#stellar flare

Silly thought while waiting for my bus

“Luster, we’ve made our decision!”

It had only been a very short time since Luster Dawn finished visiting her grandparents, so she was shocked when her Nana Stellar swung in to tell her that they’d decided where she was going to live out the rest of her childhood. So soon!

“Already? I thought I was going to talk to some lawyers?”

“No need to worry about that! We’ve taken care of it for you!”

A sickly feeling settled in Luster’s stomach as she heard this, realizing that the decision was made without her input. Like all the time she spent with her grandparents was not meant for her to try them out, but rather the other way around.

But like everything else that had happened in her life lately, this was out of her control.

“Well…okay. But I can still have sleepovers at other places right? Like Gramma and Grampa’s? Or here?”

She asked, trying to see how much agency she still had in this situation. It was all going so fast that her head was spinning, she could hardly register what was going on.

“Sure, dear. But you’ll have everything you need in Sire’s Hollow!”

Stellar Flare practically waved her off.

“Now pack your things so I can bring you to your new home!”

Home.

That word felt so wrong to Luster. Home was where she grew up with her dads, not Sire’s Hollow or anywhere else. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to that.

Nonetheless, she started her slow walk to her guest bedroom to pack, trying to drag it out as much as she could. She really didn’t want to leave.

But then she heard another voice.

“What are YOU doing here?”

Both grandmare and grandfilly turned to find Honey Bee and Ironwing charging into the palace, glaring at Stellar as they came near.

Stellar’s jaw dropped upon seeing those two but she quickly regained her composure, turning her nose up at them.

“I’m here to pick up my granddaughter, of course! As per the agreement! Now, I would ask the same question of you.”

“We did NOT make an agreement, you sleazy—“

“Luster, our little filly!”

Honey was quick to speak over her husband before things could escalate, trotting over to smother her granddaughter. 

“Stellar here must be making things awfully confusing for you! Don’t worry! You’re coming with us!”

“Uh—“

“No you are not!”

Stellar snapped, her words more directed at Honey and Iron than at Luster.

“My granddaughter will NOT be living with an ex-convict!” 

She spat out the last word with disgust, her eyes darting straight towards Ironwing.

“My background check makes it clear that you two are unfit to be parents! I will not let you damage another child!”

This clearly struck a nerve with the couple. Honey gasped like she’d been stabbed while Ironwing puffed his chest out aggressively.

“ANOTHER child!? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Our boys are good stallions! Flash WAS a good stallion! You can’t just get up in our business like that and act like you’re such a perfect mom! First Base visits us all the time, how much did Sunburst visit you?”

“Well I never—“

“STOP!”

The three elderly ponies found themselves suddenly and firmly shoved back, their granddaughter shrieking in the middle.

For the first time since her parents died, she was crying.

“STOP FIGHTING! My Daddy and Papa are DEAD and I’m never gonna see them ever again!”

Luster was bawling at this point, more like a young filly than the near-teenager she was.

“And you don’t even care! You think I’m gonna do all the things my Daddy and Papa did but I’m NOT them! You don’t know me at ALL!”

“Oh, dear, yes I do—“

“NO!”

She smacked Stellar’s hoof away.

“You lost a son but I lost BOTH of my parents! I have NOPONY! I’m all ALONE!”

Luster broke down into sobs right then and there, and for once none of her grandparents said a word. There was nothing they could say to make it better. Finally they started to realize just how selfish they had been, fighting over Luster like she was a prize to be won rather than a filly who lost her parents. A filly who needed them to be there for her. 

It was long past time for them to shut up and let Luster tell them what she needed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Business Casual Next: In Her Own Hooves

Before she knew it, Luster Dawn was whisked away to spend a week with her Nana. She didn’t ask for any of this yet it was sprung on her so suddenly, having to choose a home even with everything else going on. She didn’t even have any time to let...the news set in.

Nana’s home was familiar, at least. Luster had visited her a number of times before everything happened. She could get around Sire’s Hollow just fine but it still didn’t feel like her home, it wasn’t where she belonged.

Stellar Flare herself was acting more like a tour guide than a family member, dragging Luster all around town to show her everything, including touring the renovated buildings and introducing her to her business partners. And they were only halfway through the itinerary! It was like she was trying to sell the town more than letting Luster explore it for herself.

When could a filly get a break?

This was the least busy day in the itinerary, with nothing planned until later in the afternoon, but Stellar seemed to be dedicating that time to acting as tour guide of the house.

“And this is your Papa’s old bookshelf, which I re-organized just last week! He was an avid reader you know, just like you. Look around, pick out the ones you like!”

Luster scanned the shelf and was almost overwhelmed by all the books she saw. She cared about her studies too but her Papa went hard in his; she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to live up to that. 

She picked out a few that caught her eye, some which just looked interesting but others she remembered her Papa reading for her.

That was suddenly a lifetime ago...

As Luster ran her hooves over the old books it began to sink in. She’d never hear his voice reading to her again. She’d never again have her dads come together to make up stories for her. She thought it was a childish game when she last saw them but now, what she wouldn’t give to go back to that...

“It feels like just yesterday Shimmy was reading these to him!”

Luster’s thoughts were interrupted by her Nana reminiscing herself, holding a photograph in her magical grasp.

“It’s such a shame she couldn’t see him before he passed. It’s been so long since she’s come home, I would have loved to see them together one more time. Especially after how she left.”

Luster said nothing. She’d never met her Aunt Sunset but she knew her Papa did miss her. But there was nothing she could do about it. Maybe Sunset was doing fine wherever she was, anyway. Luster sure wasn’t.

“There’s plenty of room on these shelves, for all the books you could possibly want. Why, you could get into the best magic schools with all this studying! If you live with me I’ll make sure you do. Just like I did for your Papa.”

Magic school wasn’t even on Luster’s radar right now, not after what happened. She wasn’t ready to think about a future without her dads. Her life as it was was already torn apart. She didn’t really want anything to do with this but she made herself appease Stellar anyway.

“I’ll think about it, Nana.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Snowballing Next: Business Casual

The moment she got the news, Luster Dawn’s world was turned upside down. Her parents were dead. Her parents were dead and she never got to apologize to them for the things she said. And it all happened in an instant. 

Before she could even think, she packed up and left the home she knew. Empress Cadence was kind enough to open her home up to Luster without hesitation. But the palace that normally felt like her second home was now a jarring area of transition, like this wasn’t where she was supposed to be. None of this was supposed to happen.

Luster didn’t have time to even process it all, it had happened so fast. She was still in just as much shock as the day she found out. She almost couldn’t believe it happened, she wanted to believe it was all a dream and her dads were coming back. But she knew intellectually that they weren’t, so she was left with this gaping hole in her heart as she struggled to let it sink in. She didn’t have time to be sad yet, she hadn’t shed a single tear.

There was no time to cry when her grandparents were swarming around her constantly.

The past few weeks had been a flurry of visitors; some were friends coming to offer their condolences but most of the time it was Luster’s grandparents cycling in and out constantly. They were rarely around before, why were they so obsessed with her now?

Both her Nana and her Gramma were visiting today, but they didn’t seem to have much reason to be there as they made small talk with their granddaughter.

“You got a pretty sweet deal getting to live in a castle, Luster! You lucked out, you could have been sent to an orphanage-“

Honey Bee received a sharp nudge from Stellar Flare at her insensitive comment, the latter quickly rushing to mitigate the damage.

“The Empress was very kind to let you stay here with her, I know how overwhelming this must have been for you. But if you ever want a change of scenery, Sire’s Hollow is just a train ride away.”

Stellar leaned in to hug Luster, who sat there stiffly and in no way welcoming of any embrace.

“Or Manechester! Grampa and I have your dad’s old bed waiting for you whenever you need it!”

Honey helped herself to the group hug.

Luster, however, was left with lots of questions.

“You just said I’m lucky to be here, in this castle. Why would I want to leave?”

Luster reached out her hooves, pushing her two grandmothers away.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

Stellar and Honey traded a glance and nodded.

“Well Luster, since your parents are dead-“

Stellar nudged Honey again and continued for her.

“You see, we’re your next of kin so eventually you’re going to live with one of us. We have a few little things to work out first but either way you’ll be seeing a lot more of us.”

“In the meantime you can visit us and see how you like it! I tell you, Manechester is a great city to live in!”

“And Sire’s Hollow is a wonderful town! Quaint but modern thanks to all the work your Nana has done.”

Stellar winked smugly.

“I have arranged for you to come at once!”

Wait, SHE arranged this? Without even asking Luster? Nana and Gramma were just going to make that decision for her? Not that she felt strongly about visiting her grandparents in itself but this was too much for her. She wasn’t ready to decide where she would spend the rest of her childhood. Especially when it was with ponies she barely had a relationship with. 

“Well, I...”

Luster struggled to find words in a situation that was out of her hooves.

“I get to decide which one I like, right? And I can come back here if I want to?”

Her grandmothers smiled at her condescendingly, like their minds were already made up without her but they would entertain her with the illusion of a choice. Like she was a foal being made to choose between cauliflower and broccoli.

“Sure, dear. You can put a word in with our lawyers about it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Pampering Next: Study

Luster Dawn felt kind of bad about blowing up at her dads that night. It was true that she DID need to set some boundaries, she wasn’t a little filly after all. But even she had to admit that yelling at them was a little much. At least she’d get to apologize and talk to them about it when they got back from their business trip.

For now, though, her grandparents had come over to spend time with her for the weekend. She mostly only saw her Nana, Gramma, and Grampa on holidays and special occasions only, but “just because” seemed to be the occasion for now. Not that she minded too much.

Her Nana Stellar Flare leaned over her shoulder as she studied.

“I heard you’ve been learning some new spells in school! Do you mind telling me about them?”

“We heard from the grapevine that you’re studying under Queen Twilight! That’s a really big honor!”

Gramma Honey Bee chimed in from across the room.

“Put in a good word for us, will you?”

Honey nudged her husband, Ironwing, playfully as he said this.

“You’re just looking to get pardoned!”

This was the same overbearing behavior that Luster had gotten angry at her dads for, so she was a little peeved that her grandparents were doing it too. But she didn’t have to deal with them very often so for now the least she could do was entertain them.

“I’m not studying under her yet, I still have a couple years to go and more exams to prepare for. But hopefully I will. Right now I’m just learning basic transformation spells, like turning apples into oranges.”

But her grandparents still acted like she was already studying under royalty.

“That’s wonderful dear! You were always such a smart cookie!” 

Stellar pinched her cheek.

Luster tried to play along.

“Well thanks, I’m going to try to perfect the apples-to-oranges spell so I can show my dads when they get home.”

There was a sudden shift in the room as she said this, the faces of all three of her grandparents dimming as if their smiles were masks falling off.

Stellar put on another smile which seemed a lot more forced.

“I’m sure they’ll love it...!”

Honey suddenly broke out into sobbing.

“Oh, I can’t take this anymore! Your parents aren’t coming back, Luster! They’re dead!”

“Honey, you weren’t supposed to tell her that!”

Stellar’s own eyes filled with tears as she pulled Luster into a desperate embrace.

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

Luster’s eyes were still dry. She was shocked. Was she hearing this right? Were they really...?

“W-what? How? When?”

Ironwing cleared his throat, delivering an explanation through his own tears.

“We found out last night. There...there was an accident. An avalanche. It took out the whole crew, including...”

He stopped, unable to go on.

Stellar shot a tearful glare at Honey and Iron.

“You two should be ashamed of yourselves! She wasn’t ready! WE weren’t ready!”

Luster barely listened to this exchange, she barely felt their attempts to comfort her. Instead those two horrible words kept ringing in her ears.

They’re dead.

They’re dead.

They’re dead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Braveface Next: Snowballing