STARLIGHT'S REQUIEM

Chapter 1: A Mysterious Beginning.

The first thing he remembered... was nothing but pure darkness.

A young, blue-furred pegasus colt laid in the middle of a dense forest, unmoving, gone to the world. His mane and tail were a deep shade of blue, and coated in dirt. Time passed slowly as the pegasus lay unconscious on the grassy floor of the lush forest. A small rustling came from nearby, a small group of rabbits hopping out from the brush. A couple of them stared at the figure of the unconscious pegasus, while one hopped forward, tapping him with a paw. The pegasus remained unmoving. The rabbit poked a bit harder, and the pegasus' wings fluttered, scaring the rabbits away. The small blue pegasus opened his eyes slowly, a low groan in his chest as his eyes tried to focus on his surroundings.

"Where... Where am I...?" He thought, his eyes coming into focus of the dark forest. "How did.. How did I get here...?" He slowly staggered to his hooves, and his eyes went cold, seeing a small pool of thick, dark red liquid beneath where he had laid. A small gash was across his stomach, caked with dried blood and dirt, causing him to wince when he seen it. "What... what happened to me..?" The pegasus shook his head, slowly trying to move his hooves. Slowly, surely, he began to walk, trying perhaps, to find a way out of the dim forest.

The young colt was scared... there seemed to be eyes everywhere, watching him, examining his every move. The forest felt... unnatural. The air seemed still, there was so much random life, the trees seemed to be aching to outgrow one another for life... He had never been in such a chaotic place. He began to whimper softly, his head low, softly calling out, maybe only to himself. "H-hello... P-please... Is anypony there...? S-someone, help me please..." The sound echoed around him, his own, soft voice seeming to mock his very presence in the forest. He heard a rustle, and his body froze, afraid to look behind him. He heard a low growling, and what blood he had left ran cold within his veins. He turned around slowly, the vicious visage of a Manticore staring at him, as if it were ready for it's next meal.

He began to back away slowly, but the Manticore was all too prepared, and began to charge. The young colt cried out, trying to run, but his limbs were too weak; He barely began to try to run and the Manticore smacked him aside, the small pegasus getting flung off to the side and hitting the base of a tree, hard. The wound on his stomach opened again, a slow trail of blood flowing as his vision began to fade, the manticore heading toward him, as if satisfied with it's kill. As the colt began to fade into the darkness, his life forfeit to the beast, he heard a loud yell. A flash of white light penetrated his falling eyelids, and the manticore began to back down. He struggled to stay awake, but the last thing his eyes showed him was a blurry form standing in front of him, before his mind went black.

Time passed slowly. Seconds faded to minutes... Minutes faded to hours... Hours felt like an eternity. The small pegasus began to stir, his eyes struggling to open. Was he dead? did the manticore finish him off? No.. wait... He winced softly as his eyes began to open. His body was wracked with pain, but that was a sure sign he was still alive. As his eyes began to focus, he noticed bandages across his body, and a tight bandage wrapped around his midsection. He looked up, and watched as a unicorn mare walked toward him.

He tried to speak, but the mare pressed a hoof to his lips, placing down a small bowl of water near his head. "Shh... Drink." The mare whispered to him. The pegasus softly smacked his dry lips... He wasn't sure if he should trust it... but if she was the one who had bandaged him... he didn't have much choice either way, actually... He leaned his head down, and began to drink slowly, the cool water quickly quenching his thirst. The mare smiled warmly as he drank, slowly running a hoof through his messy mane. "You gave me quite the scare, little one. I was unsure if I'd be able to save you or not. Not many ponies get attacked by a manticore and live to tell the tale, you know."

The blue pegasus finished the water within the bowl, and found the strength to speak again, turning his head to the one standing in front of him. She was tall, with pale-green fur, a dark green mane that hung down the sides of her face and neck, a dark green tail as well, that lightly draped down, but had a small, light-green bow in it and a thin, long pointed horn. A set of four 4-leaf clovers adorned her flank in a circle, with what seemed to be vines connecting them, and she was wearing what seemed to be a vest of some sort, with various pockets on it. "W-where... am I..?" The mare smiled again as he spoke, turning and settling down on the bed next to him. "You're in my home, just outside of the town of Ponyville. I've had you here for a good 2 days now.. I was afraid you weren't going to wake up." She looked at him questioningly. "Do you know where you're from? What's your name, little one?"

He thought a moment. Where was he from? Why was he here? He tried to think, but his memories, if he had any, seemed distant, faded... He tried hard to think, but nothing was coming to him... All he could recall was being alone... There were only two words that seemed to float to his mind, and he knew it was his name. "S-starlight.... Starlight Rave." He lowered his head a little. "I... I don't know anything else..." The mare frowned a little, but shook her head. "Well, Starlight. At least it's a start." She let out a soft sigh. "I, am Aloe Vera. I work with plants, herbs, medicines, and the like. You're only too lucky I found you when I did, or you might not still be with us."

Starlight looked to her. "T-thank you..." He looked away a little. "..I... D-do you know what.. what happened to me? I can't remember..." Aloe frowned. "I honestly have no idea, Starlight. Why a young pegasus like yourself was out alone is beyond me, let alone in the middle of the Everfree Forest! That place is horribly dangerous!" She lightly pointed to the bandage around Starlight's middle, and the small bandages across his body. "I don't know what got to you before the manticore did, but something did, and you were hurt badly. Thank Celestia I was able to get you to stop bleeding. Few in Equestria are so lucky."

Starlight tilted his head questioningly. What was she talking about? He was starting to feel a little stronger, having rested, his mind trying to take in everything. He was scared... he just wanted to go home... did he even have a home? He shook his head, forcing himself to have a steely resolve. 'No... You can't focus on this now. you have to be strong.' He looked to Aloe, his voice steadying. "Ponyville? Everfree Forest? Celestia? Equestria? What are you talking about? You're... not making much sense to me."

Aloe frowned. "...You seem to know your name, but yet you seem to have a bad case of Amnesia." She sighed. "Ponyville is one of many towns in Equestria, our world we live on. It's a small town with many earth ponies, unicorns like me, and a few pegasi, like yourself. Princess Celestia is our ruler and deity. She raises the sun and moon every day so we may live in peace and harmony." She took a slow breath, watching him. "And the Everfree forest is a dangerous, horrible place. The weather and most wildlife are taken care of by all of us, but in that forest... Everything lives on it's own... the trees fight for survival by out-rooting the weaker one, animals hunt and kill each other for food, there's so many species of dangerous creatures never before seen in that forest... It's a terrible, dark place. Why you were in there is beyond me."

Starlight blinked a moment. "Ok, I understand, the forest is a bad place... so why were you in there? Weren't you scared?" Aloe laughed a little. "No, no, little one. I'm an herbalist. I use all kinds of herbs and berries and various plant life to make small potions, elixirs and medicines to help everypony out, and to benefit all. I've learned through my studies how to make a potion that smells foul and rancid to the creatures of the forest, keeping them away. I go into the forest often to gather more herbs and plants for my studies. That's when I heard you cry out for help, and heard the Manticore roar. All the creatures of the forest are used to the darkness and not the light, so I used a little magic to create a bright light. Between that and the smell of the potion, it ran away fairly quickly, and I brought you back here. I couldn't just leave you to die."

Starlight stared at her. "So.. That's what that light was..." He gulped gently, looking to her. "B-but... I don't know anything. I can't remember if... if there was anything, before..." He looked away. "...All I remember is being alone." Aloe sighed gently, moving close to Starlight and ruffling his mane. "No.. no, i understand that now. Whether you have amnesia or not, you don't have any place to go." She looked to him. "You can stay here, with me, if you wish, and i can raise you, at least until if and when your memory comes back." Starlight's ears perked up. "R-really? But... why? You don't have to..."

Aloe snapped at him, her eyes stern. "You know, for a beaten and battered colt, you sure do have a stubborn streak. I know I don't have to do anything to help you, but..." Her tone softened. "...I like children, and whether you think you can or not, you're not going to survive on your own. You don't even remember where you are." Starlight thought a moment, before slowly looking down. "Y-you're right... and I'm sorry, Miss Aloe... I don't really have anywhere to turn, and you've already done all of this..." He sniffled. "...I didn't mean to..cause you trouble..."

The green-maned unicorn shook her head and quieted him. "Hush, Starlight. It's going to be alright. You haven't caused trouble, and there's no need to worry." She leaned over, giving the pegasus a small hug. "I promise... I promise to raise you right, and to keep you safe. I won't let things like this happen to you anymore." She smiled, and lightly nuzzled Starlight's forehead. "Now, I know you just woke up, but you still need to rest." She pulled a small hoof-ful of herbs from one of the pockets on her vest, lightly crushing them and setting them in front of him. "Here. Eat these... They'll help the pain, and help you sleep a bit longer." Starlight whimpered softly, but took the herbs, almost gagging at how bitter they were. He swallowed heavily, sticking his tongue out afterward, and Aloe just chuckled. His eyes began to get fuzzy not too long after, however, and he felt a soft, warm numbness fill his body. Aloe watched at the pegasus slipped into a restful sleep, nuzzling his cheek again.

"I'll keep you safe. I promise. You won't be hurt anymore..."

Next Chapter: Growth. Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes