Finding A Star: Chapter 2 - Secrets

It took Swift less than several seconds to realize something was amiss. Discovery's bed of hard mattress and wool blanket had been disturbed. More importantly, it was empty. Her gun was missing, too.

The unicorn wondered for a short moment why she would need to carry a gun, when her unnatural magic could kill a pony as quickly as it could. Then he got back to the problem of where Discovery had gotten too. He was extremely irritated that she up and left before waking himself and Twister. If a mutated Manticore, or worse, a chaos infected Dragon had appeared, they wouldn't have had the time or offensive capability to defend themselves.

He decided first things first, he would wake Twister. Swift wouldn't make the same folly that Discovery had.

Trotting over to Twister's sleeping form; he took in the bleak scenery around him. Ash mounds and puddles of acidic slush gathered outside the warehouse. These were visible for only several hooves however, as beyond that, an eerie fog clouded anything and everything within them. The fog appeared each night, without fail. Swift's magic never seemed to clear it, and the one time Discovery had tried with her own, she had to spend several hours in the dark, alone and crying.

Swift placed a hoof upon Twister, and shook him gently. With a glint of silver as his only warning, a knife was at his throat in an instant. The words, Nothing Stays Closed, were embossed in the sharp steel.

Green pony eyes flickered, then regained focus upon the victim he was about to end. Then, with quick and stressed apologies, Twister used his incredibly dexterous left hoof to stow the blade in a side pocket on his right foreleg.

Swift realised his mistake. "Twister!" he exclaimed. "My Sparkles, how did I forget!? Even if for a moment, it is inexcusable."

Twister grumbled something that Swift couldn't hear, and looked at the ground.

Swift, concerned, tried to further console his friend. "Are you alright, Twister?" He asked.

"I'm 'kay." The earth pony replied softly, "I just want the nightmares to quit it. It's all I get every damn night, I swear it! I just want to have one peaceful nights rest. I mean, is that too much to.."

Whatever Twister was about to say was lost. Swift saw his eyes go large and round, widened with fear. With a gulp, Swift turned to face the direction the earth pony was looking, to see something monstrous.

A silhouette many times a pony's size moved lazily forward. It moved on its hind legs, thumping the ground with great smacks. Swift could smell rotting flesh.

Twister was yelling at him to run, to gallop out of the warehouse as fast as they could.

But it was the form emerging from the fog, which seemed to overload Swift's brain, his fear being pushed aside, with a surge of adrenaline.

Turning to catch Twister's strong body getting ready to bolt, the Unicorn finally caught up with his head, and galloped at breakneck speed, in whatever direction was opposite from the hulking beast.

****

Brightfield looked up from the small set of drawers he was putting back together. It was a tricky job if you weren't a unicorn.

Upon hearing the creaks and groans from the staircase, he started to put away the hammer and nail box under a glue and sawdust covered workbench.  He felt hard eyes upon him. Turning his head, he saw for the second time that day, if she was in much better condition this time, a startlingly gorgeous Pegasus. Unnaturally beautiful, he thought. Remember that.

He thought back thirty minutes ago when he started speaking through her mind. Reflecting upon this, he reflected it was likely not the best way to introduce one's self.

He saw the light yellow, almost golden hued Pegasus take a suspicious gaze over the room, before finally settling on himself. Her eyes narrowed, and she started towards him. Her first question was expected.

"Who are you?"

The melodic voice once again almost put Brightfield in daze. But he quickly collected himself. He knew this could well be an enemy. It was unlikely that a mutated pony knew how to disguise itself as a normal one. Still, he knew he could not dismiss her as a potential foe. And bandits were almost non-existent. A sliver of that passive kindness resided in each pony still, a leftover from the leadership of The Harmonies.

"You'll find out soon enough. Take a seat." Brightfield motioned towards another stool, across from him. He raised a hoof for her to shake, but Discovery glared at him with her golden eyes once again.

She sat on the fairly uncomfortable wooden stool, before speaking. "I don't know your name, but you seem to know every detail about me. I'd say it's a little one sided, don't ya think?" Her tone was strong and firm, but it was trying to hide something too. Was it nervousness? Or anger? Brightfield couldn't quite tell.

"You're right of course. I apologise." He replied, then adding, "My name is Brightfield."

The lack of his last name did not go unnoticed by the Pegasus, he noted, when her eyes widened ever so slightly, and a light of curiosity sparked in her eyes.

He knew what the next question would be.

"No, I'm not telling you my last name. " He said, looking her in the eye.

"Like I said. You know every. Detail. About. Me." She punctuated each last word with a small stomp of her hoof.

"And like I said, my last name stays me own. I'm not opening up to a pony I've only known for less than a day." He retorted.

"Then why would you tuck me in freakin' bed, when you could've shot me on the spot!"

"Because I'm one of the few things out here that isn't some sort of pony eating monster." He looked the golden Pegasus dead in the eye. "My wings are broken, and now my roof, but not my heart." Brightfield said the last part darkly, then immediately followed up with a chuckle. "With that out of the way, would you like some carrot juice?"

****

Discovery stared incredulously at this strange Pegasus that called himself Brightfield. Not only had he taken care of her, and put her in bed of all things, but now he was offering her carrot juice after having the most heated conversation she's had with a pony that wasn't Swift or Twister in a long time. In fact, she realised, I haven't talked to anypony other than Swift or Twister in years. This thought soured her expression.

"What's the matter, don't you like carrot juice?"

Discovery once again looked at Brightfield with confused eyes, and then noticed something. She thought back to what he had said several seconds earlier.

"Your wings!" She exclaimed.

"That doesn't have anything to do with carrot juice." Brightfield said, smiling.

"B-But, how do you.." Discovery trailed off, and it was Brightfields turn to turn his expression sour.

"I don't want to talk about it, thank you," he said, quietly. "Maybe sometime. But not now."

Brightfield's expression was almost shy, and Discovery wondered just how in Sparkle's name he had managed to survive this long. Without the use of his wings, he's the same as a regular earth pony. Then, another thought crossed her mind. Her mind froze.

"B-Brightfield.. Are you different? Y-You know? Like me?" Discovery stammered, still reeling from this revelation.

Brightfield hesitated, then took a slow, deep breath.

"I don't know," He started. "I've never met somepony with my abilities. I still haven't really, your abilities are entirely different." He stopped, and entered into a deeply thoughtful expression.

Discovery looked on, eager to have met somepony even a little like her. Consistently though, her mind was calculating the ramifications of this. It meant there could be even more like her and Brightfield; ponies with talents, not seen or heard of ever in history. Half of her active mind was waiting on Brightfield, while her other half span with her imagination. There were ponies of all sorts enjoying themselves in a field, Pegasus, Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and even Alicorns, all with abilities beyond their normal reach. She imagined happiness. Remembering happiness was another challenge altogether.

The image cut off, interrupted by the Pegasus opposite her.

"How do you feel I tell you a story, Discovery?" He asked, his position on the stool changing into a more relaxed pose.

Now all of her attention was on Brightfield.

"It would depend on what it's about, I suppose." She shrugged, but her voice was eager, betraying her curiosity.

"This story is of my life before the events of ten years ago, when I was only coming out of my time as a colt. I'm going to tell you what I think caused them. I will also tell you how my talents changed the pony I wanted to be.

"I suggest you grab the pillow from the upstairs room. This tale is long and complex. As they say, I shall start, from the beginning."

****

Like I said, I had only just started becoming a stallion. I believed I knew everything about everything, like I was king of the world. You know, how the young often think of themselves. I had passed Flight School with flying colours. Quite literally in fact. According to the records, I am one of the very few that have pulled off a Sonic Rainboom. The only others before me were Wild Wing – the captain of the Wonderbolts before the incident – and the direct descendants of the legendary mare, Rainbow Dash.

Here are some interesting things for you to think over. One, Wild Wing was helped to pull off his Rainboom by magical means. Very few ponies know this, and fewer yet believe. But it's true. Secondly – and this is the key – I have searched high and low for any family heritage to Rainbow Dash. I believed that if I had some lineage, then I could take a claim in their family fortune. Greedy, I know, but understand that it was hard for me to believe that I was the only non-descendant of her to perform the legendary manoeuvre without magical help.

What I had not expected to find were records and journals dating all the way back to when Twilight Sparkle herself was just a filly! Hard to imagine really. You may ask how I came across these when no other pony had stumbled across them. Well, let me tell you another secret. Twilight's vaults are not as secure as many make them out to be. Simply pretend to confirm a water leak in the vaults, and hire yourself out as a plumber. Of course I was accompanied by the powerful Unicorn's Royal Guards. They were, however, easily dealt with. Sleeping sprays were remarkably easy to find.

I had risked myself like this because of rumours. Nothing more substantial than that. But if they were true, then the one thing that could link me to Rainbow Dash existed there.

The journalsI  mentioned earlier did not only contain records of illegitimate foals and fillies of the Six families, but a terrifying secret.

Before I get to that, I will tell you that I am in fact related to the best flier who had ever lived. Illegitimately, true, but even that would have gotten me into the family. I could not have done so however, for two reasons. One, this would mean discovery of the fact I was the one who had infiltrated... no, that's too harsh of a word. Sneaked into. Yes, that will do. So, that would mean I would be revealed as the one who had sneaked into Twilight's vaults.

I couldn't do so for something else too. The secret I had learned. It has scared me, and it had shaped my life from then on.

For seven years after that revelation, I had committed myself to learn everything about the Elements of Harmony.

As you know, and therefore do not a lengthy lecture on, the Elements kept the balance of Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, and most importantly, Magic. The Six were the keepers of each Element. Without those ponies, the Elements would have continued to have their power drain into the void of space. So given embodiment, they could contain and release their energies at will.

What you will likely not have been told is that there resides another two Elements. Brilliance and Calm.

Three guesses where they resided.

Long before the Six were given their Elements, Celestia and Luna held Brilliance and Calm, respectively.

Luna's transformation was only in part caused by her jealously of her sisters Sun. Being the Princess of the night, Luna had explored space, and had millennia to understand it. She understood it, while we had only started exploring and examining it four decades before the incident. Or the moment. Whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, using my research and a stolen journal of Twilight's that contained her own theories, Luna had come in contact with Fear. I talk not of the emotion, but the taint that had consumed much of the galaxy.

It was this that corrupted Luna. Celestia was forced into imprisoning her to the moon. The giant satellite not only reflected light, it also acted as the first barrier against Fear. It repelled it, acting as a conductor for the Elements to channel its balancing energies into the void.  

I suppose the Fear is at least partially conscious in its actions. It must have realised that the Elements were keeping it at bay. Luna was its gateway onto Equestria; a way to bypass the conductive nature of the moon. It attacked at the Element of Calm, attempting to twist it into an inverted version of itself. However, when Nightmare Moon was banished onto the side of the giant rock where sun does not shine, it could never push itself onto Equestria. It simply could not bend itself round to push itself in the direction it wished.

So for a thousand years, Celestia was without Calm, and without her sister.

But what does Brilliance transform into without a calming presence?

Arrogance and Greed were the result.

Over the thousand years of which Nightmare Moon was banished, Brilliance kept warping further. In a way, Fear had won by simply removing the balance of Calm.

Upon Luna's return, and Nightmare Moon's vanquish, the element of Calm was restored.

But Celestia, though struggling to be the ruler she knew she should, was too far gone. A thousand years of internal strife was far more damaging than the thousand years of simple anger that Luna was subject to.

So now the roles were reversed. Without the effects of true Brilliance, Calm became Complacency and Ignorance.

And so, both Brilliance and Calm were lost. All the while, Fear itself looked upon Equestria, and saw it's time. It saw the perfect opportunity to remove the last Six elements keeping it at bay.

Influencing Celestia's and Luna's decisions, warping them further, corrupting them from afar, it finally saw them fall.

That was the day when two bolts of blue and white impacted. The day when everything fell apart.

That was the day Fear gripped our world.