//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Sun Binder // Story: The Stars of Nightmare Moon // by Mysterious Stranger //------------------------------// When Night Mist woke up the next morning, he was alarmed to find that he was behind bars. "Good morning," Shooting Star said flatly from the other side. Night Mist couldn't tell if it was really morning or not, because the torches on the stone walls of the room he and Shooting Star stood in looked the same as always. "Why am I in a cell?" Night Mist asked tiredly, still half-asleep. "You agreed to sleep in a cell remember? It was the best we could do on short notice. We haven’t had a surprise visitor since, well, never,” Shooting Star reminded him. "Oh, right," Night Mist said sheepishly as he recalled the events from last night. A glance at the door to the cell revealed that sure enough, it was wide open. Night Mist rose, stretched, and drifted out the door. "Where's Eclipse?" he asked after giving his head a few shakes to wake himself up. "He's busy with preparations for the eclipse," Shooting Star explained. "He told me to stick with you and make sure you didn't get lost or something, so here I am." "You sound so excited about the idea," Night Mist remarked dryly. "Yeah, I'm thrilled," Shooting Star scowled as she levitated up a paper bag and practically threw it at Night Mist. "Here's your breakfast." "You made me breakfast? That's very kind of you." "Shut up and eat your bagels." Not sure whether Shooting Star was annoyed or just amused, Night Mist shrugged and happily took a bite. Today was the first day of his new life, and he wasn't about to let some edgy mare ruin it for him. The thought of his new life painfully reminded Night Mist of his old one, the one where he had just recently celebrated ten years of friendship with Sharp Wing and Frazzle Spark. With effort, Night Mist pushed the guilt inducing thought away. His old life was finished. All he had done was ditch Sharp Wing and Frazzle Spark before they could do the same to him. Same went for everyone else he had ever known besides the Stars. Best to just move on and not think too much about it. "So um, what exactly do the Stars do when they're not receiving increases in power from Nightmare Moon?" Night Mist questioned after he finished his bagels. "You really don't know much of anything about the Stars do you?" remarked Shooting Star. "Considering I've only spent a few hours out of my entire life in their company so far, I think I can hardly be blamed for that." "So basically you expect me to be the one to tell you everything," she said flatly. "If you don't mind." "I do mind. I have better things to do than answer your questions." "Such as?" "Such as..." Shooting Star started to say before she caught on. "Oh, aren't you sneaky." "I'm a detective," Night Mist shrugged. "Tell you what, how about you answer just three of my questions, and I won't bother you with anymore?" "Somehow I get the impression that three will turn into thirty." "Considering you're stuck with me, I think its a fair offer. Unless you prefer that I annoy you with questions all day long." "Fine, ask your three questions," Shooting Star growled. "Very well. I know that there are four parts of the Dark Storm, but I've only encountered the embodiments of three of them. Cloud, lightning, and just recently, wind. What does the gift of shadow do?" "Shadows play tricks on your eyes," Shooting Star explained. "Basically, they can make you see whatever they want you to see." "Interesting. Next question. How do you maintain an entire society within these caverns in secrecy?" "We don't. When a Star becomes an adult, he or she goes out into the world if they want to. A lot of them do. They gather information for our library and essentially live undercover. Sometimes they get married, and bring their spouses back here for when we all receive power from Nightmare Moon during eclipses. They can't participate in it of course, but they do join in on the parties afterwards." "I see. Last question. Could you give me a tour? Last time I was here, mine was cut short." “I’m here to make sure you don't get into trouble, not be a tour guide,” Shooting Star said as her scowl returned. “Well, I’m perfectly capable of standing here and doing absolutely nothing, if that’s what you prefer. You, me, and a long boring silence,” Night Mist hinted. And so, for the next several hours Shooting Star escorted Night Mist throughout the underground home of the Stars and introduced him to many ponies. Night Mist couldn't help but compare it to his first day at school in Ponyville ten years ago. Back then, no one had bothered to talk to him, and he had wound up spending a lot of time alone until he met Sharp Wing and Frazzle Spark. The Stars however, made him feel very welcome from the get go. He was openly invited to participate in conversations, and became quite popular with the shadow types due to the fact he was easily startled by illusions that everyone else was desensitized to. Quite a lot of them mistakenly assumed that he was Shooting Star's husband, much to the unicorn's annoyance. After eating lunch with a lot of his new friends, Night Mist joined everyone else in the central cavern, the very same place that he had first been summoned to by the Dark Storm. As the area began to get crowded, Night Mist spotted Eclipse as the white maned pegasus flew up towards the ceiling of the cavern and seated himself on a rocky outcropping. Eclipse smiled down upon the crowd below as he said three very simple words. "Let us begin." With a whoosh, several torches in the cavern were blown out, leaving the area very dim. An orchestra seated in a pit beneath Eclipse's perch started to play ominous yet exhilarating music. Night Mist watched in fascination as the eyes of everyone present began to glow white. Unseen by Night Mist, his own eyes glowed white as well. The music slowly began to go faster as the gifts of Nightmare Moon began to manifest. Lightning crackled around the bodies of about one fourth of the Stars, including Eclipse. Another fourth were enveloped in personal hurricanes while yet another quarter had dark gas rising up from their heads and backs. The last type Night Mist found very interesting. The Shadow types seemed difficult to see clearly. The more Night Mist tried to concentrate on them, the more their appearances seemed to change. The familiar sensation of electricity running through his body struck Night Mist as he felt a foreign presence touch his mind. Then Night Mist felt the rush of power. It was a tangible sensation, just like the feeling of Nightmare Moon's presence. He felt it flow through his soul, his magic core. Night Mist lost track of time as he remained frozen in a state of bliss and power. Eventually, his mind distantly began telling him that surely the eclipse should have ended by now. The need for secrecy is over, my Stars. The time you have waited so long for has finally come. The music stopped playing, but Night Mist hardly noticed. The euphoria that flooded his mind was music enough for him. Lightning, winds, clouds, and shadows began flowing out from the Stars to form a dark storm above their heads. Night Mist gasped out loud as his perceptions suddenly shifted. Instead of the ponies in front of him, he was now observing someone coming into focus in what appeared to be a blue room behind a purple curtain. With a start, Night Mist realized that he was seeing Princess Celestia. It was then that Night Mist realized the significance of his given name, Sun Binder. The Stars weren't just freeing Nightmare Moon, they were switching her with her sister. Nightmare Moon was being summoned to Equestria, and Princess Celestia was being sent to the moon in her place. Immediately Night Mist recalled his first encounter with Princess Celestia, shortly after his initial escape from the Stars. She had been kind to him. She had comforted him. And now he was seeing her eyes widen in surprise as a whirlwind of dark energy began to envelop her. Mercifully, she didn't seem to be able to see Night Mist, or any of the other Stars for that matter. Night Mist wasn't sure if he could betray her face to face. But as Night Mist watched, Princess Celestia's expression changed from shock, to resignation, and then to confidence as she whispered six simple words. "I'm counting on you, Twilight Sparkle." And with that, Princess Celestia vanished from the room. "And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land," proclaimed a voice from out of sight. "The very pony who gives us the Sun and the Moon each and every day! The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!" With timing that only could have been planned, the curtain was opened by a white unicorn mare with a styled purple mane. Night Mist recognized her as Rarity, the unicorn who ran a boutique in Ponyville. "Huh?" Rarity gasped when she saw the empty room. Night Mist heard several voices from out of sight at once as Rarity walked into the room and announced the obvious. "She's gone!" More gasps and incoherent words were heard from beyond the vision's range as dark cloud rose from the ground and began to take form. Night Mist recognized the ability as what he had seen Umbra do ten years, but in reverse. The spell complete, the vision began to fade, but not before Night Mist saw Nightmare Moon's face. A living, breathing replica of the statue in the shrine. Nightmare Moon opened her mouth and began to chuckle right as the vision ended. Night Mist glanced around, wondering what came next. The music had stopped, the Dark Storm had vanished, and many other ponies seemed just as lost. Then, some random pony began to clop her fore hooves on the ground, and the entire cavern filled with thundering hooves and whoops of delight. Still up on his perch, Eclipse raised a hoof and sent lighting arcing high over the crowd. The applause didn't stop, so he did it three more times until they calmed down. "My fellow Stars!" Eclipse began proudly. "Tonight is a night unlike any other! This night we done what past generations have only dreamed of! This night, Nightmare Moon has at last been freed!" The applause started up again, and Eclipse had to several fire more lightning bolts over their heads to silence them. "Soon Nightmare Moon will come to our home, and she will reward us for our efforts! No longer will we hide underground! No longer will we be unknown! The world will learn of our existence, and they will serve us! It won't be long before we say goodbye to this cavern, so I think that it's only fitting that we celebrate within it one last time, don't you?" Several ponies recognized the cue words, and they rushed out of the cavern and came back with food and beverages. The celebration had begun. Night Mist joined the party as many more ponies who weren't Stars were allowed into the central cavern. Everyone was very talkative as the party went on, and there was much speculation on how soon Nightmare Moon would arrive, and what she would say to them when she did. Night Mist was just meandering over to a bar to fetch himself something to drink when it occurred to him that something was off. He puzzled over the recent events until he realized what it was. Princess Celestia's reaction to being sent to the moon had been odd. Sure, she had seemed surprised at first, but Night Mist thought she had adjusted awfully fast, almost as if she had been expecting to be sent to the moon. Even more curious were the words she had said right before she vanished. I'm counting on you, Twilight Sparkle. Night Mist didn't know who this Twilight Sparkle was, but he was starting to think that he should. Why was Princess Celestia counting on her? What could one pony do against the entire might of the Stars? Night Mist's thoughts were interrupted by his becoming aware that Shooting Star was standing right in front of him. "You have, like, the most gorgeous golden eyes," she drawled. For a moment Night Mist was confused by the random compliment, until he saw that she was holding a wine glass. "Um, okay," he said carefully. "I'll keep that in mind." It took Night Mist a moment to pick up his train of thought again. Princess Celestia must have thought Twilight Sparkle could do something about her being banished to the moon, otherwise she wouldn't be counting on her. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle was supposed to start something that would- Shooting Star suddenly nuzzled his face with her own. "Okay, that's enough of that." Night Mist decided as he turned about and briskly walked away, red faced. Night Mist just knew he was onto something, but he needed time to focus on it. If Twilight Sparkle was supposed do something about Princess Celestia being banished, she would need something powerful. What was something powerful that could stop or counteract Nightmare Moon's magic? The only thing that was ever known to do such a thing were the Elements of Harmony. The moment the thought crossed his mind, Night Mist stiffened as he realized he had just found the answer. "Enjoying the festivities, Night Mist?" asked Eclipse as he approached the black stallion. "Um, actually I think we might be a little premature with the celebrations," Night Mist informed him. "What? How come?" "I don't think eternal night is entirely in the bag just yet." "What do you mean?" Eclipse asked a little nervously. "Nightmare Moon is in Equestria, you saw her yourself." "If you would allow me to elaborate?" "But of course." "Well, you see, I'm a detective by trade, Eclipse. It's always been my nature to pay attention to details, and look for patterns and the like. And I think I'm onto something important. You saw Princess Celestia before we, um, sent her away yes?" "I did." "Do you remember what she said right before she vanished? She said, I'm counting on you, Twilight Sparkle. Now, I don't know who this Twilight Sparkle is, but it seems to me that Princess Celestia had great confidence in her. Which got me to think that Nightmare Moon might not have been the only one with a backup plan." "One pony isn't much of a back up plan, Night Mist. I wouldn't worry about it." "You're right, I thought that too. One pony would make a lousy back up plan against Nightmare Moon. But Princess Celestia seemed confident that Twilight Sparkle could do something. So I asked myself, what thing, involving one pony or more, could possibly stop Nightmare Moon? Do you remember how Nightmare Moon was defeated in the first place?" "The Elements of Harmony," Eclipse realized. "You think that this Twilight Sparkle might be one of the next Spirits of Harmony." Night Mist hadn't quite got that far, but once the words were out of Eclipse's mouth he realized that the Nightmare must have been on the right track. "According to the legends," Night Mist recalled, "living Spirits of Harmony could wield the Elements of their deceased friends, because friendship transcends death. After they all die, new Spirits of Harmony would appear. But maybe having alicorns as two of the six spirits changed the rules. The next cycle might already be starting." "That's a pretty big stretch, but its worth looking into," Eclipse decided. "I'm going to need more information before I decide what to do. Find Shooting Star and meet me at the library." "Find Shooting Star? How come?" Night Mist asked, not eager to meet up with the drunken unicorn again. "Because I rely on Shooting Star the most and I know I can trust her to get you there," Eclipse said icily. "I know she hasn't exactly been friendly to you, but you need to get over that. Three heads are better than two." "Actually, she's very friendly after she's had some wine," Night Mist said sheepishly. "Please tell me you're kidding." "I'm afraid not." "Ugh, fine," groaned Eclipse as he face hoofed. "I'll take you myself. Let's go."