Mar:Hey guys..Im back with another instalment of The Hero of Equus..And I am actually kinda excited about this one..I think you guys will really like it..
Umbran:Not for the reason you think either..
Mar:But it will be good in the case of character development…oh and characters do have ears like that of their race or species…just to clarify right quick…now I think I'll shut up and get on with the story…Enjoy..
Chapter 5
It was a fairly great week. The kids at Scoot's school went slack-jawed when she introduced me for show and tell. I spent some of my free time helping Fluttershy with her animals or Pinkie with her cooking, but most of my free time was spent with Rainbow Dash, who very kindly agreed to teach me to fly. I must admit I was pretty embarrassed about it even though I wasn't from this world. So all in all, it was a great week. I walked a bit slugishly towards the Carrousel Boutique with a moderate migraine. I woke up at Sugar Cube Corner around one-thirty in the afternoon. Rainbow Dash's birthday party had been last night. The girl can really hold her alcohol, I'll give her that. I walked into the boutique and headed towards the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and saw Twilight and Rarity siting at the table, talking about something. I didn't really pay attention as I tiredly walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of red soda with Mountain Mist on the label. Popping the cap off, I took a few gulps of the cherryish flavored drink before hearing Rarity clear her throat. I lowered the bottle and looked over at her, "Morning Star..sleep well?"
I smirked at her and walked over, "Kinda..yeah..got anything for a migraine?" my left hand rose and slid over the top left side of my head, running my fingers through my hair slightly.
"I do..here.." Twilight's horn gained a purple aura, as did her right hand as she raised it and pressed the tip of her index finger to my temple. The aura dispersed almost immediately and she retracted her hand, the migraine gone.
"Whoa..thanks Twilight.."
"No problem Star..Well, I've got to go get ready for the Gala.." She stood and walked from the kitchen, "See you later Rarity!" She called before leaving.
"Ta ta darling.." Rarity called before smiling and standing from her seat, "Please come with me Star..I finished your outfit for the Gala last night.." I nodded at her and finished my drink, throwing it away as she walked out of the kitchen. I quickly followed her as she walked into her workshop. I walked into the fashionista's work shop and saw the outfit she had made me. I was shocked to say the least. The coat was black with silver stitching, more like a stealth jacket in design, on each shoulder was three, one inch long dragon scales, each the color of raw gold, in a line along the seam, about an inch of space between each one, several tiny, overlapping bronze scales ran along the top edge of the collar and the bottom edge of the jacket it's self, the pants were just black with silver stitching, "So what do you think?"
"It looks amazing.."
"Thank you darling..I'm just glad I managed to finish it in time for the Gala..now..the carriage that's coming to pick us up should arrive at Twilight's Library in about an hour..so take the pants and go ahead and get a shower while I make a few finishing touches to your jacket" I simply nodded and went up to the bathroom, putting my pants, backpack, sword, jacket, and boots on the sink counter, putting my necklace on my jacket before stripping down and getting in the shower.
I got out of the shower about thirty or so minutes later and dried off before getting dressed, putting on my pants, boots, one of my grey shirts, and my necklace. I put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket and put my jacket over my right shoulder, slung my pack over my left, and grabbed my sword before opening the bathroom door and heading down stairs. I walked into her workshop and found my coat on the table. I set my sword and pack next to the table, laying my jacket down next to the coat. I picked the new garment up and smiled a bit at the sticky note stuck to the collar that said DONE! On it. I removed the sticky note and put the jacket on. I was a slight bit surprised at how perfectly it fit. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. The outfit actually looked really good on me. I heard footsteps and turned around just as Rarity reached the bottom of the stairs. Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought she was a princess, "Whoa…don't you look nice.."
She chuckled lightly, "Why thank you darling…you don't look so bad yourself...we need to hurry up and head over to the library...we've only got about fifteen minutes.." I nodded and opened the door, holding it open as she walked out and we headed off towards the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were waiting outside the library with a white and gold, six person carriage when me, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, who me and Rarity met up with on the way, arrived.
"Finally..hurry up!" Pinkie urged us as she sprinted into the carriage with remarkable speed. The other five followed her in and I realized that there wasn't enough room for me. I thought for a second then closed the door and went around front, finding a strange, silver, quadrupedal, dragon-like creature, about a foot taller than me, harnessed up to the carriage. On the driver's seat sat an older man with dark, forest green skin, wise, grey eyes, and a little past shoulder length, grey streaked mud brown hair, the broken stub of a horn poked about a half inch from his forehead, wearing a pair of aviator goggles, brown boots, kaki pants, a plain, blue t-shirt, and an aviator's jacket.
"Hey mister...mind if I ride up here with you? The carriage is a bit…cramped…"
The man looked at me and gave a kind, gentle smile as he gestured for me to come on up, "Sure..climb on up.." I obliged and climbed up, taking a seat next to the man, who actually wasn't much shorter than myself. He gave a whistle and the dragon-like creature spread its wings and we were soon flying through the sky. The man turned his head and looked at me, "So..what's your name?"
I looked at him, "Call me Star..you?"
"Forest Vale…so…what brings you to Equus otherworlder?"
I looked at the man in shock and slight confusion, "What?..how'd you know?"
"Well…that hand of yours sure ain't natural..and it's too advanced to be an Equus origin prosthetic.."he smirked.
The fear that had entered my heart dispersed as his tone stayed neutral, "Well..Goddess..second chance…etcetera…you're quite an intelligent person.."
He chuckled, "Almost eighty years of life and learning will do that to ya…"
"Wow..long time…"
"Yeah..long life..but a good one all the same.." He looked at me as I stared down at the ground far below, "You're different…much, much different.."
I looked at him, "What do you mean?"
"Well…most have one defined emotional aura at a time…but you…yours is a cluster..constantly shifting and mixing..anger and dispair and joy and kindness…your aura is…well…it's unique.."
"What do you mean by aura?" I asked Vale, confused.
Vale looked at me with a light smile, "Aura…it's the invisible emotional energy given off by your soul…"
I made a face of understanding, my lips forming an 'o' before changing to one of confusion as I looked at him, "Wait…how can you tell if it's invisible?"
"I can see auras…even though my horn is broken and I can't use magic…I can still sense emotional energy…" he explained, "Can I give you some good advice?"
"Sure…as long as it's good.."
"Don't dwell on things or hold grudges…let the past be the past and let bygones be bygones…cause if you spend all your time in the dark, dwelling on the past…you'll never see the light…"
I smirked and gave a short, grunted chuckle, "That's really good advice…my mother told me that once…before she died…"
Vale frowned at me, "I'm sorry…she sounds like a very wise woman.."
I sighed lightly, "She was…she truly was…but it's best not to dwell or grieve…the past is history…tomorrow, is a mystery…but today, is a gift…that's why it's called the present…"
Suddenly we landed with a slight jolt, alerting me that we had arrived, "That's a good way to look at it…You are wise beyond your years Star…use that wisdom.."
"I will…It was nice meeting you Vale.." I put my hand out to him.
"You too Star…"He shook my hand and I hopped off as Vale took the carriage somewhere, finding myself in front of a large, open gate leading to the court yard of a massive castle, "Whoa…"
"First time in Canterlot hu Star?" I heard Twilight's voice to my left.
"Yeah.." I nodded.
"Well come on ya'll..let's get going…" Applejack called as Pinkie and the others walked through the gate. Twilight and I quickly hurried to catch up to them, finally doing so as we reached the large, iron clad pair of open oak wood doors. At the top of the stairs on the other side of the large front room stood two figures. One had the purest, seemingly flawless white skin, light purple eyes, and long, pink, blue, green, and light blue hair striped from the bottom up in that order, flowing as if in a nonexistent breeze, a long spiral horn protruded from her forehead. She was wearing a pair of fancy, white, elbow length gloves, a long, tight, white and gold dress with a cut starting about mid-thigh on the left side and a strap setup of four straps crossed in an X on her upper chest, a golden tiara with a diamond-shaped amethyst, a golden necklace, and intricate, golden heels. The other I recognized immediately as Luna, she was wearing a pair of fancy, silver, elbow length gloves, a rather beautiful, long, sleeveless, fairly tight, midnight purple dress with a cut that started about mid-thigh on the right side, a dark blue tiara with a diamond-shaped jet, a black chain necklace with a one long by one half inch wide sapphire pendant cut into the shape of a four point star, and a pair of intricate, silver slippers. When we were about half way to the stairs, the taller one turned towards us and clapped, smiling as she stepped down the stairs, meeting us at the bottom of the stairs, she was an inch or two taller than me thanks to the heels, "Ah, Twilight, my faithful student. I'm so glad you and your friends could make it once again…" Her eyes were drawn to me, "and who might this be?"
"I'm Star..pleasure to make your acquaintance miss.." I stepped forwards and held out my right hand to her.
She stared at me for a second. I thought she might have been offended by the gesture but then she smiled warmly and shook my hand, "Celestia…a pleasure indeed.."
I smiled lightly as Luna stepped down next to her and smiled at me, "Hey Luna..nice to see you again…"
"You too..Sister..this is the one I invited.."
Celestia smiled, "Well..a fair few of the guests have already arrived..so enjoy the party…Twilight..I do believe your brother is on the upper level with Cadence..."
Twilight nodded and walked off to find him. The other five dispersed, wondering off to do their own things, "So what is there to do at one of these parties?"
Celestia chuckled, "It's held every two years and normally, it's nothing but dignitaries and Stuck-up nobles that attend it…not many things to do other than talk..."
"That's really stupid…I thought this was supposed to be a party, not some snobby open house gallery auction…"
"This party was originally started a millennia ago by myself and my sister to celebrate the coming harvest of the two year Zap-apples from the branch of the Apple family to the north of canterlot…we loved the jam they made out of the magic fruits…everyone and anyone who wanted to come was invited…there would be food and music and dancing and games…but over the years…it became an exclusive and snobby tradition meant to now celebrate taxes and diplomacy.." Luna said in a rather saddened tone.
"Yes, well, you two go and enjoy the party the best you can…"
I nodded to Celestia, "Alrighty then.."
"Bye dear sister.." Luna waved to her sister as we walked off to join the party.
I must admit. It was almost exactly how I imagined it. Several nobles, tasting wines and talking about economics, but the room was big and groups were scattered around. We spent a good hour or so wandering around and etcetera. As me and Luna walked through the party, I noticed a few of the girls. Rainbow Dash was over talking to a couple people with aviator goggles on their heads. Pinkie was trying her best to get the participants to actually party and have fun. Rarity was walking around with a glass of wine in hand. Luna saw an old friend of hers that she hadn't seen in a while and went to talk to them. I looked around a bit and noticed a few things about the structure of the building. I heard Rarity apologize for something and someone say "You insolent little…" and then a smack sound followed by the sound of Rarity grunting in pain and a light thud. I whipped around towards where it came from and saw some snobby, white skinned, blue eyed, blonde haired guy with a horn wearing a freshly wine-stained white tux standing over Rarity, who was holding her cheek, her tiara a foot or so away, "I'll make you pay for that you insolent little peasant!"
He pulled his foot back to kick her. Right before his foot could make contact, I rammed into him, shoulder first, knocking him back a few feet onto his ass. I turned to Rarity and put my hand out to her, "You okay Rare?"
She grabbed my hand and nodded as I pulled her to her feet, "Yes..thank you star.."
I handed her her tiara then heard, "You worthless peasant!" I felt the hair on the back of my neck go stiff and, without my knowing, ducked as a bolt of energy shot over my head and struck the wall. I looked at the crack in the wall the bolt had made on contact and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna walking over. She stepped on something and slipped as, suddenly, the crack spread up to the ceiling and the chain holding up one of the six chandeliers being used for lighting snapped, Luna right below it. Before I could even register it I was moving. In a second I slid to my knees next to Luna and put my hands up towards the falling light source, eyes clenched shut. There was a dull crash. But no pain. I opened my eyes and saw my hands surrounded in a near transparent grey aura, a shifting, half-transparent, smoke grey dome. I gasped and quickly lowered my hands, the dome dispersing. I looked around and saw the several pieces of the shattered chandelier around us, everyone around staring at us, speechless.
Celestia walked in, "Alright…everyone please continue on..just stay clear of that area.." and they did so, as if nothing had even happened.
I stood, holding my hand out to Luna, "Meet me in the garden…" and she vanished. I took a few minutes and ran around, soon finding a pair of doors designed with vines. I walked over to the door and pushed them open, walking out into a garden of sorts. I looked around a bit. There were several statues and bushes around. I saw Luna sitting on an Arch shaped bridge over a river. I walked over to her.
"Hey…"
She looked at me with a smile, "Hey…excuse my bluntness but…will you be my special someone?"
I looked at her, a bit surprised. So much so that I only barely registered the response leave my lips, "Yes.." A smile stretched across her face as she stepped closer. I was about to ask her what now but she threw the words to the wind by kissing me. She held the kiss, her eyes closing. I felt her guide my hands to her waist and place her own on my chest. It lasted several minutes before, suddenly, someone cleared their throat rather nearby and we broke the kiss, looking to where the sound came from to find Celestia looking at us with an amused look.
"Sister..um…Tia I…"
"Calm sister…no need to be afraid..I'm not mad..love is love as Cadence is so fond of saying…I just thought I'd come warn Fluttershy the party is almost over and noticed you two…Star..Knowing my student..she'll wanna pester you about what you did in there..so you can stay here for the night..it's the least I can do to thank you for saving Lu-lu.." She smirked as the nickname rolled off her tongue.
"Thanks Celestia.."I smiled at her, "Where am I gonna sleep?"
I felt Luna grip my hand and I looked at her."Comeon..Ill show you.." Luna backed up from me about a foot and her wings sprang open, "Follow.." she flew up. I smirked and quickly followed. We flew around the castle. It was truly a liberating feeling. Flying with no boundaries to stop you. To truly be free. She landed on a balcony and pushed the doors open. I landed and followed as she walked past the door. It was an amazing but average but nicely furnished room. The ceiling was designed and glowed like the night sky, "Can you unzip me Star?"
I looked at her. Her crown was put on the nightstand. Her gloves and shoes were discarded. I stepped over and pulled the zipper as far down as It would go. She pulled it down and let it fall to the ground, leaving her in a pair of panties, a sleeveless, blue tank-top, and dark blue stockings. She smiled and kicked the dress into a basket as I pulled my jacket off and walked over and sat on her bed, "Nice…soft bed.."
She walked over and laid down, "Yeah..silk covers..they're nice…take your shirt off and lay down.." I looked at her and smirked before doing as requested. Her horn glowed and, seemingly, disappeared as she scooted closer and cuddled against my side, resting her head on my chest, "I love you Star…I'm glad I met you…"
"Me too…" My ears were greeted with a soft, cute snore. I smiled and closed my eyes, letting sleep take me.
Okay so I hope you all enjoyed..review..and as always..Im Mar..and Ill see you all next time..
PEACE!