Starlight’s Life

It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville , and the town was very quiet. Starlight Glimmer, a young lavender unicorn with a purple and teal mane, was quite happy about this fact. Lately, due to the upcoming Running Of The Leaves, ponies had been running around the town preparing. They had often trampled all over her “home” leaving dents and creases in it. But today, however, was the day after the marathon, so there was no more crazy running. Things seemed a lot less hectic in Ponyville now.

It was around 8:00 in the morning, and Starlight had just woken up. She rubbed her eyes and fixed up her mane to make it look less tangled. She looked inside her cup beside her box and saw 3 bits in it! Starlight’s ears perked up as she saw them glimmer in the sunlight. She then lifted them with her mouth and nearly galloped to the fruits and vegetables stand.

“Excuse me, mamn, how much does this basket of carrots cost?” Starlight asked as the pointed to a small basket of carrots.

“Five bits,” the mare at the stand replied.
“Shoot,” said Starlight as her ears flopped. Her stomach growled as she was about to turn and look at more items.

“All of our items here cost at least 5 bits, unless you buy them individually, which I’m assuming you don’t want. Do you have any more bits?” Asked the mare.

“No,” Starlight simply said as her ears wilted more. She was about to turn away and go to another stand.
“Well, you look like you’re hungry, so, I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll give you the basket of carrots for 3 bits if you want.”

“Really?! Thank you so much, mamn!” Starlight exclaimed joyously as her ears perked up again, “And have a nice day!”

The mare simply smiled and waved at her gently.

Starlight trotted happily back “home”, as it had been a few days since she had fresh food. When she reached her box, she licked her lips in anticipation. Her stomach growled, so she quickly took a big bite out of a carrot. She sighed in contentment after finishing the carrot. It had felt like an eternity since she had eaten fresh food last!

After Starlight had finished around half the basket of carrots (Let’s be real, it came with like, 5 carrots) she walked around town to see if there were any jobs she could do for bits. This was a daily routine of hers, and sometimes she found work, sometimes she didn’t. However, it was extremely hard to find a full-time job. She didn’t qualify for a lot of them, and plus, there weren’t many jobs available in Ponyville. Starlight did find a job to do today. She was told to plow a stallion’s field in exchange for 10 bits. Starlight happily agreed, even though the pay wasn’t exactly fair for her. The job took up most of the day.

When Starlight finally got done plowing the field, she realized how long it had taken. She saw that it was already evening, which meant it had taken nearly 3 hours to complete. Starlight began to scowl.

“So I did all that work, and that pony practically robs me?! I mean, yeah, I did agree to it, so it’s partly my fault. And he at least payed me enough for a decent meal, right?” Starlight said annoyedly.

Starlight was exhausted from doing so much work on top of not having much energy. Her hooves ached, and she felt a tad dizzy. However, the dizziness might have been from hunger. All Starlight had eaten that day so far was a few carrots, so it was no wonder she was so hungry. She quickly ate the remainder of her carrots and then went to the store to buy a couple loaves of bread and a couple fruits. This was plenty of food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow, possibly even lunch in Starlight’s eyes!

As Starlight was about to go to bed, she started to think about her dad. You see, Sunburst, Starlight’s adopted dad, had disappeared from her life when she was only 11 years old. They had been going fishing together at the Ponyville pond (Not to kill, of course) and Sunburst had caught a rather big fish. The two were both thrilled, so much that Sunburst started to lean a little too close to the edge of the rails. Then suddenly, he slipped! Starlight panicked. She had to save him! So she ran off to find some help, as she could not swim. Unfortunately, when she came back with help, her dad was nowhere to be found. Starlight couldn’t believe it. She and he were so close, and they were always together. Now, they would be separated forever. Starlight cried and cried. She took the train back to the Crystal Empire with the little money she had in her little saddlebag. When she arrived home, she cried into her bed. She stayed isolated for a few days until she was able to show her face in public again. She was also told that she would be taken care of by the city until she was old enough to get a job.

Starlight felt herself cry a little as she went through these painful memories.

“Dad, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there sooner. There isn’t one day that goes by that I don’t think about you. You were best pony ever. I love you,” she said solemnly.

Starlight sang a little song to herself to soothe herself to sleep. It was a song her dad would always sing her to sleep with when she was a foal. It went like this:

“Starlight, Starbright, lay your head down, and have sweet dreams tonight. I will be right here, my little Starlight. You are the light I always find, shining bright in my eye.”

Then the two would share a great, big, warm hug together while giving each other goodnight kisses.