My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Starlight, Starbright

Chapter 16

Time for Practice

Screw Ball lead Glade and his 7 soldiers to where she saw Starlight and her friends. Thanks to her eidetic memory, she could recall what every one of them was doing but focused on the Pink Alicorn, for Glade’s sake. She wasn’t going to argue against a captain in the royal guard, and another Alicorn at that. But something about him was… appealing, to a sense. Guess it was all that power that comes with rank, she don’t know.

“Screw Ball?” Glade asked, starting to get a little impatient.

“Sorry.” she looked into her memory and remembered the same scene she was asked to recall. “she was… surrounded by her friends. one was another Alicorn around her age…”

“has to be Woona.” one of the soldiers commented. “she’s the only other Alicorn Glade’s and Starlight’s age.”

“…And there are others.” Screw Ball added. “mostly Pegasi...”

“So they did follow us here.” Glade commented. “it must’ve been Cotton’s idea; she doesn’t leave well enough alone.”

“…they were talking and laughing, talking about something. I wasn’t close enough to hear what. They were…” she opened her eyes and looked to the mountains. “heading north. That’s going to lead them to the Wyrm Pass.”

“Wyrm Pass?” another of the soldiers questioned.

“it’s supposed to be a crevice infested with giant Wyrms that can eat an entire group Starlight’s size in one gulp.”

“you’re sure?” a 3rd soldier asked.

Screw Ball gave her a mean look. “I spent 20 years in a mental hospital thanks to my mom. I had plenty of time to look at maps.”

Glade walked up and stopped beside her. “Thanks for your assistance.” he walked past and headed for the pass. His soldiers walked after him.

“Wait.” Screw Ball said. Glade and his soldiers stopped. “Just… who is this Starlight character? Why are you after her?”

Glade and his second-in-command looked at each other. They could tell her; they already told half of Baltimare. “Starlight is suspected of attacking and destroying the Royal Canterlot Museum the same night she ran away from home.”

Screw Ball gasped. “she did?”

“She’s suspected.” Glade said. His face frowned. “I’m… hoping it’s not true.”

Screw Ball felt sympathetic. All her childhood, she was hoping her mom would become sane and they would leave. The original Screw Ball was crazy until the day she died. Now here’s a captain of the royal guard, hoping his cousin didn’t turn mean and stayed the same innocent mare she was.

It was more then enough for her to make up her mind. “well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get going.” she said.

“what?” Glade asked. “what are you talking about?”

“well, I wouldn’t feel right if I let a criminal go free. Plus, I…” she paused as she worked up the courage to say it. “I… know what it’s like to lose a family member to horrible stuff.”

Right. Her mom succumbed to insanity. Glade forgot that already. He sighed as he gave in. “okay. You can come. But when danger comes, you find a safe place to hide, got it?”

Screw Ball nodded. She felt honored to finally help someone, and a captain at that. “got it.”

Using her magic, Pumpkin looked a map over. “hmm… looks like Bass is right. Only way to the north is though the Wyrm Pass.”

“The Wyrm Pass?” Fire Ruby asked. She turned to ask her sister, “what’s a Wyrm?” Filigree wondered that herself. She never heard of them before.

“Wyrms are giant, serpent-like Worms big enough to eat a group our size in one gulp.” Erys said. Soarin’ gave her a odd look. “I read a lot of books.”

Season’s Edge looked up to the sky. “well, I don’t think it’s a good idea at this time.”

“how so?” Woona asked.

“Well, for starters…” he pointed up to the sky. “the sun is almost gone. You really want to cross a pass filled with giant monsters in the middle of the night, do you?” nobody replied, seeing his point. “plus, we’re likely going to spend all day trying to find a passage in a snow covered pass.”

Windancer spread her wings. “why don’t we just fly over?”

“and what about all the Unicorns and Earth Ponies in the group?” Peppy said.

“un… we carry them? Duh.”

Sym face-hoofed. “Wind… some of us weigh A LOT. And it would take 2 or 3 fliers to carry just one of us. No, best bet is to set up camp.”

“well, it’s Starlight’s journey. She should decide.” she turned to ask but stopped and just looked with a smile. Starlight had fallen into a little nap, her head slumped on Bass’ back. “I think we’re setting up camp.” Wind said with a light chuckle.

The sun wasn’t completely down when the group had set up camp. Nothing special, just tents, sleeping bags and some pots and kettles for dinner. Starlight was set down in her’s and Goldie’s tent, Bass being careful not to wake her up.

“(heh. She’s cute when she’s sleeping.)” he thought. He tip-toed out, careful not to wake her. “she is out like a light.” he said to the others. “Though, I don’t blame her. That Chaos Gun chap, running for half of the day. It exhausted even me. He sat down and sighed, glad to be off his hooves after a full day of walking. Everyone ignored him as they were talking to each other, or rather whispering. “un… hello?” they continued to ignore him. “Guys?”

“Shh!” Goldie snapped.

Bass felt a little irritated. “Hey!”

“Whahahahahat!?” Pound said, starting to get really annoyed by this guy.

Bass lightly backed up out of irritation. “Whoa! Sooory, Dr. Cox. I was just curious to what you guys were talking about.”

The gang looked at each other. “well, if you must know, we’re thinking on how to bring her back.” Marian said.

Bass scratched his head in confusion. “bring who back?”

“Starlight. Who else?” Golden Day said.

“bring Star--” Bass’s mind came to a realization of what they’re talking about. “wait, you’re not seriously thinking on taking Starlight back to Ponyville, are you?”

“that’s the whole reason we came here.” Sym said. “we’re gonna bring her back home, hopefully before Glade gets to her.”

Bass couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “heh. Are-are you stupid in the head or something? Didn’t you hear what Starlight said? She’s going and you can’t stop her.”

“which is way we’re planning on for--”

“Don’t go any further!” Bass infuriately said. “You can’t force her to go back! If you do, she’ll just run away again and hate you till the end of time!”

“But we can’t let her go though with this.” Erys said. “if someone finds out she’s a Alicorn, they’ll kidnap her and force her to do unspeakable things. And if they find out she has powers over time…”

“Which is why I’m here!” Bass sharply said.

“You?” Marian said in a comedic tone. “Pbbt. We hardly know you. Why should we listen to you?”

Marian had a point. He barely knew them. And he only knew Starlight for 4 days. But he didn’t care. “Because I care about her.” he sternly said. “I care enough to let her go and find out the truth for herself. And if any bad ponies come to try and take her, I’ll protect her.”

“but you--”

“if you want to take Starlight back, you’re gonna have to go though me. I may have only know her for 5 days but I know that when she’s determined, she will get what she wants.”

“but she‘s too--”

“Starlight told me her life story not long ago. She told me that she was stuck to just Ponyville and Canterlot, that she was never to go to other cities, that she wasn’t allowed to practice magic. That’s probably another reason she ran, because of all these restrictions her family put on her. She’s going to do find these answers and I’m going to help her because I was raised to help people in need. You don’t like it? Tough!”

Bass stormed off, not wanting to hear another word from them. He could tell they weren’t going to listen. Funny thing is that they did. They only knew Bass for a few hours but he was willing to help someone he barely knew. They all looked at each other with concerned expressions, not sure where to go with what he said and this situation. Marian, however, wasn’t so convinced. She felt like this guy had another agenda.

Though her tent flaps were closed and she was still half-asleep, Starlight still heard Bass’s entire shouting fest to her friends. Only he was willing to help her. The others want to drag her home. When did her life get so chaotic?

Night soon fell on them and everyone retired to their tents after a light dinner. They shared 2 to a tent; just siblings together, though non-siblings, like Peppy and Windancer, shared a tent.

Bass, still angry that Starlight’s friends would’ve come all this way to take her back, slept outside under a dead tree. Out of loyalty, Peewee joined him to help keep him warm.

He was just about to close his eyes and drift into dreamland when he heard a tent-flap open. He cracked open one eye and looked down to see Starlight sneak out of her tent and head away from the camp. She didn’t have her saddle-bags so she couldn’t be leaving.

“so where is she going?” Bass wondered.

Starlight flew down into a small outcropping not too far from the camp but far enough away to where she can do this in private. The outcropping was illuminated by lava flowing far enough underground to where it can melt the snow and ice up top but not hot enough to where it would hurt her hooves. In fact, the ground was the perfect temperature.

Perfect for her to practice in secrecy.

Bass slowly snuck up to the edge of the outcropping. He laid down on his stomach and looked in. “what are you up to, Star?” he softly muttered.

Starlight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She concentrated all her power into one aspect.

Her Cutie Mark glowed, as did her body. A glyph shaped like a clock’s face, complete with numbers and hands, stretched out, covering the entire bottom of the outcropping.

The young Alicorn was lifted up by a unseen force and she didn’t fight it; she welcomed it. 2 streams of light came from the middle of the clock face and swirled up beside her like a strand of DNA.

Bass was completely stunned when he saw that display. “wow.” he gasped.

Starlight opened her eyes, which glowed bright. She arched her back and flapped her wings.

A powerful and bright shockwave emanated from the clock face and extended out a long ways, covering the entire area. The bright light forced Bass to cover his eyes but he didn’t take his vision off of Starlight. His eyes quickly adjusted and he continued to look. What happened next surprised him.

The hands on the clock face began to move backwards. It was slow at first but quickly picked up speed.

The outcropping seemed to reverse in time as rocks and pebbles that fell suddenly shot back to where they came from. The flow of the lava underneath seemed to flow backwards to the point it disappeared. Plants grew out of the ground and instantly became full grown cypress trees. Bones floated out and became animals such as deer and birds again.

This small area, which was covered in snow, sleet, and ice went back in time hundreds of years, now becoming a green and luscious area again.

The clock face glyph went away and Starlight stopped glowing. She hovered down to the ground. She stood on her feet for a moment before keeling over and fainting.

“Starlight!” Bass exclaimed. He climbed over the edge and skidded down the side of the outcropping. He reached the bottom and ran to her. He skidded next to her and picked her head up. “Starlight! Hey, Starlight!”

Starlight stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Bass looking right at her. “hey, Star. You okay?” his voice said, echoing though her mind.

Starlight felt a scratchy feeling in her throat. “eh… ah… Bass? What are… what are you doing here?”

“I saw you sneak out. Wha-- what did you do?” he asked, gesturing to the work she just pulled.

Starlight groaned and sat up, holding her head. “I… I reversed time 500 years.”

“you reversed time?” Bass gasped. “but… but you said you couldn’t go back in time.”

Starlight tried to get back on her feet but keeled over again. “I… I can’t. I can reverse time, but only for dead plants or trees. This was the first time I tried a area and animals.”

Bass looked around and lightly chuckled. “well, I say you did well. Everything’s green and living. You sure this was the first time you did it?”

Starlight panted as she laid back. “positive. I didn’t think I was this powerful.”

“why do you think that?”

Starlight slowed her panting. She opened her eyes and looked up into the night sky. “cause… my mom forbad me to practice with my powers.”

“yeah. You told me that before. She didn’t want you to get kidnapped by bad ponies like that Chaos Gun fella so she forbad you from practicing your powers over time.”

“well… without her knowing, I snuck out during random nights and went into the Everfree Forest to practice in private. And, I became as powerful as you saw now. Of course, this is the best I can do.”

“still… this is very impressive.” Bass said. He reached down and picked up a flower. It was a species of red lilacs long thought extinct from the world. Same held true for the birds. They were a species of robin with a white tuff on the tail. Very rare today. Bass weighed the lilac in his hooves for a moment then walked over to the Alicorn of Time.

Starlight heard him coming and looked in his direction. He bent down and messed with her hair. She blushed out of nervousness. “W-what are you doing?”

“just one more…” he found a good spot and put the lilac in Starlight’s hair. It looked like fire but it didn’t act like fire. It encompassed the flower for a moment but didn’t burn it. The fire reclused back and left it alone. “there you go.”

“What was that for?”

“well, the princess’ have all that jewelry and whatnot. I figured that you being a Alicorn, you should have something iconic too.”

“but Erys and Woona don’t wear jewelry and their Princess’.”

“True, but Erys has her hair in that bung and Woona has a bracelet. I figured you should have a flower. Makes you unique.”

“oh. Well, that’s nice of you.”

“I try.” Bass yawned loudly and held his hoof to his mouth. “boy, am I tired.” Starlight felt the same way as she yawned as well. “let’s head back to camp before the others get suspicious.”

“Good idea. Hate to suspect what Goldie would think if she saw us in this place by ourselves.” Bass lightly chuckled. He started back first with Starlight not far behind. She trotted up to catch up to him. “You know, if it’s too cold out, you can bunk with me and Goldie.”

Bass was shocked to hear her say that. “you… you sure?”

“Yeah. I own you for saving me in Baltimare and I feel like this is the best way to do it.”

“oh. Well. Thanks.”

From the top of the outcropping, Marian watched Starlight and Bass have their little heart-to-heart. She was furious with Bass for trying to make them off of their plan to get Starlight home and for trying to get close to her. It’s obvious that he doesn’t really care for her; he’s just using her to get to her power, which has grown exponentially over the years.

Her Alicorn Amulet briefly glowed red, as did her eyes. She had to get rid of him one way or another.

Author's Notes:

aw. ain't that sweet. Bass and Starlight are getting friendly.

wow. friends of the year. don't care about your friend's feelings or wishes, just drag her back home. and something tells me Marian is gonna be a prick.