The light clack of hooves echoed softly down the long, torch-lit hall, the ominous sound ending as Princess Luna halted before the arch of the ornate silver and gold doorway to her chambers. Taking a deep breath, she watched as her long shadow flickered and bent against her surroundings and the large door magically slid open before her, unveiling an interior nearly as dark as the void itself. With a tearful blink, she slowly stepped through the wide threshold and into the enveloping darkness then stopped after fully moving within the room, allowing her magic to silently close the door behind her in a soft purple haze.
Having long since removed the wards protecting this wing of the castle, in the princess’s short absence her chambers had become nearly as frigid as the world outside. Long ago she had been nervous for dispelling the magic, but the concern was brief; there were rarely any visitors aside those of her own conjuring, so it mattered little. Over time, she had found the isolation brought on by the icy winter air and utter disconnection to light in her chambers to give a sort of numbing comfort, but not this night.
As she stood idly, her frozen breath wisped around her snout as she listened to the various door locks in motion. With the final bolt sliding into place, the light of her magic dulled then faded completely, returning the room to all-consuming darkness. Finally free of prying eyes and ears, she sniffled softly then weakly bowed her head as tears began to stream heavily down her cheeks.
In her mind, she visualized Star Swirl standing before her, his expression cold and taunting. "Should that mage speak of what has been done... and tell of how it is I who bears responsibility," she chokingly whispered then held her breath as she considered the various consequences of her actions. “Nothing… will ever be the same." Slowly wiping her eyes, she turned and looked to a wall near the doors to the balcony, where long ago she had painted a large orange star upon the bricks. “But… what will my sister do-?"
Feeling her skin tingle, her thoughts are cut short as the distinct energy of Celestia’s magic coursed through the air.
“She has… lowered the sun?” In response, Luna quickly lifted her head and spread her wings as her body glowed brightly from her own magic, the purple energy pulsing away like vapor. In an instant the spell was complete and though she couldn’t see it, she knew the sky had darkened and the golden disk of the nearly full moon had begun its rise.
Suddenly hopeful, Luna quickly strode through the room to her balcony doors but stopped short of opening them. Realizing that this hadn't changed anything, she blinked and thought a moment then slowly backed away. “The two of them... they have yet to speak, then.”
More tears cascaded down her cheeks as she stood quietly, then with a heavy sigh, she turned from the balcony doors but halted mid-step noticing movement by the far wall. Moving closer, she sniffled then roughly wiped her face as she realized she was simply looking into her dressing mirror. For a long time, she stood and gazed at herself.
Even though her surroundings were devoid of light, it did little to hinder Luna's vision and she could see her dark reflection clearly, but she wished she couldn't. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and bloodshot as if she hadn't slept in days, the coat of her cheeks matted and scruffy. She had never seen herself looking so distraught, and after exhaling and shaking her head in disbelief, she raised a foreleg and gently caressed her reflected face with a hoof.
“This is your fault, is it not?” She said coldly as she pressed against the glass, the motion causing the large mirror to thud against the stone wall. Feeling repulsed, her hoof drifted from the mirror as she looked away and closed her eyes. "You... deserve whatever is coming." Guilt roiled painfully within her chest, but another emotion far surpassed it – anger. At first she couldn’t place why, but it suddenly became clear: she didn't believe anything she had just spoken.
A low, shrill hum began to resonate through the room as Luna's mane began to ripple from the stirring air around her. As if caught in a vacuum, the air suddenly surged to the princess as her horn flared amethyst, her magic lifting the large mirror from the dresser then suspending it near the ceiling high above. In fury, she shook her head and screamed, “Why would he do this?! Why NOW?!”
With ease, her magic whipped the mirror through the air like a leaf in the wind then in a loud crash shattered it upon the floor, explosively scattering glass clear across the massive room.
As she looked at the thousands of shards glinting and reflecting the purple luminance of her magic, all at once the anger was gone, replaced instead by a sadness that seemed to envelope every part of her very being. With a choking whimper, the light of her horn faded then extinguished completely.
Over her lifetime, there had been various challenges and hardships that tested both her strength and will, but none had ever left her feeling as utterly exhausted as she did at this moment. Desiring rest more than ever, glass crunched and popped loudly underhoof as she slowly tread over the remains of the mirror and made her way to her bed. After giving a fleeting wish she had never met Star Swirl, she collapsed into the soft, welcoming folds of blankets and pillows.
Aside from the occasional sniffle, she lay silent hoping to drift off to sleep once more but the sound of breaking glass echoed in her mind and a feeling there was something yet she needed to do wouldn't subside. Unable to shake the lingering thoughts of what the next day may bring, she slowly raised her head from the pillows then removed her tiara and set it on the mound of blankets beside her. Feeling both her heart breaking and her bottom lip tremble she turned away then covered her face with a thick feather pillow, at last succumbing to sleep's embrace.
* * * * * * * *
Star Flare spread her wings wide as she softly landed on the snow-covered road. Shivering and with her teeth chattering from the icy flight, she looked at the tightly packed homes of varying shapes and sizes lining the street, many with their chimneys sending trails of smoke into the night sky and their interior alit with candlelight, and mused they looked almost as if they were huddled together to stay warm against the chill of the winter air.
Twisting her lips as she clenched her jaw to try and bring the chattering under control, she tugged her blue coat tight and wished it had been enchanted like her armor to help stay warm. Maybe I should've just kept my armor on, it's not like Skystrider would mind, she thought. Still, I couldn't just show up like that... though, maybe with how late I am, he'd forgive me since it'd look like I just came from the castle?
Unsure of what would've been better, she took a crunching step into the snow and smiled as she saw her destination was close - Skystrider's home was just at the end of the road, only a few more houses away. Feeling her cheeks warm and a tingly spark in her chest at the thought of seeing him, she gave a light giggle and prepared to take off in a trot to his front door but stopped as a loud explosion erupted in the sky behind her.
With the thick blanket of snow covering the area twinkling blues, yellows, and reds, she turned around to see colorful streams of light glittering in the sky from a massive firework display. Gasping in awe, she whispered, "They must be getting ready for the Solstice Festival... tomorrow..." Her voice drifted off as she noticed one stream from the fireworks didn't seem to fade. Curious at what it might be, she moved into the center of the road to get a better view but noticed other ponies had stepped out of their homes.
"Granny, what's that?" A little orange filly waved her tiny foreleg to the sky then looked to the elder pony next to her. "Is it another firework or... just some kinda weird star?"
The elder pony gave a tired laugh as she pointed her hoof to the dark heavens. "That, my dear, only appears in the night sky every hundred years," she said then moved to return indoors. "It's called a comet, and that one in particular is a very rare sight." With a long sigh she stepped through the doorway then added, "One that I wish you'd never seen in your lifetime."
Star Flare looked curiously at the elder pony then back to the streak of light in the sky. "Excuse me, I just overheard you and I'm sorry to interrupt... but you said that's a comet?" She said then waved her nose skyward. "It's so pretty... why wouldn't you want to see it?"
The elder pony looked down to the little filly standing before her then prodded her to come inside. Her expression turning grim, she looked at Star Flare with worried eyes. "Because nothing good ever comes of it. Mark my words, that comet portends something terrible." As she finished, she quickly shut the door.
Bewildered, Star Flare blinked then took a step back and held her front leg in the air as she tried to discern what had just happened. "Okay, well... that was kinda creepy," she announced then glanced up to look at the comet once more.
"Miss Star Flare!"
Her ears sprung upwards at the sound of her name, the voice shouting it sounding very familiar. Turning, she whispered, "Fidge?"
Hopping through the thick snow was the little unicorn, doing his best to make his way over.
Star Flare giggled at the welcome surprise and Fidget's silly method of traversing the thick snow. "Hey... what in the world are you doing here? Were you visiting Skystrider?"
Panting heavily he turned and looked proudly at his handy work - a somewhat cleared path through the snow, straight to Skystrider's front door. Taking a deep breath, he turned and gave a quick salute. "Yes m'am, I've been here for a little bit! Did you see the fireworks?"
Star Flare glanced over her shoulder, reminded again of the strange comet. "Mmm, yeah I did... they caught me by surprise, almost as much you being here," she smirked then waved a hoof at the path to the door. "But, why didn't Sky come out with you?"
Fidget blinked then gave a shy grin as he gave a side glance to the house. "Well... he's sorta... um..."
"Sorta um, what?"
"Hung up." Fidget said then belted out a laugh. "It's so cold out here... Hurry, let's go inside! I wanna show you something!"