//------------------------------//
// A Shining Star Fell Long Ago 
// Story: The Darkest Hour 
// by Anemptyshell 
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There was a certain finesse one much use to run through the dark forests and groves along the equestrian highway. The former highway, that is. One does not travel high in Nightmare's Equestria. There is nothing above her, except for maybe her ego. So in the dark, we scampered, a group of six stallions, on the road to rebellion. It was by now, we all agreed. Nightmare knew they'd managed to evade her first wave of pursuers. Solemn darted and jumped at every shadow. Sabre seemed ready to slice the next woodland critter that ran through the bush in two. It was nerve-racking but not mind-losing levels of fear and excitement that ran through my veins. I'd felt such fear at points. Meeting Nightmare was one. The shadows in my mind that seemed to follow me wherever I went were another. 

The others didn't seem all that bothered, or rather, they were far more subtle. Bright, who'd rarely seen the countryside and the farther depths of nature in and of itself, seemed in awe of everything we passed. It at least mellowed the tension to some degree. Blueblood had buried his face in his maps. He chartered every step we took. He seemed more annoyed than frightened, though many share anger when facing their fears. Spade, he was the odd one. He appeared at peace with all of it. He'd joined us out o happenstance of all things and seemed right at home. 

It was this tranquility that drew me to pester the humble pegasus, escape of the mad god-queen or not. "Spade, uh, you okay? We put you on the spot back there, with your cart. It wasn't very fair on you, ya know?"

Spade contemplated my question before blowing a raspberry and shrugging the whole thing off. "No, not really. It's fine, more interesting than watching the dead. I mean, right up until they rise from their graves. Then things get interesting, a lot of clean up after the fact, blood is kinda hard to get off stone, surprisingly."

I found my knitted brow closing even further as I flounder between looking at the grave keeper and those around us. The rest of the company didn't seem all that engaged, but still. Spade's Pokerface yielded nothing. 

"Okay?"

I withheld my actual questions. I certainly didn't need the thoughts of zombies and ghouls running about in my mind. That might actually be worse than Nightmare's band of flunkies if true. I really hoped he was kidding. 

"So, mid filling my in, what are we doing and going and such. I mean, clearly, you're on the run, but where and why?" Spade asked.

"High treason, to Canterlot, save Equestria. Star dreamed up a lost city and said it'll help. So, that once we find the Resistance."

Sabre answered, eyes glued on every bush we passed. A hoof gently tapped the pommel of his blade all the while. A concise answer from a moody source. 

"Something like that," I agreed. 

"Oh, neat. I could use more vitamin d, so I'm in."

Spade matched Sabre's simplicity and pragmatism with his own. They were starting to multiply. So long as we didn't get any more Brights, we'd survive, I hoped. We'd passed into Whitetail a while back, and thus, most of the fauna we met were too small or cravin to be a threat. There was still the odd wolf or bear that made the area their home. So, Blue had made us take the long route just to be safe. I mean, oh sure, we were being hinted at anyway, but yeah, taking up more time and energy was totally an intelligent play. 

I didn't say anything at the time, but I had a feeling Blue was holding back. He quickly flipped between multiple maps when he thought no one was looking. It was a tad disquieting. To what end were the games afoot? 

"Yo, Blue, nice maps, what four, five at a time, cool beans. It must get confusing jumping between them, yeah?" I asked. 

I saddled up beside Blueblood, who barely registered my existence with a single side-eye. He muttered something under his breath before telekinetically lowering the map he currently had in front of himself to the side. 

"Perhaps for another, yes. If you must know, I am matching topographical overlays with weather pattern routes, hunting grounds, regularly patrolled policing areas, and the everchanging lines of construction and deforestation. In all, and in all, one should strive for accuracy. When one gives to the fullest, one receives to the fullest."

Blueblood tapped a hand to his chest and smiled fondly. "Oh, is that so?" I asked. 

"An old adage from my father, even before this whole Eternal Night business. A turn of phrase I wish I took to heart sooner."

Blueblood's hoof and his smile dropped. He kicked a pebble out of his path as we walked. I found my tongue bare. I couldn't really relate. No memory and lack of knowing where I was from meant no connection to such memories. I could only do with those I've made since I made it to the palace. There was plenty to pull from there. 

"Sorry, Blue didn't mean to," I let the thought die. I did and thus, will have to simply accept what came of it. Not meaning to and not doing are two separate things. 

"I have lots," Spade said. 

"Beg pardon?" Blue asked. 

"A lot of phrases. I had a lot of em' to chivvied. A lot of families had em' before the sun went down. I have them all memorized. A pony doesn't really die, not until they're forgotten. So, I remember them all. It makes ponies happy like they're all just as important as they were before their friend or family died."

"Oh, that's quite thoughtful. I dare say, my father's memory will outlive me with little doubt. He was the sort worth remembering. So, I plan to pass down his lessons, even those I failed to learn."

Thus, I started a whole mood. Spade and Blue at least seemed at peace with each other's company. It was a friendly draw from the dark and the walking and my aching hooves. If we got lucky, we'd get to the mountains before passing out from exhaustion. Bright had the forethought to pack a tiny hoof-held clock. The little wooden ticker would give us some degree of comfort. It even had a slider tally for am and pm. I had a feeling that was added after the fact. Most clocks these days had them, from what I'd seen. It was borderline useless to have a watch without one. One could lose their mind with so few means to know how long you had been awake or not. So the march went on. 

"So, Solemn, care to shed a little more light on the workings and members of the Resistance. Shining Armor leads them that we know. Is there anything else going in we should know about?" Sabre asked. 

The question cut through the group like a plague. In a single moment, Solemn had everypony's undivided attention. At the palace, such news was real hush-hush. The walls have ears. Here in the middle of nowhere, well, the risk might be a necessity. Though if anypony was around to hear us, it'd be too late to worry about.

Solemn nodded. "A fair question and one that has answers deserved in full. Though I am only privy to so much, I will tell you what I can."

Sabre nodded in kind. 

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Bright said, clapping in excitement.

"It better be," Blueblood said. The unicorn tightened his telekinetic grip on his maps and hid the entirety of his face behind it. That whole Shining Armor thing was gonna need a deep dive at some point too.  

"Very Well. The simplest introduction would be that of Shining Armor. The commanding officer of the Resistance, the ex-captain of the Royal Guard, and a soldier and hero to Equestria. When Nightmare Moon rose, he fought. Celestia or not, he never stopped fighting. That was years ago. The Nightmare, having bested Celestia, felt little fear for a band of weak mortals. So, she let Shining live, live in the smaller of the city he failed. She believed it would be far more painful for him to live knowing he could not win than simply killing him."

Solomon licked his lips and shuddered. I could see the map in Blueblood's grip shake. Sabre had stumbled at least twice as we walked. Even Bright looked pensive. This was all well and good, but it didn't really explain much. 

"Up until recently, Shining had all but lost hope. That was until we received help from an unlikely ally. One even the Nightmare is wary of. The same that she feared you were. A fake as it were, Star, a changeling."

"At the dinner," I said. 

This time, the flinch was unavoidable. Sabre shook in place. Blueblood had crumpled the map as he stared over at Solemn. He sneered so hard he sounded as if he were some angry hound. If this was their reaction, I feel less surprised by Nightmare's own tantrum. In my research, I'd seen nearly nothing of changelings. I had assumed it had been a euphemism at the time. 

"So, the rumors were true."

Spade hummed along. The unshakable grave digger pondered aloud. This earned a side-eye from Solomon, but otherwise, he was left to himself. 

"So, changelings?" I asked. 

"Exactly what you'd believe. A species of shapeshifting parasites. They steal the emotions of others to feed themselves, sir," Sabre said. His words could cut through nary anything, thus rendering the weapon at his side mostly superfluous. 

"Well, that sounds dangerous?"

"Danger comes in times of hardship. It comes more in times of change. So why not merge the two? Marks it easier to keep track of, if you ask me."

"Space, please quit talking, now, thank you," Solemn said. "He's not solely wrong, however. As is, the changelings have been invaluable. Only since their aid has, we made any lasting impact on Nightmare's reign."

"Oh, that's nice," I said. 

"Even if their queen is nearly insufferable."

That earned a raised brow. It sounded like she'd gotten under Solemn's skin more than once. I'd need to swap stories with her if that were the case. That aside, it seems like until very recently, the rebels have been stuck just surviving. The fact that Nightmare had left Shining alive and alone was intriguing. It made almost no sense, a risk where one need not be. 

"To think that braggart would fall for such a ploy. If you ask me, at least Shining Armor was no coward under the sun."

Blueblood sounded on the verge of yelling to the heavens. His eyes pinpricks as he spoke. No sooner had he started than he ceased. The shaking didn't quell, but his words stopped almost too quickly. A stray thought perhaps, one he didn't want to be shared? 

"So, at least the changelings are making a difference. That's respectable if nothing else."

Bright's words were slow. He'd lost any semblance of a smile or pep. He instead had cast his face away from the group at all. It left his words bitter. He sought a silver lining or hoped he could fake one. He wasn't wrong. A war is not won in a day, and sometimes it takes compromises you never thought possible. The changelings were on our side, so it only made sense to give them a chance. I certainly wasn't going to go in hating someone I'd never met. I can't speak to any of the others, well, Spade seemed unconcerned, and Bright wasn't the type for spite. I just hoped Blue and Sabre could hold it together for as long as we're up in Canterlot. We'd be in, out then to the north as quickly as we could. 

"For now," Sabre added. 

"Anything else?" I asked. Solemn seemed to pontificate the question for longer than I'd have liked. Why was everyone so apt to keep secrets?

"I'm not sure. I have no idea how Shining will feel towards the plan you and Blueblood have conjured up. It's farcical at best. Even if it ends up correct, we have no way of knowing if it will even yield anything useful."

"It will," I said. 

"How can you be so sure, sir?" Sabre asked. 

"History is drought with dreamers. Was Nightmare not a myth mere years ago?" Blueblood asked. The unicorn takes a spot next to me. It was nice, a little solidarity when we really needed it.

"Stories are always based on reality," Bright said, sidling alongside Blue. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips yet. Bright was still in there somewhere. 

"I've seen them. I've seen the crystals. I've seen them hidden in the shadows. I won't let myself believe those are all just flights of fancy."

I held my head high. This was the road to our future. I wasn't going to give up without a fight. Shining's approval or not. There was something in the north, something real. I could feel it in my bones. 

"That sounds good enough for me," Spade said, slowing to match up opposite Blueblood's side. It seemed that Saber and Solemn could shove all that pessimism up their plots. All hail, team Northern Crystal.

"Yes, well, I suppose we'll see how it goes. It seems that may be sooner than you think. 

Solemn pointed forward. We'd made it to the base of Mount Canter. It was a lot bigger up close. A lot more insurmountably huge if I was to describe it now. I suspect the pathway itself was narrow to better combat ground-bound assaults. It was just that much more of a shame that most species on this rock could fly. 

I blanked and looked over my shoulder to my own wings. A sudden thought struck me like lightning. I found myself slack-jawed as the others began their way up the path. I looked to Spade, who had started whistling a meandering tune. I looked to Solomon, who looked lost in thought. I looked to Bright, who was still looking up to the high peaks of Mount Center and the mountainside city of ruins we were headed for.

All these species could fly, and I hadn't even, not once, in the months here. I'd never learned to fly. I hadn't even learned to glide. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand straight as I imagined how that conversation would go. I'd been here this long. Solemn might tan my hide at this point. Spade and Bright, though, who knows. Those two were all over the place. Sabre would never let me live this down. 

I took a deep breath. "Future me problems, first we climb—" The mountain loomed overhead once more. "First we climb, that."  

"Star, you okay?" Bright called. I'd fallen behind and had drawn the eye of my friends, who watched me as I slowly plodded over.

"Afraid of heights?" Blueblood asked while trying very hard to hide a smirk, the cheeky bastard.

"Of course not," I said. 

"Then what's the problem?" Blue asked.

"Not the heights, just the landing should the heights of this world decide to leave nothing under hoof."

Bright chuckled. "That's poetic. I'm going to steal that one."

"Well then, best make it to the city as quickly as we can, lest the ground gives way beneath you, sir," Sabre said from ahead. 

I huffed and nonetheless sped up just a bit. The sooner these narrow roads were behind me, the better.