Starry Never Left the Forest

Starry was always...

Nah.

Starry was always...passionate? Maybe? I gotta have better than that...

If Starry was anything, here and now, she was untimely. Untimely enough with grabbing that asshole, a grabbing that she insisted on doing herself, mind you, that I'd just managed to finish my seventh round of Mad Libs.

Now. This one, this one is giving me a lot of trouble. I was just thinking, I might as well go with, "Starry was always-"

*CRASH*

...on second thought. That one's pretty apt, actually.

"Šūdas!"

Ever fashionably late and always propelled forwards with nothing but existential angst and sexual frustration, Starry came careening through the front door of the nondescript dive bar just across the sidewalk, old griffon strapped to her back. Before I could even blink, she dumped our new friend on the bed of the wagon. "Go!"

And I set off, wagon in tow, without as much as a backwards glance.

***

"You know, you could've been quicker with that!"

"Heh. It's a special occasion, pardon me for taking my time!"

Starry was beaming. Clearly proud of her...handiwork.

"You, uh... You went to work on him, I assume? Heh..." I tried my best to cool my nerves.

"Have a look!" She gestured to the wagon.

I turned my head to look.

...and immediately turned back.

"Eugh..."

"Not bad, eh?"

"That's, uh...that's something, all right."

"Hey. I've always done my best work."

"..."

"..."

"So, uh..."

"..."

"...soooo, I'd hate to spoil the surprise, but you mind telling me where we're going? I could use a break."

"Heh. You'll find out. As will he. But don't worry, we're not far. If we can keep the pace, we can get there before dark."

"Yeah. Fair enough. I guess you picked someplace special for this one."

We continued through the forest trail for a little while, before I suddenly found myself on a steep incline.

About halfway up the slope, my legs and sides started to ache.

"Look, Starry, seriously, this is...this is really something..."

"Aww, come on...just a little longer!"

I begrudgingly decided to press on. If only to not ruin this for her.

But soon after we cleared the top, I started to notice Starry's demeanor change. More nervous glances. Suddenly more calculated in her pace and gait.

"...you okay?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm...alright..."

She undercut her being "alright" with several deep breaths. She seemed utterly inundated in a torrent of thought.

"So...I think I talked to you once what my life was like for me before the war..."

When she didn't respond, I continued, cautiously.

"But, I don't think you ever talked about what things were like for you. I mean, what was your family like? Weren't you the foal to a locksmith or someth-"

"Look, I am NOT telling you where we're going, okay?" Starry suddenly snapped.

"I don't know why you're trying to pry into me. I mean, what the hell is it to you!?"

She kicked the ground in frustration, before taking a few moments to collect herself.

"Look. Golden, you're my friend, but sometimes...you really..."

Another sharp exhale. Barely keeping her voice steady.

"...you really piss me off sometimes. Okay? Let's...let's just go."

I could hear her try to keep her nose clear. The disturbances in her breath became ever sharper as the strained to hold back tears.

"...was it something that I said at the library?" I offered, trying to prevent things from ending on a sour note.

But Starry was silent.

The stress on my joints was only getting worse. At that point, I wasn't sure what was going to break first. My patience, or my will.

It was then that, right then and there, something clicked.

"Look. Starry."

Words began to pour out.

"I've had enough. I want to leave you alone, believe me. But this guy isn't getting any lighter, you're kind of starting to scare me, and to be honest, I'm getting pretty fed up with this...vague, secretive bullshit. So what the hell is this?"

I...didn't know what to think.

I knew I was angry, of course, but...

But those words just left me, like hornets from a startled hive.

Nonetheless. They were words that stopped Starry in her tracks.

***

I followed Starry to a small meadow in the middle of the forest.

From the moment I detached the wagon and followed Starry's lead out of the forest, the ground slowly turned into a verdant Van Gogh of tall grasses and dandelions.

I watched, almost enchanted, as a breeze gently stroked her silver-spiced mane.

In the time since I picked Starry up from the library, the bright summer day had slowly begun to give way to tangerine dusk that tenderly caressed us both.

But now, even time itself seemed to slow in reverence, so sacrosanct was the wonder and beauty.

"Do you know where we are?"

"No..."

My mind was stumped, so my next words came from my heart.

"...but I have a feeling that this place is something special. Something sacred."

"Lot of memories here. Never got used to the stillness."

"I suppose you're glad to see Longsword in peace. No more war, no more suffering."

Misty-eyed, Starry drew her next words from a lily pond still enough to see your reflection in.

"Golden, you precious little colt..."

She was holding a small figurine. A Filly’s toy.

"...that wasn't exactly what I meant."

My heart sank.

I watched a rapid of anguish and pain rush through her. Nearly bringing her down to her knees.

But in the last moment, a patient, silent and calculating fury seized her form.

With earthquakes and lightning in her eyes, she set off in a full gallop towards the exit.

She finished what she had started.

Starry was always...complicated.

But this energy. This sorrow. This...simply horrific, 600-volt rage that struck at the heart and tore at the soul.

...maybe Starry was always like that.