The Lost Path 11
Hello again,
Here, an explanation about the bat ponies' way of life, and a glimpse of Staria's thoughts.
To Cookies: Wow, thanks for the long review! I'll try to answer the best I can. First, how she became a bat pony: I can only say you're not completely wrong, but not completely right either. The spell she used to get rid of her wings will be explained in a few chapters, you'll just have to wait a bit longer. As for the 'Saviour' this chapter explains it. Spot on!
About the bat ponies not having unicorn magic, it's simply because there are no unicorn bat ponies. Earth Ponies are said in the show to be the most resistant and strongest; as such, sadly, they were the only ones to survive in the harsh desert in the cave. When Staria meets them, they are only earth ponies, who later gained bat wings. How? It's going to be explained in the last chapters, sorry!
As for Staria being more dangerous and the mane six should be wary, here they are making the mistake of assuming she is like Celestia and Luna -reasonable, regal, wise and all. Which she is not. Staria still has a lot of demons to face, and Twilight doesn't quite realise that. Hope I have answered enough, and thank you again.
Enjoy~
XxxX
She gets her answer soon afterwards.
"Our parents were orphans left alone in the war's wake. Princess Luna took them here, where they lead a better life. She provided for them for some time, but her visits became scarce over the years, and eventually she stopped coming. Without her support, this small colony started to wither away. And the day will soon come where there is nopony left." Firefly's mother, Shimmering Sand, explains.
She feels responsible. So Luna founded a colony in secret, but was unable to get them to survive on their own. In a few years…they would all be gone. Most don't even know what a sheep is. They've never been outside of these sandy peaks.
She tries to teach them, but what's the point? No sheep could live here. They need stronger plants who can withstand the heat, and better beds. They will never survive like this.
She thinks. She knows she has the means to improve their lives, if she tries hard enough.
But where to start?
"You look so sad when you do that."
She starts. She did not hear him sit next to her, on a tall, rocky platform she's selected as her thinking place. From there, she can see the whole cavern and the ponies wandering around. She doesn't even know how Firefly managed to reach her.
"When I do what?"
"When you sit here, looking at us from above, but not really. It feels like you want to do something, but can't."
Firefly really was one of a kind. With a dark brown coat and a yellow and black mane, he stood out like a sore thumb among the others, who had all rather bright colours.
He was also the most perceptive of them and had stuck to her side like glue ever since she arrived. She doesn't really want to answer.
"I can't help the way I look." She hopes it will be enough for him. She is wrong.
"Your eyes look sad. Moms says they're the window of the soul."
She stares. Because suddenly, it doesn't feel like she's talking to a foal. But indeed, she is.
"And she also says that talking about it helps." She swallows hard. He is hitting too close to home than she likes. She tries to deter him.
"I'm pretty sure you have better things to do than staying here, Firefly."
"No."
"…?"
"If I can help a pony, then there is no better thing I could be doing."
She falls silent under his quiet stare. Such wisdom, at such a young age…
Had her sisters and her had even half of the wisdom he's displaying, they wouldn't have fallen so low.
It is both sobering and disheartening to know.
"I have a problem to solve," she eventually says. "But I don't know how."
"My mom says 'when you're stuck on a problem, start at the beginning' and it usually works."
"The thing is, I don't know where to start." He shrugs.
"Then pick a beginning, if there isn't one."
"I can't just 'pick' a beginning, Firefly."
"Why not?"
"Because-"
Why, indeed? One step at a time. One big problem is often a mix of several smaller ones: Solve them one by one and you'll eventually solve the big one. It is so easy, a lesson she knows she should have known, and yet it is a foal who teaches it to her. She suddenly realises she has many things to learn here, and apparently humility is one of them. She doesn't quite smile, but she looks at him.
"You know what? I think I have the beginning." Firefly's grin is small, but definitely happy. And it is enough.
Hope.
She is finally going somewhere.
XxxX
The whole cavern was smaller than ponyville, but it was still pretty large. In the middle, there were the playgrounds for the foals and the shops, along with spaces to store the fruits and hay they grew. In the back, Twilight spied fences with small animals -sheeps, she thought, except they were smaller and had less wool.
"This kind is native to the desert," Gleaming Stream, their guide, explains. "They're always shedding their fur -so it doesn't grow as thick as regular sheeps' do."
There were other animals too -rabbits, chickens, goats and such. The alicorn could also see what looked like workplaces, as some ponies were sewing two pieces of cloth together, others were knitting or cutting plants, painting and sculpting. No space was lost, and Twilight was impressed by the efficiency, furiously scribbling notes down on her notebook. The back of the cavern appeared to be dedicated to resources, while the front was for the foals and the middle for shopping -which was strange, because apparently, they all ate together.
"There are different roles to take. Some cook, others take care of the fields and animals or work with their hooves. The strongest go out to trade with other villages. We're usually taking turns so nopony feels slighted or gets bored."
In the morning (which was actually sunset), the Queen took her breakfast with some of her ponies, either those she chose or those who wished to. The next meal she took it with everypony, at the great table in a hole on the left side they had yet to see, whereas she took her last meal alone in her chambers, or with her council. The schedule allowed her to basically see everypony, to be close and known to them. This way, nopony felt left out -for anypony could ask to see the Queen at any moment's notice. She'd yet to refuse anypony, and Twilight wished she'd give her her secret. She knew for a fact Celestia was always being swallowed in her paperwork -and lately she had been as well, before their journey. It seemed princess Staria had resorted to delegating; she had a whole team behind her, supervising every aspect of their daily lives. One for the food, one for the fields, the animals, the school (because, foals needed to be educated, and they had a whole cave dedicated to that), the trades, the workplaces, and basically everything else, with General Starseeker at the top, overseeing everything. A small part of Twilight scathingly remarked princess Staria did not appear to do anything at all -but she was quick to silence it. She didn't know enough.
Besides, she'd apparently designed the whole cave herself.
The ground floor, on each side, was made of caves such as the school, the dining room (bigger than the one this morning, where everypony ate together), the first kitchen, the storage, the laundry room (which they also did together -granted there were fewer ponies than in ponyville, but still), the baths (apparently, they still had private bathrooms in their respective homes -but could basically wash there too) and the library (it was huge. Bigger than Canterlott's). On the first and second floors, each cave was somepony's home, just as the third floor's left side, while the right side was Staria's quarters and the smaller dining room, kitchen, and council. It was obvious there was more, especially on the third floor, but Gleam had quickly ushered them away as they'd passed a peculiar hallway -filled with paintings. She had refused to answer any of their questions about this place, and had led them to a slightly smaller cave, which appeared to be a relaxing room of sorts. There were several comfy chairs, a few books, small tables and games of all sorts. They settled in their chairs, and Gleam offered them some tea.
"Well, I think you've seen most of the cavern," Dash snorted in the background, but she ignored her. "Now, if you have questions, you can ask them." Twilight jumped on the occasion.
"How exactly did you come to live here?"
Gleam gave her a wry smile. Twilight had the sudden, distinct feeling she wouldn't hear what she wanted to know
XxxX
I should not have said that.
It is the first thought that runs through Staria's head as she exits the dining room. It surprises her that she's angry, both at herself and at Twilight Sparkle, she can't help it. She's had years to think about it, years to try and sort the mess that is her feelings towards her sisters, years to come to terms with it, and she had made peace with her past. At least, she thought she had. Yet the first thing she does when she has contact, somewhat indirectly, with Celestia -or someone close to her, rather-, is snapping at them and being scornful. Really, it seems she hasn't progressed at a-
"I have seen you at your best and at your absolute worst, but this...is something I've never quite seen before."
She sighed. She should've known Starseeker would not let her attitude slide and do nothing. It wasn't in his nature.
And it was part of the reason why she allowed him to get so close, after all.
"I have no sympathy for strangers and you know it," he went on, stepping closer to her -but keeping a respectful distance away. Although he was her General, her most trustworthy advisor, even he did not cross her boundaries. "But she did nothing to deserve your hostility."
"I know." Staria looked up to the sky, eyes far away. "She reminds me of Celestia, back in our youth. That is all." And yet, she knew it wasn't the sole reason. Her chest would not have ached this way if it was…she would not have felt the need to leave before she started to cry. Discussing her sisters did not bring tears to her eyes quite like…
"Then you should know scaring her away will not work." Starseeker deadpanned, annoyed, and pulling her out of her thoughts. She snorted.
"Obviously. The more I'll try to push her away, the faster she'll come back."
"Then why do it at all?" There was no accusation in his tone, and for that, she was grateful. "It would be better to plainly tell her she is not wanted here and send her away. Her presence, who she is…it threatens us all." She knew he was right, but she did not want to accept it. Having Celestia's pupil here meant word would go back to her sister, sooner or later. What would Celestia do once she found out…everything? But she was curious, too. Curious about this new alicorn. So young…but so naïve, too. She wanted to say everything would be alright, but she did not want to lie.
She'd done it too many times in her life already. She sighed.
"If we send her back now, who knows what she might tell Celestia. If her mission is truly to bring me to Canterlot…Then I need to convince her I do not wish to come back. Besides…" she paused, sitting down at her desk and sorting through a few papers. "We're already judging her for being Celestia's pupil. We should wait and see." She was not really convinced, but the General could sense she would not be swayed.
He came to stand in front of her desk, and she rose to pick a book behind her on the shelf -turning her back to him. She hated that after a thousand years, Celestia was still a sore subject for her. She should have gotten over it ages ago. It was in the past. It was over.
Except said buried past had just crossed her threshold almost a day ago...
Staria shook her head as she sat back on her chair. Starseeker still hadn't said a word, and she knew why. She closed her book.
"I can see it clearly, Starseeker," she said, eyes lost somewhere on the rocky wall of her office. "She comes here believing I feel guilty for what happened all those years ago. She believes I exiled myself and need Celestia's pardon to come to Canterlot, and live as we used to a thousand years ago -as though nothing happened." She finishes her sentence in a quiet tone, more to herself than to him. But he is not blind to the anger buried deep beneath those words. He's heard them too many times already. Staria seemed to snap out of her thoughts, and she turned to face him once more.
"She worships Celestia, it is plain to see. But somepony needs to open her eyes to the truth...It has to be me. I have the feeling nopony else will."
"At what cost?"
The concern in his tone surprised her. It did not belong here in his voice, but rather in…it seemed it always made an appearance when she least expected it.
Starseeker deeply respected her -and not because she was his Queen or because of her age or alicorn status, but because of what she had done for his people, and throughout the years, he had grown to become the one she trusted above all. He had a sharp mind and a keen eye, but compassion and concern were two things she definitely did not expect from him.
"My duty is to my people -my family- first and foremost." He said, solemn. "I can tell this is going to turn into one big mess, and I don't like it. Whatever you do, please be careful."
Starseeker nodded at her and prepared to leave. Indirectly, he'd told her he agreed with her. He didn't like Twilight because he felt her presence threatened them -but until he was certain of it, he would respect his Queen's wishes and wouldn't put her in the 'enemy' box. And if it turned out they were both wrong, he'd welcome her. Staria quickly realised she was being a hypocrite -she was blaming Twilight just for being on Celestia's side. For somepony who said 'don't judge until you know', she was doing a terrible job of following her own advice.
"Starseeker."
He paused and glanced at her. She smiled serenely.
"Thank you. For always supporting me, no matter what." It was his turn to smile, and she treasured the sight. She had missed that smile. So much.
"Always, your Highness."
The curtains fell shut behind him, and Staria decided she'd try to speak with Twilight later in the night.
XxxX
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