Stargaze

By Princess Periwinkle

• May 11, 2013




Age: 18

Gender: Male

Species: Earth Pony

Cutie Mark: Stars and a crescent moon. (Meaning to be divulged)

Personality: Very kind - will do almost anything for a friend. Has a tendency to tear up a lot.

Backstory: Here's an extremely short story I wrote about him, in which he learns he has value.<br /><br />-----<br /><br />A warm, cloudless night, sitting on a balcony at the edge of Canterlot with a pony that means the world to me.<br /><br /> <br /><br />My name is Stargaze. Let me tell you about how I ended up here.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Winter was coming. The first hint of the sharp air heralded the news one evening as I walked toward the edge of the city. Canterlot was beautiful by day, but when the night fell the sky surpassed all in its glory. I love the stars. Autumn Breeze would sometimes join me on the balcony, and those nights were the best. Other nights she would go to the other side of town -- to the mountain. She loved to climb to a certain ledge that overlooked the valley and paint anything and everything that came to her mind. She was like that. There was always something on her mind, and when there was -- she drew it.<br /><br /> <br /><br />I really owe my life to that pony. At school, I'm usually the butt of everyone's jokes. Ponies laugh at me because of my uniqueness. Mother says it makes me special that I tear up over just about anything, but if that's "special" then I'd rather be normal. Autumn found me one day when I was at my lowest, and I was forever changed by the light of her friendship. I couldn't ask for a more kind, caring pony to call a friend.<br /><br /> <br /><br />She didn't come that night. Maybe it was because of the dark clouds moving in. Wait. It's not supposed to rain, is it?<br /><br /> <br /><br />It was only a matter of time before the clouds had completely engulfed the stars, and I slowly turned around to head home. It was a twenty minute walk, so I decided I had better get a start. Just then the clouds opened up, and it was not rain, but -- Snow? Had it really gotten that cold?<br /><br /> <br /><br />The amount of snow pouring out of the clouds quickly turned from annoying to frightening. I began to doubt I would be able to make it home through the blizzard. My trot quickened to a gallop as I raced the elements down the dark and empty streets of Canterlot. Everypony was inside because of the erratic weather, no doubt. Yeah, I would sure hate to be caught outside on a night like tonight, I thought sarcastically. Suddenly another pony that had been on my mind brought me to a full stop in the middle of a snow drift that rose up to my knees. Autumn.<br /><br /> <br /><br />By the time I reached the mountain I was cursing myself for not thinking to stop at home to grab something warmer to wear, but I couldn't think about that just now. I threw myself at the mountain -- hooves slipping and body shivering. It must have dropped thirty degrees in the past hour.<br /><br /> <br /><br />It was agonizingly slow going, and as I finally reached up to the ledge to pull myself up I called, "Autumn? Are you there?"<br /><br /> <br /><br />No answer. I pulled myself onto the ledge. No pony. Something was not right. Autumn never stayed at home in the evenings. Her home life was... well I didn't really want to think about that right now. In all the time I had known her, she had never mentioned anywhere else she went in the night. I decided to check on her house next... except --<br /><br /> <br /><br />A sudden gust of wind nearly bowled me over. So... cold... must be twenty degrees under. The way down looked steep and foreboding, not to mention slippery and covered with snow. The white mass was growing at an alarming rate, but I didn't have time to wonder about why. I crept to the edge of the ledge and looked down, gauging my escape route.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Slowly -- carefully -- I dropped one hoof down to a hoofhold below me. My limbs becoming numb weren't helping. "Some hero," I snapped at myself, "You come up here on a rescue mission and now look at you..." The tears were coming, "Don't cry you stupid foal!" I had meant to yell it, but it barely came out as a gasp. My body was screaming at me to stop the feeling of bitter cold. My lungs felt like they were about to collapse, and I would be left out here alone... all alone. The first tear broke through my squinted eyelids.<br /><br /> <br /><br />What happened next was a blur. First my hoof slipped off the hold. Next came a scrambling of all four limbs, searching wildly for something -- anything to catch myself with. I was able to grab on to an outcropping or two on the way down, impeding my fall, but not breaking it. All the snow and loose rocks came down with me as I plummeted down -- WHUMP. Good thing for all that snow, I suppose it padded my fall a little.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Get... up. C'mon! My body refused to respond to my brain's frenzied commands. Vision fading... please, no!<br /><br /> <br /><br />A yellow shape moving in what was left of my fuzzy vision. A light. Warmth? Blackness.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The first thing I saw when I awoke was sunlight filtering through a small, solitary window in a bare room. I knew this place. It must be morning. I was feeling a little better, but when I saw her sleeping on the floor, my heart broke.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Autumn saved me. She had taken me to her house and let me sleep in her bed. I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and she opened an eye.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Instantly, she was at my side. "How are you feeling?" She asked.<br /><br /> <br /><br />"Terrible," I replied truthfully. "What happened?"<br /><br /> <br /><br />"It's a long story, I think," Autumn answered. "And I believe you should start."<br /><br /> <br /><br />It was painful to recall. Still, she deserved to know why she had had to save me. I told her about the clouds, the snow, and the rescue mission. Everything up to the fall. "I think I saw you right before I blacked out... what were you doing outside anyways?"<br /><br /> <br /><br />There was not an immediate answer. I looked up from the pillow I had been burying my face in as I recounted the recent events. Autumn's eyes were sparkling, but she was smiling when she spoke, "I..." her voice was wavering. I didn't understand why. "I'm touched. Th-thank you."<br /><br /> <br /><br />I couldn't stand it. She had no right to thank me. Since when had I done anything for her? She had saved me from the pit of despair when we first met, and she continued to stand by me through all my blunders through the friendship. Now, she had saved my very life... and she was thanking me? My eyes were burning, so I flopped my head back into my pillow. Finally, a single utterance escaped me. "Why?"<br /><br /> <br /><br />"Starry --"<br /><br /> <br /><br />"I've been nothing but a burden on you," I protested. "You've been the light, you have been the one who carried me.. How can you thank me for being the darkness in your life?"<br /><br /> <br /><br />I wasn't expecting her to say what she said next. "Stargaze, you're exactly what I need. You're right, I am a light. Before I met you, the only ponies I knew were shallow, unsympathetic creatures who cared not for the light. I was ready to run away, you know. By the time I met you I already had a plan to sneak on a train going anywhere to escape my life at home. My light was covered up, because no pony cared to see it. When I saw you, you were sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. If I hadn't wanted to go to the most remote corner of the room to write a note to my mother I would never have seen you." I looked up at Autumn staring at me with those wide, passionate eyes. "Remember? You saw the tears in my eyes, and you just came up and gave me a hug."<br /><br /> <br /><br />"Which was super awkward," I mumbled.<br /><br /> <br /><br />She giggled slightly, but her face immediately returned to it's former graveness. "You cared, Starry! That was all I really needed! My father certainty didn't, and no one else at school cared about anything more than Sapphire Shores' new single! Everypony needs someone who actually cares enough to listen to them. Without you I would have succumbed to my own feelings, and for that I can never thank you enough. That is why I need you, Starry, that is why I love you."<br /><br /> <br /><br />I felt strangely warm and chilled at the same time. I opened my mouth, but I found that I could not say a word.<br /><br /> <br /><br />-----<br /><br /> <br /><br />The sky was clear that night, as I sat on the balcony at the edge of Canterlot. Autumn was next to me painting away like always. Since the freak Windigo incident my parents were wary of me going out alone, but I just used that as an excuse to stick around Autumn. I tore my eyes away from the Sagittarius to look down at what she was painting. It was her and me, huddled together in a massive snow drift. She noticed my glance. "What are you thinking?" She asked.<br /><br /> <br /><br />"This is a harsh world we live in," I said. "Everypony deserves a little happiness when they let their kindness shine in this night." I threw my hoof around her and drew her close. The night was still young.