The Stars of Darkness

by D4ftP0ny

Chapter 19

As soon as Twilight was out of earshot, Luna turned to Celestia. “There is a problem,” she said.

Celestia nodded. “So I gathered.”

“No, sister, a BIG problem, something that I had not counted on, something… horrible.” Celestia arched an eyebrow, and Luna sighed. “You know I transformed Dark Star into what he is now, correct?” Celestia nodded. “And have you ever found yourself wondering exactly where he got the power to construct the Elements of Destruction? You know very well that something like that takes incredible magical force, more than even Twilight Sparkle could muster.”

“Of course I’ve wondered, Luna,” she said.

“Wonder no more.” Luna took a deep breath, and her ears drooped. “I… I made the Pact with him.”

Celestia’s eyes bulged, and her mouth dropped open. It was several moments before she could speak again, and when she did her voice was hushed with disbelief. “The Pact?! Luna Selene Equestrius, what were you thinking?!” Luna winced; it had been a very, very long time since she’d heard her full name aloud, and even longer since she’d heard it in the tone of voice her sister used. Celestia ruffled her wings uncomfortably and she glanced away from Luna, but not fast enough to hide the look of horror on her face. Luna felt her chest ache as the silence from Celestia stretched on, for what seemed like forever, until finally she spoke. “The Pact, Luna…” she said incredulously. “You shared your power with him… Made him immortal, like you-,”

“His life is merely tied to mine,” Luna corrected. “The true immortality does not occur until-,”

“Either way,” Celestia said, turning back to her sister abruptly. “You granted him access to magic and powers beyond anything he should be able to master, and a life long enough to plot revenge on us regardless of a stasis spell. That is not something that is to be done LIGHTLY, Luna!” Celestia sighed angrily. “How long did Mother tell us that she courted Father even before making the Pact with him? How many times did she tell us that such a thing could only be done once in our long, long lives, and that the pony we choose should be our soulmate! A pony we deemed fit to continue the royal line! And you chose Dark Star!?” Luna paused for a moment before she nodded and felt her heart drop into her stomach. This is not going as well as I’d hoped… In truth, she had meant to tell her sister about this much sooner, but... How do you tell your sister that you gave your greatest enemy his power? It was obviously not an easy topic to broach. Celestia muttered something under her breath that didn’t sound very Princess-ly; then she took a deep, cleansing breath and nodded to Luna, though she could still see the raging emotions beneath her sister’s now-calm visage. “Continue.”

Luna nodded in return, grateful for the chance to continue speaking and get this all out in the open. “Yes, I granted him access to magic beyond his own reach; and with it he made the Elements of Destruction. But what makes the Elements such formidable weapons?” She pointed to Twilight and her friends. “These Elements are no danger to anypony, and why?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Basic karmic transference of the metaphysical; the Elements of Harmony represent good aspects of ponies, and work together with their individual bearers to bring forth more of that good aspect in said pony. You know that as well as I, Luna, I know you read Starswirl’s texts on the matter.”

“But it’s more than that, Celestia. Because the Elements cannot be used by just anypony, because they themselves choose their bearers implies a will inherent in each of the gems, a benevolent will that makes the pony stronger by giving up its power, fortifying that pony’s will and allowing them to join with the others in harmony.” Luna’s eyes became deadly serious. “But what if Dark Star made the reverse true… if he made malevolent entities inside the gems that, instead of giving their power to the ponies… used those ponies to power themselves?”

“What are you saying, Luna?” Celestia asked.

“That the generals aren’t bearing the Elements so much as the Elements are bearing the generals,” Luna said. “That at any given time, the very Elements that Dark Star seeks to use against us may no longer be his to control.”

Celestia watched Luna for a moment before shaking her head slightly. “Luna… that sounds ridiculous.” Luna opened her mouth, but Celestia cut her off. “And even if it DIDN’T, we have no evidence to base such a theory on.”

“But THINK if it is true, Celestia!”

“We don’t have TIME to think about it, Luna,” Celestia said firmly. “What we have time to do is gather the Elements, and try to pull together as many fail-safes as we can to ensure that Dark Star does not win this fight.”

Luna opened her mouth, but the look on Celestia’s face stopped her from speaking. She’s right, a voice inside her said. You have no proof, nothing to substantiate your claim. For all you know, Dark Star truly is gone. The very thought made her heart ache; that she might never again speak to him, actually speak to the stallion who held her heart was almost enough to overwhelm her… but somewhere, deep in her soul, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she could not give up on him. She clenched her jaw stubbornly. No matter what she says… I cannot bring myself to forget what he was; and what he could be again. The amulet has to have something to do with this… But she is correct about one thing; we have no time to waste. She sighed and looked back to Celestia, who lowered her eyes for a moment before speaking.

“I’m sorry, Luna,” she whispered. “I truly am. Regardless of whether or not I approve of the choice your heart made… please, know that I would not have you go through this if I thought there was any other way. Equestria has to come first.”

Luna gave her a small smile and nodded. “I know, Tia. I know.”

Celestia smiled sadly at her sister. “Then you know what we have to do.”

Luna nodded and sighed. “Yes. I need to raise the moon.”

“An eclipse,” Celestia agreed. “That way both of our powers will be at their height.” The white alicorn smiled knowingly at her. “Plus, those runes you placed there during your exile will be extremely helpful, I think.”

“What…” Luna felt her mouth drop open as she stared at her sister. “You… you know about those?!”

Celestia smiled slyly and tossed her mane. “Now, what kind of big sister would I be if I didn’t check my little sister’s work? Of course I know; I studied them in detail, and now we’re going to use them.”

Luna stared at her sister a moment more before smiling wryly. “Celestia… you truly are incorrigible.”

“So they tell me,” she said, returning Luna’s smile. “Now, I know that I can’t touch the runes myself. What needs to be done?”

“All I have to do is let you in; a simple modification of the sealing runes. Once that happens, we can both manipulate them freely... Although I have to tell you, they were made expressly for amplifying my magic.”

“I’m well aware of that, Luna; I’m also well aware that if I add a few more runes to your circle, we can adapt it to amplify a… different kind of magic.” She glanced at Twilight and her friends meaningfully, and Luna’s eyes widened.

“Celestia… by all the stars in the sky… are you sure that will work, and not blow us all to smithereens?”

The white alicorn shook her head. “Do you have a better idea?”

Luna watched her sister for a moment, her mouth open slightly, hoping that an idea would come; but the only thing to emerge from her lips was, “…No, I do not.”

Celestia smiled grimly. “Then we pray that your runes are strong enough, Luna, and hope for the best.”

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

Twilight galloped to her friends as quickly as she could, and as she approached the relief on their faces was so tangible that Twilight felt tears form in her eyes. As soon as she came to a halt, Pinkie Pie shot forward and threw her front legs around Twilight’s neck, hugging her so tightly that the purple unicorn truly, honestly could not breathe for several seconds.

“C’mon Pinkie,” Applejack said, “Give Twi some breathin’ room.”

“But…” Pinkie sniffled, and Twilight realized that Pinkie Pie was crying. “But we almost lost her there, AJ… she… she was almost squashed, like a BUG!!” She squeezed Twilight even harder, and Twilight squeaked in protest.

“Well, I know that, sugarcube, but… consarnit, Pinkie, she cain’t breathe!”

“Huh? Oh!” Pinkie released Twilight from her death grip of love, and Twilight gasped aloud for air as the pink pony backed up a step. “Well, why didn’t you say so, silly?” she asked Twilight, rolling her eyes. “If I’d known you couldn’t breathe, I woulda STOPPED!”

Rainbow Dash sighed irritably. “Pinkie, she couldn’t tell you, she couldn’t-,”

“GIRLS!” Twilight said as she panted for air, raising her voice and a hoof; her friends fell silent immediately, and Twilight took a deep breath. “Good. Listen, we don’t have much time; Dark Star has given us ten minutes to meet him somewhere to end this whole thing.”

A collective gasp went up from the five other ponies. “W-what?!” Rarity asked incredulously. “You mean he… that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna didn’t-,”

“They couldn’t,” Twilight said, her face grim. “He’s too strong. I mean, I guess if they both attacked him, eventually they might beat him… but Ponyville would be a smoking crater by the time they were done. He agreed to meet us somewhere else to finish the fight.” She looked around at all her friends. “Which means that we have less than ten minutes to figure out what is wrong with the Elements of Harmony.”

As soon as she said it, Rarity’s face fell. The white unicorn turned from the group and hid her face behind the curl in her mane; Twilight saw the embarrassment and horror on her face, and her heart ached for her friend… but the fate of Equestria was once again placed squarely into their hooves, and this problem had to be solved, even if it meant that Twilight had to put her friends on the spot.

“Rarity…?” she asked quietly. “I… when the Element of Magic tried to reach your amulet… there was a block; I couldn’t get ANYthing from you.” She took a step towards Rarity, a gentle smile on her face. “What’s the matter?”

The white unicorn took a deep, shuddering breath. “Oh… what’s wrong? I… I don’t know what you…” Suddenly, the breath turned into a choked sob. “Oh, what am I saying?! Of COURSE there’s something wrong!!” She rounded on Twilight, her eyes full of tears. “I’m… I’m a horrible friend, Twilight… I don’t deserve to be friends with any of you, any longer!” Rarity’s knees folded, and the white unicorn plopped down onto the ground, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“What are you TALKING about?” Twilight asked, honestly surprised that Rarity would say such a thing, even if she was upset.

Rarity’s petite frame rocked back and forth as she sobbed and tried to speak. “I d-don’t deserve t-t-to be friends with ANY of you!” she said. “The… the things I said… to YOU, Rainbow Dash… and dear Celestia… th-the things I thought…” Tears poured down her cheeks and she dropped her face to her hooves. “I e-e-even had a t-terrible dream about YOU, Twilight… j-just last n-night…” She gasped for air as her whole body tensed in anger and grief. “I just…I deserve to be alone… for what I thought, and said, and… and you should all hate me!” she screamed. “You should all hate me!!!”

Suddenly Twilight Sparkle very abruptly reached the end of her rope. Her horn lit up with magic and wrapped completely around Rarity, lifting her out of the dirt and onto her hooves; once she was there, Twilight took the remaining few steps to her… and slapped her open-hoofed across her face.

Rarity’s head jerked to the side, and her eyes went impossibly wide; she slowly turned her azure eyes back to Twilight, a look of shock on her face as a small, U-shaped red mark appeared on her pristine white cheek. “Twilight…”

“Snap out of it, Rarity,” she said firmly. Then she stepped forward, threw her legs around the white unicorn and hugged her as tight as she could. “Enough of that kind of talk,” she muttered into her friend’s ear. “You know better than that, Rarity, you know better.”

“But…” Rarity’s body began to shiver as her tears surged back, but Twilight held her close.

“No buts, Rarity,” she said, closing her eyes. “You know that no matter what you thought and said, we will always love you. All of us.”

Then Rarity began to sob again; she shifted her body and stood up into Twilight’s embrace, laying her head against her shoulder and crying for all she was worth, and Twilight smiled slightly. “It’s OK, Rarity. We’re not going to leave just because of something you said.” She glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was near tears as well, and the cyan Pegasus nodded firmly, giving Twilight a smile. “We know you better than that, Rarity, and in your heart you know us better than that, too.”

“But…” she sniffled as her sobs began to subside. “But if I do… then why do I feel so wretched?!”

Twilight let her go, and both ponies went back to all four hooves; she moved to Rarity’s left side and leaned against her, giving her support both physical and emotional. “It’s a side effect from feeling jealousy towards your best friends, Rarity,” she said simply. “You know you don’t actually feel that way, so you feel confused and angry and all sorts of mixed up inside because of it.”

“Like cupcake batter!” Pinkie Pie chimed in, and Twilight smiled at her.

“Yeah, like cupcake batter. Only less sweet and more horrible; like the time Applejack tried to make cupcakes when she was too tired.” Twilight nuzzled her friend. “Because if you really did feel jealousy the way you said you do, you wouldn’t feel bad about it.”

Rarity sniffled again loudly and laid her head against Twilight’s neck for a moment, and she felt the minute wet splash of tears against her coat. “Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity said softly. She gave Twilight one last nudge with her nose before she stood up straight and walked over to Rainbow Dash, who wiped her eyes quickly with a hoof. “Rainbow Dash…” Rarity began, but as she tried to talk, her voice cracked, and tears returned to her eyes. “Can you… ever forgive me… for what I said?”

In response, Rainbow Dash reared up and threw her legs around Rarity’s neck, hugging her close. “Nothin’ to forgive, Rare,” she said. “Already forgotten.”

Twilight felt tears begin to slide down her cheeks as Rarity rose and pulled Rainbow Dash close, holding her tightly as her pent-up emotions from the last four days poured out of her. Her sobs were heart-wrenching, but something was different this time; these were tears of relief, not sadness or frustration, and even Rainbow Dash could sense the difference as she held her unicorn friend in her embrace. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie galloped over and threw her front legs around Rarity and Rainbow both, burying her head into Rarity’s mane. “We love you, Rarity!” she said happily. “Nothing can change that!”

Fluttershy, who had been very quiet the whole time, suddenly burst into tears and with a few flaps of her wings took a hold of Rarity’s other side and pulled her friend close. “Oh Rarity… I hate to see you so sad... You know that we could never hate you… Please… please never think that again!” she whispered.

“In fact,” Rainbow Dash said, tears in her own eyes as she pulled back just enough to look Rarity in her eyes. “I think I owe you an apology, Rarity… for what I said to you, too. Y’know… that I didn’t need you anymore..?” Rainbow’s eyes welled up with tears, and her nose wrinkled as she fought them. “Well… I do, Rare… You’re… you’re…” She made a vexed sound and threw a tearful glance at Twilight. “Why is it so hard to talk?!” she demanded, and Twilight just shook her head and smiled. “Ugh… but… you get what I’m saying, right Rarity..?” Rainbow asked.

“I… I do, Rainbow… and I want you to know that you… you all mean so much to me…” Rarity’s tears returned tenfold, and she pulled Rainbow close again, and this time the cyan Pegasus joined her as they cried together.

Twilight wiped an eye with her hoof, and turned to Applejack, who was standing a small distance away, her eyes hidden by her hat as she watched the scene unfold; but even with half her face hidden, the unicorn could see the tears streaming down her face. However, before Twilight could even begin to ask her what was wrong, the orange earth pony hurried forward to stand behind Rarity. With a loud sniff, she tapped the white unicorn on the leg.

“Pardon me, Rarity… but I think I need t’ speak t’ Rainbow Dash,” she said, her voice quavering slightly. Rarity hiccupped and dropped back to all fours to take a step away from Rainbow, allowing Applejack to take her place. She reached her hoof up and removed her hat from her head, handing it to Pinkie Pie for safekeeping.

“Oooooooooooh… Apple hat…” Pinkie held it reverently and placed it delicately atop her bouncy pink curls before stepping back slightly to give Applejack some room. Fluttershy clung tightly to Rarity, tears still in both their eyes as they looked on.

Applejack took a deep, shaky breath. “Rainbow Dash…” she started, brushing her blonde mane out of her eyes with a hoof. “You are without doubt the most stubborn, forgetful, lazy, irritatin’ thing on wings I have ever met…” Her bottom lip quivered as she smiled at Rainbow. “…But… consarnit… Ah love ya, Rainbow.” The words had barely left her mouth when her tears started to flow in earnest, and she sniffled mightily as she held back a sob. “Y-you are one o’ my best friends… an’ I couldn’t… imagine a day without you, ya crazy Pegasus.” The sob she had tried so desperately to hold in escaped, but Applejack just smiled shakily. “Can you… ever possibly forgive me for what I said..? Fer… fer how I made ya feel? An’… an’ fer abandonin’ you when… ya needed me the most?”

Rainbow Dash stared at the earth pony for a moment, tears streaming silently down her face; finally, she took a step forward, and brushed her nose against Applejack’s cheek. “AJ… I forgive you,” she said softly. She stepped back, and a cocky grin appeared on her face despite her tears. “But I promise, if you ever start talkin’ like that again, I’m gonna tie you up with your own rope!”

Applejack half-laughed, half-sniffled, but her eyes lit with that familiar fire that Twilight had gotten used to seeing in the earth pony’s eyes. “You… are on, lil’ missy,” AJ said quietly. She raised a hoof off the ground and spit onto the bottom of it before holding it out towards Rainbow. The cyan Pegasus grinned and did the same, spitting on her hoof before holding it out so the two could mush them together. As they did so, Pinkie Pie gave a squeak of surprise.

Twilight turned just in time to see Pinkie’s fluffy tail tweak jerkily from side to side. Pinkie’s eyes widened as she looked from her tail to Twilight. “Twitchy-twitchy tail, Twilight. Twitchy tail!” She glanced around hurriedly. “You know what that means, remember?! Something’s gonna fall! But what? I mean, we knocked down the tree already…”

The purple unicorn wiped her eyes and looked at her friends; they were smiling together, hugging and laughing… not as if nothing had been wrong, but as if they were friends who knew each other sometimes better than they knew themselves, friends who could laugh in the face of adversity because they knew deep down that together, they could do anything. As she watched her friends, a small, confident smile slid onto Twilight’s face.

“I think I know what’s going to fall, Pinkie,” she said.

Pinkie’s eyes widened even further. “What, Twilight?”

Twilight’s smile broadened. “Dark Star,” she said simply. Applejack and Rainbow Dash nodded together eagerly.

“Y’darn right he’s goin’ down!” Applejack said, stamping a hoof firmly. “I’ve had jus’ about enough of all this foalishness!”

To everypony’s surprise, Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed. “He’s the one behind everything… everything that hurt you three…” She growled. “NOPONY messes with my friends and gets away with it! He’s going to regret picking on the three of you!”

Rarity blinked at her, but when she turned to Twilight, her smile was resolute. “Indeed he is, Fluttershy. Indeed.” She gave Twilight a nod. “We are ready to follow you, Twilight. And this time,” she said, touching the gem that hung around her neck, “I think that Dark Star will find the outcome of the conflict to be a bit more in our favor!”

“Ab-so-lutely!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Applejack, incoming!” Pinkie took the cowboy hat from her head and, with deftness that surprised Twilight, sent the hat spinning towards her orange friend with a flick of her hoof. Applejack grinned and took a casual step forward, intercepting the hat just as it ran out of steam; it hovered for a moment then settled perfectly onto her head.

Twilight blinked. “Pinkie… how did you..?”

“Practice, Twilight! GOSH, you’d think a bookworm like you could figure THAT out!” Pinkie giggled at her, and Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes and giggle back before turning to where Princess Luna and Princess Celestia stood. The two alicorns looked at her, and she gave them a firm nod; Princess Celestia smiled fondly as she and her sister turned and made their way quickly to the group of friends, who did their best to wipe their eyes and gather their wits.

“So… what is the decision, my little ponies?” Princess Celestia said, casting her violet gaze to each of the ponies in turn. “Are you ready to face your most potent challenge, your most dangerous enemy thus far?”

Twilight glanced back at her friends; each of them locked eyes with her, smiled and gave a nod, even Fluttershy. Each of them now held that look about them; the same look that they’d had when they had faced Nightmare Moon and Discord, the very same confidence and purpose that had brought Luna back to the world and saved it from eternal chaos. They were ready to defend Equestria, and to follow her once more unto the breach. The purple unicorn smiled and turned back to the Princesses, her lavender eyes blazing with confidence once again. “We’re ready, Princess.”

Luna watched her closely for a moment, and Twilight felt as though the Lunar Princess was staring into her soul, searching to see if she still held the fortitude to fight; but whatever she had been looking for, her lips curved into a smile, and her teal eyes met Twilight’s. “I believe you are, Twilight Sparkle,” she said quietly. “Please, follow Celestia’s orders exactly; she knows what our plan is, and it is our best hope of victory.” She gave Twilight a small nod before turning her eyes on the rest of the group. “Stay strong, my friends,” she said. “This will not be an easy battle… and even with all of our forces mustered against him, I cannot say if Dark Star will fall or not…” She gave them all a brave smile. “I will, however, tell you this: that the six of you have shown me things that I wished I had learned a thousand years ago… And that I consider myself privileged to call you all my friends.”

Celestia nudged Luna with her wing. “Luna, it’s time. We have to go, and you are the only one who knows where we’re going.”

The dark blue Princess hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Of course. Everypony, gather around.” Without a word, the others hurried forward and crowded together around Luna; almost immediately, her horn began to glow brightly… but before they teleported, Luna’s eyes met Twilight’s, and in her mind the unicorn heard the Princess’s voice. Be strong, Twilight Sparkle; and please, do not judge Dark Star too harshly until the end. I fear something terrible is afoot...

Before Twilight could even hope to respond, the light from Luna’s horn blazed, and with the familiar stomach-flipping sensation that always accompanied teleportation Twilight vanished, along with her friends and the two Princesses.

Comments

[Xaldon Ajide]

hay discord you'd better not choose now to escape from stone else you will suffer severe consequences due to how much the elements of harmony are gonna be overcharged o and darkstar is soo getting owned without the help of his fellow stars thank you pinki pie.

[Dusk Apollo]

Need moar, but then it ends...

I CAN'T DECIDE!!!

[D4ftP0ny]

759276
X3 Thanks for the fav- I hope you enjoy it!

761461
Well, it's gotta end sooner or later... the good thing is, even after this story is done... the adventure is nowhere NEAR done.

[Dusk Apollo]

764850 Does that mean sequel?

[D4ftP0ny]

764863
This is going to be a much longer story arc- there will be around 8 more stories. They won't be nearly as long as Stars, but there are plenty more to come.

[Dusk Apollo]

764889 No longer saddened by the coming end

[Dragon of Shadows]

Twilight took the remaining few steps to her… and slapped her open-hoofed across her face.