Stardate: 2248.62

Location: Canterlot, Equus

“Twily!”

Twilight Amicae Sparkle ignored the voice behind her as she rode away on the magic-powered carriage. Pumping the pedal, she flicked something with her hoof, and she accelerated, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Her watery eyes betrayed her emotion, one of anger and sadness, and she blinked her tears away. The phone inlaid into the automotive vehicle she had taken for a ride began to buzz, and she answered.

“Twily, I’m sorry! Come back! When mom finds out you took the car out for a ride, she’s going to kill the both of us! Please! Come on, Twily, before-!” Twilight ended the call before Shining Armour could finish his sentence.

“No…” she whispered, “I’m sorry.” She then waved her horn, unlatching two buckles which held the roof onto the carriage. In a flash, the flimsy material flew backward from the sheer speed she was going at, and it nearly tore off the back of the carriage. It now hung limp, swaying in the wind as she kept going faster and faster. Looking at the phone set into the dash, she clicked at the first song she saw and smiled, her previous emotion quickly being forgotten.

“Woooo!” she shouted, adrenaline now pumping through her veins as she piloted the carriage. She then saw a fellow friend she knew from school walking down the road and she waved to her as she passed. “Hey, Lemon Hearts!” she cheered and she continued to stumble down the road, now exiting Canterlot and heading into some fairly perilous mountain roads.

“Citizen, stop your carriage! You are endangering your life and many others! Desist at once!” A voice that came from her side said. She turned her head to find a police pony looking intently at her, riding on an anti-grav motorcycle.

“Sorry, officer, no can do,” she said. She turned her attention back onto the road as she floored the pedal. She then saw the magic reserves of the car quickly depleting, so she thought of something quick. Her horn lit up to the best of the ability of an eleven-year old filly and she pointed it at the dash. She then let loose all she had, pouring magic into the magic-powered vehicle.

At that moment, several things happened at once. The carriage suddenly burst forward, a surplus of energy now motivating it go faster than it was ever intended to. Twilight began to strain from the magic she was putting in, but for some reason she couldn’t stop. As if by slow motion, her horn exploded in an explosive show of power, and her eyes began to glow white. The wheels of the carriage took on a purple glow, evidently the mana of a purple unicorn, and the car went off the road and into the ground below…

Except it didn’t.

It kept going, wheels still spinning on imaginary pavement. Twilight Sparkle whooped with her eyes still glowing as they began to ascend in altitude. With anothe bright white flash of light, something appeared on her flanks which she wouldn’t notice until later on. As suddenly as it all happened, it quickly began to die down and Twilight’s eyes slowly faded back to their normal colour, just in time for Twilight to actually see how far off they were from the ground.

Add that to the fact that the carriage had practically been fried from the magical input, the sound system crackled, filling with static before dying. She began to tumble out of the sky and into the awaiting ground below. With all of her might and remaining magic, she composed an ingenious set of wings from the tattered fabric remaining in the car.

“Gahhhhhhh!” she cried, jumping from the end of the falling car as she began to unsuccessfully glide. Thankfully, the road she had driven off of curled around and she set her sights on what would be her landing pad. From the force of her falling and haphazardly made wings, her wings broke and she tumbled roughly onto the dirt-packed road, earning her a few nicks and scratches. Coming to a stop, with her blood still filled with energetic plasma, she groaned. She then heard what she assumed to be the carriage exploding somewhere down below and grinned.

Getting to all fours, she made sure she had a sure footing. Before she could continue on her way, however, she heard the crunch of a hoofstep and she turned toward the sound. Standing there was who she presumed to be the same police officer before, and she gave him an innocent smile.

“Citizen, what is your name?” the police officer asked after a short silence.

Twilight defiantly raised her head and obliged. “It’s Sparkle. Twilight Amicae Sparkle.”

Stardate: Recurring

Location: Thestral Learning Academy 2161, Thestrall

“Fluttershy.” A thestral called out, two of his friends at his side.

Fluttershy, the thestral they were addressing, stared silently at a spot on the floor for a moment, not wanting to act on emotion. After all, acting on emotion was illogical, and such actions were not the thestral way. She looked up from the spot she was staring at and looked into what was empty space, as those who now conversed with her were behind her.

“I… I believe you have prepared more insults for me at this time?” Fluttershy asked softly, before turning around to face her repeat malefactors.

“That is affirmative,” the center thestral confirmed, and his associates nodded.

“This is your seventeenth attempt in eliciting an emotional response from me,” Fluttershy responded in kind, “You know I am unaffected by them.”

“We will see about that,” the thestral on the left said.

The center thestral stepped forward. “You’re neither Thestral nor Equustrian, therefore you have no place in this universe. With this, it is only factual that you must also feel, and are therefore driven by your emotion."

“Look at her pony eyes, they look sad, do they not?” the thestral on the right stated. “Your body is different, your wings are not like ours, your coat and mane are too colourful, and your very eyes betray you. How does that make you feel?”

“Perhaps an emotional response requires a physical stimulant,” the center thestral droned, pushing Fluttershy back with his hoof. Fluttershy stumbled a few steps back, her eyes now truly showing the illogical feelings she was producing. One’s she could identify as fear, anger, and hatred. Attempting to push back said feelings, she gulped.

“Of course, it’s not your fault. It’s your father’s. He’s a traitor you know, for marrying that equine monster.”

Fluttershy felt like something snapped inside of her. Her logical side cried out for her to control herself, to not let her emotion drive her. She could hear it saying how it would only worsen the current situation, let alone proving to her tormentors that what they said was true. However, she could not control how she felt. The raging fire that now ignited in her eyes, the boiling blood now coursing through her veins. She could not control it, they had just insulted one, if not both of her parents. Her logic was quickly falling apart, her mind now telling her it was only logical to make them pay for what they said.

With silent fury and her eyes watery and red, she attacked the first thestral with a hard shove back. “Nngha!” she grunted as she slammed into the second. Going for the third, the thestral tried to swing at her but she fluttered out of the way and tackled him to the ground. Now overtop of one of her offenders, she began to barrage his face with a series of punches, hooves connecting hard with the surface that was his face. Crying and sobbing all the while as she did it, she grunted every time she hit his head, the loud thumps echoing across the room. She then felt something hit her in the back of the head and she fell forward yelping, a sharp pain now stinging her skin.

Looking up from the ground, she could see the one she had shoved had recovered and hit her from behind. He then walked up to her, ready to take another swing at his victim when a voice shouted.

“Enough!”

He paused mid-punch, and the four thestrals looked to who spoke. It was one of the elders of the Thestrall High Council, and he did not seem at all pleased at the image he had come upon.

“You three are to remain here to await further instruction and disciplinary action for this unruly behaviour.” Turning to Fluttershy, he told her, “You will come with me, your father will be interested to know of this turn of events."

Fluttershy looked morosely and silently at the ground, fresh hot tears still streaking her face. She took a glance at her bully and saw a smirk on his face. A tinge of anger resurfaced, but she repressed, now knowing her attempts at persuading them further that she did not harbour emotions would be futile.

“Twilight Amicae Sparkle!” Twilight Sparkle flinched at the tone her mother now inflicted on her. “What in Celestia’s name do you think you were doing, taking out the car like that?!”

“I-” Twilight tried to defend herself but Velvet wasn’t having any of it.

“Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to you?” Twilight Velvet scolded her daughter. After a tense moment, she softened her gaze and pulled Twilight into a crushing hug, and Velvet closed her eyes cherishing the new moment with Twilight. “What I would’ve been like if anything had happened to you?” she said softly, stroking the purple filly’s mane.

She then hardened her stare at the blue maned colt that was her son. “And you, what do you have to say for yourself?” Velvet said, Twilight now squirming in her mother’s death grip. Velvet promptly let go and confronted her son.

Shining Armour took a careful step back, cowering under his mother’s gaze. “I- I’m sorry, Twilight,” Shining stuttered, “I should've told you that I applied for Starfleet earlier, and not just on the day I was leaving. I shouldn’t have shouted at you for saying those things about dad, even though you never knew him, I- I’m sorry.”

Twilight Velvet’s look lessened but she still kept an eye on Shining. “There, all better. And... you never told Twilight you applied for Starfleet?” Velvet asked her son. “No wonder Twilight did such a thing…” Velvet then looked over to her daughter and sighed. “Just promise me you won’t do a stunt like that again, okay?” Twilight nodded. “Off you go, then,” Velvet shooed with her hoof, and Twilight beamed. She watched as her purple filly sauntered a short distance away, using magic to assault her toy dolls with flames.

Velvet then noticed the new marks on her little filly’s flanks and a prim smile crept onto her face. “At least her little endeavor got her a cutie mark.” Velvet then turned her attention to her son once again. “Why’d you never tell her? Aren’t you… what is it, ‘BBBFF’s’?”

“Yeah…” Shining smiled awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “I thought it would be nice to surprise her, but we both know how that turned out.”

“And for good reason, too,” Twilight Velvet chastened Shining, and he flinched again. “You’re like the father she never had, Shining. She looks up to you, more than you know,” Velvet explained. “With you going to wherever it is Starfleet will take you, she won’t have a compass to guide her anymore. She never knew Night Light, and you did. Tell me; How did you fare when he died? How did you see me deal with it?”

Thinking back, he grimaced. That was a hard time for him, having just lost one of his parents at a measly age of 9. He had cried his eyes out for hours straight, but it never removed the hole he left behind. “I… I guess I never thought about it that way.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing, Shining Armour,” Twilight Velvet hugged her son. “Be safe out there.”

Shining Armour could hear the beep of his communicator and knew that it was time to go. He hugged his mother tightly back. “I will, mom. Don’t worry, I’ll keep in touch when I can,” he assured.

“BBBFF, don’t go!” Twilight cried, running to hug her big brother’s leg. She had now abandoned her playthings to try and convince Shining to stay. “Please? I'm sorry too, just stay!”

“I’m sorry LSBFF, ” Shining sighed, and ruffled his little sister’s mane, "but I’m already gone." He could see the tears reforming in her sister's eyes, and he hugged her tiny form. “Stay safe, kiddo.” With that, Shining Armour said his goodbyes and headed for the shuttle that would take him to Starfleet Academy.

Sniffling, Twilight waved at her brother, knowing she wouldn’t see him for a long, long while.

Fluttershy sat silently, staring at her hooves. She could hear the hoofsteps of a creature nearing her, and she logically assumed it to be her father. After all, it would only be appropriate for her parent, who also happened to be a member of the High Council, to chasten her for her actions.

Looking up from her bruised and beaten hooves, she found her father now finding a seat beside her. She seemed to look down in indifference again, but with the trained eye of a thestral it could be seen she was more than solemn and sorrowful.

“They called you a traitor. They called mother a monster.”

Legatus looked at his daughter with thoughtful countenance. “Emotions run deeply within our race, perhaps more deeply than in Ponies.” He placed a hoof over the shoulders of Fluttershy in comfort. “Logic offers a serenity Ponies seldom experience; that we may reign in our emotion so it does not control us.”

Fluttershy looked up and gazed into her father’s eyes. “Y-you… You suggest that I should be completely thestral, yet you married mother, a Pony. What does that make me?”

Legatus now turned his head to look forward, before he looked at his daughter again. “Since I am an ambassador for the planet Equus, I was tasked with strengthening and observing relationships as well as observing Pony life itself. Thus, it was only logical that I marry your mother.” Legatus then gently grabbed Fluttershy’s head and made sure they were eye to eye. “The question you now face, is what path shall you choose? Your destiny is yours and yours alone to control, and you must be the one to decide.”

Fluttershy nodded, thinking over the words her father had spoken. After a moment, she looked down. “I’m sorry for acting on emotion, father, it was unkind of me to do so.”

“We all make mistakes, young one. Perhaps you could learn from this experience.”

“Thank you, father,” Fluttershy finally said after another long pause, before embracing him in a hug. Legatus widened his eyes slightly, but chose to return the hug fully.

“Just remember… the path which you take will determine the future to come.”

And so they stayed like that for another sweet moment, as they cherished each other in their embrace.

Author's Notes:

An early chapter because I finished this a little bit ago.

I'm working on Chapter II as well as chapters on other stories which means I may not upload for a bit, so stay tuned!

Anyways, Happy Halloween!

Chapter posted on October 30, 2016