A Gem in the Sunlight

Shinning Peasant

The full moon shined bright over the Everfree Forest. Deep in the forbidding wilderness, a clearing started to form, revealing an unnatural path that was built by creatures of intelligence. At the end of this path laid the oddly formed opening to a cave. The entrance of this cave was carved out of stone to look like that of a giant bear head with its jaws wide open. And resting on the forehead of this carving was the image of an eight-pointed golden star. The cave was designed specifically to resemble that of an Ursa Major.
Out of the midnight sky descended a dark object. A black chariot, with spiked blood red wheels, and one sole occupant in a black robe at the reins. The vehicle was pulled by a single crimson red dragon, that was no bigger than a teenager of his kind. As the chariot landed on the stone path, it came to a screeching halt that could only be compared to metal against a chalkboard. The cloaked figure stepped off the chariot and pulled the hood off his head to reveal his face to the starlit sky. He was a unicorn stallion with a smoke gray coat and jet black mane and tail. He had glaring red eyes. And a set of red crystal quartz for a cutie mark.
"Here's your stop, Sombra!" a red dragon announced breaking the silence of the night
"Good work Garble. But make it a smoother landing next time!" The stallion, Sombra, scowled at the red dragon now identified as Garble.
"Whatever, geezer." Garble grumbled unhitching himself from the chariot.
Sombra turned his head to look down the path, his ruby eyes gazing directly at the cave with a grin slowly spreading on his muzzle. 'Finally, after all these years, the object hidden within would be mine!' Sombra thought.
"Hey Sombra, remind why we came to 'this hole in a rock' again." Only for the ignorant dragon with rocks on the brain to break the unicorn from his thoughts.
"Because this is where the Goldstar Amulet is kept. After 30 years of searching, it is finally within my grasp." An exasperated Sombra said for the nth time this night to the rock brained dragon. 'Honestly why do I even keep him around?'
The unicorn proceeded to walk forward towards the cave. He was a short distance away from the entrance when something stopped him. A bright purple aura started to glow from the carving's eyes. It expanded into a dome around the cave with white stars on it that, when connected, formed the Ursa constellation. When completely formed, I looked like a sphere display of the starry sky.
The ground started to shake beneath Sombra's hooves. He turned his gaze to the nearby line of trees. Making its way through the forest, was a large, lumbering, dark figure. When it was close by, the shaking stopped. The creature stood up on its hind legs and broke the top of the tree line. In the moonlight, it was revealed to be a full-grown Ursa Major. The star on its forehead glowed sapphire-blue as it towered over Sombra and Garble.
The creature spoke, "Who dares defile these sacred grounds?."
Sombra looked up and responded, "I am Sombra, Unicorn Sorcerer!."
"What do you seek here?" asked the Ursa.
Sombra answered one again, "I seek the amulet that lies within."
The starry creature growled at the intruder then declared. "This place is protected by Ancient and Old magic against the unworthy. The only one mare who is worthy may enter, 'The Gem in the Sunlight'."
With that, the dome around the cave vanished and the Ursa retreated back into the forest. Sombra turned around angry, 'a mare! A weak pathetic mare is worthy enough to enter this place yet I am not!? No matter... I will simply do what I always do: manipulate from the shadows.' Sombra thought to himself.
Sombra stopped at his chariot and Garble spoke up. "What now old-timer?."
Sombra gave the teenage dragon a glare. "A minor setback. I will not let one pony deny me what is rightfully mine. Especially a weak mare." The pony snarled. The sorcerer pulled the hood of his robe back over his head and boarded the chariot. With a slap of the reins, Garble took off into the night sky. It looked like Sombra had a new challenge to face. 'Just you wait 'Gem in the Sunlight'... soon... soon you will help me get that amulet.' "Let's return to Canterlot Palace. I have something I need to do to obtain my goal."
()()()()
Dawn broke over the capital city of Canterlot. It wasn't the largest city in Equestria, but it was the wealthiest. Not only was it a center of commerce, but also fine art. Some of the greatest artists were found there. Much of the economy and industries of Equestria were run from this city as well. And it was also home to Equestria's elite, including most of the nobles and large business owners. But most importantly, it was home to the Royal Family. King Galaxus and his 2 sons. The elder, Solaris, Prince of the Day and the younger, Artemis, Prince of the Night.
But on this particular morning, there was a commotion in the merchant's marketplace. The Royal Guards were in pursuit of somepony. Led by commander Silver Sword, they chased a suspected thief. Eventually, in the upper class part of the market, they cornered and surrounded the pony. It was a white coated mare with a pink mane and tail. She was just slightly taller than an average sized adult mare. She wore a ragged looking brown robe with a hood over her head and a horn visible, making her appear to be a unicorn. And on her back was a pair of saddlebags that looked to be filled with apples.
"We have you surrounded, thief! Give up!" shouted the grey pegasus commander.
From a distance, a crowd gathered and looked as the guards moved in on their target. A unicorn couple from the elite class noticed the commotion. One was a gray stallion with a well styled black mane and tail, wearing a pair of spectacles. The other was a tan mare sporting a teal and white mane and tail, wearing pink pearl earrings. By name, they were Jet Set and Upper Crust, a pair of very successful business owners. And they didn't like who they saw.
"Dear, who is that ruffian over there?" asked Jet Set to his wife.
Upper Crust replied "Haven't you heard, honey? She's that thieving peasant, Celestia." She almost seemed to spit the mare's name out as if it left a bad taste. "She steals whatever she wants, whenever she wants and doesn't care who she disturbs. The guards have been after her for years. She's nothing more than a 'street nag'." She answered her husband.
"Well, in that case, I do hope they catch her this time." said the elite stallion. By the time they had past, the guards had almost every escape route for the peasant mare cutoff. And they were just about to make the arrest.
"We have you this time, street nag!" said one of the guards.
At that moment, something swooped out of the sky. A yellow and fire-red bird hovered over the circle of guards. It let out a bright golden flash of light. The guards were blinded and Celestia took the chance to slip through them and get away.
"HA HA! Great work Philomena. They'll never outsmart a phoenix." Celestia laughed in humor while running down the street.
She ran down a flight of stairs to one of the lower levels of the city. There, she went onto another street full of ponies, all rushing to begin their day. Celestia bobbed and weaved through the crowd as Philomena followed her from overhead. The guards were already hot on their trail again and they had to keep moving. Celestia neared the end of the street, she lit her horn in golden aura and cast a spell. The guards ran after the rag robed pony back out into the crowd then out once more and down into an alleyway. They ran after the figure thinking it to be their target. But as they caught up with it, it vanished. It was just an illusion.
At that same time, Celestia broke from the sea of ponies on the other side of the plaza and onto a walkway leading to the middle class part of Canterlot. She made her way down a row of houses, another group of guards spotted her from behind. "You! Halt!" one of them shouted.
'The chase starts up again.' Celestia thought as the guards immediately started to pursue her at top speed. Celestia ran straight down the street, dodging everypony in the way. It eventually turned into a town square with a fountain in the middle. Ponies would gather here to enjoy themselves and conduct other activities. Looking around, Celestia saw the perfect place to hide. When the guards got the square, they saw no sign of their target. They saw only the normal foals playing and ponies talking. The only notable thing was a large, bulky white Pegasus with tiny wings flexing his muscles. Just an ordinary showoff. So the guards moved on.
As soon as the guards left, Celestia stepped out from behind the muscular stallion. She had been moving her body in tune with his to hide. She ran out of the square and toward the outer limits of the city. As she came on to one on the main roads, Silver Sword and his guards caught sight of her again. Once again, they started to run after her. Celestia galloped down the road and turned a corner leading straight back into market place again. She went into a large shop and ran up the stairs to the top floor. The guards followed her to the top where they had her cornered at a window.
"No more tricks! Your under arrest." said Silver Sword.
"Then come and get me." replied Celestia.
The guards all rushed at her at once. At that moment, Celestia jumped out the window. She seemed to float in midair, but her horn wasn't lit, so no magic. While the guards all tumbled out the window. they fell four stories before landing in a wagon full of what looked like dirt. But the sign on the side had 'FRESH MANURE' written in bright red letters.
Meanwhile Celestia continued to float in midair for a few moments, admiring the humorous position she had put the guards in. Then she drifted off over the streets. She floated over a half dozen blocks before seeing where she desired to land. Celestia started to descend towards the ground. As she did, the wind caught her robe, and exposed what appeared to be a pair of white wings. She touched down on the ground and folded her wings back under her robe. Celestia was no ordinary unicorn, she was an alicorn.
"Finally, we lost them! That was great work Philomena. But you did cut it a little close." Celestia said to her Phoenix friend.
Philomena landed on her back and replied. "Sorry. But you try blending in with other birds when you're flame-colored. Besides, I got there in time, didn't I."
Celestia had a special sense for understanding what animals were saying. And that included Philomena. They both never thought much of it. But they were happy to be able to converse with each other intelligently.
Celestia sighed and said "True. Thank you, Philomena. At least that chase worked up our appetites."
"Yeah! Did you see the look on their faces when they landed in that manure?" Phiomena cackled as best as a bird could, it was funny if a bit messy and stinky for the guards at least.
Celestia lit the golden aura of her horn with an eye roll and a smile on her muzzle, lifting a couple of apples out her saddlebag in a golden aura. "And now, breakfast is served!" She levitated one of the apples over to Philomena, who grasped it in her talons and started to eat it.
Celestia bit into her own apple, swallowing it in large chunks. The sweet taste of apple juice after every bite a fresh counter to the days she would eat some of the ruffage from the forest on days she felt the heat of the guards was rather high. Soon, both her and Philomena had eaten their first course right down to the core. Celestia levitated two more apples out her bag. She was about to give another to her feathered friend when something caught her attention. From around the corner of a building, she could see what looked like a child. She turned around to see a small grey pegasus filly with a blonde mane and tail. Then from around the corner came a pegasus mare of the same colors. Both ponies looked very thin and starved. It was safe to assume that they too were among those under poverty in Canterlot's peasantry. It both saddened and angered Celestia to see such ponies being ignored and just left to die on the streets especially any of the Pegasi and Earth Pony races when the Royals weren't out and about from the palace in their public parades.
Celestia turned to face the mother and daughter pair. She smiled and said "Hello, who are you?."
The mother put her hoof around her daughter and answered "I'm Derpy! And this is my daughter, Ditsy."
Celestia knew what it was like to go without food and made a determined decision. She levitated half of the total amount of apples from her bags over to them. She smiled and said "Are you two hungry? I can spare some food if you'd like."
"Would you really do that?" Derpy questioned unsurely.
"Of course, it's no problem. I have more than enough, but you and your daughter need it far more than I do." Celestia answered. "I can assure you this gift has no strings attached to it."
"Thank you, miss." Derpy smiled at the generous gesture. "May Harmony continue to bless you."
And with that, Derpy and Ditzy started to flap their wings and float in mid air. They picked the apples up in their forelegs and then flew off toward whatever part of town they called home. Celestia knew she had probably just given them the most food they'd had in some time from how thin they looked. Even if she had to give up a few of her own meals, she was glad she could help. But this good feeling was interrupted by Philomena angrily pecking at Celestia's head.
"Ow! What's that for!" Celestia said while rubbing the sore spot with her hoof.
Philomena leered at Celestia. "You just gave up half of our entire load. Why?"
"I don't need a reason to be kind to others. Especially ponies that are far worse off then us and are too weak to even think of getting away from the guards out of fear of being banished from Canterlot. That is the punishment for thieving within Canterlot after all." Celestia pointed out to Philomena.
Celestia levitated two more apples out of her other bag and gave one to Philomena. She started to trot down along the street while eating and thinking to herself. As she walked, a metallic object around her neck swung back and forth, gleaming in the sunlight. It was a necklace that looked like a sun in a half circle. It was a very special object to Celestia, as it was the thing she had to remember her mother by.
"Hey Celestia! Do you think we're going to have to keep living like this forever?" asked Philomena.
Celestia answered "No, Philomena. Someday, we're going to make an honest living. We'll live in a big house that's all ours, we'll wear fancy clothes, and eat food we actually bought... only harmony knows... Maybe she even has it so we even find love." The thought of romance made her blush.
"All that would be nice, wouldn't it? Too bad stallions are pretty rare to come by in the mare's world. All I have to say is that stallion better be fireproof." Philomena stated with a grin on her beak. The two of them were coming to the end of the street when they saw a large crowd gathering. The crowd were all standing around the main road leading to the palace, peaking Celestia's interest.
"I wonder what's going on out there." Celestia missed as she trotted in the direction of the 'celebration'.
"Well let's go find out!" Philomena announced landing on Celestia's back until they got closer taking off like a rocket with a powerful flap of her wings.
The crowd was filled with an assortment of ponies from all walks of life, so it would be easy for somepony like Celestia to hide among the populace even if she was a bit taller than most, making her way through and closer to the front but a little back just in case. At the same time Philomena hovered over everypony keeping a keen eye on everything from above. Celestia came to the front of the gathering with Philomena landed on her back once more in a graceful swoop. Both turned their heads to the sound of many hooves hitting stone in a slow march down the street and saw the source of the commotion. A precession of royal guards was making its way towards the palace. And in the middle of the parade was a green and gold carriage being pulled by earth pony stallions in tuxedos.
The carriage obviously meant it was one of Canterlot's elite. 'But, which one is it and why are they going to the palace?' Celestia wondered while trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. Among all the chattering ponies in the crowd, Celestia listened in on a group of three gossiping mares that were nearby.
"Another suitor for the Crown Prince, huh?" Asked one mare in a whisper.
"This has got to be the seventh or eighth one!" Another exclaimed with a groan through not heard over the roaring crowd as the parade came closer.
"Just when is he going to pick a bride, anyway?" Asked another mare.
Celestia had heard that the Crown Prince, Solaris, had come of age recently and his father the current King expected him to choose a bride. The streets of Canterlot were abuzz with gossip about it. But she had also heard that the Crown Prince had turned down all the noble mares presented to him thus far. Many ponies were wondering why a bride hadn't been chosen yet. It was obvious this was another suitor attempting to present herself.
The precession was moving along smoothly, until something unexpected happened. A small Pegasus filly fell out of the sky. Celestia recognized who it was, little Ditzy, and she landed right in front of the carriage. Both of the earth ponies pulling it reared up in surprise. At that moment, Derpy landed next to her daughter.