Rising Star

by Argonaut44

Chapter Six: Momentary Happiness

Twilight Sparkle and co. had stopped their seemingly endless pursuit of Queen Chrysalis once the sun had gone down, settling down in the middle of a moonlit pasture, the mountains and jungles ahead looming behind darkened clouds. Applejack started a fire, where the ponies all gathered together to relax. They were all dirty and weary, yet, thanks to each other’s company, they were able to feel a bit at peace for a while. Even Twilight, surprisingly, had joined them around the fire, her eyes fixed on the flames, which danced and birthed embers that floated up to join the stars above.

Twilight had a tremendous headache. She was beginning to fear what she was doing to herself, that perhaps by the end of their virtuous quest, she would end up as corrupted as the monster they were hunting. She knew right from wrong, and yet, had never desired to see anypony be in pain so badly before. She began to feel the sting of guilt, for how she’d been treating her friends, for what she did to that dragon, and worst of all, for betraying Starlight’s memory. Deep down, she believed Starlight would disapprove of her desire for violent revenge. Thinking of her failed student put Twilight back into a dark place of remorse and regret, one that seemed inescapable. She just wanted a chance to talk to Starlight, but, for the foreseeable future, that would be impossible.

“Twilight!”

Twilight jumped in surprise, and saw Spike flying towards her from around the fire. The other ponies all got quiet, noticing Spike’s distraught demeanor.

“They found her! They found Starlight!” Spike spat, exasperated. Twilight stood up in shock, her face contorted in disbelief.

“Celestia! She sent a message! A garrison in the north, they were tracking some kind of disturbance, and the locals gave a perfect description of Starlight! They said she was heading south!”

The other ponies all stared at Spike, in shock, and waited for Twilight’s reaction.

“What kind of disturbance?” the princess inquired, struggling to process everything at once.

“They...they said there was some sort of fight, nopony saw it up close.”

Twilight noticed the others, who all seemed relieved that Starlight was alive, and that hopefully Twilight’s mental state would improve. Yet, if anything, she became even more anxious.

“Who’s been sent for her?” Twilight asked, worried that Starlight would be placed in harm’s way.

“They’ve alerted all the northern cities, they’ll all be looking for her,” Spike responded. Twilight sat back down, and nodded.

“That’s good. But we need to focus on Chrysalis now,” she said.

“Twilight, aren’t you happy?! She’s ok!” said Rainbow, confused by Twilight’s cold, unfeeling answer.

“There’s more important things to worry about than Starlight right now, Rainbow.”

“Isn’t this all about her?” Rainbow said.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, stuttering over her words, trying to ignore her fears and judgement-clouding emotions.

“If Chrysalis gets what she’s after, she’ll be unstoppable. Starlight’s no threat to anypony.”

“How do you know?” Rainbow asked, forcefully.

“Because I know her! I trust her! And apparently none of you do, since you all thought Chrysalis was her!” Twilight yelled, angrily.

The other ponies all stayed quiet, ashamed for falsely blaming her. Twilight regretted her harshness almost instantly.

“I’m sorry...I’m just...I just want to see her again, it’s just...I’m afraid she won’t like me anymore. That’s it…”

Twilight was red in the face, letting out the emotions she had been bottling up for months.

“Look, we were wrong about Starlight. She’s our friend, and she always will be. We’ve all just got to trust her,” said Applejack, trying to ease the tension in the air. Twilight sighed, calming herself down.

“I’ve treated you all poorly, and I’m sorry. I just...I just want to find Chrysalis, and put an end to all this madness.”

“We do too, Twilight, just...remember we’re your friends, and we’re here for you,” said Fluttershy, speaking on behalf of the other ponies, who all nodded in agreement. Twilight wiped a tear away and smiled.

“What would I do without you?” she said, glad she had friends to keep her heading past the brink of sanity.

Twilight couldn’t help but feel a bit more relieved to know Starlight was alive and well. Yet, she still feared the monster that was brewing inside her, and wondered if that side of her would ever resurface again.

---

Starlight, Jackpot, and Dust Bunny had been wandering the filthy streets of Saddleopolis, aimlessly, wasting time until they had to head back to Paprika’s, to reunite with Elodea. Right at 5:00, they arrived at the restaurant, and stepped inside. They saw Elodea walking right towards them, her head hung low, so that she didn’t even realize they were there until she saw their hooves.

“Hey! Ready?” Dust asked.

“Oh, hey...yeah, just got to-” Elodea began.

“El! Where the hell do you think you’re going? You’ve got a double shift today!” yelled the voice of a short, curmudgeon stallion, Brown Barley, behind the front counter of Paprika’s. Elodea glanced back at the three ponies, not a hint of care on her face.

“Um...I’ve got friends over, can I make it up tomorrow?” she asked, pretending to be polite.

“‘Can I make it up tomorrow?’” Barley mimicked, disgusted with the question. “Like hell you can. Get back here!”

“Up yours, Barley!” Elodea said, forgoing the act, as she waved him away with her hoof and turned to walk out with the others. Barley continued to scold and pout as the foursome of ponies exited the restaurant, awkwardly.

“Um...are you gonna get in trouble?” Dust asked, feeling guilty for indirectly causing that altercation. Elodea scoffed.

“Who cares? I’d rather spend time with you than run around in that greasehole all day.”

After settling down at a different restaurant to have dinner together, the group continued through the streets, Dust, Jackpot, and Starlight all noticing the quality of housing deteriorate the farther they traveled. At the end of one street, they came to a stop.

“Up these stairs,” Elodea said, leading them up two stories to a hallway, which had two lights out and reeked of cigarettes. Third door on the left, Elodea wiggled a rusty key into the doorhole, eventually forcing it open with a shove.

“Welcome to my home sweet home,” Elodea said, sarcastically. The apartment was covered in shag carpeting, and had tight walls. So tight, that Starlight wondered how it could even fit just one pony.

“You can use my bed to sleep in if you want,” Elodea said, directly to Dust, “There’s a couch over there, whatever suits you,” she continued, talking to the other two.

“Thanks again for doing this,” Starlight said, ignoring the inadvertent disgust she felt when entering the apartment.

“I haven’t got a radio to listen to, if you were looking. Way too expensive. You know, my parents had a television. Can you believe that? A real television!” Elodea said.

“Is that a record player?” Jackpot asked, pointing what was obviously a record player sitting atop a small wooden shelf beside the couch.

“Yeah...one of the first things I bought when I got here,” she said, laughing at herself, “It was an impulsive buy. I thought I’d get to use it. Had to pawn all the records I got with it for the cash. That thing’s next, I guess but...I don’t want to get rid of it. I want it to motivate me, you know? Like maybe one day I can get those records back,” she said, forlornly. Jackpot sat down on the couch, which was a brownish green, right in the middle of the room. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out one of the records he brought, and began placing it on the record player, excited. There was very little furniture in the living room, and only a few lights. The sun had practically set already, meaning the room was very dimly lit. Starlight, trying her best to stay positive, considered it to be cozy.

“Well uh...Dust, you want to come to my room? We should catch up. And you two can stay here, let me know if you need anything,” Elodea said, leading Dust into a different room. Starlight waited for them to close the door behind them before slowly approaching the green couch, jumping on it, beside Jackpot. She let her head fall deep into the soft pillow, which was surprisingly comfortable.

“You don’t trust her?” she asked Jackpot, who was busy fiddling the record player. When he had finished, and soft guitar music began to fill the room, he sat back on the couch and sighed, relaxing, until he remembered Starlight had just asked a question.

“Don’t trust who?” Jackpot asked.

“Elodea. You barely said a word to her all dinner...You don’t even look at her,” Starlight said, from the other side of the couch.

“I don’t distrust her...I don’t know her, is all. If Dust says she’s alright, then I assume she’s alright. And the reason I’m not looking at her, is because I’m usually looking at you,”

Starlight giggled and crawled over on the couch towards him, gently placing her head on his lap.

“I wish things were normal again,” she said, sighing.

Jackpot had no answer. His eyes were closed, enjoying the low-volume music that reminded him of less stressful times. Starlight glanced up at Jackpot, whose eyes met hers. She sunk into his arms, startling Jackpot, who rarely ever got this personal with anypony. He saw how tight she was against him, more scared and vulnerable than he had ever seen her.

“Me too…” he muttered, relaxing with the weight of Starlight’s body pressing down on him.

“What’s in Vanhoover?”

“What?” Jackpot said, put off by the question.

“You keep saying you want to go there...What’s there?” Starlight asked, figuring now was a good time as any to be open with each other.

Starlight could feel Jackpot tense up, and feared she struck the wrong chord. After a brief bit of contemplation, Jackpot finally worked the nerve for an answer.

“Vanhoover...I lived there, for a while. Few years. Me and a friend of mine. Counterfeit, was his name. When I got there, me and him, we became sort of business partners, you could say. Working the Vanhoover gambling scene. It wasn’t a big deal, so don’t get pissed or anything. Then it became more and more serious. Hit jobs. Embezzlements. Too much for me to handle, frankly. I left it all, headed north, fucked about on my own merit. Not that my own merit is worth a damn. And Counterfeit, well, we’re still friends of course. He stayed behind. What I was hoping, was to get some sort of help from the son of a bitch. But since Dust’s got us covered in the reliable friend department, I’m thinking we’ll be fine here.”

Starlight didn’t respond right away, absorbing it all while resisting the urge to drift off to the soothing music being spun around the record player.

“So I wasn’t the only one hiding something.”

“I said it wasn’t a big deal. Not as much as being the Celestia-damned student of a Celestia-damned alicorn princess.”

Starlight smiled.

“You really want to fight those ponies that are after us?” Starlight said, though she hoped it wouldn’t lead to an argument. Jackpot hesitated, also not wanting to aggravate Starlight.

“...In my experience, when a pony wants you dead, which just so happens to be the case for us...you’ve got one of two choices. Either be killed, or fight back.”

“I don’t think ponies want to cause harm to other ponies, intentionally. Sometimes they just have a...a warped perspective on things, that makes them act like worse ponies than they really are,” Starlight said, hoping she was right.

“Maybe...let’s say that….most ponies are like that. Good at heart, I mean. But there’s some ponies who aren’t like that. Something’s just not right with them, in the head. They thrive off of cruelty...and-and pain. Not everypony can be reasoned with,” Jackpot said.

Starlight said nothing, unsure whether she could allow herself to believe that. Certainly, she thought, there were some ponies who were beyond redemption, Chrysalis being the first to come to mind. And yet, despite all of the torment, and humiliation, and pain Starlight had suffered under the Changeling queen, a part of her, deep down, wanted to believe that there was a light, somewhere, deep inside of her sworn enemy’s heart.

“It’s only been a few months, you know, since I met you,” Jackpot said. Starlight glanced up at him, again, smiling.

“Feels like longer,” she said.

Jackpot relaxed his posture a little, and somehow Starlight could sense he was becoming emotional.

“Ponies like me don’t usually keep friends that long. Let alone friends like you,” he said, hesitantly. He squinted his eyes against the dim light of the nearby lamp.

“I never thought I’d make it this far, you know. I’d like to think there’s a purpose in that, staying alive so long, but I can’t seem to figure it out.”

Starlight shuffled in Jackpot’s lap, turning so that her back was on his knees, her face aimed right up at his.

“You told me that everypony was unique. Special, for different reasons. You think you’re any different?”

Jackpot snickered, impressed with her using his words against him.

“Some ponies are more special than others, I suppose...when I was a kid….my mother, she died, when I was very young. Too young to even remember her face very well. When she passed, it was just me and him, my father. I grew up in a shitty hovel of an apartment, not too unlike where we are right now. And he...never said anything that would let me know he cared about me. The only clue I ever got was that he made the effort to work the job he hated, to put food on my plate and keep a roof over my head. There was...once or twice he grabbed me by the neck, shook me around like he wanted to kill me, like he wanted the burden to be gone. He yelled at me, all the time, too. For always getting in trouble at school...and Celestia, he hated my friends. But I never complained about him, not to him, not to any of my friends, not even in my own head. I figured, he earned the right to treat me that way. For everything he had done for me, to raise me. And if I didn’t turn up a success, he’d never forgive me. Like I owed him or something. But what the hell was I gonna do? I was a poor piece of shit, living in the worst part of town, going to the worst school, where I got my ass beat every damn day, and got shitty grades. My result was predetermined. A dead end set at the start. And I think my father knew it, too. It was like...he was trying as hard as he could to stop me from ending up like him, but it was unavoidable. So when he went and had a heart attack when I was still in middle school, I wasn’t even sure I felt bad. How fucked is that? I just stood there for a while, at least an hour, looking at the bastard’s corpse, wondering what the hell he exactly wanted from me all this time. And I guess I’ll never know. Cut to now, where I’m on the run from some fucking assholes, hiding in this musty shack of shit. The only thing I’ve got, right now, is you, and Dust...and maybe Windward, that bastard…” Jackpot trailed off, forgetting what his point was. He realized, maybe, he just wanted to talk about the things he never got to talk about. Starlight watched Jackpot, who refused to make eye contact, embarrassed. She was quiet for a while, taking some time to dwell on it all.

“You’re not at the end, you know.” she said, softly. In her heart, she empathized with his struggles.

“The end?” Jackpot said, laughing, trying to repress his misery once more, “I’m way past the end. Like I said, I don’t know why I’ve made it this far.”

“You’ve made it this far because you’re not at the end. Do you love me?”

Jackpot stared down at her in shock, hesitating to answer such a rattling question.

“I...I think so,” he said, unsure how to handle or explain his feelings.

Starlight smiled back at him, excitedly.

“Well there, that’s one thing you’ve got to live for. And Dust, you care about her, right?”

“Right,” he said, weakly.

“And you’ve got...music...and...food...you know, the comforts in life, the things that make us happy. Maybe your father didn’t need you to be a success. Maybe he just wanted you to be happy.”

Jackpot wondered whether that was the case. He had never told anypony about his childhood before. Simply because, he didn’t think anypony would care.

He didn’t respond, instead he just continued sitting on that worn-out old couch, holding Starlight in his arms. They were mostly in darkness now, the lights of the city outside shining brighter than the dim lamps inside the apartment.

After a few more minutes of bliss in the dark living room, Jackpot and Starlight were both startled by the bedroom door opening, out stepping Elodea.

“Hey you two...I’m sleeping on the floor in the other room, Dust is in my room...you two ok with the couch?” she asked.

Jackpot nodded solemnly, while Starlight chirped an appreciative “yes.”

“Ok, well, goodnight,” Elodea said, sauntering off, tired from another long day.

After a half hour, Jackpot’s record had reached its end, and it was late enough for both ponies on the couch to mutually agree on going to bed. Jackpot laid down closer beside Starlight, who pressed herself against him, both to avoid falling off the couch, and to be closer to him. If it wasn’t for the consoling presence of each other, they would both be bothered by how uncomfortable the couch was. Yet, neither had felt as happy at that moment for a long time.

---

In the Forbidden Forest, Queen Chrysalis was struggling to keep up with the quick strides of her colt guide, who had freed her from her prison earlier that night. The moonlight was nearly completely blocked by the thick canopy of the jungle. Occasionally glimmers of light could be seen reflecting off of dew droplets or small ponds that they passed. The colt had freed Chrysalis of all her restraints, except for the metal ring fastened around her horn, locking her in her Starlight Glimmer disguise. She had yet to protest, focusing on staying with the colt, who was agile in his movements across the forest floor. Eventually, they came to a stop, along a large fallen tree, guarding a small treeless clearing. The air was cold in the dark forest, Chrysalis even able to see her breath in the air as she panted in exhaustion.

“Why did we stop?” she stammered.

“I thought you could use a rest. Look at you. You’ve never been here, have you?” said Savoy, the colt.

“If I did, I wouldn’t need you,” Chrysalis spat.

“Do not forget, Miss Glimmer, that without me you would still be in that prison to rot…”

“Where are we?” Chrysalis asked.

“There are no landmarks in the forest. The layout changes every now and then. There’s a curse on this forest, an evil curse. That’s why it’s so easy for ponies to get lost.”

“And you don’t?”

Savoy smirked as he climbed up onto a small cliff that rose from the ground. Chrysalis was still on ground level, catching her breath.

“There are patterns to the chaos of the jungle. But the curse is not what you should fear, Miss Glimmer,” Savoy said, coyly.

“And what is it then?”

“Beasts, monsters of all sorts. Some I have only heard of, never seen. But ponies have sworn to me they are real. Others, I have seen myself. More grotesque than any stretch of the imagination. They devour you, or rip you to pieces, or both.”

“You’re just an earth pony, how do you defend yourself?” Chrysalis asked, suspicious of these tall tales.

“I can run fast, and I know the forest better than the animals do. They simply wander, and kill anything in their path.”

“Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I can’t run fast...so why don’t you do us both a favor and take this thing off my horn?” Chrysalis demanded, pointing at her horn.

Perched above the small cliff, the mooncast silhouette of Savoy was silent.

“Hey! Did you hear me, I said-”

“I heard you, Miss Glimmer. But you’ll have to wait.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Hard to trust anypony donned the Scourge of the South.”

“Without you, I’d be dead in this jungle. I need you to guide me, and in return, I can offer you protection.”

“I don’t desire your protection, Miss Glimmer,” Savoy said, dryly, “I desire your payment for my services. Which...by the way, I’ve already taken the liberty of acquiring,” he said, revealing a stack of bits in his hooves. Chrysalis did a double take, checking her bag and realizing the colt had robbed her blind. Before she could react, the distinct sound of a distant drum beat made her jump. She glanced around into the darkness of the forest, though was unable to see anything.

“What was that?!” Chrysalis asked, admittedly slightly concerned.

Again, Savoy was silent.

“Damn it, twerp! Answer me!”

“I suppose there’s no more point in pretending anymore…” Savoy said, his tone changing to be more sinister. Chrysalis slowly turned back to glare up at him, unsure what he meant by that. She was caught off guard by another drum beat far away in the forest, just as Savoy began speaking.

“The ponies back in that town...they are fools, who meant to keep you alive and in good health, as a measly prisoner. I saw this plan, and I thought, they cannot do this...she will escape somehow and kill us all. So I urged myself to take action. And so I’ve brought you here.”

“You traitorous rat! You’ve sentenced yourself to die!” Chrysalis yelled, though found herself unable to follow up on her threats, as her magic was still being blocked by the ring around her horn. Savoy burst into laughter, as the distant drum beats began to increase in frequency. Chrysalis was sweating with fear, helpless in a foreign realm rife with unknown dangers.

“I asked myself how should I have you killed….feed you a poisonous fruit of the jungle, or perhaps let you be mauled by one of the beasts....but I decided that the cruelest punishment for you, who’s killed so many innocent ponies, ponies younger than me...I decided that the best punishment was to hand you over to him…”

At the last word, the drum beat in the distance grew louder, and faster, rapidly, and was joined by the sound of at least a hundred ponies, all muttering something in unison, in a language unfamiliar to Chrysalis. Screams and cries of laughter mixed in with the drums and the chanting, and came from every direction, creating a wall of chaotic, unsettling noise that seemed to surround Chrysalis on all sides. It was as if the entire jungle was alive, encircling her, closing in for the kill.

“Who?!” Chrysalis asked, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Savoy simply smiled, before turning around and scurrying off into the brush of the jungle. Chrysalis knew it would be impossible to follow him, and resorted to staying in the open area, where she could at least see more clearly beneath the moon light. She cursed the miserable Savoy for his treachery, and backed up into the center of the clearing. The noises, drums, and chanting continued to grow louder, until it was as if it was all upon her at once. Then, she felt a painful object hit her in the head, and then her view of the dark forest went completely black, and she heard no sound at all.

Comments

[Pete100]

Twilight had a tremendous headache. She was beginning to fear what she was doing to herself, that perhaps by the end of their virtuous quest, she would end up as corrupted as the monster they were hunting. She knew right from wrong, and yet, had never desired to see anypony be in pain so badly before. She began to feel the sting of guilt, for how she’d been treating her friends, for what she did to that dragon, and worst of all, for betraying Starlight’s memory. Deep down, she believed Starlight would disapprove of her desire for violent revenge. Thinking of her failed student put Twilight back into a dark place of remorse and regret, one that seemed inescapable.

Isn’t too late for that? Also, what does she mean by “betraying Starlight’s memory”?

“Because I know her! I trust her! And apparently none of you do, since you all thought Chrysalis was her!” Twilight yelled, angrily.

And she’s back to being crazy.

The other ponies all stayed quiet, ashamed for falsely blaming her. Twilight regretted her harshness almost instantly.

I mean you can’t really blame them.

“I’m sorry...I’m just...I just want to see her again, it’s just...I’m afraid she won’t like me anymore. That’s it…”

I would not have accepted that apology.

“I’ve treated you all poorly, and I’m sorry. I just...I just want to find Chrysalis, and put an end to all this madness.”

I don’t think that’s a good excuse.

“What would I do without you?” she said, glad she had friends to keep her heading past the brink of sanity.

Probably still be doing what you were doing not long ago.

“Yeah...one of the first things I bought when I got here,” she said, laughing at herself, “It was an impulsive buy. I thought I’d get to use it. Had to pawn all the records I got with it for the cash. That thing’s next, I guess but...I don’t want to get rid of it. I want it to motivate me, you know? Like maybe one day I can get those records back,” she said, forlornly.

I hope she does.

[the book keeper]

Thanks again for another good chapter. I wonder how Chrysalis is going to get out of this. I do hope that it wont be long until Twilight and Starlight meet again. I look foward to the next chapter and I hope you will be able to update again soon.