The Stars of Darkness

by D4ftP0ny

Chapter 4

Ever true to her word, a letter from Princess Celestia arrived to the Mayor not long after she left Twilight and the others, and by the end of the day the whole of Ponyville was buzzing with activity. According to the Mayor, Princess Celestia was going to try and send roughly fifty ponies to Ponyville; in her letter, the Princess stated that the last thing she wanted was to make life too difficult for anypony involved, so she wouldn’t send more than she thought each town could support. Even so, the town knew that this meant there would be fifty ponies to find beds for, fifty ponies that would need food, comfort and care. It wouldn’t be an easy task, to be sure, but as the Mayor (and Twilight) had assured everypony, the Princess was counting on them, and the last thing Ponyville was going to do was disappoint their princess!

And so the work began, each pony doing their share to try and help. Carpenter ponies worked overtime to try and make as many new beds as they possibly could as the Mayor asked for any spare room to be brought to her attention. Applejack had informed her that Sweet Apple Acres could take on several guests at the house, and even more if the barn could be temporarily changed into a sort of dormitory. The Mayor had been interested, so the orange pony had spent her time trying to figure out how to accomplish it.

If there was one thing Twilight Sparkle prided herself on, it was her organization, so she had taken it upon herself to assist in all things logistical; ensuring that the bakers got enough flour to bake food for the new ponies, making sure that enough apples came in from Applejack’s farm, making a list for all the different things that needed to be done and then checking and double-checking it. Unfortunately, one of the things she had placed very high on her list was checking up on Pinkie Pie, and that was not something she had looked forward to doing.

It had taken a great deal of convincing to get Pinkie Pie to understand that these ponies would not want a party, at least not right away. She had stubbornly insisted that, “If something as bad as that happened to me, the first thing I’d want is a party to make me feel better!” While Twilight couldn’t necessarily disagree, she’d still managed to get Pinkie to put down her party plans and help find places to house these refugees on the promise that once things were settled she could throw as big of a party as she could. The gleeful glint in Pinkie Pie’s blue eyes told Twilight that even though she’d won, she may have gotten the raw end of the deal.

Rarity had found her niche making new sheets and things for the new beds, and it was impossible to get a word in edgewise with her talking to herself and her materials, so Twilight had left her to it. Rainbow Dash had informed Twilight that she and the other pegasi in the area were going to make sure that the weather stayed nice and clear until everything was settled in Ponyville, and Fluttershy had agreed to try and keep any small animals out of the way when the newcomers arrived, just to avoid confusion.

Finally, the efforts had been called off for the day as the sun sank low in the western sky and the ponies of Ponyville had gone home to rest up for the next day, when there would surely be just as much work to do. Now, the sun had set, and every light in town was off, with all of the ponies snoozing away contentedly… except for one light in a library window, and a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight found herself standing on the balcony outside her room, staring off into the starry sky. Her hooves ached from all the running around she’d done today, and her muscles whined at her to lie down and sleep… but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to just yet. The cool night breeze teased her mane, tossing a few strands around her face as she gazed at the night. She couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was going on out in Whinnyapolis, if the Princesses had taken care of the dragon… and if so, how they had done it. She shuffled one hoof across the wooden planks that made up the floor of the balcony, kicking half-heartedly at a fallen leaf. I know Princess Celestia is powerful, and Luna is almost as powerful as she is… but a fully-grown red dragon? There’s a reason we had to negotiate with the one in the mountain. That had been an eventful journey, and one that had taught her even more about her friends, especially Fluttershy. The demure yellow Pegasus never ceased to surprise her friends with the fiercely loyal spirit that burned inside her.

The unicorn smiled at the memory, and as she finally turned and made her way to bed, she found herself wondering what secrets the Princess of the Moon might have locked away inside of her heart.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Canterlot Castle was quiet, as it usually was at this time of the night. Just the barest compliment of guards stood at the gates and on the battlements, but it was an increase from the past; no one knew exactly when Dark Star would march against Canterlot, and they would at least need an alarm sounded. Princess Luna stared out the window at the large gates and the two gold-clad pegasi who stood guard there, her heart heavy. I brought this down on us, she thought miserably. She lowered her sea-green eyes to the bed, where her older sister lay sleeping soundly on her side with her legs and wings tucked in close, and she smiled softly. Celestia was powerful and wise… but sometimes she could be so absolutely stubborn. She had refused to rest until the sun went down, and by the time it had the white alicorn had barely made it to her bed. Luna herself had slept the rest of the day, awakening when the sun was touching the horizon to find Celestia struggling to stay on her hooves. She had immediately confronted the captain of the royal guards, asking him why he had not insisted that the Princess retire to her chambers for a rest. He had simply smiled at her and said, “You know her, Princess.” Luna shook her head at her silly older sister before taking the edge of Celestia’s blanket gently in her teeth and pulling it closer around her shoulders. Celestia shifted, her rainbow colored mane sparkling in the moonlight as she rolled over and nestled deeper into her pillows with a sigh. With another smile at her sibling, Luna turned and left the room, using her magic to shut the door silently behind her.

The dark blue alicorn wandered down the decorated hall, stretching her wings as she moved away from her sister’s room. Her hoof-falls echoed in the hallway, calling forth a sense of loneliness that welled up from deep down in her heart, a sensation that had its origins a thousand and more years in the past. Luna glanced around at the shadow-shrouded tapestries and the moonlight-filled windows and again felt the cold emptiness that had driven her to do what she’d done all those years ago; this time, however, it did not settle into the pit of her stomach to spoil like sour milk. It coursed through her, caressed her heart once, then fled, leaving her lonely but sane. She shook her head, causing her shimmering mane to fall slightly into her face. She smiled and tossed her head, shaking her mane back into proper place. She knew that she would, from time to time, feel loneliness- it was to be expected. But she had grown much since returning from her imprisonment, and now she knew that the best thing to do with that loneliness was to express it. Or, as Celestia had so delicately put it, “Make some friends, you silly mare.”

Luna giggled lightly, remembering that conversation. She and Celestia had picked up as if the Nightmare Moon situation had never happened… but what had occurred earlier today in Whinnyapolis was very, very important for them. Before, she had always felt her heart distancing itself from her older sister, believing that at the slightest whim she may decide to send Luna back to the moon for another thousand-year sentence… but seeing Celestia today, amid the flames and destruction weeping for her as if nothing else in the world mattered to her but the well-being of her little sister… it had changed Luna. She felt it, as surely as she felt the night winds and the cool moonlight upon her coat. Celestia loved her, and always had, and she would never do what she had done again. Luna had always hoped that was the case… but now she believed it, with every ounce of her heart. That itself was enough to make the younger Princess stand taller, walk prouder, and make her absolutely confident that they would meet Dark Star head-on and defeat him, despite what had happened today.

Her teal eyes narrowed. “It also makes what I am about to do much easier.” She flicked her tail and took off at a gallop towards her own bedchamber in the tower that she called her home here at Canterlot.

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

After a thousand years imprisoned away from every other pony in Equestria, Luna had been able to do one thing to keep from feeling totally and completely alone: she had worked dream magic, something that she and she alone was able to do. As far as she knew, Celestia did not have power over dreams as she did; perhaps it was because dreams were almost exclusive to the night, Luna’s domain, that she was able to slip in and out of the dream world. She could see the world as it was, and see the sleeping ponies in their beds, but if a pony woke, they disappeared from Luna’s world and her view. The Princess of the night shut her bedchamber door silently and clopped to the middle of her spacious room to stand at the foot of her four-post bed. “All right, Luna. Time to earn your crown,” she muttered to herself. Her horn began to glow, surrounding her with a soft blue light; around her, the world shimmered as if it was being passed through an enormous ice crystal, distorting the moonlight coming in the windows as it slipped from the floor upwards, past Luna’s legs, her shoulders, her head, then through to the ceiling. She felt herself slip between worlds, from the waking world to the world of dreams, and she smiled in spite of what she planned to do. This was truly her domain; if the night was her kingdom, this was her palace, her most treasured and sacred place.

She sighed and turned from her room, opening the door and closing it behind her with her magic. Her body, her actual physical form, would stay where it was in her room until she returned; she could end the spell at anytime from anywhere in Equestria, even though doing so from anywhere but where her body lay could have some… interesting side effects. She walked down the hall again, and she noted, not for the first time, that the world always looked slightly different when she walked in the dreams. She had often tried to think of the best way to describe it, should she ever desire to describe it to anypony, but the best she could come up with was that it was… well, as if she were looking through a mirror at the world, as if everything she was seeing was simply a reflection, and not the real thing. She could touch things here and move them, but they would remain where they were in the waking world; she could also find other ponies who were sleeping and interact with their dreams. She could invade their very innermost thoughts while they were sleeping, and while in exile she had done so, particularly to Celestia. Those dreams had been very unpleasant for her older sister, but Celestia had eventually found a spell to cast that would keep her dreams safe from outside influence, so it was safe to say that Celestia had some idea of what Luna could do; but Luna doubted that Celestia had grasped the true extent of her ability.

As she passed her sister’s room, she found herself smiling slightly. If Celestia knew what I could do here, she would have undoubtedly advised me against what I am about to do. There was only one thing that she could think to do at this point: try and get into Dark Star’s dreams. Perhaps there was something she could see that would help her… or perhaps she could even lock him away inside his mind so he couldn’t fight against them. She looked at Celestia’s door for a long time, and for a moment she was struck by the urge to run back to her room, return to the waking world, and go about her nightly routine… but she stomped a hoof and gave her head a quick shake. “No, Luna. You must do this. It may give you the upper hoof,” she whispered to herself. She glanced at the door one more time before turning and galloping down the hall, towards the open door to the ramparts of the castle. She burst out the door and into the night air; her wings flashed open and in an instant she was airborne, soaring up away from the castle and into the sky of the dream-night, into the realm of endless stars.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she soared over the mountains near Canterlot, the stars glittering around her like ten thousand diamonds scattered onto the black sand of an endless beach as the gray landscape passed below her. Her mane and tail danced behind her as she flew, shimmering along with the stars as if they longed to join them high in the heavens. Luna felt her spirits lift as she soared even higher into the night; unlike everything else in the dream world, the stars never looked dull or faded. The stars always looked fresh and beautiful, as if they would not let anything keep them from shining their best for their Princess.

On and on the landscape below rolled away until after nearly an hour of flying Luna came upon the dream-ruins of the city of Whinnyapolis.

She spiraled down from high above, allowing her ample time to view the damage that had been done, and it was worse than she had feared. The red dragon had managed to destroy a good portion of the town before the message had even reached Celestia, and despite the quick response from the two Princesses all but a few buildings were demolished. Fire had ravaged the homes of hundreds and hundreds of ponies, but as far as Luna knew had cost nopony their life, and for that she was more grateful than she could possibly say. Even so, she found herself frowning down at the city below. Who knew how long it would take for Whinnyapolis to rebuild? If they wanted to rebuild it at all, of course; there was always the possibility that the displaced ponies would simply settle down wherever they ended up and call that place home instead of returning to build on the site of a ruined city that held so much fear for them. Luna closed in on the ground, but that was not her target; she flared her wings and pumped them firmly as she swooped low over a ruined building, alighting gracefully on a stable piece of the roof.

Even in the dream, the city smelled of burned wood and wet ashes. Luna wrinkled her nose, but ignored it; it was unpleasant, but it would not harm her. She was looking for something much more dangerous. She took to the air again, this time staying low to the ground, flying slowly along the streets, searching for something, her sea-green eyes never resting as she glided silently through the ruined city.

Finally, just when she was about to give up, she found it; a small, makeshift camp in the middle of the remains of Whinnyapolis’ town hall. A large white tent had been constructed, and inside that tent lay the sleeping figure of Dark Star.

Luna landed outside the tent, her hooves clopping softly on the stone. Just the sight of his black form, lying on a blanket on the ground, was enough to send her heart racing with fear and anger and… so many things that she thought she would explode. She stepped into the tent and passed into shadows, her blood pumping so fast it was making her ears ring. Every memory she could piece together about this unicorn was surging through her mind at once, a flood of reminiscence that threatened to sweep her off her hooves and back to the waking world. She shook her head and tried to straighten her thoughts. One of the things she knew she could not do was let her imagination get carried away here in the dreams; that would cause her to snap back to the waking world, and her efforts here would be for naught. Luna sighed, and after a few moments, she managed to bring peace to her mind, at least for the moment. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to him.

Even sleeping, his form was impressive. He was a well-muscled unicorn, something that rarely went together. In her past experience, unicorns were oftentimes softer of the flesh and stronger of the mind than their Pegasus or earth pony cousins, but Dark Star seemed to be just as strong physically as he was magically, his muscled chest and sides rising slowly as he slept. Next to him on the ground lay his sword, sheathed in its scabbard that bore her crescent moon standard. Luna felt her heart clench at the sight, and unbidden a memory surfaced; the day she had accepted him into her service and changed the sword from its original form. “Serve me well, Dark Star. Thy blade shall remain as thou art, black and unchanged, for as long as thy heart serves me.” She shivered at the voice in the memory, hers and yet not… the vestiges of the filly who had become Nightmare Moon. The sword itself held no evil enchantment upon it, but it reflected Dark Star’s devotion to Luna’s grandiose ambitions. She felt her chest tighten as she remembered his eyes when she’d given the sword back to him… his eyes full of devotion, eagerness and… love.

“Two bits for your thoughts, Your Highness?”

Luna’s eyes widened and she felt a thrill of fear shoot through her body from her nose to her tail, making her mane stand on end. Slowly, she shifted her eyes from the sword to Dark Star, and met his one golden eye. He smiled slightly before stretching his legs and rising to his hooves. “I’ll admit that I’m surprised you would try something so brash, Highness,” he said, his deep voice flowing over her like a funeral shroud. “Trying to invade my dreams?” He tsked. “And what were you planning to do then? Once you’d gotten in, I mean.”

Luna’s wings bristled as to her surprise her fear gave way to anger. He was here, in her world! The absolute gall! “What are you doing here in the dream world, Dark Star? I never showed you how to access it. This is my kingdom, my domain, and you have no right to be here.”

The black unicorn laughed. “No right? My dear Princess, do I have a right to be in Equestria? Hmmm? Do I have a right to be in Whinnyapolis, or Manehatten, or anywhere?” He shook his head and took a small step towards Luna. “No, my dearest Princess. I have no right to be in any of those places… so why should your realm be any different?”

The Princess drew herself up to her full height and glared at Dark Star accusingly. “It should be different because I was under the impression that I was the only pony who could get here. How have you come to this world, Dark Star?”

The stallion laughed and walked across the tent to the opposite side, where a small cup and pitcher sat atop a wooden crate. He picked the pitcher up in his mouth and poured water into the cup. “Does it really matter, Luna?” he asked. His horn glowed a deep midnight blue as the cup lifted from the crate and came to his lips.

“Of course it matters,” Luna replied. “You should not be here, so I am naturally curious as to how you are.” Somehow, when he said her name… it sounded so natural. So… right.

Dark Star finished his drink and set the cup back down. He chuckled. “Always so curious, Luna.” Suddenly, his eyes softened, and his voice changed from power and fear to… something else entirely. “Someday that curiosity is going to get you hurt, my Princess,” he said, and for the first time in a thousand years, Luna heard the voice of the real Dark Star. It was softer, not quite as deep as the one he used before, but still with the same musical quality. Instead of invoking fear and panic in her, this voice brought to her mind the image of a young unicorn stallion, his horn aglow, his blade flashing in the early morning sunlight, his gray coat beaded with sweat. It brought to her the memories of kind green eyes, secret shared laughter and a love that should not be. This was what he’d sounded like before he’d become Dark Star… when he’d been Brightsteel, captain of the royal guards in Everfree. For just a moment, she lowered her guard, and took a step towards him… but then she remembered where she was, what she was standing amidst. These were the ruins of a city that he had destroyed mere hours before, and he meant to do the same to Canterlot, if necessary. She put her crystal-clad hoof back to the ground, and her eyes became firm once again.

“And are you going to hurt me, Dark Star?” she said quietly. “Is that why you were waiting for me? So you could try and injure me here in the dream world? Perhaps try to lock me away here so I would be unable to fight against you?”

He chuckled. “I guess those aren’t bad ideas,” he said, “But I don’t have any plans of hurting you, Luna.” He smiled, and it was such a sad smile that Luna had to again stop herself from stepping towards him. “You should know that I would never, could never hurt you,” he said softly.

“You don’t seem to have the same compunctions about hurting my sister,” Luna replied.

“Your sister… I have to assume she survived, then?”

“Of course she did.”

Dark Star sighed, and his voice became slightly harder. “You should know that what I did, everything that I’m doing, I’m doing for you, Your Highness.”

“No, you are not,” Luna said, her voice dangerous. “Dark Star, you need to understand one thing and one thing only. If you were doing this for me, you would have stopped before you began. I do not want this anymore. I no longer desire war, or endless night. I want to have peace. I want to be near my sister again. I want… I want friends.” Her mind went to Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies in Ponyville, and she wondered absently if they were doing well. “That is what I want, Dark Star,” she said in a softer tone. “And the sooner you realize that, the better off things will be.”

Dark Star shook his head slightly. “Princess… you know that I don’t believe that.”

“And why not?”

“Because I believe Celestia is manipulating you,” he said simply. This time around there was no shouting, no surging emotions; just simple statement of fact. “I believe that even now she’s playing with your mind, that you are nothing more than a puppet to her.” His golden eyes blazed. “And that I have to free you from her, so that you may rule alone, as you were meant to.”

Luna laughed. “And who told you I was meant to rule alone?”

Dark Star blinked. “You did, of course.”

“Well, I’m telling you now, I was wrong.” Luna took a step towards him now, her crystalline shoes sparkling in the dream moonlight as she did. Her eyes became soft as she spoke. “I was young, Dark Star, young and angry. I thought I knew what I wanted, but… I didn’t. I thought I wanted to be in charge and rule, but the truth was that I just… I just didn’t want to be lonely anymore.” She stepped so close to him that her mane brushed his chest, and she dropped her eyes demurely. “And now I don’t have to be. Celestia is spending more time with me. I’ve started making friends, Dark Star, and I’m… I’m happy.” She looked up at him, and tears glistened in her teal eyes. “And I’d be even happier if you would come back to Canterlot with me.”

Dark Star seemed to melt before her, and he took the last step to close the gap between them; he pressed his broad chest against Luna, and the Princess leaned into him, laying her neck gently across his. “Luna… I…”

“Please, Dark Star,” she begged. “Give up this mad quest. We can be together, now.” Tears streamed down Luna’s cheeks, and a sob escaped her throat. “No more hiding, no more secrets, no more anger and lies. We can be what you always said we could be.” She pulled back from him and smiled shakily before leaning close again, crossing her horn with his. As soon as they touched, a spark ran through Luna, making her weak in the knees and causing her wings to flutter unbidden. A soft green glow enveloped the two as their horns reacted, causing their magic to surge in response to their feelings for one another. It had been so long since they had been together, and yet this connection that they shared still lived, burning with the magic that flowed through their veins and the love that had lay buried in their hearts for a thousand years. Unbidden, the memory of their time in Everfree surfaced, and she could remember the very first time they had crossed horns; they had both been young, unsure of what would happen in their small, dark corner of the castle. Neither had known what Celestia would say if she found out that a captain of her royal guard was fraternizing with her little sister, but Luna had been sure it would have ended badly, so she had convinced him to keep it quiet. She still remembered the boundless love that she’d seen in his eyes as he brought his horn close to hers, and the electric thrill that had run up her spine as they touched. The magic that laced her very being had begun to sing as they leaned against one another, and she had seen in his eyes that he felt the same thing. Their hearts had sung together that night, and had done so every night afterwards. And now… Luna sobbed at the memory and touched her nose to his. “We can be together, Brightsteel,” she whispered.

Suddenly, Dark Star stepped back, breaking the contact between their horns and causing Luna to gasp as the magic died. “My name,” he said, his voice once again deep and dangerous. “Is Dark Star, my lady.” He turned away from her, but not quickly enough to hide the tears in his own eyes. “My apologies, Princess. I fear that I cannot come with you until your sister is defeated. Only then will you be the true Luna, the one whom I fell in love with.”

Luna sobbed again, and this time it was harsh and angry. “The Moon take you, Dark Star!” she choked. “You really don’t understand, do you?! I’m not under any kind of spell, and I’m telling you that we can be together… and all you can think of is destroying Celestia?!” She stepped back from him, her eyes angry. “Your hate is blinding you. You need to let go, let go of your hate and see what is right in front of your nose!”

“NO!!” he said, and his voice seemed to come from everywhere. “You gave me this hate, Princess, to serve you! I serve you and you alone, but Celestia has your strings in her mouth and she’s dancing you along like a puppet!” He turned back to her, and his eyes were full of hate. “Once Celestia lies defeated, you will see, and you will thank me for my loyalty.”

Luna shook her head, sending sparkling tears flying through the moonlight. “No, Dark Star. My sister will never be defeated, because I will stand with her to oppose you.” Even though it kills me inside. She stood straight and tall, her eyes hard despite her tears. “You have two choices before you now, Dark Star: continue this rebellion and be destroyed… or put down your hate long enough to see the truth.” The truth of how much I love you, you stupid colt. Can’t you see?

Dark Star stared at her for a long moment before closing his eyes and turning away from her. “Our audience is done for tonight, Princess,” he said. “I suggest you get your rest; it may be the last you get in a very long time. Oh, and don’t fear, your dreams are safe from me; I can only project myself into the dream world very near to my body, and cannot traipse off over the whole world as you can.”

Luna stared at him for a long moment; then her horn glowed, and the tent vanished, along with the city, the sky and the ground. Everything faded to a pale gray as Luna felt herself being yanked backwards, and a rushing sound filled her ears as she flew back to her body in the waking world.

A resounding crash!!! exploded from Princess Luna’s bedchamber as her dream self collided with her body, sending it sprawling across the room into a bookshelf, splintering the wood and sending books flying every which-way. The alicorn slumped to the floor as dust sprinkled down around her, not even bothering to straighten the off-kilter crown that threatened to tumble to the floor as she curled up on her side and wept, her slender frame wracked by sobs of frustration and heartbreak. Outside her window, rain began to fall, drowning the sound of her tears in the drumming of a million raindrops.

Comments

[Xaldon Ajide]

poor luna damn you darkstar how can you not see reason why must you be souch a pain in the frigging but and not drop your hate ughh
anyway on a bright note atleast i know twilight is getting ready to be up to the challenge hopefully the elements of harmony dont get corrupted
anyway i still give you my best score without stars i have to use staches so have your five.
also i didnt notice any mistakes so you did pretty well if someone else notices mistakes then you can chalk it up to i'm oblivious

[InarJollyhound]

I am starting to get skepticall about whether darkstar is ever going to believe that Luna is choseing to abandon her everlasting night with her own will without seeing luna still do so at her own will if celestia gets defeated.
Good job I am gonna spend much more time reading this now. (Bout time too)
Also i wonder how the stars will react to pinkies party??
(Inar tries desperately to convince them that pinkies cake is NOT a lie)

[Dragon of Shadows]

“Your hate is blinding you. You need to let go, let go of your hate and see what is right in front of your nose!”

hate quotes from star wars anyone?