//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: My Little Pony: Lights and Shadows - Part III // by OmegaTale //------------------------------//                 The streets of Canterlot remained quiet as the sun rose on the horizon.  The golden gleam cast bright light through the dark of the ending night.  It was quite beautiful, even though the stars faded from the sky, the lands beyond the suspended, castle-city brightening and filling with colors.                 Princess Luna rarely watched the sun rise anymore, she had always lowered the moon and immediately gone to rest, having been awake all night protecting the Dream Realm.  There was the time that Starlight Glimmer switched her and Celestia’s cutie marks, but that seemed like more of an exception, given the circumstances they were in.                 She watched from her balcony as the sun continued to brighten the sky.  Her gaze then moved from the horizon to the distant town of Ponyville, where she knew her attention had to turn.  She looked away, pacing in a small circle as she thought hard about how best to approach this.                 Stopping and turning to look back at the town, she nodded, thinking she knew how best to proceed.  She cast a quick spell and spoke boldly.  “Discord, come to me imm-”                 “You called?” Discord replied, appearing in a flash as he floated in the air behind her, paw and talon tucked under his chin as his tail flicked back and forth in curiosity.                 Luna sighed, turning to him.  “Must you behave like a foal all the time?”                 Discord tilted his head, which spun about upside-down on his neck.  “If that’s what it means to have a little fun here and there with best-princess.” He chuckled, winking in a certain direction for no apparent reason.                 “This is serious, Discord.” She huffed, shaking her head.  “We must all play our part in bringing peace back to Equestria, and so we need Twilight and her friends.”                 Discord chuckled.  “Obviously you haven’t been to see them, otherwise you’d know why they remain in Ponyville.”                 Luna shook her head again.  “Twilight is a princess, her duty to Equestria comes before all else.”                 The draconequus’ head rolled back into place and he landed on the ground, standing upright.  “Have you any idea how demoralized she has become?  Do you have even an inkling of a clue of how devastated she and the girls are?” His voice hinted at some anger inside of him.                 “I understand that-” Luna began to say.                 “Oh, you understand, do you?” Discord cut her off, eyes glowing faintly.  “Where exactly were you when that dragon and King Sombra trapped everyone behind a wall of crystals?” He snapped.  “Where exactly were you when Twilight was caught helpless in Sombra’s nightmare spell?”                 Luna glared back at him, although it was a weakened glare at hearing these points.  “I need not such words from the likes of you-”                 “Where EXACTLY were you when Starfall sacrificed his very life for Twilight?” Discord continued, silencing the princess.  “I was there, I saw everything.  His heart stopped, he was gone.  Only when I was finally free of that dark spell was I able to save him, and even then I knew the chances of that spell restarting his heart were little to none.” He glared at her, breaking her gaze.  “So don’t stand there and tell me that you understand.  You weren’t even there.”                 Her legs trembled slightly, but then their strength returned in a burst as her wings spread and her eyes glowed bright white.  “Do not presume to tell me that I cannot understand!” She yelled at him, her Royal Canterlot Voice creating a shockwave in its wake.  “I who attempted to take my own sister’s life over a thousand years ago!  Only to spend those thousand years locked away without the slightest whisper to keep me company!”                 Eyes closing and muscles relaxing, Luna folded her wings back up.  She turned away from the draconequus ever so slightly, taking in a deep breath.                 “Do you think me heartless?” Luna asked him quietly.  “Given the chance, I would have taken Starfall’s place without a moment’s pause.”  She went silent for a moment, trying to keep her personal emotions from reaching the surface.  She turned back to him, opening her eyes, which were now normal again.  “I made a mistake, and the weight of that mistake has been bearing down upon me ever since I heard of what happened that night.  Our feelings are irrelevant, we must all of us work together if we are to overcome this.”                 Discord had calmed down the moment Luna went quiet from her outburst.  He looked at her with an unamused gaze for the longest time, but then glanced over at Ponyville as well.  “Well then, what’s your plan?”                 Luna shook her head.  “I don’t have one.  Bring Twilight to me, I must speak with her.”                 Shaking his head, Discord crossed his arms.  “No.  If you want to speak with her, you’re going to have to go yourself.”                 The princess looked at him, trying to seem aggravated even though it was hard to be after hearing that.  “I must remain here, with Celestia out searching-”                 Discord snapped his paw and a mirror image of Luna appeared up from the floor.  “Problem solved.” He said, arms still crossed.  “Besides, I’ve yet to see you visit him, you know.”                 Letting out a sigh, Luna nodded slowly.  “Very well…” She then looked up at him.  “You know, when you want to be, you are quite the loyal friend.”                 The Lord of Chaos scoffed at her.  “You’d be surprised at what you’d pick up from the girls if you spent more time around them.”  He then vanished with another snap of his paw, leaving the princess alone on the balcony.                 Looking out at Ponyville once more, Luna was left deep in thought.                 Opening up the door to the castle library, Fluttershy peered inside, immediately spotting Twilight asleep in her reading chair.  Sneaking inside, she whispered, “Twilight…?”                 The princess stirred about a little, turning over on the chair as she worked at finding a more comfortable position.  Fluttershy inched further in, walking up to Twilight’s side.  There was a book on the floor, she must have fallen asleep reading.  When she leaned down to get a closer look, Fluttershy saw the title, “Starswirl’s Theory of Magic”.  The pegasus recognized it immediately, it was a book Twilight read when she was feeling stressed, as she had mentioned to her friends before.                 Looking back up at the princess, Fluttershy lifted her hoof to Twilight’s shoulder, shaking it gently.  “Twilight?” She repeated, still in a whisper.                 The purple alicorn stirred about again and then fell still.  Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked over at her friend.  “Oh… hello Fluttershy.” She slowly glanced around for a moment, returning her gaze to the pegasus.  “I fell asleep again… didn’t I?”                 Fluttershy nodded and Twilight sat up in her chair, stretching out her legs as she looked over the sides for the book.  Upon spotting it, she used her magic to lift it up and place it on the table.                 “Twilight, can I ask you something…?” Fluttershy said quietly, sounding more shy than usual.                 The princess looked to her.  “Of course, Fluttershy.  Here, have a seat.” She used her magic to pull another chair closer, the pegasus using her wings to fly up and onto it.                 Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, rubbing one of them against the other nervously.  “Why do you think Shadow ran away?”                 Twilight took in a deep, quiet breath, shaking her head.  “I don’t know.  But whatever the reason, it must be tied to what happened to him… that night.” She replied, trailing off near the end at the thought of the gala.                 Unable to react much, Fluttershy sat there, thinking.  She looked up to her friend.  “I want to go look for him… but I’m afraid to go alone.”                 Twilight didn’t need to ask why, she knew all too well that the thought of being out in the world while Stormclaw and Chrysalis were at large was terrifying.  Now that she knew the black dragon was intending to take her life, the princess wanted her royal guard more than ever… which actually may have contributed to her defiance at leaving his bedside.                 She sighed.  “Fluttershy… I miss Shadow too, it’s just…” She sighed again, this time deeper.                 “We all miss him.” A voice spoke out from the doorway.  The two mares turned to see Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Starlight, and Trixie all walking in.  Pinkie then continued.  “You two aren’t alone there, you know?”                 “We know y’all have been hurtin’,” Applejack added in.  “But Shadow is our friend too.”                 Rarity nodded.  “As is Starfall, but we aren’t doing either of them any good by waiting here.”                 “We should be out there, helping our friends find them.” Spike spoke up.                 Rainbow flipped up into the air and punched at it with her hooves.  “Yeah, and those three troublemakers that put Starfall in that bed!”                 Twilight looked at all of them, eyes shimmering as their spirits lifted her own.  She then turned her eyes to Trixie.  “You too, Trixie?”                 The blue unicorn swished back her mane.  “Starfall is a great and powerful friend,” She said enthusiastically.  “I, for one, do not plan on letting anything happen to him.”                 Starlight nodded along with her.  “We can do this, together.”                 “Indeed you can.” Princess Luna said, stepping into the library as well.                 “LUNA?!” Everypony said at once, apart from Fluttershy, who already knew she was back.                 Twilight’s jaw dropped.  “What happened to you?  Where have you been?” She asked, having been worried sick for her among everything else that had happened.                 Luna walked to the ring of ponies, facing Twilight, her ears falling flat to her head.  “I returned to Canterlot only a few nights after the gala ended…” She lowered her head slightly.  “When I discovered what happened while I was gone I… I was afraid to face all of you.  So Celestia had me keep my return a secret and take over command of Canterlot whilst she searched the land like your other friends.”                 The news took everypony by surprise.  Rarity then said, “Princess Luna, no pony could have known that would happen.  We would never hold that against you, right girls?” She asked, looking around at the rest of them.  The ponies all nodded, adding in their replies all at once.                 Luna’s sad expression crumbled into a small smile as she was humbled by how understanding and forgiving they all were.                 “Oh how lovely,” Discord chuckled, hovering overhead.  “Seems all that worrying was for nothing, aye Lulu?”                 The Princess of the Night immediately glared up at him.  “Never call me that name again.”                 Discord sarcastically cringed, floating down to the floor beside Fluttershy.  “And here I thought you and your sister liked the nicknames I give you.”                 Luna sighed, turning back to the circle of ponies.  “Listen well, my friends, this is not easy for me to say…” She stopped herself, looking down for a moment.  She proceeded to shake her head, looking back up.  “No, first take me to Starfall Blitz.  What I have to say must be heard in his presence.”                 Hearing her say that told Twilight exactly what Luna wanted to tell them.  She knew what was coming, and to be honest, she was surprised it hadn’t come sooner.                 Nodding to her fellow princess, Twilight led them out the door and towards the exit of the castle.                 It was upon physically seeing Starfall that Luna’s emotions struck her the hardest.  As they entered his hospital room, everypony fell quiet.  Aside from Luna, who this was her first visit, everypony else hadn’t walked into the room together since Starfall had been moved here from Canterlot Castle.  They all stood in a circle around his bed, all watching him lie there, listening to the sound of the machine beeping at his side.                 Luna took a half-step forward, taking in a somewhat sharp breath.  Memories of the young royal guard immediately flashed before her eyes; their many talks while he had been guarding her, the many times he went out of his way to make her feel more like a princess when she still felt like an outcast… like the night he became her shoulder to cry on and comfort her.  She blinked away the memory, then proceeding to close her eyes.                 Everypony shared in this silent moment, the very sight of the pegasus in this condition still holding the power to keep them all speechless.  Twilight went from watching him, to watching Luna, who she knew must also be in great pain at the sight of him like this.                 Luna took a deep breath and then opened her eyes again, turning to the rest of them.  “This is a difficult time, I understand that, truly I do.” She began, keeping composed despite her fragility after having just witnessed those memories.  “But Starfall is more than just our friend.  For all of us, he was once our guardian…” She looked to Twilight, smiling.  “As he will become again when he awakens.” Earning a thoughtful look from Twilight, she then looked around at them all again.  “But until that time, we must honor his sacrifice and what it gave us, not lie in wait for his return.”                 Pinkie tilted her head.  “What it gave us…?”                 Luna looked to her, and then to the rest of them.  “Another chance.  He saved Twilight’s life, likely under the belief that doing so would claim his own.  He gave us the chance to rise up together against this threat.” Her eyes flashed with determination and a bit of anger.  “We must find that dragon, and Chrysalis, and Sombra, and make it so his sacrifice was not in vain.”                 Rainbow nodded immediately, having already been onboard with tracking them down and pummeling them with her bare hooves.  Pinkie and AJ both joined in, as well as Rarity and Spike.  Starlight looked from Luna to Starfall once more, which Trixie noticed, lifting her hoof up onto her friend’s shoulder.                 Turning to Twilight, Luna continued.  “I understand that this is a difficult thing for you to do, but Equestria needs you, Princess Twilight.  It needs all of us, if we are to keep it safe from the darkness those three have planned.”                 Everypony turned to Twilight, not sure how she would respond, given how she’d been for the past few months.  The Princess of Friendship looked at Luna for the longest moment, then glancing around at the rest of them.  Her gaze eventually fell upon Starfall once again, a stifled breath leaving her as she took in a deep one.  Turning back to Luna, she replied, “I know... and I’m ready now.”                 Luna smiled at her, nodding her head in respect.  “The floor is yours then, Twilight.  I have been tasked with maintaining my sister’s duties, how you choose to help the search is up to you.”                 Her mind entered a different gear as she looked to her friends.  “Starlight, Spike, you two travel west to help Ember and Thorax.  The letter said they searched everywhere, help them search it again.”                 Spike saluted her.  “You can count on us.”                 Twilight then continued.  “Applejack, Rarity, you help Garble in the south, I can’t think of anypony better to know the land better than the dragons.”                 Rarity cringed a bit.  “Ehh, Garble?”                 “Don’t worry Rarity,” Spike tried reassuring her.  “He’s not so bad anymore.”                 The white unicorn flipped her mane back with a huff.  “Well alright…”                 Applejack nodded to Twilight.  “We got it Twi.”                 Twilight nodded back, moving on.  “Rainbow, Pinkie, the two of you need to travel east and help King Gale and the griffons, think you can handle it?”                 Rainbow brushed off all doubt.  “Ha!  I know we can!  Right, Pinkie?”                 The pink mare hopped up and down.  “Absolutely!”                 Fluttershy inched forward.  “What about me, Twilight?”                 Twilight turned to her.  “You, Discord, and I are going searching for Shadow.  We need all our friends home, safe and sound.”  Fluttershy suddenly beamed with happiness, ecstatic at the knowledge that she was going to help find Shadow.                 Taking off her pointy hat, Trixie asked, “I can help, what should I do?”                 “Oh I haven’t forgotten about you, Trixie.” Twilight answered, taking a deep breath.  “You need to watch over Starfall and protect him, who knows how long we could be away?  It’s just as important of a task as the rest of us have, and I’m entrusting it to you.”                 Putting her hat back on her head, Trixie dawned a determined look.  “The Great and Powerful Trixie won’t let you down, Twilight!”                 Twilight nodded to her, looking around at them all.  “We need to all leave as soon as we can, Luna is right; Equestria needs us all, and it needs us now.”                 Everypony went from saddened at the sight of Starfall, to psyched at hearing Twilight’s plan in mere minutes, all of them looking pumped.  They left in pairs, preparing and getting ready to leave without delay.                 Twilight and Luna were the only two remaining in the room.  Twilight looked to her, having wanted to ask her nearly the whole time.  “Luna?” She asked, earning silent recognition from her fellow princess.  “What happened that night?  Why did you leave?”                 The Princess of the Night looked down and away for a moment.  “For the past few months before that fateful night, I had been constantly haunted by my own shadow… Nightmare Moon.” She explained, her quiet voice expressing how painful this was to say.  “It began when I tried to help your friend, Shadow.  Being caught in his nightmare, it drew out fears of mine that seemed too real to be but a dream.”                 “Luna…” Twilight said softly.                 Luna shook her head.  “I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to banish her from my mind, and so I left… returning to Celestia and my old castle in the Everfree Forest, where that dreadful darkness was born in me.  I had to confront it, and defeat it once and for all.”                 Having never expected this, Twilight was left mostly quiet the entire time.  “…and, what happened?”  There were a few moments of silence, the two princesses looking to one another.                 “We met.” Luna replied, voice broadening at the thought of it once more.  “And now, I am finally free of her.”                 Twilight blinked, not sure what she meant.  “Free…?  What do you mean?  You’ve always been free, haven’t you?”                 Luna shook her head.  “No.  You and your friends defeated her with the Elements of Harmony, but she was still there, hovering as my fear and guilt.  When finally I confronted that guilt in the form of the Tantabus, it weakened her, but she endured, for I still feared her return should my path ever lead me astray once again.”  Luna lifted her head up high, a conquering look on her face.  “This time, I confronted her face-to-face.  She’s gone, forever.”                 Twilight paused, but then hugged her.  “Thank you… for telling me.  I was so worried about you…”                 Luna hugged her back.  “And thank you, my friend, for always believing in me.” They separated and both looked over at Starfall.  “I think he would be proud of you, you know?”                 With a nod, Twilight took in quick breath.  “He’d be proud of both of us.” She said, looking to Luna.  “So let’s go make him even prouder.”                 After an hour or so, everypony met back up in the castle throne room.  They each had a saddlebag on their backs, while Discord and Spike were both packed like they were trekkers.  They talked amongst themselves about how best to reach their destinations as quickly as possible.  Friendship Express, hot air balloon, or even just leaving on hoof.                 Twilight looked around at them, saying, “Okay, is everypony ready?” She paused when she noticed someone was missing.  “Wait… where’s Starlight?”                 Spike then spoke up.  “She’s still getting ready, said she had to do a few things before leaving.  You girls go ahead, she and I will leave when she gets back.”                 Twilight nodded, and then everypony formed a circle.  “We’ll see each other again soon.” The princess told them, knowing that underneath their determination was nervousness about the days or even weeks to come.                 “Of course we will!” Pinkie said excitedly, hopping up and down.  “When we all get back, I’ll throw the biggest party Ponyville has ever seen!”  The six mares, Spike, and Discord all joined in on a group hug, knowing they’d likely be apart for a while.                 “Right,” Rainbow said, looping in the air before landing down on the floor.  “Let’s do this!  Come on Pinkie!” The pegasus and her pink partner galloped out from the room first, towards the train station.                 Applejack and Rarity then pranced out the door as well.  “Be back before ya know it!” The earth pony called out to them, the two of them headed south.                 Spike turned to Twilight.  “You three be careful out there, and good luck finding Shadow.”                 Twilight hugged him individually.  “Good luck to you too, Spike.” Separating, Twilight turned to her two companions.  “Ready?”                 Both Fluttershy and Discord replied in unison.  “Ready!”                 The three took off out the door, beginning their search for their friend, Shadow.                 Starlight opened the door to Starfall’s room, walking in and closing it behind her.  This was the first time during his injury that she was ever alone with him.  She took a few breaths before approaching him, stopping at his bedside.                 “Twilight and Luna both blame themselves for what happened to you…” She said quietly, ears flat to her head.  “But I’m the one who wasn’t strong enough.  If only I had broken free of that crystal… I could’ve saved Twilight… and you too.”                 The room was deathly silent, cryptically even.  Starlight stood there, looking down at the pegasus, her eyes watering ever so slightly.                 “I can’t stand to see you like this…” She managed to say, her voice cracking a little.  “Every time I come I… I just can’t look at you without…” She lowered her head, shaking it before lifting her gaze to meet him once more.  “I’m going to make it up to you.  We are going to find them, you are going to wake up, and everything can go back to the way it was.  I promise.”                 The door behind her opened and Starlight immediately wiped her eyes with her hoof, turning around.  A particular, gray-furred pegasus walked in, smiling at her.  “Hiya Starlight!”                 Starlight managed a smile in return.  “Hello Derpy.”                 “You come to visit Starfall too?” The pegasus asked, head tilted slightly.                 “No, no, I was just leaving.” Starlight replied, prancing past her to the door.  “He’s all yours.”                 Derpy turned to her, saying, “Good luck with Spike!”  Starlight turned back and smiled, trotting off.  Derpy then turned back to Starfall, flying up onto the chair beside him.  She took out a paper bag and sat it down beside her.  Reaching inside, she took out a muffin, nibbling on it as she watched over her slumbering friend.