The Stars of Darkness

by D4ftP0ny

Chapter 16

It’s funny how half of a week can change your life. Five days ago, Wild Star had been a force to be reckoned with; a member of Nightmare Moon’s personal guard, the bearer of the Element of Anger, one with fury, one with the wind… and now he stood in a barn, staring down at the thing that had given him all of that power, wishing that it would just go away and leave him be.

“You feel it too, don’t you,” Wild Star said as he touched the amulet hanging from his neck with his hoof. “It’s… like there’s something calling to the amulet. Like it’s coming to life on its own.”

Falling Star nodded and gave the pouch tied to his left shoulder a glance. “Yes. I can feel it.” The two pegasi stood together in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres as the sun rose higher into the sky; most of the other ponies were still sleeping soundly after the late-night festivities, but the gray Pegasus had been awoken by a familiar and decidedly unwelcome pulsing in his heart. Even under his pillow, the amulet of Anger had reacted so strongly to something that it had reached out to him, waking him from a deep sleep with the sound of marching hooves and the screams of battle.

Wild Star shuddered and winced. “Oh. I was… kinda hoping it was my imagination.” He looked down at the gem hanging around his neck. “I won’t lie to you… I really want to take this off, Falls. I don’t want to go back under like I was,” he admitted, and when he turned his eyes back to the blue Pegasus he saw sympathy in his eyes.

“I know, Wild. Trust me, I know.” He sighed heavily and looked down at the ground for a moment; when he brought his eyes back up to Wild Star, they were full of resolve and strength, something Wild Star wasn’t used to seeing from his comrade. “But remember what we all agreed has to happen. Don’t forget what must be done.”

Wild Star stomped his hoof angrily. “I know what we agreed to, Falling Star. Don’t presume to-,” Suddenly, he stopped mid-statement. He could feel the amulet, brushing against his mind, tempting him, taunting him… No. Don’t let it take you. Don’t do it. He paused for a long moment, then closed his eyes and took a breath before speaking again in a more subdued tone. “…sorry. It’s just…” He glanced out the window of the barn to where the farmhouse stood stoically, its inhabitants undoubtedly still asleep. Wild Star felt his heart clench in despair. “…I promised Thistledown I’d help her and Honeysuckle with dinner tonight…” Don’t let them down any more than you already have.

Falling Star’s eyes softened slightly, and Wild Star could see that behind his confidence, Falling Star also had a reason to take off his amulet and never look back. “I know how you feel,” the blue Pegasus responded quietly. “Please, don’t think for a moment that this is any easier for me than it is for you.” The two ponies stood together in silence, gazing out the window at the slowly rising sun for several minutes before Wild Star finally gathered his courage.

“So… what happened to you, exactly?” he asked quietly. “I mean… I told you about Honeysuckle and Thistledown… and Morningstar told you about her Twilight encounter… but you never told us about what happened to bring you around.” Falling Star kept his eyes out the window, and Wild Star saw a myriad of emotions cross his face before he spoke.

“I… met somepony,” he said simply.

Wild Star arched an eyebrow, his curiosity rising. “Met somepony?” he asked, and it wasn’t until Falling Star turned back to him and gave him a meaningful look that the gray pony’s eyes widened. “Ooooh?! You… you mean you met somepony...” He grinned. “Well, pluck my feathers and call me a unicorn. What’s her name, Falls?”

He saw Falling Star’s face darken as he turned away, and he knew without a doubt that the amulet of Fear was invading his mind even as he spoke. “Her name… is Pinkie Pie,” he said softly.

“Pinkie Pie…” Wild Star exhaled slowly and nodded. The name wasn’t lost on him, or what it meant for Falling Star. “I see.” The other Pegasus turned to face him again, and suddenly all of the courage in his eyes was gone, replaced by a fear that all of the generals now shared; a fear that by doing the right thing, they would all lose what had become precious to them. Wild Star kept his red eyes locked with Falling Star’s, and for a moment he felt an old urge rise; the urge of the past thousand years to make fun of him, to poke at his weakness and prod him into using his fear as a weapon. It was so easy for Wild Star… all it took was the right comment at the right time…

What would Honeysuckle say to you? His heart chided. What would she say if she could hear those thoughts of yours?

He sighed, and offered Falling Star the most comforting smile he could. “I guess we’re all risking a lot with the plan, huh?” he said quietly.

Falling Star nodded. “A lot.”

The gray Pegasus returned his nod and sighed again before shrugging his wings. “So what happens now? My amulet’s reacting to something, but Dark Star hasn’t sent us orders or anything… so what do we do now?” Wild Star inwardly noted how strange things had become; before, he would have spit horseshoe nails if Falling Star had tried to assume any semblance of command, and now he was willingly looking to him for orders. How quickly things can change.

Falling Star turned his gaze again out the window. “We wait,” he said. “There’s really no reason to go rushing into things; nopony knows our true identities, so all we have to do is wait for Dark Star to show up, and the plan goes off without a hitch. No problems, no extra drama, no…” Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his face paled. “No… By Luna’s moon…” he said under his breath as he took the remaining steps to the window, rising to his back legs and putting his front hooves on the windowsill. “No no no!”

Wild Star was right behind him, but he didn’t need to see what was happening outside the barn to hear it.

“Applejack!? Applejack, wake up! It’s Pinkie! We need you!” The voice rang out loudly across the whole farm as two ponies, a pink earth pony and a yellow Pegasus raced up to the farmhouse; the pink pony started pounding on the door with both front hooves until finally the door flew open, revealing Applejack looking as sour as week-old grapes.

“Pinkie Pie, what in tarnation has gotten int’a you?! Don’cha know some ponies are still tryin’ ta sleep?”

Wild Star glanced at his comrade, and when he saw the absolute horror on his face he realized that this was without a doubt the very Pinkie Pie that had stolen Falling Star’s heart… and now she was here to ruin their whole day.

“AJ, it’s important! Twilight sent us to tell you that…” And with that Pinkie Pie proceeded to spill the whole story as she knew it so far, which wasn’t too far off from what had actually happened. Wild Star had to grudgingly give Twilight Sparkle credit; she’d pretty much pieced together the whole thing. Dark Star was a fool to underestimate her, he thought. However, his mind quickly came back to the current situation as Pinkie Pie continued to talk rapidly to Applejack.

“This could be very bad…” he whispered to Falling Star. Things proceeded to go from bad to worse as the rest of the household joined Applejack on the porch, including her enormous brother Big Macintosh… and Thistledown, along with Honeysuckle. Wild Star winced as Pinkie got to the part about how Twilight had said that Falling Star and Wild Star were, “…super-bad really mean ponies who were sent here to tear us apart piece by little bitty piece!” He watched Thistledown’s face go from disbelief to horror to the most profound betrayal that he had ever seen on anypony’s face… and he had been there when Princess Celestia had learned of Princess Luna’s rebellion. Inside, he felt his heart breaking for her; Honeysuckle may have been the catalyst that had turned his heart… but he’d hoped to get to know Thistledown better, and maybe… Maybe that could have been the family I was looking for. But now… she probably wouldn’t even want to see his face ever again. He gritted his teeth; all it would take was a confession… for him to tell the truth to these ponies, and Thistledown would forgive him, and they could all think of some OTHER way to defeat Dark Star…

But as much as his heart pleaded with him to do just that, deep down he knew that Falling Star was right; to make this work, Dark Star had to believe that nothing was wrong… and try as they might, he knew that the bearers of the Elements of Harmony would never work hard enough to beat him if they thought the other three generals were innocent. He quickly decided that he had heard enough and backed away from the window slowly. “Well… so much for hiding away discreetly until Dark Star shows up,” he said. “C’mon, Falls, we gotta move. I don’t think I’d like to be around when-,”

But it was too late; suddenly Applejack had bolted for the barn, and before Wild Star could make it to the door on the opposite side, the main door swung open with enough force that it shook the whole building and woke everypony inside up. A chorus of “What the hay is going on?” and “Oww, my head…” started echoing around the barn as tired ponies were rudely roused from their slumber, but somehow Applejack’s voice cut through every complaint and whine like a razor, and silence fell on the barn as she spoke.

“Is it true?” she asked simply. Her green eyes pierced the gray Pegasus, holding him in place as she advanced on him, her head held low; he could almost see her tail bristling with anger like an oversized housecat. He could feel his Element reaching out to her, stoking the fires of her anger as she got closer to him; it was trying to touch his mind, too, but he wasn’t feeling anger at that moment- he was feeling guilt and disgust and despair, but certainly not anger. “Is it true?” she asked again as she closed in on him; every pony in the barn now had their eyes glued to the scene unfolding before them. “Pinkie tells me y’all’re nothing but a spy. A dirty, rotten, good-for-nothing spy for that Dark Star.”

Wild Star opened his mouth… to say… what? What could he say to that? It was true; that’s why he had come here, to spy and subvert. Those had been his explicit orders from Dark Star. He glanced over to where Falling Star should have been… but he had vanished, leaving Wild Star to defend himself. Thanks a lot, Falls. “Listen, Applejack-,” he started in his most reassuring voice.

Applejack was close to him now, so close he could see the angry tears in her eyes as she cut him off. “I thought… I thought you were mah friend, Red-,” She shook her head, tossing her long blonde mane about wildly. “No, that’s not even yer real name, is it?! Wild Star… that’s yer name. I thought you were mah friend… that you cared about what I was goin’ through, cared about me… But you don’t care about nopony but yerself, do ya?!” Her face twisted in anger, and Wild Star felt his amulet snatch her mind… and another as well.

“Look, I know what Pinkie Pie told you, and there’s something that you…” You can’t tell her, you idiot! He gritted his teeth in frustration. I can’t reason my way out of this… not this time. And if he couldn’t reason his way out, his only chance was escape. He glanced behind himself as discreetly as he could; he was almost at the far door… if he could just make it a little farther…

A tear traced its way down Applejack’s orange cheek as she backed him up until he was almost touching the door itself, and when she spoke again her voice was as soft and harsh as a winter wind. “Well I’ll tell you something, partner,” she hissed. “Y’all can take yer fancy necklace and yer lies and yer Dark Star all the way to the moon! NOW BIG MAC!!”

Suddenly the door behind him flew open, and he barely had time to register the two bright red hooves before they connected solidly with his face. There was a flash of bright white light, the sensation of flying through the air sideways, and then an impact; then all was black.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In his life, he had faced griffons, dragons, incredibly dangerous storms and angry celestial Princesses… but as he slipped out of the barn behind Applejack, he realized that it was going to take every last ounce of his courage to face Pinkie Pie again. The pink pony had followed Applejack to the barn at a much slower pace, the yellow Pegasus she had called Fluttershy flapping skittishly along behind her as if she might bolt at any moment.

The blue Pegasus stepped away from the barn and ruffled his wings nervously as his heart sank into the very pit of his stomach. He felt the amulet of Fear prod his mind, wheedling away at his consciousness as it tried to subvert his thoughts… but he wasn’t going to run, or hide, or lie. Not this time.

Pinkie Pie glanced up at Fluttershy as she approached him, and the Pegasus seemed to get the hint because she dropped to the ground and galloped around the barn after Applejack’s big brother, who had gone around the building when Applejack went in the front. The pink pony walked closer to him but stopped several feet short and lowered her eyes to the ground. Falling Star saw that she was wearing what he could only assume was her Element around her neck; it was a balloon shape, just like her cutie mark, and he had to admit that it looked like it belonged on her. Again it struck him just how beautiful she was, even when she was uncertain; her mane fell just slightly into her face, blocking her eyes from view as she stood there with him. Finally he dropped his eyes to the ground as well, unsure of what to say. You could apologize, he thought. But… what will she say? He tried to think of something, anything he could say to make this situation better, to fix it… but he knew he couldn’t fix it, no matter how hard he tried or how much he wanted to. Eventually, indecision got the best of him, and he remained silent, feeling more wretched than he could ever remember feeling before. Finally, it was Pinkie Pie who broke the silence.

“Is it true?” she asked quietly, and the uncertainty in her voice stabbed Falling Star through the heart.

“Is what true?” he asked; a valid question, regardless of how insipid it sounded.

“What Twilight said,” Pinkie replied, her eyes meeting his for the first time; they were full of confusion and concern. “You heard me, Shootie, I know you did. Is Twilight right? Are you… are you really a bad pony?”

Falling Star squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from her slightly. “Pinkie Pie…”

“Answer me!” she exclaimed, stamping her hooves on the ground. “Are you? Or aren’t you?”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Then UN-complicate it.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Not if you’re making it harder than it should be.” The pink pony stared at him, her blue eyes searching his. She took another step towards him, then another, until she was standing right next to him, so close he could feel the heat of her body and just barely catch a hint of the scent of her mane; his heart pounded in his chest at her closeness as she held his gaze firmly in her own. Finally, after several moments of intense scrutiny, Pinkie Pie’s gaze softened, and a smile came back to her lips. “I knew it,” she said simply.

Falling Star blinked. “You… knew what?”

“That you weren’t a bad pony,” she said.

Now it was Falling Star’s turn to be confused. “What…?”

“Look, I know that whatever brought you to Ponyville in the first place probably wasn’t a very nice thing… but you’re a nice pony, Shooting Star. I can see it in your eyes.” Pinkie Pie blushed slightly and stepped forward just enough to touch her nose to his briefly. “And besides, if you were a bad pony, you wouldn’t have been so worried about me finding out that you weren’t a NICE pony. So I figure that must mean you’re sorry for what you’ve done, and I forgive you, OK?”

The blue Pegasus stared at the pink pony in disbelief before shaking his head slightly. “Pinkie Pie… you are without a doubt the most unusual pony I have ever met.”

Pinkie giggled. “Why thank you!”

Suddenly off to the other side of the barn there came a huge crash, followed by raised voices and the hurrying of many hooves. Falling Star turned and together he and Pinkie Pie raced around the corner to see Wild Star lying several feet away from the wall covered in boards and debris. Falling Star blinked in surprise, but immediately backed around the corner, drawing Pinkie Pie with him. “Stay back,” he said softly. “They don’t need to see us together.” He turned back to her, his eyes saying everything that his words could not. “Not yet.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The world slowly faded back into being for Wild Star; his head spun uncomfortably, and he was pretty sure he had some wood chips stuck in his teeth as he levered himself gingerly up from his prone position on the ground. “Son of a…” he slurred. He rolled his tongue around in his mouth for a moment then spit off to the side, unsurprised by the presence of a red tinge to his saliva. His vision gradually stopped spinning and he glanced at the hole in the barn that he had to assume was made by his body. He ached everywhere, in places he didn’t know he had, but especially his face, left shoulder and back, undoubtedly the section of his body that had impacted the wall.

Through the hole stepped the giant red stallion whose hooves had sent him on his little unexpected journey, one Big Macintosh, Applejacks’ brother, if he was not mistaken. As Wild Star levered himself to his hooves and his amulet fell back into place against his chest, he could feel the heat of it as it fed Big Mac’s anger towards him, and if the look in the other stallion’s green eyes was anything to go by, it was working. Wild Star was not a faint-hearted pony; he’d done his fair share of dangerous and death-defying deeds… but he felt himself shrink away from the huge workhorse. Big Mac was all muscle and, as the throbbing pain in Wild Star’s side and head attested, he was more than willing to use it.

“Just… just wait one second,” Wild Star said, trying to make his jaw stop popping when he talked. “Hold on, let… let me explain…”

“T’ain’t nothin’ to explain.” Big Macintosh’s voice sounded calm… but Wild Star could hear the torrent of anger coursing beneath it as the stallion stepped towards him, his muscles rippling beneath his bright red coat. “Y’all came here, to mah farm, with the purpose o’ hurtin’ mah family an’ mah friends.” Big Mac’s eyes were locked on Wild Star’s, and the gray pony could see that while anger was certainly present in his mind, Big Macintosh wasn’t coming after him out of vengeance; he was protecting his family from a threat… and he was that threat. His eyes widened. Oh for Luna’s sake…

Suddenly, Wild Star stumbled as he backed away; pain lanced up his left front leg as it gave out completely, sending him staggering sideways a few steps before landing solidly on his rump. Before he could even try to rise again, Big Mac had taken the initiative and closed the distance between them. The red pony reared up on his hind legs, his enormous hooves rising into the air slower than Wild Star felt they should have, almost as if the world was slowing down as the end approached; because there was not a doubt in Wild Star’s mind that Big Macintosh would end his life to keep the Apple family safe. But strangely, as he found his eyes locked on the stallion’s massive hooves, he didn’t feel fear, or regret, or anger… but a strange sense of sadness washed over him, and as Big Mac reached his full height, only one thought flitted across Wild Star’s mind as he closed his eyes.

I’m so sorry, Honeysuckle. I wish I could have been there for you. And now, he would never get the chance…

But the impact he felt wasn’t that of hard, sharp hooves against his face, but of a small, warm body against his chest, sending waves of pain through his already injured body and causing him to gasp aloud.

“YOU LEAVE MISTER WING ALONE!!” a small voice shouted, and Wild Star opened his eyes to find Honeysuckle before him, her back pressed firmly against his chest, her eyes defiantly staring up at Big Macintosh, who stared back for a moment before lowering his hooves to the ground and giving her a very disapproving look.

“Move aside, lil’ filly,” he drawled. “This’n is a bad pony, as bad as they come, an’ he needs a good lickin’ t’ knock some sense into his head.”

“HONEYSUCKLE!!” Thistledown’s voice rang across the yard as she raced after her errant filly. “You get away from him RIGHT NOW!” Wild Star winced again; the sheer panic and terror in her voice hurt him deeper than any hoofstrike or wall ever could.

But Honeysuckle didn’t move. Her big green eyes stared right up at Big Mac, daring him to try something. “No, Momma! I won’t leave Mr. Wing by himself!” She took a step towards Big Macintosh, her pink and white mane bobbing. “You say he’s a big, mean pony, Mr. Macintosh… well, I don’t believe you!’

Big Mac frowned down at her, confused. “But… you heard Pinkie Pie, Honeysuckle. Twilight an’ th’ other ponies all agree that this pony is Wild Star, one o’ the bad ponies responsible fer burnin’ yer town down.” Wild Star winced again, and this time he found his voice: he would be sent to the Moon before Honeysuckle thought he did something like that.

“Honey, no, that’s-,”

“You’re wrong, Mr. Macintosh!” Honey shouted over him, and he blinked at the filly. She clearly had her mind made up, and nothing anypony said to her was going to change her mind; and she looked ready to fight Big Mac to prove it. Her mane was fairly bristling at the red stallion, who was easily four times her height and twenty times her weight… but those numbers clearly didn’t mean anything to Honeysuckle. “I don’t care what you say! Mr. Wing is a good pony! I know he is! I can feel it, in here!” She raised a hoof to her heart, her eyes blazing. “An’ if you don’t believe me… well, then why didn’t he hurt me last night? I was out here in the garden, late at night, with nopony else to protect me, an’ he came an’ talked to me! He made me feel better! Why would he do that if he was a bad pony?!”

Big Macintosh stared at her, opened his mouth… and closed it again. Then opened it… and closed it.

“See?!” Honey said triumphantly, sitting on her rump and raising her chin. “I’m right.” Wild Star looked down at the small filly, and he felt his heart swell with pride that he probably didn’t deserve; this little pony was truly something special. Suddenly, a small twinkle of light along her lower body caught his eye; along her flank, a symbol appeared, slowly fading in from nothingness to bright, brilliant colors- a vibrant red heart, entwined by a green honeysuckle vine topped by a single, beautiful pink, white and orange flower. His eyes widened slightly. Her cutie mark…

Quicker than Wild Star had thought she could move, Thistledown made her play; she darted in from the side, dug her teeth into Honeysuckle’s mane and swept her away from the gray pony accompanied by a “HEY!!” from the little orange filly. As she moved away, her eyes met his… and the amount of hurt there made Wild Star wish that Big Mac had bashed his head in. Thistledown clearly believed that he was exactly what Pinkie Pie had said he was, no matter what her daughter had to say on the matter. Wild Star gritted his teeth as she dashed away with a protesting Honeysuckle in tow, his heart squeezing with pain that had nothing to do with his physical injuries. I’ll show you she’s right, he thought. Even if it is literally the last thing I do.

He glanced back at Big Macintosh, who was watching Thistledown go; clearly, he was waiting for Honeysuckle to be out of sight before he applied his hooves liberally to Wild Star. His eyes darted around him, trying to find cover or something to put between himself and Big Mac… when suddenly a dark splotch in the sky caught his attention, something hurtling down towards the red pony at incredible speed…

He winced as Falling Star flared his wings wide before slamming his knees into Big Macintosh’s right side, sending the large pony tumbling head over hooves sideways a good ten feet before rolling to a stop. The other Pegasus landed next to Wild Star just long enough to mutter, “Let’s go,” before his overlarge wings propelled him skyward again. Wild Star nodded and rose to his hooves with a grunt of pain before launching himself into the air as Big Mac shook his head in surprise; the red pony didn’t seem to be hurt, a true testament to Falling Star’s precision flying. It would have been much easier for Falling Star to hit him at full speed, but his speed combined with his hooves would have spelled almost certain death even for a pony as tough as Big Macintosh; the fact that he was just stunned spoke volumes about his comrade’s skill. As the two pegasi rose into the sky, shouts and commotion rang out behind them, and when he glanced back he could see Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack racing away from Sweet Apple Acres and towards Ponyville, where their friends would be waiting.

Wild Star flapped his wings faster, despite the sharp stab of pain it sent through his ribs, and caught up to Falling Star. “Thanks… a million, Falls,” he panted; it was starting to become clear that Big Mac’s first hit had been a winner. “And thanks for… not hurting… Big Macintosh.”

Falling Star glanced back at him and nodded. “Not a problem; I didn’t need to hurt him, just get him away from you.” He frowned and dropped back a bit to fly next to Wild Star, his eyes full of concern. “Can you even fly all the way to the Boutique? That’s where Morningstar is at; that’s where we’ve got to go. Now that our cover is blown, we can almost guarantee the other bearers of Harmony are going there to confront her.”

Another sharp jab of pain made Wild Star gasp, but he nodded and gave Falling Star his best don’t worry about it smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine… but I’m totally having her… look at me while we’re there.” That’s at least a broken rib, he thought, but he kept that part to himself; no sense bringing it up if there was nothing you could do about it. Falling Star watched him closely for a moment before nodding.

“All right, if you say so. Come on, this way.” He flapped his wings firmly and shot ahead of Wild Star as they flew over the edge of Ponyville and towards the center of town where the Carousel Boutique lay… but as he felt part of his left side start to go numb, Wild Star felt his chances of making it there in one piece slimming. The thought of falling to his death wasn’t exactly appealing, but his only chance of recovery was to make it to the Boutique. He gritted his teeth against the pain and forced his wings to keep flapping. Why does doing the right thing have to hurt so badly?!

Comments

[Xaldon Ajide]

quote 'Why does doing the right thing have to hurt so badly?!' but feel so good afterward! horray for updates!!! and pinki pie is awsome.
dude you dont know how much i cant wait for the next chapter.