldn’t remember what she had done to him. She had to make her apologies and so forth with her two friends, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain, but the grey pony? She didn’t even have to talk to him at all. As far as he is concerned, they have never met.

Edgy and Starry continued walking.

Starry’s not going to find out about this. I won’t let it happen.

As far as she is concerned, we’ve never met.

Chapter Ten

But as Fizzlepop finally got a chance to chat with her old friends, she realized she couldn’t help but remember that grey stallion. These two fillies had been her friends, but they weren’t there for her during her darkest times. Not the way he had been.

She sat at the tea table as they chatted. They had never known the pain she had. Their lives were filled with other ponies, fun, and laughter. Some struggles, but nothing like what Tempest had known. None of the battles, the adventures, the training. None of it.

Fizzlepop smiled and nodded, but Tempest was a few hundred miles away.

Down the street, Starry Emerald’s mind was also a few miles away. She had spent the whole day planning on what she and Edgy could go see and remembered that the mines that Rarity occasionally visited would be just the thing.

They were dark and scary but peculiar, so it’d be something she and Edgy would both enjoy.

Starry continued thinking about it as she finished up closing up her forge and started giddily trotting toward her house. Edgy and her friends were supposed to be having dinner there tonight, and tomorrow, her plan would go into action.

Starry waited until her friends left before she would tell Edgy. This was going to be another special trip for just her and Edgy, and all to find out what was going on with him. Her friends didn’t need to know about it.

“So Edgy...”

“Star.”

“We’re going on a trip tomorrow. It’s a surprise where it’ll be, so don’t ask,” Starry said, as she lifted up her hooves exaggeratedly. She didn’t think he would ask to begin with.

“But you’re going to enjoy it,” she finished.

Edgy was a bit worried about where she would take him, and he hadn’t felt in the mood to do anything tomorrow with Starry. But he didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Not as much as you’re going to enjoy it because you get to spend time with me,” he said, with a wink.

Starry ignored the remark.

She could barely sleep that night. Maybe it was the excitement of spending time with Edgy again? Life was always more exciting when he was around.

She did feel a little worried about her friends, though. She had practically shoved them out the door at the end of dinner. She couldn’t remember the last time she truly hung out with them other than her little pity party a while ago.

She had to make it up to them somehow.

Edgy was also having trouble falling asleep. He had been so worried about seeing Tempest again, and now she really was here. His past started nagging at his mind again. But then he thought about Starry. Looking at Starry’s face, he felt safe.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

“I used to come into these caves sometimes, just to see what Rarity was using,” Starry said and pointed to the gems around them.

They had found their way into the gem caves underneath and a little to the side of Ponyville. Most ponies probably didn’t even know it existed. Rarity had told Starry of them just in case Starry needed some and it was a dream come true for Starry to be near Rarity. There weren’t many ponies going off into these caves, but these caves were quite a sight.

Edgy looked, and he was a little amazed at what he saw. The caves were misshapen, with piles of rock lumped around the walls and gems spotting everything randomly. The gems were bulky and glowed back in Starry’s light as if they were claiming her light for their own. He looked into one and saw his reflection split into nine different faces. He wondered how other ponies saw him when they looked at his face.

The bobbing light ahead of him had stopped. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Starry had stopped to look back at him. He quickly struck a pose as if he was admiring himself all along.

Starry rolled her eyes and continued trotting.

The two wandered around a bit in the caves. It was nice to be able to see how beautiful they were. Starry kept her horn lit, and it shone across all the gems on the walls and ceilings.

“I heard one of Twilight’s friends has a sister that lives down here. I can’t imagine how lonely and eerie it must be down here for her,” Starry was saying.

Edgy couldn’t imagine a pony that would live here. There was nothing comfortable or comforting about it. A few clumps from the ceiling broke off and landed on his shoulder just as Starry was going around another corner. Starry heard him yelp and turned around to check on it.

“Nothing but a bruise.”

“We’ve had to deal with worse, huh, Star?”

Starry turned back ahead and said a word or two of agreement. She had felt so worried about him but he was right, they had even nearly gotten a few broken bones several times.

She was completely lost in thought and her horn light began to dim as she lost focus on it.

“So, do you forgive me?” she softly said.

Edgy stopped in his tracks. Starry slowed down to a halt herself. She didn’t look around toward him.

“For what?”

Starry realized after she said it that it was ridiculous to ask. This whole time, the past few weeks, she hadn’t said a word about it, and he had been there for her even though their trips were dull and awkward.

“I don’t know. I wanted to prove to you that we could still go on adventures together. I was worried you would still be mad at me about what happened before, and you’ve seemed so distracted all this time.”

Edgy looked toward Starry. He had no idea she was still hung up on that.

“Star, I’ve been worried about stuff myself.”

She said nothing, so he continued.

“I’ve been trying to avoid telling you about my past, but it seems like it’s just one of those very, very few,” he emphasized this, “things that I find it hard to fight.”

At that moment, a figure began shuffling around in the dark in front of them. Starry jumped and would have gasped if she hadn’t lost her breath. A tall, imposing pony was in front of her. Starry’s horn glow flared up to reveal the dark, orchid colored unicorn.

“I didn’t think there’d be so much traffic down here,” Edgy mumbled.

Tempest Shadow looked around nervously. She hadn’t been sure if Edgy would recognize her at all, and had hoped he wouldn’t.

“I...I followed you two down here.”

“Aren’t you...?” Starry began just as Edgy responded himself.

“I know I’m a goodlooking stallion but really this is too much.”

Starry and Tempest could have both slapped him.

With a sigh, Fizzlepop, or rather, Tempest Shadow, looked back at Edgy.